An-nuur Na. 163

AN-NUUR
Na.163 Rabiul Thani 1419, Agosti 21 - 27, 1998

Tawhiid Form V

The Attribute of Knowledge

KnowledgE, like power, is another attribute of Divine Essence. On the basis of the proofs forwarded for demonstrating the existence of God, it can be said that God is Omniscient. Moreover, it was stated in the discourse on power that it is deduced from the proof of order that God, who confers order and regularity on a system must, of necessity, be aware of the characteristics of its components, their number, composition, and their connection with the system’s purpose. Creation of an orderly system of phenomena without knowledge of the components of which it consists is something irrational, which the Holy Qua’an rejects by this interrogative negation:

Shall He not know, Who created, and He is All-subtle, All-aware?

The proof of the Necessary Being demonstrates that God is the First Cause of all creation, and in the discussion of the proof of contingent and necessary it was stated that an effect depends on the arises from a cause, or, in other words, the effect depends on and arises from a cause, in other words, the effect is present for the cause. Accordingly, it is impossible that the cause should be unaware of its effect, which itself depends on the cause. Of course, God’s knowledge is "knowledge by presence" not acquired knowledge, since in the discussion on the difference between these two kinds of knowledge it was stated that the former kind is directly present for the knower without the need for any intermediary, whilst the latter kind is gained by means of the sense organs.

From an epistemological viewpoint, in ‘knowledge by presence’ the known object is itself, in its entirety, present in the mind of the knower, not just the idea of its form. However, in acquired knowledge only the form of the known thing is present in the mind of the knower, not its complete essence – like our knowledge of sensible objects in the external world acquired by means of the sense organs.

With his brief explanation, we come to know that knowledge possessed by God cannot bethe acquired type of knowledge, but is ‘knowledge by presence’; since the existence of every object and all effects caused by the First Cause depends on Him and is ‘present’ for Him, and this is the same as what we call ‘knowledge by presence’. Besides, acquired knowledge comes through sense organs, and since God is free of any kind of organs whatsoever, the idea of acquired knowledge is inapplicable to Him. Therefore, we may conclude on the basis of what has been said that God’s knowledge is ‘knowledge by presence’, not acquired knowledge.

Some other attributes such as hearing and vision are also related to the attributes of knowledge. When we say that God hears and sees, what is meant is that God is knowledgeable about things that can be heard and seen. He knows the attributes and qualities, perceived by creatures by means of hearing and seeing, by means of His ‘knowledge by presence".

However, the knowledge of God encompasses all things – those which can be seen and heard, and all other things as well. The greater emphasis laid on the attributes of vision and hearing of Good is apparently due to the fact that these two faculties are more manifest and perfect in creatures endowed with the poorer of perception; in addition, their relationship with the body and bodily members, like the other faculties, is not as evident and conspicuous. On the other hand, faculties such as taste and touch and their relationship with the body is very intense and their imperfection is more conspicuous. Perhaps it is due to this that in theological parlance, from a month the faculties pertaining to the senses, thee two faculties of hearing and seeing – disregarding the fact of their being senses – are attributed to God, although God has absolute and unlimited knowledge by presence not only of the visible and the audible but also of taste, touch and all other characteristics possessed by things.

The Attribute of Free Will

By free will is meant that a conscious and aware creature is able to select one way which is the most expedient from amongst all imaginable alternatives for accomplishing of something, and in reality the only thing that many compel him to do something is expediency. However, insofar as it pertains to God, the meaning of free will is that no agent outside His Essence can compel Him to do something, since there is not cause above the First Cause which may influence It and cause It to do something. Hence, all the Acts of God originate from His free will, or in other worlds, God is a free doer. As opposed to free will is compulsion and determinism. What it means is that any agency or impetus influences a creature having will, compelling it to do something without exercising its own free will or capacity of choice. In other words, such a creature is divested of the exercise of free will in its action.

