THE PHILOSOPHY OF UNITY 1-7/21

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

Chapter 6

THE PHILOSOPHY OF UNITY

 

The Holy Qur’an has laid the greatest emphasis on the concept of Unity (Tawhid). It is not found there, however, merely as a concept among concepts but as an all-pervading principle which governs all the fundamental domains of human faith and action. As such, it is vitally necessary to understand it in all its dimensions for the sake of understanding the basic Qur’anic approach to the vital human problems.

 

(1)  Unity of God:

The Qur’anic view of life is grounded in the purest monotheism—the doctrine of the Unity of God. God is One. He is indivisible, and He has no partner in the godhead. He is the Reality. He is all-in-all. Belief in Him demands indivisible loyalty and devotion to Him. This emancipates the human beings from every cosmic and earthly bondage and elevates them to the highest pinnacle of glory. 

 

(2)  Unity of the Universe:

The universe has come into existence through creation, and God alone is its Creator. Therefore, it is a unity—in existence as well as in purpose. And, as such, it is a cosmos and not a chaos. It is a Reign of Law and not a Chance Order. Moreover, it is a Moral Order and not an amoral conglomeration of wayward particles. 

 

Subjectively pitched on the denial of the existence of God by hook or by crook, the materialistic philosophies assume,—assume only, because they have no proof—the origin of the world in chance— a ghostly and meaningless term in that respect. Postulation of chance shuts the door to the affirmation of any Meaning, or of the necessary existence of a Monistic Principle as the starting point. But the affirmation of a Meaningful Monistic Principle is the condition of believing in the universe as a cosmos, as opposed to chaos; and the affirmation of the universe as a cosmos is necessary for regarding the human life as meaningful. Then, unless human life is meaningful, all talk of philosophy, science, economics, politics, social improvement, justice and truth is, to say the least, beside the point. 

 

The principle of Evolution may be presented by the Materialists as the monistic principle underlying the working of the cosmos. But, how, where, why and by whom was that process originated? Evolution remains devoid of any genuine meaningfulness without satisfactory answers to those questions? Indeed, it remains a blind process, even though we may notice some method in it. The difficulties inherent in the hypothesis of Evolution have been commented upon by an eminent French scientist thus:

“One of the greatest successes of modern science was to link the fundamental Carnot Clausius law (also called the second law of thermodynamics),^[1] key-stone of our actual interpretation of the inorganic world, with the calculus of probabilities. Indeed, the great physicist Boltzmann proved that the inorganic, irreversible evolution imposed by this law corresponded to an evolution toward more and more ‘probable’ states, characterized by an ever increasing symmetry, a levelling of energy. The universe, therefore, tends towards an equilibrium where all the dissymmetries existing today will be flattened out, where all motion will have stopped and where total obscurity and absolute cold will reign. Such will be the end of the world—theoretically.

“Now, we men at the surface of the earth are witnesses to another kind of evolution: that of living things. We have already seen that the laws of chance, in their actual state cannot account for the birth of life. But now we find that they forbid any evolution other than which leads to less and less dissymmetrical states, while the history of the evolution of life reveals a systematic increase in dissymmetries, both structural and functional. Furthermore, this trend can hardly be attributed to a ‘rare fluctuation’ destined to be ironed out statistically, as it has manifested itself steadily for over one thousand million years (probable age of life on this globe), and as the dissymmetries, gloriously unconcerned about the law set by man, became greater as eons passed by until they culminated in the brain of man.

