By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
10 April
2024
The earliest evidence of religious thought is
based on the ritual treatment of the dead. Most animals display only a casual
interest in their species' dead, so ritual burial represents a significant
change in human behaviour.
The Quran talks about Adam and his progeny and
the guidance sent to them or instructions on Allah’s religion. Is it a
coincidence that it deals explicitly with guiding one of Adam’s sons on the
burial of the dead, considered the first evidence of religious thought?
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The appeal
to authority fallacy is the logical fallacy of claiming that because an expert
said something is true, it must be true. However, it's crucial to understand
the context in which the expert's opinion was formed, as this can significantly
impact the validity of their statement.
Russell was
a mathematician and logician, not a moral philosopher. Experts need to stay
within their field of expertise, as venturing into unfamiliar territory can
lead to the expression of misguided opinions, as Russell did in his quote
below:
"Those,
blinded by god and religion, will never concede that morality evolved without
any god, religion and scripture."
Think of it
this way: You wouldn't ask a plumber for advice on your car's engine, would
you? Just because they're skilled in one area doesn't mean they're an authority
in everything. Similarly, a wise layman wouldn't consult Russell on religion
and moral philosophy, just as he wouldn't go to a cobbler to get a haircut, no
matter how skilled the cobbler may be in repairing shoes.
As
discussed in Bertrand
Russell’s Error, he formed his opinion about religious
morality from Christian moral rules that disallow divorce and other inflexible
regulations that can cause avoidable human suffering and on the view of the
Church that “morality has nothing to do with human happiness or suffering”.
It's important to note that the function of morality in both religion and
philosophy is to promote the greatest happiness, which the Church dismisses as
irrelevant.
Let's take
a deeper look at Russell's critique. Had he delved into the teachings of other
religions, he might have discovered that divorce is not universally condemned.
For instance, in Islam and Judaism, it is permissible. This raises an important
point: when evaluating an expert's opinion, it's crucial to consider multiple
perspectives. The answer to why divorce is regarded as a sacrament in
Christianity lies in the transition of the Romans from Paganism to
Christianity, a process that incorporated many Pagan customs and rituals. Even
their festivals have pagan origins. Therefore, Russell's critique is not on a
divine law but a man-made custom – not on divine wisdom but on human stupidity.
Russell, however, is unaware of his blunder.
Russell's
critique of Christianity was not without personal bias. His frustration with
the Church's Commandments, binding on the faithful, was evident. This starkly
contrasts Islam, where a fatwa is considered no more than a non-binding human
opinion. His narrow focus on Christianity, a religion that directly affected
him and his immediate society, led him to overlook the broader context of
religious practices. His attempt to generalize from his particular experience
is a common failing, even among wise men.
Evidence
That Religion Began With Adam
The earliest
evidence of religious thought is based on the ritual treatment of the dead.
Most animals display only a casual interest in their species' dead, so ritual
burial represents a significant change in human behaviour.
The Quran
talks about Adam and his progeny and the guidance sent to them or instructions
on Allah’s religion. Is it a coincidence that it deals explicitly with guiding
one of Adam’s sons on the burial of the dead, considered the first evidence of
religious thought?
(5:27) Recite to them the truth of the story of
the two sons of Adam. Behold! they each presented a sacrifice (to Allah): It
was accepted from one, but not from the other. Said the latter: "Be sure I
will slay thee." "Surely," said the former, "Allah doth
accept of the sacrifice of those who are righteous.
(28) "If thou dost stretch thy hand
against me, to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against thee to
slay thee: for I do fear Allah, the cherisher of the worlds.
(29) "For me, I intend to let thee draw on
thyself my sin as well as thine, for thou wilt be among the companions of the
fire, and that is the reward of those who do wrong."
(30) The (selfish) soul of the other led him to
the murder of his brother: he murdered him, and became (himself) one of the
lost ones.
(31) Then Allah sent a raven, who scratched the
ground, to show him how to hide the dead body of his brother. "Woe is
me!" said he; "Was I not even able to be as this raven, and to hide
the dead body of my brother?" then he became full of regrets-
(32) On that account: We ordained for the
Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or
for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole
people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the
whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs,
yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.
The verses
above underline man’s dependence on guidance from Allah right from the time of
Adam. Allah sometimes guides us by the example of a creature like a raven, as
in the example above. Man has learnt many things by copying from nature. The
verse 5:31 shows that Allah’s instructions are not only in the form of the
revealed scriptures but also in the examples Allah has provided in nature for
man to learn from. Man has not learnt anything from any source other than from
a study of his universe and revealed scriptures. Yet, he is ungrateful to Allah
and considers himself self-sufficient, which is why Allah says in the very
first revelations to Muhammad:
Surah 96
(1) Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy
Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
(2) Created man, out of a (mere) clot of
congealed blood:
(3) Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
(4) He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
(5) Taught man that which he knew not.
(6) Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,
(7) In that he looketh upon himself as
self-sufficient.
(8) Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).
(9) Seest thou one who forbids-
(10) A votary when he (turns) to pray?
(11) Seest thou if he is on (the road of)
Guidance?-
(12) Or enjoins Righteousness?
(13) Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns
away?
(14) Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?
(15) Let him beware! If he desist not, We will
drag him by the forelock,-
(16) A lying, sinful forelock!
(17) Then, let him call (for help) to his
council (of comrades):
(18) We will call on the angels of punishment
(to deal with him)!
(19) Day, heed him not: But bow down in
adoration, and bring thyself the closer (to Allah)!
Some
animals also display extraordinary cognitive powers and problem-solving skills.
Still, man alone can learn cumulatively by recording what he has learned and
passing it on to others. Is it, therefore, a coincidence that Allah should
mention the gift of writing to man?
The Unique
Gift Of Human Speech
Also,
consider the verses:
(55:1) (Allah) Most Gracious!
(2) It is He Who has taught the Qur´an.
(3) He has created man:
(4) He has taught him speech.
Speech is
not unique to humans. Why does the Quran, therefore, mention speech? What is
unique about human speech/languages that Allah should mention the teaching of
speech as a special favour to mankind?
The
following is from Noah Harari’s book “Sapiens”:
“What was
the modern man’s secret of success? How did we settle so rapidly in many
distant and ecologically different habitats? How did we push all other human
species into oblivion? Why couldn’t the strong, brainy, cold-proof Neanderthals
survive our onslaught? The debate continues to rage. The most likely answer is
the very thing that makes the debate possible: The modern man conquered the
world thanks to its unique language.
The
internal structure of the brains of the previous human beings before the
“Cognitive Revolution” probably differed from ours. They looked like us, but
their cognitive abilities – learning, remembering, communicating – were far
more limited. Teaching such humans English, persuading them of the truth of
Christian dogma, or getting them to understand the theory of evolution would
probably have been hopeless undertakings.
