KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
MOHAMMAD AL-GHAZALI
(BASED UPON TURKISH TRANSLATION OF
HENERY. A. HOLMES)
Ghazali very explicitly states that
God is exempt from being known "directly" unless He wishes to reveal
Himself through the prophets and Saints". (According to Hadith Quadasi, God is believed
to have said to the Prophet Mohammad, "I was a Hidden Treasure (Kanz-e-Makhfi) then I
desired to be known, so I created a creation to which I made Myself known; then
they knew Me."). Guru Nanak Sahib narrates a similar experience of "hidden
treasure" in his couplet[1] at
page 1035 (sggs)— "For endless eons, there was only utter darkness. There
was no earth or sky; there was only the infinite Command of His Hukam. There
was no day or night, no moon or sun; God sat in primal, profound Samaadhi
(meditation). He created the creation and watches over it; the Hukam of His
Command is overall." The mystical experience of all God-realized souls is identical
except for the alphabetical lexicon and language.
He formed the planets, solar systems, and
nether regions and brought what was hidden. God cannot be determined in any form, shape, quantity,
and even imagination; there is nothing that bears any resemblance to Him; God
forbids that His sovereignty and government should be compared. Allah, as
revealed to Prophet Muhammad, is God in a purely and stringently monotheistic
sense. He's not the "Supreme Being," which implies that there are
other beings; instead, He is "Being" itself.[2]
Specific attributes define his uniqueness. He is "Al-qadeem"
(existence before anything else was), and He is "Al-Baqa" (existing
after all else ceases to be). He's al- Wahid, the one, the unique, the single.
It is a universal knowledge that the world has
known about God by saying the Prophets, Sons of God, Pir-o -Murshid, Sat Gurus,
Perfect Masters, and through their scriptures. Said Jesus, "Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father". Kabir Sahib
mentions "एक कहे तो है नहीं, दो कहूं तो गाल, जैसे को तैसा कहूं कहे कबीर विचार" ॥ "He is
neither one nor two. If God is said to be ( two) -a duality that would be
slanderous; He is what He is". Kabir further explains
"कह कबीर हम धुर की भेदी , हुकम हज़ूरी आए॥ "That I speak of the Divine Secrets as ordained by
God".
Guru Nanak Sahib states--- "By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought,
even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times" (page 1 sggs). The fifth
Sikh Guru Arjan Dev Ji also mentions – "By myself, I do not even know how
to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands (page 763 sggs)".
Who is the Creator of
God?
If God is the Creator of
the creation, who is the Creator of God—this is the most debatable riddle.
Ghazali, in one of his books of Maqalat (essays), writes about CONVERSATIONS
BETWEEN HE (AN ATHEIST) AND I (THEIST)-
"He (i.e., my
atheist friend) said: If Allah created the Universe, then who created Allah?
I replied: With such a
question, or more likely, objection, you emphasize that everything must have a
creator!
He said: Don't take me
through mazes; answer the question!
I said: You do believe
that the Universe was created without a creator; i.e., It is the same
question... why do you believe yourself when you say it while belying others
when they believe stick to that?! Moreover, if you think a creator who has no
creator of himself is a myth, then a universe without a creator is a myth, too,
according to your own logic!
He said: We live in this
world and feel its existence and thus cannot deny it!
I said: Who asked you to
deny the existence of this world? When we take a taxi or boat or an airplane on
a specific route, we do not question the car's existence; for example, instead,
we might ask: does it run by itself, or is there a skillful driver behind the
wheel?! Hence, coming back to your question, I may say: your question is
self-refuted. You and I admit an actual existence; no one can deny this. You
claim that it has no beginning concerning the matter, while I believe it has no
beginning concerning the Creator. So, if you want to ridicule an existence with
no beginning, you should ridicule yourself before ridiculing the people of
faith!
He said: Do you mean that
the two parties have the same presupposition?
I said: I will elaborate
on this only to reveal and expose the void allegations on which atheism
depends. The presuppositions are not the same as the two parties (i.e., the
believers and the disbelievers) are concerned.
