The Path to An Intellectual Creed
In a world, where life and truth have been traded for oil and power where the powerful and vicious claim justice and right for themselves, mankind more than ever must seek out the true meaning of life.
The matter of Creed is a very serious one, it is the ultimate question upon which mankind builds not only his values, principles, systems and objectives but also his ultimate purpose and goal in life. And such grave and far reaching conclusions, cannot be taken lightly and therefore cannot be left to emotion and blind faith alone.
Emotion cannot discern between fact and fiction. Nor can we approach certainty, building upon mere conjecture. Therefore in the quest for the answer to this ultimate question, one cannot rely upon myths, esoteric tales, holy books legends, theories (scientific or otherwise). We cannot rely upon anything or anyone other than our own minds, senses, our knowledge as well as the tangible realities that we perceive.
We should not be shallow or narrow in thought nor limiting our studies to matters in isolation, without context. The scope of our search must be the rational study of all that we can sense and understand - man, life and this universe within which we exist.
Man, Life and the Universe
When we look at the human being, we see that no matter how varied the details, he is of a certain height, weight, colour and endowed with certain capabilities. No matter what he came into the world with, and what he makes of himself in life, he is limited. The human being also has needs, from the basic organic needs such as food, water and breathing to the drives that emanate from his instincts, namely the survival instinct, the
instinct to procreate and the instinct to sanctify that which is greater than himself.
Turning to the life of the human being, we find that life that appears in this world, is similarly limited, it begins, expands and invariably ends. Life requires sustenance in order to exist for its limited period.
We live within a universe, which, no matter how seemingly vast is similarly limited. This planet earth consists of organisms, rocks, water, mountains, rivers and oceans. Though expansive it is limited. This solar system, like other stellar systems, consists of planets, satellites and lesser bodies. It exists within a galaxy, which in turn exists within a local group of galaxies. This universe then no matter how vast is ultimately a collection of matter and energy (be it basic or complex) ¡V i.e. limited things; the sum of which is of course limited.
Both matter and energy have a relationship and are governed by certain laws within this universe. We find that energy, matter and these universal laws, are intertwined and interdependent. Once does not exist without the other.
Limited and Needy
Reflecting on the reality of man, life and the universe, it is clear, that everything we see and understand in ourselves, our lives and our universe possesses two common qualities.
Firstly everything is limited, whether in form, mass, duration colour, number etc. they are all defined in some way possessing a beginning, middle and end.
Secondly that everything is needy ¡V that is, their existence, requires or depends upon some other thing. The human being requires food and shelter. Life requires sustenance. The universe requires the existence of universal laws and in turn, these laws cannot be seen to exist without the universe.
We also note one other fact, nothing in this universe is able to bring something into existence from nothing - either itself or any other thing. As everything we perceive, man, life and the universe, is limited and needy, the key question then becomes, how did man, life and this universe come into existence?
The only rational conclusion we can arrive at from our study, is that the nature of whatever power or force that brought about this limited and needy universe, cannot share these same characteristics, that is it cannot be limited or having it¡¦s existence dependent upon another. In other words, the Creator MUST be unlimited and independent absolutely.
Following this, there are only 3 further possible options to the nature of the Creator, either:
i.The Creator was itself created
ii.The Creator created itself ¡V i.e. being both created and creator
iii.The Creator is unlimited all powerful and eternal (azali) without beginning or end
The first proposition is clearly false. The Creator cannot be created, as it would mean that it is limited and therefore would be like every other limited and dependent thing and the rational study of man, life and the universe has shown, that nothing limited is able to create something from nothing. The Creator therefore CANNOT be created.
The second proposition - a Creator that creates itself is even more absurd, as that would mean that it would have to be both limited and unlimited (eternal and subject to time) simultaneously ¡V both matters being mutually exclusive. This therefore must also be false.
Therefore, the only rational conclusion we can arrive at, is that the Creator is UNLIKE this universe ¡V the Creator must be unlimited, eternal and all powerful, independent of all and any other. Existing without beginning, without end. To conclude anything else, would disagree with the reality before us and thus be erroneous and mere conjecture and thus cannot bring about certainty to the mind.
We know therefore, rationally and with certainty, with everything we see, experience through our senses and understand with our mind that the Creator, Alla subhanahu wa taala is unlimited, eternal and all powerful and that Alla subhanahu wa taala created all - man, life and this universe. The corollary is that we are bound by whatever the Creator may command of us and will be accountable in the hereafter. This then gives our present lives, the correct context with respect to our past and future.
Hundreds of ayah within the Qur¡¦an calls upon mankind to think, scrutinise and ponder the reality before them, to consider man, life and this universe so as to find the truth for themselves. The testimony of faith in Islam, requires the person to declare that he or she has indeed witnessed the truth of the fact, that there is no God (Creator) but Allah (God) and that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is the Messenger of Alla subhanahu wa taala.
Islam has a rational intellectual basis and censures blind or emotional belief, faith based on fiction or conjecture. It requires a creed built upon decisive certainty. This can only come from the conviction of the mind and a creed that accords with the nature of the human being.
The world has entered a particularly dark period and it may get darker still before light returns. In these times, it is even more necessary for mankind to search for the truth of the life of this world. Only then will we recognise, truth for truth, justice for justice and mankind might once again live in the shade of Light.