“Once more we repeat that there is not a single fact or a single hypothesis, today, which gives an explanation of the birth of life or of natural evolution. As far as the origin of life is concerned, we have briefly studied the problem in the first part of this book. Willy-nilly, we are, therefore, obliged either to admit the idea of a transcendent intervention, which the scientist may as well call God as anti-chance, or to simply recognize that we know nothing of these questions outside of a small number of mechanisms. This is not an act of faith, but an undisputed scientific statement.”^[2]

 

In the hypothesis of the Dialectical Process also the Materialists fail to see that the emphasis should lie not on the process as such but on the monistic principle inherent in it. If the world-process is conceived to have started with the simultaneous emergence, through chance, of the thesis and the anti-thesis, leading through their interaction to synthesis, that would explain nothing. If it is said that only a thesis emerged first and the anti-thesis was born out of it, that would give us a monistic principle at the start. But the emergence of the original thesis by chance makes the entire process blind and does not provide any sanction for any meaningful philosophy of life. The fact is that if it is inferred on the basis of certain phenomena that the world-process consists in repitition ad-infinitum of a triad in terms of ‘thesis—anti-thesis—synthesis’, then we are compelled to accept the monistic principle as the controlling force running through the process, because of the culmination of the interaction of the ‘thesis’ and the ‘anti-thesis’ in ‘synthesis’ every time that the cycle is conceived to be repeated,—the repitition giving to the world-process the form of a chain wherein every new ‘synthesis’ assumes the form of two prongs in terms of ‘thesis’ and ‘anti-thesis’ that finally merge themselves into a ‘synthesis’. In other words, dualism is repeatedly reducing itself into monism. This gives the clue to the existence of a monistic principle as the starting point and of the spirit of ‘monism’ pervading twice the dialectic. 

 

The Qur’an also speaks explicitly, and not just implicitly, of the presence of the dialectic in the world-process in terms of the perpetual conflict of the ‘Reality’ and the ‘un-reality’, or of Truth and Falsehood (21:18; etc.), and it emphasises its importance for human beings in its ethico-religious dimensions. It affirms its origin and starting point, however, not in chance, nor in a blind monistic principle, but in the Will of the Supreme Being Who possesses all the attributes of Perfection. 

 

It may also be observed in passing that while the so-called Scientific Materialism emphasises the transformation of Quantity into Quality as the mode of the world-process, the Qur’an emphasises the transformation of Quality into Quantity. The former view was actually built on certain wrong scientific notions of the nineteenth century in respect of Matter, which have now undergone radical change— lending ever-growing support to the Qur’anic view.  

 

We might state the Qur’anic view thus: Because God is the Absolutely Transcendental Being, His fundamental Attribute is ‘Absolute Quality’. The cosmos has emerged in existence, in terms of evolutionary creation—as opposed to ‘spontaneous’ creation— through the activity of His Will. Quality is ‘intangible’. Quantity relates to tangibility. The world-process is the progressive crystallisation of in-tangibility into tangibility. The intangible is space-less and time-less,—we may call it ‘Idea’ in the fundamental sense. The tangible is spatio-temporal. We know that we proceed progressively towards intangibility as we move from ‘appearance’ to ‘reality’ in the physical analysis of Matter, which means that intangibility, or space-lessness and time-lessness, or Qualitativeness, is the basis of the existence of Matter.   

 

(3)  Principle of ‘Unity’ in respect of the relation of God with the      Cosmos:

According to the Qur’an: God is Eternal and Absolute, and the cosmos is Transient and Relative. Now, the Relative is not the Absolute. But it has originated in the Will of the Absolute and is sustained by the Absolute. Thus, the Relative has no independent existence of its own, while the Absolute neither excludes nor includes the Relative. (Cf. the philosophical doctrine of the “Ahl-as-Sunnah wal Jama ‘ah”: la ‘ain wa la ghair).  

 

(4)  Unity of Life:

Taking ‘life’ in the universe as a whole, or ‘life’ as such, all ‘life’ forms a unity. In other words: Because the Holy Qur’an projects the universe as an organic whole which has come into existence through the unitary action of the Divine Will, all the projections and manifestations of ‘life’ exist within a single unitary evolutionary principle—human life being distinguished as unique and overpowering because it functions within the framework of Personality.

