Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Sixth Lecture: Determinism and Free Will

One issue related to God’s justice is the topic of determinism and free will.

The proponents of the philosophy of determinism contended that man is not free in his deeds, behavior and speech and that even the movement of his limbs and organs is performed as obligatorily as the movement of parts of a car.

This raises the question: How is this opinion compatible with the issue of God’s justice? For this very reason, the Muslim group called the Ash'arites to whom we referred previously, and who deny the concept of logical good and evil, have accepted determinism and have denied justice. By accepting determinism, one no longer has to accept the issue of justice.

To clarify this issue, we should first discuss some other topics.

The Origin of the Belief in Determinism

Every body feels deep inside himself that he has freedom of choice. For instance, he can decide to help his friends financially or not; he can drink water when he is thirsty or decide not to do so. He is free to forgive or take revenge on anybody who has wronged him.

Every one can distinguish between the shaking of the hands of a sick or old person and someone shaking their hands of their own free will. So how is it that some people accept the philosophy of determinism when everyone intuitively feels that man is free in his nature?

There are several reasons for this orientation, one of which is presented here: When one sees that the environment influences everybody, that training affects everyone, that culture and indoctrination influence man’s soul and mind, that economic factors sometimes elicit reactions in people and that the influence of heredity is inevitable, one naturally jumps to the conclusion that man cannot act freely,

and that all internal and external factors influence his decisions and that these behaviors would not have been manifested had these factors not existed before hand. These states of affairs are referred to as environmental determinism, hereditary determinism and the philosophy of determinism in general.

The Basic Error of the Proponents of Determinism

These people, however, have neglected one fundamental point: it is not the issue of “stimuli” and “minor causes;” rather, it is the issue of the ultimate cause. In other words, nobody could deny the role of the environment, culture or economic factors on human thinking and activity. The point is, despite the influence of all these stimuli, it is we who arrive at decisions in the final analysis.

This is because in an oppressive social environment, such as a tyranny, in which everybody could engage in corruption, one does not have to become corrupt. In that type of social situation, one could decide to avoid receiving bribes or not to frequent centers of corruption and decide to remain intact, healthy and whole.

Thus, environmental circumstances should be distinguished from the ultimate cause.

We have instance of individuals raised in a corrupt family environment or culture, or who have inherited something inappropriate, but who have followed the right path and have even risen up against the corrupt environment. If everybody had to be the immediate product of his own time and environment then no fundamental revolution could have been created or produced. Under such conditions, everybody would have had to adapt himself to the status quo and no one could have hoped for any improvement in the social order.

All this indicates the fact that none of the afore-mentioned factors are vital to our destiny. Rather, each one only sets the background for our activity. The main decision is arrived at by one’s own determination.

This resembles the situation when we decide to fast on a hot summer’s day. Every part of our body craves for a drop of water. However, we ignore such a desire in order to obey God’s commands. Under similar conditions, another person could yield to his wants and consequently break his fast.

We shall conclude, therefore, that beyond all stimuli, there lies a vital factor called man’s power to make decisions.

The Politico-Social Factors Involved in the Philosophy of Determinism

The issues of free will and determinism have always been misused during man’s history. There have been a few peripheral factors that have given rise to supporting the issue of determinism and denying free will: Among them are the following:

Political Factors

To carry on with their illegitimate governments and in order to suppress the fires of revolution arising among the oppressed classes of society, most tyrants and despotic statesmen have spread the illusory thought that we are not free to decide on our own and that the hand of destiny and the determinism of history write our fate. They erroneously conclude then, that it is one’s destiny that makes a prince or a beggar.

It is obvious that such a philosophy could easily stupefy the masses and set the stage for the continuation of colonial policies. In accordance with wisdom and the Shariah however, our destiny lies in our own hands and fate, in its deterministic sense does not exist. Divines decrees depend to a large degree on our will, faith, and endeavor.

Psychological Factors

There are some losers who are unwilling to accept the fact that the real cause for their failure has been their laziness and lethargy. In order to justify their laziness, they resort to the philosophy of determinism which they blame for their laziness. In this way, they arrive at a pseudo-peaceful state of mind. They claim that they have been wretched from the very start and that nothing could alter their destiny. They pretend that they are extremely intelligent and talented but fate has not been kind to them, however.

