| Diin
as the Law of Requital:The word ‘Diin’
postulates a law of requital. It emphasizes that the recompense
on the Day of Requital is the natural and the right sequence
to one's own actions in this world. The Law has universal
and all embracing application without any hindrance. It invites
attention to the fact of science that one has to die and nobody
has the power over this phenomenon to avert or avoid it. So
is the situation of the Day of Recompense where everyone is
completely helpless and subject to the perfectly non-discriminative
law of requital. It has rightly been highlighted that it is
based on the system of 'Reckoning' in which subjective or
interpretative excuses are completely excluded:
No exemption from Reckoning and Recompense:
"Then
why do you not -if you are exempt
from the reckoning and Recompense -
Bring back the soul, If you are truthful? "
(56-86 & 87)
Also see
73- 17,18 & 19.
In order to
clear any doubts, it is reiterated that the occurrence of
the Day of Recompense is absolutely sure. Since everything
belongs to Allah, it is the function of His Mercy that there
should be judicious dispensation so that no one wrongs or
harms the other. Further it is assured that the Mercy has
been prescribed in the dispensation and disposal of all affairs.
There is no doubt about it:
"Say:`To whom belongs all that is in the
heavens and the earth?'
Say: `To Allah.
He has prescribed Mercy for Himself .
Indeed He will gather you together on the Day
of Resurrection,
About which there is no doubt.
Those who have lost themselves will not believe
." 6-12
Value
Addition and Order Instituted by the Providence in the Processes
of Creation and Development:These also serve
as arguments for the faith in the Here-after.
"What ! Did you think that We (Allah) had
created you in vain and that you would not be brought back
to us?
Wherefore, let God be Exalted, The King, The Truth!
There is no god but He! Lord of the Stately Throne!
" 23-115 & 116.
Life has undergone
a continuous series of changes and upgradations. Why the same
process should not continue in future also? If the scientists
are not surprised at the process, in the past, of one phase
of life emerging out of another in succession, why should
we be skeptical about the present form dissolving the physical
frame to assume the next higher form? Process of value addition
and development of one form and phase into the other higher
one, itself argues that end of one (`here’) could be
the beginning of other (`here-after’).
"Thinks man that he is to be left to drift?
(uncontrolled, without purpose)? 75-36
End of
the World! Earth took about 4.5 billion years
to evolve a `thinking life' that could reason, communicate
and invent. Scientists believe that the present conditions
of the universe are too unstable to support another evolution
for such a long period on any other planet. Therefore their
hope is that there might already have evolved a form of life
on some other planet, which they are trying to discover. But
any form of life or existence on this planet or any other
point of reference in this universe is not sustainable indefinitely.
The universe itself is finite in all its dimensions and description.
They try to explain the beginning of it (The Big Bang). They
also believe in the end of it - they call it `Big Crunch'.
Science of the End of the
World:Recent research suggests that greatest
shakes came not from the power inside the earth but from the
skies - in the collisions of asteroids and comets with our
planet's surface. Any such event creating ultimate disequilibrium
can trigger the process leading to the `Big Crunch’.
Sir Isaac Newton, the 17th century scientist and theologian,
spent 50 years and wrote 4500 pages in his attempt to decode
the Bible and pin down the date of the apocalypse, (when the
end of the world would come). The handwritten manuscripts
were discovered by researchers in a library in Jerusalem.
It was not known that he ever wrote down a final figure. But
it shows that it is nigh.
