The Mystery of Life: A Secret Inside Secrets chapter4

The Mystery of Life: A Secret Inside Secrets

Chapter4

The Universe on Judgment Day

Science today does provide some predictions on the future changes in the universe, though it cannot present any definite details. Many verses of the Qur’an point out the coming changes in the universe:

اذا وقعت الواقعة لیس لوقعتها کاذبة خافضة رافعة اذا رجت الارض رجا و بست الجبال بسا فکانت هباء منبثا

“When the terror descends (and none denies its descending) , abasing, exalting, when the earth shall be rocked and the mountains crumbled and become a dust scattered,

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and you shall be three bands…” (56: 1-6)

There is debate whether Judgment Day is the day when some go up and some go down. Ibn Abbas believes that, “Some people rise on Judgment Day; others are sent down. ” Hassan and Jabbaee have written that, “Judgment Day sends some people down into the fire, and takes some others up to heaven. ”

Tabarsi believes that, “Both theories can be summarized as: Those who get inflated in this world become tiny on Judgment Day, and vice versa. ”

According to the verses in the Qur’an, these events will happen just before Judgment Day and on Judgment Day itself:

a) Intense earthquakes; several verses have stated this point.

Mountains will become hollow like cotton wool, and then crumble down.

The sky will split apart, and become unsteady and twisted.

The moonlight and the sunshine will disappear.

The stars will fade out and scatter.

The skies will open up, making doorways through which angels can pass.

Two great shrieks will be heard; hearing the first will terrify all people, and the second will bring them to normal again.

Immense horror and distress will engulf people so intensively that they will abandon their dearest, their children, their family; pregnant women will bear their babies and people will be intoxicated, even drunk, with bewilderment.

The earth will throw out everything inside it, like dead bodies, etc.

Waters of the oceans and seas boil and catch fire, and all waters will mix with each other.

Such immense changes and developments do not occur simultaneously; as we have mentioned before, some may take place

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before others.

The Qur’an describes Judgment Day as an extremely severe one. Is that because of the galactic developments concerned? Or is it due to the pressure exerted on man's physical faculties and aspects as he prepares to see and express the truth about himself? Indeed, both intelligence and reason and also some evidence arising from quotations prove that people enter Judgment Day differently, for they have accumulated various amounts of savings during their prosperous or atrocious life.

Now we will discuss some other interesting aspects of the Qur’an.

The Necessity of Knowing the Qur’an

We must know the Qur’an as best as we can and use its light to cure our mental and spiritual problems. Thus, we can create everlasting freshness and vigor in our hearts by means of this knowledge.

Learning about and knowing the Qur’an involves man's learning about and knowing his own perfection-loving soul in the domain of “what there is” and “what there should be. ” The Qur’an is not a scientific book that presents man from a limited point of view, or from a viewpoint that is itself subject to change. Such forms of knowledge are either a product of man's natural senses plus the relative meddling he makes when gaining knowledge, or the product of man's specifically aimed combination of his own coordinates with the fact he is studying.

The Qur’an and Creation

God has emphasized in 10 verses of the Qur’an that there is a reason for creating the universe and nature; this is a great warning to man, who should know that he lives in a world

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based on truth and reason. Thus, his existence, superior to all the universe in dignity and greatness, cannot in any way be farce and aimless. As we read:

و ما خلقنا السماء و الارض و ما بینهما لاعبین

“We created not the heaven and the earth and whatsoever in between them is for playing. ” (21: 16)

In verse 38 of The Smoke, the Qur’an states the same thing, though it refers to “the heavens” instead of “the heaven. ” Moreover, other verses in the Qur’an also state that man's existence in the universe has an aim. Some even reveal the highest aim and goal of life:

و ما خلقت الجن و الانس الا لیعبدون

“I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve Me. ” (, 51: 56)

Clearly, worship means nothing but being placed in the domain of God's divine attraction field. Furthermore, God has no need for our worship – a fact too obvious and simple to ask for any reasoning.

All these verses order man, in a variety of ways, to understand where they stand in this objective world, and having reached such an understanding, obey their reason, internal conscience and the prophets sent by God – his “external” reason and conscience, in fact. All the laws and decrees concerning this human aspect are regarded as fixed and basic.

The Qur’an and the Consequences of Obeying It

When man moves on the path to evolution, obeying the Qur’an lights his eyes up, for truly accepting and obeying the book of God creates such a light inside man that it even shines through his eyes. Thus, he

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will see the truth as it really is; no vagueness or dark points will remain. The eyes and the ears of faithful human beings are accustomed with interpreting divine words:

گوش و دل مؤمن است سامع صوت خدای گرچه به ظاهر همی ملک پر از‌های و هوست

(The eyes and the ears of the faithful listen to the voice of God, despite all the noise the world seems to be filled with. )

Foad Kermani, Iranian poet

The Book of Justice and Fairness

The Qur’an clearly states that Abraham's religion, which the Holy Prophet Muhammad regards himself as a follower of, opposes atrocity, oppression, ignorance, tyranny and mental stagnation; the Qur’an leaves no question that prophets have been sent by God in order to enforce justice and equality between people. This is by no means in accordance with some attitudes and behaviors seen in some – both Islamic and non-Islamic, including Christian – religious leaders throughout history.

The Book of No Contradictions

Some writers, in an attempt to prove that religion is not an ideology, have said, “The founder of Islam has not presented religion as an ideology, and religious books – even holy religious books (including the Qur’an) – have no compiled, systematic form. ”

Their reasoning is clearly false.

The Qur’an, the Book that Confirms and Verifies Prophets

Many verses in the Qur’an verify and confirm the Prophet of Islam and his faith in the previous Prophets of God and their original Books. The Qur’an also states that Islam arises from Abraham's religion:

قولوا امنا بالله و ما انزل الینا و ما انزل الی ابراهیم

“Say you: 'We

believe in God, and in that which has been sent down on Abraham…' “ (2: 136)

The Qur’an, the Panacea for Mankind's Pains

The Qur’an has the remedy for all the mental and/or spiritual suffering mankind has today. So far, man has produced over 5 billion books, and hundreds of millions of them must concern the humanities. Let us suppose ten million of those books are about the humanities, and let us also suppose one million of that number concerns theological issues, moral ethics and the aches and pains man's soul has today (what there is and what there should be).

If we suppose that each of these books have 300 pages, we may conclude that 300 million pages have been written on man's pains and their cures. Let us put aside 299,000,000 pages of them, supposing they contain examples, anecdotes and supplementary material. Thus, we have 1 million pages directly talking about man's suffering, diagnosing and curing them. Moreover, there are the holy books, which tell us the truth about man's suffering the most clearly of all.

Yet, what pain remains that prevents man from curing himself now that he has so many diagnoses and prescriptions?

If only there was a book that could tell us how to find that single pain that prevents all the others from being diagnosed and cured, people say. We respond that the answer has undoubtedly been included in the holy books and the pure-minded scholars and thinkers' interpretations of them. Namely, the pain is unmoderated selfishness which is constantly strengthened by ignorance. Such

a pain has only one cure: will power. Unless will power is awakened and activated inside man, it is impossible to cure the pain.

The Qur’an, The Book for Mankind

Though the Qur’an does not recognize an individual broken off from the society, – and that lies in the delicate fact that such a person is not useful – we can say that nature and the characteristics the Qur’an presents in description of man reveal both territories. If we pay close attention to the “natural” and “mental” aspects of man given in the Qur’an, and if we gain enough knowledge about what the Qur’an regards as “proper and suitable” for man, we can state that the relationship between man and the Qur’an is: The Qur’an is the book for man, and man needs the Qur’an.

Without a doubt, no human mind or book has been able to describe man as the Qur’an has – and this is perfectly natural, for even the most realistic thinkers have been able to consider mankind from one or at most two aspects; such a limited scope would definitely not lead to the real picture arising from the combination of all aspects. Furthermore, there is great difference between a rigid solid effort do discover itself and a living being that dominates it trying to do so; likewise, there is a great difference between an animal's knowledge of itself and man's knowledge of the animal.

Thus, there is great difference between man's presenting himself to himself, and his creator providing the identification.

All scholars

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and experts of the humanities admit that so far, anthropology has produced nothing more than a bunch of scattered, superficial material. There is no need for us to elaborate on this; let us, instead, consider the mind-boggling question that has been posed in most human societies and saddened the compassionate thinkers and intellectual leaders around the world: Instead of telling us something about the “philosophy of life,” why are you just stuffing poetry in our minds, deceptive views in our eyes and balanced music in our ears, all of which lead to even more questions?!

We may conclude from the situation human societies are in today that not much has been revealed about human beings and humanity – apart from the limited faces made to create mutual coexistence and dealing with inconveniences. Let us study “mankind” again, this time from the Qur’an's point of view; perhaps we can escape half of the damage, which will be quite a gain in itself.

Positive Mysticism

point

The mysticism we present is based on pioneer human culture, the culture that arises from the definite doctrines of the pioneers of human knowledge and mysticism, not what the Sufis or monasteries believed in. Mysticism should see man’s perfection possible through caring for people, and hard work.

Such mysticism not only does not neglect social matters, but also considers man’s external endeavors as significant as his internal attempts to achieve perfection. This kind of mysticism is derived from God's words, quotations from Imam Ali in the Nahj-ul-balaghah and his

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midnight prayers in the palm groves of Kufa, and Imam Hossein's prayers in the Arafat desert and his battles on Ashura.

Mysticism is the path that can take man to his highest possible level of character, and let him devour the taste of being related to divinity.

If man follows a mystical way of life, he will achieve two results:

1- Attaining the highest, most divine of all possible pleasures.

2- Getting closer to God, which is feasible through purifying the human soul.

Thus, we may state that: Thus, positive mysticism consists of the expansion and divine domination of the “human self” over the universe, in order to let his “self” be absorbed by absolute perfection, which eventually leads to man’s reaching God.

There are a few points about mysticism that must be kept in mind:

1- Mysticism is quite vast in range and depth, so it can both involve the life of somebody like Imam Ali and at the same time the pleasure-orientated aspects of everyday life.

2- Various kinds of mysticism have one thing in common. Whether Pythagorean, Islamic or Western mysticism, they all emphasize that animal-like desires and needs should be controlled and avoided by the mystic.

3- Mysticism is applicable to several groups of people:

1- Those who have achieved the highest level of human greatness possible. They possess both high knowledge of the universe, and have also established the greatest level of contact feasible with the Creator of the universe, but still remain socially active. This kind of mysticism can be called positive mysticism.

