Islamic Art. of Faith (1)

[AltWay]

Views of Islam - Articles of Faith
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Part 1.

Islam, according to the Prophet (saw), consists of three parts, al-islam,
the discipline, al-iman, the faith and al-ihsan, righteousness. from another
point of view, Islam contains doctrines, motive or goals, and practices. In
either case, these correspond to the distinction between body, mind and
spirit, or the spiritual faculties of consciousness, conscience and will or
the mental faculties of thought, feeling and action. This article deals
briefly with the Islamic Articles of Faith on which the doctrine or faith is
based. A more complete treatment of this subject will be found in Book 5 of
"The Alternative Way".

The Articles of Faith refer to the fundamental concepts on which the whole
structure of religion is based. But they are not just factual descriptions
of something - the same things can be described in many different ways
according to what purpose we have in mind. They are also a discipline of the
mind which creates a state which make possible the understanding and
experience of certain truths which are not otherwise accessible. The Islamic
Articles of Faith will be found to underlie all genuine Religions. In order
to understand these, however, in the modern world dominated by the
conceptual systems of science and technology, we need first to understand
the difference between religion and science.

Religion differs from Science in the following ways :-

1. Religion is interested in values and meanings rather than only in facts,
since these acquire meaning only when interpreted within a framework of
values. There appear to be three approaches to the things in the world :-
The scientific approach looks at things and then abstracts certain common
characteristics to form concepts - it is fact centred. The philosophical
approach is to define certain concepts and then identify things which fit
those definitions - it is mind or meaning centred. The religious approach is
to experience the relationship between the person and the object and
describe these - it is value centred.

2. Religion is interested in the process of living, in how human beings
relate and adjust to reality and to each other rather than in an impersonal
intellectual or verbal description of it or of the world. Science is
interested in manipulating nature, in creating a technology or in profit and
power.

3. Religion is interested primarily in the inner psychological, and in the
outer material only in so far as it affects the former. The significant
thing about man is consciousness. If he is not conscious then nothing exists
for him, neither the external world nor himself. He sees both according to
his capacity for consciousness.

4. Religion is not interested so much in matter and energy, space and
passing time as in quality, order and the arising, processing and transfer
of information.

5. Religion is interested in the consistency of experiences rather than in
the consistency of verbal formulations. It is not, therefore, interested so
much in logical or rational thought, nor in the examination of isolated
objects.

6. Religion is interested in the whole to which things belong and their
function and relationships with this whole rather than with separate objects
and their interactions. If the cells in our bodies had the scientific
attitude, they would never know the person whose body they were a part of,
his consciousness, experiences, desires, actions.

7. Religion is interested in human spiritual evolution rather than in the
development of technology and the manipulation of the environment. It is
this goal which governs the search, selection, organisation, interpretation
of data.

8. We have to distinguish between at least three layers of existence. (a)
There is the mundane level of physical existence in which we conduct our
daily lives - the world of particulars and common experience, the objects we
see, the food we eat, the houses we live in, the materials with which we
construct things and so on. (b) the conceptual world of substances, energies
and relationships as described by science or art and philosophy. This is not
the same as the world we see, but is the cause of it. But the description of
it is not necessarily how it really is - the description is a convenience
which fits the facts as known. Many other descriptions of the same thing are
also possible but may be more or less comprehensive or convenient for
certain purposes. (c) the transcendental world of deeper experiences and
significance, which still lies mostly in our unconscious and is accessible
to the few such as the Saints. Though ordinary words, concepts and ideas
familiar to people are used, the description of this world is mostly
symbolic. This can vary but still remain valid. It is like looking at an ink
blot or complex pattern in which different people see different things
according to which features they select for attention. To take the
description literally is to falsify it. It is the real or causal world which
underlie the things described by science. Science describes the created
world and may be regarded as a bridge between the mundane and the
transcendental world.