Divine Unity

One of the attributes of God is Unity, which is stressed by certain religions, especially Islam. Monotheism and belief in Oneness of God is one of the prominent characteristics of Islam, for which it has been named the religion of monotheism. Theological philosophers have also always believed in monotheism, and have resorted to following arguments to prove the unity of God.

1. Necessity of existence leads us to conclude that there must not be more than one Necessary Being; because whenever we talk of two or more things, it is necessary that those two things should possess some points of similarity, on the one hand, and some points of difference, on the other. For example, when we talk of two books, it is necessary that, firstly, they have something in common in that they are both ‘books’, and, secondly, differ in at least one respect; otherwise, if they are similar in colour, appearance, weight, size, author, paper, subject matter, time, place and all other peculiarities, they cannot be considered as two books and can only be one and the same book. Therefore, every sort of plurality has certain points in common, on the one hand, and differences, on the other. Now if we suppose that two or more gods exist, then they must have at least one aspect in common and one or more aspects of difference.

Islamic Knowledge for "A" Level

Fiqh Form V

The Characteristics of the Islamic Shariah

The Shari’ah, thus, prescribes directive life. These directives tough such varied subjects as religious rituals, personal character, morals, habits, family relationships, social and economic affairs, administration, rights and duties of citizens, judicial system, laws of war and peace and international relations. In short, it embraces all the various departments of human life. These directives reveal what is good and bad, which is beneficial and useful and what is injurious and harmful, what are the virtues which we have to cultivate and encourage and what are the evils which we have to suppress and guard against, what is the sphere of un voluntary, un tramelled, personal and social action and what are its limits, and, finally, what ways and means we can adopt in establishing such a dynamic order of society and what method we should spurn. The Shari’ah is a complete scheme of life and an all-embracing social order – nothing superfluous, nothing lacking.

Another remarkable fact about the Shari’ah is that it is an organic whole. The entire scheme of life propounded by Islam is animated by the same spirit and hence any arbitrary division of the scheme is bound to harm the spirit as well as the structure of the Shari’ah. In this respect, it might be compared to the human body which is an organic whole. A leg puled out of the body cannot be called one-eighth or one-sixth man, because after its separation from the living human body the leg can no more perform its human function. Nor can it be placed in the body of some other animal with any hope of making it human to the extent of that limb. Likewise; we cannot form a correct opinion about the utility, efficiency and beauty of the hand, the eye or the nose of a human being separately, without judging its place and function within a living body.

The same can be said in regard to the scheme of life envisaged by the Shari’ah. Islam signifies the entire scheme of life and not any isolated part or parts thereof. Consequently, neither can it be appropriate to view the different parts of the Shari’ah in isolation from one another and without regard to the whole, nor will it be of any use to take any particular part and bracket it with any other "ism". The Shari’ah can function smoothly and can demonstrate its efficacy only if the entire system of life is practiced in accordance with it and not otherwise.

Somo: Tawhiid Form III

Kwa nini Mwanadamu hawezi kuunda itikadi sahihi

Ukizingatia kwa kina sifa za dini (itikadi) sahihi inayostahiki kuwa chaguo la mwanaadamu, utaona kuwa dini hiyo haiwezi kuwa mojawapo katika ya zile dini alizoziunda mwanaadamu; ukafiri au Ushirikina au utawa. Swali la msingi linalotukabili ni "Kwa nini mwanadamu hawezi kuunda dini yenye sifa hizo?" Kwa muhtasari hawezi mwanaadamu kuunda dini sahihi kwa sababu zifuatazo:

(a) Mwanaadamu anaathiriwa na matashi yake

Mwanaadamu pamoja na kutunukiwa vipawa vya akili na utambuzi wa hali ya juu, bado fikra zake na uamuzi wake unaathiriwa sana na matashi ya nafsi yake. Akipenda kitu hupitisha uamuzi wa upendeleo pasi na haki. Na akichukia kitu hupitisha uamuzi wa uonevu. kwa mafano baada ya makasisi kule ulaya kuligeuza kanisa kama chambo cha unyonyaji mnamo karne za kati (medieval), baadhi ya wanafsalafa wa karne ya 19, kwa jazba, waliibuka na nadharia za kukana dini na Mungu Muumba. maandishi ya Frederich Engels(1820-1895), rafiki wa Marx (1818-1883), yanawakilisha Makomredi hao:

"All religions however, are nothing but fantastic reflection in men’s mind of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces"..... like other religions, Islam for the Marxists is opium of people, a reactionary and antiscientific Ideology....... It indicates the spirit of resignation and humility and distracts him from revolutionary action".

Maandiko haya yanathibitisha udhaifu wa Mwanaadamu katika kutoa maamuzi, hivyo akichukua jukumu la kuunda dini (itikadi) ataweka itakayokumpendelea yeye na wale walio karibu nae na kuwakandamiza maadui zake au wale wasio na uhusiano wa karibu nae japo katika sura ya nje atatangaza haki na usawa kwa wote.

(b) Nyenzo anazozitumia Mwanaadamu katika kujipatia elimu ni dhaifu

Kipawa kingine alichotunukiwa mwanaadamu kinachomuwezesha kuwa mtawala wa ulimwengu na vilivyomo ni elimu. Lakini elimu aliyonayo ni finyu sana kiasi kwamba haimuwezeshi kuunda njia ya maisha itakayokuwa na sifa zilizotajwa. Elimu aliyonayo ni finyu kwa sababu ya ufinyu wa nyenzo anazozitumia katika kujipatia elimu. Nyenzo anazozitumia ni akili na milango ya fahamu, uchunguzi na majaribio ya kisayansi na uzoefu unaotokana na historia. Kutokana na udhaifu wa nyenzo anazozitumia katika kujielimisha, mwanaadamu hawezi kufahamu mambo ya msingi wa maisha yake mpaka afahamishwe na Muumba wake. Kama nyenzo hizi anazozitumia katika kujielimisha hazijaweza kumfahamisha uhakika wa roho yake, atawezaje kuunda njia sahihi ya maisha. Qur’an inatutanabahisha juu ya ufinyu wa elimu tuliyonayo kama ifuatavyo:

"Na wanakuuliza habari ya roho; Sema, Roho ni jambo lililohusika na Mola wangu. Nanyi hamkupewa katika elimu ila kidogo kabisa." (17:85).

Kutokana na sababu hizi za msingi, mwanaadamu kamwe hana uwezo wa kuunda Dini (itikadi) sahihi. Itikadi yoyote ya maisha itakayoundwa na mwanaadamu itakuwa ni yenye kumpotosha mwanaadamu na kumuangamiza kwani itakuwa imejengwa katika misingi ya dhana na uzushi. Hili linathibitika hata kwa wale waliojitokeza kwa nia njema ya kutaka kumkomboa Mwanaadamu. Karl Marx ni mmoja wa watu hao, yeye anasema kwamba, harakati zote za kijamii ni taathira ya mfumo wa uzalishaji kwa hiyo mabadiliko yote ni zao la msukumo wa uzalishaji, hakuna cha maadili wala ukweli wa milele, hivyo wanaadamu wataishi kwa furaha pale tu watakapo zalisha mali na kugawana sawia. kwa maneno yake Marx anasema:

"The final Causes of all social changes and political revolution are to be sought, in men’s brain’s, not in men’s better insight in eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the mode of production alone".

Kwa Falsafa hii, Marx anamuangalia Mwanaadamu kama mnyama sawa na wanyama wengine tofauti yake ni matumizi ya ubongo na si vinginevyo. Allah (s.w.) anatutanabahisha:

"Na ukiwatii wengi katika (hawa waliomo ulimwenguni watakupoteza na njia ya Mwenyezi Mungu. Hawafuati ila dhana tu, na hawakuwa ila wenye kuzua (tu basi)". (6:116).