With respect to the human being, as such, his life before his birth on the earth, his earthly life, and his life after death—all these three phases form a unity. Indeed, life is tied to a continuous evolutionary process. 

 

(5)  Unity of the ‘Natural’ and the ‘Super-Natural’:

The Basis of Existence for all phenomena and things in the entire universe being one, and the Source of all laws pertaining to every aspect and every part of the universe being one, the ‘natural’ and the ‘super-natural’ are only two levels of the activity pervading the cosmos, involving no contradiction. The distinction is actually grounded only in the human framework of reference. 

 

(6)  Unity of Knowledge:

Because the universe is a unity, knowledge should be pursued in terms of ‘unity’ in the sense that it should form one ‘Whole’. The different branches of knowledge should be viewed in the relationship of inter-dependence. This leaves no ground in the Qur’anic view of knowledge for the time-honoured division in terms of ‘religious’ and ‘secular’.  

 

(7) Unity of Faith and Reason:

It is not, however, only the different branches of knowledge that are complimentary among themselves. The time-honoured dichotomy of Faith and Reason, which has played havoc in the history of Christian West, is also a false notion. Cognition (knowing) and conation (feeling) are not anti-thetic, both being the dimensions of the same human Consciousness. Faith and Reason have also, therefore, to go together: to function in unity. Faith without Reason lands human beings in superstition. Reason without Faith deprives humanity of the highest values. Taking up this problem in the very first Revelation, the Holy Qur’an has emphasised the unity of Faith and Reason and has projected the ideal of Rationally-orientated Faith.

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[1] This law can be worded as follows: An isolated material system can never pass twice identically through the same state. Every successive state entails a definite decrease in its available energy. Hence its irreversibility.

[2] Le Comte du Nouy: Human Destiny, pp. 41, 134.

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

What is the Forbidden Tree?

 

Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the Qur’an and the Beginning of History

What is the Forbidden Tree?

 

A tree has no free will, and hence cannot exhibit ‘conduct’. It should therefore be quite apparent that the Lord-God has used the ‘tree’ as a symbol to represent something quite reprehensible. 

 

We learn something about the symbol when Iblis, i.e., Satan, sought to seduce them to approach the tree while claiming that they would become like unto Angels who live eternally, i.e., for a very long period of time. The objective which he was pursuing in disclosing this information to them was to inject into their spiritual heart a form of lust, i.e., the lust to live forever. Such lust, like its sexual counterpart, i.e., sexual lust, destroys spiritual innocence and reduces one to a state of (spiritual) nakedness:  

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 7:20)

Satan whispered unto both Adam and his wife Hawwa, or Eve, with a view to making them conscious of their nakedness, of which hitherto they had been unaware; and he said: Your Lord-God has but forbidden you this tree lest you two become as angels, or lest you live forever.  

 

Iblis went on to reveal more about the symbol of the forbidden tree when he disclosed that it was not only the tree of immortality, symbolizing ‘eternal life’ (angelic style), but also ‘eternal rule’. His objective in disclosing this information to them was to inject into their spiritual heart another form of lust, i.e., the lust to rule forever or eternally. In order to achieve eternal rule they would have to establish a ruling State that would rule eternally. The lust for such eternal rule, like the lust to live forever, and sexual lust, destroys spiritual innocence and reduces one to a state of spiritual nakedness:  

(Qur’an, Ta Ha, 20:120)

Satan whispered unto (only) Adam, saying: O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the tree of life eternal; and thus to a kingdom that will never perish or decay? 

Iblis succeeded in deceiving them, in consequence of which they both tasted the tree, i.e., they allowed their hearts to lust for that which the tree symbolized. As soon as that lust entered their hearts, i.e., the lust to live and to rule eternally, they lost their spiritual innocence and became conscious of their nakedness. They then sought, symbolically so, to cover themselves with leaves from the trees of heaven:  

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 7:22)

And thus Satan led them on with deluding thoughts, guile and deception. But as soon as the two had tasted the fruit of the tree, they became conscious of their nakedness; and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And their Lord-God called unto them: Did I not forbid that tree unto you and tell you, Verily, Satan is your open foe?  

