The process adopted by Science of arriving at Unity is only the reverse
of what Islam adopted: the former begins _a posteriori_ with Order finds
Continuity and arrives at Unity, but the latter started _a priori_ with
Unity, passed over Continuity, and found Order, thus:--
_Science._ _Islam._
1. Order 1. Unity = [Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālamīn] = [Arabic: Allah]
= The Reality[50]
of which both Mind and Matter
are different aspects.
2. Continuity 2. Continuity = [Arabic: raḥmāni wa r-raḥīm] = Force
or Energy.
3. Unity 3. Order[60] = [Arabic: māliki yawmi d-dīn] = Order
or Process.
What Sir Edwin Arnold calls the soul of Islam, _i.e._, the Principle of
Unity, so patently corresponds with the ultimate results of modern
Science and Philosophy, that I need not dwell on it at any great length.
It is sufficient to point out that Science has now proved three Unities,
the Unity of _Substance_, the Unity of _Force_, and the Unity of
_Process_; and Philosophy has shown that the three Unities resolve
themselves into One Infinite Power.[61]
"There is no strength (to avoid }
evil) nor ability (to do good) } [Arabic: La hawla wa la quwwata
great and supreme." } ʾillā bi-llāhi alee-eil aẓīm.]
_Maxim of Union and Loyalty._
2. How is the Maxim of Union and Loyalty inferred from the principle of
Unity? Man, being a creature of God, should try to be godly and godlike,
try to imitate God in actions, try to co-operate with his fellow
creatures for the good of all, and should thus attain the ideal: "Union
is Strength." This is the Islamic doctrine of Atonement[62] (=
at-one-ment [Arabic: fana fil-lah]): to be _at one_ with God by _union_
and _co-operation_ with God's creatures so far as your and their
constitutions and environments allow. But you need not bother yourself
with theories at present. It will be enough if you remember that the
ultimate aim or the sole object of the Prophet's mission was to
establish the universal union and brotherhood of mankind by means of a
firm belief in the eternal truth of God's unity. He preached the Unity
of God and worked all his life for the union of men into a universal
Brotherhood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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