How to Develop Thought

Perhaps thought inspired on sound principles has become the rarest commodity in the 21st century. It is increasingly difficult to reason independently based on reality due to the dominance of global thought rife in its philosophical paradoxes. Think tanks with vested interests make political, academic, social, cultural, economic and moral policies globally. They set the agenda of governments, media, university research, social policy, religious control and economic reforms through international organizations. Media has almost 24/7 grip on humanity's thoughts. Unless one completely isolates oneself, one cannot protect oneself from the influence of their delusional thoughts. At the same time, one cannot develop correct thought to analyze a world which one is isolated from. The strategy to develop inspired thinking for the 21st century needs effort, sacrifice, patience and wisdom.

Bad intentions result in corrupt thinking which results in bad actions which result in bad consequences. Whereas, good intentions result in sound thinking which results in good actions which result in good consequences. To have sound thought we must have "good" intentions. Who defines "good"? our parents? our primary school teacher? our employer? our government? Good intentions are based on a deep understanding of the principles of Islam. Thus, to have sound thought, we must constantly be immersed in the Islamic paradigm by studying it from its sources, in a world which constantly streams ideas counter to it. To think properly we need to critically filter our culture, our social trends, our national trends, our media, globally promoted ideas and initiatives, ideas of deviant groups and ideas taught in educational institutes. We need to be global citizens having independent minds rather than minds tainted by nationalism.

By studying with and listening to a genuine Islamic scholars we reinforce our understanding. We must learn Islam academically in courses rather than just practice what our forefathers used to do. By doing this, we can glean principles of reality from it the same way we glean the laws of motion from the academic study of physics. Just like physics has natural principles which help us study aspects of the physical world from an internally valid systematic framework, Islam has natural principles which help us study reality of this and the unseen world. Whereas, western philosophy cuts off the stream of knowledge gleaned from the unseen realm, Islam uses that knowledge to guide intuitive reasoning to understand things more comprehensively. The vision of secular thought is monocular, that of Islamic thought is stereoscopic - using knowledge of both the seen and unseen universe to form it.

Intentions can be kept pure by living fully immersed in the Islamic paradigm and controlling exposure and influence of mainstream ideas which oppose it. This is possible by constantly studying Islam formally, thinking about it, implementing it and teaching it to others. The home environment can be kept pure when all family members have the same aspirations, living without a TV, controlling what is seen , heard and read on digital devices; keeping healthy and loving relations with family members. The more we implement and teach Islam, the deeper our thought becomes. When thought is not juxtaposed among Islamic, cultural and secular worldviews it will not be confused. It will be possible to just continue building everything on the Islamic foundation as one learns new subjects of knowledge.

The intentions to acquire beneficial knowledge continuously should be for our higher spiritual development - to develop the light of understanding by which we can see things as they really are so that we positively impact the world. Care should be exercised that the world does not distract us from this mission for the hereafter. We should not covet by it praise,wealth, status, fame and honor. Lives full of meaning might be more enriching than meaningless ostentatious lives.

To understand the 21st century world one needs to understand modern knowledge. It is relatively easy to acquire empirical and analytical knowledge like that of the natural sciences, engineering, computer sciences, mathematics, etc. because they are based on observed/measurable phenomenon of this world and do not conflict much with Islamic principles. We should not try studying the humanities without first studying Islam well. Nevertheless, after studying Islam significantly, we should study the social sciences by using Islamic principles as a criteria to judge the knowledge before we decide to incorporate it in our framework of personal knowledge. Thus knowledge streams from a variety of disciplines can constantly be acquired by such self-learning.

Pure intention and correct knowledge are insufficient by themselves in developing sound thought. They need to be supplemented with good life experiences and keen observation of the phenomenon we experience with our senses. Thought is developed by practicing thinking about one's observations in the context knowledge and life experiences. To enrich thought, one needs to increase variety and depth of one's knowledge and experiences, Thus living in different societies, learning different languages, working in different industries and having a diverse social network is essential for rich thought.

The more one thinks at a meta level about things, the more one's thought develops. Thinking is a muscle which needs to be exercised daily. Writing one's thoughts allows one to think about them systematically and deliberately. One train of thought leads to another connected one. As the thought network develops, one can see trends and patterns of deep realization like it is done artificially in data mining these days. This is the beginning of wisdom. With time, one can develop discerning insight (firasa) which is sudden intuitive understanding.

To see reality as reality, thought must be pure. Pure thought is thought based on the right intentions, correct knowledge, positive assumptions, good character, good speech, good morals, good deeds and good living. Constant effort is needed to keep thought pure by studying and implementing Islam genuinely. Impure thought results in distorted concept of reality causing one to suffer from delusions about aspects of reality. Modern thought lacks such a basis, diminishing humanity's ability to understand reality for what it is.

When most of humanity will be immersed in virtual worlds, sound deep thinking will become increasingly rare. The masses will have reptilian brains that instinctively react immediately to stimuli. They will be controlled by few social architects who see humans as animals and will decide when and what global populations will think and do. The masses will constantly be concerned with personal physical survival. People will become like machines and machines like people.

Among all peoples of the world, only Muslims have the sources and methodology of sound thought development which can restore humanity to humans. Rather than rushing to adopt Western thinking, should not Muslims take the means to reform their own and then teach how to think to the world? 

"Nasiha" for 21st Century Muslim Students

Dear Son/Daughter of Islam,

The mindset of success needed to succeed holistically in the future will be significantly different form what was needed for our generation. The challenges of a one-world globalized world that you will inherit are bigger and more complicated than those we faced. At the same time, this period is very interesting and full of potential for the rightly motivated student.

The Quran indicates that normally people attain religious satisfaction and the right understanding of reality (wisdom) at age 40.  Until then, a Muslim needs to exert serious efforts to seek knowledge, keep themselves pure - mentally, spiritually and physically, learn skills, develop personal independence while serving others, become satisfied with being alone and search for meaning.

The first thing that the 21st century Muslim student needs is a worthy intention - not to get a high GPA, a good job, a perfect spouse, wealth or fame. The intention should rather be something higher - to understand reality and willingly submit oneself to excel in the part they will play in the universe. A person who is driven to discover and play out their natural destiny to the fullest will get their share of worldly success and they will be satisfied with it. In contrast, someone who chases the world might not get it and they will unsatisfactorily be chasing elusive goals throughout their lives.

With the right intention, the modern Muslim student must love all useful knowledge - worldly and Islamic, seeking to quench their thirst from all pure sources of it while always contemplating about their deeper meanings. The pursuit of knowledge should not be limited to just one's major but rather knowledge should be gleaned from a wide range of disciplines. A Muslim is not just a doctor, engineer, computer scientist, financial analyst, manager, lawyer, etc. A Muslim is a Muslim in the full sense of the word and a Muslim thinks holistically from the paradigm of Islam about all disciplines. They do not differentiate social sciences from physical sciences nor theoretical sciences from applied sciences. To a Muslim all knowledge is based on the universal divine principles in the sources of Islam and need to be studied in as a holistic fabric of knowledge to get to know reality. It is such pursuit of knowledge which is considered worship in Islam and was practiced by the Muslim scientists/thinkers of Islam's Golden Age.