Social Factors

Some people prefer to be free to engage in libertinism and pleasure-seeking activities. They somehow convince themselves that they are innocent and they usually deceive the society into believing that they really are innocent.

For this purpose, they resort to the philosophy of determinism in order to justify their own sensual and whimsical behavior.

However, we are well aware of the fact that all of these are lies. Even those who present these baseless excuses know that they are not telling the truth. But they are hindered from expressing the truth by their whimsical and transient desires.

Thus, in order to purify our society, we should combat the very notion of determinism, which has been a tool in the hands of colonialists in order to carry out their plans and in the hands of losers in order to justify their failures.

THINK AND ANSWER

What is the difference between the schools of determinism and free will?

What sorts of proofs do the proponents of determinism rely on?

How would you explain the effects of environment, culture, and heredity?

What political, mental, and social factors lie behind the school of determinism?

What should our position be vis-à-vis such factors?

Seventh Lecture: The Clearest Proof for free will Man’s Conscience Categorically Rejects Determinism

Despite the fact that philosophers and religious scholars have advanced arguments and proofs of various kinds concerning man’s free will, we shall resort to the shortest and easiest argument in this regard, which is man’s conscience.

It is worth mentioning that everybody, theist and atheist alike the easterner and the westerner, the ancient and the modern, the affluent and the poor, the developed and the underdeveloped, all believe that law should govern and dominate human societies and that individuals should be responsible to carry out their duties and tasks at hand and that whoever violates law and order should be punished in some way.

In summary, the jurisdiction of law, the individual’s responsibility towards it, and the chastisement of law-breakers and wrong-dowers are those issues that all the wise men of the world would agree upon. It is only the savage who does not agree with these issues.

This issue, which is referred to as the general conscience, is the clearest reason to prove the existence of man’s free will.

How could man lack freedom of action and will and then be assumed responsible for the consequences of his deeds? Or how could man be considered obliged to obey the law, and be tried in lawful courts? Or how could he ever be proven guilty and then sent to jail or even be executed?

Man in this case would resemble the stones in an avalanche which cause the death of travelers on the road below.

It is evident that there are differences between a stone and a man. But if we deprived man of his free will, these differences vanish. Then both effects, being killed by a man or by falling stones, would be the same. The criminal’s urge to kill, would be considered outside his control, just like gravity lies outside the control of the falling stone. According to the proponents of determinism, there is no difference between these two sets of events, for both events have occurred outside the doer’s free will or control.

Now, we are faced with a choice: We either have to reject the common conscience of all members of the society and consider the act of punishing the wrongdoers and criminals as absurd and worthless or reject the proponents of determinism altogether. In this case, we will definitely select the second choice.

It is worthwhile to observe the fact that those who believe in deterministic ideology adhere to the theory of free will in practice when they naturally come face to face with the realities of life.

These kinds of people, when deprived of their rights or when bothered by wrongdoers, seek justice and ask for the punishment of wrongdoers.

Now, if man is not free in his actions, then why should he bother to complain, or seek justice?

Thus, this general conscience of the intelligent people of the world is a clear reason for the existence of free will in man and for the fact that man voluntarily accepts free will and has always been loyal to it. He cannot carry on with his daily life without it even for one day.

The great Islamic philosopher, Kwajah Nasir al-Din tusi, in his discussion on free will versus determinism states succinctly:

“The perception of the essentials and our conscience lead us to believe that all of our deeds are dependent on us.”[1]

The Religious Opposition to Determinism

What we have stated so far has been based on opposition to the school of determinism from the angle of the conscience of the world’s intelligent people, both theist and atheist. But from the religious point of view, we have another convincing reason against determinism.

There is a clear conflict between religion and determinism. If religious programs were based on determinism, every thing would be distorted.

This is because of the following reason:

We could never reconcile God’s justice, on which we have already had a lengthy discussion, with determinism. How could God force a person to carry out something and then punish him for it? This is in conflict with logic itself.

Thus, with a belief in determinism, the issues of spiritual reward, chastisement, Paradise and Hell are no longer valid.

