UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (8th Myth "Capitalism") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ

Myth 8: Capitalism

But, why invent the myth of Pre-destiny in the first place? The answer lies in history, in another myth. The story is very interesting and worthy of attention.Before creating Man, God had already stocked provisions on Earth for his sustenance -air, water, light, heat, food, etc. God told Man that sustenance on Earth was to be available to all, free and readily. Mankind started their life on Earth in the socialistic atmosphere referred to by the Quran as Adam's Paradise -without any question of ownership. The situation was this:
'And ate satisfactorily whenever, wherever they
wanted.'
But, though air, water, light and heat were readily available, man had to toil to procure food from land. There were men who did not want to work hard and looked for ways to live off others. Their search culminated in the notion of private ownership of land. With that, 'Adam' (mankind) lost his 'Paradise' (peaceful, worry less coexistence). Sustenance was free and easily available no longer. Men became exploiters of fellow-men. The Earth became a hell. Now, there were rulers and the ruled, masters and workers, exploiters and the exploited. Human dignity was crushed under the owner-slave system!

The Quran's Proclamation

The myth of private ownership of land .-the primary source of sustenance for Man -remained accepted as fact for millennia but then the Quran made the earth-shaking proclamation:
'Everything in the heavens and on Earth belongs to Allah.' 

Man's assertion of owning land is tantamount to playing God. Therefore, the entire mankind was told:
'So, do not put God in competition ... '
And, men were told to keep the earth (land) 'open and free for the needy.'
This great proclamation revolutionized humanity in an unprecedented manner. It uprooted the old myth of private ownership and founded human society anew. Consequently, Prophet Mohammed, on the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage, put it briefly but eloquently:
"Verily, time has come to the same as the day when
Allah created the heavens and the Earth."
That meant that sustenance was once again freely and readily available to all. But, once again, the lazy, parasitic, good-far-nothing men started working against this system and succeeded in gradually replacing it with the older, previous system of capitalistic oppression.
The following myth should explain and elaborate on these points further.

UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (7th Myth "Destiny") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ,

Myth 7: Destiny

From Christianity came the myth that every human child is born with the burden of its parents' (Adam and Eve) sins and cannot achieve salvation on its own. It was concluded that Man is helpless and is not frec. The Hindu philosophy modified this view and, borrowing the notion of Reincarnation from Greek thought, maintained that every human child undergoes suffering as punishment of sins committed in a previous life, being absolutely unaware of his activities of the past existence! This gave rise to the concept of Pre-determination, i.e. whatever happens to an individual is pre-determined and unchangeable. In addition to religion, this concept influenced the world of philosophy as well and gradually came to be regarded as reality.

The Quranic View

Exposing the falsehood of this concept, the Quran said the Man is born with a clean slate on which he writes his destiny himself. His predicaments are a consequence of his own actions. [lA] This is made very clear by the comprehensive expression of 'whatever your hands send on.' LW Obviously, actions precede results. Therefore, according to the Quran, all results faced by Man arc a consequence of an action previously taken (not in a previous 'life the Quran does not recognize Reincarnation); it is all a result of his own deeds (4:62).

Shaping the Future

The basic question is: Is Man's destiny pre-determined for him, or does he shape it himself as he wills? The Quran states:
'0 the Faithful! You must follow the divine laws,
and each of you must be watchful of what he sends
on for tomorrow.

'The Concept of Pre-destiny is anti-Quranic

Some hold the view that all events occur as God wills them. According to the Quran, this view is incorrect:
'When asked, the polytheists say, "If God wanted it so, we or our ancestors would never have
committed polytheism!'
Thus, the Quran rejects Pre-determination and maintains that Man is the architect of his own future. Obviously, to build one's own future, one needs consistent efforts and hard work, physically as well as mentally. The lazy, goodfor-nothing parasites of society do not find this acceptable. Therefore, purposefully and deliberately, they replaced the Quranic view with the old myth of Pre-determination. And it was done subtly as well. The Quran has listed FIVE 'Articles of Conviction' --God, Angels, the (Holy) Books, the Divine Messengers, and the Doomsday. l1Jlj But now Muslims believe in a sixth one -Pre-determination!

UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (6th Myth "Human Conscience") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ,

Myth 6: Human Conscience

The myth of 'human nature' begot the myth of 'human conscience' '. an innate ability to distinguish right from wrong. Universally accepted as fact, it has also been called 'the voice of one heart' and 'the inner light, among others. People who digress from the 'right' path are believed to have a 'dead' conscience whereas the 'righteous' ones are said to possess a 'living' heart.

The Quranic View

Rejecting this false notion, the Quran maintains that animals do possess an innate ability to tell the safe frol11 the dangerous; for instance, young chickens do not have to be taught to avoid water while ducklings naturally adapt to it. This is termed 'animal instinct.' But Man has no such ability:
'And he (Man) beckons Evil as though it was Good;

Man is hasty!'
That is why Man needs divine help to tell right from wrong, bad from good. He is horn into the world with his slate blank. He becomes what his environment makes him. His attitude regarding Good and Evil is determined by his social upbringing. That is his conscience. In other words, human conscience is the 'internalized society.' A Hindu child cannot stand even the thought of meat whereas a Muslim child thrives on it. That is why the Quran says that things are right or wrong not because Man sincerely considers them 50. Fur that, an objective standard is needed which is there in the form of Divine Revelation contained in the Quran.

