بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
The Drowning Ark of Philosophers:
The Being of God is transcendental and beyond the beyond and is most secret and cannot be discovered by the power of human reasoning alone. No argument can prove it conclusively, inasmuch as reason can travel only so far that contemplating the universe it feels the need of a Creator. But the feeling of a need is one thing and it is quite another to arrive at the certainty that the God, Whose need has been felt, does in fact exist. As the operation of reason is defective, incomplete and doubtful, a philosopher cannot recognize God purely through reason. Most people who try to determine the existence of God Almighty purely through the exercise of reason, in the end become atheists. Reflecting over the creation of the heavens and the earth does not avail them much and they begin to deride and laugh at the men of God. One of their arguments is that there are thousands of things in the world which have no use and the fashioning of which does not indicate the existence of a fashioner. They exist merely as vain and useless things. These people do not seem to realize that lack of knowledge of something does not necessarily negate its existence.
There are millions of people in the world who regard themselves as very wise philosophers and who utterly deny the existence of God. It is obvious that if they had discovered a strong reason for the existence of God, they would not have denied it. If they had discovered a conclusive argument in support of the existence of God, they would not have rejected it shamelessly and in derision. It is obvious, therefore, that no one boarding the ark of the philosophers can find deliverance from the storm of doubts, but is bound to be drowned, and such a one would never have access to the drinking of pure Unity. (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 120-121)
Need for Divine Revelation:
OBJECTION: It is disrespectful to affirm that God speaks to man. What relationship can subsist between a mortal and the Eternal and Ever-Existing? What resemblance can there be between a handful of dust and Light itself?
ANSWER: This is a baseless objection. To meet it, it is enough to understand that the Noble and Gracious God has inspired the hearts of perfect human beings with untold eagerness for His own understanding, and has drawn them so powerfully to His love, affection and devotion that they have been lost to their own selves. To propose in such a case that God would not desire to converse with them would be tantamount to saying that all their love and devotion are vain and that all their eagerness is only one-sided. Such a notion is utter nonsense. Can a seeker of One Who bestowed upon man the capacity to win nearness to Him and made him restless with His own love be deprived of the grace of converse with Him? Can it be true that to be lost entirely in the love of God is both possible and detracts nothing from God’s dignity, but that the descent of revelation upon the heart of His true lover is impossible and improper and detracts from God’s dignity? Man’s plunging into the limitless ocean of God’s love and stopping nowhere in that pursuit, is conclusive evidence that man’s wonderful soul has been fashioned for the understanding of God. If it is not bestowed the means of perfect understanding, which is revelation, it would have to be said that God did not fashion him for His own understanding. Even the Brahmu Samajists do not deny that the soul of a man who possesses a true nature is hungry and thirsty for the understanding of God.
When it is agreed that a true man naturally seeks understanding of God, and it is established that the perfect manner of the understanding of the Divine is Divine revelation and nothing else, then if that means is impossible of attainment and to seek it is disrespectful, God’s wisdom would be open to the criticism that He bestowed upon man eagerness for His Own understanding but did not bestow upon him the means of acquiring such under-standing. In other words, He afflicted man with hunger but would not bestow upon him bread enough to satisfy his hunger, or that He afflicted man with thirst, but would not bestow upon him water enough to quench his thirst. Wise people will understand that such a notion amounts to failure to appreciate God’s great mercies. It is a strange logic of the Brahmu Samajists which proposes that the All-Wise Who has made it the good fortune of man that he should be able to witness to the full the rays of Godhead in this very life, so that he should be drawn towards God by this powerful attraction, that that Gracious and Compassionate One does not desire man to arrive at his needed good fortune and at his natural goal. (Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol 1. pp. 230-232, footnote 11)
When a seeker after truth asks himself these questions, he will undoubtedly receive the unequivocal reply from his heart that the innumerable favours of God demand that He should Himself help His humble servant, and should Himself guide the one who has lost his way and should Himself support the weak. Is it possible that God, being All-Powerful, Mighty, Merciful, Benevolent, Self-Subsisting, and All-Sustaining, remains perpetually silent on His part while the servant, being ignorant and blind, continues to wander aimlessly in search of Him?
