1. THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

 

   

The purpose of Islam, as shown in Book 1, is human development, the actualisation of the potentialities inherent in man. This means that they have to go from a state in which they are at present to a state which they have not yet attained. To do this, Islam can be described by three inter-dependant factors, namely (a) discipline (b) faith and (c) righteousness (al-Islam, al-iman and al-ihsan). Righteousness means a state defined as Surrender to Allah or one in which a person behaves according to his inherent nature. (93:67, 95, 4:125). Faith means the understanding, confidence and purposiveness upon which behaviour is based. Discipline means the techniques by which this aim is achieved and which requires the self-control by which conscious, purposive, intelligent behaviour can replace impulsive, undirected, automatic behaviour.

Since man has not reached the state to which he is striving, it is not generally possible for man to perceive or judge either the reality, or the goal or the techniques. It is the discipline which creates the experiences upon which faith is based, and this, in turn, leads to righteousness. However, no one undertakes a discipline unless he has some faith, and no such faith can exist unless there is some righteousness. At least some inkling of what is true about existence, some humility or inherent desire for self-transcendence must exist. The three factors must cooperate. The existence of these is a gift of Allah.

Islam may, therefore, be seen as selecting a certain set of people, giving them the techniques for development, so that they may then continue the evolution of humanity, perhaps by influencing others or by gradually replacing those who do not fulfil their role in the scheme of things.  

The Articles of Faith refer to the fundamental concepts on which the whole structure of religion is based. They are definitions. The Islamic ones will be found to underlie all Religions. In order to understand these, however, we need to understand the difference between religion and science.

 

   Religion differs from Science in the following ways:-  

1. Religion is interested in values and meanings rather than only in facts, since these acquire meaning only when interpreted within a framework of values.

2. It is interested in the process of living, in how human beings relate and adjust to reality and to each other rather than in an impersonal intellectual or verbal description of it or of the world.

3. It is interested in the inner psychological rather than in the outer material.

4. It is not interested so much in matter and energy, space and passing time as in quality, order and the arising, processing and transfer of information.

5. It is interested in the consistency of experiences rather than in the consistency of verbal formulations.

6. It is interested in the whole to which things belong and their function and relationships with this whole rather than with separate objects and their interactions.

7. It is interested in human evolution rather than in the development of technology and the manipulation of the environment.

 

   The fundamental concepts, techniques and frameworks of reference of religion will, therefore, differ considerably from those of Science. They require faith because they refer to realities which are not available to the sense organs. Human beings, however, have three faculties through which knowledge is available - the senses, the intellect and consciousness. The senses tell us that the sun rises in the East and sinks in the West. But the intellect, via Science, tells us that the earth is rotating on its axis and revolving round the sun. This idea creates a certain consistency between a great number of phenomena. But it requires the previous acceptance of certain categories which govern thought and define one’s attitudes to existence. Relativity for instance. They provide a framework within which experiences are interpreted. They are prior to facts. This is not given to us by the intellect. It is perfectly possible to consider the earth as being fixed rather than the sun, and measure all motions with respect to it. One could also consider the centre of the Galaxy as the point of reference, or the centre of the Universe, or anything else. Such intellectual constructions do not enable us to lead better lives. Consciousness, however, makes us aware of the vastness of the Universe, our relative insignificance and dependence, and also of our potentialities and functions.

  The approach of Science in the study of the world is to suppose that the world we see exists independently of our capacities to perceive it and that we have the capacity to see and study it. The religious approach is that the world we see depends on our capacity for perception and these capacities vary between people. Science is interested in the physical and interprets psychological phenomena in terms of it, while religion is interested in the spiritual and interprets the physical in terms of it. The meaning of the word objective also changes accordingly. Science uses the word to refer to that which is outside the observer, but for religion this cannot be known. It is the world of God. We only have different types and levels of experiences with respect to the world according to our interactions. This is the objective fact. Religious doctrines are, therefore, describing levels of experience. This should not cause a conflict with science since its theories such as those of Evolution and Relativity are also descriptions designed to explain certain experiences and are not objects which you can see. They, too, depend on human activity and capacity for understanding.

There are many categories of experience - force, matter, energy, order, duration, quantity, distance, shape, intensity and so on are examples. Whereas proof is required to establish the validity of thought, these categories require no proof. They require insight. Man, however, lives not only by facts, but also by values. In order to describe the whole of experience, psychological, social and physical, a different set of fundamental concepts is required.

 Religion is a method of making sense of, and adjusting to the world in a complete and a fully consistent manner. It must deal with both what is known and what is not known, but nevertheless affects us. We know full well that others may know something we do not, and that reality is more than that which is comprehended in our knowledge. This requires certain comprehensive basic notions and a specialist language. Today the world we see and live in is constructed by science, its language and its application in technology. But though it is successful physically, it has little or nothing to say about values. Nor is its understanding of the nature of the universe and its fundamental forces close to complete. As knowledge increases the awareness of the area of ignorance also increases. Having understood the Newtonian Laws of mechanics the scientist grew arrogant, thought that they could explain the Universe in mechanistic terms and decided that religious ideas were nonsense. But then came the discovery of electricity, Einstein’s Relativity Theories, Quantum Mechanics and the Science of complex systems and there is no longer any certainty as to what is true and what is impossible. A unified field theory which will explain all facts is being sought. This reminds one of the quest for the Knowledge of Allah. All that can be said is that understanding is expanding and that certain suggestions can be made about what the fundamental notions in religion might mean in the light of modern knowledge.

But this is not enough. Having satisfied thought, science will then have to produce a Way of Life which co-ordinates thought, feeling and action. It can only then becomes an adequate religion, though it is taken as a religion now by some people. The terminology it uses will, no doubt, be different from that used in religions which were set up for the peoples in pre-scientific days. But the meaning and the purpose will have to be the same. Greater knowledge also changes the understanding of the terms used, both in science and religion.

 

There is an ambiguity in what the term real implies. According to some people only material things are real. According to others only energy or events are real. According to still others it is order. However, our senses are known to be limited. More things exist than is available to our senses. Nor can we live by sense data alone. An examination of the dictionaries will show that a great number of words refer to things other than materials. Even science cannot exist without notions such as centers of gravity, coefficients of this and that, electric charge, mass, various constants and words referring to forces, processes, cycles, relationships, states, conditions and descriptive devices. New ones are constantly being invented. Are these real or not? Are dreams, thoughts, pictures on a television screen, mathematical formulae, verbal descriptions, graphs and so on real? The notions we invent and use are those which are significant to us for some purpose, and vary according to the purpose. Material things and events, on analysis, turn out to be nothing but patterns in space-time, which is itself an abstraction from our experiences. Science requires the notion of force to explain change and the arising of phenomena. It is an assumption. Having divided the observer from the thing observed and, therefore, mind from matter, and purpose from cause, this term is neutral, stripped of value judgements. It is dead. Religions do not make such distinctions. Their fundamental concepts are, therefore, different. Since the fundamental data we are given are experiences not objects, forces or materials, it is these which require explanations.

 

 Theological ideas can probably be best understood by the following argument:-

 There is a distinction between the science of Mathematics and Physics. We cannot predict the forces studied by Physics from a study of mathematics alone though physics is to a large degree reducible to mathematics. Chemistry is independent of Physics, and Biology of Chemistry for the same reason. It is not possible by the study of chemistry alone to predict the structure and behaviour of the objects studied by Biology. Though the behaviour of the objects studied by Biology can be reduced to Chemistry the chemical description is much too complex to be meaningful. Organisms, moreover, have an overall pattern which is more than Chemistry. This is why Biology is an independent science having its own concepts.

 Psychology is independent of Biology, and Sociology is independent of Psychology for the same reasons. Each Science has its own concepts. We cannot predict from biological studies of man that he will be governed by certain experiences and ideas. An idea at the physiological level may consist of a very complex pattern which is diffused throughout the brain and overlaps many other ideas. It is not an identifiable object at the physiological level. We can reduce psychological descriptions of behaviour to physiological ones only partially and when this is done we have much too complex a description. The Sociological descriptions of man also require its own concepts which cannot be identified with any particular psychological process, but relates to some aspect which is common to masses of people. Thus we come to a seventh Science which may be called Theology which has to make sense of existence as a whole, of facts, meaning as well as values. It must have its own concepts which are not wholly reducible to objects described in other sciences.

Note that the sciences form a progression, each succeeding one depending on the previous, and that the first science in this series, mathematics, is almost completely a matter of the mind. And the seventh like the series of colours in a rainbow where violet at one end leads back to red at the other end, may also be seen as referring to consciousness at a higher level. At each level we are studying a whole which is always more than the sum of the parts owing to the fact that it has its own patterns. Though those who study the parts like to think that these patterns arise from the parts, it is much more likely that the parts are created or come together because of the patterns in the whole as iron filings do in a magnetic field. In any case we have two points of view, the unitary and the analytical. Religion is based on the Unitary.

 

Religions do not regard the Universe as consisting of only dead inert matter, and there is no real justification for supposing that it is. It is an assumption made by science which leads to a neglect of those aspects of experience which do not fit in with the assumption. Other kinds of experience are as much experiences as the material Universe. Ideas do exist and so do minds which hold them. Objects, organisms and beings could exist at many levels, made of subtler substances than molecules and cells. Extra-ordinary or paranormal experiences and explanations for them may well be faulty, but they are not as rare as is supposed. Generally, in a rational age, people are reluctant to see or admit them, and science ignores them because they do not fit into current theories or interests. The correct objective procedure, however, is to accept the data of all experience first and then to search for explanations and applications. And if these fit and are useful for the purposes we have in mind then we accept them as explanatory devices though we cannot know the exact nature of these entities since they lie outside experience.

It is necessary first to distinguish between three worlds, as seen through the senses, as seen through the intellect and as seen through the spirit. We do not only live by sensations, but also by ideas. Indeed, the world we have constructed depends on them. We can see an object but not the class to which it belongs. We can see a person but we cannot see a nation. We cannot see beauty, truth, and goodness. The world described by science is not the same as the world we experience through the senses. The Theory of Relativity is regarded as true but it is not given to the senses. Political and Economic systems of thought, Philosophies, History, Theology, Poetry, Music and other forms of Art, all deal in ideas. We have a great many inner experiences such as love, faith, hope and these, too, are not given to the senses, but also not to the intellect, except as ideas. Thus we distinguish between outer or physical things, referred to as “Earth” and inner psychological or spiritual things, referred to as “Heaven”. The intellect is able to think in terms of both outer physical things and inner experiences and creates a bridge between the two. This tends to divide thought into two types. The world of ideas may be regarded as a third, intermediate world by which we think of the other two. We may regard them as three circles which overlap in places. But all three must lie in a single circle which describes reality as a whole.

 

 Human beings can be divided into several psychological levels:- They have (1) a physical body which interacts with other material objects. (2) In this there are the senses. (3) they have an imagination which makes images out of memories and presents them to the intellect. (4) intelligence which can compare, relate, analyse and synthesise, forming concepts which are not given to the senses. (5) reason which can form systems of ideas. (6) Vision and insight, inspiration and revelation which can see that which is more fundamental and universal. This is experienced by Prophets and many saints. (7) the experience of unity, wholeness and inner integration.

We experience the world through these. We may, therefore, divide the world into corresponding levels. They are all equally real to the corresponding faculties. Each world has its own entities and its own concepts. It is not that there are different worlds, but that the faculties select different aspects of it. The world we see is a small part of the Real world. Indeed, at the sensory level different people have different experiences according to the surroundings in which they exist as well as according to what they focus their attention on and this depends on their interests. Their worlds are different. The same applies to the world of the imagination and ideas. The higher one goes the more do the differences disappear because the view is more comprehensive. At each level defects in the faculties, or the processes in them, also distort the view. There are defects of the senses, of imagination, of processing, of reason. and of vision. But the test of truth ultimately is an all-comprehensive self-consistency. This can occur only at level 7.

