The Existence of Truth and Falsehood is absolute and not relative


The objective of the Islamic way of thinking is to reach the truth, which necessitates believing in the existence of truth and falsehood and in the correct and incorrect as absolute, and not relative, facts. The most distinguishing feature of this life is that it consists of facts and not illusions. Any objective and serious study or thought must acknowledge the undeniable fact that absolute realities exist; otherwise, such a study would degenerate into fanciful storytelling and speculation that cannot construct any sustainable concepts. With this in mind, any research, study, or thinking cannot be devoid of purpose or for entertainment; any such study or research would be in vain and would bear no productive concepts aside from superficial thoughts and abstract philosophies. Reaching the truth must be the sole motive behind any study or research, and once the truth is reached and is proven conclusively, Muslims must abide by it and adopt it as part of their thinking. No attention should be given to the opinions and traditions of the masses, or to any cost or benefit that may be associated with adhering to the truth. The truth must be accepted only based on its merits. Anyone who realizes the truth and failed to abide by it has willingly labeled himself a hypocrite and has cheated and deceived himself, which suffices to classify such a person as ignorant.


The existence of absolute truth is easily recognizable upon examining the manner in which the human being develops his thinking capacity. The human being from early childhood begins to sense his surroundings, and the images of these realities will be firmly entrenched in his brain. The human being at an early age feels the existence of these realities although he is unable to explain or define them. Upon repetitive feeling and sensation, the existence of these realities becomes definite and conclusive, and the notion that such realities are merely illusions quickly dissipates. The moon or mountain which the human being senses remains the same moon or mountain every time he senses them. If these realities were merely illusions that emanated from his imagination, then the human being, who has full control over his imagination, can alter the shape and nature of such illusions as he pleases. However, these realities exist regardless of his or anyone else's imagination, which means that the existence of these realities does not depend upon the imagination and is not a relative issue like the subject of one's imagination.


Furthermore, as the human being develops in his childhood, he develops the ability to connect some of his instincts and needs to these objects. Initially, such a connection during the early stages is merely instinctive or emotional, but not intellectual, and such connections exist even among the animals. For example, the infant would connect between his mother's aroma, her voice and the breast milk. These connections are not imaginary or illusory but are real outcomes of the interaction between his instincts and needs with the objects and realities surrounding him. Food and water always satisfy his need to eat and drink, and this satisfaction occurs in every human being and animal without exception.


With further maturation, the human child beings to comprehend these realities and initiates the process of classifying things by terms. Initially, this process occurs through imitation, starting with tangible things in his immediate vicinity such as his parents and bodily organs. He then begins the process of building relationships between these tangible realities, such as categorizing different realities on the basis of size or shape. In addition, the child starts to comprehend the attributes of certain actions, such as eating, walking, and sleeping. What must be noted is that the realities which the human being senses exist regardless of the terms he attributes to them. A mountain exists regardless of whether someone refers to it as a mountain or a small hill. Furthermore, the attributes that exist in objects are realities which the human being senses from his early childhood. Fire has the attribute of burning, and everyone observes this phenomenon without exception.


Alongside these processes, the child develops the ability to listen to the different sounds, which is the first linguistic skill that man develops and will later shape the development of his vocal system. All of these sounds and images will be stored as information, which will further reinforce the already conclusive existence of the realities that he has repeatedly observed throughout the years. The child starts communicating using very simple language usually composed of one or two phonetics. With time, his vocal system develops to the extent that he begins to utilize language and express his ideas in a spoken form, whereas before he would express himself primarily through emotions (laughing, crying, etc.) or bodily movements. Once the child acquires the ability to speak, he begins the process of questioning the realities surrounding him as well as their relationship to one another. This questioning proceeds naturally, and usually his parents assist him in answering these questions. The answers he receives will serve as information that will later serve as a basis for his thinking. In addition to questioning, the child also begins the process of issuing his own opinions and judgments. This thinking process will be crude and have numerous errors in its initial stages. By the time his reservoir of information increases and his senses become more refined, his thinking will become more sophisticated and accurate.


