Man’s Question on Existence and Religion’s Answer
“Principles of Beliefs” is the name of a book written by prominent Quran teacher Mohsen Qaraati. It begins with the question of whether humans need religion or not.
Every human being has three types of needs: 1) Personal needs, such as the need for food, clothing, housing, and spouse 2) Social needs, which are required for living in society such as laws, regulations, and leaders 3) Supreme needs, which includes the human need for knowledge. Man has many questions about himself and the world and wants to know many things; for example, knowing existence and its origin, the purpose of existence and its destination, the path of life, and recognition between right and wrong.
Religion answers the last category of our needs. Religion explains the source of existence, the Creator, the purpose of existence, the criterion for knowing the truth, and our responsibility in this world.
We need a plan for our prosperity and growth and there are three ways for obtaining this plan:
The self-made path: it is not a reliable path, because our information and knowledge are very limited, and the existence of many regrets in our lives is proof that the path we have taken is wrong. Many of our perceptions and judgments will later turn out to be wrong.
Path of following others; this is also uncertain because the same mistake and limitation that was in my knowledge are also in others. Others, just like me, are caught in the trap of Nafs.
The best path
The path of religion has been provided by the Creator and it is obvious that the manufacturer of any product is more aware of its characteristics and needs than anyone else, and can identify and set the regulations related to how to use or maintain it better than anyone else.
Is human less important or simpler than man-made products? So the path and regulations of our life should also be set by our Creator because He is more aware and kinder than others.
Intellect recommends religion
Choosing the path of religion is a completely rational decision because a wise person always takes dangers seriously.
Take for example a group that goes on a trip; those following their reason will bring equipment such as a flashlight or a weapon to confront possible threats.
A wise person always thinks about possibilities during a trip, but on the other hand, people who do not use their intellect do not take any of the necessary equipment.
if no problem occurs during the trip, those who took such equipment suffered no harm, rather, they enjoyed a sense of peace and security during the journey. However, what can they do if they would be in need of such tools? The same thing happens to those who choose religion and follow its instructions in this world, and to those who abandon religion and do not adhere to religious customs and practices.
Paying attention to the words of prophets and the righteous, a wise man will sense the dangerous path ahead because he has been told that a day will come when he will have to answer for his deeds, see the reward of his good deeds, and be punished for his bad deeds.
If these promises are not true, the person who was religious in this world has not lost anything as he has spent his time on worthless things as much as the non-religious people. But if there is a resurrection - which exists for many reasons - then what will disbelievers do!? The religious people are the winners and the non-religious people are prone to lose.
