ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Man and the Holy Quran Multi-dimensional Being From what has been said it may be derived that though man has many things in common with other living beings, yet he is quite different from them. Man is a material as well as a spiritual being. Each of the points which make man entirely different from other living beings, gives him a new dimension. The areas of difference are three: i. Area of the discovery of the self and the world. ii.

Area of the tendencies which act upon human mind. iii. Area of the way how man is influenced by his natural tendencies and how he makes a selection out of them. As far as the discovery of the self and the world is concerned, an animal knows the world by means of its senses. This quality is shared by man with other animals. In this respect some animals have even a keener sense than man. But the information which is fed by the senses to animals or man is only superficial and external.

Senses cannot go deep into the nature of things, nor into their logical relations. Besides his senses man has another power which enables him to perceive and discover himself and the world. This mysterious power of understanding is not possessed by other living beings. Man with his power of understanding discovers the general laws of nature and by means of this knowledge he practically controls nature and makes it of service to him.

In the earlier discussions also we referred to this kind of knowledge which is peculiar to man and pointed out that the mechanism of intellectual understanding is one of the most complex mechanisms of the existence of man. If this mechanism works accurately, it opens a wonderful way to man knows himself. By means of it man can discover many realities which he cannot make contact through his senses.

It is through this mysterious power which is peculiar to him that man can acquire the knowledge of the things which are beyond his sensual perception, especially the philosophical knowledge of Allah. As far as the area of tendencies and urges is concerned, man like other animals is influenced by the natural and material urges and impulsions. His inclination to food, to sleep, to sexual affairs, to rest etc., pulls him towards matter and nature. But these are not the only urges which man has.

He is attracted toward many other things which are not material, that is they have no size and weight and cannot be measured by any material yardstick.