Also the belief in the record of one’s own acts, the concept of the Day of Judgment, divine inquiry into one’s deeds, the idea of chastisement for wrong-doers and the topic of showing favor to well-wishers so vividly brought up in the sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an would all be unnecessary. This is because in accordance with such a view, neither a wrongdoer nor a well-wisher would have been free to do what he did.

Furthermore, in our first contact with religion we referred to the topic of “duty and responsibility.” But how is “duty and responsibility” related to a man who is not free in his actions?

Could you ever tell a man to stop his trembling hand when his hand naturally shakes due to his illness? Or could we ask a man to stop suddenly when he is running on a steep plain?

For this very reason, Imam `Ali (s), in a famous narration, says. The school of determinism belongs to the idol worshippers and the proponents of Shaitan:

“This is the statement of the idol worshippers, of God’s enemies and of Shaitan’s party.”[2]

THINK AND ANSWER

What is the clearest reason against determinism?

Describe the general conscience of people concerning the concept of free will.

Do the proponents of determinism have the same idea when confronted with the facts of life?

Is determinism compatible with God’s justice? If not, why?

How is freedom of will the basis for any kind of responsibility and duty?

Eighth Lecture: What is the Intermediate School?

Delegation vis-à-vis Determinism

In the spectrum of determinism / free-will, there is a place for those who believe in delegation.

The proponents of this latter school contended that God has entrusted us with everything since our creation and He is absolutely not responsible for our actions; therefore, we are completely free to do anything we desire. Nobody can interfere with our work.

No doubt, this way of thinking is incompatible with the principle of Monotheism, which has taught us that everything belongs to God and nothing lies beyond His domain. Even our deeds, while we enjoy free will, are not outside His sovereignty, or else it would be blasphemy.

In other words: we must not believe in two Gods: one the Almighty God, the major God Who has created the universe, the other one the minor God, i.e., man, who is absolutely independent in his actions and autonomous in his deeds, so independent and autonomous that even Almighty God could not interfere in them.

This is blasphemy; it is worshipping two Gods. The crucial point for us is to recognize man to be a free entity that enjoys freedom of will and to acknowledge God as the real dominant entity who dominates all our actions.

The Intermediate School

The important issue here is these two positions do not in contradict each other. The crucial point is for us to believe in both God’s justice and in man’s freedom and responsibility on the one hand and in monotheism and God’s sovereignty and dominance over the whole universe, on the other. This is what we mean by the intermediate school (A school which lies between two extreme ideologies).

Now, due to the complicated nature of the issue, let us illustrate it with a clear example:

Suppose you are a train operator and a strong cable of electricity lies along the rails from which the locomotive receives its energy to move. Any time there is a lack of electricity this would force the train to stop.

No doubt, you are free to move around during the entire time of your journey. You are even free to stop the train, to add to, or to decrease the speed of the train. However, despite all this freedom of action, the man who is responsible for the electricity could stop you at any moment since the key to power lies in his hands.

When we observe the situation in the above example, we will see that while this man has freedom of action, he is under the domination of another power and these two situations are not contradictory.

Another Example

Suppose the nerves of someone’s hand have become paralyzed due to a certain disease or a disaster and he cannot move his hand. Also imagine that such a person could move his hand if he received electricity from some source.

If such a person, under such conditions, commits a crime, slaps somebody’s face or stabs an innocent person, he would be considered guilty by law since he was physically capable of the atrocity and was free to do so; capable and free man, according to law is responsible for his own acts.

However, the man who provides him with power to move dominates him despite the fact that he is free.

Now, let us return to our main topic: The Almighty God has provided us with strength, power, wisdom and intelligence. We receive these endowments every minute, and if we are disconnected from God, even for the slightest instance, we will be destroyed.

We owe our strength to Him, even our freedom of will stems from Him; this means that He has desired for us to be free and to stay on the road of perfection and progress.

Thus, we are constantly under God’s domination despite the fact that we are free to act and this domination is continual. We are nothing without His domination and this is the true meaning of an intermediate path: through the adoption of this option, we have neither posited any associate for God nor do we consider God’s servants as being forced to carry out their routine tasks, the result of which would be injustice.

We have learned this lesson from the Infallible Ones(s): Whenever they were asked if there was any road between determinism and delegation, they used to answer, yes, but this road is wider than the distance between the earth and the sky.

