What Is Life?

Subiect: What Is Life? Joi Mai 19, 2011 3:15 am

What Is Life?

In our attempt to know the meaning of life we have to bear in mind
that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has not restricted life to
mankind and jinn alone, but life extends to every spot in this universe.
We deem life as being only sense and motion. Actually, life means
that everything performs its role in this universe.
We judge that man is living because he moves, walks, and talks. We
also judge that animals are living because they move and feel.
Furthermore, we say that plants are living because they breathe. As for
the rest of the universe, we believe that it is lifeless, which is untrue,
but how can that be?
The concept of life in this universe entirely differs from our own. In
fact, the species of the universe are classified into four: inanimate
beings, plants, animals and mankind. Every species among the
aforementioned serves the other and does not surpass its special
characteristics.
For instance, inanimate beings serve plants, animals and mankind. Its
last distinguishing characteristic is growth, which we perceive in the
coral reeves within seas. They grow in spite of the fact that growth is
not among the distinctive characteristics of inanimate beings. But
every species among the species of the universe has higher classes that
cease and end where begin the distinctive characteristics of the species
succeeding it. Inanimate beings stop in their development at the
characteristics of growth, which are the first to distinguish plants.
Naturally, plants start with growth and stop at sensation, but there is a
plant that senses like the mimosa; the coy lady as countrymen calls it.
It is a flower when you approach with your finger folds its leaves.
As for animals, they start with sense till the more advanced classes
among them verge on the basics of reason, instinctively formed in
them. Thus, we find that some of the advanced breeds of monkeys are
able to mimic man, but with neither understanding nor by heredity.
Man can train animals on performing some games that involve some
sort of primitive thinking. But animals do not inherit such skills.
Meaning, the monkey that learned to jump over the hurdles would not
give birth to a monkey that could do the same without training. It
ascertains that all the acts that the trained animals perform are
individually acquired skills.
Afterwards comes man, the master of the universe, whom Allah, all
praise and glory be to Him, has distinguished by the power of reason
in order for him to mediate on the Universe of Allah, to comprehend
the Signs of Allah, and to pursue His Course, all praise and glory be to
Him.
We consider inanimate beings as having neither life nor motion, and
we do not heed the fact that their duty in life dictates so. On
contemplating the Qur’anic Statement of The Almighty inscribed in
His Noble Book, which falsehood cannot come to it from before it or
behind it, that says (what means):

“Everything will perish save His Face.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 88)
We will realize for sure that all that is called a thing in this universe
will perish on the Day the Trumpet will be blown. Since Allah, praise
be to Him, has said (everything) will perish then everything has life in
it, because perishing, as we have already said, is the opposite of life or
its antithesis. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, all glory
be to Him, says (what means):

“So that those who were to be destroyed (for their rejecting the
Faith) might be destroyed after a clear evidence, and those who
were to live (i.e. believers) might live after a clear evidence.” (Al-
Anfâl, 8: 42)

This noble Qur’anic verse shows us that destruction opposes life.
When Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (part of the Qur’anic
verse that means): “Everything will perish.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 88), it
means that ‘everything’ that have lived would be destroyed, save
(what is done for the sake of) the Honorable Face of Allah, all praise
be to Him.
We approach life based on its being sense and motion only, because
we are measuring it compared to ourselves, but life has to be
measured based on the role that everything plays in this universe.
Inanimate beings have a (form of) life that suits them, whereas plants
have a (form of) life that suits them and animals have a (form of) life
that suits them. So, there subsists a truth that bears neither ambiguity
nor controversy, that those things celebrate the Glory of Allah, The
Almighty, as verified by the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah,
glory be to Him, says (what means):

“There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that
flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have
neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall
be gathered.” (Al-An‘âm, 6: 38)

And the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, all glory be to Him,
says (what means):

“And there is not a thing but glorifies His Praise. But you
understand not their glorification.” (Al-Isrâ’, 17: 44)

Let us start with inanimate beings. They have a (form of) life that suits
their task, even if we do not understand it. We see inanimate beings
before us still, motionless, but is it their reality?
While in school, they used to teach us how to magnetize iron,
meaning, to make it magnetic. We used to bring a tube containing
some iron filings, and then we used to bring a magnet and pass it over
them unidirectionally. Consequently, we find that the iron filings have
changed their movement and were regulated in one row, thus
becoming magnetized. This process, in which the iron particles have
moved, occurs in every iron bar over which we pass a magnet in one
direction. This simple process, which we have noticed in (the iron
filings) is the same that occurs when passing a magnet over an iron
bar, even if we fail to notice it because of the iron bulk and its
cohesiveness.

» The Life Of The Hereafter
» The Life Of This World
» Man’s duty in life
» A life… yet unknown to us
» Life within the grave!!