For you who, in the light of the previous Discussion, have come to seriously believe in the effective role of ideological adherence and pursuit of a school of thought in life; for you who have clearly realized that unrestricted freedom should be abandoned and a specific objective and strategy chosen for life: for you who have got faith in this reality that social efforts can be organized in reality and can be turned into a major power only when endeavours could have firm faith in the goal, the strategy and the leadership; and for you and your likes there automatically figures this question:

Faith in which doctrine and in which school of thought? Now you are sincerely and in a totally serious manner desirous of knowing on which world view should life be organized and what order should be given to it? The materialistic world view or the divine world view?

Today, the human thought is controlled with two types of genuine world views, each one of which has a very large number of staunch supporters.

First is the materialistic world view especially that of an "evolutionary materialistic type" which does not have faith in any reality of this world except matter and its traces. It includes everything in the materialistic domain and order, brings materialistic arguments and reasoning to justify them, and completely negates non-materialistic realities, terming them to be absurd and baseless. Or thinks any discussion on them to be abortive, and recommends that we should remain indifferent towards them!

Second is the divine world view especially that of Islam which thinks the materialistic system to be a powerful one, but it is not one that is all comprehensive. It concentrates much on matter and its evolution without considering it to be the origin of existence. It does not think as adequate the laws on material evolution for explaining all the things that we are familiar with. The divine world view believes in non­material existence, thinks the origin of existence to be a very strong reality which has created the evolutionary matter and its powerful and amazing order.

Now we in the enquiry undertaken in an attempt to have access to a proper school of life, come to a crossroad where we have to clarify our position with regard to these two world views, and to adopt a clear-cut decision in full vigilance and reassurance. We must make it explicit as on which of these two world views we would rely while trying to recognize the world, explaining the events taking place in it, and to identify man and to formulate his program in life: the divine world view or the materialistic world view'?

At this stage, it is essential to pay at tent ion to the fact that as pointed out earlier, the divine world view approves of matter and the system of cause and effect in the same actual role which they play in the affairs of this globe. It considers the practical sciences based on proper method as a suitable means for identifying the material order and gives great worth to the result of practical sciences and scientific researches provided these might not be solely assumptions or semi-confirmed theories and might have attained the stage of explicitness and decisiveness. In this stage, the divine world view, presently the topic or our discussion, has no difference of opinion with the materialistic world view.

The basic point of difference, however where the divine world view separates from the materialistic world view is that the former goes beyond this phase to attain non-materialistic reality which it calls a the origin of existence and the creator of matter and its system.
But the materialistic world view remains limited to matter and its system, rises up either in opposition and negation of the non-materialistic reality or shows doubt coupled with indifference.

In this way, in this comparison and survey, the divine world view is the substantiator, if we were to speak in more accurate terms all his stage of discussion, the contender, while the materialistic world view is the negator or at least the view gripped with doubt. In such a condition a proper method of survey necessitates that we should initially pay attention to the word of this contender to take note of what it says and as to how it has become aware or this non-materialistic reali1y.

Reviewal Of A Proposal

Once we had a debate with some young researchers when one of them quipped: "As you say both the world views greatly respect the materialistic cause and effect and consider as suitable and useful the application of proper scientific methods for recognizing, man and the world. Is it not advisable to abandon the discussions related to non-materialistic reality and divinity and instead focus our energies on the same common aspect between these two world views that is the scientific investigation into the materialistic system?

We reminded him that such a proposal has a long history, but the loophole in it is that it solely observes expediency. Such a proposal might be very interesting for an expedient person but not so for a researcher. This proposal is not that all interesting for those individuals who pursue as a genuine aspiration the goal of acquiring awareness about the reality of this world, and who are not to be contented with a comfortable material life or the brilliant results of scientific researches.

Besides that, the proposal is not acceptable to also a vigilant expedient person because the divine world view speaks of a series of human expediencies which can be recognized only with the help of this world view and by applying its criteria. Practical sciences, however vividly state that recognition of such expediencies are outside their domain. The divine world view, which we are discussing does not merely review the fact as to whether there exists a Creator or not.

It goes further to speak of the teachings of eminent leaders who have risen up as the guides chosen by this Creator, and declared that "the life of us human being is unlimited to this present life that comes to an end with the death. The more fundamental phase of our life lies on the neither side of death. The deeds performed by us in this term of life on our own responsibility, besides being rewarded desirably or undesirably in this very life also bring to us eternal rewards which are to receive in the next phase of our existence to follow death. Therefore, we human beings must look at life in a broader outlook, and while formulating the program of our life, take in to consideration not only the current rewards for our deeds, but those to be received by us in the hereafter. In addition, a life led on the basis of life divine world view is accompanied by a series of virtues and worships bringing man such a degree of perfection, happiness and freshness which is not to be attained from any materialistic comfort".

