The
Power to See Beyond: Our Intellect as Gateway to Faith
Epigraph
(Reading Time: 7-9
minutes)
Only
homo sapiens possess fully operative, fully functional intellect. This
intellect has enabled us to transcend our biological habitat and exhibit
capabilities unknown in the animal kingdom. We enjoy a distinct moral
reasoning. And an aesthetic appreciation. And, more importantly, we can see
beyond and infer correctly by evaluating the unseen through the lens of
intellect. We are a species that does not (should not) insist on empirical
evidence to believe, but rather through the power of correlating empirical
evidence with faith.
"[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed
to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of
understanding would be reminded." – Qur'an 38:29
Reading
time: 5-7 minutes
In
response to an atheist who presented the Bible in a humorous light, I was
struck by what may be humanity's most myopic declaration: "I believe
what I see." This approach fundamentally contradicts the very essence
of homo sapiens— "wise man"—and abandons the intellectual
prowess that defines our species.
The
Gift of Intellect: Humanity's Unique Domain
The
singular differentiating factor between the animal kingdom and humanity is our
possession of intellect. This faculty is uniquely human. Can we dismiss it as a
fluke, a one-in-a-trillion chance occurrence that mysteriously emerged eons
ago?
If
intellect were merely an evolutionary accident from some primordial Big Bang, how
did only one species develop this capacity among over a million living beings?
If intellect arose through random processes, wouldn't we expect at least a few
other species to have developed similar cognitive abilities? Perhaps we would
share our world with beings resembling the character Na'vi from Avatar,
competing with us intellectually. [The Na'vi are a fictional
extraterrestrial species featured in James Cameron's film Avatar (2009)].
At least
one other species, a monkey, should have been competing with us in morality or
intellect, or formed a housing colony on our lines, or would be a university
graduate. But this is not reality. All other creatures live strictly within
their spheres of innate abilities—their habitats. Not an iota more, not an iota
less.
Only homo
sapiens possess fully operative, fully functional intellect. This intellect
has enabled us to transcend our biological habitat and exhibit capabilities
unknown in the animal kingdom. We enjoy a distinct moral reasoning. And an
aesthetic appreciation. And, more importantly, we can see beyond and infer
correctly by evaluating the unseen through the lens of intellect. We are a
species that does not (should not) insist on empirical evidence to believe, but
rather through the power of correlating empirical evidence with faith.
This last
faculty defines the very foundation of faith—faith in God's existence, belief
in the certainty of the Hereafter, faith in divine revelation to His
intellectual servants.
The
Sherlock Holmes Principle
Consider
the world's most celebrated fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. We admire his
intellectual acumen in solving crimes through reading signs, employing
argument, rationale, and logic. Holmes never insists on witnessing the crime
itself to apprehend the culprit. His beauty lies in his concluding remark to
Dr. Watson: "It's quite elementary, my dear Watson!"
The phrase
"It's quite elementary, my dear Watson!" reflects Sherlock Holmes's
emphasis on logic and observation, highlighting how reason makes complex truths
appear simple. It symbolizes Holmes’s belief that truth becomes clear when
approached with a rational mind, much like the Qur’anic call to use intellect
in faith. What seems profound often becomes obvious when seen through the lens
of reason.
Science
Points Beyond Itself
The domain
of science relishes empirical evidence. The pondering mind does entertain the question
and possibility of ‘who’ arranges these occurrences? The Qur'an guides the
pondering intellect towards the element of "WHO". It says He is God,
the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider for us all, and the universe.
‘All that is in the heavens and the earth has
glorified God, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. It is He Who has
sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. He alone ordains life and death
and has power over all things. It is He Who is the First and the Last as well,
the Apparent and the Hidden too, and He has knowledge of all things.” Qur’an
(57:1-3)
Divine
Providence and Accountability
Has God
abandoned the universe after creating such a magnificent world? The Divine
Scriptures stand contrary to claims of "I believe what I see." They
declare that God has not created us in vain, for He is above creating anything
without purpose. This points to God being a fantastic Provider—Providence
itself.
The
Qur'an's main thrust in its message is the reminder of the Hereafter. It
tells us that all living beings shall encounter the inevitable
"knock" of death on their doors. When the door shall open, the Angel
of Death will escort us from this ephemeral world.
[O People!] How can you deny God whereas you
were dead, then He gave you life? Then it is He who gives death to you; then
after this He only shall give life; then towards Him shall you be returned. Qur’an
(2:28)
Life does
not end there. An eternal existence begins, directly proportional to our
attitudes and actions here.
"(God) inspired it to understand what was right
and wrong for it."
(Qur'an 91:8)
In reality, whoever comes before his Lord as a
wrongdoer, for him is Hell. He shall neither die nor live in it. Contrary to
this, those who come before Him as believers, who have done
righteous deeds, then it is such people for whom there are high
ranks, orchards of eternal residence beneath which streams flow. They
shall live in them forever. And this is the reward of those who adopt purity. Qur’an
(20:74-76)
Such verses
affirm our intellectual capacity through employing the voice of conscience to discern
right from wrong, to perceive beauty, and to believe in the unseen through
reasoning.
Universal
Testimony: The Beatitudes
The Sermon
on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel opens with beatitudes—blessings rooted in
Hereafter consciousness:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God... Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven." Gospel
of Matthew (5:3-12)
These
teachings mirror the Qur'anic emphasis on accountability and eternal reward.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!“ (Deuteronomy
6:4)
“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord
is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.” (Deuteronomy
4:39)
Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Worship the Lord your
God and serve him only.’ Luke: (4:8)
“The most important one,” answered
Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength.’” Mark (12:29-30)
Signs
of God - the Provider
The Qur'an
reminds us of the prowess of employing our intellect in reading he signs that
abound us.
"[They should behold:] Have
We not made the earth a cradle
and the mountains [its] pegs?
And not created you in pairs?
And not made your sleep a means of
comfort for you?
And not made the night a
clothing
and the day a time for livelihood?
And not built above you seven
sturdy skies?
And not made in them a glowing
lamp?
And not sent down abundant water
from dripping clouds
that We may bring forth from it
grain and vegetation
and gardens of luxurious growth?
All this is proclaiming that surely
the Day of Judgement has an appointed time." Qur’an (78:6-17)
The
Balanced Path
God calls
us to use our intellect to recognize Him. He does not endorse the extremes of
'seeing is believing' or blind adherence to inherited narratives. Neither does
He approve of faith driven solely by emotion or rhetorical fervor. God does not
guide a person who refuses to entertain and employ the intellect in matters of
faith, and places defilement on him.
“And God casts the filth of misguidance on those who
do not use their intellect.” Qur’an (10:100)
This is
why whoever reads the Qur'an discovers that God presents His signs and bases
His belief on our intellectual faculty. His address is for those who employ
their intellect - those who reflect, ponder, and use the gift that makes us
truly human.
The path
to faith is not about abandoning reason but rather employing it fully. When we
do, we discover that believing in the unseen is not a leap into darkness but a
logical conclusion drawn from the evidence surrounding us—a conclusion as
elementary as Holmes' greatest deductions. Presenting the main theme of the
Qur’an in advocating the certainty of the advent of the Hereafter, God puts a
simple yet logical observation for the pondering mind.
Our
intellect, far from being faith's enemy, is its greatest ally in recognizing
the Designer behind the design, the Provider behind the provision, and the
Purpose behind our existence.
By
Aamir Yazdani
MPhil
Islamic Thought and Civilization
No comments:
Post a Comment