5. The Concept of “God”

In order to understand the phrase “ Surrender unto Allah ” (Islam), it is necessary to understand what is meant by the word “Allah”. It is the Arabic word for the ultimate Absolute Unity from which all other things derive. It refers to the Supreme God, not to be confused with the general term, gods with a small “g”.

People throughout the world and in all ages and cultures have had a concept of God. It is built into their nature. Human beings endowed with a measure of consciousness must have a comprehensive concept, no matter how vague, which unifies all their outer (objective or environmental), social (interactive), as well inner (subjective or psychological) experiences into a self-consistent whole in order to enable them to comprehend and adjust to the world. Something has to be recognised as the ultimate and supreme reality. This concept, therefore, has three aspects:-

(a) It must refer to something objective which is all-comprehensive.

(b) It must modify and facilitate social relationships.

(c) It must be psychologically relevant and beneficial. If it is not then it may be only of academic interest and this is not the religious attitude.

Though familiarity normally prevents us from awareness of the fact, we are surrounded and suffused by three mysteries:- the origin and existence of the material universe, of life and of consciousness. The concept of God arises as an explanation for these. Though attempts have been made to reduce consciousness and life to materiality, this has not been successful owing to the fact that materiality implies something passive having inertia, life implies something which is self-regulating and mind is something which controls other things. All three are aspects of Reality. Apart from this it does not explain the arising of the Universe, nor does it explain the existence of Laws, that is, the order, regularities and patterns by which things and processes are governed. or the qualities things possess including their extension in space, duration in time and interactions. Thus three other mysteries are involved in existence, causation, order and quality which are irreducible and have to be taken for granted in order to make any sense of the world. In fact, we have to presuppose the existence of consciousness. The Universe we see cannot possibly exist without it.

It seems fairly obvious to most people that

(1) all things are related to and interact with other things, and that they belong to some greater whole. There must, therefore, be ultimately some single absolute unity.

(2) this ultimate absolute unity must itself be uncaused and self-existent.

(3) it must be able to give rise to everything that can possibly exist.

(4) since things do appear and disappear, there must be more to this ultimate reality than is actualised or known.

(5) since all explanations consist of establishing the relationship of a things with some already established law or regularity, this ultimate reality cannot itself be explained.

(6) in so far as we are part of this wholeness, we are dependant on it.

(7) but because our knowledge is partial and concerns the relationship between things we cannot experience or know it, except for its aspects and manifestations.

It is, therefore, the ultimate mystery.

There is, however, a difference of opinion about the nature of this ultimate reality.

(1) At one time it was thought that the Universe is self-existing. But Astronomers discovered that the universe is expanding and must, therefore, have arisen from nothing with a Big Bang. But this requires a cause within something which must have pre-existed. If things can arise uncaused, this could happen all the time and nothing would then be regular and predictable.

(2) Some say the Universe arose by chance. Chance, however, also refers to something on which it operates, and this must pre-exist. This pre-existing thing is regarded by some people to be a field of fundamental particles and these must also be in random motion, or waves or bundles of probability. But then this raises several problems:- how can the observed regularities arise from randomness; what is the nature of these fundamental units; it is not the individual particles but the whole field which is to be considered.

(3) According to some people the ultimate reality is material in nature. Materiality accounts for only one aspect of our total experiences. The word material is ambiguous. It was used to refer to solid things once, then included liquids, then gases and then light and other invisible radiations. It referred to mass and excluded energy and order. But these are now known to be inter-convertible. It excluded feelings, thoughts and consciousness which are also real experiences. Then these came also to be regarded as attributes of material things. It now appears to denote anything regarded as having an objective existence. In fact, it refers to aspect of experience just as feelings and thoughts do.

(4) According to others the ultimate reality is a Law - scientists are attempting to discover this, the Unified Field Theory. However, a Law, though unified, is given in science as a formula which connects together several different notions. E=MC², for instance, relates energy, mass and the speed of light. The formula allows the conversion of energy into mass and vice versa quite arbitrarily and takes the speed of light as an inexplicable constant. It is the formula as a whole which describes a truth, but it does not explain a number of other experiences such as value judgements, nor is it a material object given to the senses. It is a thought. The Universe is created by Constants and Laws, by the introduction of Information, but this still requires an Initial State on which they operate.

(5) Others suppose that there may be innumerable other Universes, each having its own fundamental Constants and Laws so that this Universe is merely one of innumerable possibilities. But if this is so then all the Universes together form a still greater whole and we are back to the original mystery at a higher level. No Constants or Laws whatever can be attributed to this greater wholeness. But we must have an Initial State. This regression may continue indefinitely so that all possible initial states are accounted for.

(6) Others regard it as a living conscious entity. Life and consciousness certainly exist, are a part of existence, and have to be explained. If these notions are regarded as irreducible to anything else, then they are aspects of the Absolute. If they are properties or potentialities of matter, then the notion of matter has changed. If the Universe is regarded as a huge physical brain, then life and consciousness are associated with it.

(7) Others come to the conclusion that, since knowledge only refers to relationships, the ultimate Unity can never be fully known. It contains infinite possibilities including regularities, irregularities, constants, variables, law and chance, actualities, possibilities and impossibilities, the conceivable and the inconceivable, consciousness, life and matter. Thus, reality as seen by an observer is determined by the restrictions he, she or it suffers according to its stage of development.

The popular view of God is usually anthropomorphic. That is, He is regarded as being something like a man who may be sitting somewhere in the heavens, perhaps on another planet, and ruling the Universe like a king. Hence he could, for instance, have a wife and a son or daughter. But this does not explain the existence of the universe of which such a god can only be a part.

The religious view, however, is quite different. He is regarded as the Ultimate, Fundamental, Unitary Reality, Absolute, Infinite, Eternal, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient. He is the Creator, the Lord, the Maintainer, Controller as well as Destroyer of everything in the world of Phenomena.

In Hinduism the Supreme God, called Parabrahman, is that from which the Universe emerges. Symbolically, the Universe arises and is destroyed cyclically by the breathing in and out of Parabrahman. All the other gods recognised in popular Hinduism are considered, at a more sophisticated level, to be various aspects or derivatives of Parabrahman. The Quran recognises one God, but He has many attributes and names (17:110, 59:22-24, 7:180). In Hinduism we also find a supreme trinity, namely, Brahma the Maintainer, Vishnu the Creator and Shiva the Destroyer. They, too, are aspects of Parabrahman. Note that the teachers or Prophets such as Krishna or Rama are incarnations, not of Parabrahman, but of Vishnu. Atma, the Self, within man is part of Parabrahman.

Some ancient religions such as the Egyptian also recognised trinities e.g. Osiris, Isis and Horus or Mercury, though these were identified with the Sun, Moon and a Planet. The Sun was the source, the Moon reflected the light of the Sun, and Mercury was the messenger. The Sun was worshipped widely at one time because it provides the light, energy and heat and even the materials which make life possible on this world. All our fuels consist of substances which have trapped solar energy. Perception and Knowledge, too, was only possible because of the light produced by it. The sun also transforms hydrogen into all the other elements and these, too, are radiated onto the earth. As the earth revolves round the sun, because of its gravity, the changes in the seasons are produced by it. Evolution on this planet is due to the shifting balance of energy received and re-radiated. Thus the sun has the status of a god with respect to the earth. There are, however, two difficulties with this attitude. The first is that the sun is only a small part of total existence, of the Universe. It, too, as it is now known, has a history, a beginning and an end. It is itself part of Creation. The second is the question whether the worship of the sun is efficacious for man. Does it make any difference to man, and if does, is it beneficial? The answer is that though it probably does make some psychological difference, it is limiting. It is much more beneficial to man to recognise, adjust to and serve the ultimate Truth.

“Thus did We show Abraham the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth that he might be of those possessing certainty. When the night grew dark upon him he beheld a star. He said: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: I love not things that set. And when he saw the moon uprising, he exclaimed: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: Unless my Lord guide me, I surely shall become one of the folk who go astray. And when he saw the sun uprising, he cried: This is my Lord! This is greater. But when it set, he exclaimed: O my people! Lo, I am free from all that ye associate with Him. Lo, I have turned my face towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters.” 6:76-80

Thus Abraham obtained liberty. The verse describes the evolution of religious thinking. Man progresses from subjecting himself, intellectually, emotionally and physically to small things, through greater and more fundamental forces to the ultimate Reality, beyond which it is not possible to go. Here we meet that which is self-existent, uncaused, undivided.

The Taoists see God as a Way which manifests itself as the Laws or Order by which the processes of the Universe are created and maintained. Since it is an Absolute and all names imply some kind of limitation, The Way cannot be named. This is also implied in the Hebrew and Buddhist attitudes.

It is claimed by some people that the notion of God is not required, even as a basis for Religion. Buddhism, it is claimed, dispenses with this notion. But this is far from the truth. Buddha, himself, is reported as having said:-

“There is, O Bhikkhus, an Unborn, a Not-become, a Not-made, a Not-compounded. If there were not, O bhikkhus, this Unborn, Not-become, Not-made, Not-compounded, then there could not be any escape from what is born, become, made and compounded. But since, O Bhikkhus, there is this Unborn, therefore is there made known an escape from what is born, become, made and compounded.”

This is also the Islamic view, but Islam makes greater use of it.

In the Hebrew Old Testament God, also called Jehovah, is described by His own words as

“ I Am that I Am.” (Exodus 3:14).

The implication appears to be that He is simply pure self-existence, or that He has the same relationship with the Universe as the “I” has to the human body.

In the Christian New Testament God is described thus:-

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:14

“ God is Spirit” John 4:24

“In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28

Paul complains that:-

“Because that when they knew God they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginings and their foolish heart darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever.” Romans 1:21-25

The implication appears to be that a distinction should be made between God as He existed before creation, the Unmanifest, and the Word by which creation took place and which is, therefore, God manifest in the Universe. Again God is also manifest within man as the Light or Spirit. There is, therefore, a kind of Trinity, Not that there are three Gods but that He has three aspects, Transcendental, Imminent and Personal.

Christianity, however, sees Jesus as God, as the Son of God, and God is seen as a Trinity consisting of three separate beings, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But since the word Trinity implies both three and a unity there seems to be a self-contradiction. Though Christianity derives from monotheistic Hebrewism, and claims to be monotheistic, the Trinity appears to be due the introduction of Hindu or ancient Egyptian ideas. Indeed, the relics of sun-worship were incorporated into, and are still found, in Christianity. The Father represents the Sun god, Mary the Moon goddess, and Jesus is their son ( Osiris, Isis and Horus). Many of the myths connected with the death and resurrection of Jesus represent the death of nature in winter and its resurrection in spring. The Easter and Christmas festivals celebrate the changes of the season.

Though all people recognize something as being supreme in the Universe there are and have been a number of views as to its nature. Some of these are as follows:-

Pantheism - That the Universe as a whole is God.

Panatheism - That the Universe is the body of God. There is, therefore, also a Mind associated with it. The word mind is regarded as being the same thing as soul and consciousness and the faculties of thought, cognition, affection and volition are also associated with it. That God is like the Software while the Universe is like the hardware of a computer. He may be the operator or programmer too.

Deism - That God has created the Universe and takes no further part in it. He is like the Clock-maker or Engineer of the Universe, or a Mathematician.

Theism - That God created the Universe, maintains it and remains involved in it. He has personal relationships with His creatures, particularly man.

That God was a creature like man and evolved through millions of years to a state where he was able to take control of the Universe or a progressively greater part of it. He does so through a very sophisticated technology.

A variation of this is that a complete highly developed civilization has arisen somewhere in the universe, and this is God. They may have spread through several Galaxies. Their development is so great that they have achieved a single collective consciousness and act as one. Hence the pronoun “We”. They may also control the rest of the Universe through their minds. They may be disembodied intelligences.

This universe appears to be specially designed, so delicately balanced are the physical constants of nature, its laws and forces. Yet there seems to be no reason why these things should be as they are. They could have been different in a great number of ways. A precise selection from millions of alternatives appears to have been made. We could, however, suppose that a great number of different kinds of Universes have appeared from time to time owing to random quantum factors. This Universe is only one of these Universes where the conditions happen to be correct for our arising. Indeed, according to present theories in Physics, one Universe can give birth to other Universes because some point in it can inflate like a balloon and detach itself. If one of these happened to be suitable then some highly intelligent being could have evolved in it. This being then takes control and constructs our present Universe. This is God.

Though this explanation seems attractive, the fact remains that it presupposes the pre-existence of whatever it is in which these random events are taking place. Since all these other supposed Universes are disconnected from us they are, as far we are concerned, collectively merely outside our Universe. What is more, they are outside our time and the evolution of such a Being has no meaning for us. In any case, the word God could apply to the totality of all possibilities. This wholeness must have the potentialities to give rise to mass, energy and order and also to bodies, life, mind and consciousness or else they would not exist.

Islam is the last of the great religions and the concept of God has developed to its ultimate sophistication. It has demythologised religion. For Islam Allah is the ultimate Reality, the Self-existent, the Absolute, the Incomparable, a Unity without parts.

“Allah, He is Reality, and that which they invoke besides Him is the False.” 31:30

“There is no God save Him, the One, the Absolute.” 38:66

“Say: He, Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternally besought of all. He begets not nor was begotten. And there is non comparable unto Him.” 112:1-4

There appears to be a contradiction between the concepts of God in Christianity and in Islam. But this seems to be based on a misunderstanding.

