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PROJECT NAAD's DEFENCE OF NIRGUN-SARGUN THEOLOGY
By Abu Adeeba
We received the following from
Project Naad. The astute reader will quickly realise that
far from attempting a refutation, Project Naad has tacitly
conceded defeat by choosing to ignore the arguments set in
the article 'The
Nirgun-Sargun Conundrum Part 1'. Instead, they
have opted for an approach that defies rationality and was
thus guaranteed to fail, and Allaah's protection is sought
from such confusion.
Comments from our article 'The
Nirgun-Sargun Conundrum Part 1' -
red
Project Naad's rebuttal -
black
Our reply - blue
The God of
Nirgun And Sargun: With Attributes and Without Attributes
2
Introduction
This essay attempts to correct
misunderstandings or false statements made by Muslim
scholars regarding:
-
Applying the Universal Law of
Non-Contradiction to the Infinite God
-
The Nirgun-Sargun concept of God in
Sikhism
-
The authenticity of Shri Guru Granth
Sahib Ji: the Sikh Holy Scripture
It should be noted that the
majority of this article has been compiled in response to
articles which were published on the following website. The
red text highlights extracts
taken from the Islam-Sikhism website or other Islamic
websites.
http://www.islam-sikhism.info/theo/nir/nir01.htm
Sikhism respects all religions and supports the concept of 'Sarbat
Dah Bhalla' which means 'Good for all'. Sikhs do not have
any ill will towards any community as all human beings are
sons and daughters of one God.
"See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of
Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." -
(Guru Granth Sahib, Page 6)
3 Inherent
Problems With Islam-Sikhism Rebuttal
Before I start to provide you
with an answer I would like to bring to light a few inherent
problems with your argument. Your argument is based around
the nature of God. Such an argument is in itself
preposterous! How can one hope to understand God when we
fail to understand ourselves?! Unfortunately, our egotistic
selves are absorbed by questions and we waste time on
needless tasks, instead of spending what little time we have
to develop our relationship with God. Nevertheless, as
Aquinas showed, logic and reason can be used to reinforce
our belief in God, so let's crack on.
We
quoted in the introduction of the said article: 'The
Nirgun-Sargun Conundrum Part 1', a principle formulated by
the scholar Ibn Taymiyyah for a very important reason. We
knew it was only a matter of time before a Sikh asserts the
aforementioned self-defeating argument, i.e. God is beyond
our understanding and inherently problematic to argue the
nature of God.
To remind Project Naad, Ibn Taymiyyah said: "If one does
not have knowledge of what one is worshipping, then what is
one worshipping?"
How can one worship an entity whose nature one cannot argue,
especially when a proposed nature is shown to be inherently
problematic?
Firstly, what is 'knowledge' and what is 'argumentation'?
Answering this question alone will completely demolish
Project Naad's arguments.
The definition of knowledge as articulated by the scholars
of Usool (fundamentals) in Islam is:
To
comprehend the reality of something as it truly is with
yaqeen (certainty).
Related to this are the levels of understanding, which are
six:
1)
Knowledge (al-'ilm) - to understand the reality of
something, as it truly is, with certainty.
2) Slight ignorance (al-jahlul baseet) - the absence
of full understanding.
3) Aggravated/ compounded ignorance (al-jahlul murakkab)
- to understand something in a way contrary to its true
reality.
4) Delusion (al-wahm) - to think that one understands
something despite the presence of that which should cause
one to realise one's error.
5) Doubt (ash-shak) - to think that one understands
something yet is aware of something contrary to it which one
thinks has the same possibility of being true.
6) Preponderant belief (dhan) - to understand
something despite the presence of something that is contrary
to it, but which is less likely to be true.
Argumentation on the other hand "embraces the arts and
sciences of civil debate, dialogue, conversation, and
persuasion. It studies rules of inference, logic, and
procedural rules in both artificial and real world settings.
It is concerned primarily with reaching conclusions through
logical reasoning, that is, claims based on premises. It
also encompasses the branch of social debate in which
victory over an opponent is the primary goal. This art and
science is often the means by which people protect their
beliefs or self-interests in rational dialogue, in common
parlance, and during the process of arguing".
