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Order and Symmetry of the Universe INTRODUCTION The most distinctive feature of Islam is probably, the name ‘Islam’ itself! Almost all other religions of the world are known by names of their founders, places of origin, castes or communities to which they are preached. On the other hand, Islam is the only religion known by an ideal – the ideal of total submission. Islam is established when a man belonging to any caste, creed, language or religion submits all his desires and deeds to the will of God Almighty, whereas a person belonging to Muslim community ceases to be a Muslim when he goes astray from Islamic ideals and principles. Islam views the whole humanity from a vantage point located outside the boundaries of time, region, religion, language, color and race. It draws out the unique and exquisite relationship between man and God, who is his Creator, Protector and Supreme guide. It is an ideal and unique relationship inconceivable by all reference frames known to man. The dimensions of this ideal relationship are unfathomable, boundless and extending beyond the limits of the universe. This holistic philosophy which perceives humanity as one integral unit, was upheld and propagated by prophets, the divine messengers from time immemorial, in different parts of the world. The Holy Quran declares:- “Mankind was just one single nation, and Allah sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings, and with them He sent the Book in Truth, to judge between people, in matters where in they differed” (The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, verse 213) “And verily, We have sent among every Community, a messenger (Proclaiming) “worship Allah alone and eschew Tyrant (false deities etc.)” (The Holy Quran, 16:36) Though aberrant concepts such as polytheism, stoicism, deism etc. infiltrated in later years, authentic historical reports reveal that all ancient civilizations were enriched with the belief in one Supreme Being, who created and protected the whole universe. Even in Vedas and Upanishads, the Holy Scriptures of the supposedly polytheistic religion of India, attempts to relate man to a single Supreme God can be seen. What prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) received by way of divine revelations were not instructions for establishing a new religion. They were merely commands and exhortations to return to the ancient and original monotheistic ideals which were dearly observed and meticulously followed by human civilizations of all times. When the debris of erroneous ideals of polytheism are extracted, the lucid picture of monotheist ideals can be discerned in all civilizations, communities and religions. Whenever some one exclaims ‘Oh, God!’ out of despair, he addresses the same entity as one from another community does. The Holy Quran exhorts believers of all religions and faiths to accept this truth in its entirety and original form. ORDER AND SYMMETRY OF THE UNIVERSE Think about the human brain, which is physically soft and weak, but amazingly powerful otherwise. It has a wonderful, accurate and intrinsic order built within it. This order, which is perceptible even at the sub-cellular level, has been developed from a seemingly chaotic embryo formation, by the union of male sperm and female ovum. Doesn’t this fact point to the role of an extremely intelligent designer manipulating such a process, from behind the curtain? This is true in the case of all phenomena in the universe – from subatomic levels to galactic levels. All physical objects and processes in this world, from galaxies to atoms, are designed and brought under an accurate order, through a complex but systematic network of fundamental forces. One, who seeks truth and thinks inquisitively about this magnificent setup, can not deny the presence of a mastermind behind it. Through simple but thought-provoking verses, the Almighty God invites attention of man to this truth. “Behold!
In the creation of heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night
and day,
“It
is, We who have created you Why will you not witness the truth?
“See
you the seed that you sow in the ground,
“See
you the water that you drink Do you bring it down (in the rain)
Thus, The Holy Quran convincingly points out to the wise and sensible man, about the need for belief in God. The Holy Quran exhorts him to submit his life to the will of this Mighty Master whose wisdom and guidance can never be imperfect. Whatever man enjoys in this mundane life – the luxury, comfort, wealth, power and so on- are granted by this most merciful and compassionate Creator. Therefore Islam considers it a great sin and an unpardonable injustice one can inflict on himself to put equals to this Almighty God or to glorify human beings to that level or bestow divinity on and pray unto them. Even the wisest and most intelligent human beings can err in drawing a distinction between righteousness and evil, in absolute terms. Hence he has no other way but to accept and recognize the impeccable guidance from the Mighty Protector, whose knowledge surpasses limits of our space-time dimensions. The Holy Quran points out:: “Jihad (holy fighting in God’s
cause) is ordained for you, though you don’t like it,
Throughout History, there lived in various parts of the world, men who were great in all respects. These extraordinary men served humanity, without longing for any kind of reward. On the other hand there have been lowly men - unscrupulous, cruel and mean - committing heinous crimes, but quite often they don’t get punished. This intriguing fallacy exists, only among human beings because man is the only creation of God who can rise himself to sublime levels of righteousness or lower himself down to filthy abysses of evil. The Holy Quran says: “We
have indeed created man in the best of moulds,
“Truly
he succeeds who purifies his soul
In view of this natural possibility that man can become either exalted or detracted, God has sent prophets and revealed through them, the Holy Scriptures. This capability of man to acquire righteousness or evil is the result of a unique trait - his freedom of choice exclusively granted to man only. It qualifies him as a supreme creature distinct from others. If man has not been free, human progress will not have been achieved. He would not have built cities, cultures and civilizations. But there are many evil bye-products of this freedom, such as corruption, exploitation, oppression, environmental pollution etc., which blemish the images of progress in science, technology and culture. ( Do we have means to prevent this? Can we ever stop the onslaught of social evils that destroy the interpersonal relations and societal fabric, and whatever we consider as morality, piety and purity? Ayn Rand, the famous American materialist writer, lamented that in modern times, the inter-personal relationship was like between mechanical abstractions. Are we destined to live down with this kind of a fragmented setup? Or isn’t there an effective way to arrest the splintering of social and cultural systems and liberate humanityfrom plunging into a ‘moral blackout’’ - Translator ) Apparently there are two reasonable
means available for us. The first one is to resort to means for liberating
people from slavery, political, social and economic oppression. The second
is to exhort and educate people to purify themselves, change their life-style
and enrich their thinking habits. In other words, the views on human liberation
are of two types – materialistic and spiritual. All political ideologies,
formulated and nurtured until now aim at materialistic liberation. But
in almost all cases, the ideology prescribed for curing the evils of a
political system eventually turns out to be just another evil. People,
who are freed from the oppressive rulers, look up at their new leaders,
with dreams of imminent liberation and prosperity. But soon their liberators
transform themselves into worse oppressors. The utter disillusionment results
in anarchy and chaos. Tyrants who emerged out during post-revolution struggles
in France, Russia, Algeria, East European countries of Romania, Albania,
erstwhile Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia etc. are typical examples.
