Wilson:
Some religions discourage the questioning
attitude in regard to the soundness of their teachings. They advise their
followers to follow their instructions without examination. They demand faith
and prohibit acquaintance with any other faith because it may lead to doubt.
What is the attitude of Islam towards questioning its teaching and comparing
its principles with those of other faiths?
Chirri:
Islam is very liberal
in this matter. It may demand from a person to believe in certain principles
but, at the same time, it advises him to try to base his belief on evidence.
It sets him free to raise any question and does not condemn him when he
doubts, if his doubt is followed by an intensive effort to find the truth. If
any other religion advises him to avoid discussing principles other than its
own and makes him fear provoking the anger of God by doing so, Islam makes one
feel secure from God’s anger if he pursues his search for the truth.
As a matter of fact,
Islam never advises one to avoid discussion. that may lead to a new knowledge
and a new discovery
of a truth.
Be not afraid, Islam advises, to discuss any religious principle, whether it
is Islamic or non-Islamic. Never worry or fear God’s anger because He is the
God of truth, He never condemns a person for seeking truth. On the contrary,
the more one seeks the truth and conducts intensive research, the more he
deserves the Divine reward from the Islamic point of view.
The most
rewarding and meritorious attitude, in the eyes of Islam, is to approach
religious issues with the spirit of a scientist who welcomes any evidence that
may prove or disprove his theory (or a theory to which he may subscribe).
Wilson:
Does Islam have any specific rule or advice
concerning religious research ?
Chirri:
There are certain rules contained in the Holy
Qur’an to be followed in religious research for the safety of any conclusion
that may be reached.
1. Never
embrace a doctrine when evidence stands against it, nor should one follow a
principle without evidence.
If God wants a
person to believe in a principle, He should make it clear and evident. He is
the Most Fair and Just. He knows that belief is not a voluntary thing; that
is, it is not up to the individual. A person is not able to believe or
disbelieve anything he chooses. The human body is at one’s command but not the
mind. I can obey a command that tells me to move my hand
up
or down, to walk or sit, even if such a
command does not seem to be wise. But I am not able to obey a command, for
example, that tells me to believe that two and two are five, or that three are
one, or that fire is cold, or that snow is hot.
Our human knowledge
comes from direct or indirect evidence, and it does not follow our own whim
and will. An acceptable religious belief must be based on knowledge. When God
wants me to know something, He should make
such a knowledge
possible by making its evidence available.
Should He demand from me to believe something while evidence is standing
against it, He would be asking me to do the impossible. This contradicts His
justice.
Islam never condemns an
individual when he does not believe in a principle because of lack of
evidence; on the contrary, Islam blames a person when he follows a principle
while groping in the dark without illuminating evidence, or when such a
principle is not in accordance with the truth.
Following a principle against evidence,
or with lack of evidence, is like a judgement of a court against a defendant
without any evidence. Such an attitude is not to be praised; From the Holy
Qu’ran:
“And
follow not that of which thou hast no knowledge”
“Surely the hearing and sight
and the heart, all of these will be asked about it.” 17:36
2. Never accept
popularity at face value. A religious researcher should not take the
popularity of a religious doctrine in his society as an evidence of its truth.
Many popular ideas have been proved wrong. At one time, it was believed that
the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around the earth. People believed
this for thousands of years, but now we know that neither of these ideas is
true.
Furthermore, what is
popular in one society may be unpopular in another. The opposite is also true.
If popularity is a sign of soundness, all those popular ideas which
contra-dict each other would be true, but truth never contradicts itself.
When the first
prophet came to proclaim the concept of one God, his
message was not popular in any society because
the people of the world were either pagans or non-believers. The unpopularity
of such a Divine message did
not prevent that message from being true. As a
matter of fact, all the prophets came to
their societies with unpopular messages. Their aim was to correct the
popular wrong and replace it with the unpopular truth. From the Qur’an:
“And if
thou obey most of the inhabitants of the earth, they will mislead thee far
from the way of God:
“They follow naught but an
opinion, and they do but guess” 6:116
3. Inherited
religious principles should be examined. Islam advises every adult to examine
the religion which he inherited. Inherited religion, like any other religion,
is subject to proof.
One may rely on the
judgement of his parents as long as he is a child and not capable of making
his own decisions. When he becomes an adult, his religion becomes his own
responsibility. Respect and honor towards parents is one of the Islamic
commandments, but that does not mean accept-ing their opinions in important
matters such as religion when their opinion is wrong.
As a matter of fact,
when parents adhere to a wrong reli-gious principle and demand from their
children to follow them, they should not be obeyed because such action would
be contrary to the will of God; that
is, if
a person obeys
his
parents when they are
wrong, he disobeys God. From the Holy Qur’an:
“And we
have enjoined on man concerning parents . . . . saying:
“Give thanks to Me and to thy Parents. To
Me is the eventual coming. And if they strive with thee to make thee associate
with Me that of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not, and keep kindly
company with them in this world.”31:14-15
Islam commands the individual to examine its
own teaching as well as any other teaching. By doing so, one may be able to
value Islam more than ever before.
4. Doubters
are not excused. When a person is not committed to any religion and doubts the
whole religious concept, he should not be satisfied with his doubt. It is his
duty to protect himself and his vital interests in this world from any harm
and damage. Similarly, he has the same re-sponsibility and duty in protecting
his spiritual interest from being damaged. His serious inquiry about what may
have a bearing on his spiritual life is as important as his inquiry about what
may have a bearing on his physical life. In order to carry out his
responsibility and to fulfill his obligation, it is necessary for him to
inquire, and inquire seriously, about his religious doubts. There may be many
accessible facts in the doubted area; therefore, he has to try to find them.
