Islam can save modern civilisation

In 1977, Maulana Abul Hasan Nadwi, addressed a global audience and conveyed the following dynamic message:

The ‘Modern Age’ is falling into an abyss of destruction. It is bent upon self-destruction and driving mankind to death. It is producing scores of evidence against the human race in the Court of the Almighty, proving that man has no right to live. What are the destructive forces at play? Through teachings of the Qur’an – social as well as moral, individual and collective, Islam does not only fulfill the legitimate demands of the present time, but can also save modern civilisation from ruin and annihilation. The question is no longer one of keeping pace with the ‘Modern Age’; it is now a question of saving the ‘Modern Age’. 

Today, in the world and in our own country (India), only two realities are recognised: power and wealth. Can we engage in serious thought on anything in such an environment? Are people in a mood to listen? The only slogan that can be heard is: ‘Do whatever you want while the sun shines.‘ Moral obligations, ethical values and spiritual ity have no meaning. The talk of saving humanity is dubbed as nonsensical. No one is ready to lend an ear to it.

The world has become so inebriated that it is not prepared to listen to anything sober or earnest. Islam upholds and recognises the just and lawful demands of every age. No system is more fair and equitable than Islam. It has always appealed to the intellect and urged it to remain active and alive. There is a holiday for the Muslim University and the Arabic Madrasas. It may be on a Sunday or a Friday. But there is no holiday for the human intellect. Islam has taught that men of learning should be self-sacrificing and ready to maintain the highest levels of austerity and the most simple standard of living.