From another point of view, we can speak of several Orders of Reality. For instance, we experience:- (1) Mechanical interactions by which one material object exerts direct force on another. (2) Gravitational interactions which take place invisibly at distances. (3) Chemical reactions. These explain not only process within living things but also in the world as a whole. Communication between plants, animals and human beings are often of this kind. (4) Electromagnetic interactions. These are now found to be the foundation of biological behaviour. The discovery of this force also changed human life. (5) Nuclear interactions. These go on in the sun and stars, but also on earth and in living things in the form of radio-active decay. Potassium, for instance, turns gradually into calcium. We are still in the beginning of the age when these processes can be controlled and utilised. We may call this the Fifth Order. (6) The Sixth Order may consist of the forces even more fundamental, connected with the basic particles, quarks and quanta of energy. (7) The Seventh Order of existence would lie at a level or field beyond the quanta. Attempts are being made to study this level. It is probable that events in consciousness lie at this level. (8) We may postulate an Eighth Order which is completely unknown to Science. We may call it the Divine World. The possibility of its existence can be accepted on the grounds that many highly developed people bear witness to having experienced it.

 The world of experience is both objective and subjective since it requires an effect of something external on our consciousness. We ought, therefore, to use these terms differently. The objective world is the totality as experienced by God. The subjective world consists of the partial world we see together with what we add to it through fantasy, fixations, distortion, and rationalisation.

 

There are three logical steps in the establishment of the Articles of Faith. The first step is self-evident. Even before the fundamental truths can be described we have to realise that truth refers to something which exists and which is transferred from something to man. Thus we have the most fundamental assertion:- Allah Is. That is, there is an irreducible self-existing fact, Reality. If it did not exist then we would not exist either and we could not have experiences or think about anything which would not exist either. No assumptions are made about it such as that it is material or living or conscious since all these are relative terms which are secondary, derived from experience. We do not call it the Universe either since that is an object also derived from experience and thought. Experience and thought can begin only after it has been established that something exists about which we can think and to which we have some relation and which we can experience. But here we are speaking about the whole of it not parts of it since the experience of parts is a secondary experience.

The next step requires no faith but only insight. We need to explain how the rest of the Universe, including ourselves arose and is related to Allah, how the parts fit into the whole. If something comes out and separates itself from Allah then it is limited and we must also have a connection between that thing and Allah, who with respect to these parts is unlimited. We have a triad. This gives rise to three further assertions:-

   (a) Allah is Absolute, Infinite, Eternal, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. This refers to the facts of existence. He is the medium in which all things happen including Time, Space and Quality.

   (b) Allah is the Creator and Maintainer of the universe. This refers to the meaning which things have relative to Allah. They are relative to each other and have a relationship and function with respect to Allah.

   (c) Allah is the Goal and Judge. This refers to the value things have.

 

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Islam is based on Seven Articles of Faith. These are normally given as:- Allah, Angels, Scriptures, Prophets, Resurrection, Judgement, and The Law of Causation. But Resurrection and Judgement are inter-dependent terms which are connected with the Hereafter and the Day of Transformation, also called The Last Day and the Hour, and the Law of Causation is modified by the notion of human responsibility. It would, perhaps, be better to describe the Articles of Faith as belief in:-

 (1) Allah (2) Angels (3) Scriptures (4) Messengers (5) Vicegerency of Man (6) the Day of Transformation, (7) the Law of Causation.

 

1. Allah is the Fundamental Absolute Reality. He is One, Indivisible, Unique, Self-Existing and the Origin of all things including facts, meaning and values - He is the Lord of the Universe, the Almighty, the source of all Forces, Materials, Laws, Order, Qualities, Causes, Purposes, Effects, Actualities and Potentialities. There is nothing besides Him, and things come into existence by His Will and because of His attributes. That is, thought, knowledge and discrimination must come to an end as we probe into origins when we reach the ultimate fundamental reality. The attributes include Goodness, Truth, Power and Beauty, and hence Consciousness, Intelligence, Wisdom, Justice, Mercy, Compassion, Ability. If it did not then anything can happen without order, nothing would be predictable and nothing could be known. He is the constant underlying all changes. Allah is Potentiality and Existence and bestows actuality and existence on all things. The pronoun “He” is only used symbolically. It does not imply that he is human, but does imply that all the qualities which exist in man are potentialities in Him. It is also implied that, fundamentally, reality contains life and consciousness as well as matter. There is a Universal Consciousness. If there were not then we could not have acquired consciousness either. But the words life and consciousness should not be understood in a narrow sense. Human life and consciousness are restricted or special cases of it.

Allah is or produces the Spirit which is the creative force by means of which all phenomena come into existence. The Spirit appears to have three functions:- to create things directly by the transmission of information or Truth. It creates the angels who control events. The spirit has also been breathed into man giving him consciousness, conscience as well as creative powers.

In general human beings seek and accept a religion because they are in awe of Reality of which they are a small part and on which they are dependent. This manifests itself through the need for security, significance and purpose. These are connected with the need for facts, meaning and values and with hope, love and faith. These cannot be provided by the world of commerce or politics nor by science. They are not physiological needs, nor mental ones, but spiritual one, something connected with Consciousness, Conscience and Will, a level not recognised by these other systems. No human being can be complete, an integrated wholeness, without taking into consideration all these aspects. It is not possible to live an intelligent, conscious or harmonious life on facts alone without meaning which relate a person to things, and without values to justify actions. A human being is or should be, and strives for, a wholeness without inner conflicts and contradictions.

The main attributes of Allah in relation to man are, therefore, (1) Unity or Harmony which manifest as (2) Power and Justice (3) Compassion and Mercy (4) Truth and Wisdom.

Though these are inter-dependent, different religions or sects may emphasise one of these attributes. In general those which emphasise Justice tend to be based on Law and on the associated security, hope and fear of consequences. The main appeal which Christianity has is that it is based on love. This gives the individual significance, comfort and confidence. It tends to transform fear of consequences into a fear of offending. But, though this may be regarded as an advance because it replaces compulsion with incentives, it tends to create a reliance on forgiveness for weaknesses and malpractices, diminishes effort and often reduces to mere sentimentality. It could be argued that a religion based on Truth is a higher form of religion since it avoids these pitfalls. It transforms love into a cosmic principle of beneficence and tolerance, into identification where the separation between the lover and the object of love are removed. This again changes the whole attitude to life. In fact, however, all three are required. It is an integral part of the notion of truth that there are regularities and Laws which have consequences, and that a certain amount of flexibility is built into the universe.

 

2. The Angels - The powers or forces through which Allah works. This does not refer to materials or energy but to that which produces order. Angels possess intelligence, but do not act independently.

 “By the angels hastening and those which govern affairs (or events)” 79:4-5

It is necessary to remember that what Science calls the Laws of nature are regarded as the actions of the angels in the Quran. Both versions are invisible to the senses and can only be apprehended by the mind, but the difference lies in this that Science regards them as being purely mechanical while religion takes them to also have a psychological or spiritual aspect which produces mental effects. If this were not so we could not possibly apprehend them mentally either.

There are Archangels made of Spirit. Gabriel is said to be one of these. Angels are said to be beings made of Light. This may, perhaps, refer to organisations in the electromagnetic field, or something more fundamental. If the Universe is regarded as a huge brain then the angels may be regarded as being entities in the mind associated with this brain. They can, therefore, also be contacted on occasions by the human mind. Perhaps they are not translatable into present scientific concepts. Light has symbolic meanings in that we see and gain knowledge by it. It illuminates and enlightens. Many people have reported experiences, often called visions. They cannot be dismissed as hallucinations since these produce maladjustment and are the result of disease, while those who have genuine visions usually turn out to be much better adjusted. They are abnormal only in the sense that there are only a few of them and a man with sight is maladjusted among the blind.

These experiences may be subjective, objective or a combination of both. The ability to see something depends on three things:- not only on something existing, but also on the ability to see it, and on the way the experience is interpreted. There is also no reason to think that psychological phenomena do not have a real basis, e.g. an electromagnetic one, which will have connections with similar phenomena in the world. These connections could be of three kinds:- the perception of something existing in that field, the capacity to produce direct or indirect affects in it, and the capacity of entities in that field to induce experiences. It is possible for an individual consciousness to become aware of entities in the collective or universal consciousness. Certainly, all religions depend on such experiences.

Basically, this Article of Faith implies that we do not regard the Universe as something dead like a machine, but that we are capable of experiencing and interpreting it as something organic and alive and as having a psychological dimension. The order and complexity of the Universe, it should be remembered, is far greater than that of the Human body and brain, it has subtler levels of existence than we can normally experience and we are aware of only a small fraction of it.

Islam also recognizes Jinn (6:100, 15:27, 34:41, 46:29-32, 55:15, 72:1-5). The word Jinn comes from a root meaning hidden. Hence they are hidden creatures, not necessarily physically invisible, but unobtrusive and perhaps indistinguishable outwardly from man. They are said to be able to change their form, manipulate phenomena or induce experiences and thoughts into human beings. The word Jinn has also given rise to the word Genius. They are said to be made of Fire. This may refer to organizations in something like the plasma emitted by the sun, electronic matter. But Fire also has a symbolic meaning since it causes pain, is used to make things useful by cooking and in manufacture, creates transformations, burns away impurities, refines and fuses together. According to some people, Satan and his assistants, who used to be angels, are, having fallen to a lower level, now jinn. Others differentiate between angels and demons, the latter being followers of Satan not to be identified with jinn. The terms angel, devil and jinn, however, are also used to refer to different kinds of human beings where the terms do not refer to physical structure but to their nature. The most likely meaning is that it refers to some unknown unusual forces and, by association, to those who possess them. A number of extra-ordinary and otherwise unexplained experiences reported world-wide, are attributed to these. Throughout history, there have been legends about other intelligent beings coexisting with man on earth. Phenomena such as Flying Saucers may be attributed to them. It is unlikely, given the vast stellar distances and the relatively trivial nature of their reported behaviour, that they are extra-terrestrial. These experiences cannot be dismissed even if they are subjective. The fact that many independent people have them bestows some kind of objectivity on them. It is enough to recognize the existence of such phenomena without the need to be dogmatic about their nature.

 There are, therefore, four kinds of creature, those made of earth e.g.. human beings, organizations in clay, coarser matter, and those made of fire, those made of light and those made of Spirit. However, in view of the fact that the coarser substances are organizations made from the subtler, man will also have within him the other levels, allowing inner contact with these levels of existence. Spirit may be regarded as condensing into light, which condenses into fire and this condenses into earth. Objects or organizations at these levels may, however, also contain the materials at the other levels. If we add minerals, plants and animals to this list then we have 7 categories or levels of creation.

In order to understand this we must give up the idea that science is a study of matter. It is a study of phenomena which are experiences which have both an external or objective and inner or subjective aspect. There are no facts apart from observers who perceive and interpret them according to their psychological capacities. There is no distinction of mind and matter but only a distinction of degrees. This removes the possibility, so prevalent in the Sciences, of denying or excluding some things from consideration because these do not fit into their conceptual systems.

As already indicated, we normally see only a small part of Total Reality owing to the limits of our consciousness, and we use only a fraction of the capacity of our brains. It follows that there is more to total reality than the world we normally see. A mineral object is probably incapable of perceiving plant life though plants can distinguish between plants and minerals. A plant, probably cannot recognize animals, and animals cannot perceive human beings except as another animal. They cannot understand human language and culture and most of their behaviour. In the same way human beings cannot normally see jinn and angels and arch-angels, but these can see man. This is like saying that total reality consists of 7 dimensions of which we see only four. There are a variety of types of angel and jinn and they appear to be capable of manifesting themselves to man in a variety of ways and depends on the person and the culture of the place and times. It is unlikely that they are seen as they really are, but that they induce experiences into man. There are reports of sightings all over the world and all times, but these are interpreted differently in modern times than they were in the past, and differently in the West, India, China and the Americas.

