We are going to start discussion of aqaed or theology. By theology we mean whatever is related to our faith and the correct aspect of our belief. We know that, Islam and all Islamic teachings are discussed in three different categories, one is the faith or aqeeda, second is law or shareea, and third is ethics or akhlaq.
So if we study the whole Quran, we see that all these three elements or three subjects have been discussed and dealt with in very deep ways in a variety of discussions and methods.
But InshaAllah , during this holy month of Ramadhan we are chasing only the issue of aqeeda or faith which is called theology.
So this course of Islamic theology InshaAllah will focus on five very important subjects. First, about the existence of the Almighty God, His divine attributes. Second, on free will and justice of Allah subhanahu wa taalaa. Third, on prophet hood and how Allah in order to guide mankind to the right path has sent many messengers to invite people to the right path, to teach them how to differentiate between good and evil. In the fourth section we'll talk about the divine leadership or the succession after the prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. And of course, the fifth chapter or the fifth section is to deal with the day of judgement, resurrection and all other subjects related to this.
Once I was asked to describe Islam in a very brief way, I said that the similitude of Islam is like a marathon. How? Because in marathons, we have a start point, finish point and the path in between. So in Islam, the starting point is to believe in one true Almighty creator, who is the source of wisdom, power, knowledge and every goodness. The finish point is to believe in hereafter, in life after death and the eternal life which starts indeed with the accountability and the day of judgement, attending the court of divine justice and that is on the day of judgement and whatever is related to that. The path in between, this start and finishing point were in a marathon thousands or tens of thousands are struggling and competing with one another to reach at the earliest or to win a medal or whatever prize is there. This path is laid down by human beings like us. But they are inspired by divine wisdom, divine knowledge and assisted in order to be the moral values, the role models, the exemplars who guide us to the truth.
Once we explained the existence of God of course, what follows it is about the divine attributes and one of them is Allah is just and does not wrong anybody.
When we talk about the prophet hood of course, the seal of prophecy or prophet hood, about the prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h, requires one question that who did continue the mission? Who did walk in the footsteps of the prophet? Who was the authority of the prophet in spreading the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h? And that’s why we talk about Imamah.
Now, let's start with the very first essential subject and that is how to prove the existence of God. In reality, many methods have been used in Ilim Alkalaam or Aqaeed, or whatever we call Islamic theology. One of them to analyze the concept of existence and to differentiate between what is inherent and what is acquiring, and that is called normally as a technical term for it the ontological argument. Because ontological argument is focusing on the real meaning of existence. What is existence? And can we divide existence into necessary existent and possible existent (wajib alwojood and mumkin alwojood).
To open up this idea a bit, I would use this example let's say I bring a few drops of oil and I bring a piece of glass, then I drop the molecules of oil on the glass, then I bring some flour and spread it on the glass allowing the flour to absorb all the oil which is on the glass. Then I bring a tissue to wipe completely what is on the glass, after that I wipe my hands with that piece of tissue. Of course when I shake hands with a friend, he notices that my hand is greasy and he would ask where from your hand became oily? I say that it became oily from some flour, from some tissue, from some glass. If I start step by step I say that, oh I touched or wiped my hand with a tissue. He would ask that where from this tissue became oily. I say, oh it became oily from some flour. He would ask where from this flour became oily. I say, from piece of glass. And again, he thinks that I'm pulling his leg and I'm teasing him because all these are not supposed to be a source of oiliness. But when I tell him that this piece of glass was oily because I dropped some oil on it, he will stop asking where from that oil became oily because we cannot imagine oil without being oily. The oiliness in the oil is inherent ( thati) while in the piece of glass ,in the flour ,in the tissue, on my hand is acquiring (kasbi) and here logically we understand that when we face anything which is acquiring, we trace and try to trace back the source of that quality until we reach something that is completely inherent and that quality cannot be separated from it. In this way we understand that all qualities not necessarily existent, oiliness or anything like that.
Ok, we understand that some qualities are acquiring which can be taken from it and given to it, but some others are part of its essence. We can't separate it from it; we can't take it out from it. And in this way we step only one step towards understanding the difference between the necessary existent and the possible existent. We said that all qualities either are part of the essence of that thing or they are given to it and can be taken from it.
