Wahi - Intellect and emotions - Part 1.

The Wahi 4, Wahi and Iman.

 

The Wahi 4, Wahi and Iman.

     

Iman means believing in something after considerable thought. Many ideas are floating in the world; the wahi offers a unique perspective on life that cannot be imposed on someone; it is a belief that requires complete satisfaction of both mind and heart. The Quran says, “If Allah willed, all on earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they become believers?” (10:99). In other words, compulsion and iman are contradictory terms that cannot coexist. Allah has given the right of choice to all human beings. Therefore, no compulsion must be used to alter it.

People often ask what Allah provided that was missing in human life, which He introduced through wahi, setting them apart from other creations. Wahi represents concepts that were unknown to humans. Just as humans cannot grasp life after death, nafs, the law of requital, or God, they also struggle with ideas that transcend beyond the senses, and they can only comprehend physical entities. However, personality is not a physical object, so humans are incapable of understanding it only with the use of senses; the same can be said about the personality of Allah and nafs.      

       All religions except Islam advocate that iman and intellect are contradictory ways of thinking and cannot coexist. To have iman, one must accept the dogmas of the religion without question. Thus, reasoning and critical thinking are often detrimental to accepting dogmas of religion.

       The Quranic way of presenting its ideas is distinct; unlike many religions, it invites and encourages individuals to reflect and think about its verses. “Will they then not meditate on the Quran or are their locks on their hearts?” (47:24). The wahi in the Quran informs us that human life does not end with the decay of the physical body; nafs is not a result of physical evolution, and it defies the laws governing the physical body. It does not cease to exist after the physical body's decay; instead, it enters a new life. The belief in the continuity of life and the concept of nafs rely on each other; they lose significance without one another. The same holds good for believing in Allah and the law of requital.

       A person who does not believe that Allah has created the universe and is governing it, and for whom the universe came into existence by chance without any purpose, cannot understand the concepts mentioned earlier, and nor can they believe in morality, because without the concept of accountability and Allah, morality fails to make any sense.

       “Our Rabb! Raise in their midst a messenger from among them who shall recite thy revelation unto them, instruct them in the scripture, explain the wisdom it contains, and make them grow,” (2:129). This is the prayer of Ibrahim and Ismail after building the Kabbah; the Prophet Muhammad and the revelations he received were the answer to their prayers. The wahi is not given individually; it is given through prophets, which broadens our outlook in life and tells us that we are answerable for our actions.

       Humanity began receiving wahi at the dawn of civilization, when people started living together and their interests clashed, thereby highlighting the need for regulation. As such, Allah sent His messengers with wahi containing regulations for forming a balanced society where everyone lived in harmony and happiness. At that time, there were no printing presses, and the human population was small and scattered, resulting in the slow transmission of information. Therefore, prophets were sent in quick succession to transform various civilizations. When civilizations settled into organized groups, Allah sent His final and complete message to humanity through His last Prophet, Muhammad. The Quran is the only book that contains the untampered and unadulterated wahi. To be a Muslim, one must believe in one creator, prophets, books, the day of judgment, Malika (the agents that conduct and implement the orders of God), nafs or personality, continuity of life, and the law of Requital.

       The wahi is based on firm immutable concepts, and without a clear understanding of them, one cannot form a correct idea about the system that wahi gave. This system aims to emphasize the development of nafs and character. The development of everyone is possible in society. Wahi provides the fundamental principles, along with the enthusiasm to carry them out. Thinking is essential for understanding these concepts, so iman is not a blind faith; it is accepting the truth with complete satisfaction of heart and mind that cannot exist without thinking.

 

The Wahi – 3 “Intellect and Emotions”.

 

        The laws given by wahi are essential for the growth and development of personality, and wahi is not a product of human intellect; it does not mean that human intellect is incapable of understanding the truth put forward by wahi. Here, I must point out that human research is not final. In his book, Philosophical Aspects of Modern Science, James Arnold Luther said that although the system of nature is simple, it is astonishingly complicated in detail. The final word on any scientific topic must be left for the last man on Earth.

