sonofadam
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Is there a Creator/God? - Theres no doubt about it - the sound reasoning and logic point to it.
From the Rational Proofs for the Existence of a Single Unlimited Creator of the Universe
Allah (swt) says “And on the earth are signs for those of certain faith (lil muqineen) and also in your ownselves will you not then consider / look (afalaa tubsiroon)?” (adh-Dhariyaat 51:20-21) and “(It is) a Qur'an in Arabic without any crookedness (therein): in order that they may guard against Evil. Allah puts forth a Parable a man belonging to many partners at variance with each other and a man belonging entirely to one master: are those two equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! But most of them have no knowledge.” (adh-Dhariyaat 51:28-29)
The proof is that all beings and things are limited. And the sum of limited things does not make them unlimited but they are limited. They are all weak and dependent. They have a beginning both in time and in form and they have an end in time and in form. They are in perfect equilibrium and the sane mind rejects the idea that this is a random occurrence.
They must all be dependent on something which is itself independent and not subject to the laws of limited things but rather it is unlimited. The possibility of two entities being unlimited is obviously rejected as their dual existence renders them limited by each other.
There can only be one supreme power, equality is not supremacy. Conflicting forces of equal strength and ability can not result in perfect design and delicate balance. There can only be one original cause and not two or more. The chain of cause and effect running from now back to the origination of creation starts with one cause that is not subject to cause and effect. This is the only rational answer. “Had there been in heaven or earth any deities other than Allah both surely would have fallen into ruin” (al-Anbiya 21:22)
Every limited thing has a cause, when we travel backwards along the chain of causation we arrive at a point where we must say this is the first or ultimate cause. We can not say this goes on backwards forever as this contradicts the reality that we all know i.e. the sum of limited things is limited and subject to cause and effect. If we add all the cause and effect together it is not unlimited (because we have not yet reached the future and if it is possible to add one more cause or effect then this is proof of its finiteness, because the unlimited can not be increased) but rather we can take them all as one and say they are limited with a beginning and end even if they have not yet come to an end. If we look at the whole chain of cause and effect then we conclude that it is made of individual limited components and therefore the whole is indeed limited, because the whole is only the sum of its parts and limited components mean the totality is limited.
The essence of the unlimited is beyond the comprehension of man and any limited being. This is not a spiritual discussion it is a rational one. Make no mistake, the scientific method is subject to rational thought. Rational thought is that the mind makes a judgement on the reality based on previous information, the reality is perceived by the senses. Science is based on observation in order to determine the effect. If a certain change occurs in the subject it is known that this change has a cause. No scientist will ignore change and consider that it is without cause. Rather the scientist will search for the cause because it is rational that all things and changes have causes. Rational thought and sound principles based on rational thought come before the scientific method, it is not the other way around. Scientific methods need to be compared to the reality via rational thought.
Tawheed is the concept of worshipping one God or creator and making sure one’s life is in total submission to the creator and ones motivation and criterion for action revolves around this creator. The rational foundation for this is that there is a creator and that the existence of this creator can be proven rationally. The rational proofs for the necessity of the existence of a creator include the reality of cause and effect and the limited and dependent nature of all that we perceive. When the possible claims are investigated and made subject to rational thought based on factual reality and not based on speculation or baseless claims and fantasy the conclusion is emphatic and all is eliminated until we arrive at the only possible answer for the cause of existence.
Everything in our perception is limited
Time is not unlimited because it is just the measurement between events and so it has no reality of its own. The events that occur are of a limited duration as is the space between them and this means that all events individually and collectively are limited. Events are increasing all the time so these events are limited as the unlimited can not increase.
Numbers do not even exist but are applied to matters of reality to quantify them and label and organize or recognize them. Thus the matters to which the numbers apply are limited. The number is also a linear quantification and measure so even counting is of singular or restricted matters or attributes and the continuity is not applied to all spheres. If any number of thing can be increased or reduced then it is limited.
Energy, can be either potential or actual and can take the form of light, movement and heat. The energy emanates from a source and as seeing as the source is limited then the energy is also limited as the effects are dependent upon the cause and its origin. Unlimited capability does not emanate from the limited sphere. The expending of energy means that the form and capacity of the origin has been reduced and this proves its limitation. The duration and effect of the actualisation of the energy is also limited. For instance the sun is burning and giving out heat and light energy but this is reducing its own capacity to give out those things. In addition, the effects of the suns heat are not that it disintegrates the universe or even that this happens to the earth, the same is of its light, i.e. It is not so light that it penetrates all darkness. As for potential energy, then by the fact that it is not operative is proof of its limitation as its effect is reduced until it is operative and when it is operative its effect is limited.