The materialist view is that these are illusions or hallucinations created by the imagination. But this can be refuted on several grounds:-

(a) That even hallucinations require some physiological changes which must have a cause, though these are misinterpreted.

(b) That hallucinations are retained as facts only by psychotics whereas many of these reports are made by sane people.

(c) These experiences are common to many people and this defines objectivity.

(d) That they have real consequences in transforming the lives of such people as the Prophets who then determine the history of the world. How are these real changes to be explained by means of something unreal?

Malfunctions and diseases, physical, moral and mental, used to be attributed to demons. Since the discovery of bacteria and viruses and various psychological fixations, complexes and mechanisms, this idea has gone out of fashion. But science is interested in specific causes whereas religion is interested in general causes. The fact that the demons have been differentiated, named and reduced to specifics does not invalidate the general principle. Disease is not caused by individual bacteria but by a great number of them reproducing and mutating under certain psychological, social or physical conditions in particular people. The difference between the two lies in this:- that science always wants a specific external physical explanation. This absolves man of responsibilities. Religion, however, is interested in types of order and in psychological explanations. Consider, for instance, a man falling to the ground and injuring himself. The scientific explanation is the force of gravity. But religious explanation is that man was careless in walking. If a man catches a disease it is because he has not adjusted physically, morally or mentally to Reality, internal or external and is, therefore, malfunctioning. It is this which allows the causes of disease to enter into him. Bacteria and viruses exist everywhere but not all men fall ill. Special conditions are required for this. Gravity exists everywhere, but this does not prevent birds from flying. Thus gravity is not as deterministic as scientists believe, and this is because it does not exist in isolation apart from other forces. The same principles apply to the angels in reverse, that is, in a positive way. There is a hierarchy of angels so that the control and ordering of the Universe is also attributed to them.

 

 3. The Scripture – A Revelation, A religious dispensation, the Message, the Teachings. Though it is taken as referring to religious books, strictly speaking, it refers not to the material books, not the words in it, but to its meaning, influence and the transforming force contained in it. It refers to the Spirit which informs a people or age. In fact it refers to the “Record in Heaven”, the potentialities which have been actualised. It refers also to a frame work of reference, the criterion, the guidance with respect to which we should interpret our experiences and conduct our lives. A scripture is that which has been transmitted from Allah to the Prophet through the Spirit. The particular spirit involved is named Gabriel. It is also the healing force in so far as man has gone astray.

 The Universe undergoes a process of development. The arising of Conscious life, in the form of human beings, is a stage in this development. The evolutional process itself comes into consciousness, and has to proceed consciously. This takes the form of the different religious teachings in different places according to the conditions prevailing there. During a process of development, be it a human being or the universe, the potentialities already existing in the embryo are gradually actualized. Nothing comes into being which was not there before in an archetypal form. It is this which is referred to as the Record in Heaven. The data of internal and external experience have a tendency, in the unconscious mind, to form a pattern, a consistent system. However, our outer life is governed by what our conscious mind selects and concentrates attention on in our immediate environment, This is done in accordance with our interests and capacity for consciousness. Thus there is usually a contradiction between our worldly life and what would be unconsciously recognized as true.

The difference between the unconscious and conscious minds can be seen by the fact that we can swim, catch a ball or cycle without knowing how we do this, but it is possible to study these actions consciously and describe them mathematically. But such a description does not enable the student to do the action. Consciously we may select only certain features of experience and rearrange them according to our desires or fantasies, and the result may have no resemblance to the truth. There is also a sub-conscious attitude to life, a framework of reference within which we interpret experiences and conduct our behaviour. This is done subconsciously. This has to be brought into consciousness in order to correct the distortions of behaviour. The purpose of the scriptures is to do this by giving it a verbalized form. It is mainly because there is a link with the unconscious patterns that the religions are accepted by those in whom repression and distortion is not too deeply ingrained. But they are rejected or distorted by those who remain addicted to their worldly life, particularly if it gives them some kind of advantage. Thus the scriptures not merely create an awareness of the life situation but also come to heal the disease resulting from maladjustment to that situation.

 

 4. The Prophets or Messengers - Those who are conscious of Reality and the current life situation, translate and communicate this in a form understood by the people among whom they arise. Prophets have appeared all over the world and in all times. The Scripture has priority over the Prophet. The Scripture does not derive from the Prophet, but the Prophethood from the Scripture. The Prophet is made when the scripture is inspired into him by the Spirit. They are human beings inspired to convey the Scriptures to Mankind in order to guide them. They may be regarded as representatives or manifestations of Allah on earth. In this sense to say that the “Prophet is God on earth” is true provided this is correctly understood.

Human beings are born with varying degrees of ability, intelligence and sensitivities. The greater these are, the smaller is the number of people who possess them. It is not surprising, therefore, that those who possess the most highly developed faculties should only arise rarely, once in a thousand years or so. It depends, of course, also on circumstances, whether and how this gift will be used. Some of these also undertake the guidance of mankind, and devote and even sacrifice their lives to do this. It is these who are called Messengers. The arising of such people is unpredictable. Allah bestows the gift on whom He wills.

The evolution of man and the arising of civilizations depends on the arising of such messengers. Those having the highest abilities lead those with lesser ability, though the latter cannot, by definition, have the capacity to understand the former. These in their turn lead those with abilities at a still lower scale. And so on. There is a gradual descent from maximum generality and fundamentality to increasing particularization. Humanity may, therefore, be compared to a pyramid. The influence descends from the apex. Or it may be compared to a pond into which an impulse is introduced at one point and ripples spread out all around growing weaker with distance and time. Or it may be compared to a tree having a trunk with many roots which are anchored in the ground of Reality. Man however, like a cancer growth in the body, or a criminal in the social body, may revolt and cut himself off psychologically from this tree.

  

5. The Vicegerency of Man - Man has been created and placed on earth for a purpose, and given the powers to fulfil that purpose. He is a growing point or a medium through which the creative or evolutional process takes place. The Spirit of Allah is in him and gives him some of the divine qualities of creativity, initiative and responsibility. He possesses consciousness, conscience and will. He has a duty to himself, other people and the society, and the environment. He will be judged according to how he fulfils these duties. That is, he modifies himself by his actions, motivations and thoughts in accordance with Laws operating in him. Man ought, therefore, to behave objectively and in a comprehensive, self-consistent and integrated manner in thought, motivation and action. Other creatures act according to their own natures, and these have arisen in adjustment to their environment and fulfil a function with respect to it. It is only man who has the power to flout nature including his own. But this power is capable also of producing much good and that is why man has been given it.

These ideas can be understood best if we think of things as forming systems such that all parts of it are inter-dependent and in interaction. Each part must adjust to the system and find equilibrium in it. Systems contain sub-systems and belong to higher systems, and so on until we come to the Absolute Whole. A sub-system arises because of the forces operating in the system and have a function with respect to it. Thus the causes as well as the purposes for the sub-system arise from the greater system to which it belongs.  

 

6. The Day of Transformation - The word Day refers to a period of time. Time is relative as the Quran points out (32:4-5 and 70:4). What is experienced as a Day at one level may be 1000 years or 50,000 years for us. It could have some other length. The Day of Transformation is also called the Last Day or the Last Hour.

There are seven interconnected notions:- Heaven, Earth, Resurrection, Judgement, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell. These notions should not be confused with one another, though the term Heaven and Paradise are often used as if they were interchangeable.

The distinction between heaven and earth can be understood as follows:- Earth is this planet, and Heaven is the rest of the Universe, the lowest level of which is visible to us because of the light from the sun and stars. It may refer to solar systems. The other levels may be regarded as consisting of the subtler invisible materials, forces, processes and laws which constitute whole clusters, galaxies, cluster of galaxies, the Universe, and perhaps, there is also a greater wholeness consisting of many Universes. Each higher level is more fundamental than, prior to, and affects, the lower. The forces operating in the Universe also affect the earth. Thus, earth stands for the particular and the gross while heaven stands for the universal and the subtle.

These terms also stand for categories of experience, the earthly and heavenly, the outer and the inner, the physical or sense based on the one hand and the ideological, intellectual, psychological or spiritual on the other. The inner life has several levels. There are seven heavens or levels of consciousness and there are, therefore, also 7 corresponding earths or levels of experiences of the earth. Since everyone has an inner life, and people interact with each other at these levels, we speak of a Collective Mind which has seven levels of Consciousness.

Worldly life refers to human activities, motivations and thoughts connected with life on earth such as those involved in making a living, personal ambitions and pleasures, the pursuit of wealth, power and prestige. This differs from interests and activities such as the pursuit of knowledge, beauty and virtue or those connected with environmental, social and psychological welfare and development.

These three ways at looking at the terms are not independent. The forces operating in the universe or the earth are also operating within us. But the subtler levels are not accessible to us through the senses, only through inner experiences or indirectly through science. Paradise and Hell may be regarded as existing in heaven, that is, either or both at a higher level, or in the inner psychological world. Resurrection may mean that because we have descended through these various levels from the Creator, we can also ascend through them, actually or psychologically back to the Creator.

The Hereafter refers to life after death. Human beings cease causing changes in the earth after death. But the fact remains that all the actions which they have done while alive continue to have effects, and these have further effects and so on. They must, therefore, be regarded as still alive. Their Record continues to exist on an invisible level. The evolution of humanity depends on the cumulative effects of all these actions, either good or evil. Though a distinction is made in the Hereafter between Paradise and Hell, the Quran recognises three states of man, the Foremost, the People of the Right Hand and the People of the Left Hand (56:7-14).

To understand these religious ideas the following considerations should be kept in mind:-

Firstly, scientific thinking is done in terms of matter and motion while the thinking in the Quran is based on order and transformation. The difference is this that in the former case we are dealing with energy and the relationship between space and time, while in the later case we are dealing with the relationship between information or order and time. We can think of the Real World as having, like man, three levels:- (a) The physical or material world of facts. (b) The Mental world of meanings which gives rise to our ideas and the cultural world. (c) The Spiritual World which is the world of values, purposes and significance.

Secondly, transformation has the following characteristics:- (a) There is a continuity in time between one state and another. (b) Something remains constant behind the change. In the case of science we have the first law of thermodynamics which states that the amount of energy remains constant though the forms of energy change. Thus a distinction is made between the forms which change and an underlying something which does not. The same is the case in religion, but it applies to information. (c) A distinction of level or depth has to be made. A cycle of events contains many lesser cycles within it and is itself a small part of a greater cycle. There are, therefore, levels of information.

Thirdly, the Quran recognizes several different types of transformation. Here 8 will be mentioned. It is not certain whether this is an exhaustive list. (i) Unification - things combine to create a greater whole, or disintegrate. (ii) Reconstitution - Analysis and synthesis; things separate into parts and recombine into other forms. (iii) Re-creation or fluctuation - Things may dissolve and then re-appear as waves do. It appears that the fundamental particles studied by Physics also disappear and appear. (iv) Series of Cycles like the changes of the seasons and the alternation between day and night. Light and Sound also travels as waves having a positive and negative side. (v) Change in level - Events do not continue for an infinite time at the same level. Water, for instance, when it is heated continues to get hotter only until the boiling point after which it changes into steam. Or if it is cooled then a point is reached when it becomes ice or snow. Organisms grow from a single cell to a full adult through stages e.g. in the womb, within a family circle and then within a larger social context. Metamorphosis of the worm to pupa to butterfly is also an example. Evolution is a transformation of this type. Minerals turn into plant matter and these into animal matter and this into human matter. The opposite process also takes place. Human beings are to be transformed and to travel from level to level. (vi) Multiplication and branching - Humanity expands in numbers and differentiates into many types. (vii) Carriers - Winds and currents. They carry energy, clouds, gases and other materials and may have destructive effects. (viii) Quickening - Rain falls on seemingly dead land and causes vegetation to spring forth. Or conversely when water is withdrawn vegetation shrivels and dies.

