ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Quran Per Islam Man's Path in Traversing the Road of Life The difference between the animal and plant kingdoms and man is that the former react according to their inherent knowledge or instinct, while man, also possessing an inherent knowledge, is equipped with an intellect and the capacity to use or recognize wisdom.

Even if man is capable of undertaking a certain action, he weighs the good or the bad, the benefit or harm, contained in that action and implements it only if he estimates that the benefit outweighs the harm. Thus he follows the instruction of his intellect in every action; the intellect dictates the necessity of an action.

The intellect causes one to abandon an act if it is likely to bring with it an unacceptable degree of trouble and hardship; it not only instructs one on the feasibility of an action, but it also takes into account the dictates of sentiment and feeling. Indeed the perception of sentiment with regard to the relative good or bad in matter is so closely connected with the decision of the intellect as to be considered one and the same thing.

Man as a Social Being No one would deny that men are social beings who co-operate with each other to better meet their daily needs. We may wonder, however, whether men desire this co-operation from their natural feelings; are they naturally inclined to undertake an action with others and share an interest in something as a social project~ On one-level, man's needs, feelings and desires cause him to act for his own benefit and without regard for the needs and wishes of others.

Man uses every means to fulfill his own needs: He uses every kind of transport to reach his destination; he uses the leaves, stems and fruit of plants and trees; he lives upon the meat of animals and their products, and takes advantage of a multitude of other things to complement his own deficiencies in certain respects. Can man, whose state is such that he uses everything he finds to his own ends, he expected to respect another human being?

Can he extend his hand to another in co-operation and turn a blind cc to his own desire for the sake of mutual benefit? The answer in the first instance must be no It is as a result of man's countless needs, which can never he fulfilled by Himself alone, that he recognizes the possibility of fulfilling them through the help and co-operation of others.