Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Man and Universe

Author(s): Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari

Publisher(s): Islamic Seminary Publications

www.alhassanain.org/english

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Table of Contents

Part 1: Man and Faith 11

Chapter 1: Man and Animals 12

Awareness and Desire in Animals 12

Awareness and Desire in Man 13

Basis of the Distinction of Man 13

Is Humanity a Superstructure? 14

Notes 16

Chapter 2: Knowledge and Faith 18

Relation Between Knowledge and Faith 18

Can Knowledge and Faith Take the Place of Each Other? 21

Notes 23

Chapter 3: Religious Faith 25

Distinctions of Religious Faith 25

Effects and Advantages of Faith 27

I. Happiness and Delight 27

(i) Effort 28

II. Role of Faith in the Improvement Of Social Relations 29

III. Reduction of Worries 30

Chapter 4: School of Thought or Ideology 31

Definition and Necessity of Ideology 31

Kinds of Ideologies 35

In other words, is it absolute or relative? 37

Notes 38

Chapter 5: Islam - A Comprehensive School 39

Causes of Wrong Thinking 39

I. Reliance on Conjecture Instead of Sure Knowledge 39

II. Bias and Base Desires 40

III. Haste 40

IV. Traditional Thinking and Looking to the Past 40

V- Cult of Personality 40

Chapter 6: Sources of Thoughts In Islam 42

I. Nature 42

II. History 42

III. Human Conscience 42

Note 43

Part 2: Monotheistic Conception of the World 44

Chapter 7: Conception of the Universe 45

Conception of the World and Perception of the World 45

Varieties of World Conception 45

Scientific Conception of the World 46

Philosophical Conception of the World 48

Religious Conception of the World 48

How to Judge an Ideology? 49

Monotheistic Conception of the World 49

Islamic Conception of the World 50

Chapter 8: Realistic Conception of the World 52

Allah is Absolute Reality and Source of Life 52

Integral Characteristics of the World 52

(i) Limitation 52

(ii) Change 52

(iii) Attachment 53

(iv) Dependence 53

(v) Relativeness 53

Attributes of Allah 54

Monotheism 55

Worship and Adoration 56

Definition of Worship 56

Spirit of Adoration and Worship 57

Chapter 11: Degrees of Monotheism 58

I. Unity of the Essence of Allah 58

II. Unity of the Attributes of Allah 59

III. Unity of the Work of Allah 60

IV. Unity in Worship 60

Note 62

Chapter 10: Man and Unification 63

I. Materialistic Theory 63

II. Idealistic Theory 63

III. Realistic Theory 64

Chapter 11: Degrees of Polytheism 69

I. Belief in the Plurality of Divine Essence 69

II. Plurality of Creatorship 71

III. Plurality of Divine Attributes 71

IV. Plurality of Worship 71

Boundary Between Monotheism and Polytheism 73

Unity and Singleness of the World 79

Visible and Invisible 80

This World and the Next World 82

Chapter 12: Profound Wisdom and Divine Justice 83

(i) Principle of the self-Existence and Perfection of Allah 83

(ii) Principle of Sequence 84

(iii) Principle of Generality 84

History of the Principle of Justice in Islamic Culture 86

Part 3: Revelation and Prophethood 89

Chapter 13: Revelation and Prophethood 90

Universal Guidance 90

Characteristics of Prophets 91

(i) Miracles: 91

(ii) Infallibility: 91

Immunity from Sins: 91

Difference Between Prophets and Geniuses 92

(iii) Guidance: 93

(iv) Sincerity of Purpose: 93

(v) Constructiveness: 94

(vi) Struggle and Conflict: 94

(vii) Human Aspect: 95

(viii) Prophets Having A Divine Legal Code: 95

Chapter 14: Historical Role of the Prophet 97

(i) Education: 99

(ii) Affirmation of Agreements and Covenants: 99

(iii) Emancipation from Social Bondage: 99

Chapter 15: The Object of Prophethood 101

Chapter 16: Religion or Religions 104

Chapter 17: Finality of Prophethood 106

Reasons of the Renewal of Prophethood 106

Miracles of the Final Prophet 111

Note 113

Chapter 18: Miracle of Finality 114

Is this occurrence not a supernatural event and a miracle? 117

Value and Effect of a Miracle 120

Value of a Miracle From the Viewpoint of the Qur'an 120

Nature of the Holy Prophet's Guidance 120

Chapter 19: The Holy Qur'an 124

Great Interest of Muslims in the Holy Qur'an 124

Inimitability of the Holy Qur'an 124

Various Aspects of the Inimitability of the Holy Qur'an 125

