Managing Human History
We learn from the Quran that one of the laws of history is the law of ‘repelling’. It has been mentioned thus in the Quran:
‘If God were not to repel some people by means of others, the earth would be filled with corruption.’ (2:251)
The law of repelling here means that God has granted man total freedom, but at the same time He is constantly watching the human world. While maintaining human freedom, He is constantly managing history. On account of this management of history, man’s misuse of freedom does not culminate in any major corruption.
The truth is that the freedom granted to man by the Creator has a special purpose. That is, it is designed for man to develop his personality in this world. This purpose cannot be fulfilled without having freedom. But freedom often leads to the misuse of that very freedom. That is why the Creator is constantly keeping a watch over the evolution of human history, so that the wrong use of freedom never goes to such extremes that the creation plan of the Creator is jeopardized. This was why the Creator put an end to the age of monarchy, through the French Revolution, for the system of monarchy did not allow human freedom.
In 1922 with the establishment of the Communist empire, strict limitations were put on human freedom. This was totally against the creation plan of God. That is why in 1991 the 69-year old Communist empire was dismembered. This did not happen by accident, but was certainly due to the management of history by God.
Now the same process is at work for those who, with self-styled justification, have launched violent movements. It is these kinds of activities which have been characterized as terrorism. This terrorism mostly functions through non-state actors and is totally against the creation plan of God. It is certain that it will have only a limited lifespan.
In my view, this terrorism, whether perpetrated in the name of jihad or in any other name will, without doubt, be extirpated by God. Indeed, we can safely say that the process of extirpation has already started.
The expected outcome of terrorism tells us that probably very soon the post-terrorism age will dawn, and that it will be an age of peace.
In spite of great sacrifices, the terrorist groups have been unsuccessful in achieving their goals. These militant groups have only wrought death and destruction in the world. Consequently, world opinion has turned against them. The terrorists have failed to make any contribution which may be recorded in history in positive terms. This negative result is a clear sign that the Creator has rejected them and that, in Quranic terms, the law of repelling is at work against them. It is almost certain that very soon this terrorism will be rooted out or it will be considerably weakened.
This expected outcome of terrorism tells us that probably very soon the post-terrorism age will dawn, and that it will be an age of peace. Those constructive activities will then be initiated which are desired by the Creator, but which have not as yet materialized due to terrorism.
One of the most important aspects of all activity in the age of peace will be that religion and violence will be practically separated from one another. This separation will undoubtedly usher in a new era of peace for humankind.
The media image of the present world is one fraught with violence. But the situation behind the scenes is quite different—a silent process is going on in the midst of apparently violent activities. This process is taking history from violence towards peace.
According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), there are nine nations which at present possess nuclear weapons. All these countries are facing some problem or the other, but none has used these weapons after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The horrendous outcome of the use of nuclear bombs marked the final stage of violence. When the final form of violence has been used, there are no more commas to violence left. A full-stop is rather put to violence. It is therefore certain that these bombs will never be used again. The utter devastation caused by the use of nuclear bombs in the Second World War sent out a message that the strategy of violence is no longer workable.
There is every sign that human history is marching from violence to peace.
