A LITTLE PHILOSOPHY INCLINETH MAN’S MIND TO ATHEISM, BUT DEPTH IN PHILOSOPHY BRINGETH MAN’S MIND ABOUT TO RELIGION | Essay
A LITTLE PHILOSOPHY INCLINETH MAN’S MIND TO ATHEISM, BUT DEPTH IN PHILOSOPHY BRINGETH MAN’S MIND ABOUT TO RELIGION.
Outline:
1.
Introduction
Religion is the pinnacle of reasoning
Thesis: While a cursory glance at philosophy
may lead to atheism, a thorough exploration reveals religion as the apex of
enlightenment, attainable only through rigorous philosophical inquiry.
2.
Two Paths to Religion
(i)
Unquestioned faith - Insights from Rumi
(ii)
Philosophical path with critical and logical scrutiny
3.
Why the Philosophical Path Initially Leads to Atheism?
- Shallow philosophical understanding yields
flawed conclusions.
- Segregating philosophy from daily life
results in erroneous beliefs.
- Dismissing multiple gods is necessary for a
firm belief in one God (applicable to monotheistic religions, supported by the
first Kalma of Muslims).
4.
Why the Philosophical Path Ultimately Leads to
Religion?
(i)
Kierkegaard's stages of human enlightenment
(ii)
Al-Ghazali's path to the ultimate truth
(iii)
Sir Syed’s arguments in
"Khutbat-e-Ahmadiyah" - Examination of God's work
(nature) leads to
recognition of God's word (religious)
(iv)
Pragmatic justifications
5.
Conclusion
Marxists might have declared that 'Religion is opium for the
masses' but they have failed to grasp an intricate framework of religion.
Religion is not a product of whimsical or wishful thinking. Nor it is the result
of some sophistry. Religion is a body of prescriptions and proscriptions that
incorporates divine wisdom Therefore, some may adopt a simplistic approach to
blindly believe what religion presents. This might be an instant approach but
fallible too. To build a strong and staunch belief in religion, one has to pass
through a path that is more demanding and challenging than this philosophical
path. This course has different stages though which one has to pass. Initial
stages lead to a delusionary result of atheism, one has to tread carefully through
these stages, for one is not vulnerable there. If one does not get distracted
and continues to critically pursue the real truth, one will find the truth. The
highest truth is religion. Although a little philosophy inclines a man's mind
to atheism. depth in philosophy brings man’s mind to religion because religion
is the highest step of enlightenment which can be reached only through a rigorous,
critical, and logical approach.
The most simplistic path is to have an unquestioned faith.
This blind belief has its pros and cons. Sufism mainly preaches blind faith in
God but not without reason. Reasons forwarded by followers of this path include
sweetness and purity of this path. They consider it as a shortcut as Rumi
explained in many places in his Masnavi.
"Don't push your head too hard
to find reasons Let it sway in the serene love of the Supreme Lord"
But this approach has its disadvantages. It bypasses critical
examination of the veracity of any religion. It ignores the question that which
religion is to be followed. Moreover, blind faith does not answer pertinent
questions of atheists which can only be answered through logical arguments.
Therefore, the path of unquestioned faith suits only ideal conditions but not
tests of a real and plural world
The second path employs reason and logical tools to find
answers to reality to the ultimate truth. Allah encourages man to employ his
mental facilities to understand deep truths.
"Changes
of days and nights, movement of stars and the moon have great lessons for those
who understand."
Philosophy can be utilized to learn lessons in two ways:
first by sensual experience and second by reasoning. Both of these methods are
interconnected through logic to extract relevant lessons. Man has to skillfully
interplay these two methods. The path of philosophical inquisition has a main
advantage in that it builds a strong foundation for belief in religion.
Moreover, it also complements those beliefs which are truthful.
