Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Knowing God

By:Ayatullah IbrahimAmini

Translator:Sayyid Athar Husain S. H.Rizvi

Publisher:Ansariyan Publications

First Edition 2011 - 1432 - 1390

ISBN: 978-964-219-173-4

www.alhassanain.org/english

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Table of Contents

Preface 5

Introduction 6

Materialistic and Religious World View; Effects and Consequences 9

World in the view of believers 9

End of life 9

Creator of the Universe 10

Prophets 10

Where have I come from, where am I at present, and where am I going? 10

World in the view of non-believers 11

Who am I? 11

Where have I come from? 11

Where am I? 11

Where am I going? 11

Fruits of belief in this life 13

1. Hope 13

2. Optimism about the end of life 13

3. Recognition of duty 14

4. Satisfaction 15

5. Patience and determination 16

But what is the condition of the disbeliever? 17

6. Safety of the body and soul 18

Need of choosing a correct world view 19

What is world view? 19

Need of study and investigation 20

Principles of World View 21

Search for God 22

Evidences for existence of God 24

Knowing God according to the Holy Quran 24

Points 25

Points 27

Points 28

Orderliness and coordination in the world 29

Water Cycle 31

Green Leaves 33

Digestive System 34

Mechanism of Sight 36

Structure of the eye 36

Transparent mantles of the eyeball 37

How do we see objects? 37

Adjustment of image 37

A discourse on Knowing God 38

Secondary organs of the machinery of sight 39

A discourse on Knowing God 40

Circulatory System 42

1. First stage 42

2. Passage 42

3. Stage of narrow passages 42

4. Return journey 43

5. Entering the right atrium 43

6. Severe beating 43

7. Entering the left atrium 43

Stages of heart beat 44

A discourse on Knowing God 44

A Glance at the Created World 45

Three important points 46

Every Phenomenon has a cause 48

Another example 48

Law of Causation is a fundamental, absolute and universal law 48

No effect is without cause 49

World is also having a cause 49

Objection 50

Reply 50

Explanation of reasonings about Knowing God 50

Qualities of God 53

Attributes of perfection 54

Can we imagine God and His Attributes? 55

Can God be seen? 55

Some attributes of perfection 56

Important reminder 57

Negative Attributes 58

Oneness of God 62

Monotheism of the being 62

Oneness in attributes 63

Oneness in creation 64

Oneness in Lordship and will 66

Oneness in worship 68

Divine Justice 71

The first proof is Quran 71

The second is logical proof 72

Justice in Creation 72

Divine Justice and objections against it 75

Role of Justice in Prophethood 80

Effect of faith on morals and good behavior 85

Abstract 87

Notes 88

Preface

The youth of today looks at the world and then at himself through natural curiosity and inquisitiveness and gradually questions like: ‘From have I come?’, ‘Where am I at present?’ and ‘Where am I headed?’ crop up in his mind; queries that in fact bear the sign of continuous enthusiasm and perpetual clamor of his inner conscience.

Every kind of reply to these queries shapes the beliefs for him and also becomes the basis of all individual and social roles. If his reflective queries are replied with materialistic logic, his behavior will take different material shapes or he would develop invalid beliefs, but if it is on the basis of divine logic, all beings for him - from all people and the world - will be having an aim and meaning and the logic will be stretched to perfection of man.

That is why one should be watchful so that the natural and inevitable queries of youth about existence and its aims and after that his duties in this world are answered properly so that he is not deviated and that his natural and mental needs are fulfilled in the right manner.

Quran and traditions have through logical and sensible replies have made the views of man inclined to take the shape of logical beliefs, Muslim intellectuals have also with the help of these teachings put forth these firm and attractive argumentations and in this manner in the system of Islamic beliefs, basic questions of man, have been given firm and logical replies; but this great scholastic and philosophical heritage, in writings and speeches of people who reflect, is sometimes full of technical and complex terms in such a way that it is very difficult to be understood by laymen and especially the youth of today.

His Eminence,Ayatullah Amini ,[1] who has since many years, due to his insight of religious texts and sources and his continuous contacts with the youth and concern about their religious and training problems has written a number of books; including the six-volume Youth and beliefs, which is written in a lucid and organized logical manner; comprising of the following: Knowing God, Resurrection,Prophethood and the Prophet of Islam, Knowing Islam, Duties and Rights of Women, Imamate and the Holy Imams (`a). Without any doubt, the youth of today can easily derive the replies to all his questions from these books.

