4. THE FUTURE

Time has always presented a problem to Philosophy and it does so also to Science. Does the past or the future exist? What do we mean by the present? The instant we examine it, it disappears. It is continually coming from the future and moving into the past. Is it smooth, continuous, discrete, linear, cyclic, variable or constant? Is it integral to phenomena or a medium in which they occur? Does it move or do things move along it? Is it one dimensional or has it several dimensions? Is there something outside time and if it is how can it be connected with things inside time? Can it begin and end and if so how?

But to say that time began is a self-contradiction since the notions of “beginning” and “end” can only refer to time in the first place. There must be something we can call Time 2 in which Time 1 has a beginning and an end. This, likewise, must exist in Time 3 for the same reason. There is an infinite regress along a second dimension. But this may not be infinite because it is also circular. This adds a third dimension to time i.e. along the radius. This, if we are not mistaken, is the Religious view. There are finite cyclic times within larger cycles of Time. The notion of the Hereafter appears to refer to a higher level of time than the one in which we find ourselves. The future can only be predicted if by an examination of the past we can establish the existence of certain regularities which always involve opposite poles between which events take place. This depends on the existence of memory in the present. Time must, therefore, be something which contains past, present and future.

According to the Prophet Muhammad Allah is Time.

There are three kinds of dimensions by which things are related:- Space, Time and Intensity. The word intensity is used to indicate that given the same space and the same time, variations can still take place. Gravity and other forces may be regarded as referring to this. These give us the notions of extensity, cotensity and intensity. Time appears to convert intensity into space according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Quantum Theory, we have seen, tells us that a particle is really a bundle of probabilities which collapses into an actual particle, but there are no laws which determine this. It follows also that there are a great many possible futures so that it is not, in fact, determined by the present. The implication is that the present cannot be determined by the past either. We must suppose that the present is created at every instant. The future is, therefore, determined not by mechanical laws but by will. The Real world, therefore, is a world of potentialities. The seen world is an illusion where only one of many possibilities is actualised by the actions, motives or perceptions of the observer. It is his limitations, his expectations, conceptual systems, interests which narrow down his consciousness and produce this world. It follows that if these are changed then the world he sees will also change.

Total Reality may be divided into Actuality, Potentiality and Existence. If you throw a dice, then the probability of it landing with a particular number uppermost, say 5, is one in six. But once it has landed all these probabilities have collapsed into one actuality. Before this all the probabilities were equal and this is also a truth. But suppose the dice were not six sided but only four sided or eight sided. Probabilities now become different. There is, therefore, a world of realities which is beyond that of potentialities which determines what is possible or impossible. The future depends not only on potentialities, but these also depend on this. The future depends on possibilities existing in the present. The present is an actuality which depends on potentialities existing in the past.

The dice do not, however, land with a particular face up by chance. There are various forces involved which determine this but they are too complex and variable for us to discern or calculate. The number of faces the dice have also depends on potentialities which depend on complex forces. All these forces together constitute existence. Given a number of dice or throws it is possible that everyone of the potentialities can be actualised.

The notion of Time is connected with change. If nothing ever changes we could not have any experiences. On the other hand, it is not possible to experience Time unless the impression of the past is left in tact, so that we can compare it with the present impression and there is some kind of continuity between the two. This continuity is also a memory, so that we can distinguish between the recent past and the remoter past. All these memories coexist. Time does not pass away. There is similarity and dissimilarity, change and constancy. The notion of the future arises because the same relationship between the recent and the remoter past is transferred to the present. Time cannot, therefore, be a wholly external phenomenon, but must also involve the observer. We do not say that it is both objective and subjective because the word “subjective” is defined here as something which arises from human fantasy. The experience of time, however, depends on the reality of how human beings are constructed.

An object, however, consists of particles which are in constant motion and also changes. We see it because our perception persists for a duration and this allows certain patterns to reinforce their impressions on us. The past, present and future of an object are seen as a single percept by us. It is not inconceivable that particles coming from the future (e.g. positrons) can create impressions on our minds. The patterns we observe in the environment are transferred to our minds. We can manipulate these and we can also transfer them back to the external world in the form of a construction, or record them on different kinds of media. These processes may well be a universal one, not confined to human minds since the same materials and laws apply everywhere.

It is a matter of observation that all systems left to themselves will reach a state of equilibrium and stability. There cannot, therefore, be any change, unless some external force enters into the system. The whole of existence, by definition cannot have anything external to it. The changes in the world, therefore, arise from some force inherent in this Whole. Since the changes are always towards an equilibrium, we may suppose that there is a direction to this development. We call this evolution. It must, however, be equal and opposite to a process of involution if the Whole remains the same. The implication is that

(a) All changes are driven by these processes.

(b) That Time is two directional.

(c) All changes, it is said, involve changes in negentropy or information. If a change in a system causes a decrease in negentropy or an increase in entropy (disorder) in the environment, then we may suppose that the information has been transferred into the system. The expansion of the Universe is said to be the result of the Second Law of Thermodynamics which requires entropy to increase. If this is so, then we may suppose that information has been turned into space. Conversely, evolution involves contraction of space by increasing the order within a system.

(d) All things are sub-systems within the Whole and created by it, at various levels. Each system experiences the impulses coming from a greater system within which they must find their stability. The original impulse must come from the ultimate Whole.

(e) This applies also to humanity as a whole and to every individual in it. they arise from this original impulse through various stages and must find an equilibrium within these higher systems.

(f) We measure time by comparing external processes with processes within ourselves. We measure Time objectively by comparing different rates of change, usually with the motion of the earth or a clock. This, however, is a one-dimensional view. It does not take into consideration increasing or decreasing order and complexity. Nor does it take into consideration different levels or states of existence. It is not, therefore, a realistic way of seeing things.

 

Human progress can be described in three ways:-

(1) In terms of Science, organisation and technology. This, it is thought, will lead man to space exploration and colonisation, and eventually to the control of the whole Universe.

(2) In terms of Biological development. This may be understood as:-

(a) A general increase in brain function, intelligence and physiological changes.

(b) There may be differentiation according to function or profession. The community or human race may be regarded as a single organism in which the individuals are like different types of cells creating different tissues and organs.

(c) Stratification may occur so that an entirely new species of more conscious, intelligent and able beings will emerge which may use the rest of mankind as mankind now uses animals.

 

(3) In Transcendental terms. There are different levels of Reality. Reality as seen by human beings is not the same as that seen by animals. The latter do not have a culture, science and technology. They cannot understand it, nor live in adjustment to it. Similarly, the view of reality which a modern educated man has is not the same as that of primitive man. We may, therefore, suppose that there is a still higher level of reality with respect to which more highly conscious individuals can live. There is a level of Reality at which we see separate individuals. There is a higher causal level where we see the forces which connect the individuals. There is still a higher level where all these causal forces themselves form a pattern and a greater field.

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Muslims were warned that if they did not follow the religion provided for them and obey Allah then they would be destroyed and replaced by others (10:14-15, 4:33, 35:16), just as the Jews and Christians had also been warned before them by their respective Prophets. Other religions have similar predictions. And, indeed, in each case the prophecy was fulfilled. Western Civilisation dominates the world and the Muslim nations are backward and dominated in all respects. But things do not remain the same. Evolution must continue. There are great problems facing mankind today, most created by man himself, and it is only those communities which can solve them who will achieve the dominant position in future. The suffering caused by these problems themselves provides the incentive to solve them.

 It was also predicted that there would great troubles for mankind as a whole at the end of the present era. There would be:-

(a) A decline of spiritual values, self-discipline and social morality, an increase in cynicism, scepticism, disbelief, illusion, fear, anxiety and stress.

(b) An increase in wars, civil wars, insurrections, disorder, oppression, injustice, crimes, and in the number of false prophets and ideologies.

(c) Increase in famines, disease, pestilences, droughts, floods, storms, earthquakes, and ecological disasters.

 

There would be a return of a Prophet who would initiate a Resurrection (or revival), the gradual introduction of a Millennium of Peace, Prosperity and Spiritual and Social Progress. There would be a New Heaven and a New Earth (14:48, chapters 75, 77, 78, 79), that is, new psychological and physical conditions, a new Mentality and a new Environment.

This period, however, would again be followed by the loosening of Satan, times of psychological and spiritual degeneration, troubles and disasters.

These predictions appear to be based on a knowledge of cycles which a study of History can confirm.

 

The question is : Can this revival be brought about by Muslims? Since religion is said to have been completed in Islam, this should be possible, unless, of course, true Islam will be practised by other people and nations. The Quran does tell us:-

“If He will, He can remove you, O people and replace you with others.” 4:133

 

Consider, however the following verses:-

“Coin for them a similitude: Two men, unto one of whom We had assigned two gardens of grapes, and We had surrounded both with date-palms, and had between them tillage.

“Each of the gardens gave its fruit and withheld naught thereof. And We caused a river to gush forth therein.

“And he had fruit. And he said unto his comrade, when he spoke with him: I am more than you in wealth, and stronger in respect of men.

“And he went into his garden, and while he thus wronged himself, he said : I think not that this will ever perish. I think not that the Hour (of Judgement) will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back unto my Lord I surely shall find better than this as a resort.

“And his comrade, while he disputed with him, exclaimed: Do you disbelieve in Him who created you from dust, then of a drop, and then fashioned you into a man? But He is Allah, my Lord, and I join with my Lord no partner. If only, when you enter your garden, you had said: ‘That which Allah wills will come to pass! There is no strength save in Allah!’ - Though you see me as less than you in wealth and children, yet it may be that my Lord will give me better than your garden, and will send on it a bolt from heaven, and some morning it will be a smooth hillside. Or some morning the water thereof will be lost in the earth so that you cannot make search for it.

“And his fruit was beset with destruction. Then began he to wring his hands for all that he had spent upon it, when now it was all ruined on its trellis, and to say : Would that I had ascribed no partner to my Lord!

“And he had no troops to help him as against Allah, nor could he save himself.

“In this case is protection only from Allah, the Truth. He is best for reward, and best for consequence.

“And coin for them a similitude of the life of the world as water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of he earth mingles with it and then becomes dry twigs that the winds scatter. Allah is Able to do all things.

“Wealth and children are an ornament of life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord’s sight for reward, and better in respect of hope.” 18: 33-47

 

Could it be that the Vineyards symbolise a Christian Civilisation and the Palm groves symbolises Islam? There are two Vineyards, both surrounded by Palm groves. Could it be that this is a prediction of the decline of the one and the rise of the other, not only as has already taken place in the past, but also in the future?

