In this series
of articles on Islam various philosophical ideas were touched on. In this
article all these will be drawn together to form a self-consistent system.
But first it is
necessary to show where Philosophy fits into the scheme of things.
In the beginning
when man first arose, then like the newborn child, life for him was a single
system. We can call this condition or Stage A. When he became conscious he
began to be aware of, think, feel, describe and control this life consciously
and purposefully, as does the developing child. This awareness gave rise to
religion. And this may called Stage B. But as the results of human activity in
connection with the environment and experiences accumulated, a differentiation
began to occur between actions, feelings and thought. People began to differ
and to specialize according to which of these faculties was more developed in
them. A difference arose between (a) the products of thought which we can call
Philosophy, (b) those concerned with feelings like Art or human relationships
such as government and administration (c) crafts and industry. This we will
call Stage C.
Further results
of activity and experiences became too great and required further
differentiation. Each of the above differentiated into many branches. For
instance Philosophy divided into (a) Metaphysics, epistemology, logic (b)
things like ethics, aesthetics, politics (c) natural philosophy which became
science. these divisions and their sub-divisions correspond to the same three
divisions as in Stage C - Metaphysics, for instance, has more to do with pure
thought, Ethics with social interaction and science with action in connection
with the material world. The other two divisions also differentiated in a
similar way so that we have educational, health and entertainment systems,
farms, cities and factories. We can call this Stage D.
It will be
observed that all differentiation takes place the awareness of unity is lost
and so is communication between people and control over affairs, but
inter-dependence increases and some form of formal, central, unifying
institutions have to be developed and imposed. This acts like the nucleus of a
cell in the society or like the brain and nervous system. The society becomes
in effect a multi-cellular organism, the cells being individuals. What is more,
as time goes on this organism grows by absorbing others like itself.
Having reached
maximum differentiation or disintegration in Stage E, then by the Law of Cycles
(e.g. Day and Night) there should be progressive synthesis through stages F, G
and H, and things return to whence they came from. This applies both to
humanity as a whole and to the development of the individual, but the
development of particular communities and individuals may become arrested at
one stage or the other.
This discussion
shows that Philosophy is a stage between Religion and Science. These three
correspond to value, meaning and facts with which they respectively deal, but
only relatively. This is because these three are inter-dependant - there are no
facts that have not been interpreted according to some value system and unless
things have value to us they are useless. Facts refer to something external in
our environment; values refer to ourselves, our desires; and meanings refer to
interaction between us and our environment. So Philosophy deals mainly with
meanings, which relates facts to values. It deals with a stage before science
can properly begin because the basic concepts have to be established and
periodically revised. Religion, however, deals with a stage even before that.
Broadly speaking, religion deals with the process of life; philosophy with
thoughts about life and science with the means to life. It will be observed
that this differentiation arises only in Stage C. In Stage B, there is no
distinction between facts F, meanings M and values V and we have conscious
experience C. C=FMV. But there is a distinction between the observed world W
and the observer O and the interaction between them, which provides the
experience C. In Stage A where consciousness had not yet developed there is no
distinction between these three and we have a transcendental condition, X.
X=WCO
Corresponding to
this division there are three forms of thinking:- (a) Direct holistic or
conscious thinking based on insight, inspiration or revelation which depends on
the degree of consciousness. (b) Rational thinking based on the formation of
concepts. (c) Empirical thinking based on sensory observation, investigation
and experiment in contact with the external world. Although all three forms are
interdependent to a certain degree and used together, religion tends to be
based on inspiration, philosophy on reason and science on investigation.
The problem with
rational thinking is that it relies wholly on human reason without reference to
the rest of the world. This may not only be faulty in itself but may
rationalize prejudices, superstitions, fantasies, delusions, illusions,
guesswork, the products of self-interest or habits, tendencies arising from
inherent factors or accidentally acquired from experiences, both limited. This
is because the logical argument begins with a selection of premises according
to interest and motives containing terms or concepts, which are based on
certain assumptions or definitions. The inference depends on these. It is
possible to prove almost anything if one makes appropriate selections and
definitions. Nothing new can be gained from a logical argument because the
inference is already implicit in the premises. What it does is to make this
meaning explicit. Philosophy tended to be speculative. It requires checking
against nature. Nor does it actually search for data. This is why science was a
much more powerful tool.
