The Divine Acts
In the former discussions we got to the conclusion that the limit of at-Tawhid in the Necessary Being and in Creation - covers also at-Tawhid in Genetic Lordship and Legislation, as well as in Divinity.
From the Qur'anic standpoint, a monotheist is the one who believes in these five stages of at-Tawhid, all of which are summarized in the good slogan of La ilaha illallah, [there is no god but Allah]. Every monotheist must generally have this belief. Yet, when it comes to analyzing and applying it in particular instances there appear some ambiguities in certain questions, not only for the laymen, but also for the scholars versed in theological and philosophical matters, who find them rather difficult to solve.
For example, when we say Allah has created everything, it is undoubted that every monotheist believes in it. But when we want to apply the idea to see: Whom did Allah create? What did He create? What is He going to create? Does He directly create everything by Himself, or does He create only the raw materials of the world and then these materials, through their own dynamism, bring about all the other phenomena, and, according to the law governing matter, everything comes to existence gradually, needing no help from Allah?
Creation and Management in the Islamic Tawhid
The scholars of the monotheist religions bear different opinions in this respect. We have to see what the opinion of the Qur'an about this subject is. We have formerly referred to an example about the management of the world, with the conclusion that the total Divine Acts can be summarized under the title of Creation and Management, since the latter is inseparable from the former.
Concerning the management a question is put forth: after the creation of this world, did Allah create together with it a particular order and a sort of management such that afterwards it continued functioning automatically in perfect order till the end? Is it like the watchmaker who arranges the parts of a watch in such a way that when it is filled up it goes on working without any further interference on the part of the watchmaker, all its wheels and springs work in a good order, needing no more help from the watchmaker? Is the world like this? Is it that Allah had put its parts in such a strict order that there will be no need for any readjustment and interference? Is Allah now sitting idly aside, while the world is running itself alone, or, on the contrary, the world is in needs, in every moment, of Allah's management, and Allah is present in every event that happens in the world as a manager, His Lordship covering all the phenomena along time and place?
Perhaps you have heard of the two European scholars, Rene' Descartes and Blaise Pascal, both monotheists, who had different opinions about Allah's Lordship over the world. Descartes used to minutely describe the mechanism of the universe in such a way that one would think that there was no need for Allah's influence.
Somewhere he wrote that the world just needed a sign from Allah to get a moving power to run its wheels forever. Allah was the original mover, which meant that the first power which caused the appearance of movement in the world was created by Him. This power remains forever and is enough to run all the phenomena of the world.
Pascal, who had a stronger intuitive and moral spirit, accused Descartes that he, according to his above theory, said that we would no longer need Allah, as His job was just to make a sign, and nothing more. Now, it is none of our business to discuss their arguments. We just wanted to point out that even the philosophers and those versed in intellectual and theological matters, such as these issues, used to discuss them. What every monotheist must believe in is a general belief that Allah is the Creator and the Lord of the world.
But regarding the details, even the great scholars cannot comprehend them, let alone the ordinary people. Naturally, the more one's knowledge (whether rational through the intellect, or through the heart by means of divine inspiration) the better one's understanding of at-Tawhid and more clear the details of monotheism to one's mind. We pray to Allah, the Exalted to make our intellect more perfect, and our knowledge of the Book and the Tradition (Sunnah) more explicit, as well as to give our hearts the luminosity of a better knowledge.