What we (Muslims) did

Muslims readopted the notion of human conscience which had been so clearly rejected by the Quran. The majority of Muslims continue to believe in it, ignoring the fact that 'right' and 'wrong' is decided by God's Book (the Quran) and not by human 'conscience.' The Divine Word is consistent whereas human conscience varies from one person to another. If human conscience was to decide the validity of an action, no criminal would fall liable for punishment; no capitalist may be blamed for exploiting the worker; no man may be put to shame for subjugating women, and so on. Therefore, the concept of human conscience is a myth. The reality is preserved in the Quran.

UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (5th Myth "Human Nature") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ,

Myth 5: Human Nature

Yet another myth from the world of philosophy, accepted universally as reality, is the one about human nature. 'Nature' has been defined as a constant, unchanging characteristic, or a group thereof, which something or someone possesses. In other words, one's nature cannot be altered. For instance, fire bums, fluids keep their level, lions are beastly, sheep are not, and so on. These natural characteristics are intrinsic to things. That is why things do not need messengers (prophets) from God, as humans do, to teach them how to behave. A goat needs no coaching in its food selection, i.e. yes to vegetation, no to meat; a snake poisonously bites (humans, for instance) not out of conscience choice but is driven by Nature. Such, then, is the state of affairs of all things non-human. But the mystery-loving human mind invented the myth that Man, too, has a nature. This view has been accepted as fact throughout history although no one has been able to define 'human nature.'

The Quranic View

The Quran appeared on the scene and dismissed as false the notion of Man having a nature. It says that Man does have a physical life and, like all other life forms, has some biological necds. These may be put into two categories: self-preservation and self-reproduction. These characteristics are animal instincts not human nature. Above the physical life, Man has the human life. He is not intrinsically programmed with human behaviour. He gets that information not from within but without. Thai is Divine Revelation. Man is entirely frec to adopt or reject this guidance. WJ Thus the Quran declared Man to be different from the rest of Creation in having FREEDOM OF CHOICE, an attribute he shares with God albeit with human limitations.

What we (Muslims) did 

Soon after the Quran having declared man to be possessor of FREE WILL, Muslims adopted the old concept of 'human nature' as an article of faith. Furthermore, following the Torah, they formed the view that 'Islam is the religion of Nature and God has created Man in His own image.'

'Religion of Nature'

Despite repeated pronouncements of Islam being the 'religion of Nature', one fails to find an interpretation of the tem1. The concept appears to be nothing more than '(mere) words (names) which you and your ancestors (have) coined: At best, the concept is illustrated by a hypothetical case of a child who, if shielded from all indoctrination and allowed to develop naturally, will surely grow up to be a Muslim. Akber, the great Mughal emperor of India, is reported to have tested the theory by actually having an infant scnt to the wilderness. The child is said to have grown up mto a beast. Apart from this unconfirmed report, some time ago a human child was found in an Indian jungle. The 'animal' child was hospitalized in the Indian state of Utter Pradesh. Despite expe11 endeavors to 'humanize' him, the kid remained and eventually died an
'animal'
The fact of the matter is that Man has no nature. He is free. He has certain potentialities which he, of his own choice, can manifest into reality. God has given Man the guiding principles of life. If man follows that divine guidance to realize his potential, he will achieve individual welfare as well as collective success. Otherwise, life becomes a hellish existence which, incidentally, is amply evident from the current state of affairs of our world.

UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (4th Myth "Reality of the Universe") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ

Myth 4: The Reality of the Universe

It is widely believed that myths arc only a product of religious superstition and are not to be found in philosophy. But, it is not so. The most conspicuous example of philosophical mythology comes from Plato who is widely considered to be the original thinker.

Plato's illusion

He maintained that the physical universe around us docs nOI really exist The real universe is the 'World of Ideas' of which the physical world is a mere shadow. Plato's highly convincing argument and captivating logic spellbound humanity. His concept of our universe became the basis of a variety of philosophical movements, paralyzing the functional potential of mankind. The concept of the Universe as being unreal renders it unattractive and unworthy ofhuman conquest.

Islam A Challenge to Religion ( Quranic Social Order) by Ghulam Ahmed ParewzI

THE RABUBIY'AH ORDER-ITS AIM AND SCOPE

(Quranic SOCIAL ORDER)

I. The Rabubiyyat Order of Society

The main aim of the socio-political group, which embodies the Rabubiy’ah Order, is to provide the individual with full scope for self-development. Its basic principles are that the individual is the focus of value and that the group exists to enable the individual to develop and express himself to the full extent of his capacity. It lays primary stress on personal worth. A society based on these principles will be composed of free individuals, each enriching his life by working for the enrichment of all life, and each moving onwards by helping others to do the same. This society should be judged by the solutions it offers for the social, political and economic problems that confront all human groups. We will first consider the economic system it advocates.

Islam A Challenge to Religion ( Survival: individual and collective) by Ghulam Ahmed Parewz

SURVIVAL INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE

 I. Man's Passion for Life

The longing for immortality is deep-rooted in man. He clings to life passionately and recoils with horror from the prospect of extinction. He values life above all things and for its preservation and prolongation is willing to pay the highest price even in terms of pain and misery. For centuries, he has been tirelessly seeking the elixir of life which might enable him to prolong his life indefinitely. Frustration only spurred him on to put forth greater efforts. Man’s passion for life knows no bounds. He wants to live, no matter what the cost may be. At last man realised, and the realisation was extremely painful to