Islam
Friday Semon: Destiny and Fate Re-Examined
Published
1 year agoon
By
EricBy Babatunde Jose
What is the belief in destiny in Islam? That Allah has decreed all things from eternity. He knows what will happen, when it will happen, how it will happen, and He has written it and willed it. This includes the pettiest of human affairs.
Qadar literally means “power”, (J. M. Cowan (ed.) (1976). The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. Wiesbaden, Germany) but translated variously as: fate, divine preordainment, predestination, divine decree, decree of Allah: Qadar is the concept of divine destiny in Islam. At the same time, human beings are responsible for their actions, and will be rewarded or punished accordingly on Judgement Day. There is therefore a contradiction and hence different schools of thought.
Predestination/Divine Destiny is one of Sunni Islam’s six articles of faith. Some early Islamic schools (Qadariyah and Mu’tazila) did not accept the doctrine of predestination; Mu’tazila argued that it was “unthinkable” that God “would punish man for what He himself had commanded” or preordained.
Qadariyah means will. This understanding says what happens to humans is a personal will. According to them, humans are fully responsible for their actions.
Qadariyah means will. This understanding says what happens to humans is a personal will. According to them, humans are fully responsible for their actions.
Predestination is not included in the Five Articles of Faith of Shi’i Islam. At least a few sources describe Shi’i Muslims as denying predestination, and at least one Shi’i scholar, Naser Makarem Shiraz, argues “belief in predestination is a denial of justice”.
Does a preordained power that we call destiny or fate control both the nature of the events that occur in our lives and the resulting planned or spontaneous actions we take? Contrary to popular belief…there are those who strongly believe that there is not!
In orthodox Islam, God’s control over what happens in his creation is absolute. “Allah has decreed all things from eternity”. He knows that they will happen, when they will happen, how they will happen, and “He has written that and willed it”. al-Qada’ wa’l-Qadar by Dr ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Mahmoud, p. 39.
“He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it.” (Q.6:59).
But at the same time, human beings in their life on earth have the choice to do good or evil (Free will), are responsible for their actions, and will be rewarded or punished according to an eternal afterlife.
This poses the question, raised by the early Islamic rationalist Mu’tazila school of thought; if everything that has happened and will happen, including all acts of good and evil, has already been determined by God, doesn’t that mean that everything a human being does during their life is only following God’s decree? How can human beings be responsible for this, and even be punished with eternal torment in hell for it?
The question was/is not unique to Islam, and the debate over whether free will exists is not even limited to religion. According to Justin Parrott of the Islamic Yaqeen Institute, “it has been an important issue throughout history”, addressed by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle over 2000 years ago. Orientalist Alfred Guillaume points out the dilemma “has exercised the minds” of theologians of all religions “which claim to present” a god that is both almighty and moral.
According to Maria De Cillis, “the apparently unsolvable conflict between the concepts of free will and determinism (or divine predetermination)” has not only been “a matter of great interest” but also of “heated controversy”, extending beyond academia and the ulama and into politics “by virtue of the repercussions that this debate has in a social context”.
For example, when tyrannical and corrupt authorities encourage fatalism towards tyranny and corruption by pointing out that these maladies are “divinely willed and preordained”. De Cillis, Maria (22 April 2022). “ISLAM. Muslims and Free Will”.
According to Justin Parrott, “the idea … that everything has already been decreed by the Creator from eternity and the “myriad of philosophical conundrums that arise” from the issue has caused some Muslims to experience doubts of faith. “Are we forced to do what we do, or are our choices meaningful?”
De Cillis writes that the issue was so sensitive, that the Prophet (SAW) allegedly taught believers to abstain from considerations about destiny (qadar), calling it ‘a deep sea, a dark path and God’s secret’.
One of the most authoritative Sunni intellectuals, the theologian and Sufi master, Abū Hamid al-Ghazali (d.1111), reports in his masterpiece, The Revival of the Religious Sciences, the tradition according to which Muhammad (SAW) … proclaimed: “Refrain from speaking about qadar.”
As a result, the scholars emphasized that providence is a secret of Allah and that “going too deeply into it philosophically” will lead to “misguidance”. The creed of Al-Tahawi warns “that providence” is such a secret that even God’s most obedient and holy creatures were not let in on the mystery.
