Roots of Faith in God
Earlier, when discussing wrong analyses of religion, it was explained that ignorance, fear and poverty are not the roots of faith in God. The question now is: So what is the root of faith in God? What leads man toward God?
The answer is Aql and Fitrat (nature).
Aql
Aql tells us that every effect has a cause. This is so obvious that even a baby recognizes. If you blow to a baby’s face, it will open its eyes and looks around to see what the source and cause of the blowing.
The law of cause and effect is among the most obvious issues in everyday life. How can one believe that, for instance, the picture of a rooster or a peacock requires a painter or a photographer but the rooster and peacock themselves do not require a designer and creator? How can Aql be convinced to believe that a camera has a maker but one’s eyes do not have an intelligent creator. How can one believe that existence of order in one’s behavior points to his wisdom but the order in the entire universe does not point to Consciousness and wisdom in its creator?
So one of the signs of the best worldview is for it to be based on Aql. Our Aql, which witnesses precision and order in the world, recognizes the existence of a conscious and wise power. Our study of the world leads us to a divine insight.
Fitrat
Whenever and wherever we ask a human being whether he feels to be independent in the world, no one will say yes. Everyone has a feeling of dependence.
This feeling of dependence is a fact, but the question is who or what we are dependent on? Are we dependent on the power of God or the power of nature?
The nature itself is dependent on hundreds of conditions. We must depend on a power who is totally impendent.
What prophets of God do is not to let people’s pure feeling of need to an independent power to go astray.
Sometimes it is thought that the divine prophets and religions’ inviting us to worship God runs counter to people’s free will. The fact is that mankind has been created in such a way that he cannot live without love, worshiping and hope. The need for loving and worshiping is in his nature. If this need and this feeling is not guided by messengers of God, it will lead to worshipping idols, celestial bodies or other human beings.
It is worshipping God that truly quenches this thirst and prevents this need and feeling from deviation.
Hence, divine worldview and faith in God have roots in Fitrat. That is to say, in all human beings there is a feeling of dependence on an infinite power.
Although he may sometimes make mistake in identifying that infinite power and whether it is divine power or the power of nature, the feeling of dependence on an infinite power exists. So monotheism that links the entire universe to an infinite and wise power is in harmony with human Fitrat that considers itself dependent.