Introduction

The life of man can be divided into four periods: childhood, youth, middle age and old age. From these, youth is the most sensitive and valuable period, since the child does not reach physical and spiritual stage where he/she can be entrusted with responsibilities; and that is why the responsibility of his control and upbringing is entrusted to the parents. The old age is also the age of weakness, helplessness and needfulness. He should either depend on his savings from the period of his youth or in order to assure them he should depend on his children or assistance from charitable organizations. Although man in his middle age, has the strength to work and make effort and to fulfill the daily needs of his life and has foresight about the needs of his old age, but success in this matter depends on correct use of his youth. Therefore the most sensitive and valuable period of the life of man is his youth. Physical maturity, bodily strength and mental capacities of the youth reach to such a level that he can with foresight make effort to accept his present and future responsibilities and prepare himself for the future life and his role of a responsible member of society. The special qualities of the youth can be said to be as follows:

Physical fitness, bodily strength, constitution, movement, intelligence and strong memory, relaxation and rest, great courage, high hopes, capability of creation and initiative, truthfulness and well-wishing, inner purity and cleanness. Although all youth are not same in having these values, on the contrary there is difference among them, but all of them have these blessings mostly during their youth. The merciful God has blessed youth with all this so that with great courage, foresight and struggle and effort he may obtain success and fortune for himself; but if he is shortcoming in this important thing and wastes his valuable life in carelessness andvaluelessness , he would regret it later, when regret would not be of any use.

Amirul Momineen (`a) said:

There are two things whose value is not known to man, except after he loses them; youth and health.[2]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said:

On Judgment Day, man would not take any step till he is not asked: How did you spend your life and how did you use up your youth?[3]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said to AbuZar :

Value five things before five others: youth before old age, health before sickness, wealth before poverty, relaxation before being occupied and life before death.[4]

Youths should know the value of youth and they should gain as much as they can from it. And if not they would fall into serious and irredeemable dangers; at that time regret would be of no use. Youths in this particular time have three main responsibilities, which we shall mention in brief below:

First duty: Perfect care about physical fitness and health of the body and physical and spiritual faculties. Health is among the greatest divine bounties and valuable treasure trove of life. Loss of health is the greatest loss; it destroys comfort and pleasure of man and it prevents him from struggle and vigor in achieving great aims.

ImamJa’far Sadiq (`a) said:

There are five things from which if one loses even one, his whole life would become defective, he would lose his sense and would always be anxious; the first of them is physical health.[5]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said:

There are two bounties, whose value is not known to man: security and welfare,[6]

Amirul Momineen (`a) said:

Poverty is a calamity and the worst poverty is physical illness, and the worst physical illness is the disease of conscience.[7]

The youth are specially advised: That they should try to observe hygiene and in nutrition they should be more concerned with fulfillment of the needs of the body; they must refrain from eating to satiation. They must also keep away from narcotic substances. They should sleep only as much as is needed. They must never give up exercises and walking. They must also avoid lust and sensual deviations as it leads to damage of your body, nerves and your soul.

Second duty: Determination and planning for the future. Every man should adopt an occupation so that through it he may be able to fulfill the needs of his life and that he may live a respectable and successful life and that he may also serve others. He should prepare the causes and prefaces of his future occupation in his youth. The youth can select one of these two paths to enter the society: Either they can choose an independent occupation, which are of numerous kinds. Although some of them are more or less need practice and skills, but they do not require university education, which requires spending the best days of the life or incurring high expenses. The second option is to get admission in the university and study for degrees in the chosen field. After that one should choose a profession, whether it be management, skill based or scientific; although in case he has chosen an appropriate line of work. How nice it would be if in the beginning of their lives all youths choose one of the above paths after keeping in view their physical capabilities, intelligence and memory, family possibilities and their own future after considering the options and through counseling and foresight.

Third duty: Research and study in religious beliefs. The youth who during his childhood has lived in a religious atmosphere at home would naturally be well versed in religious beliefs and habitual in performing religious rituals. Or if he has learnt those things in the religious school for children, after maturity he will recall his past training, which would make him inclined to religion. Now in his youth, he will either look at them with a fresh perspective or avoid them completely. At that time he would be faced with questions like the following: Where have I come from and who has created me? What was the aim of my creation? Do I have some duties towards my creator, or I am free to do what I like? And if some duties are imposed on me, what are those? From whom should I learn about my duties? What are its conditions and qualities? Where am I headed and what would my destiny be after death? Would I be answerable for the way I lived in the world? If there exist success and misfortune and reward and punishment in the world after death, what is the path to gain success and avoid misfortune? Such questions and tens like it come upon the clear and illuminated mind of the youth and emphatically demand replies.

