In order to recognize Him, There is no way but thinking on the creation of the creatures, the Prophethood of the Prophets, and the revelation which is manifested in the Holy Quran and the Imamate of the infallible Ones (s).
Through thinking we could only conclude that there is one Creator. But through this tool we are not able to grasp what His Glorious Names are and what the aims for creation are and what duties man is supposed to carry out. In order to understand these issues we should resort to the Holy Quran, and the statements of the Prophet and the sacred Infallible Ones (s). This is the true meaning of the recognition of God through His guidance and this is what Imam Sajjad (s) refers to as بك عرفتك.
The initial revelation to our true self is done by God. And this guidance makes the human self ready to learn through man’s wisdom, senses and hearts. This is what is referred to in the sacred surah of Al-Shams [The Sun]:
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا.
“And the soul and Him who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it. 91:7-8”
The self gets its impetus from this revelation. This is merely God’s way to let us recognize Him. The end-point of this man’s movement is coming close to God and getting His satisfaction and attaining the paradise. Man has got to go through certain stages of ideology and arriving at the right morality and performing good deeds to arrive at this final objective in his perfection.
This is the only way open to man in perfecting and purifying his real self and getting himself free from the satanic blasphemy and dubiety. Anybody who assumes there is another way is just ignorant:
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ.
“Far from His glory be what they set up with Him. 9:31”
Man is animal in action and potentially a human being. Man’s nature, due to the domination of the material factors and because of his bodily habits has been ignorant of his true nature and is dominated by his bodily wishes. Man is suffering from deviations in morality. In some individuals this domination is so great that they are heading for the world of beasts.
In this regard men are of diffent classes and layers.
Some individuals, whose hearts become influenced rather swiftly belong to the layer of God’s men.
And this is based on the following:
قَبِلَ مَن قَبِلَ لا لِعِلّةٍ، وَرَدَّ مَن رَدَّ لا لِعِلّةٍ.
“His acceptance or rejection is not based on any reason”
جّذبَةٌ مِنْ جَذَباتِ الحَقِّ يُوازي عَمَلَ الثَّقَلَينِ.
“One attraction of God’s attractions equals the two actions of jinns and human beings”
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ.
“Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light. 2:257”
There is yet a second group who in contrast to the first group are absorbed by God with no trial. Because of God’s guidance the light of faith reflects from the very inner portion of these people. Although their outer nature is imprisoned in the world of materialism, from within they are addressed by their inner spiritual manifestations, believing in the following verse from the Holy Quran:
يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَأَرْبَابٌ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمْ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ.
“O my two mates of the prison! Are sundry lord better or Allah the One, the Supreme? 12:39”
Thus, these kind of people awaken from sleep because of the revelation that they receive from inside themselves and will become ashamed of having wasted their time, saying:
يَا حَسْرَتَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِي جَنْبِ اللَّهِ.
[Lest a soul should say]: “O woe to me! For what I fell short of my duty to Allah. 39:56”
These awakened people will realize that there are three important issues facing them and losing any one of them means a great loss indeed:
Firstly, they should endeavor to start to move from where they are and leave their temoral bodily enjoyments and through their obedience of the commandments of the Holy Quran, try not to waste their precious time.
Secondly, they should discipline their true selves in such a way as to adopt themselves to the divine ethics. This stage belongs to having faith.
The third stage belongs to one’s benevolence since at this stage they are ready to grasp the genuine monotheism.
We should know that benevolence has got different facets. This is because the true self after being warned by the inner invocation, passes through the world of beasts and then enters the world of divinity. Thus, the book of genesis, like the book of religion, has got seven portions.
لأنَّ لِلنَفسِ مِن حَيثُ قُوَّتِها العامِلّةِ في ضَبْطِ الاُمور الدُّنياويَّةِ بَطناً اوّلا، وَلِسانُهُ: يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرًا مِنْ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا. وَطَلبُ صاحِبِهِ: رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ. وَلِلنَفسِ مِن حَيثُ عُبُورِها إلى طَلَبِ الاُمورِ الاُخروية مِن جِهَةِ قُوَّتِها العاقِلَةِ المُنَوَّرَةِ بِنُورِ الشَّرعِ بَطْناً ثانياً:
This is because the true self has capacity to record the worldly affairs and it conforms to what Allah has said: They know the outward of this world’s life.(30:7) But there are some people who say: “Our Lord! Give us in the world, and they shall have no resting place. 2:200” And the true self in its pursuit of the affairs in the hereafter which stems from the light of religion has got a second portion.