The Quran denies that there are three Gods (4:171) or that God is one of three (5:73). However, we have to distinguish between God Himself and how religion is presented to us. People do not know God except for the Prophet who tells them so and the Spirit which informs both the Prophet and people. Therefore, religion requires three ultimate ideas - God, the Spirit and the Prophet. Prophethood, however, cannot exist without the Spirit and the Spirit cannot exist without God. They may be compared to the Sun in the heavens, its rays coming to earth and the image of the sun created by the rays in a pure mirror. Though they act in unison of purpose neither the Prophet nor the Spirit can be regarded as independent gods.

A kind of Trinity can be seen in the following verse:-

“Believe, therefore, in Allah, and His Messenger, and in the Light which We have sent down.” 64:8

These three are not identical nor are they separate. The Light derives from God and enters the man Muhammad to make him into a Messenger. But the Light and the Messenger are not God.

The phrase ‘Son of God’ is used symbolically and refers to a person in whom the Spirit is active.

“They who are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

The Quran denies the literal interpretation of this phrase.

“ The Originator of the heavens and the earth, how can He have a child, when there is for Him no consort, when He created all things and is Aware of all things.” 6:101

The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:-

“I am Ahmad without the M; I am an Arab without the A.”

If we take away the A and the M which represent the beginning and the end, and therefore, refer to temporal phenomena, we are left with Ahad (Unity ) and Rabb (Lord). In other words, if you remove all the limitations of his worldly existence then there is only Allah. Remove the body and its striving and ambitions then there is only the Spirit. This is perfect surrender. The point is that because of his surrender Muhammad is identified with Allah. Or to put it another way, a prophet is one in whom the divine spirit is active, and through whom God speaks, and he can, therefore, be taken as representing God. The same applies to Jesus, for he, too, according to his own words, surrendered to God. He was a perfect Muslim. To say that Jesus was God is a misunderstanding of this.

The Prophet Muhammad clarifies the situation still further:-

“Allah the Exalted says: I challenge to battle him who bears enmity towards a friend of Mine. When a servant of Mine seeks nearness to Me, with that which I love out of whatever I have prescribed, then I begin to love him. And when I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, and his eyes with which he sees, and his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks; and when he begs Me for anything I bestow it upon him; and when he seeks shelter with Me, I give him shelter.”

Jesus, as all other Prophets, should be regarded as ‘the image of God on earth’ not in the sense that they are identical with God, but that they represent and speak for Him. There is an identity of purpose. The idea that a puny limited man can be God is manifestly absurd. The Quran tells us:-

“Lo! those....who seek to make a distinction between Allah and His Messengers...such are disbelievers in truth.” 4:150

It is probably better to use the word “Allah” instead of “God”, The latter has so many different connotations, some of them extremely vague. “God” is a general term referring to anything whatever which may be worshipped, The term ‘Allah’ has a more objective, precise technical meaning which is most comprehensively established in the Quran. Hence the statement “There is no god but Allah.”. The word stands for the ultimate objective existence itself.

The literal meaning of “Allah” is “that which is worthy of worship”. It is not a name.

“And they worship besides Allah that which owns no provision whatsoever for them from heaven or the earth, nor have they any power. So coin not similitudes for Allah...” 16:73-74

“Allah’s is the Sublime Similitude. He is the Mighty, the Wise.” 16:60

In this sense there is an agreement with the Taoist position that “that which can be named is not the true Tao”. To name something is to limit it and fix it. Allah, in the Quran, however, is given a great number of different names. These are understood as His attributes. They represent certain irreducible categories which though distinguishable in the mind are not regarded as independent of each other, but only different ways of looking at the same thing. The distinction arises only because of the limitations of the observing mind. Polytheism arises because different people worship these attributes separately. Islam absorbs and transcends polytheism.

“Allah’s are the fairest names. Invoke Him by them, and leave the company of those who blaspheme His names.” 7:180

“Say unto mankind: Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent, unto whichsoever ye cry it is the same. His are the most beautiful names.” 17:110

“He is Allah, apart from whom there is no other god, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb, Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partners unto Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” 59:23-24

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No Religion or Book conveys the nature of God to us in so much detail as the Quran does. Allah is presented to us, among others, by the following verses:-

“He is the First and the Last, and the Outer and the Inner, and He is the Knower of all things.” 57:3

“Allah is independent of all creatures.” 3:97

“Allah, He is the manifest Truth.” 24:25

“Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy.” 6:134

“If there were therein ( in the Universe ) Gods besides Allah, then verily both ( the heavens and the earth ) would have been disordered.” 21:18 and 23:91

“Thy Lord, He is the goal.” 53:42

“Unto Allah belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Allah ever surrounds all things.” 4:126 and 41:54

“Naught is as His likeness.” 42:11

“Vision comprehends Him not, but He comprehends all vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.” 6:104

“Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.” 1:1

“Unto Allah belongs the East and the West, and wheresoever ye turn, there is Allah’s countenance. Lo, Allah is all-embracing, all knowing.” 2:115

“The originator of the Heavens and the earth. When He decrees a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! And it is.” 2:117 and 6:73

“Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. The lamp is kindled from a blessed Tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth of itself though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guides unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaks unto mankind in allegories, for Allah is knower of all things.” 24:35

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. ”

“Then He fashioned him (man), and breathed into him of His own Spirit: and appointed for you hearing and sight and hearts. Small thanks give ye.” 32:9 and 15:29

“Thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo, I am about to place a vicegerent in the earth.” 2:30

“We verily created man and We know what his soul whispers unto him, and We are nearer unto him than his jugular vein.” 50:16 and 56:85

“And Allah, all unseen, surrounds them.” 85:20

“We have created everything by measure, and Our commandment is but one, as a twinkling of an eye.” 54:49-50

“Allah, He is the Truth. Lo, He quickens the dead.” 22:6

“And unto Allah falls prostrate whosoever is in the heavens or the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and evening hours.” 13:15

“There is no strength save in Allah”. 18:40

“He casts the Spirit of His command upon whom He will of his slaves, that He may warn of the Day of Meeting.” 40:15

“There is no changing the Words of Allah.” 10:65

“He is Allah, besides whom there is no other god, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb, Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner unto Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver out of naught, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” 59:23-24

(Note the distinction between the term Allah and god, the 8 Titles and the 3 functions of creation (khaliq), evolving (Baraa) and fashioning or giving form (Sawwara). Note also the three principles Mightiness, Wisdom and Glorification. These suggest that the Universe and all things in it are not merely created by a causal law emanating from Allah, but there is intelligence and wisdom in the creative process and that the behaviour of things is also determined by inherent impulses to glorify and praise Allah. That is, they are attracted to a purpose or driven by a need for adjustment and adaptation. Thus there are three types of cause.)

“Praise the name of your Lord, the Most High, who creates and balances, measures and guides.” 87:1-3

(Note: The four aspects of phenomena:- He brings everything into being (Takhliq), gives form (Taswiyah), gives a function and role (Taqdir) and guidance (Hidayah) )

Much can be learnt from the various names (attributes) given to Allah in the Quran. These can be divided into the following categories:-

1. Qualities:- The Majestic, The Mighty, The Exalted, The All Powerful, The Noble, The All Knowing, The All Hearing, The All Seeing, The All Aware, The Strong, The All-sufficient (Al-Ghaniy), The Sufficient (Al-Kafi), The Supreme (Al-Qahbar 12:40), The True (Al-Haqq 1034), The Unique (Al-Ahad 112:2), The Watchful (Al-Raqib 33:52), The Sovereign (Al-Malik 59:29 ), The Wise (Al-Hakim 4:56), The Witness (Al-Shahid 4:79), The First and the Last, The Hidden and the Manifest, The Glorious, The Great, The Praiseworthy, The Most High, The Holy, The Incomprehensible, The Light of the World.

2. Works:- The Creator, The Maker, The Destroyer, The Disposer, The Originator, The Fashioner, The Preserver, The Guardian, The Compeller, The Repeater of Creation, The Ruler, The Sovereign, The Sustainer (Al-Razzaq 22:60), The Life Giver, The Besought of All, The Inheritor, The Judge, The King, The Living, The Lord (Al-Rabb), The Reckoner, The Master.

3. Relationship with his creatures:- The Merciful, The Generous, The Giver of Mercy, The Loving, The Compassionate, The Bountiful, The All Forgiving, The Source of Peace, The Opener of Doors, The Indulgent, The Accepter of Repentance, The Cherisher, The Guardian, The Protector, The Bestower, The Just, The Exalter, The Friend, The Guide, The Healer, The Helper, The Protector, The Provider, The Keeper of Faith. But also The Abaser of the Haughty, The Avenger, The Swift in Reckoning,

It is not difficult to see that the notion of Allah is so fully comprehensive that it leaves nothing out. It determines how the nature of the Universe is to be seen, how man should be regarded and how his life should be led.

The word translated as Lord (Rabb) is particularly note worthy. It has the following connotations:-

(a) That the Universe is developed gradually in stages.

(b) That this development consists of the actualization of inherent potentialities through a supply of appropriate means.

(c) That a degree of freedom in things is respected so that rather than compulsion guidance, guardianship and leadership are exercised. Things are not just driven from behind by causes, but also attracted to a goal and their behaviour channelled. This creates a radically different idea of causation than that found in deterministic science. It is an idea compatible with the Theory of Evolution.

Allah, then, refers to the fundamental, ultimate objective Reality from which all consciousness, life and materiality derives; that which is permanent and self-existent behind all change. He is existence and bestows existence on things.

The concept of Allah refers to the ultimate objectivity, but also to the ultimate subjectivity, the source of the spirit within man - to the outer and the inner. It also has a social significance in so far as we can also consider the spirit within all men collectively. It is that which creates the link between the two aspects and makes human knowledge possible. The possibility of knowledge cannot be understood if we create a dichotomy, as in the West, between mind and matter. Without consciousness matter cannot be known, and without the existence of something objective there is nothing to be known. This idea is of fundamental importance, since it implies, as the Quran repeatedly insists, that knowledge comes from Allah. It is not created by man, but its reception depends on the spiritual (or psychological) condition of man - on whether or not the divine spirit is active in man.

1. He is (a) the origin or cause, (b) the maintainer and (c) the goal of all things.

2. He is (a) Hidden and Transcendent (b) Imminent in phenomena (c) Personal within man.

3. We can distinguish between three ultimate categories:-

(a) Allah, (where there is a distinction between His Essence, His Spirit and His Attributes),

(b) His Word or Commands, the laws, forces and forms of order),

(c) Creation (the Universe and all objects, events and characteristics in it).

The Word is the link or communication between the Creator and Creation. The Universe, too, may be divided into three kinds of phenomena - materiality (inertia, energy and order), life (self-preservation, reproduction and learning), mind (knowledge, intelligence, consciousness).

As He is comparable to nothing, the word ‘He’ is not used in an anthropomorphic sense. He is not a man, nor a thing, process or idea. But it does imply that the characteristics we associate with the use of this pronoun are also integral to the relationship He has with the Universe and mankind. The term is masculine, implying that He is the bestower and generator while the world is female since it is receptive.

The true “I” within man, the centre of control and consciousness is the Divine Spirit. This makes man into a Vicegerent, bestowing on him the same creativity, initiative and responsibility. It is the same power which allows us, on a more modest scale, to construct our world, not merely through our technologies but also through the interpretation of our experiences and through words, our language. There is probably no essential difference between the way we do this and the way the objective Universe has arisen. Indeed, the fact that we can do this shows us something about the nature of the reality of which we are part. Observation shows that we are unable to do anything but mimic nature because we derive all our data from either direct experience and observation or through inherent tendencies which have developed in us over a long evolutional history in contact with the world. The same fundamental laws and forces which operate in the rest of the Universe also operate in us. All our thinking is done within the limits of time, space, and qualities, but we still wonder what lies outside these and which brings them into existence. We have to start our thinking somewhere.

We cannot begin by assuming the self-existence of the Universe, because this, too, has had a beginning, changes and will end according to some pre-existing laws. The belief in Allah is not the same as Pantheism.

“The Day when We shall roll up the Heavens as a recorder rolls up a written scroll. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. It is a promise binding on Us. Lo, We are to perform it.” 21:104

Although Allah cannot be identified with the Universe, it seems reasonable to regard the Universe as a huge organism or brain of which the cells are the stars. It has a structure and a very complex flow of forces. There is a mind associated with it. There is no reason to suppose that consciousness and intelligence are not properties of it just as mass and motion are. And we are a very small dependant part of it. We must, however, consider that there may be a great number of universes forming a still greater system.

Whatever a person may claim or even believe, there are, in fact, no atheists. Everyone consciously or unconsciously believes in something as being ultimate and supreme though they may describe it differently. Most people usually fail to live according to their beliefs. The belief of most people is a rationalisation of their automatic behaviour and cannot be taken seriously. If they are not true theists they are either infidels, or idolaters or polytheists. In fact, the Ultimate Reality cannot be rationally circumscribed since experience is limited.

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If the term “Allah” refers to the Ultimate Objective Reality, then the proof of His existence should be found in the phenomena of the world outside and within. And, indeed, the Quran points to nature outside (2:164, 29:20, 10:101, 21:30, 50:6, 3:190-191) and within us (30:8, 41:53, 51:20-22) as well as in human history (3:137) for evidence. It does not require blind faith of us.