Let's assume that I sit on a sofa, and suddenly I feel that my trousers became wet, I try to trace and see where from the trousers or clothes became wet. I look at the sofas, and the sofa by itself is not wet, it's supposed to be dry. So then I see that because the sofa is connected to the wall so that wetness might have come from the wall. I try to see the source of the wetness in the wall, and suddenly I realise there is a crack and a water pipe is leaking there. The moment I find and come to the source of the wetness and that is water, I understand that is the source. So always logically by nature when we look at any quality which is acquiring it is not part of the essence of that thing, we try to trace back to the source. When we put our hands on the source, we stop searching because we found the source.
And in this way one of the philosophical ideas which have been agreed by all schools of thought, or logical understanding and analyses is that every acquiring quality must end up with the source of that quality.
In other words any acquiring quality must refer to the inherent, and when we reach the inherent source of that quality we stop searching.
Now, we said that ontological argument is talking about analysis or understanding or opening up the concept of wojood or existence, we see that there are thousands of things around us which do exist mountains, trees, oceans, stars, the sun, the moon, buildings, animals, insects, ourselves and everything around us. Whether the existence is part of their essence or it is given to them. The only way to realise that is and very simple is to see if they did not exist on a time and later on it exists and after that they seize to exist we understand that existence is not part of their essence. For example myself, one day I was not here, and then I was born. One day I am going to seize to exist and will die.
Every other thing and all the chemical changes, all the elements which move from one stage to another, one day they are there another day they disappear. And all these are evidences that existence for whatever is around us is given to them it is acquiring, it isn’t part of their essence. And because of that we must move to something which is definitely the existence for it is necessary, it is inherent.
By definition that necessary existent, we call it God or Allah, or necessary existent in a sense the source of existence doesn't need existent to be given to Him, rather He is the source of existence. So whatever exists in the world, from the very tiny atoms, molecules until the galaxies, all of them are possible existent (mumkin alwojood). So they need, they beg, they acquire, they need to get that existence and one day they are going to change, disappear and seize to exist but, that source of existence who is necessary existent that existence is part of existence. It cannot be separated; it doesn’t need to be given that.
And here there is one Qur'anic term which is very nice, when talking about need and needlessness, or to be rich or poor, Allah subhanahu wa taala tells us in the Quran (يا ايها الناس انتم الفقراء الى الله والله هو الغني الحميد)
You are in need, in continuous, constant need to Allah and Allah is needless.
So if we talk about this needlessness with regard to existence, Allah does not need anyone to give Him, to provide Him, to give Him the existence whilst everything else needs Him to get, to beg, to acquire existence from Him.
In this way, we don’t need the idea of causality, although we are going to talk about it later. We don’t need to discuss the link between cause and effect, or some other methods of cosmological argument, here we are only focusing on the term or the idea of existence itself and that's why we call it ontological because, onto in Greek or Latin refers to existence.
Now, if we understand the real meaning of existence, we by definition have accepted and known the necessity of the existence of God.
Now, one logical argument will emerge here and that is why do we have to stop at the source? Why it is not possible that we go on and on and on? In logic there is specially about Aristotelian logic, although in all schools but in Aristotelian is more evident the impossibility of (tasalsol) or regress which means that indefinite regress that when you talk about something acquiring and one who has given him that quality and again moved to another one and to another one, why it is not possible to continue forever without stopping somewhere?
In logic we understand that it is impossible. And a very brief example would help us in understanding this, without getting in the deep philosophical discussions that for example, there is a race between two ten fifteen people, they want to compete in running a certain distance and each of them says that I will not start until you start and the other one says the same and everyone depends his action upon the other one, in the end no one will start. And that is to prove the impossibility and indefinite regress is illogical. In this way we say that we have to stop somewhere, and stopping somewhere is when that quality is definitely inherent and not acquiring.
InshaAllah we will continue in the next session about what is called the cosmological argument but inshaAllah this will help us in getting deeper understanding about the ayat of the Quran. Wassalamu Alaikum wa ramat Allah wa barakatu.