Foreword
The teachings of religion are concerned not with empty abstractions but with the eternal truths of the universe. The only way to salvation lies in our acceptance of and submission to these truths, just as we adapt our lives to the brilliance of the sun, whose rays we can neither stop nor dim. To these truths we can adopt an attitude neither of denial nor of indifference. Relate to them we must, or we shall find ourselves on the path to eternal damnation.
If we are to have the benefit of religious teachings, the safest and surest way is through divine revelation—the message of the Lord of the Universe conveyed by His messengers to mankind. Speaking of the doubts raised by ancient, pre-Islamic nations about the verity of the messengers’ appeal and about their status as true apostles of God, the Quran records how the apostles argued, “Is there any doubt about God, the Originator of the heavens and earth?” (14:10), thereby indicating that the truth of their message was based on nature. Nature’s manifestations all around us in the form of the earth and heavens are observable evidence of the truth of the teachings, which the prophets presented as a matter of theory.
This argument in favour of religion is still as pertinent and as valid today as it was in bygone ages. Whereas in ancient times man understood little of the phenomena of the earth and heavens, in the present-day human knowledge of these matters has increased enormously and, far from lessening the importance of this argument has, through modern research, consolidated and reinforced the teachings of the Prophet.
The picture of the universe that emerges from modern knowledge is that of a perfectly organized system, bound by immutable laws. It had been surmised initially that behind observable phenomena there existed a mechanical system which continued to function owing to the laws of cause and effect. But a more meticulous and searching study of this subject has revealed this supposition to be totally inadequate, for no system, however flawless and unremitting in its movements, can function without a mover and sustainer at every moment.
Similarly, the rapid increase in human knowledge had led to the assumption that it would ultimately embrace all truths. There would then be no need for divine revelation. But later investigations have demonstrated how baseless this concept is, for man simply does not have faculties, which are developed enough to arrive unaided at absolute truths. He must, in the last analysis, have recourse to an Eternal Teacher. In all ways, modern knowledge, far from weakening the bases of religion, has fortified them.
Modern investigation has also proved that the urge to be religious is a natural and insuppressible emotion in man. Attempts have been made to formulate a man-made religion, but in a universe where man is pathetically incapable of arriving at ultimate truths, this has been a failure. This was inevitable, for there is no man who is able, without divine guidance, to develop a religion, which is in complete correspondence with the truths of the universe for the benefit of the creatures that inhabit it.
