Discussions on the Internet - 1

1 - Islam

"L" wrote:-

In answer to questions about the foundations of Islam: the Sunna is found partly in the Quran, partly in the Hadith and partly in the traditional practices of Muslims.

"A":-

As for the Sunna in the Quran, for this we only require the Quran.

"L":-

No. As is well-known, the verses of the Quran are susceptible to many alternate interpretations, and there are a few places where the literal meaning appears to be impossible. An example would be where a practice in the prayer is truly universal among the people who received the Quran, but appears to be contradicted by the Quran itself. From this, we can infer, strongly, that the meaning as it appears today is not the same as it appeared to these people. I have in mind the jahri and sirri prayers, the latter of which appear to contradict a certain verse of the Quran." etc. etc. etc..

Comment:-

Thank you. This is clear.

You will recall that the purpose of these questions was to clarify the confusion which the controversy on this subject in previous articles had caused, at least in me.

What we have established so far is (correct me if I am wrong):-

(1) Islam depends firstly on the Quran which is wholly reliable. But the verses are open to several interpretations. The meaning of the verses of the Quran should be understood in their context. This requires comparing verses with each other.

(2) Secondly, it depends on the Sunna:- The Quran takes priority over the Sunna. Nothing in the Sunna can be accepted if it contradicts the Quran. The Sunna can be found:-

(a) Partly in the Quran. The example of the jahri and sirri prayer you give implies that the verses in the Quran can be understood by means of the hadith.

(b) Partly in the Hadith. The Hadith, however, vary in reliability, and are also open to several interpretations. We have to understand the hadith,

(i) By the degree of their reliability in authority and transmission

(ii) By their self-consistency as in the case of the Quran.

(iii) By their consistency with the Quran.

(c) Partly in traditional practices. These can also vary and there may have been additions and subtractions. We could assess them

(i) By their self-consistency.

(ii) By historical research.

(iii) I could add, by expert assessment of their efficacy with respect to the purposes of Islam.

May I now make a few more remarks, the answers to which hopefully will shed a little more light:-

(a) You will observe that two vicious circles have occurred - as in "which comes first the chicken or the egg". One is that the interpretation of the Quran must judge the hadith, and the hadith must judge the interpretation of the Quran. This is why there has been such a lengthy controversy. This can be solved in the same manner as the chicken and egg dilemma i.e. evolution, in this case of scholarship. The other lies within the assessment of the hadith. This probably can also be solved through scholarship.

(b) You say, and I agree, that the Hadith and Quran are both open to different interpretations. This depends on the preconceptions and motives which leads people to select, emphasise and reorganise the verses in the Quran and Hadith. How then do you differentiate between these different interpretations? Is not everyone's interpretation equally valid?

Each person will have to examine himself to discover what preconceptions and prejudices he has and what motives underlie his interpretations. Is it desire for truth or some self-interest, or the desire to justify himself or someone to whom he has formed emotional attachments?

In this connection we read in the Quran that Allah does not guide the miscreants and those who are driven by their lusts, avarice and prejudices etc... It is not possible to guide anyone who is blind and who has a seal on his heart. The Quran does tell us that human beings were made diverse, and it is a matter of common observation that personalities differ and people see things differently.

"And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers? It is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of Allah. He hath set uncleanness upon those who have no sense." 10:100-101

This produces another vicious circle:- The interpretation of the Quran and Hadith depends on practicing the instructions in the Quran. This can be resolved also by the idea of evolution. That is, those who practice the instructions in the Quran will hopefully improve, and this will allow them to interpret the Quran better. This will allow them to practice it still better......and so on. The Quran does say:-

"The wandering Arabs say: We believe. Say unto them: Ye believe not, but rather say 'We submit', for the faith hath not yet entered your hearts. If ye obey Allah and the Messenger, He will not withhold from you any of the rewards of your deeds." 49:14

(c) This brings me the third point. The acceptance, interpretation and understanding of the Quran and, indeed any other scripture, depend entirely on Allah, on what He inspires into them. Even the ability to compare and assess whether there is a self-consistency in meaning depends on intelligence, previous knowledge, motives, opportunities and circumstances i.e.. ultimately, on Allah.

I would, therefore, like some comments on the following proposition which I personally accept, but others might not:-

"Islam depends firstly on Allah, secondly on the Quran, and thirdly on the Sunna."

This has far reaching consequences. It will be observed that:-

This order corresponds to the order of the Articles of Faith - namely Allah - Angels -Prophets. That Allah sent many, at least ffour scriptures, of which the Quran is one. We are required to accept all the Prophets and the Scriptures. That Islam is essentially a Universal religion - we call ourselves Muslims, not Mohammedans. Other religions are called by the Prophet they follow e.g. Christianity. The Quran repeatedly tells us that Religion is One and abhors sectarianism. Sectarianism has arisen precisely because Muslims, instead of relying on Allah, have formed attachments to various persons - a habit introduced from Christianity.

One of the consequences of accepting Allah first, is that we return to Islam rather than to sects.

Islam, unlike other religions is a direct relationship between a person and Allah without a mediator. It has no Church or Priesthood. A Muslim is his own priest and is responsible for his own development. The Muslim does not adhere to a particular sect with its "prophets". This does not mean that he rejects other teachers - they may have insights which help his understanding. But he is not tied to them as if by a rope to a peg. There is no virtue in blindly following someone. A person develops only by his own understanding.

All the relevant verses will be known to anyone who studies the Quran.

(d) The Hadith should, perhaps, be regarded as containing applications of the general principles in the Quran, specifically for the conditions, people, times and place in which the Prophet (S.A.W) found himself. If this is accepted then we have the following proposition:-

"The Hadith teaches us how the Quran can be applied."

This does not necessarily mean that we have to stick to the letter of every instruction when those people, conditions, times and places change. For example:-

When people are uneducated or uncultured, their behaviour will be different from those who are cultured and educated, and they will have to be spoken to and given instructions which are different. In a hot country sexuality tends to be much more urgent than in a cold country, and is much more easily stimulated and less controlled. Therefore, it is necessary to apply methods which will reduce the stimulation. In a less organised society there are fewer laws and people to enforce them than in more organised countries. Therefore, people can be more unruly and methods have to be applied which will reduce this.

In general there are three ways of dealing with communities if the general welfare is to be maintained and continuing development ensured:-

(1) The force of Law and its coercive power to compel or restrict.

(2) Mental conditioning through propaganda and control of information and the inculcation of traditions. The Culture tends to have this function.

(3) Correct education in the sense that not only is knowledge provided, but the faculties for thinking, reasoning, feeling, action (skills) are developed, but also the capacities of Consciousness, Conscience and Will (self-control).

It is only the third which is truly developmental and Islam emphasises it.

However, there are people of many kinds and levels of intelligence. The coercive Law is essential to create a society in which there is sufficient order where culture and education can flourish.

A culture is a repository of the past experiences and activities of a people. There is a cumulative effect. However, it has a conditioning effect which prevents further development. This can be easily established from observation of societies which have stagnated and remained the same for centuries. Since the rest of the world evolves, these societies are in fact going backwards relatively speaking. There is also the Second Law of Thermodynamics which causes things to degenerate. All further development, therefore, depends on conscious efforts.

From a religious point of view this means that there must be constant reinterpretation and re-application. The general principles always remain the same and these are contained in the Quran, but their application must relate to the specific conditions to which they are applied.

This makes Islam adaptable and the accusation that Islam is stagnant and tied to the conditions which existed in the days of Muhammad (S.A.W) cannot be made. In the past people did think it was their right to make interpretations according to circumstances - the Quran itself came in pieces as circumstances developed. Unfortunately Muslims now cling to these past interpretations and have done nothing new.

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2 - Nature of Islam

In view of all the argumentation on this site, despite the fact that the Quran and the Prophet (S.A.W) has forbidden it, I would like to put forward the following propositions for discussion:-

(1) Islam is a direct surrender of a person to Allah without a mediator. There is no organised Church or Priesthood in Islam. Everyone is his own priest and responsible for his own studies, understanding, actions and development and accountable to Allah. We are Muslims, not Mohammedans. Only Allah is infallible.

(2) We are told to act only according to our own knowledge and inspiration. Nothing can be our own knowledge and cannot benefit us, which we do not understand or which we may accept from others without understanding things in the same way as those whose statements we accept. The striving for self-improvement and increased understanding implies that we cannot at any given time assert anything with certainty. Allah alone knows best and will ultimately be the judge. The only certainty is that our understanding depends on Allah and following the instructions which ensure spiritual growth.

(3) Socially or politically Islam is based on the Community of like minded people, the Umma - all those who agree to Surrender unto Allah. It is the duty of all to help each other and to develop. All affairs in this community are based on mutual consultation and agreements, not on imposition, mental conditioning and selective information manipulation.

(4) The Umma is led by those who are the most righteous, able and learned - those who are closest in their surrender to Allah. It is the duty of all within the Umma, for their own benefit, to follow and obey those who are superior in this respect. Authority cannot be imposed but is accepted, and can be questioned. It is the duty of the leaders to educate the rest of the Community. Since people differ in their understanding and conformity to Islam, this creates a dynamic hierarchy in which those below strive to attain a higher level, and those above try to raise the level of those below. The Islamic community is an educational one.

(5) As long as Muslims were closer to the spirit of Islam they also created a high civilisation, a great Empire and worldly prosperity. The Muslim world has degenerated and lost all these. That this would happen was predicted by the Prophet (S.A.W). It is also a matter of simple observation. Muslims have ceased to be Khalifas. These worldly successes are based on spiritual excellence and not the other way round.

(6) There are several reasons for this degeneration:-

(a) The most obvious one is that most Muslims are so in name only, and do not understand or practice Islam. Ignorance has overtaken them. This ignorance is partly caused by addiction or habits of mind.

(b) Connected with this is the fall into sectarianism which has destroyed co-operation, created conflicts and made them victims of the manipulation of others. This same condition is still glaringly evident on this internet site. Sectarianism is essentially idolatry in so far as each sect gives its allegiance not to Allah but some other person whom they probably do not understand and form their own "churches". In this respect they have allowed habits from extraneous sources e.g. Christianity to affect them.

(c) In so far as thinking and doctrines are concerned Islam has become infected with formal logical thinking derived from Greece where slaves did all the practical work and the intelligentsia indulged in intellectual games based on rules. Islam, on the other hand is based directly on the expansion and integration of experience and analogical reasoning.

(7) It is not possible to revive the fortunes of the Muslim world unless all these defects are removed. Though the West appears to be dominant in the world today, they have created environmental, social and psychological conditions which are threatening a major disaster in the near future. It is not, therefore, likely to help the Muslim world, neither in this world nor in the next, to slavishly imitate the West.

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3 - The Quran

"Z" wrote:-

Altway wrote:- "There is a difference between the thing itself and its interpretation by the readers. One is objective and the other subjective."

There are millions of "interpretations" for each and every ayah in the Quran. This is as it should be because the Quran being the last and final pure guidance for mankind, in Arabic, is applicable for all times and places. Subhan-Allah wal Hamdulillah.

Answer:-

It is true that different people will interpret things differently according to their different personalities. This happens because each person only has a partial view and people also want to see things according to their personal interests, advantages or prejudices. This is like seeing a complex shape from different angles. This, of course causes difference of opinion between people and conflicts. The Quran warns against interpreting it according to one's own desires.

A person, who wants to know the truth, because he does not mistake his opinion for truth, will try to look at the object from many different directions in order to build a composite picture. This is a gradual process. What is more, he has to relate the object to an increasing number of other objects (in this case verses) in order to build up an over all picture so that he can see the object in its true context. It must form a unified self-consistent system.