In
light of the above, to argue the nature of God is a
necessary part of attempting to understand Him as per the
plethora of concepts of God - in this case contradictory -
accepted by humankind. Hence, how can we possibly claim to
have knowledge of God when we question, nay reject, the
position of those who come to conclusions, through the
process of logical reasoning and rational dialogue, over the
truth of their Lord. Is this not the definition of
argumentation?
If Project Naad honestly believes that to argue the nature
of God is "preposterous" and a "needless task", how can they
claim to have knowledge of God and/ or claim it is true? The
fact is that Project Naad's attempted rebuttal of our
arguments and defence of Sikhism's theology-proper merely
exposes their "preposterous" position.
As for the statement: "How can one hope to understand God
when we fail to understand ourselves," then this is seems
like pseudo-spiritual ad-hominem clap-trap since a failure
to understand "ourselves" does not effect the validity of an
argument.
Our overarching contention is that it is preposterous of God
to reveal an 'understanding' of His nature that is
irrational and absurd.
As an introductory note, I would
like to point out that the application of the universal law
of non contradiction in a situation regarding God,
especially when considering the God of classical theism
(which is the case), is not wholly applicable.
This is where Project Naad shoots itself in the foot even
before taking its first step.
Firstly, it is impossible for us to forward a precise answer
without the term 'classical theism' being defined.
Having said that, however, we must understand that this
entire argument is in relation to a "situation regarding
God". Hence, in order to determine the applicability of
using this law in relation to God, the very law itself must
be applied necessarily; otherwise proving how applicable
"the universal law of non-contradiction [is] in a situation
regarding God, especially when considering the God of
classical theism (which is the case)", would be impossible
due to it being both true and false at the same time, which
of course is absurd. Thus, the above statement is
essentially self-refuting.
God created the creation and
everything in it. God existed before logic and reason. We do
not have the grounds to say that God abides by laws which we
as humans have thought up, so applying such a law to an
argument adds nothing. After all, this 'universal' law can
only apply within the universe, inclusive of everything
within the creation, how can it apply to something which is
beyond the universe itself?
Firstly, to claim that we "do not have the grounds to say
that God abides by laws which we as humans have thought up,
so applying such a law to an argument adds nothing" is
begging the question since Project Naad presuppose these
laws to be "thought up"; and thus, wrongly conclude its
inapplicability to arguments related to God.
Secondly, it is shocking that one can seriously assert that
these laws (in this case the law of non-contradiction) is
inapplicable because it presumably adds nothing to an
argument. It seems Project Naad has failed to read the
hopeless and untenable position I. S. Dhillon fell into when
attempting to defend a similar stance.
But amusingly, however, Project Naad refutes its own
position in the same paragraph when it states: "After all,
this 'universal' law can only apply within the universe,
inclusive of everything within the creation".
We stated in the article: The Universal Law of
Non-Contradiction 'A Self-Evident Truth' that:
Before anything can be postulated, bi-valued logic is
required to make sense of it. Hence, for any meaningful
proposition P, at a given time, in a given respect, there
are three related laws: the Law of Non-Contradiction, the
Law of Bivalence and the Law of the Excluded Middle. These
three are universal givens known intuitively; that is to
say, they are self-evident and directly presented to our
consciousness, without which nothing would make any sense.
Since we are inexorably bound by these laws, all
propositions that violate these laws are necessarily
meaningless. Hence, how can we make sense of a God that we
believe transcends these self-evident laws? It is in
preserving our God-given rationality that we must apply
these a priori laws to all things, both inclusive and
exclusive of the universe, for them to make any sense.
What you as Sikhs are proposing is that we join you in
believing an impossible God. Why? If for arguments sake we
entertain the idea that these laws are not applicable to
God; then, when you claim God is, for example, all-Just, we
would be forced to conclude that He must also be not
all-Just (unjust) at the same time (a contradiction), which
is the inevitable conclusion reached by not applying these
laws!
But, as we explained in the article: 'The
Nirgun-Sargun Conundrum Part 1':
Demanding the affirmation, with certainty, of an impossible
concept is mental oppression and it is... essentially
impossible. Imagine God demanded of His creation that they
pray to Him in a non-human language; to breathe without
breathing; to stand without standing; to stand and sit at
the same time without standing or sitting; to believe
that God is unattributed (Nirgun) and attributed (Sargun).
All of this is impossible to do and, thus, unreasonable to
ask.