2- Those

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who have isolated themselves inside mortal desires because they have failed to achieve knowledge of the universe and establish a relationship with God, and tend to escape the frustrations of the world around them. It can be named negative mysticism.

3- Those men of great elegance and enjoyment who get delighted with the appearance of beautiful spiritual states while relating to the universe, and only ask mysticism to give them these spiritual states. This kind of mysticism can be entitled “inward” mysticism.

The Characteristics of Positive Mysticism

Positive mysticism can also be called intelligible mysticism, for all efforts in positive head towards activating all of man's potentials onto the path to the ultimate end of the universe. In positive mysticism man gains full domination over both internal and external worlds; while establishing an intelligible relationship with the universe and other humans, he can also achieve a life free of his natural self.

Positive mysticism has a starting-point, a path and a destination – the highest goal of life. The starting-point is awareness of the soul and its perfection-seeking tendency on the path to greatness. Such an awakening can make man take the world he lives in seriously and move on the path to an elevated life.

The path is the conscious effort and exploration that takes man from “what there is” to transformation into “what there should be. ”

The characteristics of positive mysticism are:

1- The “self” is not humiliated in positive mysticism. People are never told to destroy their own egos. Those who speak of humiliating and destroying it are

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actually inviting people to self-destruction, not self-enhancement. They do not know that self-humiliation is as lethal to man as being overconfident and conceited is.

2- In positive mysticism, simultaneous attention is given to both the advantages of man's spiritual evolution and to the moderation of his natural self. The issues positive mysticism undertakes in order to elaborate the greatness and values that can save man from self-obsession:

a) Thinking about the world of nature

Paying attention to the order and discipline dominant over the world.

Observing the fascinating glory of the universe and paying attention to the objectiveness of nature

Identifying spiritual pleasures and realizing that satisfaction and pleasure is not limited to purely natural pleasures

Knowing virtual pleasure and how it flourishes

3- In positive mysticism, not only are the harmful effects of the natural self emphasized upon, the role of the attractiveness of perfection in the development of man is also considered important. Sufficient attention is simultaneously given to the lethal harms of the natural self and also the necessity of endeavoring to escape it; the positive aspects of man and his potentials and his potentials are also of great importance.

4- In positive mysticism, there is no self-overgrandisement nor is there self-humiliation. When man intends to defy selfishness and overconfidence – which are, indeed evil – he unfortunately humiliates his advantages and talents; this can inhibit his way to greatness and perfection.

5- One cannot only think of saving himself in positive mysticism; he cannot be irresponsible towards others, for man can never reach human perfection

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unless he recognizes the needs his fellow men have, and try to adjust their physical and spiritual life. As the Holy Prophet has said:

من امن بی من بات شبعانا و جاره المسلم جائع

“He who sleeps on a full stomach when his Muslim neighbor is hungry has no faith in me. ”

In positive mysticism, one cannot claim, “It's none of my business how the others are. ” The greater man's steps toward positive mysticism are, the”vaster will his divine rays shine on other human beings. ”

6- Responsibility and duty play a significant role in positive mysticism. Feeling responsible out of freedom and consciousness and not in return for a reward or for fear of punishment is the key to spiritual freedom from animal desires.

7- All events in positive mysticism are reflected in accordance with reality, for expressing things in any other way is in fact fighting against one's own self. Alas, some so-called “mystics” have turned to lies, claiming that sometimes lying is more “proper. ” They do not realize that the spiritual harm in lying is far greater than its “advantages. ” A true mystic is never deviated from the truth in various individual or social opportunities.

8- One always moves on the path towards the truth and righteousness in positive mysticism. The meaning of free movement on this path is much more elegant than and elevated than the common dealings between people every day. Man cannot find the right path amidst all the ups and downs of life unless he can let divine

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light shine on him.

9- In positive mysticism, the pilgrim moves in accordance with God's orders and the ways of the Holy Prophet.

A life based on mysticism is established on clear reasons, not whimsical desires or fatalistic factors of life. The pilgrim is always enlightened by divine light, and he sees everything as expressing the glory of God, for he is at all times obeying God's orders.

10- The true mystic is always on his way; he never believes that he has arrived at his destination.

من غلام آن که او در هر رباط خویش را واصل نداند بر سماط

(I'm at the service of that who never thinks he has reached the peak. I am willing to serve and follow that person who never even thinks about the possibility that he may have achieved the highest of mystic levels. )

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi)

Many men have the capability and quality to lead others, but their selfishness prevents their followers from progress. As Maxim Gorky says, 'A good teacher needs to have been a good student before.

He never claims, “I have reached God; my search is over. ” In positive mysticism, stopping and paying attention to oneself only is a barrier on the path to divinity.

11- The pilgrim does not try to deceive himself in positive mysticism. And one who does not deceive himself cannot be deceived by others, either. He must take extreme care not to fall for worldly pleasures, for man is full of dreams,

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baseless speculations and hallucinations that draw him towards them. If he can continue his way without being contaminated by hallucinations and desires for pleasure, nothing can trick him and prevent him from reaching God. The deceiving self, which is in fact no other than the “natural self,” can inhibit man's capability to manage his strengths and talents, and prevent him from moving on to the “real self. ”

12- The true mystic is far above public acceptance or defiance, for his character is completely independent. In other words, neither can a large number of supporters add to his glory nor can people's turning away from him cause him any fear or worry.

13- In positive mysticism, the world is not neglected. Mystics do not consider the world as worthless, and do not insult it. He sees the world as the best possible place for exploring facts and honesty. It is the place to lead a healthy and intelligible life. A mystic believes that development and change in the world follows certain order and man should also move along this path. One example of that orderly fashion is that if man does not have a developed character and freedom employed on the path to goodness and perfection, he will never be able to see the real face of the world.

14- If a mystic is given a position of great power and leadership, his spirits and leadership will remain the same as when he is praying to his God. The mystic, as leader of people,

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does not expect them to thank him – he is free from such petty desires. He sees himself as equal to others, one who needs to move along the path to perfection; thus, he does not expect people to act as his slaves. He considers himself as the factor promoting the others' dynamic development, not an inhibitor. He does not believe that he should be pretentious toward people. He is not superior to them.

The Characteristics of Negative Mysticism

1- Those who support negative mysticism believe that in order to build a divine, spiritual self, the “self” must be crushed and the natural instincts have to be disabled. Indian beliefs, such as Buddhism, insist on this a great deal. Instead of harmonizing the different aspects of man's existence, they tend to eliminate some of his potentials and powers.

2- In negative mysticism, the mystic escapes the torturing problems of both his personal and social life. Sometimes the frustrations and inconveniences we suffer when we fail to achieve our goals make us develop a negative point of view toward natural life, and thus flee into our own self to escape them.

Considering the ultimate secret of the human spirit, we realize that if inconveniences and failures make the human soul suffer, natural joys and pleasures should also be in conflict with it, for the secret of the soul is hidden; the mystic, hence, should be sensitive toward both the difficulties and the pleasures.

3- Negative mysticism shows our incompetence toward man and nature. Some of these so-called “mystics,” although totally

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ignorant of what exists in the human world or in nature, still tend to drown themselves in their mystical states. Such pleasing psychological states based on ignorance convey a false mysticism, not a true one. True mysticism moves on a path through the light of knowledge, not dark ignorance. Negative mysticism entirely neglects thought and wisdom, whereas positive mysticism considers them as highly significant.

4- The world outside is completely ignored in negative mysticism, and the mystic sees only his “internal dark room. ” It seems the observable world is of no value to them. Contrarily, the key to the world inside and mystical domains is taking the world outside into consideration. The truth is that if man deviates from gaining knowledge about his outside world – which has provided the means for his natural existence, and influences him and is influenced by his soul and mind up to his last breath – and does not realize the crucial need of this knowledge, it is like trying to play a beautiful piece of music without a single musical instrument.

It is impossible to enter the domain of receiving and understanding the mystics of the universe without accepting the universe that has dispatched the mystic to this spiritual world. As the renowned Iranian scholar and poet, Sheikh Bahaee says,

ز حدوث پا کشیدم، به قدم رهم ندادند ز وجود هم گذشتم، به عدم رهم ندادند

به کنشت سجده بردم، به صنم رهم ندادند

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به طواف کعبه رفتم، به حرم رهم ندادند

که تو در برون چه کردی که درون خانه آیی؟

(I passed the mortal, and I was deprived of the immortal. I overlooked existence and the universe, and was rejected from entering non-existence. I circled God’s house, but they did not let me in. Why? ‘What have you accomplished outside this great world that should make you eligible to enter? )

5- Sometimes the reason for being attracted to negative mysticism lies in escaping from awareness and freedom, for deep awareness brings about attention toward ideology, which in turn creates a feeling of responsibility and duty. Since dutifulness requires avoiding petty desires, worldly pleasures and creating awareness, escaping awareness traps some inside themselves and keeps them happy in their so-called mystical world.

The Ecstatic

The supporters of this kind of mysticism are greatly eager about sheer joy, ecstasy and psychological excitement and enthusiasm. Many mystics begin their mystic journey excited by reaching these ecstatic states, but later on pursue a new path and a new goal.

If the joy of these ecstatic states is caused by perfection-seeking and the human self flourishes by the illuminating rays of divine light on it, a correct move toward development has been made. This is where man feels ashamed about his initial pleasure-seeking endeavors. Although the joy and ecstasy produced by mystic excitement is immensely enjoyable, man is in fact too great to amuse himself with such short-living states. Man can make real contact with God, activate his internal potentials and

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elevate himself.

The pleasure-based nature of these ecstatic mystic states inhibit the divine light from shining onto man, because pleasure is one of the levels of selfishness, pertaining to the natural self. The phenomenon called pleasure – whether natural, physical pleasures, or the spiritual pleasure mystics enjoy – is quite different from the prosperity and joy of the soul. Any form of pleasure-seeking contradicts with the holy sorrow that those advanced toward God receive. Such a sorrow does not arise from material or financial shortcomings, but out of the possibility of not reaching the peak of perfection.

True mystic pilgrims are not only not worried or sad about themselves, but their anxiety is that they may deviate from the path to perfection. In brief, joy and sorrow cannot be regarded the mystic's goals; he cannot be neglectful toward the highest of human potentials. It is all right, of course, if the mystic feels the properness of psychological joy at the beginning of his journey, and use it as the base of reaching divinity. We must keep in mind that joy and prosperity differ from pleasure seeking. Joy is a highly significant spiritual state, and very difficult to describe, especially since it cannot be made understood to those drowning in their selfishness.

