It appears, from
some of the articles appearing on various Internet sites, that there exist
numerous different views as to the nature of Religion. Some people think it
refers to moral teaching; others believe it refers to certain institutions, or
organizations with priests; still others suppose that it refers to a set of
rituals or dogmas; some consider it to be something other worldly, which is
considered to be superstitions by many; and some insist it is about
spirituality which is often misunderstood - emotionalism, obscure ideas or
unusual subjective experiences are often mistaken for spirituality.
The Islamic
concept of Religion is quite different from the above. It can be described from
several aspects:-
(1) The word “religion”
comes from a root meaning “to bind back
to ones source”. It reconnects man with the rest of
Reality, thereby giving meaning to all existence and to life. Man contains the
Spirit of Allah from which his soul derives. But he has forgotten this owing to
the involvement of his attention with worldly matters. Religion is a means of
reconnecting him with God, the source of his soul and of all things.
“Then He fashioned him (man) and breathed into him of His
own spirit, and made for you the faculties of hearing, and sight and hearts
(feeling); little is it that you give thanks.” 32:9
"And
be not like those who forgot (or forsook) Allah, so He made them forget (or
forsake) their own souls: these it is that are the transgressors." 59:19
Since Reality is a Unity, in which all things, having
arisen from a Unity, interact, then for purposes of thought both a distinction
and a relationship arises between (a) Allah (The Origin ), (b) the Creatures
and (c) Religion which connects the two.
Religion
has three levels:- (a)
The whole relationship a person or community has with Reality as a whole, conscious,
sub-conscious or unconscious. People are, therefore, only partly aware of their
religion and to different degrees. (b) In so far as people are conscious, it
refers to their whole life, their thought, feeling and action; ideas, motives
and behaviour; their system of facts, meaning and values. These may be
integrated, comprehensive or emphasized to various degrees. (c) It can also be
seen as a combination of three aspects:- the Cosmic, the Social and the
Psychological. That is, it has an outer or objective, an inner subjective or
personal, and an interactive or collective aspect. Emphasis may be placed on
different aspects to different degrees by different people.
(2) From the
Islamic point of view Religion and Islam
are synonymous.
“Lo!
Religion with Allah is The Surrender. Those who formerly received the
Scriptures differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression
among themselves... and if they argue with thee (O Muhammad), say: I have
surrendered my purpose to Allah and so have those who follow me. And say unto
those who have received the scripture and those who read not: Have ye, too,
surrendered? If they surrender, then truly they are rightly guided; and if they
turn away, then it is thy duty only to convey the message.” 3:19-20
Religion is, therefore, defined as “Surrender
to Allah”, Allah being the source. All actions, feelings and thoughts that
are motivated by this are religion. It is not a question of habit or of mere
intellectual belief. Faith is required and this refers to commitment and includes
belief, motivation as well as action. It has intellectual, emotional and motor
ingredients. Hence,
“And
whoso seeks a religion other than The Surrender (unto Allah) it will not be
accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the hereafter.” 3:85
“Surely pure religion is for Allah only. And
those who choose protecting friends besides Him say: We worship them only that
they may bring us near unto Allah. Lo, Allah will judge between them concerning
that wherein they differ. Lo, Allah guides not him who is a liar, an ingrate.”
39:3
“And they (mankind) were commanded naught else
but this that they serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by nature
upright, and to establish worship and to practice charity. That is true
Religion.” 98:5
In other words
true religion is Islam, Surrender to Allah. This should not be misunderstood.
It is not being asserted that Islam (understood as a sect, one among many) is
the only true religion, but that wherever there is a true religion whatever its
name, it is Islam.
Surrender
implies:- (a) That the Word of God as given in genuine scriptures, the guidance
and instructions of Allah, be followed. (b) That the actions be motivated by
faith, love and hope in Allah. (c) That man realize the Unity of things and
become at-one with Allah from whom all things come and to which they return.
(3) Religion may
be defined as the natural way of life or behaviour of all things something like
the concept of TAO.