In the Islamic worldview, this is considered: "burdening a
soul with more than it is capable of enduring" let alone
burdening it with that which is impossible to endure. Allaah
from His infinite Mercy says:
"No soul shall have a burden laid on it greater than
it can bear." (Qur'an 2:233)
We
as Muslims wish to follow the clarity of truth, not the
confusion of falsehood clearly espoused and practiced by
Project Naad and those of a similar mind set. Do you expect
us to believe in an impossible God?
"Say
(O Muhammad): 'Do you order me to worship other than Allaah,
oh ignoramuses?" (Qur'an 39:64)
The
absurdity of the above argument also renders all possible
thoughts related to anything as meaningless since anything
beyond reason is in itself meaningless.
To assert that a paradigm-shift be made when one attempts to
determine the truth or falsity of a necessary proposition
concerning God, on the basis that the said proposition
transcends rationality, is self-defeating.
Why?
To begin with, any meaningful interpretation of a given
proposition can only be made by the use of one's rationale.
And since the proposition is tangible, it is subject to
rational scrutinisation, which allows one to determine its
truth or falsity.
Also, to effectively argue on
the nature of God implies that we fully understand God
because without a full understanding of something how can we
hope to build an argument which is wholly inclusive?
What does Project Naad mean by "fully understand God"? At
present, these Sikhs are expecting us to accept a concept of
God that calls for the rejection of all necessary laws
needed by all reasonable people to understand Him and
everything else rationally.
We would like to know how one can effectively argue a point
that exists independently of one's ability to reason?
This can be illustrated by
quantum physics.
Quantum physics seemingly violates logic and the universal
law of non contradiction.
This is because the same particle can exist in two places at
the same time, and can exist and not exist at the same time.
Things can come into existence spontaneously not following
cause and effect relationships. This is based on empirical
evidences. Just because this aspect of science could be
regarded as seemingly contradictory to logic and reason does
not make it meaningless, and nor does it make the law of non
contradiction untrue. It could merely be that we do not yet
fully understand quantum physics and that the bigger picture
will fit better. Whether we achieve this understanding
remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, it is not
possible to fully understand God.
We
appreciate the fact that Project Naad has used the term
"seemingly" to qualify their argument; it is far from
conclusive that these early quantum particle experiments
prove the "seemingly" contradictory properties of these
particles. It is unnecessary for us to delve into this
subject at this moment since it is not relevant to the argument at hand.
Nevertheless, we have published a paper titled:
The Waheguru Wave-Particle Duality,
which exposes the inherent flaws in adopting this
self-defeating argument.
This predictably drab example drawn by Project Naad is
merely indicative of its novitiate approach. It has
committed a category error fallacy by confusing the
categories of logic and epistemology.
In the case of quantum mechanics, it may be that the
truth-value of a proposition may not be known to us
epistemologically, but this is not the case in terms of
logic. For example, take the proposition: "There is life on
Andromeda". This proposition is true or false in terms of
logic and there is no third alternative; but,
epistemologically it is unknown. Nevertheless, logically it
is either true or false.
Similarly, any proposition asserted by a particle physicist
can only be proven as true by making recourse to the
self-evident laws of bi-valued logic.
If Project Naad disagrees, it is more than welcome to try
and prove otherwise.
As the Shiri Guru Granth Sahib
Ji Reveals: "How can my tongue describe Your countless
virtues? They are uncountable, and forever indescribable",
"By thinking, God cannot be reduced to thought, even by
thinking hundreds of thousands of times" and "If anyone
presumes to describe God, he shall be known as the greatest
fool of fools!".
We
say what Allaah says in response:
"Nay,
but they have denied the truth when it has come to them, so
they are in a confused state (unable to differentiate
between right and wrong)." (Qur'an 50:5)
In summary, logical reasoning
can be used to help one reinforce their beliefs in God but
its usefulness in providing an insight into the nature of
God is questionable.
Therefore, applying logic to revealed truths such as God
being Sargun and Nirgun is not fully legitimised. The
argument will be discussed below in more detail.
4 Detailed Argument Against The
Impossible God
4.1 The Islam-Sikhism Website on
Not Being Able to Know Truth of God:
'These
Sikhs postulate that Truth is God, and God transcends
rationality; but, since man is bound by rationality, man is
incapable of consciously knowing the Truth (God); and up
until man transcends the conscious (rationality) to become
one with God, the Truth will remain elusive.'