Man cannot achieve this joy unless he frees himself of his spiritual chains. The special spiritual state produced by being released from the jail-like chains of the spirit is, although quite pleasing at first, followed by the spirit moving alongside the

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universe. Briefly, this kind of joy can be regarded as release from the soul and reaching the truly original world of nature. As we said, pleasure-seeking originates from self-worshipping, which strongly opposes to spiritual prosperity. Pleasure-seeking and self-worshipping make human potentials intertwined and confused, whereas in the state of human spiritual joy, human potentials actually begin to flourish.

The deadly contradiction between self-worshipping and the prosperity and joy of the human soul can be considered as based on this principle: selfishness and showing off intertwines all human potentials in the self, sending man back to the domain of fatalistic, natural ignorance he had tried so hard to escape; spiritual joy and prosperity, on the other hand, involves the activation and development of human potentials in accordance with the general rhythm of the universe, heading for the highest possible state of perfection – the Almighty God.

The Conditions and Obstacles on the Path of Mystic Endeavor

There are several obstacles on the mystic's way:

1- A mystic should never feel he has gained any advantage, accomplishment or superiority. Such a poisonous feeling can not only inhibit his promotion to higher levels, but even deteriorate his perfection-seeking nature.

2- Worldly interests and attachments like greed for wealth, fame, power and popularity among people are destructive to mystic progress. However, if wealth and power can serve as a means to adjust one's and also others' life, not only will it be constructive, but even a kind of worship, for the mystic must undergo a great deal of suffering to do so.

3- Saturating the feeling of selfishness in

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any way or by any means greatly hinders mystic advance. So is claiming piety and purity. Some people believe that claiming to be pious and pure is not a fact showing selfishness, but great mystics disagree; every glory or advantage the mystic gains arises from divine favor, so associating them to the mystic's own endeavor is a kind of blasphemy.

4- The blinding lights and joys the mystic experiences in his spiritual states can also be inhibiting. Some mystics drown in such pleasing states, thinking they are at the peak of perfection; these states, however, serve merely to encourage and activate the mystic on his path.

5- Other things that may hinder a mystic's progress are the activation of amazing powers such as knowing what goes on in people's minds, awareness of the unseen, past and future, and the ability to influence others' lives both physically and mentally. The mystic should remember that his goal is reaching God, not God's favors. Reaching God is much more difficult than discovering amazing God-given powers.

6- Absolute tranquility and freedom and complete knowledge and dominance over the universe are among the amazing effects of human glory, but if the mystic considers them as his own, he might fall astray of his spiritual greatness, and even claim to be God himself!

7- The feelings of spiritual joy and expansion are signs of entering divine attraction and the appearance of divine qualities in the mystic's heart. He should prevent the above mentioned feelings from inhibiting his way to divine

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perfection.

Mysticism and the Four Relationships

It is important to consider the four relationships of the mystic – with himself, with God, with the universe and with his fellow beings.

1- The Mystic's Relationship with Himself: The human self is of great significance in mysticism, for it possesses various aspects and potentials, and their activation and development is essential for reaching perfection. The human self is situated in the middle of its two extreme conditions – the purely natural self and the highest possible human self – which are infinity apart. In order to join them together, it is necessary to transform the purely natural self into the highest possible state of the human self, for which cleansing of the natural self and deserving to be attracted by divine perfection is required.

2- The Mystic's Relationship with God: In Islamic mysticism, the existence of God is accepted as clearly obvious. People have different relationships with God, and the highest possible form is “finding God,” not “calling for God. ” The mystic should feel God's existence with every particle of his being. Internal purification, complete dominance and knowledge of the universe and witnessing its glory are among the factors that influence the process. The mystic achieves joy and spiritual prosperity by means of making contact with God and feeling His presence.

No joy or pleasure can ever be comparable to that. The greater the mystic purifies his nature, the closer he will get to God. The more progress a group makes in their internal purifying and cleansing, the more successful

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they will be in making the transition from occasional sparks to continual witnessing of the blinding divine light; their involuntary receptions will change into controlled, voluntary observations. Reaching so high a mystic state is the result of one factor: the arising of the capacity to bear divine light, which makes witnessing the shining light last longer, just like when greater capacity to understand a branch of science increases the time period of the activity and its voluntary recall in the brain.

3- The Mystic's Relationship with the Universe: The mystic can go three ways in his relationship with the universe in order to reach God:

a) Realizing the immense glory of the universe

Observing the order and harmony of the universe

Feeling life in nature

The mystic should see the universe as a great place of worship for the pilgrims of divine truth.

4- The Mystic's Relationship with His Fellow Beings: The mystic's behavior toward other people is based on the fact that all human beings are virtually dignified. However, people are different, so the mystic treats them differently, too. He can easily get close to those who are advancing on the path to perfection, for they are of his kind. But he cannot feel close to the people who have fallen astray of the truth, and have drowned in their desires. Yet, the mystic always tries to do his best to bring them back to the right path

Mystics and the Order and Harmony of Life

It is necessary for a mystic to observe order, discipline and harmony in every aspect of life. Unfortunately,

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some so-called “mystics and Sufis” neither have a disciplined, orderly life themselves nor invite others to do so.

Slyness, meanness, and scolding are not acceptable in true mysticism. Being messy and irresponsible has no place in Islamic mysticism; it even makes the religion obsolete.

Mysticism, Work and Effort

In this world, which is actually a contest to do good, work and effort is the most important element. When man is doing physical or mental work, he is in fact dealing with divine symbols. Islam regards any kind of work and effort aiming to adjust and improve his own or others' physical or spiritual life as equal to worshipping God.

In this kind of mysticism, treating the wounds of someone injured is equal to calling God's name in the middle of the night. Indeed, when a mystic fits a bolt or a nut in a machine useful to man's life, or ploughing the earth to plant what man needs, bending over in a laboratory to look through a microscope and study the structure of living beings, the student's look at the teacher's mouth, are all the same as worshipping God directly.

Mysticism and Power

Mysticism makes man use his power on the path to intelligible life. It harnesses power. In mysticism, power never opposes righteousness, for power is truly, originally righteous, and cannot bear any other identity. The mystic controls and directs his power on the path toward perfection, and never abuses it. As he has dominant knowledge of the universe, his scope of man and the universe is much higher.

Mysticism and Politics

Some people

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think there is no relevance between politics and mysticism, for the former involves managing people's social life, whereas the latter is a personal spiritual state. They do not realize that if we are to take every aspect into consideration, politics will be related to mysticism too, as it is to the arts, culture and moral ethics.

If we accept the fact that politics means managing the members of the society and paying attention to their highest physical and spiritual goals – which is only feasible through activating all human aspects and potentials in both individual and social domains – we can no longer neglect mysticism, which actually aims to develop human potentials. Mysticism safeguards politics from Machiavellian hands.

Mysticism and the Society

Mysticism makes the people in the society feel connected and united toward each other. Man will never reach supreme mystic states by isolating himself from others and heading for divinity alone. It is the mystic's duty to serve the well-being of the members of his society, not to keep away from them.

Mysticism, Wisdom and Science

Wisdom and science help the human self-dominate the universe. Some mystics regard wisdom and science as a veil. It can be so, when it serves to make man hide behind selfishness and overconfidence. Even mysticism itself, if used as the means to decorate the human nature, can become a thick veil that prevents the heart from witnessing righteousness – God. Mysticism can be a much thicker veil than science and wisdom.

Science and wisdom can be quite enlightening for the mystic, for they

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reveal facts and realities to him. Some have imagined that mystic facts either need no reasoning or cannot be reasoned at all. As Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) says:

پای استدلالیان چوبین بود پای چوبین سخت بی تمکین بود

عقل رنجور آورد پیش طبیب لیک نبود در دوا حکمش مصیب

آن نمیدانست عقل پای سست که سبو دائم ز جو ناید درست

عقل، بند رهروان است ای پسر آن رها کن ره عیان است ای پسر

(Those who insist on reasoning and deduction stand on wooden legs, which are very weak. Wisdom takes the sick patient to the doctor, whereas it knows neither medicine nor the truth about its ailment. Thus, the treatment on the wisdom will be totally ineffective. The weakly-founded wisdom did not realize that the jar cannot always fir into the stream and be filled up. Wisdom obeys Intelligible thinkers, those who act wisely and thoughtfully; so leave it alone, for it knows its own way quite well. )

In fact, Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi is condemning the partial wisdom method which always tends to perform reasoning and deduction. There is no doubt that man needs science and knowledge; yet, the human soul can see and receive things totally incomparable to what science and knowledge can do.

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Reasoning is one of man's most important faculties. What Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi means is that theoretical wisdom is not free of error. He believes it a blessing, but it can also lead to war and conflict.

It cannot be denied that the mystic receives many facts about his relationship with man, God and the universe through science; nevertheless, this kind of perception is not obvious and independent of reasoning for others.

A great deal of information about the realities needed to receive mystic witnessing and its reasons and conditions should be presented to normal people before they can comprehend mystic realities. In other words, descriptions, definitions and reasoning are essential preliminaries to reaching mystic states.

Even Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi, mentioning that the supporters of rationalism and dialectics have a weak standing, has not completely defied reasoning, because Jalal-addin Muhammad’s style includes a lot of reasoning, and taking his poetry into consideration, we realize that he tends to defy the kinds of reasoning that people use to show off to others.

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) has used reasoning to prove mystic facts about 25 times. We must remember, however, that mystic witnessing itself needs no reasoning, but the reasons and conditions that make it happen or inhibit it, and the effects it presents can be subject to discussion. Mystic evidence itself goes far beyond reasoning.

Mysticism and Jihad

It is God's will that the human nature head for perfection in this world. There are many impurities and thorns on the path to perfection that can harm not

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only pure hearts, but also others. Thus, in true mysticism, both the development and training of pure human natures and uprooting all impurities and thorns are considered as important. In other words, guiding those rich in potentials toward perfection on one hand, and removing disruptive persons from the path to development on the other are both of high importance in true mysticism. This is why jihad against enemies – internal or external – is a basic principle in original mysticism.

