Malcolm X: The Future Belongs to Those Who…

A world famous American Muslim named Malcolm X once said,

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it.”

This statement, which is often misquoted, is a practical wisdom that points to a very profound and fundamental element of religion, our existence. In one way or another we are all concerned with our future and its outcome. Even the atheist, the person who believes that there is no afterlife, is at the very least concerned about death, which is at some point in the unknown future. And whether that future be fifty years or fifty seconds away it is, at some level, a concern to all of mankind. But the reason Malcolm X’s statement is so profound is because it draws a simple but reasonable answer to the many possibilities that may occur in our future. In other words it points us in the right direction by suggesting that those who prepare for the future are the ones who hold the key to their own future. And I am not taking this quote in the context of Malcolm X’s time on the Earth or with respect to his political and ideological association. No, I am taking it purely at face value and applying merely as I see it in the context of my life today.

Preparing for future is an interesting proposition. But how can we prepare for the future if we do not even know why we are here, here on the face of Earth? Modern Western Science is not telling us why. Perhaps science discusses various ideas of how we came to be, but it often avoids the “why”. But in the Islamic Sciences this question has been answered. Allah Almighty said in the Qur’an,

“I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.” (51:56, Tran. Pickthal)

This means that our reason for being here, on this Earth, is only to worship our Creator. Thinking on this a bit puts a number of things in perspective for the Believer. The first being, the purpose of life itself. Today’s people have lost this understanding. We all have lost this understanding, Muslims, Christians, Jews. Today, it doesn’t even matter what religion you are. It doesn’t matter what color or what part of the world you came from. People from newborns to those that are ready for their graves, North; South; East and West are carrying emptiness in their heart. Life has become sour and everything that they do has become a pain. A reason to complain. And no one is satisfied with anything. This is true for men and women; children, adults and the elderly. We do not realize that trying to fill our heart’s emptiness with things of this world will never satisfy us. Perhaps, we can satisfy our stomach’s with things of this world; we can satisfy our physical bodies with things of this world but our heart, it is a place that the world cannot satisfy.