4.2 The Project Naad Response to
Not Being Able to Know Truth of God:
God can be described to be the
Ultimate Truth. This is not to say that God is only truth.
The SGGSJ tells us that one of the virtues of God is 'Sat
Naam'. God's name is Truth. It is this concept which you
have failed to understand and why the argument you have put
forward is flawed.
The fact that God is described as truth does not mean that
we cannot know basic truths about the nature of God as
revealed by SGGSJ without being connected to God.
For example, the God of Classical theism is described as
being omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omnipresent.
One could argue that these attributes of God are illogical.
How can something exist in more than one place at one time?
The answer is simple, and one which is accepted widely by
believers in God. God is not restricted by the same laws
which we are subject to. After all, God is the one that
created everything! For example, God is not subject to time
as everything in the creation is.
Firstly, it is a fallacy to employ an argumentum ad
populum since the validity of a given argument is
neither proven or disproven by the number of people
supporting it.
Secondly, it is important to note that Project Naad has not
attempted to refute the inherent contradiction that is the
nirgun-sargun concept of God. On the contrary, what they
have attempted to show is that God is not subject to the
bi-valued laws of logic, which proves the contradiction, by
attempting to argue the futility of its use.
Since we have relayed the ground work for meaningful
argumentation, insha'Allaah we will expose the
inherent absurdities theists fall into when attempting to
make sense of God and/ or other concepts at the expense of
these laws.
Logically:
The
laws of bi-valued logic allow the truth or falsity of a
proposition to be determined.
God is not subject to or bound by any laws in this universe.
The laws of bi-valued logic are part of this universe.
Thus, the laws of bi-valued logic are not applicable to God.
Thus, any concept of God postulated independently of these
laws is impossible to prove and conceptually meaningless.
Project Naad, however, readily acknowledges that "God is the
one that created everything", and yet are unwilling to
extend that logic to accept the fact that God endowed us
with the ability to reason, under the inviolable umbrella of
these divinely established laws, to make sense of both Him
and His creation.
God transcends this dimension as
well as all other dimensions.
Do
we transcend this dimension? If we do not, then we are bound
by these universal laws in understanding God. But since
Project Naad is bending over backwards to show that the laws
of this universe are not applicable to God, since he
allegedly "transcends this dimension", can Project Naad
prove that a concept that holds God, for example, to be both
transcendent and non-transcendent at the same time, is true?
It is for this reason, among
others, that God is referred to being the Ultimate Truth.
God is constant.
But
since God transcends these laws, we can only conclude that
He is also not-constant, and not the Ultimate Truth.
If Project Naad insists, however, that He is beyond the
application of these laws, we respond by asking how we can
rationally make sense of anything that is claimed to
ultimately be beyond our comprehension?
The SGGSJ reveals, "[God is]
True In The Primal Beginning. True Throughout The Ages.
True Here And Now. Nanak says, [God is] Forever And Ever
True." Therefore, God is the epitome of truth and not simply
restricted to being only truth as your statement suggests.
Sikhism is about experiencing God and connecting the soul to
the infinite Lord. It is true to say that one cannot fully
know God. This is known as the epistemic distance, the
knowledge gap between ourselves and God. It is not possible
to know God completely as God is infinite, but this does not
mean that we cannot know truth, and what is even higher than
truth is truthful living. This is how a Sikh aims to live
life.
Such a suggestion is neither here nor there, although the
implications are comical because the theology-proper that
Sikhism holds as true is impossible to prove. Hence, we find
it fascinating that rather than attempt to prove otherwise,
Project Naad all but accepts the contradiction; but, instead
falls further and further into a bottomless chasm by
inviting us to accept an impossible God!
Therefore, as truth and the
Ultimate Truth is not quite the same thing one cannot
contend that just because we cannot know God we can not
understand truth. Hence your argument is flawed.
And
as we have demonstrated, whether it be the words 'truth',
'Ultimate Truth' or 'jack in the box', nothing is provable
if Project Naad suggests we believe in something that
transcends all universal laws and thus rationality.