Criticizing Nonsense

Those who claimed 'I am truth,' 'There is nothing in me except for God,' and 'How pure and glorious my being is! ' have definitely activated their 'self' to an expanded level of mental control over the universe; however, having reached that unusual state, instead of continuing their progress toward the peaks of divine perfection, they overemphasized their 'self' – which could have gone on to reach God – stopped making progress, using their self like a mirror spread before them, thinking that is divine greatness.

Vertigo halfway on the path (even if we can say they have gone half the way) could not distinguish molten iron from real fire. If they had processed their 'self' correctly, they would say, 'I am from truth, with truth, and heading for truth' instead of, 'I am truth,' 'There is nothing in me except things that are from God, for God, and heading for God,' instead of, 'There is nothing in me except for God,' and, 'How glorious and pure God is! ” and, 'My

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greatness, dignity and existence is from God, for God and heading for God! ' instead of, 'How glorious and pure my being is! '

Some intellectuals, including Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) , regard such expressions as rude, and attempt to correct them by saying that man is capable of reaching God's divine presence, but when he does, he mistakes God with himself, and incorrectly says these things. Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi adds that despite all this, being present but rude is better than not being there at all.

بی ادب حاضر ز غایب خوشتر است حلقه گر چه کژ بود، نی بر در است

(Being rude and present is better than being absent; the handle of a door may not be straight, but it’s still there on the door! )

Such excuses are rude themselves, and being in God's presence is incomparable to any other presence. When in the presence of God, man cannot make a single mistake, let alone be rude. Even if his rudeness were possibly excusable – which it absolutely is not – such words are academically and developmentally wrong and spread corruption in the society. Being in God's presence and claiming to be truth itself should not be mistaken.

Religion, Rule of Life, and the Truth

Some of those who claim to be mystics believe that religion (shari 'at) , rule of life (tariqat) and the truth (haqiqat) are distinctly separate things. Religion, they claim, consists of the means that guides the mystic seeker toward the truth – his ultimate goal – and when he

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reaches it, he needs religion no more.

Religion, the rule of life and the truth are different forms of the same reality, preached by all holy prophets, men of wisdom and true mystics. Literally, Shari 'at refers to the way of reaching what man or God wants. Thus, religion – Shari'at – includes the rule of life, too. Islam and the Holy Qur’an also believe that having faith in God and doing good deeds is religion, and is the way to reach spiritual perfection. What is important is the path to the truth, but Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) and some others believe that having reached the truth, man does not need religion or rule of life anymore.

The truth has also been described by various expressions, like “reaching God” or “perceiving the absolute mortality of the universe in divinity. ”

The truth should not be regarded as the ultimate point of development and perfection – so that religion and rule of life are subsequent stages on its path. Any step man takes obeying God's orders is virtually moving toward the truth. Such a spiritual movement and progress should not end at a point entitled “reaching the truth. ” The process infinitely goes on, and religion, rule of life and the truth are combinable at any level.

In fact, man's distance from God should not be considered as infinite, on which religion and rule of life are located, and the truth is situated at the end of the path. If the mystic intends to enter divine

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attraction, he can reach his destination without going through the path. When Moses asked God how he could reach Him, God replied, “The decision to reach Me means reaching Me. ”

It is wrong to believe that the truth is the end of a long path of spiritual endeavor, and that religion and rule of life are milestones on the path. Any footstep we take in accordance with God's commands, the slightest particle of dust we remove from the mirror of our souls, takes us closer and closer to the absolute truth.

Separating religion, rule of life and the truth from each other can lead to these harmful effects:

1- Those in search of the truth will be deprived of it, for religion is not virtually desirable; only following it is the means to reach the truth.

2- There will be a conflict between science and wisdom – the best tools for seeking the truth –and love and mysticism.

3- Although they are not, materials and meanings will seem to conflict; it is, in fact, the incapability of the mystic in realizing the natural cycle.

Mystic Change

Mystic change provides the knowledge for the preliminary action, which in turn provides the preliminary for the next knowledge. The first step of knowledge makes man “wake up,” and deeply dominate the universe. This knowledge makes him take action, competing against others in doing good and heading for perfection. Each deed done with pure intentions leads to new knowledge.

If man takes each reality he understands seriously, his knowledge will increase, and his

deeds will also become more meaningful. Anything fulfilling one of man's needs is a truth to be taken seriously. In the initial steps of evolutional mystic change, the knowledge of the truth and its actions are considered as separate, but when man's character develops mystically, his knowledge and action will find supreme unity.

Arts and Aesthetics

point

Human knowledge includes four different viewpoints on art:

1- Purely scientific viewpoint: Direct contact of the senses with realities. At times, physical devices may also assist our senses in contacting the facts around us. Science uses the senses and the necessary equipment to discover laws.

2- Theoretical viewpoint: In any branch of science, there are some unsolved, unproven issues called theoretical problems. For example, one of the theoretical issues of physics is whether electrons are waves or matter. We do not exactly know which one they are, so such problems cannot be considered as purely scientific.

3- Philosophical viewpoint can be categorized into three types:

a) general information of the primary results and products of science;

b) issues pertaining to the origin of the universe, not observable reality;

c) issues related to values, including the “Do’s and Don’ts” of moral ethics.

4- The religious viewpoint consists of recognizing and accepting realities and acting in accordance with them – provided that, of course, such a recognition and acceptance be man’s duty, and guide him toward the aim of his life. The religious viewpoint enables goal-seeking man to associate the scientific, theoretical and philosophical viewpoints with each other, and find them non-contradicting.

Four Various Viewpoints on Art

Art, another component of human

life, can also be viewed from the four angles mentioned above:

1- The purely scientific point of view considers the observable outcomes of art and their content.

2- The theoretical viewpoint studies the role of the artist’s personal senses in his work compared to the role of reality.

3- The philosophical point of view takes the fundamental aspects of art into consideration.

4- The religious viewpoint consists of the knowledge of art and making use of it in order to achieve the evolutionary ends of life.

The Philosophical Viewpoint on Art

Here, we will only focus on discussing philosophical views on the arts. There are several points to keep in mind about philosophical analyses of art:

1- Most people and even many artists, consider the work of art as a device to merely impress people and satisfy them aesthetically. Many people only expect a work of art to stir a few waves inside them. However, the revolution inside the audience or spectators of works of art should be the start of an evolutionary metamorphosis in their character. The true artist does not tend to fascinate people, or stir up their feelings.

2- By means of the work of art, the artist makes contact with other human beings’ souls, for a work of art can only have value to people; no animal is capable of enjoying or using it correctly. Hence, we may conclude that a work of art should be advantageous to both the artist’s and the people’s souls.

If an artist considers his/her work of art effective in the development or degradation

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of other human beings, he/she will use all of his/her mental and spiritual talents in order to create a work of art that can help mankind flourish and develop.

Although an artist uses abstraction and imagination on observable facts and mental concepts to create a work of art, many artists unfortunately only pay attention to the work of art itself, and ignore the modification, adjustment and activation of their own mental and psychological powers and potentials which should be the factor creating the work of art. If man's innate talents are discovered and devised properly, his feelings are purified and his works of art will be much more valuable. When an artist moves on the path toward perfection, his potentials are properly activated, his emotions elevated, and the work of art he creates will definitely help the progress and perfection of mankind, not just excite them momentarily.

3- Art for art's sake or art for man's sake? There are two different viewpoints on an artist's relationship with people.

a) Some believe that art is virtually desirable, for art conveys the genius of the artist, and no law or criterion should confine it. Limiting art will inhibit the artist's genius, for it is not his concern what effect his work will have on others. The artist's creativity should not be influenced for the sake of others. These people believe that “being interesting” is more important than the truth. It is sufficient that a work of art is appealing; whether it harms or helps others

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is of no importance. It should only entertain.

b) Some others believe that art, like other mental products of man, is for the society to use, so harmful works of art should not be displayed in public. This theory claims that art belongs to the society, not to art or the artist himself.

Art should belong to man – “human art for humans”, or “art for man in an intelligible life. ” Thus, whether the society accepts the work of art or not is not enough. A work of art accepted in one society may be rejected by another; the proper criterion is man's development and perfection.

If an artist is not internally purified, his work of art may be not only of no use to man, but even harmful. Every artist creates his works of art by means of his own mental perceptions and internal tendencies. If Thomas Hobbes, for instance, were asked to produce a work of art about man, his pessimistic point of view would definitely dominate the result.

This is due to man's ultra-artistic value and the significance of the human soul.

Although some poems by poets such as Abul-Ala Moayyeri, some quadrants pertaining to Khayyam, and some of Sadegh Hedayat's writings are literarily quite interesting, the more interesting thing is the human souls which, having read such works, fall into deep anxiety, and end up in nihilism. On the other hand, Jalal- addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) poetry has saved thousands from nihilism toward God. Thus, unless minds are not purified and refined

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by correct education and training, “art for the sake of art,” although opening the way for activating genius, is absolutely unacceptable, for it may activate the genius of some illogical minds.

We must mention intelligible life here, for art should serve man in an intelligible life, not merely serve man. Otherwise, anyone, especially politicians, would begin to interpret humanity with his own mental perceptions. This is where all the various points of view and interpretations arise.

Human art for humans means not censoring art, but supporting man's intelligible life. Studying works of art should not be limited to form and appearance; content is also highly significant. Of course, in truly original art, “appearance, form, content, appeal and reality” make a single unit. A work of art that looks beautiful but is corrupt content-wise is not acceptable.

For example, if a filmmaker makes a movie defying man's freedom and free will, and skillfully proves that internal freedom does not exist, and that the only existent authority is that of law and power, will that make an acceptable work of art? Art in the West nowadays only serves to provide people's lives with variety and amusement, not to contribute to any development or to guide them toward an intelligible life. Do worthless works of art that show sex guide man toward perfection – or doom?

Pursuant Art, Pioneer Art

Like other phenomena related to man, art can be categorized into two kinds: pursuant and pioneer. Pursuant art depends upon the desires and tendencies of the society, and thus so does

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the artist. Some characteristics of pursuant art are:

1- Since a pursuant artist depends on the people, he uses the people's desires and likes as the criterion for his work.

2- In pursuant art, the artist does not care what is proper or what should be. He merely selects what people like. Such art fades away quickly, and has no historical value.

3- Since pursuant art has nothing to do with the great goals of life, it cannot bring about true unity among people.

4- A pursuant artist cannot convey any great themes or elevated thoughts, for all he does is follow what the people want.

