An-nuur Na. 161

AN-NUUR Na.161 Rabiul Thani 1419, Agosti 7-13, 1998

TUISHENI Somo: Tawhiid Form III Hoja za wakanao kuwepo Mwenyezi Mungu

Makafiri wanadai kuwa suala la imani juu ya Mungu Muumba (Mwenyezi Mungu (s.w.) ni suala la kibubusa (la kufuata mkumbo pasina hoja yoyote). Comforth, ni miongoni mwa wanachuoni wa kilahidi wanaokataa wazi wazi kuwepo kwa Mwenyezi Mungu (s.w.), na ameandika, katika kitabu chake, The Dialectical Materialism uk.21 kwamba:

"Conception of supernatural spiritual being seem to have their justification not of course in any evidence of the senses (but)......"

"..... Fikra juu ya Mungu Muumba kwa ujumla haina ushahidi wowote unaotokana na milango ya fahamu (lakini)....."

Sababu i zilizowapelekea makafiri wa kale na wa leo kudai kuwa hapana Mola Muumba ni hizi zifuatazo:

i) Mwenyezi Mungu hayupo kwa sababu haonekani wala hadirikiki kwa milango ya fahamu.

ii) Mwenyezi Mungu amefanywa kuwepo na mwanaadamu kutokana na fikra finyu na uduni wa maendeleo ya sayansi na teknologia.

iii) Hapana Muumba bali vitu vyote vimetokana na maada iliyopitiwa na mabadiliko ya kidogo kidogo.

iv) Kama Muumba yupo ni ipi nasaba yake au alitokeaje.

Wakati wa Nabii Musa Makafiri walidai kumuona Mwenyezi Mungu kama inavyobainika katika aya zifuatazo:

"Na walisema (makafiri wa Kiquraish kumuambia Muhammad (s.a.w.)." Hatuwezi kukuamini mpaka utububujishie chemchem katika ardhi (hii ya Makka) au... utuletee Mwenyezi Mungu (na malaika uso kwa uso."

Makafiri wa zama hizi, kama akina Cornforth, wanadai kuwa:

"..... Fikra juu ya Mungu Muumba kwa ujumla haina ushahidi wowote unaotokana na milango ya fahamu....."1

Udhaifu wa Hoja hii ya makafiri uko wazi kama ifuatavyo:

i) Milango ya fahamu ina udhaifu na mipaka finyu kiasi kwamba si lazima ujuzi unaopata kupitia milango ya fahamu, kila mara uwe wa kweli. Kwa mfano mtu anapokuwa mbali na kitu anachokitazama, huonekana kidogo kuliko umbile lake halisi na kila kinapozidi kuwa mbali hupungua umbile lake machoni na hatimaye kutoweka kabisa machoni. Tukiendelea na mfano huu wa mlango wa kuona, utaona kuwa kitu tunachokiangalia kikiwa kidogo sana hatuwezi kukiona. Kwa mfano vijidudu (virusi) mbali mbali vinavyotusumbua katika miili yetu, hatuvioni kwa macho ya kawaida ila mpaka tutumie darubini (microscope). Hali kadhalika milango ya fahamu wakati mwingine hudanganya, yaani huleta picha isiyo ya kweli isiyolingana na hali halisi. Ili kuthibitisha hili hebu turejee mifano miwili ifuatayo:

Mfano wa Kwanza

Ni muiko wa mwanga (Refraction of light) Muiko wa mwanga hufanya vitu vilivyo majini vionekane vikubwa kuliko umbile lake halisi na vionekanae kuwa karibu zaidi kuliko kina halisi.

Mfano wa Pili: Ni ule wa mazigazi (mirage). Wakati wa jua kali katika barabara iliyonyooka, kwa mbali panaonekana kama kuna bwawa la maji, lakini ukikaribia pale huyakuti maji.

Udhaifu huu haupatikanai kwenye mlango wa kuona tu bali ukichunguza utaona kila milango wa fahamu una udhaifu. Kwa mfano masikio yetu yana mipaka. Hayawezi kunasa mawimbi yote ya sauti yaliyomo angani mpaka tuwe na nyenzo za kunasia sauti hizo kama vile Radio, T.V. n.k. Baadhi ya wanyama hasa wanyama pori wanauwezo zaidi wa kusikia sauti zetu zikiwa mbali kuliko sisi. Pua zetu zinauwezo mdogo sana wa kutambua harufu ya kila kitu. Mbwa anatuzidi sana katika kutambua harufu.