The human being, from the onset of his ability to rationalize and comprehend his surroundings, realizes that there is a stark difference between the existence of certain realities and their explanation. The existence of these realities is connected directly to the human being's senses and is, therefore, conclusive. Since the onset of the development of his ability to sense his surroundings, the human being has sensed the different realities, and what he senses is consistent time and again. However, the information which explains these realities may differ. Man begins to associate the information provided to him with the realities that he senses. If the information corresponds to the reality, then it will concentrate within him and naturally evolve into a concept, which he refers to as a reference for measuring other ideas and issues by. For example, the parent would tell their child that playing with electrical items is dangerous and could result in injury or death. They would also inform him that crying in a loud voice at night would attract ghosts which would kidnap him. Initially, the child would trust both statements because of the bond of trust and emotional link between him and his parents. However, the human being by his nature is curious, and this curiosity entices him to explore. With time, he will realize accuracy of the first statement and the inherent fallacy of the second by comparing both statements to the reality which he senses and to the many incidents and experiences. He will realize the correctness of the first statement either by news of others who were injured or killed by electrocution, or by directly experiencing an electric shock. When he begins contemplating the second statement and compares it to the reality, he will realize its falsehood through the accounts of many children, including himself, who would cry at night without ever being kidnapped by ghosts. As a result, he would consider the first statement as a concept and conviction that cannot be changed without the need to search for any further evidence to support it. As for the second statement, he would abandon it after realizing its falsehood.


Therefore, the truth is what matches with the reality, and because the reality is the same for everyone, then this correspondence is absolute and not relative. For example, the issue of whether Allah exists is not relative because either Allah exists or He does not. No one can claim that Allah exists and does not exist at the same time on the basis that some people deny His existence and others acknowledge it. The existence of the reality is something that people sense and not something that people create in their minds or imaginations. Thus, the reality exists in this life because of the fact that the reality itself exists and not because man wanted it to exist or imagined it to exist. The human being arrives at this conclusion from the moment that he begins to sense these realities.

Claiming that the realities which people sense are merely illusions and not the reality is a false claim which has no basis. Those who claim such a hallucination contradict their assertion simply by their conduct in daily life. If a human being were to doubt that everything surrounding him is real ­ including the food he eats, the items that he uses to carry out specific actions, and the words that he speaks and hears from others ­ he would be unable to live. Thus, the ideas and thoughts which either affirm the existence of a specific reality or attribute some descriptions to it are correct if the reality proves their correctness and false if the reality proves their falsehood. Saying that there exists a force called gravity which pushes matter to the center of the earth is correct and absolute because the reality proved its existence millions of times, and everyone observes the same phenomenon continuously and without exception.


Thus, the existence of truth is a conclusive issue that every human being realizes, and this realization is firmly entrenched. Once a human being realizes the truth, then he must abide by it because thinking is the most noble characteristic the human being possesses. Through this ability to think, the human being comprehends his surroundings, builds concepts that shape his personality and outlook, and develops plans and objectives to guide him through life. The human being can avoid many dangers, whether physical or intellectual, and overcome many obstacles that impede his progress through this ability. Furthermore, thinking renders the person legally accountable and responsible for his actions and their consequences. Without this capacity, the person would be considered insane or mentally dysfunctional and cannot be held legally accountable for his actions. Thus, the natural course for any human being to pursue is to proceed in this life according to his convictions, which he arrives at through the thinking process. The most debased of people are those who identify the truth and then avert themselves from it and fail to abide by it. Anyone who chooses this course of action defeats the very purpose of the most honorable characteristic that Allah has granted him, and he begins training himself in the fields of lying and hypocrisy. Stubbornness and argument based on falsehood become distinguishing features of his character.