"And unto Allah do prostrate whosoever is
in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in
the morning and the evening." 13:15
"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
"The seven heavens and the earth, and all
that is therein praises (or serves) Him, and there is naught but hymns (or
expresses) His praise: but ye understand not their praise. Verily, He is
Clement and Forgiving." 17:44
“Have
they not pondered upon themselves? Allah created not the heavens and the earth,
and that which is between them save with Truth and for a destined end.” 30:8
and 38:28
Religion is also
behaving according to one’s inherent nature. Religion is the way of life which
is in accord with human nature and is inherent in man:-
"Then set your purpose for religion as a
man upright by nature - the nature made by Allah in which He has made men;
there is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation; that is the right
religion, but most people do not know -." 30:30
"And, set thy purpose resolutely for
religion as a "Hanif" (a man upright by nature); and be not of the
idolaters; " 10:106
(4) Religion is
service to Allah, the Self-existing Source and Lord of the Universe, the
universe of which we are part.
“Say, "I am only bidden to serve Allah and
not to associate partners with Him; Unto Him do I call and unto Him is my
return." !3:36
“And I have not created the jinn and mankind
except to worship (serve) Me.” 51:56
"Did ye then think that We
created you for jest (or sport, without purpose), and that ye would not be
returned to Us?" 23:115
“And We create not the heaven and the earth and
that which is between them in vain; that is the opinion of those who
disbelieve; then woe to those who disbelieve because of the Fire.” 38:28
The Universe has
a purpose and we have a purpose with respect to it. The Universe is a single
system in which all things are directly or indirectly connected so that each
item has a function with respect to the whole.
Human beings are
part of total existence, composed of the materials, forces and laws operating
in it, and live in interaction with it. Their welfare, and fate depends on
adjusting to it. In order to live and adjust human beings need facts, meanings
and values. We need to know "what is", "how it relates" to
other things and ourselves, and "what ought to be". Whereas Science
studies the Universe as a fact and Philosophy tries to discover the meaning of
existence, Religion is concerned with
the relationship between man and Reality. This involves facts, meaning and
values.
The World we
experience is a whole, a unity in which there are many interacting parts. Facts
are obtained through the senses from the outside and refer to the multiplicity
of parts. But values arise from within us. The senses give us separate sense
data. The perception of the whole that the parts form depends on insight, inner
experience, and consciousness. Values, therefore, refer to the function that
the parts have with respect to the whole. Meanings arise when values are
imposed on facts and refer to the relationship between facts and to the
relationship between what are within and what is outside human beings - between
observer and object. We do not deal in facts but have to interpret them. We
give them meaning by relating them.
Life is a
process, an interaction between organisms and their environment. It can be
reactive as in material objects driven by external forces, though the nature of
the object also affects the resulting behaviour. It can be automatic,
instinctive or driven by conditioned reflexes as in animals that have a degree
of self-regulation and motivating mechanisms of their own. Or it can be conscious
and deliberate, based on self-controlled processing. This is a typically human
ability, but all three are available to man.
Conscious
interaction requires knowledge, motivation and action. The data for knowledge
is derived through the senses from the external world, a person's own organism
and from his conscious experiences. It constitutes an input. The motives derive
from built-in systems and can be classified as self-preservative, reproductive
and self-extensive. They process the data. These are not absent from material
objects. They, too, tend to preserve themselves. This is known as inertia.
Reproduction and growth are seen in things such as light waves and crystals.
The instincts and urges in animals and man must be regarded as further
elaboration of what already exists at more primitive levels. Action is the
output by which the environment is affected and modified. It may take place
through the limbs, tensions within muscles and other organs that produce
speech, facial expressions and body language or more directly by the forces
emitted which may be electromagnetic, chemical, or of other kinds.
Conscious
interaction consists of three inter-dependent systems concerned respectively
with an emphasis on facts, meanings and values, though all three can be a
subject for knowledge, motives and actions. Science is a system of thought
concerned mainly with knowledge of facts. Technology may be regarded as
something that gives it motivation and Industry is its application in action.
Philosophy deals in the analysis of meanings. Life styles, including social
organization and politics may be regarded as its motives, and Culture as its
manifestation in action. Religion deals in values. It is, however a Unity also
containing three parts concerned with knowledge, organization and action.
If existence is
a whole containing parts inter-related with each other, then we get three
possibilities: - (a) That the whole determines the arising and nature of the
parts; (b) that the parts determine the nature of the whole, (c) that the
inter-action between the whole and the part determines all intermediate events.
If the Universe began from a single event, then it must be the whole that
originally determined the parts. All other phenomena must be intermediate
events at different levels. One of the consequences of this is that it is
Values (or purposes) which originally determine the facts. Subsequently, we get
different levels of meanings. It is from these that facts and values can both
be extracted. But values must be based on the fundamental nature of existence;
else they will lead to destruction of those who hold them, thereby annihilating
themselves. New facts are constantly arising in the Universe through natural
processes, including human activities. In this sense they are created by values
which are inherent in nature.