The Muslim student needs to protect themselves in the world full of sins and distractions. Purity of intentions, thoughts, goals and actions are vital in a world which is based on a dysfunctional model of reality. In such a world, it is praiseworthy to exclusively desire fame, wealth and status; to waste precious time in never ending frivolous games and entertainment; to glorify sinful living; to have girl friend / boy friend; to have bad manners and to have selfish goals. By repeatedly reminding themselves of their higher intentions, Muslim students can become like guided smart missiles, which are focused on their target while not being effected by their environment.

The Muslim student needs to implement Islamic practice little by little in their lives - always growing in it. Islam is the natural way of life of all creation. In our youth, we get to appreciate different aspects of it in parts as we are not trained to see the whole picture due to our lack of knowledge, life experiences, understanding and attention span. Nevertheless, it is important to implement what little we learn and make it part of us as it is when we are immersed in it the more intense our understanding and appreciation of it becomes.

The Muslim student needs to lean useful skills that will be needed in our tech-driven world. Focus should be on those human attributes that cannot easily be replicated by machines - human creativity and human compassion. Students should learn to think holistically, debate meaningfully, speak publicly, read voraciously, write eloquently and give compassionately while practicing impeccable morality. Such higher human abilities are more important to learn than skills which are taught in assembly-line fashion such as technology which is changing very fast and can be mastered by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Muslim students should try and learn languages including their mother tongue, a global European language (French, Spanish, etc.), a global Asian language (Chinese, Hindi, etc.) while paying close attention to mastering Arabic and English. Languages are windows in perceiving the worldview of the reality of the universe and it is only by meticulously combining and analyzing inspirational thoughts from different global communities do we get to appreciate aspects of the ultimate Truth.

By learning to live independently, the Muslim of the future will increase their learning exponentially. This is essential as a Muslim must find satisfaction is being alone. Learning to be content without necessarily finding stimulation from constant face-to-face or virtual interaction, builds character, thought and abilities. Living alone is not recommended for long periods.

When they feel the need, they should get married to someone keeping excellence, knowledge and practice of Islam as their criteria of selecting their life partner. To some marriage might be recommended early considering the flirtatious nature of the 21st century world. The right life partner is indispensable to the Muslim student's higher intention as they will help them achieve their goals while providing them satisfaction in so many ways. Living with someone who does not have the same intentions, will only make things more difficult. Thus, commitment and formal knowledge of Islam are indispensable for marriage.

No matter what stage of education a Muslim is in, they can try to always implement the knowledge they learn by applying it to serve others. This gives deep insights into the knowledge, while developing the habit and outlook of helping, as it provides feedback and thus an opportunity to improve one's understanding. It prepares us for our careers but most importantly it rewards us in the hereafter if we have that intention. I person with such an attitude should not have to ask people to find them a job, they will naturally know what they want to do and opportunities in their career will seek them out.

A lifetime of effort in seeking knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences will prepare the Muslim student of the 21st century to enjoy the ultimate pleasure of this life - not eating at the best restaurant, being with the best spouse, getting the best professional position or being honored globally. No. We get our ultimate pleasure from spending our mundane lives in deep ecstasy that comes from living our part fully in the divine natural scheme of things - having the ability to understand and deeply think about our role in context; to ponder on different aspects of the world from the right frame of thought and to use these abilities to positively change the world. 

Islam and Western Moral Philosophy

Western moral philosophy's area of meta-ethics tries to answer the question of how can we decide if something is moral or not. Passing moral judgement like "lying is bad only if you get caught" is not as universally accepted as empirical judgement like "the earth moves around the sun". If there is no universal consensus as to what is moral and what is immoral how can our global society make moral progress which is vital for humanity?

Western philosophy does not have the answer. As the Scottish philosopher, David Hume rightly observed the realm of philosophy is limited to the cause and effect of phenomenon experienced in the world of the philosopher. They are incapable of penetrating the infinite worlds beyond as that is where the realm of philosophy ends. The extreme corruption in the church doctrine of the Middle Ages which they take to be Christianity through whose lens they judge all religions, resulted in Western philosophers to reject divine teachings as a source of practical thought in the Renaissance. Thus, without rational religious principles to guide them, today's Western Philosopher is utterly confused about such issues as morality.

Western philosophers categorize moral judgement in three main categories: objective moral judgement, relative moral judgement and emotive moral judgement. People who believe that moral judgement is objective believe that it is as true as empirical judgement, e.g. "genocide is bad" as true universally as "I am less than 6 ft. tall". Such people fail to explain the magnitude of differences in moral opinion that exists in humanity. People who believe that moral judgement is relative believe that a judgement is dependent on the individual, their background and their culture. It might be true in one society and false in another society, e.g. "bank interest is harmful to global society". People who believe that moral judgement is emotive do not reason and think about morality but rather depend on their emotions to decide if something is morally good or bad, e.g. "polygamy is bad". Meta-ethics is a very active field of research in western philosophy university departments. They are trying to come up with a unified theory that tries to tie together all these three positions on moral judgement. Without a true religion, they find it excessively elusive.

Islam has the solution to this as well as perhaps most modern philosophical conundrums because the sources of research are not only the observable world (as is for philosophy) but also the unseen. A believer is engrossed in research by observing the causes and effects of this world (i.e. to make empirical judgments) in the light of divine revelations in the Quran and what was revealed to us from the unseen by Prophet Muhammad (SWAS) (i.e.to make moral judgments).

The Western mind, automatically relates this to Christian moral philosophy and rejects Islam's explanation to the meta-ethics conundrum as as simplistic and insufficient as Christianity's religious morality. Whereas the moral principles are developed by Christian philosophers after the formation of Church doctrine, Islamic moral principles are directly from the divine - the words of Allah, either in the Quran or as reported in authentic ahadith. The authenticity of both these sources are empirically well established - the Quranic scriptures being studied to be unchanged almost from the century of its revelation and the hadith having a meticulously scientific methodology of classifying the authenticity of hadith. 

The Muslim philosopher works with these divine building blocks using the Prophetic methodology rather than man made constructs from the church clergy. These moral principles are part of a holistic reality, violating which disturbs the whole fabric of the universe. Thus, empirical principles and moral principles are both universal principles from the one divine source - Allah.  Just as not watering plants caused them to whiter and die, lying causes us to become self-deluded. Just as empirically stating "grass is green" is not always universally true, saying "lying is bad" is not always true. Islamic morality is as sophisticated as the depth of its sources. These divine words are pregnant with deep meaning, fine detail and a multitude of implications. There are so many exceptions to the general principles e.g. in the case of lying, a Muslim is allowed to lie to make their spouse happy, they can lie in times of war and lie to reconcile between people.

Islamic philosophy is not really philosophy. It is a way of thinking based on the natural universal principles with all their sophistication that befits modelling the natural reality of existence. Since the complexity of the reality being thought about is so profound, human language is insufficient to express its universal principles – whether empirical or moral. Thus, literal divine words which have been completely preserved since their revelation are gifted to humanity to live a meaningful and moral life in complete harmony with the rest of the natural universe.