Consider this; you and I
are looking at an erected palace; I believe that an architect has built it with
the eye of an expert. You believe that some wood, steel, stones, and paint have
gathered by themselves and on their own and in a specific fashion and built
that palace for human beings to dwell therein.
The difference between
our views is that if we find a satellite that orbits in outer space, you would
say it was launched by itself and without any supervision or direction from
anyone. While I would say: it had to be launched by an administrative
supervising mind...! The presuppositions are not the same. To me, it is the
inescapable Truth, while it is to you the doubtless untruth". By rejecting
blind imitation and invalid logic, our age's atheists can also experience the
light of reason through discriminative rationality.
CAN GOD CREATE HIS
OWN SELF?
The very idea that God
can create Himself appears irrational at the level of human consciousness of time
and space. But when time and space disappear and are non-existent, seed carries
the roots, tree, branches, fruit, and second set of seeds self-created. Science
has demonstrated such a possibility of instantality when a film is fast-forwarded
at an infinite speed. Such vision can be experienced in dreams or at the level
of the highest spiritual consciousness. Dreams are a self-created phenomenon in
a different state of awareness. Guru Nanak Sahib mentions on page 463 (sggs), [3] "He
Himself created Himself; He Himself assumed His Name. Secondly, He fashioned
the creation; seated within the creation, He beholds it with delight".
When read with the holy
utterance of the Quran that “there is no God but God” , the above invocation
carries the exact significance of self-created and self-manifestation.
WHEN THE WORLD IS
IMPERFECT, HOW CAN ITS MAKER BE PERFECT-
There is yet another
argument that creates doubt on the perfection of God. the answer is simple—Are
we as a human being perfect? Only perfection can evaluate imperfection and
perfection. Since we as human beings are imperfect, we cannot judge God's
perfection or imperfection. Can a new born infant know how one is born, why is
born, and what has one taken birth? Guru Nanak Sahib mentions, "Only one
as Great and as High as God can know His Lofty and Exalted State" ( Page 5
sggs)
WHY DOES GOD REVEAL
HIMSELF THROUGH PROPHETS AND MYSTICS?
Why is God compelled to
communicate with humanity through mystics which are God-realized souls or the
Prophets and Saints? The celestial beings and angelic entities cannot manifest
physically to communicate with men. A
definitive answer could be that men are so limited and entangled in the transient
world of mind and senses that they cannot interact with God, the impeccable
reality source. Since all men have similar frailties, perversions, and
weaknesses, communication would not unveil the Ultimate Reality but further
obfuscate it. Men are blind, so far God
is concerned. A blind man cannot lead another blind person out of the darkroom.
Another man with sight and insight ---mandated by God—or God-realized soul must
descend and manifest in the human frame at the earthly plane to explain other
ordinary human beings about the Creator, the Creation, the Creative Power, the
soul, and other metaphysical dimensions. Otherwise, humanity will continue to
lack the knowledge of God. In all ages, God has been despatching evolved souls
in the world for the spiritual guidance of humanity.
Christianity speaks of
the trinity of the Father, the son, the holy ghost--- God, His prophets of
current time and space, and the Word or Kalma or Ism-e-Azam. Sikh Masters also
mention Eko (God), Satnam( the Shabd or the Word), and Satguru ( Son of God). Man
is a God wrapped in time, space, flesh, senses, and other perceivable things.
Man's consciousness is ever in flux; understanding is fogged, and hence his
life is out of balance. It is confusion thrice confounded.[4] True Masters are thus
needed, who have been blessed with God-realization for defining, detailing, and
guiding about God to quell the yearning of sincere seekers.
Ghazali's perception (that God is exempt from
knowing except through the Prophets and mystics) is consistent with ideas of
biblical, Islamic, and Indian ideologies. The best course of action would be to
explore God through Divine attributes, operative aspects of human beings, and
cosmic existence. Guru Nanak Sahib defines the attributes of God as "One
Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear.
No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. Known By Guru's
Grace".