A difficulty arises because human beings form fixations or habits so that they cannot change their points of view. They select some characteristics or objects, ignore others, increase the importance of some and diminish the importance of others. They also suffer from fantasies and rationalisation of their desires, self-interest, prejudices, fear, hate, greed, lust and other attachments - everything we attribute to Shaitan. This distorts the picture. They organise the data to form systems which are different from the original. In fact, the Quran is not systematised, but like nature, gives us ideas in many contexts. The problem with systems is that if you make one then you automatically exclude another. This is like taking some wood and making a chair out of it. This prevents one from making a table or anything else. The wood, however, has innumerable potentialities.

Thus you see not all interpretations can be regarded as a good thing. I agree, however, that the Quran came down in bits so that each bit can have relevance to the particular conditions which were prevalent at the time. It also contains compact information, as the Prophet (S.A.W) stated, so that when conditions change one could meditate on the Quran and find an answer relevant to the problems of the time. I find this to be exactly the case. Many verses have not only a specific meaning, but also a general one which can be adapted to other specific cases.

Since the Quran according to a Hadith came in seven modes and has an outer and inner meaning, and every interdiction has a source of reference, I would not agree that there are millions of correct interpretations.

I hope this explanation is helpful.

Re: An Article about the reading and meaning of the Quran. I would like to add the following thoughts to the discussion without being dogmatic:-

(1) The Quran, in its essence, is part of a Record in Heaven. This appears to imply that (a) It refers to the fundamental truths upon which the Universe is constructed and according to which it develops. (b) Its revelation was inevitable at the correct time in the history of the Universe.

(2) The Quran was inspired into the Prophet (S.A.W) through the Spirit or Angel Gabriel. We may suppose that the truths in it were translated into a human language, Arabic. The reason for saying this is that other Scriptures brought by other Prophets were given to them in their own languages. It is, therefore, best understood by man through similar inspiration. This the Quran itself affirms. This generally requires (a) meditation (b) purification according to the instructions in the Quran and Hadith. (c) Living a life according to the moral principles and spiritual practices recommended in the Quran.

(3) The Quran was not originally written down. The word "Quran" refers to a Recitation. This implies that the sound and the rhythm, and not just the words are also important. In fact, there are 7 approved ways of reciting it. Some of the meanings of the Quran can, therefore, be obtained by listening to this recitation.

(4) The verses of the Quran because they refer to what is integral to the structure and meaning of the Universe and human life, have concentrated meaning. That is to say all specifics may be regarded as examples of something more general.

(5) The Quran was sent not as a whole but in parts according to their relevance to the situations which arose. Though it is now a single book, the fact remains that it is possible to read the book when one has a particular problem in mind that is connected with any new situation that arises, and still find verses relevant to that problem. It is the problem which draws attention to the meaning of the Quran.

(6) The Quran is a self-consistent whole. The first chapter gives its essence; the second elaborates it and all the other chapters provide further details. The same ideas are repeatedly given in different context so as to produce an increasingly vivid multi-dimensional and deeper view. It is, therefore, necessary (a) to compare similar verses (b) to connect them with surrounding verses (c) to understand each verse with respect to the whole, (d) to continually repeat one's study in order to gradually build up the composite picture which the Quran presents.

(7) Since the Quran is "naught but a reminder unto creation", it is necessary to connect what one reads in the Quran with the rest of ones experiences and knowledge about life, our inner psychological experiences, our social life, the environment, the universes and the sciences.

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4 - Belief

"A.S. S" wrote:-

"Beliefs? I would like to minimize the existence of that notion in my life or were you trying to tell me that despite opposing the notion I was myself a believer and had no way of relinquishing it?"

Someone else asked: "How do you know? Have you seen this God? How do you know your scripture is not bogus as well? You don't know this. Not until you die and verify this personally.

Answer:-

The answer to the first question is yes. The answer to the second is the self-consistency of experiences and the recognition that the Quran refers to this.

Firstly, I would like to apologise to you for my colleague's rather aggressive letter to which you have replied. He is repentant. It is the fact that so many people repeatedly trot out the same prejudices conditioned into them by their culture and motivated by pride and the desire to show themselves as clever or enlightened, which annoyed him. He should have known better. We are all prone to this.

Permit me to explain the position at some length in a more contemporary language.

(1) We all acquire our beliefs in three ways - partly by what is genetically inherent in us, partly by our experiences in the environment, and partly by our own efforts - the way we direct our attention, by thinkking, and action.

(2) As life goes on and we accumulate experiences, our system of beliefs expands and becomes modified.

(3) This process is interfered with by fixations or attachments to some ideas, persons, objects, ways of thinking, fears and so on. The result is that we interpret every new experience by means of these past fixations. Learning and psychological growth stops. Habits take over. Since we tend to form several fixations, our psyche or system of beliefs also disintegrates into several complexes or egos. This is sometimes felt as compulsion, possession, or obsession. It makes us variable as different systems dominate us at different times. It leads to inner contradictions and conflicts. One system may see another as outside itself and this may even lead to hallucinations. All this occurs in "normal" people and in severe cases is recognised as psychosis. (Meditate also on Quran 39:29 for confirmation.)

(4) It is not possible for human beings to act and live consciously without belief, but only to behave automatically through instinct as animals do or mechanically through habits. We are required to live consciously. The words "soul" and "spirit" refer to this.

(5) Doubt and unbelief arises when there is a conflict between these systems of belief. Even between the new expanded and the old restricted system. You cannot get rid of belief since your life depends on it. All you can do is substitute one for another, or expand the one you have. The function of doubt, since it is very uncomfortable, is to activate you to those efforts which will give you knowledge and restore belief. There is, of course, no knowledge if you do not believe it. Doubt is, therefore, based on ignorance. You must get rid of it. A more permanent state of doubt is psychosis. The Quran, therefore, condemns it and calls it a disease (2:6-12)

(6) It is, however, necessary to distinguish between three kinds of acquired units of experience which we can call "Psychons":-

(a) The belief system which you obtain from experience, inner and outer - we will call these units of experience or ideas "Theons".

(b) The belief systems which you acquire from your culture, other people - we will call these units of experience or ideas "Cultons".

(c) The experiences or ideas which arise out of prejudices, rationalisations of fantasies, self-interest, greed, pride, lust and so on - we will call units of these "Satons". They distort the truth and cause self-deception. It is these which cause your addictions, fixations, inner contradictions and conflicts and disintegrate your psyche. We are required to guard ourselves against them. This is message of the Quran. We do so by cultivating the "Theons".

(7) The Quran, as all genuine religions, give us the concept of God and instruct us to keep this as the primary and fundamental one. The significance of this is that it is a unitary one, all-comprehensive and wholly self-consistent without any contradictions. To put it another way, if you are into scientific or mathematical jargon, Allah is the centre or origin of a co-ordinate system. We are required to interpret all our experiences within this framework. This will ensure self-consistency and continuous psychological or spiritual growth - the evolution of consciousness, conscience and Will. Even science is looking for a Unified Theory of everything which will explain everything in a self-consistent manner. It heals the damage done by fixation, reunifies. The Quran is, therefore, a healing and a mercy.

(8) This concept cannot be questioned, doubted or disbelieved since it explains everything. I am sure that you can easily work out that if you reject such a concept then your psyche will disintegrate, your world-view will disintegrate and the whole society which rejects the concept will also disintegrate, all owing to the contradictions and conflicts between the parts. Religion is meant to be path which leads to this ultimate Unity. This, of course, implies that we are not yet at the destination, but are evolving towards it. (Meditate upon Quran 23:91)

(9) There is a difference between knowing "of something", "about something" and "knowing something". There is a difference between knowing, understanding and being conscious of something. Please do not confuse these.

Now, if I understand correctly, the gist of most, if not all religions is: that man has a spirit which bestows on him the faculties of consciousness, conscience and will. The quality of this makes a big difference between man and animals. All these faculties refer to awareness and the degree of integration or unity which can be achieved. (Con = unity, sciousness = awareness) Since God, in most religions is Unity, then these faculties are regarded as a spark of the divine in man. What people become aware of, therefore, depends on the degree of their consciousness - or, to put it in another way, on the degree to which the spirit is active in them.

The notion of spiritual death and resurrection are connected with this.

It follows that human beings have the capacity to varying degrees to assess the validity of scriptures. It is not at all necessary to die physically before one knows the truth, but only to "die to this world" - i.e.. the world where "Satons" rule. This death is essential for "spiritual resurrection" and the ability to experience "Theons".

"Therefore forgive us our sins, and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die the death of the righteous." 3:193

"Die not save as men who have surrendered." 2:132

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5 - Evolution

"HG" wrote:-

I write you this email because I have a question and need some answers. I discussed with my school friends in the philosophy-lesson about Islam. I answered that I believe in Adam and Eve because that is what is written in the Quran. So I want to ask you what is the opinion of the Islamic Scholars. (Islam Against Evolution) I hope you will have time to answer this question.

Answer:-

There are many different views, both among scientists and religious people. I will give you my opinion based on my studies of both Science and the Quran. No doubt others will correct me. The creation of Adam and Eve mentioned in Quran 2:30-31 is a spiritual creation. The Physical creation is mentioned elsewhere e.g. 22:6 23:13-17, 32:9.

Spiritual creation (in Heaven) always takes place first, and this elaborates or unwinds into a physical creation. This is not unlike what an inventor does. He first has an idea in his mind, then makes a blue print and then gathers the materials and gives them form - and behold, we have a physical thing, an aeroplane or car etc. But notice that aeroplanes and cars have evolved.

The first thing one must do is to define what we mean by "Man", whether we mean his body, mind or spirit or all three. The "man" the Quran is interested in, and probably all other religions also, is the one who is conscious - i.e. he has a Spirit. If he is not conscious, then nothing can exist for him, not even himself, and he cannot be said to be a "khalifa" because the divine spark or "Trust" is missing.

Notice carefully what the term "khalifa" in 2:30 means. Man was to be made a "successor" on earth. He is the latest or highest point in the creations on earth.

However, owing to his spirit becoming trapped or confined to his body, particularly through attachments or addictions - e.g. sensuality, greed, lust etc.., he is said to have undergone a spiritual death.(95:4-6 etc.) Therefore, the Prophets and Scriptures were sent to re-awaken him (34:46), to spiritually resurrect him.

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

Note carefully, the man was spiritually dead before the light resurrected him.

Let me show you that the Quran also mentions evolution, but it is a quite different one from the Biological one.

"And a soul and Him who perfected it, and inspired it (with conscience) of what is wrong for it and what is right for it. He indeed is successful who causes it to grow, and he indeed is a failure who stunts it." 91:7-10

You will no doubt, remember several other verses in the Quran which mention the growth of the soul and the ascent of man e.g. 2:129, 62:2. There is to be a psychological or spiritual evolution.

"If He will He can be rid of you and bring instead of you some new creation." 35:16

"If He will, He can remove you and cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed of other folk.....O my people! Work according to your power. Lo! I too am working. Thus ye will come to know for which of us will be the happy sequel. Lo! The wrongdoers will not be successful." 6:134-136

"See they not how Allah produces creation, then reproduces it? Travel in the land and see how He originated creation, then Allah brings forth the later growth." 29:19-20

"What ails you that you hope not towards Allah with dignity when he created you by stages?....And Allah has caused you to grow as a growth from earth." 71:13-14

"Did you think that you would enter paradise without Allah testing those who really strive, and those who are steadfast." 3:142

"Ye shall travel from plane to plane" 84:16

Now all this applies to animals as well:-

"There is not an animal in the earth, nor a creature flying on two wings, but they are communities like you. We have ignored nothing in the Book. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered." 6:38

If the Universe has a purpose as the Quran confirms, then it cannot be denied that there must be a direction of development. This is what is called Evolution. Allah creates, tests and selects (3:142-143, 179.)

Animals are, of course guided by in-built instincts. But man who possesses a mind which is capable of doing either right or wrong, conscious guidance had to be sent. This is the task of the Messengers and scriptures. It is naught but a reminder to creation and the evolutional process.

Scientists have begun to see the flaws in the original Theory of Evolution and do continue to modify it as research brings more facts.