An examination
of the Quran shows that it is based on revelation and also constantly points to
nature. It also appeals to reason but frowns on speculation. Though there have
been muslim philosophers misled by Greek Philosophy, the Islamic spirit ignores
or condemns philosophy and favours science:-
"Confound not Truth with falsehood, nor
knowingly conceal the truth." 2:42 see also 3:71
"Say: O people of the Scripture! Stress
not in your religion other than the truth and follow not the vain desires of
folk who erred of old and led many astray, and erred from a plain road."
5:77
"Is he who knows that which is revealed
unto thee from thy Lord is the truth, like him who is blind? But only men of
understanding heed..." 13:19
"We shall show them Our signs on the
horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is
the Truth. Does not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all
things?" 41:53
"Do not pursue that whereof you have no
knowledge. Verily, the hearing and sight, and the heart, each of these will be
asked (to give an account)." (17:36)
"Follow what is inspired in thee from thy
Lord; there is no Allah but He, and shun the idolaters." 6:107
"But most of them follow naught but
conjecture (speculation, guesswork, fantasy); verily, conjecture can by no
means take the place of (or avail against) truth. Verily, Allah is Aware of
what they do." 10:37
"Nay, but those who do wrong follow their
own lusts without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah has sent
astray? For such there are no helpers." 30:29
"But if thou followest most of those who
are in the land, they will lead thee astray from the Way of Allah. They follow
naught but opinion and they only guess." 6:117
"Say: My Lord! Increase me in
Knowledge." 20:114
"Do ye wrangle with me about names, which
ye and your fathers have named yourselves, for which Allah sent down no
warrant." 7:71
"But it (the Quran) is a clear revelation
in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge, and none deny Our
revelations save wrong-doers." 29:49
"Such as remember Allah standing and
sitting or reclining, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth,
(and say) "O Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain." 3:191 See
also 2:266, 7:176, 10:25, 13:3 etc.
"Say: Is the blind man equal to him who
sees? Will ye, then not reflect?" 6:50.
"Thus does Allah manifest to you His
signs; haply ye may reflect." 2:219
"Fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not
My Signs (or revelations) for a miserable price. Whoso will not judge by what
Allah has revealed, these are the misbelievers....whoso judges not by what Allah
has revealed, these are the wrong-doers" 5:44,45 See also 5:47
"Wherefore judge thou between them by what
Allah has revealed, and follow not their lusts.." 5:49
There is,
therefore, a difference between "free thought" and "guided
thought". Islam requires guided thought. The guidance comes from what has
been given to us by revelation from Allah and by observation of the world also
created by Allah. Both are the Words of Allah. There is, therefore, an emphasis
in Islam on science. But even science has tended to become speculative and
"free" in so far as it ignores revelation and, therefore, values and
this also leads to the erosion of meanings. For instance, Science is a human
activity and should have some function with respect to human beings who have a
function with respect to the Universe and to Allah. Ultimately, therefore,
science should have some function with respect to Allah. The search, selection,
interpretation, organization and application of data should be governed by this
rather than the profit motive or desire for power. However, revelation or
religion without science or reason is also misleading. This is because we
cannot distinguish between genuine revelation and fantasy or rationalization
without them, nor is it possible to interpret and understand revelation
correctly without them. Revelation, reason and observation must go together.
All are created by Allah and essential aspects of human vicegerency.
In order to
understand the significance of these ideas it may be helpful to consider the
state Philosophy has reached in the West.
It was shown by
Kant that the mind has certain inherent forms or categories which organizes the
data of experience in certain ways. The world we see is not, therefore, as it
is, but is a result of factors coming from outside and those derived from our
own mind. These factors are ideas such as quantity, quality, relation, mode and
space and time. Thus a distinction arises between the world as seen or
experienced E, and Mind or subject S and Matter or object P. The world E can
also be regarded as a result of the interaction between people and of the
concepts and language they use. Various systems of Philosophy can arise
according to which of these factors is taken as the starting point. This
includes Dialectical Idealism and Dialectical Materialism. Though these systems
recognize the three relative factors, they fail to see that they co-exist and
derive from a transcendental unity of which they are a manifestation in the
relative world of phenomena and knowledge.