Wording of the Holy Qur'an 125

Contents of the Holy Qur'an 127

Vastness of Meanings 130

Allah in the Holy Qur’an 130

Man's Relation with Allah 131

Qur’an, Tawrat and Injil 132

Historical Stories 132

The Holy Qur'an and Predictions 132

Chapter 20: Distinguishing Features of Islam 133

1. The Methods of Knowing 135

(i) Is it possible to identify the truth? 135

(ii) What are the Sources of Knowledge? 135

(iii) What are the means of Acquiring Knowledge? 136

(iv) Subjects of Knowledge 137

2. Conception of the World 137

Ideological Aspect 141

Chapter 21: The Holy Prophet 148

His Childhood 148

Abhorrence of Idleness and Lethargy 148

Honesty 149

Combat with Tyranny 149

Family Behavior 149

Treatment of Slaves 150

Cleanliness and Use of Perfume 150

Social Behavior 150

Soft as well as Tough 150

Worship 151

Austerity and Simple Living 151

Resolution and Perseverance 152

Leadership, Administration and Consultation 152

Regularity and Orderliness 152

Capacity to Listen to Criticism and Dislike of Flattery and Undue Compliments 153

Fight Against Weak Points 153

Possession of the Necessary Qualities of Leadership 153

Method of Preaching 154

Encouragement of Knowledge 154

Part 4: Man and the Holy Qur'an 155

Chapter 22: Man and the Holy Qur'an 156

Merits of Man 156

Demerits of Man 158

Is Man By Nature Good or Bad? 158

Multi-dimensional Being 159

Diverse Powers of Man 163

Self-Consciousness 164

Promotion of Talents 165

Development of Body 165

Development of Soul 166

Man's Effective Role in Building His Future 166

(i) Extensiveness of the range of his information 167

(ii) Extensiveness of the range of his desires 167

(iii) Man has a special self-making ability 167

Man's Will and Range of His Freedom 168

(i) Heredity 168

(ii) Natural and Geographical Environment 169

(iii) Social Atmosphere 169

(iv) History and Time Factors 169

Man's Revolt Against Limitations 169

Man and Divine Fate 169

Man and Obligations 170

(i) Puberty 170

(ii) Sanity 171

(iii) Knowledge and Awareness 171

(iv) Ability and Power 172

(v) Power of Choice and free-Will 172

Conditions of Validity 173

Chapter 23: Human Knowledge 177

I. Innate Self-Consciousness 178

II. Philosophical Self-consciousness 179

III. Universal Self-consciousness 179

IV. Class Self-consciousness 180

V. National Self-consciousness 180

VI. Human Self-consciousness 181

VII. Mystic Self-Consciousness 184

VIII. Prophetic Self-Consciousness 186

Note 188

Part 5: Society and History 189

Society and History 190

Introduction 190

What is Society? 191

Is Man Social By Nature? 191

Is the Existence of Society Real and Substantial? 193

Society and Tradition 198

Compulsion or Volition 200

Note 203

Chapter 25: Social Classification 204

Singleness or Multiplicity of Societies 207

Future of Societies 209

Chapter 26: What is History? 216

Scientific History 220

I. Reliability or Unreliability of Transmitted History 220

II. Principle of Causation 221

III. Is History Materialistic in Nature? 225

Basic Principles of Historical Materialism 226

I. Priority of Matter over Spirit 226

II. Precedence of Material Needs to Spiritual Needs 228

III. Precedence of Action to Thought 229

IV. Precedence of Social Existence of Man to His Individual Existence 230

V. Precedence of Material Aspect of Society to Its Intellectual Aspect 233

Conclusions 238

Criticism and Comments of Historical Materialism 249

i) Baselessness 251

(ii) Revision of Views by Its Founders 251

(iii) Demolition of the Principle of Compulsory Harmony Between Infrastructure and Superstructure 256

(iv) Nonconformity of the Basis of Class Ideology 258

(v) Independence of Cultural Development 258

(vi) Historical Materialism Is Self-contradictory 259

Note 260

Chapter 27: Islam and Historical Materialism 261

Comments 267

Notes 282

Chapter 28: Islamic Philosophy of History 283

I. Strategy of Mission 283

II. An Ideology's Nomenclature 288

III. Favourable and Unfavourable Conditions for Acceptability 288

(i) Justice and Injustice 290

(ii) Unity And Discord 290

(iii) Observance or Disregard of Allah's Command About Exhorting to What is Good and Restraining from What is Evil 290

