had its origin in the union of parental life-cells. For a number of
years it continued to develop through the processes of maturation
and exercise. After reaching its peak, it begins to decline and decay.
The process of disintegration culminates in death. The crucial
question is whether there is anything in man which survives the
dissolution of the body. The answer is that the self which grew and
developed in the matrix of the body may survive it and may, on the
break-up of the body, launch out on a fresh career. We, by no means,
suggest that this is true of all selves. We admit that some
philosophers of repute have held the view that the self is by its
nature imperishable. McTaggart, to mention only one, has
developed this view in his writings and has defended it with
arguments that are regarded as worthy of attention in philosophical
circles. We do not subscribe to this view because it does not
harmonize with the Qur'anic view of the destiny of the human self.
In taking up this attitude to McTaggart's position, we have also been
influenced by two rational considerations. Firstly, this view entails
belief in the pre-existence of the self, for which there is not a shred
of evidence: secondly, with the acceptance of this view, emphasis
shifts from what the self does to what it is. Moral activity ceases to be
of vital importance to the fate of the self. The self, it would seem, is
assured of immortality, irrespective of the kind of life, virtuous or
vicious, which it led in this world. The Qur'anic view is that
immortality cannot be taken for granted. It is the prize which the
self can win by right conduct and by its efforts to realise its
potentialities. The self may win the prize or it may lose it. The issue
depends on the quality and intensity of its effort and on no other
factor. For the self which has lived the right kind of life, death has
no terror. The Qur'an makes this point clear. “The great horror shall
not grieve them” (21:103). The self wins immortality by the proper
orientation of will and the performance of right action. This view is
not dissimilar to the view of Professor Galloway, as the following
passage shows:
That every creature formed in the semblance of man, however brutish
or undeveloped, is destined to immortality, is more than we dare
affirm. To do so would require a deeper knowledge of divine economy
than we possess. We agree with Lotze, “that every created thing will
continue if and so long as its continuance belongs to the meaning of
Survival : Individual and Collective^169