“Lo, in the heavens and the earth are portents for believers. And in your creation, and all the beasts that He scattered in the earth are portents for a folk whose faith is sure. And in the difference of night and day and the provisions that Allah sent down from the sky and thereby quickened the earth after her death, and the ordering of the winds, are portents for a people who have sense.” 45:3-5 and see also 3:190, 6:100, 10:7, 13:4, 16:65-67

“We shall show them our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the truth.” 41:54

“Is he who was dead and We raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fair seeming for the disbelievers.” 6:123

“The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymns his praise; but ye understand not their praise. Lo, He is ever Clement, Forgiving.” 17:44

“Man is made of haste. I shall show you my portents, but ask Me not to hasten.” 21:37

“Hast thou not seen that unto Allah pays adoration whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, and the sun and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts, and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due.” 22:18

“Have they not pondered upon themselves? Allah created not the heavens and the earth and that which is between them, save with truth and for a destined end. ” 30:8

“Look, therefore, at the prints of Allah’s mercy: how He quickens the earth after her death. Lo, He verily is the Quickener of the dead. He is able to do all things.” 30:50

“Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them, which indeed return not unto them.” 36:31

“Glory be to Him Who created all the sexual pairs, of that which the earth grows, and of themselves, and of that which they know not.” 36:35

Unfortunately, owing to the fact that human consciousness has become fragmented, unstable and variable the capacity to see an underlying unity has atrophied. The wood cannot be seen for the trees. Most people walk the earth half asleep and heedless, unaware of the miracles around them, pre-occupied with themselves and their narrow affairs.

“And in the earth are signs for those whose faith is sure, and also in yourselves. Can you not see?” 51:20-22

“Have they not traveled in the land, and have they not hearts wherewith to feel, and ears wherewith to hear? For indeed, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts, which are within their bosoms, that grow blind.” 22:46. Also see 7:179

Blind faith merely produces sentimental attachment and harmful emotionalism. It is perfectly possible to have blind faith in all kinds of false illusions and we cannot distinguish between them. We are required to follow not conjecture (10:37), but only that of which we have knowledge. (17:36). But Allah cannot be known through the senses since He is not an object. We cannot know Him through logical or rational reasoning since this is a relationship between sense data and often defective, based on limited experience and dependant on our motives. It tries to explain the unknown in terms of the known, and cannot, therefore, lead us to the knowledge of the unknown. It is also abstract and impersonal and produces no change in behaviour or transformation of the person. A third category of knowledge must also be recognised. Islam requires us to awaken, to become aware and conscious. (34:46). It is necessary to be fully conscious in order to integrate our experiences into a comprehensive and consistent system. To enable this the Quran is constantly pointing to nature, to the changes of day and night, the arising of new creations, the death and renewal of vegetation, the distribution of cattle, animals on land, birds in the air and fishes in the seas, the rising and sinking of the sun and the moon, the winds which drive the ships, the rain which invigorates the earth, the difference in sex and the love between husband and wife and parents and children, the abilities and talents of people and all these are mentioned as signs or evidence for Allah. Indeed, it is because man is unaware and forgetful that the Quran came as a reminder. We are warned, however, that neither nature nor the Quran can be signs for everyone.

“This (Quran) is naught else than a reminder unto Creation, unto whomsoever of you wills to walk straight. And ye will not, unless Allah wills, the Lord of Creation.” 81:27-29 and 68:52

“It is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of Allah. He has set uncleanness upon those who have no sense.” 10:10.

In order to exist we must interact with the world in a self-consistent manner. We must adjust to it. This means that we need not only facts to know, but also meanings by which we relate to things and they to us, and values for actions. We have to make sense of the world we live in. To do this we need to ask several question:- What, How and Why. Of these science appears to ask only the question “How”. But though we might come to know the laws by which things arise, we cannot predict from these alone what will arise, and how to adjust to them. We usually have to take for granted the existence of something before we can study it, and find its causes. The fact that the Universe exists in the form that it exists and no other does not tell us why it exists at all. And we cannot, therefore, determine an intelligent course of action.

Allah manifests Himself in three ways:-

1, In the Universe:- (a) By the Laws which govern the Universe and create regularities in it. (b) By the Initial Conditions on which these laws operate; the existence of materials, forces, energies and order. (c) By the unpredictable events which also enter into the world.

2. Within man:- because of the faculties he has for consciousness, conscience and will, for creativity, initiative and responsibility, and for love, hope and faith. The ability to form concepts, organise these and act accordingly..

3. In the Community:- The revelation or Inspiration, the guidance he sends through the Prophets, and.the value systems and the frameworks of reference by which we interpret our experiences.

Hence, Islam recognises three sources of Truth:- Nature, the human Spirit, Scriptures.

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It is important to understand the following features of the Islamic concept of Allah:-

1. Reality does not mean only the physical Universe though this is included. The Universe itself is described by matter (or mass), energy (motion, events) and order ( Law, information), and these other two are not material. Other things are equally real because they affect us and are human experiences, namely Consciousness, Conscience, Will, life, mind, insight, inspiration, intelligence, thought, feeling, action, sensations, memory, dreams, love, hope, faith, facts, values, meanings, numbers, shapes, qualities, and so on. In short there are Phenomena. All these must be explained by the notion of Allah.

2. Allah is not known through the data of sense experience, nor through intellectual reasoning, but through the spirit. That is, through inspiration and consciousness. He is known through His self-revelation and because His spirit is within man. The subtleties and perplexities of rational arguments do not, therefore, impress a Muslim. They are regarded as futile sophistries. It is necessary to realize that the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures do not tell us a great deal about the nature of God. These ideas about God have either been taken from the Greek or Arab Philosophers or have been invented by Theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and cannot be taken seriously as doctrines taught by Jesus, though they are regarded as Christian Theology. This depends on how the word Christian is defined. In fact, some of these ideas contradict the teachings of Jesus.

One of the difficulties which plagues rationalists, theologians, philosophers and scientists, is as follows:-

If God is necessary and self-sufficient, then how can he create a contingent (or dependant) Universe? If he is self-sufficient He needs no Universe and its creation is pointless. If He must act as His nature dictates then how can He have free choice? He cannot be omni-potent. He is compelled to do as He does. If He is free to do as He likes then His actions are arbitrary and unintelligible. This is not how the Universe shown by science is. But if He is Eternal and changeless, He is outside time and the creative act cannot be in Time. The Universe must also be Eternal. This is not the scientifically observed case. But if the Universe is contingent and temporal then so must God. He must interact with it, and cannot be self-sufficient or Eternal. There appears to be a fundamental contradiction between religion and science. It is necessary either to reject one or the other or to find some solution.

Attempts have been made to solve this problem in three ways:-

(a) Plato dealt with it by distinguishing between God and a Demiurge. The former was associated with a world of Forms which was Good, Eternal and Unchanging. The latter created the Physical Universe in Time, imitating the world of Forms. But because it was in time it was constantly changing. Some Gnostic philosophies go further and suppose that the physical world is created by a Devil. The distinction between Ohr-Mazd and Ahriman made by Zarathustra is a similar idea. The dichotomy between Mind and Matter can be traced back to this. It creates a Duality. The problem is:- How are these two connected?

(b) A distinction could be made between Being and Becoming. Becoming could be regarded as a motion from Non-being to Being. The two poles are reconciled by this movement. This conforms to the notion of Evolution and appeals to many present day Scientists. The initial conditions of the Universe are Chaotic. Certain Laws are applied repeatedly and we get greater and greater order and complexity. Associated with this complexity is mind or consciousness. We, therefore, also get more and more sophisticated minds. But this has not got rid of the duality. We still have the initial conditions which were Chaotic and the Laws which are Eternal.

(c) There is a connection between God, who is Eternal and the Universe which is Temporal through the Will or Word of God, the Logos, a third reconciling factor. This is the Christian and also the Islamic position. But now we have a trinity and we must explain how these are connected. The Christian position appears to be that the three are aspects of the One, though there is some ambiguity about the terms Spirit and Word. Jesus Christ is sometimes regarded as the “word made flesh” and at other times Jesus is regarded as having become Christ by the descent of the Spirit on him. Some Eastern Religions also see the three to be one.

The Universe may then be regarded as a kind of emanation of God or perhaps as the body of God which also has life and mind.

(d) A fourth solution is the Islamic position. The three are not One in substance, but only in purpose. The Word emanates from God in the form of the Spirit, and creates the Universe as well as inspiring the Prophets. That is, it originates, gives form, organizes, maintains and guides its development. But in so far as Allah pervades all things internally and externally, these forms may be regarded as existing within Allah, and Allah within them. The problem could be solved by pointing out that as in the case of the notion of light which is both corpuscular and wave-like in reality, so also do other human concepts differ from reality. This applies to the notion of Necessity and Contingency and Time. Allah is Absolute and no such relative concepts apply to him. The description of the world is done by means of concepts applying to the world of relativities and cannot apply to the Absolute. Relativity itself is understood with respect to the Absolute and language is itself a sub-set of all the modes of communication, the others being experience through the senses and direct effects known as inspiration. Time, for instance, may be regarded like a river which is constant and yet flows. All things come from Allah and return to Him. It, therefore, also has two opposite directions which collectively may be regarded as constant or it may be regarded as cyclic such that Cause and Purpose are distinguished only by the point of view.

One implication of this may be that all processes are reversible. Even the second Law of thermodynamics may be reversed when the Universe begins to collapse. Or it may be that this Law which applies to radiant energy is reversed in gravitational fields. Involution and Evolution do take place together. It is, therefore, not only the case that the repeated application of Laws to initial conditions creates more and more physical complexity and consciousness, but also disorder, and that there is a filtration process which separates them out. Consciousness is not created by this process but is a release of what was already there in the beginning. There is a Fall and an Ascent.

3. It is not asserted that the events on earth and the universe have no physical causes such as mechanical, gravitational, and electromagnetic ones, that there are no laws such as those discovered by science. These are manifestations of Allah. If events must have a cause then these Laws must also have a cause. There are many of them and they are also ordered. There may be several levels of order. The ultimate unitary cause is Allah. He cannot be caused but must be self-existent. The scientist takes these Laws as given without seeking an explanation for them. But then why not take the events as given in the same way? Religion, however, sees more to reality than merely the physical Universe. It cannot be described by Laws alone. These Laws must be related to this greater Reality. A cause is seen as a transfer of information or truth from one thing to another and the Law describes a regularity in this transfer.

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The distinction between Allah and Creation implies that the world we see differs from the real world. It differs in three respects:-

(a) Our knowledge is relative in three ways. Materially, every thing exists in interaction with other things; mentally, we distinguish between things by comparing and contrasting them with other things; psychologically, an object must have a relationship with an observer. Everything we know must be limited and circumscribed. If knowledge is relative, then knowledge of relativity itself must be relative to something. And this leads us to the notion of the Absolute, which must necessarily be beyond the relative and yet gives it existence and meaning.

(b) We construct the world we see by selecting from the data existing in nature according to our capacities for sensation, our interests and the reactions of things to the kind of actions we take. All these are limited. The real world must be one which contains all possible constructs which every possible creature can make.

(c) The human mind is an organizing device. We interpret what we experience, and organize it into patterns in order to be able to adjust to our environment and manipulate things. This also depends on our value systems, our framework of reference, and social interactions. It is not surprising that the world view changes in different ages and peoples. There must be a comprehensive system of which all these different systems are parts or aspects.

There must be a link between the Real and the Human world otherwise no adjustment can be made, and, indeed, the human world could not arise. Human beings use certain categories of thought by means of which they unify the mass of independent experiences. They construct their world not only in thought but also by changing the environment and their social systems. They, therefore, act like God, from whom they must derive this power.

Allah is said to have ninety nine attributes which can conveniently be divided into four sets; those of Truth, Love, Beauty and Power. When Allah manifests Himself in the World of Limitations, or what is the same thing, when He comes into our awareness, He does so by means of these attributes. When the Universe is described by them then this gives the individual a certain attitude towards life in the world. It is necessary to emphasize that these categories differ from those of science because of the differences in interest. Science has only an intellectual interest in the Universe and a technological purpose, while religion is concerned with the process of living and psychological adjustment to reality. Love, for instance, refers to the fact that all things obtain their nourishment and sustenance and that there is a certain amount of flexibility or tolerance built into the Universe. The notion of goodness is associated with Love. Power refers to the fact that there are forces, causes and all things are governed by Law. Justice is an associated concept and implies that the same law applies to all, and that certain consequences will follow certain actions and that these consequences will be proportional to the actions. Knowledge or Truth refers to the fact that things possess a recognizable structure which is different from that of other things, that there is a regularity and order, and that changes occur by the transmission of information. Beauty refers to harmony, elegance and attractiveness.

It is not difficult to see that these things are not mutually exclusive. If Truth refers to order ( negentropy, sometimes called virtue), then this also appears as an ingredient of Power. In so far as Love refers to interaction and inter-dependence, it is an aspect of Order and Causation. Science cannot do without the notion of Justice in this sense. For instance it would be quite impossible to come to any conclusions if we compared the size of two objects which were measured by different scales, say one in centimeters and one in inches. This is merely one application of the very comprehensive meaning of these categories. They refer not only to what is in fact the case but also to what ought to be the case. In other words they apply to facts as well as meaning and values.

