The Guiding Light — Page 132
S u rah al-Baqarah Chapter 2, Verses 1-8 132 which cannot be grasped or understood. Nothing can be farther from the spirit of the Qur’ a n then to imagine that it demands from Muslims beliefs which reason and understanding do not support. The Qur’an strongly denounces such beliefs. True faith, according to it, is that which is supported by reason and argument (53:23; 46:5; 30:36; 6:149,150; 25:74). Moreover, the word ﻏ ﻴ ﺐ ( ghaib ) used in the Qur’ a n does not mean, as assumed by some hostile critic's, imaginary and unreal things, but real and verified things, though unseen (49:19; 32:7). It is, therefore, wrong to suppose, as Wherry has done in his commentary, that Islam forces upon its followers some mysteries of faith and invites them to believe in them blindly. It is Christianity which forces on its followers mysteries like Trinity in Unity and the Sonship of Jesus, completely beyond human understanding and human reason. The word ﻏ ﻴ ﺐ ( ghaib ) as stated above, means things which, though beyond the comprehension of human senses, can nevertheless be proved by reason or experience. The supersensible need not necessarily be irrational. Nothing of ’the unseen’ which a Muslim is called upon to believe is