The principle of providence is the secret of Allah Almighty in His creation that has not been given to an angel near Him, nor to a prophet or messenger. Exaggeration (al-ta’ammuq) and debate regarding it leads to failure, progressive denial, and a degree of transgression. Take every precaution against that kind of debate, thinking, and insinuation, warned the sages..
But one may say then, “What’s the use of striving in this life if we will get what is already decreed by God?” What is the essence of striving when the end state is already pre-ordained? The catch here is that that end, or preordainment is never known to man but only God. If it were known that I would be rich and famous, why would I make any effort. To this end, it is only God that knows the end state.
The answer to the conjectures above is very simple. Man cannot strive against the destiny that was not revealed to him. Therefore, because destiny is never revealed, life is a struggle against unknown fate. We struggle, pray, and supplicate because we are never sure of what our ‘ori’ has chosen. This therefore brings into question the related concept of fatalism.
What is this thing called fatalism and what role does it play in our lives?
Fatalism is a belief that things happen, and we have no choice but to accept the outcome of events.
Fatalism is a doctrine that stresses the complete control of all events or actions to fate or destiny, and is commonly associated with resignation, acceptance, conformity, concession, and submission.
Those who embrace fatalism believe that bad events cannot be avoided…and they are powerless to change the future. Thus they wallow in misery, poverty and impoverishment.
Fatalism is a false, misleading, dangerous, and manipulative premise. What will be is not necessarily what must be!
One does not have to be a prophet in any sense of the word however, to entertain a strong bias for action, self-reliance, and self-determination…and an intense dislike for fatalism, excuses, and subjugation. This exactly is the bane of our people when we resign our fate to the spiritual realm: God will deliver us from our clueless and thieving leaders. We congregate in churches and mosques to pray for deliverance when we should be on the barricade fighting for our freedom and emancipation.
“The Greek idea of fate is moira, which means “portion.” But there is more to life than just fate. There is also genetics, environment, economics, and so on. So, it’s not all written in the book before you get here, such that you don’t have to do anything. That’s fatalism.” — James Hillman
Fatalism is a tool of the weak, lazy, indolent and for those inflicted with a courage deficit … it’s their way of giving up, surrendering freedoms, and accepting the inevitable (without putting up a fight). Those who embrace fatalism believe that bad events cannot be avoided…and they are powerless to change the future. Yet, ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ – Dale Carnegie.
In retrospect, the various schools present a conundrum that could lead the enquirer to the warm embrace of atheism.
Perhaps it would suffice to hearken to the wise counselling of the Holy Prophet (SAW) that man should not dabble into concepts which are the exclusive preserve of Allah. Providence is a secret of Allah and “going too deeply into it philosophically” will lead to “misguidance.”
When people adhere to apocalyptic prophecies, they usually do so because they believe in predestiny.
But does predestiny really exist? For the sake of argument, let us assume that it does: at any given moment in the present, there is a future already created that is as solid and as real as any moment in the past or present. Perhaps time is not as linear as we have believed. If such a future already exists, does that mean that it is inevitable and must occur? No.
The point being made is that the future is shaped largely by intention backed by action: the stronger the intention and the better it is backed up by action, the more solid the future will tend to be.
Some people would argue that the true seer would foresee the future and predict our destiny. Prophecy has really only one value: as a tool to either change or ensure the future. The future is therefore malleable. A future reality, no matter how solid it is or how many prophets have agreed to its existence, can be changed.
It will be irreversible only if people continue to perform, or fail to perform, those actions which will cause that future to come about, and no one does anything effective enough to counter those actions or inactions.
This is exactly where we find ourselves today. Complacency and imperviousness to change which erroneously has been termed resilience; but truly, our ‘Mumu’ never end. The day it ends we will chart a new destiny for ourselves and our children.
Let the oppressed, pauperized, and impoverished gather their acts and struggle to remove the shackles of socio-economic impoverishment they have been subjected to over the ages. It is time to set the captives free. Poverty, destitution is not our destiny, we should resolve to shape the future.
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.
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Islam
Friday Sermon: Mysteries of Life and Death 3: The Soul
Published
3 days agoon
November 1, 2024By
EricBy Babatunde Jose
One of the mysteries of life and death is the concept of the soul which needs to be addressed before examining the other mysteries of death as it has a bearing on the concept of rebirth, resurrection, transmigration and reincarnation.