Therefore, the life, based upon the divine world view, which is being discussed by us takes a special look. How can an expedient person, totally abandon without reviewal, the reality of thinking in a non-materialistic manner, and focus his energies solely on such a life and on such enquiries that are offered to us by materialistic practical sciences.

An expedient investigator, who is free from making any pre-judgement can find the only proper way which is to patiently listen to observe as to what the divine world view says about the non-materialistic reality what path it shows to recognize this reality, and where the value of this path rests.

Subjective And Objective Impressions

With a view to better discern the subject or our discussion, divine world view, it is essential to have a closer discussion or subjective and objective impressions which in fact, are two major elements of awareness and knowledge. Take a look at the wristwatch of your friend. Immediately, your eyes present your mind with an impression of the watch.

This image did not exist before in the domain of your awareness and now with a look at the watch, something has been added to the reserve of your knowledge. Simultaneous with the image of the watch, there emerges another impression in you and it relates to the fact that this image in your mind has come as a result of an objective reality rather than being purely an imaginary image having no objective reality.

We would term this image of the watch, which has come to the domain of your awareness as subjective impression" and the other image, which comes to your mind as a result of an objective reality as objective impression”.

A Simple Test

Take your watch off your wrist and hang it on the wall. Then request your friend to look at it from a distance of 15 meters. This glance bring an image in the mind of your friend, but this impression is not as vivid as the one which you got by looking at the wrist watch of your friend from a distance of hair a meter.

Despite this, your friend, with this subjective impression though an ambiguous one, from your watch, has an objective impression that has arisen from a reality, and is not an imaginary and absurd image. This objective impression of your friend is definite to the same degree which you got earlier to case of your friend’s watch.

In order to have an objective impression of a reality, it is not necessary that we have to get a subjective and clear image of it to familiarize ourselves, with all of its qualities. It happens very often that we have an entirely objective impression about the reality of something whereas our imaginary recognition of it is merely to that where we could specify it from other things already recognized by us.

Where Does One's Objective Impression Originate From?

Subjective impression generally comes to our mind through senses. For example, the image of the watch on the wrist of your friend comes to your mind through the eyes. But how about the objective impression? Does this objective impression, which is the image of an objective reality, come to you also through your eyes, or from any other source?

Investigation in this respect is beyond the scope of our present discussion, and is a part of the debate concerning the assessment and evaluation of human cognition which is not relevant to our survey. ln the present discussion, it is necessary to pay attention to this point that this objective impression takes place not only through seeing but also through hearing, smelling and tasting, as well as through feeling cold and heat, and pain and other effects. When a sound comes to our ears, coupled with the image coming to our mind, there is created this impression in us that we are in contact with an objective reality.

Hence, this subjective impression is not specifically related to the reality of the things observed by us, as it is coupled with the subjective impression originating from other senses as well. Even sometimes we get a firm "objective impression" of a reality without its having come directly to our senses.

You are driving a car, and its engine suddenly stops functioning thus bringing the automobile to a halt. You park it alongside a sidewalk and probe the whole engine since with this sudden disorder in the engine, you have got this objective impression that there is surely some cause for it. What then is that cause?

Has the fuel been exhausted? Is there anything wrong with the engine itself, or is there any other defect? Presently, you do not know anything about it other than that there is a cause involved in the automobile coming to a sudden halt. Maybe this cause lies outside the car as something external could have made the engine in-operational and caused the car to halt.

However, all these probabilities do not affect at all the firm ness of your objective impression that something has made the engine in-operational.

You possess this firm objective impression without of your senses realizing about this cause. Neither have you seen it with your own eyes nor heard it through your cars nor felt it through any other senses.

Conclusion of this is survey indicates that: We acquire concrete awareness of such realities which have themselves not warned into our senses but some of their signs or indications have been received by the senses.

And hence this circle of awareness of ours is vaster than that of our senses.

Unfelt Realities: Relation Of Casuation

Often you have an absolute and undeniable objective impression of a reality which basically cannot be felt. That means that none of our senses can directly discern it, and our awareness of it is solely through familiarity with its signs. One such reality is the relation or causation.

All of us know that some of the beings are effective in the creation of some others, and something that originates the emergence of another is called a "cause". This link and bond existing between these two things but not bet ween each of them and other thing; is known as the "relation of causation". It is generally said that "matter in the state of evolution" is the subject of practical sciences.

But in a more accurate manner, it can be said that all efforts of practical sciences are focussed on observing as to what manifestation is the source of emergence of another manifestation in the domain of matter and materialistic order? And in this way, perhaps it could be more proper for us to say that the basic subject of practical sciences is the relation of materialistic causation.

Let us now pay attention to the point that a reality or such significance, which is the subject of all scientific efforts of man is something whose direct impression can never be obtained through our senses, and we can discern only its signs with the help of our senses.

In order to specify that our mind draws up its image or pseudo-image with the help of the signs available. Of course, validity and value of this image or pseudo-image is relative, and its real worth lies in the help it extends to us in discerning this reality from among several others. To proceed in a perfectly accurate manner, we must refrain from drawing up any sort of image for such a reality, and must specify it through sign and index-something like the signs applied in algebra.