 

Since they lost their spiritual innocence, they no longer qualified to dwell in heaven. This is so because heaven is reserved for those whose hearts are Salim, i.e., sound, healthy and innocent:

(Qur’an, al-Shura, 26:88–89)

On Judgment Day neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, rather, only he will automatically qualify for heaven who comes before Allah Most High with a heart which is Salim, i.e., sound, healthy, and innocent, and hence free from the lust for life and the lust to rule. 

 

We learn from the passage below that both Nabi Adam ʿalayhi as-salām, and his wife were expelled from heaven and sent to reside on earth, as soon as they tasted the forbidden tree: 

(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:36) 

But Satan caused them both to stumble therein, and thus brought about the loss of their erstwhile state of spiritual innocence. And so Allah Most High said: Down with you, and experience the plague of enmity and hostility for one another as the lust for life and for rule corrupts you; and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while! 

 

They responded by seeking Allah’s forgiveness, and He, in turn, forgave them:

(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:37) 

Thereupon Adam received words of guidance from his Lord-God, and He accepted his repentance: for, verily, He alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace. 

 

The order of expulsion from heaven was maintained despite that Divine forgiveness. However they were informed that adherence to Divine guidance which would come to mankind from time to time, was the necessary condition for life on earth, and for efforts to establish Pax Dei that would be free from fear and grief: 

(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:38)

For although Allah Most High did say, Down with you all from this heavenly state, there shall, none the less, most certainly come unto you guidance from Me: and those who follow My guidance need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve.

 

The same event is described in the Torah quite differently. We quote the Torah at length:

 

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

 

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

 

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ”For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

 

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

 

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

 

and he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

 

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

 

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

 

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

 

So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

 

To the woman he said: I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

 

To Adam he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return.

 

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said: The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis: 3–4 NIV

 

This book concludes with a warning to those who lust for life, seeking to live for as long as possible, and who also lust to rule over others with eternal rule, that such are a morally and spiritually naked people whose nakedness will increasingly become clearly visible to all of mankind (who have eyes with which to see) as Truth is proclaimed in the world. This book, which introduces the subject of Dajjal or the Anti-Christ, is written to assist readers to be able to see and to understand the reality of the world today in which events which are ominously unfolding, have a parallel in a forbidden tree in Awwal al-Zaman.

 

The Qur’an has exposed the Jewish lust for life:

(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:96)

And thou wilt most certainly find that they, the Jews, cling to life more eagerly than any other people, even more than those who are bent on ascribing divinity to other beings beside Allah: every one of them would love to live a thousand years, although the grant of long life could not save him from punishment in the hereafter: for Allah sees all that they do.

 

There is also ample evidence of a Jewish lust to rule the world eternally which, also, is a part of the forbidden tree. Consider Rabbi Emanuel Rabinovich’s declaration:

 

“We will openly reveal our identity with the races of Asia and Africa. I can state with assurance that the last generation of white children is now being born. Our Control Commissions will, in the interests of peace and wiping out inter-racial tensions, forbid the Whites to mate with Whites. The White Women must cohabit with members of the dark races, the White Men with black women. Thus the White Race will disappear, for the mixing of the dark with the White means the end of the White Man, and our most dangerous enemy will become only a memory. We shall embark upon an era of ten thousand years of peace and plenty, the Pax Judaica, and our race will rule undisputed over the world. Our superior intelligence will easily enable us to retain mastery over a world of dark peoples” Rabbi Emanuel Rabinovich's summation of the progress of his tribe, the Modern Tribe of Jews, toward their goal of the One World under Jewry. 

Emergency Council of European Rabbis

in Budapest on January 12, 1952 

 

We have attached the full text of his speech as an Appendix 3 to this book.

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