Determinism and Free Will in the Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an explains this issue explicitly. It proves that man enjoys the principle of free will. There are hundreds of sacred verses in the Holy Qur’an which vividly prove this topic.

All the verses which deal with commands and prohibitions assume man’s free will. This is because if man were not free, the above three issues would be irrelevant.

All those verses which blame the evil doers and praise the well-wishers are related to man’s freedom to act or else blame and praise would be irrelevant.

All those verses which deal with the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection on the one hand, and reward and chastisement on the other, are related to man’s freedom of action. This is because if such freedom did not exist, the issues of chastisement and reward would be irrelevant, and the trial of the evildoers would be pure injustice.

All those verses which stress the fact that men are responsible for what they do, such as the following:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ

Every soul is held in pledge for what it earns. [Qur’an 74:38]

كُلُّ امْرِئٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ

Every man is responsible for what he shall have wrought. [Qur’an 52:21]

And the like, vividly prove man’s free will

Verses of the Holy Qur’an such as the following are also clear reasons for man’s free will:

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِراً وَإِمَّا كَفُوراً

Surely, we have shown him the way: He may be thankful or unthankful. [Qur’an 76:3]

There are, however, some explanations on some verses of the Holy Qur’an which support the question of “the intermediate affair,” which have been interpreted by ignorant individuals as an argument for the belief in determinism. One such verse is the following:

وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلاَّ أَن يَشَاء اللهُ

And you do not please except that Allah pleases; surely Allah is All-knowing, Wise. [Qur’an 76:30]

It is evident that this verse and others like it do not want to deprive man of his free will; rather, they show that while man is free in his will, he is under God’s domination at the same time.

THINK AND ANSWER

What is meant by “delegated”? What kind of shortcomings does it imply?

Describe through examples learned from the Infallible Ones(s) the view of the intermediate school.

What do the sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an have to say concerning the issue determinism and free will?

If we accepted the issue of determinism, what would happen to the topics of resurrection, Paradise, Hell and the questions asked on the Day of Judgment?

Are verses such as:

وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلاَّ أَن يَشَاء الله

Taken to be proof for the validity of the issue of determinism?

Ninth Lecture: Guidance and Misguidance are in the Hands of God

1. Kinds of Guidance and Misguidance

Suppose a tourist stopped you to ask you for directions. There are two options available to you to show him the way:

The first option for you is to accompany him to his destination, and then to turn back saying good-bye to him.

The second option for you is to show him the way with gestures and body language.

You have definitely shown him the right way, but there are differences between the two methods. The second method is only “showing the direction” but the first method can be entitled “accompanying one to his destination.” Guidance is described in both ways in the Holy Qur’an and in the Islamic traditions.

The word “guidance” has been used in the Holy Qur’an with two distinct meanings: sometimes it is “legislative,” i.e., “by way of laws and regulations,” and at other times it is “creative,” (genesis), i.e. through the system of creation, such as the guidance of the sperm towards becoming a whole human being.

In many verses, we read that both guidance and misguidance (going astray) are in God’s hands. No doubt, God shows us the right path because it is He Who has sent both the prophets and the heavenly books, to guide mankind.

However, forcibly accompanying someone to his destination against his will is in fact incompatible with the notion of free will. But since it is God Who provides us with all means for the attainment of our objectives, this sense of guidance, too, comes from God.

A crucial and important question

Now we are faced with a problem. In some of the verses of the Holy Qur’an we read:

فَيُضِلُّ اللهُ مَن يَشَاء وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

Then Allah makes whom He pleases err and He guides whom He pleases, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. [Qur’an 14:4]

Reading verses like this one in isolation and ignoring other verses which interpret such a verse makes some individuals jump to the conclusion that God leads those whom He wants and ignores others, and that there is no option left for mankind.

The important point to consider is that we should read the Qur’anic verses in conjunction with each other so that we can arrive at a better grasp of their meaning. Here we will present you with some more verses dealing with the topics of guidance and misguidance (going astray) so that you may read them together and arrive at a better understanding of these verses. At one place we read:

وَيُضِلُّ اللهُ الظَّالِمِينَ

And Allah causes the unjust to go astray. [Qur’an 14:27]

Elsewhere we read:

كَذَلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ مُّرْتَابٌ

Thus does Allah cause him to err who is extravagant, a doubter. [Qur’an 40: 34]

And still at some other place, we read:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

And as for those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways. [Qur’an 29:69]

As you see, God’s Determination and Benevolence are well-founded. He will neither guide nor misguide people without the proper considerations.

