3-“We have made many jinns and humans for hell: they have hearts they do not understand

with, and eyes they do not see with, and ears they do not hear with. They are like livestock; in
fact they are worse; they are so heedless” (7:179).

This statement of the Qur‟an apparently speaks about the majority of the people in general.
Since the Quraysh and the Arabs were the direct addressees of this revelation, it referred to
their situation of blindness. Thinking, seeing and hearing acts constitute the very intellectual
enterprise. Arabs hardly bothered to employ these faculties to understand the things related to
their life. They have been likened here in this ayah to the livestock that are essentially
deprived of mental power. This statement rather ridicules Arabs‟ oblivion of their position as
intellectual being.

4-“And the leaders among them sound off: „Walk around and be patient concerning your
gods. This is something to be desired. We never heard of it in the last religion; this nothing
but merely a fabrication”. (38:6-7).

This passage speaks about the role of the Arab leaders among their co-religionists. Idol
worship and other pagan traditions were defended by them. And the ordinary Arabs listened
to them and obeyed them unquestioningly.

Modern World

People in the modern world appear to be intellectually free but they are indeed slaves of
handful individuals of the worlds. In almost every field of life, social, cultural, educational
and others they blindly follow the masterminds of the western civilization. Few examples
may explain the situation.

1-Cultural Dimension: With the onslaught of the so called globalization the cultural scenario
of the world is being rapidly defaced. Dietary habits, dress code, social etiquettes are all fast
changing to the tune of the western music. All the religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
to name a few—prescribe a particular cultural mode for their followers. None of them allow
its adherents to shed off clothes, exposing vital parts of the body. The fashion designers who
are just handful in the entire world are now creating new designs on daily basis. These new
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models of dress code are being aggressively advertised through the print as well as electronic
media with a view to capturing the imagination of the modern consumer. Consequently, Jews,
Christians, Muslims and others are all saying good by to their respective nice and respectable
dress code and adopting the indecent and vulgar raiment. People think that it is progress and
liberty. It is their misconception. They are actually being forced to accept what is not theirs. It
is slavery to others, not freedom of the self. If the people think seriously about the currently
popular designs of the attire particularly for the female, they will certainly realize the
indecency of the outfits and the ramifications of such offensive trappings. Most of the new
fashions are aimed at attracting the attention of the opposite sex. This objective is by itself an
insult to the human dignity. But the modern man realizes not.

So is the case with the dietary habits of the people. The globalization movement is fast
eroding the concept of good and pure (tayyibat), and that of bad and impure (khaba‟ith). It
may be suggested here that the concept of pure and impure is merely an Islamic concept. It
should be born in mind that man holds a highly dignified position; he is human being, not an
animal. This state of man requires him to eat only what suits his humanity. Psychologically,
consumption of impure and bad items adversely effect the human nature. Alcoholic
beverages, pork, canine and feline meat, tinned food stuffs and sweet drinks and candies have
become the intrinsic part of the modern life style. Experts are unanimous that the present day
dietary habits are extremely harmful for the health. But the man today does not care for
anything including his health. It is mainly because he has given up his independence to the
exploiters.

2-Educational Curricula: The education system the world over is the one which the west
developed and imported to the rest of the globe. There is nothing wrong to accept and borrow
from others what is good and beneficial. Even a cursory look at the system of education will
reveal that many things are very harmful and they are not in tune with the need of the people.
Educational curricula in many disciplines do not merit total adoption. For example,
Psychology is a discipline developed and programmed in the west by some scholars. It
represents the western concept of human behavior. It does not symbolize the theory of man
available in the east. It looks at the man as an animal being. Man is not an animal; he is a
human being far above any other being in dignity. Many of the principles of human behavior
taught in Psychology are basically the findings through experiments made on animals like
cats, dogs and monkeys. Thus the Psychologists equate man with inferior beings. Is it a
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proper study of human psychology? But the world is blindly following the western scholars‟
so called researches and writings on Psychology. Other disciplines of study such as
Sociology, History, and the Pure Sciences are not free from defects. Yet, the universities are
entertaining them all as sacrosanct damaging the human freedom. Universities look the
spectacular example of the intellectual bondage.

3-Medical Drugs: The entire world stands today enslaved to the handful of medical drugs
manufacturers. They make and supply the drugs in the name of human service to ensure cure
and health care. This phenomenon appears to be highly humanistic hence admirable. Is it
really praiseworthy? Medical experts know well that almost all the drugs have side effects on
human body, some of them very damaging. Yet, there is any sign of alternative treatment and
safe drugs. Why is the world so compelled to use the drugs that are sure to create so many
other problems in human body? The west is dominating so much that we have no other
choice but to consume even what is harmful. In USA around 200 drugs are totally banned.
Their sale, prescription and consumption in America are cognizable. But those drugs are
manufactured on American soil and supplied to the third world. The non-American part of
the globe knows that these drugs are harmful. It is only the commercial consideration that the
harmful drugs are being manufactured and shipped to every nook and corner of the world. Is
it not an intellectual slavery?