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“LIFE,”
AS STILL A MYSTERY,
SERVES AS AN ARGUMENT
FOR
THE
AFTERLIFE, IN ADDITION
TO OTHER PILLARS OF
BELIEF.
The
verse,
Look
upon the signs and
imprints of God’s
Mercy, how He revives
the earth after it is
dead. Surely He it is
Who will revive the dead
(in the same way). He is
powerful over all
things, (30:50)
contains
nine convincing
arguments for the
Resurrection. Of them,
the first, concerning
life, which is a very
clear one and pointed to
in the verse,
Glory
be to God, when
you enter evening
and when you enter
morning. All
praise is to Him
in the heavens and
on earth and at
nightfall and when
you enter noon. He
brings forth the
living from the
dead and brings
forth the dead
from the living,
and revives the
earth after its
death, and so you
will be brought
forth. (30:17-19)
will
be expounded below, God
willing:
Life
has connection with the
six articles of faith
and, by a series of
indications of their
truth, establishes them.
The
most important
consequence of creation
is life
The
most important
consequence of, and the
most substantial reason
for, the creation of the
universe is, precisely,
life, and life, that
noble reality, can by no
means be restricted to
the fleeting, transient,
defective and painful
life of the world.
Rather, the fruit of the
tree of life, the
purpose and result
worthy to be the fruit
of such a tree, is the
eternal life of the
Hereafter-life in the
realm where even stones,
trees and soil will be
animate. If not, it must
be that the tree of
life, so abundantly
adorned with significant
means, yields no fruit,
no benefit, no truth
worthy for animate
beings, and especially
not for man-then man,
who is indeed the most
important and elevated
of all creatures, will
fall, as regards
happiness in the worldly
life, to a degree many
times lower than a
sparrow, which, in
substance and faculties,
he is many times
superior to, and his
state will be that of
the least fortunate, the
most humiliated, of poor
creatures.
Life
laden with hardships in
this world cannot be
restricted to this world
Similarly,
intelligence, the most
precious of man’s
gifts, will wound his
heart through constant
reflection on past
hardships and future
fears. It will mix to
one part of pleasure
nine parts of hardship
and grief, and so become
a means of disaster to
human life. And that is
gravely false as a
conclusion. Thus, the
life in this world is a
decisive argument for
the article of faith
that is belief in the
Hereafter. It parades
before our eyes, each
spring hundreds of
thousands of specimens
of revival (which is an
image of the
Resurrection).
The
importance given to the
human life here points
to the eternal life
Is
it conceivable that an
All-Powerful Agent Who
promptly supplies and
provides, with wisdom,
care and mercy, all the
means and tools needed
for your life, in your
body, in your garden and
in your homeland; Who
hears and answers the
private, particular
petition for sustenance
made by your stomach on
behalf of its survival;
also shows His
acceptance of that
petition by means of so
many delicious foods-is
it conceivable that such
a Being should be
unaware of you or deaf
to you, that He should
not provide you with the
means of eternal life,
the highest purpose of
being human? Is it
conceivable that He
should not, in answer to
mankind’s greatest,
most significant, worthy
and universal prayer for
eternity, establish
eternal life and create
Paradise? Is it
conceivable that He
should fail to hear the
universal and insistent
prayer of mankind, the
most important of all
His creatures, His
vicegerent on the earth,
a prayer that resounds
throughout heaven and
earth, or not pay to it
the same attention,
grant it the same
acceptance as to the
little plea of a
stomach? Is it
conceivable that He
should thus cause His
perfect Wisdom and
infinite Mercy to be
denied? No, a hundred
times, no!
Eternity
is the greatest
aspiration of the human
soul
Again,
is it conceivable that
He would hear the
innermost voice of the
tiniest of beings, cure
its hurt and relieve its
complaint; that He would
nourish it with the
utmost care and
consideration and cause
creatures greater than
itself to do it
service-is it
conceivable that He
would do all of this and
yet not hear the
thunderous cry of the
greatest, most valued,
most subtle, form of
life? That He would pay
no heed to its powerful
prayer and pleading for
eternity? It would be
like equipping a single
soldier with the most
lavish care and
completely neglecting a
huge, obedient army!
Like seeing a speck and
overlooking the sun!