Allah's Connection with the World And Mankind
The Glorious Qur'an follows a special method in presenting Allah's connection to the world and mankind - a method which is, in itself, an example of the Divine Wisdom and His Genetic Lordship and Legislation in respect of the human beings. It informs us, at the same time, that as we cannot know well the Divine Essence, we also can neither know the truths of the Divine Attributes as they should be, nor the truths of the Divine Acts. Nevertheless, we shall try, through a special method, to explain man's knowledge of the Divine Acts and Allah's connection to man and the world. Perhaps our expression that we cannot even comprehend the truths of the Divine Acts appears to some a bit heavy. A brief explanation is necessary here, in order to throw light on the fact that we actually cannot very well understand the connection between Allah as Creator and the Divine activity and creativity. The concepts which we use in this instance, such as the concepts of creativity, causity, activity and the like, are concepts extracted from possible evidences. That is, we first found something in ourselves, or we knew the connection between two material things. We then derived from that which we found, or that connection which we knew, a concept, then we generalized that concept in order to cover Allah, too. When I say I did a certain task, I use the concept of "task" and doing it, and ascribe the same concept to Allah and say that Allah, too, did it. Or when they say that somebody managed to rule a given community, or directed a group, or looked after a machine - these are concepts which are obtained from special connections between man and nature, or between a person and other persons. Making, finishing, directing, managing and the like are concepts which result from man's connection with nature. For example, take the making of a machine, or the talking about man's connection with other men, or when reference is made to managing a society, we usually expand the concepts of these experiences, which we ourselves see or know, and omit from them certain limitations, so that we can say: Allah, too, made the world, meaning the same "making" which we use when talking about what a worker, a constructor or an architecture makes. We use the same word "management", which we use in respect of the manager of a community, to say that Allah is likewise managing or directing the world. But what we find in ourselves are certain connections which are characterised by deficiencies and limitations. So, when we want to ascribe them to Allah, those deficiencies and limitations, which do not befit Allah, the Glorified, are to be left out. When we want to do something, how do we do it? We do it by using our hands, body and with the help of our eyes, ears and other senses. But when we say that Allah does something, do we mean that Allah, like ourselves, - we seek Allah's refuge - has hands which he moves? Or, as we put a mechanical energy in a body to move it, does He, too, press His hands against the world to move it? Or as we kick a ball, does He also kick the earth with His foot - glorified He! - in order to give it its revolving movement? Of course, the case is not like this, as we do know that Allah has no physical body and no corporeal limbs to use for moving the sun and the other planets. Allah's Acts are not done by means of physical and corporeal limbs. Yet, there is a kind of connection here. If we do not kick the ball it will not move. Likewise, if Allah did not do something with the world it would not move, though we do not know how it was. This is also true of Allah's Attributes. When we say that Allah is Knowing, we have incomplete and limited evidences of His "knowledge". Yet, we say that "Knowledge" can have other than these limited evidences, such as what? We do not know. It can be "knowledge", but not that kind which is acquired by hearing or reading. Lacking this kind of knowledge does not give us the right to regard it impossible. When the rational proof tells us that Allah's is not an acquired knowledge we accept the concept of there being a non-acquired knowledge, but how? We do not know, and therefore we are used to describe His knowledge to be a "knowing, but not like ours". This is true of His Acts, too. Allah, the Cause of the Causes When we say Allah is the director and the manager of the world, we must add: but not like our managing and directing. When, in the terms of the rationalists, the philosophers and mutakallimun, we say: Allah is the cause of the world, or the cause of the causes, we must define it by adding: but not like when we ourselves are the cause. The characteristics seen in the connection between the natural cause and the effect of the world's phenomena are never seen between Allah and the world. It is a different kind of causation. How? We do not know. That is, our reason cannot understand it. It can only understand that Allah is the Cause of the Causes, i.e. had there been no Allah there would have been no world. This is what a cause means. It means the cause upon which everything depends, or that which causes existence to a thing, such that if the first had not been existent, the other would not have been existent, too. So, the first is the cause of the second. Likewise, when we say that Allah is the Cause we mean that if He had not existed, the world would not have existed, too. But we cannot know or understand how Allah's connection with the world is, since we cannot realize the truth of Divinity and Divine Act. We cannot understand how it is, except through visionary knowledge, as we had already said. Allah bestows on some of His worthy slaves the favour of having a visionary knowledge so that they can understand, according to their individual capacities, the truth of the Divine Acts, as we said in respect of the Essence and the Attributes. It may be that the ayah concerning the Prophet Ibrahim (A.S.) refers to this subject: It is in the Qur'an that Ibrahim (A.S.) asked Allah: "O Lord! Show me how do you give life to the dead?"
