God’s creation is wonderful indeed. The solar system, of which our earth is but a small part, is vast, varied and orderly and, yet, this system is but one of hundreds of millions, some of which are incalculably larger than it. The countless millions of stars, moon and sun are so arranged and distributed in relation to one another as to produce harmony and beauty everywhere.

In the Holy Quran, God says the following: “Allah created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the requirements of wisdom. In that surely is a sign for the believers” (29:45).

The expression “in accordance with the requirements of wisdom” signifies that there is clear evidence of an intelligent design and purpose in the creation of the heavens and the earth and that a profound and consummate plan exists in all the celestial and terrestrial bodies.

When one ponders on verses in the Holy Quran, one finds that there are very important lessons to learn from the creation of universe. Among others, there is a principle that, to bring perfection to a system, a lot of planning and design is required. Secondly, to get the best positive results there must be harmony and complete tolerance in diversity. Then, to have such a perfect and practicable system there is need of evolution as it had been in the creation of the universe, created by God in six stages and periods.

I believe that evolution is the perfect system to a better and successful change and the system that takes its time will definitely give its fruits. For that to happen, profound education, necessary awareness, long planning, sincerity, faithfulness and a detailed road map are essential.

Otherwise, there cannot be any hope for a secure and prosperous future of a nation or country. And hollow claims of revolution without any road map cannot be fruitful.

During revolutions, when rule of law becomes fragile and fluid, many ill-natured extremists, fundamentalists, terrorists and non-democratic powers benefit from the prevailing circumstances and start their vicious and anti-democratic tactics to gain power, impose their point of view on the rest of the nation or ruin the peace.

In such times, we also find that religious extremists try to impose their ideology or their school of thought on the entire population.

It is also a reality that, in some cases, the oppressed think it is now their term to acquire personal benefits and take advantage of the situation and try to mould the scenario in their favour as much as they can. They, thus, completely ignore and forget the pledges and mantras of a change for the better for everybody.

At times, when striving for power, dominance and personal gains, the basic principles of a stable and prosperous society, such as human dignity, equality, forgiveness, fairness, justice, tolerance and democratic values, are partly or completely ignored.

Hollow claims of revolution without any road map cannot be fruitful

The situation in many countries around the world and especially in the Middle-East, where we saw some revolutions taking place in recent years, prove abundantly clear that no lesson was learned from the creation of the universe.

The situation in Libya is very critical and complicated. In recent weeks, many people have been killed and people are fighting in the streets. It looks like the country is on the brink of disaster and I am afraid such circumstances may lead to civil war.

The situation in Egypt is still not very stable. Two governments were changed in as many years.

Tunisia is also struggling to find its feet.

Syria is still at war after more than three years.

In these conflicts, thousands of innocent people have been killed and there seems to be no end to this bloodshed and massacre.

Recently, a religious scholar who heads a political party in Pakistan and also holds a Canadian passport, Tahir-ul-Qadri, is calling for revolution in Pakistan.

I fail to understand what he means by this and what sort of revolution he wants to bring in the country. Does he have a road map? What are the solutions?

In a two-hour-long speech, he interpreted the Islamic teachings in his favour and urged his followers to struggle to topple the government, take the law into their own hands and attack the security forces and the police if they intervene. If anyone fails to bring about the revolution he is after, they must kill him, he insisted.

His speech was entirely a distortion of facts and misinterpretation of Islamic teachings and he did not address the entire situation with honesty. He omitted the very important fact that Islam categorically condemns taking the law into one’s hands, creating disorder and disobeying the authorities. Holy Quran clearly says that ‘’persecution or disorder is worse than killing’’ (2:192).

This is a grave dishonesty and an injustice.

As far as his revolution is concerned, there is no doable plan. Indeed, the meaning of revolution needs to be understood. A revolution means that an existing system will no longer be acceptable even if certain adjustments were made, that it will have to be totally thrown out and destroyed and a new order created to take its place.

History shows that all changes that have taken place in the world and all successful movements have followed this course.

There must be a clear and workable plan and road map. Mere slogans of revolution cannot bring any positive change.

amjmalta@gmail.com

Laiq Ahmed Atif is president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Malta.