It is generally supposed that science deals in facts, philosophy in meanings and religion in values. Though it is certainly true that these three disciplines differ because of the difference in emphasis, the above mentioned case shows that there is not an absolute distinction here. The requirement that things which are compared should be measured by the self-same measuring scale is not a fact but a value. Values, however, are not independent of facts, and vice versa. We see, search for, select, interpret and organize the data of experience according to our values and this gives us our facts. Adam, man, alone was taught all the Names ( 2:31 ). In other words, Man alone was able to form abstract concepts and categories.

The Islamic view of Reality may be given something as follows:-

There is a distinction between Allah and that which we see as reality. Since a cause refers to some external force and there is nothing external to Allah, then His actions derive from purpose and not causes. The Real World is created by Allah by His Purpose, Intention, Spirit or Command. It may be regarded as the thoughts in the Mind of Allah. Consciousness, life and matter are aspects of it. They probably correspond to what we distinguish as order, energy and matter, But as the real is fundamentally one, these should also be regarded as different ways of looking at the same thing. The world we see is similarly constructed by us but within the constraints imposed by Allah. This is why it appears solid to us. Inertia, by which we recognize matter, consists of such constraints.

We construct our reality in several ways:- By the way we seek, select, interpret and organize the data of experience; our thoughts, fantasies and imagination, the concepts and language we use; our creations and technology; the nature of our actions elicit reactions from objects, people, the environment and these provide the data on which our view of the world depends; the way we organize things around us; the places we go to; and we have a direct modifying effect on the world around us through the influences, radiations or emanations we emit according to our nature. Conversely, the environment exerts a modifying effect on us. However, as vicegerents, we have a centre of control, and, therefore, responsibility. There is, therefore, no Reality apart from Allah. Objectivity does not mean the same thing in Islam as in Science. We cannot experience things without involving ourselves. Action and feelings as well as thought give us information. Yet we are required to detach ourselves from the world, from that which is limited, and not only intellectually, but also emotionally and in action. This may be done by detachment from these mental faculties and retreating into the spirit beyond them. We are required not to make any assumptions about the nature of the ultimately real, that it is matter, energy, or consciousness. There are only phenomena of different kinds. The world we see depends not only on what exists apart from us but also on our attitude towards it. Knowledge, as well as our welfare and development, for which we have an inherent striving, depends on correct adjustment to Reality, Allah, not only in thought, but also in motivation and action.

Values are to be regarded as being prior to facts, since the Divine purpose creates the Universe. This is the reverse of the Western attitude where facts are regarded as primary. The Universe is changing and developing. Facts do not remain the same. It also results in the false argument:- ‘because it is so, therefore, it ought to be so’. This removes human responsibility. The cause of the Universe is the purpose of Allah. Ultimately purpose and cause are one and the same thing, as there is nothing outside Allah which can be a cause. Since a fact depends on human attention, selection and interpretation of sense data, it depends on a system of meanings, and this in turn depends on our interests and motives, that is, on our value system. Human beings, moreover, must not only know but also act and they create facts by action. On the other hand, Islam accepts the principle that ‘because Allah has made it with truth, therefore it is good’ which seems to imply that facts are prior to values. This contradiction disappears if we distinguish between what is essential and what is accidental. Disease is a fact, but we cannot accept it as good thing. The state of health is also a fact and we make this into a value to be pursued. A disease is a malfunction, a punishment for not doing so. Our value system must be objective (in accord with Allah) if our knowledge and behaviour is to be objective. If it is not, we will suffer and be destroyed in the conflict with reality. The Universe has a certain construction and a direction of development. All things are inter-dependant in it. All things exist within a greater Whole from which they arise and in which they have a function. Facts refer to the objects, meaning to their interaction, and values to their function in the greater whole. Whereas science is concerned with how things arise, religion is concerned with how we should behave. The two are not independent. A thing arises because it has a function, and it has a function because it arises.

Islam requires that no images of Allah, either in mind or in materials, should be made since all images are limited. This implies that no pre-suppositions should be made about the ultimate Reality at all. Indeed, as Allah is Absolute and Knowledge is relative, it is impossible, ever, to arrive at any kind of description of Allah. All descriptions refer to other things and impose limits. On the contrary, things can be described in terms of the attributes of Allah. Anthropomorphism is allowable in this sense. The distinction which have been made between mind and matter, and therefore between man and the rest of nature, by some past philosophers is not really sustainable, and is not acceptable to Islam. The intelligence displayed by Nature in no way differs from the intelligence displayed by man. Here, too, we find experimentation and trial and error; multiplication, variation and selection; analysis and synthesis; ordering and symmetry. As has only recently been discovered by science things are not absolutely determined, but there is a degree of flexibility which scientists call randomness. In fact, no intelligence could exist without it. Indeed, if intelligence is not in nature then man, being part of it, could not have acquired it. If he has consciousness then consciousness must be an attribute of all things to different degrees. Human beings experience themselves outwardly as material bodies, but inwardly as spirit and the word ‘mind’ refers to the instrument through which there is an interaction between the two, making both experiences possible. If we divide anything into parts, then each part acquires an inner aspect with respect to itself and an outer aspect with respect to the other parts. It is constrained by that which is outside. Materiality is, therefore, a result of division or disintegration.

The Universe may be thought of as having the same three aspects, spirit, mind and body, though the word ‘Universe’ is usually reserved for the body, as it were, of Reality. The word Allah, however, refers to a Unity beyond that and which exists before the universe is created and after it is annihilated. Materiality is not a fundamental notion since it arises from the experience of resistance to change, and is, therefore, relative to the change producing agent. Such resistance or constraints are also felt within us in so far as we have certain urges and limitations. The experience of resistance establishes the conviction that something exists greater than ourselves which is not subject to our whim, desires and fantasies, but controls and limits us.

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The concept of Allah leads to certain consequences:-

The first of these is that if we understand the concept of Allah, then we know something about the nature of Reality. The second is that we understand the relationship between ourselves and the rest of reality. The third is that we can understand what is meant by “Surrender unto Allah” (Islam). The whole of Islam can be seen to be a logical consequence of this.

Allah is the only presupposition we are allowed. Everything else follows from this, both the predictable and unpredictable. If we see an object having qualities, a, b and c, we cannot say that it might not also have qualities d, e and f. We have to always consider the possibility that our knowledge is incomplete. All statements which we make about things must be uncertain. It is, therefore, quite absurd for people to make dogmatic statements about what is possible and what is not possible, what is true and what is not true. On the other hand if an entity exists by virtue of a definition, then it is possible to deduce all its qualities exhaustively. We then have a certain amount of certainty and completeness without arrogance, instead of having, as is usually the case, partial knowledge with arrogance. We realize, for instance, that what we call knowledge is a function of our definitions, and that there may well be a great number of other things which we have not yet included in our definition or deduced. The notion of Chance in Science is a contradiction of the notion of Determinism, and neither are really explicable by themselves. What seems even more absurd is the certainty that something is due to chance. There are no such contradictions when Allah is accepted.

The main connotation contained in the concept of Allah is Absolute Unity, Tawhid. The implication is that all knowledge is one, the Universe is one, mankind is one, consciousness is one, life is one. All things belong as parts to some greater Whole. As such all things are inter-connected. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There is no dichotomy between religion and science, the secular and the religious, mind and matter, the spiritual and the physical, art and science, idealism and materialism, economics and ideology, facts and values and so on. All things are inter-dependant. A comprehensive fully coordinated way of life can be built on this.

It also implies that the achievement of unity with Allah, which surrender implies, contains the goal of achieving:-

(a) Inner psychological integration,

(b) Interactive social integration,

(c) External harmony with nature and the universe.

The significance of the concept of Allah is seldom understood. The human individual is not an isolated object but a centre of convergence and divergence of numerous forces and influences, genetic, cultural and physical, which connect him to all other things and the rest of time and space. He has and is developing a centre of consciousness, an “I”, which is the centre of control and the origin, as it were, of a framework of reference by which he sees and interprets the world. It is not to be confused with the ego which consists of illusions about oneself and isolates people. He who does not have an “I” cannot, in fact, say “I think, I will, I do.” or even ‘I exist”. Nothing can exist for one who is not conscious. He is a mere machine. Religion concerns itself with this “I”. However, this “I” derives from the Spirit of Allah. It is, therefore, part of Allah. Surrender, then, simply means realizing this fact, killing off the illusion of a separate ego, and identifying oneself with Allah and with all other “Is”, thereby restoring Unity.

Belief in Allah implies that the individual realizes, in thought, feeling as well as in action, that (a) there exists an objective Reality apart from, and greater than, himself and his experiences, opinions and desires. (b) That he is dependant on this Reality and has a function with respect to it. (c) That other people also exist and have equal significance. (d) That there is purpose in life, that there is a possibility of expanding consciousness and transcending present limitations.

The concept Allah has the following value:-

1. It is the Centre or Origin of a Framework of Reference with regard to which all experience is to be understood. It produces a certain idea about the nature of Reality and determines the attitude towards it.

2. It promotes a unitary view of life without which life, both for the individual and the community, disintegrates into numerous compartments between which there may be contradictions and conflicts in thought, motivation and action.

3. It promotes objectivity. The opinions, desires, interests and behaviour patterns of the individual is no longer seen by him as the standard by which he judges everything. The existence of something greater than himself is recognized, and even greater than his community and the world he lives in.

4. It is the source of Law and Order not only in human relations, but also in thinking about the world and in action and behaviour. The concept ‘Law‹ is required in science, politics and industry. No thought, intention or action is possible unless there are, and we assume that there are, certain regularities and rules.

5. Allah, however, is not only the source of Law, but also Love and Wisdom. Nations and Civilizations tend to be one-dimensional in that they depend exclusively on Law, and, therefore, on Power. There is often a conflict within nations between the forces of Love on the one hand and those of Law on the other, while the cultivation and application of Wisdom is virtually unknown. Human civilizations can, therefore, be regarded as primitive. The main controversy between the secular authorities and the great religious Teachers lies precisely in this that the latter are trying to introduce these other dimensions into the life of the individual and the community.

6. It expands consciousness. The individual is brought out from the confines of his prison, his narrow self-interest, ambitions and the affairs of daily life into a much greater world with an infinitude of possibilities. Philosophy and science would not have been possible without such an expansion of consciousness. But these, too, have now set limits of their own, mainly because they have assumed that human faculties are constants.

7. A sense of the equality and unity of man is created. The differences between people is reduced to insignificance on the cosmic scale. The strong and the advantaged would have always exploited the weaker or more disadvantaged were it not for some factor which counteracted against this. It would have made the progress of human civilization impossible.

8. The four major values, namely Truth, Goodness, Utility and Beauty by which we judge all things, derive from the concept of Unity. Truth requires consistency, Goodness requires conformity, Utility requires appropriateness and Beauty requires harmony. The four are ultimately one and the same thing, but seen from different points of view. The Good is also true, useful and beautiful. When the word good is used it may also refer to truth, usefulness or beauty, and vice versa. The pursuit of truth, utility or beauty is good things to do. To do good requires truth, usefulness and beauty. Truth, goodness and beauty are useful.

9. It shows man his position in the scheme of things and the relationship he has with all things. It gives man dignity and understanding.

10. It gives significance to life, a sense of purpose and direction.

It is also possible to use the concept of Allah as an aid to precise definition. Consider the major Attributes. A distinction is usually made between truth and goodness on the grounds that the one refers to “things as they are”, to facts, and the other refers to actions and intentions, to what we consider “things as they ought to be”. But all things are dynamic, they act and have effects. We cannot establish what ought to be unless we know what is, and vice versa. Take the case of health and disease, for instance. The difference between the two reduces to this: that the one refers to cognition and the other to motivation. In the same way utility refers to action and their effects, and beauty to intuition or consciousness. The four values correspond to the four human faculties. However, all four faculties are engaged in any one activity. Motivation, for instance, is not possible without cognition, action and some consciousness. Nor is cognition possible without motivation, action and consciousness.

Accordingly, it is possible to define things as having four aspects which can be named the Scientific, the Ethical, the Economic and the Aesthetic aspects. These terms will now have a definite meaning relative to each other. All objects have parts and are parts of some greater whole. In so far as we look at its parts we have the scientific aspect. In so far as we look at the whole we have its aesthetic aspect. In so far as we look at the function of the part with respect to the whole we have its ethical aspect. And in so far as we look at the relationship between the parts we have their economic aspect. Each subject can be regarded as a whole, having the same aspects both internally, externally and in its essence. Science itself has an ethical, aesthetic and an economical aspect. It has a function not only externally in the economy of a nation or the world, but also within it. The Laws and formulae in science are constructed with the maximum economy in mind. They also have to have a certain elegance or beauty. Science has an inner ethics and ought to have an ethical function in the society as well - to give us understanding, to aid adaptation to reality, to create what is beneficial to man. In the same way in essence, Science is also regarded as an art form or an economic activity or a moral pursuit, and Art is regarded as a method of enlightenment and instruction, used to communicate awareness, like science. Art has a scientific, ethical and economic aspect, Ethics has a scientific, economic and aesthetic aspect and the Economics has a scientific, aesthetic and ethical aspect. It is not too difficult to work out what these are. In this way Life is described in a most comprehensive and self-consist manner.

In order to understand how the concept of Allah governs life, consider the following:-

It is not by accident that the mechanistic view of the Universe prevailed in science at the same time as the Industrial revolution transformed the economy. Social and political organization also took a machine-like form. The three things went together because they are all based on the model of the machine. The features of a machine are that it has a certain fixed structure which governs the flow of energy, that it consists of parts and that it is controlled from outside. Three consequences follow:-

1. It creates Externalism. This has three aspects:-

(a) That only sense data are to be trusted, because the senses connect a person with the external world.

