by the view that novelists and playwrights had to exercise self-censorship so that their works would not be banned. On the other hand, Western society has moved so far away from the values of those days that some people may wonder whether what remains unacceptable today may be acceptable in future.
In recent years, scientific advancement has posed some very difficult ethical questions, particularly with regard to genetic engineering and medically-assisted conception and pregnancy. Human society has been trying hard to find satisfactory answers to questions such as the following: Who has the rightful claim to the child born by a surrogate mother? If a woman agrees with a couple to bear a baby that is the result of artificial insemination, but later decides to keep the child when it is born, is it enough that she refunds the couple whatever fee they might have paid her in advance? How binding is such a contract? Is it right to use test tube techniques to help an elderly woman to conceive (as in the recent case where a sixty-nine year old woman gave birth through artificial insemination)? To what extent can genetic engineering be used in order to give couples a choice of their prospective child’s sex and characteristics? How about medically assisted suicide: is it right to help terminally ill people to end their lives, if they so desire?
In such matters, it is difficult to determine the extent to which human society can proceed on the basis of trial and error. If the adverse consequences of trials in a particular area are grave and difficult to cure, this may mean that people are subjected to serious problems that they might have been spared if proper guidance was available. We need guidance to avoid areas of danger and to lead a reasonably happy life. Given that human experience cannot provide this guidance, the only source available to us is the Creator: He knows His creation and can determine what will benefit or harm us.
Divine guidance has been given to us ever since humanity came into existence. It is provided in two ways: the first is human nature, when it is sound and uncorrupted by negative influences, and the second is through Prophets. These two work together, as the message preached by Prophets enhances the resources of human nature and ensures that it remains on the right track. We need to remind ourselves here of the definition of prophethood, which is the acquisition of knowledge that is absolutely certain and cannot be gained through human endeavour or experience.
God, according to Islam, is the Creator of the universe and all that exists. He is Absolute, Caring and Compassionate. His knowledge is perfect and encompasses all. In order to appreciate God’s knowledge we may say that it is perfect and independent of time and place. In other words, nothing is added to it as a result of any event in the universe. We cannot say that there has been a point when God did not know something and then learned it: that does not apply to God. As such, God is the only source that can provide us guidance that is perfect and applicable to human life. He has done so through the messages that His Messengers have delivered.
Life after Death
A question that has constantly puzzled humanity is what happens to us after we die. The standpoint of Divine religion is that we will be resurrected for a second, everlasting life when we have to account for what we do in this life and will be richly rewarded if our good deeds outweigh our evil ones. Those people whose bad deeds far exceed their good deeds will be judged by God: He will choose to either forgive or punish them. This Divine judgement will send people to heaven or hell, as God – in His absolute justice and compassion – determines to be fair. He is never unjust to anyone, and His forgiveness may be total. He forgives all sins, including very serious ones, with the one exception of alleging that He has partners of any sort. Therefore, all those who believe in God’s Oneness, accept His message and do good deeds in this present life will be certain to receive God’s forgiveness of their sins and be rewarded for their good deeds.
As this present life of ours is limited and short in duration, while the second life is everlasting, it stands to reason that everyone should prepare for the latter by believing in God and doing good works in this life. When people accept this calling and abide by it, its benefit has a strong influence on man’s life on earth. People who do good are loved and respected by those around them, as they benefit their community. This means that the course promoted by Divine faith will have strong and positive effects on this present life of ours and will at the same time ensure happiness in the life to come.
Some questions may arise here: how can we be sure that there is a second life? What proof do we have of it? People do not come back after their death to tell us what happens after they depart from our world, so how can we talk about the Afterlife in terms of certainty? The proof is found in the fact that God is just and will not allow injustice to triumph. There is much injustice in human life, both at the individual and community levels. Instances of injustice are found everywhere: the master who ill-treats his servants; the employer who pays small wages for highly profitable work; the multinationals who amass huge profits while keeping their third-world workforce under the poverty line; the husband who batters his wife; the parents who abuse their children; and the dictator who tyrannizes over the entire population of a country. The number of injustices in any village, town, city or country is beyond measure. Yet God is just and does not allow injustice to go unpunished.
Unjust situations are prevalent in the world around us, and when an unjust situation develops, attempts are usually made to rectify it. Had this life of ours been an end in itself, these attempts would be successful, and all wrongs would be rectified within it. Man is the most precious of all creatures in our world. Therefore, situations that bring misery in human society should be prevented in the first place and rectified when they occur. However, many remain unresolved, at both the individual and community levels. It is logical, then, to conclude that neither God’s system of creation nor His justice would allow such imperfection in a perfectly designed life system. Therefore, a second life where justice would be established in full is necessary. This is what has been promised by Divine faith ever since the creation of man. This is presented in the clearest terms in the Qur’ān, which embodies the Islamic message.
Furthermore, when we look at life in our world, we find that there are countless balances that must work together in order for life to continue. If any of these balances should be disturbed, even in a small measure, disastrous effects for both man and environment could follow. Such measured balances could not have occurred by themselves, rather they are the product of God’s fine design and perfect tuning of the world we live in. This fine-tuning and balancing also applies to the entire universe. The Creator is unlikely to have established such a perfect design only to abandon it and leave the world to regulate itself without any intervention. This would be like a mechanical engineer who designed a perfect machine then left it to run by itself without considering its maintenance. Rather, God’s guidance provides the insights that man needs to maintain this balance. Such insight cannot be obtained from any other source.
Man has been distinguished from all creatures that live in the world by his free will. We have been afforded the ability to determine how to conduct life. We are certainly affected by the forces of nature and we have little say in their control. However, apart from this, we are able to choose our line of action in practically all situations. This ability places on us a clear responsibility to choose what promotes human life and progress, and what preserves and develops our environment. Responsibility goes hand in hand with accountability. We are accountable to God, and such accountability is held in the life to come. Moreover, it is right that our record is held open before God, because it is He who has given us the means and tools to fulfil the responsibility He has assigned to us. We must not forget that this responsibility serves our own interests, as this requires us to build a happy human life on earth and promote human progress.
The Final Message
God has bestowed guidance upon us in the form of a message, which He delivered to us through a human Messenger who led a normal life in the midst of an ordinary human society. This message was sent to help us discharge our responsibility and to present a good account of our time on earth. Over the centuries, God sent many Messengers with His guidance. They all delivered the same basic message, although there were differences in matters of detail. All religions required people to believe in God’s Oneness, offer their prayers and pay zakāt (i.e. obligatory charity). These are the pillars of Divine faith in all its forms. They constitute the purity of belief, and are based on the acknowledgement