This stage belongs to the common Moslems and believers. Sadreddin Rumi recognizes this stage as the first stage of the benevolence. He believes:
الإحْسانُ فِعْلُ ما يَنْبَغي لما يَنْبَغي كما ينبَغي.
“Benevolence is an appropriate action for the appropriate ones with an appropriate manner.”
Rumi has included the wills and advice in the benevolence and says:
فاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ كَانّكَ تَراهُ.
“Worship God as though you could see Him.” According to him this is the middle stage of benevolence.
And the following statements from Imam Ali (s) belong to this stage:
لَو كُشِفَ الغِطاءُ ما ازدَدْتُ يَقيناً.
“If the curtains are raised my conviction will increase”
وَلَمْ أعْبُد رَبَاً لَم أرَهُ.
“I would not worship the God whom I have not seen.”
وَجُعِلَتْ قُرَّهُ عَيني في الصّلاةِ.
“The light in my sight is based on the prayer”
وَالآنَ قِيامَتي قائِمٌ.
“Now my Doomsday has started”
وكُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ.
“I will be His ears and eyes.”
When we look at the creation, we will conclude that the very base of the construction of this world is carefully established. Every bit of creation rests on its appropriate position.
The world is like a book which is edited by a knowledgeable writer. Every sentence, discourse, chapter includes a series of meanings. The order in which these elements are arranged indicates a specific objective.
Every body could read the sentences of the book of creation to a certain degree and find out a range of meanings out of it and realize the objectives and aims behind its creation. Ever body can vividly understand the wise and thoughtful Will behind the creation. Of course, anybody who has a vast knowledge of natural sciences would be more capable of grasping the objectives behind the establishment of this rule-governed system.
The Holy Quran, with a unique persuation, guides people to study the book of creation and the structure of the creatures.
The recognition of God should be based on logical bases and not merely on imitation. Man in his attempt to recognize God could drag the ring of monotheism out of the ocean of logic to ornament his hand of faith only when he dresses the recognition of God with the garment of reasoning and gets his conviction through wisdom and bases his conviction on valid and logical reasoning so that the satanic persuation could not weaken the very bases of his faith.
Isalam condemns imitation in carrying out all its commandments, especially in the acceptance of the principle of monotheism. A true believer should accept the fundamental principles of Islam on the basis of wise reasoning. The following verses of the Holy Quran all refer to this issue:
ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ...
“Call to the way of your lord with wisdom…16:125”
وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُنِيرٍ.
“And among men there is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge and without guidance and without an illuminating book. 22:8”
Those who judge on monotheism without any proper knowledge and logic are severely reproached since science and knowledge is based on reasoning and because the logic of God’s book rests on reasoning, as well.
The Holy Quran reproaches blind imitation and blames those who have accepted the religion of their ancestors without knowledge and valid reasoning.
On the acceptance of the facts on the basis of wisdom and reasoning there are a lot of news and statements in the precious books of Shiite such as Kafi, Man la yahzar, Touhed, and Behar.
The great philosopher, Avecina says:
مَنْ قالَ أو سَمِعَ بِغَير دَليلٍ فَلْيُخْرَج عَنْ رِبْقَةِ الإنسانيّةِ.
“Anybody who says anything or accepts anything without sound reasoning should be excluded from humanity.”
Any construction which is based on a shaky foundation will fall apart and will easily get destroyed.
It would be impossible to build a twenty-story building over clay pillars. Obviously such a building should be based on strong columns.
Our beliefs, especially in religion and religious laws should be based so strongly over logical foundations that the satanic temptations would not be able to penetrate into them.
A faith which has its roots in our wisdom and Divine truth may not be shaken with the storms of doubts and suspicions.
This profound truth and this universal law is dominant over our individual and social affairs. This fact is significant not only in basic sciences but also in the act of God recognition. The issue of monotheism, which is the most significant topic in our personal and social life, makes us ready for the Doomsday and promises a bright future. Such a science can not be childish and could not be based on foolish imitation. This fact is clearly dealt with in the sacred verses of the Holy Quran and in narrations and religious news.