But then, beginning about 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens
started doing extraordinary things. Around that date, Sapiens bands left Africa
for a second time. This time, they drove the Neanderthals and all other human
species not only from the Middle East but from the face of the earth. Within a
remarkably short period, Sapiens reached Europe and East Asia. About 45,000
years ago, they crossed the open sea and landed in Australia – a continent
hitherto untouched by humans. The period from about 70,000 years ago to about
30,000 years ago witnessed the invention of boats, oil lamps, bows and arrows
and needles (essential for sewing warm clothing). The first objects that can
reliably be called art date from this era, as does the first clear evidence
for religion, commerce and social stratification. Most researchers believe
that these unprecedented accomplishments were the product of a revolution in
Sapiens’ cognitive abilities. They maintain that the people who drove the
Neanderthals to extinction settled in Australia and carved the Stadel lion-man
were as intelligent, creative and sensitive as we are. If we were to come
across the artists of the Stadel Cave, we could learn their language and they
ours. We’d be able to explain to them everything we know – from the adventures
of Alice in Wonderland to the paradoxes of quantum physics – and they could
teach us how their people view the world. The appearance of new ways of
thinking and communicating, between 70,000 and 30,000 years ago, constitutes
the Cognitive Revolution. What caused it? We’re not sure. The most commonly
believed theory argues that accidental genetic mutations changed the inner
wiring of the brains of Sapiens, enabling them to think in unprecedented ways
and to communicate using an altogether new type of language. We might call
it the Tree of Knowledge mutation. Why did it occur in Sapiens DNA rather
than in that of Neanderthals? It was a matter of pure chance, as far as we can
tell. But it’s more important to understand the consequences of the Tree of
Knowledge mutation than its causes. What was so special about the new Sapiens
language that it enabled us to conquer the world?* It was not the first
language. Every animal has some language. Even insects, such as bees and ants,
know how to communicate in sophisticated ways, informing one another of the
whereabouts of food. Neither was it the first vocal language. Many animals,
including all ape and monkey species, have vocal languages. For example, green monkeys
use calls of various kinds to communicate. Zoologists have identified one call
that means, ‘Careful! An eagle!’ A slightly different call warns, ‘Careful! A
lion!’ When researchers played a recording of the first call to a group of
monkeys, the monkeys stopped what they were doing and looked upward in fear.
When the same group heard a recording of the second call, the lion warning,
they quickly scrambled up a tree. Sapiens can produce many more distinct sounds
than green monkeys, but whales and elephants have equally impressive abilities.
A parrot can say anything Albert Einstein could say, as well as mimic the
sounds of phones ringing, doors slamming, and sirens wailing. Whatever
advantage Einstein had over a parrot, it wasn’t vocal. What, then, is so
special about our language? The most common answer is that our language is
amazingly supple. We can connect a limited number of sounds and signs to
produce infinite sentences, each with a distinct meaning. We can thereby
ingest, store and communicate a prodigious amount of information about the
surrounding world. A green monkey can yell to its comrades, ‘Careful! A lion!’
But a modern human can tell her friends that this morning, near the bend in the
river, she saw a lion tracking a herd of bison. She can then describe the exact
location, including the different paths leading to the area. With this
information, her band members can put their heads together and discuss whether
they ought to approach the river to chase away the lion and hunt the bison. A
second theory agrees that our unique language evolved to share information
about the world.”
From the
Quran we learn that Indeed Adam Had A Lot Of Information To Share
In the
creation of the modern man, Adam, the Quran speaks of all these unique gifts
that make them exceptional. The gift of speech, the gift of writing, the gift
of learning from nature, and the sudden broadening of his vocabulary to include
everything around him, which Harari calls “The tree of knowledge mutation”.
(2:31) And He taught Adam the names of all
things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the
names of these if ye are right." (32) They said: "Glory to Thee, of
knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who
art perfect in knowledge and wisdom." (33) He said: "O Adam! Tell
them their names." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell
you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and
what ye conceal?" (34) And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down
to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He
was of those who reject Faith.
Conclusion:
Science is
unable to explain what caused the Cognitive Revolution. The Quran speaks about
the creation of a man with the Cognitive abilities that science describes as
caused by the Cognitive Revolution. The Quran proves that the required guidance
to mankind, or “Allah’s Religion,” began with Adam. Scientific studies also
confirm that religion is as old as the “Cognitive Revolution.” Therefore,
religion and its morality are as old as Adam or as old as the “Cognitive
Revolution.”
Russell’s
statement, “Those, blinded by God and religion, will never concede that
morality evolved without any god, religion, and scripture," is, therefore,
counterfactual and a result of his ignorance of the subject. He probably thinks
religion started with Jesus (May peace be upon Jesus)!
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A
frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering
graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having
served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over
three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal
contributions to its interpretation.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/logical-fallacy-appeal-authority/d/132114
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