Some of the facts discovered recently are as follows:-

Animals live in an eco-system where they are interdependent. A eats B which eats C which eats D which may be dependant upon A. If B becomes too successful in eating C, then the numbers of C will diminish and B will starve. Its numbers will be reduced. Therefore, A will find less to eat and its numbers will be reduced. But if there are less of C, then the number of D will multiply. However, if D is dependant on A which has diminished, then again we have a pressure to reduce its numbers. There are always two opposite forces at work and an eco-system comes to a dynamic balance.

Many animals live in co-operative communities. This not only adds to their capabilities but it also means that it protects the weaker members who could not otherwise survive. Indeed, these weaker members may develop characteristics which are good for the survival of the herd, though they are no good for the individual. Some co-operation even goes so far that only the dominant pair are allowed to reproduce, and all the others look after the young who obviously are vulnerable. These weak young are clearly not as fit as the adults who prey on them.

Yet evolution has taken place, and there is indeed, a direction of development towards increasing consciousness, co-operation, unity and capability.

So we come to the conclusion that everything belongs to a system to which it must adjust. This system belongs to a still higher system to which it must adjust, which belongs to.....and so on until we come to Allah. Ultimately everything must adjust to Allah and fulfil the purpose which He had for creating the Universe.

There is an inevitability about development because the results of the efforts of the entities accumulate. There is, however, no guarantee that any particular individual will develop. What happens is that those which do not develop degenerate or are destroyed, leaving that which develops. A tree produces millions of seed, but only some of these grow into new Trees. The others are not lost - they become fertiliser for those which grow. This is exactly what happens to human beings too.

According to Biologists, all living creatures including human beings have arisen from more primitive forms by random (accidental) mutations and then by a process of natural selection by the environment. But it can be asserted that there is nothing random about mutations. They are caused by Cosmic and other radiations which are a built-in feature of the Universe ever since the Creative Act, the Big Bang. A mutation also depends upon the nature of the germ cell itself. There is an inner natural selection in so far as the viability of an organism depends on the mutual co-operation between the genes.

The Universe displays both processes of evolution and involution. This takes place simultaneously as well as alternately as the balance fluctuates periodically. Organisms maintain themselves by a process known as metabolism which consists of the two opposite processes of catabolism and anabolism.

From a scientific point of view ideas about evolution have been modified as follows:-

Mendel showed that there were dominant and recessive genes and that there were certain statistical laws in the combination of genes which governed characteristics of succeeding species.

Organisms live in bio-systems in which all the species are inter-dependant. There are checks and balances. The organism must fit harmoniously into the system. This implies that the organism and the whole system, its environment, are inter-dependant. The organism modifies its environment and the environment modifies the organisms.

The system is a whole complex which cannot be understood merely as a sum of the parts. There are numerous feed back mechanisms and cycles caused by catalysts such that simple laws applied recursively, i.e. to the results of a previous application, produce great complexity where order and chaos are mixed or separated out. Non-linear mathematical laws apply which have more than one possible solution. i.e. they are not completely predictable. It is a self-organising system in which new characteristics arise spontaneously. Such systems maintain some stability away from equilibrium and display a mixture of order and chaos. The order arises because of attractors around which cyclic processes settle. The further away from equilibrium the greater is the complexity. Certain bifurcation points are reached from time to time where new types of order arise so that the histories of development shows branching i.e. a structure and history where though the future is indeterminate and unpredictable all present points are determined by past history. This implies that mutations are not completely random and do not cover all possibilities. This reduces the number of possibilities which can happen, and makes evolution much more likely. It does not require smooth and gradual changes. A system has a certain amount of autonomy. Thus evolution is driven both from above (the higher system) and from below (the sub-systems) and thirdly by the interaction of the systems.

Co-operation and Symbiosis was discovered to be much more widespread. Unicellular organisms such as bacteria were without nuclei and it is thought that the nucleated cells have arisen when some cells invaded others, differentiated owing to mutual co-operation. Cells also contain other structures besides nuclei which may have arisen by further invasions. Symbiosis has also led to increasing co-operation until multi-cellular organisms developed in which it was possible for groups of cells to differentiate from one another. Whereas they could not survive alone they could through co-operation. It is now known that cells such as bacteria and viruses can exchange genetic material. Through them genetic material from one species can be transferred to others. The whole of the biosphere must then be regarded as a single system.

According to the Gaia Theory the development of the Biosphere is not independent of the development of the rest of the planet and must be regarded as one of its organs.

From the Physicists point of view physical processes always lead to an increase of entropy (disorder). This is because energy must flow from points of high to low concentration. This is also statistically the most likely condition. This requires a difference of concentration and is provided by the expansion of the Universe. Evolution, however, is an increase of order. This requires an opposite mechanism. This may well be Gravity. However, it can also take place if there is a system having certain self-maintaining boundaries so that energy loss can be compensated for by energy absorption. Energy may flow from a Higher system to a lower e.g. from the sun or the Galactic Centre to the earth, causing evolution in it. Order may increase locally while there is still an overall decrease. But we also need to explain the existence of these self-maintaining processes. They appear to arise not from above but from below the parts. It appears to consist of a tendency or striving to unite and adjust.

Please do not just read the Quran superficially, and do not even only study it in an academic way, but meditate on the verses. If you can also hear them recited at the same time you will find that this deepens understanding.

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6 - Free Will

"K" wrote:-

What do you think of the article, "On Free will and Fatalism - From a Quranic perspective"

Answer:-

This is, in the main a good and valuable article.

The writer, no doubt, is a seeker after truth, and as such, I hope he will not mind if I make a correction. In my view, there is a serious error in the foundations of this article. It is too simplistic. The reason for the error is the selection of certain verses and ignoring other relevant ones. The Quran is to be understood as whole. He has made a brave attempt to get round the implication of verses which were quoted in the beginning of the article.

(1) The Prophet (S.A.W) absolutely denied the notion of "free will" - He said:- "Do not sit with the believers in free will".

(2) Meditate on the following verses of the Quran:-

"Unto Allah submit whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours." 13:15

"There is no strength save in Allah"(18:40)

"There is no refuge from Allah save towards Him (9:118).

"There is no changing the words of Allah" 10:65

And numerous other verses such as 4:79

(3) Let us employ reason. If there were free will then human beings can flout the law of causation and upset the laws of Allah. They could act without cause or reason, other wise reason would be the cause. This kind of impulsive behaviour is not even a virtue. What happens to the Omnipotence of Allah if human beings can flout His Will? How is it possible to do anything without some kind of energy or force, and where does it come from?

No, there is a serious error in thought here. The solution of this problem probably lies in considering the following facts:-

You can put a ball into a bowl. It has the possibility of moving in a number of different ways. But its actual movement will be fully determined by the force which acts on it.

Human beings are complex organisms with many levels of functioning - physical, cellular, chemical, electronic and spiritual. Their behaviour can be reflex, instinctive, habitual, voluntary, rational or conscious. When they put their hands on something hot, they withdraw it by reflex action. But it is perfectly possible to overcome this reflex deliberately or even enter fire to rescue a loved one because of the impulse of love. A higher centre is overcoming a lower one. You can observe that the Law of Gravity is everywhere, and yet birds and aeroplanes fly. This is because the Laws of thermodynamics have overcome the Laws of Gravity. But they are Laws nevertheless.

Human beings contain the Spirit of Allah (32:9). This is what gives them the faculties of consciousness, conscience and will - or inner sight, hearing and feeling which allow them to function at the highest level. But man has degenerated (95:4-6) owing to attachments - greed, lust etc.. These faculties have atrophied in the majority (There is rust on the mirror of their hearts, there is a seal on their hearts, there is a disease in their hearts - these are the various ways in which the Quran describes their state). It is not possible for them to function at a higher level. This is known as spiritual death or sleep.

Thus the prophets and the Scriptures were sent down as a healing and a mercy, and to awaken man. (Please look up all the relevant verses). This is known as spiritual resurrection. The Prophets and the Scriptures are causes for the transformation of man. In particular, it is necessary to follow the instructions in the scriptures - they are techniques by which this awakening can be achieved. But again whether you accept or reject the Prophets and a scripture does not depend on your choice but on the psychological, cultural, social forces which have formed you - they are also from Allah, and serve His plan or purposes. Thus whether or not you voluntary submit to Allah, all things are in submission to Him. Islam is the natural state of all things.

The reason for the difficulty which people have in understanding these ideas is that they do not differentiate between their own subjective values and the objective values of Allah. They think that because in their view something is evil Allah cannot do it. This is false.

(a) Because this would flout His Omnipotence.

(b) Because good is objectively defined as what Allah does, whether or not you think it is good or evil. They are only good or evil for yourself. Since Allah has provided us with instructions by means of which we can do good for ourselves, then the only evil which exists is that in our own minds.

"Whatever good befalls you (O man), it is from Allah, and whatever ill befalls you it is from yourselves." 4:79

This discussion should show you that the following statement made by the writer is false

"It is the law of Allah which is permanent and fixed, not the fate of mankind."

The Quran repeatedly tells us that communities which do not obey the instructions of God are destroyed. This leaves those which do. The plan of God cannot be flouted. (Please look up all relevant verses, and meditate specially on 6:134-136, 29:19-20, 91:9-10 35:16-17 3:142 84:16 - you will have to meditate not just read them superficially)

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7 - Morality

"E" wrote:-

We can deduce moral action through reasoning. Here is the argument:-…..

Answer:-

I disagree completely with this rational analysis of morality.

Morality does not depend on the intellect or reason which can only decide between truth and falsity, and even here the intellect is merely an instrument which will go where ever the motives lead it. You can easily verify this from the controversy between Philosophers and between scientists, politicians and so on.

Morality deals with motives and this depends on conscience - the feeling of consistency. Since all human beings are alike in so far as they are human then we ought to treat others as we wish to be treated. We possess the power of empathy by which we can put ourselves in the shoes of others.

Conscience is, like consciousness and will, a property of the Spirit. This spirit is inherent in man as the Quran states (15:29 etc.). Evil is, therefore, done by those in whom the spirit is suppressed. Such people are called spiritually dead or spiritually asleep. This is the reason why the Quran calls on man to Awaken. The love of God refers to the spirit in him and the possibility that man can be contacted by God through the Spirit. But "God does not guide evil-living folk" 63:6. This is because they are not in contact with their own spirit.

"I exhort you unto one thing only: that ye awake for Allah's sake by twos or singly, and then reflect..." 34:46

"Be not like those who forgot Allah, therefore He caused them to forget their own souls. Such are the evil doers." 59:19

Three levels of man should be distinguished - the physiological (instincts and reflexes) which he shares with animals, the mental (thought, feeling and voluntary action) and the spiritual (consciousness, conscience and will) which are the divine qualities.

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8 - Good

Someone wrote:-

"Briefly stated the "problem of evil" can be phrased like this:

(1) If "Allah is good", then "Allah does not want evil to exist"

(2) If "Allah is omnipotent", then "Allah can eliminate evil"

However,

(3) Evil exists in the world

Therefore

(4) Either "Allah is not good" or "Allah is not omnipotent"

Answer:-

There are several ways in which this can be answered.

Firstly, all logical arguments refer to things which are limited and cannot refer to what is Infinite. They refer to parts, and it is not possible to describe the whole by means of parameters which derive from the parts. Try this: "Light is corpuscular" "Light is wavelike" "A thing cannot be corpuscular and wavelike at the same time" "Therefore light is either not corpuscular or not wavelike." This is clearly false.

Secondly, some of your premises are wrong. God is not a subset of something called "Goodness". Goodness is an attribute of God. Good is what God says or does or conforms to His purpose or Will. Nothing is, therefore, evil. It is we who differentiate between good and evil according to how things affect us and according to whether things fulfil our purposes or frustrate them.

It does not follow that "Allah does not want evil to exist." Indeed, good arises by overcoming evil. Your muscles grow when you exercise against weights, and your mind grows when you overcome problems. Satan was certainly created by God and allowed to tempt man.