The doctrine of transmigration of souls, or tanasukh, is not accepted in Islam: Ibn Sina argued that transmigration is untenable because every living being is governed by one soul.
The soul is a controversial concept that is defined from several perspectives. Since the soul is an immeasurable material, it is impossible to prove whether or not it actually exists. The concept provides an abstract perspective on the notion of life, and who we are as individuals.
Generally speaking, the human soul is the unphysical part of the human being. Various disciplines (religion, psychology, and neuroscience) use different terms to describe the human soul, but they are all referring to the same general concept.
“Soul” is a term that is most commonly used within the Christian context while academic disciplines and other religions may use the term interchangeably with other terms.
Psychology uses words such as “consciousness”, or “mind” to describe the soul while neuroscience uses the term soul but do not fully believe in its existence.
Before modern science, humans defined the concept of the soul from a religious point of view. They portrayed the soul to be a mystical and divine non-visible entity that existed within the body. As science advanced, the concept has evolved into a physical/materialistic viewpoint.
For a long time, it was not socially acceptable or technologically possible to research the human soul.
In What Becomes of The Soul After Death, Sri Swami Sivananda, said Soul is spirit. “It is immaterial. It is intelligence or consciousness. It is this individual soul that departs from the body after its death and goes to heaven, with the senses, mind, Prana, impressions, desires, and tendencies. It is endowed with a subtle astral body when it proceeds to heaven.”
Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941), founder of the Grail Movement, in Resonances to the Grail Message, conjectured, “As soon as the heavy earthly body together with the astral body has fallen away, the spirit remains clad in the more delicate cloaks only. In this condition the spirit is called “the soul” in contradistinction to the earthman of flesh and blood! He went further to emphasize “only the animal has a soul that guides it. Man, however, has spirit!”
In retrospect therefore, we find that soul and spirit are interchanged in usage: The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
The soul or atman, credited with the ability to enliven the body, was located by ancient anatomists and philosophers in the lungs or heart, and according to Descartes in the pineal gland, and generally in the brain.
When we die, our spirit and body separate. Even though our body dies, our spirit—which is the essence of who we are—lives on. Our spirit goes to the spirit world. The spirit world is a waiting place until we receive the gift of resurrection, when our spirits will reunite with our bodies.
In the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible allusion is made to the spirit of man and beast: For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Ecc. 3: 19-21
In theology, the soul is further defined as that part of the individual which partakes of divinity and often is considered to survive the death of the body.
Many cultures have recognized some incorporeal principle of human life or existence corresponding to the soul, and many have attributed souls to all living things.
Despite widespread and longstanding belief in the existence of a soul, however, different religions and philosophers have developed a variety of theories as to its nature, its relationship to the body, and its origin and mortality.
The Quran talks about the Soul, but the meaning of Ruh in verse 85 of Surah Al-Isra has been translated in many places to mean spirit: “They ask you, Muhammad, about the Soul (Ruh). Tell them: ‘This is confined to the knowledge of God. Whatever knowledge you have been given about that is a very little portion.’”(Quran 17:85)
When the ulama (religious scholars) talk about the Soul, they talk about its characteristics only; they do not talk about what it is. Some scholars say it is like the water in a rose or a flower, it gives it life. Others nowadays offer an analogy with electricity in a wire – if there is electricity flowing in the wire it is said to be alive, if not the wire is dead.
And there is the other question: Where was the Soul before it entered the body? Nobody knows. All we know is that the Soul is the second stage in the creation of a human being. It is often regarded as the ‘breath’ that gives life to God’s creation in the womb. Without that breath, there is no life.
In Sura Al Mu’minūn, Quran 23:14, Allah describes the process of the new creation.
Then comes the third question: When the Soul separates from the body upon death where does it go? And what happens to it?
Al mawt, or death, is a separation of the material element – the body – from the spiritual element – the Soul. The body goes back to the earth from where it came, and the Soul goes back from where it came. The Qur’an says: “From the earth We created you and to it We will return you.” (Quran 20:55) But the Soul, not even knowing what it is, and since it is a secret, we don’t know where it goes.