When he conducts his research and exhausts all his means and fails to find the
truth, he would be excused in the eyes of God. God asks the individual only to
do what is possible for him to do. From the Qur’an:
“God does not impose on a soul a duty but to the extent
of its ability.” 2:286
5. When you
conduct a religious research, let no one make decisions for you. Do not rely
on the judgement of any other person, even if he is sincere and highly
intellectual.
There are
sincere and intellectual teachers in every faith. If a person allows them to
make religious decisions for him, he will be lost because these teachers will
undoubtedly contradict each other. If he relies on the judgement of teachers
of
only
one faith, disregarding
the teachers of other faiths, he will be biased. A sincere and highly
intellectual teacher can be wrong, and one
is
not excused if he
follows the judgement of this
teacher. One’s religion
is his
res-ponsibility and
after he makes his
extensive inquiry, he is the sole judge to reach conclusions and form
opinions. From the Qur’an:
“And no bearer will bear other’s burden. . . .” 35:18,
53:38
Thus, we can see from these five Qur’anic
verses that Islam is not afraid of being questioned or analyzed. Only those
who fear failure forbid free discussion of their religious principles
and avoid examination by researchers.
Wilson:
One of the important
things in any discussion is to define the subject. As we shall proceed to
discuss Islam, I would like to hear a definition of the meaning of the word
“Islam” because it is an Arabic word. I have heard more than one definition of
this word; so I would like to hear yours. “Muslim” is another Arabic word
which ought to be defined for the benefit of the non-Arabs who may read it
very often without understanding its full meaning, or may confuse it with the
word Islam.
Chirri:
The original meaning of
“Islam” is the accep-tance of a view or a condition which previously was not
accepted. In the language of the Holy Qur’an, Islam means the readiness of a
person to take orders from God and to follow them. “Muslim” is a word taken
from the word Islam. It applies to the person who is ready to take orders from
God and follow them.
“Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an
upright (man), a Muslim; and he was not one of the polytheists.” 3:67
The two
words, however, acquired specific meanings after the introduction of the
message which was conveyed by the Prophet Mohammad. The message which was
revealed to Mohammad is called Islam, and to profess the belief in his message
is also Islam. Muslim, also, has come to mean the person who follows the
message of Mohammad and believes in its truthfulness.
Wilson: What is the relation between the original mean-ing of Islam and
the specific meaning which the word acquired after the advent of Mohammad?
Chirri:
The new meaning of the word is closely related to the original one
because Mohammad stated that his teachings contain the teachings of all the
previous prophets and all the Divine commandments. When a person pro-fesses
the belief in the truthfulness of Mohammad and pledges to follow his message,
he, in fact, will be stating his readiness to obey the orders of God
unconditionally.
Wilson:
There are certain procedures prescribed,
for example, by Christianity for a person who likes to join the Christian
faith. Baptism is one of the sacraments which, according to most of the
Christian denominations, a new convert has to have in order to become a
Christian. Are there any prescribed procedures to be followed by a person who
likes to join the faith of Islam?
Chirri: No sacraments or procedures are prescribed for a person who
likes to join the faith of Islam. One needs only to pronounce or to believe in
the contents of the Declaration of the Faith:
“I bear witness that
there is no God but the Almighty God and that Mohammad is a messenger of God.”
Wilson: Why is such a pronouncement sufficient for the admission of a
person into the faith of Islam?
Chirri: When a person states that he believes in the truthfulness of
Mohammad, he actually states that he believes in all what Mohammad introduced
and in all his teachings. This includes all the Qur’anic teachings, all the
deeds and all the sayings of Mohammad, whether in the matter of belief or in
the area of practice.
When a
person believes in the contents of the Declara-tion of the Faith, he
automatically becomes a Muslim. His pronouncement of the Declaration is a
proof to the other Muslims that he is a believer in Islam. Because of this, no
Muslim can deny him the admission into the faith because he is a believer in
Islam and needs nothing more beyond it.
Wilson: Is a new convert considered equal to a person who was born a
Muslim?
Chirri: A Muslim convert is equal to any other Muslim in the eyes of
the Holy Qur’an. Furthermore, a convert has more advantages than a born Muslim
for two reasons:
1. A convert deserves a bigger reward from God
than a born Muslim. A convert becomes a Muslim usually after a great deal of
research and some psychological crisis, because changing religion is not an
easy task. It takes a great deal of courage and effort on the part of the
convert, while a born Muslim receives his religion by inheritance.
2. A convert is considered, by his conversion
to Islam, pure and free of any previous sin. All his previous sins are wiped
out entirely. He will be responsible only for the sins which he commits after
becoming a Muslim. Thus, if a person
becomes a Muslim in the early morning, after sunrise, then he dies
before noon, he is entitled to enter paradise
without having practiced or performed any
of the devotion-al duties which a Muslim is required to do, He did not have to
perform morning prayer because his conversion to Islam took place after
sunrise, nor did he have to perform the noon prayer because he did not live
until noon, the prayer time.
Wilson: Sometimes I find that Islam is called “Deen-Al-Touhid” and
sometimes “Deen-Al-Fitrah.” Since the two names are Arabic, they should be
defined for the benefit of the non-Arabs. The reasons for which Islam has
these names should also be made clear .
Chirri: “Deen-Al-Touhid” means the religion of the belief in the
Oneness of God, and “Deen-Al-Fitrah” , means the religion of the nature or the
religion which is in accordance with human nature.
Islam is
called the religion of One God because its main theme is the unity of God. The
doctrine of One God is the most emphasized and repeated principle in the Holy
Qur’an. When Islam was introduced to the world, people were mostly
idol-worshippers. Some religions preached the Oneness of God but in an unclear
form. Some of them ascribed to God an anthropomorphic image. The most
important point of the contents of the new heavenly message was to correct the
idol-worshippers and to remove whatever clouded the concept of One God.
