Why did God create the human being free and give decision-making power so that he or she can do whatever he or she wants to do?

The truth is that the human being has a basic difference with all other creatures of the universe and that is having free choice and will.

Why did God create the human being free and give decision-making power so that he or she can do whatever he or she wants to do?

The reason is that if he or she were not free, there would be no transformation and this great possibility is a guarantee of spiritual and ethical transformation. For instance, if a person is forced at sword point to help the deprived and to do good deeds for society, of course, this would be considered to be good deeds, but no ethical or human transformation would take place for the person who was forced to do this.

Thus the first condition for a spiritual and ethical transformation is that free will or freedom of choice must be present and available so that the human being can take this way by himself or herself and not through force. It must be like a natural force of the world of nature and if God has given this great gift to human beings it is because of this very elevated goal. But this blessing is just like a flower along which grows thorns and it is the misuse by individuals of this freedom and pollution with oppression and corruption.

Of course, as far as God is concerned, there would be nothing to prevent Him from punishing a human being with the worst kind of punishments if he were to commit oppression so that he would never consider doing it again, his hand be paralyzed, his eye lose sight, or his tongue not be able to Speak.

It is true that if this was the case, no one would misuse freedom and would never commit sins but this piety and devoutness has a coercive side and would in no way be considered to be an honor for the human being but rather it would be because of the fear of immediate punishment.

Thus, at any rate, the human being must be free and must be tested in various ways by the Creator, be free from immediate trial, other than in exceptional cases, to Show the value of his or her self.

Ref: Fifty Lessons of Principles of Belief for Youths; Ayt. Makarem Shirazi; Translated by: Bahador Shirazian; Published by: Ahlul Bayt World Assembly

Was Aristotle a messenger of God?

The great Greek philosopher, physicist and scientist, Aristotle, was born in 384 b.c., in Stageira, north of Greece. His father, Nicomachus, was the personal physician to the King of Macedon. At the age of 17, Aristotle left Greece for Athens in order to continue his studies. In the year 368 BC., he became a member of Plato’s academy and remained a member for twenty years, until Plato’s death.

As Plato’s best student, he left Athens and founded a branch of the academy in the city of Assos in Asia Minor. There, he got acquainted with Hermias, its governor, and eventually got married to Hermias’s niece.

In the year 343 BC., he was invited by Philip of Macedon to be tutor to the thirteen year old Alexander the Great. He accepted the offer and began tutoring him and working on his morals and scientific dimensions not knowing that this decision would have a great effect in history, because in the year 336 BC Alexander the Great sat on the throne and began his worldly conquest. Meanwhile, Aristotle left Macedonia and returned to Athens. There, he established a school like that of his teacher’s and was named the same as the area in which it was established, “The Lyceum”.

The Lyceum was an academic school, equipped with a library and teachers in which would hold classes in an orderly fashion. In The Lyceum, researchers and intellectuals would spend their time studying in a highly-developed way.

Aristotle used to walk while teaching, and his philosophy became famous as “Peripatetic Philosophy” (walking or strolling).
Upon the death of Alexander in 323BC, strong anti-Macedonian feeling developed in Athens, and Aristotle was accused of being pro-war and in content with the acts of his pupil. Because of this, he retired to a family estate in Euboea. He died there the following year from natural causes.

Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers who has presented many unique theories on all philosophical and intellectual subjects; physics, logic, morals, politics, tragedy, and astronomy. His theories, particularly those on metaphysics, and his logic were the principle ones during the Middle Ages and prepared the grounds for the cultural and scientific renaissance.
His philosophy plays an important role in Islamic Philosophy. Most Islamic philosophers, like Farabi and Abusina were his followers and because of this, they are related to the Peripatetic Philosophy. Usually, they would explain his theories. Conclusion: Aristotle was never a messenger of God, he was a great Philosopher that his followers or other philosophers would call “The Prophet of Philosophy”.

Who was Jesus sent to?

