Remembering God

In view of all this, I am obliged to offer some definitions which make sense to me and by which I abide. Philosophy, as I understand the term, is quite simply the love of wisdom; that, after all, is what the word means, and every Muslim is commanded to seek wisdom and to love it. Theology is concerned with the doctrines of a particular religion and their rational interpretation. The Muslim is commanded to think about his religion and should therefore be a theologian. The physical sciences deal with the way things work or appear to work in the light of human perceptions, and the Muslim is commanded to see the I land of God in the operation of cause and effect. Metaphysics embraces all three while going beyond them. The physical sciences can only operate against a metaphysical background since the scientist necessarily makes certain assumptions about the nature of things. But everyone, going about his or her business, makes similar assumptions. They may not be philosophers, theologians or scientists, but they are certainly metaphysicians. Like the character in Moliere's play. Le Bourgeois (Gentilhomme, who was astonished to learn that he had been speaking prose all his Iife without knowing it, they arc quite unaware that the principles they take for granted are essentially metaphysical principles. Everyone has an idea as to what is real and what is unreal, and everyone lives and works and loves on the basis of this idea. from Chapter 111- "Possibilities"