All life is attracted towards that which gives happiness and repelled from that which gives pain. The two, therefore, have exactly the same purpose which is good. If you did not suffer pain when you injured yourself you would not know you had injured yourself and would do nothing about it. You would be destroyed, leaving only that which strove towards healing and development.

It does not follow from the omnipotence of Allah that He wants to eliminate evil. Nor does it follow from the goodness of Allah that he is not omnipotent.

"A.A". wrote:-

You wrote:- "Good is what God says or does or what conforms to His purpose or Will. Nothing is, therefore, evil."

Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this one.

Answer:-

If God is good (even the New Testament says so "-Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is God." Luke 18:19) and He is omnipotent, then nothing can be objectively evil. Everything is as it should be.

"AA":-

If we define "Good" as "Conformity to the will of God", then "Evil" is "Nonconformity (violation) of the will of God."

Answer:-

These definitions of good and evil apply to man not God. It is man who has eaten of the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. God is creator of both what we call good and what we call evil. He transcends this pair of opposites or dichotomy. The fruit of this Tree was forbidden to man. This pair of opposites is therefore evil in relation to the goodness of God. The Quran, therefore tells us that

"Allah is the creator of the pair, therefore flee unto Allah" 51:49-50. See also 2:115 and 2:142-143

"AA":-

It seems to me that according to Islam (or Judaism or Christianity) there is plenty of violation of God's will going on. Why else would God bother communicating His will with people? So it seems that there is plenty of evil out there. Could you explain how: "Nothing is, therefore, evil."

Answer:-

In fact, it is not possible to violate the Will of God. All that happens is that you are punished. The Laws of God have consequences which may be interpreted as good or bad according to how you are affected. If you fall down and hurt yourself or put your hand in the fire and burn, you interpret this as evil - but it is according to Law.

The compassion or goodness of God in human affairs is manifested by the fact that He has sent guidance in the form of Messengers and Scriptures.

"AA":-

If Satan was created to tempt man, then he is conforming to the will of God, since he is actually out there tempting man. Therefore, by your definition above, Satan is doing Good.

Answer:-

Exactly! But not from man's point of view.

"AA":-

I do not understand your statement:- "It does not follow from the omnipotence of Allah that He wants to eliminate evil. Nor does it follow from the goodness of Allah that he is not omnipotent."

Answer:-

Let us put it another way then:-

It contradicts the notion of the Omnipotence of God to say that he cannot create evil. It does not follow from the goodness of God that He wants to eliminate evil.

You may have noticed that the Quranic account of things illuminates not only the Hebrew-Christian ideas but also the Hindu-Buddhist-Taoist ideas.

As someone else has also pointed out, things are not good or evil in themselves. The same thing can be used either way. Goodness refers to a purpose. That which serves it is good, and that which negates it is evil. Nothing can have arisen in the Universe which does not serve the purpose of God. Even science admits that the Universe had a beginning. It must either have a cause which by definition comes from outside it, or the cause must have been within the whole which existed before the Universe came into being. But an inner cause by definition is an intention, a purpose. This Universal purpose is, therefore, prior to the facts of existence. Values create facts. Even human beings invent things which did not exist before according to their purposes - as technologies, organisations and systems of ideas such as science. This possibility is a built-in feature of existence. This is why Islam sees God as Good in the transcendental (beyond human) sense and not something neutral as Taoists do.

However, if the above arguments appear too convoluted to you, please ignore them. They are not everyone's cup of tea.

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9 - Revelation, Reason and Prejudice

It appears to me, brothers and sisters, that the controversies on this site are based on different kinds of understanding of the nature and role of revelation, reason and prejudice.

I would, therefore, like to make the following propositions for the consideration of readers in order, hopefully, to resolve these disputes.

If we look at the Light Verse (24:35-37) and other verses in the Quran, we find that the Light of Allah is everywhere.

The Spirit of Allah was placed in man (32:9) where it creates hearing, sight and hearts (consciousness, conscience and will in modern terminology).

Other verses tell us that those who reject truth are blind and deaf and there is a disease in their hearts (2:6-10). They are spiritually dead. But Allah is able to raise the spiritually dead. (6:36 etc.)

Other verses tell us that no one can accept the truth except by Allah's will (10:101) and that Allah does not guide miscreants (63:6), that "Allah casts the spirit of His command on whomsoever He wills of His servants". (40:15)

A believer is described by the following verse:-

"Is he who was dead and We have 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 See also 40:58

It seems clear that consciousness is required in order to be receptive to the spirit or light, and it is this which produces consciousness, conscience and will.

It is also clear that there are degrees of revelation from that of the major Prophets down to the humble believer who cannot possibly believe without it. We may speak of the lesser forms of revelation as inspiration, intuition, and insight. Now this inspiration or insight is not confined to the religious experience but is also reported by artists, scientists, social reformers, students and so on. It is a human faculty.

This faculty is distinct from reason. It is super-rational.

In this connection it is important to realise that the Quran speaks of three kinds of knowledge :namely:-

Ilm-ul-Yaqin. (Quran 102:5) - The Lore of Certainty. Descriptive, verbal or logical knowledge.

Ain-ul-Yaqin. (Quran 102:7) - The Eye of Certainty. Experiential knowledge.

Haqq-ul-Yaqin. (Quran 69:51) - The Truth of Certainty. Gnosis, the Knowledge of Identification.

This distinction is seen in Quran 27:7 and numerous other verses such as 32:9 above and 17:36 below.

Reason has certain limits. It is only possible to produce a logical argument by selecting certain premises and drawing out a conclusion according to certain rules. You cannot draw out a conclusion which is not already implicit in the premises. The premises depend on how you define your terms. If these terms are understood differently by different people then no amount of logical argument can produce agreement between people. This will be particularly so if each argument depends on a selection of different premises. The premises are obtained ultimately from experience. This is why Science which depends on observation is superior to mere speculative philosophy.

No logical argument can be conducted without insight, and experience itself requires consciousness. What we experience depends on our state of consciousness, the ability to integrate experiences - the ability to see connections and the over all pattern of things. The ability to form concepts also depends on it.

Apart from insight and reason we have another faculty, a sub-rational one. We can form fantasies and prejudices, attachments such as greed, lust, pride, egotism, selfishness, and rationalisations based on these. All these are mentioned in the Quran and attributed to Satan. It is, therefore, possible to have illusions, delusions, hallucinations and these may well be mistaken for revelations. In particular the adulation of the followers causes many a teacher or guru to exaggerate his own capabilities and he starts to make big claims for himself. All this is quite evident from the number of cults which have appeared in the U.S.A and elsewhere. It is also necessary to point out, no matter how unpalatable this may be, that The Prophet (S.A.W) had to remove the so called "satanic verses" from the Quran. He did so because he was able to distinguish these from genuine revelations through the guidance of Allah. The significance of this is to allow us to question whether lesser men have the insight to make such a distinction. Herein lies the justification for scepticism.

It is necessary to point out that our understanding is our own since it is induced into us by Allah. It is not possible for one man to induce it into another. This is why the Quran tells us:-

"Most of them follow naught but conjecture. Assuredly, conjecture can by no means take the place of truth. Lo, Allah is Aware of what they do." 10:37

"O man, follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. lo! the hearing and the sight and the hearts - of each of these it will be asked (to give an account)." 17:36

"Follow that which is inspired in thee from thy Lord." 6:107

There is no point in either accepting or rejecting what someone else says. It cannot do you any good. You have to understand it and make it your own. This is why it is a duty for every Muslim to seek knowledge. But it cannot be obtained unless a person has been purified from prejudices in perception, motives and actions. He has to be become objective and this has the same meaning as "Surrender to Allah" since He is Reality or Truth. Thus, the formation of sects is pure nonsense. Give it up. These controversies are futile.

Since the acquisition of knowledge is a progressive thing, it is impossible for anyone to claim that he has absolute knowledge. There must be a degree of uncertainty. Islam is about the growth of the soul, not about verbal controversies. See 91:7-10 and numerous other verses.

"Work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering thereof and call on Him in fear and hope. Lo! The mercy of Allah is nigh unto the good." 7:56

"Whosoever does right, it is only for the good of his own soul that he does right, and whoever errs, errs only to its own hurt. No laden soul can bear another's load." 17:15

It is up to you. Please decide whether I am telling the truth.

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10 - Authority

"M" wrote:-

We must recognise the possibility of a certain imbalance in Sunni jurisprudence because of the conditions in which it arose. However, the four accepted Imams were not necessarily the patsies of government power. They seem to have been willing to defy it in numerous documented cases; but this does not entirely eliminate the problem.

A critic wrote:- "Even within Sunni Islam you have 4 schools which itself points to the existence of inconsistencies."

Well, of differences of opinion as to principles of jurisprudence: Strictly speaking, these are not "inconsistencies." But it is certainly true that one can find contrary rulings between the four schools...

It is arrogant to presume that the majority is wrong. And if we confine "majority" to "majority of those who are knowledgeable about a subject," the arrogance becomes even more obvious, and the more that "majority" means "consensus," of this latter group, the Ulema, it becomes not only arrogant, but can border on kufr or extend into it.

Comment:-

May I intrude into this discussion to say that the conditions of life which existed at the time also influenced the judgement of these schools. They rely not only on the Quran but also on the Hadith which I take as containing the interpretations and application of the Quran for the specific conditions which then existed. If this is so, then a new interpretation for the conditions of life now existing is required. The right to make such interpretations and applications which these schools assumed cannot possibly be said to have come to an end with them. The Prophet (S.A.W) himself must have known that conditions would change, for he said:-

"In the times in which you are living , anyone who abandons a tenth of what he is commanded will perish; but a time is coming when anyone who does a tenth of what he is commanded will be safe."

Re: Authority, may I make an amendment to this?

(1) Those who have greater objective knowledge (where we define objective as the Truth with which Allah has created things) surely have a greater right to be accepted by those who Submit to Allah. The Quran certainly speaks highly of those have knowledge and asks us to accept those who have authority.

(2) This authority should be confined to the field in which they have expertise or concern. e.g. Scientists in the field of Science and so on. But some political matters and other things which affect the whole community require the consensus of the community affected.

(3) Humility is part of Islam. No man can be said to have absolute knowledge. Therefore, each person must admit the possibility that he may be wrong and that someone, no matter how ignorant he may seem, may have some truth which they do not possess. As far as I know all the past schools had this humility.

(4) It is the duty of these authorities not to impose their will, but to educate the public.

(5) None of these authorities, including the Prophet (S.A.W) have the Absolute authority in anything - only Allah has for Muslims. The implication of this is that there is both a Law or Ethic and a Teaching, a Constitution, contained in the Quran, which has priority over any human authority and cannot be flouted without dire consequences to the whole community. Herein lies the difference between ordinary Democracy and Islam. It follows directly from the recognition of the existence of an Objective Reality, not to be found in the West even in their Sciences.

(6) However, the term vicegerent does imply that human beings have a right to interpret, but also the duty to seek knowledge and apply it.

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11 - Innovation

"M" wrote:-

Abdullaah ibn Umar states, "Every innovation is misguidance, even if the people regard it as good." (ad-Daarimee)

This narration is enough to demolish the concept of 'a good bid'ah', for you have amongst the most knowledgeable companions of Muhammad saying the exact opposite."

Comment:-

This idea is dangerous if not correctly understood. The world certainly changes and different things are appropriate at each stage. Are Moses, Jesus or Muhammad to be condemned as innovators because their teachings are different from their predecessors?

Whenever one thing changes into another, there is some principle behind it that remains constant. It all depends where we look. What we must determine is the level at which the change is made. The above hadith is attributed to Omar who is not a prophet. It is not known who he said it to and under what circumstances. The one attributed to the Prophet Muhammad states:-

"Anyone who introduces a good Sunna into Islam he will have a reward for it and the equivalent of the rewards of those who act upon it after him without theirs being diminished in any respect; but he who establishes a bad Sunna in Islam will bear the responsibility of it and the responsibility of those who act upon it after him without theirs being diminished in any respect."

