Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
3. DIVINE REVELATION
The plausibility of the claim of Religion to answer our
ultimate questions consists in the source of knowledge. Among the various
religions of the world, Islam agrees with us that the human faculties of sense
and reasoning are, in their very nature, incapable of arriving at accurate and
sure knowledge of the ultimate facts both through logical reasoning and
mathematical reasoning. But side by side with that it gives us a message of
hope and imparts to us a very plain and convincing guidance in that behalf. That
guidance may be stated as follows:
There are two factors in every act of knowledge, namely, the
Subject and the Object. As regards the process of knowledge, it is possible in
two ways, namely: (1) the subject may embrace the object with the instruments
of knowledge which, in the case of man, are senses and reason; and (2) the
object may reveal itself to the subject.
The usual path of knowledge is the first one, and it is this
which Science and Philosophy employ. And because the finite cannot embrace the
infinite, the attempts of Science and Philosophy at solving the ultimate
problems end in failure.
The second path of knowledge is the path of Revealed
Religion. That this path is a matter of experience in the scientific field also
is known to all scientists. For instance, there are planets which are far away
from the farthest horizon that the most advanced instruments of astronomy have
been able to penetrate. Those planets enter that horizon only for a while after
very long periods of time. Thus, instead of the powers of the astronomical
instruments going out, so to say, to embrace them, they themselves reveal their
existence by moving for a while into their embrace from a position where their
existence cannot be known, and after that revelation they again disappear into
the Unknown. Those whose gaze is fixed and whose instruments of observation are
focussed on that horizon see them and know them, while others affirm their
existence afterwards only on the basis of authority, because verification
through observation does not remain possible after the disappearance of those
planets.
This much about the physical world—the world of sense
experience—the world which in quality as well as quantity is only a part of the
Unknown and Infinite Universe. But it brings home to us an important fact. The
farther removed a thing is qualitatively (i.e., as regards its difference from
us in its nature and constitution and function) or quantitatively (i.e., in
Space or Time), the greater becomes the necessity for the first path of
knowledge to give place to the second path, i.e., Revelation.
Islam emphasises this all-important fact of Revelation. It
affirms the existence of God and says that He is the Creator and Cherisher of
the Universe. Also, that He is All Powerful, All-Knowing and Omnipresent. He
possesses perfect knowledge of the origin, the constitution and the function of
everything, and His knowledge comprehends the past, the present and the future.
And He not only possesses that knowledge but has also revealed to humanity the
correct guidance on the ultimate and intricate problems which defy correct and
sure solution by means of senses and reason. His Revelations came, much like
the distant planets mentioned in the foregoing scientific argument, through the
Spiritual Luminaries who appeared on the horizon of humanity from time to time.
Those Spiritual Luminaries included men like Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, the
last among them being Muhammad (Divine Peace and Blessings be with him and all
other Messengers of God); and the last Revealed Book is the Holy Qur’an.
to be continued . . . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment