Islamic Culture and Religious Studies Book - 3

Introduction To Chapter One

In The Name Of Allah (S.W.T.), the Beneficent, the Merciful

TAWHEED Monotheism

In the past two books, we have studied the need for a God to be accountable to and spoken of the importance of believing in the Oneness of God, which is the foundation stone of our faith.

In this first chapter of our third book, we will begin our study by looking into the concept of 'Cause and Effect'. After this, we will discuss how to prove the existence of God.

These are extremely important topics that cannot be taken lightly. We should keep in mind that in order to make any progress in gaining the pleasure and nearness of Allah (S.W.T.), we must first be willing to put the effort towards achieving this aim. We must open our hearts as well as our minds to receive this information and only then will we be able to convert Imaan (faith) into Yaqeen (Conviction).

Munaajat Sing to the Lord

O my Merciful Lord! Whose sweet name all tongues mention, The entire world is warm and bright because of Your warmth and wonderful lights.

We need only to glance at the mountains, jungles, deserts and oceans, To find You more visible than visibility itself! You are hidden from our eyes, but our eyes have gained sight from You. I sacrifice my life, my self, to You O Lord, who is hidden and invisible. In the heavens above and the earth, O Lord, how can I describe the beauty that you have created?

Birds came to being because of You, colored flowers and beautiful gardens came into existence at Your command. The universe enjoys the sounds of waterfalls and You are the spring of it The world accepts orders from You alone, because You are the continuous Cherisher of our needs.

You are ever generous, independent, merciful, One who solves every soul's problems and caretaker of us all. You are the most kind; You are the Best of all bests; You give company to every heart, and every spirit derives its purity from You. You are Ever-Forgiving and Merciful. O Lord, enlighten my spirit through Your divine light, make my tongue busy with Your dhikr (remembrance) O my Lord, free my inner spirit and make my heart anxious to meet You! 1

Lesson 1 : Cause and Effect

You walk past a tree and see the leaves on its branches gently stirring as the wind kisses them. Your eyes appreciate the beautiful scene but consider this - what about the underlying message of this simple natural phenomenon? Looking at the same event through an angle other than that of visual appreciation, we can see that when we see leaves moving we immediately register that this movement is a result of the wind blowing against them.

Therefore, it would be correct to say that the wind is the Cause of the stirring of the leaves i.e. if the wind did not blow, then it would not Result in the leaves moving.

Thus, we can call the actual movement of the leaves - Ma'lool (Effect) and the wind itself - Ellat (Cause) Let us look at another example that has been made famous in scientific history. We all know the story of the famous philosopher/scientist who sat under an apple tree. As he pondered, one apple suddenly dropped to the ground.

He picked it up, looked at it, smelt it and then wondered to himself 'Why did the apple fall down?' From this simple and obvious question, the man went on to discover the force of gravity, which is today one of the most important aspects of physical science. Here we can say that the falling down of the apple was the Ma'lool and the gravity of the earth was the Ellat.

Let us look at a third example to make things even clearer. Imagine that you have sat down in a room with your back to a wall. Strangely, as you lean back, you feel heat emanating from the wall and wonder to yourself what the cause of the heat can be. Seeking your answer, you leave the room and try to search for what is on the other side of that particular wall.

When you reach there, you see a heater attached to it and everything falls into place! Now you understand what the cause of the heat is and the hot wall is no longer a mystery. In such a case, the heater is the Cause and the warm wall is the Effect. If there had not been a heater then the wall would not have been warm.

All this shows us that cause and effect are two halves of a complete relationship. Without a particular cause, its effect would no longer exist. Therefore we can conclude that in our world full of existence, there is an underlying system based on the theory of cause and effect.

The Non-Physical State

Cause and effect do not always manifest themselves in the visual or physical world as in the examples above. Sometimes we can see only the cause and sense the effect, at others it may be the opposite i.e. we sense the cause and see the effect.

For example, move your hand. This movement of the hand is the effect of your willing the action to happen. If you did not want your hand to move then it would have remained stationary. Thus, your will becomes the unseen cause.

The same would be with look at something. The looking is an action, which can be classified as an effect. You are the cause of it. If you did not initiate it, then the looking could not have been.

You listen to what your teacher is saying. This listening is an action based on you. Your listening exists only because you do. It is an effect of your existence - which is the cause in this case. From these examples, we can further see that the effect is based on and related to the cause.