All these have been used to illustrate death and resurrection. Judgment refers to the fact that the state before the transformation determines the state after transformation.

Resurrection:-

All things must die and come to an end, including the world. Death and Resurrection refer to transformation and change which always implies the death of one thing and the arising of another. The concepts of death and resurrection are connected with Creation and Recreation, and the transfer of information between different levels. Resurrection refers to a period of regeneration. Nature dies in winter to be resurrected in spring. The sun goes down to rise again the next day. The individual, too, goes to sleep at night and arises in the morning. We have here universal processes applying to all things. The same happens to whole nations, civilisations, mankind, and the biosphere. The destruction and regeneration of the earth and the whole Universe is also mentioned in the Quran.

Religions, similarly, degenerate and are regenerated. The Day of Resurrection also refers to the coming of a new Messenger or Spiritual Leader who regenerates mankind. It refers to the spiritually developing individuals, even within this life time, who die at one level to be resurrected at another. There are stages also in physical development, from the condition before conception when they must be considered to have been in a state of potentiality, development in the womb, childhood, adulthood, and further stages beyond death until the final return. Birth is like leaving one world for another. Adulthood is departure from the family world into the greater social world. Death is seen similarly.

The notion of Resurrection, however, is connected with the soul rather than the body. Note the difference between physical creation and spiritual creation in the following:-

“Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God’ sight, is as the likeness of Adam: He created him of dust, then He said unto him :Be”, and he was.” 3:59

“I am creating a mortal out of clay. So when I have made him and breathed into Him of My spirit, do ye (angels) fall prostrate before him.” 15:28-29

Though the first verse is an argument affirming that Jesus, though he had no father, is a creation as much as Adam who had neither father nor mother, it is quoted here to show that it is probably correct to state that Religion is not so much interested in the physical constitution of man as the psyche which activates him.

The spirit (Ruh), emanating from Allah, is the fundamental creative force in the Universe. It is eternal and it is the same in all human beings. This should not be confused with soul (nafs), which is specific to each individual. This may refer to the particular form which the spirit takes in the individual. The soul is said to die in proportion to the withdrawal of the spirit. On physical death the spirit returns to God. The soul, in fact dies and is re-constituted on the Day of Resurrection. There is a memory or record in the fabric of the Universe or in the mind of God from which such a re-creation takes place. The individual does not remember the period between his physical death and his resurrection. The soul is not immortal, except, perhaps for certain people such as Prophets, saints and martyrs who have, by their life styles, given it a more permanent form. This teaching should not, therefore, be confused with re-incarnation. There can be no transformation or change unless it is assumed that there is some fundamental substance to which the Law of Conservation applies. Immortality implies just this and identifies the spirit with it. Judgement implies that when there is a transformation then the state after it depends on the state before it, which is itself the result of an accumulation of changes over the period we call life on earth. The world could not possibly be a continuous unity unless something was preserved from one condition to another.

“How disbelieve ye in Allah when ye were dead, and He gave you life! Then He will give you death, then life again, and then unto Him ye will return.” 2:28

“He revives the earth after her death. Even so will you be brought forth.” 30:19

“We appointed immortality for no mortal before thee. What! If you die can they be immortal. Every soul must taste of death, and We try you with evil and with good for ordeal. And unto Us you will be returned.” 21:34-35 Also 29:57

“Every soul shall taste of death. And ye will be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which ye have fairly earned.” 3:185

“And behind them is a barrier until the day they are raised.” 25:100

“Have ye seen that which ye emit? Do ye create it or are We the Creator? We mete out death among you, and We are not to be outrun, that We may transfigure you and make you what ye know not. And verily ye know the first creation. Why then do ye not reflect?” 56:58-62

“Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they will have provision.” 3:169

“They say: there is naught but our life of the world; we die and we live, and naught destroys us save time; when they have no knowledge whatsoever of all that; they do but guess. And when Our clear revelations are recited unto them their only argument is that that they say: Bring back our fathers then, if ye are truthful. Say (unto them): Allah gives life to you, then causes you to die, then gathers you unto the Day of Resurrection whereof there is no doubt. But most of mankind knows not.”  45:24-26

 If death were to be the end of a person, then all his efforts would be in vain. It would not matter what he did or how he lived. Religion would have no meaning. Neither would life. On the other hand an individual is like a cell in the body of humanity, and humanity is an organ of the biosphere and so on. Though the cell dies and is replaced, the body continues to live. He is not independent. He is formed from the input of material, genetic, cultural and psychological forces coming from the rest of humanity, and he provides an output into it. In this sense he never dies. His works, good or bad, serve to modify humanity as a whole to various degrees.

Man, however, has not merely an external physical life, and a socially interactive life, but also an inner psychological life. Not much is known to science about the latter. The word “soul” may be thought of as referring to that which makes the difference between a dead or sleeping body and a living, conscious body.

   “It is Allah who takes souls at death, and those that die not, during sleep. He keeps the soul for which He has ordained death and dismisses the rest until an appointed term. Lo! Herein are signs for people who take thought.” 39:42

Death is akin to sleep. Sleep is a temporary form of death, which is a more permanent state than sleep. The significance of this verse is also that it is possible to be spiritually dead while physically alive, or, conversely, to awaken spiritually even in this life. Indeed, there are many physically alive people who can be said to be spiritually quite dead. They are automatons. Death and sleep mean the absence of the spirit, the departure of consciousness, conscience and will. Resurrection means the revival of the spirit. But this may occur here in this physical life. Those who are asleep may be woken up, and the dead may be revived.

Judgment:-

Every action has consequences both external, in the environment, and internal, on the person’s own psyche. Each of these can affect the other. If a person makes some change in the external world then the consequences of this may affect him. If he makes changes within himself then this will change his behaviour and his actions will cause changes in the environment.

 Good and evil are defined as that which benefits or harms a person’s soul.

 “Whosoever goes right, it is only for the good of his own soul that he goes right; and whosoever errs, errs only to its hurt.” 17:15

The external conditions of a people depends on their behaviour and inter-actions and these in turn depend on their psychology. But more than this, the way they see the world, the places they go to, the data they seek, the way they interpret and organise it, the things they create, the alterations they make in the environment, in short, the world they create depends entirely on their inner psychological conditions, on their assumptions, attitudes and motives. These cannot be altered without altering man.  

 “Allah changes not the condition of a people until they first change that which is in their hearts.” 13:11

The consequences of actions, motives and thoughts are not always immediately manifest, but accumulate until they reach a certain threshold when they create a change. An action makes a similar action easier and an opposite action more difficult. It becomes more and more difficult to reverse this. One who steals will not only become an established thief through habit but will also become more likely to be found out and punished the more he steals. During the process of development there are periods during which certain possibilities exist. For instance developments which take place within the womb cannot easily be altered after birth; the developments during childhood cannot easily be reversed in adulthood; or those which have not been achieved in childhood cannot be easily achieved in adulthood. The Day of Judgement refers to the time when consequences become fixed. This applies to periods in the lifetime of the individual, whole nations, humanity as a whole, the Biosphere, the Planet, the whole Galaxy and the Universe itself.

Man, as all other forms of life, has an inherent tendency to avoid that which produces suffering and destruction; and pursues that which interests him and offers joy, fulfilment and development. But this assumes that he knows what will produce such consequences. Ignorance, is therefore, the main cause of suffering. He also has an inbuilt conscience which ought to tell him what is right or wrong for him. Unawareness or Heedlessness is, therefore, the cause of his suffering. Religions exist to enlighten him.  

 “Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life and set for him a light wherein he walks among men as him who is like a person in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge?” 6:123

   Four kinds of Judgement are mentioned in the Quran:-

   (a) In this life (78:40)

   (b) At or after death (23:100)

  (c) To a community or civilisation where certain evils are prevalent and after a Prophet has come to warn them who is then rejected. (Chapter 26). Among the evils mentioned are oppression; idolatry and superstition; criminal and anti-social behaviour; general dishonesty; sexual perversion; extravagance and abuses of the environment; scepticism, cynicism and the atrophy of the sense of the sacred; indifference to truth and preference for fantasies, prejudices, and traditions; loss of awareness and the inability to understand abstract ideas; abandonment of natural instincts, conscience and inherent duties and obligations.

   (d) General judgement for all mankind when the heaven and earth are changed (14:48). This obviously refers to the period when there are revolutionary environmental and ideological changes, like the present period. The Quran calls it the Day of Decision (78:17) It is a time when knowledge advances, all past certainties collapse, great confusion ensues. It is associated with the Great News (Message or Announcement the name of Chapter 78 and repeated in 78:2 and 38:68), and with the trumpet call (78:18). Whereas this may well refer to the arising of a new religion as Bahai’s claim, it may also refer to a general religious revival, a spiritual re-awakening, or the revival of Islam. This is because the term “Great News“ refers to the message of Muhammad and to that of all other Messengers in 38:68. On the other hand it cannot refer to corrupted religion.

   For science which deals only in facts, the term “effect” is kept suitably neutral. It does so because it assumes that:-

   (a) the Universe as seen by man exists independently of the seer, man,

   (b) that the Universe can be fully known by present human faculties.

  (c) that there is some value in knowing things apart from their effects on human beings, or that there is some value in human action apart from their effects on the rest of the creation.

 

   There is no warrant for any of these assumptions. What we see is the effects things have on our minds. It is the result of both external forces and inner psychological states. This is the objective truth. Indeed, there is a contradiction in presupposing a value (that science is a good thing to do, that certain kinds of data should be sought and that they should be interpreted and organized in certain ways) and denying it at the same time by excluding value judgments. It is also absurd to suppose that human actions only have value with respect to human beings who then die and destroy that value. This attitude of science results in the use of arbitrary values when it comes to the application of science. Many of the problems of mankind are caused by just this. But religion deals in values, and, therefore, of the relevance of things to human beings and the relevance of human beings to existence. It, therefore, has to distinguish between effects. Hence the notion of punishment and reward.

The Hereafter:-

Resurrection and Judgement are connected with the notion of the Hereafter. The notions of Paradise and Hell are connected with this. The Hereafter means life after the present one (2:28, 53:45-48), that is, after death. It is immortal life or life in Eternity (20:76, 29:64, 40:39, 19:61, 35:33, and 14:17). The human spirit comes from God in heaven and must return to God in heaven (10:5, 6:31, 10:46, 13:2, 28:88) and he will be judged and rewarded or punished according to his works in this life (17:14-15, 50:19-35, 83:1-36,). It has been placed in man to perform a certain function - God works through men - and it is judged by how that function is performed. Allah withdraws the spirit or bestows it according to His plan (40:15, 58:22). We are told repeatedly that the Hereafter is better and more lasting than the life of this world, except, of course, for the wicked who will be punished (6:32, 12:109, 17:21, 18:46-50, 29:64, 40:39, 42:36, 57:20).  

