Miscellaneous

Re: Sufis

Question:-

My ex-wife and estranged daughter are followers of the Sufi Pir Vilayat Khan. Can anyone here enlighten me as to this sect? Thank you.

Comment:-

Be advised that there is a difference between words and realities.

(1) Anyone can call themselves Sufi.

(2) The word is understood differently by different people.

(3) And there are many kinds and degrees of Sufis.

(4) The word Sufi could refer to a particular aspect or organisation, group or set of groups rather than persons e.g. It may refer to an aspect or part of Islam that traces its origin back to the Prophet. You will then need to know whether their ideas, motives and practices are consistent or compatible with Islam, which requires knowledge of Islam.

(5) If you ask someone about a sect they will give an opinion according to their opinion or knowledge of what Sufis are or are not. This may not be your idea of what Sufis are.

(6) If by Sufi you mean "someone who has undertaken a path of spiritual development" then you must understand:- (a) what the word "spiritual" means and (b) something about the means by which this can be achieved. (c) the actual practices of the people who claim to use those means.

----------<O>----------

Conversion

Seeker:-

I am very interested in the Shia section of Islam, but I cannot claim to know yet if my heart will lead me to what "branch" of Islam, but it is leading to Islam.

Comment:-

I would suggest that you avoid following any particular branch of Islam but try to find the original Truth. Islam is about Unity.

There was no such division in the beginning. The Quran specifically warns against sectarianism. (23:52-53, 30:30-32) It is a mark of degeneration. This causes people to select some parts and ignore other parts to distinguish themselves from each other. It leads to partial knowledge, bias and conflict.

----------<O>----------

Predestination

A Muslim:-

The correct way is for the Muslims in particular and mankind in general to examine their ideology in the light of the living Book of Allah, Almighty the Quran. They should retain what the Book condones. All other notions should be discarded. The focal point of the Quran is the Law of Returns says, that every human action bears a result, sooner or later. That makes Man responsible for his actions.

Otherwise, the entire system of divine guidance is rendered pointless. Furthermore, the idea of predestination also makes a mockery of our judicial machinery. Why punish a criminal when he or she only was an instrument in the grand divine plan of things pre-decided at the birth of the Universe? The same difficulty arises in the case of morality, too! I hope by now it is quite clear that the traditional notion of men pre-decided destiny does not hold any ground whatsoever. All human social problems are of their own making - Quran Chapter 42 verse 30 - and only they themselves can solve them as they are fully capable of and responsible for doing it.

Comment:-

There is confusion here.

Predestination refers to the fact that the processes of the Universe have a direction and a goal.

The Universe is run on laws. All things have causes and return to Allah. His plan cannot be flouted. That which goes against His plan is destroyed, leaving that which goes according to His plan. Divine guidance and punishment and reward must be understood in this context.

"Do they not reflect within themselves: Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them but with Truth, and for an appointed term and destined end? But truly most of the people are disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord." 30:8

"And unto Allah do prostrate whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening." 13:15

"There is no power save in Allah!." 18:40

"... it was that Allah might accomplish a thing that must be done; for unto Allah do all things return!" 8:44

"Such has been the course (or practice or law) of Allah that has indeed run also in the past, and you shall find no power to change this course (or law) of Allah." 48:23

"But nay! I swear by (or call to witness) the Lord of all points of the rising and setting places East and West that We are certainly able to replace them with others better than them, and We shall not be overcome." 70:40-41

"Every nation (or community) has its appointed term, and when their appointed term is completed they cannot delay it an hour, nor can they advance it." 7:34

----------<O>----------

Evolution

Question:-

Where does Islam stand in the controversy between the scientific theory of Evolution and Intelligent Design? How can Creation by God be justified in view of the fact that there is no proof for the existence of God?

Answer:-

Some of us are well aware that the Universe and things in it have a direction of development over a period of time, as the Quran confirms. But it is a spiritual development, one of increasing consciousness, conscience and will (capability). See Quran 59;49:50, 65:12, 71:14-17, 84:19, 22:5, 32:5, 14:19, 11:57, 70:40-41, 76:28-29, 3:164, 91:7-10, 20:76, 56:61, 62:2, 7:17, 87:14, 24:21. And also see 7:54, 41:9, and for relativity of time 22:47 and 70:4)

Considering the whole of Reality, the causes of this cannot be outside the system by definition, but within it. Ultimately, therefore, the cause is an intention. It is the same as a purpose.

As the ultimate and fundamental self-existing Reality from which all other things originate is called Allah, Evolution can be defined as the manifestation of Allah's purpose. We do not require proof that Allah exists, because all proofs depend on things that have already been assumed to exist. Allah is the proof of the existence of all other things. Allah is manifested by the fact that matter, energy, forces information, life and consciousness do exist, are characteristics of Reality and are experienced by us.

