Islamic Creed- Lesson 1: The Cognitive Power and its Connection to the Inner and the Outer Worlds.
- Islamic creed
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- Islamic creed
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings to our Master Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest. O Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us, You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, let us make use of what You have taught us and advance us in knowledge. O Allah, show us the righteous things as righteous and help us do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of It, and admit us, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants.
Some of Aqeedah basics:
Aqeedah is one of the fundaments of Islam, and Fiqh (jurisprudence) is one of its branches. If Aqeedah is correct, then all man's deeds and actions are correct, but if it is corrupted, then his deeds are corrupted as well.
Discussing the topic of Aqeedah is very important, better yet, it is very critical. This does not mean that I did not discuss Aqeedah-related issues long ago, because we discussed those issues hundreds of times in different sections, like Khutab (sermons), Tafseer (interpretation), Hadith, and Sirah (biography) and in religious lessons. However, it is the first time we start discussing it integrally and successively.
Man's nafs (ownself):
It was reported in a Noble Hadith:
(( Whoever knows himself knows his Lord. ))
Let us start talking about man's nafs (ownself) which is inside us and in the breast. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And whether you keep your talk secret or disclose it, verily, He is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts (of men). ﴿
This nafs, which is the essence of man, is our means to know that man is a creature of a special kind. The entire universe, including all the things in the heavens and on the earth, is subjected to him. Accordingly, which is more honorable in Allah's Sight, the entire universe or man to whom this universe is subjected? Logically, the creature to whom all things are subjected is more honorable than the subjected. The Almighty says about man:
﴾ And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference. ﴿
The Almighty also says:
﴾ Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results). ﴿
Allah the Almighty has provided this honorable man with means of honor, among which are the following.
Things manifest Allah's Honor of man:
1- Cognitive power:
Man has a cognitive power unlike the wall, the table, the stones, and the trees which do not comprehend things. Thus man is distinguished, favored, and honored by this cognitive power. To clarify, think of monkeys. Did any evolution take place to monkeys since their existence on earth until now? Have they ever lived in homes? Have they invented devices? Have they organized their society? Of course, they have not, because a monkey is a monkey with no changes. Hence, the essential difference between mankind and animals is the cognitive power.
2- Perception:
If man no longer wants to perceive things, he nullifies his humanity. If his perception is crippled, he puts himself on the side of the animal. This is a fact and it is out of discussion because of its clarity and the many topics it is related to.
Let us get back to the cognitive power Allah the Almighty has exclusively bestowed upon man, making him distinguished from all other creatures, particularly animals. This power depends on the outer world and the inner one, and without which it is worthless, as it becomes functionless.
Ways (windows) of perception:
1- The outer world:
Allah the Almighty has made ways (that can be likened to windows) through which man recognizes Him. For instance, sight, smelling, hearing, tasting, sensing heat, cold and pressure, and all nerves are windows (means) of the cognitive power through which man perceives things in the outer world.
Even the most intelligent person in the world cannot recognize the red color and the difference between it and the green color if he is blind, can he? In fact, when you utter the colors, like red, green, blue, violet, white and so on before a blind person, they are considered meaningless to him. Hence the cognitive power is supported by these windows (in this context they are the senses). Our Lord, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ And the example of those who disbelieve, is as that of him who shouts to the (flock of sheep) that hears nothing but calls and cries. (They are) deaf, dumb and blind. So they do not understand. ﴿
The cognitive power requires the ability to hear, to see and to talk. So, whoever is dumb, deaf and blind cannot perceive or recognize things. The following Ayah indicates this fact. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily! The worst of (moving) living creatures with Allah are the deaf and the dumb, those who understand not (i.e. the disbelievers). ﴿
If you ask the deaf to tell you which bird sings more beautifully, the hawfinch or the crow, he will tell you, "I have no idea." He does not know, because he has never heard the singing of these two birds. Therefore, no matter how clever he is, his perception of the outer world is zero as long as the windows (i.e. the sense of hearing in this case) are closed.
