PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION IN RELIGION

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

B. PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION

Being theo-centric in its approach and comprehensive in its outlook, as we have already noticed, the mission of the Holy Qur’an is to transform the life of this world with all its dimensions into a life of the ‘Worship of God’ by channelising it into a ‘System of Obedience to God’ (=al-Islam). It does not endorse the dualistic philosophy of “Give unto God what is God’s and unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”, because everything belongs to God and nothing— absolutely nothing — belongs to Caesar,—in fact, to any creature. Indeed, it is the height of irrationality to believe in God, and, at the same time, to deny His status as the Sovereign of the Cosmos, the Fountainhead of all Values, and the Source of all Guidance, in Whom alone the loyalty of every particle of the Cosmos is centred in the very nature of the case; and consequently the loyalty of those creatures on whom He has bestowed free-will, i.e., the human beings, should also be centred in Him and Him alone. And, then, the division of loyalty into parts breeds conflicts, and conflicts breed perversions, and perversions breed neurosis and split-personalities and un-balanced social life. 

 

There can be no two opinions about the fact that it is the principle of integration that ensures power, health and life, while non-integration brings about the very opposite. Also, the higher the integration the higher is the measure of the blessings that are obtained as a result. And the higher the integrating principle in the scale of existence the higher is the integration. Then, the deeper we go into Reality, the higher is the integrating principle that emerges before us. 

 

Islam gives the integrating principle in the One True God, Allaah. Bentham and Mill and the recent pragmatic philosophies give it in the concept of Utilitarianism, which is based on the principle of pure Expediency,—and Expediency is no principle! Hegel and the Hegelians give it in the State deified. The protagonists of nationalism and racialism give it in the Nation deified and the Race deified. The worshippers of the Earth give it in the Motherland or the Fatherland deified. Karl Marx and the Marxists give it in the Economic Force deified. 

 

Islam’s integrating principle is grounded in Total Reality. The other integrating principles are founded on discrete parts of Reality. Islam projects the ‘Principle of principles’, or, the Eternal Principle, which is related to the integration of Reality at all levels, and forms therefore the Comprehensive Principle; others put forward at best a principle which relates to one out of the many dimensions of that infinitessimally-small part of Reality which relates to the material aspect of human existence on earth. Islam’s vision is focussed in absolute depth; the visions of other monistic philosophies are focussed in a narrow view and on tiny patches of what appears to exist on the surface in the immediate physical experience of the human beings. 

 

It is not, however, only the materialistic philosophies that are defective in respect of the principle of integration, but also the spiritually-orientated religions of the world, though the problem exists there in a different dimension. Leaving aside the defects in their conceptions of the Spiritual Value, they do emphasise the value itself as basic to human life. But, then, they do not integrate it with the other values, whereby they land themselves in dualism, leaving all the practical affairs of mankind to human ingenuity. In that compartmentalisation, spiritual considerations recede into the background, or stay merely ritualistically, and religion becomes imbecile in respect of the practical affairs of human life. As a consequence, the representatives of religion either become the tools of the secular exploiting forces—as has happened in a very large measure in human history, or have to engage themselves in a never ending conflict with them.

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

STRUCTURAL LOGIC OF RELIGION

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

Chapter 2

STRUCTURAL LOGIC, PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION, SCOPE AND IDEAL OF GUIDANCE

 

A. STRUCTURAL LOGIC:

As a system of Knowledge, the Qur’anic Guidance is thoroughly grounded in the Logic of Knowledge, wherein the different knowledge-domains emerge inter-related in a logical sequence that manifests itself thus, starting objectively: Metaphysics, with its function of providing the world-view and consequently the system of values, stands at the base. Out of it emerges Moral Philosophy which, in its practical aspects, assumes the form of the Moral Code. Expanding into the dimensions of organised society, Moral Philosophy gives rise to Social Philosophy which, for practical purposes, crystallises into the different Social Sciences like Politics, Economics, and Law. Then, from the side of the subject, Psychology and Aesthetics shoot off to constitute organically-related complimentaries for the ‘tree of knowledge’ whose roots are in Metaphysics.

 

Just by way of illustration:

When we consider the relationship of Metaphysics to Moral Philosophy, we find that different metaphysical views lead to different ethical theories under a logical compulsion. Thus, for instance:

Pantheism leads to Perfectionism, Philosophical Materialism to simple Hedonism, Bio-ism or Vitalism to Evolutionary Hedonism, and Pragmatism to what might be termed as Opportunism.

 

Similarly, as regards the relationship of Philosophy and Culture: Rationalism, which consists in the principle that Reason is the avenue of the knowledge of Reality and that the rational alone is real, affirms reality only in the conceptual, the universal, the eternal, the abstract, the necessary, the absolute and the permanent; and, as such, gives rise to Ideational Culture. As opposed to it, Empiricism, which consists in the principle that Sense-experience is the avenue of the knowledge of Reality and that the empirical alone is real, attributes reality only to the ‘existent’, the particular, the spatio-temporal, the concrete, the contingent, the relative and the changing; and, as such, leads, through skepticism, to Sensate Culture. 

 

A proper understanding of this natural and inherent relationship and the resultant balanced and comprehensive journey into the realm of Knowledge leads to a systematic and unitary view of Reality, wherein the fragmentary and partial view-points are modified in mutual adjustments, and a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the human destiny becomes possible.

 

Then, the higher the point of thought which the human mind may acquire through its exercise in respect of the struggle for knowledge the larger in scope is the Unity grasped, and the larger the Unity the higher is the Principle of Integration acquired, and the higher that principle the nearer towards the Truth moves the human mind.

 

In this connection, the human difficulty—as it has manifested itself in human thought—seems to reside basically in the fact that, left to itself, the human approach is very naturally ‘from below upwards’, wherein human reason as well as sense-experience find themselves confronted with Diversity, and consequently become captives of fragmentary and reactionary views of Reality, to the detriment of human life in respect of the realisation of human yearnings,—as has happened often with the modern so-called ‘scientific’ thought. 

 

As opposed to this, the view of Reality in terms of Unity is possible only in Revealed Guidance which originates ‘Above’—in the realm of Unity—and thus projects the Whole in its organic relatedness. That possibility is realised by the Holy Qur’an in its Structural Logic, wherein Reality is centred in The One (112:l), Who is the Living, the Eternal, and from where dimensions shoot off in organic ‘wholeness’ with the base as also among themselves.

 

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

Nouman Ali Khan Explains Why The Quran is From God To Andrew Tate