So, O readers! Ponder over this discourse honestly. Reflect over it with close attention, delving deep into it. Be on your guard and do not let any deceiver deceive you. Ask your hearts yourselves how much they desire the attainment of certainty. Can your own gloomy thoughts fully satisfy your hearts? Do your souls not desire that you attain the level of perfect certainty in this very world, and that you be delivered from blindness? Tell me honestly, do you not wish to remove your darkness and confusion, and to clear the doubts concealed within your bosoms, which you cannot even disclose? So, if you possess any zeal for divine cognizance, then know for certain that the divine law of nature governing this world is only this: He has appointed one instrument or another for acquiring or searching for everything. The only function of reason is that it proves the need of this instrument, but it cannot serve itself as that instrument. For instance, reason proves the need for a millstone for grinding grain into flour, but it is not the case that reason itself becomes the millstone and starts grinding grain into flour. Likewise the intellect has led to establish the need for hundreds of instruments. However, only that work is accomplished that is done with the help of an instrument, and where the instrument is not available, the reason remains confounded.
Look at the entire enterprise of the world and you will realize that the utmost that intellect can do is to suggest some instrument to the human mind for performing a task. For instance, when reason thought of an instrument needed to cross the river, the idea of a boat came to mind; then a suitable material that does not sink into water, but floats on it, became available for building the boat. And thus the boat was built with this material. By the same measure, there are thousands of instruments that are required for running the affairs of the world. In all cases the function of the intellect is only to prove the need of an instrument and suggest the kind of instrument needed, but it cannot do the work of the required instrument….
And the instrument that leads to this highest stage of certainty is the Word of God, through which man comes to know with absolute certainty about the existence of God and His perfect attributes as well as the world of reward and punishment. By bestowing this stage of perfect cognizance upon hundreds of thousands of people, God Almighty has proven that this instrument for recognizing God does, in fact, exist in the world. Anyone who does not obtain light from this heavenly instrument is like a blind person who treads a path with ditches everywhere and huge pits all around, and he does not know where the path to safety is, nor does he know which side is safe for him. Nor is he aware of the consequence of taking a step. Neither can he himself see, nor does he hold on to a guide. He does not know where he will end up, nor has he any surety that he will achieve the objective for which he is going forth. Rather, his eyes are blind, and so is his heart.
(Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol 4. pp. 161-164)
God is the fountainhead of true prosperity. How can people attain true prosperity if they are unaware of the Ever-Living and All-Sustaining God and are ignorant and heedless of Him, and even turn away from Him? Blessed is one who understands this secret and ruined is one who does not.
Similarly, do not follow the philosophers of this world and do not be overawed by them, for they only pursue follies. True philosophy is that which God has taught you in His Word. Those who are in love with secular philosophy are in ruin and truly successful are those who have sought true knowledge and philosophy in the Book of God. Why do you follow the paths of foolishness? Will you teach God that which He does not know? Do you hasten to follow the blind so that they should guide you? O foolish ones! How will he, who is himself blind, guide you? True philosophy is, in reality, acquired through the Holy Spirit as has been promised. Through it you will be carried to the acquisition of pure knowledge, to which others have no access. Ultimately, you will obtain such knowledge by sincerely seeking it. Then will you come to know that this is the very knowledge which revitalises and revives the heart and guides you to the pinnacle of certainty. How is it possible to receive pure nourishment from he who feeds upon carrion? How can he who is blind help you see? All pure wisdom descends from heaven. What then do you seek from the people of this world? Those whose souls ascend to heaven are the true heirs of wisdom. He who is not satisfied himself cannot bestow satisfaction upon you, but first purity of heart is required; sincerity and purity are needed, after which, everything will be bestowed upon you. Do not think that God’s revelation is a thing of the past* and that the Holy Spirit can no longer descend as it did so in previous times.
I tell you truthfully that all doors may close—but the one from which the Holy Spirit descends, never shuts. Open the doors of your hearts so that the Holy Spirit may enter it. By closing the window from which the ray of light enters, you distance yourself from this sun of your own accord. Unenlightened ones! Come forth and open this window so that the sun might itself enter you. God has not closed the paths of His worldly blessings in this age. Rather, He has increased them. Do you then think that the paths of the blessings of heaven, which you sorely need at this time, have been closed by Him? Most certainly not! Rather, this door is wide open.
*The Holy Quran has perfected the Law of God, but this has not brought an end to revelation, for it is the life of a true religion. Any religion which is devoid of ongoing divine revelation is dead and forsaken by God. (Noah’s Ark, p. 38)