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Back You are here: Home Library Islam Philosophy of Islam chapter 05 - The World is a Dependent Reality Is ever‑changing world purposive?

Is ever‑changing world purposive?

Is ever‑changing world purposive?

We have said that the world of nature is constantly changing and transforming, from an atom to a galaxy, everything is in motion and in the state of `becoming'. To be static and at rest is impossible.

 Science has to some extent discovered the causes of this motion, but it has given no clear answer as to why this world is so constantly changing and `becoming'.

 In which direction is this world moving? What is its goal and for what purpose?

 It must be understood that a man's point of view in regard to the general motion of the world, directly affects his out­look on the goal of his life and the direction of his efforts.

 With regard to the answer to the above questions, there are three theories worth consideration:

(a) Aimlessness: On the basis of this theory the develop­ment of the world has no aim or purpose and cannot be interpreted sensibly. Everything is surrounded with a mystery and meaninglessness.

 This approach is applied not only to be general motion of the world, but also to the birth of man and his actions and efforts. According to this theory, which is known as nihilism, man's life is meaningless.

 In our times the idea that the world has no meaning and no value has become the basic doctrine of a number of philosophical and social schools.

 The fact is that this situation is, more or less, the reaction of the conditions faced by humanity in the present day societies.

 The man of machine age has become a captive of the big industrial wheels and is tired of the rules, regulations and discipline imposed on him by the respect of machine and mechanical production. He finds himself to be a captive in the hands of the exploiters, and is like a thing having no will and no personality. Any procedure prescribed for him is only a step towards taming and enticing him to serve the interests of others.

 Man is fed up with all these restrictions, unnecessary rituals and hard and fast regulations. He is confused by the propaganda with which he is fed by the various kinds of publicity media, and finds himself caught in varied traps. That is why he rejects everything, and declares that all values have lost their worth and everything is futile and baseless. He wants to set aside every law and every principle imposed on him. Even the conventional rules of wearing dress, eating, choosing profession and residence and visiting people have become unbearable to him, and he wants to get rid of them.

 Nihilism cannot be censured so far as it is a revolt against the senseless things imposed in the name of necessities and principles. But beyond that, the question is quite different.

 Some people regard the whole world as having no value and consider the life to be meaningless. They see no charm in life.

 They take an unfavorable view of everything. They sink into despondency and live in despair. The best remedy they can think of is to live a life of renunciation and some­times even to commit suicide.

 This way of thinking is the greatest calamity for humanity. It amounts to losing one's usefulness and sinking into degradation!

 Anyhow, for some people even nihilism can serve a useful purpose. It can become a springboard for proceeding in the right direction and finding the correct aim of life. In fact if the rejection of the existing values leads to the discovery of the genuine ones and if ‑the denial of the rules which have reduced man to nonentity is followed by constructive efforts to find the correct way of life, the destructive rejection can pave the way for obtaining positive results.

 In the case of Islam's unitarian outlook on the world also we come across two stages:

One being the rejection of all false deities and the breaking of all idols, and the other being the acknowledgement of Allah.

 (b) Natural evolution from within matter: According to this theory, the motion of the universe is aimed at evolution; of course merely a natural evolution.

 In other words, from the very beginning the world, by its very nature, has been moving forward materially.

 This explanation of evolution is faced with many difficulties from various angles.

 (1) From scientific point of view the cosmos is gradually getting old and losing the required energy. This position cannot change, unless we presume that the atoms of the dead and scattered matter will come to a new life through a big explosion. As the possibility of such an explosion is only hypothetical, it is not possible to study its results.

 (2) During the discussion of open and closed systems, it was pointed out that for the purpose of the evolution of the entire world, the intervention of an outside factor is inevitable, and that such an intervention cannot be purely material if it is by a factor besides matter.

 (c) Movement towards absolute perfection: According to this theory the motion of the world is aimed at spiritual evolution and advancement towards Allah. Man starts his evolutionary journey from material field and ends it with Allah. The Qur'an says:

 "We did not create the heavens, the earth and all that lies between them in sport. We created them with a purpose; though most of the people do not know that". (They are not aware of the importance of the world, its rationale and its system). (Surah al‑Dukhan, 44:39‑40).

 "To Allah belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth and to Him shall all things return". (Surah Ale Imran, 3:109).

 "Allah's is the sovereignty of heavens and the earth and all tat is between them. To Him shall all return". (Surah al‑Maidah, 5:18).

 "O man! You will surely be going to your Lord laboriously and meet Him". (Surah al‑Inshiqaq, 84:6).

 On this basis the world of nature is a world of motion, development and change. It has within itself an evolutionary trend. From simple things more complex and more perfect things come into being in a special manner and make the vast canvas of nature gradually more colorful. This process continues and the living things come into existence.

 With further development man appears on the scene. He is a material being but possesses divine spirit, and with evolu­tionary movement can equip himself with divine attributes.

 We will further throw light on this developmental and evolutionary process in the course of our forthcoming discussions.

[1] A Light year is the unit for the measurement of space i.e. the distance which light covers in one year. Light travels at the speed of three hundred thousand kilometres per second.

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