Spirit of Islam, May 2013

I T is generally believed that Truth is not something absolute. Different people have different perceptions or criterion for Truth. That which is Truth for one, may not be Truth for another. In other words, Truth is something relative not real. A philosopher has described it in the following words: There are no full stops in Truth, only commas. Some people think in this way but this is a notion that stands rejected prima facie. This supposition does not have any logic or rational ground to stand on. In this world, whatever man believes upon, he does it in an absolute sense. This is human nature. If man is not able to decipher a thing in its absolute sense, he continues his research until he has discovered it. Truth is the only thing that man requires for fulfilling his spiritual need. For example, in ancient times, man knew very little about the sun and the solar system. His search continued for thousands of years till he came to discover the overall system of the planets. Till the time man had not reached this discovery he continued his investigation. The same is the case with other fields of knowledge. For thousands of years, man has engaged himself in research and investigation in various disciplines of knowledge. This quest is ongoing till date and will continue till he reaches the actual reality. This is because to man everything has an absolute form; from the stars to an atom—there is no exception to this rule. It appears that the human mind takes everything in an absolute sense. This was the conviction on the basis of which the process of search and research continued through the millennia. If man were to believe that things did not occur in their absolute form, then scientific activities would come to a complete halt. Scientific discoveries would come to a standstill. The same principle applies to personal matters. Man considers himself to be absolute. If he doesn’t think this way, then TRUTH—AN ANALYSIS