Kutokana na udhaifu huu wa milango ya fahamu, si busara kudai kuwa Mwenyezi Mungu (s.a.w.) hayupo kwa kuwa sisi hatuna uwezo wa kumdiriki kwa milango ya fahamu kama vile kuona, kusikia, kunusa, kwa sababu kuna vitu chungu nzima tusivyoweza kuiviona, kuvisikia, kuvinusa, kuvionja au kuvigusa (kuvihisi) na bado tunakiri kuwepo kwavyo kwa ushahidi mbali mbali. Ni vema tufahamu kuwa milango ya fahamu, sio njia pekee ya kufahamia mambo. Wakati mwingine tunafahamu mambo mbali mbali kwa kutumia mantiq, uzoefu na majaribio. Je, tutakataa kuwa dunia ni Mviringo na inazunguka kwa kuwa hatuioni na hatuhisi mzunguko wake? Je, tutakataa kuwepo kwa hewa ya aina ya "Oxygen" kwa kuwa hatuwezi kuiona, kuinusa, kuionja au kuigusa?

Islamic Knowledge "A" Level

Tawhiid Form V

The Power of Almighty God

Some of the positive attributes of God are as follows: Power, Knowledge and Divine unity.

Power

In defining power, it can be said that one is powerful if he can act whenever he wants to and refrain from action whenever he doesn’t. Therefore, ‘powerful’ is one who, firstly, has will (by virtue of this definition, power cannot be attributed to stones, plants, and, in short, all things devoid of will) and, secondly, the freedom to act or not to act, or both. Thirdly, his will only confirms either one of the two alternatives of action or inaction. Therefore, the domain of will is more restricted than that of power. Fourthly, since will is always related to some action of which one who wills has some kind of knowledge – because one cannot will to do something which is unknown to him – it could, therefore, be said that knowledge and awareness precedes will.

Moreover, since will has been included in the definition of power, therefore, in accordance with this definition, every ‘powerful’ being, in relation to what it wills, possesses knowledge of it as well.

Now, let us see how we can demonstrate the attribute of power in relation to God. In the proof of the existence of the Necessary Being, it is shown that the chain of possibilities and causes originates from the First Cause. The existence of all phenomena is ultimately derived from the First Cause and, therefore, they have, in some way or other, a pre-existence in the First Cause. If the First Cause were totally devoid of them, that is, if it had no power over their creation, they could not have come into existence. Therefore, the coming into existence of a thing is also a sign of the existence of the attribute of power in its power of the creator. Accordingly, the proof of the First Cause includes the demonstration of the attribute of power in the First Cause. If the First Cause were devoid of power, no effect could result from It, and thereby It could not have been the First Cause.

On the other hand, it is clearly evident from the proof of order in the universe that the Creator of order must have power – in the sense as has already been mentioned; that is, power embracing knowledge and will. For, if He lacks knowledge, He cannot shape and arrange the ingredients of an orderly system in such a manner that a network of necessary relationships is established between the ingredients, and some kind of definite purpose is realized within that system.

Moreover, if His power is not accompanied by will (that is, inclination which arises from freedom) but, like the force of gravity, is exercised automatically without exercise of will, it necessities that the system be eternal and not created; because, the First Cause as the fountainhead of power – and ,likewise, power itself, which is Its essential attribute – is eternal; therefore, the universe, as the order arising from the First Cause, must also be eternal and without beginning. This is a brief discussion about the meaning of power and affirmation of the attribute of power with respect to Good. Now let us consider its scope and extent. According to Quranic testimony,philosophical proofs and all revealed Scriptures, the power of God is infinite and absolute. That is, God is omnipotent; for Him nothing is impossible. The following statement is recurringly made by the Holy Quran:

Indeed God has power over everything.

His command, when He intends (to create) anything, is only to say to it, ‘Be’, and it is. (36:82)

Here, very often, this question is asked: Does God have the power over any and everything imaginable? Can God, possibly, make two plus two equal to five, or insert a bigger body into a smaller one without the bigger body becoming small or the smaller one becoming larger? Certain Twaghut philosophers, such as Descartes, have maintained that the meaning of Divine omnipotence is that God’s power encompasses everything and that nothing is impossible for Him. Therefore, they say, God can ordain that 2+2 should equal to 5 or 7, and so bring about things which to use appear impossible. Of course, in the present world, He deems not to do such things, but if He wills to do so, He can. In order to answer the above question, and to examine the view of Descartes, the meaning of ‘impossible’ in all its various senses must at first be examined; then it must be seen which of these meanings pertains to the power of God.

