The Hawk went on by singing, The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you
No, I don't wanna fall in love
With you *)
And he said, "The young man asked, again, 'O uncle, Am I wrong if I love my country?' The oldman said, 'O young man! Listen to this,
'A farmer walked through his field one cold winter morning. On the ground lay a snake, stiff and frozen with the cold. The farmer knew how deadly the snake could be, and yet he picked it up and put it in his bosom to warm it back to life.
The snake soon revived, when it had enough strength, and resuming its natural instincts, bit the man who had been so kind to it. The bite was deadly and the farmer felt that he must die. As he drew his last breath, he said to those standing around, 'Learn from my fate, not to take pity on a scoundrel!'
When we examine the world in which we are living in, we find people suffering from crimes, hunger, diseases, mental depression, and many other societal problems. This is a result of their use, misuse, and abuse of their, what is called, natural instincts. Those natural instincts that were given to man by Allah in order to enable him to carry out his role as a Khaleefah properly and effectively is known as Al-Fitrah.
Since these natural instincts are a dominant force in the bodies of human beings, males and females alike, it becomes a dire necessity for us all to adhere to certain laws and principles that will enable us to control our natural instincts rather than having these instincts controlling us.
As human beings, our success in this life and the hereafter depends on the ability to control ourselves, i.e. our natural instincts. Likewise that which elevates us human beings above the animal level is our controlling of these instincts and utilising them properly and effectively, and consequently they will be assets for us rather than liability.
Those who were reduced to the level of being the lowest of Allah's creation are people who cannot control themselves. Who follow their whimsical ideas and opinions. Those who worship their evil desires instead of submitting to Allah's heavenly revealed laws.
Since these feelings and inclinations were endowed to man by Allah, the natural instincts are instinctive, therefore he does not need someone to tell him to act upon them. For example he does not need someone to tell him to love his parents or children, because this is a natural inclination created in him by Allah.
O young man! Natural instincts that exist in humans, are nobler than the instincts in animals, such as the snake mentioned earlier. These natural instincts, imprinted in your heart, aim, above all, to know Allah. Man was created with the instinct of acknowledging monotheism and to prefer it as a religion and way of life over polytheism. Since we were all born with monotheism in us, the rejecters of faith who worship false deities, ascribing them as partners to Allah, have all rebelled against the fair nature in which Allah has created them.
O young man! One of these instincts, is the instinct to distinguish between good and evil. Allah has placed within every human being the instinct to distinguish and differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong, the pure and the corrupted. Every man was given a conscience. So whether the person is a Muslim, Christian, Jew, agnostic or even an atheist he will agree that deeds like murder, stealing, rape and so on, are shameful deeds which are punishable. While deeds like helping the weak, feeding the poor and leading the blind, are noble deeds that deserve a reward.
O young man! Another instinct is the instinct to love honour, power and prestige. Man likes to know that he is appreciated by many. He desires the respect of others. He wants to be held in high esteem by those around him. He becomes frustrated and miserable if he should be rejected, dishonoured and belittled by others. Parents like to be honoured by their children, likewise children like to be respected by their parents. Husbands and wives cherish a marriage which is built on the foundations of love, honour and respect for each other. Therefore a marriage without mutual respect cannot survive. A teacher at school, college, or university adores a pupil who respects him or her even if that pupil is dull. However the teacher despises the pupil who does not show any respect to him or her even if that pupil is bright. This is so because we were born with the natural instinct of loving to be respected and honoured by others. We at times take sides with a person even though the person is wrong because we know that, that particular person respects us. And at times we take sides against a person even though that particular person is ip the right because' we know that, that person does not respect us. This behaviour of ours, is a grave mistake, because when we speak the truth, we gain the respect of those who used to disrespect us. People should not entertain the idea that because of their positions as parents, husbands, wives, teachers, sheikhs, prime ministers, presidents and so on, automatically gives them the right to demand respect from others. Respect cannot be demanded, but instead, respect has to be earned. Therefore children would not respect parents who cheat on each other. Nor will the Muslim community respect a sheikh who supports a corrupt regime which kills Muslims, for the sake of worldly benefits. Nor a leader who claims to be a Muslim but does not govern by what Allah has revealed, but instead fights Islam and governs by man-made laws.
When a person is entrusted with authority and power, but he has no Iman, he becomes proud, haughty and tyrannical. As for the believers whenever they are entrusted with power and authority they do not become proud, ostentatious and tyrannical because they know that only Allah is Al-Qadeer the All-Powerful, Al-Hakeem the All-wise, Al-'Aleem the all-knowing.
O young man! Along with the instinct to love honour, power and prestige, Allah also gave us the instinct of wanting to take revenge, in order to protect ourselves from would be oppressors. Had it not been for this instinct some people would have exterminated others. In regards to this, Allah said,
فَهَزَمُوْهُمْ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰهِ ۗوَقَتَلَ دَاوٗدُ جَالُوْتَ وَاٰتٰىهُ اللّٰهُ الْمُلْكَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهٗ مِمَّا يَشَاۤءُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللّٰهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَّفَسَدَتِ الْاَرْضُ وَلٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ ذُوْ فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْعٰلَمِيْنَ
"So they defeated them by permission of Allah, and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him the kingship and wisdom [i.e., prophethood] and taught him from that which He willed. And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is the possessor of bounty for the worlds." [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):251]
In any society, where the system of retaliation or capital punishment is established, the murderer thinks twice before he carries out his crime. This is so because he knows that if he should kill someone the system would kill him, hence he abstains from murder and consequently he saves his life and the life of his brother. Thus Allah said,
وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
"And there is for you in legal retribution [saving of] life, O you [people] of understanding, that you may become righteous." [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):179]
The crimes of murder, terror and violence have become rife in most countries today because the law of retaliation is simply ignored or even if it is being implemented, its implementation is carried out on the poor with the exclusion of the rich and famous. Since its a natural instinct in us to take revenge whenever any member of our family is hurt or killed by others, Allah gave us the choice of retaliation in the Qur’an. Thus He said,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى ۖ الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنْثَىٰ بِالْأُنْثَىٰ ۚ فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۗ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
"O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother [i.e., the killer] anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him [i.e., the deceased's heir or legal representative] with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that3 will have a painful punishment." [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):178)
Allah has given us the choice of retaliation so as to fulfil our natural instinct. The whole of the Qur’an was revealed to coincide with our natural instincts. Its because of this reason why Islam has gained the title "Deenul Fitrah” i.e. the religion that coincides with all the natural instincts of man.
In this world today, there is no country that governs with the Shari’ah in its totality. Because of this, there is wide spread oppression, terror and gruesome miscarriages of justice. People see every day, their loved ones being killed and nothing is done about it. This occurs even in the so-called civilised nations of the developed countries. Consequently, people are left with no choice but to take the law into their own hands and carry out their revenge on criminals who have offended their relatives and loved ones. This results in these societies saturated with murder and terror. If only these societies had been fair and just by implementing the law of retaliation, they wouldn’t have been reduced to such a low and base level where people are no longer safe in their own homes much less to be safe on the streets.
In reference to the evil and unfair practice of implementing the Shari ’ah on the poor with the exclusion of the rich, the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Usaama approached the Prophet & (to intercede) on behalf of a (rich) woman who had committed theft . The Prophet (ﷺ) said , ‘The people before you, were destroyed because they used to inflict the legal punishments on the poor and forgive the rich. By Him in whose hand my soul is! If Fatima (the daughter of the Prophet (ﷺ)) did that (i.e . stole), I would cut off her hand.’”