According to Islam, Jesus was sent to the entire world. It is known that the total number of prophets that God sent were 124,000. Five of these prophets were considered to be the best, and they were called o-loo Al-Azm. These prophets were Nooh (Noah) Ibraheem (Abraham), Mousa (Moses), Ee-saa (Jesus), and Muhammad (Peace be upon them all). Being one of the five o-loo Al-Azm prophets means that Jesus was sent to the entire world of mankind and Jin (other beings living amongst us that can see us without us seeing them).

What does it mean when it is said that Adam (pbuh) descended from heaven?

The word Hubut in Arabic means to fall from a high place to a lower one, and is used as the opposite of Su’ud (ascension). 1
The Almighty has pointed to the expelling of Adam from the Garden and making him live outside it with the term “Hubut”:

1- {وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُواْ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ}
Then We said,” Descend, you are each other’s enemies!. 2

2- {قُلْنَا اهْبِطُواْ مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّي هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ}
We stated:” Get you down all from The Paradise; and whenever there Comes from me onto you a Guidance,] Know that [those who follow My Guidance, neither fear shall come on Them nor they shall grieve. 3

3- {قَالَ اهْبِطُواْ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ}
Allah stated:” Get down] while [There will be enmity between you; and For you, there is on the earth an Abode as well as provision of Sustenance for a fixed time. 4

Also, in some verses the word Hubut can mean to settle down in a certain place and reside there. In the Quran Allah addresses the Israelites saying:

{قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَى بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ اهْبِطُواْ مِصْرًا فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ…}
He said:” Do you want to exchange something commonplace for something that is better?” “Settle in some city to get what you have asked for!””. 5

In order to explain the Hubut of Prophet Adam first we need to understand what the heavenly Garden he was living in was like and whether or not it was a Garden on earth or in a different world. One thing is for sure and that is the Garden was not the eternal and everlasting one, therefore what is meant by Hubut was a change in the place Prophet Adam lived, what is called ‘Hubut Maghami’ or decline in rank, not that he actually physically descended from the heavens. Both Quranic commentators and Philosophers have spoken about the Hubut and have mentioned theories that explain it, we will only explain the theories of the commentators:

In Tafsir Majma’ul-Bayan of the lateTabarsi, it reads:

The words “هبوط” “نزول” “وقوع” have the same meaning which is moving from a high place to a lower one, sometimes “هبوط” means settling somewhere, for example in the Quran Allah says: “اهبطوا مصراً” which means: “Go to the city and settle there…” 6

In this regard Allamah Tabatabai says:

هبوط means going out of and exiting the Garden and settling on Earth and beginning a life accompanied by many difficulties. What is understood from verses 24 and 25 of Surah Al A’raf

{قَالَ اهْبِطُواْ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ؛ قَالَ فِيهَا تَحْيَوْنَ وَفِيهَا تَمُوتُونَ وَمِنْهَا تُخْرَجُونَ}
is that there was a considerable difference between life in the garden and outside of it. Living outside the Garden was difficult and inconvenient but when living in the Garden Adam (pbuh) did not feel hunger, thirst and experienced no difficulty.

He extends: “Even though he was not living in Paradise (which whoever enters will never be sent out), the garden Prophet Adam was living in was in the skies and not on earth”
Here, as probably will come to the mind of many, a question comes up, what is meant by the skies and a garden in the skies?” 7

In another part of his Tafsir he explains the meaning of a garden in the skies saying:

Prophet Adam lived in a garden that was not in Paradise nor on earth, but rather it was in ‘Barzakh’ (the realm in between this world and the Hereafter)” 8.

