SPIRIT OF ISLAM APRIL 2O18

28 Spirit of Islam Issue 64 April 2018 IN TIMES OF CRISIS Natural Behaviour T IME and again we read news of disasters real or just averted or some other type of dangerous situations and how people later describe their feelings and reactions. One of the most common thing to hear is that people call out to God for protection. Experience enlightens us that when people face a critical situation— when they feel that they are simply helpless to handle it—they cry out to God. This proves that the concept of God is interwoven in human nature. Every human being is potentially aware of God’s existence. The purpose of inviting people to God is to turn this potential into a reality. Inviting others towards God is not something separate from the human personality. When one is called towards God, one is actually being called towards something that is part of one’s own nature. Man has an innate need for something to depend upon in this world, something which he can look up to. To believe in God is to look up to Him alone, while disbelief is to live in veneration of others besides Him. In ancient times, awe of natural phenomena, such as the moon and the sun dominated people’s lives. In the modern age, however, man has become more materialistic, finding fulfilment in such things as wealth, and the greatness of other human beings. Whatever the object of his veneration may be, man is satisfying an instinctive urge in looking up to these things, and depending upon them. There is a natural urge to seek the truth. To truly believe in God is to find the true answer to the human search for a superior. It is to see through superficial forms, the ultimate reality that lies hidden within all things. A believer is one who is not beguiled by the outward splendour of worldly things. He realizes that everything has been created by God. He is not overawed by things of material grandeur, because he knows that they, like him, have been created by God. He does not look to mortals for fulfilment of his needs, for he knows that they themselves are helpless before God—that all are in truth His humble servants. Man has an innate need for something to depend upon in this world, something which he can look up to. To believe in God is to look up to Him alone.