Islam is called the religion of nature because
its teaching is acceptable to the human mind
when the human mind is freed from illogical thinking and superstition.
The
Prophet Mohammad said:
“Every human being is born in a
state of pure nature; but through the influence of his parents, he may become
non-Muslim.”
When a person is freed
from illogical thinking, he can easily, just by looking at the order of the
universe. conclude that the universe has only One Creator. It is easy to
accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the
over-four-billion-year-old universe had been created by an Infinitely Old
Creator. But it is neither simple nor easy to identify that Creator with a
mortal whose birth took place four billion years after the creation of the
universe .
It is natural
to accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the Creator of the
universe is Absolutely Fair , Just, and Merciful, and that such a Just and
Merciful Creator does not burden any soul with the sin of another; and that He
does not require any person to pay for the sins of others.
The teaching of
Islam seems to be acceptable to the human mind, unless the human mind has been
exposed to illogical teaching. This is the reason why Islam is called the
religion of nature.
Wilson:
History indicates that
Islam spread in its early times through Asia, Africa, and Europe very rapidly.
Prob-ably no other religion spread throughout the world as fast as Islam did.
There must be some distinguishing features in Islam that caused its rapid
growth and made it so pheno-menal. I would like to know those factors which
contributed to its rapid growth.
Chirri:
There are many factors which contributed, and
are still contributing, to the spread of Islam. Among them are the following
factors:
It is an undeniable
fact that the Qur’an is a living book that has influenced millions of people
through its beauty and style. The superiority of the Qur’anic discourse was,
and still is, challenging. The Qur’an itself called upon its opponents to try
to produce a discourse that measures up to it.
The Qur’an
repeatedly states that if the opponents will produce at any time a comparable
discourse, they will automatically disprove the whole faith of Islam.
The Qur’an has remained standing above and beyond any comparison in the whole
Arabic literature ever since its revelation in the 7th century. The Holy
Qur’an, therefore, has remained since the time of its introduction until now a
great source of attraction for the Islamic faith.
Mohammad was born under the shining light of
history. No cloud has shrouded his birth, his existence or his life among his
people. If any other prophet is considered a part of the religious history,
Mohammad is a part of both the religious and the world history.
Mohammad was
born in Mecca from a well-known father and mother and lived with his people
forty years before he was commissioned as a prophet of God. He was observed by
the people during his childhood and manhood. He was noticed by all his
associates as an example of honesty and integrity. People never found in him a
fault. They called him the Truthful, the Trustworthy.
Mohammad did not live as an isolated person. On
the contrary, he associated with the people constantly. As a businessman,
Mohammad travelled and associated with people from all walks of life, but he
was never affected by their low desires or worldly ambitions. He lived in a
pagan society, dominated by idol-worshippers, but he never sub-scribed to
their ideas, nor did he join them in their faith. He lived in that world as a
world to himself. He was respected by his enemies and admired by his friends,
and no prophet in history received as much as Mohammad did of spontaneous
obedience from his companions.
Due to the complete honesty and the influence
of the appealing personality of Mohammad, the faith of his com-panions in him
was unusually strong. It was based on their first-hand acquaintance with his
exemplary life.
We are told
that the followers of Moses refused to enter Jerusalem when commanded to do so
and told him that he and his Lord should go to fight the enemies. We are told
that the multitudes who had gathered around Jesus deserted him when the crisis
came. Even his disciples deserted him. His chief disciple denied him three
times before dawn on that fateful night. Similar situations happened to most
of the prophets. None of them enjoyed a true support from their followers when
they encountered a Crisis.
The companions of Mohammad, however, were
differ-ent. When Mohammad was in Mecca, he and the hundreds of his followers
were powerless and without any legal protection. All of them stood the test of
the crisis, and none of them abandoned the faith or the Prophet. The actions
of those Muslims proved their faith in Islam and the Prophet. All of them
preached Islam and practiced what they preached, and every genuine Muslim gave
his faith a genuine support in word and in deed.
Upon serious
thought, one can easily accept a religious teaching which declares the
following: There is no God but the Almighty Who created the whole universe;
none is wor-thy of worship but He; He is the Lord alone, without part-ner,
associate, or son; He did not beget nor was He begott-en,
and nothing is like Him; He is the Just, the Merciful, and
the Powerful, neither anthropomorphic nor physical; and His power encompasses
the whole universe.
Such a
simple and uncompromising monotheism is readily acceptable to the human mind
which seeks an explanation to the existence of the world. It does not confuse
the human mind by stating that God is One and that He, at the same time, is
more than one. Nor does it represent God as a human being born out of another
human being.
They do not contradict
each other, nor do they contradict any other established truth. Christianity,
Judaism, and Islam all advocate the justice of God and His fairness. Islam,
however, takes this fundamental concept and, follows it thoroughly. It builds
on it many other religious concepts which follow the concept of justice
inseparably. When God is just and fair, He does not impose on any soul to do
what is beyond its ability. Islam tells us also that the Most Just does not
hold an individual responsible except for what he does by his own choice. He
does not hold a person respon-sible for the sins of his father or forefathers
because he had no control over their actions.
Islam tells us also
that because God does not hold a person responsible for what his father did,
He does not
condemn the whole human race for a sin that was committed
before the existence of
any human generation. Such a condemnation is contradictory to the concept of
the justice of God. Instead of burdening mankind with the original sin,
Islam tells us that every human being is
born pure and free of any sin, and will stay so, until he commits a sin as an
adult.
