RENAISSANCE SEPTEMBER 2022

5 Monthly Renaissance September 2022 Editorial The Cause of Truth Dr Shehzad Saleem Lord! Make truth the most cherished cause for us to live and die for. If life, wealth, honour and freedom of expression are under threat, give us the strength to raise our voice against the aggressors. If people are persecuted and tortured for adhering to the truth, bless us with the courage to defend them. If people jeer and make fun of us for upholding the truth, instil in us the patience to politely smile back at them. Lord! Make us true seekers of the truth. Make us possessed and obsessed with this undertaking. Make this quest and yearning burn in us till our last breath. Let not anything stop or discourage us when the chips are down and there is darkness all around. Let not the love of a near one overcome us into giving false testimony. Even if our life is at stake, make love for the truth conquer the fear of death. If seeking the truth inflicts us with worldly failures, make us patient, persistent and consistent to keep going. Lord! Make us understand that it is the effort undertaken for truth as a cause and the struggle to seek the truth that counts – regardless of the consequences. Lord! Make us live according to what you have declared to be true. Make us forget our own will and make us walk the path of the truth marked by you. Lord! Let there be people like Socrates among us who drink hemlock for inciting the youth to seek the truth. Let there be people among us like A ḥ mad ibn Ḥ anbal who in spite of severe physical torture never bend down against the voice of their conscience. Let there be people among us like Galileo who stand for the truth and bear religious persecution. Let there be people among us who feel the desire to seek the truth burn even more within them with advancing years – who