The capabilities of senses are restricted:
Allah the Almighty has created these senses with Qadar (in due measure and proportion and appointed Laws, so that all things become what they are meant to be, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz). Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (in due measure and proportion and appointed Laws, so that all things become what they are meant to be, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz) ﴿
When you want to drink a glass of water, you see how pure the water is, but if you put a drop of it under a microscope, you will see thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of germs, bacteria and other tiny objects in it. What does this mean? It means that the ability to see things is restricted since you can only see things at a distance of a hundred or two hundred meters, but you cannot see anything further.
When the ophthalmologist asks you to read the eye chart at a distance of five meters or more to check your eyesight, you will be able to see the lines of the largest letters. However, as he moves to each successive row below, the letter decreases in size, and the ability to see it becomes harder. Based on the results of seeing the letters on the chart, the ophthalmologist may give you 8/10, 5/10, or 3/10 of vision level.
Being unable to see the smallest letter on the chart indicates the limited capabilities of man's eyesight. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (in due measure and proportion and appointed Laws, so that all things become what they are meant to be, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz) .﴿
The due measure and proportion are measured by Al-Aziz (The Mighty), Al-Aleem (the All-Knowing), Al-Khabeer (The All-Aware), Al-Baseer (The All-Seeing), Al-Hakim (The Wise). Thus, if our eyesight increased more than that, we would not be able to see any beauty on earth. Take for example the human soft skin, if it is enlarged under a microscope that magnifies things 300,000 times, you will see mountains, valleys and hills and this is unbearable.
As I have just said, if the eyesight was more powerful than this, no beauty on earth could be seen. Hence, the restricted eyesight is one of the blessings of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He.
Examples:
The air, for example, contains images, but who sees those images and how they reach us? The photos transmitted to the outer space and you watch on T.V prove this fact, but we cannot see them with our naked eye due to its restricted capacity. Furthermore, the air is full of sounds, for example the Arab world has so many air broadcasts, and these broadcasts have sound waves that are transmitted in space. The antenna intercepts radio waves (electromagnetic waves of radio frequency) and converts them to tiny alternating currents which are applied to the receiver, and the receiver extracts the desired information. The ear, on the other hand, cannot do that, and this is one of the blessings of Allah the Almighty bestowed upon man.
The Divine Wisdom of restricting man's capacities:
If the hearing were not restricted, you would be able to hear all the sound waves whether you like it or not. Due to the Wisdom of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, we are unable to hear those sound waves. Suppose that man could hear all the sounds and noises on earth, his life would be definitely unbearable! Imagine that you could hear the sounds of the sea waves, every operating engine, every explosion, and every sound on the earth from north to south, and from east to west, no matter how low those sounds are! If we ponder over this fact, we will come to understand Allah's Wisdom, and we will appreciate His Grace in making our hearing restricted. This is the meaning of the following Noble Ayah:
﴾ Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (in due measure and proportion and appointed Laws, so that all things become what they are meant to be, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz). ﴿
How great and invaluable blessing it is to have the sound wave weakened and faded away.
A shuttle was sent to Jupiter, and it traveled at a speed of 40.000 km per hour, and it was the fastest shuttle man has manufactured. Yet, it took it six years to reach Jupiter. As you know Jupiter is one of the planets of the solar system, and that shuttle could take photos and send them to the earth in the form of waves. Those waves remained as they were without having their amplitude reduced. However, if the sound waves remained like the ones on the space- without having their amplitude reduced- there would be no life on earth. I repeat the Ayah:
﴾ Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (in due measure and proportion and appointed Laws, so that all things become what they are meant to be, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz). ﴿
As I have said earlier, the capacities of hearing, sight, and smell are restricted. If man were able to smell bad smells from long distances, like the smell of a carcass in another country, life would be unbearable in his country. So, due to the Wisdom of the Lord of the Worlds, the bad smell, that is 200 meters away from man, fades. The proof is that the driver may smell a bad smell while he is driving, but as he drives away, he will not smell it any longer. This is how the ranges of the senses are restricted.