(b) That the only valuable pursuits are material in nature, because the external object is regarded as material. We can call this Materialism.

(c) The emphasis on the senses leads to attachment to the senses. Sensual pleasures are indulged to the exclusion of other kinds of emotional or intellectual pleasures. Sensitivity to the other faculties is dulled in comparison. We can call this Sensualism.

2. The second consequence is that if all things are considered collections of parts, then analysis, separation, differences are more important than similarities and synthesis. Multiplicity is more important than unity. This is because it is only when things are divided and attention is concentrated on one part that other parts are seen as external to it. Things can now be compartmentalized and classified. The unification so created bears no resemblance to nature. The limited mind can now deal with these smaller units much more easily. It is not necessary to insist that the mind should be developed and expanded to become more comprehensive. Everything is divided into smaller units, even mankind into nations, tribes, groups, clubs etc, and life is compartmentalized into different professions and functions.

3. The third result is that some external controlling force must be assumed, since the machine itself is dead. The car has to be driven by the driver, the Society, its businesses and institutions have to be controlled by some manager, dictator, king, Capitalist or some other autocrat. Man himself is to control the world instead of being an interactive part of it. Only external sources of control are regarded as being capable of producing effects. Hence coercion, indoctrination, or bribery must be employed. Everyone is judged by what he produces or expresses or more often by what he owns quite apart from how he acquired it. The word property is not understood as referring to some quality but to a legal condition which allows a person to be in sole control of something. And so on. There are many versions of Idolatry.

All these attitudes form a coherent wholeness of which very few people are aware. This triad forms a Trinitarian god, consisting of science, industry and organization. It has arisen by accident in the sense that it has not been deliberately proved and accepted, but unconsciously assumed. Everything is now interpreted accordingly. The mind itself is conditioned in this way. Yet there are certain contradictions. Though the Universe is regarded as a machine an external Controller is denied. The Universe is regarded as self-regulating. We cannot deduce this from the assumption that parts cannot be self-regulating. Yet the nation, a part of the whole, is expected to regulate itself and we have what is called Democracy. It has not been noticed that if A acts on B, the result in each is not only due to A but also B, and modified by the conditions C in which the interaction is established. The object acted on has a certain independence else it could not transform the force acting on it to another, thereby changing the cause. Machines with different internal organizations, for instance, react differently.

It is not difficult to see that two other Models of thought are possible. We may call these the Internalist and the Interactionist as opposed to the Externalist.

The Islamic concept of Allah, however, replaces, and includes all these with the notion of Unity. The psychological, scientific, social and economic effects will be quite different. Societies where the machine mentality has not taken hold are differently organized. The fact that they have not been able to create an ideal system and have instead been ravaged by the machine minded ones is not inevitable, particularly as the latter have produced great problems of their own which they need to solve by a change in attitude.

The idea of Reality arises from the fact that we are conscious. This requires three things (a) Something which is conscious. (b) something of which we are conscious. (c) some kind of relationship between the two. I am conscious of something, therefore I exist, that which I am conscious of exists, and the relationship between these also exists. Reality is a unity which combines these three. It is an Absolute, X, from which this first relativity, A, B and C arises. Or we could say that a pair of opposites, the observer A and object C arise, and the experience or knowledge B, the third factor, is a result of the other two. Thus Unity creates a pair of opposites which combine to form another unity which is a reflection of the original unity. But it differs from the original unity in that we have many items of knowledge. The original unity is disintegrated by this process into the many just as the same object can produce a great many images and they may differ according to angle of view.

Knowledge is based on certain assumptions which we take for certainties.

The first certainty is that Reality Exists. For if it did not exist nothing would.

The second certainty is that Consciousness Exists. If it did not, then we could not know reality. On the other hand reality must exist first if consciousness is to be real.

The third certainty is that The Contents of Consciousness Exist. We cannot know anything which is not an affect on consciousness. We are ourselves contents of our own consciousness. So are other people and objects. We see that the objects which other people experience lie outside them. We, therefore, infer that the people and objects we experience also lie outside us. We conclude that the notion of externality and internality are real. As a result of communication we conclude that other people also experience things in the same way as we do. Though we cannot experience their consciousness, we accept that it exists. We know that other people and objects which were not within our consciousness come into it and go out of it. Therefore, there is a world greater than that which is contained within our consciousness. The notion of Allah is connected with this.

The contents of consciousness can be divided into three types, namely (1) sensation, (2) feeling and (3) thought. The notion of externality and materiality are connected with sensation. The notion of internality and ideality are connected with thought. The notions of interaction and life or energy are connected with feeling. As we have seen there can be no proof that these notions represent anything existing outside consciousness. They are merely description of types of experiences.

This triad, thought, feeling and sensation corresponds to the three certainties respectively. They also correspond to the distinction between observer, observation ( or experience, interaction or knowledge) and object.

If there is an Original Unity it cannot be known, at least, not to the intellect. It is an Absolute. Knowledge comes into being only as a result of the distinction between observer and object. This distinction can only arise when the Original Unity looks at itself. This action produces relativity, and relativity consists of a triad, namely, the two relata and the relating factor. The act of creation is the same thing as knowledge and the appearance of relativity..

The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said,

“Allah said: I was a hidden treasure. I wished to be known, therefore I created the worlds.”

A man enters Islam by accepting two fundamental formulae which may be called the Confession of Faith. Both are derived from the single concept of Allah. Thus we get a triad, Allah and two Confessions.

1. In Arabic Allah is written by means of three syllables, A,L,H. The significance of this appears to be that though Allah is one and absolute, He is known in the relative world by means of a triad. It could be that the letters signify the beginning, the middle and the end. The pronunciation of the name requires first inspiration or input, then transformation or processing and lastly expiration or output. In this sense it accounts for the whole of the processes of nature. Note also that the word “spirit” is derived from “breath”. The name is, therefore, used in conjunction with breathing and in the affairs of life within the Islamic system for self-development. Islam begins with the acceptance of Allah as the first and most fundamental certainty from which everything else is derived. There can be no argument here since all such arguments would be based on some other assumption which is not acceptable.

2. The first Confession of faith states:- La illaha ilallah ( There is no god except Allah). In Arabic this formula has no letters which are not contained in the word “Allah”. It is an elaboration of that word. The formula itself is divisible into three parts, namely:-

no-god, except and Allah.

Here no-god stands for the world of creation, the relative or phenomenal Universe. The word “except” both excludes and connects Creation with Allah. The correspondence between this triad and the three fundamental certainties can easily be seen. The triad, however arises from the original Unity contained in “Allah”.

3. The second Confession of Faith states:- Muhammad-arrasul-allah ( Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ). Here, too, we have a triad, namely:-

Muhammad, Messenger, Allah.

This triad corresponds to and explains the triad in the first Confession of Faith. Muhammad represents Creation, or its goal and purpose and also the human experience of creation rather than creation itself; messenger refers to a connection or interaction, to experience, knowledge, consciousness and also to all Messengers or Prophets, particularly the Spirit which makes a Messenger; and we have Allah as the Observer and Creator. Religion is presented to us by these three notions. If either Allah or the Spirit or a particular Prophet did not exist we would have no religion. It is possible to construct three different kinds of religion by emphasizing one of these factors or different combinations of these. Buddhism, for instance recognizes that there is an ultimate Uncreated, Unformed Reality, but this plays no further part in the religion. The emphasis is on the Buddhi or Spirit within. In Christianity the emphasis is placed on a particular Prophet, Jesus, on the grounds that he also manifests the possibility of having the Spirit within one. The Nature religions emphasize the Spirit and the imminent aspect of Allah. Islam on the other hand combines the three by emphasizing the ultimate Unity.

There is a correspondence between the triad Allah, Messenger, Muhammad and the triad described in 1,2,3. Indeed, all four triads correspond to each other.

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Throughout history human beings have attempted to understand and explain the existence, life, events, origin, nature, function and destiny of themselves, the world around them, and their relationship with it. This Endeavour is integral to being conscious, intelligent and purposive in action. Animals which act automatically or through instinct alone require no such explanations. Religions did this in the past and today Science continues this quest, though, so far only as to the physical facts.

The explanation sought must, however, be unitary and all comprehensive; otherwise one aspect of life will interfere with and contradict another. That is, they must not only explain the facts of existence, but also provide meaning and values. They must take into consideration not merely the physical facts, but also the mind and its products, consciousness, conscience, purpose, ideas, feelings and sensations and such notions as truth, beauty, goodness, usefulness, and social interactions where notions of love, justice, and responsibility reign. Even if we derive life from inert matter and consciousness from life, they are separate categories and we have to explain the nature of the world in which this can happen. We do not only receive information from the world around us, but we must also process this information and we do so through interaction with others and we also act on the world modifying it. This in turn provides further information. Nor is it true that the information we receive consists only of sense data coming from our surroundings. (a) Other things not sensed also affect us, (b) they come not only from outside us, but also from within our bodies and minds, (c) there are inductances, resonances as well as direct effects. (d) perception means interpretation of this data and this takes place in the intellect as well as in the feelings and motor faculties. There are, therefore, at least three sources of information. (e) we also process percepts by analysis, association and synthesis. We organize this data according to inner laws. (f) The mind also possesses creativity and imagination which can add more to what is given, distort it or subtract from it. (g) there is a centre of integration or “I” in man which to various degrees coordinates all the other factors. All this is part of reality and has to be accounted for.

Since thinking is about relationships and this requires three factors, there are ultimately three categories of thought, namely (a) God, (b) The Natural Laws, (c) the Universe. The notion of God is an explanation for all the above, for total Reality. The notion of Laws refers to the organizing forces. The word, Universe, refers to the whole of physical existence. This distinction can be seen in the fact that human societies, because of their nature, create Laws which then create physical conditions. You do not have to be anthropomorphic to see that this is a fact about reality. It is also an undeniable fact that the notion of God has arisen in the human mind and still exists, and that many have experiences of it.

There are seven possible relationships between them.

1. That the three are identical. This is generally the scientific view, but it could apply to the present Universe before its creation.

2. That God is prior to the Laws and the Laws are prior to the Universe. There could, therefore, be a different set of Laws producing different universes, and there could be many different universes produced by the same set of laws. This is the Islamic view.

3. That God is prior to the Universe which is prior to the Laws. The Big Bang theory of creation appears to have this view.

4. That the Laws are prior to God, who is prior to the Universe. The Laws could then produce different gods each of them presiding over a set of universes. Such gods would not be omnipotent and, as the Quran points out, this would create conflict and disorder. The laws take the status of God and we would still require to know why they were so and not something else.

5. That the Laws are prior to the Universe which is prior to God. This could mean that somewhere in the Universe very advanced beings have arisen which can be regarded as gods by us. Indeed, many people have this concept of god.

6. That the Universe is prior to the Laws which are prior to God. There could then be different sets of Law in different parts of the Universe. The Universe produces a law of evolution whereby gods arise. This could also be interpreted as meaning that the laws governing our minds create the notion of God, and this is why it is a universal notion.

7. That the Universe is prior to God who is prior to Laws. This could mean that universe has a nature such that gods evolve in it and it is they who create the laws. The laws of science, as those governing society, are not attributes of the Universe but human creations.

The reader may take his pick.

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There are three ways of looking at the world - the scientific, the philosophic and the religious.

Consider the earth. It can be seen as an object made from certain substances and having a certain structure and pattern of behaviour. The observer is detached from the object he observes. This is the scientific way of looking at things. The earth may also be considered from the point of view of an idea referring to a bundle of characteristics, and we can study the relationships between this and other ideas. This is the Philosophical attitude. The earth, however, may also be seen in accordance with its relationship with the person. It provides all the materials we need and use. It supplies us with the nutrition on which our life depends and the space in which we have our being. In order to live we need to know and adjust ourselves to it. It dominates our thinking, feeling and behaviour. The earth was, therefore, at one time seen as god. This is the religious attitude.

Consider the sun. It too, can be looked at from these three different points of view. The sun provides us, as well as the whole earth with the energy, light and heat which is responsible for all events; Light makes possible perception and knowledge; it also creates and radiates a number of elements some of which combine to produce protoplasm, the substance of living matter. The gravitational field of the sun keeps the earth in its orbit and produces the changes in the seasons. Time is calculated by this motion. Not only life, but the earth depends on the sun. It was, therefore, called god at one time. The Islamic view is that the sun can be seen as a symbol or evidence for God. We must look for the source of the laws and forces on which the sun and the whole universe is dependant, and that is the real God.

Now note carefully. It is not being said that the earth or the sun have the characteristics, X,Y Z, and that this set is given the name “god”. It is not a scientific concept. Nor is it being argued that:- the word “god” has the connotations X,Y,Z ; the earth or the sun display these; therefore they are called god. It is not a philosophical concept. What is being said is that the earth and the sun have the relationship X,Y,Z with us and this is what we apply the word ‘god’ to.

Note carefully again. There is no compulsion on any one to take up any of these three attitudes towards the world. It is not a question of facts but of values. The religious attitude in comparison with the others can be summarized thus:-

The scientific and philosophical attitudes, by themselves, are absurd because:-

1. The perception of objects is not independent of the nature of the senses and the mind which have also arisen in contact with the world.

