The Philosophy of Islamic Teachings (12)

Sympathy for Mankind

Among man's natural qualities is the compassion he feels towards humanity. The followers of all religions show a natural compassion towards their own people, and many of them, under the impulse of such compassion, behave badly towards other people, as if they do not regard them as human beings. Such a state cannot be described as a moral quality. It is a natural impulse found even in birds. For example, when a crow dies, hundreds of crows flock to it. This quality only comes to constitute a high moral quality when it is exercised on the right occasion, justly and fairly. It then constitutes the great moral quality designated, in both Arabic and Persian, as "Sympathy". God the Supreme refers to this in The Holy Quran, where He teaches us:

"Rather help one another in virtue and godliness, but not in sin and transgression." (5:3)

"And do not faint in the pursuit of those people." (4:105).

" And do not plead the cause of those who betray trust." (4:106).

"Do not advocate for those who are dishonest with themselves. Verily, Al'lah loves not one who is perfidious and a great sinner." (4:108)

The Search for a Supreme Being

One of the natural conditions of man is his search for a Supreme Being to Whom he experiences an inherent attraction. This manifests itself in the child from the moment of birth. As soon as he is born, the child shows a spiritual characteristic which inclines him towards his mother, and which is inspired by his love for her. As his faculties develop, and his nature shows itself more openly, this natural quality increases in intensity. The child finds no rest except in its mother's lap. Separated or estranged from her, the child's life is embittered. Even a great number of gifts do not induce him to move away from his mother, in whom all his joy is concentrated. What then is the nature of this strong attraction that the child feels towards his mother?

This is the very attraction that the True Creator has implanted in the nature of the child. The same attraction arises whenever one person feels love for another. It is a reflection of the attraction to God, inherent in human nature, as if man is searching for something he misses, something whose name he no longer remembers, and which he hopes to find in one or another of the things with which he occupies himself from time to time. A person's love for wealth, for his children or his wife, or the attraction of his soul to a musical voice, are all indications of his search for the Beloved Self. Since man cannot see with physical eyes the Invisible Being, Who is latent in every person like the quality of fire, though He is hidden, nor can he discover Him through the mere exercise of his imperfect reason, he has been sadly deceived in his search, and has mistakenly attributed His position to others. The Holy Quran provides us in this context with an excellent example: the world resembles a palace with a floor of smooth glass slabs, beneath which a stream of water rushes. All who look at this floor mistakenly believe that it is a stream of water. They fear to tread on the floor as they fear to tread on a stream of water, although in reality it is only smooth, transparent glass slabs. In this parable, the ground represents the celestial bodies - the sun, the moon, etc. - behind which an enormous force is at work, like water rushing under the glass slabs. Those who worship the heavenly bodies are mistaken in attributing to the heavenly bodies something which in reality comes from the power operating behind them. This is the interpretation of the verse in the Holy Quran:

"It is a palace paved with glass slabs." (27:45)

In short, since the Being of God Most High, despite His radiance, is totally hidden, this physical system that is spread before our eyes is not, by itself, sufficient to enable us to recognise this Being. For this reason, those who have depended upon this system, carefully observing its perfect and complete order, together with all the wonders comprised therein, and those who have studied astronomy, physics and philosophy in depth, and have, shall we say, penetrated the heavens and the earth, have not been able to free themselves from the darkness of doubts and suspicions. Many of them have fallen into grave errors, and are wandering farther and farther away in pursuit of their ridiculous chimeras. Their ultimate claim is that this great system, reflecting a great wisdom, must have a Maker, and yet such a claim is incomplete, and such a perception deficient. The assertion that the system must have a maker is not equivalent to the assertion that He, in truth, exists. Such an affirmation cannot satisfy the heart, nor remove doubts from the heart. Nor does it represent the drink that satisfies the natural human thirst for full understanding. Moreover, this deficient understanding is most dangerous, for in spite of all the noise, it means nothing.

In short, if God Most High does not confirm His existence through His word, just as He has manifested it through His work, the mere observation of the work does not produce complete satisfaction. 

For example, if we are faced with a locked door with a latch from the inside, our immediate reaction is to assume that there is someone inside the room, who has bolted the door, since it seems impossible to us that from the outside the latch can be bolted from the inside. But if, despite repeated knocking on the door for several years, we never hear any response from inside, our assumption that there is someone inside will have to be abandoned, and we would be forced to deduce that the latch was thrown by some ingenious mechanism. This is the situation arrived at by those philosophers whose understanding is limited to the observation of God's handiwork. It is a huge mistake to imagine that God is like a corpse buried in the earth, the recovery of which depends on man. If God had only been discovered through human effort, it would be vain to expect anything from Him. Indeed, throughout eternity, God has called out to man, affirming: "I am present". It would be a great impertinence to imagine that God is obliged to man for having discovered Him through his own effort, and to think that without the philosophers God would have remained unknown.

It is equally foolish to ask how God can speak if He has no tongue with which to speak. The answer is obvious: did he not create the earth and the heavenly bodies without physical hands, does he not contemplate the universe without physical eyes, does he not hear our pleas without physical ears? Then is it not necessary for him to speak to us?

Nor should it be claimed that God spoke in the past but does not speak now. We cannot limit His word or His speech to any particular time. He is as ready today as He ever was to enrich those who seek Him from the fountain of revelation, and the doors of His grace are as open today as in the past. It is true, however, that since the need for a Perfect Law has been fulfilled, all laws and regulations have been completed. All prophecies have also been fulfilled, reaching their perfect expression in the person of our lord and master, the Holy Prophet (lpbD), peace and blessings of Al'lah be upon him.

(lpbD) - peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him.

[We will continue with the 13th installment, where we will expose topics such as "The Reason for the Appearance of the Holy Prophet (lpbD) in Arabia" and "Proofs for the Existence of God"].