Deep Pain Overwhelms Us
Mahdi Kawrani — 2026.10.01
A deep pain overwhelms us… Not a pain of the body, but a pain of the soul, a pain of faith, and a pain of fear for humanity, for our children, and for the generations that will come after us.
We are living in an era in which materialism and secularism advance aggressively, seeping into the finest details of life in endless guises. A world submerged in images, bright lights, screens, advertisements, and entertainment—immersed in tools of amusement and distraction that leave the human mind no sustained opportunity to ask: Where are we going? Why were we created? And what is our ultimate purpose?
Humanity has become besieged by an overwhelming flood of information, which is by no means a flood of true knowledge. Millions of news items, clips, comments, photos, opinions, trends, games, shows, platforms, and notifications… A vast abundance of information that remains largely superficial, fragmented, and consumed at breakneck speed—draining attention and robbing human beings of their most precious possessions: awareness, time, and the capacity to reflect on life’s supreme priorities.
Simultaneously, global elites and centers of power move in massive technological, economic, and cultural directions. The pressing question is no longer merely: What can humans create? The far more dangerous question is: Where will these human capabilities lead if they are severed from faith, ethics, and the Divine purpose?
We have entered the age of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, behavioral engineering, predictive analytics, and platforms competing fiercely for human attention. Now, we head toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and perhaps toward systems possessing even greater capacity, influence, and dominance over the nuances of daily existence. Amid progress, modernity, and technological advancement, the allurements, lights, and temptations of the worldly life expand before humanity in ways unmatched in human history.
In religious traditions, we find stern warnings regarding the tribulations (fitan) of the End Times, as well as the process of sifting and purification. Narration speaks of how people “will surely be sifted, then sifted, then sifted again,” pointing to the intensity of these trials and to the deception of the Antichrist (Dajjal), to which no trial compares. Narrations also depict Iblis (Satan) rejoicing over the proliferation of worldly wealth. These texts—regardless of the varying strength of their chains of transmission—vividly convey a sobering reality: wealth, worldly life, and temptations can transform from tools in human hands into instruments that enslave human beings and cause them to forget their Creator.
Hence, the battle is not merely against desire, wealth, or fame; it is an addiction to lostness and distraction.
It is a battle for the mind, the awareness, and the heart.
Numerous forces converge today to distance humanity from God: materialism, consumerism, hyper-individualism, endless entertainment, the worship of fame, the sanctification of the market, the reduction of humans into mere consumers, the weakening of the family unit, the emptying of moral values, ethical relativism, constant busyness, digital addiction, the attention economy, media disinformation, information overload, relentless technology, and now AI integrating deeper into every facet of life.
This does not imply that all science, technology, or modernity is inherently evil. Science is a blessing and technology is a tool. However, danger begins when the tool becomes the end, when the worldly life becomes the absolute center, and when God, the Hereafter, the soul, and morality are pushed to the margins.
Here lies our true pain.
Our generation struggled immensely to safeguard its religion and faith amidst these successive waves. Yet we fear that the struggles of our children will be greater, and those of our grandchildren even greater still.
What will happen to humanity decades from now, when the digital world becomes even more fused with the human mind—more capable of capturing attention, shaping choices, manufacturing desires, and steering behavior?
What will remain of the human being if they possess everything, except a heart that knows God?
We do not weep solely out of fear of a technological future; we weep out of fear for the faith, minds, awareness, innate nature (fitrah), and morality of our children, and for their ability to discern truth in a world that grows increasingly noisy, seductive, and distracting.
Our pain today is that we glimpse a portion of the trajectory humanity may travel, and we fear our children will reach an era where turning away from God becomes easier than ever before, and returning to Him becomes harder than ever before.
Therefore, warnings alone are not enough.
We must build individuals capable of living in the heart of technology without becoming its slaves—individuals who utilize science without worshipping it, derive benefit from the world without letting it inhabit their hearts, and master technology without being mastered by it.
We must restore the mind to its divine mission, the soul to its elevated status, the family to its protective sanctuary, religion to its living presence, ethics to their central position, and humanity to its ultimate goal: to know God, purify itself, reason soundly, and live a good, dignified, and just life.
If our era is difficult, we must raise a stronger generation.
If the trials are immense, we must elevate our awareness.
If the world raises its distracting voices, we must raise the voice of faith.
If the world fills the minds of our children with data, we must teach them wisdom, meaning, and insight.
The true fear is not that the world advances. The true fear is that the world advances while the human being loses their own soul.
O God, protect our children and the generations to come. Firmly establish their hearts upon faith, illuminate their minds with awareness and wisdom, make not the worldly life their greatest concern, and let not technology, wealth, fame, or pleasure veil them from You.
O God, we complain to You of the absence of our Guardian, the abundance of our enemies, the numerical paucity of our ranks, the severity of the trials upon us, and the adversity of the times against us.
O God, leave us not to ourselves, nor abandon our children to this world.
And place us among those who navigate the age of tribulations with faith, reason, and insight—until Your relief arrives and the sun of Your radiant coming civilization shines forth.
Source: https://mohammadabbaskawrani.com
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