Like hearing the
whirring of a fly and
not hearing the roaring
of thunder! No, a
hundred thousand times,
no!
The
Divine Being never
condemns His Mercy,
Love, Beauty and
Caring to infinite
ugliness by
restricting their
manifestation the
defective earthly
life
Again,
can sense at all accept
that an All-Powerful and
All-Wise Being, Whose
Mercy, Love and Caring
are infinite, Who loves
His own artistry, Who
causes Himself to be
loved, and Who greatly
loves those that love
Him-can sense accept
that such a Being would,
through a permanence of
death, annihilate the
spirit, the essence and
core of life, that loves
Him greatly, that is
itself lovable and that
by its nature worships
Him, its Maker? Would He
for ever offend and
rebuff it? Would He
injure the sentiments of
the spirit, and thereby
Himself deny, and cause
others to deny, the
meaning of His Mercy and
the light of His Love?
No, a hundred thousand
times, no! An absolute
Beauty that by
manifesting itself makes
creation beautiful, and
an absolute Mercy that
enables all creatures to
rejoice, are exalted and
raised far above any
such immeasurable
ugliness, any such
absolute abomination and
want of pity.
In
sum, then, those of
mankind who understand
the purpose of the
existence of life, who
do not misspend their
lives, will become
reflective
manifestations of
everlasting Paradise. In
this we believe. The
shining of objects on
the earth’s surface,
brilliant through their
reflecting the sun’s
light, the momentary
glinting on the ocean
surface of little
bubbles catching flashes
of light, then being
replaced by other
bubbles which, like
them, hold up mirrors to
the sun and contain its
images to the number of
themselves-these images
visibly demonstrate that
those flashes of light
are the reflected
manifestation of the
one, supreme sun. With
their many, diverse
tongues, they make
mention of that one star
and they point toward it
with their ‘fingers’
of light.
God
being the Ever-Living
and Giver of Life
requires the infinite
life
In
a like manner, through
the supreme
manifestation of the
Name ‘Giver of Life’
of the Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent Being,
all animate beings on
the earth’s surface
and in the depths of the
sea shine back life.
They do so through God’s
Power, and then go out
of sight behind the veil
of the Unseen, thus
demonstrating the
ever-living quality of
the Ever-Living One.
Their going out is to
make room for those
that, after them, are
coming in, a continual
series of testimonies
to, and indications of,
the Life and Necessary
Existence of the
Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent Being.
Divine
Attributes,
including especially
Knowledge, Will and
Power require the
eternal life
Similarly,
all the arguments that
attest to the Divine
Knowledge, traces of
which are visible in the
ordering of all beings;
all the evidences that
establish the existence
of a Power disposing the
universe; all the proofs
pointing to a Will
directing the arranging
and administering of the
universe; all the signs
and miracles that attest
the Messengership of the
Prophets, the means by
which the Lord addresses
His creation and reveals
His commands; and the
indications bearing
witness to the seven
attributes of Divinity1-all
of them unanimously
point and testify to the
life of the Ever-Living
and Self-Subsistent
Being. For if the
faculty of sight is
present in a creature,
there must also be life;
likewise, if there is
hearing; likewise, if
there is speech.
Similarly,
Attributes whose
existence is established
and self-evident by
virtue of their traces
throughout the
universe-Attributes such
as Absolute Power,
All-Embracing Will, and
Comprehensive
Knowledge-bear witness,
together with all their
proofs, to the life and
Necessary Existence of
the Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent Being.
They testify to His
everlasting life, one
shadow of which suffices
to light the whole
universe, and one
manifestation of which
suffices to give life to
the Hereafter, together
with all its component
particles.
Life
also establishes the
existence of angels and
Prophethood
His
Attribute of Life is
linked to the article of
belief in the angels,
and argues it
indirectly. The most
important of all the
purposes of the universe
is life: animate beings
make up the most
diversely spread type of
creation, with its kinds
and species multiplied
on account of their
worth. They enliven
continually the hostelry
of this world with their
coming and going in
caravans. The earth, in
particular, which is
stocked full with so
many species of living
creatures, is being
continually emptied and
re-stocked as the
diverse species are
renewed, varied and
increased; even in its
vilest and most rotten
substances so many
living things are given
life so that it becomes
a place where
microscopic organisms
swarm. Intelligence and
consciousness, which are
the distilled essence of
life, and spirit, which
is its subtle and stable
substance, are also
created everywhere on
the earth in the very
greatest multiplicity,
so that it is as if the
earth were teeming and
bursting with the joy of
life, intellect,
consciousness and
spirit. When all of that
is given due
consideration, it does
seem totally impossible
that the heavenly
bodies, which are
subtler, more lustrous,
and by far more
significant in dimension
than the earth, should
be inanimate, entirely
without life, movement
or voice.