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Knowledge, it is evident, depends on the kind of actions we take since these elicit the reactions on which experience is based. The future and the development or evolution of man, his societies and the planet itself depends on human actions, values and technologies, and these depend on the language, the knowledge and the basic ideas, attitudes and the world views through which they interact both socially and with the world in general, and these are changing.

According to some views, the Future exists already because it is inherent in the present. According to others it does not exist because it is unpredictable - there are a number of alternative possibilities. It is our actions which make the selection. And yet all human actions are designed to produce results in the future. We cannot, therefore, ignore the future. But the actions themselves are in the present. The Prophet Muhammad, as did Jesus, recommended that people should not consider or work for the future, but do that which is right today. The future is in the hands of Allah. The Law of causation will ensures that the present will produce the future. The connection between past, present and future depends on the existence of certain regularities or laws. This not only allows us to predict the future, but act to change it. On the other hand our present knowledge and actions depend on our past actions. There being a law which governs the motion of the sun we predict that it will rise tomorrow. These Laws, however, refer to a range of probabilities - they restrict these probabilities. There may well be other processes which will cause the sun to cease rising in the future. No doubt the predictions made by Prophets depend on such regularities. It is obvious, however, that these regularities depend on Allah, not on man. It is only through knowledge that man can predict or plan for the future. This ability, therefore, is limited by the amount of knowledge he possesses, the language he has to describe and communicate it, the efforts he makes to acquire knowledge and to improve the capacity for acquiring it. This too depends on what he does in the present. His relative knowledge and ignorance will determine his fate.

However, several things about predictions and prophecies need to be considered:-

1. In order to predict what will happen we have to know all the factors involved. This is never the case. Our prediction is likely to be falsified by the intervention of some factor coming from outside our sphere of knowledge. It is, therefore, never certain. The only way of ensuring certainty is (a) either by creating conditions which exclude all sources of interference, (b) or by having an expanded consciousness of world processes as a whole. This requires a true Prophet. (c) It is, in fact, reasonable to predict that something unpredictable will happen from time to time. And it is even possible to calculate the average probability of the frequency with which it might happen.

2. On the other hand Time may be a dimension like space so that from a transcendental point of view the past, present and future coexist, and there are rare people who possess consciousness at this level.

3. We cannot ordinarily study the future in detail. The prediction is, therefore, always vague and can be interpreted in numerous ways. It is only after an event has happened that we can see that a particular interpretation is correct. The prediction then has no value. It becomes hind sight.

4. If, by considering present trends, we can forecast what may happen in the future, then it is possible to take actions which will prevent it happening, thereby falsifying the prediction. This has value.

5. Some predictions are so attractive that the prediction itself is a factor which creates the motives and actions leading to their fulfilment. This, too, has value. But it is not then so much a prediction as a technique or an incentive.

6. For most of us, predictions tell us about present trends not about the future, unless they refer to the Laws of the Universe as a whole. It is likely that prophecies are not so much factual statements about the future, as having a purpose.

7. It is also likely that a prediction is part of the nature, not only of man, but of all things. It is connected with the inertia inherent in all things. The tendency is to continue along the same line, cycle or progression. The past and future are built into the present. Certainly man is constantly engaged in speculating, taking risks, planning. There is certain statistical likelihood that things will continue as they are. It is much more useful and wiser to behave as if they will continue than to be inactive because of uncertainty. If the unpredictable occurs only then will change in behaviour be required.

8. Since our knowledge is limited we have to trust in experts. This creates three problems:- which experts to trust, which of their statements to trust, and whether we have understood what they say correctly.

9. Studies of change, progress or evolution show that it is not a smooth transformation, but has the following features:-

(a) There is differentiation causing branching and variety.

(b) After periods of gradual changes crisis points are reached where rapid revolutionary changes take place, such as ice melting into water and water turning into steam as heat is progressively applied.

(c) Lines of development come to dead ends, so that any further progress depends on other lines of development which may have seemed more primitive or backwards.

(d) There are cycles of growth and decline and replacement. The individuals in a community, for instance die to be replaced by a new generation. The same may happen to communities.

(e) There are combinations, disintegrations and new re-combinations giving rise to new phenomena.

(f) Laws are statistical in nature. Though there is an over all direction of development, it applies to masses not to any individual or group in it.

 

It is, therefore, true to say that there is experiment and testing in nature.

  

Religion, it may be argued, is interested, not in the future of mankind, but only in the Hereafter, in what happens to the individual after death, in Eternity, in a fifth dimension. Though it is true that the Hereafter is important, there are several arguments which can be advanced to show that the future is also important:-

1. The Quran is constantly referring to the fate of communities.

2. The actions, motivations and ideas of those who devote themselves to the Hereafter affects the way the society develops. They affect the culture and people around them and these affects continue in forming the character of the following generations.

3. By ignoring the future generations the religion itself comes to an end and there will then be no one left to devote themselves to the Hereafter.

4. Religions are interested not only in individuals but the community and mankind as a whole. Individuals arise from and are dependant on communities both for their physical needs and their ideas. They do not approve of selfish motives as the quest for personal salvation would imply. Charity and mutual help and concern for ones fellows is central to all of them.

5. Most religions make predictions regarding the future.

6. The difference between striving for the future in this life and striving for reward in the Hereafter lies in the difference of values. The former takes a narrow self-centred view while the latter takes a cosmic view and sees man in relation to the scheme of all creation. An action, as already pointed out, can only be done in the present. Its consequences spread out, like the ripples in a pond. The present, if it exists, must have duration. That is, it has its own past and future. Thus, what is the present for man may be regarded as a small section of the Eternal Present. The Hereafter, then, refers to this greater reality.

7. Evolution means that a higher state of integration is achieved. If serial time is represented by a horizontal line, then evolution occurs along a vertical dimension. Every individual who achieves personal development also raises the general level of development because he is a part of the whole community and affects it directly or indirectly.

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The world, according to most religions, including Islam, is heading towards a major transformation which brings to an end the present system. A new earth and a new heaven will arise out of this. This should not be surprising since it has happened many times before both in the history of the Biosphere and of mankind. Indeed, it is predictable from studies in the science of Complex Systems.

“On the day when the earth will be changed to a different earth, and so will the heavens, and they will come forth unto Allah, the One, the Irresistible.” Quran 14:48

“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord...” Old Testament, Isaiah 66:22

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” New Testament, 2 Peter 3:13

 This may well refer to the arising of both a new physical environmental and a new moral and ideological system. Changes in the global climate and even in structure do take place from time to time. World wide ideological changes happen whenever a new major Prophet appears following a collapse of social order. Three things should be noted about these predictions:-

1, Social and psychological developments are not independent of environmental developments. Though human psychological and social conditions affect the environment, environmental developments affect the psychological and social order. The amount of order on this planet depends on the absorption of the radiations coming from the sun and the Cosmos as a whole. The history of mankind broadly speaking can not, therefore, be understood in isolation.

2. There appears to be general laws of Generation at work which apply to all things:-

(a) Change is not linear but cyclic as the Quran points out. There is day, followed by night and then another day. Nature dies as winter approaches and is resurrected in spring. The old generation dies to be replaced by the next. The same applies to whole Societies, Humanity and the Biosphere, the Planets and the whole Universe also. Evolution, however, implies that the cycles do not return to exactly the same point - the cycles are really spirals.

(b) Order appears when certain restricting conditions confine things. This causes disorder to be squeezed out, often in the form of heat. This implies that the original state is homogenous, a combination of order and disorder. Predictability and unpredictability are associated with these and are both inherent in the Whole.

(c) There are points in the development of things where changes of phase also take place - like ice melting into water, and water turning into vapour. These changes of level are not, in fact, as sudden as they appear. A small amount of water turns into vapour at any temperature while the reverse is also taking place. But as the temperature rises this transformation into vapour occurs at a faster and faster rate to a greater quantity of the water. Thereafter, most of the additional heat is used up not in raising the temperature of the water but in producing vapour. However, the process depends on pressure. If the containing pressure is increased, then vaporisation can be suppressed and the water is super-heated. This means greater agitation and inner disorder. The same considerations apply to the Biosphere and to human societies. The history of the Biosphere shows many points of revolutionary change where one kind of life form has replaced another. Thus the idea of continuous creation, which the Quran favours, is a better description of causation.

 

3. What is the point of religion, we may ask, if world events are driven by Cosmic forces. The point is this:- that evolution also depends on how the earth or systems in it, including the biosphere and human societies, absorbs the radiations and produce order - what they absorb, and how they transform it and what they emit. There is, as the above considerations show, a pair of opposite poles between which events move to and fro. Continuity and stability is only possible when some kind of balance can be achieved between the two. To achieve balance is to transcend them, to “flee unto Allah” (51:49-50). Hence Islam is the Straight and the Balanced Path along the 5th dimension. That which has achieved some kind of stability or permanence is transferred to the higher level, while that which has disintegrated is transferred to a lower level. Though the overall evolution is guaranteed, this does not apply to any particular system.

 

If one were to believe certain Scientists and Technocrats then the world in the future will be one of great prosperity, self-fulfilment, progress and the wonders created by Science. Paradise will be built on earth. But such promises have a habit of being falsified as in the case of Atomic Energy. If one believes another set of scientists then the world is about to be destroyed by ecological and geo-physical disasters caused by industrial pollution. But this disaster, it is claimed by some, can be averted by more science and technology. The problem, however, is one of human nature and not of technology. Though science promises much and has enormous potentialities, these can be used both for good and evil. It is the state of man which governs how it will be used. It is not industry itself which is the cause of the destruction, but the combination of technology, greed and ignorance. Wisdom and compassion have lagged behind capability. Destruction, it seems, must always precede reconstruction because man does not learn without suffering, and cannot combine the two in a balanced manner.

 

If, however, we look at present social trends we can make another set of predictions:-

The economic, social, political and psychological situation shows increasing chaos. There is great poverty, deprivation and suffering in one place and great wealth and wastage in another. These differences are likely to increase, propagating ignorance, disease and social unrest, oppression and conflicts. There are increasing periods of economic booms and slumps and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to manage the economy. Human institutions have acquired a momentum of their own, becoming monsters which man cannot control. Technological disasters are making life precarious in many places. There are injustices and political upheavals and civil wars everywhere. Prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and greed are rampant, and racial, national, ethnic, ideological and religious conflicts and extremism of all kinds appear to be increasing. Crime, violence, atrocity, destructiveness, psychopathy, neurosis and perversion are increasingly threatening the social order, which the technology of weapons is converting into a nightmare.