Moral principles are universal principles for all humanity and for all times. There is tremendous detail and sophistication to them which allows their relativistic application in different societies and times. Since they are based on natural principles, they directly affect the human psyche resulting in an emotive response. Thus, Islamic paradigm of thought completely and comprehensively solves Western philosophy’s meta-ethics conundrum which is plaguing humanity.

The lack of the basis of morality in our modern global society means that humanity is blindly groping for a means to create a global ethical society. The moral values of humanity are at a all time low and worsening. The meta-ethics of Islam completely satisfies this need. Humanity can progress in morality as far as it has progressed empirically, if it adopts Islamic ethics. 

The Meaning of Being Human in a Post COVID-19 World

A sign of enslaved societies is that they lose the capacity to contemplate on, understand, articulate and act on the principles of their own civilization's philosophy. Enslaved peoples lose their identity. They see and judge themselves from the worldview of their masters. Their master's beliefs become their beliefs. Their master's preferences become their preferences. Their master's aspirations become their aspirations.

In a one-world post-COVID 19 scenario, two essential human attributes might become increasingly rare: creative, independent thought and genuine compassion. As globalization reaches its pinnacle and all people of the world increasingly think the same. The differences among individual nations will be external and insignificant (traditional dress, gourmet food, ancestral language, ancestral religion, national currency, national policy and some cultural vestiges), until those too will diminish and disappear.

Residents of this emerging Orwellian world become like robots - devoid of creativity and compassion -  while machines will be endowed with these and other artificial human characteristics. The potential for chaos and anarchy would increase as people fight to survive in an environment where they are unable to judge right from wrong, truth from falsehood and friend from foe. Without thought, rumors and false news may cause hysteria to spread giving authorities the excuse to use force to further implement their agenda of complete global control.

With global thought controlled by formal news, media, advertisements, social trends, social media, celebrities and popular trends, people will end up following one another - the blind mice following other blind mice. The inability to think would be compounded with nearly 24/7 screen time of content created by others, brainwashing humanity and making them believe, like and do what the global social architects wish. All humanity will think and talk about the same issue at the same time.

The single global digital currency would not only control humanity's financial destinies but would also allow further control on them by using data analytics to study their spending histories. Thus custom advertisements/media content would be streamed to them based on all these trends locking people to their smart devices forever. People will develop reptilian brains by which they could only react by instinct, leaving little room to develop deep, alternate thought patterns.

People of the world would become excessively isolated - not marrying; living without family, let alone an extended family. Thus, they would only be able to practice compassion with animals or machines! Without emotional intelligence, their perception of their predicament would likely be more distorted and they would slide further from intellect and wisdom.

If we examine the philosophy of all the non-Western civilizations in the world, we would realize that although some are very ancient and deep such as the Chinese civilization, the Indian civilization, the Native American civilizations, the Sub-Saharan civilizations, the Aboriginal civilization, etc. they do not have the characteristics that can provide an alternative to this one-world scenario we are entering. At best, they can just add their flavor to the external personal practices and well being of its practitioners in this new world. They cannot challenge the new "reality" or provide a comprehensive, natural, just, practical, methodological and foolproof way of life that can replace the emerging system.

The only liberating philosophy from such a man made system is that of Islam. As our sincere, learned scholars pass away there will be fewer people to carry forward the mantle. People would have to guard and grow in what they know like the early Muslims did in Makkah - learning, safeguarding and teaching in a globally antagonistic world. Nevertheless, Islam will be the only liberating theology par excellance that all conscientious peoples of the world will flock to it restore their humanity. Thus to be a human in the post-COVID 19 world in the full sense of the word, one would have to be a Muslim in the full sense of the word.

Why Can't Muslims Think?

Muslims are often criticized for not contributing intellectually to the modern world. Rather they are avid consumers of ideas, products and services from others. They fail to contribute with respect to the shear weight of the numbers. What are the factors that make it difficult for Muslims to innovate holistically for the greater good of humanity?

To consider this issue, we need to understand the legacy of the series of Muslim capitulations since the failure of the Siege of Vienna, which eventually relegated them and thus their worldview as the non dominant global paradigm. Colonialism and the New World Order consolidated this position. It was not the deficiency in the Islamic worldview which led to their defeat but rather its lack of understanding and hence the laxity in its implementation, which weakened them. This fact is evident when we consider that subsequent Islamic revival movements in different parts of the world were successful when they adhered to this pristine worldview even if they were short-lived. The truth is that Muslim groups practicing Islam properly from the sources continue to exist in one part of the world or another till today.

Thus, it is no wonder that Muslims of today seem so backwards in terms of education. Their education system is based on rote memorization. Their education system does not teach to think rather it develops students to only pass exams. Studying is seldom equated with enlightenment and development of the thought process. Rather it is meant to provide jobs, socio-economic uplift and gender equality.

Since the Islamic worldview permeates all aspects of life, the average Muslim is confused. On the one hand they attempt to stay faithful to Islamic values, but on the other hand he realizes that the modern world is based on a secular worldview which is in many ways diametrically opposed to Islam. Thus the average contemporary Muslim suffers from conflicting juxtaposed personal worldview which makes it impossible to develop any original thoughts as they do not have any sound personal system of intellectual reference to base it on. Thus, Muslims, in general, relegate thinking to other civilizations and just focus on personal socio-economic improvement. This is the hallmark of an enslaved mentality which can only instinctively do what it is habituated in doing and incapable of intellectual breakthroughs. Even when such people become professors or other intellectuals professionally, they only do it as a means to earn a paycheck, seeking to be engaged in the apparent process of innovation based on established theories in their fields - never actually making an intellectual breakthrough themselves.

On one end of the spectrum of Muslim society are people who are only entrenched in the traditional worldview. Among them there are some whose sources and methodology are not Islamic. Also among them are many who do not understand the modern world. This leaves very few intellectuals who have a pure and monolithic mental frame of thought to impact the global thought.

On the other end of the spectrum of Muslim society are the secularist who have all but completely discarded the Islamic worldview. They have freed themselves of the mental confusion and can make progress in intellectual endeavors completely immersed in secular values and not shackled by and contracting Islamic values. Thus, to innovate such individuals from Muslims societies are forced to leave the realm of Islam.

In order for Muslims to really think, they need to simultaneously and continuously seek Islamic and worldly education with the right intentions. These include holistic learning, deep contemplation, self-reform, doing legacy building projects and teaching others.

Delighted is the One Who Knows Him - 1

With this book the knower of the divine swims in the ocean with no shore and discovers the Names of Allah and His Attributes with its true measure what is permitted with it and fills the treasures of conviction from the pathways of knowing the Lord of the worlds and builds a solid fort with the eyes of the heart to the lights of the Names and the Attributes and a great spiritual pleasure for the most beautiful of what can be known: knowledge of Allah.

