Thought Archive

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Ramadan Post 6: Expression of an Absolute Monotheism

What is ' Kalima Tayyiba' in words of Maududi? Kalima Tayyiba is an expression of Absolute truth. Something like Absolute Truth to express in Absolute and encompassing God to Who nothing can compare and to Whom nothing is equal . The rejection of this statement is impossible for anyone for it is an Absolute and unshakeable truth, that exists by itself and beyond any reasonable argument.
It is Truth, because it is the Truth. So truthful that there cannot possibly be anything more genuine than this in the world. 'The Master of the whole universe is one Allah.' Each and everything on this earth and in the heaven bears witness to it. These Stars, Galaxies, human beings, these animals, these trees, these stones, these particles of sand, these flowing streams, this bright sun......is there a single thing out of these which has been created by anybody except Allah, which can survive by anyone's kindness except Allah's, which can be nnihilated by anybody except Allah? So when this whole universe has been created by Allah nd its life and sustenance depend on the mercy of Allah, and Allah alone is its Master nd Ruler, then when you will declare: "In this world there is no one else to wield upreme power except the One Allah," everything on the earth and in the heaven will cry out: "You have expressed an absolute truth. We all testify the veracity of this maxim". hen you will bow before Him, everything in this universe will bow with you because all these things too are obedient to Him.When you will walk on His way, you will not be alone. In fact, this countless army of the whole universe will accompany you because from the sun in the sky to the most insignificant particle on the earth, everything is moving on His way only. When you rely on Him, you will not be relying on a small power but on that gigantic power which is the Master of all the treasures of Heavens and Earth. In short, when you keep this reality in view you will realize that all the forces of the earth and heaven will support that person who will affirm faith in Kalima Tayyiba and will mould his life in accordance with it. He will continue to flourish right from this world up to the world of the Hereafter, and not for a single moment will failure or defeat ever touch him.
This is just what the Almighty Allah has stated in this verse that this Kalima is like a tree whose roots are firmly entrenched in the earth and whose branches are spread over the heaven bearing fruit perpetually under the command of Allah.

4 comments:

NoolaBeulah said...

It's called a self-evident truth. But why, in certain epochs, does a self-evident truth become only a relative one? This is what has happened in Europe over the past 2 centuries. It may be a sign of terminal decline, but it is nevertheless the case that what was once The Truth has become 'a truth' for a small group of people.

Hazar Nesimi said...

Presence of only a relative truth is a great vehicle for material progress, but not such a great one for moral one, in fact it may introduce regress. A Civilization doubting itself maybe one step closer to extinction. But in today's World of Reason has a great tool on its hand to avoid this decline - the Science. So Progress against Faith?

Anonymous said...

I really do not understand why nowadays Science and only Science (mainly centerd on matter) is equated with Reason. Theology, Philosophy have a lot of reason in them as well, you don't need to be a super scientist to have the common sense of concluding that there must be an ultimate source of existence without which nothing can be - this ultimate source of everything we are, we can conceive of and beyond is God (Allah). All you have to do is follow an infinite regression and/or projection into the past, future and beyond all time. What Science is doing is only a minute fragment of the creation of this supreme eternal fountain of existence and creativity. What right does it have to try and impose on us the notion that only Science can be a trustworthy reflection of the Truth.

Borrowing your own words, Science is "a truth" that changes with epochs, it is by definition renewable and changeable, Allah is the Ultimate Truth that has always been and will always be, immutable, constant, unchangeable. Hence Allah is the only power worth hanging on to, it is not illogical, it is in fact a notion that is very much engrafted in our inner Reason. That said, Science is a very useful tool to make sense of our immediate observable environment. Inherently, it is incapable of examining the ultimate, all it can do is tell us how and some finite whys. But the Ultimate Why it cannot answer. Incidently, if Science were enough, there wouldn't still be believing scientists nowadays, they would all be atheists. But reality shows us that it is not science that is making people turn away from God (Allah), but rather something else, something more subtle and individualistic...

NoolaBeulah said...

The difference between science and other forms of belief, however rational they may be, is that science is 'shareable' in a way that they are not. You do an experiment in Baku, Durban, Cairo or Sydney and the results are the same. No other form of thinking can be shared in the same way. Religious thinking in particular requires that you participate fully before you understand much about it.

Remember also, despite what many say, science is not about an absolute or final truth. It is a method of investigation. Riri is right in saying that its field of investigation is, in fact, quite narrow. It can't answer questions about 'meaning'. But equally, the beliefs that do answer those questions cannot be tested.