The Meaning of Impossibility

The word ‘impossible’ is used in three different senses:

Inherent impossibility

Impossibility of occurrence

Habitual impossibility

Inherent Impossibility: It applies to a statement which, if assumed to be true, would imply self-contradiction. It refers to situations which are logically impossible. That is, it necessitates that something should be both existent and non-existent at the sametime. It applies to statements like the above-mentioned example relating to insertion of a bigger body into a smaller one larger; because, if true, it would lead to the conclusion that the bigger body in its state of largeness should not be large, since a larger body can be inserted into a smaller one only if it becomes smaller itself; that is, it should not be large, and this is a contradition.

Similarly, the proposition 2+2=5 is necessarily self-contradictory, because if 2 books are added to 2 other books, and if instead of 4 we have 5 books, it means that 2+2 is and also is not 2+2, because when 2+2=5, it means it is not equal to 4. So 2 books plus 2 books makes at the same time 4 and not 4 books.

Islamic Knowledge for "A" Level Fiqh Form V The concept of Taqwa in Sharia

The prosperity of society depends not so much upon the rigour of law as upon righteousness inspired by the fear of God i.e., Taqwat. And, therefore, Shari’ah is a code of moral conduct, Taqwa being the standard for the judgment of human actions: ‘O female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify each other; surely the noblest of you in the sight of God is he that fears God most.’

The very idea that ‘God knows what the soul of man whispereth to him and that He is closer to him than his jugular vein’; and ‘three persons speak not privately together, but He is their fourth, nor five, but He is their sixth, nor fewer not more, but where ever they be He is with them’; and that ‘whether he makes known what is in his mind or hide it, He will bring him to account for it’, is enough to strike terror in the heart of God-fearing man and make him abstain from evil thinking, let alone evil doing.

The law, therefore, remains content with prescribing punishment for the crime of grave nature such as murder, physical injury, adultery, fornication, theft, high-way robbery, calumny, and wine drinking. For the most part, law is not coercive but corrective and persuasive.

The chief importance of the Shari’ah lies in this that it builds the mind and particularly the character of man in such a manner that he takes pleasure in doing good to others. This is most effective in establishing order and peace. Character and conduct are of nearly the same meaning. Character, according to some scholars, lies in the will, and not in the intellect. Character, they say, is continuity of purpose and attitude: and these are will and a ‘good will’ is profounder and more reliable than a clear mind, ‘Brilliant qualities of mind, according to them, win admiration, but never affection; and ‘all religions promise a reward….for excellence of the will or heart, but none for excellence of the head’. To Schopenhauer, the World is the will to live, while in Islam, The world is the will to live for others, which requires the purification of soul.

Purification of Soul

Shari’ah believes in the purification of soul or Tazkiat al-Nafs and aims at the very heart of man which is the seat of emotions and controls the desires that are directed to the possession of some object from which pleasure is expected. Desire is often so personal that its satisfaction leads men to deviate from the right path. To control such desires has seemed more fundamental than their satisfaction, and the proverbial saying is that it is better, by far, to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. Man, therefore, is enjoined to act with an eye on the Hereafter and the pillars of Islam – Belief in the One God, Prayers (Salat), Fasting (Saum), Poor-due (Zakat), and Hajj (Pilgrimage) – are contrived in such a manner that they purify the soul and divert the attention of man from selfishness to selflessness, from self-seeking to self-sacrificing.

The Objectives and Characteristics of the Shari’ah

Let us now proceed to understand the scheme of life envisaged by the Shari’ah. To understand that scheme, it is essential that we should start with a clear conception of the objectives and the fundamentals of Shari’ah.

The main objective of the Shari’ah is to construct human life on the basis of Ma’rufat (virtues) and to cleanse it of the Munkarat (vices). The term Ma’rufat denotes all the virtures and good qualities that have always been accepted as "good" by the human conscience. Conversely, Munkarat denotes all the sins nd evils that have always been condemned by human nature as "evil". In short, the Ma’rufat are in harmony with human nature and its requirements in general a nd the Munkarat are just the opposite. The Shari’ah gives a clear view of these Ma’rufat and Munkarat and states them as the norms to which the individual and social behaviour should conform.