According to the current scientific theory (the theory changes as knowledge accumulates through research) evolution takes place by the accumulation of random mutations - small accidental events - and natural selection of the fittest by the environment. This view is rejected. Everything requires causes. Random combinations do not accumulate - if they form then they will also be undone randomly. Accumulation is possible only if there is some non-random force that maintains combinations and allows permanent additions.

Mutations can be regarded as acts of creativity by Allah, and natural selection is selection by Allah.

We notice that there is most certainly order in the Universe and that the behaviour of systems depends not only on the forces coming from their environments but also on their own inner organisation and they adjust themselves to their environments. This requires cognition, motivation and capability. This adaptability can be defined as Intelligence and exists in all things to different degrees. It is a Universal Faculty.

Quantum Theory indicates that the fundamental particles are bundles of a range of probabilities which collapse into actualities when they contact other things such as measuring devices or the mind of the observer. According to some Physicists the collapse into an actuality requires conscious observers. It would follow that the Objective Universe is as it is because of a Universal Consciousness. This is also the Islamic View. Allah is Aware and surrounds all things. The Universe is an Idea in the mind of Allah.

This is not such a strange idea. We are also a part of this Reality and our minds are part of the Universal mind. The world we perceive and the world as Science describes are constructs in our minds. But these constructs are formed by something objective that exists outside us. That objective world is the world as seen by Allah.

It is necessary to understand that the observable facts of nature are not under dispute, but facts can be sought, selected interpreted and arranged differently according to different frameworks of reference and purposes. There is nothing about the scientific viewpoint that is sacrosanct or more valid than the religious one. In fact, because religion is concerned with the process of living and adjustment to reality, and therefore, with value systems rather than impersonal facts, the religious framework is much more useful psychologically than the scientific one which is impersonal. The fact is that human beings like all other creatures have evolved with faculties designed for their own welfare and development. Scientifically based technologies are only a part of this.

The opposition to the “Intelligent Design” as an explanation for the evolution seems to be based on superstitions about the nature of intelligence, chance and determinism. Instead of considering how intelligence arose in human beings there seems to be unexamined assumption that it is a miraculous unique property of man. The notion of chance exists relative to determinism and it is given creative properties when in fact it cannot be a cause. On the contrary we know something has a cause in proportion to the improbability of its chance occurrence. When dice are thrown, the probability of it coming to rest with a particular number face up is not infinite but one in six. This number is determined by the number of faces that give us alternatives. One comes to full determination only by removing the alternatives. But if one assumes determinism before collecting and arranging data, then the assumption will re-appear in the conclusion.

Question:-

You say that it is perfectly possible to explain evolution as being directed by intelligence. But it has been pointed out that many facts do not make sense in this theory. For instance, there is junk DNA, pseudo-genes that have no function but are relics of past species. Some animals that dwell in caves where there is no light have rudimentary eyes which their surface dwelling ancestors might have needed in day light. There are similar but separate environments that contain quite different species. There is what seems like tremendous cruelty when some insects lay eggs within the bodies of other creatures and these hatch out to eat those hosts from the inside. There appear to a number imperfections in nature on which human designers could have improved. All this seems unplanned and accidental. How is this to be understood?

Answer:-

The fossil record certainly shows that plants and animals have developed in stages. I do not deny that evolution takes place, nor do I support the American version of Intelligent Design that is a naive version of sudden Creationism. I think that this controversy between them is based on a misunderstanding on both sides. The fact is that Natural Selection is not the only Theory about how evolution takes place. We also have theories such as “genetic drift” and “symbiogenetic modification.”, and Lamark’s hypothesis that acquired characteristics can produce genetic changes and be transmitted down the generations is also making a comeback in a modified form.

The point is that evolution is not as mechanical as some people suppose but that there are purposes and functions to consider. There are drives for self-preservation, reproduction and self-extension. Organisms and the systems they belong to have the capacity for adaptation and there is great variation and versatility. So that given changes in environment that might be inhospitable for some or most individuals, and disable or kill them off, there are always some that can survive in it and multiply and fill the space left by others.

It is not necessary to understand intelligence in an anthropomorphic sense. There are various degrees of it. Does Intelligence exist? Is human intelligence supernatural? It is silly to reject the notion of intelligence in nature while rejecting the supernatural. Either intelligence is supernatural or it is not. In either case it exists.

The question is: does an organ develop first and its function comes second. Or is there first a need and this is met by the development of the appropriate organ. The fact is that both processes continue together. A vestigial organ develops and it is used for some purpose and if it gives an advantage then this encourages its further development. Existing organs can be modified for different uses. This is what allows organisms to adapt to different environments.