(iv) Moral Depravity and Licentiousness 290

Notes 291

Chapter 29: Evolution and Change in History 292

I. The Racial Theory 293

II. The Geographical Theory 293

III. Theory of Intellectual Giants 294

IV. The Economic Theory 294

V. The Divine Theory 295

The Role of Personality in History 297

Notes 299

Part 6: Imamat and Khilafat 300

Chapter 30:Imamat and Khilafat 301

Leadership 301

Imamat and Dialectic Logic 305

An Extract From Notes 305

Leadership and Protection of Faith 306

Notes 307

Chapter 31: Imamat - Leadership 308

Difference Between Guidance and Leadership 308

Imamat of the Holy Imams and the Tradition of Thaqalayn 308

Imamat and Hadith of Thaqalayn 310

Notes 313

Chapter 32: Significance of Imamat 314

The Meaning of Imam 314

Various Aspects of the Holy Prophet 314

Imamat in the Sense of Leadership of Society 316

Imamat in the Sense of Religious Authority 317

Imamat in the Sense of Wilayat 318

A Tradition about Imamat 320

Imamat in the Holy Qur'an 321

Chapter 33: Imamat and Expounding of Religion 323

Government is a Branch of Imamat 324

Imam is the Successor of the Holy Prophet in Expounding of Religion 325

The Tradition of Thaqalayn 326

Prohibition of Recording of Traditions 327

Use of Analogy 328

Analogy From the Shi'ah Point of View 329

No Question of Election in the Presence of an Infallible Imam 329

Question of Spiritual Wilayat 330

Importance of the Tradition of Thaqalayn 331

The Tradition of Ghadir 331

Note 332

Chapter 34: Scholastic Study of Imamat 333

Definition of Imamat 334

Rational Argument of the Shi'ah 334

Imam Means An Expert in Religious Matters 335

Infallibility 336

Divine Designation 337

Prophetic Texts Relating to Imamat of Imam Ali 338

The Event of the Day of Warning 339

Meeting of the Head of a Tribe With the Holy Prophet 339

The Tradition of Ghadir and Its Continuity 340

Question and Answer 342

Notes 344

Chapter 35: Imamat and the Verse regarding Despair of Unbelievers 345

Difference Between Perfection and Completion 345

Which Day Is Meant By This Day? 346

(i) The Day the Holy Prophet was Raised 347

(ii) The Day of the Conquest of Makkah 347

(iii) Recitation of Surah al-Baraat by Imam Ali 349

Shi'ah Explanation 350

(iv) Internal Evidence Existing In the Verse 351

Specific (Mohkamat) and Ambiguous (Mutashabihat) Verse 351

Question and Answer 353

Notes 358

Chapter 36: Imamat in the Qur’an 359

Special Position of the Verses Relating to the Prophet's Progeny 359

The Verse of Tathir (Purification) 359

Reason 362

Historical Evidence 363

What The Gnostics Say? 364

The Concept of Imamat 364

Imam In Prophet Ibrahim's Progeny 365

Prophet Ibrahim's Trials - Command to Migrate to Hijaz 365

Command to Slaughter His Son 366

Imamat Is A Divine Covenant 367

Who is a Wrongdoer? 367

Questions and Answers 368

Notes 373

Chapter 37: Imamat from the Viewpoint of the Imams 374

What Kind of a Being is Man? 374

First Man in the Qur’an 374

Zayd ibn Ali and Imamat 377

Questions and Answers 382

Note 382

Chapter 38: Notes on Leadership and Management 383

Style of Leadership 386

Notes On Leadership In Islam 392

Leadership and Management 395

Imamat of Imams 399

Notes 399

Part 7: Eternal Life 401

Life of the Next World 401

Source of Belief in the Life of the Next World 401

Nature of Death 402

After Death 406

Barzakh or Purgatory 406

Resurrection 409

Relation Between This Life and the Next 410

Embodiment and Eternity of Human Deeds 410

Traditions (Ahadith) 411

Common and Uncommon Points of This Life and the Next 411

Arguments of the Qur’an 412

Part 1: Man and Faith

Chapter 1: Man and Animals

Man himself being a kind of animal, has many things in common with other animals. At the same time he has many dissimilarities which distinguish him from other animals and make him superior to them.

The main and basic features distinguishing man from other living beings, on which his humanity depends and which constitute the source of what is known as human culture, pertain to two spheres: attitudes and inclinations.

Generally speaking the animals are endowed with a quality of perceiving and knowing themselves and the outer world, and in the light of this knowledge they strive to secure what they want and desire.

Like other animals man also has many wants and desires and in the light of what he knows and understands, he makes efforts to secure and realize them. Man differs from other living beings in that he knows more, understands better and his wants and desires are of a higher level.

This characteristic of man distinguishes him from all other animals and makes him superior to them.

Awareness and Desire in Animals

An animal knows the world through its external senses only. That is why, firstly, its knowledge is superficial and seeming. It does not penetrate the things and has no access to their internal relations. Secondly, it is partial and particular, and is neither universal nor general. Thirdly, it is regional, for it is confined to the living environment of the animal, and does not go beyond that. Fourthly, it is limited to the present and is unconcerned with the past and the future. As animal is not aware of its own or world's history, it neither thinks of the future nor does it plan for it.