Providing correct and satisfactory replies of these questions to the youth is very important and instrumental in shaping his future, because it is through these very replies that the program of life of the youth and after it can be organized and be followed with certainty and he can tread the path of success in life and hereafter and also continue to have peace of mind. But if he fails to obtain the correct replies to these questions, he would fall into very grave and irredeemable dangers and he would regret in the last moments of his life or after death; when regret would be of no use at all.

Therefore, it is most important for the youth to research and study about religious beliefs and to get correct and satisfactory replies; especially in this age when religious beliefs and even their laws are ridiculed at by the enemies of Islam through modern communication techniques and profusion of doubts and objections from every side.

Youth need serious guidance and reliable sources for this research and study and the most important of them are books. Since a long time, fortunate Muslim intellectuals have written numerous good and detailed books on different topics of Knowing God, general and specialprophethood , resurrection, laws of philosophy, laws of Imamate, but most of them are difficult for youth, since most of them are in Arabic and others are laces with philosophical and scholastic terms, and are so lengthy that the youth cannot muster enough time to peruse them. Some of them contain such dubious matters that they tend to make them fall into more doubts. To solve this problem, I have written a series of books of medium level on religious beliefs in accordance with the understanding of youth and time available to them. Books on various topics are prepared in this series: The volumes are Knowing God, Resurrection in Quran,Prophethood and the Prophet of Islam (general and specialprophethood ), Understanding Islam, Understanding the duties and rights of women and Imamate and the Imams.

In compiling the above titles, the following points were kept in view:

Simple language, brevity and clear reasoning - we have refrained from using difficult philosophical and scholastic arguments. We have also refrained from discussing weak and baseless points. Doubtful and debatable matters are avoided. We have depended mostly on verses of Quran and traditions and tried not to mention unimportant matters.

We hope these books would be really beneficial and effective in strengthening religious beliefs of our dear youth.

IbrahimAmini

10/7/1384

Materialistic and Religious World View; Effects and Consequences

Who am I? Where have I come from? Have I come on my own and would I go away automatically? Or it is someone else who has brought me and he would also take me away? What is my future and where am I headed?...Would death be the end of my life? Or there is life after death as well?...Has this great universe come into being automatically and by accident or it is having a creator? And so on.

Such types of questions arise for every sensible man, especially during the period of youth and he tries to obtain their correct replies and satisfy his curiosity.

Believers and disbelievers have replies to the above question that we present here:

World in the view of believers

The believer considers the world to be a continuous, arranged and compatible collection, which has not come into being on its own; on the contrary it is created by the wise and powerful creator and it is Him that manages it. The world with a series of precise laws and stable system has its source in the wisdom and intention of the Almighty Allah, who controls and guards it. And if the favors and blessings of the Almighty Allah had not been there it would not have survived for even a single moment. A believer has faith that the world is an organized and aimed system which has come into existence through the wise command of the Almighty Allah and everything is good in itself and this precise and harmonious system is moving to a higher aim.

In view of a believer man, existing things of the world are needful of a creator for their creation and survival. If the grace of the Almighty Allah had not been there, they would not have come into existence and if His favor had not been there they would not have endured. Due to this, the believer considers every existing thing to be a sign of the grace and mercy of the Lord of the worlds.

End of life

A believer does not regard death as annihilation and end of life; on the contrary he considers death to be a transfer to the everlasting abode of the hereafter and the beginning of a new everlasting life. The man of faith believes that life in this world is not without aim; on the contrary it is the period of coming and nurturing of the soul and a time for obtaining provisions for the hereafter. The believer is of the view that the righteous and the wicked are not same and both would definitely see the fruits of their deeds: the Almighty Allah would reward the good deeds of righteous and they would occupy the everlasting abode with perennial happiness in the hereafter. On the other hand, the wicked would also receive the punishment of their vile deeds and have a very difficult life in that world.

The believer considers success of his future as the fruits of his deeds, character, words and good morals and is always trying to prepare the means of his success in the hereafter and makes efforts to keep away from evil and wickedness.

Creator of the Universe

The believer man has faith in the being of the Almighty Allah and considers Him as the creator, owner and controller of all the worlds and creatures. In belief of the faithful, the greatest being, who is known as ‘Allah’ has created this world and it is Him that administers it and that He is wise, powerful, merciful and eternal. According to the man of belief, Allah is the source of all goodness and perfections. And that He is absolutely Self-sufficient while the universe and His creatures are always in need of Him. It is Him that protects the universe and creatures and maintains them. It is Him that safeguards the earth and the skies and even if He cuts off His mercy from them for a moment, all of them would be annihilated. He is with everything and everyone and is present everywhere and nothing and no one is equal or like Him.