       Intellect is a precious gift given to human beings. The Quran tells us about the human creation, “Who began the creation of man from clay. Then He perfected his faculties and put a dab of divine energy in man. He has bestowed upon him hearing, sight, and intellect” (32:8-10). The material collected by the senses gains the first or perceptual knowledge; conceptual knowledge comes later. However, all of this is due to intellect and thinking, which are the specialties of human beings. The Qur'an says, “In the sight of Allah, those who behave like the deaf and dumb and do not use their intellect are the worst creation " (8:22). Every individual who believes in the truth that the Quran puts forward struggles to achieve excellence in nafs’ development. The ability to analyze and reason out their problems distinguishes humans from animals.

       “Civilized people living in cities or people residing in villages, “says the Quran, “most of them are headed for the path that leads them to hell. They have hearts, but they do not use them for understanding; they have eyes, but they do not use them for seeing; and they have ears, but they do not use them for listening. They are like cattle: only more astray. They are utterly heedless,” (7:179). Reason is the only feature that distinguishes a human from an animal; those who do not use this gift live on a lower level than an animal because an animal uses all the faculties Allah gives. Their low desires easily trap them and lead them to destruction.

       The solutions for the intricate problems of life are vividly explained in the Quran; humans can fully understand and use them to their advantage if they decipher these verses critically and wisely and interpret them logically. Almost every third or fourth page of the Quran emphasizes thinking, reflecting, and reasoning. “Thus does Allah make His verses clear to you that you may reflect upon this world and the next” (2:219). In this verse, humans are advised to think about the world in which we live and the next that we will face after death; we can compare the short-term benefits of this world with the permanent advantages of the next.

       Some people point out that intellect is the cause of all evil in the world. A battle of wits is going on in this world; those who are cleverer exploit less clever folks. Similar is the case of nations; knowledgeable and advanced nations exploit and take away their resources from less advanced ones. Undeniably, intellect plays a significant role in destruction, but it does not mean intellect is evil. Intellect is created by Allah, who never creates evil. It is a torch of light to show the balanced path in life. Intellect is a neutral faculty; its use makes it good or bad. Wahi trains it and marks the path that leads to the safety and betterment of humans.

       Emotions are another aspect of human life and are the basis for action. They contain tremendous energy that leads to actions. Our desires arise from emotions; occasionally, some desires become so strong that they overpower the intellect, and it starts forming justifiable excuses for wrong actions. “Is he who relies on a clear proof from Allah,” says the Quran, “like those for whom the evil that they do is beautiful while they follow their lusts,” (47:16). Furthermore, this type of approach leads them to a situation where they face limitations of use, thinking powers are eradicated, and they heedlessly follow their emotions.

       When a person is under the influence of alcohol, his knowledge, experience, and wisdom cannot work correctly; similarly, a person who is overpowered by his emotions loses his senses and, without thinking, follows his emotions. The Quran portrays such a person and says, “Have you reflected over the case of him who has made his desires his God? According to the law of requital, despite intellect and knowledge, it turns him astray, seals up his hearing and heart, and sets on his sight a covering” (45:23). After stating this fact, the Quran supports it with examples of ancient history and declares that these nations were not destroyed due to lack of wisdom and knowledge, they were eradicated because they denied the law of Allah. Their emotions painted a glorious illusion for them, and they heedlessly followed their emotions. “These nations were more established and influential than you. Their eyes saw everything. Their ears heard everything. Their hearts understood everything. (It means they had vision and wisdom) When they followed their emotions, flouted, and neglected the law of Allah, their wisdom and vision were of no avail, and that which they used to mock encompassed them (46:27).

       Wahi comes to our aid in marking the spheres of intellect and emotion. The wahi recognizes the strength and power of emotions. Unlike Vidant and mysticism, it disagrees that emotions are evil and hinder human growth, so humans must destroy them, but humans cannot destroy emotions; they can only suppress them. The rule of psychology is that repression leads to perversion, so instead of indulging in useless attempts to eliminate emotions, humans should subject them to the guidance of Allah’s wahi, which can lead intellect and emotions to work coherently for the peace and well-being of all humanity.

 

             

The Wahi - 2.