Islam’s view on liberation is holistic in nature. The individual is not cordoned off in an Islamic society. Islam assigns considerable importance to purification process and simultaneously attempts at liberation of an individual from temptation towards drinking, gambling, debauchery and amassment of wealth. Corruption, exploitation and oppression are founded on evil desires. It is due to sheer negligence of this fact that even countries materially developed and far advanced are unable to contain the invasion of crimes. The Holy Quran makes it clear that the primary objective of sending prophets is to explain the divine signs and thereby lead people to purest of life style and thinking: “Similarly,
We have sent among you,
Verses 3:164 and 62:2 also point to the same fact. This process of liberating human souls from evil is known as thazkiath in Quranic terminology. Thazkiath in Arabic language means purification and growth. It is quite evident that a man gets chance to better himself financially when he escapes from temptation towards drinks, debauchery and such vagaries. On an integrated scale, a whole nation can achieve multifaceted growth and progress through liberation of its masses from temptation towards evils. In addition to this, Islam stresses the importance of liberation from poverty and slavery too. The Holy Quran draws out simple means for diffusing the dilemma of humanity: “He
has not attempted on the path that is steep,
Any code of law framed by human beings can not prevent people from disastrous situations in social, political or economic fields. Attempts for imposition of slavery, poverty and oppression may emerge out, from time to time, neglecting all codes of ethics and morality. The Quranic verses cited above make it clear that such crises can be solved only when a society strives for materialistic intervention together with spiritual purification. The process of liberating man in materialistic terms from slavery and oppression and feeding him with bread is known as thahrir. It is the materialistic counterpart of spiritual liberation. Thus Islam aims at a multidimensional liberation process comprising of spiritual and materialistic purification and growth. Only such a holistic philosophy can put forth effective and efficient algorithms for solving mundane problems. Modern science and technology are in search of non-conventional methods. The holistic view presented by Islam provides multitudes of such methods. Unfortunately they are ignored by the self styled ‘guardian angels of modern civilization’ There are great people in several parts of the world who have worked relentlessly for the cause of humanity. The fruits of their services are enjoyed by millions of people. Great scientists after years of mind-boggling research, strike at inventions and discoveries whose fruitful benefits reach generations after generations. Nobody can reward them appropriately for their service. Even awards and recognition at international levels would not compensate for their services with ever-lasting benefits. On the other hand there are evil men who indulge in all kinds of atrocious deeds, causing unfathomable pain and miseries to masses for generations together. Some inflict pain and sufferings on others, the effects of which spread beyond their own life time. Nobody can punish them to the extent they really deserve. This anomaly is irrational, illogical and unjust by any standard. This justifies the need for a ‘system’ where man is rewarded in exact and absolute terms commensurate with his deeds. This system is called Aakhirath – the other world. Islam teaches us that the ultimate aim of human life on earth, is the other world. The paramount objective of prayers, alms giving, Zakath and fasting and service is absolute solace and bliss in the eternal world. But it should be noted that Islam doesn’t preach that materialistic pleasures should be thrown away completely for the sake of this spiritual attainment. No, never. Good food, dresses, houses, spouse, children, vehicle and such other amenities for comfortable life in this world can be acquired and enjoyed justly unless and until the enjoyment reaches the point of dehumanization and moral degeneration. “Say:
who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah,
Now, shouldn’t we prostrate in gratitude in front of this most Merciful and Compassionate God who has granted us concessions for enjoying the niceties of this world? Shouldn’t we express our gratitude to this all powerful Creator and Sustainer who has granted such abundant gifts for our enjoyment on this wonderful world ?! Translated by:
Dr. K.Shoukath
ali,
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