Another
consequence is that Religion is prior to Philosophy and Science and their
sisters in the realm of motives and action, and that all these must fit into
religion as parts of a whole.
(5) It is a
matter of observation that the Universe has a direction of development.
Therefore, it has purpose and motives (These terms are not anthropomorphically
defined.). That is, all events in it must conform to this process consciously
or unconsciously. It has evolved from "what was" to "what
is" to "what will be". Religion
is an integral part of the evolutionary process. The motives mentioned
above are part of it. The Universe is an organism. It can be regarded as having
the Reactive, Autonomous and Conscious modes of behaviour.
The arising and
development of conscious human beings was an inevitable part of the evolution
of the Universe.
"He it is who created the heavens and the
earth in six days, and His Throne (or authority, control) was (first) upon the
Water that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct." 11:7
"He it is who made you Vicegerents of the
earth, and raised some of you above others in degree to try you by that which
he has given you; Verily, thy Lord is swift to punish, but, verily, He is
Forgiving and Merciful." 6:166
All things
already submit to Allah unconsciously, but man is required to submit
consciously also because he was made a vicegerent with the Spirit of Allah
within him (32:9). It is this which bestows consciousness, conscience and will.
When man became conscious he began to wonder about the Cosmos, himself and his
relationship with it and desired to adjust his life accordingly. His
intelligence needed explanation and purpose. These needs were built-in into his
nature. He needed not only facts, but also meaning and values. Religion is the fulfilment
of these needs. Religion is an integral part of man. Religion arises when the
evolutional process produces conscious beings and then itself becomes
self-conscious in man. When language came into being and experiences were
translated into symbols then Religion, too, came to be formulated. But the
words are not the experience and the experience is not the reality.
Religion is, therefore, a conscious unified,
comprehensive way of life.
Religion should
be regarded as a conscious way of life that has within it the three ingredients
Ethics, Science and Economics. Here
Ethics deals in values and goals, Science in knowledge and Economics with
methods of using knowledge to fulfil goals. The meaning of these words should
not be confused with the ordinary usage of them. By "Economics" is
meant the whole range of human activities and interactions. This includes
organization, industry, commerce, finance, procedures, practices, institutions,
educational and health services, and political systems etc. There is a fourth
value, namely Aesthetics. This
refers to the overall harmony between the other three. In fact, these four
values are aspects of everything. Even science, which is a study, requires
ethics, is an economic activity, and has an aesthetic aspect.
(6) Man was
created perfect but has fallen. That is, he functions at levels lower than he
is capable of and has potentialities that are not realized. Religion is a set
of techniques designed to actualize these potentialities, to facilitate human
evolution and to help man towards perfection.
“Surely, We have created man in the best of
moulds. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low; except those who believe
and act righteously; for theirs is a reward unfailing.” 95:4-6
"Be mindful of your duty to Allah, and
seek the way of approach unto Him, and strive in His way in order that ye may succeed."
5:35.
"Say unto mankind, O Muhammad, I exhort
you unto one thing only: that ye Awake for Allah's sake by twos and singly, and
then reflect." 34:46
"O
ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty to Allah, and seek the way of approach
unto Him, and strive in His way in order that ye may succeed. " 5:35
(7) Human
development is achieved by re-orientation of the mind, setting up a different
set of goals and guiding and channelling psychological energy, by obstructing
certain kinds of behaviour while encouraging others, and by setting up
communities which will do so.
"They
believe in Allah, and in the last day, and bid in right conduct, and forbid
what is wrong, and vie with one another in good works; these are among the
righteous." 3:114
"And
that there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and bid right
conduct, and forbid what is wrong (or indecent); these are the
successful." 3:104
“Triumphant
are those who repent, those who serve Him, those who praise, those who fast,
those who bow down, those who fall down prostrate (in awe or surrender), those
who bid what is right and forbid what is wrong, and those who keep the limits
(ordained) of Allah - glad tidings to those who believe.” 9:112
"O
ye who believe! Forbid not the good things which Allah has made lawful for you,
nor transgress (or commit excess); verily, Allah loves not the
transgressors." 5:87
The purpose of religion is not only personal
salvation and development, but also has a social and cosmic function.