("End of the world
is nigh", Reuters-Dawn, March 1, 2003)
There can
be many scientific explanations, but one thing is agreed that
the world is destined to end. ‘Flip of the earth’s
magnetic field’, is one of the catastrophic events speculating
doomsday. “The so called ‘flip’ between
the earth’s North and South poles occurs at long but
unpredictable intervals, the most recent one occurring about
780,000 years ago. The 180-degree ‘switch’ occurs
when there is a change in the circulation patterns in the
molten iron which flows around the earth’s outer core,
and like a dynamo creates the magnetic field. The intensity
of the field drops…before the circulation rhythm is
established and the new polarity occurs. (The)..records yield
an average estimate of about 7,000 years, (University of Washington
scientist Ronald Merrill says: “The shortest interval
between ‘flips’ is between 20,000 and 30,000 years,
and the longest is a mighty 50,000 million years.) for the
time it takes for the directional change to occur (eventually
the two main poles are established again, but on the opposite
sides of the planet), researcher Bradford Clement of Florida
International University, writes in ‘Nature’,
the British science weekly…No one knows what would happen
to life on earth…but the speculation borders on the
doomsday…Many aspects of life today would be literally
turned upside down…We would also be exposed to deadly
bursts of solar radiation, from which we are normally protected
by earth’s magnetic field… solar particles (would)
smash into the upper atmosphere, warming it and potentially
causing wrenching climate change… There was a scare
in 2002 after French geologist Gauthier Hulot discovered a
weakening of earth is magnetic field near the poles, which
could be interpreted as an early sign that a ‘flip
is near’.” (AFP/The Dawn, April 9, 2004).
Critics and disbelievers of the Quran are usually horrified
by the graphic accounts presented by the Quran about the end
of earth, solar system, stars, universe, doomsday, resurrection,
etc. What do they say about the increasing accounts of such
evidence being presented by scientific enquiry into the phenomena
and facts already mentioned in the Quran?
“Men ask you of the Hour, Say the knowledge
of it is with Allah only,
What can convey to you that it may be the Hour
is near.” 33-63
“Superficially
it seems that if we knew the rate at which the expansion of
the universe is slowing down then we would be able to predict
when the Day of Judgement will begin. However, if time is
related to the expansion of space, we can not observe the
slowing of the expansion… as the expansion of the universe
slows down, our time and our motion will also slow down and
the rate of expansion will appear the same.. The nature of
time is such that slowing of time also can not be perceived.
This ofcourse means that the Day of Judgement can not be predicted
and may come at any time. Only Allah, Who is independent of
time, knows of the timing of the Day of Judgement.”
“The threatened Hour is near. None
beside Allah can disclose it, Are you surprised then
at this statement?” 53- 57 to 59.
“And
it will come upon them suddenly,
when they perceive not.” 29-53
(“The
physics of the Day of Judgement”, Dr Mohammad Humayoun
Khan.)
Yaumud-Diin
is a truth about which man is forewarned when the judgement
is sure to be delivered. As an argument the Quran makes direct
and straight reference to the facts of life and Rubuubiyah
working towards that end. Now scientists agree to it (The
Big Crunch). Genetics and other advancements can also provide
very important clues towards resurrection, and the requital
can not be denied on any grounds, including moral; then what
remains to be denied? In fact nothing.
What
next? Where Do We Go?
Non-scientific views:Let
us first examine different views in this regard. According
to the study of Alan E. Bernstein, (`The Formation of Hell’:
`Death and Resurrection in the Ancient and Early Christian
Worlds’), in the Mesopotamian civilization, it was believed
that after death there will be no account, therefore no requital.
Greek and Romans believed that there was a separate world
for the dead. Greek called it `Hades', where spirits of the
dead were put in different categories, according to their
deeds. The criminal were condemned forever.
Amerindian:There
was no definite and defined concept, but there were vague
and conflicting ideas among Indian tribes of North America.
Most tribes held that man possessed more than one souls. "Among
the Algonquian , Cherokee and Iroquois, for example, the soul
might be required to pass a test before entering the land
of the dead. In general the dead were feared. Elaborate funeral
rites were intended to effect the soul's smooth transition
to the other world. Generally however, human life was viewed
neither as a testing-ground nor as a preparation for eternal
life."
Ancient
Egyptian: "A belief in 'continued existence'
after death was common to all levels of ancient Egyptian society
and, apart from the Old Kingdom (2600 BCE) when only the `royal
hereafter ' was clearly defined. To this end, tombs were prepared
with articles of daily and religious use, where provision
was made to `feed the deceased'. Only the gods were immortal,
although even they might die. Man either had no hope after
death.. or his spirit would descend to a dark underworld,
where life dimly reflects the joys of earthly existence. The
concept of individual resurrection seems to be missing, except
some stories, e.g., of a vegetation god who dies, thus depriving
the earth of his bounty, but who finally returns to life and
restores abundance to the land and its inhabitants.
