Essay on Society: The responsibility of human beings is to creat a better society

The religion of Islam, if we see it as a sociological school of thought, believes that the changes and transformations of society are not just based upon accident, because society is a living creature, and has unchangeable scientific and human customs.

Human beings have a free will by which they can build and predict a better fate for their society as well as the individual, through their participation in its principles and customs.

The responsibility of human beings is created in the belief that society is like a living creature which reacts according to scientific laws.

Thus, from one point of view, human being means, will, and from another, society, that is custom or tradition.

According to the Qoran, customs are incapable of change and the human being is directly responsi­ble for the individual and society.

Therefore, the human being is free to be active and to work but at the same time, he is obliged to follow the rules existing in nature in order to exercise that freedom.

Personality, in Islam, is not considered to be the creative force. Even the prophets are not considered to be personalities who bring about new customs in their society.

From the point of view of sociology, virtues of the prophets in relationship to other teachers excluding their prophetic function is that they have known and understood the divine hand in nature better than reformers do.

It is because of this that they have been better able to use their freedom as human beings to succeed in their goals in society. History has shown it to be true. The prophets were more success­ful than non-prophetic reformers.

Their first message does not start by gaining access to that in power but by declaring war against them.

Abraham suddenly takes his hatchet and coming to the temple breaks the idols in pieces and hangs his hatchet on the neck of the biggest idol and this way commences his mission.

Thus we find his story, which is a story of torture, fire and burning in that fire. Moses also, suddenly, with an ugly, rough and torn cloak and irregular, knotty, sticks of a shepherd, accompanied by his brother from the desert.

The cradle of all Semite prophets, enters the capital, goes straight to the palace of the Pharaoh and proclaims war with hi hence his story, which is a campaign against Pharaoh.

Croesus (Korah) and Balam Baoor, and deliverance of the Jews from captivity and battle with the army of Pharaoh, total migration and formation of a free society in a free land

Jesus, a lonely young man, without a social position, an un­known fisherman on the shores of the Red Sea, suddenly signalized himself against Caesar and with the spiritual blows of his pure and high soul broke the savage Roman Empire Hence, his story, which is a story of persecution and general massacre.

Mohammed, a young orphan, who used to take the sheep of the Meccans to graze in the outskirts, suddenly, from his seques­tered life in the cave of Mount Hira comes down and declares war against the capitalists.

The slave dealers of Mecca and the farm owners of Taif; against Chosroes (Sassanid Kings) of Iran and Caesar of Rome.

Without delay, the enfeebled of his society, the strangers, slaves, the deprived come round him and thus we hear of torture, flight, homelessness and the continuous war in the way of God.

For a sociologist, to know and understand the religions of the prophets who appeared with their missions from rich homes and went on up the steps of the royal courts.

There is no need for any miracle of words or the art of interpretation or explanation its direction, the world of its research and its international ideal are evident.

Reformers have often expressed better human thesis and slogans in their books but they have not changed their society. They have built no civilizations. It is the prophets who have built societies and histories.

It is not that they have enacted new customs when faced with the divine law as the fascists and hero-worshippers say.

Rather, they have discovered the customs of God in society and nature through their prophetic powers. They attained their goal and their mission by following these customs through their will power.

The theory of accident has no philosophic meaning in Islam either because God actually direct and continuously intervenes in all affairs as accident does not have a logical cause or a final goal, it cannot originate in society or nature.

As we have noted, there are four factors, personality, accident, custom and the masses, which affect the fate of societies but from the point of view of Islam.

The most effective of them are the factors of the masses and custom because the masses represent the will of the fabric of the people and custom refers to scientific laws existing in society.

The ratio of the role of each of these factors in the fate of society depends upon the conditions of that society.

In a society where mankind means the mass and the people are progressive, for the most part, and they have reached the highest stage of discip­line and culture, the role of personality is less.

However, in societies which have not reached this stage of civilization like a tribe or a family, a leader or personality can be more effective.

Therefore, in every different stage of society from the point of view of development or backwardness, one of these four mentioned factors has more effect as compared to the other three.