Islam,
unlike many other religions, stresses the impor-tance of both the spiritual
and material aspects of the human life. God, according to Islam, does not want
man to neglect his biological needs, nor is there an intrinsical conflict
between our response to these needs and out spiritual deve-lopment. On the
contrary, the two sides are interdependent. They merge in each other and can
be united in most of the human activities. A man who lacks the necessary food,
warmth, and shelter, can hardly meditate, perform a devo-tional duty, or do
good for other human beings. But when such necessities are satisfied, man can
easily direct himself to his Lord.
Therefore,
the well-intended work for meeting the bodily needs ought to be a portion of
our religious duty. Religion, according to the Islamic teaching, does not aim
at suppres-sion of the biological desires; it aims at cultivating them and
preventing the individual from becoming excessive and harmful to himself or to
society.
The universality of the Islamic teaching can be
shown in its non-discriminatory teaching in regard to the human race, and in
the recognition of all the previous prophets.
Since the
time of its birth, Islam has carried the brand of universality. It addressed
itself to the whole human race,
discriminating neither
among nations nor among ethnic groups. Every human being is a member of a huge
family. No individual or nation is God’s chosen or favorite creation because
of birth, nationality, or belief in a particular dogma. People are equal in
the sight of God, and everyone may have an access to the kingdom of God, if he
(she) is righteous.
A truth never
contradicts another truth. Therefore, Islam proclaims that there is only one
heavenly religion which has been revealed at different times to the prophets
whom the Almighty had commissioned to convey His messages to mankind. It is
inconceivable that the Almighty would reveal a certain doctrine to one
messenger and then reveal to another messenger a doctrine that contradicts the
first one. The
Almighty has revealed his heavenly principles, comma-ndments
and laws at different stages of the human civiliza-tion according to the
capacity of the human understanding. The subsequent revelation supplements,
and never contra-dicts, the previous ones. Therefore, Islam says that it is a
duty for every Muslim to recognize and respect Jesus, Moses, and all true
prophets and their true teachings. This is repeatedly recorded in the Holy
Qur’an:
“Say:
We believe in God and (in) that which has been revealed to us, and to Abraham,
“... and that which was given to
Moses and Jesus, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. We
do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.”
2:136
The Christians who were
in contact with the Muslims in the early days of Islam observed the great
respect the Mus-lims had for Jesus. As a result, millions of them embraced
Islam, not because they wanted to abandon the teaching of Jesus, but because
they wanted to continue their adherence to his true teaching within the
coherent teaching of Islam.
Wilson:
Does Islam advocate sending missionaries to
convert non-Muslims in a manner similar to that which has been practiced in
Christianity?
Chirri:
Islam, like
Christianity, invites people to its prin-ciples and calls upon the non-Muslims
to join its followers. However, Islam has never organized missions such as
those of Christianity. Whenever a non-Muslim shows an interest in learning
about Islam,
it is the duty of every Muslim to inform him. Such work, however, is far from
being organ-ized missions.
The absence of
clergy in Islam was one of the reasons for the absence of organized missions
parallel to those of Christianity. Another factor is that a great number of
Mus-lims incline to believe that Islam would spread without missionaries. This
inclination was a result of many specta-cular gains for
Islam
through no great efforts on the part of the Muslims.
Millions of people in
many countries embraced Islam,
not through organized
missions, but through their contact with some Muslims who impressed them with
their integrity and sound principles. Those Muslims imparted the ideas of
their faith to the others, not because they were sent by some authorities as
missionaries, but because they believed that Islam is every Muslim’s business.
I have been in West
Africa several times. I found numer-ous Christian missionaries in that part of
the world, but I failed to see any organized Muslim missions. In spite of
this, the consensus of the opinions of the informed circles in this field is
that Islam is spreading more rapidly than Chris-tianity in that area.
Wilson:
Do you have any information about the number
of Christian missionaries throughout the world?
Chirri:
The number of Christian
missionaries throughout the world (according to the Detroit News of
Sunday, April 2, 1961) is 212,250. This figure includes 170,000 Catholic
missionaries and 42,250 Protestant. This huge army of missionaries is
supported by thousands of religious organi-zations who are spending billions
of dollars every year on these missions. Compared to this, the Muslims have
some information centers whose number throughout the world does not reach one
thousand. These centers do not enjoy any of the financial support which the
Christian mission-aries receive, nor do they aim at converting others. Their
work is only to inform, within their limitation, those who seek information
about Islam.
Wilson:
Some people attribute the spread of Islam to
its leniency. They think that Islam is less demanding of its followers than
other religions such as Christianity. What is your comment?
Chirri:
I think that this
opinion is not sound. Islam demands from its followers more than many other
religions do. It demands from the Muslims to pray five times a day: before
sunrise, at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset, and in the evening. It requires
Muslims to fast thirty consecutive days every year during the month of
Ramadan. A fasting person is required to refrain from eating, taking any
liquid, and smoking from dawn to sunset. Islam requires every physically and
financially capable adult to make a pilgrimage to Mecca and all the holy
places in it and its vicinity, where men are to renounce all luxuries and
materi-als including sewn clothes for a considerable time.
Islam also requires
every Muslim to give a portion of his wealth every year to charity. It
prohibits liquor and pork. None of these things are easy, and none of them
show a leniency on the part of Islam. Nor is there any leniency in
its demanding from its
followers to treat others in a brotherly
manner, protecting their reputation and refraining from saying anything that
may expose them, even those who do them harm.
Wilson:
Some critics say that
Islam promises the good Muslims a paradise in which they will enjoy everything
they may desire. These critics think that Islam out-promises Christianity, and
therefore, it is attracting people through its promises.
Chirri:
A promise is attractive
only if it comes from a reliable source. If a reputable company offers an
individual a well-paying job, he is likely to accept the position. On the
other hand, if the same individual is offered a position by an unreliable or a
bankrupt firm, he is expected to refuse the offer because he will not have any
confidence in the firm’s financial reliability.