Some ulama think that the Soul in certain contexts continues to hear and to observe. The practice of visiting the grave, especially after ‘Asr on Thursday and on Friday morning is on the basis of this opinion because some ulama say that the Soul visits the grave in which its body was buried at those times. And those same ulama say that the Soul hears the greeting of “As Salaam” and it observes those visitors who offer the greetings.
But in the final analysis they say that the place of the Soul is with God and its position differs according to what that person did during his life. These are the ijtehad (research) of the ulama, but the Soul is shrouded in mystery.
Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. Death becomes the starting point of a new life. Death does not end your personality and self-consciousness. It merely opens the door to a higher form of life, a new consciousness.
According to the Hindus, birth and death are jugglery of Maya. He who is born begins to die. He who dies begins to live. Life is death and death is life. Birth and death are merely doors of entry and exist on the stage of this world. In reality no one comes, no one goes.
Death is not the end of life. Life is one continuous never-ending process. Death is only a passing and necessary phenomenon, which every soul has to pass to gain experience for its further evolution.
Dissolution of the body is no more than sleep. Just as man sleeps and wakes up, so is death and birth. Death is like sleep. Birth is like waking up.
Resurrection is rising again from the dead. Resurrection, judgement by God, reward or punishment are the three important tenets of Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.
The Jews, who lent this doctrine to the Christians and Muslims, themselves borrowed it from the Persians. According to some writers the resurrection will be merely spiritual. The general opinion, however, is that both body and soul will be raised from the grave; see the stories of the People of the Cave in Surah Al Kahf and that of Ezra in Surah Baqara in the Quran. There is also the bodily resurrection of Jesus in the Bible.
As to the answers to the many questions raised by the concept of Soul, Allah knows best.
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.
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By Babatunde Jose
Where science ends, philosophy starts. Stephen Hawking was perfectly in line with the ancient philosophers when he acknowledged that physics points to the deeper questions of metaphysics. Indeed, when questions stop becoming scientific, they start becoming philosophical.
The mystery of death is a subject that has fascinated human beings for millennia. Although death is inevitable, it remains a mysterious and frightening phenomenon for many. Religions and beliefs have attempted to provide answers to this question, but death remains an unfathomable mystery.
What precisely happens at the time of death is a question that theologians have struggled over for centuries but have never answered satisfactorily.
Whether there is life after death is a mystery that remains unanswered, and the belief in an afterlife varies widely across cultures and religions. Some people believe that death is the end of existence, while others believe that it is a transition to another form of life or consciousness.
Transmigration of souls, also known as reincarnation or rebirth, is the idea that a soul lives on after death and takes on a new body. The term comes from ancient Greek philosophy, and is a central tenet of many religions and belief systems. This is a topic for another day which would also include the Yoruba concept of ‘Akudaya’ (Akudaya is a supernatural phenomenon in Yoruba culture that involves the dead coming back to life, often after burial, and in places where they were not known in life). The name Akudaya is also used to describe the transmigrated souls. In Yoruba culture, Akudaya is a central part of beliefs about reincarnation and mysterious sightings. It is also known as “Abarameji” in Yoruba culture.
There is however a concept which the Abrahamic religions agree upon; that of Resurrection, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment and what have you. There are however debates about the nature of the resurrection: Will it be only of the soul or bodily resurrection?
In the history of religion, the term eschatology refers to conceptions of the last things: Immortality of the soul, rebirth, resurrection, migration of the soul, and the end of time.
The concept of Qiyamah, or the Day of Resurrection, is a central theme in the Quran and Islamic eschatology: The dead will be resurrected and will be judged for their deeds and faith. The Quran describes how Allah will resurrect people in the same shape, size, and state they were created in, including their fingerprints.
Surah Al-Qiyamah, Quran 75, is devoted to the subject of resurrection. It refutes doubts about the possibility of resurrection and includes themes such as God’s ability to raise the dead bodily.
On the Day of Judgment the (trumpet) will be sounded twice. The result of the first sound will be that everything – the earth, the skies and every living thing in between will perish and when the second sound is given, every dead thing will come back to life.
This therefore alludes to the fact that after death, there would be a bodily resurrection. This is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an: Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.(Quran 75:3-4)
To exemplify the powers to resurrect man bodily for Judgment on the Day of Qiyamah, Allah used the story of the ‘People of the Cave in Surah Al Kahf as an example, See Surah Kahf 9-26.
