1. Passage from “Necessary Being” to the Contingent

 The Process of Creation
A Qur'anic Perspective

by Dr Israr Ahmad

1. Passage from “Necessary Being” To the Contingent

According to Islamic theistic belief, only Allah is the “Necessary Being” and the “Eternal Being”. In stark contrast, the vast expanse of space and time and the sum total of creation and existence (including human beings) are only “potentialities”, “possibilities” and “contingencies”. While there can be no dispute regarding these two beliefs the process by which “probability” emerged from “Necessity” and “contingency” from “Eternity” remains a topic of debate and contestation among the theologians. What stages did this process pass through? Is there only descent and devolution from the Necessity/Eternity to the probability/contingency? Or has there been a process of ascent and evolution involved in all this too? 

Classical philosophy and Neo-Platonism offer one possible set of answers to these exceedingly difficult issues. These answers are centered around the hypothesis that “ten intellects” (culminating in the active intellect) and “nine spheres” bridge the gap between the Necessity/ Eternity and probability/contingency. In the final analysis, however, any set of answers centering around this hypothesis must be discarded because the hypothesis is neither supported by any evidence from the sources of acquired knowledge (the domain of empirical science and logic) nor by any evidence from the sources of revealed knowledge (the domain of revealed scriptures). In the same vein, some of the mystic sages have hypothesized that six stages of emanation separate the primordial state of Divine Inclusive-Oneness and Exclusive-Unity from the present observable reality of the ephemeral multiplicity of existence. But as is the case with the hypothesis of the philosophers, this position of the sages is neither supported by any evidence from the sources of acquired knowledge nor any evidence from the sources of revealed and traditional knowledge.

This particular issue of great philosophical and academic import (being among the most intractable of such issues) does not receive any direct or detailed treatment in the Qur'an. As with other such questions that are of pressing concern to only a specific (and tiny) portion of humanity, the Qur'an relies on subtle pointers in its treatment of this particular issue. The reason for the indirect and allegorical treatment of this and other such issues is the fact that the primary function and intent of the Revealed Word is the detailed discussion of practical matters related to Guidance and the Straight Path. These matters are of immediate and common concern for every human being so that he or she may attain salvation on the Day of Judgment. Consequently, the Qur'an keeps the needs of ordinary populace in focus and takes into account their intellectual capacities. As a result, the Qur'an relies upon only general pointers to address issues related to specialized philosophical or academic interest, higher gnosis, and subtle spiritual realities. For those with sharpened intellects and heightened spiritual sensibilities these “general pointers” should be sufficient to shed light on such matters --- as the saying in Persian goes: “For the intelligent, pointers suffice”.

At the present stage in the human intellectual odyssey, however, human knowledge has reached a point where it has become capable of going beyond merely investigating matters related to the organization of the Created Order and Intelligent Design; it has now begun to investigate issues related to the event of creation itself. That knowledge which was given to Adam (pbuh) at the very beginning in the form of “Knowledge of the Names” symbolized a latent potentiality or capacity in the human entity. After having passed through numerous stages of manifestation and exfoliation, the “knowledge of the Names” now stands at the threshold of gaining mastery over the very forces of nature that once threatened the existence of this fragile creature.

It is not without reason that, in the words of the poet philosopher Allama Iqbal, “even the stars are apprehensive at the ascent (i.e. progress in scientific knowledge and technology) of man”.

Having gained mastery over the earthly forces of nature through the progressive development of knowledge given to him potentially at the primordial stage of his existence, man’s gaze has turned towards the heavens and the stars --- the “final frontier” --- and the explanation of the event of creation.

In this booklet, we will try to unravel the cosmogenesis unfolded by a deeper reflection on the highly subtle and profoundly significant Qur'anic verses and its convergence with certain points of modern cosmological, astrophysical and biological thought.

Source:  The Process of Creation

 to be continued  . . . .