SHOULD THESE THINGS CONCERN YOU AND WHY?

Every human conscience that has a spark of life in it ought naturally to be inflamed by the injustice done to and the suffering experienced by other members of the human family and God’s creatures as a whole.

At least the sense of concern ought to come from calculations of self-interests. This is so because people depend on one another now more than they ever did in the past. The actions of one person could affect the livelihood and security of thousands of people on the other side of the globe. The world has become more inter-connected. News, goods, and people travel fast and so can disease, economic gain and loss, and destruction from long-range warfare.

More than this, an active concern for the human condition and environment must spring from a sense of trust or amaanah. Man lives on this earth, according to Islam, as a trustee. A trustee is someone who does not own things as of right but is responsible for their proper management. Man as a trustee of God, has the duty to see therefore that people live in peace and justice, that they are free from hunger and fear. Man, as a trustee of God, has the duty to ensure that the rights he enjoys to the resources of the earth are not abused. He is not for example to pollute the drinking water of the earth nor is he to slaughter animals except for food or to prevent the spread of disease.

Therefore, there must be a strong link between faith and an active social conscience just as there is a link disbelief and hypocrisy on the one hand and callousness and inhumanity on the other. This is well brought out in one of the early surahs of the Qur’an called Al-Maa’uun meaning Small Kindnesses or Help:

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Merciful

Have you seen the one who denies the Religion or the Judgment to come?

It is he who repels the orphan with harshness

And does not encourage (or organize) the feeding of the needy.

So woe to the performers of Prayer who are neglectful of their Prayer

Those who want to be seen of men

But refuse even the smallest help

(Surah al-Maa’uun, 107: 1-7)

This surah shows that Islam is no mere set of rituals, nor is it lifeless dogma or some mysterious cult. It is rooted in belief in God and a universal concern for the human condition. Its concern is for mankind as a whole regardless of creed, race or color. This is in keeping with the Qur’anic description of the role and message of the Prophet as ‘mercy and a blessing to all creatures’.