The story includes lessons, signs, and evidence that testify to the great Power of Allah, ta`ala, and His Wisdom in managing His creations. As narrated, the details of the story proceed as follows:
A king named “Duqyanus”( Roman Emperor Decius 249-251 AD) ordered the people in his territory “Afsus” (Ephesus near the modern village of Selcuk western Turkey) to worship idols. There were some young men who refused to worship the idols having been recent converts to the one true God. Christian legend also speaks about a group of youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus (modern-day Selçuk, Turkey) around AD 250.
The king was informed about them and was told, “Those people left your religion, and mocked and defied your idols.” The king called them to his court and ordered them to leave Islam. He threatened them with death if they declined. Then he sent them back to their homes.
In the meantime, King Duqyanus traveled. Those young men took advantage of his departure and consulted each other about running away to rescue their faith.
One of them said, “I know a cave in the mountain. My father used to secure the sheep in it. Let us go there and hide until Allah grants us victory.” They all agreed and fled to the cave.
There were seven of them: Makaslamin, Amlikha, MaraTonis, Yanyunis, Sazamunis, Dawanawanis, and KashfiTiT. Eastern Christian tradition names them Maximilian, Jamblichus, Martin, John, Dionysius, Antonius, and Constantine.
The story is recounted in the Quran’s 18th Surah, eponymously called the “Surah of the Cave” (Surah al-Kahf). A barking dog named “QiTmir” also followed them.
In the cave, they found fruits and water. They ate and drank. And a few moments later, they slept off on the floor and were in slumber; they were prevented from hearing anything.
Their eyes were wide open, because it was better for them to be exposed to the air so that they would not get impaired with lengthy closure.
It was also narrated that an honorable angel was in charge of turning them around, to avoid sore. After three hundred and nine years of sleep, Allah woke them up.
However, King Duqyanus had long passed away. A pious king was on the throne. The people of the city at that time were engaged in a hot debate over the true nature of resurrection. The king was distressed over the issue. So he made a supplication to ask Allah to make the truth known.
Amlikha, one of the men in the cave who was sent in search of food, reached the city of “Afsus” and looked confused and hesitant. Someone asked him, “Are you a stranger to this city, and what are you looking for?” He said, “I am not a stranger and I am looking for food to buy. I did not find the place where I used to buy food.”
The man led him to the owner of a restaurant. Amlikha took his money out and gave it to the seller. The seller wondered, because the coin had the picture of King Duqyanus on it. That king died three hundred years ago. He thought Amlikha had discovered a treasure and had a wealth of money in his possession. People gathered around Amlikha and took him to the righteous king.
The news of Amlikha reached the king before his own arrival. The king was in fact waiting for him eagerly, because he had heard the story of the youngsters from his grandfather. When Amlikha came, the king asked him about his story. So Amlikha told him what happened to him and his friends.
The king was pleased and said to his people, “Certainly, Allah sent you a sign to show the truth about what you differ.”
The king, along with the people of the city, walked with Amlikha to the cave. After that, Allah concealed the cave and its trace from the sight of the people.
Allah made the story a lesson and reminder to the people of His awesome powers.
Say: “Allah knows best how long they stayed: with Him is (the knowledge of) the secrets of the heavens and the earth: how clearly He sees, how finely He hears (everything)! They have no protector other than Him; nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever. (Quran 18:26)
The second story that exemplifies the doctrine of bodily resurrection is that of Prophet Uzair (AS). Uzair is considered a righteous prophet in Islam who was sent to guide the Israelites. He is thought to have lived between the time of Suleiman and Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist.