GOD INFORMS MOSES THAT HE CANNOT SEE HIM
A well-known Ghazal of Allama Iqbal starts
with couplet("Tere Ishq Ki Intiha Chahta Hun, Meri Sadgi Dekh Kya
Chahta Hun”.)[5]
I yearn for your limitless Love. Look at my simplicity and naivety, what little
I desire.
Then the next stanza says ("Zara Sa To
Dil Hun Magar Shaukh Itna,Wohi Lan-Tarani Suna Chahta Hun.)[6]Though
my heart is tiny, it is daring to experience the same "Lan Tarani".
In the Holy Quran, there is a
reference of Prophet Moses that he had besought to see Allah, and the reply
given was: Lan Tarani "You cannot see Me." (Al-A'raf 143).
Moses had a powerful desire to see Allah. And
Allah warned him that even if you try, "you won't be able to see me (Lan Tarani)".
But Moses insisted anyway. So Allah called him on Mount Toor alone and asked
him if he was ready to see Him. Moosa said yes. When he looked, he faced the
brilliant intensity of radiant light that his eyes and body couldn't endure. Moses
immediately fainted. And Mount of Toor was burnt entirely, and it is a black
mass until today and will remain so.
The core and crux of the eventful description
given in the Holy Quran are that men are not blessed with the power of an
external Vision of God. He is revealed to men by His Prophets.
The second Sikh Guru mentions ( Page 139 SGGS)
in that God realization is an experience of internal dimension rather than
corporeal feeling in accessible by senses.
To see without eyes; to hear without ears; O
walk without feet; to work without hands; to speak without a tongue-like this,
one remains dead while yet alive.O Nanak, recognize the Hukam of the Lord's
Command, and merge with your Lord and Master[7].
Ghazali observes that
God's knowledge of physicists, astronomers, and other philosophers is based on material
phenomena, planets, and stars, which is akin to an ant. They do not know that
these stars etc., are under the power of angels, the lowest ranking servants,
and it would be a significant error to take slaves as a Master. Can a pen write
on the paper without a writer in command? The experience of the senses limits
the perceptive ability of these learned individuals; therefore, differences and
disputes must arise. Metaphorically, he explains that an elephant is assessed
by blind men and declaring each part of its body as per the perception of
touch. A similar error is attributed to Abraham in the Quran (chapter six) when
he believed stars, sun, and moon as the object of worship until he had the
highest awareness of God.
OPERATIVE ASPECTS OF GOD
All the provisions that God has made for man's
existence are without the knowledge and consent of all human beings and even
other beings. If anybody asks human beings about our soul and the Universe, we
can only reply that it exists by the will of God.
Just consider the functioning of the human
body as to how we are born from a drop of water—that can also be termed as
micro-God. Then there is a formation of blood, flesh bones, the heart, and
other body organs that grow simultaneously enough in an environment provided
with air, water, fire, earth, and intelligence. Again, as the spirit exists and
controls the body, we know not its mode and essence, so macro- God is present
in all things as micro-God and controls and governs all things, but his form,
essence, and quality are exempt from being known. Many mystics observed that
"Know thyself, and thou shalt know thy Lord."
Ghazali goes into the minutest of detail and
debates how God controls all beings' most minor functioning. He says –"observe
then that when you desire to write upon paper the phrase. In the name of God,
there arises first of all an inclination and decision in heart to write it.
Next, that inclination and decision utilizing the animal spirit are carried to
the brain. When that decision reaches the brain, the phrase's image is formed
in the faculty of imagination in the brain. Afterward, the image reaches a
nerve resembling a white thread and descends through it to the ends of the
fingers".
Referring to the impotence of astrologers
Beloved, He does not know that the stars
and the constellations are subject to the angels and that the angels can do
nothing without the command of God.