4.3 The Islam-Sikhism Website on
Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:
'However, such a postulate is convoluted and self-defeating
since we assert that Sikhism is contradictory not on that
which is claimed to be transcendent, but that which is
subject to observation: That which is proposed or stated;
that is, the Guru Granth Sahib, which is a book of
propositions. Hence, when a Muslim states that the
Nirgun-Sargun concept of God is contradictory, it is not
that the Creator is contradictory, but rather the
man-invented theology-proper of Sikhism that is
contradictory and false.'
4.4 The Project Naad Response on
Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:
Your statement about the SGGSJ
being 'a book of propositions' is simply untrue. What you
have failed to understand is that the written word, Bani, is
revealed Truth.
In
this instance either Project Naad does not know the meaning
of the word proposition or it does, but chooses to feign
ignorance. The stupidity of such a claim, i.e. that SGGS is
not 'a book of propositions', is all too obvious.
If SGGS is "revealed Truth", then it must contain
propositions since only propositions are carriers of
truth-values.
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy defines a proposition
as: That which is proposed or stated. Since we
know that truth is a property of propositions. A proposition
is either true or false. Hence, propositions alone are
carriers of truth-values. A proposition is the meaning of a
statement that declares that something is true or false.
If SGGS is revealed Truth, how can it not be a book of
propositions?
Written and signed by the Gurus'
themselves, it is unique. It is also free from
contradiction. Any apparent 'contradictions' are due to a
lack of understanding on the reader's behalf. This is
apparent in this case as the apparent 'contradiction' of the
Nirgun-Sargun concept is in fact not contradictory and only
appears so to those that do not understand the infinity of
God. Hopefully after reading this response God will bless
you with a better understanding.
How
can we have a better understanding of something that
transcends our understanding? Whatever postulations we or
Project Naad make of God are irrelevant since they are
impossible to prove because God is allegedly not bound by
the absolute laws of bi-valued logic (not to mention the
fact that not a single attempt has been made at refuting our
arguments against the nirgun-sargun concept).
Guru Gobind Singh Ji Says: "O
God! The day when I caught hold of your feet, I do not bring
anyone else under my sight; none other is liked by me now;
the Puranas and the Quran try to know Thee by the names of
Ram and Rahim and talk about you through several stories,
but I do not accept any of them. The Simritis, Shastras and
Vedas describe several mysteries of yours, but I do not
agree with any of them. O swordwielder God! This all has
been described by Thy Grace, what power can I have to write
all this?" As is shown here, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, as with
all the other Guru's and spiritual writers of the Shri Guru
Granth Sahib Ji were divinely connected to God and what they
have written is equivalent to the Word of God. The same
cannot be said for the Quran which was written many years
after the death of Prophet Mohammad and never authenticated
as the Truth by him.
The
author here has merely displayed ignorance of Islam by
claiming "the Qur'an which was written many years after the
death of Prophet Mohammad and never authenticated as the
Truth by him"; but, since this is a red-herring, we will
suffice by mentioning only that Allaah Himself authenticates
the Qur'an as the Truth from Him:
"This
(Qur'an) is the Truth from your Lord..." (Qur'an
2:147)
4.5 The Islam-Sikhism Website on
Rationality and Revealed Truth:
'To
begin with, any meaningful interpretation of a given
proposition can only be made by the use of one's rationale.
And since the proposition is tangible, it is subject to
rational scrutinisation, which allows one to determine its
truth or falsity. Thus, one does not need to become one with
God to determine the truth-value of an alleged divinely
revealed proposition.'
4.6 The Project Naad Response on
Rationality and Revealed Truth:
As has been outlined above, what
is written within the SGGSJ and other Sikh scriptures such
as the Dasam Granth are not simple propositions, they are
revealed Truths.
However, what has been revealed can of course still be
rationally analysed.
If
any part of it can be rationally analysed to determine a
truth then it is a "proposition", be it simple or
complicated, as per the definition of the word
"proposition"!
But, when concepts such as the
Nirgun and Sargun nature of God are to be analysed caution
must be taken as even though these are presented in a
tangible format, i.e, ink, the concept itself is intangible
as it refers to God. As God transcends rationality, rational
arguing cannot definitively determine the truth or falsity
of the concept.
And
the insurmountable penny drops!
"God transcends rationality".
Here we pose the same questions we posed to I. S. Dhillon,
who of course failed to answer; we hope that Project Naad
will take up the challenge:
The
words nirgun and sargun were apparently
revealed by God to describe His nature.