Edmund Husserl
founded the Philosophy known as Phenomenology. Here, the nature of
consciousness is regarded as the most fundamental fact that requires
investigation. His pupil Heidegger appears to have taken a further step back
and thought that Dasein (To Be There) is an even more fundamental state. This
has extension in time and cannot be understood apart from the notion of time.
When the being comes into consciousness it is the manifestation of the being.
Therefore, the contents of consciousness are an indication of what reality is
really like. We may add that it is a revelation but only partly seen. Heidegger
actively encouraged the Nazi movement in Germany, though he realized
eventually that no real changes of mentality could be achieved through
political means. Even after its defeat when the atrocities and other excesses
done by this regime were exposed he expressed no regret. There is no indication
that apart from an ability to think abstract thoughts he had any great control
over his thoughts, feelings and actions. His ideas can be traced to the nature
of his personality formed by accidental inherent and acquired factors and it
did not seem to have occurred to him that a psychological discipline is
required to make any psychological changes or even to perceive things
differently and in an objective manner. Nor did he act according to the
principle, if he ever recognised it, that man is a single system in which
thought, action and feeling affect each other. The same appears to be the case
with most philosophers, scientists and unfortunately, conventionally religious
people too.
A philosophy
derived from this that became very popular in the West after the World War is
Existentialism. Its fundamental tenets may be described as follows:- Existence
is always particular to someone - i.e. my, your, or his existence. This
existence is wholly free because at this fundamental level nothing else exists.
Existence is the same as the problem of existence i.e. the search for the
answer to "What is Being" - The person who asks, "What is
being" is the person of whom it is asked and who must answer it.
Existence, life is a constant problem solving. The problem of existence is
this: The thing existing, man, is faced with many possibilities and he has to
make a choice. There is an antithesis between possibility and being. The choice
collapses the possibilities into an actuality, a state of being and limits him
- the choice removes the possibilities. Thus man creates his world and himself
by the choices he makes. The contents of consciousness exist because of the
restrictions or limitations each thing has which separate it from other things.
But if possibilities are not being, then they are not-being, nothing. This
makes existence a state of anxiety or Dread - the tension between the insecurity
and non-existence of infinite possibilities and the security but restrictions
of limitations. The individual is in a relationship with other things and
beings that also limit him. If the subject of consciousness is free, then the
thing of which he is conscious cannot be other than an object with limitations.
He must treat others as objects, who will do the same to him. There is,
therefore, a constant state of conflict and struggle. Science, too, when it
studies man, reduces him to an object, though he is also a subject, the
observer about which science can say nothing. And a person will treat himself
as an object too in so far as he looks at himself. But there is also a vicious
circle. He understands himself in terms of what he sees in the world - by
reflection of his possessions, the opinions of others and the reactions of
things to him. And he sees the world in terms of himself by reflection of his
opinions, concepts and ways of interpreting things. Each of these leads to the
other. He interprets and judges all new experiences in terms of past
experiences and this traps him in a prison.
None of these
philosophies starts from the most fundamental point. The fact, of course, is
that the terms are all relative to each other and together form a wholeness
from which their meaning arises. There is Reality that consists of all three
factors. X=ESP. To say that existence is particular presupposes the particular
as well as the universal and a relationship between them. We have total Reality
X; a part of it, man M looks at the rest W=X-M. Consciousness, freedom and
action are attributed to M and W is regarded as dead, inert and passive. Thus a
distinction has been made between M and W and to remove this a relating factor
C, human activity and experiences, has been added. Now X=MCW. This is obviously
not the same as X=ESP.
Islam starts
with a single notion something that is self-existing and requires no
explanation by reference to anything else, but can explain everything else.
This is the Absolute, called Allah. The only thing to be worshipped - adored
and served because it is the source of all other things. According to a Hadith
Qudsi Allah was a hidden treasure and wished to be known, therefore He created
the Universe. We may say that the self-contemplation of the Absolute causes the
division between the Observer, the Object and the relationship between them,
the Observation, interaction, consciousness, knowledge. Truth refers to this
interaction and is a manifestation of both the observer and the object. It is
this which produces the Universe U and all things in it. It has a purpose or
function to reconcile the observer with the object and return things to the
Original Unity. The Universe is a process, like thoughts in the mind of Allah,
where each point is like an idea in the mind of Allah, a state of order.