A superficial impression of this episode is that Ibrahim (A.S.) wanted to know how a dead can return to life, because witnessing a demonstration of bringing a dead to life can be more effective. The late 'Allamah Tabataba'i has a very delicate comment on this ayah. He says: "Ibrahim (A.S.) did not ask Allah to show him how a dead is brought to life. He asked Him to show him how He brings the dead to life. That is, he wanted to see Allah's way of bringing the dead to life." He wanted to see the connection between Allah and His creatures which brings the dead to life, i.e. what does Allah do that brings the dead to life? He wanted to see the Divine manner of bringing the dead to life, not the manner of coming to life. In other words, he wanted to see the evidence of Allah's Act - an Act which all of us wish to see - what does Allah do to give existence to a world? How is it directed? What connection is there between Allah and His creation? Allah ordered Ibrahim (A.S.) to take four birds, kill them, mix the parts of their bodies, divide them into four parts, put each part on top of a mountain, then call them to him. At that moment they came to life moving towards him. 'Allamah Tabataba'i says: "Actually Ibrahim (A.S.) was involved in Allah's Act of giving life, i.e. Allah gave life to the birds through Ibrahim (A.S.). It was Allah's Will that it should be achieved by him. It was a visionary knowledge. Should anybody get a similar chance he would find, according to his capacity, the truth of Allah's Act. We should not expect to know the truth of Allah's connection with His creatures, except to the limit which the intellect can explain. As to these inviolabilities: He acts, but not like our act; He creates, but not like our creation; He makes, but not like our making; He arranges, but not like our arrangement - we must keep all Divine Acts inviolate from all human defects shortcomings and insufficiencies which are present in our own acts. Now, as we have mentioned that we are unable to find out the true nature of the Divine Act as it is in actuality, we do not mean that we should keep our intellect and reasoning faculty inactive and idle, and go on saying: we do not know. This "we do not know", which is said by scientific researchers, is different from that which is said by an ignorant at the beginning of the work. Much as we may try we would not be able to understand the truth about the Divine Act by means of our reason. Nevertheless, we have to use our thinking faculties. We can proceed a great deal, though not to the extent of finding its very nature. We must, however, go ahead and increase our knowledge. Allah's Connection with the World in the Qur'an The Qur'an guides us on this road. On different occasions it explains Allah's connection with His creatures and points out to it in such a way that if we care to find out how it was stated at the first instane, then at the second, we will gradually increase our knowledge. Answering the question: "Is Allah the Creator of the origin of the world only, or is He also the Creator of all its phenomena?" The Qur'an says that He not only created the first matter of the world, but He also created every thing in the world. So, Allah's creation covers every existing thing in the world. The Qur'an, for example, says: "...And He created everything...,"
"...(He), the Creator of all things..."
and: "And Allah created you and what you make."
He created even what you make or what you do; for man's acts are things, too, since they exist, and they are also created by Allah. Thus, from the Qur'anic viewpoint, there is no doubt that whatever can be said to be "a thing" is a creation of Allah, and that His creation is not confined only to the first matter. As regards "management", other ayahs speak of the fact that wherever there appears the question of directing and willing something, Allah's Lordship and His management are present. This is generally referred to in ayahs such as: "...(He) regulates (all) the affairs"
So, managing and regulating the affairs of the world are absolutely of Allah's concern. Another ayah says: "..., but Allah's is the commandment entirely."
Starting a name with the Arabic preposition lam, in the Arabic syntax, gives exclusiveness to it. That is, the commandment belongs to no one but Allah. In another ayah it is said: "...His is the creation and the commandment; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds."
Therefore, since He is the Lord of the worlds, everything is covered by His Lordship: Creation is done by Him, and the management is commanded by Him. Many other ayahs exclusively confine creation, management and lordship, in general, to Allah alone. By way of detailing, the Qur'an, in several instances mentions natural phenomena and then says that it is Allah who does all these things. Generally, when the Qur'an mentions the natural phenomena and contemplating them, it connects them solely with Allah. The Qur'an is not interested in directly enhancing such a contemplation merely to understand nature, because man will do that willy-nilly for his own interests. But the Qur'an's stress is on encouraging man to try to understand the connection between Allah and nature, and then to get a better knowledge of Allah. There are many ayahs which refer to different natural phenomena and remind us that they are Allah's Act and creation. An ayah says: "..., and the water that Allah sends down from the sky, then gives life with it to the earth after its death and spread in it all (kinds of) animals..."
The Qur'an frequently repeats: "The water which Allah sends down, the plants which He grows out of the earth for you and your cattle. This is stressed everywhere. Everybody knows that water comes down from the sky, but the Qur'an stresses the event of sending it down and the Sender. Everybody knows that plants grow out of the earth, and that the earth comes to life in spring, but the Qur'an stresses the fact that it is Allah Who does all these things. What does this mean? We shall come to this later on, by Allah's Will. For the time being we want to make it clear that the Qur'an's claim is that all this is Allah's Act. This is the tone of the Qur'an in mentioning the natural phenomena that even the smallest movement or change in the world of existence is done by Allah. What is simpler than the falling of a seed on a damp place, where it absorbs the moisture, gets a little fat, then peels off? It is a phenomenon of nature. The Qur'an says: "Surely Allah is the splitter of the seed and the date-stone..."
What does this mean? It is Allah's presence in every phenomenon, even in man's voluntary and compulsory acts. Allah says: "You (believers) did not slay them (unbelievers), but it was Allah Who slew them, and you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw..."