In other words, our subjective impression of such realities is restricted to a degree where we can only comment that "a reality has such and such signs". As a result of this survey, we come to the conclusion that:

1. We human beings are endowed with a faculty that discerns reality of a range exceeding that of our senses.

2. Often we have a vivid and doubtless objective impression. In other words, lack of a direct and vivid subjective impression is not a proof of its being, imaginary.

Our discussion up to this point has not been involved with the divine world view and the material basic world view too accepts the issue. These are very explicit issues which when explained in a simple style devoid of unfamiliar terminologies are understandable and acceptable to all and sundry. We would now take a look at the divine world view as to what it says about the non-materialistic reality and the mode of familiarity with it.

Although the divine world view has been stated in different ways, we, in this survey, would focus our discussion on the subject of “divine world view of Islam" so that we could centralize our review and also come closer to the basic goal which is to acquaint ourselves with Islam.

The basis of thought in the divine world view of Islam is that: We, with the help of the same energy by which we receive impressions and discern realities such as the "relation of causation", recognize the existence of God, and realize that the origin of existence is a reality which in itself, is no manifestation or not something that could have emerged.

Rather, it is "pre-existent and eternal". He brings all manifestations into existence and because of this being no manifestation, is a non -materialistic being, since a materialistic being is the one which is constantly in a process of evolution, emergence and expiration, and as stated by evolutionary materialistic philosophy, going through the gradual processes of "thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis".

We possess an absolute objective impression about this reality without having any idea of it in our mind.

This vivid objective impression has been created in us through our awareness of this reality. Ln order to be able to distinguish it from other realities in our mind, we have no means other than these signs and indices. Our subjective impression of Him merely says that He is the "owner of these signs". Names have been attributed to this reality in different languages, and in the present-day Farsi, we call Him, "Khoda" (God).

Since the source of our familiarity with this reality is through this signs, we have to recognize these indices and see whether they are so vivid as to familiarize with this reality or not.

Signs Of God

This interpretation comes from the Qur'an itself which is the most authentic of the sources for appraising ourselves with the Islamic world view.

The Qur'an always speaks of "signs" that is, of the signs of God, asking us to think freely and inquisitively about these signs. In most of the people, this mode of thinking is straightaway and natural without needing to be formulated. This very unformulated natural thought has brought about in them an explicit and decisive faith in God as if 1hey have seen God not with their eyes but with the insight commonly known as "witnessing".

Another group, whose thoughts are habitual of analysing things, has attempted to formulate this "thinking". This formulation proves very useful to many people as it helps them organize their thoughts and make a vivid conclusion. However, to some others, it leads to complicate things and disrupt its natural soft trend.

In this treatise, which has been prepared at an average level and for the use of all educated people, we state these signs in a few ways; some of them duly formulated, and some others in their same natural form. You must go through them and ponder to observe which one is more appropriate and conducive to the general mode, of thinking present in you, and is able, with total vividness and clarity, to incite divine belief in you.

General Causation

You are riding a bicycle and are roving about. The bicycle's wheels turn speedily, thus giving you an opportunity to take a look around. Do the wheels rotate on their own? No, this is caused by the chain that moves them. How then about the chain? Does it move automatically? No, this is moved by the denticulated wheel attached to the pedal. Does the denticulated wheel rotate on its own? No, it is the movement of the pedal levers which makes it rotate.

Why are the pedal levers moved? It is the pressure from your feel which puts them into movement. Why do you put pressure on the pedal by your feet? The reason is that the motive nerve of the feet has got such a command from your brain in this regard. Why has your brain issued such a command?

It is because there exists a strong inclination in you to make a roar, and under favourable conditions, it has managed to create an intent in you. Where has this inclination come from? It may have many and varying reasons. For instance, you may have got tired due to excess of work in a task of your interest, or may have failed in this desired task and now want by taking a glance at nature to tranquilize yourself, or at least to make yourself busy. Where has that tiredness or painful feeling of defeat come in you from?

Again each one of them has reason or reasons which can be found out through sustained enquiry and exploration. This enquiring into cause is not solely related to the circling of the wheel or the movement of feet. Our thoughts, upon coming across every manifestation, question the origin of its creation. Both in ordinary and academic life, there reigns supreme a general principle over the thoughts of us human beings, and it says that: "every manifestation has a cause which bas treated it”.

This principle, known ·as "General Causation" is the infrastructure of all the ordinary and scientific efforts of us human beings. Insistence of a scientist in discovering the cause of a natural or social incident is due to the reason that he is, at no cost willing to accept that this incident could have occurred automatically and without any overt interference. Due to this reason he engages in hundreds of enquiries and experiments.