Kabir
Sahib are also mention in SGGS (page 329)--- The stars which are seen in
the sky -who is the painter who painted them? Tell me, O Pandit, what is the
sky attached to? Very fortunate is the knower who knows this. The sun and the
moon give their light; God's creative extension extends everywhere. Says Kabir,
he alone knows this, whose heart is filled with the Lord, and whose mouth is
also filled with the Lord.[8]
Ghazali gives another instance--During the
sickness of a person, an astrologer says, "this person being under the
influence of melancholy, which arises from a hurtful conjunction between Mars and
Jupiter, there will be no favourable change in his health until the conjunction
of Jupiter with Venus shall have reached the Trine." And the school of astrologers is to be
credited in these representations, but when they ascribe all events to
influences proceeding from the heavenly bodies, they are liars. They do not
perceive that they alike are subject to the almighty power of God as God says
in his Word: " And the sun, moon
and stars are subject to his command." (S 16:12).
Let us notice, also, the daily necessities of
man, his need of food, of clothing and a dwelling; his need of rain, clouds,
wind, heat and cold: and that he needs the weaver, the cotton-spinner, the
clothier, and the fuller to provide him with clothing; and that each one of these has to need of so
many instruments, and so many trades, like those of the blacksmith, the farmer,
the carpenter, the dyer, and the tanner; and besides, their need of
iron, lead, wood and the like. Notice at the same time, the adaptation of these
workmen to instruments of the trades, and how each artist has given rise to
several others--- the mind gets astonished and distracted.
Moreover, God's creating prophets, sending
them to us, explaining the Divine doctrine, and loving them is a perfume of His
universal beneficence. He proclaims himself, "My mercy surpasses my
anger," and the Prophet has said: "Verily, God is merely full of
compassion to his servants, then the affectionate mother to her nursing child.
THE OPERATION OF THE WILL OF GOD.
When God wills a thing, it
appears in the spiritual plane, which in the Quran is called "The
Throne"[9].From
the throne, it passes, by a spiritual current, to a lower plane called
"The Chair"[10];
then the shape of it appears on the "Tablet of Destiny"[11];
whence, by the mediation of the forces called "angels", it assumes
actuality; and appears on the earth in the form of plants, trees, and animals,
representing the will and thought of God, as the written letters represent the
wish conceived in the heart and the shape present in the brain of the writer.
No one can understand a king
but a king; therefore, God has made each of us a king in miniature, so to
speak, over a kingdom which is an infinitely reduced copy of His own. In man's
kingdom, God's "throne" is represented by the soul, the Archangel by
the heart, "the chair" by the brain, "the tablet" by the
treasure chamber of thought. The soul, itself unlocated and indivisible,
governs the body as God governs the Universe. In short, each of us is entrusted
a bit of kingdom and charged not to be careless in its administration.[12]
Guru Nanak Sahib's mystical
essence is that man must abide by the command of God's will for God-realization
or the awareness of the Truth. "O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey
the Hukam of His Command and walk in the Way of His Will[13].
By His Command, bodies are created; His Command cannot be described. By His
Command, souls come into being; by His Command, glory, and greatness are
obtained. Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command. O
Nanak, one who understands His Command, does not speak in ego.”
Can a doctor or a physician claim to be the
healer of sicknesses? Had it been so,
none would have suffered or died. To be precise, they are an enabler in the
curative process, subject to the will of God. The senses, mind, and soul
control the healing process, respond to the prescribed treatment. Then we say
that man is cured. Otherwise, we pronounce that God's will must prevail. The
responsiveness and non -responsiveness ultimately is all internal processes.
The intervention and prescription of the physician are also as per the
preordained Divine will.
The world observed during COVID-19 that how
helpless doctors and patients feel when suddenly pandemic spread to the horror
of all. We cannot sit on Judgment on the Divine Order of it being right or
wrong because we perceive the Universe with our perspective of 100 years or so
and based upon logical and historical events of time and space revealed or
thrust upon us or on our psyche. Thus, all human conclusions are arbitrary and
speculative in the specified silo of time and space.