Heaven is the abode of the Spirit, and Paradise is where it is rewarded, and Hell where it is punished. It may be stated that since God is all pervading, then whether the spirit is on earth, in hell or in paradise, it makes no difference to God, but only to us. Paradise is a state of Joy, peace and fulfilment which is the consequence of good action, or conversely, good actions are those which lead to this state. Hell is a state of suffering, which is the consequence of bad actions, or conversely, bad actions are those which harm the individual. It should be understood that these consequences are according to natural laws. They are distinguished from man made laws by being referred to as Divine Laws or Commands of Allah. Punishment and reward refer to the consequences or effects of these laws. There are degrees of Paradise and Hell corresponding to the amount of good or harm a person has done to himself. Those who have lost their soul (7:53) or damaged it or caused it to shrink owing to lack of exercise and nutrition to various degrees are in Hell, while those who have nourished and exercised it are in Paradise.

“There are varying degrees in the sight of Allah, and Allah sees what you do.” 3:163   

“..Abiding there (in hell) so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord wills...and those who are blessed they shall be in the Garden (paradise), abiding there as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord wills.” 11:107-108

“Lo! Hell is all around the disbelievers.” 9:49

 Since there are different degrees of paradise and Hell (15:44), then Paradise or the Garden is defined as being nearer Allah, the Centre of Integration or Unity and Hell as being further away. The spirit is not absent there but weak. It is in a state of neither life nor death (20:74, 87:13). Thus, Paradise is a state of inner unity, integration, harmony and peace, (89:27) and hell is a state of disintegration and, therefore, of conflict. They are psychological states though they could also refer to environments which such people have produced.

But a person does not necessarily stay in that state permanently since it lasts only as long as heaven and earth endure or as long as God wills (6:129, 11:107, and 7:128). They remain permanent as long as nothing is done to alter them. Since suffering repels and exists to facilitate reformation, and Allah is forgiving, we may presume that a person stays in that state unless and until he reforms. Hell has an educational function. Suffering ought to lead him into those actions which will undo the harm, and raise his state. Though difficult, the incentive to do this increases with the degree of suffering.

Paradise and Hell, must, however, also be seen as places. This is because the inner state determines not only how we see the external world, but also leads people to create and migrate to places which accord with their state. Criminals, for instance, will seek each others company. As the number and quality of criminals increases in a locality it alters the nature of that locality. Some people have made their entire nation into a Hell.

 “And hell will stand forth visible to him who sees.” 79:36

Perhaps the Universe may be seen as a distillery such that a separation is continually occurring between the finer and the grosser, denser. The denser materials, however, can be seen as things in which the subtler have been trapped and confined. A person is said to be in hell when he is trapped by a number of obsessions, addictions and compulsions.

Paradise and Hell are quite obviously symbols for joy and fulfilment or suffering and frustration (2:25-26). Hell is associated with fire and heat which is a state of agitation and disorder, while paradise is a state of harmony and order. They are direct consequences of a persons state (41:21-23, 46:15)). Both inner and outer disorder and suffering are the result of the maladaptation caused by refusing to face or accept the truth, while inner and outer harmony and happiness comes from conforming to it (77:12-19). The Day of Judgement is defined in 51:12-13 and 82:18-19 as being the time when a person is tormented at the Fire, no soul has power to affect another and Allah has sole command. The Fire symbolises the transforming or spiritual Truth (27:7) which also burns away rubbish. The implication is that people will at some stage be judged by it, by Reality itself instead of illusions and prejudices. Those who have accepted it will be in harmony and peace and those who have not will be in conflict and suffer for it.

 

7. The Law of Causation - Allah is the cause of all things. Nothing happens without cause or effect, and ultimately, there is only one cause which differentiates into all other causes. We could say that all things arise from the single creative act, the Big Bang as Astronomers call it. All power to do either good or evil comes from Allah, but we are responsible for our actions in that we can select appropriate causes to gain the effects. We can, for instance, go to places, select friends, and read books which will exert certain kinds of influences rather than others. We also have inner causes such as the self-preservative and the sexual and we can channel these through a number of alternate actions.

The forces, their causes and effects, by which we do anything are not created by man and cannot be altered by him. We are, however, not passive with respect to them. They produce effects within us where we have the power to interpret, relate, organise, analyse, synthesise and process them. We modify ourselves by our actions.

“There is no strength but in Allah.” 18:40

“And say not of anything: I shall do that tomorrow, without adding : If Allah wills.” 18:24-25

“Unto Allah fall prostrate (in submission) whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours.” 13:15  

 

All things are subject to the Law of cause and effect. However, there are many kinds of causal forces. Mechanical, gravitational, nuclear, electromagnetic, chemical, biological, psychological, social, and whatever is the most fundamental force in the Universe, known as the Spirit or Word of Allah. Man can operate at any of these levels. It is, therefore, possible to alter a process at one level by means of forces from another level. Birds can fly precisely because they use the forces of aerodynamics to overcome those of gravity. We can overcome mechanical forces through psychological ones, and even inner psychological mechanisms through the spirit. Human beings ought to recognise this and cooperate with it willingly and consciously. Not only their outer, manifest actions, but also their inner thoughts and feelings, are subject to causal forces and Laws. Allah is the cause of all that is seen as determined as well as what is attributed to chance.

 To say that the supreme and fundamental truth about the Universe is the Law of Cause and Effect is to say that Allah is the supreme and fundamental reality and vice versa. This Law must be prior to the Universe. It connects all things together into a single unity. It cannot be reduced to anything else. It is an explicit tenet in most religions. It has, however, only been applied generally in science but not to inter-personal relationships or to the process living.

One consequence of the Law of Causation is that all things are predetermined and pre-ordained. The past, present and future coexist in Time. There is no Free Will. Behaviour depends on either impulse, habit or conditioning by experience. If there is a conflict between two desires the stronger one wins. In such a struggle the outcome can be affected by a third factor. A struggle between greed and conscience, for instance, will be affected by the influence of the kind of friends a person has or the religious literature he reads and so on. Although there are a great many different kinds of conflicts between desires, the one religions are interested in are those where the alternatives are psychological benefit or harm. Man has in-built desire to do himself good, but conditioning, ignorance and fantasy may lead him to do evil. Hence the distinction between the influences coming from Allah and those coming from Satan.

   However, there is both freedom and will.

   Will can be seen as follows:- When a person lifts his arm, it is his will which is the cause of the behaviour of the arm. If the arm were to act by itself we would call this self-will or rebellion, a state of disease. No doubt the scientist can tell us all the chemical causes which are involved in this action. But we want to know the cause of the existence of these causes, and we want to know the purpose. These lie at a higher level than the level at which we are examining the behaviour of the arm, that is, in the human mind. Similarly, the human will is connected with that of the Society, and that with Humanity, and so on until we ultimately come to Allah. Links may be formed by man with any of these levels. This involves Surrender.

Freedom can be seen as follows:- A ball enclosed in a box can move in many alternative ways depending on the kind of forces acting on it. Its degree of freedom diminishes if the box is made smaller and increases if it is made larger. The degree of freedom an object has is directly proportional to its flexibility. Given the right causal forces, there are many alternative ways in which man can behave. It is possible for man to put himself under the correct influences to develop the desired characteristics. The choice of these will, of course, again depend on how he has been brought up and what previous influences he has been under. We must not, however, take a naive view. The causes do not necessarily lie in the external world. They could lie in a persons own inherent genetic structure. What is more, both the environment and the inner structure can be changed by a persons own efforts, though the efforts he makes will depend upon the power of his faculties, and the educational, social and cultural influences. He can change these by re-interpreting them. Analysis and synthesis of the data of experience, reinforcement, neutralisation and transformation, all these alter the causes and their effects. The existence of memory and thought implies that the external world has been internalised in man. In so far as a man presides over a confluence of such causal forces he has some control. The ideas and teachings which affect a person and determine his choices are, themselves, causes.   

 “O ye who believe! Ye have charge of your own souls. He who errs cannot injure you if ye are rightly guided.” 5:105

  Man has been compared to a machine. But it has never been considered that there are many levels of machines. There is a tool like a spade at the lowest level; a cart which can be moved; a car which can move itself but needs a driver to control it; an automatic, self-adjusting machine; a self-repairing machine; a computer which needs to be programmed; a learning computer; a self-programming computer; a self-modifying or self-structuring computer. Man is, at the moment, mostly like a computer which has been programmed by the cultural environment, but with some capacity for self-programming. This is possible because man has within himself several levels of integration. The development of still higher levels is also possible. The lower levels can be controlled by the higher levels. What we call “will” refers to control of the lower by the higher level. It is free from the lower, but obviously is not free of the forces that compose it. Ultimately, at the highest level, the “Will” derives from the Spirit of Allah. Therefore, Surrender to Allah, Islam, makes us free of all other things. These considerations lead to the conclusion that an educational system is required as a causal force to modify man. But it should be one which gives him the tools to control and modify himself. Religion is just such a special kind of causal force.

There are several problems connected with determinism. If everything is determined how can we blame anyone for doing anything? We do what we must, and no distinction can be made between good and evil. If everything is determined then so are our opinions, and we cannot distinguish between the true and the false either. It is, however, possible to make these distinctions on three grounds:-

(a) That we are made of the same materials, forces and laws which account for the Universe. They are built into us.

(b) We have evolved in contact with the world and natural selection ensures that creatures having faculties best adapted to reality will survive.

(c) We can learn. We are inter-dependant with our environment for information and our other needs and this modifies us.

However, though we can discover the laws of the Universe, the Universe is much too complex for us to make accurate calculations. This is because:-

(i) We may not know all the laws which exist.

(ii) There are too many interacting factors to be taken into considerations.

(iii) We do not know the initial conditions from which we can make predictions by applying the laws. Small changes in the initial conditions can bring about larger and larger differences as time goes on, like the distance between the arms of an angle.

(d) It has been discovered in Physics that the behaviour of the fundamental particles is unpredictable. Therefore, physics applies the laws of chance to these phenomena. The word chance, however, is another word for ignorance about causes. The cause of the apparently erratic behaviour may well be within these particles themselves rather than external to them where the physicists are looking. These fundamental entities are not dead inert particles as was formerly supposed, but something which pulsates and fluctuates according its own inner laws. It has a structure. It has to adjust itself to its environment, the field in which it exists containing other similar entities. The failure to find a cause is a direct consequence of the materialist view. Human behaviour, too, would seem erratic without such knowledge. It could also be pointed out that to say that something happens because of chance is not different from saying that it is caused by Allah, except that the latter retains consistency with the rest of experience and the former does not. If chance exists then there is never any possibility of knowing whether something will occur because of it or because of a cause.

(e) If we could make accurate calculations about human behaviour then this information creates still another factor which would alter human behaviour and falsify the prediction.

   It follows that we need the idea of will as well as freedom because:-

   (i) We cannot calculate and predict the future.

   (ii) We are part of the processes of the world, and our actions change the environment and ourselves.

   (iii) Blame and praise, punishment and reward are themselves causal factors which alter behaviour.

   (iv) We can internally process the data of experience.

(f) We can develop by progressively contacting the higher levels within ourselves by the cultivation of consciousness, conscience and will which are the attributes of the spirit within us. This requires the special techniques of Religion.

   

Consider the following:- A cause (A1) interacting with several other factors (A2, A3 etc), which are also causes, produces effects B1, B2, B3 etc. There is no direct causal relationship between these. They are coincidences. B1 interacting with other factors creates effects C1, C2, C3 etc. Thus the number of coincidences increases and the links become ever more remote. But it cannot be said that these are not determined.

Note also that interaction implies that there is not one, but two causes, one of them can be regarded as external with respect to the other while the other is internal.

Much depends on the nature of Time. It is generally regarded as being continuous like a straight line. It could, however, be curved and cyclic, described by two dimensions; or like a spiral which does not quite return to its previous position, and, therefore has three dimensions; it could be discrete like a number of dots, so that things are continually destroyed and recreated; it could be like a moving point; It could be structured so that it has parts which have still smaller parts; or it could be vibrating with a number of different frequencies. The Quran certainly sees Time more like a spiral and as being relative to the various phenomena. Thus Time for a cell is different from that which it is to a man, and this is different from occurrences on the cosmic scale.

