GOD’S CREATION PLAN
There is a guidance system at work in this world. It is based on the principle of belief in the unseen (Quran, 2:3). This means that the world has been designed in such a way that its deeper truths and realities are not immediately visible to the human eye. Now, it is man’s task to activate his intellectual faculties, uncover these hidden truths, and live in accordance with them.
A human being is expected to acknowledge God as the greatest, even though His greatness is not visible to the eye. A human being is expected to fear God’s punishment, even though His power to punish cannot be seen anywhere in the world. In the same way, a human being is expected to support the callers to truth, even though they always appear in the form of ordinary people. Recognizing them is only possible for someone who can look beyond outward appearances and see with deeper insight.
The same is true of ordinary worldly matters. The world held countless material possibilities, but all of them were hidden within the earth. Discovering these material resources and shaping them into an advanced civilization was the responsibility of human beings—something that has been accomplished on a large scale in the present age.
In this sense, it would be correct to say that the method of nature is exactly what is referred to in educational theory as the discovery method. To make this method workable, human beings were given a highly developed mind, inherently filled with all the necessary potential abilities. The human mind was capable of reflecting and understanding the reality of things—able, on the one hand, to recognize its Creator, and on the other, to discover the material resources hidden within the world and use them in building a meaningful life.
In this process, the Prophet holds the position of an authoritative guide. The Prophet of Islam provides the fundamental principles through which a person begins their journey of discovery and reaches the point of success. The truth that emerges in this way becomes a personal discovery. It influences the whole personality of the individual and becomes a lasting source of fulfillment.
However, when we look at history, we find that not long after the beginning of human life on earth, a system of oppression emerged in the form of monarchy. All inhabited regions of the world came under the control of a few rulers. These rulers, in order to strengthen their power, established complete authoritarian rule. As a result, freedom of thought and freedom of expression disappeared across the world. What we now call freedom of speech simply did not exist in the ancient world.
It was this very system of oppression that, in earlier times, prevented the message of the prophets from taking root. This same system also stood as a constant barrier to scientific discoveries and progress, because every idea needs the space of free thinking and open discussion to grow. In the old oppressive system, where freedom of expression was not available, such open reflection was not possible.
The Prophet of Islam was assigned, in addition to his general mission of prophethood, the specific task of breaking the oppressive system that had been established in the world. For this purpose, he was granted all necessary support. As a result, within less than a hundred years, he and his companions either broke the institutions of royal oppression or weakened them so thoroughly that they collapsed on their own in due time. The struggle undertaken by the Prophet and his companions was, in essence, a kind of divine operation intended to dismantle the artificial system of oppression and to establish the natural system of intellectual freedom—so that the path to both religious and worldly progress could be opened for humankind.
This same oppressive system is referred to in the Quran as fitnah, and the command was given to fight against those who upheld it until fitnah no longer remained and religion belonged entirely to God (Quran, 8:39). In this verse, religion does not refer to religious law (shar‘i deen), but rather to the natural way of life (fitri deen). The meaning of the verse is: ‘fight against those wrongdoers who disrupt God’s creative order, so that the unnatural system of intellectual suppression they have imposed is abolished, and the system of intellectual freedom intended by God can be established in the world.’ The artificial state would then be removed, and the original natural state restored on earth. This has now been fully achieved across the world and has opened the doors to every form of human progress.