Christian:Traditionally,
the Christian view of man sees his soul as surviving death.
At death an interim judgement is made. This distinguishes
between worthy souls destined for heaven and the unworthy
consigned to eternal punishment in hell. Roman Catholicism
teaches that most saved souls undergo a period of purification
in Purgatory, but Protestantism rejects this. In a general
resurrection of the dead, souls are clothed with a transfigured
body. The Last Judgement settles the final destiny of the
resurrected: eternal bliss in heaven or eternal torment in
hell. `Resurrection of the body' has also been variously interpreted,
e.g. not only the resuscitation of the physical body but also
the survival of the personality in some form. References of
Hell are a few and not elaborate, but they also refer to severe
fire as punishment.
Judaism
- Olam Ha-Ba:The most general Jewish term
for the Hereafter is `Olam Ha-Ba'. It refers to the post-resurrection
era of the Messianic age and signifies the condition of the
soul in the world to come after the death of the body. It
is believed, according to Talmud, that in Olam Ha-Ba there
is `no eating, no drinking, no procreation, no business dealings,
no jealousy, no hate and no competition. The righteous sit
with crowns on their heads deriving pleasure from the Radiance
of the Divine Presence. This is one of the two conditions
of post-resurrection existence.
Although they continue to believe in the resurrection,
but there is also a belief that man may undergo a variety
of rebirths before then, inorder to fulfill his tasks on earth.
This is how the whole belief gets confused. If the tasks have
to be completed, then why die at all? And this dilutes the
whole concept of resurrection and if any idea of final accountability
could be attached to it, although the Jews elaborated the
concept of recompense, as given in the Old Testament that
`Gehenna' (Hell) is for the sinners:
"For behold, the day comes,
burning like an oven,
when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble;
the day that comes, shall burn them up".
Zoroastrianism:It
postulated that the body of man perished after death but his
soul survived and received recompense according to the deeds.
Greek:In
earliest eschatology `all jades' (souls) went to `Hades',
a subterranean, gloomy, dark land of the dead. A rapidly growing
belief soon challenged this: select `heroes' were thought
to habit a paradise `Mysteria', and later, `Orphism' promised
a blissful afterlife close to gods, who followed certain ritual
and ethical precepts. From here the notion of post-mortem
rewards and punishments after a general judgement spread into
mainstream eschatology. Reincarnation remained a marginal
belief. All these beliefs and doubts about the after-life,
co-existed.
(“The Dawn”,
and Dictionary of Religions, John R. Hinnells).
Reckoning
and Accountability:The Quran presents an altogether
different picture, which is supported by reason and now increasingly
by the data being made available by scientific approach, over
looking physical boundaries or horizons touching metaphysics.
The term ‘Ad-Diin’ in its very meaning presents
the concept of reckoning alongwith reward or punishment.
"Shall
we indeed (be raised up) to receive reward or punishment (according
to our deeds)? 37-53
"On that
Day Allah will pay them the (Diinahum) recompense ((of their
deeds) in full" 24-25
"The
wise person is he who reckons himself and works for (his life)
after death" (Ibn Maajah, 2-1423) - meaning, he holds
himself accountable. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: “Hold yourself accountable before you are held
accountable, weigh yourself before you are weighed, and be
prepared for the biggest gathering before He (Him) Whose knowledge
encompasses your deeds.”
"That
Day shall you be brought to Judgement, Not a
secret of yours will be hidden" 69-18
Computation of Data:Recording
of data and accountability is as scientific as any other law
of nature. It is so accurate and precise that nothing is missed
nor mis-recorded. In the current computer terminology we may
try to explain by an analogy that whole system is computer
controlled, all actions are recorded, sorted out and accounts
maintained, scientifically and systematically in ‘real
time’. (19-94 and 72-28). On the Day of Judgement the
accounts will finally be closed, reconciled and final debits
and credits passed on to each individual. Same principle applies
to nations and peoples.
"Those
people have now passed away.
