There are some people who maintain that they have no obligation to investigate the acquisition of religion. They think : What need provokes us to consider religion? We ain to show the flaw in this argument by means of the following explanations, and we shall demonstrate in two ways the necessity of enquiry into religion.
1. The Obligation of Thanksgiving:
It is our good fortune to benefit from and the excellencies of life in this world: our digestive system, respiratory apparatus, the heart and other organs of the body. Each one of these is in its turn greater than the limit of our knowledge and even our imagination. Likewise the light of the sun, the existence of plants, the mines and resources hidden deep in the heart of the earth; all of them are great benefits which, by the knowledge and power that has been given to him, man can make use of. Greater than all of these, however, is the genius and understanding of man himself, which can break a mighty mountain into pieces and create from water and iron the most enormous power and the most delicate objects. Now this question poses itself: Should we not engage ourselves in research and inquiry until, if there is a benefactor, we acknowledge that benefactor, so as to fulfill our duty and offer him our thanks? Suppose a benevolent and charitable man adopts a baby who has lost his father and mother, and provides for him every kind of sustenance for life and growth. He arranges for the child to be brought up, and when he is ready for education provides him with the best teachers and books. Similarly he places every possible facility within his reach, and in short, provides in every way for his welfare. Does this child not then have an obligation to try to find out first who this man is, and secondly, about his great generosity, his whole soul overflowing with thanks for his benefactor?
It is the same in the field of existence, and we are obliged to engage in inquiry till we discover the Benefactor and Creator Himself and render our thanks. Making effort to acquire the true religion is also a command of wisdom. He who has not yet found the right way, and is wandering without direction must not rest his feet until he has found the way of Truth and the true religion, satisfied by enlightening proofs and clear evidence. And when he has reached the source of spiritual life and the true religion, his heart full of peace and rejoicing, he should begin to give his thanks to the Creator Himself.
2. The Prevention of Possible Danger and Harm
If a child were to come and tell you that he saw a poisonous snake go into the room you were in, you would immediately jump up from where you were and undertake a thorough search of every nook and cranny until you found it, or were satisfied that it was not there. Similarly, if, while travelling by night in a dangerous country, you learnt that bandits were waiting on the road ahead to ambush you, without doubt you would wait until the way ahead was clear of danger, and would not take a single step forward until then. In these two examples it has been made clear that we are compelled by reason to investigate conceivable dangers. It is possible that some of the harmful things may turn out to be nothing at all, and other people may not pay any attention to them, but if an injury carries the price of a human soul, and a life is destroyed, it cannot be ignored. The Most Dangerous Harm. In the history of mankind, we learn of people who were famous for telling the truth and acting honestly. They claimed that they were messengers of God, and they called people to have faith in God and to act in a certain way. As a result of the efforts and the persistent sufferings of these special people in all corners of the world, many groups had faith in them. Thus the birth of Jesus became the beginning of the Christian calendar and the migration of the Prophet Muhammad started the Muslim calendar. Now, we see that these messengers attracted men to religion and to follow particular rules, caused them to fear punishment for their bad deeds and made them sure that they would be tried in the Great Court of Justice before the Righteous and Wise Judge. They trembled at the hardships and perils of Resurrection and the harshness of the punishment there, and made men fearful of these things. The question is, do their warnings make us realise the possibility of harm and danger in the same way as did the warning of the small child? Is it right that we should ignore the words and deeds of the real religious people of this world, when it is they who, in their belief and faith stood watch over the soul, and spared themselves no kind of sacrifice? Clearly, the words of the messengers, if they do not make a man certain, at least provoke him to think; perhaps what they say is true. Then what in fact is our duty, if it is correct that the messengers tell the truth? What answer will we give in the Court of Justice of God? Here reason reckons the necessity of preventing this “at least possible” harm, and religion urges us to follow. What is more, these messengers call man to a healthy and civilized life. They also say that after death an extensive new world and everlasting blessings await one who has performed his duty, and give glad tidings that in that place is another existence overflowing with peace of mind and certainty of spirit, where there is no disease, distress, agitation, anguish or fear. Does reason allow us to ignore this important message? Must we not give weight to the fears and threats of the messengers, who say that sins and transgression have their penalty, and follow religion and give our thought to it?