The goal:

To build high walls around the souls of the precious believers, so that sadness does not reach them nor doubts neither any arrows of fleeting desire and this for the treatment of the soul and preventative programs and practice self accountability and visions full of lessons and healing summaries and effective supplications.

And he benefits from it who draws nearer with it to the Lord of the world and I ask Him that it be an intercessor for me on the day of Judgement

So, rejoice if it is found in your hand,

and Allah makes it a witness for you and not against you,

and makes blessed for you this knowledge because this is the source of healing,

and give good news that reading with the heart and understanding with intellect is a great acceptance from Allah and a magnificent reward.

The Evil Effects of Sin

If we are not careful, we may become habitual in sins, especially minor sins. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) described the effects of sins.

Sinning causes us to be deprived of knowledge for knowledge is light that Allah causes to reach the heart, and sin extinguishes that light. When Imam al-Shaafa’i sat before Imam Maalik and read to him, he admired him because of the intelligence, alertness and understanding that he saw in him. He said, “I think that Allah has caused light to enter your heart, so do not extinguish it with the darkness of sin.”

The second effect of sin is that it deprives a person of provision. The Messenger of Allah (SWAS) said: ‘A man is deprived of provision because of the sins that he commits.’”

Sins cause a sense of alienation between a person and his Lord, and between him and other people. One of the salaf said: “If I disobey Allah, I see that in the attitude of my riding beast and my wife.”

Things become difficult for a sinning person, so that he does not turn his attention towards any matter but he finds the way blocked or he finds it difficult. By the same token, for the one who fears Allah, things are made easy for him.

The sinner will find darkness in his heart, which he will feel just as he feels the darkness of night. So, this darkness affects his heart as the physical darkness affects his vision. For obedience is light and disobedience is darkness. The stronger the darkness grows, the greater becomes his confusion, until he falls into innovation, misguidance and other things that lead to doom, without even realizing, like a blind man who goes out in the darkness of the night, walking alone. This darkness grows stronger until it covers the eyes, then it grows stronger until it covers the face, which appears dark and is seen by everyone. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Good deeds make the face light, give light to the heart, and bring about ample provision, physical strength and love in people’s hearts. Bad deeds make the face dark, give darkness to the heart, and bring about physical weakness, a lack of provision and hatred in people’s hearts.”

Sin breeds sin until it dominates a person and he cannot escape from it.

Sin weakens a person’s willpower. It gradually strengthens his will to commit sin and weakens his will to repent until there is no will in his heart to repent at all… so he seeks forgiveness and expresses repentance, but it is merely words on the lips, like the repentance of the liars, whose hearts are still determined to commit sin and persist in it. This is one of the most serious diseases that are most likely to lead to doom.

A persistent sinner will become desensitized and will no longer find sin abhorrent, so it will become his habit, and he will not be bothered if people see him committing the sin or talk about him.

The Prophet (SWAS) said: “All of my ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, and that includes cases where Allah conceals a person’s sin, but the following morning he exposes himself and says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night, so he shamelessly exposes himself when all night his Lord had concealed his sin.”

When there are many sins they leave a mark on the heart of the person who commits them, so he becomes one of the negligent. As one of the salaf said, concerning the aayah (verse)–

كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

“Nay! But on their hearts is the Raan which they used to earn” [83:14] 

this means sin after sin.

How this starts is that the heart gets stained by sin, and if the sin increases then the stain grows bigger until it becomes the raan, then it increases until it becomes a seal, and the heart becomes covered and sealed. If that happens after a person had been guided and had understood, then his heart is turned upside down, and at that point the Shaytaan gains control over him and directs him as he wants.

Light

اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. (24:35)

Allah is light. His hijab is light. His guidance is light. His messengers brought light. His revelation is light. Allah is the source of light. He is the creator of light. Without Allah, everything would be completely dark. He is the Munawwir.

Light enables us to see things as they are and recognize our surrounding. It allows us to find our way. It is guidance. Allah is THE source of guidance. All other source of guidance which is not from Him is misguidance. He is the Hadi.

He describes His light in a mishkaat which is a niche or a space in the wall. This represents our rib cage in our chests. In this niche there is a lamp. The lamp represents emaan. The lamp is in a glass enclosure. This enclosure represents our hearts. The lamp is fueled by pure olive oil which is neither eastern nor western. It is out of this world. This oil which is the lamps fuel is the Quran.

When there is a constant supply of pure Quran in our hearts and when our hearts are kept clean and shiny, the lamp of emaan will light up in our hearts. Its glow will be reflected in the clean glass of the heart and become multiplied. It will also be reflected in the niche in the wall which will enhance it further and reflect it to the whole room. This will result in light upon light – nurun ala nur.

This is the guidance of Allah that He gives to the hearts of believers so that they may be guided by it.

Everyone in this world is in search of meaning. Allah's guidance comes to different people in different ways. His light comes to some and they process it through their biases. The pure light of Allah's guidance is refracted from their personal arrogance and whims, distorting the true perspective.

In their search for guidance, they experience an optical illusion. They are like a thirsty traveler is a flat, featureless, hot and dry desert in search of water who perceive water in the horizon. They exert all their efforts and pin all their hopes on that water only to reach it and find that it was an optical illusion of a mirage. At that point they have no choice. They have no energy to go on further. They realize their mistake, but it is too late and they die in misery.

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

Those who disbelieve [will find] their deeds [will disappear] like a mirage on a desert: the thirsty man will reckon it is water till, as he comes up to it, he finds it is nothing. Yet he finds Allah and he must render Him his account; Allah is Prompt in reckoning! (24:39)

This is the state of people whose beliefs are formed from distorted truths. They believe them to be true and pin all their hopes in it. They dedicate all their resources to pursue their false goals until they reach death only to realize that they were deluded.

For someone to be truly guided they must follow the guidance revealed by Allah, do good deeds sincerely for Allah based on the methodology taught by the Prophet (SWAS).

أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُّجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا وَمَن لَّمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِن نُّورٍ

Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light - for him there is no light. (24:40)

In contrast to Allah’s guidance and light, consider those who are deprived from it. There is little light in deep oceans. Consider a very deep ocean. At the bottom of it there is absolute darkness. If such an ocean is very turbulent and there are waves upon waves it will be even more difficult to see anything.

Now if there are very dark clouds over such a stormy ocean, will someone at the bottom of the ocean be able to see anything? No, they will not even be able to see their own outstretched arm. There is only dhulumaatun baaduha fauqa baad – darknesses, some of them upon others.

This is the condition of disbelieving people who are deprived of Allah’s guidance and light.

O Allah, enable us to clean our hearts so that they become shiny and become capable of holding Your nur.

O Allah, help us to constantly study the Quran so that it becomes a source of fuel for the emaan in our hearts.

O Allah, give us your nur in our hearts so that our lives are lit up with true guidance.

O Allah, protect us from optical illusions that lead us astray in a purposeless life which ends in a miserable death.

O Allah, save us from darknesses upon darknesses out of which we can never come out except by Your help.

Why are Muslims Behind in Scientific Achievements

A lot of people wonder that if Muslims have the perfect guidance, then why are they so behind everyone n terms of worldly achievements? The answer to this question is multifaceted and needs deep analysis.