There are also numerous Hadith which ask Muslims to seek knowledge. The Quran also tells us that we ought to follow only that of which we have knowledge (Quran 17:36).

It is, therefore, necessary to understand what is meant by innovation.

Firstly, it refers to religious ideas and practices, those concerned with spiritual welfare. It is only those who know the real effects of things who can be entrusted with any changes in the religious practices. Secondly, a study of the Quran shows that we are warned against following our own lusts, conjectures, prejudices, fantasies. But we are certainly encouraged to think objectively, to observe and reason and to exercise the faculties which Allah has placed in us on His behalf Quran 32:9. Hence, we read:-

"Is he who was dead and We have 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

"Lo! Those who believe and do good works and humble themselves before their Lord, such are rightful owners of the Garden: they will abide therein. The similitude of the two parties is as he blind and the deaf and the see and the hearer. Are they equal in similitude? Will ye not then be admonished?" 11:23-24

Many traditions have crept into Islam which did not exist in it originally and have replaced Islamic ones. If these are to be removed and new ways of doing things were to be introduced based on knowledge and research then it may be the following applies:-

"And when it is said unto them: Follow that which Allah has revealed, they say: we follow that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even though their fathers were wholly unintelligent and had no guidance?" 2:170

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12 - Problems in the Muslim World

"Sid" wrote:-

First of all, I think that no sect has monopoly on the truth. It would be wise if people realise this fact.

If indeed, Quran is the message of God, then it should have the potential to flower its follower civilisations into the best of all. This is not the case in the present. Hence, there must be something wrong, something very wrong with their approach. If this is so, then for the solutions of our present problems we must seek solution by examining the past.

If we believe that the message of the Quran and the Prophet did in fact come from God, then we must accept that God himself prevented us from becoming the dominant civilisation for ever.

I conjecture that God left that option open so that we may know that we have done wrong when we indeed have done it. If the power of science was disclosed to the Muslims and their demagogues like Yazeed, imagine what could have happened! We do not have to go very far in our conjectures. Just look at Saddam, the Khalifa of Iraq and his gassing of the Kurds.

Answer:-

Yes, agreed. The Quran does tell us:-

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

And even:-

"Do not you see that Allah created the heavens and the earth in Truth? If He please He can remove you (take you off) and bring (replace you with) a new creation. That is for Allah no great matter." 14:19-20

"Sid":-

The self-righteousness that is characteristic of many Muslim groups, who do not have any over-riding authority to tame their self-righteousness, and the resulting actions that are the consequences of this self-righteousness. Just look at Afghanistan. None of the groups there have the tolerance to form a coalition. They must dominate the other group and impose their own views.

Comment:-

Agreed.

There are two problems here both resulting from individualism:-

(1) Lack of humility. This appears to be a result of the exhortation that the Muslim is to forbid evil and encourage the good.

(2) The Islamic community failed to develop a suitable mode of organisation. In the West, organisation is hierarchical such that the many below are controlled by the few above, which makes them into limbs for those above. This increases power at the expense of narrowing down the number of possibilities or variety. Communism is an extreme case of this. This kind of organisation is incompatible with Islam which requires that each individual be responsible for himself and requires mutual consultation and agreement under the Law, constitution and ethics of the Quran.

It appears that both these problems arise from the fact that Islam is a direct unmediated relationship between the individual and Allah. Yet it ought not to have been the case since social solidarity is also taught as well as self-examination of motives, seeking knowledge and avoiding conjecture. These are obviously much harder ideals to follow.

"Sid":-

Coming to your questions: Ought we to allow past history to continue to rule our future? We should try to understand the past mistakes and learn from them. This is not easily done as said. First the sectarian position must be abandoned and a "liberal Muslim attitude" must be taken. One must try to understand the point of view of other Tariqat.

There was something very wrong in the educational system that produced such people. A liberal Islam, that involves the study of Sunni, Shia, Ismailis and Sufi sources, and a knowledge ahead of time that the complete truth is not in all of them. This should also be augmented with liberal scientific study. Allah never gave the complete truth (correct knowledge) to any one, other than the cultivation of honest attitude so that the discovery of knowledge is concurrent with moral improvement, for knowledge is power and can be misused even worse if it came for free. The creation of knowledge today requires cooperative effort of many people and that itself requires a certain degree of tolerance.

It is probably impossible to clear the top before returning to Islam. First the Islam must be inculcated in the people. How is this to be done? It is very difficult to answer. Sufi Tariqat are one way. But here there are some problems as well. Just getting together for worship does not solve the problem. The reason I preferred the Sufi Tariqas to mosque is that mosques are rigid by nature of the rigidity of the sectarian positions. They cannot allow the liberal Islamic interaction among people. Sufi Tariqas are better than mosques. But a better setting is Muslim schools, as long as they are not controlled by one group. They are better than non-Muslim schools because there is no need for political correctness of the outer culture (this applies to outside the Muslim world). But schools are not the solution for adults.

I would say that leaders of the Muslim communities who are seriously interested in creating non-sectarian liberal Muslim institutions should get together and create institutions that permit extended social interactions among Muslims; opportunities to DO things rather than opportunities to talk, because talk can frequently either drift to differences or to superfluous subjects. Doing work together cements friendship and mutual experience. Sports facilities and so on are one of the methods to forge liberal Muslim relationship. This is the only way, by promoting interaction without discussion, by providing opportunity of shared experiences and activities that diverse groups of Muslims who are divided along ethnic, linguistic, nationalistic, and sectarian grounds can be brought together and be able to observe each other and benefit from each others good points.

Comment:-

Agreed to all this. This is a very long time project. It requires people willing to undertake the task.

Unfortunately the Muslim world suffers from a dearth of leadership of the correct kind. It will be necessary for the few to set up schools where others of a similar kind can be produced who will then go out and produce a number of other similar schools and so on. An enlightened Islam will have to be taught in all schools, and people so educated will hopefully also become leaders in Mosques. There is a difference between Sufi schools and mosques. Exoteric or Orthodox Islam tends to be more interested in rituals and law and in social, political and economic matters than the Sufi schools which are more interested in psychological or spiritual development, though obviously there is some inter-connection and inter-dependence between these. But both tend to be uninterested in Science and technology in spite of the fact that the Quran and Hadith make it an Islamic duty to seek knowledge. One of the problems of present day Islam is that the orthodox do not understand Sufism and rejects it, whereas it is absolutely essential that Sufi enlightenment should gradually uplift the orthodox. Another problem is that those who are devoted to Islam have little or no understanding of science and technology and these subjects are left to non-Muslims or Muslims who have little knowledge of Islam. There are, therefore, three aspects that need to be reconciled.

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13 - Consciousness

"M.B" wrote:-

How does one manipulate the fundamental particles in order to produce a thought? Or, would it be said that we are, in terms of our 'self', at our core just a collection fundamental particles? It is interesting to think of my inner being as simply consisting of a collection of leptons or of some even more fundamental particles. Could such aspects of a person be tapped in some way; possibly to change how a person thinks or what a person thinks? We have for some time now explained memory in terms of electro-chemical deposits in the brain. How are these electro-chemical deposits formed? Have I departed greatly from the points you were trying to make?

Comment:-

I cannot, of course, be certain about anything, God knows best, but I would hazard the following:-

There is a distinction between thinking and consciousness. You can discover this experimentally - try to become aware what is going on in your mind and try to sustain this awareness. When you do this thoughts disappear. Soon awareness disappears and thoughts take over. In fact you do not produce any thoughts whatever. They occur owing to all kinds of inner and outer causes - electromagnetic and electronic in the nervous system, chemical endocrine and other physiological processes. Experiments show that the normal waking brain creates a chaos of different electrical waves. But when a person enters into a state of meditation or concentrated consciousness, a state required for all great achievements even in sport, and then a more regular pattern known as the Alpha pattern takes over - the brain cells work in unison.

It is also known that the cells in the brain do not merely act on one another through the nerve connections, but also much more directly through electro-magnetic induction. This allows the brain to a certain extent to act as a whole. Indeed, in my view all objects which have parts consist of a wholeness which is separate from the sum of the parts, to which the parts have given up some of their autonomy. It is this whole which governs and co-ordinates the parts to various degrees. As organisms evolve, the control of the whole over the parts increases. But this is as yet scientifically unproved.

The peculiarity of quantum events is that each particle can be regarded as a knot, as it were, in a network of forces in a field. This implies that all local events are dependant on the field as a whole. There appear to be fine structures within the small parts of the nucleus of brain and other cells which some scientists believe are sensitive to quantum events.

Now suppose that the Universe is a quantum field and the forces connecting the particles or knots is what we call the spirit and the knots or groups of knots are the souls..... Work it out yourself! The human brain will of course only have a limited access to this - a little circle within the great circle. Indeed, the little circles may be linked together to form a collective consciousness and so on. This is pure speculation from the scientific point of view, of course.

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14 - Rationality

"Mo" wrote:-

This, I am afraid is the real problem -. Us v Them. All other religions Christianity, Hinduism , Sikhism , Buddhism are based in one way or another on love of fellow humans. Why can't rational people accept there is no God and it is us humans who need to be nice to each other in the short 70 years or so we have on this beautiful planet and make life better for ourselves and others?

Answer:-

Rationality has little to do with the love you are talking about. Love is a motive. Reason will go where ever motives lead. If your motive is to seek whatever is in your self-interest then it is rational to do what people do. But of course, behaviour also depends on what you think your "self" is and what "benefits" are. This requires perception

Rational people know that this love is connected with God, and the awareness of Unity; that it is religion which teaches love not rational systems.

Rational people see that human behaviour is caused by their genetic makeup and environmental influences.

Rational people know that human behaviour is governed mostly by sub-rational factors. That egotism caused by conditioning, attachments, greed and prejudice are the causes of their problems and misbehaviour.

Rational people also see that human beings are subject to forces and laws which are much greater than themselves. These control them, and they do not control these forces.

Rational people tell us that the world is a struggle between weak and strong, good and evil, truth and falsehood, and this is what drives evolution.

Rational people are always arguing and are in constant dispute with one another. It is the rational mind which causes the armament race and leads to war. This is because they start from different premises and give different meanings to the terms they use and cannot hold much data in their minds at the same time and in a self-consistent manner. Some rational people also recognise the existence of such forces as love and truth, and wish to find their unitary source and align themselves with it, thereby transcending their limitations including the rational mind.

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15 - Sectarianism

"EHM" wrote:-

I was told: "Now go on, tell us your opinions about the meanings of the verse:-.

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Last of the prophets; and Allah is Aware of all things." 33:40.

"Perhaps, one day you will confine yourselves to practicing Islam and Allah may guide you into Knowledge."

The verse is clear: God will not send any more Prophets. All those who claim to have a message from God are frauds.

Islam should indeed be practiced. But to *confine* oneself to *practice* without an attempt to study matters in depth and gain knowledge, is not advised in the Quran. In numerous verses of the Quran, we are told to ponder deeply over the Quran. "

Reply:-

I wish people did not insist on being superficial. The practice of Islam includes pondering and seeking knowledge. Your explanation of the verse show that you have not meditated on them sufficiently. If you think you know their explanation already then you will make no attempt to increase and deepen your knowledge. Nor is it possible to gain such knowledge while you insist on sectarianism. Truth is a Unity.

The verse does not say that there will be no further messengers. Any one that gives us a spiritual message can be regarded as a messenger. However, not all Messengers are Prophets. Note that the verse also links this with the fact that Muhammad (saw) is not the father of any man. Prophets were generally men and descended from other Prophets.

Let me tell you a story as found in the Hadith.

The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) forecast that a time would come when knowledge would depart from Islam. Ziyad protested: "How can knowledge depart when we recite the Quran and teach it to our children and they will teach it to their children up till the Day of Resurrection?"

