PSYCHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AL-QURAN

PSYCHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AL-QURAN
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        Many years ago I began to ponder over the present state of affairs of Muslims all over the world. It puzzled me to note the fall of Muslims over the past four centuries after a splendid period as a dynamic force in all spheres of knowledge:
        Now we have faith, voluminous literature on Islam and above all the Quran and the sunnah to guide us. It is apparent that inspite of vigorous preaching and seminars we were going downhill. The so-called civilized nations on the other hand began a slow and steady march onwards in various fields of knowledge and then during 20th Century leaped forward at a tremendous speed, known as quantum jump. At the same time inspite of many social and ethical virtues, the moral degradation, the disruption of family life and the sexual freedom with its dinosour like head began to erode the moral fibre of the western society. The so-called civilized nations have knowledge and scientific superiority and we, the Muslims, profess to have faith. But we both are showing signs of decay.
        What was wrong with us and what was the possible answer?
        My knowledge of Islam, which I was fortunate to acquire from my parent’s personal interest and from Allama Alauddin Siddiqi, a great, talented scholar who taught us at Shah Chiragh Masjid at Lahore, came to my rescue. But the process of reaching a definite analysis and arriving at the present thesis was made possible by two very important factors (i) My children, who were bred and born in England, questioned me frankly and at times rudely about Islam and the present unhappy state of affairs of the Muslim countries. I was motivated to look for an answer for their inquisitive minds. (ii) My 30 years experience in the field of psychology and psychiatry, constantly dealing with problems of individuals social groups and at national level.
        It added another dimension to the characteristics by which we acknowledge Quran and the Holy Prophet (SAW),. Quran became for me the greatest book on human psychology and the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the greatest master of human mind and the perfect therapist, the healer of spiritual ills and the sustainer of body and mind in optimum condition. I cannot cover all the aspects of this concept in this lecture; my aim is only to illustrate my thesis about the integrated position of acquiring knowledge, in Deen-e-Islam and its psychological significance to Mankind. At the end I will offer my views about the precise role of a Muslim.
        You can ask a medical practitioner two kinds of questions, one about his intensive training and education in the relevant subjects, the other about his purpose and function as a practitioner, I am taking up discussion about the role of a Muslim, the goal he must achieve. I am leaving the question of training that he must receive before, in the hands of scholars of Islam. Both aspects are interdependent though.

APPEARANCE OF MAN:

We all know about the dialogue that took place between Allah and the angels about the creation of Adam and the defiance of Iblis. I will only briefly state that man has been given the on-going ability to learn and to explore the secrets of Heavens and Earth. Man is unique in this respect in the realm of animals, a fact that needs no explanation and proof.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF PROPHETHOOD

        The defiance of Iblis in fact means the appearance of desires in man as a dynamic force. In Quran, Allah describes Iblis “He promiseth them (man) and stirreth desires in them and Satan promiseth them only to beguile” (Al-Nisa 120). Thus man possesses intelligence, ability to express himself, aspirations and capacity to continuously improve his living environment. He desires to enjoy the benefits of his unique capacity but it needs no arguments to underline the dangers inherent in this characteristic of man. In the rest of the animal kingdom, desires appear to follow a set pattern and have shown little change, throughout their existence. Man’ on the other hand, has been causing chaos, conflicts and destruction amongst mankind eversince his appearance: The happy and peacefully atmosphere in a family , amongst social groups and between communities of the world suffer whenever desires take a greater hold on man.
        On the other hand man with predetermined intelligence and predetermined desires would not have been any different than the rest of the animal species.
        Our intellectual superiority and freedom of choice till the day of judgment, a must for progress is also a matter of grave concern if the right balance is not achieved between the two forces.
        Allah, in his wisdom guided us as soon as Adam fell for the temptation offered by Iblis (Desires) and from time to time revealed to us a framework, through the prophets to enable us to sublimate our desires and to use our abilities for the benefit of humanity. It was the knowledge about the manner man should organize his life in moral, social and ethical fields, in the name of Allah by surrendering his purpose to Him only.
        The balance and harmony between these two dynamic forces is crucial. Man is sufficiently well equipped to gain knowledge through empirical observation, deductive reasoning and research. I do believe however that almighty Allah in His mysterious ways does inspire man and reveal the secrets of the universe to him at His Will. Before I put all the pieces of the gig-saw puzzle together, let me put few more fundamental pieces before you. So be patient for a while and I do hope that you will soon arrive at a reasonable conclusion.