Similarly, I do not
think that a convert would be willing to perform so many duties and renounce
so many desirable things for the sake of promises if he does not have the
con-fidence in Islam. No promise is attractive if it is made by an unreliable
source. Attractiveness of a promise is a result of confidence. Faith in Islam,
therefore, precedes the attrac-tiveness of its promise, not vice versa.
Wilson:
History shows that the
early Muslims were mili-tant and warriors. Many armed conflicts between
Muslims and non-Muslims took place
in Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, and many
other places. Some critics think that Islam was spread by force, and not by
preaching and discussion.
Chirri:
Force may conquer the body, but it cannot con-quer the spirit. You may
subdue an individual or community by the use of force, but you cannot make
them believe that you are right. The Algerians were dominated by colonial
France for about a hundred years,
but that did not make them love their rulers. As soon as they had the
opportunity, they rose in arms against their masters and broke their yoke.
It is
illogical to believe that Islam had spread itself by force. Mohammad, as one
person, could not force thou-sands or hundreds to embrace his faith. History
testifies that Mohammad lived thirteen years in Mecca after he proc-laimed his
faith, under a constant threat from his opponents who were the overwhelming
majority of the Meccans. Any-one that desired to join Islam was denounced,
threatened, and persecuted by the Meccans; and, in spite of this, the number
of Muslims steadily increased. Can we conceive that Mohammad under these
circumstances could convert people by force when he himself was a subject of
per-secution?
At a later
stage, the Muslims had become powerful enough to fight their opponents; and
history shows that they did fight for Islam. But this does not mean that Islam
had converted people by force. There are now over 100 million Muslims in
Indonesia and scores of millions in West Africa. All these millions were
converted through peaceful contacts with Muslims who came to these areas as
merchants or educators.
There is,
however, no reason to deny that Muslims were militant. The Muslims actually
were good defenders of their freedom. We know that no ideology would spread or
live in an unfree society. Freedom
of belief,
practice, and speech, are necessary for the
growth of any ideology. In the absence of a constitutional protection of
freedom, it would be the duty of the people of the ideology to secure their
freedom on their own. If this does not
justify the
military might of the early Muslims, there
will be no way to justify the mili-tary
might of
any modern nation that rises in arms to defend its freedom when it
is threatened by
its adversaries.
Wilson:
With the progress of
science, many questions may arise about the creation of the universe. These
questions do not seem to have their answers in the Bible, and some-times we
find some Biblical statements contrary to the scientific knowledge of today. I
wonder if we can find answers to some questions in the book of Islam.
The universe now has
been proven to be very old. Its age is estimated to be billions of years. It
seems that the Bible reduces the age of the universe to just a few thousand
years. Does the Holy Qut’an contain any definition of the age of the universe?
Chirri:
The Holy Qur’an does
not define the age of the universe in anyway. Science so far is not able to
tell exactly when the universe began. The Holy Qur’an had been introduced in a
non-scientific age when people were not able to conceive the stretch of time
into billions or millions of years. Had the Qur’an stated that the stars were
origin-ated billions of years ago, people may have rejected the whole concept
of Islam. The Qur’an, therefore, wisely kept silent on this matter. To be
true, you do not need to tell all of what you know of truth; you need only to
refrain from misinforming the people. Thus, the door was kept open to any
scientific theory, so the religious information will not clash with any
scientific knowledge.
Wilson:
The celestial bodies,
the stars, and the planets now are being counted by billions and hundreds of
billions. The size of each is tremendous and, sometimes, beyond our
imagination. To form such countless bodies, it would take amounts of materials
beyond our ability to calculate. Do we, have any statements in the Qur’an on
the kind of material out of which these bodies were built?
Chirri:
The Holy Qur’an states that the material out
of which these bodies were built was a kind of gas. This is in accordance with
the modern theory which says that the celestial bodies were built out of
hydrogen gas. From the Holy Qur’an:
“Then
He directed Himself to the heaven, and it was a vapor, so He said to it and to
the earth: ‘Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly.’
“They both said: ‘We come
willingly.’ “ 41:11
Wilson:
Does the Holy Qur’an contain any statement
about the first material thing that was created?
Chirri:
The quoted verse indicates that the vapor or
what constitutes the vapor of molecules and atoms was the first material thing
which existed in this world.
Wilson:
Of what material did the Almighty create life?
Chirri:
The Holy Qur’an declares that God has created
all living beings out of water:
“Do not
the unbelievers see that the heavens and the Earth were closed up, so We split
them, and We made from water everything living?
“Will they not then believe?”
21:30
“And God has created every walking life out
of water, of them that which crawls upon its belly, and of them is that which
walks upon two feet, and of them that which walks upon four.
“God creates what He pleases.
Surely God is Possessor of power over all things.” 24:45
Wilson: Does the Qur’an confirm the statement of the
Bible which is contained in the Genesis
book about the order in the creation of the universe?
Chirri:
The Qur’an does not contain such a statement on the order of the
creations. However, Muslims do not sub-scribe to the contents of the first
chapter in Genesis book because it shows some discrepancies.
Wilson:
Give me some examples of those
contradictions to which you refer.
Chirri: Take the following examples:
1. “Let there be
light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God
separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the
darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one
day.” Genesis 1:3-5
This statement indicates that the first thing
created was the day and night.
But we know that day and night would come after
the existence of the sun and through its rise and set. However, verse 14 from
the same chapter indicates that the sun was created on the fourth day:
“And God said, let
there be lights in the firmaments of the heavens to separate the day from the
night: and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and
let there be lights in the firmament of heavens to give light upon the earth,
and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule
the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. And
God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to
rule over the day and over night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning. A
fourth day.” 1:14-19
This
statement indicates that the sun was created on the fourth day, and from here
the days should start. This, of course, disagrees with verse 3 which informs
us of the start of the day three stages before the formation of the sun.
