does not support this dichotomy. In the Qur'anic view, man is not
compounded of two distinct entities – soul and body. He is a single
indivisible being. If we apply to him the categories of science, he
appears to be a physical organism, but he reveals himself as a free
being when "value" categories are applied. It is a view which is not
dissimilar to the organismic theory developed by Goldstein and J.F.
Brown. The Qur'anic view parts company with the above theory in
maintaining the reality of the higher self. It would seem that the real
self of man takes on materiality without which it cannot function in
the physical world of time and space.
III. Revelation and ValuesIt cannot be denied that knowledge of absolute values is
indispensable for the right conduct of life and the unimpeded
development of the self. But reason, the main instrument of
knowledge we possess, tells us only about relative values. It cannot
even give a definitive answer to the question as to whether there are
absolute values and, if so, how can they be known. It tends to define
value in subjective terms, only in relation to the particular
experiencing individual. It amounts to a tacit denial of an objective
system of values, valid for all men at all times. It is easy to see that
this view cuts at the root of deen. Deen involves belief in objective,
absolute values and in an objective, absolute moral standard.
Reason, with its cautious experimental approach is constantly
revising and reconstructing its scale of values and its moral standard
in the light of fresh knowledge. Thinking men have, therefore, felt
the need of some dependable source of values other than reason. On
this point we cannot do better than quote the words of Martin Buber:
The ‘absolute values’ .... cannot, of course, be meant to have only
subjective validity for the person concerned. Don Juan finds absolute
and subjective value in seducing the greatest possible number of
women, and the dictator sees it in the greatest possible accumulation
of power. 'Absolute validity' can only relate to universal values and
norms, the existence of which the person concerned recognizes and
acknowledges.(5)
Rashdall makes the same point:
That there is one absolute standard of values, which is the same for all
rational beings, is just what morality means.(6)
The Role of Reason in Deen 131