Major Themes of the Book

Spirituality – to be understood as the quality of being that is predicated on a sense of connection to the supernatural, that is, to something greater than ourselves that is beyond explanation by natural laws – is a uniquely human mental activity. It must be there for a purpose, identified to be a sense of closeness and connectedness to The Almighty, the Creator of the universe and the Guide and Sustainer of everything in it.

Spirituality is not incompatible with science, which in its present-day form has some severe limitations: (i) It is restricted to phenomena that are observable and repeatable, eventually leading to an explanatory hypothesis that allows testable deductions and predictions, or falsification; it cannot prove or disprove the existence of a divine being, as neither assertion can be tested experimentally. (ii) It is concerned with deriving laws that govern natural phenomena, without explaining the meaning of these laws; that is, it provides the know-how but not the know-why; it is about what can be said about Nature, not about what Nature is. (iii) It deals with only about 5% of the postulated matter and energy of the universe, the rest being still unexplained dark energy and dark matter. (iv) It is constrained by the limited human mental capacity; there is no solid foundation for the belief that humans are capable of understanding all about Nature.

With such limitations, present-day science cannot and should not be the beacon to guide one’s life and shape one’s philosophy of life, one’s worldview, and one’s conception of the meaning and purpose of our existence. Repudiating the supernatural in the name of science is like a blind man denying the existence of what he cannot see. Present-day science should therefore be used as a springboard to what is beyond its scope and reach but without stumbling into a realm of superstition, mindless dogmatism, stubborn denial, and anti-science. This can be done through the Spirituality advocated in the book.

The cornerstone of the advocated Spirituality is the belief in the existence of The Almighty and in His nature and attributes. As far as the author is aware, this is best provided by the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam. For non-Muslims the Quran is to be regarded as a stand-alone text that should be appraised on its own merits, without prejudice or bias. An important characteristic of the Quran is its exhortation to resort to reason, judgement, knowledge, evidence, and contemplation, particularly when considering grave matters.

The Quran cannot possibly be of human origin. Apart from its linguistic and literary inimitability, the objective argument for the divine origin of the Quran rests on two premises: (i) Unmistakable references to phenomena that were discovered or understood many centuries later. Examples include: pulsars; rose-like planetary nebulas; origin of the universe, its evolution, and its continuing expansion; the cosmic web; the protective atmosphere; the recycling of the Earth’s crust; seamounts and their dampening of earthquakes; roots of mountains; motion of the Earth; internal ocean waves; and the physiology of milk production. (ii) An astounding intricate web of numerical relations based on numbers of letters in words or verses; numbers of words in verses or chapters; numbers obtained by addition, or by positioning as decimal digits; or numbers of letter combinations in some words; or numerical relations that are context related. The resulting numbers have special significance or are multiples of prime numbers such as 7 or 19. More of these relations continue to be discovered; it is as if these relations were intended as a recurring miracle – a miracle that keeps on giving, unlike a one-off miracle. Moreover, these numerical relations are completely objective and clear-cut; they do not depend on any linguistic, philosophical, or theological interpretations of verses, just simple arithmetic and consistent rules of counting Arabic letters and words.

Belief in the divine origin of the Quran entails belief in the existence of The Almighty, and in what the Quran reveals about His nature and attributes, the human condition, the purpose and meaning of life, and the Afterlife.

The Almighty has created humans for a purpose, which, out of His infinite Mercy and Love, is for them to have eternal bliss in Heaven. Had He wished, He could have made all human beings believers and angel-like, living in perfect peace and harmony. But life would then have no meaning because everyone would have eternal bliss in Heaven.

In His Omniscience and Wisdom, He created humans with a wondrous conscious self having the propensity for both virtuousness and wickedness and a free will that allows them to choose between the right path that leads to eternal bliss in Heaven and the wrong path that leads to suffering in Hell. This means that worldly life has been made a trial for humans to follow the right path and earn the reward of eternal bliss.

The right path is Serving Him through virtuous conduct in the form of good deeds, words, and treatment of others. This conduct is the outward manifestation of a sequence of: (i) Foundational beliefs (existence of The Almighty, contemplation of His Essence and Nature, the Afterlife). (ii) Engendered feelings (deep humility, submission to His Will). (iii) Occupying thoughts (frequent remembrance of The Almighty through glorification, gratitude, supplication, and mystical forms). (iv) Formative attitudes (reliance on The Almighty, deference to His Will, and profound appraisal of the real worth of material possessions, of life’s frivolity, and of its pleasures and rewards). These constituents and the conduct that embodies them are the building blocks of the advocated Spirituality, whose practical outcome is continual and comprehensive self-development – spiritually, psychologically, morally, and intellectually – driving toward a target state of sublime serenity and self-fulfillment.

This comprehensive self-development is what gives meaning to life. It is in itself a sublime expression of our humaneness; more importantly, it is a prerequisite for eternal bliss in the Afterlife, contingent on the Will, Grace, Mercy, and Judgement of The Almighty.

The immensely beneficial impact of this self-development is in: (i) conquering negative feelings, such as envy and anger, (ii) alleviation of anxiety and stress, with their detrimental effects on health and well-being, (iii) fostering positive feelings and attitudes in promoting tolerance, understanding, and compassion toward all in contrast to ruthless competition, mindless materialism, and all forms of injustice, oppression, corruption, and exploitation, (iv) experiencing the joy of living without craving and greed, without excessive indulgence or anxiety about the ending of life’s pleasures, and with a liberating awareness of what is really important in life and what is vain, superfluous, and illusory, and (v) an elating spirituality that is reflected in an intense feeling of closeness and connectedness to The Almighty. Moreover, when the advocated Spirituality is embraced by a sufficient number of individuals in a given society, it will have a very significant salutary influence on interpersonal relations, transforming the very fabric of society.