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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Teach Yourself Islamic Ideology Lesson 10: Another Look at Prophethood based on Monotheism In our discussion of the Divine Qualities, we came to know that God is the Absolute Aware, Wise and Compassionate. Now we ask, would this God Who has these qualities, leave humanity to itself? Is it possible that He not distinguish truth from falsehood for them? Is it possible that in this area He has withheld his Divine Grace?

It is clear that such a thing is not possible because such a thing disagrees with the Creator being Aware and Wise and also with His being Absolute. Now this question arises, "Who is that leader?" Perhaps some people will say, "The leader or guide is that very intellect of the human being." Now without any erroneous orientation or prejudice we will answer this question. There is no doubt about the fact that the intellect does play a role as a guide for human beings.

The greatest distinction between animals and human beings is this very intellect. Cogitation and thought which bring consciousness are greatly emphasized and we discussed this to a certain extent in our lesson on humanology. That which must be studied is whether or not the intellect acting alone can guide us to the final stage of perfection. In other words, is the intellect self-sufficient? All of our words relate to this issue.

If it be proven that the intellect is self sufficient, the necessity for prophethood will naturally be negated and if self-sufficiency be negated and the intellect be proven to be imperfect, taking monotheism into consideration, the acceptance of prophethood will be necessary. Is the intellect self-sufficient as a guide? Now it is vital that we explain what we mean by self-sufficiency.

What is meant by self-sufficiency as previously indicated is, whether or not the intellect alone is capable of guiding the human being towards the final stage of perfection and answer all of the issues which play a role in bringing the human being to well-being? This is the point for otherwise it is very clear that the thought that the intellect is not self-sufficient in reaching conclusions about scientific evidence is not true.

The evolutionary movement of the human being towards perfection begins with the intellect. Scholars accept the need for prophethood here and they clearly say that the way to reach monotheism, which is the infra-structure of prophethood, is possible through the intellect.