|
---------
14
When Life Begins --------- ---------
15
When Life Begins ---------
attributing incorrect ideas to the concept of God almost led people to
denial of God’s very existence. Thereafter, an era ushered in western
societies during which, taking God's name was deemed idiotic. Akbar
Allahabadi, an Indian poet of the British-occupied India, portrayed this
scenario in the following verse:
The foes have reported me to the State
For taking God’s name in this day and age
In the decades that followed, the concept of God regained
acceptance in some shape and form; however, a concept of Hereafter
that would evidence perfect justice of God and provide true explanation
for the inequalities of this world never received general acceptance.
Voltaire had a Christian background. The concepts about Hereafter in
Christianity were vague and did not answer many sound questions
that came to his logical mind. Hence, he became the founder of a
movement for rejection of God and Hereafter that has dominated the
world ever since.
Fortunately, Muslims possess a book like the Qur’an that unfolds the
second and the last chapter of the story of human life, i.e. the Hereafter,
without which it is not possible to understand the realities of this life and
Universe correctly. In the Muslim societies of today, there is a conflict
between religious extremism and unbridled open mindedness similar to
the forward thinking era of Europe. The immense benevolence of God
has given me this opportunity to present to the readers, through of the
medium of this novel, details of the second and the last chapter of the
story of mankind before another Voltaire emerges from this conflict.
The reason for going into this detail is that the readers of Urdu
literature are familiar with novels based on detective stories, romance,
and historical or social aspects of the society. Traditionally, only novels in
these genres are written and read. In reality, the scope of novel writing
is much wider. Various components of a novel like its plot,
development, characters, events, dialogues etc., rely on the particular
genre of novel writing on which the novel is based. ‘When Life Begins’, is
an unconventional novel as it does not fall under the genres mentioned
above. However, despite being unconventional, it remains a work of
fiction. Every novel is a work of fiction as it builds castles of
imagination in an illusionary world. These castles may touch many
heights of imagination, yet their foundations are firmly rooted in
reality. My novel is a piece of fiction as far as the central character
and the events surrounding it are concerned, however, the world
of possibilities that this fiction introduces you to is the ultimate reality
of the Universe. Unfortunately, this reality is currently concealed from
the human mind and vision but the time is not far when this world will
reveal itself to everyone as the ultimate truth.
For the readers, this novel would have been quite interesting even
if the context were only confined to the aforementioned; however, the
irony is that eventually, every reader of this novel as well as every
inhabitant of the world is going to be a part of this work of fiction,
destined to play the role of one of its characters. This irony has forced
me to pick up the pen and venture into this field.
I aim to present to the reader a world of unseen and concealed
possibilities, as a living reality in the form of fiction. It is a difficult and
sensitive task as there is no physical depiction of this future world in
front of us, nor can we allow our imaginations to run rampant.
Fortunately, there is enough information in the teachings of our Holy
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, for us to form a mental
picture of that world, and I have tried to portray it on the same basis.
In such a work, due to the requirements of novel writing, it is
necessary to write dialogues and construct imaginary scenes.
Nevertheless, I have kept in mind the attributes of God mentioned in the
Qur’an and the sayings ascribed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him, at every step of this sensitive work. In spite of the care I
have exercised, it remains a sensitive matter with possibilities for
errors. I hope and pray for forgiveness of the Almighty for any such
mistakes, seeking his mercy and beneficence.
At this point, I would like to share with the readers the fact that
initially I did not intend to make this work public. I sat down to put
some of my thoughts about the Day of Judgement on paper. However,
within days it took the shape of the first eight chapters. After going
through them, I decided that it was not appropriate for publication.
However, I asked some friends for their opinion. Their feedback, in
contrast, was to the contrary. Furthermore, the writing had an
extraordinary impact on them. For most, it was a wakeup call and a life
changing experience; they strenuously insisted that I should complete
www.inzaar.org
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
