Theological Instructions

LESSON TWO: INQUIRING INTO RELIGION

The drive to investigate

It is within the intrinsic nature (fitrah) of man to seek and be aware of Reality. Man is born with this quality, which remains with him until his death. Sometimes this instinct for seeking the truth may be referred to as a ‘sense of curiosity’, whereby man is driven to ponder upon religious issues and it is this very action, which helps him to understand and realise a true religion. In the process of this realisation he is faced with the following  Questions:

Is there an imperceptible and immaterial being?

If there is, is there a link between this immaterial being and our material world?

In the presence of this relationship, is there a Reality, which created the universe?

Is the existence of man limited to this material form/world?

If man is not limited to this material/worldly life, is there another world, and if there is what is the relationship between these two worlds?

Furthermore man requires knowledge concerning the best method by which he can live a righteous and fulfilled life, which will guarantee him felicity in this world and also in the next.

The primary attribute man requires in seeking reality is thus his intrinsic nature.

Man’s desires are another factor that may encourage and consolidate him into seeking the truth. Such desires may not necessarily be of divine origin but may be desires that wish to accomplish worldly or materialistic bounties. This is dependant upon his struggle within the fields of knowledge and upon the advancement of experimental sciences. If religion can provide man with the means to achieve worldly goals without loss, this will inspire him to further investigate religion, because it is within man’s nature to move towards success and further him from failure.

With the understanding of the realm of realities being vast, difficult and out of reach, man escapes by choosing realms whose understanding is easier and experimental. He has doubts whether he will receive any benefit from inquiring into religion, and whether he will gain any result at all due to its complex nature compared to that knowledge which is easily acquired and straightforward. Man must recognise that investigating any issue other than religion has no subjective value, whereas religious issues are of the highest value.

It should be noted that psychologists account the worship of God to be one of the independent instincts of man, which manifests from the ‘sense of religiosity’, which runs parallel to the sense of curiosity, goodness and elegance. History can confirm for the psychologist and anthropologist that the worship of God in diverse forms has always accompanied the path of man. This further goes to prove that it is an intrinsic quality within him.

The fact that this intrinsic nature is inherent within man does not necessarily mean it is always active and alert. It does though attract the aware and conscious among men towards their true nature. Lack of

awareness, atmospheric consequences and perverted influences might deprive man from the realisation of this nature; furthermore these distortions can also occur in our other instincts, which stem from this very intrinsic nature.

The argument for inquiring into religion is strengthened by the independent instinct of man, which does not require any reason or proof for its accountability. However the Qur’an and traditions provide us with testimony that religion is intrinsic to man, despite the fact that men in their ignorance may deny this fact. “Rather man desires to go on living viciously”. (al-Qiyāmah:5) If man is not consciously aware of his inherent nature, he will fail to witness its effects and thus deny its existence. Due to this fact we will provide the reader with the following intellectual proofs.

a. The significance of inquiring into religion.

It has become clear that the inherent nature of man to know reality and the desire to accomplish worldly bounties are the impetus for the realisation of different beneficial perspectives and knowledge.

By looking back into history man becomes aware that the best of men have all proclaimed that they were sent by the Creator in order to deliver a message and guide mankind. Furthermore, for this deliverance they have achieved all that they could and have even sacrificed their lives for it. On this basis the natural instincts of man will inspire him to inquire into religion and to perceive whether the messengers and their messages are true and in line with logical reasoning or not. When man realises that such invitations encompass felicity and eternal pleasures, resulting in departure from eternal chastisement and loss, what reason will he have for not investigating religion?

There is the possibility that man may not decide to pursue such a line of inquiry, due to his own laziness, apathy or prospect of religion bringing undesired restrictions. In this case man should prepare himself to face the consequences of his actions, which may result in eternal chastisement.

The condition of such individuals, who are indifferent to religion, has been likened to being more severe than that of an immature sick child, who for the fear of bitter tasting medicine avoids approaching a doctor. The child due to his young age is unable to calculate such loss or gain, but an individual who is aware and has the intellectual capacity to determine and foresee the outcome, cannot exchange such worldly and temporal pleasures for eternal punishment. The Qur’an has regarded such heedless individuals who barter eternal loss for the worldly and timely pleasures as animals or even worse.

“They are like cattle; rather they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless”.(al-A’rāf:179)

In another instance, the Qur’an has mentioned:

“Indeed the worst of beasts in Allah’s sight are the deaf and the dumb who do not apply reason”. (al-Anfāl:22)

b. Resolution of a doubt

It is possible that certain individuals may view inquiring into religion as unbeneficial, as it would not provide them with the desired or sufficient

results. They therefore prefer to utilise their time and energy pursuing issues, which will produce for them a fruitful outcome.

In order to resolve this doubt it must be argued that the resolutions of religious issues are in no way inferior to other sciences. We are also aware that resolving a scientific issue can be a lengthy and drawn out process, therefore investigating religion cannot be forsaken on the basis that it will utilise too much time and energy.

Furthermore probability is not a rationale; the revenue from this probability must also be taken into consideration. For instance:

in business ‘A’ there is a 5% chance of being successful and in business B a 10% chance. However the revenue provided in A will be $1000 and in B will be $100. Hence business A is five times more preferable than business B because of the prospective profit.

We would conclude therefore that the possibility of the outcome of inquiring into religion is of infinite benefit, even if the result of arriving at certainty is weak.

Research made into religious matters is significantly more important than those made into more limited issues, unless one can reach certainty that investigating religion is pointless; but where would man find such certainty?

Questions:

  1. Why does man not research into all the different realities?

  2. Explain the necessity of investigating the principles of religion.

  3. What is the meaning of a ‘sense of religiosity’, and what are the proofs for its existence?

  4. Can researching into religious issues be abandoned with the excuse of there being no hope of reaching certainty? Why?