Suppose that we have a number of cycles so that while one wave of one kind, X passes by, three others of another kind, Y also pass by. The event produced at the end of X has a cause at its beginning. The event at the end of a wave in Y has its cause in the beginning of that wave. The two causes do not coincide. The cause of a present event may be very far in the distant past if measured in terms of Y. Indeed, since what we see depends on how fast the event takes place relative to our ability to see it, then there will be much which we cannot see unless we develop and use faculties which can do so.

We see by means of light. This leads us to the following considerations:- How does the object affect light; how does light affect our senses; how are these effects translated into perception; how is light modified by the intervening space between object and observer; and the speed of light. Since it takes light thousands of years to get to us, then the stars we see may not exist in the present or their configuration may be different. We are looking into the past. Conversely from the point of view of a star, our perception of it is in the future. The light describing an event, does not, in fact, disappear but is absorbed and modifies the objects in the surroundings. There are subtle records of all events in the materials around us. The human memory is only a special case of this. The present is not, therefore, the whole of Reality, It is only a small section of the totality.

Again, consider a snooker table where all the balls are arranged in one place. The cue ball is propelled towards them at a certain angle and speed. On impact, the balls scatter. Though the motion of all the balls can be calculated, the collisions which any ball makes with others, from the point of view of that ball, could be regarded as due to chance.

Thus, given a mass of particles or objects and given the scientific Principle of Objectivity which always requires external causes, the natural laws described by science must turn out to be statistical in nature. That is, they apply to masses and averages, allowing some freedom to individuals. The general direction of evolution is pre-determined. But as far as individuals are concerned if they develop certain qualities which are in accordance with it, they survive and flourish. Those that do not develop will atrophy and are destroyed or sink to a different level. There is a kind of distillation. The outcome is not changed by such deviations.  We need only think of things collectively. The same rules probably apply to both higher and lower levels of organization.   

“Systems have passed away before you. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences for those who did deny the messengers. This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off evil. Faint not nor grieve, for you will overcome them if you are indeed believers. If you have received a blow, the disbelieving people have also received a blow the like thereof. These are only the vicissitudes which We cause to follow one another for mankind, to the end that Allah may know those who believe and may choose witnesses from among you; and Allah loves not wrongdoers. And that Allah may prove those who believe, and may blight the disbelievers. Or deemed you that you would enter paradise while yet Allah has not tested those of you who really strive, nor knows those who are steadfast?” 3: 137-142

These verses, apart from confirming the above argument, are also important from several other points of view. They are connected with the battle of Uhud which was for the Muslims an apparent disaster. In fact it caused the downfall of the Pagans in Arabia because of their excesses, and the transfer of sympathy to Islam. It weakened them while strengthening the Muslims.  

1. The apparent should not be mistaken for the real. The outer physical or worldly successes and failures are not the essential realities, and should not deceive or divert people from a spiritual goal. The consequences of an action are not always apparent.

2. Advantages or disadvantages in the short term are no indication of the long term or more permanent advantages and disadvantages. It is often necessary to make sacrifices in the present in order to gain a more permanent and valuable benefit later. The school boy has to work hard at his lessons in order to obtain a good living later in life. The same applies to the whole nation and to spiritual life of the individual. There may be a wide separation in time between the cause and the effect.

3. Actions are balanced by reaction. In any encounter the harm to one side produce equivalent harm to the other side. The same would be true of benefits. On the other hand that which has disadvantages also has advantages, and vice versa. The intelligent man uses the one and negates the other. Evil by definition is self-destructive. Good by definition is self-constructive. External causes may create internal or hidden consequences. Internal causes may create outer effects. The causes in one place may create effects in another.

4. The fire of adversity is what tests the mettle of the individual. It strengthens them, and burns away the weaknesses. Transformation is also an effect.

5. Notice that the verse speaks about believers who strive, that is, people who make deliberate and conscious efforts in accordance with their beliefs. These enter paradise. It also mentions disbelievers who presumably make efforts accordingly. They enter hell. It does not speak about unbelievers, the majority of mankind, who have no beliefs and, therefore, make no conscious efforts. They behave as automatons. Their physical death, according to some interpreters, means annihilation as they have made no construction of an inner self. Good and evil refer only to such conscious efforts, not to automatic behaviour and not to what happens to a person or is done to him. However, automatic behaviour can be called evil in so far as the individual has the capacity to do good and does not.

 

There is no Fundamental contradiction between the Islamic view and the Hindu and Buddhist Law of Karma or the Scientific Law of Cause and Effect. Laws are regarded as the Commands of Allah. But there is a difference on the following counts ;-

(a) The laws are not the ultimate reality. They, too, must be accounted for. Allah exists beyond them and is their cause. Ultimately there is a single cause.

(b) There is room in the Universe for what is essentially unpredictable and uncertain. That to which we apply the term chance is also caused by Allah.

(c) There is room in it for volition. Causes can be internal as well as external. There is no contradiction between the idea that everything in the Universe is determined and that man is capable of voluntary action. Since man has within him the divine spark, actions flowing from it are the actions of Allah. Human beings can be seen from several levels. In so far as they act from instincts, reflexes, habits or various psychological mechanisms they are subject to various levels of natural law. But they are also capable of acting deliberately and consciously. To do this they must identify themselves with Allah or seek the help of Allah within, that is the Spirit becomes the cause of their actions.

 

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NOTES

 

Hereafter may mean:-

(1) Another period in life here on earth, such as life in the womb, as a child, an adult, in old age, death, transfiguration, and various periods during adulthood, or life after conversion. (22:5, 56:60-61, 84:16-20)

(2) Another period in the life of a community or of humanity. Nations and civilizations rise, fall, are destroyed to be replaced by others. The earth will be inherited by the righteous. (Chapter 26 and others, 21:105)

(3) It means life in Eternity which is not the same thing as “for ever” in serial time, but another dimension, so to speak. The whole of time is seen as a single line (or a plane of lines of which the second dimension represents other possibilities and change (611:107)), as if seen from above, a third dimension. And we may go nearer or further along this dimension. Both Resurrection and Judgment are connected with the transformation of Heaven and Earth (14:48). Though the new heaven and earth replace the old heaven and earth, they are historically continuous, like the cycle of day and night, the seasons of the year, the death and resurrection of vegetation (7:57, 16:65, 22:5), and the destruction of communities and civilizations followed by the rise of new ones (Quran chapters 25, 26 and many others). A person is resurrected into a new world. (See 18:9-22). This does not necessarily mean disincarnate life in heaven, nor reincarnated life on earth. This should be no more difficult to understand than, say, the world described by the Theory of Relativity.

The spirit is that part which returns to the Universal Consciousness, like the wave falling back and merging into the sea from which it arose. Since Time is now known to be a dimension like space the word Eternal, or the Hereafter, has a special meaning. It does not refer to serial time. Serial time is produced by the motion of the planet round the sun. This is what governs all processes on earth. Or it may be reckoned by the motion of the sun round the Galactic centre, and so on. Eternity may, perhaps be understood as a dimension at right angle to time. From the point of view of an individual standing at a station the train appears, stands for a while and then disappears. From the point of view of a person standing far away, who has a broader view, the train exists before it enters the station and after it leaves the station. Time is not serial in memory in so far as the whole of the past exists there simultaneously. This, by noting the sequence of past events, is what allows us to make predictions about the future. In the Universal Mind there is no passing time.

There are many levels of existence. We live in a town, in a country, in a continent, which exists in a planet. This exists in a certain solar system, in a certain galaxy in the Universe. Our address is unique, and this describes us because of the forces converging on us from each of these levels, and they affect and form us. From another point of view when we are dead we are mineral; when asleep we are vegetable; when moving about we are animal; when thinking we are human; when fully conscious and inspired we are angelic; and perhaps other states are also possible. From yet another point of view we can illustrate the various levels of existence by solids lying in a field of, and permeated by liquids, which are lying in and permeated by gases. These, in turn, may be permeated by plasma (electrons and other sub-atomic particles such as those emitted by the sun). And this may be permeated by electromagnetic forces. And so on. Ultimately we come to that which is fundamental, universal and irreducible. Something from which all things are formed and in which they exist. We contain all these levels. What we see as solid matter is, therefore, only a superficial part of total existence and depends entirely on our capacity for perception. A different kind of sensitivity might see the atmosphere as solid, or may see the earth as transparent. The soul is capable of moving through the different levels.

   “And on the Day of Resurrection ye are raised. And We have created above you seven paths.” 23:16-17

   “Ye shall journey from plane to plane.” 84:19

   “Have you seen that which you emit? Do you create it or are We the creator? We give death among you, and We are not to be outrun that We may transfigure you and make you what you know not. And verily you know the first creation. Why, then, do you not reflect?” 56:58- 62

 

There is some dispute as to whether the Day of Resurrection should be interpreted psychologically, socially or physically. This seems quite unnecessary. It could have all three meanings.

Man is a body with the Spirit in him. On death the Spirit returns to Allah (2:156, 23,115, 3:55,158, 5:48,105, 6:36,165, 8:24, 21:35 etc.) and the body disintegrates. The soul which may be regarded as the spirit organized in certain ways by its residence in the body, may also survive, if a suitable vehicle has been constructed for it. Religion is interested in the Spirit. The term resurrection refers to the re-activation of the spirit (22:5-6). Resurrection is compared to rain falling on a dead land causing it to revive and bear fruit (7:57). It is also compared to the Day following night (28:70-73 and others). The coming of the light brings spiritual awakening, knowledge, faith and activity, while darkness bring sleep, unawareness, and inactivity.

 

Resurrection can have several meanings:-

(1) The Day of Resurrection may refer to the Day when spiritual awakening happens to the individual. This is a revolutionary experience for him both inwardly and outwardly. Heaven and earth are changed for him because he sees them differently (8:24, 30:50, 41:39 16:38-40, 17:49-52, 19:66-72, 46:33-34, 86:8-9).

“And Allah it is who sends the wind and they raise a cloud; then We lead it unto a dead land and revive therewith the earth after its death. Such is the resurrection. ” 35:9

The wind of change picks up spiritual waters from the oceans, the reservoir of truth and deposits it on a spiritually dead person or community and revives them. This applies to individuals, communities, nations, and to mankind as a whole

(2) It refers to the spiritual revival of a people or a civilisation which happens when a Prophet comes. (2:53-56, 2:260, 8:24). Chapter 23 after describing the development of man through the various stages, his death and Resurrection, is devoted to the description of the rise and fall of communities, stating

“Then after them We brought forth other generations” 23:31, 42

The destruction of an old system is essential for the rise a new one. The old one itself creates changes which require the establishment of a new one. Eventually the righteous will inherit the earth. (21:105). Presumably this can only happen after a spiritual regeneration has taken place, a judgment has been passed and the unrighteous have been removed. Mankind will continue to make progress until this is achieved. These cycles of rise and fall, when seen together, are really an upward spiral.

Quran 28:70-73 tells us that there are spiritual days and nights, but these are distinguished from the Day of Resurrection which affects all mankind. This alternation has been ordained by Allah for a good reason. These may be regarded as referring to the life of the individual and of nations. There are periods when there is spiritual effort and periods when this is relaxed, periods of faith, increase in knowledge and purposive and intelligent action and periods of doubt, ignorance and superstition, Ages of Enlightenment and Dark Ages. These cycles have the same function as ordinary day and night to facilitate work and then rest and recuperation in readiness for the next days work. This, too, affects individuals, communities and the whole of mankind. It probably affects the biosphere, the planet and beyond.