Mwenye kustahiki kumuundia mwanaadamu njia sahihi ya maisha yake ni Muumba wake, Mwenye ujuzi na Hekima, aliyemuumba yeye na vyote vilivyomzunguuka kwa lengo maalum.

Somo: Qur’an Form iv

Tofauti za kimsingi kati ya Qur’an na Biblia

(1) Biblia si kitabu kimoja bali ni mkusanyiko wa vitabu 73 kwa mujibu wa madhehebu ya Wakatoliki au vitabu 66 kwa mujibu wa madhehebu ya Waprotestanti. Vitabu hivyo viliandikwa na waandishi wasiopungua 40. Qur’an ni kitabu kimoja kilichotoka kwa Mwenyezi Mungu mmoja na aya zake zote ziliandikwa mara tu baada ya kushuka.

(2) Biblia ni kitabu chenye mchanganyiko wa maneno ya Mwenyezi Mungu, ya Mitume na maoni ya wanahistoria. Qur’an ni neno la Mwenyezi Mungu tu peke yake. Hata maneno ya Muhammad (s.a.w.) hayamo katika Qur’an.

(3) Katika Agano la Kale na Jipya yapo maelezo juu ya historia ya maisha ya Mitume. Kumbukumbu la torati siyo tu ni ujumbe wa Mwenyezi Mungu kwa tu bali pia histgoria ya maisha ya Nabii Mussa (a.s.). Injili ya Mathayo, Luka, Marko na Yohana zinaelezea historia ya Yesu kama ilivyosimauliwa na wafuasi wake. Qur’an si histgoria ya Muhammad kama ilivyosimuliwa na maswahaba zake. Qur’an inataja habari za Mitume waliopita ili kutoa mafundisho kwa watu lakini sio kama sira (biography) za mitume hao.

(4) Biblia inavyo vitabu kadhaa ambavyo viliandikwa miaka mingi sana baada ya kutawafu Mitume hao. Ndio maana wanazuoni Wakristo hupata matatizo sana katika uchambuzi wa maandiko hayo kwani hushindwa kumjua nani mwandishi na aliandika hayo lini. Kwa mfano katika biblia iliyotolewa na Collins iitwayo "Revised Standard Version" ya 1971 uk. 12-17 imeandikwa kuwa Mwandishi wa Samweli hajulikani, pia hajulikani mwandishi wa kitabu cha 2 Samweli, I Wafalme, 2 Wafalme, I Mambo ya Nyakati, Esta, Ayubu, Yona na Habakuki. Halikadhalika mpaka leo kuna wasi wasi kama kitabu cha Waebrania kiliandikwa na Paulo au na mtu mwingine. Na (Encyclopaedia Britanica) inakiri kuwa mpaka hivi hatuna uhakika jinsi au wapi vitabu 4 vya Injili vilizuka. Kinyume chake Qur’an yote iliandikwa wakati wa uhai wa Muhammad na kuhifadhiwa na mamia ya watu.

(5) Injili 4 zilizomo katika Agano Jipya siyo Injili zote zilizoandikwa. Zilikuwapo Injili nyingine nyingi. Kwa amri ya Mfalme Constantine ilifanyika Sinodi (mkutano wa wawakilishi wa makanisa) mwaka 325 kwa ili kuamua Injili zipi zichukuliwe na zipi zikataliwe. Injili ya Barnabas ilikataliwa. Na katika historia ya Kanisa viko vitabu vilivyokubaliwa na baadaye kukataliwa na kinyume chake. Ni binaadamu waliokuja baadaye ndio waliokuwa na uwezo wa kuamua lipi liwe neno la Mungu na lipi lisiwe. Katika uislamu hakukuwa na Ijitimai yoyote iliyokaa kuamua sura ipi iwe Qur’an na ipi isiwe.