On the contrary, pioneer art does not obey the people's demands. Although a pioneer artist does not isolate himself from his people and surroundings, he does refine the current realities to extract the real truth and align them with intelligible life. He makes use of “what there is” to the benefit of “what there should be. ”

In this kind of art, the artist purifies people's illusions and speculations. The pioneer artist tries to guide the people toward an intelligible life by means of his works of art. In pioneer art, the artist – who wants art for the sake of man in an intelligible life – begins with showing the universe like a small, objective, meaningful work of art which is beautiful and motivates others toward evolutionary development.

Modernism in Art

The human soul has a tendency toward modernism, which is itself valuable, for it arises from the desire for serious mental and psychological

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freedom for man in his four relationships (with God, himself, the universe and other human beings). If freedom in these four relationships reaches the level of development and prosperity, man's soul will achieve delight in his intelligible life. Although one should not be bound to the past, ignoring original realities for modernism is not acceptable, either.

Why does the human soul have a tendency for new, modern things?

a) Removing boredom and monotony from his life,

b) Possibly – or definitely – achieving newer, enjoyable facts that provide man with joy and liveliness,

c) Modernism can expand man's self throughout the universe,

d) Man feels that by means of modernism, he can free himself from imitating others' thoughts and knowledge.

True, original modernism in art is the one that can free man's spirit and soul to make contact with God, the universe and other human beings, and achieve spiritual joy.

Artists

Let us categorize artists into three groups:

1- Those greatly interested in the arts, who can fairly understand a work of art. Although they can't make forensic, accurate analyses of a work of art, their good taste for art helps them make sound judgments.

2- Professional artists who possess enough skill, talent and intelligence to create works of art. Some professional artists merely make works of art with limited creativity; others, however, also have a sort of artistic manner and finesse. Those are the ones talented enough to create real innovations.

3- Constructive, pioneer artists, who are capable of very strong mental and psychological artistic activities. Some of their characteristics

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include:

● Ingenuity and creativity,

● good choice-making,

● sufficient knowledge,

● accuracy and finesse in making a relationship with their work,

● the power to free themselves from rules that limit innovation, and

● the freedom they get from doing that, which causes creativity.

Pioneer artists have activated their intrinsic, hidden potentials and talents.

There some points of importance in developing and activating potentials and talents toward creativity:

Art students should be trained so that their art serves their intelligible life, not mere pleasures and beauty.

Confidence and hope should be aroused and reinforced in them; they should realize that by means of patience and effort, they can move toward development and perfection.

Art teachers should also have the required patience and affection for their students.

Art students should realize the importance of paying attention to the great world they have inside them, and that they should pay attention to their work, not what others remark about it.

A healthy society also has an important role in stimulating and developing talents. An unsound, corrupt society prevents the artist from making use of his/her internal powers.

Art students should avoid imitation. Of course, this is not easy, for all human beings tend to imitate others. Here is where the trainers' duty proves more crucial.

Art students should be trained so that they learn to appreciate their works of art for the sake of their own original, true self, not the praise they got from others; man naturally enjoys being praised and rewarded, but if artists work for rewards

 and 

praises, their works will aim to please the public, and lose all their originality and authenticity.

Various Types of Beauty

There are four different groups of beauty:

1- Physical beauty

2- Abstract beauty, like the beauty of freedom, science and legitimate power

3- Intelligible, value-based beauty, such as the beauty of justice, chastity and courage

4- Absolute beauty

We may, however, consider another classification, too:

1- Intellect-based beauty

2- Physical beauty

3- Physical beauty based on intellect-based, like intellectual ideals and ideas

4- Intellectual beauty based on physical beauty, like poetry containing fine, elevating meanings.

Some Western intellectuals disapprove of the above categorizations, and confine beauty to physical beauty. The human spirit, however, has beauties of its own. Eliminating fine, intelligible beauties from the human soul will make beauty rigid and spiritless. Our astonishment at the beauty of the spirit of a finely developed human being is sometimes so great that no physical kind of beauty can possibly ever match it. The beauty of the pure, chaste conscience of a human being can amaze a human being much greater than watching the blue sky amaze his eyes.

There are three reasons why ethics are sometimes separated from beauty:

First, the greed some people in the West have for gaining profits and advantage. If moral ethics keep its place in beauty, these greedy profiteers would fail, and many corruptions and misconducts would vanish.

Secondly, the inadvertent trend toward issues limited to the senses in the West.

The third reason is that if moral ethics are regarded as beauty, they would all immediately refer to God and religion, the source

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of all moral ethics. Since some Westerners, however, have no belief in God or religion, they have emptied arts of any form of moral ethics.

The Truth about Beauties

Much controversy exists among scholars of aesthetics on what the truth about beauties is. Some think beauty is an observable effect in which the human mind plays no role except reflecting it. They believe beauty is “virtually external. ”

Some others consider a mental aspect for beauty, and believe it is the human mind that decides which phenomena are beautiful. They consider beauty as “virtually internal,” free from any sensory aspects.

Beauties are bi-polar, dependant upon both the senses and the structure of man's existence. We must criticize the first theory – that regards beauty as a merely observable effect – from several points of view.

1- If the human mind has no influence except for merely reflecting a physical fact, then where does the joy and pleasure in seeing beauties come from? Why doesn't man consider all physical things as beautiful? Why are only some of them beautiful to him? The pleasure and enjoyment we get from beauties shows that the human mind and spirit play a role in understanding and appreciating beauties.

2- Encountering beauties, we sometimes interpret and analyze them, using our internal feelings. In other words, our internal aspects and desires are involved in the artistic analysis and criticism.

3- Some forms of beauty are not observable physically; there are intellectual beauties that cannot be given any innately external aspect.

The second theory, which considers solely an internal aspect

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to beauty and defies any observable effect in them, should be criticized for ignoring the fact that not all natural phenomena appeal to the human taste for aesthetics; only some of them do. If beauty were not related with physically observable aspects, we would treat everything equally; however, it is not so, and some of them appeal to us more than others.

We can approve of the third theory, which on one hand believes that beauties are real – whether enjoyed by humans or not – and this is their virtually external aspect. On the other hand, it is only man who is capable of understanding, appreciating and enjoying beauty because of his mental and psychological structure; no animal reacts toward beauties. This is the virtually internal aspect of beauty.

The bi-polar quality of beauty makes beauty become a relative issue, for all phenomena are on one hand different – for instance, the beauty of a single flower is quite different from that of a bunch of colorful flowers of various kinds – and on the other hand, people also have different mental and spiritual states, and cannot understand and appreciate beauties the same.

The reasoning Plato and Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) have presented defying observable beauty is also acceptable, for beauties are so diverse that no observable similarity can exist between them. As Plato believes, what resemblance can there be between moonlight and a brown flower with beautiful white spots? Secondly, observable phenomena are prone to change, so it is not possible

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to derive concepts that can be fixed, constant realities and serve as virtually internal or external phenomena that can be understandable for everyone. Accepting Plato's reasoning does not mean, however, that his theory of similarity is totally correct.

When discussing beauty, there are three points we should keep in mind:

1- There are realities inside man that “can be activated by means of more thought, useful experiences and purity in receiving intelligible beauties and ideals, for:

گر بود اندﻳﺸﻪات گل، گلشنی ور بود خاری، تو هیمه گلخنی

(If your thoughts are as pure as flowers, you yourself are also as fine as a garden; if they are thorns, however, you are nothing but thorns, either. In other words, man's humanity depends on his mental state. )

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi)

The human soul, by improving its pure, fine thoughts, can be a virtually internal garden of flowers; it does not mean that the flowers we see in the world are made by man's inside, for the human soul can mix with beauties.

عقل گردی، عقل را دانی کمال عشق گردی، عشق را یابی جمال

(If you are to understand reason and wisdom, you must devote your whole existence to reason and wisdom; it's like love, where you can't find the beauty of love unless you fall on love yourself. )

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi)

As the Holy Prophet of Islam says, “If you want to see Resurrection

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Day – and, in general, anything – you must start a resurrection, an upheaval in yourself first. ”

2- Beauties exist in the world outside, and can sooth the human soul. By making contact with the beauties of nature and intelligible beauties, man can overcome the fatalistic, machine-like quality of life, and make his soul delicate and tender.

3- In contact with beauties, man realizes that apart from creating the universe, God also provided enough beauty to please man internally, attract him toward God and make him move on the path to divinity.

The Virtually Internal Pole of Beauties

Man's virtually internal pole in regard to beauties has several aspects:

1- Awareness about the universe: As a living being, man sometimes gains profound knowledge of the universe and the amazing events in it.

2- Variety-seeking in man's life: Monotonous affairs make man feel depressed and bored. Seeing even the most beautiful things without any variety will not please him. If someone looks at the same beautiful picture all the time, he/she will get bored, for the picture is a rigid result of the artistic taste and talent of its creator, not his/her mental states or artistic talent.

Observing a human being is not tiresome, however, for it conveys the glory of life and the universe. This is precisely the immensely significant point that separates a beautiful piece of natural scenery, with its special life and flowers rooted in the streams, from a work of art or plastic flowers, for the connection of a flower to the stream of the lively universe prevents

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it from becoming limited and lifeless; this is what prevents man's variety-seeking taste of life from getting bored.

3- Intelligible beauties: Ideals such as justice, freedom and sacrifice – essential to spiritual evolution – are regarded as beauties. If separated from observable beauties, the unity and balance between man's life and spirit will vanish.

The Virtually External Pole of Beauties

The aspects of the virtually external pole of beauties are:

1- The dependence of the universe upon God: By feeling himself and the universe dependent upon God, man can better observe the immense, wise glory and beauty in the universe. In other words, there is both beauty and order in the universe.

2- The relation between the part, the parts and the whole in beauty: When discussing beauty, we should not analyze each of its smaller components and search each one for beauty, and having not found it, question the total beauty. Although the whole consists of these parts, the quality of the whole is not necessarily derived from adding the quality of each one of them separately. In fact, the beauty arises from the human mind contacting the whole system.

The Differences between Observable Beauty and Intelligible Beauty

We will now discuss some of their differences:

a) Man perceives observable beauties by means of his senses, but he cannot directly do that in the case of intellect-based beauties, where he must use human values and principles; even if observable beauties have any influence here, it will only be limited to serving as a code or signal for intellect-based beauty.

b) Observable affairs including beauty can be subject to quantitative calculations, but intellect-based

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beauties arise in the human character, which cannot undergo any calculations.

c) Observable beauties lose their appeal after some time, whereas intellect-based beauty always remains attractive, like the pleasure man gets from the beauty of justice, free will or freedom.

d) How the two forms of beauties are felt and witnessed is also different. In observable beauty, physically physical effects bring about the realization, but in intellect-based beauty, it is accepting the immensity of mental activities that is effective.