"Fight
in the Cause of Allah with those who fight you, but transgress not the limits
(or begin not hostilities); verily, Allah loves not those who transgress (or
the aggressors)." 2:190
See also
4:95, 9:17,88, 17:19, 22:78, 48:31, 49:15, 60:1
(8) Religion is
a single phenomenon but has several dispensations.
“And
verily We have raised in every nation a messenger proclaiming: Serve Allah and
shun false Idols. Then some of them there were whom Allah guided and some of
them there were upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and
see the nature of the consequences for the deniers. ” 16:36
“And
they say: No one enters paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. These are
their own desires. Say: Bring your proofs if ye are truthful. Nay, but
whosoever surrenders his purpose to Allah while doing good, his reward is with
his Lord; and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. And
the Jews say the Christians follow nothing true; and the Christians say the
Jews follow nothing true. Yet both are readers of the scriptures. Even thus
speak those who know not. Allah will judge between them on the Day of
Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ... and the Jews will not be
pleased with thee, nor will the Christians till thou follow their creed. Say:
Lo, the guidance of Allah (Himself) is Guidance (enough).” 2:111-113,120
(9) Religion may
and do deteriorate and the form, formulation or presentation of religion
alters. The practices become habits, ritualized empty of spirit and value and
their purpose is forgotten. Teachings become dogma or slogans without meaning,
or are falsified by alteration in meaning. They degenerate into superstition
owing to the operation of non-conscious factors such as automatism, prejudices,
self-interest, and addictions to matters connected with culture, politics and
economics. Institutions become self-perpetuating entities, often dominated and
controlled by priesthood concerned with their own power, prestige or wealth.
Power seekers use religions as an instrument and manipulate their doctrines,
practices and institutions to serve their own interests. Additions and
elaboration, often based on speculation, accumulate and smother the original
message. Subtractions occur because parts are forgotten or ignored and changes
in emphasis take place. The passage of time causes alteration in language and
conditions of life, which lead to the misunderstanding of the original message.
“And verily We have raised in every nation a
messenger proclaiming: Serve Allah and shun false Idols. Then some of them
there were whom Allah guided and some of them there were upon whom error had
just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences for
the deniers. ” 16:36
“Lo, those who disbelieve in Allah
and His Messengers, and seek to make distinctions between Allah and His
Messengers and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to
chose a way in between, such are disbelievers in Truth; and for disbelievers We
have prepared a shameful doom.” 4:151
"And they (mankind) were commanded naught
else but this that they serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by
nature upright, and to establish worship and to practice charity. That is true
Religion." 98:5
"Mankind were one community, and Allah
sent unto them Prophets as bearers of good tidings (gospels) and as Warners,
and revealed therewith Scriptures with Truth that it might judge between
mankind concerning that wherein they differ. And only those unto whom it was
given differed concerning it, after clear proofs had come unto them through
hatred of one another." 2:213 See also 2:136, 3:84, 42:13, 15
When religions
degenerate, Messengers are sent by Allah to renew religion. This has to be
presented to people in the language, conceptual system and form which is
suitable for the people, times and conditions. Religion does not, therefore,
necessarily have a single form, and differences do not necessarily falsify
them, though each should be regarded as best for its time.
"We never sent a Messenger save with the
language of his people, that he might clarify the message to them. Then Allah
leads whom He will astray, and guides whom He will; and He is the Mighty, the
Wise." 14:4
"Unto each nation (community or group)
have We given sacred rites which they are to perform; so let them not dispute
with thee over the matter but summon them unto thy Lord. Lo, thou indeed
followest right guidance." 22:76
“Lo, those who believe, and those who are Jews
and Sabaeans and Christians - whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and
does right - there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.”
5:69
(10) The history
of a religion is not the same thing as the history of a particular nation or
people. The purpose of religion is not necessarily served by a religious
community, but could be served by other nations or by the force of the
historical process.
"Dost not thou see that Allah created the
heavens and the earth in Truth? If He please He can remove you and replace you
with a new creation."14:19
"But nay! I swear by the Lord of all
points of the rising and setting places East and West that We are certainly
Able to replace them with others better than them, and We shall not be
overcome." 70:40-41
"And if Allah had pleased He
could certainly have exacted what is due from them (without you), but (thus it
is ordained) that He may try some of you by means of others. As for those who
are slain in the way of Allah, He will by no means allow their deeds to
perish." 47:4 and 2:251
(11) Religion
has a higher level that is only hinted at by the Quran in symbolism because it
cannot be understood by unregenerate man. Man is required for some kind of
Cosmic function. The purpose of Religion is to facilitate human evolution and
become more conscious, responsible and self-controlled.