They have the reward of their deeds,
And for you is the meed of yours." 2-134
There are
many places where, and things on which, data about deeds is
computed and preserved in such a manner that it can be retrieved
also, e.g., from neurons in the brain, from DNA etc. We will
discuss this, at the appropriate place.
"And Allah has created the heavens and the
earth with Truth (Law).
In order that each person may be recompensed,
what he has earned.
And they will not be wronged." 45-22
Above verse indicates that universe has been built
with such laws that they help man in accomplishment of his
assignment and endeavor and that system itself provides for
accurate accounting for recompense so that he will not be
wronged. Science and computer have solved some of important
questions of sifting enormous data. Sorters and graders are
already working in real life factory. Computer sifts on the
basis of characteristics, colours, impressions, signs etc,
etc. Data is recorded, sorted, graded and simultaneous settlement
takes place on line in real time. Therefore, the argument
of the Quran for the entire process of accountability and
settlement on the Day of Judgement taking place smoothly and
swiftly on the basis of the data already generated during
the phase of this world by each individual and duly recorded,
is supported logically and scientifically.
Science
of Reckoning:It has been established that
(i) laws of nature can differentiate, and in real practice
they do, between the good and the bad (evil) in everything,
(ii) All ‘events’ and ‘actions’ are
recorded: There is an unfailing elaborate system of recording
all details of every dot and dash, in the universe, (iii)
the books of accounts are to be settled at the end of the
period: It is the practice of all accounting processes as
a logical conclusion. Otherwise there will be no purpose in
recording, (iv) activity in human domain is also subject to
the same laws of cause and effect. At the individual level
also, information is continuously being stored in the DNA,
the brain cell and other storage or memory. Let us look into
following neurosurgery report:
Brain
Cells Speak - Evidence from within:Scientists
are working to know how brain functions in cognition; precisely
how and which of the 12 billion cells store memory within?
Is memory generalized or specific? "One noted explorer
in this field is Dr Wilder Penfield, a neurosurgeon from McGill
University in Montreal, who in 1951 began to produce exciting
evidence to confirm and modify theoretical concepts which
had been formulated in answer to these questions.. During
the course of brain surgery ..Penfield.. touched the temporal
cortex of the brain of the patient with a weak electric current..
His observations of the responses.. were accumulated over
a period of several years. In each case the patient under
local anesthesia was fully conscious during the exploration
of the cerebral cortex and was able to talk with Penfield..
Penfield found that the stimulating electrode could force
recollections clearly derived from the patient's memory..`The
psychical experience, thus produced, stops when the electrode
is withdrawn and may repeat itself when the electrode is reapplied'.
"One of Penfield's significant conclusions
was that the electrode evoked a `Single Recollection',
`Not a Mixture of Memories or a Generalization'.
Another of his conclusions was that the response to
the electrode was `involuntary.’
"Under the compelling influence of the probe
a familiar experience appeared in the patient's consciousness
whether he desired to focus his attention upon it or not..
he found himself a part of a specific situation that progressed
and evolved just as the original situation did. It was, to
him, the act of a familiar play, and he was himself both an
actor and the audience.. Perhaps the most significant discovery
was that not only past events are recorded in detail
but also the feelings that were associated with those
events. An event and the feeling which was produced
by the event are inextricably locked together in the brain
so that one cannot be evoked without the other.. It is reproduction
of what the patient saw and heard and felt and understood..
The evoked recollection be more accurately described as a
`re-living' than a recalling. In response
to a stimulus a person is momentarily displaced into the past.-`I
am there'. This `reality' may last only a fraction of a second,
or it may last many days. Following the experience a person
may then consciously `remember' he was there.
"The sequence in involuntary recollections
is: (i) Re-living (spontaneous, involuntary
feeling), and (ii) Remembering (conscious,
voluntary thinking about the past event thus re-lived).”
Another of Penfield's conclusions: "The memory
record continues intact even after the subject's ability to
recall it disappears: ..When it is thus introduced into the
patient's consciousness, the experience seems to be in the
present.. Only when it is over can he recognize it as a vivid
memory of the past..The brain functions as a high
-fidelity recorder, putting on tape, as it were, every experience
from the time of birth, possibly, even before birth..