The Definition of Beauty

Beauty is the recorded effect of perfection, and perfection is being located on the path of what is deserved and proper – except for when the beauty is two- dimensional, like man, who may be externally beautiful, but immensely filthy internally.

According to this definition, all beauties, even the physically observable ones, have a trace of perfection in them. There are three reasons to prove this:

1- If a beautiful phenomenon consists of components, they must be proportionate and orderly. For example, if a flower is regarded as beautiful, its shape, situation and color must be well-balanced, so that every part of it is proportionate and harmonious.

2- Beauty has a virtually internal aspect, i. e. without man's intrinsic, natural interest in beauties, he could never appreciate them; the mere internal reception is a virtual greatness for man itself.

3- If a phenomenon is not beautiful, man will not enjoy it. This is quite apparent in the case of intellect-based beauties.

Suppose in a beautiful landscape, somebody very dear or close to us is killed brutally; will that piece of

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scenery still seem beautiful to us? If a few drops of the blood of somebody very dear to us, killed brutally in a crime, is placed on a work of art, and adds greatly to its beauty in the eyes of anyone not knowing about the killed dear one, will it also seem beautiful to us? Does the beauty of a beloved seem as beautiful to others, too?

This is why we added this statement to the definition of beauty: 'except for when the beauty is two-dimensional, like man, who may be externally beautiful but internally filthy. ' In Persian literature, this is described as 'a snake with beautiful lines and spots. '

گفت لیلی را خلیفه کآن تویی کز تو مجنون شد پریشان و غوی

از دگر خوبان تو افزون نیستی گفت خامش چون تو مجنون نیستی

دیدة مجنون اگر بودی تو را هر دو عالم بیخطر بودی تو را

(Are you Leili, whom Majnoun is so crazy about? ” the caliph asked Leili, Majnoun's beloved. “Are you the one who has him wandering in the deserts? You're not outstandingly beautiful; what has Majnoun seen in you that has caused such a storm in him? ” Leili replied, “ Yes, you should ask that, for you are not Majnoun. If you

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did see like he does, you would willingly devote everything you have, ready to face all the perils of both worlds. )

What Jalal-addin Muhammad Rumi means here is that if you watch this world – or even both worlds – with purity, you will become fascinated and infatuated by it.

Perfection and greatness is the basis for beauty, so the more aspects and dimensions of perfection and greatness a beautiful phenomenon has, and the more familiar its viewers are with those aspects, the greater the intuitive feeling of beauty will be. Such intuitive visions of beauty are something not many people can have.

What Does Whitehead Tell Us? A Critique of a Book

point

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1948) is one of the greatest intellectuals of our time. He and Bertrand Russell co-wrote the famous 3-volume Mathematical Principia. Whitehead did not confine himself to abstract issues in philosophy; his ideas cover a vast range including culture, civilization, aesthetics, art, moral ethics and social issues. He wrote The Adventures of Ideas in 1932. “The book, in fact,” he said, “is a study of the concept of civilization and an effort toward understanding

how developed beings develop. Along with Science and the Modern World and Process and Reality, it endeavors to understand the nature of objects and show how such a way of understanding can be illustrated by means of studying the developments of human experience. ”

Whitehead is one of the greatest thinkers the West has ever seen. His ideas are greatly profound. Whitehead had a vast knowledge of the history of human thoughts.

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His information on Islam, unfortunately, is insufficient, which is probably why he fell into wrong ideas about it.

However, Whitehead had profound thoughts on the supernatural, which is quite rare for a scholar of mathematics, logic and physics. His thoughts in the fields of anthropology and human development are also quite significant. One of his great qualities is that he does not limit himself to theoretical wisdom, and considered acquiring philosophy as highly important in providing man with knowledge about himself and the universe. His “chaste, elegant writing style,” was another quality of Whitehead's that contrasted with Russell.

Unlike other Western philosophers like Hume, Freud, Sartre, and Camus whose ideas on mankind were incorrect, many of Whitehead's ideas are quite correct.

If we regard some of the Western ideas as the errors of civilization, Whitehead's ideas – this book in particular – provide the right answers. ”

Now let us take into consideration some of the issues we disagree with Whitehead concerning the history of thought, philosophy, the truth, God, religion, the ultimate reason, man, moral ethics, freedom, art, human civilization and Islam.

The History of Ideas

Whitehead believes that the history of ideas has had a dual progress, for it has been influenced both by the fatalistic factors of history and also man's self-conscious ideals. Barbarians of the ancient times and the steam engines of modern ages, he states, “were unintelligent factors of their own era that made civilizations deviate from the order they had inherited from their predecessors. ”

On the other hand, he writes that

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Christianity and democracy “arose out of ideals compiled self-consciously, quite in conflict with the religions and beliefs their ancestors made and their societies protected. ”

The history of thoughts is dual in nature – man's physical and mental effects – but whereas Whitehead does

not provide the criterion for the dual aspects, Allamah Ja’fari believes that the criterion is actually man's dual nature itself. Man has a material, natural aspect which makes him try to continue his life; on the other hand, he also has a spiritual aspect, which aims for greatness, for perfection. Some historical phenomena arise from man's purely natural life, while some others originate from his perfectionist aspect. Prophets of God and true men of wisdom and philosophy have endeavored to adjust and improve the former aspect – man's natural life.

Whitehead emphasizes that historians always present their own point of view of history. He believes that Gibbon's history of the world is in fact Gibbon's side of the story. Indeed, historians are influenced by their own mental states and tendencies when analyzing history. In other words, historians study history as they wish. If they believe that some phenomena are caused by certain reasons, they think other people have the same idea, too. For example, if a historian believes that selfishness is the most important factor influencing man's actions, his historical analyses will also tend to show everything as a result of selfishness.

“The history of our ideas,” Whitehead writes, “arises out of our beliefs about history; it is a result of

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our own mental viewpoints. ”

This is not generally correct, for then all history books would be worthless, merely describing their authors' character or viewpoints. It is the duty of historians and historical analysts to record history as it happened, and present their analyses separate from the facts; report and interpretation should not be mixed. Some historians have, in fact, done just that.

One of the points that Whitehead emphasizes is, “Oversimplifying is a great hazard in the history of ideas. ”

We also agree that not all philosophical or scientific issues of high importance can be oversimplified so that everyone may understand them. Supreme perception cannot be degraded for everyone to enjoy; in fact, attempts toward simplifying supreme truths is not only impossible, but also harmful.

Philosophy and the Truth

Whitehead considers several results and advantages for philosophical thoughts when discussing philosophy and the truth.

1- Evaluating the truth

2- Continuing one's visions and insights on the future

3- The feeling of the value of life

4- Feeling the crucial significance of endeavors for civilization

5- Reaching life

He believes that:

“philosophy is the study of possibilities and comparing them with facts. It evaluates the truth, theories, various alternatives, and ideals altogether. Clairvoyance, being future-looking, and the feeling about the value of life are positive aspects of history; in a word, the feeling of importance that gives life to all endeavors about civilization. ”

Philosophy can fulfill the third and fifth items; i. e. it cannot show man the feeling of the value of life or how to reach it, for philosophy only describes man and the universe

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as it is. It only describes values; it does not evaluate them or speak of how they should be.

On the issue of values, he believes,

“Philosophy usually describes values, rather than evaluating them or discussing how they should be. Such a significant job falls into domains based on wisdom, not philosophies arising from predetermined principles or accepting 'what there is' without studying or evaluating them. ”

Whitehead has a particular point of view concerning human intellect, too. He believes that human intellect cannot choose what is best for man. To make the correct choice, man must use wisdom.

“Our actions arise from our knowledge. We wake up, and – eagerly or hatefully, actively amplifying or weakening – get involved in a process, or begin setting new goals. I call the former flow – the presumption of self-consciousness – instinct. It is an experience arising directly out of individual or environmental inheritance. Furthermore, after our instincts and intellect have done their part, our decisions determine how the two of them combine. That I call wisdom, which moderates the intellect and provides certain results for each kind of circumstances. ”

Thus, Whitehead regards wisdom as much higher than intellect or philosophy. We believe that if theoretical intelligence alone could lead man to his goals, there would never be so much debate and disagreement among various doctrines and schools of thought. Wisdom involves moving from the elementary toward results. Philosophy concerns man and the universe as they are, whereas wisdom also pays attention to the factors that can guide

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man toward development and perfection.

Wisdom consists of knowledge about objective life in an objective universe and acting according to that knowledge, which considers man as a part of the entire harmony of the universe; thus, every moment of man's life is suitable and appropriate, for he is heading for greatness and perfection.

Whitehead regards instinct, intellect and wisdom as three vital, inseparable factors. Without wisdom, he sees a disastrous end for mankind.

About the truth, Whitehead believes that for a certain issue, being interesting is more important than being true:

“The appeal and attraction of an issue is more important than its truth… however, truth can add to its appeal. ”

This idea of Whitehead's calls for revision and reconsideration. The truth is definitely more valuable than being interesting, particularly since Whitehead believes that, “What we are seeking is the bare truth. ” Perhaps Whitehead meant that the public look for issues that are interesting to them, and the truth underlying it is sometimes not significant to them.

The point is the appeal factor, which depends upon the mental and psychological state of the individual. Since this differs in people, issues are interesting to them in different ways and degrees, too. What man needs is to learn the logic of reality. He must know which facts are vitally important. A phenomenon may seem fabulous, but prove after analysis and study to be filthy and inappropriate.

For example, someone we like may win a match, and it may seem wonderful to us at first, but then we learn

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that he won by cheating. Since fraud and cruelty are not compatible with the laws of human life, his victory should not be too enjoyable to us. Appeal, in fact, should not be the primary issue; rather, man should learn that the most important thing is the truth.

We will now analyze the “bare truth” Whitehead speaks of:

1- What is the bare truth?

2- Can man face the purely bare truth during his whole life?

3- Why does man avoid the bare truth?

4- What are the consequences of veiling the truth?

The Laws of Nature

As we know, there are four theories about the laws of nature:

1- The “innate” theory

2- The “instructional, fake” theory

3- The descriptive theory

4- The conventional theory

White agrees with the first theory, in which laws exist deep inside all components of nature. The problem here is that the question why each object is different is left unanswered; it is unclear why phenomenon A has characteristics A but phenomenon B has characteristics B.

