“Human beings are body and soul.

Body is what you see; soul is what is inside the body, invisible to the naked eye.

The body craves food, drink and medicine and must be fed and catered to with some regularity.

Pangs of hunger in humans are well known and acted upon with alacrity by those concerned.

But what most people don’t understand is that the soul too hungers and thirsts for nourishment.

And it has ailments that must be attended to.

But its cries are heard by few and responded to even less.

As a result, most human beings carry around in their often pampered and well-fed bodies souls that are emaciated, starved or diseased.

The results then show up in all kinds of unsavory ways – for individuals; for societies; and for the entire world.

Then all of those who never paid timely attention to the sick and dilapidated souls in and around them cry out in a chorus: Annaa Haadha?

That is Qur’an for:

“Why?

Why is this happening to us?

And how did we get to be in this sorry state of affairs?”

Yaa hasratan ‘alal ‘ibaad, says God Almighty in the Qur’an, as if in reply.

What a pity, humans should have reached this terrible state!” (Dr. Pasha)