Islamic Intellectual Theology Lesson 10 – Tawheed Remaining Proofs of Existence of God

1. Islamic Intellectual TheologyLesson 10 – TawheedRemaining Proofs of Existence of God The Existence of God and the Words of Ahlul Bayt (as) and Their Followers ICIS - MILANI Edited: May 29, 2009 - BHD

2. The Islamic ‘Urafaa’ (Mystics) have Condemned the Philosophers for: Using Allah’s creations to indicate the self of God. Using the physical (seen) realm to prove something which is metaphysical (unseen) Muhyiddeen ibn Arabi says,” God is present and was never absent, and the world is absent which was never was obvious.” (the human discovered and still is discovering things in the world, a lot is hidden and unknown) Al-Junayd al-Baghdadi was asked about the proof of God’s existence, to which he answered:“The morning suffices the use of the lantern [In the presence of the morning the lantern is useless . God’s obviousness is like the morning and the lantern is the indicator which gives light].”

3. Conclusion of Last Lesson The essence of His existence is what guides us to His presence DIRECTLY without any mediation. He puts His love into the hearts of those who seek Him. Knowing God by His existence directly because He is more obvious than any of His creation. This is an internal method; the method of mystics, which opposes the external method which was the method of the philosophers and the scientists.

4. Philosophy of URAFA’ or Mystics: The indicator must be more obvious than the indicated Without any doubt the existence of God and His perfection is more obvious than His creation, since all the other things are imperfect, and the He is the one who is perfect. Therefore His existence eternally as being God by it self indicates the knowledge of His existence. He is perfect, because the imperfect cannot exist for ever essentially. The perfect existent is eternal, and does not accept to cease (as a state). It is not dependent on anything else and is synonymous with every type of perfection.

5. Knowing the Soul and God Imam Ali (as): “Who ever knows his soul will know his Lord” [MUN A’RAFA NAFSAH A’RAFA RABBAH] The scholars derived about 12 meanings of this quote. Some of them are as follows: 1. As the human body is governed by the soul (metaphysical intellectual), this whole universe is governed by God (metaphysical intelligent) Soul exists before the body, and God exited before the universe (infinite) The soul is an unknown creature and can only be known by its properties. No one knows its self, and God can only be known by His attributes because He is metaphysical. No one knows what He is, but He is known by His attributes. If no one can know the self of the soul which is one of the creations of Allah (swt), then how can a person know the creator.

6. He is Above of What They Say قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُ آلِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لاَّبْتَغَوْاْ إِلَى ذِي الْعَرْشِ سَبِيلاً سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ [Shakir 17:42] Say: If there were with Him gods as they say, then certainly they would have been able to seek a way to the Lord of power.[Shakir 17:43] Glory be to Him and exalted be He in high exaltation above what they say. [Shakir 37:180] Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Honor, above what they describe.

7. Whispers of Imam Zainul Abdeen (as) – For Mystics اِلـهي قَصُرَتِ الاَْلْسُنُ عَنْ بُلُوغِ ثَنائِكَ كَما يَليقُ بِجَلالِكَ، وَعَجَزَتِ الْعُقُولُ عَنْ اِدْراكِ كُنْهِ جَمالِكَ، وَانْحَسَرَتِ الاَْبْصارُ دُونَ النَّظَرِ اِلى سُبُحاتِ وَجْهِكَ، وَلَمْ تَجْعَلْ لِلْخَلْقِ طَريقاً اِلى مَعْرِفَتِكَ اِلاّ بِالْعَجْزِ عَنْ مَعْرِفَتِك اِلـهي ما أَلَذَّ خَواطِرَ الاِْلْهامِ بِذِكْرِكَ عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ، وَما اَحْلَى الْمَسيرَ اِلَيْكَ بِالاَْوْهامِ في مَسالِكِ الْغُيُوبِ، َ My God, tongues fall short of attaining praise of Thee proper to Thy majesty, intellects are incapable of grasping the core of Thy beauty, eyes fail before gazing upon the glories of Thy face, and Thou hast assigned to Thy creatures no way to know Thee save incapacity to know Thee! My God, how agreeable for hearts are the thoughts inspiring Thy remembrance, how sweet travelling to Thee through imagination upon the roads of the unseen worlds,

8. Dua of 15th Shabaan و قد روي عن الصادق جعفر بن محمد )ع( أنه قال إذا كان ليلة النصف من شعبان…… إنك كما أثنيت على نفسك و فوق مايقول القائلون You are as you praised your self And you are above the words of all those who ascribe Him

9. Dua of Monday كلت الألسن عن غاية صفته ، وانحسرت العقول عن كنه معرفته Tongue-tied and dumbfounded become expression and style while trying to bring into view the gist of His attributes. Reason and intellect bewilder, all amiss while making an effort to know "what He is". www.duas.org/monday.htm

10. Nothing is Like Him فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِير وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ ُ [Shakir 42:11] The Originator of the heavens and the earth; He made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. [Shakir 112:4] And none is like Him. Therefore if a mind pictures or reaches any thing or attribute of God , then for sure it is not Him and He is above such

11. Chapter of TAWHEED فعن الامام الصادق (ع) أن أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب قال: «إعرفوا الله بالله، عن الامام علي بن موسى الرضا (ع) ،قال: «عن أدنى المعرفة،فقال:الإقرار بأنه لا إله غيره و لا شبه له و لا نظير،و أنه قديم مثبت موجود غير فقيد،و أنه ليس كمثله شي‏ء. Know Allah (swt) by Allah (swt) (not by any thing else such as his creation

12. External Guidance As mentioned the Infallibles (AS) do not seek Allah swt externally but internally But is that method in contradict with the verses which command the people to seek the external and indirect guidance by looking into the creation, such as: أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَاء كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ [Shakir 88:17] Will they not then consider the camels, how they are created? [Shakir 88:18] And the heaven, how it is reared aloft, [Shakir 88:19] And the mountains, how they are firmly fixed, [Shakir 88:20] And the earth, how it is made a vast expanse?

13. The Creation Indicates the Creator وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِّنْهُ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لَّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ ثُمَّ كُلِي مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلاً يَخْرُجُ مِن بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاء [Shakir 45:13] And He has made subservient to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, all, from Himself; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect. [Shakir 16:68] And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build: [Shakir 16:69] Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colors, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who reflect.

14. Conclusion • Without any doubt the direct guidance from within (internal) is the best • The internal guidance requires purification of the NAFS (Control over ones desires, over the ego, and observing the patience. • Since many do not posses such qualifications, then they have to go through the external guidance and using the theory of causality. That is the reason Qur'an instructs the people to ponder into the creations which is the leading sign of the existence of God. • The external way is long but freedom of intellect and easy for the beginners. The majority of the people can take this direction • The internal way is short and fast but requires a cleansed NAFS • Both methods are praised and many times the journey for the existence of God starts externally and ends with the internal.