In Badr Battle the Prophet (S.A.) threw a handful of sand at the enemy, and the Muslims were victorious, despite their being few in number. Likewise, in other battles Allah refers to the fact that the Muslims, though fewer in number, were victorious, and tells them that it was Allah Who killed them (the unbelievers) not they (the Muslims). Similarly, in respect of man's subsistence, man knows how he is provided for, how his income increases or decreases. How it is that one is more comfortable or less comfortable. Such notions deserve consideration. There must be some factors. But Allah repeats that it is He Who increases or decreases providence: "Allah amplifies and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases."
As regards being guided or going astray, and how it is that somebody is guided to find the right path, or to go astray, there are certain factors which are worthy of consideration. Allah says: "Allah guides whom He pleases to the right path."
As to those who go astray, it is because of their evil deeds that He guides them astray. These are of the Qur'anic expressions. The Connection Between Man's Free Will and Allah's Creation Many questions can be asked on this subject. If it is Allah Who does everything, what is our role then? Is it not fatalism? If Allah had created the world and all its phenomena, does it not mean that we must disregard the natural causes and factors? It is He Who does every thing, whether there are laws in nature or not. Does this not mean a denial of world's mechanism and dynamism? Concerning man's actions, does it not mean that he is compelled and has no free will? Such questions are put forth and to answer them is not an easy task. It is our intention to try, with Allah's help and backed by the Qur'anic declarations, to solve the problems occurring in the analyzation of the unity of Creation and that of Lordship, as well as its application in different instances. We hope to be able, with the blessing of the Qur'anic light, to illuminate such questions as: What does Allah's creation mean? Does it contradict the existence of natural and supernatural factors? What is meant by saying that Allah is the only regulator of the world? Does it mean that there is no other management at all? Concerning Allah's Acts and man's management, which are stressed by the Qur'an, both the material such as giving subsistence, or spiritual such as giving guidance, all of which are ascribed to Allah, do these not lead to an idealistic knowledge and to the denial of the existing realities and the rules of this world, or do they mean something else? In our coming discussions these questions will, by Allah's Will, be explained. The Qur'an never tried to deny the natural factors and their effects altogether. As an actual matter, the Qur'an's arguments are based on man's free will within the circle of his own activities. If there had been no free will, what then the prophets had been sent for? If a human being is like a straw on the surface of a stormy sea, surrounded by compulsory factors, how can he be advised to do this and not to do that? If it is the determined factors that direct man, there can be no room for guidance, management, preaching, advice, education and purification, since it is the inevitable which will happen. In principle, the objective of the prophets and the philosophy of their coming with the Divine Books can be justified only when man has his free will and may be ordered to do this and not to do that, and man is free to accept or to refuse. But if man is under compulsion, this talk will be useless. If man is not free to do what he pleases, there will be no meaning in keeping on telling him: do this, don't do that. You are responsible! What responsibility? If man's subjection to the compulsion of nature, society, and history gives him certain characteristics, then what responsibility can he undertake after being told to do or not to do? Such being the case, there can be no use of sending prophets, divine Books and giving laws and regulations. So, the Qur'an does not deny man's free will. If man's free will is denied, the philosophy and wisdom of sending down the Qur'an will, practically be destroyed. It is not like this. As a matter of fact, the Qur'an tries to gradually make man understand Allah's connection with him, and thus, increase man's knowledge of Him. How, we will, God willing, give details about that later on. The Generalities of Allah's Acts The topic is the generalities of Allah's Acts. The Qur'an talks about all aspects of creation, regulation and different acts ascribed to Allah, the Exalted such that it would not be possible to handle them separately. Similarly it cannot be said that the only factor in growing the flower plant is the soil, the rain, the sun, the air or the nourishing elements. All of these are to be present. If any one lacking the process would be incomplete. Under such conditions we usually do not count the element which is always there or within easy reach and do not depend on it. Normally we count the factor which is to be sometimes there to complete the conditions. For example, the soil is always there, the sun is always there, the air is always surrounding the earth, so we usually do not count them, and say that the gardener grows flowers, although this factor may not always be present. If we want to be precise and exact we will have to count the gardener, the soil, the sun, the water and hundreds of other factors effective in growing that flower. In this way we regard a collection of factors as the complete cause to be completely present for bringing the flower into existence. Therefore, if it is said that a number of factors or causes had helped in the appearance of a phenomenon, it is not only correct, but actually it is hundred per cent true and realistic. Sometimes a phenomenon depends on two factors to substituting one another, if one works the other does not work and vice versa, like a master key. This phenomenon is in need of either this factor or that, if the one is present the other is not needed. But it is possible that we may ascribe the appearance of a phenomenon to two factors and say that it is done by both of them , whereas actually only one of them did it, and the other was a substitute. Suppose there are two gardeners who successively take care of a garden. One of them, either this or that, is to plant the flower. so , here we have two factors, but the one substitutes the other. They do not work together. They are not to meet together, as "an