From the viewpoint of knowledge, an animal cannot come out of the framework of the exteriors, the particularity, the living environment and the present time. It never escapes from these four prisons. If by chance it does, it does so instinctively and unconsciously, and not by its own choice and will.

Like the range of its knowledge, the level of the wants and the desires of an animal also has a limited scope. Firstly, all its desires are material and do not go beyond the limits of eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, mating and building a home or a nest. For an animal there is no question of any spiritual needs, moral values etc. Secondly, all its desires are personal and individualistic, pertaining to the animal itself or, at the most, to its mate and the young ones. Thirdly, they are regional related to its living environment only. Fourthly, they are instantaneous, pertaining to the present time.

In other words, the dimension of the desires and inclinations of an animal's existence has the same limitations as the dimension of its perceptive existence. From this point of view also, an animal has to live within specific limitations.

If an animal pursues an objective which is outside these limitations and which, for an example, pertains to its species in general and not to one individual or pertains to the future and not to the present, as is observed in the case of certain gregarious animals like bees, it does so unconsciously, instinctively and by the direct order of the power which has created it and which manages the whole world.

Awareness and Desire in Man

Man's domain both in the sphere of his knowledge, information and outlook and in the sphere of his desires, wants and inclinations is very vast and lofty. Man's knowledge passes from the exterior of the things to their inner reality, their mutual relations and to the laws governing them. His knowledge does not remain confined to any particular place or time. It surpasses all such limitations.

On the one hand, his knowledge extends to the events which took place before his birth, and on the other, it extends to other planets and stars. He gets acquainted with his past as Well as his future. He discovers his own history and that of the World, that is the history of the earth, the sky, the mountains, the rivers, the plants and the living organisms. Not only he thinks of the remote future, but also applies his thought to infinities and eternities, some of which he recognizes. Man goes a step further from identifying the individuality and particularity, and with a view to control nature, discovers universal rules and general truths prevailing in the world.

From the viewpoint of his ambitions and aspirations also man holds an outstanding position, for he is an aspiring, high thinking and idealistic being. He seeks objectives which are not of material and profitable nature; objectives which are in the interest of entire humanity and not confined to himself and his family or to any particular region or to a particular period of time.

Man is so idealistic that he often gives more importance to his creed and ideology than to any other value. He may consider service to others to be of more consequence than his own welfare, and may regard a thorn stuck into the foot of someone else as being stuck into his own foot or even his own eye. He feels sympathy with others and shares their joy and grief. Man becomes so devoted to his creed and sacred ideology that he easily sacrifices his life for them.

The human aspect of the human culture which is considered to be its true spirit is the outcome of such feelings and desires.

Basis of the Distinction of Man

Man's vast and extensive conception of the world is a product of the collective human effort made through so many centuries. The information so acquired has been piled together and developed. This information after it has been processed and regulated has come to be known as "science" in the wider sense of the term, that is the sum-total of human ideas about the cosmos. It includes philosophy, a product of the collective human effort which has been given a special logical form.

Spiritual and higher human tendencies are born of man's belief in certain realities of this world and his devotion to them. These realities are neither individualistic nor material. They are comprehensive and general involving no question of any economic gain, and are in their turn the outcome of certain conceptions of the world either presented to mankind by the Divine Prophets or produced by a sort of idealistic thinking initiated by some philosophers.

In any case the higher spiritual and super-animal tendencies of man if based on a doctrinal and intellectual infrastructure take the name of faith.

Hence we come to the conclusion that knowledge and faith constitute the main and the basic difference between man and other living beings and that knowledge and faith form the basis of man's humanity which depends on them.

Much has been said on the distinction between man and other species of animals. Some hold that there is no basic difference between the two. According to them the difference of knowledge is that of quantity or at the most of quality, but not that of essence. They attach little importance to man's vast, wonderful and marvellous achievements in the field of knowledge, which have attracted the attention of the great philosophers of the East and the West.

This group of scholars maintains that from the point of view of his wants and desires man is no more than an animal.1 Some others believe that the main difference is that of life. Man is the only fully living animal. Other animals have no feelings, and are not conscious of pleasure and pain. They are just semi-living machines. Therefore the true definition of man is that he is the living being.2

Other thinkers do not believe that, and maintain that there are basic differences between other living beings and man. It appears that each group of these scholars has concentrated on one human characteristic and distinction. That is why man has been defined in so many different ways. He has been described as a rational animal, an absolute-seeking being, an unending being, an idealist, a seeker of values, a metaphysical animal, an insatiable being, an indefinite being, a responsible being, a forward-looking being, a free agent, an insurgent, a social order loving being, a beauty-loving being, a justice-loving being, a double-faced being, an amorous being, an obligated being, an intuitive being, a being believing in double standard, a creator, a lonely being, an agitated being, a fundamentalist, doctrinaire, a tool-maker, a supernaturalist, an imaginative being, a spiritualist, a transcendentalist etc.

