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In other words, it would be unjust of God to provide us with intelligence that was incompatible with revealed knowledge of His Divine Self. Surely the all-Wise, who has established for us this purpose of worshipping Him, would not make things difficult, let alone impossible, by instilling in us an intellect and rationale insufficient in comprehending the revelatory knowledge of His Divine Self. And yet, the question standing is: What if revelatory knowledge of His Divine Self is found to be contradictory? We intend to show here that the Hindu-inherited and slightly altered concept of God in Sikhi theology is illogical, contradictory and irrational. From this we contend that if Sikhism intends to believe in contradictions related to God, which any healthy and rational minded person would, if all things were equal, necessarily reject, then at least two dire consequences transpire: Sikhi theology is irrational and illogical, and thus, errant. God is unreasonable and unjust if He reveals contradictions and demands that Sikhs accept it unquestionably.
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is the temple of Lord. [bold ours] [4] God is described as both nirgun, or absolute, and sargun, or personal There was only the Formless One Himself; creation was not then-When God became sargun or manifest, he became what is called the Name, and in order to realize Himself He made nature where in He has His seat and is diffused everywhere and in all direction in the form of love. [bold ours] [5] God is both Transcendent and Immanent does not mean that these are two phases of God one following the other. God is One, and He is both nirguna and sarguna. "Nirguna sargunu hari hari mera, (God, my God is both with and without attributes)," sang Guru Arjan (GG, 98). Guru Amar Das also had said, "Nirguna sarguna ape soi (He Himself is with as well as without attributes)" (GG, 128). Transcendence and Immanence are two aspects of the same Supreme Reality. In the teaching of Sikhism God is conceived as being without form (nirankar/nirakar)-All existence is God's visible form, but no part of it is a substitute for God. God is also Nirguna (unattributed) as said earlier. It was the One and the Only God, the Lord of Universes who was at once transcendent (nirguna) and immanent (saguna). Although immanent in His Creation He was yet apart from it, being its Creator. Sikhism does recognize the traditional categories of transcendent and immanent as also of nirguna (without attributes) and saguna (with attributes, sarguna in Punjabi), pertaining to God, but not the Sankarite distinction between higher and lower Brahman. The emphasis here is on the unicity of Ultimate Reality, the "1 Onkar". The term Parbrahma (Sankara's Para Brahman) appears frequently in the Sikh Scripture but Aparbrahma or Apara Brahman never. For the Sikhs the same Absolute is both nirguna and sarguna (GG, 98, 128, 250, 287, 290, 862). The nirguna Brahman manifests himself as sarguna Brahman, in relation to His attributes. [bold ours] [6] An emphasis has been given to these terms in order to show a general acceptance of interpretation within the academic circles that sans creation God was Nirgun (attributeless, formless, transcendent), but at the onset of creation became Sargun (attributed, personal, immanent, diffused in creation, manifest). However, it is still insisted that He is ONE (ik onkar): Nirgun as well as Sargun.
INSURMOUNTABLE PROBLEMS
"Say: Truth has come and falsehood has been vanquished, indeed falsehood by its very nature is bound to be vanquished." (Qur'an 17:81) PROBLEM ONE This Nirgun-Sargun duality must be recognised a priori as nothing but a contradiction in terms. We recommend those unfamiliar with the Law of non-Contradiction to read the following article refuting those who ignorantly claim that this law is neither self-evident nor a priori ; or those who assert, based on the erroneous claim that this law is man-invented, that God cannot be limited or restricted to these alleged man-invented laws: The Universal Law of non-Contradiction In the Qur'an Allaah establishes that something and its opposite cannot both be accepted as true at the same time and in the same respect: "And such is your Lord in truth. Then what is there after Truth except falsehood. How have they then turned away?" (Qur'an 10:32) If something is accepted as true, all things to the contrary must be rendered and taken to be false. Hence, according to the universal Law of non-Contradiction - (P and not-P) is false - if: Nirgun (unattributed) is taken to be proposition P, then its negation Sargun (attributed) is not-P. Since the Sikhi concept of God affirms Him to be both Nirgun and Sargun at the same time and in the same respect, we must conclude that (P and not-P) is false, a contradiction and must be rejected by the rational mind.
