SOCIAL LIFE AND RESPECT
FOR THE STATE
In the Golden Age, the arts and technology will flourish
and develop to heretofore unimagined extents. In addition,
social life will be markedly peaceful. Allah will present
a previously unknown level of beauty to the life of people
of faith who turn to His religion, for, as stated in the
Qur'an, He promises good to His servants who comply with
the Qur'an's morality:
Allah calls to the Abode of Peace and
guides whom He wills to a straight path. Those who do
good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement
will darken their faces. They are the Companions of Paradise,
remaining in it timelessly, forever. (Surah Yunus: 25-26)
In the Golden Age, "the Abode of Peace" promised to those
who "do good" will be present in its true sense. The most
important element that ensures such a life will be strict
adherence to the Qur'an's morality.
How will this peace and tranquility be secured?
As we know, respect, obedience, and confidence engender
social peace and tranquility. In the Qur'an, obedience is
featured and encouraged as an ideal moral attribute. In
many verses, Allah commands Muslims to be obedient. Consequently,
the social life of a community that embodies the Qur'an's
morality is simultaneously an environment in which people
show the greatest respect and obedience to the state.
In addition, Allah forbids people from committing corruption.
There are many verses related to this command:
Eat and drink of Allah's provision, and do not go about
the land corrupting it. (Surat al-Baqara: 60)
Whenever he holds the upperhand, he goes about the land
corrupting it, destroying [people's] crops and animals.
Allah does not love corruption. (Surat al-Baqara: 205)
Do not corrupt the land after it has been put right.
Call on Him fearfully and eagerly. Allah's mercy is close
to the good-doers. (Surat al-A'raf: 56)
Give full measure and full weight. Do not diminish people's
goods. Do not cause corruption in the land after it has
been put right. That is better for you if you are believers.
Do not lie in wait on every pathway, threatening people,
barring those who believe from [entering] the Way of Allah,
desiring to make it crooked. Remember when you were few
and He increased your number: see the final fate of the
corrupters! (Surat al-A'raf: 85-86)
But as for those who break Allah's contract after it
has been agreed, sever what Allah has commanded to be
joined, and cause corruption in the land, the curse will
be upon them. They will have the Evil Abode. (Surat ar-Ra'd:
25)
Seek the abode of the Hereafter with what Allah has given
you, without forgetting your portion of the world. And
do good, as Allah has been good to you. And do not seek
to cause corruption in the land. Allah does not love corrupters.
(Surat al-Qasas: 77)
In compliance with these verses, sincere Muslims strictly
avoid causing any corruption and instigating chaos and conflict.
In a peaceful, stable, and tolerant manner, they always
seek peaceful solutions to problems.
Life in the Golden Age also will be characterized by peace.
People will display the trust and respect they feel for
the state by obeying its agencies. People will no longer
pose difficulties or fight against police or other security
forces. On the contrary, with their tolerant and kind attitude,
those who live by the Qur'an's morality will always side
with the security forces and thereby help them to accomplish
their tasks. The presence of such people will eradicate
anarchy, terror, chaos, enmity, and violence. As a result,
humanity will attain a Paradise-like environment, the like
of which has never been seen before. Conflict, fighting,
and disagreement will be things of the past. On the streets,
people will feel secure and will be able to go anywhere-even
at night.
Our Prophet (saas) stressed in his sayings that there will
be no bloodshed in that period and that peace will prevail:
In this time, one is not awoken from sleep and not
a drop of blood is shed.21
In this time, neither a man will be awoken from sleep,
nor will a person's nose bleed.22
Moreover, the self-possessed and obedient attitude of these
morally excellent people will make it easy to administer
the country. The absence of such vices as greed for material
values and mundane troubles (e.g., striving to make a living)
will put an end to theft and fraud. Violent outbreaks will
not happen, and the pursuit for truth and research will
occupy people's minds. In the absence of anarchy, terror,
corruption, crime, murder, fraud, and so many other evil
deeds, countries will prosper.
This contemporary, civilized, and rational Islamic model,
which will prevail during the Golden Age, will guide the
Islamic world. The walls of bigotry surrounding Islam for
centuries will collapse, and the original religion will
resurface in all of its purity. Societies abiding by the
Qur'an's morality will solve their internal social problems
and become role models for other societies.
21. Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan,
p. 11.
22. Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 44.
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The
Golden Age
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