If
God spoke to His servants in the past, why does He not talk to them now? If He
used to send His guidance in times of trouble, doubt and bewilderment, why does
He not open for men the door to His guidance today? Does this mean that all
religions are corrupted and cannot find any truth, and thus we cannot get any
results by following any one of them; or is it possible that the true religion
exists on earth, but men do not follow its teachings and therefore cannot make
any progress in the spiritual realm?
Whatever
opinion we espouse, the following question shall always be asked: why did God
not reveal a new religion if He thought that the world needed one; and if He
had already given His guidance to be followed and that people have not heeded
it, why did He not raise a reformer to guide them on the right path so that
they can enjoy His proximity and thus achieve the purpose of their creation?
It’s
unbelievable that a Merciful and Loving God remains unmoved at the sight of
humanity struggling in error and worldliness and does nothing to indicate to it
the direction and right path to take. God must be kinder and more merciful than
a father or a mother, for a mother and a father are only the instruments of
procreation of children, but God is not only the creator but also the ultimate
goal of human existence.
The
relationship between a child and his parents is temporary, but the one between
man and God lasts forever. The faculties and resources of parents are finite
and perishable, but God’s power is boundless and His treasures are
inexhaustible. He who has such a relationship with His creatures and Who is the
Master of such powers cannot forget His creatures and remain indifferent to
their suffering. He Who asks His weak creatures to be lenient to others cannot
be inclement so much so, that He leaves mankind without any means of direction
and spiritual progress and He leaves them to wander haphazardly in darkness and
lose sight while seeking light.
If
there is a God, He cannot permit that! If He sympathizes with His servants in
their trials and yet does not provide means of protection, we must conclude
that either He has no power to guide humanity towards the truth, or that it is
not the purpose of human existence to be in communion with God, and that man
was created only to eat, drink, and live a purely material and animalistic
existence. But these alternatives are without any support (they are baseless).
It is absurd to imagine that the One Who created the universe has no power to
provide the means for the spiritual guidance of humanity. We cannot also imagine
that man was only created for a purely material existence, because in that case
we would have to admit that an All-Wise and All-Knowing Creator manifested the
existence of this great universe without purpose. There is no machine invented
simply to let it run by itself; any machine has a precise/ designated purpose.