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b) Disbelief in the concept as a whole, i.e. disbelief in the concept that one can affirm two contradictory things at the same time. Hence, belief and acceptance in the impossible leads to contradictions, and what greater contradiction can there be other than affirming one thing and its opposite, or the negation of opposites, at the same time? "Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allaah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy." (Qur'an 4:82)
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"Verily, Allaah enjoins Al-'Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allaah Alone) and Al-Ihsaan,[8] and giving (help) to kith and kin and [Allaah] forbids Al-Fahsha',[9] and Al-Munkar,[10] and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression), He admonishes you, that you may take heed." (Qur'an 16:90) BLIND-FOLLOWING Unfortunately, many confronted with these simple, yet irrefutable evidences, are often thrown into a state of panic when reality suddenly dawns upon them that their life-long cherished beliefs and customs are shattered and proven false. Two reactions follow on from this and we wish to address both reassuring those who have found themselves in this state that all is not lost. On the contrary, this recognition is only the first step towards accepting the Truth and changing one's life for the better. The two reactions are: 1. Extreme distress after confronting this revelation, followed by concern for the future, followed by denial, which leads one towards blind-following of a religion upon the recognition, though not willing to acknowledge openly, its falsity. 2. Surprised and worried after confronting this revelation, followed by introspectively acknowledging the reality, leading towards an inevitable change through the accommodation and assimilation of this Truth, which replaces the initial shock-and-horror with contentment, tranquillity and happiness in having accepted the Truth from their Lord and submitted to His Will. The first type we will examine in detail and we want the reader to pay special attention to these characteristics and ask: Is this how I have reacted after being confronted with the stark reality that the religion of my forefathers is contradictory and false: IGNORANCE This is of two types: simple and complex. The simple kind of ignorance - those who rejected the truth so as to follow their chiefs and leaders. These are the ones when the punishment or death comes upon them, they cry out: "Our Lord! Truly we obeyed our chiefs and elders, and they caused us to stray from the Path!" (Qur'an 33:67) The complex kind of ignorance - those who choose to remain upon the religion of their tribe or the religion of their forefathers, along with those they were raised with. When faced with the Truth, they refuse to look into it, and if they do, with only a cursory glance in order to remain pleased with the religion of their forefathers and remaining loyal to their tribe. Allaah says about these people: "And similarly, we never sent a warner to any village before you, except that its extravagant ones said: 'Truly we found our forefathers upon this way and truly we are following their footsteps.'" (Qur'an 43:23) And His says of those who took them as guides at the expense of the Truth: "Truly they took the devils as caretakers instead of Allaah, thinking them to be possessors of guidance." (Qur'an 7:30) JEALOUSY This is similar to those people of the past who recognised the truth presented by Allaah's true Prophets; but, out of jealousy, they chose to conceal and ignore it. Allaah says of these people: "And verily a group of them did conceal the Truth even though they had knowledge (of it)." (Qur'an 2:146) This disease of jealousy sprouts from arrogance. ARROGANCE/ EGOTISM This is the biggest obstacle that prevents people from accepting the Truth. Allaah says:
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"I will turn those away from My Verses, those who behave arrogantly on earth without any right" (7:146), which is to reject the Truth and to look down upon the people. The Prophet Muhammad said: "Arrogance/Egotism is rejection of the Truth and being scornful towards the people." And again Allaah says: "They disbelieved in it, out of oppression and arrogance, while they were convinced (of the truth) within themselves. So then look at the end result of the affairs of those who cause corruption." (Qur'an 27:14) TURNING AWAY FROM SOUND TEXTUAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROOFS How sad it would be for some to be from this category, those who refused to accept the sound evidences after understanding them. Allaah says about them: "So when they turned away, Allaah caused their hearts to turn away" (Qur'an 61:5) Since they deserved to be turned further away after consciously choosing to reject the irrefutable evidences. Allaah gives a glimpse of the thoughts and sayings of the regretful ones on the Day of Judgment who, after being resurrected and confronted with the reality that Islaam and its proofs were indeed true, will say in grief when the all-Just passes sentence against them: "And they will say: If only we had listened and used our intellects, then we would not (today) be among the denizens of the blazing (Hell) Fire!" (Qur'an 43:36-37) We pray and hope that the seeker of God makes only the truth from Allaah a judge between acceptance and rejection, without being influenced by anything else: "But they deny the truth when it comes to them. So they are in a confused state." (Qur'an 50:5) "And who is more astray than the one who follows his own whims and desires devoid of revelation?" (Qur'an 28:50) "And do not follow the hawah (vain desires, corrupted minds) of people who went astray in times gone by, and who misled many, and strayed from the correct path." (Qur'an 5:77) "Have you seen him who has taken his own hawah (vain desires, corrupted mind) as his own god." (Qur'an 45:23) Let us be from those who sincerely seek Him - the truth - and submit to the clear revelatory evidences when it blesses their life. Let us be from these people: "And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears when they recognize the truth. They pray: 'Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the witnesses. 'What cause can we have not to believe in Allaah and the truth which has come to us seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us in the company of the righteous?' And for this prayer, Allaah rewarded them with gardens under which rivers flow-their eternal home. Such is the reward of those who do good." (Qur'an 5:83-85)
CONCLUSION
"Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but guess work and you do nothing but lie.'..."With Allaah is the perfect proof and argument..." (Qur'an 6:148-9) Contradictions are false. Would Allaah command His creation to accept false beliefs? Would this demand not be a call to hypocrisy (intellectual, spiritual, and actual)?