While thinking is the most venerable characteristic that a human being has, the process itself is time and energy-consuming. Thus, the human being should not engage in thinking for entertainment like the Greek philosophers would do, nor should it be done for show as some people try to do when they argue an issue that is clearly incorrect. The Prophet (saaw) said, ''I guarantee a house in the Jannah(paradise) to the one who abandons (the miraah) even if he is correct.'' The word ''miraah'' in the hadith refers to the sophistic or pointless argument, or any argument initiated out of stubbornness and not for the purpose of reaching the truth in order to abide by it. Thus, it is mandatory upon all Muslims to abide by the truth and make reaching the truth the objective of any discussion, while ridding themselves of any loyalty aside from loyalty to the truth. The truth should serve as the frame of reference to measure things with. Muslims should never refer to anything ­ whether an individual, emotion, benefit, or institution as a frame of reference for assessing the truth. Anyone who does so has betrayed himself and has sold his personality and independence for a very cheap price. It is expected for a Muslim to consistently refer to the truth, and he should not insist on the falsehood regardless of the reasons or justifications for doing so.

2) Recognizing the Daleel, its Types, and its Domain

Human being encounter many issues in their daily lives, ranging from political and economic to intellectual and cultural. In order to proceed through life with its myriad of issues, the human being must develop or adopt certain opinions and thoughts related to these issues, and this adoption will serve as the basis for pursuing a specific course of action in addressing or resolving these issues. The most accurate and correct opinion or thought will doubtless lead to the most effective course of action in resolving an issue. And the accuracy or correctness of any thought or opinion will depend solely upon the strength of evidence that supports the thought or opinion. Therefore, no idea, opinion, rule or thought should be taken without its daleel (evidence). The process of adopting opinions or thoughts should not be done out of convenience or fascination (either with the opinion itself or with the one who carries it). No one should adopt any thought or opinion on the basis of personal benefit, emotion, reaction, or imitation. Ultimately, the daleel is the sole criterion for determining which opinion is correct.


The reason for placing the evidence as the sole basis for adopting any thought, action, opinion, or rule, is that Muslims will be held accountable for their actions when they face Allah (swt). This accountability will proceed on an individualistic basis in which everyone will be asked about only his or her actions. Parents, siblings, family, friends, shaykhs, leaders, mas'ools, government, country, or personal benefits and desires, will not avail any individual on the Day of Judgment. Allah (swt) will ask each person about their obedience to the wahi He sent. Therefore, awareness of the sharii rules along with their evidences is critical for the Muslims.


Furthermore, the behavior of the human being is based on the concepts and convictions which he carries. A concept, which the human being is convinced of to the extent that he will refer to it as a basis for his personality and outlook, cannot emerge unless it is built upon convincing evidence. Without any evidence to substantiate it, a concept will be reduced to superficial information which cannot define a consistent behavior. One should not adopt or defend any opinion, thought, or rule, without being convinced of its evidence (with the notable exeption of Taqleed(imitation), where the person is unable to evaluate the evidences or opinion). This is because the process of adoption renders whatever a person adopted an integral component of his mentality which will define his thinking. And anything that a person is not convinced with cannot define the thinking. Shallow thinking will be the inevitable outcome of adopting opinions without conviction.

One would say that a person who is part of a party or group is expected to adopt what the group adopts even if he is not convinced with the group's adoption. However, the evidence for adoption in this case is the same evidence which obligates the Muslim to establish and join a group, which is the ayah:


''And let there arise from among you an ummah that calls for Khayr (Islam), commands Al-Ma'ruf (good, what Islam ordains) and forbids Al-Munkar (evil, what Islam prohibits), and those are the ones who will attain success.'' [ 3:104]


The group cannot exist as a distinct entity without adopting a set of thoughts. It cannot even interact with the people without adoption. In order to maintain a pure and strong entity, which would translate into effective communication with the people, the group is expected to adopt its thoughts based on study, thought and research. Furthermore, the group or party should present its adopted opinions with its evidence to its members and to the Ummah, and leave the doors open for any discussion in order for the adoption to produce its fruits. Thus, the adoption in the group in no way should be associated with blindly following opinions or taking opinions without an evidence.


Types of Daleel


The daleel can be divided into two primary categories: The intellectual or rational daleel derived through the thinking process, and the textual daleel deduced from the wahi.