impossible exclusion", to use the term of the logicians, i.e. it is impossible that neither of them be present. Sometimes two factors are regarded working longitudinally, i.e. it is ascribed to both of them, but not together and side by side, each working at one of the dimensions. Two factors, along each other, effect in each other, the one conveying the effect of the other to the caused in a particular form. Examples of this can be seen in nature, in ordinary affairs as well as in the supernatural realm. In common matters, too, you may ascribe an act to two persons, such and in details. So, we have but to look at them from a general point of view, in order to see how He ascribes to Himself the collection of these acts in their diverse shapes and features. what secrets there are in this connection and whether it severs them from their natural and normal direct causes. In this respect we mention a general principle which is, in fact, the key that solves a lot of problems. It concerns the connection between things and Allah. By carefully studying this principle and fully understanding its impact and digesting it, we are apt to overcome many problems which accompany this subject. The principle is this: the connection of a phenomenon to two factors or agents is effected in many ways. Sometimes, to come into existence, a phenomenon needs many things, each of which has a special role in its appearance or shaping of it. All of these are known as the complete cause of that phenomenon, such that if it lacked any one of them the phenomenon would not appear, though this does not mean that they all participate in the making of the phenomenon. Each one has its special part to play in the process of bringing it into existence. For example, these flowers which you see in the garden, in order to become what they are they need a number of factors which simultaneously work together to make a pleasing and fragrant flower growing out of the earth. It needs a seed or a seedling. How the seed or the seedling come into existence? It requires a number of preparatory stages which also need hundreds of factors and conditions. However, this flower seed is to be sown into the soil, or the seedling is to be planted in the earth. Sometimes the wind may insert a seed into the soil, which may grow by itself, such as the wild flowers in the desert. So, for that wild tulip to grow the wind is one of its factors, placing the seed into the earth. But this is not enough. Water must come down from the sky to give moisture to the soil, as the seed cannot grow in a dry land. In the garden, there must be a gardener to sow the seed, or to plant a seedling. He is to insert the seedling into the soil, then to water it, and to take care of it now and then, as it is necessary for the plant to grow out and develop. Consequently, the appearance of this flower bush cannot be ascribed to a single special factor, nor even to the gardener who takes care of it, as the crime which is committed by a secret police who is ordered by his superior to commit it, like the SAVAC of the tyrannical regime [in Iran]. To whom should we ascribe this crime? To the one who personally committed it, to the prosecutor, to the regional head of the SAVAC, to the Director General of the SAVAC, to the big tyrant or to the masters of the tyrant? You are right if you ascribe it to all of them, because the persecutor killed the victim at the order of the local SAVAC head, who issued the order according to that of the higher superiors. The same is true in respect of good deeds. The charity which somebody gives at the order of somebody else, is regarded to have been given by the direct giver as well as by the one who ordered it. So, it is possible, then, to ascribe one act to two doers, but neither crosswise nor substitutionally. The Longitudinal Connection Among the Causes The longitudinal connections are not such that they also form diagonal connections, since they do not work on the same level. The work of the direct doer is on a level, and the work of the commander and causer is on a higher level. The former does not act side by side with the latter. So, sometimes an act is ascribed to two doers on two levels, longitudinally positioned in respect of each other, not diagonally. In a certain aspect it is ascribed to the one doer, and in another aspect it is ascribed to the other on a higher level, and none of them substitutes the other. Neither the former does the work of the latter, nor the latter does the work of the former. On a given level the work is done by the one and on the other level the work is done by the other. This is so in respect of common and accidental affairs. Sometimes it is said that the cause is stronger than the direct doer, i.e. the crime is better ascribed to the commander than to the one who was commanded to commit it. This arrangement is also common in supernatural matters, i.e. the effect of the supernatural doer does not cross the effect of the natural doer, but it goes along with the natural doer, that does not work in place of the supernatural doer, nor the supernatural doer works in place of the natural one, but it is the supernatural that brings the natural doer into existence and puts it into work. How does it put it into work? Whether it does need this putting into work or not is a different question, which will be dealt with later on, by Allah's will. For the time being our concern is to stress that the dependence of the phenomena of the world on Allah and on natural factors is not on the same level. This, however, does not mean that Allah and nature bring about an act together. Such a god is not a god. The god who has to work with the help of nature is a very needy god. The god who needs no help acts differently. Furthermore, it is polytheism to believe that, besides Allah, there is another one with any effect. When we say that Allah grows the plants, brings the animals to life, moves the wind, causes the night and day to appear in succession, we do not mean that Allah must sit beside the sun and the earth so that the three of them start working to make the day and night appear, that is they do not diagonally do a team-work. This is incorrect. This is not Qur'anic thinking. How does Allah bring about the day and night? If there were no moon, no sun, no earth, no sky and no movement of the earth how could there be day and night? That is why we say that it is Allah Who does it: "That is because Allah causes the night to enter into the day and causes the day to enter into the night?