The very invocation that "God is great"
or "There is no God but God" symbolizes that His greatness is beyond
comprehension and all that cosmic activity is under His command, that
immeasurably transcends our cognitive faculties. For example, if a child asks the pleasure of
wielding sovereignty, we may have difficulty answering but can merely compare with
playing bat and ball.
Al-Ghazali differs from the philosophical view
of change. For philosophers change cannot be attributed to God, for it can
undermine the holiness of God. Their argument is based on known knowledge and
unchanging nature of God. When the known changes, knowledge will consequently
change, and the change in the knowledge will cause the knower (God) to change,
too, that is entirely impossible for God to change. In response to this
analogy, Al-Ghazali simply argues that whatever interpretations philosophers
give about this, their opinions absolutely contradict what is basically stated
clearly in the Quran-- that God knows everything. Quran also mentions-- (3:7) God
says, "... But no one knows true meanings except Allah, and those who are
firmly grounded in knowledge." The realized Prophets or Murshid will say--That
God knows even a very small thing. Nothing is to be veiled from God's sight.
That is to imply the Creator and the Creation are One. The creation is a merely
projection of the Creator. The Sun and rays are in Oneness.
GHAZALI CATEGORIZES SEVEN TYPICAL TRAITS THAT ARE IN ERROR IN
GOD'S KNOWLEDGE
1 THE first class belongs to those who
do not believe in God. And because they could not succeed in understanding Him,
they have referred His acts and governance to the stars, planets, and nature. This class of people resembles the man who
seeing a writing, fancies that it was written of itself, and infers that it was
not written by a penman or by a super-natural power; or else that it is eternal
and that no one knows whence it comes. It is impossible to recover from the
path of delusion, persons whose ignorance, error and stupidity have reached
such a degree as this. They can be termed, atheists.
2 THE second class
of errorists deny a day of resurrection and reincarnation on the presumptive
ideas that the soul belongs to God and that no evil can happen to it. That is
the denial of the law of Karma, action and reaction, retribution, or
consequences. (The concept of resurrection in 8.4 million lives is endorsed by
the Hindu scriptures and the Sikhism very strongly. The fifth Sikh Guru
mentions (page 1075) “Out of all the 8.4 million species of beings, [14]God
blessed mankind with glory. That human who misses this chance, shall suffer the
pains of coming and going in reincarnation.
3 THE third-class
believe in God and future life, but whose faith is weak because they do not
understand the Divine Doctrine. They say
that "God can do without our worship.
There is neither any profit to God from our worship nor any injury done
by our negligence. If we worship God, how do we know what advantage and harm it
will do in the future world".
These ignorant people are like a sick man, who when the physician
advises, "you should be abstinent if you wish to be cured. They respond,
"what advantage is it to the physician whether I am abstinent or
not"? The sick man is right when
he says that the physician has no advantage from his abstinence, yet he will
perish if he is not abstinent. And just as abstinence and medicine restore the
body to health, to avoid acts of transgression and sin, worship God is the
method of securing salvation.
4 The fourth class wrongly says,
"The law commands us to keep our hearts pure from pride, envy, hatred,
anger, and dishonesty, which is an impossibility. The soul has been created with these
qualities and afflictions, and human nature cannot be changed. It is just as
impossible to make a black material white by scraping it.
Their understanding is flawed. The law does not command the elimination of
negative traits from the heart but instead requires that they be brought under
the subjugation of the heart and the reason and avoid sinning presumptuously.
5 The fifth class of
persons in error are those who say that, " God is merciful and ready to
pardon, loving and compassionate, and, and therefore he will pardon our faults
and cover our transgressions."
Notwithstanding that God is bounteous and merciful, there are
still multitudes of poor and miserable people in the world subjected to
suffering. That is a mystery known only to God. But it
shows us that though God is disposed to cover and hide sin, still he is an
absolute sovereign and an avenger.
6 The sixth class is
exalted with pride and believes they have already attained perfection and say,
" we have reached such a state that transgressions do us no harm. We are like the sea, which is not polluted by
filth falling into it.''