A). The Intellectual Daleel


The intellectual daleel, which is derived through the aql, is the reality that corresponds to an issue and proves its correctness as a result. This type of daleel is further subdivided into two types:


i). Evidence for fundamental thoughts


The fundamental thought, or Aqeedah, is the foundation which humanity refers to when measuring things. This thought serves as a frame of reference for the human being and defines his point of view and outlook towards life by resolving the essential questions that every human being must answer. The evidence for this type of thought is rational and must fully match with the reality. For example, believing in Allah (swt) as Unlimited and Eternal is a fundamental thought which is established by certain realities inherent in the universe, in life, and in the human being himself. The properties which all of these realities inherently possess would lead to the intellectual realization that they are created and not eternal. Similarly, believing in the Qur'an is derived through this process. As an Arabic text, the Qur'an must have a source. Examining the reality of the Qur'an and thinking about its possible sources would lead to the rational conclusion that the Qur'an must be the words of Allah (swt). And the prophethood of Muhammad (saaw) is realized through this conclusion.


The Qur'an addressed the sentiments of the human being while simultaneously directing the human being to think about the world surrounding him and to arrive at a conclusive belief. Through this intermixing of intellect and emotions, the Islamic Aqeedah addresses both aspects of the human being. Thus, the Islamic Aqeedah convinces the intellect of the human being and satisfies his nature. The core of the Aqeedah, which consists of believing in the Oneness of Allah, the Qur'an as the word of Allah, and in Muhammad as the final messenger, are established using this method.


Once the foundation of the Aqeedah is built, it serves as a basis for peripheral issues related to the Aqeedah, such as the previous prophets and books, the Day of Resurrection, Jannah (Paradise) and Jahannam (Hell-Fire), and the Attributes of Allah. These concepts can only be deduced after establishing the core of the Aqeedah because the evidence for such issues is the wahi itself, which cannot be realized without first establishing the existence of the wahi, the source of the wahi, and the human being's need for the wahi. Furthermore, these issues cannot be discussed rationally because they are beyond the senses of the human being, which is an essential component of the rational thinking process.

The intellectual process is also used to construct basic thoughts related to the various aspects of life, such as politics and economics, and these basic thoughts serve as a foundation for building an understanding of these various aspects of life. For example, building a political mentality requires establishing some basic notions about the influential nations in the world and their policies, interests, and relationship to other nations. These thoughts must be built by understanding the reality as it is and not through imagining the reality the way someone wants it to be. Thus, applying the intellectual process is required for all aspects of life except n the legislative aspect, which must rely on the wahi as its evidence, and the scientific fields, which utilize the scientific method of thinking.


ii). Evidence for detailed or specific thoughts


The frame of reference, which is defined by the fundamental thought or Aqeedah, serves as the lens through which the human being perceives all other issues. Moreover, this frame will shape the individual's mentality and thinking towards a specific direction. Consequently, each individual would look to issues and problems from a distinct angle. One cannot perceive detailed issues and thoughts in isolation because the detailed thoughts are built upon fundamental thoughts and do not exist in a vacuum. Given an issue such as inheritance, each individual will discuss this issue based upon his or her fundamental outlook upon life, which will result in various solutions to address the issue. Communists will not recognize inheritance because personal ownership does not exist according to their frame of reference. And even if the government allows some ownership, they would not permit the transfer of this ownership to future generations through inheritance. On the other hand, the Capitalists would recognize inheritance and give the owner full freedom to define his will and designate or deny his wealth to whomever he chooses without restriction. Thus, a person can apportion his inheritance to his wife and children, to some or none of his children, to his pets, or to an organization. While a Muslim would not use his own rational judgment to issue a decision because the problem of inheritance is a legal issue and not an intellectual one. Thus, the Muslim would refer to the Hukm Sharii which indicates, as a basic thought, that wealth belongs to Allah and that the individual's ownership is defined as Allah's permissio given to such an individual to own a specific item and utilize it for his own benefit. Once the individual dies, this permission ceases to exist, and his wealth must be distributed in fixed percentages to specific categories of individuals defined by the Hukm Sharii. The owner of wealth cannot change this system of inheritance, nor can he distribute his inheritance during his lifetime.