Therefore,
there must exist and be
provided with the
property of life,
conscious, animate
beings that enliven the
skies, the suns, and the
stars, giving them their
vitality and so
possessing them of the
purpose for which the
heavens were created,
and receiving address
from the Glorious One.
These creatures, of a
nature proper to the
heavens, are the angels.
Similarly,
with its meaning and
essential nature, life
also establishes the
article of belief in the
Prophets. The universe
was created for the sake
of life and life is in
turn one of the supreme
manifestations of the
Living, Self-Subsistent
and Eternal One. It is
one of His most perfect
designs, one of the most
beautiful of His arts.
Now, the eternal life of
God is declared, first
of all, through the
sending of Messengers
and the revelation of
Books. If there were no
Books or Prophets, then
His being eternal would
remain unknown. Just as
a man is recognized as
being alive when he
speaks, so it is the
Prophets and revealed
Books that declare the
words and decrees of the
Being Who, from behind
the world of the Unseen
that is veiled by that
visible universe, speaks
and sends out His
commands and
prohibitions. Just as
life existent in the
universe is decisive
testimony to the
Necessary Existence of
the Living and Eternal
One, so also does it
indicate and indirectly
confirm the articles of
belief in the sending of
Messengers and the
revelation of
Scriptures, for these
are the rays and
manifestations of that
Eternal Life. And of
them, most especially
the Prophethood of
Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, and
the Quranic
revelation, which are
the very spirit and
intellect of life, are
established as
irrefutably as the very
existence of life.
Life
being the cream, the
extract, distilled
from the universe,
establishes the
Prophethood of
Muhammad
Life
is the cream, the
extract, distilled from
the universe. Sentience
(consciousness and
feeling) is the cream,
the extract, distilled
from life. Intellect is
the cream, the extract,
distilled from
sentience. And spirit,
finally, is the pure and
unalloyed substance, the
stable, independent
essence, of life. The
physical and spiritual
life of the Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, is
the purest cream, the
purest extract,
distilled from the life
and meaning of the
universe, and His
Messengership is the
pure and distilled
essence of the
sentience, consciousness
and intellect of the
universe. Indeed, the
life of the Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, in
both its physical and
its immaterial,
spiritual aspects, is,
as his accomplishments
have proven, the true
essence of the life of
the universe, and his
Messengership, the true
light and essence of the
consciousness of the
universe. The Quranic
revelation is, as its
living and enlivening
truths bear witness, the
spirit of the life of
the universe and the
intellect of its
consciousness.
If
the light of the
Messengership of
Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings,
were to disappear from
the universe, the
universe would die. If
the Quran were to
forsake the universe,
the universe would lose
its sanity, the earth
would lose its brain,
its reason: dizzy and
uncomprehending, it
would collide with some
other planet, and the
end of the world would
result.
Life
is also linked to the
article of belief in the
Divine Destiny
Life
is also linked to the
article of belief in the
Divine Destiny and
establishes it
indirectly. Life is the
light of the visible
world, pervading and
dominating it; it is the
result and goal of
existence, the most
inclusive mirror to the
Creator of the universe,
the most perfect sample
and index of His
activity as Lord,
and-may the analogy not
lead to any error or
confusion-a kind of
program in it. The
meaning of life requires
that the creatures in
the Unseen, in the past
and future (which have
come and gone and are
yet to come), should be
disposed to conform to
some order and
regularity and other
rules or commands such
as being visible, each
in its individual form
and character such as
the Almighty Creator has
established for them to
govern their lives. To
cite an example, the
original seed of a tree
and its root, as well as
the seeds contained in
the outcome of its life,
namely its fruit, each
have a degree of life no
less than the tree as a
whole. Indeed, they
carry in themselves laws
of life more subtle than
those of the tree. The
seeds and roots left
last autumn for the
present spring, as well
as the seeds and roots
that will be left to
subsequent springs after
this one has passed-all
bear the visible imprint
of life, no less than
the spring does, and are
subject to its laws. All
the branches and twigs
of the cosmic tree each
have likewise a past and
a future. They
constitute a chain of
past and future stages
and circumstances. The
multiple stages of life
of each species and each
individual of each
species, existing in
Divine Knowledge, form a
chain of being in
meaning or knowledge:
like the external
(material) existence of
things, their existence
in knowledge or meaning
also bears an aspect or
manifestation of life.