Prophets

In the view of the believer, prophets are human beings who are absolutely pure and perfect in every aspect and who are chosen to guide mankind to the path of perfection. It is so because the Wise Lord has not abandoned human beings in a condition of perplexity and ignorance. On the contrary, He sent His infallible prophets to them and entrusted them with the program for individual, social, political, material, spiritual and worldly, other-worldly life so that they may guide the human beings and convey to them the life-giving and praiseworthy program.

Where have I come from, where am I at present, and where am I going?

The all-knowing and all-powerful Lord by His grace and kindness has created me in the most beautiful creation (Where have I come from?).

I am in a passing and a changing world, which the wise Lord has created and manages it too. I live in this world so that with the guidance of divine prophets and their successors I may nurture myself and my human morals and perfections and that I should be prepared for the success of an everlasting life and unlimited bounties of the hereafter (Where am I at present?).

I am heading on the path to the world of permanence and perpetuity in the hereafter and there I would be recompensed for my deeds. Death is not the end of life, on the contrary it is transfer from the life of the world and the beginning of another new life (Where am I going?).

World in the view of non-believers

Who am I? What duties are imposed on me? What is my origin and who has brought me into existence? Where am I at present and what was the aim of my arrival? Where am I going and what would happen at the end of my life?

As we stated earlier, such questions confront every person and every sensible person through mental effort and his curiosity wants to obtain the correct replies and to satisfy his conscience. Indeed, these questions also confront the non-believers. But they do not contemplate upon them in the proper way; they do not employ their reason and thinking in the right way regarding these basic matters. Attachment to worldly matters and selfish desires cast a veil on their insight and reason; too much of pleasure seeking keeps them occupied and makes them oblivious of the truth. They avoid contemplating on this important matter and even when they have the opportunity and hear the call of their conscience, they change their mind and even deceive themselves and assure themselves through conjectures. The disbeliever does not have any reply with certainty; on the contrary he only depends on his personal views as follows:

Who am I?

I am an animal who named as ‘man’ and I am like other beasts. I eat and drink and roam about here and there to fulfill my innate desires and needs. I am free from every restriction to satisfy my desires; and as opposed to higher beings, I don’t have any responsibility and duty.

Where have I come from?

In reply to this question, the disbeliever says on the basis of his defective notion, that: I am a material being. No one has created me. I have not been created by a conscious creator. I have come into being through coincidence. It is not that a wise and a powerful creator has created me and my creation is aimless and without any purpose.

Where am I?

In a world, which is purely material, aimless and unaware and before existing things, animals and human beings who themselves are created unaware and since I am myself aimless and confused, no awareness and aim is needed either in my creation or in the creation of the world.

Where am I going?

To illness, old age, pain, weakness and finally to annihilation and nothingness.

Life in the view of the disbeliever is as follows:

It began with nothing, it grows with unawareness and goes higher and higher till it leaves behind childhood, during the youth his structure is at its peak and the youth lives in the highest fort of life. However, it is a pity that this form and strength is soon a thing of past and after a short time, man falls into decadence, pain and then falls to the lowest level. Diseases and difficulties surround him, the power of youth gradually goes on decreasing and physical faculties reach their end. Eyes, ears and limbs become weak and day by day become useless. The period of the fulfillment of base desires comes to an end and the period of weakness and old age begins. Children and friends become unkind and disloyal and leave him alone in his problems…and finally he moves towards nothingness and is buried under dust…

The end of life in the view of the disbeliever is useless, terrible and painful like this. And what a dark end it is! The disbeliever believes that his end is decadence into a horrible nothingness. That is why during his lifetime, he avoids the thought of death and when he is confronted by questions, especially regarding life hereafter and death, he just gives false assurance to himself.

He tries to pacify his mind and conscience through vain pastimes and sensuality; even though they may comfort his nerves only for a short while. However can this stop the inquisitive conscience of man and his curious intellect from asking those questions?

Imagination of uselessness and annihilation and nothingness for the disbeliever is very bitter and painful. These thoughts are like poisonous snakes in his inner being, who continue to sting him and secrete poison and he continues to live in that pain and chastisement. How nice it had been if he had used the faculty of reason and had obtained the right and satisfactory replies.