Matter is limited due to the fact that it can be perceived, if it is seen for instance this means that the viewer is not part of that which he is viewing but that form has come to an end. The collection of all matter is limited as the whole is the sum of the parts so if the material and components are limited then so is the whole. Atoms are also part of this they are limited in form and they can be divided. They have a beginning and an end in form and their individual structure needs a cause, in addition to this they are dependent on the laws that maintain them and the surrounding conditions (this is proven by the fact that an atom can be split). As for the ability of atoms to link in order to form larger objects that are complex functional and movable then this clearly requires a designer.
Cause and Effect
The sane mind judging the reality perceived through the senses concludes that all is subject to cause and effect. As explained by Baqir as-Sadr in ‘Faslsafatuna’ (Our Philosophy) three principles explain the central reality of cause and effect
1 Everything has a cause
2 Whenever the cause is present, the effect will follow
3 Causes and Effects will be the same in all cases of the same category, if the conditions are the same.
In the age of science people have come to believe that because of the amazing discoveries of science and the dramatic impact of technology based on scientific research and discovery through experimentation, scientists using the scientific method hold the superior knowledge. This however, is a shallow error committed by the one who does not know the reality of the scientific method and the principles on which it is built. Firstly, we should distinguish between scientific theory and scientific fact. Scientific theory is a speculative idea that may be logical but not necessarily based on reality and could be based on imagination. The scientist then searches for evidence or what he erroneously perceives to be evidence. The evidence is often incomplete and does not take into consideration other possible factors an example of scientific theory is the theory of evolution. Although people may think it a fact, scientists must submit to the reality that it lacks evidence and is unproven, on further investigation the theory is full of inconsistencies and much contradictory evidence exists, more importantly however the theory is fundamentally refuted by rational principles and things already established as fact about the reality of living organisms.
Scientific fact on the other hand, is sound because it is not speculative but is only based on observation of natural phenomena or experiments, all factors are considered and the conclusions are only based on the reality and do not go on to project beyond the evidence.
Sound scientific method however, although necessary for discovery and progression is not the superior form of thought. The superior thought is rational thought and this what sound scientific method depends upon. Science is not a comprehensive thought upon which life can be based, it is only of use in observing present things. Things not present, and intangible concepts are beyond its scope. It does not produce answers to the three fundamental questions about life on which true progress is based. Science therefore can not produce the foundation of a system of life or the foundation of a comprehensive viewpoint about life. Science often bases its conclusions on that which is outside its natural conditions, experiments are error prone and often open to different interpretations and results often not decisive enough to outweigh the possibility of external factors or minor errors. Science studies a specific object or group and then applies the conclusion to all similar species generally. Thus science makes a jump of faith to the general from the specific.
Rational thought looks at the whole of perceived reality and applies the judgement to the specific element of reality. The reality is all that the human being can base his conclusions on and he can then progress when he combines this with previous information about the reality. When a scientist sees change in experiments after making an alteration to the subject matter, he concludes that his interference brought about the change in the results, this is because he believes in cause and effect and he knows that the change did not just happen by itself. This is not because cause and effect was proven through scientific experimentation but it was always assumed because it is intrinsic to the reality and is constantly perceived in the reality. Without cause and effect all scientific experimentation would be pointless because the results may have been caused by the experiment or may have just occurred by themselves and there would be no way of knowing. Additionally, science can not judge cause and effect through experimentation because the analysis of the results of the experiment itself are based on cause and effect and an independent test can not be dependent upon the principle which it is supposed to be testing. To conclude cause and effect is based on ration and is external and prior to scientific method, scientific experimentation is dependent upon the belief in cause and effect which itself emanates from rational thought.
Rational thought leads to the belief in a Creator of the universe. This is because all limited things have a cause and the universe is a limited thing so must have a cause. The initial cause must itself be unlimited and without cause itself. The initial cause can not be the creator of itself because something must exist in order to act.
The cause and effect can not be continuously going backwards as this is nonsense which has no proof from reality, neither does it make sense. The events and causes and effects are on constant increase this means that they were at a lesser point before this, the further back in time means that there were lesser causes and effects this necessarily leads to the start of cause and effect. This false view turns the chain into an imaginary jigsaw puzzle which increases in all directions but this is not the reality of cause and effect. The reality of cause and effect is that there are limited amount of things and events which have causes and these causes are also the effects of causes and this chain of cause and effect must be limited as it deals with events and things which are limited and the addition of limited things never becomes unlimited but it is limited. This proves that the idea that the chain of cause and effect has an origin and is not infinite. The chain of cause and effect can also be viewed as one singular limited matter that is on the increase, this means it is limited and that it has a beginning and an end both in time and in form.
