❖ Modern Man and the Foundations of His Thinking
The modern man is typically defined as one who recognizes only empirical, sensory, and scientific knowledge as legitimate.
He dismisses metaphysical and non-material knowledge as ignorance simply because it cannot be measured by scientific instruments.
Hence, divine revelation and religious knowledge are viewed in modernity as misguided and obsolete.
✦ Modernity and the Denial of History
Modern thought assumes that everything before the 17th century was part of the “Dark Ages”, and often denies the intellectual worth of pre-modern man.
Yet, this notion is self-contradictory: while rejecting most of the past, modernity still accepts Greek philosophies such as Aristotle’s idea of the eternal universe because they align with its ideological trajectory.
✦ Rebellion Against Religion and the Illusion of Autonomy
Modern man claims he no longer needs religious or traditional knowledge to live.
He invents his own standards of good and evil, detached from revelation.
Concepts like the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and modernity are essentially ideologies of self-reliance and autonomy, where human reason replaces divine guidance.
✦ The Intellectual Collapse of Modernity
Modernity once claimed that reason is universal and can independently construct global ethics and meaning.
But this claim was refuted by postmodernism, which argued that reason is bound by cultural and civilizational context.
Where modernity sought to answer all questions through rationality, postmodernism declared that questions about God, truth, and the soul are meaningless and need not be addressed.
✦ The Logical Failure of Atheism
Atheistic philosophy fails to answer the most fundamental questions of human existence:
➤ Who brought man into existence?
➤ Who takes him away?
➤ What happens after death?
Rather than attempt answers, atheist thinkers declare these to be meaningless questions, arguing that matters of origin and end have no bearing on man’s present existence.
✦ A Defeat Admitted or a Rebellion Deepened?
Dr. Zahid Mughal writes that 18th-century atheist philosophers claimed they would now assess truth, justice, beauty, and meaning not through religion, but through human reason alone.
But after two centuries of intellectual labor, it became clear that reason is incapable of answering these questions.
At this point, man should have humbly accepted his limitations and turned back to his Creator — but instead, he turned his defeat into a deeper rebellion.
✦ The Delusion of Meaninglessness
Today, man sees truth, justice, and reality as relative or meaningless concepts, viewing life as mere amusement.
But he fails to recognize the contradiction in his claim:
“To say life is meaningless is, in itself, a belief.”
Denying reality doesn’t erase it. Truth exists independent of human perception.
✦ A Reminder of the End
Death is inevitable, and every soul will have to answer for its claims.
Will man be able to defend his philosophical deceptions on that Day?
Fortunately, the door of repentance remains open, and Allah’s mercy is always available for those who seek it.
✦ Conclusion
✔ The modern intellectual project, based on materialism and self-sufficiency, has collapsed under its own weight.
✔ Atheism cannot answer life’s most profound questions and leaves man in confusion, anxiety, and spiritual emptiness.
✔ True liberation lies not in denying God, but in submitting to Him.
✔ Islam provides a consistent, comprehensive framework that connects human purpose with divine guidance, enabling man to live with clarity, meaning, and peace.
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