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Engaging with Nietzsche

Mubashir Hassan
This is in response to article, Why Read Nietzsche?, by Maroof Shah (Gk
12-08-15.) The author asserts that Nietzsche poses a challenge to faith
and he needs to be engaged with and rebutted. He begins with disdain
for those who do not know Nietzsche and have not heard of his
(in)famous statement God is dead. Let me at the outset admit that I
have not read this Nietzsche and I have no regrets for that nor do I
intend to read him.
The author uses the term secular reason by which he means,
Perhaps, Reasoning based on ones own whims, divorced from
revelation and God. An ideology opposed to religion, which does not
take Creator into account, the hallmark of so called modern thought. It is
a delusion of the modern age where one is conditioned to think that
scientific progress is not possible without being secular and maintaining
distance from religion. But it is not so. The progress of science started
with those who believed in God. Contributions of Muslim scientists
apart, we have the examples of other scientists who believed in God, like
Kepler, Pascal, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Gregor Mendel, Max
Planck, Michael Faraday, the list is endless. It was W. Heisenberg who
said: The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into
an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.
It is only the fools who say that rationality and religion cant go
together. Religion is the highest stage of rationality and it is irreligious
people who have lost the sense of rationality. Rationality demands a

Creator. Rationality cant accept chance formation of universe and life. It


is absurdity. Those advocating chance formation of universe rely on Big
bang, but are unable to explain as to why should a big bang occur at the
first instance? The western standards make us think otherwise. We are
not so stupid to weigh everything by western standards and regard
rationality what they regard so, even if it is absurdity.
The author regards reading Nietzsche mandatory for doing
Dawah to modern educated youth and contends that it is difficult to get
rid of Nietzsches influence upon them Those who consider themselves
Gods advocates have a mighty adversary to contend with. His
concerns are genuine, but he is mistaken in his estimation of Nietzsche
and of a believers mind. A true believers faith cant be shaken by
philosophical discourses or assertions. The believer has a vision that lets
him perceive futility of these discourses and is not taken away by the
delusive arguments of philosophers. He has a Baseerat (insight) that lets
him sail through safely. The magic of words does not attract or detract
him. Nietzsche is not his first trial. Al Gazzali and Ibn Tymiyah had to
counter Greek Philosophies long ago.
There are other challenges before a believer in todays world but a
believers heart never quivers or flutters. He faced the challenge of
communism, of Capitalism, of crusades and other ideologies and so
many trials in History, yet he withstood and conquered all challenges.
Why should he be scared with Nietzsche? Regarding those who have
gone with the tide of atheism or Nietzschean Philosophy or other
perverted and deviant philosophies, let them go where they want to.
Our Lord is not in need of them. The job of a Dayee is just to call, to put

forth his Lords message and move on. He is not responsible for the
results.
Anyway the concepts and prepositions put forth by Nietzsche or
any other philosopher cant be a substitute to revealed knowledge which
has certitude while as philosophy doesnt. Philosophy is just an
imagination and you wander in unknown territories, without an idea as
to where you have reached. When the believers have sure and certain
knowledge, why should they listen to fantasies?
The author is too much overwhelmed by Nietzsche and contends,
We cant import from past thinkers, scholars and commentaries to
bulldoze the Nietzschean world. Willy nilly it is the world shaped by
Nietzsche. These are misplaced fears. He has overestimated Nietzsche
and underestimated our own literary treasure. Our tradition is our
treasure, how can we break free from that. Should we ignore our own
treasure of knowledge and go after this trash, we are sure to go astray.
The author hopelessly presumes that the present world is shaped by
Nietzsche. Perhaps he forget that Nietzsche is just one and half century
old but the civilization is thousands of years old and that science is not a
product of the post Nietzsche age, but made progress over long period
of time.
Philosophy is the quest for truth, but does it lead us to it? Has it
ever unveiled the truth and are its results conclusive? No, not at all.
Philosophy is the products of the human thinking and is based on the
imagination of the philosopher, his conjectures, assumptions and
presumptions. It relies on conceptual analysis, critical examination, new

ideas, but time and again fails to produce positive results. We can never
be sure of its conclusions. When were the ideas of Nietzsche or of any
other philosopher tested in laboratory? Never. Even Russell admits that
philosophy is not very much successful in providing "definite answers"
to its questions but explains the apparent inconclusiveness of
philosophic answers partly as deceptive, partly as inevitable: Philosophy
studies the questions that in principle are not answerable. Philosophy
has no practical value. Hair splitting discussions with no outcome. It
gives a sense of wisdom, not real wisdom.
When Philosophy doesnt provide definite answers, why should
we take it seriously even at the cost of our faith. Why should we
confound and engage our new generation with a bottomless enterprise.
Philosophy deals with value question, but our values have already been
laid down by Him who knows the secrets of life so what need we have
to follow the conjectures of these mortals who cant see beyond their
own realm. When we ignore Quran and hold on to philosophy, the
outcome is certainly deviation and mental depression. Philosophy is not
such a big deal as we are made to understand. However, unfortunately
our promising and talented youth are devouting their precious time to
this branch of knowledge when it is not going to help them in anyway
nor is it the demand of present times. May be our youth are searching
for answers to some intriguing questions, let them turn to the book of
Allah, there they would find definite answers to their quests.
That our youth are unable to come to terms with the modern ideas,
are unwilling believers, want to believe but find it hard, is the authors
misconception. If really such a problem exists, it is because we have

severed relationship with Quran. If we cling on to Quran, the modern


ideologies can never get over us. These ideologies melt before the
grandeur, sublimity, substance and divinity of the Quran. Faithful
Muslims have no confusions; it is confused and perverted minds who
get things messed up. Our faith is based on rationality and no deluded
philosopher like Nietzsche can cause any ripples therein. Worldwide
statistics show that the highest number of those who practice religion
are Muslims and even those in the developed countries are discovering
its truth and turning towards it. Are they unaware of Nietzsche?
Nietzsches nihilism is because of his utter depression and
despondency which probably was a factor of his mental imbalance in his
later years. He has no hopes and that is the natural consequence of not
believing in the hereafter, without which life is empty and meaningless.
Certainly Nietzsche wanted a Master whom he would obey but is
unable to find one (I need a Master. How sweet it is to obey. It is not
his problem only but of whole lot of philosophers who, because of their
arrogance, are unable to find one and go astray, lose their way and
follow their own imagination or of others like them.
The author ends with Iqbals couplet, Teray zameer pay Jeb tak na ho
nazooli kitab/girah kusha ha na razi na sahibi kashaf certainly when the
Quranic Ayat are reveled unto the heart, no philosophy can delude you,
but I am reminded of the couplet preceding it:
Tarap Raha Hai Falatoon Miyan-e-Ghaib-o-Huzoor/Azal Se Ahl-e-Khirad Ka
Maqam Hai Aaraaf

(Men, like Plato, still roam about betwixt belief and utter doubt/Men endowed
with reason, aye, ever on the heights do stay.)
Mail: mubashir_07@rediffmail.com

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