The death and resurrection of Christ can be interpreted as meaning that the faith of his followers lapsed for three days and was then revived just as the New Testament tells us. This removes the apparent contradiction with the teaching of the Quran that Jesus was not crucified and did not die on the Cross

(3) It refers to the Last Day, the end of the present system and the creation of a new earth and new heaven (14:48). Mankind is one (39:6, 4:1, 6:99). The Day of Resurrection refers to mankind as whole. The Last Day, or period of change is described in Chapter 50, 56, 77 to 83, This could be interpreted either literally and in physical terms, or socially or psychologically and spiritually.

 

It can be interpreted socially as follows:-

There will be:-

(i) great changes in the physical environment and conditions of life (earth).

(ii) general spiritual re-awakening accompanied by changes in outlook, ideology and faith (heaven).

(iii) revolutionary social changes which leads to suffering (hell) for some and joy and fulfillment (Paradise) for others, depending on whether they can accept and adapt to the new system or not. This depend on their inherent condition. This could mean either their genetic constitution or their past incarnation according to point of view. 

This revolution may happen in the ordinary course of social evolution and when a new Prophet brings a new dispensation of Religion. It could be that these three types of change happen independently.

But if this is the case, then long dead individual will not be personally resurrected, and it is not a physical resurrection. The desire for personal immortality (104:3) comes from the ego which is merely an idea created by association of memories with the body and name, two things which are permanent in our experiences. It is the psychological equivalent of the other two, the physical and social entities. It dies with the body. Those who are resurrected are not deceived by the ego and can see themselves clearly (25:25-29, 24:99-100). The real Self is the Spirit. It is the same in all, and is an aspect of Allah. It is the non-realization of this fact, because of the deception by the ego, which religion condemns. The malpractices and suffering caused by the fear of death can be overcome by cultivating this awareness of unity. The Ego, too, is the same in all. It may, therefore be thought of as an aspect of Satan.

 (4) It could also be the case that humanity itself will be transformed into a new creature (56:58-64) and man can be replaced by this new creature (29:19-20, 35:16-17, 6:134-136, 10:4, 27:64). However, the regenerate man, reactivated by the spirit, is a new creature

(5) These views, however, do not explain another religious tenet - how it is that every individual who has died in the past can be judged for his own actions. He must either be reincarnated or else the judgment is in a different world or level of existence. According to some people resurrection means physical rebirth. A present society is formed by the causes created by past generations. Since all the individuals in it are formed by the same forces, genetic, intellectual, emotional, behavioural, cultural, social and economic, then in a sense, the people of one generation are the same as those of the former generation. Or that the present genetic constitution is affected by the selective effect of their social system. Therefore, they may be thought of as being reincarnations of the same people. But this refers to mankind collectively and not to individuals. Though the new individuals are continuous with their predecessors, they cannot be considered to be the same individuals, in so far as individuals do not remember past incarnations and cannot alter them. Islam does not, therefore, speak of reincarnation. As far as the individual is concerned he has the present life and life in the hereafter. However, the individual can be regarded as being still alive in the fabric of the community, seen from another dimension. It contains all his characteristics and what he did has changed the nature of society and continues to have effects. The good and evil in him are the same as those in the people of the past, and so is the consequent happiness or suffering. This evil collectively, Satan, is then removed on the Day of Resurrection. Those killed as martyrs in the cause of Islam, for instance, produced permanent effects in the history of mankind.

“Think not of those, who were slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.” 3:169

(6) The Quran certainly recognizes different levels of existence, the seven heavens and seven paths (17:44, 23:17). The central theme of the Quran is that man will return to God in the Hereafter (6:60, 72, 23:115, and others too numerous to mention). But there are also 7 levels of earth (65:12).

Quran 23:1-11 describes the kind of people who will inherit paradise. Verse 14 then proceeds to describes the mystery of the development of man from an extract of clay, to a seed placed in the womb, to the development of the embryo, to a foetus, to the birth of a fully formed living, conscious individual. This is described as “another creation” The child has entered into another world. The chapter continues:-

“Then after that ye surely die. Then lo! on the Day of Resurrection ye are raised again, and We have created above you seven paths, and We are never unmindful of creation. And We send down from the heaven water in measure and We give it lodging in the earth, and lo! We are able to withdraw it. ” 23:15-18

The spirit, like rain, can enters man and is withdrawn. The seven paths in this connection can only mean still further stages of development. This could mean either that we will be reincarnated on earth by the same process, or that we will be resurrected to another higher plane. This higher plane could, of course, be experienced as being just as solid as the previous one. On the other hand it could refer to a new stage in the evolution of mankind. It should be understood that just as an animal is unable to perceive or understand the human world of culture so also the present man will be unable to perceive or understand the world of the more highly developed man. It is a mistake to suppose that the world as seen by one type of mind is the same as that seen by another type of man.

Most commentators have interpreted the seven paths separately as referring to the heavens, the orbits of the planets, the stars in the galaxies and the rotation of the Universe itself. But there must be a reason for mentioning this in connection with human development. Add to this verse 84:19 and 89:27-30 where it is explicitly stated that man will travel from plane to plane and that the good servant returns to God, then Resurrection means death in one plane and re-emergence on the next.

“He brings forth the living from the dead, and He brings forth the dead from the living, and He revives the earth after her death. Even so will you be brought forth. ” 30:19

Living things do produce and excrete dead matter, and dead and decaying animals and vegetation do produce living things. The dead earth does spring into life after the rains. All this is part of the cycle of life. In the same way the soul emerges from the dead body and the spiritually dead person may be regenerated by the Word of God, the religious message.

We could interpret the seven levels as referring to the stages of development of humanity in this world. But even if this is so then the humanity at each stage will certainly see the world differently and they will have transformed their ideologies, their social system and their environment. It will certainly be a new earth and a new heaven. Both were different for people of the fruit gathering age, the hunting age, the nomadic age, the agricultural age and the industrial age, and will be different for whatever age comes next.

 (7)  Physical reincarnation.

“And they say: When we are bones and fragments, shall we, forsooth, be raised up as a new creation? Say: Even if ye be stones or iron, or some created thing which is even more impossible in your thoughts.” 17:49-52 Also 79:10-12,

“And man says: When I am dead, shall I be brought forth alive? Doth not man remember that We created him before when he was naught. By thy Lord, verily We shall assemble them and the devils, then We shall bring them crouching around hell. Then we shall pluck from every sect which ever of them was most stubborn in rebellion to the Beneficent.”19:66-69

“Does man think that We shall not assemble his bones? Yea We are able to restore his very fingers.” 75:4-5

“On the Day when the first trump resounds, and the second follows it, on that day hearts beat painfully while eyes are downcast. Shall we really be restored to our first state, even after we are crumbled bones? They say: Then that would be a vain proceeding. Surely it will need but one shout and lo! they will be awakened.” 79:6-14

“And each one will come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection alone” 19:95

“See they not how Allah produces creation, then reproduces it? Lo! For Allah that is easy. Say: Travel in the earth and see how He originated creation. So will Allah bring forth the later creation. Lo! Allah is able to do all things.” 29:19-20

These verses tell us to investigate and make a study of creation. Animals and plants do reproduce. Events and experiences do repeat themselves. The verse seems to indicate that the second creation will be like the first and by the same process.

Some of these verses appear to tell us that there will be a physical resurrection of people who had died physically in the past, accompanied by great planetary and Cosmic upheavals (Chapters 81 and 82). There is mention of the reassemble of bones and dust (17:49, 50:3, 75:3, 79:10-12). It is also taught that each individual is accountable for their own deeds (17:15, 53:38-40, 75:38) and will be rewarded or punished individually in Paradise or Hell. (19:95)

This could mean that people will be individually reincarnated. If this is the case then it could happen many times (e.g.. in each age or during every dispensation of religion). This must be so because the reincarnated person is given another chance to make amends, and presumably he will die again, and must be resurrected to be judged. Islam is not interested in all the other times because it is only possible for a person to realise himself and make amends during the lifetime in which he finds himself. The term “Hereafter” may then refer to the next incarnations rather than to the life of the disincarnate soul after death.

(8) Indeed, the Quran tells us that the soul is asleep until its awakening. On the Day of Resurrection the individual is judged by his own thoughts and memories of what he has done (41:19-24, 24:24). Presumably he will remember his previous incarnation. It is, therefore, a day of awakening and self-realization (79:14, 35-36) both for the wicked and the good rather than of spiritual progress or reincarnation. But he cannot then avert the punishment, and he will have the permanent benefits of his past good efforts. To understand this it is necessary to remember that this world is an Illusory World constructed by man because of his desires (attachments, greed, lust, pride, addictions, and obsessions) which produce fantasies, rationalizations, prejudices distorting the truth by selection, suppression, and exaggeration. (45:23 and many other verses). A day will come when these illusions are shattered and people will see the real world and their own reality, and the significance and consequences of their behaviour (45:33). They will be judged by these their reactions. But though some may suffer remorse, it is impossible for them to make amends. They have done themselves irreversible damage and they continue to suffer. Many people of this kind can be found even in this life.

We may understand this as follows:- The real world affects us through a great number of forces directly. But we are not consciously aware of these. The ordinary Worldly mind or Ego, falsely called the conscious mind, selects, interprets and organizes only some of this data to construct a false world according to its interests, desires and prejudices. Fear of death causes it to invent this world. It is the unconscious which is aware of Reality and truth, but this is suppressed by the False consciousness. On death the ego dies and true consciousness is released. This release may also happen when a traumatic shock or revolutionary social conditions or a new spiritual message, or an inner conversion experience destroys mental conditioning and illusions. All this is represented by the Trumpet.

“And the stupor of death brings truth. This truth was that which ye were trying to escape. And the trumpet shall be blown. That will be the Day whereof warning had been given. And every soul comes forth alone with a driver and a witness. You were heedless of this, but now We have removed from thee thy covering, and piercing is thy sight this day.” 50:19-22

We must not, therefore, suppose that the real world as seen then as the same as that which we see now. And the world consisting of people who see it will be quite different. At that level physical death is merely a period of transition like birth. Neither is the world described by science the same as the world of ordinary experience, but no one tells us that it is false. It all depends on the consciousness of the observer and his interactions with his environment.

(9) However, the Quran also appears to tell us that there is no return to earth. (21:95, 23:99-100, 36:31, 39:42), though this could mean that there is no return to the same life. A distinction is made between what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what descends from the heavens and descends into it (34:2). It is possible to interpret all of these verses symbolically. Since religion is interested not so much in the physical but in the spiritual which animates it, it distinguishes between earth and heaven, the latter referring to spiritual matters. The sun, moon and stars are, therefore, symbols referring to spiritual leaders. The reference to bones and dust may simply mean that:-

(i) Allah can re-animate these if He wishes, not that He will.

(ii) What man is physically reduced to after death is irrelevant.

(iii) These materials are recycled. We are all formed from the materials which have been part of other beings in the past, and the materials we are composed of will become part of other beings.

(iv) Bones refer to something hard and inflexible and dust refers to something disintegrated and unstable. Both terms are symbols for degenerate people, the hard hearted and the faithless.

 

In this case individual judgment can only refer to disincarnate life after death. But whether or not man is reincarnated does not really make much difference since the significant thing is the psychological state in either case. For any person alive today the next life is something to do with his memory and consciousness and not the material of his body which is recycled constantly even in this life. On the other hand if he is wholly self-centered without any spiritual beliefs or social conscience he is unlikely to care for the future of mankind or his own spiritual survival after death.

If we study the description of the Day of Resurrection and Judgment in the Quran Chapter 52, The Mount, we see that it can be interpreted in two ways:-

(a) That heaven and earth will be destroyed; mankind will be resurrected and judged to live for ever on another non-physical plane of existence according to their deeds.

