Looking Ahead

More than three years have passed when we broke the shackles of slavery, which had chained us down to a pattern of life alien to our culture, distasteful to our civilization and insulting to our history. Throughout our struggle for Pakistan there was a conscious longing in the hearts of countless Muslims for the establishment of an immortal society in which Islam could come fully to bloom. The establishment of this independent state provided an ample opportunity to the Muslims to translate their aims into actions and their ideals into practice. But three and a half years have passed and no symptoms of the crack of dawn are visible on the horizon. This infant child is not, as yet, firmly set on the course — Islam is yet to come.

The world stands today in the midst of doubt and confusion. The Civilization of Europe, imbued with atheistic materialism, arrogating to itself the wisdom which it conceived lacking in God, is now confronted with its own destruction. The flares of violence and convulsion have soared high. The bloody wolf of materialism is devouring very voraciously the fundamental values of mankind—the invaluable gems, which at one time were an asset to the spectacular glory and high prestige of our society. The fiery ghost of materialism with its lust for power and self-glory is tearing the thread of world peace. World is divided into two warring camps of Capitalism and Communism.

Capitalistic democracies lay great emphasis on individualism but they prescribe no code of living, no purposes for the individual. They have created a society divided into two hostile classes of Capitalists and workers ; a society where man is reduced to an animal of instincts and desires; where morality is not even worth six-pence; where expediency is the measure of virtue and vice; where religion is regarded as the fable of antiquity and a relic of man’s barbaric past; where blood of the poor is sucked in the name of social welfare; where at one end of every city there are dinners without appetites and at the other there are appetites without dinners; where unfettered private property leads to the exploitation of the many by the few; where racial discrimination is rampant; where democracy is but a plea for dictatorship and is a mere camouflage and where the bitterness of moral and physical struggle, the ruthless exploitation of the weak by the strong and the flagrant distrust of man by man has shaken the very foundations of society and is tearing its fabric to pieces. In the capitalist camp discontent is mounting fast and is echoed and re-echoed in the popular verses like:

“We are the hollow men;

We are the stuffed men,

Leaning together

Headpieces filled with straw” (T. S. Elliot)

and

“This is the dead land this is the cactus land” (T. S. Elliot)

Occident is on the brink of an abyss; Future holds bleak prospects and the modern man is:

“Wandering between two worlds, one dead,

The other powerless to be born,

With nowhere yet to rest his head”

and

“There is neither sound nor sigh

To serve I’m for a guide”

The dark shadow of its extreme reaction, we witness on the red horizon of Russia where the “Economic Gods” hold sway; where society has cracked out of the cave of ”Regimentation”; where heavenly authority has been conferred upon a collective body ; where individuality is smashed out; where humanity bleeds like anything ; where man is reduced to the bolt of a lifeless machine; where the devil of “Nationalized Capitalism” has appeared in the garb of the angel of “the dictatorship of the proletariat” and is directing very callously and viciously the fates of hundreds of millions behind the “iron-curtain”; where exists a despotism of” crafty comrades” with the help of their Gestapo force, N.K.V.D. and where the real “paradise” has only descended in the concentration camps of Siberia. These are the conditions in the midst of which we stand. The materialism-ridden world is heading towards a fall. Wisdom has not dawned on the strange creature, man, who claims to be “the lord of creation” even after two devastating world wars and when the stage is being set for an atomic war which may result in the utter collapse of modern civilization. Ah!

“All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The Cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries.
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust”
(T. S. Elliot)

In these conditions Pakistan was born with the ideal to fight these forces of Materialism aid atheism that have spelled disaster and torn humanity asunder. Our belief being, that if a world peace is to be sought, it cannot be in the discovery of Atom Bomb or Hydrogen Bomb but in the discovery of truth and goodness. It can only be sought by following the heavenly code of guidance that will inculcate a sense of social responsibility, a tranquil love and regard for humanity and will develop the moral stamina of the society. That, unless the sun of religious teachings dawns on the skies of Occident and imparts its radiant Divine light, it is impossible for the pale peace crop to regain its green. And that is why in this vast expanse of desert-like desolation with the mirages of Communism and democracy occasionally seen in it, Islam appears as a veritable oasis. Islam not only cures all the moral ills of the individual and brings him back upon the moral course of righteousness, but also rebuilds the society on the foundations of fear of God and the Day of Judgment—a society, which blossoms forth a civilization based on justice, social equality, mutual love and co-operation.

We have fixed a noble and splendid goal before ourselves. We have to establish a new society and carve out a new civilization on the foundations of the tenets of Islam; to be a beacon light to the rest of the world—the world torn and ripped by these vulgar trite and transitory ideologies which the frail human mind was too rash to adopt and too helpless to give upon its way to peace and salvation.