2. The purpose of human actions, including the search for knowledge, should also be human fulfillment which requires adjustment to the world.

3. We learn by interaction with the world, not by being detached observers. There can be no knowledge without empathy, interest or responsibility.

4. If you remove the human observer from the world, then the world is not the real world which has a nature in which human beings have arisen. It contains the phenomena known as the human mind.

5. The scientific attitude has proved useful in controlling nature for human purposes, but has been a dismal failure in aiding human adaptation to nature. Human beings are more dependant on nature than nature is dependant on man. If this dependence is overlooked then nature is bound to retaliate.

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PROOFS

In this rational, scientific age many people have rejected the concept of God or find it impossible to understand. Some of the causes of this lie in the nature of logic itself. There is, however, no fundamental justification for this. Man has other faculties besides reason. He has outer and inner senses, feelings, intelligence, intuition and consciousness and all these vary in their sensitivities between different people. The fact that some people cannot see a colour does not mean that it does not exist. Some can see the stars in the day light which others cannot. Some can see much subtler patterns than others; some can hold together in their minds many more facts at the same time and, therefore, see connections and patterns which are quite unavailable to others. Not everyone is an Einstein or a Saint and yet some choose to believe one and not the other even if they do not understand them. Apart from these differences our opinions depend on what we choose to see and think about, and how we organize these thoughts, which depends on our interests and values. And even our experiences depend on what we do and what our attention is drawn to, which also depends on our interests and values. Thus, it turns out to be quite untrue that truth depends only on reason.

A distinction is made in the Quran between:-

Ilm-ul-Yaqin, ( knowledge of Certainty , the verbal or rational truth. 102:5 ),

Ain-ul-Yaqin, ( eye of certainty, experiential or empirical truth and insight. 102:7 ) and

Haqq-ul-Yaqin, ( the truth of certainty, Absolute or categorical truth. Truth through identification 69:51 )

Proof of the existence and nature of God or Allah can, therefore, take three forms - indirectly through reason, through experience or insight of the attributes and works of God, and directly through communication and interaction with God. The experiential truth has priority over the rational, and the categorical over the experiential. Those who are in direct communication are called Messengers in Islam. Those who experience the manifestations of God are generally called Mystics. Those who do not possess the capacity for this experience have to accept the word of those who do, just as they accept any other expert including the scientist, or try reasoning. It is absurd for them to deny these experiences since these have been reported all over the world and in all ages. Religion depends on mystical experience. It is not possible for the individual to live in this world on the basis of his own limited experience and even on the basis of his own capacity for reasoning. Humanity would have made no progress if each relied only on this. Nor can experience be confined to the external senses only. We have inner experiences and we rely also on inherent psychological processes many of which are sub-conscious or unconscious.

Rational thinking is designed to create consistency of thought. It is verbal in nature. But thoughts and words are not the same thing as experience, and experience is not the same thing as the natural processes. Rational thinking always begins with some previous assumptions some of these are included in the definition of the terms. We assume also that thought corresponds to experience and that this corresponds to reality, that present Human faculties are adequate for comprehending reality. There are at least three reasons why rational thinking cannot establish the existence of God. Firstly it is impossible to describe the nature of the whole by means of parameters which apply to the parts since the whole is more than merely a collection of parts. Since Allah is the ultimate reality there can be no assumptions outside Allah on which such a proof can rest. Logic cannot deal with ultimate things. Secondly, we only need to prove something which we do not experience directly by establishing experientially known relationships with other things also experientially known. We do not have to prove the existence of something we can see or experience. If it cannot be experienced then no proof is valid. Mere intellectual assent to a statement is valueless. It does not change behaviour. Thirdly, the fact that someone has certain experiences or cannot experience something is no proof that something corresponding to it exists or does not. Though something certainly causes our experiences, we may be unaware of these and we interpret them in various ways. The ability to interpret experiences in a correct or useful manner is not a logical process. Every argument can be disproved by a counter-argument and the controversy can only be solved by experience. Formal logic cannot bring out anything which does not already exist in the premises. Ultimately it is only direct experience which can be convincing. The only way of obtaining this with respect to Allah is through meditative prayer. From the religious point of view merely believing or even knowing that Allah exists is useless, it must have some affect on the actions, purposes and life of a person.

Nevertheless, rational arguments have been tried to (a) prove the existence of God; (b) to establish His nature; (c) to deduce the consequences of His existence and of belief. But these have failed and led to contradictions or ambiguities. Even if the proof that a Creator exists is found convincing, the God so proved does not resemble the Religious God who is Benevolent, Merciful, and Just towards His creatures. A Sublime Computer will do just as well. Nor is mere intellectual belief in God the same thing as a religious commitment to serve God. The belief in God requires intellectual, emotional as well as motor acceptance. These arguments always try to go from Nature to God, whereas the religious approach is from God to Nature. Since God is by definition prior to nature this reversal is absurd. The only argument that may convince is as follows:-

(1) All knowledge is relative.

(2) Therefore, the Absolute cannot be known.

(3) Relativity itself cannot be known except in relation to an Absolute..

Some of the arguments for the existence of God are as follows:-

1. Causation - Whatever moves, A(1), there must be a moving cause for it, A(2), which itself must have a moving cause A(3). And so on. We must ultimately come to the final cause A(n) which does not itself move and has no cause. Or All objects have an external cause. The Universe is an object. The Universe has an external cause. This is God.

There are three counter arguments. (a) There is nothing in the argument to tell us that the final cause is not dead and mechanical. (b) We can always ask the question:- what is the cause of God, and the cause of that cause. Why stop with God? And if we have to stop, why not stop with the Laws of the Universe? In order to live man does not require to know God but only to know these laws. (c) In a closed system, such as the Universe, everything acts on everything else, and we have a circle in which no final cause it required. A(n) may be caused by A(1). If then, we have to find the cause of the whole system in a greater system to which it belongs; we are led back to infinite regression. We have to find the cause of that cause and so on. The answer may be that the notion of cause is a mental necessity - we need to explain and relate things. This necessity is built into us and arises from the laws of our nature which are part of the laws of the Universe. We do not stop at the Universe or its laws for the same reason why the scientist wishes to stop at the Universe - that is, it is much more useful to stop at God since this limits us less by allowing us to expand beyond the confines of the material universe and also gives us meaning and value apart from facts. We live not only by facts but are also creative, we not only require information but must also act. The infinite regression can be included in the notion of God.

2. Minds - Our minds are finite and imperfect. But we can think of the Infinite and the Perfect. Hence this idea must have been placed in us by God.

The counter argument is that (a) the Infinite is merely a negation of the finite and implies something inconceivable. (b) It is merely assumed that there is a cause similar to the effect. However, infinite and finite are relative terms. The one cannot exist without the other. We need to know how this pair came into our minds. In fact, scientific research shows us that there are limits to our knowledge in three ways:- (a) The Universe has a beginning in the Big Bang when space, serial time and all the qualities by which we distinguish things, began. We cannot get beyond it. (b) A limit is set by the medium of observation, the quanta of light, both in the size and the speed of things we can observe. (c) There is a limit to the complexity which our minds can calculate. Thus it is not the case that nothing exists beyond these limits, but that science cannot tell us anything about it. Anything at all can be invented about the area beyond and reason cannot tell us whether it is true or false. In so far as Science is based on reason, it, therefore, ignores it. This reality must reveal itself in some other way, and some other faculty is required to know it. Many people accept statements about it on the basis of what they call faith, but faith leads to all kinds of contradictory beliefs, many of which have been discovered to be false superstitions and prejudices based on fear and wishful thinking or mental conditioning, and have caused much conflict. There are, however, other, higher faculties which can be cultivated. But how can we test these? Indeed, why believe reason rather than feelings or inner and outer senses?

Another variation states:- Mathematics is a product of the human mind. The Universe can be understood and explained through mathematics. Therefore, the Universe is constructed by a mind. This is God. The answer is that the human mind has arisen by a process of evolution of those faculties which allow adaptation and survival in the world. It is not, therefore, surprising that the mind can understand the world. The constructions of the mind may, however, not be like the world itself. If they are, or even only allow us to adjust, how is this to be explained?

3. Contingency - There is nothing necessary about the existence of anything - it may or may not exist. They cannot, therefore, be everlasting. There was a time when they did not exist. How then did they come into existence? The Whole consisting of all such things is also contingent. They could not have come into existence unless created by a non-contingent necessarily existing cause, God.

The counter argument is that neither the Whole, nor its contingency or self-sufficiency are based on experience. What we know is that things change, disintegrate, and recombine. We do not experience any underlying unchanging substance (matter or energy), but only different forms. It, too, is an assumption. All the ‘constants’ used in calculating the changes in forms of energy have been invented by scientists. This implies, of course, that neither matter nor energy exist.

4. Order - Science shows us Order in the Universe. If we see a clock we know there is a clock maker who made it. Therefore, by analogy, there is a creator of Order.

The argument against this is as follows ;- (a) Science is a product of the Human mind not nature. (b) We have empirical evidence that clock makers make clocks. Therefore, if we see a clock we know it is made by a clock-maker because there are no clocks in nature. (c) We have no such empirical evidence about God and the Universe. But this argument is based on a distinction between the natural and the artificial which cannot be made, for instance, in the case of a bird and its nest. The fact that clock-makers make clocks is itself an example of the natural process of creativity. The Quran, too, points to order in the Universe and within man as proof of Allah. Observation shows that in the natural state all things degenerate into chaos. We see crockery breaking and houses and machinery falling apart, but we do not see the reverse, of fragments spontaneously reassembling. This has to be done by man. From the scientific point of view the order we see is caused by Natural Laws. Laws, however, are merely descriptions of regularities, and since the Universe has a beginning, they are not self-existing and could not have arisen spontaneously from disorder.

We may argue that (a) Order is that which is statistically unlikely. (b) All things in the Universe, according to the findings of science itself, are moving in the direction of increasing entropy or disorder since this is statistically more likely. (c) We may define Intelligence as order creation. Whatever caused this original order to appear must possess intelligence or some greater power. Therefore, there is a Creator.

But the counter-argument points out that no matter how statistically unlikely some thing is, it is bound to appear given sufficient opportunity. Throw 10 dice a sufficient number of times, then the chance of, say, six of them showing the same number on top is certain though statistically very unlikely. The believer would answer that God has simply been given another name, namely “Chance”, without explaining how the dice arose, nor how chance combinations came to persist. Apart from this, the laws of statistics are inventions by the God-made human mind, a method of getting round the complexity of finding and calculating all the factors affecting the final position of the dice.

The universe we see and the predictability of events depends on three things:- The Laws of Nature, Initial Conditions and the capacity to describe accurately and fully all the factors in the present. The universe is then fully determined and the present and future are already contained in the past, in the Initial Conditions. Something must, therefore, exist in the beginning from which everything else arises. But it could be argued that these initial conditions, themselves, arise from still other previous initial conditions before them ad infinitum. There is no beginning. This, however, does not seem to be case since the Universe has a beginning in the Big Bang. We may overcome this objection by extending the meaning of the word Universe to include all states before the arising of the present Universe. It may be supposed that the third condition has nothing to do with nature but only our knowledge. But the fact is that we are expressing an opinion about nature. We cannot possibly prove that nature is fully determined unless we have accurate and full knowledge. But this is impossible. Any small inaccuracy or ignorance will create greater unpredictable results as time goes on just as a small inaccuracy in measuring an angle causes the arms to separate further and further apart. Science uses the word ‘chance’ to refer to this ignorance. Complete accuracy and wholeness is only possible for a Divine Being. The Quran affirms that Allah knows and controls all things, past, present and future, and this implies Determinism. But this is not possible for man or any other created object which is limited and less than the whole.

5. Purpose - There is order in the Universe, therefore, there is a Purpose and a Being who has this Purpose.

This argument is circular. We pre-suppose that Order implies Purpose and that Purpose implies a Conscious Being. The conclusions are already assumed, not proved. The structure of the Universe and of this world, its laws, constants, initial as well as final conditions provide everything required for the evolution and welfare of man. This shows that it is constructed for man and that there is a Being who arranged it thus. The counter argument is that it is because the conditions happened to be right that human beings have arisen, not the other way round. The future does not determine the past. Had the conditions been different and some other creature had arisen it might have thought the same. To this it might be answered that things do not take place by chance. Everything is fully determined and the future is, therefore, already present in the initial conditions. The answer to this is that we cannot know that everything is determined since this would require all knowledge. If, however, things take place by chance, then we must explain the existence of constants, regularities and order, since they are improbable. This requires God. But then, why not stop at these.....

6. Perfection - All finite things are different from each other and, therefore, limited and imperfect. There is a Being which embodies infinite perfection to which other things owe their finite perfections. If this Being did not exist it could not be perfect, since existence is part of perfection, and nothing could have any perfection in it. It must, therefore exist. By definition, God is a Being nothing greater than which can be conceived. To say that He exists only in the mind is to say that He is not the greatest Being since to exist is more than being only an idea. Thus, to deny the existence of God is a self-contradiction.

The fallacy here is that existence is included in the definition or essence of God and this requires a separate proof. Existence is not a characteristic. If something does not exist it has no characteristics. However we may argue - Experience shows that some things are greater ( more powerful, superior etc ) than others. Something exists which is greater than anything else. This we call God. Experience, however, shows that things differ so that though one thing may be superior to another is some respects, it is inferior to them in other respects. We could, of course, take into consideration the combination of things, the Universe, containing all things, for instance, or all possible Universes. But this takes us beyond experience. Similar arguments could lead us to invent winged horses, lions with human brains etc, for instance, which do not exist.

