Salim Badat reflects on the spiritual crisis of modern civilisation, arguing that the rise of secularism and nihilism has left humanity struggling to answer its most fundamental questions — and that Islam offers an alternative rooted in divine purpose, objective morality, accountability and hope.
In 1893, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch painted one of the most recognisable and haunting images in modern art: The Scream.
A figure stands beneath a blood-red sky, hands pressed against its face, mouth open in a silent cry, while the world around it appears to dissolve into waves of anxiety and despair.
Munch said the work was inspired by an overwhelming moment of anxiety while walking at sunset. Yet The Scream has come to symbolise something far larger than one man’s psychological anguish: the alienation, fear and existential uncertainty of modern civilisation.
It depicts humanity standing at the edge of an abyss, terrified not merely by suffering, but by the possibility that life itself possesses no ultimate meaning.
That crisis did not emerge overnight. It developed through profound intellectual, philosophical and cultural transformations that reshaped the Western world.
The collapse of religious certainty
For centuries, Christianity provided Europe with a broadly coherent worldview. God was understood as the Creator, morality derived from divine command, human life possessed inherent purpose and history moved towards divine judgement.
Whether individuals faithfully practised Christianity or not, European society was deeply shaped by these assumptions.
The Enlightenment challenged religious authority by elevating human reason and increasingly questioning revelation as the foundation of knowledge and public life. The Scientific Revolution accelerated explanations of the natural world through observable causes, while secularisation gradually weakened the institutional authority of churches.
Then came another major intellectual challenge to traditional Christian understandings of creation.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, proposing evolution through natural selection. His later work, The Descent of Man, applied evolutionary theory more explicitly to human origins.
Darwin himself did not establish atheism as a necessary conclusion of evolutionary theory, and many religious thinkers have since reconciled aspects of evolution with belief in God. Nevertheless, for many Europeans, Darwinism appeared to undermine literal readings of the biblical creation narrative and strengthened the idea that human origins could be explained without reference to divine creation.
The wider cultural consequences were profound. As religious certainty weakened across parts of Europe, secularism expanded and growing numbers of people attempted to construct meaning without revelation.
Nietzsche and the ‘death of God’
Few philosophers captured this transformation more dramatically than Friedrich Nietzsche.
His famous declaration that “God is dead” remains one of the most misunderstood statements in philosophy.
Nietzsche was not claiming that God had literally died. He was describing a civilisation in which belief in God was losing its power to organise moral, intellectual and social life.
For centuries, religion had provided European societies with an overarching framework for morality, meaning and purpose. Nietzsche recognised that as belief in God receded, those foundations would also come under pressure.
He did not believe this would produce liberation alone. He feared it would create an enormous vacuum.
If there is no God, what ultimately determines right and wrong? Why should justice matter? Why should one sacrifice for another? On what basis can human life possess objective meaning?
Nietzsche feared that the decline of Christianity could ultimately lead Europe towards nihilism.
The word “nihilism” derives from the Latin nihil, meaning “nothing”. In its most radical form, nihilism denies that life possesses any objective or transcendent meaning and questions whether morality can have an ultimate foundation beyond human preference, social convention or power.
If morality is entirely subjective, however, an uncomfortable question follows: on what objective basis can compassion be declared superior to cruelty, or justice superior to oppression?
Philosophers have proposed numerous secular answers to this problem. Yet the question remains central to modern moral philosophy: if no transcendent reality exists, what ultimately grounds morality?
The cry behind the scream
Viewed symbolically, Munch’s The Scream appears almost prophetic.
Its terrified figure seems overwhelmed by something greater than personal anxiety. It can be read as humanity confronting cosmic silence: a universe without transcendence, a world without ultimate justice and a life stripped of eternal significance.
The painting is not an illustration of Nietzsche’s philosophy, nor should it be treated as one. But its enduring cultural power lies partly in its ability to express the psychological consequences of existential uncertainty.
Behind its silent scream lies one of humanity’s oldest questions:
Why am I here?
Nihilism and its consequences
When societies lose confidence in objective moral truth or a shared sense of purpose, the consequences extend beyond academic philosophy.