That which is subject to change by external factors is limited. Things are either in motion or in rest and both of these properties have the potential to be the opposite, that is the static can be moved and the moving can become static. The attribute of stillness can come to an end and the attribute of motion can come to an end all things within our perception possess these attributes and these attributes are limited. The thing possessing limited attributes is limited.
Knowledge and Language
Allah (swt) says “Ar-Rahmaan, He taught the Quran. He created man. He taught him eloquent speech (al-Bayaan).” (ar-Rahmaan 55:1-4)
The components of rational thought are also proof of the existence of a creator who provided fundamental knowledge. The components of rational thought are:-
1 The Reality
2 The senses to perceive the reality
3 The sane mind to process the information
4 Previous information in order to make a judgement on the reality.
E G ‘If someone is shown a pen and they are asked what is this?’ They will answer ‘a pen’ due to rational thought. They sensed the reality of the pen and were able to judge correctly when they connected the reality with the previous information stored in the mind, they have learned previously the name and function of the object and they recognize it by its attribute and form. Accurate previous information or knowledge is necessary for the progress of man. When we use the word progress here we do not only mean it in the ultimate sense of the word i.e. The success of the next life due to the branching of the actions from the root of the correct answer to the three fundamental questions, but we also mean it in the more basic sense of progress that is survival and material advancement.
For man to survive and progress he must know the method of survival which consists of bringing about the necessary objects and conditions as well as the avoidance of those harmful objects and conditions. These harmful objects and conditions not only consist of objects and the environment but also those human actions which are detrimental. If we take for instance food, we realize that the correct knowledge consists in not only choosing those things that can be eaten but also how to prepare them etc. It becomes clear that such knowledge must have been provided because foods are not all gathered in one place but rather, these things are scattered and within a specific geographical area there will be those things that are harmful, those things that are beneficial and those things that carry little or no benefit and little or no harm. The human body can only last a limited time without food and even less time without water. The consequence is that not only does the man of survival have to avoid the poisonous and select the beneficial edible foods but must also be able to do within a limited time period. If we accept the fact that the original human communities consisted of few people we can see that the room for error was necessarily small as demonstrated by the continuation of the human race. Some may say that this is all accounted for on the basis of trial and error, but this does not take into consideration that the first people were only a few and not many. It also does not take into consideration that trial and error requires two things firstly a target and secondly a method. It could be said that these both need previous information. Basic knowledge of an object can be gained through sense perception but the comprehension of complex functions can only be gained through previous information and can not be gained through sense perception alone. If someone was given a book to read and they had no knowledge of the language in which the book was written they would never be able to read the book even through endless trial and error.
If we look at the present state of human knowledge we see that because of the human ability to analyse and enact think rationally the human being is able to build upon previous information. If we look at the world today just in terms of its scientific knowledge and the complex machines that man has built, this is all on the basis of previous information. Nobody in one lifetime is able to start from a position of total ignorance and then through guess and chance reach a level of designing computers that perform complex tasks. The situation is that human beings inherit knowledge which is necessary for their advancement and in fact for their survival. We all know that our parents and their equivalent taught us basic knowledge, and they themselves before this were taught, and this chain is continuous but it must have a starting point. That starting point can only be an intelligent source that is external to man and his limitations, “And He taught Adam all the names…” (al-Baqarah 2:31) Earliest man was certainly not taught by the animals and he did not teach himself, if he knew anything to teach he would not need to be taught, he wasn’t born with knowledge but he was born with senses, intellect, instincts and emotions, “And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you may be grateful.” (an-Nahl 16:78) Man did not possess language and the development of language is a complex matter that takes a long time. If we claim that man taught himself language then where did the idea to develop a language come from? How did language develop and how were words agreed upon? How did people know what the other was talking about when they had no joining words to make nouns comprehensible? How is it that absent things were referred to? It becomes clear that the development of human knowledge and its tool of language and then reading were not chance occurrences or the accumulative results of trial and error by pockets of scattered ape men whose existence is fictitious. Rather what the Islamic texts refer to can be rationally accepted by the sane and honest mind, it was Allah that taught man. We are reminded of this all important fact in the first few ayahs revealed of the Quran. It is also significant that the thing that distinguishes man from the animals i.e. Thought and complex language is the miracle that Allah challenged man with in the final revelation, that of language. “Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot, Read and your Lord is Most Generous, Who has taught by the pen, Taught man that which he knew not, Nay! Verily man does transgress, because he considers himself independent, Surely unto your Lord is the final return…” (al-A’laq 96:1-8) When man reflects upon his knowledge and his language and the possibilities from whence this came, he must conclude that an unlimited creator exists. “And among His signs is the creation of the Heavens and the earth and the differences of your languages and colours. Verily in that are signs for men of sound knowledge.” (ar-Room 30:22)
When we look to the instincts some may say that we like the animals have survived due to our instincts. This view however forgets that humans need clothes and human babies can not survive without thorough attention and that animals do not progress whereas humans progress all the time in terms of technology etc. The instincts are natural drives within the human being but they do not provide any means of the instincts fulfilment nor of a method. And the existence of instincts push one to survive but they also can cause death as does the survival instinct. Without any knowledge of how to successfully fulfil these instincts man would not survive and because man is a social being who becomes dependent upon the human community it is also true to add that unless man fulfils his instincts in an organized manner that protects the community then these instincts are likely to cause death and hostility in a community and its destruction which would result in a situation that worked against the survival of man and the advancement of the human race. The question should also be asked, where did these instincts come from? We see that the instincts of survival and pro-creation result in the continuation of all animals and people if they are regulated properly, so isn’t it foolish to claim the instincts are a random occurrence?