Obviously each of these descriptions is true in itself, but if we want to find out an expression inclusive of all the basic distinctions, then we should say that man is an animal endowed with knowledge and faith.

Is Humanity a Superstructure?

We know that man is a sort of animal. He has many things in common with other animals. But he has many distinctive features also.

Because of his similarities and dissimilarities with other animals man has a double life; an animal life and a human life, or in other words, a material life and a cultural life.

Here a question arises: What is the relation between man's humanity and his animality, his human life and his animal life? Is one of these qualities of primary importance and the other of only secondary? Is one of these the basis and the other only a reflection of it? Is one of these the infrastructure and the other the superstructure? Is the material life the infrastructure and the cultural life the superstructure? Is the animality of man the infrastructure and the cultural life the superstructure? Is the animality of man the infrastructure and his humanity the superstructure?

This question nowadays is initiated from a sociological and not psychological point of view. That is why the discussion centres round the point whether among the social characteristics of man, his economic tendencies related to production and productional relations are more important than all other characteristics of his, especially those which reflect his humanity, and whether his other characteristics and tendencies are only a superstructure of his economic nature? Another interconnected question is whether it is true that science, philosophy, literature, religion, law, ethics and art of every age are only a manifestation of the economic relations of that age and have no intrinsic value of their own?

Though this question is initiated from a sociological point of view, its discussion inevitably leads to a psychological result and a philosophical discussion of the nature of man known in modern terms as humanism. Generally the conclusion drawn is that humanity of man is of no importance. What is important is his animality only. In other words the view of those who deny the existence of any basic difference between man and animal is supported.

This theory not only denies the importance of human tendencies towards realism, virtue, beauty and belief in Allah, but also denies the importance of man's rational approach to the world and truth. It may be pointed out that no approach can be neutral. Every approach inevitably represents a certain material outlook.

It is surprising that some of the schools that support the theory that man is basically an animal, simultaneously talk of humanity and humanism also!

The fact is that the evolutionary march of man begins from his animality and proceeds towards the highest point of humanity. This principle applies to individuals as well as to society. In the beginning of his existence man is no more than a material organism. With a basic evolutionary movement he is changed into a spiritual substance. Human spirit is born in the lap of human body and then attains independence.

Animality of man is the nest in which his humanity develops and matures. It is a characteristic of evolution that the more a developing being evolves, the more that being becomes independent, self-existing and effective and the more it influences its environment. As the humanity of man develops, it makes an advance towards independence and gains control of all other aspects. This is true both in the case of an individual and that of a society. A developed individual controls both his internal and external environment. His development means that he has been emancipated from the subjection of internal and external environment and attached to creed and faith.

Evolution of society takes place exactly in the same way as the evolution of soul in the lap of body and the evolution of the humanity of an individual in the lap of his animality.

The development of society mostly begins under the impact of its economic organizations. The cultural and spiritual aspects of society are tantamount to its soul. As the effect of body and soul is reciprocal, there is a similar mutual relationship between spiritual and material arrangements also. Just as the evolutionary progress of an individual means his march towards freedom, independence and greater supremacy of soul, the evolutionary progress of a society also means the same thing. In other words, the more a human society is developed, the more its cultural life becomes independent of its material life. The man of future will be a man of culture and a man of faith, creed and ideology and not a man of economy, bodily needs and sensual enjoyments.

Of course all this does not mean that human society necessarily advances along a straight line towards the perfection of human values, nor does it mean that at every stage of time it is one step advanced further than it was at the previous stage of time. It is possible that mankind passes through a stage of social life in which despite all technical and technological advancement it is pushed a stage or two backward from spiritual and moral point of view, as is alleged to be the case with the man of our century.

Actually man on the whole is marching forward both from material and spiritual points of view. But his spiritual movement is not regular along a straight line. It is a movement which involves occasional stoppages, retrogressions and deviations to the right and to the left. Nevertheless it is on the whole an evolutionary and forward movement. That is why we say that the man of future will be a man of culture and not a man of economy and the man of future will be a man of faith, creed and ideology and not a man of bodily needs and sensual enjoyments.

According to this theory the human aspects of man because of their fundamentality, developed along with and even prior to the development of the production implements. Consequent upon their development the human aspects have gradually reduced man's dependence on his natural and social environment and have diminished his amenability to the environmental conditions. The freedom so obtained enhanced man's attachment to faith and ideology and added to his capacity of influencing his natural and social environment. In future as a result of gaining complete independence, man will become more attached and devoted to faith and ideology.