We used our intellect to understand the meaning of the two
words.
Hence, we comprehend the terms nirgun and sargun.
Through the use of our rationality we concluded
nirgun-sargun to be a contradiction.
Thus, God cannot transcend rationality since He made use of
our ability to reason by informing us of knowledge
concerning His Divine Self.
How
can it then be said that God transcends rationality when He
revealed knowledge of Himself that would be subjected to
rational scrutinisation?
Not only is Project Naad's statement self-refuting, but
SGGS, which apparently contains knowledge of God, also
refutes this position.
The only way this absurd proposition is true is if God did
NOT reveal any knowledge of His Divine Self.
What reasoning can help to do is
to show whether the concept is logically consistent with
human observed rationality. But even if the answer is that
it is not consistent, it does not mean the concept is false.
At most all one can conclude is that it is not logically
consistent within the human capacity of reasoning.
And
what other capacity of reasoning can we turn to if not human
reasoning?
We are bound by our reasoning; there is no escaping it; and
nothing can make any sense whatsoever without reasoning and
rationality.
Nevertheless, it will be shown
that God does indeed transcend rationality and therefore God
does not necessarily have to work within its rules.
Also, whatever the answer is, it is independent of the idea
that God is beyond rationality. Remember that Truth and God
are inherently related but not exactly the same things.
Therefore just because a divinely revealed truth can be
proved to be logically consistent does not mean you have
become one with God, as you have also suggested.
Where did we claim that a logically consistent divinely
revealed truth purports to one becoming one with God?
Incidentally, the idea of becoming one with God is alien to
Islamic theology; but finds its roots in Hindu
anthropomorphism.
Sikhism does not say you need to
become one with God to know truth, as truthful living is
part of a Sikh's way of life, whatever level of spirituality
they are at.
What seems to be lacking in your understanding though is
God's infinite nature.
No,
just this puzzling suggestion that a person is expected to
believe in a nature, be it infinite or otherwise, that
transcends rationality.
Also, what is key is that when
one does connect to the Lord these truths are revealed
without the need for rational thought. This is referred to
as the noetic aspect of a spiritual experience. Therefore to
suggest that 'the only way to get a meaningful
interpretation is through one's rationale' is not true. It
simply requires one to sit and meditate on the One Lord.
Firstly, the above is irrelevant since our argument is not
based on private personal subjective claims; we are
interested in determining the validity of objective claims
to truth. Hence, our quarrel here is to do with Sikhism's
contradictory and errant theology-proper.
Secondly, is Project Naad expecting adherents to deludingly
hold fast to an errant (contradictory) concept and hope that
one day, in the not too distant future, this inconsistency
(contradiction) will suddenly and mysteriously be remedied?
Allaah from the very outset orders Muslims to have knowledge
of Him when He says:
"Have knowledge that none has the
right to be worshipped in truth except Him and then seek His
Forgiveness all your believing men and women."
(Qur'an 47:19)
We are assured that the Truth is clear, as
our Prophet said: "I have left you upon clear guidance;
its night is like its day. No one will deviate from it
except that he will be destroyed." (Authentic) No where
in Islam does Allaah and/ or His Messenger expect blind
following of a mentally oppressive concept of God with this
backward assurance that all will be made clear one day soon.
We must want clarity and certainty of truth of our Lord in
the here and NOW, not in the uncertain realms of the future.
Meaning can be a very subjective
thing. As the SGGSJ says, "O mortal being, vibrate and
meditate on the Lord of the World. ||2|| If you do not
vibrate and meditate on Him now, when will you, O Sibing of
Destiny? When the end comes, you will not be able to vibrate
and meditate on Him. Whatever you have to do - now is the
best time to do it. Otherwise, you shall regret and repent
afterwards, and you shall not be carried across to the other
side. ||3||" I hope you understand that by merely asking
questions, true understanding will never be obtained.
We
hope that Project Naad and Sikhs in general understand that
by refusing to think with one's God-given rationale, clarity
and certainty of truth will be a distant dream with the
heart wavering upon delusion (al-wahm) and the mind
established upon compounded ignorance (al-jahlul murakkab).