Design
Allah (swt) says “Allah puts forth a similitude; a man belonging to many partners disputing with one another and a man belonging entirely to one master. Are those two equal in comparison? All the praise belongs to Allah but most of them know not.” (az-Zumar 39:29) This ayah demonstrates well the falsehood of shirk and its useless results. Is the well ordered universe the result of conflict or is it the result of supreme control? The answer to this question is clear. This ayah is a proof for a supreme creator and it also gives rational proof that the Creator is one.
When one looks at an object that has complexity and functionality and equilibrium it becomes clear that this object was designed and not the result of a random occurrence. Every designed object requires a designer. If the object has no designer then the object can not be said to be designed but it is known that matters of detail, perfection and several complimentary parts that work together as a whole are not by chance but are by design. When one looks towards an object that has been designed and built by humans such as a television, nobody would say that the television came about by chance or a random occurrence and certainly not the result of an explosion. If we claim that such complex but perfectly functioning objects emanated from an explosion then it must be admitted from this that the conditions and natural laws by which formation occurred are themselves by design. In other words it is not the means that indicates design but the result and this result rationally establishes a designer and the means of formation are not understood and may not be perceived and maybe some of the means are perceived but the ability of spontaneous creation and advanced design are beyond the perception except by witnessing which is impossible in the case of the origin of the universe and life etc.
To return to the example of the television one would say that the amount of necessary parts combined with the object serving a clear intended purpose and the clear ability to perform various functions combined with a role to play for each individual part establish without doubt that the television was designed and manufactured. The one who denied this would be classed as insane or at least intensely stupid. Now the same principle must be applied to the natural world generally as a whole and also its individual parts. If we take the universe as a whole we see that it is in equilibrium and that if some components were not present then the whole would not function properly and we see that the whole of it is much more complex than any man made object. When we look to individual natural bodies such as the human body we see that the human body is a complex living being that has many capabilities because of its excellent attributes and organs and the combination of systems and parts within the human body. It is clear that any individual organ or system of the human body is more advanced and complex than a man made object upon which all would agree could only come about by design and deliberate manufacture and not through chance and random unintended events. If we look to the way that nutrients and oxygen travel around the body by an extremely complex yet perfectly functional matrix of veins and arteries so that the blood carries the oxygenated blood to the organs and parts of the body then returns the blood by the veins back to the heart which continually pumps the blood. The blood is supplied nutrients by food taken into the mouth which passes through the intestines and into the stomach which is then absorbed into the blood. The blood is oxygenated via the continuous breathing of the human being through the mouth and nose which suck in the air and draw it down into the lungs which supply the blood. Both of these acts of feeding nutrients and oxygenation are necessary for the human being and so are not forgotten by the human being but rather breathing occurs naturally and involuntarily and the supplying of nutrients is achieved by eating which is done voluntarily but naturally and by necessity due to the desire for it due to hunger and thirst and due to the desire for the pleasurable taste of food which occurs via tastebuds on the tongue. The food that is desired is able to be sought and chosen due to memory and previous information stored by the brain which is the most advanced organ which possesses greater and more complex functions and capabilities than any man made computer. The senses allow the human to acquire the food through sight, hearing, touch and smell all of which can be used individually and in combination before the food is tasted or consumed. Each of these matters is immensely advanced such as the eye which the human moves instantly into one out of hundreds of possible positions and then they automatically focus. If any of these organs or systems of the body are studied in detail then none would deny that any of them are more complex and advanced than a television. Then how can one justify that one must have a designer and yet the more advanced one does not? This is moving away from the admitted rational principle without reason or evidence so it implies contradiction. When the human body is taken as a whole then its complexity and advanced design and amazing perfection are increased and emphasized so that design can not be denied. When the whole animal kingdom is considered and then the whole biological; world and then the whole universe the denial of design becomes a ridiculous suggestion which has no justification and no foundation.