The fundamental concepts, techniques and frameworks of reference of religion
will, therefore, differ considerably from those of Science. They require
faith because they refer to realities which are not available to the sense
organs. Human beings, however, have three faculties through which knowledge
is available - the senses, the intellect and consciousness. The senses tell
us that the sun rises in the East and sinks in the West. But the intellect,
via Science, tells us that the earth is rotating on its axis and revolving
round the sun. This idea creates a certain consistency between a great
number of phenomena. But it requires the previous acceptance of certain
categories which govern thought and define one's attitudes to existence.
Relativity of motion for instance. They provide a framework within which
experiences are interpreted. They are prior to facts. This is not given to
us by the intellect. We could take anything as a stationary centre and
describe all motions with respect to it - Mars, some other star or the
centre of the Galaxy etc or even just ourselves. After all we are each a
centre from which observations are made. We can translate one view into the
other if we knew the relationship between the frameworks of reference of
each. We could describe several worlds in several levels by taking as centre
this earth, the sun, the centre of our Milky Way, the centre of the Cluster
of Galaxies and so on. Such intellectual constructions do not enable us to
lead better lives. Consciousness, however, makes us aware of the vastness of
the Universe, our relative insignificance and dependence, and also of our
potentialities and functions.

The approach of Science in the study of the world is to suppose that the
world we see exists independently of our activities, motives and capacities
to perceive it and that we have the capacity to see and study it. The
religious approach is that the world we see depends on what we do, our
motives and our capacity for perception and these vary between people.
Science is interested in the physical and interprets psychological phenomena
in terms of it, while religion is interested in the spiritual and interprets
the physical in terms of it. The meaning of the word objective also changes
accordingly. Science uses the word to refer to that which is outside the
observer, but for religion this cannot be known. It is the world of God. We
only have different types and levels of experiences with respect to the
world according to our interactions. We have to interact and adjust to the
real world and all our thoughts, motives and actions have a value only with
respect to this. This is the objective fact. Religious doctrines are,
therefore, describing levels of experience. This should not cause a conflict
with science since its theories such as those of Evolution and Relativity
are also descriptions designed to explain certain experiences and are not
objects which you can see. They, too, depend on human activity and capacity
for understanding.

In general human beings seek and accept a religion because they are in awe
of Reality of which they are a small part and on which they are dependent
and which they seek to understand and adjust to. This manifests itself
through the need for security, significance and purpose. These are connected
with the need for facts, meaning and values and with hope, love and faith.
These cannot be provided by the world of commerce or politics nor by
science. They are not physiological needs, nor mental ones, but spiritual
one, something connected with Consciousness, Conscience and Will, a level
not recognised by these other systems. It is not possible to live an
intelligent, conscious or harmonious life on facts alone without meaning
which relate a person to things, and without values to justify actions. A
human being is or should be, and strives for, a wholeness without inner
conflicts and contradictions. The whole of existence must be seen as a
self-consistent unity in which the person himself is also a self-consistent
unity so that no contradictions and inner conflicts can arise to cause
uncertainty suffering and disintegration. No human being can be complete, an
integrated wholeness, without taking into consideration all these aspects.

Before the seven Articles of Faith are described, it will probably be useful
to describe some of the associated concepts :-

Creator and Creation:-

The Universe has a beginning and will have an end. It and all things in it
are called creations because they have a beginning. There was, therefore, a
state of self-existence before the Creation of the Universe, X, an original
Absolute, a Unity. It is this which is the fundamental Reality. Everything
else has temporary and dependant existence. The Universe and all things in
it including matter, energy, natural laws, life and consciousness, must,
therefore, have arisen from an impulse inherent in X. This impulse is
defined as the Word, Command or Will of Allah. But note the difference
between physical creation and spiritual creation in the following :-

"The Originator of the heavens and the earth, when He decrees a matter He
doth but say unto it: BE! And it is." 2:117 Also 3:47, 19:35 and 40:68

"Truly the likeness of Jesus, in Allah's sight, is as the likeness of Adam:
He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! And he was." 3:59

"Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them.
The Commandment continues to descend among them slowly, that you may know
that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all
things in knowledge." 65:12

We may suppose that creation is originally spiritual in nature, perhaps the
creation of the world of potentialities also known as the Preserved Tablet
(8:75, 85:22). It then actualises gradually. It could be something like a
magnetic field on which iron filings are dropped and they take on a pattern.
Or like a blue print according to which human beings construct buildings,
aeroplanes etc. Mere examination of what people aredoing would not reveal
the existence of the blue print.

Since all things including ourselves function according to the laws and
forces which are responsible for the universe and all things in the universe
arise and evolve by differentiation and separation from this original
Absolute, then all things are inter-related and all our intellectual
knowledge is relative. Knowledge is about Creation. But because knowledge is
relative, then relativity itself is understood relative to the Absolute. We
cannot know the Absolute intellectually, but only by surrender or
self-identification i.e we can know Allah only as we know ourselves, and
ourselves only as we know Allah.