We approve of the second theory, which believes there is no continuous rope pulling all phenomena behind itself in this world. Nature and all its phenomena and effects is changing, and that is due to the divine blessings God provides from the supernatural world. Thus, the orderly flow in nature is not innate; it originates from a world much higher than nature. We also criticize David Hume's theory of innate order, for there is no order outside the universe, and the order and harmony of nature is what founds laws.

God

Whitehead's theory on the relationship

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between God and time is another point of criticism. He believes that:

“God's eternal nature, which is free of time from one point of view and time-dependent from another, may make intense, hostile contact with the soul. ”

Whitehead ignores the fact that time is caused by movement, which in turn originates from matter and the world of nature. Something far beyond matter can never possibly be fit into a framework of time.

It seems Whitehead has also fallen for the impossible task of abstracting absolutely God from time. He, like other thinkers, does not realize that time is basically the result of the movement and continuity felt innately – internally and externally – and this mental extension called time is so general that even when recognizing God, the human mind cannot do so without going through the path of time. Unless, of course, Whitehead means the visible consequences of God's qualities, like giving and taking life and other acts of God seen in nature, all of which flow through time.

Whitehead, like many other Western thinkers, cannot solve the problem of belonging and depending upon God:

“The concept of impossibility that even God cannot overcome has for many centuries been on theologians' minds. ”

This shows how little Whitehead knows of the great and detailed principles of theology. He does not realize the fact that power never applies to impossible acts.

Another thing is how Whitehead analyzes Plato's viewpoint about God:

“Plato's religion is based upon what he imagines about what God may be a God originating from Plato's

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fascination about eternal beauty. ”

As Whitehead interprets Plato's thoughts, God is a being “staring at forms of eternal beauty. ” We must disagree, for God, the most comprehensive of all greatness and perfection, does not only see eternal beauty; all the glory and beauty of the universe are also watching Him. The more important problem here is using the term “staring” about God, for nothing in the universe can surprise God and make Him stare at it. We also disagree with the idea of God's joy used by Avicenna. We can say that perhaps Whitehead is referring to Plato's fascination, not God's fascination about eternal beauty.

Whitehead also mentions, when discussing Plato's thoughts on science and philosophy, that:

“Plato also had in mind the lack of order and harmony in nature. He openly defies an absolute power as the creator of the universe. The influence and dominance of thoughts are always encouraging, but merely leads to the possible harmonies, even though Plato is unsteady about this, and sometimes writes in a way that it seems he considers the creator of the universe as having order and harmony due to His supreme will. ”

We disagree with this interpretation; for – first of all – defying the order and harmony of the universe contradicts Plato's other thoughts. Plato believes that this world is a shadow of another world, which has order and harmony, so its shadow must also be orderly and harmonious. Furthermore, Plato's defiance of an absolute creating power leads to another contradiction, for he accepts

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God's will, and uses it to describe the systematic order of the world. Power is one of the factors of will; how can one who accepts will defy power?

Religion

Whitehead has a quite positive viewpoint on religion, and all in all, there are quite few occasions where we should criticize his thoughts on religion. One of Whitehead's positive points on religion is:

“But the ultimate ideals that religions safeguard are strong criticisms of current habits. ”

This viewpoint on religion is acceptable, for Whitehead does not associate abuse of religion with religion itself, and considers religion as having a quite effective role in man's life. Whitehead has, of course, distinguished religion itself from religious institutions, for the latter have generally been supporters of social customs and habits.

Whitehead believes that religion sees the events and occurrences in the universe as repeatable, and everything will reoccur many times until the end of the world.

“Mystical religion says that shadows are passing by, but man's experience whispers that they will come again and again. 'Calm down,' religion adds, 'for there is an end to all this repetition.

Islam and all divine religions in general, all facts and events in the universe and various aspects of man's life which are dependant upon God's will and wisdom know that their occurrence in the universe is based on rules and principles; no phenomenon or event is repeatable. The superficial similarity phenomena and events have should not be mistaken. As the Holy Qur’an says,

یسئله من فی السموات و الارض کل یوم هو فی

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شان

“Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth implore Him; every day He is upon some labor. ” (55: 29)

Another statement of Whitehead's which we must criticize is:

“Religion has always fluctuated between the two concepts of brotherhood among humans and the relationship between God and his creations, like the relationship between a master and his servants. ”

The problem here is that Islam sees all human beings as respectable in nature, and all humans moving on the path to perfection and development are brothers.

المومنون کاعضا جسد واحد اذ اشتکی منه عضو اشتکی منه الاخر

God's relationship with his creations is not a master-servant one. as the Qur’an says:

نحن اقزب الیه من حبل الورید

“God is closer to man than even his veins. ”

Man's relationship with God is one of worship, and by worshipping God man can be attracted by divinity and achieve perfection and development.

On Christianity, Whitehead says that Jesus has said, “Leave Caesar's affairs to Caesar and God's affairs to God. ” Whitehead believes this statement was said in the era of Tiberious' rule.

Jesus could not have said something like that, despite all the historians that have quoted it. Such a statement contradicts with the philosophy of the sending of the prophets. All prophets were sent by God to guide man toward individual, social, physical and spiritual prosperity. The Qur’an also states one of the tasks of the prophets as upholding justice and equality, and that cannot be achieved if Caesar's affairs and God's are separated.

Furthermore, if a prophet like Jesus really made such a distinction,

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he would never have gotten into a conflict with the men of power of his time. All prophets, in fact, not only Jesus, fought the wealthy and the cruel, which shows they did not intend to leave Caesar and God to their own, separate affairs.

Defying the Ultimate Reason

In his book, Whitehead sometimes speaks of the ultimate reason in a way that it seems he does not accept it, or even sees belief in it as a barrier against logical thought:

“Logical ways of thought has been deteriorated and ruined ever since ancient Greece up to our times by the incorrect basic concept called the dogmatic theory of the ultimate reason. Such errors are not limited to religious beliefs, either; they have contaminated all fields and majors. They have always dominated the atmosphere with the ultimate reason. Such emphasis has been wrong. Its dogmatic side is, therefore, incorrect, too. ”

Again, we must disagree with Whitehead here, for defying the ultimate reason first calls for us to believe that the universe has arisen out of coincidence, and that there is no supreme philosophy and wisdom above it at all. But divine wisdom requires that the universe have an ultimate reason. Secondly, if there is no ultimate reason for the universe, all moral ethics and values are nothing but hallucinations; as the Iranian poet Nasser Khusro says:

روزگار و چرخ و انجم سربه سر بازیستی گرنه این روز دراز دهر را فرداستی

(All this world and time and the stars are ultimately

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mortal; someday, all this will come to an end, and the real world will be revealed. )

Whitehead is an advocate of moral ethics and values; how can he now defy the ultimate reason? The dispute among theological thinkers on determining the ultimate reason of the universe has caused some like Whitehead to be doubtful or defiant of the ultimate reason.

Man

Whitehead's interpretation of man sees man as having an extremely complicated nature:

“The human nature is so complex that in a politician's eyes, social plans put on paper are not even worth the paper they are written on. ”

This point of Whitehead's is one of his most significant.

Whitehead believes that destroying human evil is not simple.

Some believe that social re-organization can be effective, but he says that “there is no known way to eradicate social evil except presenting worse evil. ”

Evil still exists in human societies because social and ideological leaders have neglected religion and moral ethics and have done nothing to improve man's nature. Also, the lack of developmental plans in human societies – despite what Whitehead thinks – is not because the human nature is complex, but due to the fact that the human nature tends to both be selfish and greedy and also peer-loving and unselfish.

If the negative aspects of man's existence are controlled by means of religion and moral ethics, man can achieve a reasonable life.

Man cannot abandon slavery and exploitation without having deep love for his fellow beings. Those thinkers who do not believe so will fall into contradiction when

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defending human rights. Thinkers like Huxley and Hume, who have expressed their hatred of slavery, cannot logically justify their defiance of slavery from an anthropological aspect.

Sometimes Whitehead speaks about man as if he sees man as a descendant of apes. He says:

“Many years ago, the pressure of living in jungles forced some mammals to climb up trees and become apes; then, in the following era, after a long time, the pressure of the jungles being destroyed man the same species come down the trees and become human beings. ”

We must disagree with the theory that man is a kind of evolved animal, for there is no scientific reason to prove it; the above theory is more like a comparison, the base of which cannot be proven.

On the end of life, Whitehead discusses man's perfection, a perfection caused by social measures:

“Life can be recognized only as aiming for the level of perfection that environmental conditions allow. The goal, however, is always far beyond facts available. The goal is achieving a kind of perfection and greatness, even if it proves to be degraded and animal-like. ”

Indeed, man must make objective effort toward perfection, but it is incorrect to claim that development and perfection depends on the environment. Some other thinkers also believe that human life is heading for an environmentally defined form of perfection. If environmental conditions mean people's normal wishes and thoughts on the path of purely natural life, they cannot be regarded as perfection any more.

In fact, man will achieve no

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perfection unless he steps beyond his normal desires. Whitehead's main problem is his emphasis on the flow of man's normal, natural life, whereas he has frequently mentioned in his works that the current trend of life in human societies is not compatible with supreme human ideals and realities.

Another basic problem is Whitehead's ignorance toward the law of natural self-preservation. In our categorization of man's life, we have divided into two parts: the preservation of the natural aspect and the evolutionary aspect. Man's survival lies in paying attention to the latter:

Throughout this significant book, in which Whitehead has discussed some very important issues, I see no detailed discussion of the law of self-preservation, apart from a few brief statements, which will do no good to cure the pains deviation from self-preservation brings about.

