What do you think the result will be when we take the other living beings that live on this planet with us as an example? Is correct information accepted as an action that is put into practice in the lives of other living beings?

Do they also have lives based on ingratitude, legitimizing what is wrong, irresponsibility, or an inability to put what they know to be right into practice?

A lamb is born with the knowledge of how to find its mother among five hundred sheep. It is also born with the knowledge that the liquid (milk) in its mother’s teats, which hang down between her hind legs, is the vital nourishment it needs. But this is not the case for humans.

A newborn human comes into the world unable to protect itself from danger. It lives in constant need until it grows up. If a mother trying to breastfeed her baby falls asleep, that baby is not even capable of breathing on its own to survive. In general, it does not have the power to survive on its own or to find the sustenance it needs. For this reason, it is dependent on others for care until it can identify and apply the correct information.

Other living creatures, on the other hand, acquire the means of obtaining their sustenance and the methods of protecting themselves from the dangers they will encounter at birth. They are born with the most suitable outer skin necessary for their survival and reproduction, just as they have no need for clothing. Faith attributes this formation to not being subject to testing, while unbelief attributes it to the mechanism of natural selection.

Natural selection is known as the mechanism whereby individuals with characteristics more suited to the external environment have a higher chance of survival and reproduction than other individuals without these characteristics. This mechanism is presented in Muslim societies today as if it were proven fact, under the name of science. To avoid straying too far from the subject, I would like to briefly explain what is presented to us under the name of “science.” Since a detailed explanation of the mechanism of reproduction and survival of living beings would require a lengthy explanation, I will limit myself to explaining the theories of natural science and the thinking it serves in different branches of science. Their formation, ideas, and results…

In 1540, Mikolaj Kopernik, a Polish priest and astronomer, published a book called “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium,” which detailed his heliocentric theory. The topics explained in this book were that the world is a round and moving object, the discussion of the ecliptic[28] system, the apparent motion of the sun, and the study of the planets and the moon. Copernicus, who was an astronomer and doctor as well as a priest, rendered a great service to science by explaining his theory to the world. However, this led to a huge backlash from Christian clergy. According to Christian belief at the time, “The Sun was stationary, and the world was flat like a plate. Jesus Christ had commanded the Sun to remain stationary. Those who thought otherwise would go to hell.“ Copernicus, however, presented evidence that these ideas were very wrong. His theory was as follows: ”The center of the universe is the sun, and the Earth is a planet that revolves around the sun. It is round and in motion. Other planets also revolve around this sun.”

This idea spread rapidly throughout Europe in a short time. The Christians’ false belief was attributed not to the clergy who lied in the name of religion, but to the religion itself. Based on this logic, all religions came to be regarded as ideas invented by the mind. Thus, Christianity, which was widely accepted in Europe, gradually lost its appeal. Europeans who lost their faith in churches believed these tales, and they quickly spread to societies that lived far from religion. The result of this false belief was generally a break with religion. Religion was now considered opium and was seen as nothing more than rhetoric invented by those who ruled societies with the intention of dulling the minds of the people. As a result of this distancing, a belief called “Naturalism” began to spread in the 19th century. Naturalism[29] is the general name for systems that accept nature as the source of knowledge within a single reality and explain the human mind with natural concepts. These systems also do not accept any (creative) power outside of nature

. Materialism[30] and Positivism[31] later became extensions of this system.

Sigmund Freud[32], Karl Marx[33], and Charles Darwin[34] were advocates of this thinking within their respective fields. Starting from this perspective, Freud developed psychoanalysis, Marx developed communism, and Darwin developed the theory of natural selection. Darwin, who proposed the theory of natural selection, was a theologian[35], but he denied the Creator’s providence[36] because he considered the survival and reproduction of living beings to be a coincidence. Darwin’s natural selection operates on the assumption that there is a constant struggle for life in nature and that those who survive in this struggle will always be “strong and naturally suited” creatures. Through his studies in natural science, he came to the conclusion that humans first evolved from the same lineage as apes and reached their current state through a series of biological stages.

Freud’s thesis, on the other hand, is based on a psychological theory that completely rejects the existence of the soul and attempts to explain the entire spiritual world of humans through sexual and similar worldly urges. In the field of psychoanalysis, as a result of his research on the “unconscious,” he predicted that human behavior is mostly dependent on certain animalistic urges and instincts inherent in human nature.

Marx, on the other hand, bases the honor of humanity and societies on materialism. As a result of his work, Marx based his ideology on the claim that “humanity is a product of the material infrastructure of the society in which it exists.”

A mindset that traces humanity’s roots back to apes, bases its ideology on materialism, and attributes its spiritual structure to animal instincts in order to deny the honorable nature of creation… We will address all these ideas in the following sections without mentioning their names. Since they are presented as theses put forward in the name of humanity finding value, gaining personality, and fair governance, we have chosen to address these theses in the section “Other Living Beings and Correct Knowledge” rather than in another section.