Traversing through the path of philosophical inquisition
leads to a preliminary stage called atheism. One gets inclined to atheistic
tendencies for many reasons. Half-baked philosophical learning is the main
reason. The philosophical path is usually covered by sensual experience at
first. Empiricist knowledge or knowledge acquired through the senses only can
be misleading. As eyes can only see what is in front of them, ears can hear
only what is close enough but not what is concealed or hidden. Religion is such
a concealed pearl that can only be extracted through appropriate tools. The use
of sensual faculty is insufficient. One might conclude that as God is not
visible He does not exist but this is the flawed conclusion. As Allah has said,
“Your eyes comprehend me not." one has to employ other philosophical tools
to comprehend God fully.
Islam's first Kalma provides an appropriate framework to
build a strong belief in One Allah. Many Muslim philosophers have tried to
decode it using difficult logical techniques, the most popular finding is that
Islam first nullifies all gods and after their negation, it presents the idea
of the oneness of God.
“There is no God, but Allah.”
Muslim philosophers opine that the first stage of firm belief
is the negation of all worldly gods except Allah. After their negation, it is
possible to build faith in the oneness of God.
Various philosophers have tried to justify the understanding
of religion through philosophy. They consider that in this philosophical
inquisition, religion will be the final result. Soren Kierkegaard was an
Existentialist philosopher. He opined that man is unauthentic when he does not
know anything about reality. When he sets out on a journey of enlightenment, he
first reaches the stage of aesthetic personality. Poets, writers, and artists
are at this stage. They consider beauty and happiness to be of ultimate
importance. If one continues to pursue further, he will arrive at a philosophical
stage where he will find, satisfaction and pleasure in reasoning. According to
Kierkegaard reasoning at this stage is flawed as true reality is still
unreached. If such a man continues his pursuit, he will ultimately reach a religious
state where he will find absolute refuge and satisfaction. Kierkegaard believes
this is the highest stage of enlightenment.
Al-Ghazali formulated a “Path to the Ultimate Truth.” He
pointed out that man has many incapacities. Therefore, he cannot grasp the
actual truth. To find this truth either he strives or he submits himself to the
knowledge he already has. If he strives, he passes through various states.
These stages provide incomplete knowledge of the ultimate truth. If one gives
up at any of those earlier stages, he wrongly considers that this is the final
stage. According to Al-Ghazali with progression toward truth, man becomes more
and more capable of grasping higher truth. His sensual and mental faculties
become stronger and more effective accordingly. At earlier stages, he has
developed mental faculties so he is prone to draw false conclusions. Usually,
this conclusion is an outright rejection of the existence of God. If he gives
up there, he will lurch forever in the false belief. If he continues his
pursuit, he will ultimately find the ultimate truth.
Sir Syed and John Dewey separately argued the importance of
religion and its relationship with philosophical struggle. Sir Syed argues that
all-natural things provide testimony of the existence of God but many don’t see
those things in such a way. Sir Syed held that, man at his primitive stage of
understanding considers that natural things have a relationship with God. But
when he closely observes how natural objects function and interact with one
another, he then wants to find answers and reasons behind the functioning of
natural objects if he continuously and rigorously tries to find answers he will
find them. His hedonism and atheism will vanish and he will understand the harmonious
relationship between the work of God and the world of God. He will realize that
the world of God (religion) is the true refuge of humanity. Pragmatists like
John Dewey also declared that religion is beneficial to humankind. One might
disagree with this notion, but when he will critically and closely analyze
humankind, he will build a belief in religion.
To conclude, religion is such a precious pearl that is
concealed under multifold complexities. Those complexities can be resolved only
through logical and philosophical pursuit. Philosophical pursuit employs both the
mental and sensual faculties of human beings. If one does not utilize those
faculties effectively and efficiently, he might draw fallacious conclusions.
But if he applies both faculties harmoniously and continues his pursuit fit
truth with conviction and steadfastness, ultimately, he will unfold the truth of
religion.
“If you will walk towards Allah, He
will come running towards you."
(Hadith Mubarak)