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Professor Amtul Razzaq Carmichael, UK
The acclaimed neuroscientist Beau Lotto conducted a series of analyses to demonstrate that our perception of reality comes from our brain making sense of what we see and hear rather than simply what our eyes see and what our ears hear. Perception is the human faculty for appreciating and understand the key truths in life. Our ability to perceive the world around us is shaped by the remarkable capacity of our brain to build an understanding of what is seen, heard, tasted, and experienced in the context of past experiences and knowledge. For example, for each neural connection that projects information from the eyes to the part of brain that deals with seeing, 10 connections relay information back to the eye from the brain.
Every basic human sense is assigned a specific purpose and supported by the brain to make human perception highly specific in the context of their existence. To perceive the true reality of anything, the right sense has to be used in the right way. To explain this concept from a spiritual perspective, the Imam of age, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah (as), who was Divinely appointed in accordance with the prophecies of the Holy Prophet (sa) says, “We can say in broader terms that Allah the Exalted has put in place various methods through which we learn of the deeper reality of things. The properties of certain things are observed through the eye, while other truths are learned of through the ear alone. Moreover, other things are discovered through multiple senses. Further still, how many a truth do we discern through the nucleus of our faculties—the heart. To summarise, Allah the Exalted has designed various methods and means by which to ascertain the truth.”[i]
Explaining that each sense serves a specific purpose, the Promised Messiah (as) further says, “For example, if someone were to place a lump of crystallised sugar (misri) on their ear, they would not be able to experience its taste, nor would they be able to perceive its colour; similarly, if brought before the eyes, one would not be able to say anything as to its taste. This clearly demonstrates that there are varying faculties and powers by which one attains the deeper reality of things.” An inappropriate use of these faculties would hinder the perception of the real truth.
The biggest truth in life is to identify God and develop a true comprehension of the attributes, might and capabilities of the true God. The knowledge of God’s existence cannot be ascertained by mere rationality and induction alone; this is why Allah the Exalted has given humans a range of faculties that need to be deployed while searching for God. Unfortunately, despite seeing the signs of the existence of God, everywhere around us, the modern atheist reject the existence of a creator. They insistent to see God with their physical eyes or insist that God prove His existence by menial tasks such as moving an object at the whim of the demanding atheists! This is sadly hampering their capacity to perceive the true God. The Promised Messiah (as) eloquently further explains, “Now, if a person desires to experience the taste of something and places it before their eyes, would we say that the edible thing is tasteless? Or if here was a sound and someone tried to hear it using their tongue instead of their ears, would this be possible?” The Promised Messiah (as) further says, “ The philosophically inclined in this day and age suffer from the illusion whereby they reject a truth due to their own lack of knowledge. Let me give you an example in this regard. If there was a block of salt and a block of sugar placed side by side, what conclusion could one draw by mere reason alone? Indeed, when a person tastes each of them, it can then be concluded by two distinct tastes that one is salt and the other is sugar. If, however, a person had no sense of taste, how could they distinguish between sweet and salty?”
Human inability to perceive and comprehend the existence of God, does not justify denying the existence of God. The Promised Messiah (as) says, “Just as the rising sun would remain unaffected by a blind person who denies it, in the same manner, a senseless man unable to benefit from rational argumentation would not disprove a matter… Hence, just because someone is unable to observe this phenomenon, this does not justify their denial of it.”
About the Author: Professor Amtul Razzaq Carmichael MD, M Ed, FRCS (Gen Surg.), MBBS, is a consultant. She qualified in 1987 with gold medals for academic Excellence and undertook her surgical training at major teaching hospitals in London, Edinburgh and Philadelphia. She has authored many articles for major peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is a senior member of The Review of Religions Editorial Board as well as the Assistant Manager.
[i] Al-Hakam, vol. 3, no. 1, dated 10 January 1899, pp. 6-9. Malfuzat – Volume II 9
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