Many Quranic Verses Encourage Philosophical Thinking
Similarly, when the Quran asserts that multiple gods would lead to chaos and corruption, how can one not reflect on it rationally?
These are some of the questions that Muhammad Ali Fathullahi, a faculty member of the Research Center for Human Sciences and Cultural Studies, raised in a forum titled “Judgement on the Scale of Judgement”. Here are excerpts from his speech:
Why do we think that the utopia that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) created needs something other than itself to survive? A new identity and culture as well as new people emerged in Medina, which automatically made everyone think that a new city had been established.
This new identity had its own novelties. When Surah Al-Ikhlas was revealed, how could anyone read this verse “Say: He, Allah, is One” and the Surah without engaging in any philosophical thinking?
In verses 22 to 24 of Surah Hashr, the Quran says: “He is Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him: Knower of the seen and unseen. He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. He is Allah—there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher ˹of all˺, the Almighty, the Supreme in Might,1 the Majestic. Glorified is Allah far above what they associate with Him ˹in worship˺! He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise.”
How could anyone read these verses without their mind getting involved in philosophical thinking? Also, when the Quran stresses that if there were more than one God, there would be disorder and corruption, how could it be possible not to think philosophically about it?
A part of identity has a cognitive and rational aspect while another part of it is political, and a more important part is cultural and the general movement of society. The identity that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) presented was philosophy, but not the common philosophy.
Some objected to the Prophet about the way the society was governed. They said that a ruler should have a palace and live separately from people. They said that he should rule as emperors like Kaiser. But the Prophet’s way of life was not like that. He lived with people and like people. However, this Sunnah was not followed by the rulers after the Prophet (PBUH).
