In the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the All Compassionate
Imagine there was a society that no longer had any laws, that there was no one to administer punishment whenever unjust acts were committed. Naturally to live in such a place would be uneasy to say the least because our safety and possessions will be at the mercy of other people’s goodness. Now since not everyone has our best intentions in mind and since unjust acts are still committed despite the threat of punishment, one can only imagine the escalation of crime if ever that threat of punishment suddenly disappeared.
However we can see that despite this sad condition of our moral servitude, the threat of punishment can nonetheless go to some lengths in curbing what would otherwise be mass deviant behaviour and this in turn translates into a relatively safe and cohesive society. Relative however is the key word as someone who was a victim of a horrific crime would most likely not consider the society in which they live as being cohesive and safe.
So although the threat of punishment may stem the tide of crime, it clearly does not stop it. The question is why?
Political parties world wide have been arguing over what needs to be done to solve this social evil. A popular solution that is always put forward is the need to get tougher on crime. Now although harsher penalties may be a significant influencing deterrent, crimes nonetheless continue to occur. Not only do crimes still occur, but because many crimes go unpunished, we have no option but to conclude that all political and judicial systems are simply unable to administer this concept of justice. It is precisely because of this inability that reveals why crimes still occur.
For instance, if it was known justice was able to be carried out each and every time, there would rarely be a crime let alone a major crime. The reason for this is simply because if our law enforcement bodies was always able to catch every crime committed and if our judicial system was always able to administer the appropriate punishment for those crimes, then there could no longer be the belief that one can commit a crime and get away with it. But it is because of this belief that one can indeed get away with a crime that inevitably results in the decision to go ahead with that crime.
And here lies the priceless benefit of believing in God. That is, even though our law enforcement bodies are incapable of always administering justice, those that believe in God nonetheless believe that they still cannot get away with a crime for they understand that such actions will be punished in the hereafter.
That is not to say those that believe in God do not commit crimes nor is it saying those that do not believe in God are bad people. However this does not mean God belief is no longer a priceless asset for society.
For instance, as we have already proven, just because our laws that threaten punishment do not prevent people from committing crimes, it does not mean these laws provide no benefit for society for without these laws the state of society will be that much more miserable.
And so the same must be said for the belief in God, the only difference being that this belief is more of an effective deterrent than any man made threat because such man made threats cannot be carried out if the person believes he or she can get away with the crime. Yet when it comes to the belief in the hereafter where God will punish all crimes, one can no longer believe they can get away with it. Even a staunch atheist must concede that irrespective of whether God exists or not, a belief no crime will go unpunished is better to have than not to have.
Sure an atheist may well argue that they do not need God or any form of punishment to behave. Yet this is besides the point as we cannot expect everyone to adhere to our intuitive moral awareness. The condition of human beings as a whole is such that we need all the help we can get and so the stronger the belief in the hereafter, the less likely one will commit a crime, at least a major one.
Yet to encourage this idea that there is no afterlife and so there is no recompense for our actions is to simply give a green light to those who want to take advantage of the inability of our law enforcement bodies to catch and punish all crimes.
Now recall that we began this discourse by imagining a society that had descended into lawlessness. Who would you prefer your neighbour to be in such a scenario? Someone who believes they can commit a crime and get away with it? Or someone who believes that no crime goes unpunished?
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