The Prophet replied, "I am astonished at you Ziyad. I thought you were the most learned man in Medina. Do not these Jews and Christians read the Torah and the gospels without knowing a thing about their contents?"

This tells us exactly what has now happened to the Quran. We are living in the times of which the Prophet spoke. Ponder upon the following verse:-

"The people of the desert say: we believe. Say (unto them): Ye believe not, but rather say: we submit, for the faith has not yet entered into your hearts. Yet if ye obey Allah and His messenger, He will not withhold from you aught of the reward of your deeds. Lo! Allah is forgiving, merciful." 49:14

I would recommend that you meditate and pray upon the verse 33:40. Do the same with 17:36-37. Note also 6:154, 10:37 and 30:31-32 "...be not as those who ascribe partners unto Him, and of those who split their religion and become schismatics, each sect exulting in its tenets."

What I am trying to tell you is basically this:- A Muslim is supposed to submit to Allah only and form no sects. He is his own priest and responsible for his own development. This does not mean that he can not study and take guidance from teachers, other people and even scriptures if it helps his development.

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16 - Proof of God

"Exp" wrote:-

To be logical one has to prove both ABSENCE and PRESENCE. If any one of these categories is considered a-priori and the other requiring "proof" then, you are committing the logical error of raising the first one to an undeserved status of an AXIOM.

Reply:-

There are several steps in Science:-

(1) It proceeds by gathering sense data. But these are isolated bits of information whereas knowledge requires that we find the relationship between things and form a system into which they fit in a consistent and non-contradictory manner. The data which is sought is not any kind of data, but is a selection depending upon purpose. It also has to be interpreted according to some kind of conceptual system.

(2) The data is thought about. A hypothesis is constructed through insight or inspiration which creates a system. This is an inductive, not a deductive step.

(3) Deductions are made from this hypothesis.

(4) These deductions are tested by observation or experiment. That is, nature is questioned. Its verdict yes or no, is accepted. In other words it is assumed that there is an objective world which is Absolute. It cannot be proved logically that it exists. It is an inbuilt intuition. The first certainty is "Reality exists": the second is that "consciousness exists". The third is "the contents of consciousness exist" If the first were not true the second could not be true, but it is because of the second that we know the first. No consciousness, no world and no "I". It is the contents of consciousness which we distinguish as matter, energy, force, life, thoughts and so on - external, internal and interactive experiences.

(5) If experiments show that the deduction is false then the hypothesis is discarded or modified. This process goes on until we arrive at a theory which has not been falsified. But we cannot be sure that it will not be falsified by some other data which may come to light. This is because our knowledge is limited and is increased only gradually.

The reason for this is the Inductive process it self. For instance, we can deduce from the statement "All men are mortal" that "This man is mortal". But we cannot induce from "A is mortal." "B is mortal", "C is mortal" and so on, that "All men are mortal." We will have to know all men. There may be someone whom we have not yet met who is not mortal. It is only the case that the probability of it being true increases with the number of instances. Yet we cannot argue that because the sun has risen for thousands of years, therefore, the probability that it will rise again, increases to infinity. There may be some other process which makes it less likely. For instance, the fuel may run out which gives the sun a limited life span. The greater the number of times it rises the more likely is it that it will not rise again. Calculation of probability, therefore, depends on having knowledge.

(6) One way to get round this problem is to change definitions. We can, for instance, define "man" as mortal. Then "All men are mortal" becomes true. But this is trivial. If we come across someone who is not mortal we will not call him a man but something else. This is often the way Science proceeds.

(7) Another way to get round the problem is to create another theory that will explain why an experiment gives results that do not agree with the theory. We can have a collection of theories that will also have to be included in a more general theory that will explain them all.

It should be obvious from the above that Science requires consistency - that things should fit harmoniously into a system without contradictions. Unless, therefore, we have all knowledge which is fully systematised, there will be inconsistencies and contradictions between the various isolated parts of knowledge. For example, there is a contradiction between the Theory of Relativity and Quantum theory which Physicists are trying hard to get rid off in order to create a Grand Unified Theory.

You will notice that:-

(1) If you get a Unified Theory which explains everything, then it will be unfalsifiable. There will be nothing which cannot be explained by it. It becomes the fundamental Truth.

(2) This theory cannot be arrived at by deduction or induction, any logical process. It is arrived at through inspiration.

(3) Whereas we can explain everything by this theory, the Unified Theory cannot itself be explained by anything. It will have to be taken as the fundamental self-existing Truth. We will have to explain why existence conforms to this theory which after all is only a description that has no enforcing power.

(4) The desire to find a unified self-consistent system is built-in in the human organism. Consciousness demands it (con = together, sciousness = awareness). Contradictions create inner conflict and suffering from which we try to escape even if we invent fantasies.

(5) Consciousness is part of the Universe, arises from the nature of existence as do the laws of the universe, which may even have been formed by it, and has been acquired by us from existence of which we are part, and developed in us by a process of evolution and adjustment to reality.

(6) Religion already has this Unified unfalsifiable and built-in Truth. But it differs from that which science is seeking because it is concerned not only with facts but also meanings and values. It is concerned with the process of living.

(7) The process of evolution and development is now well known. We ourselves are part of this process. This implies that something is constantly arising which was not there before. This fundamental Truth is one which is capable of creativity, and we ourselves have this characteristic to a limited extent.

Some people know these truths, but only intellectually or verbally, some feel them, and some behave accordingly.

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17 - Idolatry

"Mo" wrote:-

Christianity is accused of idol-worship because of the statues of Saints in the Churches. You claim that Islam has got rid of Idolatry. But all Muslims still bow down before this stone in the Kaaba. This is idol worship pure and simple and should be banned so that all may concentrate fully on a non-existent God.

Reply:-

Muslim do not think the stone is God. They do not, or ought not, to worship the stone. It is only a ritual to focus an inner thought and resolution.

As any thinking person knows no object or event has any significance in itself. Significance is given to it by people, and this depends on their understanding. How pagans saw and used the Kaaba has nothing to do with how Muslims see it. Given an object, say a table, you can use it to eat on, or as a computer desk, or to put flowers on and so on. Some people collect stamps because they like them, others do so as an investment, others regard them as a source of history, and for others it is merely a way of posting letters.

In particular the significance which those who participate in a ritual give to it is clearly not the same as the significance given to it by observers, especially when they are hostile and negativistic. There is, therefore, no correspondence between what one group is talking about and what another group is talking about, though superficially they appear to be talking about the same object or event. The same, of course applies to the Quran and religion.

The fact is that the supporters of Islam see their religion quite differently from those who attack and criticise it. They are talking about different things. How those who attack Islam see and interpret it is not the way Muslims see and interpret Islam. They are attacking their own interpretation of it. Not a very intelligent thing to do. It is time this was understood by both sides of an argument.

"Haz" wrote:-

And how Hindus see their idols doesn't matter, or does it?

Reply:-

The remarks I made apply universally. Islam is concerned mainly with how people see and understand things and with motives and their effective application for spiritual benefits. I believe this was the original intention of all religions. But people do deviate from this. The Universe itself, after all, is the same for everyone. It is only how it is seen and understood which differs. Some understandings, and actions based on these, are better and more beneficial than others.

True Idolatry consists of making the means into ends, the parts into the whole, mistaking the letter for the spirit, the vehicle for the contents. Anything can be made into an idol - an object, a person, an idea, an institution, a relic, a book, a place or country, a race, a system such as logic or science, a hobby, oneself or one's lust and so on. The idol restricts, conditions, and enslaves the spirit, consciousness, and creates fantasies.

The Quran tells us:-

"Surely pure religion is for Allah only, and those who chose protecting friends besides Him say: We worship them only that they might bring us near unto Allah. Lo, Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Allah guides not him who is a liar, an ingrate.. Lo, I am commanded to worship Allah, making religion pure for Him only." 39:3,11

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18 - Atheism

"S.M." wrote:-

There is no proof for the existence of God. So are Muslims really disbelievers in God or just deceiving themselves?

Reply:-

I think it is absolutely correct to assert that no one can live without some kind of belief. No action is possible without it unless it is merely an unintelligent instinctive or impulsive one. If it is not held consciously, it is certainly held sub-consciously. Everyone, including the Atheist, sub-ordinates himself to something. The question is: does he do so to the Real God or to some limited thing or to a fantasy of his own making?

The fact is that everyone knows by experience, subconsciously, that he is (a) dependant on others who supply him with his needs, (b) affected by their ideas, opinions, actions and reactions, (c) affected by the culture he lives in, the physical environment, the materials, energy, forces, laws and processes of the Universe, (d) driven by his own genes derived from his parents and so on. All these factors form a single system, the "not-I" on which a person, the "I" is dependant. But it is a part of it. Conscious denial of this dependency does not deceive the sub-conscious mind, but what it does is to rebel and try to elevate the "I" to the position of the "not-I". This is what produces the Ego, an illusion, a false idea of self, upon which self-deception, boasting, fantasy and rationalisation is based. It also forms attachments to what are considered to be sources of power - wealth, position, ideologies, race, and nnationalities and so on.

The name "God" refers to this greater "not-I" - in the real sense, whether a person is aware of it or not. A person subordinates himself, worships or serves this God. In this sense there are no atheists. It is now merely a question of whether a person worships an illusory god or the real God, something limited or unlimited, whether he does so consciously or unconsciously and how well he understands or experiences God. What we are conscious of is, of course, only a restricted sub-system of total reality - a little circle of light within a greater circle. This circle is greater in some people than in others. A person is created or modified by what he worships. Those who surrender to God consciously free themselves from all other subordinations.

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19 - Freedom

"A.C" wrote:-

It is observable that people under a Secular Democratic Government are much more advanced than communities who cling to their religion. This appears to prove that Religion is doing them no good. It is restrictive whereas secularism gives freedom.

Answer:-

You are making a value judgement which depends on your value system. You appear to be judging communities by the amount of material wealth or power they have, not by the amount of happiness, social cohesion and welfare or psychological or spiritual development. One could also judge people by the amount of knowledge, organisation and skills, but then one would also need to know what kind of knowledge, organisation or skill. These may only be different rather than better.

It has been supposed by many people that the secular Democracies provide freedom, free thinking, free expression, the questioning of authority, creativity, initiative, personal responsibility, tolerance and scepticism. This allows the arising of great variety, adaptability and progress. This, it is supposed, cannot be provided by a religious system, particularly an Islamic one, which is based on faith, dogmatism, conformity, intolerance, fatalism and authority and these lead to stagnation. These misconceptions about Islam unfortunately have also been adopted by Muslims who have been educated in the Western style but know little of Islam.

Though this is so among many people, both religious and non-religious, the history of Islamic Civilisations shows that this has not always been true. It is not true about the teachings of Islam.

The fact is that the possibility of human self-fulfilment depends on human knowledge, motives and abilities and that depends on their nature, and not only on the physical and social environment which they can modify. The Secular systems certainly require laws that restrict freedom. But it promotes unawareness of the inner psychological limitations. Religions are concerned with freeing man from these and that requires a discipline by which energies are concentrated and channelled instead of wasted purposelessly or even harmfully. Unfortunately the result of this waste is often regarded as wealth and admirable in the Secular view.

The idea that the Divine spirit is in man (32:9) and the Islamic notion of man as a Vicegerent (2:30) requires that they have and should exercise their creativity, initiative and responsibility, but on behalf of Allah and not in a destructive or frivolous manner. Though submission to Allah does mean that a person accepts whatever Allah ordains or provides, including Truth, when he can do nothing about it, it also provides values and he must also make efforts and strive.

A Muslim must try to live consciously according to objective principles, not automatically by subjective whims. Unless driven by necessity he must go where he can do this.

According to the Quran, there is to be no compulsion in Religion.(256). Even the Prophet (s.a.w) was forbidden by the Quran to compel anyone. (10:100-101, 3:159). If then we find religious compulsion in Muslim nations, it is because they are not following Islam. The Quran is not responsible for what political authorities do when they do not follow it.