God has promised to endow with guidance those who take part in holy struggle for Him, those who struggle against their enemies and those who endeavor against their inner selves.

But those who undermine the foundations of justice, those who are involved in extravagance, those who implant temptation in the hearts of others, they will be denied God’s guidance. In this way, their hearts shall become dark and they lose the chance to prosper. This is what we mean by” God letting people go astray” and this is justice.

God’s Eternal Knowledge an Excuse for Justifying Crime:

The last point related to the issue of the determinism/free will controversy is the excuse that some proponents of determinism use to justify the sins they commit. The structure of the argument is as follows: Did God know that a certain person would commit a crime or would drink wine? If one answers negatively, they would have denied God’s knowledge. If one answers positively, then this would be taken to mean that that person should have done that crime or else God’s knowledge would have been negated.

Therefore, in order to maintain God’s knowledge, sinners have to commit their sins.

But those who are involved in rationalizations of this sort in order to hide their criminal tendencies are in fact ignoring one important point and that point is the following: We said from the beginning that God is aware of the fact that we are free either to obey or to disobey Him. This means that God’s knowledge includes his knowledge of our freedom of action. Therefore, if we were forced by our fate to carry out some pernicious act then this would mean that God’s knowledge is changed into Ignorance.

Let us now provide you with some concrete and tangible examples: Suppose a high school teacher knew from the outset that a lazy student would fail the final exams. And suppose that this teacher was certain in his knowledge.

Now if the student failed the exam, could he blame his own failure on the teacher’s knowledge that he would fail?

Let us give you another example: Suppose an innocent person became aware of the time of the occurrence of a crime and found it advisable to interfere. Does this innocent person’s knowledge exonerate the murderer of his crime?

Suppose, as well, that an annotative apparatus was in use which could anticipate the timing of a crime prior to its occurrence by a certain person. Do these mechanical means force the criminal to commit the crime?

In sum, God’s knowledge would never force anybody to carry out a wrong action.

THINK AND ANSWER

How many kinds of guidance are there? Describe them.

Give some of the Qur’anic verses which deal with guidance or misguidance.

How would you define God’s guidance or misguidance?

What is meant by God’s eternal knowledge?

Does this eternal knowledge exonerate us from doing our tasks? Give an example.

Tenth Lecture: God’s Justice and Eternal Chastisement (khuld)

We know that the Holy Qur’an explicitly speaks about a special kind of permanent and eternal chastisement called khulud relating to a specific group of infidels and sinners. In one Surah we read:

وَعَدَ الله الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا

Allah has promised the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women and the unbelievers the fire of hell to abide therein. [Qur’an 9:68]

The question is raised here as to why a person should undergo the chastisement of millions of years when he has lived on earth only eighty years or one hundred years at most.

The Answer: In order to settle this important question, we have to take the following points into consideration:

The punishments and chastisements of the afterlife are in no way similar to those that a person receives in this world, for instance, confinement in prison. Rather, the punishments of the afterlife are the direct consequence of one’s deeds in this world.

In other words, the pain and suffering sinners go through in the other world are the consequences of their actions and deeds in this world.

Regarding this latter point, the Holy Qur’an states very clearly:

فَالْيَوْمَ لَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئاً وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

So this day no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and you shall not be rewarded aught but that which you did. [Qur’an 36:54]

Through a simple example, we may visualize this fact

Suppose a person resorted to narcotics or alcoholic beverages and suppose he was repeatedly warned against the destructive effects of these items on his stomach, heart, and nervous system. However, imagine he ignored these warnings and continued with his destructive deeds. He would enjoy the temporary satisfaction that these items provided him.

However, later on he would be inflicted with ulcers, heart disease and possibly a nervous breakdown. Then, he would have to suffer day and night for the rest of his life. Could we now conclude that this individual should not suffer all his life because he enjoyed the narcotics and wine only for a relatively short period of time?

We would immediately reply that he is facing the consequences of his own deeds. Even if he lived as long as Noah, we would still react with the same remark. We would say he is receiving the consequences of his actions.

