Under a clear night sky, where silence strikes as profoundly as darkness, Ibrahim stands alone, searching for answers. His community has long placed faith in idols—objects meticulously carved by human hands—but Ibrahim senses an emptiness, a deep longing for truth untouched by the cycles of night and day. First, he looks to the stars, gleaming brilliantly before fading. Next, he observes the moon and the sun but soon sees that even these majestic celestial bodies rise only to set.
Ultimately, Ibrahim proclaims:
“I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, without associating anything with Him.” (Quran, 6:79)
This realization guides Ibrahim toward Tawhid—recognizing one supreme, eternal God transcending human whim, creator of the stars, moon, and sun. Tawhid grants Ibrahim and his descendants an unwavering moral compass, independent of humanity’s shifting desires. In embracing God’s guidance, Ibrahim becomes an embodiment of ethical stability:
"And We made him a leader for others and said to him, 'Do what is righteous, and entrust your affairs to God.'" (Quran, 21:73)
Ibrahim's faith thus becomes not a limitation but an anchor, guiding him toward inner peace and establishing a firm basis for collective justice and societal harmony.
Much later, under a similarly vast sky, another solitary figure—Nietzsche’s Zarathustra—embarks on a radically different quest. Gazing upon humanity, Zarathustra famously declares:
“God is dead!”
For Zarathustra, no higher truth exists to guide human life; humanity must craft its own purpose, emancipating itself from all external moral authorities:
“I teach you the Übermensch [Overman]. Man is something that must be overcome.”
Nietzsche’s Übermensch symbolizes ultimate autonomy—a being freed from divine moral codes, creating values independently. Yet, this radical independence carries profound risks. Without an external, transcendent moral reference, human will becomes unstable, vulnerable to egoism and moral relativism. Zarathustra’s vision inadvertently paves the path toward moral ambiguity, where self-interest dominates, often to the detriment of social cohesion and justice.
Indeed, the 20th century starkly demonstrated this danger. The Nazis misappropriated Nietzsche's Übermensch, twisting it into a grotesque ideology of racial supremacy. They positioned Aryans as superior beings justified in oppressing and exterminating those labeled Untermenschen—"inferior humans." Nietzsche himself foresaw and vehemently opposed such distortions, explicitly condemning nationalism, anti-Semitism, and authoritarianism—core pillars of Nazi ideology. Tragically, after Nietzsche’s death, his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche manipulated his writings to align with ideas he had fiercely critiqued. This misuse highlights precisely what Nietzsche had warned against:
“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
Thus, Zarathustra's radical freedom, detached from transcendent morality, risks transforming human beings into agents of oppression and destruction.
Ibrahim’s story offers a compelling counter-narrative. His adherence to Tawhid anchors morality beyond fleeting human desires, grounding ethical decisions in a universal, divine truth:
“When his Lord said to him, 'Submit,' he said, 'I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds.'” (Quran, 2:131)
For Ibrahim, submitting to God is liberation—freedom from egoism, arrogance, and tyranny. Tawhid provides a moral and spiritual refuge, shielding humanity from self-destructive impulses by situating ethical principles above personal ambition and power.
History repeatedly illustrates how abandoning a collective moral foundation for unchecked human autonomy can precipitate moral collapse. When humanity sets itself up as the sole arbiter of values, its moral compass fractures, often leading to violence, chaos, and exploitation.
In stark contrast, Tawhid provides a robust framework where freedom and order harmoniously coexist. Each individual finds purpose within a larger, eternal narrative, safeguarding humanity from ethical disintegration.
Thus, Ibrahim and Zarathustra represent two profoundly different visions of human purpose and morality. Zarathustra’s vision, despite its compelling advocacy for individual liberation, risks moral and societal collapse when severed from transcendence. Ibrahim’s faith, grounded in Tawhid, ensures stability, guiding humanity toward peace, justice, and meaningful coexistence:
“This is My path, straight. So follow it and do not follow other ways.” (Quran, 6:153)
In embracing divine guidance, humanity secures a moral foundation resilient against the storms of egoism and nihilism, illuminating a path toward lasting peace and collective justice.