Without the earth there would be no meaning of day and night. There they are because of the movement of the earth. Similarly if there was no sun there would be no meaning of day and night. Without the shining of the light of the sun on the earth there can be no meaning of the day. So, what is Allah's role in this respect? On this level and beside them, there is no role; the effect is of the earth and the sun. Allah's role goes with them longitudinally, neither diagonally nor substitutionally. Where there is the earth and its role of bringing about the day and night there it is not the place of Allah. Allah's place is above that. It is He Who brings to existence all the universe by His will. It is by His will that the moon, the sun, the stars and the sky move. The effect of His will in the appearance of the day is the same as in the appearance of the sun and the earth. The entire world as a whole exists and continues to exist by His will. But it is not that Allah comes to replace the gardener in growing flowers. The gardener, the power of his hands, the flowers and all other factors are created by Him and their existence is in consistent need of His aid. If He stops His aid even for a single moment there will be no existence. Allah's Connection to the Causes Thus, Allah's effect in the appearance of the phenomenon does not cross the material factors, nor does it come beside them nor act in their place. Saying that Allah cured a patient does not mean that no other material factor had any effect in that case. By saying that Allah provides for man we do not mean that there were no natural factors effective, and that the provision descended upon man from some unknown world, or it came, as some say, from the nonexistence. Allah's provision is the very bread whose wheat is grown by the farmer, whose water descends from the sky, whose warmth comes from the sun, the millers ground it and a bread is baked so that we may eat it. Without His Will there will be no plant, no gardener, no sun, no oceans, no earth, no moon, no clouds, no rain and no wind. So, who is it who provides the living? Is providing livelihood anything other than managing these world phenomena in a way that the result would be satisfying my need of food? Such an organized and harmonious order that gives such results, who other than Allah can direct it? Therefore, He is the Provider and He is the One Who brings death. Here also the talk can be lengthy. We just wanted to offer a general criterion for solving such problems as how a phenomenon can be ascribed to nature, to man and to Allah. Do such ascriptions mean contradiction? Do they mean that all are at work? Do they replace one another? or else? If it is something else, then what is it? It is now clear that there is no contradiction, no collective work and no replacement. It is something else. Each factor of any sort of effect on anything in the world has been brought into existence by Allah, its power is from Allah and its life from Him. Therefore, for all connection among the creatures there is a higher connection to Him. Sometimes it happens that a supernatural cause replaces a natural one, other than Allah, the Exalted, as we said in respect of the miracles, such as curing diseases, or the Jesus (A.S.) saying to a dead body in its grave: "Rise up, by Allah's permission!" In that instance there was no natural factor for the dead to come to life, except if we consider it to be the connection of Jesus (A.S.), who had a physical body, to the dead man. Otherwise, there were no natural laws for the dead to come to life. Had there been such laws, it would have no longer been a miracle. On occasions it happens that natural factors and some supernatural ones replace each other in some way. But what is intended is the connection that exists between Allah and the phenomenon, which is not a kind of replacement. Nothing can replace Allah, who has the effect of His divine Lordship upon every natural and supernatural factor, and no factor can take His place. But this does not mean that the factors have no effect alongside Allah's. Allah Himself assigns other things as means, as causes, by means of which certain effects can be obtained and they are true effects. So much for that general rule. Let us now talk a little about its details - leaving the rest of it for the coming discussions, by Allah's Will - how we get these subjects from the Qur'an, and how the Qur'an tries to acquaint our minds with these facts in order to gradually prepare us to understand and accept the concepts which we could not understand at the beginning. Allah, Man and Nature The Qur'an sometimes ascribes a phenomenon to a natural factor. It says, for example, that the soil grows the plants, sometimes it ascribes it to rain, and sometimes to Allah: "...and you see the earth barren, but when We send down water thereon it thrills and swells and sprouts. forth every pleasing pair."
"And Allah sent down water from the sky and therewith gave life to the earth after its death."
"Know that Allah gives life to the earth."