(The process of information storage in the brain is undoubtedly
a chemical process, involving data reduction and coding, which
is not fully understood.. The important point is that, however,
the recording is done, and the playback is high fidelity.)
"Whenever a normal person is paying conscious
attention (* see verse below) to something.. he simultaneously
is recording it in the temporal cortex of each hemisphere..
The recordings are in sequence and continuous.. When
the electrode is applied to the memory cortex it may produce
a picture, but the picture is not usually static. It changes,
as it did when it was originally seen.. It follows the originally
observed events of succeeding seconds or minutes.. Penfield
further concludes that the thread of continuity in evoked
recollections seems to be `time'. The original
pattern was laid down in temporal succession...It also appears
that only those sensory elements to which the individual was
paying attention are recorded, not all the sensory impulses
which are forever bombarding the central nervous system..In
summary we may conclude:
1.The brain functions as a high-fidelity
tape-recorder. 2. The feelings which were
associated with past experiences also are recorded and are
inextricably locked to those experiences. 3.
Persons can exist in two states at the same time. The patient
knew he was on the operating table talking with Penfield;
he equally knew he was seeing the (past).. 4.These
recorded experiences and feelings associated with them are
available for replay today in as vivid a form as when they
happened.. These experiences not only can be recalled but
also re-lived.
"Penfield's experiments demonstrate that
the memory function..is biological also..The capacity to recall
the past to consciousness can certainly be expected to reside
in a primary mechanism of general biological validity. A firm
link to the genetic mechanism is important, and in this respect
specially, the RNA molecule, with its many possibilities,
would fulfill many requirements." (Thomas A. Harris,
M.D., I'm OK - You're OK, pp.4-12)
A Brain Chip (Silicon Chip) could be used to replace
the `memory centre' (Hippocampus of the brain) where the `storage'
of memories is coordinated. Hippocampus is an area at the
base of the brain in humans, close to the junction with the
spinal cord - i.e. just at the bottom of the brain and over
the neck. It is believed it `encodes' experiences so they
can be stored as long-term memories in another part of the
brain. ("American scientists develop `brain chip', Sciencedotcom,
The Dawn, March 22, 2003).
Is it the same memory chip (Taa-irun) `hung in
the neck' (‘Unukin’) which is promised in the
Quran that it will be displayed on the Day of Judgement, before
man, to tell him all his past that he lived in the world.?!
"And
We (Allah) have fastened every man's fate (deeds) to his neck,
and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring
out for him a book
which he will find wide open." (13)
Read your book,
you yourself are sufficient as a reckoner
against you this Day" (14) 17-13 &
14
"Nay! Man is a witness against himself. (14)
Though he may put forth his excuses ." (15)
75- 14 & 15
"Do not
follow that of which you have no knowledge,
For, you will be questioned,
for the use of your eyes, ears and hearts "
17-36
Its one of the important implications is that
one should acquire that information and knowledge which could
benefit him and people or society in general, which includes
all aspects of socio-economic and human development. When
it is good, one should acquire more knowledge (20-114), from
cradle to grave (Hadiith) and excel in that good (2-148).
From this emerge at least following major points for reflection:
i. If anything is not done attentively
it has no effect on this part of memory. The implication is
that any worship or prayer made without intention (Niyyat)
or giving proper attention may similarly not have weightage
points in the final accounting and balancing of deeds as the
belief in recompense requires. The Quran has very emphatically
reminded against offering prayers or any worship to Allah
without proper attention or carelessly.
ii. Since it involves attention,
it naturally implies that, the better the attention the better
would be the fidelity in its audio or video replay.
iii. Allah is closer than jugular
vein. The closest nearness of Allah is that He comes before
`thought '. This is what is included in the definition of
`Muttaqii' (God-conscious). It means consciousness
or awareness of God occurring before any thought is what makes
man completely `God-conscious’ (Muttaqii).
"And recite the Quran in a slow-pleasant (assimilating)
style" 73-4
"And remember the Name of your Lord (Allah),
and devote yourself to Him, with a complete devotion."
73-8.
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