AWHEED AL-MUFADHDHAL

Part 1

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Beneficent

“Intend they to put out the light of Allah with their mouths. But Allah will perfect His light, though averse may be the disbelievers.” Qur’an, 61:8.

There has always existed a tough tug of war between the devilish forces of darkness and ignorance on the one hand, tending to disrupt harmony on the earth, and the forces of peace and order flowing from the sources of light and knowledge on the other. We do not have to go very far to seek out the reason. Man, according to his constitution, is very loath to submit to the discipline of controlled behaviour unless rightly guided by enlightened personalities through precepts and personal examples or forced by some external agonies. The libidinal urges within the human psyche, necessary for human survival when allowed to play within the limits, labor mostly towards extreme limits causing friction within the same human breast by the interplay of mutually contradictory emotions on the one hand and disorderly social conduct on the other due to the competitive rivalries of different individuals and groups yearning to secure the same material goods. The Western philosopher Spinoza has very tersely summed up the situation of humans in his memorable words: “Human beings are like hedgehogs gathered together for warmth.” They would shiver to death if they tried the aloofness of Robinson Crusoe, but they would puncture each other's skins if they came too close together. Each individual's wants of