It is no secret that in the Islamic Golden Age, Muslims were leading the world in worldly achievements. They gave the ideas to Western civilization that led to the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. There was a difference between the scientific inquiry that the Muslims practiced as compared to that followed by Western civilization. In the Islamic model of inquiry, God was at the center. Their motivation to find out things in their physical environment was inspired by their scriptures. Doing so was considered a form of worship which increased their faith (emaan). Thus, it was achieved through perfect balance required by taking care of multifarious obligations. In contrast, the scientific inquiry carried out by the West was done after completely denouncing the religious teaching as Christian dogma prevented honest rational inquiry. It was motivated by reasibs other than that of worshiping God. It might have been carried out out of curiosity or desire for fame, status or wealth.

Today, this inquiry is done based on the Western model, which does not contain the essential balance that the Muslim scientists practiced in the Middle Ages. Many people engaged in scientific inquiry today sacrifice personal spirituality, family life, community life, etc. for the sake of scientific achievements.

Another dimension of the answer has got to do with the stagnancy and decline of the pursuance of knowledge and science in the Muslim world since the 13th century. As Muslims relinquished their positions as the leading intellectuals of the world, they were slowly replaced by Western thinkers. With that change came the change of doing science as a means to increase faith to doing science by renouncing faith. Thus the Islamic paradigm of science was lost to a secular paradigm of science.

As the Muslim world was colonized, Muslims felt a need to graft Western education system in their institutes to progress. This was done mostly by accepting the philosophy of Western education completely, rather than reinterpreting it from the  Islamic paradigm. Thus, the Muslim world tried to catch up in scientific inquiry while their students suffered from contradictory paradigms of realities - Islamic and secular. This resulted in two outcomes. Either Muslims did bad in modern education since it was not based on their own frame of reference or they completely abandoned their own paradigm, accepted secularism and achieved worldly success.

In order to preserve their religion while excelling in education, Muslims started to focus on certain professions, the education of which were religiously neutral but which allowed them to earn well. Thus, Muslims tend to excel in engineering, medicine, law, computer science, etc. In general, their focus shifted from using education as a means of worship to using education to live a comfortable life. The desire for status and wealth makes them unable to dedicate themselves to scientific inquiry, which they find difficult to carry out while being true to their faith.

Yet another dimension of the answer lies with the fact that scientific research is not a priority in a lot of the Muslim world which is struggling with immense socioeconomic problems. Those Muslim countries that are poor have no resources to invest on science. While those who are rich are too arrogant to realize its importance. Those Muslims in the West are undergoing other unique challenges in terms of searching for ways and means to keep their progeny within the realm of their faith.

To a typical Muslim, discovering scientific discoveries while losing his faith is failure. Achieving scientific breakthroughs are not his priority. His goal is to use education to fulfill his economic needs so that he is able to do good deeds and fulfill all his responsibilities by living a balanced life.

Etiquette of Entry

In Islam, people are entitled to their privacy. Everyone has their own private space, personal things and individuality. The Quran calls this space a "bayt". The word bayt is derived from the verb baata/ubeetu, which means to spend a night a certain place. So this might be someone's house or for the people of the same household it might be their bedroom. They might have it all for themselves or they may be sharing it with someone. In order to respect that privacy, Islam has made obligatory a certain etiquette for the entry of such private places.

It is among the principles of Islam, that it aims to preserve people's wealth, honor and lives. When visiting someone, one makes oneself known by knocking or ringing the bell which can be a maximum of three times. If the resident does not open the door, the visitor should not mind it, nor should they persist in entry but they should return. They should not try to force themselves into the home. Such behavior causes bad feeling among the people. It might also cause the residents to be startled. Islam forbids that people deliberately frighten others. They might also be engaged in an activity that they do not want outsiders to know about.

Furthermore, it is from the etiquette that the visitor does not stand in front of that door so that his eyesight might fall to what is in the house if the door opens. Rather he should stand to the right or left of the door looking away from it. The visitor should also make himself known by making a peculiar noise that distinguishes him or announcing this name. He should not just say "it is me" but he should state his name. He should also say "As Salaamu Alaikum" and seek permission to enter.

This is the formal protocol of someone entering a house or a private space. It is allowed to forgo this protocol for people who frequently enter the house of some other understanding with respect to an informal protocol has been reached with them with respect to entry.

A man is required to seek permission in the private room of his mother and daughter. He should make himself known and seek permission to enter. If permission is not granted he should turn away. When visiting other people's homes, it is obligatory for men to announce themselves and seek permission before entering the sitting area of the women. We should also give salaams to the women, but not to socialize with them. Islam does not seek to establish unnatural segregation between women whereby they do not communicate whatsoever. Neither does it seek complete free-mixing.

One should not look around when visiting someone, neither should they open their drawers and wardrobes. If they were allowed to look at these things they would not have been kept hidden from view of the visitors. They should respect their privacy. This rule does not apply to children when it comes to parents. Parents are responsible for their children and they have the right to inspect all their things, but they should do this in a open manner with their children's knowledge. The trust between parents and children should never be damaged.

PS: Seeking permission a maximum of three times also applies to telephone calls. One should not persist calling after three missed calls.

Faith and Reason In Islam

To be a believer in Islam, one needs to believe in Allah in all His Names and Attributes, in the angels, in the divine scriptures, in the prophets, in the Day of Judgement and in predestination. Each on of these are topics in themselves, which a person should study in order to believe in them. These concepts are not Islamic dogma as such but are from Islamic sources – the revelations from Allah in the Holy Quran and the actions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SWAS) – the Sunnah – as that was also inspired by Allah. The word “Islam” itself means submission to the Truth and these beliefs are part of the belief system that a person must submit to in order to be a Muslim.

These beliefs do not occur in a vacuum. The Quran contains many rational arguments and repeatedly asks the audience to ponder, use their reason, observation as well as their conscience to decide for oneself whether the beliefs that are elucidated in the Islamic sources make sense or not. 

“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.” (Quran 8:22)

“Thus, does Allah make clear to you His verses that you might use reason.” (Quran 2:242)

“Verily, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships which sail through the sea with benefits for people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every creature, and in His directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason”. (Quran 2:164)

“He has subjected for you the night and day and the sun and moon, and the stars are subjected by His command. Verily, in that are signs for people who reason”. (Quran 16:12)

Umar Al Khattab (RA) said:

“The foundation of a man is his intellect, his honor is in his religion, and his chivalry is in his character.”