"Ye
shall surely travel from stage to stage!" 84:19
"He, indeed, is Successful who causes it
(the soul) to grow, and he, indeed, is a failure who stunts it." 91:9-10
It has been
known since ancient times that the extensity, intensity and stability of
consciousness vary in the same person and also between different people. It is
also known that we do not perceive reality as it is, but the reality we see
depends on the degree of our consciousness. Our behaviour, motives and
self-control also depend on the degree of consciousness. Many people have
observed that within the normally sub-conscious mind there is a much more
powerful faculty for processing the data of experience (inner and outer) than
is normally accessible to the conscious mind. It has access to much more and
subtler data owing to a much greater range of sensitivities - we are aware only
of a small portion of all the things which affect us or occur within us. It is,
therefore, also possible to control and do a much greater range of things than
is normally possible for the conscious mind.
These faculties
may be regarded as dormant potentialities, which can be activated under suitable
conditions. But they lie dormant because the circumstances of life stimulate
and exercise these other lower faculties which are adequate for the business of
making a living and reproduction. Consciousness is narrowed down and focused on
these worldly concerns. The fixation is caused by the pleasure principle, by
fear, desire and doubt and these create the condition of rivalry, conflict and
social disintegration that increase the fear and desire for sources of
security. Thus, people are trapped in a vicious circle, a prison. This
separates them also from the greater Reality. They may be regarded as negations
or perversions of the spiritual impulses of hope, love and faith.
Owing to the fact that only a fraction of the
data, processing power and capability is available to the ordinary mind, people
interact with each other and with the environment mostly in a subconscious
manner. They cannot recognize or control affairs, but are controlled by world
processes. People do not like this conclusion and, therefore, suppress it and
pretend that they have control. In fact, there is no way of overcoming this
deficiency but by the Techniques of
Awakening. Glimpses of the higher mind may be responsible for paranormal or
psychic phenomena. It is possible that experiences of the higher mind may be
misinterpreted by the lower mind. This gives rise to various superstitions,
especially when they are seen as external to the perceiving mind. Reality,
beyond that normally available to the limited consciousness of people in general
can be called Transcendental Reality.
Those in closest contact with it and who undertake the development of humanity
are known as Prophets or Messengers in Islam. They bring an objective Guidance
and Teaching to the people, which they also expound, demonstrate and apply.
This tends to create seven forms of influences or aspects: –
(a) The Esoteric
– The teachings which are given to a selected set of disciples who have been
specially prepared and are able to comprehend the higher teaching and carry out
the special duties given them.
(b) The
Mesoteric – that which can be understood by the scholars and the intelligentsia.
But this may be only intellectual understanding and does not necessarily imply
that these people are better than those who understand their religion much more
simply, but practice it much more diligently with greater faith. However, those
who have a greater understanding should be able to apply it better and more
effectively. They also have a greater responsibility to do so.
(c) The Exoteric
- the teachings, practices and institutions which are suitable to the average
state of development and understanding of the people and is made generally
available. But people vary greatly in their knowledge, understanding, practice
and application of religion.
The limited
understanding of the majority of people tends to reduce the teaching to
superstition and misleads, unless it is protected and hidden from them usually
through symbolic means. Unfortunately, however, many of the ignorant are also
ambitious power seekers and use religion for political or commercial ends or
for their own self-aggrandizement, and this corrupts religion. The corrupted
form tends to flourish because the greater the intelligence, knowledge,
understanding, effort and self-control are, the fewer are the number of people
who have them.
However, in
Islam, there is no absolute distinction between the outer and the inner, the
exoteric and the esoteric. There is only Unity. The outer is an indication of
the inner and the inner manifests as the outer. The outer discipline, Shariat,
has an inner dimension and aim, and the inner spiritual transformation so
achieved has an outer aim to serve God as Vicegerent. The Straight Way is a ladder - People are
required to move progressively upwards or inwards by stages. When people are at
different levels of the spiritual ladder of knowledge, understanding or
consciousness, then the one above may be regarded as having esoteric knowledge
relative to the one below who has exoteric knowledge. Many things which used to
be known only to small groups of Sufis or Yogis and other mystics have become
common knowledge these days and cannot now be regarded as esoteric. But they
are esoteric to those who do not understand them, though they think they do
having reduced them to their own level. The verbal availability is not esoteric
but the higher understanding of them remains esoteric.
