Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part I: Beliefs Lesson 2-Ways Of Knowing God First Method: The Inner Way
First Method: The Inner Way
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First Method: The Inner Way
God has created the inner light in each and every human being. If we go deep within ourselves and touch our souls, we hear the message of God. History and anthropology has shown that if man is left alone and is not indoctrinated by any school of thought—then, sooner or later, his inner voice will lead him to believe in a power as the Creator and Maintainer of this world.
However, at times this natural feeling is subdued by external means. But it re-emerges when that person finds himself in difficulties—he naturally prays to a Power whom he believes to be above all powers. This is very well portrayed in the talk which Imam Ja`far as-SÄdiq (a.s.), the sixth Imam of the Shi‘a Muslims, had with an atheist.
Knowing that the atheist had gone on sea voyages several times, the Imam asked:
“Have you ever been caught in a fierce storm in the middle of nowhere, your rudder gone, your sails torn away, trying desperately to keep your boat afloat?”
The Atheist: “Yes.”
The Imam:
“And sometimes perhaps even that leaking boat went down leaving you exhausted and helpless at the mercy of the raging waves?”
The Atheist: “Yes.”
The Imam:
“Was not there, in all that despair, a glimmer of hope in your heart that some unnamed and unknown power could still save you?”
When the atheist agreed, the Imam said, “That power is God.”
That atheist was intelligent. He knew the truth when he saw it.
The “inner way,” in spite of being the natural and closest way of knowing God, is also a very personal way. It is only sufficient for the person who has seen the light within himself.