The social system is collapsing owing to undisciplined sexual practices and these bring disease, neurosis, perversions and stresses. Morality, fellow-feeling, inhibition and inner censorship continues to decline owing to the collapse of the family. This will bring about increasing vandalism, delinquency, vagrancy, child abuse and abandonment, social alienation and inadequacy, irresponsibility and indifference, neurosis, prostitution, homosexuality, anti-social behaviour, terrorism, disorder, crime, vandalism and general barbarism. The social, industrial and political situations will continue to increase stresses and tensions leading to all kinds of organic, psychological and moral malfunctions. An increasing number of people will become disenchanted with conditions and opt out of the society. At the same time scientific and technological progress will put ever more power into the hands of people, particularly political and commercial groups in the form of electronic, chemical, bacteriological, genetic, psychological and sociological weapons and devices which will escape social control and be used destructively. All this will make the world ever more dangerous and unstable. Increasing mechanisation, routinisation and standardisation will continue to make an increasing number of men redundant while increasing employment for women. The tendency to reverse the roles of men and women will continue causing increasing frustration for both. Politicians will continue to engage in power struggles, in irrational and ineffectual debates regarding superficial and relatively irrelevant matters, in terms of narrow, traditional and obsolete concepts and mutual abuse, and continue to create deteriorating conditions, by bad example, ignorance and incompetence.

Mutations in viruses and bacteria will continue to take place, and owing to the artificial conditions of life which have been set up, many of these will find congenial environments in which to multiply, and all kinds of virulent diseases and epidemics will arise and decimate populations. The new environmental conditions and life styles will lead also to the arising of new insects and pestilences. Human technology and consumption will continue to unbalance nature, exhaust the earth’s resources and bring about changes in the weather, atmosphere, land and sea and, therefore, also in their economic and political affairs. The Ecological system of this planet will get worse, and there will be an increasing number of floods, storms, droughts, earthquakes, pestilences, heat and cold waves, famines, and other natural disasters, some of which are certainly caused by human technologies, over population and over exploitation. Industrial and civil accidents and disasters of ever greater volume will take place.

Science and Technology have not improved man, nor increased his understanding of the human function, or even controlled nature. Civilisation is a thin veneer. The motives behind human behaviour, interactions and conflicts are lower than those of apes. The causes of these are attributed to population pressure, technology and economic conditions, but the causes of these are social conditions, and these in turn are caused by the psychological conditions - by human limitations, their greed, selfishness, hedonism, egotism, prejudices and the resulting stupidity. And the causes of this are the lack of psychological and social integration. Human beings are increasingly trapped in vicious circles where their condition produces mental states which produce the very conditions on which those states depend. It is likely, therefore, that except for scientific and technological progress, the culture and art will continue to degenerate, becoming cruder, less skilful, inspiring and elevating, increasingly devoted to perverse kinds of entertainment and escapism. The increasing problems of mankind will bring forth new ideologies, leaders, self-appointed prophets and would be saviours, and people will flock to them. But this will increase conflict and human limitations will cause them to fail.

 

In this scientific and technological age many people are excited by the possibility that mankind may in the near future break out of this earth and begin to populate other planets in the Solar System, the Galaxy and even the Universe and may encounter other species of intelligent life with civilisations at various stages of development, more primitive or more advanced. This would certainly be a new age comparable to the birth of a child from the womb into the family, and the migration of peoples to other continents.

This possibility depends on the rapid development of science and technology which itself depends on there being rich nations which can afford to do this. It seems, therefore, that there is an advantage in the unequal distribution of wealth.

Advancing technology would solve the physical problems of mankind - of congestion due to an expanding human population and of the relative scarcity of resources - of space, materials and energy. Everyone could grow richer and their opportunities for education, health and political freedom would expand. But would it solve the moral and psychological problems? Would they still suffer from psychosis, neurosis and psychopathy, and continue quarrelling with their neighbours? Would Political and commercial powers still exploit and oppress them? Would there be inter-species or inter-planetary wars as there were inter-racial and international ones on earth? Would they waste the resources of these other planets and create pollution? Would the increased prosperity lead to further degeneration or would the new challenges help their further evolution? How does this future help the individual who would still grow old and die?

 

Another set of predictions comes from the study of the technological impact on social and political trends. As technology advances, human labour is replaced with machines, and the gap between the owners, the rich and powerful, one tenth of the population of the world, and the rest of humanity, the nine tenths, is increasing. A new separate species of man is emerging. This species uses common humanity as human beings once used the beasts of burden to do their work. Nine tenths of the world’s wealth and resources is in their hands and permanently circulates within this group. These are the intelligentsia, people who work in ideas and symbols. They commune and interact mostly with their own kind, inter-marry among themselves, and isolate and fence themselves off from the others in well protected and guarded homes. They do not live where the others live, and do not use public transport or other public facilities, but have their own living districts, air transports and gathering places. While congestion and squalor increases everywhere else, they live in the most spacious, luxurious and artificially enhanced places. As computers and communication technology become more powerful, information, money, instructions, documents, pictures and speech can be instantly transmitted to and from all the cities of the world, and most of their work and transactions can be done without leaving home. To a large extent they are immune from the unemployment, epidemics, crimes, the political unrest, civil wars and other plights which affect common man. They are progressively losing touch and empathy with common humanity. They can, therefore, be expected to do progressively less for them, and there is practically no cultural or genetic interchange between the two, though some people can still cross over from one to the other. They run the great cities all over the world which are in direct communication with each other. These are much more powerful than the governments within whose borders they live, and exert a dictatorial affect on them. They are States in their own right. The political system is becoming more like a World Oligarchy and both democracy and socialism are becoming obsolete and redundant. The city is becoming an electronic machine, and the increasing need for efficiency and control means that the common citizens are increasingly programmed and regimented to serve its needs. The development of computer created virtual reality means also that people can escape from the real world into one created by themselves, or what is more likely, ones created by a new breed of artists. The need for these increases as life in the surroundings gets harsher because of these developments.

 

Another set of predictions can be based on the following results of research:-

1. Experiments in psychology show that it is possible to get ordinary human beings to inflict any amount of pain and injury on their fellows as long as someone else takes the responsibility for their action. That people have an unlimited capacity for self-justification and rationalisation, that they can turn a blind eye to the most obvious and even see the opposite of what they are presented with. Fear, anger, desire, sentimentality fascination, suggestion and authority have a great affect on their perception, motivation and behaviour and they can be induced to believe almost anything and manipulated into almost any action through these.

2. That the frustrations of life are increasing owing to the restrictions imposed by greater organisation, law, technology and constructions of cities. This frustration creates (a) aggression which must find an outlet. It does so by explosions of violence and destructiveness. Hence also the love of war and violent films etc.. (b) Or it creates perversions which are increasing . (c) Or escapism which accounts for alcoholism and drug addiction.

3. That advances in science and technology have given human beings enormous powers and continue to do so, not only through the sciences of physics and chemistry, but also through biology, psychology and Sociology, and this power can be used for good as well as evil. But the same rational attitude which produces these sciences has caused a decline in values and morality since these are not accessible through logic and mathematics. Therefore, the only method of controlling behaviour is through money, power and force which can also be used for either good or evil. There is an increased struggle for power. The advances in organisation mean that the power of some individuals over others has also increased. This in effect means that the organisations are amoral and increasingly control people in their own interests which need not coincide with that of others or their members.

4. Experiments with rats has shown that if they are confined in congested conditions then they develop exactly the same conditions as those which can be found in human cities. They become introverted, insular, neurotic, psychotic, anti-social, aggressive, homosexual, sadistic and masochistic, destructive and self-destructive.

5. People have become increasingly inter-dependant. There are increasing differences of temperament, perception and motivation, experience and knowledge. Their opinions and ideologies are different. Everyone thinks he is in the right. Unless, therefore, there is some common objective standard to which all are willing to submit, these differences can ultimately only be settled through force, fighting and war. Those who have the greater power will impose their will on those who have less. When there is more or less equal power people take the chances of war. Tyrannies appear to be built into this system. As technological advances create increasing need for discipline and control, States are increasingly obliged to curb freedom and impose order.

These facts create an increasingly greater danger for mankind. Consider the fact that so called civilised and respectable politicians and military officers were willing to use Nuclear weapons to kill and mutilate thousands of people and create great destruction and the general public applauded their actions. Politicians and business men have in the interest of power and profit, created mischief in many countries, producing civil wars, disorder, poverty and starvation.

It may, of course, be the case that human beings wake up to these dangers when conditions become bad enough and take action to reverse these trends. But this seems unlikely because the minds required to do this are themselves produced by the conditions. It needs someone who is above and beyond them and has enough inner power and prestige to do this. Most religions, therefore, look forward to the return of a Prophet.

 

Another set of predictions can be made by considering universal trends. At first we have the material development of the earth. Then we have life, biological development. This is followed by psychological development, e.g. human cultures. The history of life, of mankind and of the human child shows the same stages. There is first a concentration of attention on matters connected with physical survival, then with social interactions and finally with ideas and the inner life. The sciences, themselves, evolved in the same sequence, from physics to biology to psychology. Civilisations, too, appear to undergo similar stages. There is first material and economic development, then a socially orientated culture and finally it enters a much more ideological or spiritual stage.

 It is likely, therefore, that humanity as whole will also evolve in a similar manner. We appear to be moving painfully from a materialistic to a socialistic stage. Political systems have increasingly to deal with social matters rather than merely with purely economic ones even in Capitalist countries. This is forced on them owing to the social problems created by economic policies. It is probably true to say technology has advanced far enough to ensure that there are no real economic problems left. Most problems now are social ones, of organisation and distribution, not of resources and production. Social concerns are much more compatible with the female psyche and women will and are playing an increasingly more important role.

But once social problems have been solved, mankind will be free to devote itself to psychological and spiritual matters. Not only this but the need to solve social problems will force attention on psychological and spiritual matters.

However, any one stage refers to the average or majority. There are always some who belong to the previous or the coming stage. It is only the increase in the proportion of people belonging to a stage which creates the new stage. It is also entirely possible that any particular community or mankind as a whole gets stuck at a particular stage owing to adverse local conditions, and some other creature, perhaps even on some other planet, will continue evolution. It is most likely that the Universe itself follows the same sequence?