Islamic philosophers like Abu Hamid Al Ghazaali wrote the Revival of Religious Sciences in Islam, in which he took a rational approach logically walking through the reader to believe in each of the Islamic beliefs and practices. In his times, the scholars had become obsessed with Greek philosophy and rational arguments. Thus, he went about explaining the beliefs and practices of Islam in clear, rational arguments for his readers. In the Revival of Religious Sciences in Islam, Al Ghazzali wrote: “Reason is the source and fountainhead of knowledge, as well as its foundation. Knowledge sprouts from it as the fruit does from a tree, as light comes from the sun, and as vision comes from the eye. How then could that which is the means of happiness in this life and the Hereafter not be considered the most honored? Or how could it be doubted?” In supporting the validity of the natural sciences, Al Gazzali wrote: “As for natural sciences, they consist of examining the world of the heavens and the stars and the distinct substances that lie beneath them such as water, air, dirt, and fire, and the contingent substances such as animals, vegetation, and minerals, and the causes that alter them, transform them, and blend them. That is like the doctor’s examination of the human body, its primary and secondary parts, and the causes of change in its disposition. Just as it is not a condition of faith to reject medicine, neither is it a condition of faith to reject this knowledge.”

Ibn Sina believed that as long as Islam is properly interpreted it will be understood to be made up of an area of truth like philosophy, where a person can use his intellectual abilities to rationalize and follow logical arguments. The foundation of his theory was on the strong mutual compatibility of faith and reason. This agreed with the rational claims of earlier Greek philosophers while also being compatible with the principles of Islam. His studies in philosophy convinced him of the clear supremacy of Islam as a way of life. Ibn Rush also studied Greek philosophy and was less inclined to the belief of the mutual compatibility of faith and reason unlike Ibn Sina. In Incoherence of Incoherence, he attacked Al Ghazali's criticisms of using reason to explain religion. Nevertheless, Ibn Rushd did not think that rationality could explain all Islamic beliefs.

It is important to realize that the origin of knowledge is Allah Himself - Al Aleem – the Most Knowledgeable.

"Behold, your Lord said to the angels: I will create a viceregent on earth. They said: Will you place therein one who will make mischief and shed blood? While we do celebrate your praise and glorify your holy name. He said: I know what you know not" (Surah Baqarah V. 30).

"And He taught Adam the nature of all things, then placed them before the angels and said: Tell me the nature of these if you are right" (Surah Baqarah V. 31)

"They said: Glory to You of knowledge we have none, save what You have taught us. In truth it is You who are perfect in knowledge and wisdom" (Surah Baqarah V. 32)

In Islamic theology, it is Allah who gave humans the capacity to pursue knowledge by themselves. He taught Adam the "names" of things, implying he gave him reason to pursue independent knowledge. The Quran mentions those who use their reason and those that do not and compares them to the living and the dead or the seeing and the blind.

"Is then who does know that which has been revealed onto you from your Lord is the Truth like one who is blind? Is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition" (Surah Raad V. 19)

In fact, reason is so important that Prophet Muhammad made the pursuance of knowledge obligatory on all Muslims -- male and female. The purpose of knowledge in Islam is to know Allah, while the purpose of reason is to help one to come to the Truth. It is important to know the limitations of reason. Reason is not infallible, thus when a someone realizes that Islam is the Truth, he must submit to all of it, whether he completely understands it or not. In Western secular thought reason sits in judgement over the Truth, while in Islam reason is supposed to take you to the Truth and increase you in faith.

"Behold! Abraham said: My Lord! Show me how you give life to the dead. He said: Do you not then believe? He said: Yes! But to satisfy my understanding. He said: Take four birds, tame them to turn to you. Put a "portion" of them in every hill and call to them. They will come to you with speed. Then know that Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise" (Surah Baqarah V. 260)

The Islamic belief system is an integrated whole in which each part plays a role in supporting and enhancing the other, making complete holistic rational sense. In order to make sense of any of its parts, one needs to qualify for it. Among its qualification is the belief in its basics. Just like one can carry out elaborate proofs in geometry only after accepting certain geometrical laws to be true, the same way one can get to use reason, inductive/deductive logic in Islam after accepting the basics from the Islamic sources – the Quran and the Sunnah.

In the Islamic paradigm of reality, what is present in the unseen (ghaib) and the seen are an integrated whole. About the unseen, the Quran says:

“And He revealed unto His slave that which He revealed. The heart in no way falsified what it saw. Will you then dispute with him concerning what he saw?” (Surah Najam V. 10-12)

Events taking place in the unseen affect the events in the seen and vice versa. In order to understand the unseen, the Muslim depends on the revelation – the Quran and the Sunnah as he does not have a direct access to the unseen except through true dreams. The seen world, on the other hand, can be subjected to observation and scientific inquiry in light of the revelations. It is through the combination of faith in revelation as well as observation and reasoning in light of the revelations that a Muslim tries to make sense of the universal reality. 

It is through a continual process of studying the revelations, seeking knowledge, observation, reasoning and contemplation that a Muslim starts to get inner insights into reality while staying within the tenets of his faith. He feels ecstasy, spiritual and mental delight at uncovering truths which embellish his understanding of the complete Truth. Thus, his use of reason, enhances the conviction of his beliefs. It is this interconnected understanding of the whole system of reality that develops wisdom in him. 

“He granted wisdom to whom he pleased and he to whom wisdom is granted is granted has received indeed a benefit overflowing. But none will grasp the message except men of understanding” (Surah Baqarah V. 269) 

Prophet Muhammad (SWAS) has been reported as saying: “When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of religion.”

Thus, Islam is not a religion of blind faith. Having submitted to the Truth, one has the right to use reason in the path to understand things. A Muslim will develop an insight in to the Truth. His firasa (Islamic intuition) will make him penetrate the mysteries of this life.

Faith and Reason In Christianity

According to the Catholic church, faith without reason leads to superstition, while reason without faith leads to nihilism and relativism. Nevertheless, there is little on which the Christians can base their reason upon. Their holy books have been lost and what is available is full of errors and omissions. They are accounts from people who lived hundreds of years after Jesus (AS). The present-day Christianity is not based on the teachings of Jesus (AS) who was sent by God, but rather on the philosophies of Paul, who changed Christianity from a purely monotheistic faith for the Jews to a global religion based on superstition, pagan beliefs, Greek and other philosophies.

The use of reason, without the guidance from true revelations and without a formal method of interpretation based on the methodology from a prophet and his companions, has resulted in the Christians deviating away from the Truth throughout the centuries after Jesus (AS). The deviation in Christianity started in between the year 51-55 AD when the first convention was held which brought the surviving disciples of Jesus (AS) together in their first meeting. It agreed on the prohibition of adultery, the consumption of ritually un-slaughtered animal meat and the meat of animals that were slaughtered for the idols. Eating pig meat, dealing in usury and drinking wine were introduced in Christianity.

Paul abrogated all the teachings of Torah as he claimed that it was a curse and they needed to get rid of it. He claimed that the Messiah came to change an old era for a new one. As a result of his philosophy and the influence of Greek philosophy of that time, he had borrowed the idea of the connection between God and His creation on earth. He introduced the idea of son of God and the Holy Spirit. He also introduced the concept of salvation through crucifixion. According to this he claimed that Jesus (AS) will rise to heavens and will sit on the right hand of God and will judge humanity on the Day of Resurrection based on their accepting him as divine. Initially there was a lot of resistance to Paul’s ideas. Nevertheless, the seeds of trinity and idolatry were sown in Christianity. 