(b) That some time in the future there will be an environmental, social and spiritual transformation on earth. This interpretation does not challenge human credulity and ordinary intelligence quite so much. Indeed, if human technology, material, social as well as psychological, advances then it is perfectly possible to create a world of plenty in which all desires and needs are fulfilled and progress is assured. The population could be stabilized, all disease removed, the educational system could be improved so that people will have high values and their intelligence will tell them that crime and evil brings suffering and should be avoided; economic, social and political justice could remove oppression and the causes of conflict and crime. Medical advances may even create immortality. Indeed, some sects such as the Baha’i and Jehovah’s Witnesses think that we are already living in the Day of Resurrection and Judgment. The world is certainly changing fast. Some people are suffering greatly and some are enjoying great prosperity. Hell and heaven are on earth.

The problem with this view is this:- How are the good and evil people of the past to be judged? If they are all reincarnated how can they all fit on earth? And why should the people of that new age do good if there is no further judgment? The answer is that both are correct. The life on earth is but an illustration of the life in the spirit. The past dead may be thought of as being resurrected in the spirit. This, as far as the earth is concerned, could mean that all past experiences become available.

“And verily for those who do wrong, there is another punishment besides this on earth, but most of them understand not.” 52:47

(10) All this does not, however, mean that the actual geophysical disasters, the destruction of the earth and cosmic catastrophes are not also meant. Great earthquakes and geographical changes, collisions with comets, large meteors or asteroids, or the near approach of other stars, or upheavals in the sun bringing great climatic changes can also take place. There is no reason whatever why the literal interpretation should be dismissed. There is an Asteroid belt in the Solar System consisting of millions of rocks of various sizes. This is periodically disturbed by the motion of Jupiter, and some of these rocks are deflected and fall on the earth causing destruction on a scale depending on the size of the body. Life on earth has been destroyed. There have been periods of Glaciation when great parts of the earth were completely iced over. The life forms which existed then were destroyed and completely new species and conditions of life arose thereafter. This has happened several times before as fossil records show. A renewal of life and new direction of evolution has taken place afterwards. Cosmic upheavals do and will take place and do produce biological, social and psychological changes. It may be that whole Civilizations or smaller communities have also been destroyed by such impacts. These events cannot be said to be signs of chaos since the orbits of these bodies still follow laws. If the position and motions of these dark bodies could be ascertained then it would also be possible to calculate when the next major disaster will take place. A Prophet might well have an inkling of this because of greater sensitivity to Cosmic processes.

The Quran also gives examples of communities destroyed by floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions (Chapters 54 and others). Such destructions are also known to historians and have taken place even recently in many parts of the world.

The connection between such an event and human good or evil behaviour is more difficult to explain. The destruction will be indiscriminate and the Quran affirms that this is so. The regeneration which takes place after this will, however, ensure the arising of better human beings. The histories of some the people described in the Quran, such as that of Noah, indicate that the scoffers do not take precautions and are destroyed, while the believers do and survive. It could well be that the possibility of surviving or averting major upheavals of this type depends on how far human beings have developed. It is also possible that human beings themselves may destroy themselves and the planet because of the evil in them through atomic or other wars, major industrial accidents, pollution, disruption of the ecological system, wastage of the earths resources and general mismanagment of the environment, their social systems and psychological systems.

The Quran also tells us that whole Universe will be wound up (21:104, 28:88, 55:26-27). This may be followed by a new creation.(10:5, 35). Indeed, the following verses may be interpreted as being connected with Evolution.

“ A questioner asked about the chastisement which must befall the unbelievers, which none can avert, From God, the Lord of the Ascending Stairways. To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years. Therefore endure with a goodly patience. Surely they think it to be far off, And We see it nigh.” (70:1-7)

 “But nay! I swear by (or call to witness) 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)

“When the stars are put out and the sky is riven asunder and the mountains are blown away.” 77:8-10

“When the heaven is cleft asunder, when the planets are dispersed, when the seas are poured forth and the sepulchers are overthrown, a soul will know what it has sent before it and what it left behind.” 82:1-5

“When the earth shall be shaken to its foundations and the mountains shall be crumbled becoming like scattered dust.” 56: 4-5

 Some people interpret these verses literally and expect that this planet and the universe itself will be destroyed. Others interpret it purely symbolically and expect psychological or social changes only. The world as we know it, the systems of life will change and all certainties will be questioned. There will be general insecurity and upheaval. The mountains whose peaks point into heaven represent institutionalized religion and these will collapse. The Quran is dealing with the human psyche, life and environment. It is not so much the world itself which matters but how we see it, adjust to it, and what we do with it. The physical environment will be transformed as well as the social and psychological conditions of life.

It may be asserted that we are, indeed, now living in such times of transformation. The environment, including land sea and climate is certainly changing owing to industrial pollution and erosion, construction of cities, roads, industries, mines and farms, and transport, communication and computing systems; many species of life are becoming extinct while others are arising owing to human manipulation; forests are disappearing, rivers are diverted, lakes are drying up, new deserts are being created and mountains are eroding; there are floods, droughts, storms and earthquakes. The social systems are collapsing; science and technology are undergoing revolutionary changes, old ideologies, value systems and movements are giving place to new ones, political systems are collapsing and changing, there are wars and civil wars and struggles between pressure groups in all parts of the world; the old religions are disintegrating and new cults are arising. All this agitation and confusion is leading to a new awakening and no doubt people will be judged by it.

However, the same chapter goes on to divide people into the Foremost who enter the highest Heaven, those of the Right Hand who enter Paradise and those of the Left Hand who enter Hell (56:7-10), Those who enter paradise will be

“ A multitude of people from those of the past and a few of those from later times.” 56:13-14 and see also 39-40

Obviously, human beings are expected to degenerate over time.

It also describes the development of man from a seed through several stages, and says:-

“That We may transfigure you and make you what ye know not. And verily ye know the first creation. Why then do ye not reflect?” 56:61-62

We may, therefore, assume that the Day of Resurrection and Judgment (which could be our own era) consists not only of a general transformation of life on earth but also of immortality on another level. Neither of these has happened before. The dead of the past were not to be resurrected until then. And those who die then will merely be transformed. Perhaps at some future date, life in the physical form on earth will cease altogether.

 

We could summarize as follows:-

Human being contain within themselves the divine spirit (Quran 32:9). This is immortal. But owing to mental attachments or fixations with their bodies and names and its life in this world they are unaware of it. As long as they are so attached the death of the body is the death of the person. If they are resurrected or reborn physically they will not have any memories of their past lives and they will be a separate new person. But Qayamat, the Day of Resurrection and Judgment may be the Day of Awakening when they become conscious of their inner spirit or true self. This may be the day when a Teacher awakens them. This may or may not coincide with a general awakening caused by the coming of a Prophet. This is the day they also become aware of their immortality.

 The soul which is attached to the body and its separate interests is known as nafs-i-ammara., the Commanding soul. It requires a higher state of consciousness to become self-aware and exert self-control. This is known as the nafs-i-lawwama, the self-accusing soul. It is probably this soul which is referred to when the Quran tells us that the martyrs are not dead (3:169). They have given up their attachment to this body and life. There is a third higher state of objective consciousness and this is connected with nafs-i-mulhima, the Inspired soul. This is the one which receives revelations of truth. It develops owing to its receptivity. Finally, we have nafs-i-mutmaina, the Fulfilled or Perfect soul which returns to God (Quran 89:27-30).

According to some systems of teaching, there are not 4 but 7 stages and these correspond to the 7 heavens. The four verses in Quran 89:27-30 are taken to refer to four separate stages rather than one. The vision of the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad through the 7 heavens refers to this (Quran 17:1, 53:1-18). So do the 7 paths.

“Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and the produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of Creators! Then lo! After that you surely die. Then lo! On the Day of Resurrection ye are raised again. And We have created above you seven paths, and We are never unmindful of creation.” 23:14-17

In the Hereafter, people are sorted out into three groups:- The People of the Left Hand, the People of the Right hand and the Foremost. 56:7-64. The People of the Left Hand are those who are in Hell (suffer owing to inner contradictions). But this is not a permanent state, but an educational one. They remain in it until they reform. (11:107, 101:8-11) We are also told that the earth will be changed and that righteous will inherit the earth. (19:40, 21:105). We may suppose that sometime in the future a Theocratic or Theo centric Government (the Kingdom of God) will be established. People will be more spiritually advanced, will be led by the spiritual Elite, the Foremost and the system will be designed to facilitate general spiritual development.

 

 The Articles of Faith paint a picture of the world which is different from both the world of every day life and from that of Science. The way to look at this is probably as follows:-

 The Real World is multi-dimensional. Of these our outer senses see only four dimensions including Time. The rest of the World is accessible only through inner vision by means of faculties which are ordinarily dormant.. The reason for this is that the evolutionary process and social pressures have concentrated our sensitivities and attention into those faculties which aid our survival, reproduction and ambitions in the particular environment we exist in.

 The fertilized egg contains a general sensitivity which gradually differentiates and concentrates in just a few sense organs. But in other creatures, dogs for instance, it creates other senses. Indeed, it is possible for man, when he has lost, say the sense of sight, to develop the other senses, and even to see through his skin. Many such cases are known. The range of sensitivities can be increased. Apart from this we are completely unaware of much that does come through our existing senses. But these still exist in our sub-conscious minds and can often be recalled by means of hypnosis and may arise naturally into the conscious mind as intuitions. Sometimes, having been repressed to protect the self-consistency of our conscious minds and avoid contradictions and conflicts, they may arise in a distorted or symbolic form. We react to various chemicals, sounds, light, subtle changes in the behaviour or expression of others, without any awareness, and we influence others and the environment through our behaviour also without intention or noticing what we are doing. There are a number of vibrations, and rhythms in the world to which our various organs resonate and a number of gravitational, electromagnetic, mechanical, chemical and biological forces affect the physiological and psychological processes within us directly without necessarily passing through our sense organs.

 Science generally ignores the inner world despite the fact that nothing can be known except as an effect on our consciousness. In religion, the inner world is regarded as real. But the experience of it is usually a translation in accordance with our psychological structure. Since we are outwardly orientated we do not, in fact, explore the inner world. But even short experiments in focusing attention on what goes on in the mind should convince any one that this world is richly populated with things which arise independently of our will or desire, and that they do possess the properties of inertia (resistance), energy and structure, just as things in the outer world do. The dreamer regards his dream world as being just as real as the awake person regards his waking world. However, most of us do not have the interest, the framework of reference or the techniques for exploration and understanding this world. The few who have these requirements, differ in their interpretations and systematizations because of partial knowledge, and because they do not have a common terminology and language for describing this world. In order to produce a common understanding it has often been necessary to translate descriptions from one system into another.

In the more religious past all events were attributed to angels, demons and various other spirits. The arising of the scientific way of thinking dismisses this as superstition and finds physical causes for all events. Diseases, for instance, are attributed to bacteria and viruses. However, we are now entering a new stage of thought. It is found that all kinds of bacteria and viruses are ever present and do not always cause disease, do not affect everyone, that they mutate and adapt themselves to changing conditions, that many diseases cannot be attributed to these agencies, and that psychological factors also play a role. Thus, whereas bacteria may be agents of disease, they are not really the cause. There is something which affects the behaviour of a mass of bacteria which does not exist within the individual bacteria, their behaviour is affected by the conditions of the environment in which they find themselves, and these conditions are not purely physical but psycho-physical. The epidemics which sweep the world from time to time, especially during and after the world wars have killed many times more people than the wars did. Indeed, the wars themselves are not so much due to the political causes to which they are attributed but to some kind of general psychosis which sweeps through communities. Similar considerations apply to many other events. It is, therefore, likely that in future the causes of phenomena will be seen to be much more abstract entities.  

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