"Be not as those who forgot Allah, therefore, He caused them to forget their
own souls." 59:19

The Vicegerency of Man: -

"(Remember) when thy Lord said unto the angels: I am about to place a
vicegerent in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place therein one who will do
evil therein and shed blood? we celebrate Thy praise and hallow Thee." Said
(the Lord): I know what ye know not. And He taught Adam the Names, all of
them; then He propounded them to the angels and said: Declare to me the
names of these, if ye are truthful. They said: Glory be to Thee! No
knowledge is ours but what Thou thyself hast taught us, verily, Thou art the
Knower, the Wise. Said the Lord: O Adam declare to them the Names; and when
he had declared to them the Names He said: Did I not say to you, I know the
secrets of the heavens and of the earth, and I know what ye show and what ye
were hiding? And when we said to the angels, "Bow down before Adam," they
bowed before him save only Iblis, who refused and was too proud and became
one of the misbelievers.," 2:30-34
"Who made good everything that He has created, and He began the creation of
man from dust. Then He made his progeny of an extract, of a fluid held in
low esteem. Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit, and
made for you the faculties of hearing, and sight and hearts (feeling);
little is it that you give thanks. And they say: What! When we have become
lost in the earth, shall we then certainly be a new creation? Nay! they are
disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord. Say: The angel of death who is
given charge of you shall cause you to die, then to your Lord you shall be
returned." 32:7-11

Man has been created and placed on earth for a purpose, and given the powers
to fulfil that purpose. He is a growing point or a medium through which the
creative or evolutional process takes place. It is the spirit in man which
gives him consciousness, conscience and will and allows him to function as a
Vicegerent. He who is not conscious for him nothing exists, not the world
nor himself and he has no control over anything. The Spirit of Allah gives
him some of the divine qualities of creativity, initiative and
responsibility. He has a duty to himself, other people and the society, and
the environment. He will be judged according to how he fulfils these duties.
The body is only a vehicle through which he fulfils his function. Religion
is, therefore, concerned with this Spirit.

Man modifies himself by his actions, motivations and thoughts in accordance
with Laws operating in him. Man ought, therefore, to behave objectively and
in a comprehensive, self-consistent and integrated manner in thought,
motivation and action. Other creatures act according to their own natures,
and these have arisen in adjustment to their environment and fulfil a
function with respect to it. It is only man who has the power to flout
nature including his own. But this power is capable also of producing much
good and that is why man has been given it.

The Hereafter -

This has meaning only if we expand our view to take in all space-time. Then
a distinction arises between a period or term which applies to any entity
and the rest of existence. But there is a relationship between the two
because the former is dependant on, and has a function with respect to, the
latter.

"Do they not reflect within themselves: Allah did not create the heavens and
the earth and what is between them but with truth, and for an appointed term
(or destined end)? But truly most of the people are disbelievers in the
meeting with their Lord." 30:8 See also 6:2,67,129, 7:34,135,185,
14:10,44, 15:4, 18:59, 20:129, 22:33, 29:53 and many others."

Hereafter refers to life after the present one, after physical death (2:28,
53:45-48) and not to the future. The human spirit comes from God in heaven
and must return to God in heaven (10:5, 6:31, 10:46, 13:2, 28:88). It has
been placed in man to perform a certain function and it is judged by how
that function is performed. Allah withdraws the spirit or bestows it
according to His plan (40:15, 58:22). Human beings cease causing changes in
the earth after death. But the fact remains that all the actions which they
have done while alive continue to have effects, and these have further
effects and so on. Their Record continues to exist on an invisible level.
This can, perhaps, be compared to a cell in the human body. Though the cell
dies and is replaced the human body continues, and the cell can be regarded
as having had a permanent role in the existence of that body. The evolution
of humanity depends on the cumulative effects of all these actions, either
good or evil. It is immortal life or life in Eternity (20:76, 29:64, 40:39,
19:61, 35:33, 14:17). We are told repeatedly that the Hereafter is more
lasting than the life of this world, and better except, of course, for the
wicked who will be punished.

