How effective is Islam & other laws? Lets check!

My dear friends and respected elders,

If we look around us, we find that as if humanity has been hijacked by everything evil and corrupt and in an effort to get rid of it the governments keep passing new laws and amending old ones, but Alas! To no avail. In fact they are destined to meet such fate. Have we ever thought why they are so ineffective? The answer is pretty simple. They are man made!

God created man and showed him the way to peaceful and successful life through His messengers that culminated with the coming of the last messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Divine Law which prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought is for all times to come because (as you must have known by now through my repeated mentioning that) he is the seal of the Prophet hood and the logical culmination of the teachings of the all prophets that went before him. There is not an aspect of man’s life which Islam doesn’t throw light upon. It has cure for every ailment, be it at individual or societal level. It not only provides the Laws but is also The most effective.

When we look at the life of our beloved prophet (peace be upon him), we see that when he was blessed with the prophet hood at the age of 40, the first thing he was commanded by God was to invite people to worship none but God. Though we know that Arabs were considered to be the most looked down upon people on earth at that time. So much so that no ruler even liked ruling over them. That period in Arab history (i.e., period before coming of the prophet) was called the days of ignorance. The conditions prevailing in Arab at that time were quite similar in some respect to what is here in India at present. Arabs used to burry their girl child alive, like we do here in India, but due to advancement in science and technology we have left them far behind. Now we get them aborted the moment we get their smell! The poor girl child never sees the light of the day. I once happened to see the news on the TV which said that the most cases of such abortions are recorded in South Delhi amongst the rich class people. All I could say about them that their wealth and education (to be precise - literacy) have gained them nothing. Coming back to similarities between days of ignorance in Arab and present day India, in Arab there were 360 idols installed in Kaa’ba, the house of God. Every tribe had its own god. Quite like here in India, where we have innumerable gods and goddesses.

I could not help but recall at this juncture what I read in the book titled “Common Thread Between Hinduism and Islam” by Shri Shri Ravi Shankar (of the ‘art of living’ fame), presented to me by a very caring friend of mine. Though in his book he has tried to unite Hindus and Muslims (which no doubt is a very good and noble cause), but he has had his facts about Islam absolutely wrong. Just as a building on a week structure may fall anytime, in the same way the relationships which are made on falsehood could break anytime. In his book he has tried to convey that before coming of the prophet in Arabia, Vedic Dharma (if I could recollect properly) was the religion practiced by the Arabs. One can very well imagine what ignorance can result in, in this case lack of knowledge about Islam of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar. He does not realise that he is comparing the dark period in the Arab history with the present day practices of many people in this country. Though in the same book he also mentions that the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been prophecised in the Vedas. Amazing, isn’t it? To me it is because he despite knowing the fact that the last prophet has been prophecised in the Vedas he is apparently not following him (i.e., Muhammad (peace be upon him)). Anyways.. that’s not the topic of discussion.

Despite so many evils and superstitious beliefs like idol worship, burying girl child alive, drinking alcohol and many others, the prophet (peace be upon him) did not address any of these issues initially. Though on the face of it, it looks that he should have first addressed them. But God out of His infinite Wisdom knows best what is good and what is bad for man, as I oftening keep repeating. So prophet (peace be upon him) was commanded to invite people to worship none but Allah. I, as a believer can understand this but for the uninitiated and those who do not know about Islam this might look stupid and meaningless. It will keep looking so because those who are not blessed with Faith don’t know what its like to be awe of God and in love with Him. Can an idol create awe? Nay! None can besides Allah! Neither can anything stop us from going astray. So after the very basic call of unity of God, other commands came.

Now let’s see what makes the Islamic Laws so effective than others. When I say others, I mean all man made laws and other religious laws, which have gone corrupt with the passage of time. (Some people might feel offended when I say that “other religious laws have gone corrupt”. To such people I would request to please read “what is religion” here on my blog.) Islamic Laws are far more effective than any other laws due to the following reasons:

1. For the simple reason that one is divine and pure and the others are not.
2. The Islamic laws make man accountable to God while other laws make man accountable to other mortal men like him. In other words, if you are accountable to government, you can always escape from the eyes of the law and break the law. But when you are following Islam, you always have this fear in you that your Lord is watching over you. As a result, even in loneliness you try to abstain from transgressing the boundaries set by Allah. This is the result of worshipping actual God.
3. The aim of Islamic laws transcends this worldly life and makes man aspire for success both in this world and the world hereafter. It warns him of punishment if he transgresses and gives glad tidings of a never ending award for his good deeds. By doing so, its assures man that your Lord is keeping a watchful eye on each and every move you make and you will be made accountable for what you do on your earthly sojourn on your return to Us.
4. The other laws’ sole aim is to make people follow the rules, irrespective of whether they are against his nature or not. They do not take into consideration the nature of man. Whereas the Islamic laws take into consideration his weaknesses and strengths. It also assures that it doesn’t burden anyone more than one can bear.

In fact that’s the destiny of man made and other laws and they are bound to meet such fate. Whereas, the laws laid down by Islam are beyond compare. Let’s take an example of alcohol and see the effectiveness of the laws made my America and the ones laid down by Islam to ban alcohol.

The USA, considered being the most advanced nation on earth, between 1920 and 1933 attempted to prohibit the manufacture or sale of all alcoholic drinks anywhere in the country. For many years the Anti-Saloon League* had campaigned for a total legal ban on alcoholic drink. It mobilised the Churches and used considerable political influence to elect many ‘dry’ (as supporters of prohibition were known) politicians to the US Congress. Alcohol and drunkenness were seen as the cause of crime, sexual immorality and poverty. Far from being effective it had a negative effect. Prohibition, intended in part to reduce crime, instead helped to produce a huge crime wave. According to president Hoover, prohibition was a ‘noble experiment’ but its failing and the difficulties of enforcement were obvious from the start.

Now let’s see why and how Islam was so effective in implementing the ban on alcohol. The first call of the prophet was not to ban alcohol and the like. His very first call was to invite people to worship none but Allah. Now for the uninitiated, this might look very strange and crazy because to them alcohol has nothing to do with Allah. But dear friends and respected elders, when you construct a building or a house you first lay down its foundations. You cannot build a house in thin air. In the same way for a man to build a healthy, peaceful and successful life, he has to believe in God, as He is to be believed. If this very basic concept is understood, man will be able to get rid of all the evils, both on an individual and societal level. It was this very basic call of Unity of God, which changed the lives of then the most, looked down people on earth into world leaders. It instilled in them love and awe of Almighty which changed their lives forever.

Moreover, Allah in His infinite Wisdom didn’t reveal verses banning alcohol at one go. The prohibition came in stages. This is how it goes:

O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- (Qur’aan, 4:43)

They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." (Qur’aan, 2:219)

Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?
(Qur’aan, 5:91)

Now many of you might say that these days many Muslims also consume alcohol. To answer this, I would say what I almost keep saying when I use the word ‘Muslim’. Please don’t get mistaken by the kind of Muslims you come across in your daily lives. Its very sad but very true also that due to bad behaviour of Muslims people get the wrong the picture of Islam. We have to look at the life of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which is a shining example for everyone who aspires to be successful.

This small example probably might help you in understanding in some way that why I keep calling you ladies and gentleman to Islam. I again repeat that I call you to Islam out of nothing but love, care and concern for you all. Please remember that we need Islam, Islam doesn’t need us. In the same way, we need God, God doesn’t need us.

Please do take care.
May God bless you all and guide us all on the True path. Aameen!

* The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for Prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. The league was an effective and powerful pressure group. In the history of the US, ‘Prohibition’ is the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.