"Like the sea"
means to attain such a degree of calm that no wind can perturb their
minds. For them, on the contrary, if an
individual fails to treat them with honor and respect, they bear him a grudge
for a long time and even perhaps attempt to do him an injury.
7 The seventh
class's mistakes arise from ignorance and carelessness, while they have never
heard anything mentioned. They merely wear the garments, cap, and quilted robes
of the mystics (Sufis), and after learning some of their words and phrases,
they pretend to have attained saintship and supernatural powers. They have no
evil intentions, yet their course leads them to corrupt doctrines and errors
because they do not respect the holy law adequately and are lax in devotion.
To this class, God declares in his holy word, "We have
covered their hearts with more than one envelope, that they may not understand
the Koran, and we have put deafness upon their ears".
THE
SPIRTUAL WORLD
There is also a difference of view between
those who do succeed in reaching the spiritual or invisible world by
meditation, for some have an immense amount of light veiled from them. Everyone
in the sphere to which he attains, is still veiled with a veil. The light of
some is as of a twinkling star. Others see as by the light of the moon. Others
are illuminated as if by the world-effulgent sun. To some the invisible world
is even perfectly revealed, as we read in the holy word of God: “And thus we
caused Abraham to see the heaven and the earth.” And hence it is that the prophet
says, “There are before God seventy veils of light; if he should unveil them,
the light of his countenance would burn everything that came into his
presence.”
LOVE OF GOD
There is nothing more delightful than to meet
with and look upon an object that we love. But we ought to know that the love
of God will never reign in the heart of a man until first the knowledge of God
reigns there, and until the remembrance of God becomes unceasing. If one
individual love another, he is continually thinking of him, and by this
continual remembrance, his love is increased. The happiness of man consists in
the knowledge, obedience, and loving worship of God. Whoever be the person whom
we love, we shall find our happiness with Him. Man’s happiness consists in the
knowledge of God. The happiness of man consists in obedience and devotion, the
fact that when a man dies, his destination is to return to where God is.
Everything which concerns man is with God, and his works will all be presented
before Him. Whenever all the affairs of a person are in the hands of another,
and his employments and his home are with him — when he is near to him and
continually has need of him, there will be perfect harmony between the two, and
abiding friendship and love. (More on the Love of God will be discussed in the
last chapter.)
[2] A
treasury of the mystic terms, Vol. 2 page 30
[3] आपीन्है आपु साजिओ आपीन्है रचिओ नाउ ॥
दुयी कुदरति
साजीऐ करि आसणु डिठो चाउ ॥
[4]
Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy (chapter four)
[5] तेरे इश्क की इंताह चाहता हूँ , मेरी सादगी देख क्या चाहता हूँ
[6] जरा सा तो दिल
है मगर शौक इतना ,वोही ल-तरानी सुना चाहता हूँ
[7] अखी बाझहु वेखणा विणु कंना सुनणा ॥ पैरा बाझहु
चलणा विणु हथा करणा ॥जीभै बाझहु बोलणा इउ जीवत मरणा,, नानक हुकमु पछाणि
कै तउ खसमै मिलणा ॥१॥
[8]
ओइ जु दीसहि
अम्बरि तारे ॥ किनि ओइ चीते चीतनहारे ॥१॥कहु रे पंडित अम्बरु का सिउ लागा ॥बूझै
बूझनहारु सभागा ॥१॥ रहाउ ॥सूरज चंदु करहि उजीआरा ॥सभ महि पसरिआ ब्रहम पसारा ॥कहु
कबीर जानैगा सोइ ॥हिरदै रामु मुखि रामै होइ ॥३॥
[9] Al
Arsh
[10]
Al Kursi
[11]
Al Lauh Al Mahfuz
[12]
The Alchemy of Happiness—translated from Hindustani by Claud Field.
[13] हुकमि रजाई चलणा नानक लिखिआ नालि………
[14] लख चउरासीह जोनि सबाई ॥.माणस कउ प्रभि दीई
वडिआई ॥इसु पउड़ी ते जो नरु चूकै सो आइ जाइ दुखु पाइदा ॥
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