Each experiment or every single series of tests undertaken by him is based on the hypothesis that such and such cause might have been involved in the occurrence of this incident. If these experiments bring negative results he understands that this hypothesis has proved to be wrong, and then proceeds to other hypotheses and experiment. The assumption that a manifestation could be without a cause is never acceptable to a scientist. Even if his efforts do not attain results in his lifetime, others pursue this task after him.

This cheerful scientific effort originates from the firm faith of the scientist in the principle of "General Causation". Is this general causation to be treated as an experimental principle? Repeated experiences have shown to man that every incident has a cause, and in such a case, since this experience is frequented in the domain of natural events, the worth of the principle of General Causation too lies in the domain of nature and natural events. Result of this repeated experience lead only to the fact that: "every material manifestation has a material cause" and therefore, it cannot be generalized to a non­materialistic causation.

Or the issue is more unstable than to say that the principle of "'General Causation'' is a subject-oriented principle within the domain of nature which similar to every other principle of its kind, because of the fact that it gives order to our personal or scientific work and effort bringing us successes, we have accepted it on account of exigency. Since it has constantly preserved its worth within the scope of a subject-oriented principle, we too have throughout remained loyal to it.

In any case, the contents of this subject-oriented principle do not go beyond the fact that “every material manifestation has a material cause and that it cannot be generalized to a non-materialistic causation”. Maybe the root of this issue lies somewhere else, and the thoughts of us, human being, have accepted this principle on some other basis...

Manifestation And Manifester

The divine world view says: The base of man's attention to the issue of causation is due to his regard for the manifest nature of a reality. Till the time our mind views a being as a firm reality, this question never comes to him: where has it come from?

But no sooner that we pay attention to this point that this reality is a "manifestation", meaning thereby that it did not exist before but has emerged, or in other words, we discern the fact that it underlies the act pf ''becoming" rather than "being" that we come to this query: Where has it come from? At this stage we do not await for a repetitive experience or the subject-oriented principle.

Therefore, the origin of our impression about the principle of general causation is our attention to the actual need about which we are thinking. In this way, we can so define the principle or general causation: "Every reality of unstable nature is in need of another reality that has caused its emergence''.

This “manifesting'' reality, in case it is of a stable nature, does not need to have a third reality. However, if it too does not enjoy a stable existence, then it automatically needs to have another reality which could have caused its manifestation. This chain of requirement continues to such a point where we reach that reality which has a stable existence and is independent of any manifester.

It is only then that we no more question ourselves: Where has it come from? Because such a question is related to a manifestation whereas we have now reached a reality; in this way, there has emerged a reality which can create in us a firm awareness and objective impression about the reality of the independent manifester who is in himself, not a manifestation. Therefore, each one of the manifestations of this world, in isolation, would be vivid signs of the Creator of this world.

Coordinator Among Creatures

To a large number of people, both ordinary and eminent thinkers, the order and coherence that we find in every single creature of this world or their collection, is a vivid indication of the creative and strong force which has brought about this world in an orderly manner and is taking it on to a course of perfection.

Advancement of practical sciences has immensely helped our awareness about this miraculous order, and it is still doing so. With every scientific achievement, the latent secrets arc revealed and new avenues of this amazing system recognized, thus adding to our admiration.

This includes the system of the smallest particle, that is, atom and its constitutes the system of very great collections such as galaxies', 'clouds' and most amazing of them all, the system of the living beings, ranging from the structure of a "cell" or even smaller unit such as "chromosomes" or "genes" and the structure of a perfected living being, especially man, possessing some active systems which are in an amazing coordination with one another regularly in a bid to keep him alive and to perfect him, such as digestive, respiratory and blood systems, and most significant or them all, the nervous system with its sublime points in the spinal cord, brain or the glands producing various hormones with each one of them having a mysterious role in our life.

You have certainly read at least the secondary school cycle, especially in natural science and maths courses about these phenomena, and gone through them in detail or perhaps in later courses at the university or in general studies.

Now go through those subjects again not only for the purpose of preserving them and presenting them to the school teacher or university professor, or solely for getting acquainted with formula and applying them in laboratory and workshop but with the intent of deeply delving into the amazing system of the world.

It is only then that you would realize what a mental effect it has on you. This attention to the system has created, among many of the scientists who have themselves played a worthy role in recognition and revelation of its secrets, this objective impression, and continues to do so that an “All-powerful Intelligence" bas created this system and is responsible for its advancement.

Bilateral And Supplementary Coordination

Sometimes we observe in this universe that the needs of a being are provided for in advance in the structure of another being. We find a general example of this provision in case of mother and infant. Both, in case of human beings and animals, mother, upon becoming pregnant, simultaneous with the development of foetus inside the womb and with its attaining the birth stage, that is, continuation of life outside womb, the milk-producing glands begin to operate slowly in the mother under the effect of hormones of the mate, preparing themselves to provide a suitable diet for the infant after birth.

This suitable diet is stored in her breast which has a buttoned opening having tiny and fine apertures so that the infant can receive its daily food through sucking it.