It is falsely assumed that Intelligence must always be imposed from outside a system and that it cannot apply to an inherent quality of things. But the phenomena of self-organisation, now well known belies this. Chemicals do under certain conditions fall into spontaneous order. Examples are crystals and snow flakes. Many processes tend move towards an equilibrium known as an "Attractor" which can be a dynamic rather than a static state. Self-organisation happens in a system that exists in the environment of a greater system separated from it by a border that exerts some kind of restraints on the free exchange between the inner and outer area. Biological processes depend on this. It is also the case that the whole of a system is more than the sum of the parts owing to its structure and this produces what are called epiphenomena. All these can be regarded as instances of intelligence. It may well be that there are laws connected with the atoms or the particles of which they are composed that cause all these phenomena. But it is not denied that intelligence has no causes. It is also known that everything in the Universe, from the sub-atomic particles to the Universe itself, can be said to be Information Processing devices. It has been calculations that the Universe can perform 101^105 operations per second on 10^20 bits. The Universe and all things are said to be created of Truth according to the Quran (16:3, 29:44, 30:8).

But organisms do not only adapt to environments, they also change environments and migrate to suitable ones. They are also affected by the same environment differently. We cannot study organisms in isolation without getting a distorted picture. Within an ecological system there is much interdependence and many checks and balances. A species A may live by eating species B, C and D. B may eat F, G, and C. And G may live on A. If the number of individuals of A increases and eat too many of B, this may cause F, G, and C to increase in number. C may then reduce the number of A. It is not, therefore, a question of survival or reproductive fitness, but of function within the system to which things belong.

The fact is that the fertilised cell from which the adult develops contains general sensitivities and a great number of potentialities which are actualised gradually into the various special organs of sense and action. But the nervous system is sufficiently flexible for different parts to take over the function of others.

At the genetic level, genes can be turned on or off at various stages of development and different environments. It is not the case that all genes have to have a function at all times or that non-functioning genes are useless. They may have catalytic, enabling, modifying or repressive, affects. Or they may merely exist as future potentialities.

As for judgements about whether something is good or evil that is clearly a human judgement. Nature obviously judges things differently. We too eat other life forms, animals and plants. There is certainly competition and a struggle against opposition. It is by overcoming these that evolution takes place and there is also co-operation and unity. It is not denied that things are imperfect on earth - perfection is to be had only in heaven. Indeed there is much evil on earth, mostly committed by human beings. But it is not at all certain that some of the criticisms made by Biologists and others are valid. It may well be that further research will show that there is much greater wisdom in nature than was thought. In fact man learns much from nature and it may be far more intelligent than the critics. If the universe and all things in it are evolving then clearly they are moving from imperfection towards perfection which lies in the future. The process by which this takes place must be regarded as good. In fact, human beings are required to be agents through whom this is to be achieved and they too are required to get more intelligent.

The Theory of Evolution based on Intelligence may not be a conventional scientific theory in the Western sense, but it is more comprehensive because it considers facts as well as meaning and values. It is preferable because it predicts that the direction of evolution is increasing consciousness, conscience and will (enhanced capacity for knowledge, virtue and ability). This is not predictable from the Theory based on Natural selection because mutations are random and selection depends on the environment that is unpredictable.

----------<O>----------

Punishment

Assertion:-

Possibly the most difficult ayat in the Quran to cope with in the twenty-first century is 5:38 which states "The thief and the female thief, chop off their hands ... " (Quran 5:38).

The problem is that this ayat is quite clear and definite, but the command it gives is not only repugnant but counter-productive.

Comment:-

It is difficult to cope with by some people who have certain attitudes.

In general the rule applies to persistent offenders. The first offence or one that has extenuating circumstances such as someone in dire need (say of food or medicine), or a person of low intelligence or in confusion, is not punished in this way - It is the duty of the community through Zakat to see that basic needs are satisfied.

As I see it, the severity of punishment reflects the disapproval with which the community looks upon a deed. This has educational as well as deterrent effects.

If it has a deterrent effect then the punishment abolishes itself.

On the other hand, if owing to weak consequences, the offence proliferates then the harm and suffering it causes multiplies and that is a greater evil than that done to the thief. The compassion that prevents the punishment becomes self-contradictory and negates its aim. From the broader point of view, the person who opposes the punishment on compassionate grounds turns out not to be compassionate at all.

It has been noticed that in many Western Laws it is the miscreant that is protected against the victims and that is why there is so much crime. The thief knows what the punishment is and undertakes to risk the consequences.

One could argue that depriving a person of his liberty in a prison is even more barbaric especially as this requires prison officers who are trained to keep people in prison where the inmates are further brutalised or criminalised. In fact the effect on the whole society is to habituate people mentally to a culture of control.

However, it is to be noted that the Quran also teaches compassion and forgiveness so that it is not necessarily the case that the punishment should always be administrated in its severest form. The conditions of life dictate what is appropriate.

The verse has been interpreted by some people in a symbolic way - to cut off the hand implies depriving a person of the instruments by which he does things. It is similar to the exhortation by Jesus:- "If your eye offends you cut it out" (Matthew 18:9)

----------<O>----------

Contents