But all these predictions may be falsified and human hopes dashed by cosmic events. Meteorites or comets may hit the earth. There may be major explosions in the sun due to factors unknown to us. The solar system in its motions through the galaxy may come near to some other star, thereby setting up huge gravitational, magnetic and electrical forces which change the earth. Perhaps a new Ice Age is approaching because the sun will pass through a gas cloud which absorbs its radiations or because it undergoes cyclic changes of its own. Cracks may appear in the earth because of tectonic movements causing the seas to be sucked in, heated and expelled with explosive force. Perhaps the growth of the Himalayan Mountains is creating problems of equilibrium and the earth will have to adjust its shape. The fossil record shows that mass extinction of life on this earth has taken place before, perhaps several times. It is, therefore, not impossible and may be probable that it will take place again. Perhaps these events are cyclic.

 Perhaps it is not merely human industry which is threatening the weather and the ecological system of the world, but human psychological states are affecting the electrical and magnetic balance of the planet also. The earth itself is an organism which must adjust itself to both external and internal changes. These may create adverse conditions for man. Perhaps the balance of life is such that conditions are created suitable for the arising of new bacteria and viruses which will decimate the population. Human beings also change. New genes may be created by mutations giving rise to entirely different human beings. Perhaps science will discover some new force which will completely alter our view of the Universe and our way of life as electricity has done in the last century.

Though unlikely, given the great distances, the world may be invaded by creatures from another planet in the Galaxy.

 

Jesus predicted (Matthew 24:1-44) that the Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed, and, referring to a prophecy by Daniel (the abomination of desolation), it would be given over to idolatry. Indeed, it was destroyed by the Romans in A.D 70. In the Last Days (which probably refers to the then existing civilisation) there would be wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes and much tribulation. People would become full of iniquity and betray each other; there would be much abomination and many false Prophets (or Teachers) and even false Christs would arise. The Christians would be persecuted, but the Gospel would be preached throughout the world. The sun would be darkened, the moon would not give light and stars would fall from heaven. The Son of Man would then descend in the clouds of heaven. The sun, moon and stars could be interpreted symbolically as referring to degenerate or ignorant religious authorities, and the return of Jesus could simply mean the revival of Christianity and its establishment as the official religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine.

He also predicted the coming of the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26, 16:12-15), who would lead them into all truth which his disciples were as yet unable to understand. Whereas this may refer to the Spirit or Prophethood and the ability to receive revelations or inspirations in general, it could also refer to a particular individual in whom these things were manifest. It may, therefore, refer to the coming of the Prophet Muhammad and another much more complete religion.

His apostles also predicted the moral degeneration of man (2Timothy 3:1-7 and 4:3-4, 2Peter 3:3). Though knowledge would increase understanding would not. They would become selfish, greedy, liars, lovers of pleasure and themselves, boastful, arrogant, unthankful, disobedient to parents, without natural affections, self-indulgent, slaves of their own lusts and prejudices. It can hardly be denied that this prophecy has been fulfilled. People have become materialistic and selfish, dishonest, violent, predatory, dishonest without values and purpose, sceptic and cynical though knowledge has increased. Crime, violence, perversions and cruelty have increased. Though there are still millions of people who adhere to various religions, these have degenerated, become a cause of fanaticism, prejudice, bigotry, superstition, hypocrisy, exaggeration and emotional excesses. The religious leaders themselves show lack of faith, are almost daily exposed in scandals and the Christian Churches particularly modify and adapt their teachings and practices to the prevailing secular tendencies rather than the opposite as religion should do.

The Book of Revelations predicts that there would be great conflicts, violence, turmoil, destruction, famines, disease, earthquakes and death. In chapter 11 we are told that after the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, religion was divided into two parts. The outer part of the temple was given over to the gentiles (those who did not belong to the true Religion) and the inner, higher or esoteric part. The temple would remain derelict for 42 months (probably meaning 1260 days or years), and two witnesses (symbolised by two olive trees and two candlesticks) would prophesy for 1260 days (or years) but would be persecuted by Satan and killed. But their dead bodies would not be buried. After three and a half days (or years or perhaps 3.5 years = 42 months = 1260 years) they would ascend into heaven. The kingdoms of the world would then become the kingdoms of God and His Christ. In chapter 12, Religion (symbolised by “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”) has a child, who was destined to rule the world, but is persecuted by Satan (symbolised by a Dragon). The child was taken up to God, and religion escapes into and hides in the desert to be fed for 1260 years - i.e. true religion becomes Esoteric for this duration. This child could be a prophet or a dispensation of religion associated with him, and could be either Jesus or Muhammad. In chapter 13 an anti-Christ (symbolised by a Beast) would arise, taking his power from Satan and would lead mankind astray. In chapter 14 onwards we read that these events would be followed by the coming of the Lamb of God, a Christ or One like the Son of Man (verse 14) who would take control, defeat Satan and there would be a general resurrection. Exoteric, orthodox or organised religion (symbolised as a Whore or Babylon - Rev 17: 3-5) which had degenerate owing to an alliance with political and commercial interests (Rev 17:2, 18:3- 9) would be destroyed and a new heaven and a new earth would be built. A new Jerusalem would descend from God out of heaven to direct affairs.

Chapter 11 is either a summary of what happens in the following chapters in which case the two witnesses could mean Jesus and Muhammad, or else it refers to something prior to what happens in the following chapters in which case it refers to some other Prophets before Jesus. It is difficult to know when the 1260 years are to be counted. The Baha’i tell us they are lunar years which should be counted from migration of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina and ending in 1840 when the Baha’i religion was founded. It cannot, however, be claimed that the Kingdom of God has now been established.

Though Christians interpret all this as meaning that Jesus would return in person, and only Christians would  be saved, the words do not indicate this. The people who would enter heaven would be innumerable coming out “of all nations, and kindred and peoples and tongues” (Rev 7:9) and would have “the seal of God in their foreheads” (Rev 9:4). Nor did Jesus teach Christianity as found today and there is no indication that any of the Great Teachers wished to set up a separate sect. The Book of Revelations speaks of things happening in Heaven or the Collective consciousness. It could mean that the Word of God, or a Prophet representing the Word, would come or that his teachings or Spirit would reign. It can be pointed out that the Jews were expecting Elias to return, and though John the Baptist denied that he was Elias, Jesus said that he was (Mark 9-11-13, Matthew 11:13-15 and 17:11-13). He was, therefore, speaking about someone with the same function. The Quran tells us that all prophets are one in function. The Hindu scriptures tell us that an Avatar would come to bring about regeneration whenever there was a deterioration of humanity. The Buddhists believe that another Buddha would come in similar circumstances. All these probably refer to the same event.

 

The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) predicted future developments as follows:-

The Muslim community he had established would gradually degenerate soon after his death, until there was very little left of Islam. This degeneration would be the result of the shortage of learned and intelligent leaders. However, there would arise reformers from time to time to purify and regenerate the religion. An Anti-Christ, the Dajjal, would arise among the Muslims of the Middle East who would take over control and establish an evil Empire, ruling for forty years. No doubt the degenerate condition of the people, as well as the chaos caused by the increasing problems which this brought about, would ensure that he would offer a tempting solution and obtain a following. However, this would make the human condition still worse. Jesus would descend and re-establish a Civilisation based on Islamic principles. He would rule for forty five years, though the civilisation would last for an indefinite period. There would be a period of spiritual progress, prosperity and peace. Human beings will then be able to develop to their full potential.

We must not, however, suppose that the word ‘Islam’ is used, in this context, in the restricted sense, since it refers to all true religion, namely surrender to Allah or Reality. The basic truth, of course, remains always the same, and Islam is regarded as religion completed. No doubt the specifics of the religion, as in the past, would be adapted for the nature of the people of the time and the new conditions of life.

The problem, however, is this:- How will the people recognise Jesus ? Or which ever Prophet they are expecting? They have not seen him before and they will judge his behaviour according to their own interpretations of past teaching. Not only have these interpretations changed over the years but the Prophet when he returns will have to deal with quite different situations and will have to formulate his teachings in a different manner in order to be understood. He will no doubt be ignored by one section of the population, opposed, ridiculed and persecuted by another section and accepted by still another section which is less conditioned by past interpretations and more open to the teachings on its own merits. In what sense is the new Prophet the same as the past Prophet called Jesus? He certainly does not have the same body. The Scriptures might be speaking of either of a spirit which informs the minds and consciousness of the new age or of someone who has the same function as Jesus, someone who did not introduce a new religion, but reformed, strengthened, deepened, reinforced and spiritualized the previous religion. Jesus did this with respect to Hebrewism which was at the time only a Tribal Religion. On his return he must do so for the more Universal religion, namely, Islam. It may well be that the next person recognised as a major prophet will be accepted by people from all religions and even those who have none at all, thus creating a common universal religion. Those, however, who reject him must perish because they will not be able to adapt to the new conditions. A kind of distillation will then take place.

It is claimed by the Baha’i, a new religion which arose out of Islam in Persia, that Jesus has already returned in the person of Baha-ullah, the founder of their religion. He is said to have descended from a third son of Abraham. Unfortunately, there have been many others who have made similar claims. Needless to say Muslims, Christians and Jews do not accept this, but this is not unusual and it is no proof of either the truth or falsity of the claim. What is certain is that the world is undergoing a rapid technological, ecological and cultural transformation at present, but this does not appear to have anything to do with the Baha’i religion. These changes, however, also require psychological and spiritual changes and it takes a considerable time for religions to spread and bring this about. They do so also by creating reformations in other religions which, if they are true, must contain the same universal principles. If the religion is not true it will have no effect. If it is true then it is still Islam by definition. As far as the Muslim is concerned he needs only to stick to his own faith properly understood.

According to some religions or sects, the human condition will improve only when God takes control of all human affairs, without them having to do anything about it. They are, therefore, looking forward to a time when this will happen. In the meantime they ignore or even oppose all human efforts to make improvements. This causes passivity and paralysis. It also seems to be incompatible with the idea of man’s Vicegerency and responsibility. A different interpretation is required.

To say that man cannot manage his own affairs without the help of Allah is to say that:- It is impossible that improvements in human affairs can be obtained

(a) Without motivations based on a belief and surrender,

(b) Without the higher awareness of reality and

(c) Without the higher abilities inherent in man.

