On a merely materialistic and human plane there may seem to...

On a merely materialistic and human plane there may seem to be grounds for a disillusioned and despairing pessimism.

But the marvels of renascence which have happened again and again in mankind's history, the knowledge of the great gifts which the Creator has implanted within His creatures, the certainty of His pardoning and merciful compassion towards all those whom He has set upon this earth, and above all that faith which is given to those who set their trust in Him and seek in daily prayer to put themselves at His disposal to be guided on the straight road, provide us with the optimism of a sure hope.

We therefore end with "Insha'Allah all things shall be turned to good." The Muslim's "Insha'Allah" is not, as some Westerners have falsely claimed, a supine, fainéant fatalism which accepts whatever comes without lifting a finger to shape the course of events: it is, on the contrary, an active enlistment in God's service, to serve with the obedience that a willing slave both owes and gives to a beneficent Master who owns him heart and soul.

If enough men and women in the world adopt that militant obedience of the "Abedeen", who can doubt that Almighty Providence will once again pour forth the bounty of His grace upon a perishing world?…