7. The ‘I’ - The ‘I’ is not an object. It is the conscious observer and the centre of initiative, the subject. An object is the thing observed. There can be no object without a subject. The terms are relative to each other. The fact that ‘I’ exist is proof that God exists. The fact that ‘I’ exist as part of the Whole, shows that the Whole has a nature in which ‘I’ arises. The Universe, Creation, is an object with respect to God. To deny the existence of God is also to deny the existence of the Universe and ‘I’.

The Islamic argument is that the proof of the existence of God is the fact that Prophets inspired by God have been sent to the people all over the world and bear testimony by their veracity, teachings, upright behaviour and self-sacrifice. The phenomena of revelation and inspiration are, themselves evidence. There have been a great number of saints all over the world. They corroborate each other’s testimonies. Even a Court requires fewer witnesses. Moreover, since the divine spark is within man then:-

“We shall show them Our signs upon the horizons and within themselves, until it be clear to them that He is the Truth.” 41:53

Some of the arguments about the nature of God are as follows:-

1. There is evil in the world. Therefore, God, either, if He can do as He wills, is evil or He is impotent to stop it. If He has given man freedom to do either good or evil then He has limited Himself. If He were omnipotent He could have created man with the freedom to do good without the ability to do evil.

The counter argument is that good and evil are relative terms. The removal of one implies the removal of the other. There could then be no praise or blame and no purpose. The Islamic view is that whatever Allah does is the Good, The Truth, the Beautiful and the Useful. Evil and Falsehood arise only by contrast because of our rebellion, our selection according to subjective likes and dislikes.

2. If He is Omniscient and Omnipotent then everything is pre-ordinated and predestined and there is no point in the Universe as far as man is concerned since he cannot change anything. He cannot be blamed or praised; there is no point preaching to him and his punishment or reward are unjust. If, however, man can change then God is not omniscient or omnipotent.

The answer may be that the Universe in the sight of God is like a space-time network of all possibilities. The ultimate goal cannot be altered, though different routes may be taken. That which conforms to the plan prospers and that which does not is destroyed, making no difference to the goal. The guidance, the efforts, the reward and punishment are causal forces like others.

3. If God does as He likes He is fickle, arbitrary and unjust. If God is Good, Truthful and Consistent, Then He cannot do what is ethically evil or logically absurd or materially impossible. He cannot make 2+2 equal anything other than 4 or make murder good. He cannot then be omnipotent. If He is Necessary Existence He cannot kill Himself, act in contradiction to His essence, change Himself or create Himself or another like Himself. Indeed, the Good and the Truth are forces greater than God since they rule Him. If, however, we say that He can do as He likes but has chosen to create just this world with its ethical, logical and material rules then He is irrelevant. All we need for life is to study the world and discover these rules. And this is exactly the attitude of Science. But the dichotomy between freedom and necessity is not really a problem about God, but about the limits of logic. Similar problems arise when light is described as particles or as waves, and the fundamental entities in physics are particles but also probability wave functions.

Perhaps Reality consists of numerous Universes each being distinct from the others because of a different set of rules. The beings in each of them might suppose that the only possible Universe is the one in which they are living because the only rules they know are those applying to that Universe. Perhaps everything is possible in this one Universe, but human beings select only those features which accord with their mental faculties in order to construct their own particular idea of the Universe. The fact that anyone undertakes to abide by certain rules for a time and certain conditions does not imply that he has no freedom to alter the rules in other conditions. Indeed, if, as science asserts fundamentally at the quantum level, things take place in a completely random and unpredictable manner, then, clearly God is completely free to do as He likes.

4. If God is self-sufficient then He has no unfulfilled desires. He would not have needed to create the Universe. Nor could He be concerned for His creatures. But as He created the Universe He could not have been self-sufficient. Nor can He be unchanging. He must be different at the end of the process when the Universe is dissolved than He was at the beginning.

This argument could be annulled by supposing that it is only we who see the world through a narrow beam of light, as it were, which needs to be moved to create the whole picture. This is not the case with Allah. Nor could He be omni-potent if there was no universe to control, or have love if there were no creatures. The Universe according to the Quran was created, not of His own substance, but out of nothing, e.g. 0 = (+1) + (-1). This leaves Allah unchanged. He is independent of all things.

From the Islamic point of view, Allah created the World because He wished to be known. Why He wished to be known cannot be answered, not only because we could continually ask ‘Why’ for every answer, but that He is the Absolute. Since knowledge is relative, there is no knowledge at this point. Knowledge as well as Creation only come into existence because He wished to be known. Science, too, cannot get beyond the point where creation occurred.

5. If sin is defined as separation from God, then the creation of a separate Universe is the first act of sin by God Himself. All subsequent evil flows from this, since there could be no disharmony or contradictions in God as Unity. He created Duality.

There are several fallacies here. Since the acts of God are defined as Good and creation was for His own purpose this cannot be sin. The creation of the Universe does not imply disharmony with God. The Universe may be regarded as a thought in the mind of God which is dependant on Him without Him being dependant on it. What we call evil is in accordance with the plan. Man, however, contains His own spirit. Sin refers to the separation of man from the spirit within, to rebellion. The possibility of rebellion was certainly built into man by God and this must also be good by definition, particularly as it also implies the possibility of conscious co-operation.

Some of the arguments about the consequences of the belief in God are as follows:-

There is no rational justification for morality. Firstly, it cannot be proved that something is good or evil in the same way as it can be proved that something is true or false. Secondly, even if it was possible to prove a statement such as “This action is evil” or “this action is good”, it does not logically follow that a person should avoid it or do it. Morality can only be justified by accepting the existence of God. Without this belief morality can only be established by force or by mental conditioning. The one is only partially effective since ways can be found to avoid detection, pervert the course of justice through clever lawyers or taking advantage of loop-holes and the intricacy of procedures or by acquiring sufficient wealth or power. The other method is mentally debilitating.

The counter argument is that the belief in God has created psychological problems of repression and debilitating guilt-feelings. It has created social problems through bigotry, intolerance, conflicts, persecutions and wars. A believer is not always morally upright while many non-believers are morally better. That since the belief in God is irrational and this belief is supreme, it has led to other irrational beliefs including superstitions, imprisoned man in myths, and created opposition to the rise of rationality and science. Since God is the ultimate cause, it discourages the search for meaningful and useful immediate causes as science does. The believer in God cannot explain how the Absolute and Infinite can create the relative and finite, how blind natural laws we see around us are to be reconciled with Divine Love and Justice, why there is suffering. He hides behind the principle “We cannot understand the ways of God.” Because it emphasizes human limitations, it has had a restricting affect on human initiative and creativity. In particular it has denounced as vices impulses such as greed, lust, pride, vanity and aggression which are just the impulses which support a prosperous and progressive economy.

All these arguments can be refuted. Religions do not teach repression, but making amends. Great achievements are based on this. The social problems arise from human perversity, not religion, and are usually due to ambitions for power, wealth or prestige and the fears and hatred created by rivalries arising from the vices. These have also created opposition to not only new theories in science, but also to religions, new commercial enterprises, and all new political and social movements. Religion cannot be blamed for the actions of those who do not conform to it. All the higher values of civilization, learning, arts, technical skills and humanitarian enterprises, were originally developed and protected in religious institutions. The concept of God as the repository of all perfection and One to whom we are required to conform, is the only insurance for human development. There is no doubt that many a convert to religion has improved in character as well as in inner peace of mind and self-fulfillment. Without religion life is purposeless and uncontrolled, and collapses into chaos, conflict and self-contradictions or merely drifts with the wind nowhere in particular. If the Universe arises and develops by chance and is to be destroyed at the end, it makes nonsense of all striving. Yet we have an in-built need to make sense of things. Whence does this need arise? Evolution does not produce things which have no function. There is obviously a survival value in it. Ultimately the test of anything is whether it has an evolutionary value, as that which has not is destroyed and ceases to be. The desire to know purposes is no different from the desire to know causes.

This discussion should make it clear that God is not rejected on rational grounds, but because of accidental priorities and fashions at particular times or due to other social, political or psychological factors. The disbeliever simply refuses to believe and nothing but God can change this.

“As for the disbelievers, whether you warn them or not, it is all one for them: they believe not.” 2:6

“And when it is said unto them: Believe as the Muslims believe, they say: Shall we believe as the foolish believe? Are they not, indeed, the foolish? But they know not.” 2:13

“Only those can accept who hear” 6:36

“Proofs have come to you from your Lord, so he who sees, it is for his own good, and he who is blind is blind to his own hurt.” 6:105

“If your Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Would you compel men against their will to believe? No soul can believe but by the will of Allah. He has placed doubt and obscurity upon those who will not understand.” 10:100-101

Scientific and religious proofs:-

The above are philosophical arguments. That is, they consist of the analysis, synthesis or relationship between concepts. But, in fact, we cannot obtain more information from a logical argument than exists in its axioms and premises. The truth of these can only be established through experience. Thus, there are two other way of proceeding. One depends on changing our fundamental assumptions about the nature of our minds, and the other depends on changing our assumptions about our relationship with the world. The human mind is capable of development. Knowledge as well as motivation and action can be expanded by concentrating our attention and effort in its development rather than in directly seeking knowledge. The assumption in Science is that the human mind is already perfect and capable of understanding everything. There is no justification for this.

It is also assumed that it is only change that requires explanation. A change is an effect produced by a cause. Thus if there is a change in motion it is attributed to a force - uniformity or constancy does not require explanation, that the cause must be an external one. This is the principle of objectivity. The same cause must always produce the same effect. There is, therefore, something constant and regular. The changes are, therefore, explained in terms of a different set of uniformities. It is noticeable that the world as seen by science has been constructed by the nature of consciousness. Awareness depends on a stimulus, which is a contrast or change. We do not perceive things that are constant and homogenous. And the purpose of the arousal of consciousness is to activate us in a direction such as to restore constancy. We do not in fact, see uniform motions in a straight line or forces anywhere.

The assumptions made by religion are different:- We experience both regularity and irregularity, constancy and change. They are relative concepts. The fact that a particular cause produces a particular effect is itself a mystery and requires an explanation. The cause of these Laws is Allah. He is also the cause of the irregularities. There is, therefore, a world outside that which is described by these rules and it is possible to break out of its confines. In so far as the world we see is constructed by the mind and lies in the mind, it is possible to break out of this mental prison.

Surrender ultimately implies that we align ourselves with this greater reality, with the Creator, rather than be content with the restrictions imposed on us by creation and the mind conditioned by it.

The Scientific argument for the existence of God may be stated as follows:-

According to the first Laws of Thermodynamics in any change the total energy must always be preserved. If it did not then it would have to be created or annihilated and this requires some other cause. According to the second law in every change or process entropy must always increase. That is order must decrease. This has several consequences:- (1) Therefore, processes are irreversible and the direction of time is established. (2) Since information is connected with order, then this means decrease in information. (3) It also means that disorder is statistically more likely. Therefore, if something happens which is statistically unlikely then we need an external cause to explain it which increases the likelihood. The notion of cause becomes associated with information and with order and increased probability. (4) The whole universe is undergoing processes tending to maximize disorder. When this has happened time will cease. (5) Therefore, the Universe must in the beginning have been in a high state of order or minimum entropy. But this is statistically impossible by this Law. There must, therefore, be a cause outside the Universe. To say that negentropy, order or information is produced by the expansion of the Universe does not solve the problem since we have to explain why the Universe is expanding. Perhaps the introduction of information is causing this expansion.

The existence of this Universe depends on certain fundamental constants which are finely balanced. This is highly improbable by chance alone unless we suppose that there are an infinite number of Universes each of which is based on other constants. In both cases we are led to the idea that there is something greater than the Universe. If the balance between gravity and electromagnetism were to vary by 1 divided by 10 ^40, that is 1 with 40 zeros after it, then this would destroy the stars including the sun. If the strong nuclear force were a little stronger, then the combination of proton and neutron would be stable and all the hydrogen (which is a proton with an electron orbiting round it) in the universe would have been burnt up to produce diproton and there would be no long lived stars. If it was a little weaker then no elements heavier than hydrogen would have formed. If the relative strength of the nuclear and electromagnetic forces were slightly different then no carbon and no life based on it could arise.

There is no limit to the number or order of amino-acids which can be strung together to form genes or to the number of genes in a chromosome. This should allow for an infinite variation in the organisms which are formed. But we find only a limited number of quite distinct species. We do not find in between ones. They do not, therefore, arise by chance. The number of mutations which can take place is greater than the number of particles in the Universe, and the universe has not been in existence long enough to account even for the number of mutations required to create human beings.

Studies in psychology show that we do not recognize things which are uniform. A stimulus consists of a change or contrast and leads to an action. This requires a cause. But perception also depends on repetition and on patterns. The things distinguished must form some kind of over all unity and persistence. Indeed, explaining something or solving a problem (which arises from the contrast) involves restoring the unity or homogeneity. When this is done consciousness subsides. Life consists of counteracting the separation which gave rise to it. It follows that there is an homogenous unitary state before perception and after the successful action which it arouses. All scientific and other activities are confined to the area between these, and make no sense without the origin and goal.