Moral Ethics

When discussing the greatness of Christianity and other religions, Whitehead says:

“The greatness of Christianity or any other religion lies in its temporary morals. ”

However, divine religions, Islam in particular, involve eternal morals, for moral ethics mean the activation and flourish of man's positive potentials, and moral values can adjust man's social life. As the Holy Prophet of Islam has described his mission:

بعثت لاتمم مکارم الاخلاق

“I have been sent to complete moral virtues. ”

Despite his emphasis upon moral principles, Whitehead starts a contradiction concerning morals:

“There is a contradiction concerning moral ethics that must be added to the contradiction in the arts. Moral issues seek an ideal in their goals, and fight against being degraded to lower levels, even when they are at

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their lowest level. Thus, stagnancy is the lethal enemy of moral ethics. Yet, in human societies, heroes of morals are generally archenemies of new ideals. ”

Great thinkers of moral issues have never opposed new ideals. Only professional heroes, who see moral issues as a mere series of principles, fight against change and new ideals. Great thinkers of moral ethics, however, see morals as dependent upon God, which can therefore never be rigid or stagnant. Moral ethics are based upon man's reasonable life, which is not stagnant. Man's relationship with nature and his fellow beings undergoes many changes, which cannot be left ignored in a system of moral ideals. The fundamental principles of moral ethics are fixed, of course, for they originate from man's nature, intellect and conscience; the changes that occur are changes in subject or man's viewpoint of facts. In brief, morals are based on reasonable life, and their aim is to evolve man's life – the supreme product of the universe. The moral values that dominate reasonable life can save man from stagnancy.

All in all, Whitehead strongly believes in moral values:

“The only way to understand a society is to find out what kind of men rule it. ”

Identifying the officials and leaders of a society can to some extent show us what the goal of the members of such a society is, and how freedom is in their society.

Freedom

We must put more emphasis upon mental freedom, which is the fundamental elixir of man's life and other forms of freedom.

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Mental freedom is not possible, however, without “practical, reasonable freedom. ” When such a freedom becomes a reality, man can use his positive potentials to the benefit of others. As Allamah Ja’fari believes, true freedom can exist in human societies only if the rulers of human societies admit and accept the greatness of human life.

Whitehead believes that the concept of freedom nowadays has become hollow:

“Alas, the concept of freedom has become hollow, due to the literary aspect given to it. Literary figures and artists have displayed the impact of new thoughts on traditional ones in their symphonies of imaginations and visual hallucinations. ”

The important point Whitehead is conveying here is that some literary figures and artists have damaged traditions and customs with their hallucinations presented in the name of novel thoughts. Novel thoughts, which are new and to some extent interesting have brought about the destruction of some traditions that are deeply rooted in man's mind and soul. One of the reasons why the last century was riddled with self-alienation is damaging original traditions.

From Whitehead's point of view, limited freedom does not only arise out of hostility and animosity toward one's fellow beings. Many other factors, such as the rigid rules of nature and the rules dominating man's life also limit freedom. Whitehead also emphasizes the important point that “the true core of freedom is the possibility to reach ultimate human freedom. Man has suffered most due to his failure to reach his real goals. ”

If this extremely significant point of Whitehead's is

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ignored, a reasonable interpretation of freedom will not be achieved. Nowadays, unfortunately, incorrect interpretations of freedom have led to man's supreme spiritual activities and heavenly ethics to be disabled. If Whitehead means by “the true core of freedom is the possibility to reach ultimate human freedom” the same as what the public mean by freedom – freedom is merely reaching their desires – however, we see it as a point deserving criticism. Some people set goals for themselves that are by no means elevated or supreme, so reaching them cannot be regarded as freedom.

Art

Whitehead says that art consists of:

“Art consists of juxtaposing effects with observable facts objectively. By objective juxtaposition, here we mean the ultimate that must be achieved with relative success. Such an ultimate, which refers to art, has two aspects – the truth and beauty. The pinnacle of art has only one ultimate, and that is 'beauty based on the truth. '“

Objectively juxtaposing effects with facts is not accurately the definition of art, for all of man's activities upon the contents of the world are objective. Every product or merchandise built, for example, has effects seen as some material phenomena in the world – a juxtaposition of the effects with the objective phenomena. And about the end of art, which Whitehead believes to be truth and beauty, we must say that the term “truth” here is not opposed to facts; rather, it refers to the “reality that deserves to exist,” including the deserved existence of phenomena as they are

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and as they should be.

Art must flow on the path of man's reasonable life, and ignoring this fact can disable human principles and values by the artist and his works. Whitehead, who believes in Judgment Day, considers art as responsible for making it a reality. He believes that:

“The concept of Judgment Day is quite significant, but that day is always with us. Thus, arts are liable for providing us with that now, immediately, in this world, so art itself has the potential to lose some of its profound viewpoint in order to achieve the providing responsibility it has set as its goal. The duty of the arts is to give Judgment Day triumphant reality now. ”

Human Civilizations

In his analysis of civilization, Whitehead believes it to consist of “four elements:

1- Behavioral patterns

2- Emotional patterns

3- Patterns of belief

4- Technological patterns

“Though they influence each other, we can immediately omit technology, for it is irrelevant to our discussions. On the long run, patterns of behavior are preserved or moderated or modified by the patterns of belief and emotions. Religion's first duty is to focus upon emotions and beliefs. ”

Although Whitehead pays little attention to the element of technology, patterns of behavior are related to technology. The influence of technology upon man's individual and social life as so intense that it actually plays a part in determining man's patterns of behavior. Technology is not a phenomenon separate from legal or moral principles. It is highly influential on public culture.

And in the hands of the power-greedy men of politics

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or business, it can heavily affect patterns of emotions and belief. Basically, technology makes people's social relationships very complicated, creating compulsory relationships that greatly influence various aspects of man's social life. Instead of ignoring technology, Whitehead should have advised it to be harnessed to serve human life.

The four elements mentioned above can only find harmony when the supreme aims of life and valuable ideals are presented. If man moves along the path of purely natural life instead of heading for reasonable life, they will never be harmonized. It is religion that can correct and logically adjust the four patterns.

Whitehead believes that the civilization of a society depends on the existence of five blessings: 1. the truth, 2. beauty, 3. endeavor and innovation, 4. art, 5. peace and tranquility.

He sees triumph in encouraging and convincing force to work are signs of a valuable civilization. However, the value of a civilization lies in “spiritually and mentally convincing human beings to a supreme state. ”

Using force will make civilization inhibit the development of man's potentials. The mere convincing and satisfaction of the people is not enough to make a human civilization, for people are convinced and satisfied by factors in their life that cannot be regarded as ideal. For instance, some may be satisfied by hedonism; can that be considered as a human ideal? For years, people had accepted slavery, a form of content that no intellectual would approve of. Most people are generally ignorant of their own potentials and ideals, so people's

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satisfaction cannot be the correct criterion for evaluating a civilized society. A civilization whose points of strength root in original, stable human wishes will prevail. Passive, mortal desires cannot be regarded as the real advantages of a civilization.

By fulfilling encouragement, Whitehead most probably means activating original needs and their saturation, which exist in man's nature. But since being content and the continual outpour of original needs and wishes are relative, and on the other hand, having in mind the crucial importance of lack of content, which Whitehead sees as one of the motivating factors of history, we should interpret the concept of being content here as pleasing ideals, for there is a concept of stagnancy and stop in being content that is in contrast with the concept of sacred, motivating lack of content.

Apart from the above-mentioned factors, Whitehead also mentions public beliefs. Social life depends on people's common beliefs, so “if a society is not continually filled with current public belief, its civilization will be destroyed. ”

Whitehead considers several factors as effective in the rise or fall of a civilization:

1- Elevated goals protect a civilization; without them, a civilization will “gradually turn into a vain repetition, in which the intensity of emotions slowly fades away. ”

2- The natural fatalism dominating man's physical life that fulfills man's physical needs.

3- The compulsory dominance of man over man, to the extent that behaviors are harmonized toward social comfort.

4- Methods for fulfilling encouragement.

The four factors mentioned above are acceptable, but the fifth one requires criticism. Public

beliefs are not without deviations and errors, so intellectual pioneers of societies should always study and criticize them. Public beliefs can be divided into two groups. Some originate from man's nature, and some others, though not based on man's nature, deposit into his nature. The latter cannot guide man toward development and perfection. Nowadays, mechanistic life is full of such public beliefs. They must be changed.

Whitehead thus assesses the Greek civilization:

“The Greek renaissance was caused by the factor of their ideal of perfection-seeking. This ideal brought them much greater progress and development than the other civilizations. It effectively made such a beautiful civilization that history had never seen in man before. ”

If Whitehead could only realize the glory and greatness of the Islamic civilization, he would never exaggerate like that about the Greek. The internal outpour and stable goals of the Islamic civilization were so great that the civilization was sustained and kept fresh for centuries. Whitehead admits that the Greek civilization lost its freshness to repetition in successive generations, whereas Islam, which believes that man always needs novelty and variety, and believes that man should be provided with a school of thought that prepares the grounds for man's thoughts and emotions to be refreshed and flourished, always inhibits man and his civilization from becoming stagnant and waning. In Islamic civilization, which is based on the existence of God, man is guided toward goals and ideals that root deep inside him.

Islam

Whitehead should be criticized on a few occasions for his lack

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of information about Islam. For instance, Whitehead has said that “Palestine has created the last religious ideology,” whereas religious ideology began with Noah, and continued with great prophets like Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, presenting the complete context of Abraham's religion in the form of an ideology.

Whitehead believes the scholars at the academies in Alexandria to have made a significant contribution to the rising of Islam and Christianity:

“Their work [the scholars at Alexandria] found a strong position in the rise of two great religious revolutions, Islam and Christianity. They provided both religions with philosophical theology and tools for innovation and dogmatic principles. ”

It is absolutely unacceptable that the theological basis of Islam, or even Christianity, to have originated from Alexandria. Interaction of thoughts between scholars of various schools of thought and beliefs does not necessarily imply that one is based upon the other. Furthermore, Islamic theology is not founded upon innovations, or dogmatic methods, either.

According to Whitehead, slavery has been one of the issues in the past about which none of the scholars of different schools of thought took any serious action.

“People of Athens were kept slaves, but apparently, they humanized the basis of slavery. Plato was, both by family background and in belief, an aristocrat, and must have had some slaves, too. But one can hardly read some of his words without feeling upset about how he forces mankind into humiliation… neither the sympathetic slavers, nor the aware Plato or even other intellectual lawmakers did anything to fight slavery. ”

Whitehead knew

nothing about how Islam fought against slavery, even though it was quite well-established among Arabs, and the Holy Prophet Muhammad took realistic measures to eradicate it:

1- Providing slaves with human rights

2- Announcing the act of freeing slaves as a way to have one's sins forgiven

3- Decreeing all slaves as free and slaving them prohibited after Mecca was occupied

4- Allocating some zakat (alms) for freeing slaves

5- Strong emphasis upon the merit of freeing slaves

His actions were so effective that in Umar ibn Abdul-aziz's era, slavery had vanished from Islamic lands, and the budget for freeing slaves was spent on freeing non-Muslim slaves, e. g. in Africa.