Another factor related to this, is that the simple object must emanate from that which is more advanced originally. So the computer is an advanced tool that performs various functions and contains various individual systems and each system contains many parts each of which has a function and many parts of which are necessary for the functioning of that particular component or even the whole. If we look at a modern p.c. it contains components such as a motherboard, monitor, video card, sound card, floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive or DVD drive, all of these components must be designed by someone who possesses many capabilities that they do not possess such as thought et cetera. The advanced universe must emanate from that which is more advanced than all of it and not that which is lesser than it as some claim. They claim that the universe was the result of an explosion and that this explosion resulted in order complexity and advancement, this is false because it considers the means of change and not the ultimate cause behind and before the sequence of events which must have designed the necessary conditions and planned the sequence of events. To illustrate this point, we can take the example of a piece of advanced mechanical machinery. If someone turns one switch this may start of a complex process of functions and someone may claim that a simple act of turning a switch has resulted in something complex so that complexity has emanated from the simple. This is false because the turning of the switch was a means to the complex in the sequence of events and the turning of the switch was not the cause of the complex functions in itself. The real cause of the complex functions and operation of the machinery was that someone possessing thought and intelligence was aware of certain mechanical principles and then designed the machinery so that he arranged the basic materials and sub components into a workable system, in addition to this the machinery served some purpose and the designer had to possess knowledge of how to achieve that purpose. Turning a switch would result in very little unless someone had connected the switch to a power source and connected a power source to the components. This then is the case with the universe the means and intermediary causes should not be mistaken with the necessity of an original cause and designer. When people have sexual intercourse they did not design a human being and create life but rather they just act upon instinct and they have no knowledge of whether conception will take place or whether a baby will be born healthy or even alive. Even though the simple actions of the couple have resulted in a complex thinking and living being, these things have already been designed and caused by an initial creator of life and designer of the human being.
Another matter related to this is that order tends towards disorder unless it is ordered. Disorder will not turn by itself to order unless there is a cause of organization and if this cause of organization is not independent then its own ability and attributes of organization then must have a cause that designed these attributes and capabilities of organization. So the human being who possesses capability to design must himself be designed by one who designed and gave them these abilities and attributes. All of this leads to the conclusion that there is an original designer.
Dependency
Allah (swt) says “…But Allah is Al Ghani [Rich and Independent without need] and you are fuqaraa’ [poor and in need]…” (Muhammad 47:37) All living things are dependent on something else for their survival, animals and human beings need food and water or they will die and this is the same as plants. Inanimate things are also dependent on the conditions of their environment and the physical laws which govern them if you take away these intrinsic laws then they can not function or exist, where did these laws come from? This perfect equilibrium must have come from somewhere, it could not have come from themselves because before they existed they were unaware of their own needs (and in fact all things are still unaware of the necessary processes and components that maintain the universe) In order to sustain yourself, you must be able to provide sustenance for yourself at every stage of your existence including the beginning when you first came into existences, this means the knowledge, application and material for this must have existed as a capability ready to be utilized just before the creation of yourself, but you did not exist so it obviously was not yourself who sustained you. If you do not possess any ability to sustain yourself then it is most likely that you did not possess the capability to sustain anything else rather a limited thing just is a part of the physical means of the sustenance of something but has no overall control and it is clear that all limited things are not randomly sustaining each other in perfect equilibrium. This would be like suggesting that one billion senseless men (deaf, dumb, blind and without tangible feeling) all had unique needs and they also possessed unique stock to sell, each corresponding to one senseless mans needs, the only way that these blind men could buy and sell is if they happened to come bump into the correct blind trader and initiate an immediate exchange before meeting an incorrect trader, incorrect being the other 999,999,999 a probability that may as well be considered as impossible (1: 1,000,000,000 ) if the correct sale is made to the unique buyer who has the unique stock the other requires for his survival he must also wait to see that all other sales man make the same transaction in order for him to survive this multiplies our previous probability by one billion. It should be noted that this analogy very much scaled down compared to the real probability of random mutual dependency. Obviously, it is ridiculous to suggest that everything is holding each other in perfect equilibrium by chance and even if we were to be irrational and say that it may be the case. The claim is still impossible because when we take these random dependent entities we still have to submit to the fact that they are unable to create the conditions for their dependence previous to their own existence. And what would be the motivating force for such an amazing feat? How can something without a mind plan its own survival before its own existence? The answer is clear to the honest and rational person. The limited things are all subject to a perfect equilibrium designed and enacted before they came into existence which is itself unlimited and independent without need, it had no beginning as it has no end otherwise we would be back to describing a limited entity.