2. The same chapter states that the
vegetations, plants yielding seed, and the fruit trees were created and grown
on the third day:
“And
God said, ‘Let the Earth put forth vegetables and plant yielding seed and the
fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind,
upon the Earth.
“And it was so. The Earth brought forth
vegetation, plants, yielding seed according to their own kinds, and the trees
bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw
that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.”
1:11-13
But we know
that none of these vegetations and plants could grow without sun, while the
same chapter tells us that the sun was created on the fourth day as mentioned
before.
3. The same chapter states that God, on the
sixth day, created man in His own image:
“Then God said, ‘Let
Us make man in Our own image, after Our likeness; ... So God created man in
His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them.” 1:26-27
Muslims
believe that God has no image and no form. He is the Infinite Who encompasses
the whole universe. He has neither a body, nor is He material, nor do the
visions com-prehend Him. To think that God has a form of a man, to the
Muslims, is degrading to the whole concept of God.
4. Chapter
two contradicts the first chapter. The first chapter, as you know, has stated
that vegetations and plants and the trees were created on the third day,
before the creation of man, who was created on the sixth day, The second
chapter tells us that man was created before vegetation and plants:
“These are the
generations of the heavens and the Earth when they were created. In the day
that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens... when no plant of the field
was yet in the Earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the Lord
God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was no man to till the
ground. . . but a mist went up from the Earth and
watered the whole face
of the ground. . . then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
being... And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East; and there He
put the man whom He had formed.... And out of, the ground the Lord God made to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.” Genesis 2:4-9
This statement clearly indicates that there was
no plant before the creation of man.
There is another point in this statement,
namely, that there is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. But we know that
knowledge does not grow on trees; it comes through experience and learning.
5. The first chapter has stated that the animal
kingdom was created on the fifth day:
“And God said, ‘Let
the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above
the Earth across the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea
monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm,
according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God
blessed them.... And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day....
And God made the beasts of the Earth according to their kinds and the cattle
according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according
to its kind.... Then God said, ‘Let us
make man in Our image....’” 1:20-23
This statement clearly indicates that man was
created after the creation of fish, birds, beasts and cattle, but the second
chapter indicates that man was created before any of these things:
“Then the Lord God
said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit
for him.’ So out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field and
every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call
them. . . .’ ” 2; 18-19
6. We find in the third chapter of the Genesis
that Eve was deceived by the serpent which persuaded her to eat from the
prohibited tree:
“He (the serpent)
said to the woman, ‘Did God say, You shall not eat of any tree of the
garden?’... But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die. For
God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be open....’ ” 3:1-5
But we know
that a serpent is not capable of speaking, deceiving or persuading. A serpent
is not endowed with a mental capacity or ability of pronouncing words and
carrying on a conversation.
7. In the same chapter we find what indicates
the limitation of the knowledge of God, and
that He is a walking body, and that Adam and Eve were able to hide themselves
from Him:
“And they heard the
sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the
man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the
trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him,
‘Where are you?’ and he said, ‘I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I
was naked;
and I hid myself.’
He said, ‘Who
told you that you were naked? Have
you eaten
of the tree of which I commanded you not
to eat?’. . .”
3:8-11
No one can
hide himself from God, Who is Ever-Present and Who knows everything. God does
not need to ask Adam where he is, nor does He need to ask Adam if he had eaten
from the tree.
Wilson:
I know that the belief in God, the Creator
of the Universe, is the first article in the Islamic faith, and that the
denial of His existence puts a person outside the religion of Islam. But I do
not know whether Islam offers any concrete evidence on the existence of the
Supreme Being or whether it advises its followers to rely on the authoritative
words of the Qur’an and the statements of the Prophet.
Chirri:
Islam demands from its followers to believe in God, the Creator of the
Universe, but it does not advise them to base such a belief on the statement
of any religious book or any authoritative words, not even the word of the
Holy Qur’an or of the holy Prophet. Our belief in a holy book, such as the
Qur’an, or in a holy prophet, such as Mohammad, must be preceded by our belief
in God. A religious book is holy because it is introduced by a man whom we
consider a prophet. Prophethood is conceivable only if there is God, because a
prophet is a messenger of God. Our belief in God, therefore, must come before
our belief in a religious book or a prophet, not vice versa.
No religious
book is believed by all people, and no prophet
is universally recognized. Therefore, it would be futile to rely on an
authoritative statement of a prophet or a holy book when dealing with an
atheist who disclaims all heavenly revelations and denies the whole concept of
God.
Wilson:
Should I understand
from your statement that Islam offers for substantiating the existence of God
some universal evidence which may be considered even by those who are not
committed to any religion, such as the atheists and the agnostics? If this is
what you mean, what is that evidence?
Chirri:
When our belief in God
precedes any other religious belief, the evidence which produces such a belief
must be universal and available to every rational being, whether committed or
uncommitted to a particular religion.
The Holy Qur’an offers
the universe as evidence on the existence of its Creator. The material world,
its celestial bodies, the earth, and the other planets, are viewed by Islam to
be the main evidence of the Creator of matter and energy. The material world
is observable by the atheist as well as by the believer, by the illiterate as
well as by the philosopher. One may reflect on the formation of the heavenly
bodies and the existence of the matter and energy without being com-mitted to
any particular religion or recognizing any religious book.
Wilson:
But why should a person
consider the existence of the material world as evidence of the existence of
the creator of matter? Is it not probable that matter existed without a
creator? Suppose someone views that matter or energy is infinitely old, and
that it never was preceded by non-existence. Would you be able to disprove his
views?
Chirri:
It is very hard to accept the idea that matter
is infinitely old.
