Theological Instructions

LESSON FORTY-FOUR: PROVING RESSURRECTION

Introduction

It was indicated in the beginning of this book that belief in Resurrection for every individual on the Day of Judgment is the most fundamental belief of the Divine religions. The prophets (a) and saints have emphasized upon this fundamental principle, endeavouring at lengths to establish it. The Qur’an regards this belief as being as important as belief in Divine Unity. In various Qur’anic verses the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Day of Judgement’ have been used together.

In the beginning the importance of investigating the issue of resurrection was discussed. We have already explained how a true understanding of resurrection is dependent upon the acknowledgement of the spirit, which is the criterion for the reality of man. This reality is eternal in such a way that when he is raised on the Day of Judgment one would say that it is the same individual who had died and is raised back to life.

We then established the proofs for this kind of spirit from the Qur’an, and presented an intellectual view so that the grounds for understanding the eternity of life for man are understood. Now we have reached the point where it is time to establish the most important fundamental principle of belief, which will be proved in the similar manner utilized for proving the spirit. First we will discuss the intellectual reasons for resurrection and then we will convey the Qur’anic explanation in regard to it.

Proving Resurrection through Wisdom

In the section on theology we have explained that the creation of man is not meaningless or without aim. God is essentially perfect and good, and His creation receives such goodness. We then recognised that God has the quality of Wisdom and we understood that the purpose of this was to recognize the purpose of creation, which was that creation would reach its own ultimate perfection. Although the material world acts as an impediment and the goodness and perfection of the material existents conflict with each other, the requirement of Divine wisdom is that the achievement of perfection and goodness must surpass such imperfections. In other words:

The circle of nature has been created in such a way so as to promote life. The action and the reaction have been organized in such a manner that the earth encourages the growth of the plant, animal, and human (who are the most perfect of all) kingdoms. If this was not the case and the material world was created in such a way that it did not promote life, it would have been against such Wisdom.

Now we will intensify our argument. We know that man has an eternal spirit and the ability to acquire eternal perfection, but if it was assumed that man was here only to achieve material perfections which are limited only to the material world, then this is not then in resonance with Divine Wisdom. This is especially so, when we consider how the material world is full of pain and where in order to achieve limited pleasure one has to endure much suffering. Furthermore the suffering and pain that one goes through is not

usually worth the limited pleasure that one achieves. Due to this very limited calculation, many people became hedonistic, or certain individuals committed suicide despite the love that they had for life and eternity.

If life consisted only of going through social, financial, and physical difficulties with the result of momentary pleasure followed by the aftermath of exhaustion, which requires rest in order to regain strength for yet again the same repetition, a vicious circle is formed, which is unacceptable to the intellect. An example of this pattern would be like a driver who fills up the petrol tank of his car, only in order to arrive at another petrol station, this then continues until the car breaks down or another obstacle brings an end to it.

It is apparent from a logical analysis that such a life is absurd, also to reinforce the argument, is the fact that man has within him the intrinsic love to be eternal, which has been placed within him by the Creator. He has also been endowed with the energy to accomplish this eternal goal, which encourages and motivates him towards its accomplishment. If we suppose that this human being during his ultimate development towards his Creator is going to fail whatever the case, then there is no wisdom in motivating and encouraging him towards a doomed destination. Therefore the placement of such a tendency within man is not at all compatible with the Divine wisdom of God.

The result that can be discerned from these two premises - of Divine wisdom and the possibility of eternal life for man - is that there must exist another life for man, which must be different from this life where he experiences trouble and limited pleasure.

Furthermore the intrinsic tendency for the love of eternal life can also be considered as another premise, which can be combined with the principle of Divine wisdom and utilised as an argument for proving resurrection.

Hence, it becomes clear that eternal life must be very different when compared to this life, which is comprised of pain and sorrow. If this is not the case and even if this very life is eternal, it would not be harmonious with the Divine wisdom of God.

Proving Resurrection through Justice

In this world man is free to choose between the good and the bad. From one side one will find people who have served their life worshiping God and serving human beings and from another side one will see tyrants and oppressors who for achieving their desires, oppress people and commit crime. The purpose for the creation of man, whilst providing him with all the necessary mechanisms and productive grounds for developing, is that he independently chooses truth over falsehood. By doing so, he arrives at the fruit of his action for which he has wrought much pain. In reality man’s life is solely for arriving at the reality of his nature, which he does through the means of different tests. Even until the last moment of his life he is accountable for even the smallest of his responsibilities.

However we see in this world that the tyrants, oppressors and corrupt do not arrive at the fruit of their action and on the other hand they possess a higher share of the bounties (luxuries) of this world. For example: a criminal who commits several murders and numerous acts of crime may only be

prosecuted once and executed. This is against the Justice of God. The reason for this is that the requirement of justice is that there should be a different punishment for every crime committed, whether that crime is minor or major. Therefore, as this world is filled with tests and responsibilities, there must be another world where the result of these tests and responsibilities is received, so that the Justice of God is manifested. Therefore it becomes clear that that the next world is not a place of choice or responsibility. We will discuss this in future lessons.

Questions

  1. Explain the relationship between Divine Wisdom and creation.

  2. Explain the proving of Resurrection through wisdom with two premises.

  3. What other points can be understood from the premises used for the proof of the principle Resurrection?

  4. What is the purpose of creation?

  5. Explain the argument for Justice.

  6. What key points can be derived from the argument for Justice?