Nature-
The Quran mentions that many people are believing in a Creator although they are not Musims, Allah (swt) says “Ask them ‘Who sends down for you your provision from the sky and grows it out of the earth? Who hears your prayer and sees your condition? Who brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living? Who directs the course of the world? They will answer ‘Allah’ Rejoin ‘Would you then not fulfil your duty to Him?’” (Yoonus 10:32) and “Whatever comfort you enjoy comes from Allah and unto Him you cry with groans asking for help when misfortune befalls you. Yet no sooner does He remove your ills than some of you set up partners to their Lord.” (an Nahl 16:53-54) and “If indeed you ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and moon they will certainly reply Allah’ How are they then deluded away? (al A’nkaboot 29:61)
Allah (swt) says “Is there a doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth?” (Ibraheem 14:10) and “Ah indeed! are they in doubt concerning the Meeting with their Lord? Ah indeed! it is He that doth encompass all things! (Ha Meem 41:54) and “Therefore set your face steadfastly towards the true deen turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the nature with which Allah has created people. No altering let there be in the creation of Allah. This is surely the true deen but most people do not know it.” (ar Room 30:30) and Rasool Allah (saw) was reported to have said that Allah (swt) said “..And I have created my I’baad pure but the shayaateen came to them deviated them from their deen prohibited them that which I made permissable and commanded them to take with me partners withut My permission…” (MUSLIM) [also relate making halal haram to prohibiting seeking knowledge from books etc.] It is reported by Abu Hurayrah that Nabi (saw) said “Each child is born on the Fitrah but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian. It is like the way an animal gives birth to a normal offspring. Have you noticed any born mutilated before you mutilate them?” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic [vol.8 no.597] MUSLIM [no.6423])
Mankind possesses a worship or reverence instinct. Man naturally admires greatness and perfection. Man is aware of his own inadequacy and is impressed by that which is adequate. Man is weak and knows he is dependent and not independent. Man has a natural fear of that which he is to experience yet he has no direct knowledge of it either through self experience or experience conveyed to him by one of his own kind. Man will praise and revere what he believes to be superior hoping for some benefit and in the case of the worship of Allah the believer does so out of fear of punishment and hope for reward. Someone may also revere and worship due to gratefulness or thankfulness to the one who has bestowed benefits and blessings. Man also has a conscience of right and wrong to a certain degree and can recognize the true proofs when they are presented and the truth is manifest and it is clearly the right path so man inclines towards worship of one God as it is in-built and he naturally expects a purpose to the ordered universe. Man also naturally out of a sense of justice desires to worship that which is deserving of worship and praise but this like many naturally occurring good inclinations can become distorted so that the wrong things are worshipped or that worship is mixed with the deserving and undeserving. Man desires to worship the powerful and wealthy out of fear and out of wanting to gain benefit so the one who arrives at the correct conclusion will worship Allah who is all powerful and Al-Ghani unlimitedly rich without need. We see that man has historically always worshipped whether man-made idols, elements of nature such as the sun and moon, men, nature itself, false gods or just one God. If we look to the world today we see that most people will admit believing in a creator and most claim to be of a certain religion even if they do not follow it strictly. If you were to look at the different parts of the world you would see that south America is dominated by catholic Christians, north America is mainly Christian but with about ten million Muslims. Europe is dominated by Protestant Christianity except those countries which are dominated by catholic Christianity, such as Spain and Italy. Almost all in India are either Hindu, Muslim or Sikh. And the middle east, the upper half of Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia and Pakistan, Afghanistan, the majority of the old Soviet countries below Russia are all Muslim. The oriental countries such as Japan and China mainly adhere to other religions such as Taoism, however, China has about two-hundred million Muslims. We see then that the majority of the world believe in a god even if the belief is weak and the adherence to the religions loose. We see that those who deny the existence of God fulfil their worship instinct by idolizing and revering politicians, leaders, musicians, actors, scientists, writers, sportsman, philosophers etc. They even make statues of them and similar things. So there are two elements related to mans natural arrival at Tawheed 1) The instinct of worship, reverence and admiration 2) The natural acknowledgement of that which is manifestly the Truth. To summarise the different elements of the motivation to worship, we mention that worship may be driven by one or more of these:-
1 Desire to be led and not left to ones own devices
2 Respect and admiration for that which is deserving of it due to perfection, greatness and excellent qualities and amazing abilities
3 The natural feeling of subjugation and submission and the tranquillity which arises from this (e.g. “Flee to Allah” One flees from Allah unto Allah as Allah is in control of all situations and the cause of such tests and events and only certain refuge can be taken from the one who is all-powerful to remove the matters which one seeks refuge from.)