All the stages of the
life of a living being
and whatever happens to
it during its whole life
are the ‘materialized’
duplication of its life
in the Divine Knowledge.
What we call Destiny is,
in one respect, a title
of that Knowledge.
The
fact that the world of
spirits, which is a kind
of the world of the
unseen, is full of
spirits, which
constitute the essence
and substances of life,
certainly requires that
past and future, which
are another kind of the
world of the unseen or
its second form,2 should
also receive the
manifestation of life.
In
addition, the perfect
orderliness and
meaningfulness of an
existent in the
Knowledge of God, the
events and
circumstances, the
stages and fruits,
inherent to it, also
visibly demonstrate a
sort of life. Being a
light emitted by the ‘Sun’
of Eternal Life, life
cannot be limited to the
manifest world, to
present time, to
external existence.
Rather, each world
receives the
manifestation of that
light according to its
capacity, and each of
the worlds in the cosmos
is alive and illumined
through it. Otherwise-as
the misguided indeed
suppose, beneath the
visible crust of
transient life, each
world would be a vast
and terrible corpse, a
dark ruin.
One
broad aspect of the
article of faith in the
Divine Destiny and
Decree is, then,
understood through the
meaning of life and is
established by it. Just
as the life and vitality
of the material world
and existent, visible
objects becomes apparent
from their orderliness
and the consequences of
their existence, so too
past and future
creatures-regarded as
belonging to the world
of the unseen-have an
immaterial existence, an
original, spiritual
presence in God’s
Knowledge, which is a
sort of life. That life
and presence attains
visible form and is made
known by means of the
Tablet of Destiny and
Decree which contains
all the stages through
which beings pass and
all events happening to
them in their material
lives.
1.
God’s Attributes
can be presented
in three kinds-the
Essential
Attributes of the
Essence,
Affirmative and
Negative
Attributes. All
His Affirmative
Attributes refer
to the assertion
of His absolute
Unity. All His
Negative
Attributes refer
to the negation of
limitation and
compositeness.
The
Essential
Attributes of the
Essence are:
Existence, Being Eternally
Existent in the
Past, Permanence,
Dissimilarity to
the Created and
Self-Subsistence.
The Affirmative
Attributes, which
are pointed to in
the text above,
are: Life,
Knowledge, Power,
Will, Speech,
Seeing, Hearing,
and according to
some theologians,
Creation also
belongs to this
category. The
Negative
Attributes can be
explained as
follows:
God
is not describable
in any physical or
anthropomorphic
terms. He does not
consist of body, color
and size.
It is not possible
for any creature
to see Him (in the
world), to imagine
and conceive Him.
He is not to be
presented in the
terms of substance
or contingency of
matter or form. It
is not possible to
localize Him in
any part of space
or confine Him to
any part of time.
He is not to be
aligned and
counted with any
being. Nothing can
be co-existed or
co-extensive with
Him. He never
begets nor is
begotten. And so
on.
2.
The original word
corresponding to
what we sometimes
translate as the
Unseen and
sometimes as the
world of the
unseen, is ghayb,
meaning that which
we cannot
penetrate with our
five senses, or is
invisible to us
and also unknown
to us until we
acquire knowledge
of it through
certain ways. Like
the world of
spirits, which we
cannot see and the
nature of which we
cannot know
through our
senses, past and
future are also
unknown to us
unless we obtain
some knowledge of
them through
certain ways. Past
and future, being
the two branches
of time, are the
‘realm’ where
the world of the
absolutely unseen
manifests itself
in the visible
world, may be
regarded as its
second form.
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