When one says
that matter or energy is infinitely old, one assumes that the material out of
which the billions of stars were built, existed simultaneously. When we are
aware that each star contains billions of tons of materials, and that the
balance of the raw material is much more than the material which is contained
in the stars and planets, we realize the improbability of such an idea. We
cannot conceive that all these quantities of materials existed at once and
that nothing of it was preceded by non-existence.
To say that only a
portion of the material is infinitely old, and that the other portions came to
existence at a later stage, is to admit the need of a creator, because the
inanimate material does not increase by self-reproduction. Only living beings
are capable of multiplying by self-reproduction. To allow any gradual increase
in the material quantity is to admit the need of a creator.
Wilson:
I may agree with you that matter and energy
must have been preceded by non-existence. But this is not very obvious to
every human being. Does the teaching of Islam suggest the consideration of
anything in the nature that was undoubtedly preceded by non-existence?
Chirri:
Yes, there is something
which we all know, and it was born after the existence of the earth, namely:
life. Our scientists state that earth was too hot (and some of them say it was
too cold) for any kind of life to exist on it. It took the earth millions of
years to become a suitable place for life. Life, therefore, is, undoubtedly, a
newborn.
Science, however, tells
us that life does not originate from non-living being. Pasteur’s experiment,
which took place in the 19th
century, is still standing. Through his sterilized soup, he proved beyond any
doubt that life does not originate from inanimate material. The scientists of
today are still unable to disprove his conclusion.
The earth, along with its atmosphere, at the
time of its formation was sterile and unproductive. Transforming the inanimate
materials, such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and iron into a living
being could not, therefore, be done through a natural process. It must have
been done miraculously. This means that the existence of life on this planet
is a shining evidence on the existence of an Intelli-gent, Supernatural
Designer .
Wilson:
You have made it very clear. As a matter of
fact, the scientists for several decades have tried ceaselessly to unseal the
secret of life and to explain its commencement on this planet. But their
intensified efforts so far did not produce any substantial knowledge in this
field. The presence of life on this planet is, no doubt, a great wonder that
could not happen without a supernatural cause. Man has unsealed many secrets
in the universe, advanced in his scientific and technical knowledge, and even
landed on the moon; but in spite of all this, he is still unable to produce a
leaf of a plant or a seed of an apple.
Wilson: Now I would like to ask you if the Qur’an cites the
existence of life on our planet in substantiating the ex-istence of God?
Chirri: Yes, the Holy Qur’an does cite the transforma-tion of the
inanimate earth elements into living being as a sign of God’s existence:
“. . .
and a sign to them is the dead earth:
“We made it alive and brought forth
from it grain so they eat of it and We made
therein gardens of date-palms and grapes, and We made springs to flow
forth therein.” 36: 33-34
Wilson:
So far, you have answered many important
questions about the existence of God, but there is one more important question
you have not dealt with: Why can we not see God?
Chirri:
From our previous discussions, it became clear that the Creator of the
universe must be Absolute and Unli-mited. He encompasses the whole universe.
He is Omni-present and never absent from anywhere. With His Omni-presence, His
visibility is not going to make us believe in Him or know Him. His visibility
would be very destructive to us. Before we know Him with His Omnipresence, we
would perish. His visibility would be blinding to every human being.
Suppose that
the air (which exists only in a very limited space) is visible. It would have
a color, and we would not be able to see anything but the air because it fills
the atmos-phere. Should this be the case, we would not be able to acquire our
food or water, nor would we be able to find roads or shelters. If the
visibility of the air which exists only in the atmosphere of our little planet
would be so blinding and destructive, what would be the case of the visibility
of the Creator who encompasses the universe? When we think of this, we realize
how fortunate we are not to be able to see God, our Creator.
Wilson:
If the Almighty is Invisible, how can we be
sure of His existence? How would an atheist believe in a God whom he cannot
see?
Chirri:
In order to believe in
something, you do not necessarily have to see it. You believe in electricity,
yet you cannot see it, You believe in it only because you see its pro-ducts
such as light, heat, etc. If this is sufficient to make you a believer in the
existence of electricity, the great uni-verse should be sufficient to every
human being to believe in the existence of its Creator.
Wilson:
Give me an example other than electricity.
Chirri:
Your very existence is a great evidence on the
existence of Adam and Eve, or let us say
the first two human beings. You did not see Adam and Eve, but you
believe that they existed.
To make it more clear:
You came through your parents. Your parents came through their parents, and
your grand-parents came through their parents, and so on. You may continue
going back until you reach Adam and Eve. If you deny the existence of the
first two human beings, you would be eliminating the first generation of their
children. By
eliminating the first generation, you eliminate the second
and what is beyond it. Finally, you have to eliminate your own parents. Then
you have to eliminate yourself. But you say to yourself: I cannot do that
because I am here. Then you have to say: Adam and Eve were there.
Wilson:
You have made the
matter clear. We have to believe in God. But how can we believe that He had no
beginning while everything other than Him had a beginning?
Chirri:
The Creator of the universe cannot be preceded by non-existence;
otherwise, He would need another god to create Him; and that god, if he is
preceded by non-existence, would need another god and so on. Thus, we would
have an endless chain of gods without reaching a causeless cause to be the
source of the existence of the universe. Then we have to deny the existence of
the universe. We would also have to deny ourselves because we are a part of
the universe.
Wilson: You have previously stated that the oneness of God (INQUIRY 2)
is the most emphasized theme in the Holy Qur’an; that Islam for this reason is
called “Deen Al-Touhid” (the religion of the belief in the oneness of God);
and that professing His oneness is the first phrase in the Declaration of the
Faith:
“I bear witness that
there is no god but the Almighty God and that Mohammad is a messenger of God.”
Does Islam offer any evidence on this important
principle?