MATTERS DISCUSSED IN GREATER DETAIL IN AL QURAN

A) Allah is the creator, the master of the universe and the master of the day of judgment. Intelligence alone cannot reach Him: I believe through the prophets by different ways Allah revealed to mankind the truth about. Himself to leave no doubt in our minds about His existence.
‘Messenger of good cheer and of warning, inorder that mankind might have no argument against Allah, after the messengers’
Sura Al-Nisa 165

        Some of the important issues discussed in detail in Al-quran.
        Women and our responsibilities towards each other Marriage Divorce and Widows.
        Destribution and sharing of personal wealth.
        Making of a will.
        Interpersonal relationships.
        Attitude towards orphans.
        Attitude towards non-muslims.
        Race, colour and status.
        Crime and its punishment.

MATTERS THAT RECEVE HINTS, MENTION AND GUIDELINES

        a)    Economic matters
        b)     War/Jehad
        When to indulge in war, when to cease the fighting, attitude towards prisioners of war, the citizens including children and women, distribution of the booty of victory.
        Attitude towards the non-muslim citizens of Muslim states.
        You will note that in all these matters, which are crucial for human survival as a society, emotions feelings and desires have major influence. It is that sphere of life where human emotions and feelings can and do override intellect. Therefore Allah
         Laid down the limits to safeguard mankind from the evils that follow when the framework of human values is ignored.
        We as psychologist, psychiatrists and sociologists know that the basic human instincts i.e. love, hate, jeolously, sexual interests, hunger etc were part of our makeup eversince we appeared on this earth. The changes good or bad that we see in our behaviour are the result of nurture and are not due to any basic change in the nature of man.
        A child even today needs love and care and no amount of expensive toys can replace that need without damaging effects: I believe that inspite of progress in intellectual field, we are far behind in emotional maturity today because man is giving more attention to acquiring knowledge and less to developing the human ethics and values.

MATTERS THAT RECEIVE INSPIRATION TO CONTEMPLATE AND ARE LEFT TO THE HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER FACTULTIES.

        a)     In 1/8 of Al- Quran, there is repeated emphasis to embody scientific knowledge as an integral part of the Muslim ummah (Dr Khatib of Syria).
        b)     Trade and Industry-Quran does not tell us how to setup factories or how to organize our business. It gives us a code of practive however.
        c)     Quran gives us directions about our conduct and the spirit with which to face an enemy but does not tell us how to plan and fight . It does not tell us about war weapons. It tells us to have strength, both spiritual and material.
        d)     Scientific research is left to man’s inherent abilities. Agriculture, research into causes of diseases their prevention, medicine, is left to man,s ever maturing abilities. A system of values was given by Islam for its application for the benefit of mankind.
“And hath made of service unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, it is all from Him. Lo! Therein verily are portents for people who reflect”

