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Aspiring for the realization of this human
ideal has, in the Islamic traditions, been termed as 'Expectation of Solace'.
Its underlying idea is substantiated by the Islamic and Qur'anic principle of
the prohibition of despair of Allah's Mercy. Those who believe in Allah's universal Kindness
can never lose hope, whatever be the circumstances, and can never submit to
despair and despondency. Anyhow, it must be borne in mind that the principles
of the expectation of solace and non-despair of Allah's Mercy have no personal
or group application. They simply refer to Allah's general Benevolence and
Kindness to the entire man kind. As for the exact nature of solace, it is
determined by certain other Islamic traditions and prophecies. Expectation of solace or cherishing of a hope
for the future is of two kinds. One is constructive and dynamic. It is an act
of virtue. The other is destructive and paralysing. It is a sin and should be
taken as a sort of licentiousness. These two kinds of expectations are the direct
result of the two divergent notions of the appearance of the promised Mahdi
which in turn have emanated from two different approaches to historical changes
and revolutions. Hence, it would not be out of place here to refer briefly to
the subject of historical changes. Let us examine whether the historical
developments are a chain of accidental occurrences or a sequence of natural
events. In nature there is nothing really accidental. These two kinds of expectations are the direct
result of the two divergent notions of the appearance of the promised Mahdi
which in turn have emanated from two different Expectation of solace or cherishing of a hope
for the future is of two kinds. One is constructive and dynamic. It is an act
of virtue. The other is destructive and paralysing. It is a sin and should be
taken as a sort of licentiousness. In other words, no phenomenon can come into
existence casually and without a case, though, relatively speaking, there are
incidents which may be regarded as taking place accidentally and just by
chance. If, one morning, you leave your house and run
into a friend whom you had not seen for years and who is passing by your house
at that particular moment, such a meeting will be considered accidental. Why?
Because there exists no natural law that you leaving your house will
essentially be followed by such a meeting or else such a meeting would have
taken place everyday. How ever, it is also true that such a meeting is an
essential consequence of this particular departure at a particular moment in
specific circumstances. When we see that no binding and invariable
sequence exists between a cause and its effect we call the resulting event an
accident. Accidental occurrences are not governed by any universal or general
rule, nor do they come within the purview of any scientific law, for a
scientific law is concerned only with an invariable sequence between specific
conditions and a specific phenomenon. One may say that the historical developments
are nothing more than a series of accidental occurrences, not governed by any
universal or general rule. To support his view, he may argue that a society is
a mere collection of individuals. Everyone of them has his own personal traits
and individual character. Personal whims and individual motives produce a set
of incidents, which lead to a series of accidental occurrences and it is these
happenings which constitute a historical development. But that is not the real story. According to
another point of view a society has its own personality, independent of the
individuals, and it acts as demanded by its own nature. The personality of the
society is not identical with that of the individuals. It comes into being
through the combination of individuals and their cultural actions and
reactions. Thus, the society has its own nature, its own
character and its own rules. It acts according to its own genius and its
actions and reactions can be explained through a set of universal and general
laws. We have to admit that a society has its own
independent personality, because only then can we say that history has a
philosophy and is governed by norms And rules. It is only then that history can
be a subject worthy of deep study and a source for learning lessons. On the contrary, if it is assumed that history
has no personality then only the life of the individuals can be studied and not
the collective life of nations and peoples. In that case the scope of taking
lessons and drawing morals will also become limited to the individual's life.
As mentioned above, there are two contrary notions of history and historical
developments, which, in fact, revolve around the main question whether a
society has a personality or not. The Qur'an and history The expectation of solace, which forms the
subject of the present study, is a question which is philosophical and social
as well as religious and Islamic. As mentioned earlier, it has a Qur'anic
basis. Hence, before an attempt is made to describe the nature of this
expectation, it will be in the fitness of things to throw some light on the
Qur'anic view regarding society and the ever-changing course of its life i.e.
history. It is undeniable that the holy Qur'an looks at
history as a lesson, a precept, a source of knowledge and a subject worth
contemplation and deep thinking. Now the big question is whether the Qur'an
looks at history from an individual angle or a collective one; whether it puts
forth only the life of the individuals for persuading others to emulate the
example of the good and to abstain from the ways of the wicked, or it has an
eye only on the collective life, or at least on the collective life too. In the
latter case, is it possible to infer from the Qur'an that the society, as distinct
from the individuals, has a personality, a life and even consciousness and
feelings? Similarly, is it possible to deduce that groups and nations are
governed by definite rules which are equally applicable to all of them? Due to lack of space it is not possible here to
discuss these questions in detail, but it may be stated briefly that the answer
to all three questions is in the affirmative.[11]
The holy Qur'an, while relating the stories of
the past for the purpose of reflection and instruction, puts forth the life of
the past nations as an admonishing material for the benefit of other people: That nation is gone. They have reaped what they
sowed, and the same applies to you. You are not responsible for their deeds.
You are responsible for your deeds only". (Surah al-Baqarah 2:134-141) The holy Qur'an repeatedly refers to the
subject of the existence of the nations and their duration. For example, Every nation can only live for an appointed
time. When its term ends, it will not remain (alive) even for a single hour,
nor will they die before the appointed time. (Surah al A'raf 7:34 and Surah al-Nahl 16:61) It emphatically refutes the idea that destiny
can in any way be affected by the blind forces of fate. It clearly states that
the destiny of nations is subject to and governed only by the firm and
consistent laws of nature. It says Are they waiting for the punishment which has
been the lot of the earlier people. You will not find any change in Allah's way
(of dealing with such people). (Surah al Fatir 35:43) It also draws attention to a point which is of
vital importance. It points out that the people, by looking at their deeds and
behaviour, can find out for themselves whether a good or a bad destiny awaits
them, for the forces which determine the destiny are just a sequence of
reactions set in motion by their own deeds. In other words, particular acts are
always and invariably followed by particular reactions. Thus, though the course of history is ordained
by the Divine Will, the role of man as a free agent is not eliminated. There
are many passages in the Qur'an which refer to this subject. We quote just one
verse here. Surely Allah does not change the condition of a
people unless and until they change their own conduct, behaviour, customs and
manners.
(Surah al-R'ad 13:11). Notes: [11] See Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, Tafsir al-Mizan (vol. 4,
p. 102 - vol. 7, p. 333 - vol. 8, p. 85 - vol. 10, pp. 71 to 73 and vol. 18, p.
191) |