In these three ayahs, the coming of the earth to life is ascribed to the earth itself in the first, to the water in the second and to Allah in the third. Similar ayahs come frequently in the Qur'an. Some people (those overwhelmed by materialistic thoughts, who formulated the ideologies of some groups) thought, therefore, that nature is Allah, since we sometimes say that the plant is grown by Allah, sometimes by the rain and sometimes by the earth. So; Allah is the very rain and earth. In other words, the Qur'an contradicts itself by ascribing it once to Allah, and once to nature, or we must say that Allah is nature itself. In order not to say that the Qur'an is contradictory, we say that Allah is the very nature. Or, once it says that Allah caused you to be victorious, and once it says that the believers had won the victory, so this means that Allah is the believers. In an instance it says that "you" had killed the disbelievers, and in another instance it says that it was Allah who killed them. So, Allah must be "you". What kind of a god is this who sometimes is nature, sometimes "them" and sometimes "you"? They say that by "Allah" it is the general order of the world that is meant. Or they say that by Allah it is the dynamism of nature, or the general laws of nature that is meant, and the like. Those are all deviations from knowing Allah. He is neither nature, the spirit of nature, the very man, nor the "people" themselves. He is none of these. Allah is Allah, nature is nature and people are people. Nor is He the laws of nature, because these laws are general forms that exist in man's mind, whereas Allah is neither a mental being nor an abstract concept. Allah is an identical and real Being. No being can be described as really existing in comparison with His existence. Allah is the one and according to His Will the whole universe was created. So, how can He be the "people" or nature? How can Allah mean the creatures, and be equal with "people", and other similar talks? The whole world, along its limited and unlimited time, in its proportion to the existence of Allah, the Exalted is much less than the proportion of a drop of water to a fathomless great ocean. Why? Because when you pour a drop of water into the ocean, its volume increases by the volume of that drop, whereas the whole universe added to the existence of Allah cannot increase it: "And they did not measure (the power of) Allah its true measure,"
as otherwise they would not have uttered such nonsense. Allah created the whole world with a single command and if He withdraws His will everything will vanish. How such a Being can be called "people", "society", "creation", or "nature", of compare Him with the spirit to the body of a living creature? If the spirit leaves the body, the body will not immediately perish, but if there were no Allah - God forbid! - what nature could be there? No connection of any kind which we realize between two beings can be compared to that between the world and Allah. We are unable to understand the nature of that connection, but we do understand that if there were no Allah, if. it were not for His Will, nothing could exist even for a single moment. This is a recognition of the effectiveness of Allah at the highest level, and the effectiveness of the means at lower levels. It is not a denial of the effectiveness at lower levels. It is fire that burns, it is water that quenches man's thirst. But this burning happens when there is fire and something to burn. It is only in that case that the process of effecting and being effected takes place. There must be fire, cotton and air contiguously, each depending on the Divine Essence of Allah, the Exalted. This is unlike the connection between fire and burning, it is a loftier and deeper one that cannot be compared with any other kind of connection between two beings. This must very well be accepted and digested, that Allah, in His effectiveness and causation, should not be compared with those of any other beings, even when a prophet or an Imam performs a miracle with Allah's permission, like Jesus (A.S.) who brought the dead into life. Even this bringing to life by the prophets and Imams is quite different from that of Allah's, i.e. these bringings to life and creatings depend on the means which have nothing of their own, while ascribing them to Allah is to ascribe them to a doer who is the creator of every existing, and does not come diagonally with them. It is the same in spiritual matters. What were the prophets sent for? They were sent to guide the people, yet Allah tells His Prophet: "Surely you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills."
He tells him: It is not in your capacity to guide whomever you like. It is not up to you. Allah has bestowed upon you a limited favour under certain conditions. It is Allah's Power that is temporarily put in your hands, or in the hands of all other creatures. Every thing is from Him, and it is He Who controls every thing. So, it is not that if you liked to guide somebody you could do it as you liked. No, it is only Allah's Will which, if He decided something, there can be no delaying. If your will was within His and was a beam of His Will, it would be Allah's Will brought about and implemented. But if your will was not within the frame of Allah's, it would have no effect at all. This is a rule that bears no exception. In short, the connections among things, such as we know, can be imagined in several forms: The Connection Among Things 1. The connection of an effect with the complete parts of its cause. If the parts of a complete cause are gathered in a single collection, the phenomenon will be implemented. 2. The connections between things and the replacing factors, as each one of them can be effective in the appearance of the phenomenon, which cannot appear without the existence of anyone of them. 3. Sometimes the effect of two things in the appearance of a phenomenon or the implementation of an affair, is not like either of the above two forms, but they work longitudinally, that is, the effect of the one factor on a level is real, and the effect of the other factor on another higher level is also real. By using the expressions: higher, lower, superficial or deeper we refer to a fact whose nature is not quite clear to us, i.e. we do not mean the factual high or low positions. We actually mean that Allah's real and independent effect is of such originality that nothing else can have any effect on the same level. It is under His radius that the effective factors appear. These are the results of that independent effect of Allah, the Exalted. The real independent effective is Allah. Other things demonstrate their effects according to their capacities to receive Allah's radius, according to the extent of His Will, and according to the flow of blessing bestowed upon them. Otherwise, the others have nothing of their own, and should Allah remove His Will, it would become clear that all other factors would be nothing. Therefore, the key to the solution of the problems is to think of the connection between Allah and the factors and the natural phenomena to be longitudinal, and to accept it as such. Allah, in an ayah says: "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death"
Here, the taking of the souls is ascribed to Allah. In another ayah He says: "Say: the angel of death who was put in charge of you will take you."
