The Human Being is Body and Soul

One other thing that I like about Islam is the equilibrium that exists between spirit and matter, or soul and body; that is, what the soul, which is a burning brand from Allah - Exalted is His Majesty unto Whom it shall return - needs and what the body needs.

The human being is body and soul, two closely related components which assist and counterbalance each other. It is not permissible for the human being to disdain and neglect his body, because the vessel must be worthy of its content. That is why we notice that most, if not all, churches purchase beautiful goblets made of pure gold and adorned with precious stones, or of gold-coated silver engraved and filigreed and ornamented with colorful enamel to be used in what Christians call "Divine Sacrifice". We also notice that Islamic art appeared and reached its apogee in mosques that are master-pieces in architecture, sculpture, decorations, inscriptions, abstract drawings, marble and mosaic, all of which plated with gold and silver and decked with gems. This is so because in those mosques the praises of Allah are celebrated and His Name is glorified. Because the mosque is the House of Allah, those in charge of it have given free reign to their imagination to make it a place worthy of celebrating the Name and Glory of Allah.

This Christian view, which existed before and after the advent of Islam, produced many churches and cathedrals considered as masterpieces in architecture, and in all the minor fields of arts which we have mentioned above because, like the mosque, the church is also a House of God. Therefore, the body, being the house of the soul, must be worthy of it.

But Allah - the Great and Almighty - sought, in His Holy Book, to teach the believers that the Hereafter is better than this world, for the latter is the temporal world and the former is the eternal abode.

If a balance between the needs of the body and those of the soul is necessary for the stability and equilibrium of the human being, the soul, in its essence, enjoys a higher status and greater importance than the body. If the body is a creation of Allah, the soul is from His essence and a burning brand from Him - the Great and Almighty - unto Whom it will return after the utter destruction of the body.

The Hereafter is the Muslim's fundamental goal which he seeks to reach through a world in which he lives and which he enjoys in moderation. But one is not to forget his share of it, for depriving oneself of the beautiful things in life is not a precondition for entering Heaven. Nor is the mortification of the flesh a precondition for reviving the soul :

"But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion of this world : but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee", [The Story : 77].

"And verily, the Hereafter will be better for thee than the present", [The Morning Hours : 4].

If "wealth and sons are allurement of the life of this world", there is what is even higher more sublime :

"But the things that endure, Good Deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes", [The Cave : 46].

"What is the life of this world but amusement and play ? But verily the Home in the Hereafter, that is life indeed, if they but knew", [The Spider : 64].

"To the righteous (when) is said : 'What is it that your Lord has revealed ?' They say : 'All that is good.' To those who do good, there is good in this world, and the Home of the Hereafter is even better and excellent indeed is the Home of the righteous”, [The Bee : 30].

"But the Mercy of thy Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass", [The Ornaments of Gold : 32].

There is, therefore, a constant reminder that the Hereafter is a better home than this world, and that entering it can only be through good deeds and working righteousness :

"Whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness …", [The Cave : 110].

Islam is the religion of realism; it enjoins upon the human being only what he can bear within the limits permitted by Allah. Allah knows all things; He knows man's ability and endurance; that is why Allah calls man to account and holds him responsible for his deeds.

We believe it would be a good idea to draw a comparison, though brief, between the responsibilities that both religions, Christianity and Islam, place on the believer.

Christ came with religious and moral tenets and principles which weigh the believer down because of his inability as a human being to abide by them.

Of the tenets of the Son of Mary, we will select admirable examples to give the reader an opinion of the veracity of what we are saying :

Matthew 5:44 : (But I say to you), love your enemies, bless those who curse you, (do good to those who hate you), and pray for those who (spitefully use you and) persecute you.

Matthew : 5:39 : But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Matthew 5:28 : (But I say to you that) whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:40 : If anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have [your] cloak also.

Matthew 5:41 : And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Today, the Christians count more than one billion. We do not think that there is one among them who, if slapped on his right cheek, would turn the other to the person who slapped him.

With regard to loving the enemy, blessing those who curse and praying for the persecutors, these are beautiful and marvelous tenets, but their idealism surpasses human limits. If loving one's friends is not always guaranteed and definite, how can it be so for enemies ?

What we have witnessed on the international and Arab scenes and all the successive events which mankind has witnessed since ancient times to date brings us to say that the history of peoples and nations - particularly in the Europe of before the Second World War - is in reality nothing but a record of wars.

Even as late as 1940 wars were still raging in Christian Europe, especially between Germany and France, or between France and Spain, or between Austria and Italy, or between Russia and Poland. No one can claim that wars are an expression of love, pardon and forgiveness.

This is where  the "religious wars," which set Europe aflame for many centuries, come into play. In France, for example, suffice it to mention the St. Barthélemy massacre(*) - St. Barthélemy was one of the apostles and  Messengers of Christ. On this terrible day, the Catholics attacked the Protestants -both Christians - and killed in one night 3,000 of them in Paris while the sound of the bells of the Abbaye de Saint Germain rang out like the wailing of bereaved mothers.

As for the wars which were either led by the Popes or waged with their blessings throughout the years against the Ottoman Muslims, these are too well-known to dwell on here. If the Supreme Pontiff - the Head of the Church and its caretaker - is unable to "love his enemies," how can the ordinary Christian do so ?

Since they were revealed, those great Commandments remained mere ink on paper, and most of the time an ink that was reddened by the blood of the enemies - those who cursed and persecuted others.

From love we turn to another matter: adultery. Christ - Peace be upon him - said : "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart". That is, anyone who looks lustfully at a woman is an adulterer. From this we can easily estimate the number of adulterers.

These examples give the reader an idea about the teachings of Christ; those which surpass human ability and endurance and peoples' ability to abide by them. This is because human nature has its own limits which only Allah knows; that is why Allah says in the Quran : "On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear”.

Furthermore, we notice that Islam permits the believer to look after his own body through eating from the food which Allah has made lawful for him; for the believer must not forget his "portion of this world", but he should commit no excess. He must remain within the limits of logic, and act moderately so that his deeds will not contradict the general Islamic code of conduct and morals. On this point, Allah says :

"O ye who believe! Make not unlawful the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you, but commit no excess, for Allah loveth not those given to excess. Eat of things which Allah hath provided for you, lawful and good; but fear Allah, in Whom ye believe", [The Table Spread : 87-88].