In the statements of our religious leaders, for instance, in the sermons of Nahjolbalaqa and in Touhid Mofazzal and in some invocations and within some of the reasoning’s of the Infallible ones (s), special attention and stress is focused on Monotheism together with reasoning and recourse to the natural sciences.
Naturally, this is the best way to let common people recognize God. Let us see how the very construction of the creatures lead us towards the omnipotent God.
The answer is clear: In the same way, the very creation of a piece of work leads us to believer in its creator, the features of that work, too, to a large extent, reveals the features of the creator.
Let us give you an example. We human individuals are not directly aware of one another’s inner thoughts and morals and mental characteristics. I can not be aware of your decisions and ethical features; neither can you recognize my inner side. However, to a large degree we recognize one another.
We scientifically believe in a certain person and accept him as a scholar. because we have seen some oral and written works of him. We recognize one as a jurisprudent, another as a philosopher, another as a mathematician and still a fourth one as a literary man. Why? Because from the first one we have heard jurisprudent discussions, from the second one we have heard philosophical debates, from the third one we have heard mathematical issues and from the fourth one we have heard literary discussions.
Because of the common features which should exist between the Creator and the created, it would be impossible to hear knowledge from an ignorant person, or philosophical discussions from a jurisprudent, or from a philosopher discussions on jurisprudence or mathematics.
For instance, anybody who has read Jawaher knows that its writer should be a great jurisprudent, even if he has not seen him. The very nature of the book indicates the greatness of the jurisprudent.
Somebdoy might say: The certainty that we have regarding these issues does not necessarily mean that there is not probability of error. Rather, it means that the probability of error is so small that no wise person would consider it. The probability of error to occur is accidental. For instance, regarding the book called Jawaher, we are certain that its writer must be a great jurisprudent. But this does not mean that there is no probability that he might not have been a jurisprudent and the work might have been published all by chance. No the probability exists that the writer of Jawaher might not have been a jurisrudent and that his writing are arranged by chance. But this probability is so weak as to be negligible. Thus, we will say: we are certain that the writer of this book must have been a great jurisprudent, with no doubt. The probability in this regard is not calculated with fractions such as one hundredth, one thousandth, or one millionth, etc. Rather, it is the fraction of a number which is beyond our imagination. For instance, we could imagine a digit one plus zeros from here to the moon.
Thus, we may add: this amount of probability which is not countable is acceptable.
For instance, we may assume that Saadi was not a genius even if we see so many of his literary works; we may also assume that he, by chance, was able to produce these literary works. In the same way, we might assume Ave Sina was not an expert in philosophy or in medicine. And his works might have been produced by chance.
Although the existence of such assumptions can not be denied, we have no doubt that Saadi was a genius in literature and Ave Sina was an expert in the philosophical and medical domain. Those who have led men to recognize God through the studying of the book of creation want these men to be sure of the Creator’s wisdom as they can be sure of the positions of Saadi, Ave Sina and the writer of Jawaher after they have read the works of these scholars.
Corsi Morrison on page nine of his book Called “the secret of Man’s creation” writes: take ten coins, marking them from one to ten and put them in your pocket. Then try to take them out in accordance with their numbers from One to ten. Take one coin but put it back in your pocket prior to taking the second coin. Thus the probability to receive number one is one out of ten. The probability of getting one and two together will be one out of a hundred. The probability of getting one, two, three consecutively is one out of a thousand. The probability to get one, two, three and four consecutively would be one in ten thousand. Thus, the probability to get much more numbers consecutively would become gradually smaller. Finally, the probability of getting from one to ten consecutively could be one in ten milliard.
For the life to start on the earth, there are so many conditions and factors involved that from the mathematical perspective it would be impossible for these conditions to have been produced by mere chance. Thus, we have to imagine that there is a thinking agent in this world which has planned life to occur. If we accept this undeniable fact, we should as well believe that there should be a clear intention behind these mathematical and delicate operations.
Another wonder in the world is the world of living things which can not be explained through chance factors.
From the onset of life, male and female were produced to guarantee the continuation of life.
The reproductive organs, both in plants and animals, both in male and female, are so complicated and amazing that no body could think their creation was with no act of pre-determination.
When we study the plant and animal limbs and organs, we will be so entirely amazed that even a study of ten books could not absorb our attention so deeply. This observation will lead us to confess to the might and power of an immense Being.
Refrence: The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
source : Refrence: The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
