Introduction

Wickedness, injustice, grief, pessimism, trouble, loneliness, fear, stress, frustration, distrust, unscrupulousness, anxiety, rage, jealousy, resentment, drug addiction, immorality, gambling, prostitution, hunger, poverty, social corruption, theft, war, struggle, violence, oppression, fear of death… News stories about these issues appear in the newspapers and on TV every day. The popular press devotes entire pages to these subjects, while others serialize articles about their psychological and social aspects. However, your acquaintance with these feelings is not limited solely to the press; in daily life, you also frequently come across such problems and, more importantly, personally experience them.

People and societies endeavor to liberate themselves from the distressing experiences, disorder and repressive social structures that have prevailed over the world for long periods. We only need to glance at ancient Greece, the great Roman Empire, Tsarist Russia or the so-called Age of Enlightenment, and even the 20th century-a century of misery which saw two world wars and world-wide social disasters. No matter upon which century or location you concentrate your research, the picture will not be appreciably different.

If this is the case, have people succeeded in solving these problems, or at the least, have any efforts been made to eliminate such social diseases from society?

People have encountered these problems in all ages, yet each time they have failed to find any solutions because the methods they employed were inappropriate. They sought various solutions, tried different political systems, laid down impracticable and totalitarian rules, stirred up revolutions or subscribed to perverted ideologies, while many others preferred to adopt an indifferent attitude and merely accepted the status quo.

In our day, people are almost numbed by this way of living. They readily believe these problems to be "facts of life." They picture a society immune to these problems as being nothing short of impossible-a dream utopia. They persistently and openly express their distaste for such a way of living, yet easily embrace it, since they think they have no other alternative.

The resolution of all these problematic issues is possible only by living by the principles of the "true religion." Only when the values of true religion prevail can a pleasant and tranquil scene replace this gloomy and unfavorable picture, which is doomed to continue so long as Allah’s limits are ignored. To put it another way, people are enslaved by these complications as long as they avoid the values of the Qur'an. Put simply, this is the "nightmare of disbelief."

In this book, you will find how the regulation of life by the "norms of morality" introduced in the Qur'an and revealed to mankind by Allah will banish the "nightmare of disbelief." The questions of how pessimism, corruption and social restlessness can be eliminated from society, how the individual can surround himself with an ideal environment and what spiritual and material benefits he is likely to attain by adherence to these norms of morality are considered in detail. Finally, you will see that the unique alternative to all these problems is the morality of the Qur'an.

Many books have to date attempted to deal with the social and psychological problems societies face. Yet what distinguishes this book from others is its stress on the most realistic solution. It also sincerely warns people against the troublesome future they are likely to face if they fail to resort to this solution.

We expect that every reader of conscience will grasp that peace, mutual trust and an ideal social life is attainable only by embracing the values of the Qur'an and will turn to the true religion, which is Islam.

They will then happily join the ranks of those who never suffer, mentally or physically, from any of the above-mentioned complications. Around them, there will always be an abundance of favors, comfort, love, respect, peace and confidence, and moral virtues will prevail. They will know how to earn Allah's approval, by observing His limits and the commandments of the Qur'an. They will thus, by having faith in Allah, attain His mercy and at last enter Paradise.