We are living in what is described as a post-truth society. It means that the ultimate truth of knowing the reality of there being a Creator of this existence we are living through, and other truths, are deemed less important than personal or political gain.
Premodern humanity tied truth to religion. Western societies regarded the claims of the church as true when related to everything including the solar system and health. Muslims took the truth from the Noble Quran and the sublime Sunnah as expounded by the scholars.
As the period known as the Enlightenment came to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Christian world saw a change in attitude towards religion. Science replaced the church as the source of truth. Muslims also saw some change, but they still kept their faith firmly rooted in the Noble Quran and the Sunnah. The West meanwhile became agnostic, believing that nothing is or can be known about the existence of God, or atheistic (not believing in God).
In the mid-20th century science began to disappoint. Some wonderful things were found through science, but it also brought lies in its wake:
- Whites used the authority of a supposedly infallible science to justify racial inequality. A 19th century scientist like Harvard’s Louis Agassise believed in polygenism which stated that the human races were different species. They used scientific methods to supposedly prove that whites were biologically superior to blacks.
- Medicine also brought confusion in its wake. Thalidomide was a widely prescribed pill in the 1950’s and early 1960’s for the treatment of nausea in women. But by the 1960’s it became apparent that thalidomide treatment resulted in severe birth defects in thousands of children.
As a result, the reliance on science as a source of the truth began to diminish. People took the truth to be their own lived experiences.
Christian society has long built itself on a culture of lies. Kids are brought up on the myth of a fat Santa Claus flying through the sky, or an Easter bunny. This is indicative of the false foundation of Christianity as a whole.
The most important truth for every human being to discover, rich or poor, male or female, is to recognise Allah Ta’ala as the Creator and the One who gives us our existence. Pass this test and Paradise is promised for eternity. Fail the test, and it is the fire of Hell forever. Because this test is so critical, Allah Ta’ala has ensured that whoever sincerely searches for this truth will be guided to it, no matter what the obstacles might be. Converts to Islam will tell you amazing stories of how they found the truth of Islam despite the great trials in their way. This is due to the innate nature of the Fitra or natural disposition built into every human being which guides to the truth if the person seeks it.
From Europe in the 16th Century
In the 1500’s in Heidelburg in what is today Germany, a group of pastors and church scholars began to openly question the Christian belief of trinity – the idea of God being made up of three components. Christians have long struggled with this belief that goes against the fact that God is one. It took the Council of Nicea 300 years after Prophet Esa alaihis salaam to vote to make trinity the core belief of the church. Imagine having to vote for your fundamental article of belief! One of the pastors in Heidelburg was Johann Sylvan who, along with Adam Neuser and others, questioned the trinity and the supposed divinity of Esa alaihis salaam by writing and speaking against it. Johann was caught and beheaded for this, while Adam Neuser managed to escape. He converts to Islam, travels to Istanbul and serves the Ottoman Sultan. Circumstances and society were no barrier to him finding the ultimate truth.
From the World of Idol Worship in Arabia
Salmaan Farsi radhiallahu anhu was another such personality who searched for the truth and was rewarded with becoming a Sahabi. He initially studied and became a priest of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Persia. He then encounters Christians who rejected the idea of the trinity. They directed him to the prophecy of the last Prophet to come and Salmaan radhiallahu anhu travels to Madinah Munawwarah where he sees the signs of this in Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. He accepts Islam and becomes one of the galaxy of Sahaaba.
Zayd ibn Amr ibn Naufal met the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam before Prophethood. He died five years before Prophethood was granted to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. He used to avoid idol worship, which was the custom of the Arabs in Makkah Mukarramah, would call others to worship one God and would not eat from meat slaughtered in the name of the idols. His son, Saeed ibn Zayd radhiallahu anhu becomes a Muslim and is one of the Ashara Mubashara who were giving the good news of Paradise in this world. He comes to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam saying, “You knew my father’s lifestyle. Can I pray for forgiveness for him?” He was told yes, that is no problem. Again, societal norms and pressure were no barrier to finding the truth.
From the Heart of the British Empire
At the time when the British Empire was at its height, and it was actively exporting its colonial mindset and religion across the globe, there came people from the heart of this empire who, despite all the odds being against them, found the truth of Islam. One of them was Marmaduke Pickthall who died in 1936 as Muhammad Pickthall. He was a British novelist held in high esteem by authors like DH Lawrence and HG Wells. He declared his Islam publicly in 1917 in West London and went on to produce one of the first translations of the Noble Quran in English. His father was a reverend, yet he was guided to the truth. He defended the rights of the Palestinians openly in 1917 at the time of the Balfour Declaration in which the British government first announced its support of a home for the Jews in Palestine.