Thus, the modern Christian, does not have a genuine form on revelation present with him to base his reason on, unlike the Muslims. Where the Muslim’s faith in based on reason from the revelation – the Quran - that of the Christian is baseless. The American philosopher, Alvin Plantinga describes Christian belief thus: "Christian belief is produced in the believer by the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, endorsing the teachings of Scripture, which is itself divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The result of the work of the Holy Spirit is faith”. This demonstrate the fallacy on which the Christian belief is based on. Neither are their scriptures sound, nor can they be sure that what they are being inspired to is from God or from Satan or even their own thinking.  Paul argues that in fact anyone can attain to the truth of God's existence merely from using his or her reason to reflect on the natural world. Without true revelation to guide thought, how can a person know if what they are thinking is the truth or a delusion?

The fact of the matter is that most Christian belief is not based on their Scriptures but is based on the dogma and doctrines of the Church. This is especially true about the Catholic and Orthodox churches. In these churches, the followers are completely dependent on the interpretation of the religious doctrine by the clergy. A church representative said: ”‘dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion: I know no other religion; I cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery”. 

In the words of Vatican II: “it is not from sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore, both sacred tradition and sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence.”

The only recourse to reason that a follower of these churches can use is to think about phenomenon based on the church doctrine. The Protestant Church is better as they have diminished the role of the clergy and encourage their followers to study their scriptures and use reason based on them. Nevertheless, their scriptures are corrupted, full of contradictions and have very little divine content in them. 

It is not surprising that in the Middle Ages, the people in Europe suffered from the authoritative role of the church on their thought and way of life. The church called scientists who used their reason to advance knowledge like Galileo, heretics and executed them. Whatever truth that was in conflict with their dogma, was knocked down. This resulted in a reaction during the Enlightenment era, in which philosophers used reason to discredit the church. They turned people against the church and developed a dislike for all religion based on their experience with the Christian church. The modern era saw the emergence of secular philosophical thought which was based on reason, replace the church doctrines which were increasingly seen as irrational. 

Made up irrational Christian concepts such as original sin, trinity, confessions to and exoneration from the clergy for personal sins, Jesus (AS) dying for the sins of man, etc. leaves an ordinary Christian no choice but to either believe in them, corrupting his thought process so that it cannot understand rationality, or to reject church doctrine and develop a free mind without any limitations. 

The catholic church tries to explain them away by the use of sophisticated terminology: “The doctrines of the Trinity and the Eucharist are beyond reason in the sense that it is beyond our finite powers to understand them, but not at all in the sense that they are inherently unintelligible; they are supra-rational, if you will, but not irrational. “

Thus, it is not surprising that secular and agnostic thoughts have penetrated modern Western society so deeply, as it became difficult to rationally use their minds while simultaneously accepting the irrational beliefs of the church. The modern West has thus indulged in the other extreme of doubting everything, even areas which are not supposed to be the realm of our minds. 

In order to try to explain the dichotomy between reason and faith in Christianity, Rev. James Brent writes:

“In sum, it takes time, teaching, and effort to learn how to integrate faith and reason. Our sins and our weaknesses make it difficult to learn to fly with both wings of the human spirit. The history of the last several centuries has moved our civilization away from an intellectual synthesis that shows us how this can be done. Finally, our contemporary culture does not teach people how to fly with both wings, and it is populated by vocal minorities who confuse people about even the possibility of synthesizing faith and reason. Is it any surprise that for nearly all people today it seems that faith and reason are opposed to one another?” 

Comparing Faith and Reason in Islam and Christianity

Both, faith and reason, have been shown to be catalyst for a person coming and staying committed to religious belief. A person may come to believe in the veracity of a religion by using rational arguments, logic and facts. Whereas another person may become convinced of a religion after reading a holy book or hearing a preacher. Such a person might believe something to be true even in the absence of a logical proof or factual argument. 

Whereas faith is emphasized by religious people, reason is the preferred tool of philosophers. Religious people believe that faith is a must and that it must be adhered to even in the absence of rational proof and reason-based arguments. Philosophers, on the other hand, discount “blind” faith. They assert that truth is based on rationality and facts rather than faith and religious teachings.

It is interesting to study a religion in terms of which parts of it requires “blind” faith, and what is the role of reason in understanding its wisdom.  Some people claim that faith and reason are complementary whereas others say that faith and reason cannot be used together. 

In a time, when rationality predominates modern study of knowledge, it is important to look at the role of reason in major religions. Let us consider faith and reason in Islam and Christianity. Both these world religions were influenced by the rational thought of Ancient Greek Philosophy. In both the traditions, theologians as well as philosophers have explained the relationship between faith and reason using their own paradigms of reality. We compare and contrast the similarities and differences in Islam’s and Christianity’s explanation of a person’s use of faith and reason to understand and grow in the understanding of their respective traditions. 

Neglecting reason and depending on religious authorities blindly leads to exploitation by the religious establishment. It diminishes the status of man as someone who cannot rationalize and discover truths independently. Rational thought is the distinguishing characteristic of man and if he abandons it, he is not fulfilling the purpose of his creation. Nevertheless, the use of unbridled reason, which is not guided by the true revelation from God and the practices of the prophets, results in conjectures, delusions and Satanic influences which corrupts man’s understanding. It results in an extreme interpretation of reality.

The history of Christianity demonstrates how the church grappled with this problem. In its early history, it had complete control over its followers thought process. The clergy were very powerful and it was the church dogma and not their books which provided the principle of reasoning. Their clergy made many mistakes in interpreting their books which were already corrupted to come up with a dogma. Their followers considered the dogma infallible. Thus, their thought process was based on a false paradigm of reality. The conclusions that they drew from it were irrational.

This resulted in a pro-reason movement during the Enlightenment era led by the Renaissance philosophers who questioned the authority of the church and discredited their dogma. This resulted in large segments of Western society adopting secular thought in order to have a true rational conscience which the church teachings did not give them. Thus, in the absence of religion, reason became their new god. As reason by itself is not infallible, this resulted in bad repercussions in society. 

Islam, on the other hand, has the revelation from God intact, in the form of the Quran. Historians and scholars agree that it is in the same form as when it was first compiled. Also, intact is the method of interpretation of the Quran and rationally seeking knowledge through it as taught by the Prophet (SWAS) and his companions. Islamic history is full of scholarship in this methodology. There is no dogma or clergy in Islam and its followers are free to study the sources of their religion and develop rational arguments based on its principles. Islam requires faith in the principles that are outlined in its sources that are from God. At the same time, they are encouraged to use reason to develop understanding and insights from the principles of their sources. Ibn Taymiyyah has written:

“Reason is a requirement for acquiring knowledge and performing righteous deeds, through which knowledge and deeds are perfected, but it is not enough on its own. Rather, it is a faculty of the soul and an ability like the ability within the eye to see. If it is connected with the light of faith and the Quran, then it is like the eye receiving the light of the sun and torch. If it is left to itself, it cannot gain insight into matters that it cannot know alone… Thus, the circumstances resulting from the denial of reason are defective, and ideas that contradict reason are false.”