"Naught is the life of this world but a game (or pastime) and a sport (or
amusement).Surely, better by far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who
fear and do their duty. Will ye not understand?" 6:32
"O my people! This life of the world is only a passing enjoyment, and surely
the Hereafter is the enduring home." 40:39 See also 12:57,109, 16:30,41,
17:21, 18:46-50, 29:64 40:39, 42:36, 57:20 etc.


Heaven and Earth -

"So He ordained them seven heavens in two periods, and revealed in every
heaven its affair; and We adorned the lower heaven with brilliant stars and
(made it) to guard; that is the decree of the Mighty, the Knower." 41:12
"Who created the seven heavens one above the other in harmony; you see no
incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent Allah; then look again, can
you see any flaw? Then turn back your eye again and again; your sight will
return unto you weak and fatigued. And certainly We have adorned these lower
heaven with lamps.." 67:3-5
"Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them.
The Commandment continues to descend among them slowly, that you may know
that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all
things in knowledge." 65:12

The distinction between heaven and earth can be understood as follows:-
Earth is this planet, and Heaven is the rest of the Universe, the lowest
level of which is visible to us because of the light from the sun and stars.
The Lamp in the above verse refers to the Sun (71:16). It may refer to all
solar systems. The other levels may be regarded as consisting of the
subtler invisible materials, forces, processes and laws which constitute
whole galaxies, cluster of galaxies, the Universe, and perhaps, there is
also a greater wholeness consisting of many Universes or a Field in which
the Universe is only a small part. Each higher level is more fundamental
than, prior to, and affects, the lower. The forces operating in the Universe
also affect the earth. Thus, earth stands for the particular and the gross
while heaven stands for the universal and the subtle. It is not the case
that heaven is elsewhere. The earth exists within the Solar system and so
on. Therefore, all levels coexist here, but each higher heaven covers a
larger area.

These terms also refer to categories of experience, the earthly and
heavenly, the outer and the inner, the physical or sense based on the one
hand and the ideological, intellectual, psychological or spiritual on the
other. Heaven and earth correspond to the unconscious and conscious mind.
We see and are aware by the light of the sun. The ordinary conscious mind
sees only the coarser or denser aspects of the world and is engaged in
worldly pursuits. But our consciousness is aware only of the surface of what
goes on within and outside us. The inner life has several levels,
pre-consciousness, sub-consciousness etc. It is possible for our
consciousness to expand and penetrate into these deeper areas and take
control. There are seven levels of consciousness which correspond to the 7
heavens and there are also 7 corresponding earths or levels of experiences
of the earth. Since everyone has an inner life, and people interact with
each other at all these levels, we can speak of a Collective Mind which has
seven levels of Consciousness.

Worldly life refers to human activities, motivations and thoughts connected
with life on earth such as those involved in making a living, personal
ambitions and pleasures, the pursuit of wealth, power and prestige. This
differs from interests and activities such as the pursuit of knowledge,
beauty and virtue or those connected with environmental, social and
psychological welfare and development.

These three ways at looking at the terms are not independent. The forces
operating in the universe or the earth are also operating within us. But the
subtler levels are not accessible to us through the senses, only through
inner experiences or indirectly through science. Since man comes from Allah
and returns to him, resurrection may mean that because we have descended
through these various levels, we can also ascend through them, actually or
psychologically back to the Creator.

"Ye shall surely travel from plane to plane!" 84:19

Paradise and Hell :-

Paradise is also called the Garden and Hell is called the Fire. Both exist
in heaven. That is, either or both at a higher level or in the inner
psychological world.

"And as for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire; sighing and
wailing will be their lot, abiding therein for so long as the heavens and
the earth endure; save for what thy Lord willeth. Verily, thy Lord is
Accomplisher of what He wills (or plans). And as for those who are glad,
they will be in the Garden, abiding therein so long as the heavens and the
earth endure; save what thy Lord willeth, a gift unfailing!" 11:106-107
"Every soul must taste of death; and ye shall only be paid what ye have
earned on the Day of Resurrection. But he who is forced away from the Fire
and brought into Paradise is indeed triumphant; but the life of this world
is but a possession of illusion." 3:185
"But bear the glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that
for them are Gardens beneath which rivers flow; whenever they are provided
with fruit therefrom they say: This is what we were provided with before,
and they shall be provided with the like; and there are pure companions for
them therein, and they shall dwell therein for ever. Behold! Allah does not
disdain to set forth a similitude even of a gnat, or anything lower or
higher; and as for those who believe, they know that it is truth from the
Lord; but as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah means
by this as a parable? He leads astray many and He guides many; - but He
leads astray only the evildoers." 2:25-26

The verse makes it obvious that the description of Paradise is symbolic. It
is to be understood not even as referring to something of which a garden on
earth is a pale imitation, but to the kind of experience associated with
being in a garden specially by people who live in a hot dry desert.