Sheikh Abdul Hakeem Murad (formerly Timonthy Winters) is a British convert to Islam. He delivered the recent Eid al Fitr lecture (2024) in Cambridge, UK, attended by a large crowd of Muslims, and said, “In 1907 Imam Abdullah Quilliam, a 19th century British convert to Islam who founded England’s first Mosque, addressed an Eid at the University Arms Hotel in Cambridge just across from where we are today, and there were only seven people.” Just over 100 years later, with all the chances being against them, people found Islam in the UK and the Eid crowd was perhaps a couple hundred.
The Age of Distorted Realities
We are living in a time of deception and false information. Artificial Intelligence and fake news adds up to an exhausting world of tangled lies and the post-truth of social media. In the build up to the era of Dajjal, who is the great deceiver, the setting is being put in place for an age of total confusion. The Hadith warns of smaller liar and impostors who will appear before Dajjal. It also predicts the age of lies, “There will come to the people years of treachery, when the liar will be regarded as honest, and the honest man will be regarded as a liar; the traitor will be regarded as faithful, and the faithful man will be regarded as a traitor; and the Ruwaibidah will decide matters.” It was asked, “Who are the Ruwaibidah?” The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam replied, “Vile and evil men who control the affairs of the people.” (Ibn Majah)
It is people’s nature to be gullible. No matter how much we claim to be savvy and smart, scams are still often successful. Dajjal will be able to exploit that gullibility and deceive in ways no one else could before. The realities will be distorted. People’s nature is that we are looking for Paradise on earth, for comfort and an easy life. Dajjal will appear to offer that dream but his Paradise will actually be the flames of fire. He will present a virtual reality which will be the direct opposite of reality. This will be an age of confused realities and truths.
Kipling said in his poem, A Legend of Truth:
“Once upon a time, the ancient legends tell,
Truth, rising from the bottom of her well,
Looked on the world, but, hearing how it lied,
Returned to her seclusion horrified.”
This sums up the age of overwhelming lies and deception the world is experiencing.
Looking Beyond the Lies
Yet, again as through history, despite the circumstances being stacked against them, many youngsters and others especially in the US, UK and Europe are not being deceived by their government’s standing with Israel and its ongoing genocide. Hundreds of students and lecturers at some of the most prestigious universities are standing with Palestine despite police brutality and arrests, despite losing funding, with their careers, opportunities and jobs on the line, despite the worn-out charge of being anti-Semitic being applied to them. In the search for the truth, amidst all the state and media propaganda, the conversion rate of people accepting Islam in Europe has soared since the Gaza War of 2023.
On the other hand, the US and its allies have dropped 337,000 bombs on other countries in the last 20 years. This equates to 46 per day for 20 years! Yet their state propaganda apparatus calls others terrorists. The lines between facts and fiction are increasingly being blurred.
Tufayl ibn Amr al Dawsi radhiallahu anhu was a chief of his tribe. He came to Makkah Mukarramah at a time when the Quraish were determined to stop the message of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam spreading. The Quraishi leaders welcome him to the city and begin their propaganda campaign, warning him not to listen to Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. He was convinced of their claims and said that he would not approach him. He went to perform Tawaaf at the Ka’bah and stuffed cotton wool in his ears to not hear the message of Islam. He saw the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam praying Salaah and was captivated. He went closer and some of the words of the Noble Quran penetrated the cotton wool. He went to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, heard him read Surah Ikhlaas and Falaq and was won over to Islam.
A Society of Truth
In this time of deception and confusion, we need to more than ever, be a society that stands for the truth in even the small things.
- A Hadith tells us, “The one who creates a false impression of receiving what he has not actually been given, is like one who wears two clothes of falsehood.” (Musllim) This might seem like a harmless lie but has far reaching consequences for a truth-based society.
- Ibn Masud radhiallahu anhu said, “It is not correct to lie, neither in seriousness nor as a joke. None of you should promise his child something and then not give it.”
The building blocks of a truthful society is how we interact with children. Here we are told to speak the truth and keep our promises. These are the key ingredients for a community of truth. People feel safe in truthful communities. We need to rise above our struggle with the lies, bribes, manipulation, exaggeration, and propaganda bombarding us.
The Hadith tells us that, “Truth leads one to piety and piety will lead one to Paradise. A person will continue to speak the truth until he will be a truthful person.” (Bukhari) We need to hold firm to the truth and honesty in all daily activities including business. A Hadith of Bukhari informs us that the two parties to a business deal have the option of changing their minds until they part. If they were honest and open, the deal will be blessed. If they conceal details and tell lies, the blessing of the deal will diminish.
Be committed to the truth. Find people of the truth and be in their company. If we ever hope to pass the test of Dajjal’s deception, we need to urgently build these qualities now. In the build up to elections, we need to look beyond the false promises being made, but more importantly, we need to make the choice of following our principles at the possible risk of losing material comforts. This is especially true when some political parties are willing to openly side with the Israeli aggression and huma rights violations when even the international court acknowledges the ongoing genocide. When Dajjal comes he will offer economic freedom and food security at a time of great suffering. If we cannot pass these preliminary tests, how can we hope to pass the critical ones closer to the Last Day?
COMMENTS