Al-Quran 45-13

        If all the trees were turned into pens and all the seas into ink, you would not be able to exhaust Allah’s knowledge.
        However, there is one serious aspect of this basic ability of man, which needs full attention, perhaps in his wisdon Allah left it to the ummah for mutual consultation. I will only talk about research in psychology, psychiatry and medical sciences. We now know that man has different abilities and many other handicaps. We also know about mental illnesses/drug addiction. Schizophrenia, a disease in which hallucinations and delusions over shadow the ill persons psyche. Surely the punishments prescribed for offenders require consideration within the spirit of the law, for such ill people require treatment and care to make them useful members of the society. It will not be against the spirit of justice to do so . We must thoughtfully consider the application of acquired knowledge, within the framework of the teachings of Islam.
        Now let us put all the pieces together to see what kind of picture we get.
        Man is endowed with a set of complex abilities and desires, desires which could either make him or break him.
        To sublimate those desires Allah sent His guidance through the prophets to give him a system of values, attitudes and a system of laws, a moral and social code and the manner in which he should organize his life, while persuing knowledge and exploring the secrets of heavens and earth.
        In all the above emotions and feelings could have misled him.
        All this was done to produce a peaceful and just society where people did not suffer from undue stresses and strains of life. It was a recipe for mental and physical heath for individuals, families and the society.
        Jack Tizzard-a world famous psychologist at London once said that to help individuals with antisocial behaviour , let us change the environment he lives in : This has been confirmed by psychiatrists at London prisons.
        Man was on the other hand inspired to seek knowledge, discover the secrets of life on earth and in the heavens. The field of knowledge is not static: it is ever expanding. The scientific knowledge and discoveries will go on adding new dimensions to our life. Therefore Man was not told how to do it, but he was impelled to seek knowledge, to ponder, reflect and research. He was given set of directions towards its application for the good of society. Above are the reasons in my view for declaring Quran the final message. The Man in us explores the universe and the Muslim in us uses the knowledge under the directions and guidance of Al-Quran. Till the 10th century Hijra, we performed both these functions and according to Humbolt “Muslims were founders of modern sciences. “We, the Muslims have now ceased to exist as Man and have ignored the special position that Allah gave to Adam at the time of his creation.
        Only the man is at work in the western society and look at the chaotic state the world is in today. We- Muslims are hanging on to a distorted kind of faith and observe the pathetic state we are in.
        May be one day, the man in the developed countries will acquire true faith in Allah and His last Messenger (SAW). We will then surely be left behind and perhaps discarded. But then why not, we deserve it.
        Though the abilities were to Man at the beginning, yet they remained in their formative stage for thousands of years. It is no less than a miracle that 1400 years ago, it was recognized that man had long way to go in developing his abilities. Only Allah, the creator and his messenger could have known it. Can you imagine Adam and Eve sitting in the WHITE HOUSE, an aeroplan to fly them over the thick forests, a Buick to take them to cities that did not exist, an atom bomb to fight aggression from an army of crocodiles and perhaps other wild animals. No, ladies and gentlemen-Man had to develop his abilities according to circumstances and need of the time.
        There would have been no purpose in creating a being in its ultimate form without any opportunity to develop his abilities and the struggle between duty and desire. Man would have been an improved form of the animal kingdom, a homosapien living just like other creations, perhaps enjoying a better status.
        It was his unique makeup that made him an envy of the angels.
        But why are we the Muslims ignoring our special status as Man. We seem to be hanging on to our desires, the majority of us are just trying to satisfy the legitimate desire for food and shelter and the rest of us are feeding our desires to an extent that Iblis seems very pleased.
        We please Allah though by our prayers-- Do we!
        Unless we improve our status as Man we cannot bring about an environment in which we all could have opportunities to sustain ourselves both physically and spiritually. With so much disparity amongst our brothers and sisters, lack of education and civic facilities, mere faith is not going to have any impact.
        We have been given a set of values and a system of laws by Allah , but where do we apply them.
        Do we apply the values and the system of laws to the hand that denies the facilities or on the one that takes due to dire necessity? Do we fight a jehad against an aggressor by asking the enemy to give us weapons to fight against him?
        We can not liberate Kashmir from the clutches of India because our friends (non-Muslims) can not displease a more powerful and useful country to them. We are dependent on the mercy of world powers to help Afghans form a govt. of their choice.
        A farmer gives a whole year’s produce from his land just to buy a tyre for his tractor which he acquired under a foreign loan. Our nation has to break its back under heavy debts to buy few aeroplanes from our so-called friends. The very friends who want us to fight so that they could sell more of those planes to us and to our enemy.
        Our national income and the foreign loan (called aid) disappears mostly before it reaches its desired destination. The concept of Islamic society cannot materialize unless we establish a just and honourable environment where the legitimate needs for the people are catered for in scientific, emotional and material sphere. I say to my brothers and sisters, we cannot reach the heights of our destination unless we truly become descendants of Adam as Man, of Ibrahim, the upright and the followers of the Holy Prophet (SAW). All in one as directed by Quran. The purpose of Divin Guidances was to give us guidelines and framework in which to persue, apply the knowledge gained and develop our abilities for the benefit of humanity.
        Therein lies our salvation in this world and the hereafter:

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