 

It does not mean that Allah will come down to earth and take control of his affairs. But it does mean that someone or several people with a strong spiritual force will arise who can undertake the general spiritual revival or resurrection of man. It cannot be done by ordinary man since he is conditioned and limited by existing conditions.

If our interpretation of the Islamic position is correct, that there will be no further genuine Prophets then human affairs must in future be left to human experts. The return of Jesus may then be interpreted as someone with the limited mission of reviving and reforming religious faith. It is not necessary that he will himself take control of affairs but only that he will shed ideas and influences throughout the world of faith which will cause such reformations to take place.

 

It can be asserted with some confidence that in the future Science will continue to play an ever increasing role and that it will transform the environment, human societies as well as their psychology and ideologies, not only because of its obvious success but also because humanity requires hope, without which it would probably commit slow suicide. This hope was provided by religion in the past, but required faith not knowledge and the exact nature of this hope was a matter of controversy, whereas the progress of science is evident to all. At first it was Physics and Chemistry which caused the changes, now increasingly it is Biology, and in future it will be Psychology and Sociology.

However, several things should be observed about this tendency:-

(a) From the present Cosmological position humanity has no long term hope. The Universe will either collapse in a Big Crunch or it will expand for ever and suffer from a Heat Death, in either case annihilating all things. But science is not complete and this idea may change.

(b) That science itself undergoes transformation, not only in its techniques, but also in its attitudes and basic notions. It is not now mechanistic, deterministic and materialistic as it used to be.

(c) It cannot be predicted what new discoveries science will make, else there would be no point in research. The future conditions of life are, therefore, unpredictable

(d) It will no longer be feasible to leave political and social institutions to amateurs. All human affairs, everything, will have to be subjected to scientific investigation and control because the effects of increasing knowledge and its application are seen to have effects on the society as well as on minds which when uncontrolled produce unpredictable and chaotic results. This threatens a dictatorship by experts and great disasters if such experts possess inadequate knowledge or make mistakes. There will, therefore, have to be some kind of social control. Social organisation will have to change something along the lines suggested in the chapters on Politics and Economics in this book.

(e) It is unlikely that religion will disappear since human beings require purpose and motive, and ability as well knowledge. It will, however, continue to be modified as knowledge progresses. Religious ideas cannot continue to be understood in the same way as in the past. This creates unsustainable superstition. There will have to be a reconciliation between religion and science. The gradual convergence between them is already evident. Science, as well as Politics and Industry must gradually be re-absorbed into Religion to create a unified life.

(f) It has been observed by many Muslims and non-Muslims that Islam already contains a unified system. But lest this assertion be misinterpreted, it must also be said that such a future unified system cannot be like Islam as understood in the past or by backward people, nor in a sectarian sense. It could, however, be regarded as transformed or deeper Islam.

(g) Though human beings have achieved much in science and technology, both these as well as their social, political and economic systems are limited by their capacities. But there are incentives, forces and tendencies in science and technology to force the further development of human capacities. They force awareness, education and effort by stimulating increase in knowledge through research and the development of intellectual powers. People who have the capacity to do this will be more successful and reproduce themselves better. There is, therefore, an unrecognised, spiritual dimension to them.

But this is off-set by a degenerative tendency. The less educated tend to reproduce more supported by the State through taxation. Many people with genetic defects, whom nature would not have allowed to survive and reproduce, can do so because of medical intervention, or technology gives them abilities which they do not inherently possess. Technology, through machinery, computers and television discourages physical and intellectual skills and produces passive rather than active individuals. The society itself creates and protects the weak. There seems to be deterioration of will power, courage, self-reliance, and purposiveness.

It is, however, possible to argue that the community is an organism in its own right where the strength, muscle or limbs are provided by one section which enables and protects other sections which represent the brain, heart and skills. These though weaker and unable to survive by themselves, produce the very characteristics which give superiority to humanity. Unfortunately, a great number of these people are not socially useful and may even be regarded as parasites or cancers on the social body.

The problem is that it has not yet been decided whether human beings are to be regarded as a collection of separate individuals, as parts of a social machine, as organs of a super-organism, or as aspects or agents of some transcendental psychological or spiritual unity. Each of these creates different attitudes, motives and policies. It is generally believed that there is only a political choice between individualism and socialism, the latter being regarded as a totalitarian State which, owing to bad experiences, has been rejected by many people. Socialism is connected with an attitude arising from Physics and the machinery it creates. As Biology advances the organic idea of a community may become more acceptable. But the truly religious attitude, which is much more psychological in nature, will probably become generally acceptable only in a more distant future. In the meantime, like other factors in the history of the world, it will be protected and cultivated by a small group which will gradually expand as conditions become more suitable, aided by its own activities.

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It is the hope and intention of some Muslims to produce, in their own countries, political and economic systems, which are in line with modern western standards. Muslims, particularly in the west want to be ‘modern’, ‘progressive’ and ‘advanced’ , or want to be regarded as such in Western eyes.

This desire besides being quite irrational and merely imitative is also harmful and, therefore, the reverse of admirable. It is not a wish to behave and conduct their affairs in a rational or ethical manner. And it ignores the fact that modern tendencies are leading to ecological, social and psychological disaster because of wrong attitudes and the consequent accumulation of problems.

If, however, the view is advanced on rational grounds, this usually means that they have abandoned Islam and accepted Western modes of thought. This modernisation is to be done by accepting western standards, and adapting Western technologies and methods of organisation. This requires the separating of the religious from the secular, making the one into a purely personal matter and the other into public policy.

If they still count themselves as believers, then they justify it as follows:-

The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:-

“If I tell you something about your religion accept it. But if I tell you about anything else then I am but a human being.”

The Quran tells us that the function of the Prophet is not to govern or impose, but only to convey the religious message.

“Say: Obey Allah and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, then it is for him to do only that wherewith he has been charged, and for you to do only that wherewith you have been charged. If you obey him, you will go straight. But the Messenger has no other duty than to convey the message plainly.” 24:54

“There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error.” 2:256

The Prophet also indicated that the Muslim should travel far and wide in search of knowledge and that this should be applied by Muslims for their benefit.

A distinction between the religious and the secular can, therefore, be recognised. Science, Technology, Art, Politics and Commerce are not Religion. But since religion deals in values which are an aspect of all human activities it must, necessarily, affect all these things. And the values cannot be sustained unless all aspects of life reinforce it. Religion is a unity and cannot be divided in this way. However, it remains the case that Islam cannot be used as an excuse to hamper modern developments in any of these fields, or vice versa.

The Prophet also said:-

“In these times anyone who omits to do one tenth of what he has been commanded will be damned. But a time is coming when anyone who does one tenth of what he has been commanded shall be saved.”

“In the future People will follow a tradition other than mine and give guidance other than mine, so you will find in them both something to acknowledge and something to reject.”

These statements combined with many others made by the Prophet as well as many occurring in the Quran point to the fact that social changes were predicted and considered inevitable. What was suitable at one time will no longer be suitable under the new conditions. People tend to degenerate and religions become corrupt. Adherence to its principles becomes more difficult and, therefore, more meritorious. Corrupt religions should be abandoned.

If all true religions are Islam, then the differences between the various dispensations imply that the forms and methods by which the religion was taught changed according to the needs of the times and people. There were specific changes in the Law. Jesus for instance taught that apart from actual adultery, to look upon a person with lust was itself adultery in the heart. Hebrewism taught the doctrine of ‘an eye for an eye’, but Christianity taught ‘turning the other cheek’. Christianity forbade divorce, but Islam allowed it. Hereditary priesthood as found among the ancient Hebrews was abolished by Jesus, and priesthood of all kinds was removed completely by the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran itself contains changes. At one time only drunkenness at prayer was forbidden, but later the consumption of alcohol itself was banned. When faced with a foreign tradition, it is possible to be selective, to accept what is good and reject what is bad without flouting the principles of Islam.

It is, therefore, possible, so it is claimed, for Muslim nations to undergo a variety of developments which are not incorporated in the Islamic teachings but which the new conditions of life may demand. There has, however, been no proposed solution to the contradictions which exist between the moral, political and economic systems or the financial, social and ideological trap in which the undeveloped nations find themselves. Though many Muslims certainly differentiate between what is good and what is bad, they tend to be imitative and do not realise how things are inter-connected. The result of this attitude must be that the very same problems which have overtaken the West must also overtake the Muslim nations. The bad will be taken with the good, leaving them, perhaps, in a worse overall state. The reason for thinking this is that the Christian nations developed while religion was still strong and there was a gradual transformation of the spiritual impulse into a secular one. The Muslim nations, however, are trying to lift themselves from an already spiritually degenerate state. The leadership is seldom spiritually minded and has little compassion, altruism and feelings of social responsibility.

It is also a question of values and priorities:-

“Of mankind is he who says : ‘Our Lord! Give unto us in this world“ and he has no portion in the Hereafter.” 2:200

“Who so desires the reward of this world, We bestow on him thereof; and whoso desires the reward of the Hereafter, We bestow on him thereof. We shall reward the thankful.” 3:145

“Allah changes not the condition of a folk until they change what is in their hearts. and if Allah wills misfortune for a people there is none that can repel it, nor have they a defender besides Him.” 13:11

 

Islam, like other religions, is primarily interested in human development rather than that of their material environment. Their material situation will improve if their abilities and motives improve, not the other way round. Technological progress is not the same thing, nor does it guarantee human development. The indications are that it produces the reverse. Even an ordinary understanding of evolution does not confuse it with technological progress.

The future, moreover, depends on what we do now. Hopes for the future cause a neglect of the present. This should have been learnt from the tyranny set up under Communism. But the psychological conditions of a people certainly depends to a large extend on the social and environmental conditions. Not many of those whose minds are wholly occupied with the problems of merely maintaining life or political security, and who cannot afford an education, can devote themselves to spiritual development. Conversely, it is only those who are more highly developed who have the capability for solving their social and environmental problems.

It is evident that the revival of a Muslim Civilisation or even the development of Muslim nations on a Western pattern is hindered by the same factors which caused the degeneration, namely the shortage of a capable Leadership. If they are highly educated they are westernised and incapable of dealing with their own peoples. If they are well versed in Islam they do not generally have the education required to establish a modern civilisation. Those who do are few in number. But Learning, in the Islamic sense, implies that a person should be well balanced, that the spiritual, mental and physical factors are coordinated, that the individual can apply the knowledge for psychological, social as well as environmental development. And this is exactly what will be needed in the future, if a stable and balanced civilisation is to be built. Since it created the current problems, it seems unlikely that these can be solved by the kind of leadership mankind has at present.