Almighty Allah said: Or are you not aware of the one who passed by a city which was in ruins. He wondered, “How could Allah bring this back to life after its destruction?” So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then brought him back to life. Allah asked, “How long have you remained ˹in this state?” He replied, “Perhaps a day or part of a day.” Allah said, “No! You have remained here for a hundred years! Just look at your food and drink—they have not spoiled. But now look at the remains of your donkey! And so We have made you into a sign for humanity. And look at the bones of the donkey, how We bring them together then clothe them with flesh!” When this was made clear to him, he declared, “Now I know that Allah is Most Capable of everything.” (Quran 2: 259)
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend
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By Babatunde Jose
“The state of man is exemplified in a flower: The flower falls and perishes, so shall man also become ashes. If thou couldst know who thou art, and whence thou comest, Thou wouldst never smile, but ever weep. There are three things which often make me lament : First, it is a hard thing to know that I must die ; Secondly, I fear because I do not know when I shall die ; Thirdly, I weep because I do not know what will become of me hereafter.” George Corfe-Man and His Many Changes
Death is the most profound and mysterious aspect of life for most of us because no matter what stories we have heard, we cannot figure out what it is. Neither science nor philosophy is able to figure out what death is. The spiritual process is not about death as you are seeking something which is deeper than death. There is however a contending mystery; that of life itself.
To approach life as a mystery invites us to adopt a mindset of curiosity and wonder. Instead of seeking rigid answers and conclusive explanations, we become open to the possibilities that unfold before us.
For many living beings on this planet, death is the greatest mystery of them all. Through artifacts, specimens, interactive and immersive media experiences, discover amazing animal adaptations for survival and learn how various cultures commemorate life.
Mysteries surround us all; they are there for the looking and the finding. It is crucial for us to accept that mystery exists in all our lives. This takes humility and a realization that we cannot, ever, know everything. Mystery even resides in the ordinary and the mundane.
The secret of life is to see everything with a non-serious eye, but to be absolutely involved. This approach to life is very important because your life has a beginning and an end. It is not an eternity.
Science tells us a lot about how things are, but does little if anything to tell us why things are. And the study of metaphysics, as interesting as it is, is peripheral to the art of living in the now and finding peace among the challenges of day-to-day life.
Life is full of tough questions. Some of which we can answer, others we can’t. We shouldn’t shrink from facing these questions, but after a while it’s okay to let them go — to make peace with them. At some point we have to get on with living the life that’s in front of us each day and let some of the mysteries remain mysteries.
The Quran says: Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. (Quran 5:101)
There is however, no doubt, the world is full of inexplicable happenings that boggle our mind and which science cannot explain especially as they relate to life.
The only rational explanation of the great mysteries of nature, is the one that has commended itself not only to theologians, but to many of the greatest scientific thinkers and philosophers, who have found themselves compelled to see, the more deeply they have studied the universe, that from beginning to end, from the primordial electrons of the Atom to the circling Planet, from the structureless Bioplast, to Man, through all, in all, there is, “A Manifestation of Creative Power, a Directive Mind, and an Ultimate Purpose.”
There are vast differences pointed out between Life and the physical forces which we can measure by their manifestations. We cannot measure Life; we can measure heat, electricity, magnetism, mechanical power but we cannot thus measure Life. We can convert the modes of energy into each other, as we do with our steam engines, our electric light and power stations, but who can transform any of those into Life? We can destroy Life, but we cannot convert it.
Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) says “Mathematics and Dynamics fail us when we contemplate the earth, fitted for life, but lifeless, and try to imagine the commencement of life upon it. This certainly did not take place by any action of chemistry, or electricity, or crystalline grouping of molecules under the influence of Force, or by any possible kind of fortuitous concourse of atoms. We must pause face to face with the mystery and miracles of the creation of living creatures.” Lord Kelvin, T.V.I., Vol. 31
There is no gradation from one condition to another. This wonderful Life-power cannot have spring up spontaneously on the earth; as Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) says: “an honest and unswerving scrutiny of nature forces upon the mind this certain truth, that at some period of the earth’s history, there was an act of Creation, a giving to the earth of something which before it had not possessed, and from that gift, the gift of Life, has come the infinite and wonderful population of living forms.” Incidentally, Wallace was an evolutionist.
No rational explanation of the origin of primeval protoplasm has ever been given, except the creative action of an ‘Outside Power’. Still less is any rational explanation of the endowment of primeval protoplasm with evolutionary capacity conceivable, except by the action of an Outside Power.
Looking at Man himself: “the living matter of the embryo of Man and that of animals is we are told, undistinguishable the one from the other; and yet in each we see from the first development of the germ, that it must have been endowed with its own special properties, according to which it became Man, or brute-beast, or plant and how can we fail to see the unceasing operation of infinite power through the whole world of Life, enabling the living particles to grow and produce others; the Vital powers of each series being different from and more advanced than those of their predecessors.” Wallace
Again, look at the marvels wrapped up in each minute particle: Living Matter consists of innumerable minute structureless particles, called Bioplasts, which are to be seen in the tissues of living creatures, all varying in size, and proximity to one another in different species.