If all or most of the people in a nation are Muslim and wish for the establishment of a Muslim State with Islamic Laws, this will certainly make it into a Democratic nation. Islam does require mutual consultation. (42:38, 3:159). Most Democracies have a Constitution regarded as inviolable which justify and limit the laws which can be made. The Quran provides the Constitution for Islam. If the society were free and the people in it were Muslim then they would create an Islamic society. But they are prevented from doing so by self-interested political and commercial powers both domestic and foreign, and, of course, their own ignorance of Islam, apathy, and poverty. The Laws in this State would be made not on the basis of whim and speculation but would be the product of research. This alone would ensure the welfare of the people. It is not Islam which fails.

There is, in fact, no free thinking. It must have causes. It comes either (a) from experience in contact with the real world, or (b) from true insight which sees the relationship between things and the patterns they make, or (c) from a disciplined process of reasoning, or (d) from inadequate processing caused by irrational motives and impulses. Most of the opinion and behaviour of people is driven by certain inherent and acquired personality traits, acquired from traumas, social conditioning, the accident of events, impulses such as greed, lust, pride, habits, rationalisations, fantasies, self-deception, the desire to boast and distinguish themselves from others, self-preservation and narrow self-interest, jumping to conclusion, projection of blame and introjection of praise, phobias, obsessions, addictions, illusions, delusions, superstitions, displacement, repression, elaboration, mood swings, fixations, complexes, psychological disintegrations into separate compartments - in short all the things attributed to Satan in religious terminology. Free thinking is far from free - it simply means self-indulgence.

This is why the progress of knowledge is so slow. Disciplined thinking is very rare indeed, and has to be cultivated in schools and colleges. Out of the billions of people over many centuries only very few contribute to the advance of knowledge and they only do so by work which occupies a fraction of their lives. Indeed, you will find that the progress of knowledge and any improvement in the human condition is due to the accumulation of the results of rare flashes of inspiration which the great scientists and reformers have had. The rest of mankind merely follow the procedures which these people have invented in an automatic way.

It is not that Muslims cannot hold an opinion, but that opinion is not the same thing as truth, and it should be held tentatively, ready to be altered when knowledge increases. The pursuit of Knowledge is an obligation on all Muslims. Self-expression is useless if there is nothing to express and it is harmful if the potentialities of man have been perverted. Are Sadism, Masochism, psychopathy and other perversions socially good to express and propagate? Are not impressions and ideas like other kinds of food which can be nutritious, catalytical or poisonous?

Rational thinking is not free thinking since it must follow rules and the conclusions must be tested against nature, the world created by God. Islam encourages observation and reasoning, but also requires a person to purify himself in order to get rid of the perversions of thought. He will then see things as they really are. Since a person must adjust to the real world, this can only be beneficial. The acquisition of knowledge and objective perception requires receptivity - knowledge cannot be invented. This is action. It also requires insight and inspiration as many of those who have contributed to the advances of science have affirmed. This usually takes place where conscious efforts have been suspended and some kind of unconscious higher processing faculty has been allowed access.

If you read the Quran you will come across verses such as the following:-

"O man, follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! The hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked (to give an account). And walk not in the earth exultant" 17:36-37

"Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set before him a light wherein the walks among men as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge?" 6:123

"Follow that which is inspired in thee from thy Lord." 6:107

"Most of them follow naught but conjecture. Assuredly conjecture can by no means take the place of truth." 10:37

"And who does greater wrong than he who tells a lie against Allah, and denies the truth when it reaches him?" 39:32

There are numerous other verses which ask us to search for knowledge and to think both in the Quran and the Hadith, and the Quran itself is full of arguments and illustrations designed to make us think. Obviously a blind and prejudiced person cannot see them.

The questioning of authority is also encouraged. This produces answers and leads to knowledge and the rectification of what is wrong. But we must not confuse questioning with destructive criticism and mere negativism. There is no objective value in this. A negative attitude causes blindness while a positive one is conducive to learning.

You question authority in order to find answers. You do this with Nature in science and you do this with the Scriptures in religion. You accept something as an Absolute Authority in both cases. If you do an experiment in order to test a theory which is a question, then you accept the verdict of nature which is a creation of God just as the Quran is. The difference between Nature and the Quran is this:- Nature provides facts which are meaningless unless interpreted. The Quran provides a framework of meanings and a system of values by which conduct is to be governed. Life requires facts, meanings and values. We must not only know but also act. The Universe not only is, but is also becoming. And man is part of this process. We are required to be objective in thought as well as in motives and action.

"This Quran is naught but a reminder of creation, unto whomsoever of you wills to walk straight. And ye will not, unless it be that Allah wills, the Lord of Creation." 81:27-29

"Lo! This Quran is a conclusive word. It is no pleasantry" 86:13-14

It is merely a question of studying the Quran with an open mind and verifying for yourself that it does indeed describe reality. But there are those who are lost in words and cannot see the reality to which the words refer. For them Science itself is merely a set of descriptions and there is no objective world beyond these descriptions - it is, therefore, merely a human construction. For them Man is god. Such people will, of course, regard the Quran as a human construction also. They will not be able to see the reality to which it refers. There is nothing whatever which any one can do about it. "On their hearts is a disease."

Freedom is often confused with license. But most countries have laws which prevent harm being done. This is obviously a curtailment of freedom. Clearly, freedom is not a value in itself. It is good if it produces good results and bad if it does not. Many so called free countries allow a great amount of mutual exploitation and harm. This is because they are ignorant of what is beneficial and what is harmful. There is no virtue in this. But you can be coerced or enslaved by the condition of the environment e.g. its lack of resources and poverty, or by the political system or by social conventions or by your own inner limitations. A free man is one who has complete control over himself.

If you do what you want to do then you are free. If you cannot do what you want to do then you are not free. Since laws exist to prevent harm, then it follows that if you wish to do harm then you cannot be free. You can only be free if you wish to do good. It is a question of cultivating the desire to do what is good. Try it yourself. Eat poisons or harmful foods and see how free you are. Under Islam everything which is not expressly forbidden is allowed. This is freedom. However, a person also has certain obligations in so far as he lives in a society where people are inter-dependant. It is absurd to believe that people can have freedom or rights without obligations, at least to uphold the rights of others.

"A.C.":-

Religion is based on faith and science is based on doubt. Therefore, the two are incompatible.

Answer:-

This is another false idea. It is a very naive view held as a dogma by those who have not applied scepticism to it. Religious people use reason and scientists have faith in science. If a person does not have faith in something, then he cannot claim that it is true and certainly he cannot base his actions on it.

Many people are religious but this does not prevent them from being sceptical about all the theories in science or even about all the interpretations of religious statements. Many religious people such as Kepler, Copernicus, Newton and Darwin contributed a great amount to Science. On the other hand there are a great many scientists who take a scientific theory for gospel truth and faced with a new phenomenon, immediately explain it in terms of some theory without investigation, or tell us dogmatically why something is impossible or untrue. They have tunnel vision and cannot think except within a certain narrow conceptual network. Indeed, scepticism in Islam is based on the notion that we ought not to claim about Allah anything about which we have no knowledge. Lying against Allah, the ultimate Reality, is a great sin (39:32, 22:62).

We learn from experiences which we process and organise into systems. We interpret all new experiences in terms of this system. It is only when something does not fit into the system in a consistent manner then we have doubts. Doubt in an idea "B", presupposes something "A" that is accepted but with which "B" is incompatible. The purpose of doubt is to activate us so that we seek the knowledge or process it in order to re-create consistency and remove doubt. Faith, in the religious sense, refers to something that is compatible with our inherent nature, the Truth or Genetic Information built-into us.

It follows that until we have all knowledge and it fits into a single system, then we will have scepticism with respect to things about which we have partial knowledge. This is, of course, why science is seeking a unified theory of everything. But it will have to unify all aspects of life, including facts, meanings and values. When it does so, it will become a religion. In the meantime religion already provides the framework (Tawhid) which only needs to be filled in with details. Here the pursuit of Knowledge, rather than speculation, becomes important. It is true, of course, that the Quran requires us to believe, and condemns disbelief. But the Quran is not inconsistent. If belief is acquired from experience and the integration of experience by inner processing, then disbelief arises from inadequate processing and from the fantasies, prejudices, attachments and negative attitudes mentioned above. It is a disease, and this is how it is seen in the Quran (2:6-20).

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20 - What does Islam Offer

"Jon" wrote:-

I would really like to know what Islam has to offer to those who want to embrace the religion?

Answer:-

Islam is exclusive surrender to God, the only self-existing Creator and Owner of the Universe, who is the ultimate, fundamental Absolute Unity. Unity refers to inner psychological integration, interactive social integration which includes brotherhood, and harmony with the world of nature created by God. This implies the possibility of good adjustment to life and the Universe. This liberates you, or ought to liberate you from the prison of all attachments and self-subservience to lesser limited things. It implies surrender to absolute objectivity and truth such that there is no contradiction or conflict inwardly within you, with respect to the community or with respect to the environment. This should bring peace, harmony, self-fulfilment and joy - in short paradise.

The concept of Unity provides a framework of reference in which all experiences are interpreted. This has psychological and intellectual importance. The implication is that all things are inter-dependant, that they are parts of some greater whole which is always more than the sum of the parts and controls the parts. Associated with this is the idea that the cause of something does not lie in prior time but above it in the greater whole. Thus events on earth depend on events in the solar system, the galaxy, the Universe and ultimately God. There is also no dichotomy in Islam between mind and matter - there are only phenomena with different degrees of life, intelligence and consciousness, from the most subtle and vital to the most dense and inert. Life is a problem solving device and a problem consists of an opposition or contradiction. Thus the solution always leads to reconcilement and a progress towards Unity and Harmony. This is part of Surrender and done by all organisms unconsciously and should be done consciously by man. Allah is thus seen as the natural goal of all things.

Those who follow the Islamic discipline are offered purification from attachments such as greed, lust, pride vanity (since they surrender their illusory egos), and from the fantasies, illusions and rationalisations which these create - all the deceptions, in fact, attributed to Satan. Having removed the crust or prison so formed on the psyche, the true inner spirit in man can shine forth. Islam, therefore, offers enlightenment, the emergence from the darkness of ignorance, the spiritual regeneration called resurrection, the revival of true consciousness, conscience and will. It offers spiritual growth or evolution.

Since Allah has many attributes such as Goodness, Benevolence, Mercy, Justice, Wisdom etc. surrender also provides ideals and goals for personal development and action. Man is regarded as a Vicegerent owing to the divine spirit which is in him, and this gives him responsibilities for the development of his environment, his society and himself, and his reward depends on how well he fulfils this function. Islam gives us a sublime self-image, purposiveness and a goal for life. It creates significance for existence and life. It provides a conscious, unified, fully comprehensive, self-consistent world view and way of life. It offers universality in that God is one, the universe and nature is one, mankind is one and all religion is one. The word Islam is associated with certain other words derived from the root SLM. These include Peace, Fulfilment, Wholeness, Perfection, Acceptance, Completeness, Calmness and the restoration of inner and outer unity leads to all these.

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21 - 7 Stages of Religions

"A.C." wrote:-

What is the significance of the following Quranic verse:-

"And We have created above you seven paths, and We are never unmindful of creation. " 23:17

Answer:-

The seven paths could refer to the 7 heavens which refer to 7 stages and levels of creation, each succeeding one below and part of the previous as the earth is part of the Solar system which is part of the Galaxy which is part of the rest of the visible Universe. However, the Quran tells us that it is the lowest of the 7 heavens that contains the stars (41:12). But other valid interpretations are also possible.

It is said that Religion has 7 levels or stages (or heavens):-

(1) At the first level an awareness of heaven, or the spiritual, the sacred and the Universal has to be established. This is the beginning of awakening, of culture (Science, Organisation and Art), of civilisation. This kind of religion existed in ancient Egypt and other centres.