Somewhere else He says: "...when death comes to anyone of you, Our messengers take him."
At first sight one may think that these ayahs are contradictory. It says: "Allah takes the souls", and it says: "The angel of death... will take you", and it says: "...Our messengers take him". But the fact is that these connections are longitudinal, i.e. the real effective is Allah's Will, which is at the top and along everything. He is the originator of all powers and activities, while the others are mere channels or passages. It is His Will that flows through the angel of death, who, in his turn, is effective through His assistants, the angels under His command. Allah's Will shows in the Angel of Death, who issues his orders to his subordinates to take peoples' souls at the prescribed time. Therefore, those ascriptions are correct. Both the "messengers" and "the Angel of Death", take the souls, in obedience of Allah's Will. They cannot do anything independently and directly. All these effects are along the natural effects. This, however, does not mean that one would die without having a heart attack, a stomach disease or hepatalgia, or, for example, without receiving a strike on the head or having an accident, one would be killed. All these factors are possible in nature, nevertheless they are under the managing control of a single upper power. When you peel an apple, is it the knife which peels it or you? If you say: "I peeled the apple", you are right, and if it is said that it is the knife which peels, it is also right. But the knife is under your control, and it is you who use it to peel the apple. Take another example. The driver who drives a car, is it the steering wheel which guides the car, or the driver, or both? Without the steering wheel the car cannot be directed to left or right, similarly without the hands of the driver the wheel would not turn. Eventhough, without the driver's brain and will, his hand would not move. Admitting that whether the mechanical or the physical laws cause the car to move, whether the cause is the turning of matter into energy, or the appearance of mechanical energy, or else, does not mean that there is no driver. A corporeal natural person exclusively fixes his eyes on natural factors, taking no care of the supernatural factor which governs and controls them. The prophets were keen on making you open your eyes a little to see what is behind the curtain, behind the wall, so that you may not think that this is everything and it is confined only to this natural level. Above are factors and worlds, as well as powers of which the natural forces are manifestations. Those are means in the hands of some of those powers, because they cannot be independently effective. Stressing the fact that all actions are done by Allah, the Qur'an wants to remind us of Allah whom we had forgotten. It wants to make us remember Him, not that what we see is incorrect, or non-existent. It tells us to open our eyes and not to say that it is the pen that writes, to look at the hand which moves the pen, and think of the brain which orders the hand to move the pen, and then you are to decide whether the writer is the man, the muscles of the hand, the nerves or the pen. It is the man who writes, and the others are mere means and tools. The real effect is from him. Yet, Allah's connection with the natural factors is even higher, because the existence of the pen, in that case, would not be in need of man. Even if man did not exist, the pen did exist, since the existence of material means is connected to Allah's Will. The sun does have its effect, but its very existence is by Allah's Will. So, again "...and Allah's is the loftiest similitude". Yet, those similies are unable to explain the truth of the matter concerning Allah. In that case their would be no need of measuring. Here another question may arise: If we take the word elah, god, to mean "worthy of worshipping", how can we explain using it by the Qur'an to also denote the false dieties, such as concerning As-Samiri's calf which is referred to as "your elah, and concerning Pharaoh's gods as "your elahs? The answer is that such utterances are either taken to represent the beliefs of the addressees, or to repeat what the disbelievers used to say. 8. Unity of fear. This is also one of the aspects of at-Tawhid, and means that one should fear nobody except Allah. Since we know that the real effective is Allah, why should we fear others? No one else has any effect, and nobody has any power at all, except as an instrument. The one who truly believes in at-Tawhid is the one who fears Allah alone.
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Author: Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi
