The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

Mohamed Miah – The Narratives

The Illusion of Freedom

We speak of freedom as though it is something we own, something gifted to us by the sacrifices of those before us. We display it like a trophy, proud of what civilisation has apparently achieved. But the harsh truth is far less flattering. Freedom, in its purest form, was stolen from humanity a long time ago, slowly and systematically, layer by layer. The chains have changed shape. They are no longer made of iron but of numbers, contracts, debt, and desires. And most of us, without realising it, are still shackled.

When Man Walked Free

In the beginning, man lived in harmony with the fitrah Allah placed within him. He woke with the sunrise, worked the land, drank from pure rivers, and traded honestly with his neighbours. He had no master but his Creator. His wealth was measured not in coins but in sufficiency — the ability to sustain his family through his own hands. This was true independence. There were no middlemen, no banks, no debts. What he grew, he ate. What he raised, he sold or shared. This was not poverty. It was dignity.

The Rise of Physical Slavery

But power rarely remains content with simplicity. As kingdoms grew and empires spread, the rulers realised that controlling land was not enough; controlling men was far more profitable. The age of literal slavery began. Men, women, and children were captured, sold, and forced into labour not as a punishment, but as an economy. Entire nations were enslaved, their lives sold into servitude to fuel the ambitions of kings and empires. The chains were visible, the whips real, and ownership of human beings became a thriving market.

Industrial Revolution Wage Becomes The Chain

The arrival of machines during the industrial revolution shifted slavery into a more sophisticated form. The whip was no longer necessary when the wage could do the job more effectively. Men no longer worked for survival but sold their time for money. The factory became the new master, and the salary became the leash. While the worker believed himself free, his very survival depended on remaining employed, feeding the machine with his labour. Ownership of the person was replaced by ownership of their time. The master no longer lived in the palace but in the factory’s accounts.

Service Economy Middlemen

As manufacturing shifted to cheaper nations, the West transformed into a service economy. The majority no longer produced anything physical but became middlemen in complex webs of finance, insurance, advertising, law, and media. The worker became a resource, a figure on a balance sheet, a productivity metric for corporations. His value was no longer in what he made but in how efficiently his time and skills could be monetised. Human beings were converted into data, into units of economic output measured by quarterly reports. The human soul became a number.

Selling Your Existence

Then came the digital revolution — and with it, a new, almost invisible form of enslavement. Now, even your labour and time are no longer the main commodities. What matters is your attention, your emotions, your behaviour. Every click, every scroll, every comment, every search is analysed, monetised, and sold to corporations hungry for profit. You are no longer simply a worker or even a customer — you are the product. Surveillance capitalism feeds on your existence itself. Your very identity is harvested, packaged, and auctioned to the highest bidder. You live, and they profit.

Programmable Obedience

We now approach the final stage of this systemic enslavement. Central Bank Digital Currencies loom on the horizon. Programmable money that can be switched off if you disobey. Social credit systems already monitor behaviour and assign scores that determine your access to services, travel, and even basic participation in society. AI algorithms are replacing human judgement, automating control with terrifying precision. Dissent will no longer need to be punished physically — it will simply be turned off. The final chain will not be visible. You will not even be aware of it. You will exist entirely within the system’s permission.

The Lie of Work-Life Balance

To preserve this illusion of freedom, the system provides calculated comforts. Weekends, holidays, entertainment, career progression — carefully measured doses of rest designed not to liberate, but to keep you functioning just enough to remain productive. The fully broken slave is of no use. The moderately satisfied one remains profitable. You are allowed to believe you have choice, but only within the narrow boundaries set by the machine.

The Dajjalic Design

This system is not accidental. It is by design. It is the very definition of fitna — built on illusion, sustained by debt, fuelled by greed, driven by endless consumption, and saturated with riba. It feeds division, distracts the masses, buries truth beneath comfort, and blinds both rich and poor alike. It is a system that mirrors the Dajjal’s greatest weapon — to present falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood. The world is bathed in deception, and most have no idea they are even trapped.

The Freedom That Terrifies The System

Yet within all of this, there remains a type of person that threatens the entire design. The man who owns his land, who grows his own food, who raises his own livestock, who lives simply and sufficiently, who educates his children in truth, who bows only to Allah. A man who no longer depends on their loans, their contracts, or their products. A man who is content with little and full in heart. Such a man is the most dangerous man to the system — because he cannot be bought, cannot be programmed, cannot be controlled.

Power of Intention

Most of us, myself included, remain tied to parts of this system. Full escape is not yet possible for the majority. But we are not helpless. We can reduce our debts, simplify our lives, reconnect with nature, raise children upon truth, strengthen our tawakkul, and build communities that resist the full weight of this deception. Even if we do not succeed in fully breaking free, the intention itself carries weight with Allah. Perhaps our children will achieve what we only dreamed of. Perhaps doors will open for us in ways we cannot yet imagine. The first act of rebellion is the sincere intention to free oneself for the sake of Allah.

The Collapse

One day, this entire system will crumble under its own arrogance. The machine will be torn apart like paper. The illusions will vanish. The algorithms will fail. The debts will be erased. On that day, there will remain no ideologies, no currencies, no corporations — only truth. And that truth will be what it has always been, La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah.

Everything else was just a temporary deception.