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Allaah is al-Haqq (The Truth), it would be impossible for us to affirm this of Him and at the same time affirm that He commands us to accept falsehood. "For those who do not believe in the Hereafter is an EVIL DESCRIPTION and to Allaah belongs the HIGHEST DESCRIPTION." (Qur'an 16:60) If Allaah is contradictory, and contradictions are false; then Allaah is false: this is an evil description of Him; but to our Creator belongs the highest description. The great commentator of the Qur'an Ibn Katheer gave an explanation of the term 'highest description', which every theist would affirm and agree with: "It means absolute perfection from every possible angle." Is the absolute perfection of Allaah upheld when He is described by the Hindu contrived notion of Nirgun-Sargun? We affirm that belief in the impossible is impossible in and of itself. This being the case, the term 'believer' can not be ascribed to anyone who professes such a belief because although verbal claims may be forwarded, it is impossible to prove, thus, impossible for it to settle in one's heart: "Let not those who hurry to fall into disbelief grieve you, of such who say: 'We believe' with their mouths but their hearts have no faith." (Qur'an 5:41) It is impossible to think that Allaah, Most High, would send down a Book, or that His Messenger would say things, intending for this Book or this speech to be guidance for the Creation, which they are in dire need of, while excepting that it is something which cannot be understood, like some jumbled letters of the alphabet that do not convey any intelligible meaning. This is impossible since it is foolishness that the Wisdom of Allaah could not coincide with. Allaah, Most High, says in His Book: "A Book, its verses have been perfected and explained by One (who is) all-Wise, Well-Informed." (Qur'an 11:1) "A book We have sent down, full of blessings, that men may ponder over its messages; and those who possess understanding may take them to heart." (Qur'an 38:29) The scholar Ibn Taymiyyah wrote: "...it is known that Allaah orders us to reflect [ponder/ contemplate] over the Qur'an and encourages us to understand it and use our intellect, so then how can it be possible that we are expected to turn away from its understanding, to turn away from knowing anything about it...that which Allaah described Himself with in the Qur'an, or much of that which Allaah described Himself with, their meanings were not even known to the Prophets, rather they just conveyed words that they did not understand the meanings of." How can a concept, impossible for the mind to accept, be understood? Hence, we further say: It is impossible to have knowledge of belief in the impossible. Muhammad's (Allaah's peace and blessings be upon him) companion Ibn 'Abbaas was questioned, "How did you attain knowledge?" He replied: "With a tongue that questions much and a heart that comprehends well." Allaah says about those upon the truth with correct belief: "The (true) believers are those only who believe in Allaah and His messenger and afterwards doubt not..." (Qur'an 49:15) Similarly, the Messenger of Allaah said: "No one meets Allaah with the testimony that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah and I am the Messenger of Allaah, and he has no doubt about that statement, except that he will enter Paradise." (Recorded by Muslim)
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We conclude that the Hindu-invented and Sikh-adopted concept of Nirgun-Sargun is contradictory, impossible for the mind to accept, cannot be understood or settle in the heart, and will invariably lead to doubts and uncertainty. Concerning the ones upon falsehood, deceit and lies, Allaah so vividly describes their spiritual state when faced with the reality of the truth: "...whose hearts feel doubt, so in their doubt they waver." (Qur'an 9:45) "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) However, those wanting to worship Allaah upon the clarity of truth, and correct belief, then know that this leads to nothing except Certainty of Faith ('ilm al-yaqeen): "Those who believe and whose hearts are made tranquil by the remembrance of Allaah. Verily, by the remembrance of Allaah are the hearts made tranquil." (Qur'an 13:28) We ask finally: How can the heart be tranquil and content upon what it knows to be false? We end this discussion with a related story of some people who had fallen into speculative reasoning devoid of revelatory proofs and evidences. They visited a scholar and asked him: "O Shaykh, we have heard that you know with certainty." He replied: "Yes" They said: "How is that possible, when from the beginning of the day until now we have been disputing with each other and not one of us has been able to cite a decisive proof." He replied: "I do not know what you are saying, but as for me I know with certainty." So they said: "Describe to us certain knowledge." What followed was a beautiful answer the simplicity and truthfulness of which all souls recognise and agree to: "According to us, certain knowledge is those thoughts that flow to the soul and which the soul is unable to refute." The questioner and his companions then began to repeat: "Those thoughts that flow to the soul and which the soul is unable to refute," being impressed with the answer.
[1] Ibn Katheer in his famous exegesis Tafseer ibn Katheer commented that the word 'bayaan' here means language. [2] CONCEPTS IN SIKHISM, Cognitive Psychology-Mind Map Approach To Understanding Sikhism For the Second Generation Sikh Children Compiled and Edited by Dr. J. S. Mann, M.D. & Dr. S. S. Sodhi, Ph.D. [3] http://www.sikhe.com/gsdno/articles/gurbani/12302001amardeepsingh_veilofillusion.htm [4] Ibid. [5] http://allaboutsikhs.com/books/doctrines.htm [6] Dr. J. S. Mann, M.D. & Dr. S. S. Sodhi, Ph., op.cit. [7] This is a 'hadith qudsi': speech attributed to Allaah in the words of the Prophet, thus, is deemed different from the Qur'an in that respect. [8] To be patient in performing your duties to Allaah, totally for Allaah's sake and in accordance with the Sunnah. [9] All evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, lying, giving false witness, taking the life without just cause, etc. [10] All that is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deed, etc.
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