He also writes: “Every reliable narration from the Prophet is the truth and confirms one another. It agrees with the natural instinct of creatures, sound reason that has been placed within them, and noble purposes. It cannot contradict sound reason, nor a noble purpose, nor an upright instinct, nor an authentic and established revelation from the Prophet.”

Whereas Islam is pro-reason, other religions, including Christianity have been shown as being anti-reason. Islam does not encourage people to become blind followers.

The Prophet (SWAS) said: “Do not let yourselves become blind followers, saying that if the people are good then we will be good, and if they are unjust then we will be unjust. Rather, make up your own minds. If the people are good then be good, but if they are evil then do not be unjust.” (Tirmidhi)

Examining Taoism from an Islamic Perspective

Taoism is major religion in China which started in the 6^th century BC. It is against living a regular ordinary life. It played a role in the development of Chemistry thousands of years ago. It was established by Lao-tse who is also called Tao. He was born in 507 BC and wrote his book “The Road to Power”. He was one of the teachers of Confucius who agreed with him on certain issues and differed in others.

Taoism affected and influenced Chinese thought and also influenced the historic development of China. Later on some of Lao-tse's followers claimed that he was guided by the heavens, i.e. god. Some also claimed that they have been inspired by god.

Lao-tse is reported to have said that did not plan to write "The Road to Power" but he was asked by his students to record his thoughts and so he did so. It is a literary book that included general rules and some instructions to the ruler. It is a very difficult to understand book. Another Taoist book by Chuang Chu who explains the philosophical theory of Lao-tse. He contrasts between the heavens and human and between society and nature. It contains some stories about people that can fly and others who are not affected by natural conditions. The third Taoist book by Huang Chi Ching from the 3^rd century BC. It includes some experiments on metals, plants and animal derivatives, reflective of their interest in keeping healthy and prolonging life. The fourth Taoist book is by Bao Guchu which was authored in 317 AD. It discusses some aspects of chemistry such as how to change certain metals into gold and how to prolong life using some medicines.

They view of god is that god has no voice or image. He is eternal and that all creatures have the spirit of god. They believe that Tao (Lao-tse) is the absolute existence, that he is the aim of existence of everything. According to them, he is the source of this universe and the universe came out of him. They believe in the unity of the universe in that there is no separation between the creator and the created. They believe that god is not Al Awwal, in that there was something from which god originated. Although they love god, there love for the origin of god is greater.

They have some religious celebrations one of which is Chieu which is the renewal of the commitment between the community and god. This festival is still practiced in Taiwan. They have other festivals to appoint the monks and for the births of gods.

They have some mystical tendencies. They believe that to live a clean life they must detach from all desires by creating a vacuum within them. That space for them is the real fulfillment. This leads to knowing and realizing the facts of the matter. The highest level of purification to them is when there is complete unity between the person and the Supreme Being At this stage the person reaches a condition where there is no death and there is no life.

Taoism adopts a negative perspective of the world and calls for abandonment of work and limiting oneself to reflections and contemplation of life. This leads them to live on mountains and on deserted islands. They do not accept laws, knowledge and religions having the belief that these elements have corrupted the nature of the humans. They respect long life and consider ageing as an indication of purity, holiness and reverence. One of the most important objectives for them to prolong one’s life. They believe that if the person prolongs his life for several hundred years, the person becomes eternal. This led them to self discipline and do certain exercises that causes pain to the body. They do not believe in the resurrection or accountability. They believe that the righteous will be rewarded in this life by health and long life, while the wrongdoer will be penalized in this life by disease and short life.

Taoism today is present in China, Taiwan, some areas of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The most authoritative institute of Taoism is in Japan. Taiwan is the most important refuge for Taoism.

Taoism is close to Confucianism and Buddhism from which it has adopted temples, monks and  celibacy. In 1958, it was announced that 30,000 Taoist monks were active in China. Taoism has influenced the culture of the society in China. They believe that good comes from detachment from life, isolation, forgiveness, not meeting bad deed with bad.

Examining Buddhism from an Islamic Perspective

Buddhism was founded by Siddharata Gautama who was called Buddha which means the scholar. He lived from 560 BC to 480 BC. He was raised near the borders of Nepal as a prince and enjoyed a great deal of luxury. He got married when he was 19. When he became 26, he abandoned his wife and became detached from all the luxuries to live a harsh and difficult life. In doing so, he worked on disciplining himself. After his death, his followed gathered in a large convention in 483 BC. They attempted to remove differences among them and record the teachings of Buddha. They delegated this responsibility to three monks.

1. Kashyapa – dealt with intellectual issues.
2. Popali – dealt with self discipline.
3. Ananda – recorded the sayings of Buddha.

In the beginning, Buddha was objecting and opposing Hinduism. His teachings call attention to humans. He preaches a detachment from luxury., calling for love, forgiveness and good deeds.

After the death of Buddha, Buddhism became an idolatrous religion. Its follower exaggerated the belief in Buddha until they gave him the status of god.

The Buddhists believe that Buddha is the son of Allah and he is the salvation to humanity from its problems and its pain. They believe that he will carry their sins for them. They believe that Buddha was born as a result of the Holy Spirit coming to the virgin Maya. There are many similarities between the Buddhist belief in Buddha and the Christian belief in Jesus (AS).

Buddhists believe that Buddha was made known as the son of god as soon as he was born. They believe that when he was a baby he said to his mother that he is the greatest of all mankind. They say that once Buddha entered the temple and the idol prostrated to him. They believe that he will come back to this world to restore peace and blessings in it. They believe that Buddha is the only great creature who is eternal. According to them, he is the one who will hold people accountable. They believed that Buddha established a religious kingdom on earth. Some researchers say that Buddha denied and rejected faith in god.but he used to believe in reincarnation. According to Buddha all people are equal.

1. Buddhists must abide by 8 elements to discipline themselves and overcome their desires.
2. Straight forwardness. 
3. To rid oneself of lust and desire before doing anything
4. Good thinking
5. Enlightenment
6. Correct and straight forward belief, i.e. doing only the things you feel comfortable with
7. Compatibility and congruence among the tongue, the behavior and the heart. 
8. Correct life based upon abandoning desires. Life must be based on knowledge and truth

According to them sins are caused by three things.

1. Indulgence in desires
2. Bad intentions
3. Lack of thinking and understanding

Buddhists are divided into two groups, i.e. the religious and the civil. The religious adhere to all

teachings of Buddha whereas the civil are selective in what they take and leave of his teachings. 

There are two sects of Buddhists. Those in the north i.e. China, Nepal, Tibet, Japan and Sumatra believe in Buddha as a god. While those in the south, i.e. Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand.believe that Buddha was a teacher who reached a higher level of charity and purity.

There are three sections in the book of Buddhism 

Collection of laws written by Buddha

The sermons Buddha made

The Basis and foundation of their religion.

Buddhism is a very old with some similarities and borrowing from Hinduism and Confucianism. It is widespread in Asia, with some 6 million followers. One of their largest temple is in Nepal.It is  based on religious philosophy which was adopted as a religious code.