Pay thorough attention to this fact that there is no more any talk of reaction among the constituents or a being or a physical collection of beings such as atom or solar system. Here there is the question of the fulfilment of future needs of a being from the existence of another being, and that too by observing the finest points such as the breast's nipples for sucking by infants.

This is truly a sort of anticipation in the structure of a being to fulfil the needs of another being that too after its birth and separation from that entity. This is truly a very vivid sign of the creation of such beings by a Powerful Being.

A look at the general system of the world, especially at the reciprocal and supplementary coordination system in beings like mother or infant, brings this objective impression in many individuals that creation of this world has taken place under a set plan, and this cannot be the work of anyone other than a Wise and Powerful Creator.

Can your mind ever accept that the purse in your hand could have-been produced without the intervention of an intelligent clement and solely as a result of a series of natural developments? Show your handbag to a materialist thinker and tell him: "True that a handbag is generally made by a worker or a machine run by a worker. But as an exceptional case, this bag in my hand has been produced purely under the influence of natural factors and without any interference by any maker possessing thought and intelligence".

It is then you see the reaction of this materialistic thinker who would surely comment in front of you or behind your back: “He is talking nonsense”. This means that the materialist cannot even accept one in a billion that the bag, each one of whose constituents has been thoroughly planned and later knit together, could have been created solely under the effect of natural elements devoid of any intelligence.

In other words, he finds in the making of this bag, the active role of a constructive intelligence, and in his opinion, any such comment as "perhaps" as applied in sentences like "perhaps this bag has been made as an exception, without any interference or any sort of intelligence" is a worthless obsession and scepticism rather than a considerable "scientific doubt".

Basically, if we consider this issue even with the criteria of practical science, we observe that a very extensive and age-old human experience has constantly shown him that creativity, that is, forming shapely and fine articles out of simple things, is greater than any other natural being in man, and considering the fact that perfection of this creativity in man is related to perfection of his sense of knowledge and his ability to invent and innovate rather than to other aspects of his existence, he so infers that there is an authentic link between intelligence and creativity and in this way, the assumption that this system, abounding in fine effects of creation caused by a strong force, is even comparatively more acceptable than the opposite assumption, that is, the materialistic assumption which considers the intelligent matter as source of creation of all these intricate things.

Movement Towards Infinite Perfection

Some of the investigators have, after years of observation, experience, study and research, ultimately reached the conclusion that a world without any idea of God is like a meaningless world .They contend that the more we have become precise in the worldly affairs, the more we have discerned the reality that this world is all movement and activity. In this great activity, there is an evident sort of "direction" and man is well aware as to which direction the world is proceeding.

The general characteristic of this movement is "perfection", as the world, in general moves towards perfection, without baiting at any of the stages of relative perfection. One may say that there is a goal involved and a purpose ahead, for attaining perfection through this sustained effort. Can this goal and purpose be something other than "infinite perfection"?

It is the only goal deserving of this evolutionary movement towards infinite perfection that attracts all and sundry towards itself like a powerful magnetic pole. If it were not for His powerful magnet, there would have been tranquillity everywhere that is nothing could be "created" as there would have been nothing other than Him.

This kind of recognition of God has a long history and a worthy place among the prominent thinkers. Besides the works of major gnostics and philosophers, many naturalist scientists, especially astronomers, atom experts, biologists, psychologists and sociologists, have interesting utterances and writing in this field.

The most suitable source of information of these opinions is constituted by the ordinary books of history, philosophy and general history. However, in this survey, since we want our thoughts not to be influenced by some particular individuals, we refrain from reproducing those opinions and defer this task to another treatise which has been or is to be written in this regard.

We recognize individuals from amongst the youths, both orientalists and Westerners, pursuing scientific fields in whom this pursuit of natural sciences has brought about the thinking that nature itself performs every task. So, what is God needed for?

But after their natural science studies were expanded and they became able to think, on the strength of the confirmed results of these sciences, also about the origin of existence and system of nature, they realized that if there be no God that is ''the first and the last", both ''the beginning and the end", and "the Creator and the Motivator" of this world, the whole universe, its whole system would appear to be meaningless futile and useless.

A German physics student, pursuing his studies in Islam, once referred, concerning his belief about God, to the issues similar to those mentioned in the foregoing, and noted: "After turning away from the ambiguous God dwelling in Heaven! I have associated myself with the God who alone has genuine meaning for the world of manifestations, and without which everything appears vague.

Explicit Signs

The need of a manifestation for the manifester, culmination of this link in this manifester, the evident role of the "All-powerful Intelligence" in the world, and the meaningful and objective nature of the all-embracing activity we find throughout the world are explicit signs of the existence of Allah.

These are the signs actually speaking to us but not in words and sentences. Due to this reason, the speech of these silent speakers might not be properly understood by some people, and may not bring, in their restive mind, a tranquilizing objective impression about the existence of the Creator of the world. We advise these people to proceed direct to locate the expressive and explicit signs that speak to us, in our own language about this latent secret.