In regard to the Hubut of Shaytan after refusing to bow down to Prophet Adam, which has been mentioned in verse 13 of Surah Araaf  {قَالَ فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ} Allamah Tabatabai explains:

The sentence فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ 9 is emphasizing the phrase “فاهبط منها” because Hubut has the same meaning as ‘khuruj’ (to exit), and the only difference is that Hubut means to exit and decline from a certain status and rank and enter a lower one, and this shows that Hubut does not mean to exit one place and enter another but is actually referring to declining from a certain status and level to a lower one.
This also corroborates our claim that the two pronouns in the words “منها” and “فيها” refer to ‘rank’ and not the skies or Paradise.
Therefore the meaning of the verse will be as follows: Because of refusing to bow down to Prophet Adam when I commanded you, you must give up your status, which was the status of being humble and obeying my commands and you shouldn’t have shown arrogance, so go out and you are among the belittled ones.” 10

In another place in his tafsir, the Allamah explains another important point:

Commanding Hubut is a takwini command that was done after living in the Garden and committing the mistake, therefore there was no religion at the time and no such thing as a sin and disobeying of Allah.” 11

What the tafsir is trying to say is: The command to stay away from the tree in the Garden was an irshadi one, like when a doctor tells someone what he must not eat or drink because it may cause him problems and make him sick, not that the doctor will punish him if he does not act according to what he says (In other words, commands that Allah (s.w.t) issues are to two types; mowlawi and irshadi, the first entails ones deserving punishment upon disobedience, while the latter is only a recommendation and is telling us what is better to do, not that disobeying it will bring about ones deserving punishment). In this case Allah has commanded Prophet Adam not to go close to the tree and not to eat from it, because if he does, it will lead to his expulsion from the garden, like cause and effect; eating from the fruit is the cause and its effect is that he will be expelled from the garden. This explanation from the Allamah clarifies what is meant by hubut and the reason for it.

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli also agrees that the Garden was in the realm of Barzakh, he extends:

Prophet Adam (pbuh) was transferred from a metaphysical realm to a physical one and such a transfer is the same as existential ascension, like the Quran that was sent down from Allah (s.w.t) for the guidance of the people, not that it was a physical ascension (meaning that his body was transferred from one place to another), also, since this ascension was accompanied by Adam’s repentance and regret, it is also called the Hubut of Wilayah or Khilafah.” 12

The Hubut of Shaytan was his fall from his high rank, but Adam’s hubut was one that took place on earth in which his dignity wasn’t flawed from, meaning that he was sent to reside in a world in which Shaytan was also residing in, the difference between the two being that one lost his dignity and the rank he possessed, while the other didn’t lose out on anything. 13

Therefore Shaytan actually underwent two hubuts: 1- Descending from the great status of the angels after refusing to bow down to Prophet Adam which has been mentioned in verse 13 of Surah Araaf 14 {قَالَ فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ}
2- Descending from the Garden which was his temporary abode and coming to a lower place after tricking Prophet Adam and Eve into eating from the tree. After the mistake Shaytan was sent out from the Garden along with Adam and Eve. 15

In Tafsir Nemouneh we read as an answer to this question that even though some verses say that the Garden he was in was Paradise, but it seems that it was only one of the Gardens of the green and flourishing parts of the earth. Because first of all: Paradise is an everlasting and eternal blessing, meaning that if one makes it into Paradise he will never be expelled from it. Second of all: there is no way Satan can get in to Paradise for it is no place for such an evil creature, let alone having the power to tempt people and deviate them there. Third of all: There are ahadiths narrated from the household of the Prophet that back this opinion.

A narrator narrates:

I asked Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) about the Garden Adam was living in, the Imam answered: “It was one of earth’s Gardens that the Sun and the Moon would shine on, and if it was Paradise he would have never been expelled from it (because Paradise is an everlasting blessing).” 16

Anyway, there are many clues showing that the Garden was not Paradise, because Paradise is the end of good and pious individuals, while Prophet Adam (pbuh) had just started his life there. The Garden he lived in was place where he could do good deeds but on the other hand Paradise is the result of one’s deeds and acts. 17

In another part of the Tafsir we read that Hubut means coming down because of being forced to do so, like the falling of a stone from a high place, and when the word is used for Humans it means to be forced to come down as a punishment.