4 The acceptance of helplessness and inability (So the one who worships is aware that they are dependent and not independent, similarly in cases of shirk people turn to those which they believe will be able to give help)
5 The desire to avoid harm and punishment from the one which possesses the ability to enact these. (This is the motivation called tarheeb, and the believer is driven by it when recalling the general punishment for disobedience and also the punishments for specific acts of disobedience. The fear of such matters is also a fear of the stages in which a punishment may occur such as I worldly torture or calamity ii Painful death physically iii painful removal of ruh iv) punishment in the grave v) punishment on Yawmil Qiyaamah vi) punishment in hellfire
6 Fear of the unknown that is certain to come
7 Obedience to that which is worthy of obedience accepting the difference in status and accepting the natural order and hierarchy
8 To please the one whom you give Love and Allegiance. Love is inclining towards something due to several reasons, outward beauty, perfect qualities et cetera. One may want to please this beloved for no other reason than that they are beloved to them.
9 To gain benefit
10 To avoid harm, loss, pain and punishment
11 Higher reference point so they obey in order for success of I) acts or ii) their results or iii) agreement with objectives. The last of these points would be in the case of one obeying orders due to agreement with the objectives that the acts serve, this could be generally when all obedience to commands is taken as a whole knowing such commands to be part of a comprehensive plan or motivated by specific acts of obedience due to the sub-objectives and goals that such actions or combinations of actions aim to achieve. An example of this would be the one obeying a government in order to serve strengthen and advance its cause due to the agreement with its ideological viewpoint or it may be related to obeying the government in specific commands due to the agreement with those smaller components of the governments agenda, an example of this would be for instance, supporting the governments security forces and police motivated by wanting to see the elimination of criminals or rebels who are harmful to society. Such a restricted form of obedience would not necessarily include the agreement with all of the governments legislation and policies.
12 Gratefulness One aims to obey, please, worship and revere due to things they have received et cetera.
The above elements of the reverence instinct are intertwined and overlap. The one giving reverence to another may be motivated by one, several or all of the above elements. Every one of the above points can take the form of correct worship or it can be misdirected worship which is shirk. Some of these elements could be directed towards material things whereas other elements could only be directed towards either Allah or misdirected towards people.
The instincts inspire the emotions and thus part of worship and reverence is also manifested in different emotional states. Reverence and worship is not only in loving the object of worship but also in loving what they love and in hating what they hate. The emotions are common to human beings and are intrinsic to them, however the variation in the reasons for the manifestation of these emotions differ among people in part, due to the acquired ideas that people carry. An example of this is that one may be a lot less emotionally disturbed by death if one was brought up in an environment where death was seen much and talked about much. This type of variation is within the same level but to a varying degree, i.e. death causes distress and sadness but in varying degrees among different people. However , there is also variation to the causes of emotions so that opposite emotions occur among people with regards to the same events and subject matter. One of the main causes of this type of variation is that emotions are not only emanating from instincts but they also emanate from thoughts. Thus, death in general causes sorrow in people for the one who has died, especially if they died a painful death but this may not be the case if the one dying is disliked because of their behaviour et cetera. So if the killed person was guilty of torturing and killing people themselves then this changes the thoughts of people towards that person so that they are not sorrowful at his death but are pleased about it.
A further proof for the existence of the worship instinct is that the Quran explicitly states that Allah created the Jinn and mankind only to worship Him. Thus the main purpose of mans existence is to worship. The two possible states of man are thus a state of shirk or a state of tawheed so man either directs all worship to Allah or he associates in it and mis-directs this worship to the undeserving. This matter is true considering that every act that man can perform and all his beliefs, thoughts, speech and emotions are governed by Islamic texts. This means that any act performed or any emotion or thought can either serve the purpose of tawheed (by being based on the correct criterion) or they are based on shirk which is using the wrong criterion. Thus man is always in a state of tawheed or shirk. When we refer to shirk in this sense, it does not mean that the worshipper necessarily commits the major shirk, but through heedlessness (ghaflah) he commits the minor shirk which is that he performs actions for the wrong reasons and fails to connect his thought, emotion, speech or action with his objective in life, which has been defined by Allah “I have not created Jinn and mankind except for my worship” (adh-Dhaariyaat 51:56)