These explicit sign are constituted by prophets. To every person who, by adequate investigation, acquires absolute belief in their prophethood, prophets, in themselves, present conclusive signs of the existence of God. Every prophet is a sign and reason attesting to His existence and every prophet claims that he has found God through “divine revelation”, and received instructions from Him to guide others.

Evidently, we at the outset, view this issue as a claim big enough and abnormal to be accepted easily, especially when we might still doubt the existence of God Himself and "other signs" too might not have sufficiently satisfied us.

Prophets came across hardships, signed "repentance letters", and categorically acknowledged that they are not prophet. Whether we might have come to believe in God, or not done so, by other means, when become to confront anyone proclaiming himself a God, we must thoroughly look into his claim, and accept his contention only after finding conclusive arguments attesting to the veracity of his claims. Thus, after obtaining conclusive and sufficient arguments on his prophethood, we automatically find absolute signs of the existence of God.

The most natural way of probing into this claim is to look into the particulars of that person himself: What type of a man is he? How much reliable was he in his life prior to making this claim'! Is he a tricky fellow seeking to tyrannize people in this way? Is he an ambitious person who has found his way to more suitably secure wealth, and status and for merrymaking?

Or is he a person who has led his life righteously and benevolently without there being semblance of a doubt about him? Later, it must be seen where does he stand in terms of intelligence, wittiness and wisdom'? Is he a simpleton who has, through inspiration from others or of his own accord, thought himself to be a prophet, or is he in association with such and such personality?

Or is it that his sense of understanding on the one hand and his prominent achievements and miraculous leadership on the other do not go along with such a claim? It is in this way that we take confidence in the lives of other individuals as well.

Generally, everyone is closely familiar in his life with an individual(s) and has firm faith in their righteousness and purity. Where does this conclusive faith originate from? It is the result of ones sustained attention to them and their lives. There are even individuals whom you have neither seen nor had any contact with, but the all-round research undertaken by them has proved to you that they are righteous and virtuous and can be relied upon.

Though the claims made by prophets are specific as regard extraordinary and unnatural issue, that is, contact of an individual through divine revelation with the immaterial source far above our senses, a group of people, despite acknowledging the purity, righteousness, virtuosity, goodwill, understanding and laudable intelligence of prophets, still remain sceptical about their prophethood.

This group demands some special signs as an evidence of the extraordinary link of prophets with the "non-material source", and as a token of "sign", expects from them performance of such tasks that are impracticable by any human being, and are in no way justifiable by any natural and ordinary reasoning. It wants miracle from them.

Observation of one or few miracles from a human being produces such a degree of faith in these people that it cannot be achieved through any other means. There are also to be found some individuals who, even after witnessing some miraculous acts by a person, doubt his prophethood, and attribute these extraordinary acts to be some son of mesmerism and dexterity on his part.

Due to this reason, proper attention should be paid to the fact that generally speaking, the power to show miracles is a must for a prophet, but for his identification, this act of creating miracles is neither adequate nor a condition. For those possessing a realistic power of enquiry and evaluation, the best way is to thoroughly study the personality of such a claimant of prophethood.

This study should also include his previous background, goal, strategy as well as the values that he has shown prior to and after 1his claim of prophethood. With the help of such an all-round survey, it can be well discovered as to whether this contender is truly a prophet benefiting from the source of divine revelation, or he is simply a genius proclaiming himself to be a prophet or an actor who bas thought of this way to be more suited to achieving his personal objectives, or he is a dis-balanced person suffering from melancholy?

Nevertheless, a prophet claims that: he is an ordinary human being like others, and he eats, sleeps and leads his life like them. He had come unexpectedly to observe an un recognized upheaval within himself bringing about in him an upsurge, or as interpreted by the prophets themselves, an endowment.

All these extraordinary values which you now find in him, in his efforts, and in his teachings are cite result of this upsurge and endowment, and he himself has, in full explicitness realized that this upsurge and bouncy is from Allah.

May be someone says to this contender: "We do accept that you are a virtuous person, honest and reliable in all respects. But this unexpected transformation you have found in yourself following which you have been blessed with unprecedented perfections and learning, is a spiritual upsurge whose root-cause you are unaware of.

Due to this reason, you have imagined for yourself and told me: "I who have, in order to gain these perfections and this knowledge, neither pursued any courses as is usual, nor learnt anything from a teacher and tutor. Therefore, this bounty must have come from a non-material source that is Allah! Thus, you must allow us to doubt, while having faith in your truthful ness and goodwill, in your recognition of the source of this upsurge and upheaval".