The differences mentioned result from the distinct frames of reference which each human being refers an issue to, and each frame is defined by a unique fundamental thought. None of these individuals would discuss the issue of inheritance, or any other issue, in isolation and disconnected from his frame of reference. As a result, the differences that exist in the world today in terms of how humanity perceives its issues and problems stem from the differences that exist in the fundamental thought which human beings adopt.


The distinct views that may arise in the way human beings perceive their issues is evident in the way that each fundamental thought defines the society and consequently prescribes the formula for changing the society. The Communists would look to any change in the society as an inevitable outcome of evolution resulting from the inherent class struggle in the society. According to the Communist thought, the human being has no control over this process, and the extent of the individual's contribution is limited to accelerating this process by making the class conflicts more obvious in order to mobilize the lower classes to revolt against the elite class. The Capitalists would look to change in the society as the result of promoting new ideas through the media and educational system until the society would accommodate such ideas. At the same time, the system would leave the individual to decide where he stands regarding such ideas, as what occurred with the issue of homosexuality. In Islam, the process of change occurs first by examining the idea through study, research, and thought, in order to determine its merits. If the idea is incorrect, then it would be abandoned. However, if the idea is proven correct, then the Islamic State and the different parties existing within the Ummah would work to build the thinking of the masses according to the new thought through education and interaction. This process would result in building the concepts that individuals carry in addition to changing the public norms, which would in turn strengthen the concepts that the individuals possess and influence their behavior.


B). The Textual Daleel


The second major category of daleels is the textual daleel which is derived exclusively from the wahi. As with the intellectual evidence, the textual daleel is also subdivided into two types:


i). Daleels related to the Aqeedah


The Aqeedah is defined as the fundamental thought which provides a comprehensive explanation of the universe, man, and life, in addition to defining what lay before and after these realities and establishing the relationship between all of these aspects. While the core of the Aqeedah (which addresses the existence of Allah, the Qur'an as Allah's Speech, and Muhammad as a prophet) is established through intellectual daleels, all other issues related to the Aqeedah are based solely upon the textual daleel that emanates from the wahi. Because the textual evidence (the Qur'an), as well as its source (Allah), are proven intellectually, then the Muslim must believe in whatever the text mentions. Rejecting the text amounts to accusing Allah (swt) of giving false information, which directly contradicts the intellectually conclusive basis for the Aqeedah.


The daleel used in the Aqeedah is called Burhaan and carries a distinct significance. Burhaan is defined as the conclusive evidence which proves the existence of something in a conclusive manner. In this regard, Allah (swt) says:


''Say, 'Bring your Burhaan if you are telling the truth.'''
[ 27:64]


Any daleel used to prove any issue related to the Aqeedah must be conclusive in both its authenticity as well as its meaning because the Aqeedah cannot be established upon doubt or speculation. Only the Qur'an and the Hadith Mutawaatir carry this quality. Although the Khabr Ahad can be categorized as sound, its authenticity and correctness does not reach the level to render it a sufficient source of daleels for issues related to the Aqeedah. The evidence that the Aqeedah must be conclusive relates to the nature of the Aqeedah itself. The Aqeedah necessitates conclusiveness because the fundamental thought, which defines the outlook towards life and serves as the basis upon which all other thoughts and concepts are built, must be established upon conclusive evidences. If the fundamental thought is subject to doubt and uncertainty, then the very life of the human being will be mired with doubt and uncertainty in every aspect. Furthermore, the Qur'an condemned the Kuffar for establishing their Aqaid(plural of Aqeeda) based on speculation or doubt:

''They follow nothing but conjectures, and they do nothing but lie.'' [ 6:116]


''And they have no knowledge of it, they only speculate.''
[ 45:24]


''They follow only a guess, and verily, guessing is no substitute for the truth.'' [ 53:28]


