The Philosophy of Islamic Teachings (3)
One may ask, what is the attitude of the Holy Quran towards the natural state of man, how does it try to control it? And what advice does it give us in this regard?
Well, according to the Holy Quran, man's natural state is closely related to his moral and spiritual states, so much so that even the way he eats and drinks affects his moral and spiritual state. If a person's natural state is subject to the control of the commandments of divine law, it becomes his moral state, profoundly affecting his spirituality, just as, it is said, everything that falls into a salt mine becomes salt. For this reason, The Holy Quran emphasises the relationship between physical cleanliness and bodily postures, with worship, inner purity and spiritual humility.
The profound effect of physical conditions on the soul is confirmed upon close examination. For example, when our eyes fill with tears, even if the tears are not sincere, our heart is immediately saddened. Similarly, when we laugh, even if the laughter is artificial, the heart rejoices. It has also been observed that physical prostration in prayer leads to humility of soul. Conversely, when we stand upright and raise our heads in pride, this attitude leads to arrogance and vainglory. These examples clearly establish that physical conditions undoubtedly affect spiritual conditions.
Experience also shows us that different foods affect the intellect and the mind in different ways. For example, close observation reveals that people who abstain from meat experience the gradual loss of the noble faculty of courage, which is a divine gift. This consideration is supported by the evidence of the divine law of nature: herbivorous animals do not possess the same degree of courage as carnivorous ones. The same can be said of birds. Thus, there is no doubt that morality is affected by food.
On the contrary, those who restrict themselves to a diet consisting mainly of meat and who eat few vegetables will gradually lose their humility and gentleness. Those who opt for a middle ground develop both types of moral quality. For this reason, God Most High says in The Holy Quran:
"Eat and drink but in moderation" (7:32), i.e., eat meat and other foods, but do not eat anything to excess, so that your moral state may not be adversely affected, and so that your health may not be impaired.
We have spoken of the effect of physical behaviour on the soul, and in the same way we can emphasise the effect of the soul on the body. For example, when a person feels sad, his eyes fill with tears, but when he is happy, he smiles. All our natural acts - eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, walking, resting, bathing, etc., - affect our spiritual condition. Our physical structure is intimately related to our total human condition. An injury to one area of the brain causes immediate memory loss, while another area may cause unconsciousness. Polluted air affects the body, and through the body the mind, until the whole internal system, to which the moral impulses are attached, is damaged, and the unfortunate victim dies in the grip of insanity. Hence the physical injuries reveal the mysterious relationship between the soul and the body, a relationship that is beyond human comprehension.
Deep reflection shows that the body is the mother of the soul. The soul does not come from outside the womb of a pregnant woman. It is a light hidden in the semen, which begins to shine with the development of the embryo. The Word of God Most High teaches us that the soul is engendered from the body that develops in the womb, as stated in the Holy Quran:
"And then we make it develop into a new creation. Blessed then be Al'lah, the best of creators". (23:15).
This means that God gives a new creation to the body developed in the womb, and that new creation is called the soul. Full of blessings is God, Creator without equal.
The statement that a new creation is manifested from the body is a mystery that reveals the reality of the soul, and points to the close relationship between the soul and the body. It also teaches us that philosophy itself is revealed in the acts, movements and words inspired by the love of God, that is, that the soul is hidden in these sincere acts, just as it is hidden in semen. As the body responsible for such acts gradually develops, the soul hidden therein appears, and as the development of the body is completed, the soul, no longer hidden, shines forth in all its splendour, revealing its spiritual aspect. It is then that such actions come to life. This means that the full development of the whole set of actions is followed by the shining of the inner light, like the brilliance of a flash of lightning. Such a state is described by God Most High in The Holy Quran, when He says:
"So when I have moulded him to perfection and breathed into him My spirit, prostrate yourselves in submission to him". (15:30)
This verse points out that as the mould responsible for the actions is formed, the soul shines within it. God describes it as His own, since the mould was fully developed only after overcoming earthly desires. Thus the divine light, previously hidden, shines forth, and at the sight of this divine manifestation, all men, naturally attracted, must prostrate themselves before it. All those who perceive this light prostrate themselves before it, except Iblis, who loves darkness.
To return to the initial theme, it is true that the soul is a fine light that develops within the body and is nourished in the womb. At first, it is hidden, and no one perceives it, but later it manifests itself. From the beginning, the essence of the soul is present in the semen. The mysterious relationship between the soul and the semen responds to the design and will of God. The soul is a shining essence of the semen. It cannot be said to be part of the semen in the sense that matter is part of matter, nor that it comes from outside or falls into the earth and mingles with the matter of the semen. The soul is latent in the semen, just as the fire is latent in the flint.
The Word of God does not teach that the soul descends from the heavens as a separate entity, nor that it falls to earth from the atmosphere, mingling at random with the semen, and entering with it into the womb. Such a notion is totally without foundation. Natural law rejects it. We daily notice that thousands of insects infect unclean and putrid food, and breed in unwashed wounds. Dirty clothes breed thousands of lice, and various species of worms are generated in the human stomach. It cannot be said that all these come from outside, nor that they descend from the heavens. The truth is that the soul develops within the body, which also proves that it is not self-existent, but created.
The desire of God Most High, in creating by His perfect power the soul of the body, appears to be a second birth of the soul through the body. The movements of the soul follow the movements of the body. If the body moves in a certain direction, the soul follows. One function of the Book of God is, therefore, to deal with the natural state of man; This is why the Holy Quran is so concerned with the reformation of man's natural state, giving him directives about all matters pertaining to man - his laughter, his weeping, his eating, his drinking, his dressing, his sleeping, his speaking, his keeping silent, his marrying, his remaining unmarried, his walking and standing, his grooming, his performing the ordinances of bathing and purification, his submitting to discipline in a state of health or in a state of sickness, and so on. , - and reaffirms that man's physical condition profoundly affects his spiritual condition. I do not have the time today to go into a detailed exposition of all these guidelines.
(lpbD) - peace and blessings of God be upon him.
[We will continue with installment 4, where we will discuss the gradual progress of man and the three methods of reform that were proposed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad [lpbD] at a time of greatest need when immorality prevailed everywhere in the pre-Islamic civilization.]