It is the politest interpretation from those who want to recognize prophets in their divine mission. Some of the contemporaries of the Prophet of Islam expressed this view about him; the Holy Qur'an also has, in some cases, stated it quoting the abnegators of prophethood. The response of this claimant to the abnegator is:

"We prophets ourselves have paid attention to this point which has come to your mind .We too, at the outset, did not know for sure as to whether this unprecedented change which we find in us is solely a mental upsurge of whose origin we are unaware, or whether we are truly involved with a source superior to matter and its elements. But we, with repeated observation or attention to the special aspects possessed by these inherent (or inward) intuitions, abandoned this doubt.

Now we have no doubt in the fact that we have been endowed with a special divine blessing in this upsurge, have you ever thought it to yourself that when you observe something new, you, because of its newness and unexpected nature, disbelieve your eyes as to whether you have really observed and recognized a reality, or you could say to yourself that you have just fancied such a thing in your imagination!

What would you do when confronted with such a situation?

You focus your eyes again to observe what you have viewed earlier. When you find that object, you, after a couple of tries, gradually come to believe that you have discerned the reality. If you, even after repeatedly observing that object and you gripped with doubt and suspicion, you seek help, from yet another faculty. For example, you now attentively give your ear to listen to any sound, or try to touch if there really exists anything. Ultimately, all that inquisitiveness or yours is aimed at clarifying the issue to yourself.

We prophets too, in the course of our contact with the divine revelation, which is the non-material source of our recognition, awareness and reception of the revealer of these divine messages, had initially the same state. But we studied and probed into the matter so much that it finally became vivid to us that we truly grasped the reality with our inherent (inward) insight rather than involving ourselves with a hollow imagination and fancy.

Now we hold such a firm faith in it that we speak with total decisiveness about it to you and wholeheartedly make self-sacrifices in the path of the functions assigned to us by way of this source of divine revelations. It is such a joyful and lively self-sacrifice that is not possible for man abounding in doubts.

“Regrettably, no reliable historical awareness of the detailed events of the lives of all prophets is accessible. However, one can become acquainted with some of these with the help of historical research. Among them Prophet of Islam has a very glorious history".

Put aside all the issues and stories, far from belief and imagination, which have been intermixed with the life of Muhammad (s). Separate out all the historical facts related to him from the doubtful issues written or narrated about him, and recognize him with that face which the historical facts depict him to be.

It is then that you would come to know who and what Muhammad (s) was. He was an illiterate man, neither able to write nor to read but inwardly vigilant and well-informed, pure, righteous, freeborn and benevolent. He lost his father in infancy, hut enjoyed the love and affection of a loyal mother nearly up to the age of six, and thereafter was taken care of by a grandfather extremely pure in nature and a personality like Abdul Mottalib.

Afterwards, he got the affection and supervision of a noble, kind and loveable uncle like Abu Talib. From the age of 25 years onwards, he enjoyed a rich family life with the help of adequate financial help and a home warmed by the devotion of a loyal wife like Khadijah, and was endowed with such adorable and perfect children as Zaynab and Fatimah….

Until the age of forty, he was an ordinary man who being duly aware of the prevailing corruption and degeneration in the society, was attempting, besides finding a way to liberate the people of the fetters put on their thoughts and body, to avoid any act devoid of contents that could create hue and cry and to think of a deep-rooted and all-round reformation...

Such an individual, at an age of nearly forty years, finds a new enlightenment in himself, and after duly enquiring into it from all respects, declares with utmost explicitness that this new enlightenment is divine revelation, not the result of his own thoughts and studies of quiet and nearly tranquil years of the past, or of the thoughtful months which he had passed in recent times far from the people in the Hira Cave.

A man who had, until then, not recited even a verse or written any prose, and spoken all along those forty years of his life like ordinary people, now receives some verses from this vivid source whose style has neither any precedence in the Arabic language nor in their overall contents. The level of their contents, generally speaking, is not only superior in terms of thinking, to all over Hijaz and Nejd, as well as the then Arab land, but it is also so sublime in some cases, especially in the sections relating to the recognition of Allah and man that it has greatly absorbed the attention of prominent thinkers of the golden centuries of human civilization.1

Apart from the confidence that close associates of Muhammad (s) had in his truthful nature and excellence, there was no ground for doubt and reluctance in them concerning his vivid reception of these Qur'anic verses, each one of which is an index of this divine book being revealed. The Qur'anic verses have been named as "signs" and these further attest to the reality that these words were not Muhammad's or his contemporaries’. By way of repeated experiences. Muhammad (s) had learnt that he had no say in the receipt of these fluent verses. It happened on repeated occasions that he felt an urgent need for receiving a particular verse but it was not revealed since such an act was not in his power.

Both in the era of Muhammad and in later periods, no one could produce a collection like Qur'an rivalling it in terms of style and contents, Muhammad (s) himself delivered numerous sermons and speeches, dictated many letters to his assistants, and issued instruction and guidelines, but none of them has the style of the Holy Qur'an.

There is least doubt in the fact that Muhammad (s) himself possessed a decisive faith to the effect that what sparkles in his heart in the form of Qur’an is divine revelation. Due to this reason, not only the Muslims but also non-Muslim researchers did not doubt his faith in his mission.

