PRIMITIVE RELIGION?

It is not therefore right to think of first human being as ignorant and primitive, as worshipping the sun and trees and natural objects and that only as time passed and people allegedly became wiser they abandoned such beliefs and progressed to the belief in monotheism or in a ‘single High God’.

The only way in which early people could be said to be primitive was in the skills they possessed and the tools they used for living and survival. Modern man may be developed in the skills he possesses and the tools he uses but in his worldview and beliefs he could be and is often ignorant, limited and misguided and far removed from the pure state in which he was created.

What is most important about an individual at any time is not whether he lives in a cave or at the top of a glass-steel-and-concrete tower, whether he uses a sickle or a combine harvester to gather his grain, whether he uses firewood or a microwave oven for cooking, or whether he uses a bow and arrow or a laser beam as a weapon. What is important, as we shall see, is whether he preserves his pure and original state by living in accordance with his natural moral sense and whether he acknowledge the Creator and follows His guidance.

Knowledge and human history

To return to the question of true and false scriptures: From the Qur’an, which fulfils the criteria for a true scripture or revelation, we learn that the first man was Adam and he was a Prophet. He had a correct knowledge of God and creation inasmuch as he was taught directly by God. He was not ignorant. His descendants make up the human race. Some descendants of Adam followed the guidance he brought from God. Some did not. Some added new things, some changed the original guidance. Some later went against the natural moral sense and inclined towards obscenity, injustice and cruelty to others. God in His mercy continued to send prophet to guide these people back to the straight path and to correct their errant beliefs and ways.

To every people, we are told in the Qur’an, God sent a guide, a messenger or a prophet. They were the genuine leaders of mankind. All prophets taught the same message, the need to believe in the Oneness of God. It was their followers and later generations who changed or distorted this message. It is possible, for example, that Zoroaster was a true prophet but his teachings have been so corrupted that they cannot be recognised in the mixture or myths and legends that now form parts of the Zoroastrian scriptures. In the case of Jesus, he was undoubtedly a true Prophet but his teachings have been so falsified by later Christians that his original message is unrecognizable. No doubt there are still elements of good in it but totally false teachings (for example that Jesus is God made flesh or that Jesus is the son of God) make the Bible unfit to be regarded as a true scripture.

Among the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an are Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad. The last of these prophets was Muhammad and the message revealed to him is the Qur’an. It still exists in the form it was revealed and remains the only true and authentic expression of God’s guidance for mankind.

Realizing that our view of human history is part of our worldview, we can say from the above that history is not mainly a progression from simple and primitive to more developed and complex tools, skills, or life-style. History must be viewed mainly in relation to a constant straight path. This path involves in essence acknowledging the Creator and living according to the natural moral sense with which man is endowed. People may stick to his straight path. Some may deviate and go astray but eventually come back to the straight path. Some may deviate and not only go astray but get lost altogether. The role of prophets and those who follow them has been to call people back to the straight path, to the belief in and worship of the One God – in other words, to right belief and right action according to that belief. The most instructive way to look at man and the history of mankind therefore is in relation to this natural moral constant or straight path. To look at the history of mankind from purely materialistic angles such as changes in tools and modes of production is fascinating but less meaningful.