The punishments of the day of Resurrection are of this kind. Therefore, it is not related to the issue of justice.

It is an error to imagine that the duration of punishment should be the same as the duration of time spent in self-destructive acts. This is because the relation of a sinful act to the punishment is not based on time; rather, it is based on the consequences of the sin committed.

For instance, it might take a murderer only a minute to kill a person, but, in accordance with the criminal laws of some communities, he might be punished with execution. The duration of the sin was very short but the consequence is very heavy and nobody would consider this punishment as an act of injustice. It is because under such circumstances it is not the matter of minutes, hours, months or years; rather, it is the quality of the sin and its consequences that count.

Perpetuality or “khulud” in Hell and eternal chastisement belong to those who have closed all the windows of salvation on themselves and have knowingly became involved in corruption, unbelief and hypocrisy. Regarding this, the Holy Qur’an has an elegant statement:

بَلَى مَن كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Verily, whoever earns evil and his sins beset him on every side, these are the inmates of the fire; in it they shall abide. [Qur’an 2:81]

Such people have disconnected themselves from God and have closed on themselves all the windows of salvation.

Such individuals resemble a bird which has knowingly broken all its wings and has to stay on the earth and has been deprived of its flight into the skies.

A cursory look at the above three points will vividly show that the application of eternal punishment for the special group of hypocrites and infidels is not against the principles of justice. What they receive as punishment is nothing more than the consequences of their previous deeds, of which they had already been warned by the prophets.

These kinds of people would not have received such harsh punishments if they had been ignorant of the prophets’ instructions and guidance.

It is also worth mentioning that based on the Qur’anic verses and Islamic traditions; God’s Benevolence is so wide that it embraces a great majority of sinners through one of the following means:

Through intercession [Shafa’at];

Through pardoning;

Through the performance of minor good deeds for which God provides them with large rewards;

And finally, a group of sinners who have be come purified after their confinement in Hell and are ready to receive God’s mercy.

There is only one group of sinners left in perpetual punishment due to their obstinacy and their insistence on continuing in their enmity with righteousness and because of their indulgence in injustice, corruption and hypocrisy.

THINK AND ANSWER

How is it that some people have considered “khulud” or perpetual chastisement as not harmonious with God’s justice?

Are the chastisements of the other world similar to those of this world? If not, how are they?

Does justice imply that the timing of a sin should be equal to the period of punishment?

What kind of people receive perpetual chastisement?

Who will receive God’s pardon?

Notes

[1] Tajrid al-`Aqa’id, The issue of Determinism and Free Will.

[2] Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 119, The Issue of Determinism.

Ten Lectures on Prophethood

First Lecture: Our Need for Divine Leaders

The Limitations of our knowledge

Some people might raise this question: Are prophets needed to lead men?

Isn’t our wisdom sufficient enough to grasp the realities? Hasn’t the advancement of human knowledge and science assisted man in discovering the truth?

The structure of this argument continues something like this: Our wisdom either comprehends what the prophets have to offer to us, or is unable to understand it. If the first case were true, we would not need the prophets and if the second case is correct, we would not be able to tolerate anything that goes against our wisdom and intellect.

Besides, the argument goes on, is it right for us to be under the guidance of another and listen to him? Are the prophets not human beings like us?

Answers: In order for us to answer these questions and find out the effects of the prophets on mankind, let us consider the following points:

We should be aware that our knowledge is limited in scope and despite all the advances in human science, there are still immense amounts of secret and unknown facts which remain to be discovered. The ratio of our knowledge to the unknown is like the ratio of one drop of water to the ocean. In the words of some great scientists, all the science with which we are now familiar is just the alphabet of the great book of creation.

In other words: the sphere of our judgment or our rational capacities is extremely minute. We are largely unaware of what goes on around us.

However, it is the prophets who widen this scope for us to see well. Our wisdom is like a tiny projector, but the prophets and their relations act as a bright sun. Could anybody claim that he does not need the sun because he is in the possession of a small projector?

Now, let us explain more vividly: the problems of life can be divided into three groups: rational, irrational, and unknown.

