Religion And Human Nature (Belief In Allah)

From: www.muslimconverts.com

Everyone is born upright by nature. Pure nature leads to Allah, the One and Only True God. In fact, human nature awakes to Almighty Allah's existence very early in life, even earlier than we may think. We generally think that only an older person ponders over Allah's existence and Oneness. But if we observe the life of a little child, we notice that in a certain stage of his life, he asks his parents endless questions about the things he sees around him in the universe. Who made the heaven? Why is the sky blue? Where does the sun go at night? Why doesn't it appear to us at night? Where does light go when the dark comes? Why do stars glitter? Where does the earth end? Why doe some flowers have smells while others don't? Where did I come from? Where was I before I came? Etc. What do all these questions mean and indicate? They indicate that nature in this child has begun to awake and recognize the Creator of the earth and heavens through His tangible and seen creation. There are several effects that touch man's senses and awaken him to the fact of Allah's existence, Oneness and peerlessness. The universe, so vast and wide, would certainly awaken man to that plain fact. Those great dimensions in the skies and the earth… those countless, immense, celestial bodies… Who has created them? The earth, though too tiny compared with other celestial bodies, contains mountains, plains, oceans, seas and rivers that would take the whole life of man to learn about a small part of them. How, then, about the solar system of which our earth is only a part? How about the milky way of which our solar system is considered a small part? And other celestial masses which contain millions and millions of galaxies like ours? And millions and millions of stars in comparison with which the large sun is considered to be too small. With all its bulkiness, the universe is marvelously accurate. Night and day follow each other so precisely that we adjust our watches to them. In fact, the whole universe is so exact in its astronomical revolution that clocks in observatories, which are the most accurate clocks we have and to which clocks in broadcasting stations are adjusted, are themselves adjusted to the extremely accurate astronomical revolution which is never disturbed in the course of time unless, of course, Allah willed it otherwise. Every being, animate and inanimate, was created with miraculous accuracy. Have you seen the extremely minute living cell that can be seen only under the microscope? Yet it grows, splits and performs highly wonderful tasks which make man helpless and humble towards the omnipotence of Allah! Who, other than Allah, has infused it with the secret of life and guided it to such surprising activity? A germ cannot be seen with the unaided eye. A minute kind called 'virus' cannot be seen under an ordinary microscope. Yet, you know from your studies in science that it might cause the deadliest disease unless man immunized himself against it by means of medicines and serums. The multi-cellular being, man at the top, was originally one impregnated cell which went on splitting and growing till it became an integral being. What power, other than that of Allah, has given it life and activity? Most surprising in that splitting process is the fact that those cells appear similar in their beginning. Then orders are given to them to specialize and take certain forms - one cell moves to a certain place and becomes an ear or part of an ear; another cell goes to another position and becomes an eye or part of it; a third becomes one of the brain cells; a fourth turns into bones..etc. What order those invisible cells receive and obey in such extraordinary exactitude? It is the order of the Creator. He orders them and they obey Him, and move and form in accordance with his Divine Will. Have you observed a multi-colored fragrant beautiful flower? Who has bestowed it with that fragrance and how have these colors combined in it? Suppose you tried to create a flower so that it would diffuse fragrance from morning to evening, and to paint it in al colors so that it would not lose color so long as it exists. To what extent would your attempt be successful? If all people on earth busied themselves with such a task with all flowers growing on earth on in the sea, could they perform it? And even if they could, what time and effort would be left for other activities? Yet millions of flowers on earth grow scented, colored and pleasant. Allah has created all without the least effort or distraction from directing the immense universe, for He (Glory be to Him) only says to a thing: "Be! And it is". For Him, it is so easy. The phenomena of death and life also attract man's attention to the miraculous Divine Power that gives life and death. What is life in reality? It is a marvelous secret which no one can explain. All that man has so far attempted is the interpretation of some phenomena of life such as movement, growth and physiology. As for life itself - what is it? How