The philosophy of the teachings of Islam (13)

The Reason for the Appearance of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in Arabia.

Divine wisdom determined that the light of the ultimate divine guidance should emerge from Arabia. The Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, banished from Israel and left by divine wisdom in the desert of Paran (Faran), which in Arabic means "two fugitives". The descendants of Ishmael were expelled from the Bani Israel (the Children of Israel) by Abraham himself, and did not participate in the law of the Torah, as it was written that they would not inherit from Isaac.

Thus they were abandoned by those who were close to them, and had no relations with any other people. In all other countries, signs and tokens of worship and commandments were found which coincidentally indicated that their peoples had in the past received teachings from the prophets. Arabia was the only country in which such teachings remained totally unknown, and was therefore the most backward of all countries. Arabia's turn came at last, and it received the gift of universal prophetic legislation, enabling all countries to share again in the blessings of the Prophet (lpbD), and eliminating all the errors that had spread among the peoples in the meantime. The Holy Quran is the Perfect Book that undertook the entire project of human reform, and therefore it is not addressed to one people alone. It aims at the reformation of all mankind, and sets forth all the stages of human development. It teaches the savages the manners and customs of humanity, and then inculcates in them the higher moral qualities. There is no need, therefore, for books other than the Holy Quran. 

What the world owes to The Holy Quran

The gift of the Holy Quran to mankind consists in expounding the distinction between man's natural state and his moral qualities, and not content with leading man from his natural condition to the lofty palace of higher moral qualities, but also in opening the doors of the sacred understanding which elevates man to spiritual excellence. In this way he exemplifies in an exemplary manner the three types of teaching we have already mentioned. By comprehending all the teachings necessary for religious training, he claims to have fulfilled this function to perfection. He says:

"Today I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My grace with you, and I have chosen Islam for your religion." (5:4)

This means that in Islam the apogee of religion is reached, in which man must give himself fully to God, seeking salvation through self-sacrifice for the love of God, and by no other means, and demonstrating this motive and determination in his behaviour. At this stage all excellences reach their perfection. Thus, The Holy Quran presents us with the God whom the philosophers failed to identify. The Quran adopts two methods to reach the understanding of God. The first is to strengthen and enlighten human reason in order to adduce reasons in support of God's existence, so that man does not fall into error. The second is the spiritual method, which will be dealt with in the third consideration.

Proofs for the existence of God

We will now highlight the excellent and incomparable proofs for the existence of God contained in the Holy Quran. It says thus:

"He said, "Our Lord is He Who gave each thing its proper form and then guided it to its proper function?". (20:51)

If we consider the content of this verse and consider the form of man, and of all the animals of the earth and the sea, and of the birds, we are amazed at the power of God, who has given to each thing its proper form. This is a very large subject, and we ask our hearers to meditate deeply upon it.

The second proof of God's existence provided by the Holy Quran is that God is the final cause of all causes. It states:

"And that to your Lord go all things ultimately." (53:43)

Observation shows us that the entire universe is part of a system of cause and effect. This system is at the root of all knowledge. No part of creation exists outside this system. There are things that are roots of other things, and there are things that are branches. A cause may be primary, or it may be the effect of another cause, which in turn is the effect of another cause, and so on. Now, it is impossible in this finite world for this system of causes and effects to be infinite, without limits. We must recognise that it must end in a final cause. This final cause is God. This verse succinctly states the argument, and affirms that the system of cause and effect ends in God.

Another proof of God's existence contained in the Holy Quran is that:

"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night overtake the day. All of them float in one orbit." (36:41)

If this system had no regulator, everything would end in chaos. This evidence is very convincing for astronomers. There are so many celestial bodies rolling through space that the slightest deviation from their orbits would result in the destruction of the world. Surely, the fact that these bodies do not collide, or change their speed, or deviate from their course, or wear out over so long a period, or suffer any breakdown in their machinery, is an impressive manifestation of Divine Power. If it does not function under the supervision of a Supreme Author, how is it possible that such an immense system should continue to run unaided for innumerable years? 

Elsewhere in the Holy Quran, God Most High alludes to this in the words:

"Have you any doubts concerning Al'lah, Maker of the heavens and the earth?" (14:11).

He presents another subtle proof of His existence in the words:

"All that is in it (the earth) will perish. And only the Person of your Lord, the Owner of Glory and Honour, will remain." (55:27-28)

Supposing the earth were reduced to nothingness, and the heavenly bodies destroyed, and everything extinguished by an explosion that erased all traces of those bodies, reason and pure consciousness would dictate that after all the destruction there would survive One who could not be destroyed, who would remain unchanged in His original state. This One is God, Who has created all that is mortal and Who is immune to mortality.

Another proof of His existence that God reveals to us in the Holy Quran is that God asked the souls:

"Am I not your Lord?" they replied, "Yes, we are witnesses to it." (7:173)“

In this verse, God Most High expounds, in the form of a question and answer, the characteristic He has conferred on souls; that by their very nature no soul can deny the existence of God. Those who deny God do so because they find no proof of His existence according to their own whims. And yet they recognise that for every thing that is created, there must be a creator. There is no one in the world so foolish as to assert, if he falls ill, that his illness has no cause. If the system of the universe were not composed of cause and effect, it would not be possible to foresee the coming of a tornado, or a solar or lunar eclipse, or that a patient would die at a certain hour, or that one disease would be aggravated by another when it reached a certain stage. For this reason, a philosopher who denies the existence of God is actually affirming it, because he, like us, looks for the causes of effects. This constitutes to some extent an acknowledgement, though it is far from perfect. Moreover, if one who denies the existence of God could be desensitised, so that he would come under the complete dominion of God, casting off all the desires, impulses and emotions of his life in this world, then he would recognise the existence of God, and would no longer deny it. This is confirmed by eminent scholars. The verse quoted above also indicates that denial of God's existence is only a manifestation of man's earthly life, since man's true nature fully admits His existence.

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

[We will continue with the 14th installment, where we will expound on the subject of "The Attributes of God".]