(d) The External - The Prophets do not set out
to form a religion or sect as distinct from others. But religion is like a
stone dropped into a pond. Like the ripples that move outwards from the centre
in both space and time until they cover the whole pond and then return, so the
religious impulse coming through a Prophet also eventually covers the whole
earth. However, the influence get diluted and weakened as it extends in space
and time. Thus the ancient religion of Egypt
and India
produced a number of sects in many parts of the world. Later Hebrewism and
Zoroastrianism had wide spread effects in India,
Persia and Greece. Hinduism affected Buddhism,
which spread from India into
China,
and together with Hebrewism affected Christianity. Islam, which is continuous
with Christianity and Hebrewism and also shows features which exist in Zoroastrianism,
caused reformations in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and the arising of
various movements and sects such as Sikhism.
(e), (f) and (g)
The Cultural, Social and Physical - Religions primarily affect people
spiritually and psychologically. This changes their perceptions, attitudes,
ways of thinking, ideas, motives, priorities, ways of reacting and doing. All
this manifests as a change in culture that continues to inform and form the
succeeding generations. This also alters the behaviour and interactions between
people and these have Social and Political consequences. It leads to the
setting up of nations and organizations, to conflicts and wars, to agreements
and treaties, to migration and inter-mingling of peoples and changes in the
distribution of genes. All these things affect how people relate with the
environment, what resources they seek and utilize, what changes they bring
about by exploration, migration, mining, agriculture, city and road building
etc.
Although these
things do not appear to be directly related to Religion as taught by the
founders and may even appear to be contrary to their teachings, they are
certainly inter-linked. They are part of the overall process though no
individual, including the Prophet may be conscious of it.
(12) Religion
has three levels:- (a) Shariat (Law) (b) Iman (Faith) or the Tariqat (the
Method or Way). (c) Ihsan (Righteousness), true spirituality, Haqiqat or
realisation of Truth.
The purpose of
the Law is to get people to behave in a manner as they would behave if they had
already become spiritually regenerated. This would (a) create a society in
which spiritual development becomes possible and (b) it would hopefully also
transform some people and prepare them for the next step. (c) It would act as a
platform or rung in the ladder, preventing people from slipping down or, at
least, make slipping less easy. (d) It would also act as a vehicle or vessel
that would carry the religious message down the ages. (e) We are required to
live in this world with respect to which we have a function. It also provides
all the opportunities and challenges required for our development. But we need
guiding principles like the railings along stairs. We are also required to stay
"sober" and not get "drunk" with spiritual matters - we
might mistake mere fantasies and delusions for spirituality. (f) We are told:-
"The dwellers of the desert say: We
believe. Say: You believe not, but rather say: 'We submit'; for faith has not
yet entered into your hearts; and if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will
not diminish anything of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
49:14
The unregenerate
person lives in a spiritual desert. Real faith does not exist in the beginning,
but is a result of the experiences that come when a discipline is undertaken.
This is like undergoing an educational or training system before understanding
can develop. Behaviour after faith develops is different from what it is before
faith - a person becomes self-motivated. This leads to quite a different set of
activities and experiences and leads to real spiritual development. The task of
spiritual development is done through the second stage. This remains hidden,
not because people hide it, but because it refers to inner states that cannot
be understood by those who have not yet developed faith and discernment.
Whereas,
there may well be the rare person who is born with a higher spiritual nature
that has not been corrupted or atrophied or imprisoned in the conditioned mind,
this usually refers only to prophets and saints. The rest of us need a discipline,
a true educational system. This discipline cannot be constructed by
unregenerate man but only by one who is further along the way and is more
conscious of what is required because he possess more knowledge and can control
fantasies and prejudices. It is obvious that ordinary people will tend to
accept or construct that which appeals to them according to their limited
understanding. This will simply trap them in their present condition. They will
follow what their ego creates, thereby strengthening the ego. True spiritual
progress implies that one is going to a place that one is not at and does not
yet know, and this requires a road, faith in it, or in those who have the
expertise. The so called New Age cults which tend to be speculative, inventive
and syncretic, based on partial knowledge and limited understanding, cannot,
therefore, be effective except in creating delusions. However, the scientific
method based on careful investigation of nature and experiment, trial and
error, which has been successful in other fields, could possibly lead, also in
this field, to the creation of effective psychological techniques in future.