Chirri:
The Holy Qur’an cites the relationship among the sections of the universe
as evidence on the unity of its Creator. It advises us to look at the order
which exists in the universe, and the fact that such an order could not exist
if there were more than One Creator. More than one adminis-tration for the
universe is like more than one administration for one city, state, or country.
It produces confusion and disorder .
“If
there were in them (the heavens and the Earth) gods besides the
Almighty God, they would have been in a state of disorder. Glory be to Him. He
is above what they describe.” 21:22
“And know, my son,” the Imam Ali, son of
AbuTalib, said to his son Al-Hasan, “that if your Lord has a partner, the
messengers of His partner would have come to you. But He is only One God,
alone without partner.” Nahjul Balagha, Part 3, p.44
Wilson: What is the view of Islam on the doctrine of the Trinity?
Chirri: Islam emphatically denies this doctrine. The Holy Qur’an
declares:
“Say: God is One on Whom all depend. He did not beget,
nor was He begotten, and none is equal to Him.” Qur’an, 112: 1-4
“And they say the Beneficent has
taken to Himself a son. Certainly you make an abominable assertion. The
heavens may almost burst, and the Earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall
down in pieces, that they ascribe a son to the Beneficent. And it is not
worthy of the Beneficent that He should take to Himself a son” 19:88-92
Wilson: Why does Islam deny so emphatically the doctrine of the
Trinity?
Chirri:
Islam denies Trinity because parenthood of God to any living or
non-living being is inconceivable in bodily terms and degrading to the concept
of God. He is neither limited nor a body, and He encompasses the whole
universe.
He does not have a mate in order to have a
child as any other living being does.
His
spiritual parenthood to any soul or spirit is also inconceivable if it means
other than being the Creator of that soul or spirit. There is no conceivable
relation between God and any other being other than the relation between the
Creator and His creature. Otherwise, the other being will be independent
from God; and he will be His partner.
Now, if the
ascribed son is united with God, the case will be as if I state that my son
and I are one. If such a statement were true, I would be the father of myself,
because I am my own son. And my son would be the son of himself, because he is
I. Thus, God would be the father of Himself, and His son would be the son of
himself .
God is not,
and cannot be, the father of any living or non-living being if fatherhood is
used for its true meaning. If the word is used in its figurative sense, to
mean that God is as compassionate to His living creature as a father, then He
will not only be the father of one person but the father of all mankind. And
this is what can be understood from the Christian prayer, “Our father, Thou
art in Heaven. . .”
But even this figurative usage of the word is
repugnant to Islam because it is misleading and confusing to the people.
Muslims, therefore, do not use it.
Wilson: Your statement indicates that the Muslims do not believe in the
divinity of Jesus. Do you have any clear evidence against his divinity?
Chirri:
You do not need to
disprove the divinity of Jesus or Mohammad or any other human being. But if
you claim the divinity of anyone besides God, you need to prove your claim. If
someone claims that you are an angel, he has to prove it. I do not need to
prove that you are a man because you appear as a man and have all the
attributes of a man. The one who claims that you are an angel is supposed to
prove what he claims, because his claim is contrary to the common sense and to
what appears as the actual fact.
When a
person says that Jesus or Mohammad is a man, and not a God, he agrees with the
accepted definition. Jesus lived like a man, looked like a man, slept as a
man, ate as a man, and was persecuted like one. None of these facts need
proof. This is not the case with the one who claims his divinity. His claim is
opposed to the common knowledge. Therefore, he, and no one else, has to
provide the evidence for his claim.
Although the Muslims are not supposed to
provide any evidence for the denial of the divinity of Jesus, they can present
more than one evidence:
1. Jesus was
a worshipper. Of course, he worshipped God, not himself. This proves that he
was not a god but a very humble servant of God.
2. According to three of the gospels, the last
words Jesus uttered were: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” A
person who has a God is not a God.
3. God is Ever-Living, but Jesus is mortal; God
is the Almighty, but Jesus was persecuted.
Wilson: Why cannot we view Jesus as a god from his spiritual side and a
mortal human from his bodily side?
Chirri:
Having two sides, spirit and body, is not the exclusive property of
Jesus, because every human being has these two sides. You have both spirit and
body, and so do I. And neither of our spirits is mortal, since our spirits
will continue to live after our death. But this does not make either of us a
god, and so is the case with Jesus.
Wilson: But Jesus is not like us. He, according to the Qur’an and the
Bible, was born from a virgin mother without a father. Does not this mean that
he is more than a human being?
Chirri:
Being born from a mother without a father does not make Jesus more than a
human being. Adam was created without father and mother, and that did not make
him more than a human. From the Holy Qur’an:
“Certainly the
status of Jesus in the eyes of God is like the status of Adam. He created him
from dust. He said to him: ‘Be,’ and so he was.” 3:59
Neither
Jesus nor Adam is a god because neither of them is the Creator of the
universe.
Wilson:
How do we know that he was not the Creator
of the universe?
Chirri:
The scientists say that the stars are more than four billion years old,
and Jesus was born less than two thousand years ago. How can such an old
universe be created by such a young creator?
Wilson:
You are entirely right, and I think you
have made the fact clear enough to convince any fairminded per-son. Actually,
the facts which you have mentioned are well-known to everyone. It is amazing
how people lose sight of them. I think that they do so because they are taught
the divinity of Jesus since childhood. This teaching is repeated so much at
home and in church that it remains in the children’s minds; and when they grow
up, it grows as a part of their thinking. They do not question it because it
is taken for granted.
From what has
been advanced, it has become clear to me that the uncompromising view of Islam
on the oneness of God is the most reasonable. Therefore, I bear witness that
there is no God but the Almighty God, alone without a partner, associate, or
son.
