Apostasy Punishment in Islam

[Deen]

Ha ! You make me laugh. You wouldn't know enlightenment if it tapped you on the shoulder.

So says the person who cannot seem to write more than one sentence in a discussion forum. I think Arnie in his movies speaks more fluent than some people on this forum.


Let's not get personal as that is a sign of one who has lost the argument.


Follow this carefully as this may get heavy on the brain...


Thought can either be superficial, or profound or enlightened. The superficial thought is the thought of the


common people, while the profound thought is that of the savants. As for the enlightened thought, it is


mostly the thought of the leaders and the enlightened from among the savants and the common people. The


superficial thought is merely the transference of reality to the brain, without researching anything else and


without attempting to sense what is related to it and link this sensation to the relevant knowledge; also,


without attempting to search for other knowledge related to it, thus producing a superficial judgement. This


is often the case with the groups, the declined in thought, the uneducated and the uncultured from among


the intelligent persons.


As for the profound thought, it is the process of thinking deeply, i.e. to delve into the sensation of reality


and the knowledge linked to this sensation in order to perceive the reality. Hence, the profound thought is


not to content oneself with the mere sensation and the mere primary knowledge to link the sensation, as is


the case in the superficial thought. One would rather repeat the sensation of reality and attempt to sense out


of it more than he has the first time, either by way of experiment or by way of repeating the sensation; he


would then attempt to search for more knowledge in addition to the primary knowledge and then he would


once again link the knowledge to reality in a thorough manner either through repetitive experimentation or


through yet another linkage. Hence, one would acquire from this type of sensation and this type of linkage,


or this type of knowledge, a host of profound thoughts, regardless of whether these were facts or not. By


repeating this process and getting used to it, the profound thought would be generated. Hence, the profound


thought is the non-contentment with the first sensation, the primary knowledge and the initial linkage. It is


the second step after the superficial thought. This is the thought of the savants and the intellectuals, though


it is not necessarily the thought of the educated, for the profound thought is to delve into the sensation, the


knowledge and the linkage.


As for the enlightened thought, it is the very profound thought but coupled with the thought about what


surrounds reality and what is related to with the aim of reaching the true results. In other words, the


profound thought is to delve into the thought itself, whereas the enlightened thought is to have beside the


process of delving into the thought, a thinking around the profound thought and what is related to it for a


deliberate aim, that is to attain the true results. Hence, every enlightened thought is in fact a profound


thought. The enlightened thought cannot be generated from the superficial thought. However, not every


profound thought is an enlightened thought. For instance, when the nuclear physicist conducts a research


into the splitting of the atom, or when the chemistry scientist conducts a research in the composition of


substances, or when the scholar studies the deduction of rules and the enacting of laws, they, and other


persons like them, tend to research these matters in a profound manner, and were it not for the profound


research, they would not be able to attain these remarkable results. However, they are not thinkers in an


enlightened manner, nor is their thought deemed to be an enlightened thought. Hence, it comes as no


surprise to see the nuclear physicist praying to a piece of wood, i.e. to the cross, despite the fact that the


simplest of enlightenment demonstrates that this piece of wood does nether harm nor good, and that it is not


part of what is worshipped. It also comes as no surprise to find a learned jurist believing in saints and


submitting himself to a man like him so that he forgives him his sins. This is because the nuclear physicist,


the jurist and their like think in a profound manner but not in an enlightened manner. Were their thought


enlightened, they would not pray to the piece of wood, nor would they believe in the existence of saints, nor


would they seek forgiveness from men like them. It is true that the profound thinker is profound in what he


thinks about and not in other than that, for he could be profound when thinking about splitting the atom, or


drafting a law, but he could be trivial when it comes to thinking about other matters. This is true, but if the


thinker were to get used to being profound in his thought, this could make him profound in most of what he


thinks, especially with regard to matters related to the greatest problem or the viewpoint about life.


However, the lack of enlightenment in his thought would make him get used to profound thought and


superficial thought, or even trivial thought. Therefore, the profound thought alone would not be sufficient


to revive man and elevate his intellectual level; it would be rather imperative, for this to occur, that he be


enlightened in thought so that the elevation in thought could be generated.


Although enlightenment is not essential when it comes to reaching sound results in thought, as is the case in


the empirical science, law, medicine and the like, it is however essential in raising the standard of thought


and in making the process of thinking produce thinkers. Hence, the nation cannot achieve revival through


the mere presence of savants in empirical science, nor through the presence of scholars and jurists, nor


through the presence of doctors and engineers. The nation does not achieve revival through the presence of


these and their like; she will rather achieve it through having enlightenment in the thought, i.e. if she had


enlightened thinkers.


Enlightenment in thought does not necessitate the presence of education; in other words, it is not necessary


for the enlightened thinkers to be educated, for the Bedouin who said: “The droppings indicate the presence


of camels and the footsteps indicate the presence of walking”, is an enlightened thinker and the orator who


said: “Caution does not save one from fate, and patience is a cause of victory”, is also an enlightened


thinker.


The wise man who said: “The pinnacle of wisdom is the fear of Allah” is not an enlightened thinker, for the


pinnacle of wisdom is perceiving the existence of Allah and not the fear of Allah. Hence, enlightened thought requires neither


knowledge nor wisdom, but rather to think profoundly and to roam around the matter and what is related to


it with the aim of reaching the truthful results. Hence, the enlightened thinker could be an illiterate person


who can neither read nor write and he could also be educated and a savant. The enlightened thinker cannot


formulate enlightened thought unless he has enlightenment when thinking. The politician is an enlightened


thinker and the leader is an enlightened thinker, but both of them require enlightenment when thinking


about everything, so that the thought is enlightened. Hence, it is no wonder to see the great leaders and the


great politicians praying to a piece of wood and seeking forgiveness from men who are below them in terms


of enlightenment, for this particular thought of theirs does not have any depth nor any enlightenment; it


rather stems from habit and imitation or from imposture and hypocrisy. All this is neither depth nor


enlightenment, because the enlightened thinker does not relate to imposture and hypocrisy, nor does he


allow habits and traditions control him.


Subhanallah - All praise is to Allah SWT for guiding man from the darkness and into the light.


PS - What's tapping you on the shoulder right now??!