Winter, in his introduction to the German translation of the Holy Qur'an (by Oleman), writes "There can be had no doubt today that his worthy faith in his mission 2…” Nold, in his famous book 'History of Holy Qur'an’ repeatedly stresses this point3.

Basically, this view is held by all the persons familiar, in terms of research, which the History of Islam. Doubts are generally expressed by such individuals who give their opinion of Islam without having any appreciable knowledge of the history of Islam and the life of Muhammad (s), something which should, at least, be treated as treason against knowledge.

The whole life of Muhammad right from his call to Islam until his departure from this world, abounded in dangerous events that threatened his whole existence. Particularly during the first 13 years of his stay in Mecca, he came across tough incidents that were brought about by opponents to the Islamic movement.

In the fifth year after ordainment, the degree of harassment, discomfort and torturous acts of opponents against Muhammad (s) and his followers was so intense that he had to send a number of innocent Muslims away to Abyssinia (currently Ethiopia) since there was no security for them in Mecca.

In the 8th year after his call to Islam, the opponents succeeded in imposing economic and social sanctions upon Muhammad (s) and his followers in Mecca, and even upon all of his non-Muslim relatives who had backed him merely due to their relationship. As a result of these sanctions, life became so hard for them that they were all compelled to leave Mecca and choose to live collectively in a mountainous pass belonging to Abu Talib, on water and grass. These sanctions lasted for nearly three years.

Shortage of foodstuff became so acute for the group under sanctions that some of its members succumbed during the course of the sanctions or a little after that. These included Khadijah and Abu Talib, respectively Muhammad's wife and uncle. With the death of Abu Talib and Khadijah, the lives of Muhammad (s) and his followers were further endangered.

It was then that Muhammad decided to secure a refuge for the Islamic movement with the tribes adjoining Mecca. Included among them was Taif, a small city in the vicinity of Mecca, where he went and contacted tribal leaders.

However, they drove him on with such hostility that on his way back, wandering persons stoned him and he was forced to come back to Mecca in the dark of the night. It was the same Mecca that had now mobilized all its forces against him. Conditions continued to become harder day by day, but Muhammad (s) remained firm in his goal, and ultimately in the 13th year in accordance with the secret agreement be had reached earlier with the Muslims of Yathreb (currently Medina), he secretly left Mecca to proceed to Yathreb on the same night when the plotters in Mecca had chalked out plans for his murder in a mass attack on his house.

Those who are familiar with the problems in the way of struggle can better understand that such a miraculous perseverance, from the outset of a struggle until the end of life, is possible only by an individual who could have a decisive and absolute faith in the mission and contents of his call and movement.

Had Muhammad (s) shown even the least doubt and hesitation and compromise in the discernment of such divine revelations, he would have shown indecision in his moves in those very days when his opponents proposed a compromise plan asking him to at least abandon his stress on God-worship and worthlessness of idols, and, in return, accept any possible concession. He would then have not welcomed the very hard days of economic sanctions underwent by the family of Abdul Mottalib or sought refuge, with affection and faith, in Taif.

With such a background in life, Muhammad's (s) qualities by virtue of that up-surging change in him at the age of 40, by that firm faith in divine revelation and his mission, by that unprecedented leadership coupled with ultimate success, by that collection of teachings and model ideological, practical, moral, and political system, by that society, country and the model brought about by him, by that modesty, kindness coupled with vigilance and initiative in leadership and the power of rule as well as other human qualities, which he displayed until the end of his life, and by virtue of that eternal and unrivalled work namely the Qur'an which he put at the disposal of the world and its people, are all clear indications of Allah.

Who sent him and other prophets so that they could speak in person to such people who have, by other signs, not succeeded in recognizing the owner of these signs, and show them the path leading to Allah.

This was our discussion on various signs which brought in us the absolute "objective impression'' about the non-materialistic reality and the source of existence that is Allah. If there are certain persons who, despite all these signs, still fall into such fallacies as "perhaps and ifs", then we have nothing to say to them. We must leave them to themselves to ponder over this reality.

It is very likely that we could, in future, find themselves and ourselves traversing the same path. Our compatriots in this ideological search and quest for a prosperous life arc those persons who have reached an explicit conclusion in this phase and chosen the divine world view. Along with this group, we would continue our path based on the following two principles:

1. Faith in the Creator who brought about existence is an indication of His existence, capability and wisdom.

2. Faith in the fact that Muhammad (s) is His Prophet, and what he offered, since the start of his call in the name of Islamic teachings to the people of the world, emerged from a very prominently and extraordinarily aware source, that is, revelation.

• 1. Refer to articles and books written on the subject, such as: Goethe and Muhammad, and: Muhammad as viewed by others.
• 2. German version of the Holy Qur’an published by Goldman.
• 3. Page 3, Volume 1 published by Hildesheim.