The natural state of man is that he realizes that things do not come from nowhere, he sees in every aspect of creation that things come from somewhere. Man knows that he is not independent although he sometimes acts as though he is “Nay! Verily, man does transgress because he considers himself independent” (al A’laq 96:6-7). He forgets he came with no knowledge and that without vital knowledge and help he would die, he is dependent upon food, air, water, shelter and now we are in the age of technology he is also dependent upon that if it was suddenly taken away from him he would not be able to cope and would die. Man does not ultimately control these necessities but only interacts as a means, but not the cause. If man was the cause then this would mean he possessed the capability and the one who possesses complete capability is capable at all times so he is successful at achieving what he intends but this is clearly not the case with man. People want to commit suicide but are unable either because of the in built fear which is part of the nature of whose creation they were no partner or they fail physically because of any number of factors. Man may try to kill another but again will fail and may end up himself dead or harmed and his object may end in a better condition than originally. Man may want riches but ends up poorer for his efforts or may put no effort in and find himself rich. Man may want to cling to life but is unable to, even if he takes any preventative measures. Allah (swt) says “Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high and if some good reaches them they say this is from Allah’ But if some evil befalls them, they say ‘This is from you (O Muhammad)’. Say: ‘All things are from Allah’. So what is wrong with these people that they fail to understand any word?” (an Nisa 4:78)
What can man do to prevent the rain from falling or the hurricane, the earthquake, the tornado, the lightning, the tidal wave, the volcano, the landslide, the avalanche, the drought, the cold? He can do nothing but submit to the situation in which Allah has put him in. He does not control his own life or anyone else’s, everything happens by the will of Allah and Allah gave man a mind so that he can reach the correct conclusion for himself. Man did not choose to be born, he did not choose to be black or white, he did not choose his height or his country of origin, he did not choose to be beautiful or ugly, rather all of this was imposed upon him. Man realizes that the ship, the building, all have someone who designed and built them and he comes to the same conclusion regarding the universe or any other aspect of it, that is all much greater and more complex than the manufacturing of man (and even this manufacturing was only made possible by the strength, knowledge, physical laws and materials provided by the Creator). Nothing allows man to move away from the factual principles that govern life such as ‘limited things are dependent on that which is other than themselves’ and ‘every design needs a designer’ and ‘every effect requires a cause’ All of these sound principles that are accepted by all sane minds are never doubted or ignored in the every day life of man. They are concepts that are firmly fixed in the mind and constantly acted upon and it would be madness to move away from them. This means there is no justification to move away from them when we come to talk of the universe as a whole or the creation of man because these things are even more worthy of these principles. Whoever moves away from these principles needs a sound rational proof, a theory is of no use. When man is in his hour of need and fears his death is imminent, he quickly turns to that which he knows is the truth, the existence of one God. “Whatever comfort you enjoy comes from Allah, and unto Him you cry with groans asking for help when misfortune befalls you. Yet no sooner does He remove your ills than some of you set up partners to their Lord” (an-Nahl 16:53-54)
Life
Allah (swt) says “Does not man remember that We created him before, while he was nothing?” (Maryam 19:67) Allah (swt) says, “O Mankind! A similitude has been coined so listen to it: Verily! Those on whom you call besides Allah, cannot create a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly snatched away a thing from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are the seeker and the sought. They have not estimated Allah His Righhtful estimate. Verily Allah is Qawiun A’zeez.” (al-Hajj 22:73-74) Man can not create functioning life-forms and the man who denies the existence of a supreme creator also has no answer to how life came about. Man can not control life or death neither his own nor other peoples. It is a secret that belongs to Allah and even its reality is unknown. Scientists and doctors have difficulty in even defining what life is. It has been the case when people have been pronounced clinically dead yet they were not dead. It is the case that doctors do not know where life is, is it the heart or the brain? They often can not recognize why something has died and it is often the case with still born babies that doctors have no answer for the reason of the baby being born dead as they analyze the body and see that its organs are fine. Doctors and scientists have been unable to understand why people die at all, as all the cells within the body are in a state of constant regeneration, and scientists are convinced that they can make people live much longer lives than what they do because of this fact of self regeneration and renewal.
When scientists manipulate living organisms and genes all they are doing is manipulating life forms that already exist. It is just like a minute form of surgery. The idea that life came without cause and by chance from uncaused interactions between different elements has no proof whatsoever. If it was the case that life spontaneously generated out of the dead, then why is it that there is no recorded evidence of it ever happening again neither in plants, animals, humans or even micro-organisms? There is no such thing recorded in thousands of years. The only records of such things are in the religious scriptures where the power manifested at the hands of messengers who were given miracles by Allah. So we see these matters mentioned in the religious books of the Jews, Christians and Muslims as all three religions are from the one true God and Creator Allah. So Moosa (as) brought a serpent from a staff. I’sa (as) brought the dead back to life and the Quran mentions that Ibraheem (as) brought some birds back to life even after their bodies were cut into pieces and separated by some distance. Allah (swt) says “How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to lifeand then unto Him you will return.” (al-Baqarah 2:28) and “Verily! It is Allah who causes the seed-grain and the fruit stone to split and to sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead and it is He who brings forth dead from the living. Such is Allah, then how are you deluded away from the truth?” (al Ana’m 6:95) and “It is He who gives life and causes death and to Him you shall return.” (Yunus 10:56)
...i m sure u wont mind explaining so that i cud answer yr query perhaps!