You look after your friend and take care of him. The caring that you show is related to your self. If you are not there, your kindness to him will not be there. Similarly, your knowledge is related to your existence. If you are not there, your knowledge and any actions resulting from it will also cease to be.

There is a special connection between your knowledge, your kindness, your Iraada (Willingness) and your self. All these qualities are related to and in need of you. This special relationship is called Eliyyat (Cause and Effect).

Your actions are related to you and their existence is from your own existence. You are the one who moves, who writes, who walks, who talks, who thinks, who understands, who shows love, who knows and decides. All these actions are effects and you are the cause of them all. Because of you, they exist.

In his life, man will always consciously or subconsciously work with the knowledge he has of causes and their effects. When he finds himself thirsty, he looks for water to quench his thirst. When he feels the pangs of hunger, he eats. When he feels cold, he lights a fire. He does all this because experience has taught him that water is the cause of removing thirst, food is the cause of appeasing hunger and fire is the cause of bringing warmth.

Even in our daily lives, we react by searching for causes e.g. when we hear an noise, we look around for its source (cause) because we know that it could not exist without one; when we enter a dark room, we immediately search for the switch to turn on the lights.

Doctors study the causes of diseases in order to find cures to them. To explain to others what you have in mind, you have to speak. Cause and effect is a common sense that is part and parcel of our lives. Every human being is aware of this issue and he understands, accepts and he bases his life on it naturally.

If a human being is not able to understand this issue or does not accept it, then life for him would be impossible. Insaan (human being), by nature, looks for the cause of all that he sees. He constantly asks himself: Why are the leaves moving? Why did the apple drop down? Why is the wall is warm? Why this? Why On the other hand, from this same theory, a human being expects something to happen (effect) from every occurrence (cause) in life. He expects the sunrise to bring light, the fire to give heat, the water and the food to remove his thirst and hunger.

Seeing that even the simplest of all structures in this world survives on the Law of Eliyyat (Cause and Effect) we find ourselves wondering about the larger order.

We ask ourselves: If even a passing noise or a feeling requires a cause to exist then what of the universe and everything in it? What is the cause of the heavens and earth, the stars and the sun? What brought human life and its complexities into existence?

From these questions, it is a simple step to understanding and accepting that the cause of such a fantastically complicated system as our universe must be an entity that possesses flawless Intellect and limitless Power.

This Cause would have to be able to bring into being all the forms of animated and unanimated matter and arrange them in a logical form within a self-supporting structure. This Entity would have to possess qualities far above and beyond those of the most powerful creation that resulted from Its Will.

Such an Entity would then not fall into the worldly category of cause but would be better defined as Creator. This Creator is Allah (S.W.T.). All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Independent, Eternal. He encompasses everything and all things need and rely on him to be. Just as our simple qualities rely on our existence to be, our entire selves rely on Him to exist. We are at His Mercy.

When we realize exactly how helpless we are in front of Him, we then can appreciate His kindness and generosity to us. Despite having the power to destroy us if He so wishes, Allah (S.W.T.) looks upon us with patience, love and forgiveness.

Thus, He is worthy of being Master and we should be proud to call ourselves His slaves for even this is a status far above that which we deserve. Only when we understand this unique relationship, will our souls truly humble themselves before him in gratitude for His countless favors and take His guidance as a way of life with which to live.

A Holy Verse "Surely Allah upholds the heaven and the earth lest they come to the knot. If they should come to the knot, there is none who can uphold them..." Sura Fatir, Verse 41

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…

  1. There is a special connection between all things that exist in this world. That connection is called Elliyat - the cause and the effect.

  2. The universe is a huge collection of existences each of which has a cause.

  3. The existing universe and everything in it is referred to as Adillat (proofs) of the existence of Allah (S.W.T.) Who, Himself, is needless of a cause.

Think And Answer

  1. What is the connection between cause and effect?
  2. What is the specific term used for the theory of cause and effect?
  3. Mention a few things that rely on you for their existence and you are the cause of them. Do not use the examples given in the text.
  4. Mention few natural reactions that prove that human beings understand how the theory of cause and effect works. Try to use examples from your daily life that have not been mentioned above.
  5. What do we mean when we say the role of cause and effect is a universal phenomenon? Explain two proofs to support your answer.