Modern societies have experienced profound struggles with loneliness, anxiety, consumerism, hedonism, fractured family structures, identity crises, political extremism and moral confusion.
It would be simplistic to attribute these complex developments solely to secularism or atheism. Economic change, technology, politics, social structures and countless other factors have played major roles.
Yet religious thinkers have long argued that the decline of transcendent meaning contributes to this wider crisis.
When human beings cease to believe that they answer to a Creator, morality can increasingly become defined by individual preference, social fashion, political ideology or power.
History repeatedly demonstrates the dangers of power divorced from higher moral accountability.
Islam’s answer: Humanity was never without purpose
Centuries before the rise of modern existential philosophy, Islam answered humanity’s most fundamental questions with absolute clarity.
The Qur’an asks:
“Did you think that We had created you in vain and that you would not be returned to Us?”
(Qur’an 23:115)
Human existence is not accidental. The universe is not meaningless. Life is not a cosmic mistake.
Allah created humanity with wisdom and purpose.
The Qur’an states:
“I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.”
(Qur’an 51:56)
Worship — ibadah — in Islam extends far beyond ritual prayer. It encompasses a life consciously lived in obedience to Allah: pursuing justice, mercy, honesty, gratitude, compassion and righteousness.
When directed towards Him, even ordinary human actions acquire meaning.
Morality has an objective foundation
Islam does not ground morality solely in human opinion. It teaches that ultimate moral authority belongs to Allah, whose knowledge, wisdom and justice are perfect.
Justice is therefore not merely a social agreement. Truth does not become false because public opinion changes, nor does wrongdoing become righteous because society approves of it.
Right and wrong are anchored in divine revelation.
The Qur’an declares:
“Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence and generosity to close relatives, and forbids indecency, wickedness and aggression.”
(Qur’an 16:90)
For Muslims, revelation provides a moral framework that transcends changing political interests and cultural fashions.
Hope instead of despair
Where nihilism can lead towards the conclusion that existence ultimately ends in nothingness, Islam teaches both accountability and hope.
Every hardship has meaning. Every act of goodness is known. Every injustice will be judged. Every tear is seen by Allah.
The Qur’an says:
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
(Qur’an 99:7–8)
For the believer, no sacrifice is meaningless, no sincere prayer is wasted and no injustice escapes divine knowledge.
Death is not the destruction of meaning. It is the beginning of accountability.
The human soul longs for its Creator
Islam teaches that spiritual emptiness cannot ultimately be resolved through material satisfaction alone.
Allah says:
“Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort.”
(Qur’an 13:28)
Modern civilisation has achieved extraordinary scientific and technological progress. Medicine can treat disease. Technology can transform communication. Wealth can provide comfort.
But none of these can independently answer humanity’s deepest questions.
Why do I exist?
What makes something truly right or wrong?
Why should I be moral?
What happens after death?
Islam provides answers grounded not in speculation, but in revelation.
Beyond the scream
The Scream remains one of history’s most powerful artistic expressions because it captures a fear that continues to haunt modern humanity: the possibility that existence is ultimately empty.
Islam rejects that despair.
The universe is not abandoned. History is not directionless. Human beings are not cosmic accidents. Life is not absurd.
Every soul was intentionally created by Allah, endowed with dignity, entrusted with responsibility and destined to return to its Lord.
The Qur’an declares:
“So whoever hopes for the meeting with their Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord.”
(Qur’an 18:110)
Where nihilism whispers that nothing ultimately matters, Islam teaches that everything matters.
Every choice. Every act of justice. Every word of truth. Every moment of patience. Every sincere prayer.
All carry consequences beyond this temporary life.
In a world increasingly haunted by existential uncertainty, Islam offers more than a response to philosophical doubt. It offers a complete way of life rooted in faith, purpose, moral accountability and hope.
It calls humanity beyond the silent scream of meaninglessness towards the tranquillity that comes from knowing its Creator, understanding its purpose and striving for eternal success.
Salim Badat is the CEO of Holistic Living Recovery Center, a Martial Arts instructor, and Writer exploring the intersections of faith, politics, and justice in the contemporary world. Subscribe to his Substack to follow more of his work.
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