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NOTES

 

Change and development are built-in into the human condition. Their problems are created and solved in three ways or a mixture of them:-

(a) By the pressure of circumstances e.g. the rise in population, the exhaustion of resources, climatic and geo-physical changes, and conflicts caused by the competition for resources.

(b) Social and political changes which depend partly on circumstances, partly on ideologies and partly on past social conditions.

(c) Ideas, ideologies, philosophies, religions which determine attitudes. There is a difference between those who wish to live in harmony with nature, those who want to exploit it, and those who see the human role as one of responsibility for its development. 

 

There are three possibilities and mixtures of these in various proportions:-

(a) that progress continues to be interpreted as material and technological development.

(b) that it is regarded as improvement in social conditions.

(c) that is seen as psychological development. These give rise to three different types of religion, this word being understood in its broader sense.

 

In the first case, in so far as the human population continues to rise and resources continue to diminish, there are three possibilities:-

(a) that governments increasingly undertake control, organisation and planning of affairs to create a more even distribution.

(b) that the society is increasingly stratified into those who own, control and benefit most from the resources and those who do the work.

(c) that a greater part of the resources are diverted to science and technology with a view to converting presently unusable materials or travelling into space in search of mineral and energy resources or even living space. The Asteroids are said to be rich in minerals and the energy of the sun can be tapped and beamed to earth. It may even be possible to automatise and transfer all or most of the factories to stations orbiting the earth or to the moon, thereby solving the problem of pollution.

 

However, such a project cannot be undertaken by individuals or small companies, but must be organised and undertaken by nations or even through international cooperation. This brings one back into the realm of social and political matters. But social conditions are not independent of human psychology and political conflicts are not only about resources, but also about social and spiritual needs, about differences in values and ideologies, about oppression and injustices, about prejudices, ignorance, phobias and habits. It is unlikely, therefore, that human problems can be solved through technology alone, or through political reforms, particularly as both these depend on the quality of human beings, their perception, motivation and ability.          

 

Apart from cosmic or environmental and genetic or psychological factors, new conditions are brought about by three inter-dependant social factors, namely:- (a), The big increase in population. (b) Technology and (c) Knowledge and Education.

The tendency towards increasing population is built into life. It produces the pressure which drives evolution. The increase in population puts pressure on resources. At any given time or place there is only a limited amount of materials, a limited amount of energy and a limited amount of space, time and also negentropy or order. Competition for them is inevitable. Everyone cannot have everything, but most people want everything.

This problem is solved in several ways:-

1. Various methods of distribution have come into existence. There are in the main four ways of doing this. It was accepted that people could own and control resources in the following possible ways:-

    (a) According to their personal vigour, strength and power.

    (b) According to their work, ingenuity, enterprise, knowledge or skills.

    (c) According to the usefulness of their social function.

    (d) According to their personal psychological merit and development.

 

They are not mutually exclusive but combined in various ways. Even the warrior kings and chiefs of the past could not have achieved their position without the support of others for whom it was an advantage to support them. The Feudal Lords protected the peasantry on whose work they depended. They were also able to put the resources to better use by encouraging the arts, crafts, sciences and organisation. The better economic position of the strong encouraged others to achieve the same qualities. The more able and prosperous had more children and multiplied while the less able did not marry, or had fewer children or greater infant mortality. The competition between those in power led gradually to the growth of organisation in size, intensity of control and complexity. The work of the craftsman also benefits the rest of the society and encourages it to develop the same craftsmanship. The growth of Industrial organisation was encouraged and took a similar form. Governments and Industries always find it necessary to reward and encourage administrators and craftsmen according to their skills and work, or according to loyalty and conformity. Where the sages and saints are honoured, the desire to emulate them also exists.

Thus the direction of development is determined by the systems of distribution which themselves depend on the values held by the community. But an examination of present popular values almost anywhere in the world shows that they are connected with material wealth, self-indulgence, cunning and aggression.

2. Territorial expansion, exploitation of other communities and species. Animals were first used as sources of energy, and later human beings were enslaved for the same purpose. Congestion in particular areas led to invasion of lands belonging to others or domination over them, and this led to oppression and population reducing wars. Expansion remains the aim of Capitalism.

3. The problem is also solved by droughts, famines, organic disease, germs and viruses, pestilences and other geophysical and natural disasters. Cosmic factors cause changes in climate, vegetation, the balance of nature, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. But human beings equipped with a self-preservative urge, intelligence and creativity cannot regard these as real solutions. These are solutions produced by the environment. The advances in Medicine and insecticides have neutralised some of these, but man also produces some of these causes himself.

4. Social, psychological and cosmic factors affecting man; such as intolerance, prejudice and ideological differences. It is likely that many of the wars arise not so much from economic competition, but because frustrations, produced by the way life has been organised, have built up, and these like a volcano explode. There is senseless destruction and slaughter. There are religious, racial and ideological wars. The economic problems are the result, not the cause of this. It may also be the case that excessive and restricting organisation relative to the development of the people, produces this frustration. This excessive order must be compensated for by disorder and destruction.

5. The fifth solution lies in innovation, in training, technology and organisation, by which resources are increased or more efficiently used. New materials can be created, energy can be extracted from new sources, and human powers are extended by machines, instruments and computers. Activity can be speeded up, possibilities are created which did not exist before, and people can migrate to places where life was not possible before. and accommodation can be built upwards and downwards. The advances in medicine, however, have increased the problem by increasing the population and their longevity, though it has also contributed to the ability of people.

6. The sixth solution is human development or evolution. Though this is achieved partly by education, it led to the creation of technology which diverted the energy. Technology has had three effects:-

  (a) It has changed the conditions of life, thereby giving advantages and disadvantages to a different set of characteristics than was formerly the case. It has also equalised the able with the less able.

 (b) It has some evolutional advantages since it requires knowledge, motivation and ability and, therefore, creativity, research and education. It also requires organisation. These developments were accidental in the past, but have now become deliberate policy. The needs for expansion and war stimulated it. It was also encouraged as war became more costly and destructive even to the victor.

  (c) It has degenerative tendencies. It is only the efforts of the few which creates the machines and instruments which all others can use. The majority need make no creative effort. A great number of people are alive today and reproduce who could not have survived in the past. Technology also allows self-indulgent behaviour while militating against self-discipline. The effects of technology, however, go even further. Plants, animals and environments have been cultivated which could not exist by themselves but require constant human efforts to sustain them.

 

Development is, therefore, unbalanced, and tends to diverge from the normal biological or cosmic process. It may lead to the extinction of the human race.

7. The seventh solution is normally provided by Religions which endeavour to align human development with the cosmic process. But this has not been understood owing to the undeveloped or unbalanced state of man. Religions, at the popular level degenerate. But they continue to produce the correct affects on a small section of the population, and they continue to have  modifying influences on all the other social tendencies. There appears now to be a race between the destructive and constructive tendencies. Perhaps it is only the few who have benefited from the constructive tendencies who will survive in the end.

 

There is a limit to both territorial and social expansion at any time imposed by the quality of the technology at the time. At some time the whole world will be covered, and all the people will become wholly interdependent, a single community. Even if the less developed peoples are wholly destroyed by famines, pestilences and wars, they will soon be replaced by the expanding successful peoples. Though there are many charitable organisations trying to relieve such disasters their effectiveness is questionable. People who are debilitated by lack of technology and education and even by the brain damage caused by malnutrition and starvation will merely reproduce the same problems again.

The problem is compounded by the destruction of the global environment caused by the technology of others. But the success of technology and innovation helps to increase the population as well as the desires, expectations and demands per person. The pressure on, and the competition for, resources, therefore, increases, making science, technology and better forms of organisation even more important. High quality education becomes, therefore, increasingly more urgent. But conventional education has limits. It is limited by the quality and capacities of the people. Having placed its emphasis on intellectual development it creates an imbalance which has the tendency to self-destructiveness, owing to the failure to produce an equivalent amount of moral development.

 

The problems of humanity, psychological, social as well as material can be reduced to three main ones:-  (a) The increase in population. (b) The disruption of the social system. (c) Competition and the fear, aggression and selfishness which it breads.

 

The solutions offered by the Western systems are as follows:-

1. The problem of population is to be controlled by birth-control through contraceptives, vasectomies, sterilisation and even abortions. This is to be supported by education and propaganda. The desire for material prosperity itself would lead to it. However, this has not worked on a voluntary basis since indiscriminate sexual activity supported by a culture which stimulates sensuality and pleasure has led to many illegitimate births. Some nations, such as Austria threatened by a severe depletion of the population, find it necessary to stimulate reproduction by offering generous financial incentives. The Catholic Church bans contraception probably in order to ensure the expansion of a Catholic population.

2. The problems of pollution can be solved by education, more and better technologies and government laws.

3. New materials such as plastics, ceramics, super-conductors, smart materials which retain memory of shape or can respond to different stimuli, materials manufactured by bacteria can be created from relatively abundant minerals to replace the metals which are exhausted.

4. New kinds of food can be created through hydroponics, the cultivation of bacteria, the farming of the oceans, and chemical and genetic intervention to increase yields both in vegetable crops and farm animals But this appears to reduce the nutritional value of foods. Insecticides and fertilizers appear to pollute the land.

5. New sources of potentially inexhaustible energy can be obtained by tapping the power of the winds, the tide and the sun as well as that locked up in the atom. Crops can be grown to provide fuels, but this decreases the space available for agriculture. Nuclear energy based on fission, however, has proved dangerous and most such projects are being abandoned. The harnessing of atomic fusion, as in the hydrogen bomb and the sun, has not yet been achieved.

6. The problem of space can be solved by building upwards, downwards, into the earth and into the sea. But congestion beyond a certain limit causes neurosis and self-destruction. Nature itself restores balance. It may also be possible to build satellites and travel to other planets, and it is proposed to colonise them or exploit their resources. But the costs involved in this are much too great and will probably remain greater than the returns which can be expected.