As in the past man was less equipped with the gifts of nature and was not capable of fully utilizing his own faculties, he was a captive of nature and his own animality. But in future man will be able to exploit better the gifts of nature and his own inherent capabilities. Thus to a great extent he will be liberated from the captivity of nature and his own animal tendencies and will add to his sway over nature and himself.

According to this view though man's human reality emerges along with and in the lap of his material and animal evolution, it is in no way the reflection of and subservient to his material development. It is an independent and progressive reality. Though it is affected by material aspect, it influences them also. What determines the final destiny of man is his cultural evolution and his human reality, not the evolutionary progress of the production implements. It is human reality which in the course of its progress causes the development of the production implements along with the development of other human affairs. It is not true that production implements develop automatically and that humanity of man changes with a change in the tools directing production system.

Notes

1. That is what the English philosopher Thomas Hobbs maintains

2. Well-known theory of Descartes

Chapter 2: Knowledge and Faith

Relation Between Knowledge and Faith

We have studied the relation between man's humanity and his animality, in other words, the relation between man's cultural and spiritual life and his material life. It is now clear that man's humanity has an independent existence and is not a mere reflection of his animal life.

It is also clear that knowledge and faith are the two basic parts of the humanity of man. Now let us see what mutual relation these two facets of humanity have or can have.

Unfortunately certain parts of the Old Testament have in the Christian world created an idea of contradiction between knowledge and faith. This idea which has cost dearly to knowledge and faith both has its root in the Book of Genesis of the Old Testament.

Narrating the story of Adam and the Forbidden Tree, the Book of Genesis, Chapter II, verses 16 and 17 says:

"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die".

In the Chapter III, verses 1 - 7 it says:

"Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons".

In the verse 22 - 23 of the same chapter it says:

"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: "1

According to this conception of man, God, knowledge and disobedience, God wants that man should not be aware of good and evil. The Forbidden Tree is the tree of knowledge. Man attains knowledge only if he rebels against God's command (disobeys the teachings of religion and the Prophets), but for that very reason he is driven out of God's Heaven.

On the basis of this conception all evil insinuations are those of knowledge, and reason is the insinuating Devil.

In contrast, we learn from the Holy Qur’an that Allah taught all names (realities) to Adam and then ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. The Devil was condemned because he refused to prostrate himself before the vicegerent of Allah, who was aware of the realities. The Prophetic traditions have told us that the Forbidden Tree was that of avarice, greed and such like things, that is the things related to the animality of Adam, not to his humanity. The insinuating Devil always insinuates what is against reason and what answers the base desires. It is concupiscence and not reason that represents the Devil within man. Contrary to all this what we find in the Book of Genesis is really very amazing.

It is this conception which has divided the European history of culture during the past 1500 years into two distinct periods, namely the age of faith and the age of science, and has placed science and faith in opposition to each other.

In contrast the Islamic history of culture is divided into the period of advancement of knowledge and faith and the period in which both of them declined together. We Muslims should keep ourselves away from the wrong conception which has caused an irreparable loss to knowledge, faith and humanity, and must not blindly regard the contradiction between knowledge and faith as an indisputable fact.

We now propose to make an analytical study of this question and see whether each of these two facets of humanity exclusively belongs to a distinct period or age, and whether man in every age is condemned to be only a semi-man and always to suffer the evils ensuing either from ignorance or from infidelity.

As you will see every faith is inevitably based on a particular way of thinking and a special conception of cosmos. There is no doubt that many conceptions and interpretations of the world, though they may be the basis of a faith, are not acceptable because they are not in consonance with rational and scientific principles. Therefore the question is whether there exists any conception of the world and interpretation of life which is rational and at the same time fit to be the infrastructure of a felicitous faith.

If it is found that such a conception does exist, then there is no reason why man should be supposed to be condemned for ever to suffer the evils ensuing either from ignorance or infidelity. The relation between knowledge and faith can be discussed from two angles. One of them is to see whether there exists a faith, producing conception which arouses faith and is rational too, or all the ideas which are scientific are contrary to faith, give no hope and produce no optimism. We will discuss this question later under the heading, Conception of Cosmos.

The second angle from which we can discuss the relation between faith and knowledge is the question as to how each of these two affects man. Does knowledge draw us to one thing and faith to something contradictory to that? Does knowledge want to mould us in one way and faith in another? Or do faith and knowledge supplement each other, taking part in making harmonious whole of us? Let us see what knowledge gives us and what faith gives.