Denying intangible things is unreasonable:
Do we deny the intangible things? I mean there are devices that repel mosquitoes and flies by sending sounds that annoy mosquitoes and flies, but humans do not hear them, and these sounds are below the threshold of hearing. Also there are modern devices for rodents that make sounds that humans do not hear, while rodents do, so if they hear it they flee, and these devices are used in warehouses. Accordingly, can any sane man deny these sounds just because he cannot hear them? These sounds are one more proof that the ranges of man's senses are limited, and this is the point that I would like to highlight. Some of the scholars of Tawhid (Allah's monotheism) said, "The lack of perceiving things does not mean they do not exist."
The proof of the previous fact:
There are devices that take photos of things that we do not see with our naked eye, but can you deny their existence? Someone may say, "Well, I cannot see Allah, so does He exist? Where is He, then?" This is stupidity and ignorance unto itself, because the lack of perceiving things does not cancel their existence. I keep repeating that our senses have limited capabilities due to profound Divine Wisdom, and whatever we cannot see does exist and its existence could be more important than ours.
No one should deny that there is the force of gravitation between the earth and the sun according to the law of gravity. There is a force of gravitation between tangible masses according to the size of the mass; the bigger the mass is the more the gravitation is, and the smaller the mass is the less the gravitation is. This is one of the axiomatic facts.
A teacher once wanted to prove to his little students that whatever we cannot perceive or see does not exist, so he said, "As long as we do not see the Creator, he does not exist." Upon hearing that, a student interrupted the teacher and said, "Well, we do not see your mind, and this means you have none." By analogy with this flimsy rule, it is true that the brain cannot be seen, but we can see its effects, and this is another point regarding the cognitive power.
2- The inner world:
As a human being, you come up with some facts from the inner world, because man's self gets angry, fears, hopes, rejoices, grieves, worries, and becomes arrogant. These feelings are perceived by man through the inner world and not the outer one.
Based on what we have discussed so far, there are internal ways (windows) and external ones (through which man perceives and realizes things around him and inside himself). These ways are like the windows in the house; some of them overlook the courtyard of the house and others overlook the street. Hence, man has windows that overlook the outer world, and through which he forms his perceptions, and he has other windows that overlook the inner world, and through which he comes up with his feelings.
3- Imagination:
What is imagination? It is the ability to imagine. For instance, a person imagines that he has a house overlooking a garden and on its sides are cypress trees and various fruit trees, while in fact he does not have anything of that, so what is this imagination? If we say to someone, "Imagine that you have a house", he will imagine a house with a roof, walls, and a floor, right? Also, if we ask someone to imagine a mermaid who is half a woman and half a fish, he will imagine that at once. This means the human mind imagines things that he has an idea about, but he cannot imagine things he has no idea about at all. For instance, man can imagine an apple tree that bears cups of apple juice instead of apple fruits, because we know what the cup is and what the juice is too.
Actually, imagination is linked to reality, and this is obvious when man imagines a Martian man. He imagines him with a head, a body, two hands, and two legs, and the additional things he imagines him to have are related to the position of the eye, the big size of the head, or the shape of the hands and the feet. Do you think man can imagine a Martian man without a head and two legs? Of course, he cannot
The limited imagination is not a scientific proof of seeing Ghaib:
If you cannot have an imaginary image out of nothing, then how can a person imagine Jannah (Paradise) although he has never seen it? Delving into al-Ghaib (the unseen) is not the function of the mind. Pay attention to the following Hadith, please:
(( On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Allah said: I have prepared for My pious
servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived." Thus recite if you wish: "No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do. (Quran Chapter 32 Verse 17)." ))
Imagination should not roam in the world of al-Ghaib, because it comes from the knowledge of tangible things i.e., the thing someone imagines is derived from something tangible. As for Jannah, we have never seen it, and regarding this point, scholars said, "It is enough to know the true information mentioned about Ghaib in in the Book of Allah the Almighty" no more nor less. Therefore, since you are unable to imagine Jannah, you will never be able to imagine the Divine Character of Allah the Almighty, will you? In this respect Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
(( The Prophet (PBUH) said, (Reflect on Allah’s creations not on Allah’s Entity or you will be doomed) ))
4- The mind:
Your mind is connected to your senses, and your imagination is linked to reality, and you will not be able to go beyond their capabilities. The point is that when the human mind or thought is unable to encompass something in knowledge, this does not cancel its existence, but rather it means that Allah the Almighty created our mind with restricted capabilities due to His profound Divine Wisdom.