Considering the fact that Prophet Adam was created to live on earth and the Garden was only a flourishing part of the earth, therefore the Hubut of Adam refers to decline in rank and state, not a physical decline and ascension. Meaning that Allah lowered his rank due to his mistake and he was subsequently deprived of all the heavenly blessings and had to cope with the difficulties of living outside the Garden. 18

[1] Al-Ein, vol. 4, p. 44, p. 21; Lisanul-Arab, vol.
[2] Baqarah:36.
[3] Baqarah:38.
[4] A’raf:24.
[5] Baqarah:61.
[6] Of course the expulsion of Prophet Adam (pbuh) and Hawwa (Eve) from the garden wasn’t as a punishment, because we have reasoning that none of the prophets can ever commit anything wrong, and anyone who says it is possible for them to be punished has wronged them and accused Allah of something terrible. Indeed Allah (swt) expelled Adam from the garden because by eating from the forbidden fruit, things changed and His wisdom called for him to bring them to the earth and have them experience the hardships and adhere to the rulings of this world. Majma’ul-Bayan, vol. 1, pp. 196-197.
[7] Al-Mizan, vol. 1, p. 135; Farsi translation of Al-Mizan, vol. 1, p. 208.
[8] Farsi translation of Al-Mizan, vol. 1, p. 213.
[9] Araaf:13.
[10] Farsi translation of Al-Mizan, vol. 8, p. 35.
[11] Ibid, p. 137.
[12] Tafsir Tasnim, vol. 3, p. 383.
[13] Tafsir Tasnim, vol. 3, pp. 374, 408 and 466.
[14] Araaf:13.
[15] Tafsir Tasnim, vol. 3, pp.371-375.
[16] Tafsir Nurul-Thaqalain, vol. 1, p. 62.
[17] Tafsir Nemouneh, vol. 1, p. 187.
[18] Tafsir Nemouneh, vol. 13, p. 333.

Did the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have Ilme Ghayb (knowledge of the Unseen)?

Allah (SWT) has the absolute knowledge about everything, and He grants part of the knowledge to whom He wants (Ayatul Kursi, Sura Bqara). Elm Ghayb is absolutely with Allah (SWT) and He grants parts of it to the Prophet (SAWA) and to the Infallible Imams and even to other very pious servants of Allah (SWT).

The Prophet (SAWA) and Imam Ali (a.s) had informed about many facts unknown to people ,and it is mentioned in many Sunni and Shia books, which proves that they had knowledge of the unseen up to the extent that Allah (SWT) has granted them.

Why do we need the guidance of prophets?

There are two reasons why we need the guidance of the prophets from God:

1. The need from the point of view of teaching

If we ride upon a fantastic and fairy tale-like horse which is built of rays of light and in every second we travel 300,000 kilometers in the shoreless space, doubtlessly we will need to have thousands of life-times of Noah just to see a small part of this extensive universe. It is clear that this universe, with its greatness, was not created uselessly and as we learned in our study of God, the creation of this world has no benefit to God’s state, because He is a Being Who is totally and absolutely free from any need, Who is eternal and He has no deficiency which He could want to meet by the creation of the world and humanity.

Thus, we can conclude that His goal was to give Mercy to others and to help creatures reach perfection, just like the fact that the sun shines upon us without it having any need of us. This light and heat of the sun is only to our advantage and benefit because what do we do for the sun?

On the other hand, is our intelligence and knowledge sufficient for us to move along towards the way of perfection and the reaching towards becoming a perfect human being?
What amount of the secrets of the world do we know?
What is the truth of life?
When was this world created? No one knows the answer to these questions.
How long will it remain? Again, no one knows the answer to this.
Every scholar of humanity has an opinion from the social and economic point of view. For instance, one group recommends capitalism and another group, socialism or communism and another group, neither accepts this group nor that, and considers both to be harmful.

In other issues of life, as well, there are differences of opinions among the scholars. A human being falls into a state of wonder as to which one of all of these to accept. It is here that, in all fairness, we must admit that in order to reach the main goal of creation, that is, perfection and nourishment of the human being in all areas, we need a series of teachings which are correct and empty of any error; ones which rely upon the realities of life, teachings which can help us, upon this long road, to reach the main goal.