In these and other ayahs, Allah (swt) attacked the Kuffar for establishing their fundamental thoughts through doubt, imitation, and emotions. It cannot be argued that this condemnation is specific to the Kuffar because the ayahs did not attack the Kuffar per se but also attacked the very concept of building the Aqeedah upon doubt. Therefore, the daleel for the Aqeedah must be conclusive to the extent that no other understanding can be derived from the evidences used. Only through this process can the Muslims guarantee the purity of their Aqeedah and safeguard themselves from delving into absurd discussions based on speculation. The intellectual fragmentation that occurred among Muslims in some issues related to the Aqeedah was due to several reasons, one of which was accepting inconclusive evidence as a basis for building the Aqeedah.

ii). The Daleel for the Hukm Sharii


In Usul ul-Fiqh, the daleel used for a Hukm Sharii is called ''Amaarah,'' which is defined as: An indication to show that a particular issue is most likely included in this item. The difference between the Burhaan and the Amarah is more clearly illustrated in the following example. When Allah (swt) says,


''We sent to Madian their brother Shuaib,'' [ 11:84]


the ayah proves the fact that Shuaib was sent to his people. Furthermore, the ayah also proves that Shuaib was a prophet. The fact that Shuaib was a prophet is not ''derived'' from the ayah; rather, the ayah mentions this fact conclusively without any room for doubt or error.


However, when Allah (swt) says regarding the wulu,


''And if you touch(lamastum) women,'' [ 5:6]


Imam Shafi used this ayah to show that touching a woman breaks the wulu. Shafi derived this hukm from the ayah based on his understanding and the extent of his knowledge. And according to Shafi, this understanding is correct with the possibility of being incorrect. Abu Hanifa uses the same ayah to indicate that lamastum refers to sexual intercourse. According to Abu Hanifa's understanding and the extent of his knowledge, the ayah indicates this hukm, and to Abu Hanifa, this understanding is correct with the possibility that it is wrong. The ayah did not establish the existence of something in a conclusive manner. Instead, each mujtahid would use the ayah to illustrate that the hukm which he understands related to the issue at hand is DERIVED from the ayah. As a result, each mujtahid considers his opinion as correct with the possibility of being wrong and considers the opinions of the other scholars related to the same issue as wrong with the possibility of being correct.


Because the Hukm Sharii differs from the Aqeedah, the Hukm Sharii does not necessarily require a conclusive evidence. The mujtahid searches for the daleel in order to understand what most likely seems correct regarding a particular issue. Therefore, the daleel can either be conclusive or non-conclusive. However, there are many rules which have a conclusive daleel, such as the number of prayers a day, the number of rakas in each prayer, the obligation of fasting during Ramadan, the permissibility of trading and prohibition of riba, theft and zina(illegal sex), the obligation of being ruled by Islam, and other issues. These issues lend no room for ijtihad because their corresponding evidences are conclusive.

The Qur'an, Hadith Mutawaatir, and Hadith Ahad can all be used as a source of daleels for the Hukm Sharii. The evidence which allows Muslims to rely on non-conclusive daleels as a source of akham shariyah is the fact that the Qur'an itself addressed the Muslims with both ayahs having conclusive meanings as well as those with non-conclusive meanings. Allah (swt) would not mention akham shariyah in non-conclusive ayahs if they could not be used as a source of daleels for rulings. Furthermore, the Prophet (saaw) accepted the Muslims changing the direction of the Qibla from Al-Quds to Mecca on the account of one individual. While the details of this issue are mentioned in books of Usul ul-Fiqh and are beyond the scope of this paper, the general outlook towards the daleel is essential to building the Islamic way of thinking in the correct manner.


In summary, Muslims should not adopt any thought, opinion, or rule without an evidence. The default scenario is that every Muslim must be a mujtahid(scholar). But because such a level is beyond the capacity of many individuals to achieve, the taqleed is permissible in issues related to Ahkam Shariyah. However, the permissibility of taqleed(imitation) should not serve as a passport for ignorance. Muslims must search and study in order to elevate their knowledge, even though they may not possess the ability to perform ijtihad. While attaining the ability to perform ijtihad may not be achievable to many individuals, having the ability to research the opinions of mujtahids, understanding how they arrived at their opinions, and comprehending the soundness of the daleels they used, are certainly within the reach of many Muslims.


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