Materiality or inertia refers to the resistance or constraints each item,
including man, exerts or feels with respect to others. Life or energy refers to
the interactions between things. Knowledge refers to the awareness of Truth. A
human being M as a vicegerent is a little bit of U.
"Allah, He is Reality, and that which they
invoke besides Him is the False." 31:30
"There is no God save Him, the One, the
Absolute." 38:66
"Say: He, Allah, the One. Allah, the
Eternally besought of all. He begets not nor was begotten. And there is none
comparable unto Him." 112:1-4
"He is the First and the Last, and the
Outer and the Inner, and He is the Knower of all things."
"Vision comprehends Him not, but He
comprehends all vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware." 6:104
"Unto Allah belongs whatsoever is in the
heavens and the earth. Allah ever surrounds all things." 4:126 and 41:54
Possibilities or
Potentialities are meaningless unless they are themselves the resultant of Nothing,
in which there are no possibilities and an Absolute in which there are infinite
possibilities. By itself infinite possibilities is the same as chaos or nothing
since anything whatever can happen. In order to recognize anything these
possibilities have to be restricted - no game exists if it has no restricting
rules. The field of Potentialities is created by the action of the Absolute on
Nothing.
"He
is Allah, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught..." 59:24
"Allah has prescribed Mercy for
Himself." 6:54
"The originator of the Heavens and the
earth, when He decrees a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! And it is."
2:117 and 6:73
The object is a
field of potentialities. When it changes context or environment it shows
different sets of characteristics owing to its interactions. We build a picture
of it by a synthesis of all the different views of it. Creation is the
actualization of potentialities. Development is the increase in potentialities.
The thing as well as its context are known relative to each other and arise
from the whole situation.
The fundamental
truths as seen by Islam are:-
(1) Allah exists
- Reality is. That which is invoked besides Him is the False. The term
"Allah" strictly speaking is not a name but means "that which
alone is worthy of worship." In Arabic this has three letters:- ALH
These may refer
to the first, the middle and the last. They also represent the inspiration of
the breath, holding it and expiration that may refer to the rhythms of the
Universe, its creation and return.
(2) All things
are in a state of surrender to Allah, willingly or unwillingly.
"Seek they other than Allah's religion?
When to Him surrenders whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or
unwillingly, and unto Him shall they return!" 3:83 Also 13:15
This can be
thought of as being encapsulated in the first Shahadah or Islamic confession of
faith:- "There is no god except Allah." This, in Arabic has no
letters not found in Allah, and may be regarded as an elaboration of that word.
It may be represented by a triad:-
No-god - Except - Allah.... corresponding to the letters of
ALH
Here everything, the universe, represented by
"no-god", is both excluded from and related to Allah.
(3) The
Vicegerency of man - Though all things were made to serve Allah man was made
and should also serve Allah consciously and for this purpose the spirit is
contained in him. (32:9) It is necessary to understand that this is a formula
telling us something which is not otherwise easy to explain. The fact is that
man does possess consciousness, conscience and will and can think, create and
act deliberately instead of by instinct and, therefore, displays or is capable
of displaying divine qualities to a certain extent. He can, therefore, either
aid in the creative and evolutionary process or cause disruption. (The angels
knew this See 2:30).
This can be
regarded as being contained in the second Shahadah: - "Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah." This may be reduced to the triad:-
Muhammad - Messenger - Allah.... These correspond to the triads
above.
Here Muhammad
represents the "no-god", Creation. He is connected to Allah by the
notion "Messenger". A Messenger is made when the Spirit informs him
(4:163-165). (This is also how Jesus became the Messenger when he was 30 years
old and his mission began after his baptism - Luke 3:21-23). According to a
Hadith the Universe would not have been created but for Muhammad. According to
another Hadith, the first thing created was the Light of Muhammad. That is,
consciousness or spirit, and Muhammad may be regarded as an incarnation of this
Light or Spirit of Truth as Jesus was regarded as an incarnation of a Word of
Allah. Since Muhammad (saw) was working in perfect surrender to Allah (6:136),
was inspired by the spirit, and his mission was to bring a teaching which would
restore mankind to surrender to Allah, then he represents the vicegerency. The
vicegerency has no meaning apart from Allah and a function towards Him.
Everything
else follows from these basic tenets. They must be the foundation of Islamic
Philosophy.