The prophets never utter irrational statements; i.e. they never say anything contrary to wisdom. If they did so, they would not be entitled to occupy the high position of prophethood. Rather, they endeavored to bring obscurities to light and this is crucial for our lives.

In the past, some people, such as Brahmins [of India and elsewhere] claimed that they did not need the prophets because they possessed wisdom. Similarly today, some people claim that prophets are not needed since man has advanced significantly in the area of scientific knowledge. These people have recognized neither the scope of human science nor prophethood and the revelations of the prophets.

This looks like the claim of a first grader of an elementary school who claims that since he knows the alphabet he knows everything and does not need teachers. Is this statement well-founded?

Besides, prophets do not play only the role of the teacher. Their leadership is an issue to which we will refer later in our discussion.

No one would dare declare that others should surrender themselves to him. The point to make here is that the prophets, as we shall prove later, possess divine revelation, i.e. they are connected to God’s endless knowledge and we should grasp, through definitive reasoning, the nature of these relations. It is only through this approach that we can understand and adopt the teaching of these divine envoys.

Would I have done anything wrong if I had submitted to the prescription of an adroit and deft physician and acted on it?

The prophets are great spiritual physicians. Would I have done wrong if I had followed the lectures and advice of a teacher with whom I am in harmony? Prophets are man’s great teachers.

Now we have to delve into the issue of the necessity of prophethood and the appointment of prophets by God.

We need a Prophet’s guidance for three valid reasons. We shall refer to two of them here and postpone the third until we arrive at the next section.

We Need Prophets for Educational Reasons

Even if we could ride an illusory and imaginary mount made of light waves that could travel three hundred thousand kilometers in a second in boundless space we would see only a small and minute portion of the immense universe.

This universe with its immense expanse has not been created in vain, and as we have already seen in the lectures dealing with knowing God, the creation of this world did not provide any satisfaction for God as such. This is because God is a complete and non-finite Being Who does not suffer from any shortcomings, the compensation of which he should resort to the creation of man.

Thus, we shall come to the conclusion that He created this world to endow others with His Benevolence. Through His creation of this world, He desired for His creatures to progress towards perfection. God is like the sun which illuminates everything without needing others. We benefit from the sun’s rays without being able to do anything for it in return.

On the other hand, is our knowledge enough on its own to guide us toward prosperity and perfection in every respect?

How much of the world’s mysteries are we familiar with? What is the essence of life and existence? When was this world created? Nobody can tell. Until what time will it last? Nobody can tell either.

Every scientist has a hypothesis of his own concerning man’s social and economic life for instance.

Some would recommend capitalism, and others would recommend socialism or communism and still others would admire neither of these ideas and consider both of them pernicious.

Concerning other issues there are some disagreements among scholars and sometimes we just do not know which ideology we should adopt. If we judged judiciously, we would confess that we would need a series of right instructions and guidance in order for us to arrive at the main objective behind creation which is “man’s growth and progress in all areas.” And this could happen only through God’s knowledge, i.e. divine revelation through the prophets. Therefore, God Who has created us to go along this path should provide us with such knowledge.

The Need for Leadership in Social and Ethical Fields

We know that besides intelligence and wisdom there are other powerful stimuli within us, known as instincts and desires Examples are the instinct of self-preservation, the instinct of anger, the sexual instinct and the instinct of possession.

No doubt, if our instincts were not controlled and if they dominated us, our wisdom would become imprisoned and man would turn into a fierce wolf, more dangerous than the desert wolves themselves.

In order for us to gain an ethical education, we need instructors and models to be real examples for us to follow.

For this purpose, a completely educated person is required to help us on such a bumpy and rough path, to modify the flood of our instincts, to provide us with ethical principles and implant in our souls the traits of courage, moral heroism, altruism, compassion, generosity, loyalty, honesty, and chastity.

Except for an innocent and infallible Prophet, who else could be adopted as a guide and instructor?

That is why the Compassionate, Almighty God has not deprived us of such benevolent prophets.[1]

THINK AND ANSWER

Do you think that the more we know there are still many more unknown things? (Give some examples).

Could you explain the difference between blind imitation and following the prophets?

If we passed through an unfamiliar road without having someone to guide us, what sort of hazards might threaten us?

Explain the different dimensions of our need for prophets.

Can you guess other aspects of this issue that should be studied in the following sections?