My Quranic Understanding: SOLIDARITY BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS

The Creator in His infinite wisdom had created diverse cultures, languages and social groupings (peoples, nations and tribes). Why was such diversity created? The Quran gives the following reason:

“O mankind! Indeed We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Indeed the most noble of you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things”. (Quran: 49:13)

The purpose is for us to get to know each other. If we do that, we not only learn amazing things about life, we also see the greatness of God. There is no nobility or honor per se belonging to any single social grouping – “Malay”, “Chinese”, “Indian”, “white”, “black”, “Caucasian”, etc. The most honored is the one who is most righteous ie does good deeds and lives decently.

However, some human beings have insisted on turning this diversity into problems and sometimes into causes of immense misery. “Devils” or “Satan” is not necessarily of the Stephan Spielberg Hollywood types. They live among us in the shape of evil minded human beings. They create fears, make empty promises, they rouse people to hate each other and be suspicious of each other. DO not worship such evil people. If you allow them to influence you thoughts and your heart that means you are worshiping them.

"Did I not enjoin on you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan; for that he is to you a clear enemy?- (Quran 36:60)

Fortunately, many more human beings celebrate this diversity and enjoy the pleasure that comes from it. This choice of behavior makes sense – why agonize when you can enjoy? Why hate when love is healing and creates bonds of solidarity between us?

For the life of me, I cannot imagine anyone who claims to believe in a Creator to ever discriminate negatively between human beings on the basis of God’s decision to place them into a specific social grouping. If they do, maybe they should review their belief.

“Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: For them is a dreadful penalty” (Quran 3:105)

The signs are clear – divided we fall, united we stand.