Arguments for Messengership – Part 46

Recap: How can we be sure that the person known as “Muhammad” is the messenger of God.  Is the message he brought to us really from the Creator of the universe or himself?

The Reasonings–Page 140

“The first is that you may see the allegorical and ambiguous-seeming statements of the Qur’an as incompatible with its matchless eloquence that is based on its stylistic uniqueness, its clarity of statement, and its linguistic purity and fluency.”

Although the Quran is full of allegories, it addresses everyone regardless of their capacity.  That is what makes the Quran a universal message.

• Quran in its text is static but its meaning is dynamic. If it was otherwise, then it could not be guidance for humanity.
• Any meaning that is static is bound to be human production. If a static statement claims to be uttered by the Creator of the universe which is ever dynamic, it must necessarily be product of the Infinite knowledge, that is Divine. Also, human production is based on past i.e. previous discoveries. However, what we expect from scripture is to give me some projection for the future so that it is valid to me right now.  Can any human do this?    Hence, Quran which claims to be the Divine Speech, should not be a man’s word and should include universal guidance valid for all times and all people.

“The overwhelming majority of people make up the general public. The Revealer of the Qur’an considers the level of the majority, without ever neglecting the academics or intellectuals. These latter can easily understand anything that is addressed to the general public, and so they will find their full share in the Qur’an’s address. If the Revealer had considered the level of the elite, then the overwhelming majority of people would have been deprived of His Message. The general public cannot easily understand the abstract truths in their abstractness, so those truths should be conveyed to them in concrete forms. This requires the use of some literary devices, such as comparisons, similes, personifications, and metaphors, which we find contained in the allegorical statements of the Qur’an. The Qur’an has made them binoculars for the general public so that they can observe the abstract truths. Even though it is possible for some to be entangled in this usage and the apparent meanings of the verses containing them, and thus misunderstand some Divine truths—such as attributing a body, time, and space to the Divine Being, and comparing Him to the created—careful observation can easily penetrate the truths behind this usage. For example, when thinking on the verse, The All-Merciful has established Himself on the Supreme Throne (20: 5), a person can see the truth that God is the sole Ruler of the universe. The verse establishes in our minds God’s supreme authority and dominion, and that God is not just the Creator of the universe, but also is its absolute Sovereign and Ruler. Having created the universe, He has not detached Himself from it, and has not become indifferent to His creation. On the contrary, He effectively rules the universe as a whole, as well as controlling every small part of it. All power and sovereignty rest with Him. Everything in the universe is fully in His grasp and is subservient to His Will and Power.  In order to establish this truth in our minds, the Qur’an speaks at the level of the general public and presents to their view a sovereign’s rule of His country from His throne. This style of the Qur’an is described as “God’s lowering His speech to the level of human understanding.” You can also consult the Tenth Premise in the first part of this book. Presenting abstract truths at a level at which human beings can understand with the use of literary devices is a requirement of eloquence.”

Do not read the text to get information, rather read the text to confirm or reject what is presented.  Let us train on this.

General public are the majority of the people who are not professionals.  However, the Revealer of the Scripture speaks to everyone including intellectuals and academics who seem to understand the allegories easily.  Most of the time, the general public read allegories and do not really understand its meaning and just take it literally.

Eloquence of the Quran is such that it addresses to intellectual and general people.  Example: is the sun turning or is the earth revolving?  The point is do you see movement at every moment without performing any calculations?  Yes.  As a general public, you are expected to explain the reason of this movement or the calculation.  Where did the calculation come from, an intellect will ask?  When you say that the sun is moving, do you understand the teaching of the Quran wrongly?  No, it has nothing to do with that.  The main point is how do I explain the turning and revolving (regardless of what is revolving the sun or the earth?) and as a result we can calculate it?

• Never read the Quran to get information. Be wary of various interpretations of the Quran out there that may present any subject as information.

Comment: If the message is Divine, then why would I say that it contradicts the purpose of the message?

That is the problem.  We must read the Quran to find out the purpose in my existence.  We do not hear any dispute among the direct followers of the Messenger (Prophet Muhammad PBUH), because they were not after information, rather they wanted to live a meaningful life devoid of contradicting their reality.

What is the purpose of existence of this wonderful universe?  Example: How is a cell acting according to calculation (without randomness)?  If there was randomness in creation, then no one can study that because you cannot put randomness into calculation. We can also use statistics and make the probability of an order. If something seems to be happening randomly, that means we do not know yet how to explain that phenomenon. That shows our ignorance about the quality of that event taking place within the well-ordered universe.

• If scientists do not have a biased mind set, then there would be admiring the universe more and more as they discover more and more of the order. The problem is that we do not question the purpose in our existence (Why do I exist?) to arrange my life.
• Philosophers say that you exist to satisfy your temporary, transient pleasures. Is that enough as a purpose for one’s existence?    Think about it!

If you say that the purpose in my existence is to have a pleasurable life, then to pursue pleasure will be legitimate.  Can you say that I must have pleasure in this ever-fleeting life?

The animal does not see the contradiction in its existence and what it pursues.  Every bird wakes up in the morning and look for food, they are happy and do not need to go to psychologists.

First ask: What is the purpose in my existence?  Then accordingly I need to have objectives according to the purpose in my existence.  This civilization never encourages you to question that because they do not know the answers.  That is why theories are put forward to explain existence to human beings within the universe itself only; they could not go beyond the limitations of the temporary existence and find a remedy for the desire of human nature for eternal satisfaction. The problem rises from neglecting the human nature and reducing it to biological body only, that means another kind of animal, that is it.  As soon as we accept this, we reject religion.  All divinely revealed religious traditions are based on the Necessary Existence of a Conscious Creator.  If someone rejects to look into the Conscious Creator saying that I am not a theologist, then they will keep struggling to seek the truth.