This can only be done through God’s knowledge, that is, divine revelation through the prophets. Because of this, God Who created us to take this journey, must place the knowledge at our disposal.

2. The need for leadership in the social and moral areas

We know that within our being, in addition to knowledge and wisdom, other motives called ‘instincts’ also exist, the instinct of self-love, the instinct of anger and harshness, the instinct of lust and multiple other instincts. Without doubt, if we do not control our instincts, and they dominate over us, even our knowledge and intellect will be imprisoned, and the human being, like the oppressors of history, will be changed into wolves which are far more dangerous than the wolf of the wilderness.

We need a teacher to learn ethics. We need a model so that we can learn from him according to the principle whereby one narrates something and others follow. A perfect and disciplined human being, from every point of view, is required to take our hand upon this way, which is full of twists and turns, and prevent the rebellion of our instincts, to have virtuous principles and his deeds and words sit upon our hearts and very beings, nurture courage, bravery, friendship with other human beings, brotherhood, forgiveness, loyalty, correctness, trustworthiness and purity within our spirits.

What person, other than a pure and immaculate prophet, could be chosen to be such a teacher and guide?

For this very reason, it is not possible that God not show His Mercy to us and prevent us from the existence of such leaders and teachers.

———————–
Ref: Fifty Lessons of Principles of Belief for Youths; Ayt. Makarem Shirazi; Translated by: Bahador Shirazian; Published by: Ahlul Bayt World Assembly

Did Adam commit a sin? What about the question of the infallibility of the divinely sent prophets?

In order to arrive at the answer, a few preliminary points must be considered. It must first be pointed out that the Divine prophets and their deputies enjoy lofty spiritual and existential stations in the order of existence. They are the hidden rays of Divine effusion; the complete manifestations and clear signs of the Beauty and Majesty of the Truth. The clay of their bodies and the forms of their souls were moulded by the might of both of the Divine arms-Beauty and Majesty-and were taught the reality of the Divine Names and Attributes in the pre-eternal world of the Unseen.

The second point that must be addressed is in regard to the question of infallibility. There are a range of views in this regard, among them:
1. They are infallible vis-à-vis the major sins but are vulnerable to the minor sins;
2. They are vulnerable to both major and minor sins;
3. They do not commit sins intentionally but may do so by mistake;
4. They are absolutely infallible.
The final view, which is the correct one, is that of the Shi’a and is supported by a variety of reasons, one of which is that if they were vulnerable to sin, it would defy the purpose of their mission, for in that case the masses would not be willing to trust and follow them; such a scenario runs contrary to the wisdom of the Omniscient Lord.

Now the cause of their infallibility is their all-encompassing knowledge of obedience and disobedience, of what is permitted and what is forbidden, and generally speaking of vice and virtue (or in a word, their theoretical intellect) that keeps them from sinning (which is carried out by the faculty of the practical intellect).
A relevant question in the context of Adam’s (a.s) sin is where Adam (a.s) resided before banishment. It could not have been the promised Paradise; for, firstly, as asserted in the Divine Text leaving Paradise is not possible; secondly, Satan is not allowed in Paradise, and finally, there are no restrictions on the consumption of any fruit in Paradise.
The last point meriting mention in this context is in regard to the nature of Adam’s (a.s) error. One of the posited explanations is that it was not a sin but a neglect of what was more meritorious (tark awla); for, firstly, prophets are infallible; secondly, considering the lofty station of the prophets, it would not be inappropriate for them to be upbraided on account of neglecting what is more meritorious-hence, the adage, “The righteous deeds of the good folk are the sins of those brought nigh to Him;” thirdly, neglecting the more meritorious has in fact occurred among the prophets-as in the story of Yunus (a.s)-and so is a likely possibility.
But as to the question of why Adam and Eve (a.s) were not forbidden from the consumption of the forbidden fruit on earth as they were in the Garden of Eden, there are several possible explanations. It is possible that the forbidden tree was an actual tree, a plant, the consumption of which entailed banishment from the heavenly life that they were enjoying, and as such there would have been no reason for the prohibition of that tree on earth. And as elucidated in the appropriate place, religious directives vary based on location, time, and other particular circumstances.
Another possibility is that the tree in question was a spiritual reality. In this case, that tree was either the tree of knowledge, which is of course not defensible as it is contradictory to definitive Qur`anic and traditional principles. For, as related in the Qur`an, Adam (a.s) was not only not restricted in the acquisition of knowledge but in fact he was taught all the “names” thus becoming the teacher of the angels.
Another possibility is that the tree is a metaphorical allusion to the trait of envy. Of course since Adam (a.s) was a messenger of God, the envy in question should be construed as a sort of longing, possibly a longing for the spiritual station of the Prophet of Islam, ‘Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (a.s). Also in this context it may refer to the condemnation of jealousy before entering this world.

WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM/A Brief History of Holy Prophet’s (S) Life

His father’s name was Abdullah and his mother’s name was A’aminah. He was born on the seventh day of Month of Rabi al-Awwal in the year called the Year of Elephant (A’am al-Feel) in the Holy City of Mecca; he was appointed to prophethood at the age of forty years. He remained in Mecca for thirteen years and during this period he invited people towards Islam openly and secretly, during this period a group of people believed in him but the pagans and idol-worshippers with their complete stubbornness interfered and prevented the advancement and progress of the Islam.

They made serious efforts and endeavors in torturing Muslims and the Holy Prophet (S) to the extent that his own life was threatened with danger, then he was forced to migrate to the Holy City of Medina; gradually little by little the Muslims too joined him there and eventually the Holy City of Medina was turned into the prime capital of the Islamic Government and its military garrison. The Holy Prophet (S) continued propagation of commandments, guidance of the people and administering social affairs for a period of ten years; the Islamic Army continuously remained at the alert position for defense and war.

The Holy Prophet (S) lived in this world for a period of sixty three years; he passed away on the twenty-eighth of the Month of Safar in the eleventh year of migration, and was buried in the Holy City of Medina. Since his childhood, he was well mannered, truthful and righteous and due to this reason he was called as Muhammad, the trusted one (amin); from the point of view of good moral ethics he was the most famous among the people of his period.

Treachery and lying were never noticed with respect to him, he never oppressed any one, never performed indecent acts, treated the people with respect, was well mannered and courteous, showed favor and compassion towards the destitute and distressed; whatever he said, he acted upon it accordingly and it was due to the means of his loveable manners that people were inclined towards Islam and became Muslims with their own determination.

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “A beggar came near the Holy Prophet (S) and asked for help, he got a little amount of dates from a helper as a debt and gave it to him; a little time passed but the means of paying the debt were not available to him. One day the person to whom he was indebted came and demanded his dates, he replied: ‘Right now I do not have them, whenever I am in a position to do so I would return them to you.’ He came again and heard the same reply from him. At the third time when he arrived and heard the same reply, he said: ‘O Prophet of Allah! Until when will you keep saying, God-willing, I would pay?’ The Holy Prophet (S) while encountering his impolite reply smiled and said: ‘Is there anyone who would give me dates as a debt?’ A person replied: ‘O Prophet of Allah, I would give you.’ He said: ‘Pay this man such amount of dates, the creditor said: ‘I do not demand more than half of this quantity; the Holy Prophet (S) replied: ‘I have bestowed the remaining half quantity upon you.’”4

2.6. Islamic Laws

The Islamic laws are not only limited to worshipping, commandment and individual obligations, rather it consists of a comprehensive social order and has commands and a program in various arenas of human beings; it has laws and programs regarding social, political, legal, and civil affairs. The Holy Prophet (S) and the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (a.s.) governed the Muslims through the execution of the same laws; Muslims in the beginning of Islam through means implementation of the same programs were able to achieve all those advancements and astonishing progress, and established a powerful and magnificent government. We believe that the laws of Islam are better and more perfect than all the laws; if they could be executed completely between mankind and if they could be utilized for administering society, mankind would attain prosperity and goodness, oppression and tyranny would be completely rooted out, piece and coexistence would replace wars and confrontation; and poverty and unemployment would be totally eliminated.