Knowledge gives us light and power; faith gives us love, hope and warmth. Knowledge helps make implements and appliances and accelerates progress; faith determines the purpose of human efforts and gives direction to them. Knowledge brings about outer revolution; faith causes inner revolution. Knowledge makes the world man's world; faith makes life the life of humanity. Knowledge expands the existence of man horizontally; faith lifts it up vertically. Knowledge trains man's temperament; faith reforms man. Both knowledge and faith give power to man; but the power given by faith is continuous, whereas the power given by knowledge is disjointed. Knowledge is beauty; faith is beauty too. But knowledge beautifies reason and thought; faith beautifies spirit and feeling. Both knowledge and faith give man security. But knowledge provides outer security, whereas faith provides inner security. Knowledge gives protection against diseases, floods, earthquakes and storms. Faith provides security against restlessness, loneliness, sense of insecurity and low thinking. Knowledge harmonizes the world with man, faith harmonizes man with himself.

The need of man to both knowledge and faith has attracted the attention of religious as well as secular thinkers.

Dr Muhammad Iqbal says:

"Humanity needs three things today, a spiritual interpretation of the universe, spiritual emancipation of the individual, and basic principles of a universal import directing the evolution of human society on a spiritual basis.

Modern Europe has, no doubt, built a realistic system on these lines, but experience shows that truth revealed through pure reason is incapable of bringing that fire of living conviction which personal revelation alone can bring. This is the reason why pure thought has so little influenced man while religion has always elevated individuals and transformed the societies. The idealism of Europe never became a living factor in her life and the result is a perverted ego seeking itself through mutually intolerant democracies whose sole function is to exploit the poor in the interest of the rich. Believe me, Europe today is the greatest hindrance in the way of man's ethical advancement. The Muslim, on the other hand, is in possession of these ultimate ideas on the basis of a revelation, which, speaking from the inmost depths of life, internalizes its own apparent externality. With him the spiritual basis of life is a matter of conviction, for which even the least enlightened man among us can lay down his life". (Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam).

Will Durant, the well-known author of the History of Civilization, despite his being a non-religious man, says:

"The ancient world differed from the new machine world only in means, not in aims. What will you say if it is found that all our progress consists in the improvement of methods and means and not in the betterment of the aims and goals?"2

He also says, "Wealth is boring; reason and wisdom are only a cold dim light. It is only love which with indescribable tenderness warms the hearts".3

It is now more or less realized that scienticism or pure scientific training is not to make a full man. It can produce a semi-man not a full-fledged one. This training turns out raw material of man, not a finished man. It can produce a strong, healthy and the unilateral man but not a virtuous and multilateral being. It is now recognized by all that the period of pure science has now come to an end. Society is now threatened with an idealistic vacuum. Some people want to fill this vacuum with pure philosophy and some others are seeking the help of literature, art and humanitarian sciences for this purpose.

In our country also there is a suggestion to fill the gap with humanizing literature, especially the mystic literature as produced by Mowlawi, Sa'di and Hafiz. The proponents of this scheme forget that this literature itself has been inspired by religion and its humanizing spirit, which has made it attractive, is Islamic. Otherwise how is it that some modern literature in spite of its loud claim of being humanistic, is so insipid, and lacking in spirit and attractiveness. In fact the human content of our mystic literature is the result of its Islamic conception of the universe and man. If we take the Islamic spirit out of these masterpieces, nothing but a carcass of them will be left.

Will Durant is one of those who realizes the existence of vacuum. He suggests that literature, philosophy and art should fill the gap. He says: "The damage done to our schools and colleges is mostly due to the education theory of Spencer,4 who has defined education as bringing man in harmony with his environment. This definition is lifeless and mechanical, and it stems from the philosophy of the superiority of mechanics. Every creative spirit and brain is averse to it. The result is that our schools and colleges have been filled with theoretical and mechanical sciences and have remained devoid of such subjects as literature, history, philosophy and art, which are being considered to be useless. An education which is purely scientific, can produce nothing except tools. It alienates man from beauty and estranges; him from wisdom. It would have been better for the world if Spencer had not written a book".5

It is very surprising that though Will Durant admits that this vacuum is in the first place an idealistic one, resulting from a sort, of wrong thinking and lack of faith in human aims and goals, he is still of the opinion that the problem can be solved by anything non-material though it may be merely imaginative. He thinks that occupation with history, art, beauty, poetry and music can fill a vacuum originating from the depths of man's instinct of looking for an ideal and seeking perfection.

Can Knowledge and Faith Take the Place of Each Other?

We have learnt that there is no contradiction between faith and knowledge. They rather supplement each other. Now there arises one more question: Is it possible that they fill the place of each other?

This question need not be answered elaborately for we already know the respective roles of faith and knowledge. It is evident that knowledge cannot take the place of faith which gives love and hope besides light and power. Faith elevates our desires, and in addition to helping us in realizing our aims and objects, removes the element of selfishness and individualism from our desires and ideals and puts them on the basis of love and spiritual and moral relations. Besides being a tool in our hands, it basically changes our essence. Similarly faith also cannot fill the place of knowledge, which makes us familiar with nature, reveals its laws to us and makes us aware of ourselves.