does it exist in living things? How does it direct them to fulfill their functions? All this is a vague mystery incomprehensible to man. Man, especially biologists, have employed all their scientific knowledge to create one cell of billions of living cells with which the divine creation abounds, but all was in vain. As for man's livelihood, whether in the form of rain falling from the sky; crops growing from the earth' fish, birds and animals; treasures and minerals underground; the air we breathe; the wind driving ships on the sea; or power driving machines such as steam power, electric power, atomic energy, the power of fuel or of water falling down from mountains - who, other than Allah, provides all these? “ Lo? Allah, He it is that gives livelihood, the Lord of unbeatable might.” (Quran, 51:58). Man yearns for knowledge of the unseen which only Allah knows, but all his attempts fail. He long to know what is in store for him in his future life, what his lot will be next year, what is going to happen to him a month or a week or a day later and what is going to take place in a moment. He cannot discover what is going to take place in a moment, whether good or evil. Who, other than Allah alone, enjoys omniscience, since He has created everything and nothing in the Heavens and the earth escapes His infinite knowledge? Many things impress the human mind, awakening it to the idea of the One God, with no partner. It perceives that He alone possesses perfection, might, glory, greatness and limitless power. “ He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is he begotten; and there is none like unto Him.” (The Holy Quran 112:1-4). Thus, man would enjoy righteous nature and be an upright believer. But the human nature sometimes suffers from derangement and relapse. The faculty of perception may be dulled; so man fails to perceive the signs of inimitability in the universe and life. He forgets the miraculous power that gives livelihood, controls events and possesses comprehensive knowledge of the seen and the unseen. When man undergoes a new experience, all his senses will be alert to it. If he notices a scene or hears something new for the first time or goes to a new town, street or house, he will be careful to recognize the details of the new place. He is highly impressed since it is new to him; but as he grows familiar with the scene or place, sees it several times, his senses no longer pay much, or perhaps the least, attention to it. Sometimes man behaves likewise towards Allah. He forgets that Allah is the Creator, the Director, the Giver of Life and Death. He overlooks the multitudes of signs in this universe. He neglects to observe the rising sun and light until they are swallowed up in the dark. He fails to notice the fragrance, beautiful flowers with joyous colors and the melodious notes of song birds. He ignores thunder, lightning and rain falling from the clouds. He disregards the new born baby and the dead man. He forgets about his complete weakness in relation to the absolute power of Allah. Other things may dull man's senses - He may be busy with his food, drink, whims and transient worldly comforts, which would divert his mind from considering the portents in the universe, seeking Allah's favor and remembering the Hereafter and the reckoning and retribution in it. Another cause of dull perception may be deviation from Allah's orders. Man would be rebellious against Allah on earth and follow his own lust-He would go beyond what Allah allows him to do because of his greediness and his desire to have mastery over others and make them slaves to his desires; so he encroaches upon their property, honor or blood and wants to deify himself so as to be worshipped beside Allah, or he may be fascinated by what he possesses - his talents, health, power, money or anything Allah has bestowed on him. He thinks he has acquired them by his own power and forgets that all these bounties emanated from Allah. The human perception or mind gets dull owing to one of the aforementioned reasons or to other deviations and relapses; so it forgets Allah wholly or ascribes a partner to Him and imagines that someone or something in the universe shares divinity, majesty and power with Allah. Thus, the human nature becomes corrupted and is possessed by Satan, who drives it away from Divine Guidance and Favor. Yet, Allah does not let His servants go astray; so He sent them Prophets to call them to guidance and turn them back to truth. He has sent Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) as the last prophet to be harbinger of good tidings and a warner to all mankind up to the Day of Resurrection. He revealed to him the Qur'an and guaranteed its preservation in his saying, “ Lo! We, even we, reveal the Reminder” (i.e., the Quran) and “ Lo! We verily are its guardian.” (Qur'an 15:9). The Qur'an includes all that is essential for human nature to be noble and virtuous, guides to the real meaning of divinity and acquaints with the Rightful God, Creator and Director of the Universe, Owner of Sovereignty without any partner