The scientific counter argument in each case is the same. It is because the Universe happened to be as it is that man arose in it - it was not constructed for man. Had the Universe been different then different entities might have arisen in it asking the same question - why is the universe as it is; perhaps it was created for them. However, if time is a dimension, as Einstein showed, then cause and purpose are the same because the backward and forward directions are merely conventions. One refers to an effect in the future and the other to an effect in the past. It is the Law of Cause and Effect which is proof of God.

The Islamic view is not that the Universe was created for man, but for Allah, and that man was created in it to help administer it, or at least this section of it, this planet. To say that man was created from earth and given the divine spirit implies just this and so does the notion of vicegerency. The concept of God is, therefore, required to explain the origin of the Universe, its order and laws, and to define, enable and stimulate the human function. Reward and punishment, therefore, are the consequences of doing or not doing so. It is not Allah who requires our recognition, but man who requires it for his own good. It is perfectly possible that other beings were created in other Universes for similar functions.

There are, however, three ways of arguing:- rationally, experientially and intuitively.

We have considered the rational arguments and found them wanting, because they isolate the thinking process from the rest of the world. An argument which is not a purely logical one but which depends on experience, may convince some people. It goes as follows:-

Experience shows that there are three possibilities:- (a) that phenomena arise by accident, chance or random events. (b) that they arise from fully determined laws inherent in the Universe. (c) that there is intelligence and purpose behind them. The Universe may have arisen in any of these ways and they are equally likely. But the first two of these possibilities are not useful ideas in the conduct of life. Experience shows that only that ultimately survives which gives advantages in the conduct of life. This is because it helps adjustment to the real world. This applies to the faculties, conduct as well as ideas. This is the only test of truth. It follows, therefore, that only the third can be valid. This is the Islamic position and may be regarded as defining the Islamic Principle of Objectivity.

We could argue thus:- It is absurd for a blind man to deny the existence of light, or for an uneducated man to deny the world as described by the sciences. What he must do is to accept the word of those who have the capacity for sight, reason or insight and live a life accordingly. A person may not, however, lack these capacity but may nevertheless not use them adequately. He may lack the will and pay little attention either because he has little interest or because fear or some self-interest, prejudice or habit prevents him. He may not seek the facts or experiences, fail to process them or integrate them into his mind and life. It is, however, also true that people are subject to mistakes, faulty reasoning, inadequate knowledge, illusions, hallucinations, delusions and differences due to partial knowledge. Indeed, this may apply to the majority of mankind or to all members of a community. It is not, therefore, always possible to believe them. The test of truth, then, reduces to this : how well are they adjusted to Reality by means of their beliefs. But this also requires a knowledge of what reality is, their life and their inner state. Do they find self-fulfillment, create a harmonious social system and live in harmony with their environment? Does it lead them to solve all their problems? Some people with certain restricted abilities may be happy for some time in certain small environments while others may suffer. But changes are brought about by time and no confined space is free from intrusions from influences coming from a greater space. One concludes that adjustment must be a progressive process and that finally and ultimately the judge will be Absolute Reality itself.

The intuitive argument depends on the appreciation of wholeness. It goes as follows:-

There must be an ultimate Whole, something that must self-exist. Reality exists. We exist and are part of reality. The faculties we have cannot arise except from reality in which they must at least have been a potentiality. That is, our minds are part of reality. The world we see is an idea in our minds. It arises by interaction with Reality. If our mind is to comprehend the whole of reality, then it must also comprehend the mind itself. This can only happen if the mind is identical with Reality. This may be called The Islamic Principle of Identity. It requires surrender.

Logic is a method of intellectual communication as poetry and other forms of art and literature are methods of emotional communication and instructions are methods of motor communication. It is, however, possible to use language to communicate awareness. For instance, to say that God is the Creator of the Universe comparable to a human engineer or architect is a Similitude. “Allah is the Sublime Similitude.” Man is part of nature and made of some of the same materials, energies and laws and has developed in adjustment to local Nature. His abilities are inherent in nature. The creative processes shown by man is not different, though much more restricted than is displayed in Nature. Here, too, we find experiment, patterns and symmetries, variations, trial and error and intelligent adaptation. Man has created nothing which can not be found in nature. The argument is not that because the existence of a clock implies the existence of a clock-maker, therefore, the existence of order in the Universe implies the existence of a Creator, but the reverse of this. It is because Allah is a Creator, therefore, some of His creatures have the creative ability.

The view of the world which emerges using logical methods contains three features:- (a) We are the result not of purpose but of a series of accidental mechanically induced genetic changes. (b) Knowledge depends only on what we can agree on and can be verified by others. It must, therefore, refer to the external world and experienced through our senses. We have no experience of the Whole. We experience only separate objects. We can only analyze. We have to build up a picture of the world by gradually forging links between objects using suitable concepts and methods of our invention. (c) The world as we see it is the result of the human mind, its inherent structure, its cultural conditioning and the efforts it makes to gather, interpret, understand and integrate experience. It is man who creates the order out of chaos, scientifically, morally and through social organization.

All these, however, are assumptions. It could be argued that:-

(a) Our minds are as they are because they have been formed by the materials, forces and laws of the universe and by a long evolutionary process of adjustment to reality. That if purpose, order and creativity are inherent in us then it is inherent in Nature of which we are a part.

(b) There is no justification for limiting experience to the external senses. We have feelings and thoughts. We feel pain, for instance, and this is associated with certain changes in behaviour. We can not only tell people that we feel pain and they will understand this because they have the same experiences, but we can also observe their behaviour. We feel the pain of others because the feeling is associated in our minds with certain kinds of behaviour, and if we see this behaviour in others, these associations are aroused. Indeed, psychopathy can be defined as the inability of a person to put himself in someone else’s situation. It is a disease.

Moreover, it is thoughts which are responsible for the culture and all the inventions of civilization and the transformation of the environment. Con-sciousness implies a unified awareness. We have an inherent need to unify all our experiences into a single consistent system. Indeed, we interpret each new experience in terms of the picture or system we have built from previous experiences. No object has any meaning for us without its context, its relation with other things and ourselves. The experience of God gives rise to and arises from this. Thus, there is a faculty for analysis as well as synthesis. The two are dependant on each other. It is Reason which analyses, but this presupposes that there is a Whole. The mistake is to suppose that the Whole is merely the sum of the parts, and that the parts exist independently of the whole.

(c) If the world is really a mental construct then the notion of God has as much reality as anything else that is used as an explanatory device in science. Forces, the genetic imperative to propagate and so on, are devices of this kind. Religion is also a method of making sense of the world. We will have to consider why there is an in-built drive in the human mind to produce such explanatory or organizing devices. It is this drive which is constructing the Universe for us. We merely transfer God from the external physical world into the inner psychological. We do not create it but are ourselves products of it. It also remains objective in the sense that the world so constructed is not the product of a single mind but of the collective efforts of numerous minds working over the centuries. It may also be the case that the world apart from man is constructed in just the same way, by the collective minds of all things. It can be pointed out that we do not create this world out of nothing. There is something out there which affects us and we create our world by interpretation. This being the case we are led to the belief that there is a Reality apart from our interpretations, a world which constrains us. Reality has a physical, social and psychological dimension. The words ‘Truth’, ‘Goodness’ and ‘Beauty’ have a meaning only with respect to this. If this were not so then they could have any meaning whatever, and this meaning would differ according to person. No agreement could be reached.

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It is generally believed that whereas the world is seen as an illusion from the Hindu-Buddhist point of view, it is, having been created by God, real from the Hebrew-Christian point of view. The two are, therefore, seen as incompatible. From the Islamic point of view both are correct. An illusion is a misinterpretation of something real. There is a real world created by God, but human selectivity, associations, fantasy, interpretations, motives and actions create the illusory world.

“The life of the world is but a matter of illusion.” 57:20

“Their deeds are as a mirage in the desert...” 24:39

“This life of the world is but a pastime and a game Lo! the home of the hereafter - that is Life, if they but knew.” 29:64 and .see also 6:32,

“O my people! Lo! this life of the world is but a passing comfort, and lo! the hereafter, that is the enduring home.”40:39. Also see 42:36

“And coin for them a similitude of the life of the world: It is like water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth absorbs it, but soon it becomes dry twigs which the wind scatters.” 18:46. See also 57:20

Every discipline must have three things which roughly correspond to the three kinds of knowledge mentioned above:- they must have (a) Basic Principles on which they are based, (b) Frameworks of Experience and (c) a Language for communication.

(a) The scientific criterion of Truth is that a statement or theory is true if predictions based on it can be verified by all. But there is no logical justification for this criterion except the common consent of those who accept it. But this is precisely also the justification for a religion. By common consent of the believers they take as their criterion of Truth those principles which explain and regulate, not physical events, but life experiences. The two are not incompatible. A third criterion of Truth may consist of those principles which explain all inner psychological experiences. And a fourth may consist of those which explain all three areas in a coordinated way. Islam exists at this level. In every case we are in the realm of Politics not Science, particularly if we require the consent of the majority. The ‘Truth’ so defined changes with the times and culture. And, indeed, this appears to be the current situation.

We can, however, take a more organic or evolutionary view. Humanity has to progress from (i) the stage where the criterion of Truth is some powerful authority who imposes his views through force, bribery or prestige, to (ii) a more democratic recognition of the existence and interaction of human minds in general, to (iii) the recognition of an impersonal objective Reality. This is also the way children develop. First they accept the authority of the parents, then they are influenced by the social interactions they set up, and finally, they ought, if development is not arrested, to become more objective. The third stage is precisely the position adopted by Islam. Surrender means just this. Islam is, therefore, in advance of the world which is stuck in stage 2. And even within Islam, we have the same three stages, as we shall show. It requires first that people should accept the authority of the Prophet who teaches this objectivity. That they should progress through a stage of social consensus based on the teachings, to one where their objective faculties have developed and they become independent.

The scientific attitude can also be explained as follows:- If you carry out such and such instructions then the result will be such and such. But this is also the Religious attitude, except that the one refers to physical phenomena and the other to social and psychological ones. Both, however, are matters of experience. There is no justification for limiting these to external sensory ones. It is a mistake to suppose that religious doctrines are anything other than instructions to think in certain ways in order to attain the required results. Religious instructions are more difficult to carry out and the results may take a long time to appear and may not appear within a person’s life time. Other results bring dramatic changes in personality within a short time for all to see.

The third aspect of science has already been mentioned. It consists of constructing theories through intuition, inspiration or revelation, just as in Religion. The Theory must lead to predictable results and must be falsifiable. Deductions are then made in order to verify them by observation and experiment. The corroboration by several people is necessary and they must belong to the same science. If these deductions turn out to be false then the theory must be rejected. If the predictions come true, and these are corroborated then the theory is accepted. However, since knowledge at any given time is limited, there may come a time when the theory is falsified. Hence verification only leads to a tentative acceptance. It is never certain. Often, however, some new theory is made to explain why observation differs from prediction. It is perfectly possible to separate facts into different sets, in order to make different theories fit them. In Religion it is necessary to alter ones way of thinking, desiring and living and we have the corroboration of the experiences of members of the religion and particularly of the mystics. However, the concept of God is not falsifiable since, by definition, He is the creator of all and He can do anything He likes. Therefore, prediction which do not come true, cannot lead to the rejection of God, but only of our assumptions or ideas about Him. But this is true also about Scientific Laws which are statistical. Nor is it an unreasonable attitude to take about the ultimate Reality. Whatever happens or does not is a fact about reality. Since they are dealing with the Absolute the question of limited knowledge does not arise. However, the exact formulation in words of these experiences may differ and the statements may be understood differently by different people. These formulations ought also to be understood tentatively.

If mental phenomena are independent of physical ones then they have to be explained. They cannot be dismissed. If they are not regarded as independent then mind and matter are two different aspects or points of view, an external and an internal one. Our thoughts, scientific or religious, are equally determined by physical forces. If psychological phenomena can be explained in physical terms, then conversely, it is also possible to explain physical phenomena in psychological terms.

(b) In the case of both Science and Religion, understanding is only obtained by participation. This means that there is an intellectual, emotional as well as a motor involvement.

(c) Ordinary language is designed to describe ordinary experiences and cannot, therefore, describe the unusual experiences of the mystic. Nor can it describe scientific experiences in the laboratory. Thus a scientific language has been created to do this. There are a great many languages, e.g. in business, politics and art. Religious language has been created to describe religious experience. We cannot describe the one in the language of the other. Though the words in the different languages may be the same their meanings will be different. A statement could be factual, a value judgment or an instruction. Mistakes are made by confusing one with the other. It is also a mistake to suppose that factual statements refer to objects. They refer to the experience of objects. As such the language will depend on the context in which experiences are obtained, the laboratory for instance, or a religious institution. Religious language often combines the three. It is also often symbolic. Mistakes are sometimes made in interpreting them literally.

The word ‘Infinite’ means something greater than can be conceived. The greatest thing we can conceive of is the Universe. The Universe, however, emerges from some background ( quantum field?) which is greater than the Universe itself because it contains all that the Universe contains and other possibilities not yet actualized. To say that Allah is Infinite is to say that He is greater than the Universe and greater than our capacity for conception. However, different people have different capacities for conception. We may, therefore, assert that an area of knowledge which exists beyond one person, A, but is contained within another person, B, is included in the notion of Allah for the first person. Then B, or A as his knowledge expands, may be said to acquire that knowledge from Allah.

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