7. Intellectual achievements can be increased by the use of computers. Indeed, sophisticated computers are being designed by computers. Advances in Nano-technology and artificial intelligence promise the creation of cell size computers which can also replicate themselves. These can be used to reconstruct human tissues or human beings, other creatures or robots entirely. Creatures of this kind could reproduce themselves making man obsolete, particularly because he is relatively too stupid. Or implants in the brain could be used to control them. The other thing computers can do is to create what has been called Virtual Reality. Human beings can then escape into a world of fantasies. As it is, many people are, because of television and video plays and computer games, unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy. It may also be possible to keep human brain patterns stored on computer discs in order to re-create a similar human being, multiply him or by manipulation alter these memories to create something different. Thus the illusion of immortality will have been created. Computers are increasingly used to store all knowledge in Libraries where it becomes accessible to everyone through a telephone or radio network to which everyone throughout the planet can be connected. Whereas this gives people great power and makes them more independent, it also allows some through control of the centralised network, to manipulate others.

8. Organisation. Relatively few people are required to do the research, invention and design. Things can be sufficiently simplified, standardised and routinised for everyone else. The rest of the population can be trained and merely has to carry out the instructions. This removes the incentive to development.

9. Computers can be used to control all machinery and automate all manufacture and other work. The whole factory, farm or household could be run by them and even all scientific work. Man will have no incentive to learn anything or make any efforts whatever. Work will be given over to robots and automatic, self-regulating, self-repairing and perhaps, self-replicating machinery requiring less and less human work and supervision. It may even become possible to construct new kind of intelligent animals or human shapes and faculties for various tasks and environments by genetic means or organic engineering. Leisure should increase, releasing human beings for higher pursuits. But, this has merely caused more unemployment. Greater leisure could also mean greater boredom and purposelessness which lead to the excesses designed to relieve it. It could cause more social, political and psychological restlessness and discontent. There are problems of over-indulgence, perversions, and deliberate creation of problems in order to find an occupation to solve them. Conflicts, suicide and neurosis may well increase. It could be that human beings degenerate and that robots become so sophisticated as to take over the control of the world, and that they may be considered to be the next stage in evolution.

10. The quality of human beings and their life span may be improved through the use of drugs, hormone and organ replacement, operations, the production of artificial organs, electronics, brain surgery, genetic engineering, selective breeding, the sterilisation of people of low intelligence or defective genes. The problem is this:-who will decide what a defect is, which characteristics should be propagated and which should be suppressed. It is possible that the same characteristics which are disadvantageous when applied in one way in one situation are advantageous when applied in other ways in other situations. Characteristics are also linked together, so that the removal of some disadvantageous characteristic will mean the removal of another advantageous one. Aggression when socially directed is regarded as a bad thing, but it is regarded as good when directed against an enemy. Aggression, however, is not only something which manifests in conflicts between people. It is required to tackle any problem whatever. The removal of aggression for social purposes may, therefore, cause stagnation. Given the limitations of knowledge and the difference between truth and opinions there is no guarantee that what is regarded as good or bad is in fact so, and that which has advantages or disadvantages today may not be the reverse in the future. If human beings develop then, by definition, the values and motives of the future generations cannot be the same as those of the present day. Human beings would not have developed if apes had control of their future.

11. New methods of education may arise to improve human performance. Other psychological or physical techniques of development may be created which tap hitherto untapped areas of the human mind and brain.

12. Psychological techniques for efficient manipulation and control of human beings are constantly being developed.

13. Motivations. The incentives for progress and development are already built into the competitive society and in government policies. It forces research, invention; better training and education; greater organisation, and more efficient production, distribution and usage. But it also creates conflicts, war and destruction.

14. If war, conflict and tension is to be reduced then competitiveness and aggression must be reduced. It is likely that women will become increasingly more dominant since they are by nature, more loyal, obedient, conventional, and conforming. Even today, the more mechanical and routine work in factories and offices are given over to women. This results in unemployment for men. who can no longer support their families, and women become the bread winners. In highly organised societies, more and more men find themselves forced into an anti-social position to be hunted and persecuted by the authorities. On the other hand the emergence of women into the hitherto male domains has made them more aggressive, and so have the children partly through example and through frustration, neurosis and neglect. This has resulted in a general increase of aggression and violence.

 

All these developments, it is claimed, make religion irrelevant and redundant. Yet these developments are accidental, uncoordinated, and uncontrolled. It cannot matter how great human abilities are if they are undirected. The function of religion is to provide a purpose and direction.

It is observable that many of these tendencies contradict each other. The removal of the competitive tendencies in order to reduce tension and bring peace would also remove the incentives to progress. It may lead to stagnation. Indeed, progress may well be regarded as an illusion since achievements in one direction usually imply regression in another. It is difficult to know where the balance is likely to be, and it is likely to be an unstable one. Most developments are put at risk because of a decline in morality, and this is seen to be so. There is, therefore, an increasing emphasis on the teaching of religion. But if these remain sectarian in nature they will increase conflicts. And if they remain incompatible with other developments then their efficacy will be reduced.

All these developments imply more centralisation and, therefore, greater powers for those in control and greater dependence for the rest of the population. The development of computers and their linking together via the telephone system is creating a network which binds people together ever more closely. It allows governments and other institutions to collect data about everyone and to control their lives. However, it also makes people more independent. By making all knowledge available to each person and by allowing free communication it allows movements, organisations and pressure groups to be set up quickly which can fight government power. The excessive monopolistic power of those who control ideas and information through newspapers, magazines and television can now be broken by all who own cheap computers, the appropriate Desk Top Publishing software and printers.

As for economic developments four distinct tendencies should be noted:-

  (a) Firms, Industries and Companies are growing larger by amalgamation and takeover of smaller firms in order to maintain profits and to increase efficiency. They have become inter- or even super-national. Individual governments have little control over them. Unless there is also an equivalent political development there can be no Democratic control. There is, therefore, a tendency towards political union into ever larger blocks.

  (b) Because of the increasing cost of transport as energy resources run out, there is also a tendency towards decentralisation. It is perfectly possible to divert technology towards the creation of increasingly sophisticated small scale machinery which will enable families or small groups of people to set up independent manufacturing companies and businesses. Education makes people more able but also less pliable and more independent on the one hand and is often a powerful mental conditioning method on the other hand. People want to control their own affairs and resent external interference. All over the world communities are fighting for independence. This struggle is likely to increase.

  (c) There is a tendency for governments to take greater control of affairs. The power of the State is increasing and likely to continue to do so, both in order to control the large firms and to co-ordinate the activities of the numerous smaller firms. Those who can see and act in a much more globally responsible manner and have the appropriate knowledge and expertise must necessarily become more important. Things can no longer be left to personal ambition and greed, if catastrophe is to be avoided. The world can no longer afford to accommodate irresponsible self-seekers. The economy cannot be left to the mercy of gambler on the stock exchange, nor the world ecology to the profit motive. The general harm they cause is no longer trivial owing to the more powerful technology and greater inter-dependence. Governments will have to clamp down severely on such people. Competition will have to give way to greater cooperation. But this may be impossible for nations which are built on principles which were useful in pioneering days. Other nations not hampered by such habits of thought will and are becoming more successful.

  (d) Factories are becoming larger and machinery is becoming increasing more automatic. This reduces the number of people required to man them. Whereas this causes increasing unemployment and differences in wealth, it is a problem which forces the discovery and application of a solution. It is partly solved by contraception and the fact that people are living longer and therefore, have an extended period of retirement. But it will also be necessary to reduce the number of hours people work or to widen ownership. There must, therefore, be an increase in leisure time. This makes people relatively more independent and gives them time for the pursuit of higher values which change the motivations of people. In those who are unable to adjust to this situation it has a wholly degenerative and destructive effect. It may also lead to unrest, insurrection and revolution because people have leisure to think and are less willing to put up with things they dislike. On the other hand the main cause of civil disorder, economic deprivation, may have been removed. But so also will be the incentives to self-discipline.

 

A tension arises between the opposite demands for increasing centralisation and increasing independence. Some kind of reconciling development must also take place. This consists of modifying human nature through propaganda, training and education. Rapid advances in the sciences of psychology and sociology are also threatening to produce far reaching social changes. Techniques developed by these could well be employed by governments, dictators or self-interested power groups, and the enslavement of the population will be complete. Advertisers, shop managers, political agents, publicity agents for various performers, are developing very sophisticated psychological techniques for manipulating people. As all these, and the possibility of genetic manipulation, increase human power and choices, they all present moral problems. It is no longer possible to avoid a deeper and more comprehensive study and application of Ethics.  

The population is increasingly concentrated into larger Cities. The congestion breeds familiarity, removes reserve and inhibition, but also creates problems of relationship and isolation. Methods of controlling the population have to be increasingly employed. Families become smaller. This together with the economic pressures and the need for children to be educated by experts causes women to be increasingly redundant in the home and forces them into the labour market. Women become financially independent and the traditional family collapses. The State is increasingly forced to take over the care of children and the protection of women. The need for increasingly lengthy education postpones marriage. All the values connected with sex, therefore, undergo a change. The function of sex is no longer regarded as being mainly procreation but rather as means for recreation, self-expression and facilitating personal relationships. The distinction between the sexes diminishes and homosexuality becomes normal. A nation, instead of being held together by a network of families must increasingly be held together by a fluid relationship between the sexes and by political, industrial organisation and law. The nation, not the family, becomes the unit. The Law ceases to recognise the rights of individual husband or wife over each other and of the parent over the child. Such rights come to be regarded as unjustifiably selfish and possessive. Jealousy becomes a vice. Sexual modesty and reserve becomes unfriendliness, prudishness and inhibiting, all of which are condemned as anti-social.

Inhibition, in particular, obstructs self-expression which creativity and innovation demand. The community as a whole is taken as the family in which all men are the husbands of all women and the children are a collective responsibility. Many women have become devoted to carriers and lost interest in marriage and children, and have difficulty in conceiving or producing children. An increasing number of men have also become reluctant to shoulder the responsibilities of a family. It has been observed that women who attain positions of power and authority tend to lose their sexual drives. It appears to be sublimated in greater devotion to their careers. This obviously has advantages for a world in which the population is to be controlled. In the male the exact opposite is the case. Those in positions of power acquire a stronger sex drive, while those on the lower rungs of the ladder tend to lose their sexual vigour. This has an evolutionary advantage if it leads to the multiplication of the vigorous. But in a highly organised society it is a disadvantage.

