An Ideal Society

Last Updated on Friday, 30 May 2008 09:18 by Fethullah Gülen Sunday, 01 October 2000 08:00

Groups formed by disorganized and sinful (disobedient) individuals are merely crowds with no esthetic values, people far from the thought of doing good. On the other hand, ideal or complete people carry the qualities of angels, and are monuments of human foresight and comprehension.

We see these qualities in the following Qur'anic verse, as well as in many others: Lo, We have created humanity in the most perfect form and nature. Such people would understand this to mean that they are the most adorned and beautiful form of creation, be it material or spiritual. They enjoy the perfect state of creation, and are conscious of the unlimited gifts they have received.

Comprehending the verse: Humanity took on the burden that the earth, the sky, and the mountains rejected in fear of not being able to carry it out, they perceive that humanity is the sole candidate for reaching immortality.

These people may be considered as travelling the path to becoming a complete person, as long as they continue to develop further the gifts with which they were adorned and to live according to divine inspiration.

Such mysteries like the meaning of life and death, the reason of existence, and our responsibilities storm such people's minds. They think deeply on concerns related to sin, doing good, and being pious. The meaning of catastrophes that harm humanity agitates their minds, the light of divine wisdom shines in their hearts, and the rays of this light reflects on their souls.

All of this allows them to see behind the curtain... Their astonishment and amazement turns into love and affection, and they turn to the Creator of their souls and feel contentment. Souls at this level are not spoiled by Divine benevolence or shaken by its loss, for they see benevolence and loss as one and understand that reward and punishment are the same. While others are spoiled by such favors and descend into pessimism at the first sign of tribulation, ideal people gain even when they seem doomed to lose. They manage to grow roses in the desert, to produce sugar from a dry cane.

Ideal people know that they are being continually tested and refined so that they may attain bliss. Even though they face fatal catastrophes and fall into the most terrible whirlpools, even in those most helpless and distressing moments they hear comforting and consoling whispers from the other world coming from right inside their souls, and bow in gratitude and admiration.

Such people have absolute confidence and trust in God, because they believe and trust in that omnipresent and omnipotent Immortal Power. The pure belief dwelling in the depths of their hearts, their conceptions that give them unbelievable perspectives, and their knowledge and thoughts raise them to such a point that they almost can hear a voice say: "Do not fear, do not be sad! Enter the eternal home of Paradise as a reward for your good deeds!" And then they would witness the most wonderful pleasures of all.

Ideal people try to remain far from sin, for they have designed their lives according to the Divine Law in which they believe so sincerely. And, because they always struggle against their egos, they have no time or energy to engage in ignorant pastimes or bohemian lifestyles... their eyes always watch their Friend's beauties, their minds are on the Hereafter, their hearts are bright and colorful gardens open to visits from spiritual beings... and they themselves are travelers in and explorers of this mystic land and atmosphere...

Worldly people, enslaved to their egos, live to fulfil their carnal desires. Never content with themselves, they feel no tranquility. But ideal people are always at peace with themselves. They are content and, furthermore, place their knowledge and understanding at humanity's service. They courageously devote themselves to ridding the world of injustice and tyranny, and are not afraid to protect their land and honor. And, at times, they gracefully spread their wings of forgiveness over their brothers and sisters.

Knowing that everything but God is mortal and will fade away, ideal people do not bow to that which is not God. They resist the material world's seductive attractions ... evaluate and use in the way of God that which has been bestowed upon them, just like heavenly beings... examine all that occurs, like a scientist in a lab... dedicate their lives to humanity and leave a much better world for the coming generations.

Ideal people constantly pursue God's blessing and strive to be true. Neither their bodily passions nor spiritual goals cast doubt on their sincerity. They value all servants of God as the greatest of people, and appreciate each one as their peer. In their hearts, they melt any harshness or bad feelings coming from others, thus showing how kindness defeats wrong.

In their bright atmosphere, spears of lightning fade away and melt ... Nimrod, a merciless emperor who ordered Prophet Abraham to be thrown into a bonfire, would see his fire dim and turn into a green garden to soothe harsh and ill-tempered souls.

Most of us have not reached this level yet. We cannot confront wrong-doing with kindness. We confront harshness with harshness and hate with hate. We convince ourselves that our thoughts are objective and not really our own selfish desires. Thus we besmirch our struggle in the way of God and lose, although we had set out to gain. If it were not for the Qur'an's own beauty, attractiveness, and life-giving rays, the misconceptions we have caused and the bad examples we have set would have prevented our religious mission from seeing this day.

The Fountain, October-December 2000, Issue 32