Source: KCom Journal
The matter of Creed is a very serious one, it is the ultimate question upon which mankind builds not only his values, principles, systems and objectives but also his ultimate purpose and goal in life. And such grave and far reaching conclusions, cannot be taken lightly and therefore cannot be left to emotion and blind faith alone.
Emotion cannot discern between fact and fiction. Nor can we approach certainty, building upon mere conjecture. Therefore in the quest for the answer to this ultimate question, one cannot rely upon myths, esoteric tales, holy books legends, theories (scientific or otherwise). We cannot rely upon anything or anyone other than our own minds, senses, our knowledge as well as the tangible realities that we perceive.
We should not be shallow or narrow in thought nor limiting our studies to matters in isolation, without context. The scope of our search must be the rational study of all that we can sense and understand - man, life and this universe within which we exist.
Man, Life and the Universe
When we look at the human being, we see that no matter how varied the details, he is of a certain height, weight, colour and endowed with certain capabilities. No matter what he came into the world with, and what he makes of himself in life, he is limited. The human being also has needs, from the basic organic needs such as food, water and breathing to the drives that emanate from his instincts, namely the survival instinct, the
instinct to procreate and the instinct to sanctify that which is greater than himself.
Turning to the life of the human being, we find that life that appears in this world, is similarly limited, it begins, expands and invariably ends. Life requires sustenance in order to exist for its limited period.
We live within a universe, which, no matter how seemingly vast is similarly limited. This planet earth consists of organisms, rocks, water, mountains, rivers and oceans. Though expansive it is limited. This solar system, like other stellar systems, consists of planets, satellites and lesser bodies. It exists within a galaxy, which in turn exists within a local group of galaxies. This universe then no matter how vast is ultimately a collection of matter and energy (be it basic or complex) ¡V i.e. limited things; the sum of which is of course limited.
Both matter and energy have a relationship and are governed by certain laws within this universe. We find that energy, matter and these universal laws, are intertwined and interdependent. Once does not exist without the other.
Limited and Needy
Reflecting on the reality of man, life and the universe, it is clear, that everything we see and understand in ourselves, our lives and our universe possesses two common qualities.
Firstly everything is limited, whether in form, mass, duration colour, number etc. they are all defined in some way possessing a beginning, middle and end.
Secondly that everything is needy ¡V that is, their existence, requires or depends upon some other thing. The human being requires food and shelter. Life requires sustenance. The universe requires the existence of universal laws and in turn, these laws cannot be seen to exist without the universe.
We also note one other fact, nothing in this universe is able to bring something into existence from nothing - either itself or any other thing. As everything we perceive, man, life and the universe, is limited and needy, the key question then becomes, how did man, life and this universe come into existence?
The only rational conclusion we can arrive at from our study, is that the nature of whatever power or force that brought about this limited and needy universe, cannot share these same characteristics, that is it cannot be limited or having it¡¦s existence dependent upon another. In other words, the Creator MUST be unlimited and independent absolutely.
Following this, there are only 3 further possible options to the nature of the Creator, either:
i.The Creator was itself created
ii.The Creator created itself ¡V i.e. being both created and creator
iii.The Creator is unlimited all powerful and eternal (azali) without beginning or end
The first proposition is clearly false. The Creator cannot be created, as it would mean that it is limited and therefore would be like every other limited and dependent thing and the rational study of man, life and the universe has shown, that nothing limited is able to create something from nothing. The Creator therefore CANNOT be created.
The second proposition - a Creator that creates itself is even more absurd, as that would mean that it would have to be both limited and unlimited (eternal and subject to time) simultaneously ¡V both matters being mutually exclusive. This therefore must also be false.
Therefore, the only rational conclusion we can arrive at, is that the Creator is UNLIKE this universe ¡V the Creator must be unlimited, eternal and all powerful, independent of all and any other. Existing without beginning, without end. To conclude anything else, would disagree with the reality before us and thus be erroneous and mere conjecture and thus cannot bring about certainty to the mind.
We know therefore, rationally and with certainty, with everything we see, experience through our senses and understand with our mind that the Creator, Alla subhanahu wa taala is unlimited, eternal and all powerful and that Alla subhanahu wa taala created all - man, life and this universe. The corollary is that we are bound by whatever the Creator may command of us and will be accountable in the hereafter. This then gives our present lives, the correct context with respect to our past and future.
Hundreds of ayah within the Qur¡¦an calls upon mankind to think, scrutinise and ponder the reality before them, to consider man, life and this universe so as to find the truth for themselves. The testimony of faith in Islam, requires the person to declare that he or she has indeed witnessed the truth of the fact, that there is no God (Creator) but Allah (God) and that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is the Messenger of Alla subhanahu wa taala.
Islam has a rational intellectual basis and censures blind or emotional belief, faith based on fiction or conjecture. It requires a creed built upon decisive certainty. This can only come from the conviction of the mind and a creed that accords with the nature of the human being.
The world has entered a particularly dark period and it may get darker still before light returns. In these times, it is even more necessary for mankind to search for the truth of the life of this world. Only then will we recognise, truth for truth, justice for justice and mankind might once again live in the shade of Light.
Source: KCom Journal
posted by Alien Alienated at 3:18 PM
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