To clarify, a scale that can weigh things up to 30 kg cannot weigh a car; otherwise it will be broken into pieces. However, we cannot say that the scale is bad. Well, it is good, but it is not intended for weighing objects that are more than 30 kg, and so it is not for weighing cars.
This example makes it obvious to us that when man overburdens his mind beyond its scope, and then he fails, the fault is not in his mind, but rather in misusing it, because the mind is linked to the reality, and the reality has a time and a place. For example when someone says, "A crime occurred", we directly ask, "When and where?" In other words, the human mind does not have the ability to imagine any event but by linking it to a time and a place. Yet, when it comes to the Creator, there is nothing like unto Him, and thus none should ask where He is and when He does so and so, because He is the Creator of time. Hence, no questions that start with "when" and "where" should be asked regarding the Divine Entity of Allah since He is the Creator of time and space. Counting the number of years is within our scope as human beings, but time is infinite when it has to do with Allah the Almighty, because He is not restricted by time or place.
The restriction of mind's capabilities
The universe has no limits, while the mind does. The furthest galaxy man has discovered is 18000 million light years away from us. There might be other galaxies that we have no idea about, and this indicates that the universe has no limits. Well, the question is, how can man's reason know the Infinite, Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He? Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills.) ﴿
Imam ash-Shafi'i said, "The mind has a limit at which its capacities stops, and the same goes for the eyesight." Imam al-Ghazali said, "Do not rule out, O manipulative in the world of the mind, that there is a phase beyond the mind in which what does not appear in the mind may appear." In fact, Karamat (honoring signs that indicate that someone is elevated in Allah's Sight and so he is honored by these signs) do exit. Yet, man's mind cannot comprehend them due to its restricted capacities. Thus, being restricted does not mean they do not exist. Allah the Almighty says in His Noble Book:
﴾ One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: "I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!" then when (Sulaiman (Solomon)) saw it placed before him, he said: "This is by the Grace of my Lord to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful! And whoever is grateful, truly, his gratitude is for (the good of) his ownself, and whoever is ungrateful, (he is ungrateful only for the loss of his ownself). Certainly! My Lord is Rich (Free of all wants), Bountiful." ﴿
Can you imagine how that person could move the throne of Balqis since he said as Allah the Almighty narrates, "I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!"? If you want to move it, do you know how much effort you need to pay and how much time you will spend for this?
The sane person understands the facts that we mentioned previously, one of which is, "The lack of perceiving things does not mean they do not exist." Man's reason has limits and his imagination is based on the limited reality, so how can his restricted mind, with all the restricted senses he has, perceive the Infinite (Allah the Almighty)? Knowing Allah the Almighty can be achieved through knowing His Actions, but knowing His Divine Entity is impossible. The attempt to know Allah's Divine Entity is like putting a very thin sheet of paper in a furnace built to melt iron in order to know what may happen to it.
Man is incapable of knowing Allah's Divine Entity:
﴾ And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. ﴿
It was reported that Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
((If The Divine Decree and Predestination are mentioned, be restrained ))
Do not search in the Divine Entity of Allah the Almighty and His Knowledge, by asking how and why.
In concise, searching in the Knowledge of Allah the Almighty cannot be perceived by man's mind, and I am referring here to serious questions in Aqeedah that we should stop at and try not to argue about. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad (PBUH)): "He is Allah, (the) One* "Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks)* "He begets not, nor was He begotten;* "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him". ﴿
There are subjects that are within the competence of the human thought, but other ones are beyond the capabilities of the human thought, and so we should not delve into them. However, if our mind fails to comprehend them, we should not deny them, because as we said, "The lack of perceiving things does not mean they do not exist."