Though a distinction is made between Paradise and Hell, the Quran recognises
three states of man, the Foremost, the People of the Right Hand and the
People of the Left Hand (56:7-14).

Heaven is the abode of the Spirit, and Paradise is where it is rewarded, and
Hell where it is punished. It may be stated that since God is all pervading,
then whether the spirit is on earth, in hell or in paradise, it makes no
difference to God, but only to us. Paradise is a state of Joy, peace and
fulfilment which is the consequence of good action, or conversely, good
actions are those which lead to this state. Hell is a state of suffering,
which is the consequence of bad actions, or conversely, bad actions are
those which harm the individual. It should be understood that these
consequences are according to natural laws. They are distinguished from man
made laws by being referred to as Divine Laws or Commands of Allah.
Punishment and reward refer to the consequences or effects of these laws
(17:14-15, 50:19-35, 83:1-36, ). There are degrees of Paradise and Hell
corresponding to the amount of good or harm a person has done to himself.
Those who have lost their soul (7:53) or damaged it or caused it to shrink
owing to lack of exercise and nutrition to various degrees are in Hell,
while those who have nourished and exercised it are in Paradise.

"There are varying degrees in the sight of Allah, and Allah sees what you
do." 3:163

"Lo! Hell is all around the disbelievers." 9:49

Since there are different degrees of paradise and Hell (15:44), then
Paradise or the Garden is defined as being nearer Allah, and Hell as being
further away. This does not refer to space or time, but quality, to the
state of integration, surrender and Unity. Hell is in a state of neither
life nor death (20:74, 87:13). Thus, Paradise is a state of inner unity,
integration, harmony and peace, (89:27) and hell is a state of
disintegration and, therefore, of conflict. They are psychological states
though they could also refer to environments which such people have
produced. This greater integration also produces greater consciousness,
knowledge, alignment with the Will of God and capabilities so that a person
becomes capable of fulfilling all his desires.

But a person does not necessarily stay in that state permanently since it
lasts only as long as heaven and earth endure or as long as God wills
(6:129, 11:107, 7:128). They remain permanent as long as nothing is done to
alter them. Since suffering repels and exists to facilitate reformation, and
Allah is forgiving, we may presume that a person stays in that state unless
and until he reforms. Hell has an educational function. Suffering ought to
lead him into those actions which will undo the harm, and raise his state.
Though difficult, the incentive to do this increases with the degree of
suffering.

Paradise and Hell, must, however, also be seen as places. This is because
the inner state determines not only how we see the external world, but also
leads people to create and migrate to places which accord with their state.
Criminals, for instance, will seek each others company. As the number and
quality of criminals increases in a locality it alters the nature of that
locality. Some people have made their entire nation into a Hell.

"And hell will stand forth visible to him who sees." 79:36

Perhaps the Universe may be seen as a distillery such that a separation is
continually occurring between the finer and the coarser, denser. The denser
materials, however, can be seen as things in which the subtler have been
trapped and confined. A person is said to be in hell when he is trapped by a
number of obsessions, addictions and compulsions.

Paradise and Hell are quite obviously symbols for joy and fulfilment or
suffering and frustration Hell is associated with fire and heat which is a
state of agitation and disorder, while paradise is a state of harmony and
order. They are direct consequences of a persons state (41:21-23, 46:15)).
Both inner and outer disorder and suffering are the result of the
maladaptation caused by refusing to face or accept the truth, while inner
and outer harmony and happiness comes from conforming to it ( 77:12-19). The
Day of Judgement is defined in 51:12-13 and 82:18-19 as being the time when
a person is tormented at the Fire, no soul has power to affect another and
Allah has sole command. The Fire symbolises the transforming or spiritual
Truth (27:7) which also burns away rubbish. The implication is that people
will at some stage be judged by it, by Reality itself instead of illusions
and prejudices. Those who have accepted it will be in harmony and peace and
those who have not will be in conflict and suffer for it.
----------<O>----------

H.S.Aziz

Part2 follows

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