on the other hand, introducing a grave restlessness into his life, making
him slave to his technological environment, and most catastrophic of
all – creating the means for his own mass destruction. This indeed is a
tragedy of overwhelming poignancy!(8)
He warns us against entrusting our destiny to intellect:
We should take care not to make the intellect our God: it has of course
powerful muscles, but no personality. It cannot lead, it can only serve,
and it is not fastidious in its choice of a leader. This characteristic is
reflected in the qualities of its priests – the intellectuals. The intellect
has a sharp eye for methods and tools but is blind to ends and values.(9)
The result is that, in the words of Jung, "along the great high-
roads of the world, everything seems desolate and out worn.”(10)
So far we have been considering modern society. It is time to turn
to the individual and his problems. It is generally admitted that
modern man is far from being happy. He possesses knowledge,
power and material comforts which were undreamt of by his
ancestors. These, however, have not given him the things he desires
most – peace and happiness. Jung set himself the task of diagnosing
the disease from which the modern man suffers. He reached the
conclusion that while the modern man's body is satisfied, his soul is
not. He is out of tune with the universe. He yearns after unification
with the universe but finds that a widening gulf separates him from
the heart of Reality. Somewhere he took a wrong turning and in the
midst of luxury, is a prey to acute discontent. The poet Iqbal
sounded a similar note of warning. Of the modern man he says:
Love has no place in his life, and intellect, biting like a serpent, keeps
him restless.
He has not enabled Divine guidance to subdue and control his
intellect.
He explores the inter-stellar spaces, but has left the world of the mind
unexplored.
He has captured the power locked up in the sun's rays, but his own life
remains enveloped in darkness (Darb-e-Kaleem).
Modern man possesses wealth, power and vast resources. His
control over the forces of nature and his technological progress are
truly astounding. What then is the cause of his discontent and of the
decline of his civilisation? The Qur'an provides us with an answer.
The cause is within himself:
Allah never changes the condition of a nation until they first change
what is in themselves (8:53).
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 275