Despite humans being created as helpless, defenseless, and in need of protection, their unconsciousness about life and their will to commit any evil act elevate the importance of correct knowledge to a vital dimension. The lack of knowledge about the existence of a mechanism within oneself that commands evil, the lack of knowledge about the purpose and manner of life, will make life a prison for other living beings under one’s command and for oneself. The constant emergence of apocalyptic scenarios due to reasons such as global warming, terrorism, hunger, ozone layer depletion, and the extinction of living species stems from people’s lack of knowledge about how to access or use correct information. This ignorance has historically driven people to form groups in order to gain power and engage in conflict with other groups. The real purpose of these groups in establishing authority[37] will be explained in detail in the next section.

While determining the right information or the method of accessing that information is so important for people, there is no doubt that setting the means as the goal reveals the extent of our ignorance. When the thing to be determined as the goal is not determined together with the correct information, it will automatically become a tool to be used. While our goal should be a chain of actions aimed at gaining Allah’s pleasure, if we determine our death as the basis of our goal, our correct knowledge will also be based on a life of constant consumption. However, death should not be a goal for us, but rather a means to an end. The failure to apply correct knowledge leads people to such heedlessness. Living a life based on the idea that “since we are going to die, we should consume everything until we die” is consistent with the belief of a person who is satisfied with a single worldly life. Because a life that does not contain the belief in the hereafter is the belief of systems other than Islam.

Looking at the universe, on our planet called ‘earth’, which resembles a grain of sand on the shore, there are eighteen thousand species based on gender alone, and an average of four hundred thousand species when considered by type. Among these living creatures, we humans continue our lives in a multitude of around six billion five hundred million. Living together with eighteen thousand species of living creatures on this planet, which looks like a dot in a photograph taken from space, how can we explain the irresponsible and ignorant lives of humans other than by a lack of correct information and methods of access?

In order to exist within the social order, what separates us from so many other living beings is our need for clothing and sustenance. Could the fact that no other species besides us carries the burden of clothing or sustenance be the fundamental reason why we cannot stand behind what we know?

Could it be that our future, career, and comfortable life anxieties are the reason we disregard what we know and the values we claim to believe in, in favor of our immediate interests?

Yes, even though we live alongside eighteen thousand species, no other creature besides us was created with a tendency to have such anxieties. Their lives are not built on concerns about sustenance (the future) and the desire for a comfortable life. We, on the other hand, were created with this nature so that we would feel the need to live in a way that pleases Allah (swt). In this state of imperfection and insignificance[38], we must understand that the only garment[39] tailored for our creation will be realized by obeying Allah’s commands and avoiding His prohibitions. This knowledge is clear evidence that we have been brought here to be tested and that we do not truly belong to this world. The purpose of the world of trial is to earn His pleasure by worshipping and obeying Allah, sometimes through various difficulties and hardships, and sometimes through abundant wealth and prosperity.

ALLAH (c.c) says:

Did people think that they would be left alone after saying, “We believe”?[40]

The noble verse guarantees that we should not be certain of our desires, such as the fear of sustenance and the desire for a comfortable life, becoming our purpose and concern.

ALLAH (swt) says:

There is no creature on earth whose sustenance does not belong to Allah. He knows its place of rest and its place of return. All is recorded in a clear book. [41]

Of course, these verses affect those who are sincere in their faith and fully submissive. That being the case, the lines are drawn in terms of faith, and the test begins in this area…

The correct knowledge given to other creatures at creation and directly embedded in their practical lives is, in humans, the fundamental part of the test, but it is also knowledge acquired through free will, enabling the formation of acceptance and rejection. Allah (swt) knows best.

While other living beings are exempt from this test and display wisdom to those with intellect through their lives, we are also being tested on the scales of faith in the manner decreed by Allah (swt). Everything on earth has been placed at the service of humans, and in return, what is required of them is to live every moment of life with the awareness of servitude, without being heedless. The purpose of creating these creatures is to provide wisdom to those who observe with insight and to provide benefit when needed.

ALLAH (c.c.) says in His verses:

There is certainly a lesson for you in the animals. We give you pure milk to drink from their bellies, between vomit and blood, which goes down smoothly. [42]

Your Lord revealed to the honeybee: “Make homes in the mountains, in the trees, and in the structures built by humans… Then eat from every kind of fruit and follow the ways of your Lord.” From its bellies comes a drink of varying colors, in which there is healing for people. For those who reflect deeply, there is a clear miracle in this.[43]

And He created the animals; in them there is warmth and benefits for you, and you eat from them.[44]

He created horses, mules, and donkeys for you to ride and as adornment. And He creates other things you cannot know…[45]

[25] Astronomer (b. 1473–1543)

[26] On the revolutions of the celestial spheres

[27] Sun-centered

[28] The plane assumed to be the Earth’s orbit

[29] Naturalism and naturalism

[30] A philosophical theory that nothing exists except the movements and changes of matter

[31] A scientific understanding based solely on the realities of the physical or material world

[32] Founder of psychoanalysis, Austrian neurologist (1856–1939)

[33] Philosopher, political economist (1818–1883)

[34] English natural scientist (1809–1882)

[35] Theologian

[36] The right to own something and use it as one wishes

[37] The legitimate power of a person or group over other groups

[38] Looked down upon, worthless, despised

[39] A long, ornate, unlined garment made of fabric, worn on top, a robe

[40] Ankebut surah, 2nd verse

[41] Hud surah, 6th verse

[42] Nahl surah, 66th verse

[43] Nahl surah, 68–69th verses

[44] Nahl surah, 5th verse

[45] Nahl surah, 8th verse