Pakistan today stands in the midst of conflicting forces and divergent ideologies which are trying to tear asunder. Our age is the turning point in the history of Pakistan. The nation has to prove whether her demand for an Islamic Polity was the cry of her conscience — or was mere hot air or tactical propaganda. It is a test that we have to undergo. This is an hour when different ideologies are shaking the steels. It is to be seen, which of them stands the pressure of changing times and comes out of the fire like burnished gold. In this context the responsibilities of the youth of the soil are enormous. They are the centre of all hopes.

There is no denying the fact that we students have an exuberance of dynamic energy, a throbbing heart full of sympathy and determination and a will power undaunted by the tempest of adversity—an asset as well as a liability to the nation—and which can be utilized both for constructive and destructive ends. We know that in students too, different forces are at work. Every kind of effort is being made to misuse this dynamic force. But we also feel that it is a hard nut to crack. Our students know only too well to sort out grain from the chaff. We can say it without any shadow of doubt that a vast majority of the students is prepared to do anything under the sun to prove the truth of their conviction. They can even fight their own kith and kin for the sake of their faith. They may not be united on one platform, under one banner, but they are not indifferent to their convictions and that unity too, can be achieved.

Another group of students is of those who have fallen helpless victims to the engine of “fashion”. They do, without knowing what they are doing. They act, without understanding the acute implications of the task. If they follow west—that is because it is in vogue. If they become communist—that is because the wind is blowing from the Kremlin. They lack, very apparently, an intellectual appreciation of things. They avoid taking pains in floating important ventures and live on the fodder supplied by others. In this attitude, they are not true to their grain. They must realize the importance of the enterprise, they have to embark upon. They must become alive to their responsibility and should not allow the fleeting chord of time to disappear. This age provides an ample opportunity. They must not lose it.

“So here hath been dawning another blue day,

Think, wilt thou let it Slip, useless away” (Carlyle)

Dear friends: We must realize that with our efforts we can translate the dream of an Islamic society into the language of existence, and can show that the inspiration of our conviction is strong enough to make us fight all difficult odds, in raising the society to the highest pinnacle of Islamic glory that with our own efforts we can nip the Islam renaissance: in the bud.

We must choose one of the two and must work heart and soul for that. We can say without the least shadow of doubt that our students want the first.

Then if we want to organise our lives on the path of peace and progress, to follow the tenets of truth, goodness and justice and to save the nation from an impending disintegration and catastrophe, we must begin to follow the precepts of Islam and must suit our conduct to the profession. Mere tall-talk can not suffice. We must shed all petty prejudices and ill-feelings and should, with the energy and alacrity of students, with the zeal and fervor of youth, with the grit and courage of patriots and with the faith and determination of Muslims gird up our loins to fight these forces of evil that have eddied round us. We must join our hands for a noble cause and should struggle to weed out these smoldering evils from the society. Let us begin with honest prose and the Muses will not forbid the banns. Even this is no easy task. But it is one worthy of the youth of the soil and deserves their toil and self-sacrifice. 0 Unity!

“Thou wilt come, join men, knit nation unto nation;
But not for us who watch to-day and burn.
Thou wilt come; but after what long years of trial,
Weary watching, patient longing, dull dential.”

We can hardly catch a fleeting glimpse of this unity. But it is to be acquired. It is indispensable. The Nation cannot stand the test without this unity among the youth, on the basis of their belief, their faith and their conviction — the object for which they can even shed the last drop of their blood. No doubt that the clouds of insolence, lethargy and disintegration have darkened the horizon. But our adherence to a common faith, the unflinching trust in the power of providence and unalterable belief that the Unity of God has yet to prevail throughout the Universe and that the Message of Islam is still to be delivered to the war-torn world by the young generation, makes us certain of the silver lining to these dismal clouds. The voices we hear from all around about the religious awakening of the students bear a promise. They are “The trumpet of a prophesy”. The thing we have to do is to ignite the candle. Great responsibility is our own and success or defeat depends on our own endeavours. We must remember that God helps those who help themselves, as Holy Quran says:

“Behold, God does not change the condition of a people until they change the condition of their inner selves”

And, we present this Magazine to our readers with the firm feeling that the time is ripe and we must unite to vindicate Islam as a practical proposition, thus:

“Come young generations,
Proclaim the fight for truth
Raise up the banners of invincible faith
Build bridges with your life across
The gaping earth blasted with hatred
AND MARCH FORWARD”

Khurshid Ahmad

EDITOR