Historical experience has shown that separation between knowledge and faith has caused irreparable losses. Faith should .be identified in the light of knowledge, which saves it from being mixed up with myths. Faith without knowledge ends in ,stagnation and blind prejudice, and can achieve no purpose. Where there is no knowledge, faith of the believer becomes a tool in the hands of the clever hypocrites. We saw an example , of this contingency in the case of the Khawarij (Kharijites) of the early Islamic era. Other examples in various forms we have seen in later periods and are still seeing.

Knowledge without faith is a sharp sword in the hand of a drunken brute. It is a lamp in the hand of a thief to help him pick up the best articles at midnight. That is why there is not the least difference in the nature and conduct of the faithless man of today who has knowledge and the faithless man of yesterday who had no knowledge. After all what is the difference between the Churchills, Johnsons, Nixons and Stalins of today and the Pharaohs, Genghis Khans and Attilas of yore?

It may be said that as knowledge is light as well as power, it has no special and exclusive application to the external world. It illuminates our internal world also and consequently gives us power to change it. Therefore knowledge can make the world and man both. It can perform its own task, that is world-making as well as the task of belief, that is man making. The answer is that all this is true, but the basic point is that knowledge is a sort of implement and its use depends on the will of man. Whatever man does, he can do that in a better way with the help of knowledge. That is why we say that knowledge is helpful in securing objectives and traversing the path man chooses for himself.

It is obvious that implements are used for achieving a predetermined goal. Now the question is on what basis the goal should be determined?

As we know, by nature man is an animal. Humanity is his acquired quality. In other words, human talents of man are to be nurtured and promoted gradually in the light of faith. By his nature man moves towards his animal and selfish objectives which are material and individualistic. He employs the implements available to him for this purpose. Hence he is in need of a separate driving force which may neither be his objective nor his tool. He needs a force which may explode him from within and put his hidden talents into action. He requires a force which may bring about a revolution in his conscience and give him a new orientation.

This task cannot be performed by discovery and knowledge of the laws governing man and nature. The performance of this task is possible only if the sanctity and importance of certain values are embedded in the soul of man. For this purpose man must have a number of noble tendencies ensuing from a particular way of thinking and certain conceptions of the universe and man. These conceptions and the contents of their dimensions and proofs cannot be made available in any laboratory, and, as we shall explain, are out of the reach of science.

The past and present history has shown what evil consequences the dissociation of knowledge and faith from each other has produced. Where there was faith but no knowledge, the efforts of the humanitarian people were directed to the matters which either were not much fruitful or did not produce good results. These efforts were often the source of prejudices and obscurantism, and occasionally resulted in harmful conflicts.

Where there has been knowledge but faith has been lacking, as in the case of some modern societies, the entire force of knowledge has been used to serve the cause of self-aggrandizement, amassing wealth, and satisfying the lust of power, exploitation, subjugation and craftiness.

The past two or three centuries may be regarded as the period of attaching too much importance to scientific knowledge and ignoring faith. Many intellectuals thought that all human problems would be solved by science, but experience has proved the contrary. Today there is no intellectual denying that man needs some sort of faith. Even if that faith is not religious, it is bound to be ultra-scientific. Bertrand Russell has materialistic outlook, yet he admits that: "The work that merely aims at earning income shall not produce good results. For this purpose one should adopt a profession that implants in the individual a faith, a purpose and a goal".6

Today the materialists feel compelled to claim that they are philosophically materialists and morally idealists. In other words they say that they are materialists from theoretical point of view and spiritualists from practical and idealistic point of view. Anyhow, the problem remains as to how it is possible that a man should be a materialist theoretically and a spiritualist practically? The materialists themselves should answer this question.

George Sarton, the world famous scientist and the author of the well-known book, History of Science, describing the inability of science to humanize the mutual relations of mankind and underlining man's urgent need of the force of faith, says: "In certain fields science has made wonderful progress. But in other fields related to the mutual relations of human beings, for example the fields of national and international politics, we are still laughing at ourselves".

George Sarton admits that the faith man needs is a religious faith. He says this of man's need for the triad of art, religion, and science: "Art reveals beauty; it is the joy of life. Religion means love; it is the music of life. Science means truth and reason; it is the conscience of mankind. We need all of them art and religion as well as science. Science is absolutely necessary but it is never sufficient". (George Sarton, Six Wings: Men of Science in the Renaissance, p. 218. (London, 1958).

Notes

1. Extracts from The Holy Bible, AD 1611. The British and Foreign Bible Society London.

2. The Pleasures of Philosophy pp. 240

3. The Pleasures of Philosophy pp. 114 (New York, 1953).

4. Celebrated English philosopher of the 19th century.

5. The Pleasures of Philosophy, pp. 168, 169 (New York, 1953)

6. Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals, p. 102. (London 1929)