(2) Then the notion of regularity, order and Law has to be established. Connected with this is Justice which leads to the Action based on Hope. This kind of religion is illustrated by Hebrewism which came out of Egypt when this began to deteriorate, perhaps having become obsolete owing to human development brought about it.

(3) History shows us that Action and Justice alone leads to tyranny, formalism and ritualism. A new element had to be added to religion, namely Love - Compassion, Mercy, Charity. This accounts for Christianity.

(4) However, this by itself tends to produce attachments, idolatry and sentimentality which have a limiting and distorting effect. It was necessary to add an emphasis on objectivity, on truth, wisdom, faith, knowledge and consciousness. This is where Islam comes in. Here the outer manifestations of religion come to an end. But there are three inner dimensions to truth.

(5) The first is that Truth is Universal though it may have many forms. Truth, however, remains distinct from error. Islam is thus the name of a universal religion taught by prophets throughout the ages in all places, and Muslims are required to make no distinction between them. Unfortunately few Muslims have yet understood the significance of this.

(6) The second is the recognition of unity within diversity which gives rise to the notions of order, organisation, reciprocity, co-operation and function or purpose. All things belong as parts to a whole which is itself a part of some greater whole. It is the whole which creates and controls the parts which have a function with respect to the whole and must adjust to it. This function id defined by the fact that an entity has an input from its environment, a process of transformation, and an output back into its environment. We have a hierarchy in which the cause descends from the apex to the base. There are motions on this ladder downwards and upwards, and the whole derives from and returns to an origin.

(7) The third inner level and the seventh level of religion is to provide the conscious, unified, all-comprehensive, fully self-consistent way of life and establish it as the Kingdom of God on earth. This was the aim of the ancient Egyptians, of Hebrewism, Christianity and Islam, and these succeeded to a limited extent for short durations. Science, too, in its modest way wants to find a Unified Theory about everything. But it can only become a religion when it includes values and meanings and not only facts. But it is expected that human beings will evolve sufficiently to establish such a system to a much more permanent extent. Islam may be regarded as a striving towards that goal.

Islam contains all 7 levels.

However, the 7 paths also refer to 7 levels of consciousness.

The ordinary man is said to have a nafs-i-ammara (12:53), the egocentric soul. He is completely identified with his body and name and to ambitions connected with this world. Obviously, because of this identification, the person dies when his body dies. However, the Quran assures us that they will be resurrected again. Their state will then be the same as when they died. It is possible that there are many such rebirths. But there would be no memory of past lives. It is not, therefore, a case of reincarnation. Religion at this level would have to be formulated in a way as to show that certain values and behaviour patterns are good for man's own self-interest. The Secular systems tend to do this. But a higher state or level of consciousness must develop where a person becomes self-conscious. He is then said to have nafs-i-lawwama (75:2), the self-accusing or self-critical soul. Such a person achieves a certain amount of detachment from his body and this life. It is probably this kind of person about whom the Quran tells us that those who are slain in the way of Allah are not dead but still alive (3:169). The religion which applies to such people must clearly be much more sophisticated.

There is still another higher state of consciousness. This is known as nafs-i-mulhima (34:2), the inspired soul or the soul which possess objective consciousness. It is the soul which received revelations. It is one which is aware of its own creation by Allah and its immortality. It recognises its function with respect to Allah. The next stage of consciousness is nafs-i-mutmainna (89:27-30), the peaceful, fulfilled, or perfected soul, the soul that returns to Allah. This last stage is sometimes divided into four sublevels, each line 27-30 representing one level. This gives us altogether 7 levels.

There is a correspondence between these levels of consciousness and the levels of religion. Indeed, each religious community may have in it individuals of each of these levels. The distinction between the levels of religious communities may be that the number of people who have reached or can reach a level of consciousness increases.

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22 - Proof of God - 2

"B.S." wrote:-

Several postings on this site have appeared objecting to religions on the grounds that there is no proof for the existence of God. The authors pride themselves on being rational without understanding the limitations of the rational process. What they usually mean is that it is they who have no proof. And they conclude from this that no one has any proof and some go even further to say that therefore God does not exist. How does one answer this?

Comment:-

There are in general three kinds of proof for anything:-

(1) An external one which depends on observation and experience, and, therefore, on the faculties for perception. If you see a table, then there is no need for any other proof. Some people are more sensitive than others and can see what others cannot. This is a sub-rational faculty.

However, doubt may occur because the experience unfamiliar or contradicts other experiences, or is contradicted by other people. The greater the number of times the experience is repeated or corroborated by others the greater the certainty. The confirmation of by people of authority, those regarded as superior or more knowledgeable also affects belief. The concept of God is based on these.

(2) Rational proof which depends on words and numbers, on a conceptual system and certain logical and mathematical procedures. The conceptual system depends on the society as whole. We must agree to call certain objects Tables or horses and so on. The terms used in science are defined with respect to each other and so on. This is the rational faculty. If different meanings are given to the same term, or the same object is described by different words and different features of it are selected for attention by different people, then no agreement can be obtained between them. Different people mean different things by the word "God" and use different words to mean the same thing.

Most arguments are due to this. A certain set of common premises have to be selected and conclusions drawn from them. No conclusions can be drawn which are not already implicit in the premises. You can draw any conclusion you like if you select the appropriate set of premises. This is why science does not rely on rational arguments, but requires that the conclusions be tested by observation. This reduces proof to category 1.

(3) Insight, intuition or inspiration. This consists of seeing the relationship between things, the over all pattern they make and the self-consistency of a system. This relies on the quality of consciousness (con = together, sciousness = awareness). In fact, the act of conceptualisation requires this faculty and no rational argument can be conducted without this faculty. Experiences, themselves, have no meaning unless they are organised. This is a super-rational faculty.

Though all three act together, in general the rational faculty is required to judge the other two because irrational factors coming from habit, prejudice, fantasies, addictions, desires and fears tend to corrupt perception and these have to be filtered out.

There are, therefore, three ways of proving the existence of God.

The first is through experience and observation and the integration of this experience, and the perception of the patterns and underlying unity. However, this may require training, meditation and an appropriate conceptual system within which observations are interpreted. This is provided by religion.

Most people have lost the ability to appreciate the miraculous wonders which surround us. The Quran is constantly pointing to nature.

"Lo in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the differences of night and day are tokens for men of understanding." 3:190 and 10:7

"He it is Who sends down water from the sky and therewith We bring forth buds of every kind: We bring forth the green blade from which we bring forth the thick clustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof spring pendant bunches; and We bring forth gardens of grapes and the olive and the pomegranate, alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon its ripening. Lo! herein verily are portents for a people who believe." 6:100 and see 16:65-70, 30:19-21 45:3-5

"We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth." 41:53

According to most religions human beings contain the spirit of God. (32:9) It is this which bestows consciousness on them and makes them more than a mere machine. It is this which makes man into a Vicegerent (2:30). It is then a question of looking into ourselves and verifying that consciousness does exist within us and that without it nothing can exist for us, neither the world nor ourselves.

The saying of Ali "He who knows himself knows his Lord" is well known.

A rational argument goes as follows:- We explain one thing in relation to something else. Ultimately, there must be something which is self-existent and itself inexplicable with respect to which everything else can be explained, including matter, energy, force, life and consciousness which must be part of this ultimate Reality. The existence of consciousness itself requires that we have a fully self-consistent ultimate unity or Absolute.

We start with an Assumption or Hypothesis that God exists. We make deductions from this and then test this by observation and experience. The more this assumption fails to be falsified the greater is the probability that it is correct. If, however, it is falsified by our experience or ideas, then we have to modify our ideas of God until we reach a wholly unfalsifiable concept. Human beings, however, are interdependent. They modify each others beliefs and their belief system arises by the accumulation of the thoughts and experiences of millions of people over many centuries. If the experiences of one person are not corroborated by that of others or contradicted by them, then they begin to doubt what they have experienced. They interpret their experiences by means of a conceptual system which may be different in different cultures. The prestige of a person as a wise, clever, able or knowledgeable man also affects beliefs.

There are certainly people with higher degrees of intelligence, consciousness, wisdom, compassion, social responsibility, capabilities than others and the chances of them being right increase in proportion to their quality.

There have been a number of prophets, saints and lesser men who are highly respected, who corroborate each others experiences of the divine, and show great ability rather than the psychosis and disability which delusions would create.

It is an advantage for those with lesser capabilities to accept and follow those with greater capabilities. Though this proof of God is indirect, it must be admitted that most of our knowledge is indirect. We cannot normally prove for ourselves all the science which we accept or the ideas of all kinds of other experts on whom we rely.

Some people still trot out the worn out statement "It is not possible to prove or disprove the existence of God." This statement is meaningless. It is necessary to state WHO it is for whom something is proof or not, and it is also necessary to state what the proof consists of. Something is proof if it is convincing to someone and produces belief. It cannot exist without human beings.

To give an example, take Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Whom does the mathematics convince? Most people do not understand it. How can it be proof for them? On the other hand we have a number of mathematical formulas which seem to be quite valid but experiments show that deductions made from them do not give us true results. We also know that something may be more true than something else - e.g.. Relativity Theory replaces Newton's theories about Gravity. Relativity theory also tells us that the state of motion of the observers determines what they will see. We can generalise this - The state of consciousness of the observer determines what he will see.

It is also the case that a verbal description is not the same thing as the experience of something, and the experience of the object is not the same thing as the object. If then we make a verbal description it ought to point to an experience which ought to correspond to the object. A verbal statement is a device, a means, and cannot itself be true. Different statements could be made and one may be better than another in conveying the truth. It follows also that the truth of a statement depends on how it is understood by the person concerned. It could be true for one but untrue for another.

Let me restate the proof of God:-

(a) In science we are told that if you carry out such and such procedures then you will obtain such and such results. The religious attitude is the same: If you carry out such and such instructions, e.g. prayers, fasting etc., then you will have the experience of God.

(b) It is part and parcel of an educational system to cultivate human faculties, both physical and mental (intellect feeling etc.). It ought also to be its function to cultivate the spiritual faculties, consciousness, conscience and will. This is the function of religion. All faculties are developed by exercise. Even the ordinary educational system turns the attention of the pupils to certain phenomena which they might have ignored and encourages them to examine these more closely and to think about them. There are exercises in appreciation of the arts (painting, literature and poetry) and in the appreciation of nature. It is a question of deepening experience and organising it, and seeing the underlying patterns.

(c) Reason. It is a built-in necessary assumption that there is something in terms of which all other things can be explained. It is this which drives science and most thinking. This ultimate reality can be called God. It requires no proof. Something must ultimately self-exist and is taken for granted. You can only have different views of what it is and each view can only be true or false. If it is falsified by experience or mode of thinking then it must be modified until it becomes unfalsifiable.

(d) If we do not ourselves have the experience of God (or even if we do), then we consider the experiences of others from what they say and how they behave. We look for corroboration from others. And the weight of the evidence depends on the quality of those who provide the corroboration. Thus the proof of God depends on the people who manifest or demonstrate the experience of God in their lives.

But as already indicated, what is proof for some people is not proof for others.

It can also be observed that there is a basic vicious circle involved:-

We need faith to accept a religion, but we cannot have this faith unless we practice it or accept its conceptual system. The solution is the same as in biology:- "which comes first the chicken or the egg which it lays and from which it derives." A small amount of faith or insight is required to accept something. This leads to the actions, attitudes and experiences which will increase faith and so on.

Vicious circles underlie most human institutions. Consider the following:-

We need a framework of reference or conceptual system to interpret facts, but this can only be justified within the same framework or system.

We believe something because it has been logically deduced. But how do we know this logical system is correct? We believe it because we have deduced it logically.

All changes are brought about by forces. How do we know the forces exist? We know this because we measure it by a change cause by the force.

Evolution takes place by the survival of the fittest. What are the fittest? The fittest are the ones that survive.

To build a proof, therefore, requires that something should be a base, something considered self evident. This could be the concept of God in the form "Reality exists".

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Contents..........Discussions-2