Contemplation of the will...

Contemplation of the will, consciousness, knowledge and harmony inherent in the order of being and all the various phenomena of life, makes it possible for us to perceive that all these qualities-together with all the other elements that speak of aim, direction and purpose-necessarily derive from the will of a Creator Who Himself possesses these attributes before they are reflected in the mirror of creation.

That which comes to know God and to touch His being is the remarkable power of thought-a flash which deriving from that pre-eternal source shone on matter and bestowed on it the capacity of acquiring knowledge and advancing toward truth. It is within this great divine gift that the knowledge of God is manifested. Islam deals with the knowledge of God in a clear and novel way.

The Quran, the fundamental source for learning the worldview of Islam, applies the method of negation and affirmation to this question. First, it negated, by means of convincing proofs and indications, the existence of false gods, because in approaching the transcendent doctrine of unity, it is necessary first to negate all forms of pseudo-divinity and the worship of other-than-God. This is the first important step on the path to unity.

The Quran says: "Have the ignorant polytheists abandoned the true God and chosen, instead, the false and powerless gods? Tell them: "Bring forth your proof!' This call of mine to unity is my saying and that of all the learned men of the community, as well as the saying of all the Prophets and learned men before me.

But these polytheists have no knowledge of the truth and constantly avert themselves from it."(21:24) "Say, O Messenger, 'You worship one other than God who has no power to help or to harm you. It is God Who is all-hearing and Who bows the state of all of creation."(5:79) The one who has severed his connection with divine unity forgets, too, his own true position with respect to the world and being and becomes estranged from himself.

For the ultimate form of self-alienation is the severing of all links with one's essential nature as man. Conversely, once man has become alienated from his own essence, under the influences of internal and external factors, he will also be separated from his God and become enslaved by other-than-God. Subordination to other-than-God, then, takes the place of all logical thought.