Why Religion?

Lesson 1

1. Why study religion?

Why should we investigate about religion and study about God? What provokes us to consider religion? There are three key reasons:

a. Love of knowledge

We all want to know the truth about the world in which we live: Did the heaven with its beautiful stars, the earth with its glorious landscapes, the beautiful birds, the colorful fish, the blue oceans and the high mountains—did all these come into being by themselves or are they the product of an All-Knowing and Powerful Creator?

Besides all this, the first question that comes to mind for all of us is the origin of ourselves: Where did we come from? Why are we in this world? Where are we heading to? The love of knowledge and the searching spirit within us dictates that we must not rest until we find the answers to these questions.

Thus, the first reason that compels us to inquire into religion is our thirst and love for knowledge.

b. The sense of thankfulness

The world around us and the world within ourselves are full of marvelous things. The sun and moon, the plants and trees, the mines and minerals hidden deep in the heart of the earth; all of them are of great benefit to mankind.

Within ourselves, we have the digestive system, the respiratory apparatus, the heart and other organs of the body; but the greatest of all, however, is the intellectual ability of man himself through which he can make a mighty mountain crumble into pieces, and create from water and iron enormous power and the most delicate objects.

Now, this question poses itself: Should we not engage ourselves in research and inquiry until, if there is a benefactor, we acknowledge that benefactor, to fulfill our duty and offer him our thanks?

This is the second reason why we should inquire into religion.    

c. Preventing possible danger

If a child were to come and tell you that he saw a poisonous snake go into the room you were in, you would immediately jump up from your chair and undertake a thorough search of every nook and cranny until you found it, or until you were satisfied that it was not there.

Similarly, while traveling by night in a dangerous country, if you learnt that bandits were waiting on the road ahead to ambush you—you would without any doubt wait until the way ahead was clear of danger, and would not take a single step forward until then.

In these two examples, we have made clear the reason that compels us to investigate conceivable dangers. It is possible that some of the harmful things may turn out to be nothing at all, and that other people may not pay any attention to them; but if an inquiry carries the price of a human soul, that it cannot be ignored.

In the history of mankind, we learn of people who were famous for telling the truth and who lived an honest life. They claimed that they were messengers of God, and they called people toward God and to act in certain ways. As a result of the efforts and the constant sufferings of these special people in all corners of the world, many groups believed in them. Thus, the birth of Jesus became the beginning of the Christian calendar and the migration of Prophet Muhammad was taken by the Muslims as the beginning of their calendar.

Now, we see that these messengers attracted men to religion and to follow particular rules, caused them to fear punishment of their bad deeds and convinced them that they would be tried in the Great Court of Justice before the Righteous and Wise Judge. They trembled at the hardships and perils of Resurrection and the harshness of the punishment there, and warned men of the dire consequences of evil deeds.

The question is: Do the warnings of these people make us realize the possibility of harm and danger in the same way as did the warning of the small child in the example mentioned above? It is right to ignore the words of the messengers of God who, after all, were men of high moral standards and who made greatest sacrifices for their cause?

Clearly, the words of the messengers—if they do not make a man certain—at least provoke him to think: perhaps what they say is true. If what they say is true, then what is out duty? What answer will we have in the Court of the Great Judge?

Common sense reckons the necessity of preventing this “possible harm”. What is more, these messengers and prophets call man to a healthy and civilized life, and they also say that after death an extensive new world and everlasting blessings await one who has performed his duty. Does reason allow us to ignore this important message?

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There is a similar argument known as the Pascal’s Bet, named so after the famous French mathematician, Pascal (d. 1662). Pascal proved the importance of inquiring about religion in the following way:

If you believe in the life hereafter, you will gain everything if it really exists; and you lose nothing if it does not exist. Therefore, it is better to bet that it does exist.

The theme of this argument was presented by the Shi‘ah Imams long before Pascal. We also know that Pascal had red Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali’s works. It, therefore, seems quite possible that Pascal might have read this argument from Imam ‘Ali, the first Shi‘ah Imam, as quoted in Mizan al-A‘mal [Scale of Deeds]. Imam ‘Ali said:

The astrologer and the physician both say, “The dead will never be resurrected.” I say, “Keep your counsel. If your idea is correct, I will come to no harm; but if my belief is correct, then you will surely lose.”

2. Some necessary qualities of religion

The religion which can fulfill the needs of mankind must have the following qualities:

(a) It must satisfy the intelligence and intellect of human beings.

Islam gives foremost importance to human intelligence. Islam emphasizes that you must understand the faith and then believe in it. Belief follows understanding, and not vice versa.

(b) It must teach and demonstrate dignity of human beings.

Islam places human beings over and above all other creations of God; it promotes equality among human beings. Islam does not allow human beings to lose their dignity by bowing down in worship to a fellow man, animal or an inanimate object.

(c) It must be a complete guide to develop the body, mind and spirit of humans as a whole.

Islam does not only develop the soul at the expense of the body nor does it promote the care of the body at the expense of the soul. It promotes development of all aspects of human life in a balanced way. Islam not only talks in general terms about the code of life; it gives specific details and also provides examples in the lives of the prophets and Imams.

(d) It must conform to human nature.

The teachings of Islam take the human nature into consideration. It does not promote, for example, celibacy which is completely against human nature.

(e) It should not be a tool in the hands of oppressors to suppress the masses.

Islam promotes social justice and rejects the theory of predestination. The oppression of a tyrant ruler is not predestined by God. This leaves no room for the tyrant rulers and oppressors to say that the masses have been predestined to serve the ruling class.

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References for further reading:

Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, Need of Religion (Dar es Salaam: Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania, 1970).

The Roots of Religion (Qum: Dar Rah-e Haqq, 1982).

Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Principles of Islamic Ideology (Tehran, 1985).

_____. Fifty Lectures on the Principles of Faith for Youth (Tehran: Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, 2007), p. 23-78.

Kambar Asadi, What is Religion? (Bombay: World Islamic Network, 1995), pp. 5-30.

Man and Religion (Tehran: Al-Balagh Foundtion, 1995).