There seems to be a recurring theme throughout the Quran in which Allah (SWT) gives examples of two kinds of people: people who have invested their time and effort in worldly and material affairs and others who have “abandoned” the material world and chose to withdraw themselves from the daily struggles of life. This is made clear from the first Surah of the Quran. In Surat al-Fatiha, Muslims repeat these words “Guide us to the straight path – The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked (Your) anger or of those who are astray” at least seventeen times a day. Popular interpretation of these verses state they pertain to those who have evoked Allah’s anger such as the Jews and those who were led astray such as the Christians.
However, why would these verses be included in Surat al-Fatiha, the most important Surah that we recite daily in our prayers? What makes this Du’a and the mention of those people fundamental?
Essentially, every individual sits on a scale where at one end lies the pursuit of the material and at the other lies the pursuit of the spiritual. This is true for every human being, even if they do not realize it. Upon tracing history, we will see that there were great civilizations that tipped the balance to one side of this scale and a few who found a good balance between materialism and spiritualty. Take, for example, Qawm ‘Aad. Allah (SWT) sent the messenger Hud (PBUH) to remind them of tawheed and guide them to the path of righteousness. However, they were too ingrained with worldly and material desires, leading them to mock him and his message. When Prophet Hud addressed them, he said:
“Do you construct on every elevation a sign, amusing yourselves, And take for yourselves palaces and fortresses that you might abide eternally?”
(26: 128–129)
They believed in their material power and failed to see what was behind the veil. They believed that they had reached material supremacy and were completely lost in their worldly affairs and continued to commit oppression in the land. They transgressed to the point that they denied the idea of a hereafter and a resurrection:
They said mockingly, “It is all the same to us whether you advise or are not of the advisors. This is not but the custom of the former peoples, And we are not to be punished.” (26:136-138).
Due to their ongoing oppression and blind faith in their material power, the result was their ultimate destruction: “And they denied him, so We destroyed them.” (26:139)
In the age in which we live, there seems to be a drastic shift in how we view these concepts. During the past century at least, the focus of modern Western civilization was on the extremes of materialism. This started with the slow but clear shift to the secularization of society. It could be argued that due to the Church’s extreme views on materialism, a counter view developed that was on the extremes of materialism. The result of this trend was the removal of the spiritual entity, or God, from popular imagination or practice.
It is necessary to understand this radical shift towards excessive materialism since for the past century, Western countries have been the hegemonic power, which forcefully and, to a lesser extent, peacefully (through education and charity) enforced their worldview on the rest of the world. This gave rise to an ideological battle, where one side wanted to enforce their worldview as the only correct one and the other side tried to resist it.
The ideological war was more successful in some parts of the world than others. The Muslim world seemed to be the most resistant to the wide enforcement of this worldview. There are many reasons to this, the main one being that spirituality is at the core of Islam. Even if individual Muslims practice varying levels of spirituality, Islam’s teachings are ingrained in the spiritual. Take, for example, the most important pillar of Islam, Salah. Performing Salah requires a great deal of spiritual initiation. Depending on the Muslim’s level of spirituality, a connection of a certain strength is made and felt with Allah (SWT). Ideally, Muslims strive to gain a level of spirituality that brings them closer to Allah through taqwa.
The Prophet (PBUH) was a great example of a man who balanced the material and the spiritual. He led the Salah in the Masjid and guided Muslims on the battleground. He was the Imam and the commander-in-chief. He positioned his Ummah to the middle of the aforementioned scale, believing in the power of both the material and the spiritual. The Prophet of course had the greatest connection with Allah (SWT). For him, reciting and contemplating the Quran was the greatest spiritual endeavor.
The Prophet once asked Abdullah ibn Masud to recite the Quran to him, to which he said, “How can I recite to you when it was revealed to you?” The Prophet replied, “I like to hear it from others.” Ibn Masud recited Surat al-Nisa until he reached the verse “How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against those people.” At this point, he saw the Prophet weeping and asking him to stop reciting. Even though the Prophet was a spiritual man, he understood that power and advancement can only come with material endeavor. This aspect was clearly shown in battles such as al-Ahzaab where the Muslims dug deep trenches around Medina to stop Quraysh from advancing.
In the Quran, Allah mentions the two types of people in different contexts. For example, He mentions how Christians adopted an extreme interpretation of spirituality:
“Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed (them) with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him with compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except (that they did so) seeking the approval of Allah. But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.”
On the other hand, we see examples of others who only believed in the material, which ultimately leads one to deny the spiritual and the existence of the afterlife. Quraysh was largely a materialistic society before the Prophet (PBUH). They could not comprehend the concept of death and were extremely hesitant to accept the fact that there is an afterlife:
And they say, “When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be (recreated) in a new creation?” Rather, they are, in (the matter of) the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers.
(32:10)
The world we live in today is a world where materialism is the only truth. There is little-to-no place for any spirituality in public life. In the Muslim world of course, it is far better than other places; however, the challenges remain. Decades of ideological warfare through “entertainment” and education has played a role in changing the mindset and worldview of a large number of Muslims. Although some resistance remains, the resources needed to create a balanced atmosphere of the spiritual and material has greatly increased. However, on an individual level, a Muslim must remain vigilant and balance these extremes. Materialism, without the extremes, is a need and a part of the human condition. This is also true when it comes to spirituality, which can be gained through truthful commitment to the Quranic and Prophetic teachings.
The issue with the material mindset is that it is focused on short-term desires rather than long-term aspirations. A materialistic mindset would focus on the beauty and magnificence of the sky, mountains, and animals but would fail to recognize the magnificence of the One who created them. A materialistic mindset rarely thinks about the Creator and does not fathom the fact that there is something behind the “veil,” something we cannot see with our “material” senses, something we can only see with our spiritual ones:
“So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.”
(22:46)