We believe that: The laws of Islam are not defective and do not require reformation and completion. We know that the sacred Islamic ideology understands real interests of the people and has provided them the very best laws. We believe that every law that is against the Holy Qur’an is not in the interests of the people and does not have any worth. We believe that we should follow the Islamic commandments and the Holy Qur’an in all areas of life in order to become prosperous.

We know that the horrible state of affairs of Islamic nations has not been created because of the effect of Islam; instead their entire affliction is because of their refusal of the implementation of Islamic laws. Since, we left the Islamic laws behind and required medicines of sickness for our social problems from others, and only sufficed ourselves in the name of Islam, we have fallen into such a dark day.

We believe that if Muslims want to regain their lost prestige, dignity and grandeur and join the lines of progressive and advanced nations, they have no options except to become the real Muslims, and should implement all commandments of the Holy Qur’an and should take inspiration from its social programs. But so far the laws and programs of Islam remain only written with ink upon paper, and have not been implemented in their totality; we should not wait for progress and grandeur.

 

WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM/Eternal Miracle

The Prophet of Islam possessed miracles that occurred during his life period and they have been pointed out in the books of history and narrations; in addition to that the Holy Qur’an is an eternal

miracle and absolute certification of his prophethood. The Holy Qur’an itself introduces it as a miracle and declares officially to the people:

“And if you are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witnesses beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (The Holy Qur’an, 2:23)

And says:

“Say: Verily, though mankind and Jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur’an, they couldn’t produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.” (The Holy Qur’an, 17:88)

Although the enemies of Islam didn’t stop from taking any sort of action in their confrontation against Islam and readied them for the dangerous and bloody wars, and in this path suffered plenty of financial and physical losses, but in spite of that were unable to confront with the Holy Qur’an of Muhammad (S) and could not produce a similar verse. While if such an act was possible, for them they certainly would have preferred it to difficult confrontations in order to rescue them from all those headaches and hardships.

The blessed Holy Qur’an was descended gradually during a period of twenty-three years upon prophet Muhammad (S). His companions wrote exact revelation called signs (a’ayat) that were collected later on and was then presented as it is in the current form.

The Holy Qur’an is the only heavenly unique book in which any sort of changes or deviations have not been made, and without more or less is available for mankind; the Holy Qur’an is a book of deeds. If the Muslims desire to be prosperous and could raise their heads in dignity, to acquire back their lost majesty and grandeur; they do not have any other option except to follow the steady and firm program of the Holy Qur’an, and its implementation should cure their untreatable pains and social problems.

WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM/Muhammad (S) – Seal of the Prophets

Muhammad son of Abdullah (S) was one of the great and most distinguished among them and is a prophet of Muslims. When he was appointed for his prophethood, due to the continuous and prolonged hardships and the painful endeavors of past prophets, the religious learning level of human being reached to the point whereby they were in a position to receive the best and most perfected laws and could comprehend the highest leanings; they should guard forever the trust of knowledge of all prophets, then the Prophet of Islam was appointed and he presented the most complete program and comprehensive commandments for the human beings.

If the commandments of Islam been implemented, the prosperity of the world and hereafter would have been assured as they were sufficient for guidance of humanity during the period of the Holy Prophet (S); likewise they are sufficient for the prosperity of the present period as well as for more progressive forthcoming generations.

Everyone who would conduct research with accuracy and precision regarding Islamic commandments and learning and would compare them with other commandments; the distinction of Islamic commandments would become explicitly clear upon him. And it was because of this reason that he is the last prophet and after him no prophet would come. The matter of being the Seal of the Prophets for Muhammad (S) is a necessary requirement and whoever denies it would not be considered as a Muslim.