A well organised stable society is one in which social skills and interactions have the greatest importance, the members know their position and functions, are docile and cooperative, concerned above all with security and, therefore, with conformity, conservation, convention, tradition and rules. These are predominantly female characteristics, and create female dominated societies. There is a tendency, therefore, to produce communities resembling those of ants which have remained stable but unchanging for millions of years. They constitute an evolutionary dead end. Societies which are dominated by male characteristics display raw unstructured energy. There is greater individualism, competitiveness, enterprise, experimentation, adventurousness, exploration, risk taking, and bravado. They are volatile, both more creative and destructive, and in constant change and often in chaos. They are associated with more barbarous times.

 

Generally speaking these two characteristics are found in various combinations and there is a tendency to swing from one extreme to another. Islam, as we have seen, requires the two to be balanced. This is done when neither sex inhibits the other, and each recognises the virtues and functions of the other and accommodates them.

As longevity increases, the reduction of the population becomes even more necessary. It may be that children will be born in test-tubes in laboratories and they will be brought up by specialists in institutions. It may be that the nation, like other organisms, becomes increasingly differentiated into specialist organs, and this tendency may well be emphasised by selective breeding and genetic engineering. It may be that only a limited section of the population will be selected and employed for exclusive parentage, both to maintain the population at reasonable levels and for eugenic purposes. They will function as the womb and nursery of the community. States already pay family allowances from taxes and will probably insist on the right to select who this is paid to. If the new generation is brought up with an emphasis only on intellectual prowess, it may turn out to be neurotic or even psychopathic, due to emotional and perhaps even physical stunting, but it may be that this will be regarded as normal. The techniques of training and conditioning will have to be developed to a high degree. Else the present tendencies towards increasing crime, violence, destructiveness, self-centredness may reach intolerable proportions causing the whole system to disintegrate.

But the control of the population may lead to stagnation because it removes the pressures for development. Some communities may die out because of this, while others which still reproduce themselves freely may replace them. And yet many nations find it impossible to develop because an excessive population depletes its resources. Some kind of intelligent balance is required. Where there is no sexual discipline methods of compulsion will become necessary.

However, whereas in the past the pressure for development and evolution was provided by population increase, and took place more or less accidentally, the pressure for it is, as we have seen, now built-into the expansionist nature of modern economic systems. It is provided by the increasing need for research, technology and organisation, which, in turn, require and force more and more education. Education is also provided through some of the new technologies. Television, for instance, is making people more aware of the world they are living in, both the human and the natural. But it is also reinforcing the baser instincts of lust, greed and violence. If this expansionist tendency is curbed because of its destructive effects then stagnation again becomes likely. The quality of education will have to change. It will have to put emphasis on the development of the capacities of the individual rather than merely on training for a particular function.

The problems arising from technological progress, social changes, psychological limitations to adaptability, themselves, exert a pressure to solve them. The educationally backward and maladapted are increasingly disadvantaged and tend to suffer and to die out. Environmental, social and psychological problems will force the State to take greater and greater control. And the power of the State will have to be counter-balanced if tyranny is to be avoided. It is in the interest of all the political, economic and cultural institutions that ability should be cultivated and that the most able should attain positions of power and influence and be rewarded accordingly. There is, therefore, a tendency towards the formation of a Meritocracy. But this may well be controlled by a new Oligarchy, Dictatorship or Bureaucracy. As knowledge and techniques develop, lay opinion become less important and is formed increasingly by various experts. It is no longer a question of the desire to fulfil whims but to solve real problems. There is also a pressure to co-ordinate and synthesise knowledge which would otherwise cause disintegration. The vast amount of knowledge needs to be passed down comprehensively and efficiently, and the teacher must become a much more important figure.

 

There are, therefore, many different factors, trends and possibilities. They can develop and combine in different ways. Anyone of them can take the dominant position, and political systems will differ in different places accordingly. These developments can be accidental and the numerous forms they take may increase misunderstandings, confusion and conflicts, or they can be planned. Human choices and control is increasing and must lead to an equivalent development of responsibility if disaster is to be avoided.

There is nothing in these trends which is necessarily a good thing. It is true that on the global scale the characteristics considered to be more advantageous multiply, while others decline. But this is not true about any section of the whole. One nation can be replaced by another, one species by another, and even the whole planet can be destroyed and replaced by another. Diversity is necessary in order to ensure that global, not sectional advantages may arise. If a world government is formed which imposes uniformity over all the peoples then this advantage will be lost and the likelihood of a major disaster on a global scale becomes more likely.

Humanity is fast approaching a point of crisis where only three alternatives seem possible:-

    (a) Either they will be destroyed and replaced by some other creature;

    (b) Or they will have to be transformed;

    (c) Or else the new stage in evolution consists of a new super-organism, the nation or humanity as a whole.

 

Perhaps these are not alternatives but different aspects of the same thing.

 

Human beings also have psychological or spiritual needs which are felt when physical and social needs are satisfied, though the social system may confine human interest to lower values. It is these higher pursuits which are responsible for progress. Religions which provided higher interests in the past, have also proved to be a source of obstruction and conflict. But man-made ideologies which neglected the spiritual or psychological dimension have been found to be unsatisfactory. They have also led to conflicts and tyrannies, and to eventual disillusionment. The result has been a period of anti-idealism. But because the conditions of life continue to deteriorate, this is followed by renewed idealism. No doubt new ideologies will continue to arise from to time.

There is a world-wide revival of interest in religions. But they cannot remain in the same form as in the past without producing the same problems. Many new cults have been formed and will continue to be formed. Since the times in which a profusion of cults arises is one in which people are receptive, it is also the time when a new dispensation of the genuine religion arises. Because it is more comprehensive and accords with the nature of the people and the times, it grows and sweeps away the other cult. People are, therefore, in increasing numbers, looking forward to the coming of another Prophet who will dissolve the confusion, revive the spirit, unify and transform the world. But people conditioned by a previous religion, modified over the centuries, always oppose the new religion. It is probably necessary that the old forms should have been abandoned before the mind becomes free enough to accept a new form. And if the new dispensation does come then the whole direction of development will alter and all the predictions based on present tendencies will be falsified. It may, however, be the case that an already existing but not very well understood religion begins to be understood better and makes headway and transforms the world.

 

The question is:- will humanity merely change horizontally from one state to another at the same level, perhaps swinging to and fro in a futile manner, or will it be annihilated or will it find a method of vertical development, or will it be replaced.?

Humanity may well be approaching a dead end and the following verses should be taken seriously:-

“Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy. If He will, He can remove you and can cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed of other folk. Lo! that which ye are promised will surely come to pass, and ye cannot escape. ” 6:134-135

Humanity may well be replaced by another Vicegerent who will fulfil his function and continue to develop. Other creatures dominated the earth before man but were replaced. Present humanity, moreover, replaced another human-like creature, Cro-Magnon man, not in the too distant past.

The world was a jungle full of dangerous creatures, a place hostile to man when he first arrived on the scene and lived primitive lives in small communities probably somewhere in Africa, but they developed, tamed their environments and spread through the world. The present human world can also be regarded as a jungle of a different kind. Small single or many interlinked communities, perhaps of a religious kind, modes of thought and ways of life different from common humanity, may be set up. Their history of development will be quite different and in centuries to come they will become a separate species which will dominate the world. Present humanity may shrink not only owing to increase in the death rate through conflicts, violence, crime and accidents, but also through birth control, sexual perversions, neurosis, psychosis, genetic diseases and increasing infertility.

On the other hand the rise and domination of man did not mean the extinction of other species, but merely that man had to manage his environment and the balance between species. The New Man will probably have to do the same. He will, however, remain invisible to the rest of humanity, not physically, but because the latter cannot understand them. It may well be the case that such communities already exist, and have existed for a long time.

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The future is unknown. It is not a fact of knowledge. Striving for the future, therefore, depends on faith.

(a) People used to have faith in the Religions for their future salvation. But conflicts between religions and between religion and science caused disillusionment

(b) This was replaced by faith in Nationality. Though this did not answer personal needs, they could, perhaps achieve some kind of salvation through their children. But the wars, destruction and suffering this caused were ever increasing.

(c) Their faith then turned to the promises of technology. Here, though they had little control over the direction of its development, they could at least participate in its creation and as consumers. But this too, proved, to be a false god. Technology created as many problems as it solved, if not more. The increase in its advantages were neutralised by its disadvantages. Thus faith in the scientist, technologists and, indeed, all authority has been eroded,

(d) A state of cynicism has taken over. But this is a most uncomfortable situation owing to the uncertainty and insecurity feeling it produces. The result is greater insistence on the democratic process, on consultation and the distribution of power and control.

(e) This inevitably leads to faith being placed in people, in leaders and politicians. However, it does not require a great amount of intelligence and observation to show that human beings are full of defects, of prejudices, narrow-mindedness, ignorance, fantasy, superstition, rationalisations, selfishness, irresponsibility, greed, vanity, pride, apathy, and cowardice,

(f) Faith can, therefore, only be placed in human potentialities, and this requires the kind of efforts which will actualise them. This, in its turn, requires an appropriate system of ideas, techniques and guides. This is a Religious faith. It requires Surrender.

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A study of the Christian and Islamic scriptures shows that the future history of mankind is likely to be as follows:-

(1) The spiritual degeneration of mankind, particularly because of the influence of political and commercial interests. This appears to refer to our present times. This era comes to a climax with the rulership of the Anti-Christ. It is however, not necessary to interpret this as referring to a particular man. He may represent a type. To say that he has one eye is to say his view is one-sided, narrow and distorted. He cannot see things in perspective.

(2) The return of a Prophet like Jesus and the establishment of a 1000 years of peace, prosperity and spiritual progress. Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man (Matt 24:30), Daniel and St John speak of “one like the Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13 and Rev. 14:14). We must, therefore, expect a Messenger like Jesus rather than Jesus. To say he comes in the clouds of heaven is to say he comes in times when the spiritual message is obscured.

(3) The release of Satan and the spiritual degeneration of mankind once again. (Rev 20, Several chapters of the Quran, Hadith)

(4) The final Resurrection or regeneration and transformation of humanity; the final Judgement which separates the good from the evil; the final expulsion of Satan. This is accompanied by the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, and the end of death, rebellion and suffering, the achievement or recognition of Eternal Life. (Rev 21, Quran 14:48) There is some difference of opinion whether Paradise will be in heaven or on earth, but this seems irrelevant since the earth is to be transformed and the subject is spiritual regeneration.

(5) Man is to undergo several stages of transformation. (84:19) And the final return to Allah.

(6) The whole Universe, having accomplished its purpose, will be wound up and only Allah remains. (55:26-27). However, this can refer to the psychological condition of the seeker - he sees nothing but Allah.

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