4.7 The Islam-Sikhism Website on
the God of Nirgun and Sargun - With Attributes and Without
Attributes:
'For
example, Sikhism's concept of God is that He is both Nirgun
(attributeless, formless, transcendent) and Sargun
(attributed, personal, immanent, diffused in creation,
manifest) [3] at the same time, which of course is
contradictory.'
4.8 The Project Naad Response on
the God of Nirgun and Sargun - With Attributes and Without
Attributes:
This apparent 'contradiction'
is, as has been explained above, due to a lack of
understanding on your behalf. The Sargun-Nirgun concept
helps to perfectly explain the infinity of the Lord. What
must be understood is that God is beyond the concept of
time. Therefore, is it perfectly reasonable to suggest that
God can be Nirgun and Sargun at the 'same time'. Also, God
is limitless and not restricted to boundaries of logic that
us mere humans are. We cannot hope to fully comprehend an
incomprehensible being. Also, we cannot fully understand the
nature of God through merely logic and reason alone.
Therefore, how can one hope to intellectualise God?
This has been answered in what has preceded.
Quantum physics is a great
illustrator of how things may not seem logically consistent,
and how something can be everywhere and nowhere at the same
time.
This has been answered in what has preceded.
This is not just something that
is accepted by Sikhs. Ironically, even Islam could be argued
to be contradictory on such a topic if a similar argument is
followed. Islam suggests that God has 99 names. Some of
these are shown below:
52 Al-Haqq The Truth, The Real
15 Al-Ghaffar The Ever Forgiving
81 Al-Muntaqim The Avenger
Al-Mudhell The Giver of Dishonour
48 Al-Wadood The Loving, The Kind One
73 Al-Awwal The First
74 Al-Akhir The Last
If we follow the nonsensical
argument that you have followed it could be questioned how
God can be both the Ever Forgiving and the Avenger at the
same time?
Also, how can God be The Giver of Dishonour and The Loving?
Moreover, how can God be both The First and The Last at the
same time? Are these not contradictory statements as well?
The truth of the matter is that God is limitless and beyond
time so anything is possible. God is not limited to reason
and logic.
Not
that this is the subject at hand; but, once again this
indicates Project Naad's utter ignorance of Islamic
theology. If the premises of your argument are based on the
above suggested translations and flimsy assertions then we
can only warn you of a rude-awakening.
4.9 Reductio ad Absurdum for
Nirgun and Sargun Debate
I would like to end with a
Reductio ad Absurdum argument created by the Project Naad
Team. This is given below:
God is limited to human reason
and logic
God is the greatest possible being
Having limits is not as great as being limitless
Therefore, God must be limitless
Hence, God cannot be limited by human reason and logic.
Of
course this logical argument presupposes that God is
'limited' to human reason and logic; as we have demonstrated
that on the contrary it is God Who has endowed us with the
ability to reason, under the inviolable umbrella of these
divinely established laws, to make sense of both Him and His
creation. Hence, God's greatness is only proved by us making
recourse to these laws.
The inherent property of God is
that God is unconstrained and to have a limit is logically
inconsistent to the definition of God's All Powerfulness.
By
that rationale, would Project Naad be willing to concede
that God can cease to be God, or cease to exist for
eternity, or become temporarily eternal? If the answer is
yes, then this is not befitting the divine qualities of an
absolute Creator (neither does it make sense). If the answer
is no, then God does have limits and is constrained to that
which befits the divine qualities of an absolute Creator.
I hope after reading this
article God will bless you with a better understanding so
that you may experience the Lord as apposed to continually
asking questions which will only get you so far in your
spirituality.
Many Blessings,
The Project Naad Team
We
look forward to your response. But we hope that stubbornness
and arrogance, the chief obstacles that lead to falsehood,
do not hinder your path towards submitting to al-Haqq
- The Truth.
"And they denied (the truth -
Islam) and followed their vain desires. But for every matter
is a (time of) settlement (Day of Judgment). And there has
come to them information (Qur'an) in which there is
deterrence (from their falsehoods). Extensive wisdom - but
warning does not avail them. So leave them (O Muhammad). The
Day the Caller will call to something terrible. Their eyes
humbled, they will (all) emerge from their graves as if
locusts dispersing. Racing ahead towards the Caller, the
disbelievers will say: 'This is a difficult Day.'"
(Qur'an 54:3-8)
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