No one can tell from any given particle what will be the structure or properties of the tissues and substances to be formed by it. But how marvelous it is that these apparently homogeneous Bioplasts should be so constituted that each should do its own special work in building up the organism: Some build up muscle, others nerves, and brain, some are engaged in forming bone, others hair, feathers or nails; each has its own special work. Are all these mere chances, the fortuitous concourse of the Atoms?
Must there be Creating, Directing Force determining what shall be the different forms of bioplasmic life, and which has caused those myriads of cells to work harmoniously together, each doing its own particular work?
What Power gave the living Protoplasm Life? What Power determines the Cell-mass to this or other well-defined shapes? Who or What guides or determines the Atoms of the Protoplasmic molecules into new combinations chemically and new structures mechanically, which all the Chemists and Physicists of the World are powerless to produce, even when they have the ready-formed Protoplasm given them to start with? Yet all these marvelous processes take place in Nature, and do build up the living body of each organism.
This orderly process is quite unintelligible without some Directive Organizing Power constantly at work in, or upon every chemical atom, or physical molecule of the whole structure, as one after another they are brought to their places, and built in, as it were, to the structure of every tissue of every organ, as it takes form and substance in the fabric of the living, moving, and in the case of animals, sensitive creation.
What we must assume is, not merely a force, but some agency which can and does so apply and guide, direct and coordinate a great variety of forces, mechanical, chemical, and vital, so as to build up that infinitely complex machine, the Living Organism.
What we absolutely require, and must postulate is a mind far higher, greater, more powerful than any of the fragmentary minds we see around us, a mind not only adequate to direct and regulate all the forces at work in living organism, but, which is itself the source of all those forces and energies, as well as of the more fundamental forces of the whole material Universe. Without this, Life, as we know it is altogether unthinkable; an eternal material Universe under blind laws is an impossibility.
Everything but the absolute and unconditioned must have had a beginning. A beginning for all finite things in time is demonstrable, and this beginning implies an antecedent cause and it is impossible to conceive of that cause as other than an all-pervading mind, which both dominates and transcends Matter.
Life, says Thomas Beale (c. 1775–1841), “depends not upon any forces of non-living Nature, but upon the Almighty; and there is not a particle of living matter of any kind which can be explained except on the view that it depends upon God.”
Professor Huxley, Biologist and Anthropologist, with all his agnosticism felt compelled to acknowledge that “Life is the cause of Organization, so it must be antecedent to it, and can only be conceived as connected with Spirit, and Thought, with the cause of the directive energy everywhere seen in the growth of living things.”
If Life is the cause and not the consequence of Organization, we may believe that Mind is the cause and not the consequence of brain-development. We cannot then reasonably explain the phenomena and development of Life, without postulating some Guiding Power over the forces which have brought about the result.
We might want to consider the wonderful adaptation to the environment, the fitness of special organs for special purposes, which are seen everywhere, and which, by whatever means or process of change they may have brought into existence, are clear evidence of Thought” and therefore of Design.
There are some who may sneer at what they term the “Carpenter Theory” of the Universe but is that which it implies less true? If we could see the adaptation of means to an end in Man’s work, we do not say “0, that is a mere matter of chance,” but we at once recognize underlying the complicated machine, or the simple tool, the previously existing plan, the evidence in them of a set purpose, and from this we rightly assume that not Thinking Mind, not Personal Thought, not blind unreasoning forces, must have been the ultimate cause of what we see. Does it not stand to reason that you cannot bring out of a thing that has not been first placed in it? In other words “you cannot evolve that which was not first involved.” Period!!!
“We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape…” (Quran 15:26). And, “He began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid” (Quran 32:7-8).
Subhana Rabbika Rabbil ‘izzati ‘amma yasifun, Wa salamun ‘alal-Mursalin, Wal hamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘alamin. Thy Lord is Holy and clear of all that is alleged against Him (by the non-believers); and He is Exalted. (Quran 37:180-182)
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend
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