Osman Bakar

The main aim of this paper is to provide an introductory discussion of the issue of the human need for a cultural symbiosis in the contemporary global community and of the constructive role that religion could play in delivering this global need. We will, however, be examining the issue at hand mainly from the perspective of Islam, since it happens to be the religion with which we are most familiar. But our chosen theme of discussion here with an emphasis on Islam is also influenced by other considerations. We realize that the perspective of Islam on the issue in question is little known to many non-Muslims even though it is important in its own right, thus meriting a serious study by scholars.

Today, Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity and also the fastest growing. Moreover, for various reasons, Islam is increasingly recognized even by its critics as having the capacity to positively influence world events and global affairs and the future direction of world history. More often than not, Islam’s influence is perceived negatively. The association of Islam with violence, as portrayed by many circles today, is a good illustration of this widespread misperception of Islam. In these circumstances, it is therefore important to highlight Islam’s positive teachings drawn from its rather rich treasury – spiritual, intellectual, and cultural – that could give a big helping hand to the present humanity in its task of realizing the goal of cultural symbiosis in this sharply polarized world.

The Meaning of Cultural Symbiosis

The English word ‘symbiosis’ is derived from the Greek word ‘symbiosis’ whose verb form symbioun conveys the idea of ‘to live together’ (syn-, together + bios, life). Thus one widely used dictionary defines symbiosis as “the intimate living together of two organisms, especially if such association is of mutual advantage.”1 This living together is further characterized as a “relationship of mutual interdependence.”2 In this sense, the idea of symbiosis applies both to the natural world of plant and animal organisms and the human world of cultural organisms. In the former case, we have „biological symbiosis,‟ the intimate living together of plants and animals on the basis of mutual interdependence. In the latter case, we have ‘cultural symbiosis,’ the intimate living together of two or more cultural entities on the basis of mutual interdependence. On the basis of its sacred book, the Quran, the religion of Islam deals with both kinds of symbiosis in a rather extensive manner. The issue of biological symbiosis has been treated in Islam in various ways but all with the ultimate goal of demonstrating Divine Unity, Wisdom, Knowledge, Justice and Power. In God’s cosmic plan, the world of nature is to display unity within diversity.

Many verses in the Quran deal with the theme of biological diversity,3 but this diversity conveys a message of the interrelatedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the natural world. This particular message is referred to in traditional Islamic science as the message of Unicity of Nature, which forms part of a broader principle known as the Unity of the Divine Acts (al-tawhid al-rububiyyah).4 It is precisely because God wants to display His Unity in all domains of His creation that we have the unicity of nature.

The Quran’s emphasis on the idea of mutual interdependence in the animal world is also to be seen in its description of the animal species as being communities (sing: ummah) like human beings.5 One of the core ideas in the Quranic conception of the ummah is that of social organization grounded on mutual interdependence and in conformity with the divine laws meant for that particular community. As applied to the animal species, this would mean the existence of a harmonious relationship between these species and their respective environments.6 In Islamic philosophy, it is generally maintained that God has prescribed a shari’ah (divine law) for each religious community under the leadership of a prophet and also a shari’ah for each animal species.

Each species lives in accordance with its nature given by God and the “natural” law He has promulgated for it. It is a particular divine law that governs social organization and mutual interdependence in each species. But law and order also prevails in the inter-species relationships. Although there are different laws for different species of beings, these laws are interrelated and unified under more embracing laws which are ultimately subject to the one Divine Law governing the whole of creation (namus al-khilqah).7

Thus, the natural world is characterized by law and order, and the interrelatedness and mutual interdependence of its inhabitants. More specifically, in the animal world, the dominating idea governing inter-species relationships is not the Darwinian “survival of the fittest “ but rather a biological symbiosis in varying degrees of intensity. Biological diversity and its attending symbiosis are to set in Islam as a necessary natural background for the treatment of the theme of ethnic and cultural diversity and its corresponding cultural symbiosis. In a sense, cultural symbiosis is supposed to be an extension of the biological symbiosis on a higher plane. A more complex and superior kind of symbiosis is to be expected in the human world of ethnic and cultural diversity, since human beings are spiritual and sentient creatures endowed with the power of reason, choice, and free will.

The problem with human beings as a result, however, is that they are capable of both realizing the loftiest of human ideals and wreaking havoc and destruction not only to themselves and their fellow human beings but also to other creatures, especially of the natural world.8 In other words, they are capable of both attaining various degrees of enlightened cultural symbiosis and threatening cultural symbiosis with wars and violence. Contrary to the claim of biological evolutionists, the community life of an animal species and its attending symbiosis, both intra-species and inter-species, is basically a fixed reality. As for the life of a human community, it is susceptible to change, development, and progress. The important point to note is that there is a corresponding relationship between the quality of life of a human community and the quality of cultural symbiosis realized within that community. As with biological diversity, ethnic and cultural diversity is a major theme in the Quran. Two of its most quoted verses concerning ethnic diversity are the following:

And among His [i.e. God’s] signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are signs for those who know.9

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).10

The Quran defines ethnicity primarily in terms of language and secondarily in terms of skin color. As a result of this linguistic and skin color diversity, humankind is divided into many nations and tribes inhabiting the earth. Ethnic diversity is partly the product of natural factors and partly the product of human cultural development. This means that ethnic diversity possesses two dimensions. One is the natural dimension, which refers to the variations in the physical and biological traits and characteristics of human beings such as skin color and psychological temperament as a result of geographical and climatic factors11; the other, the cultural dimension, which refers to the variations in language formation. Although the diversity of human languages is treated here as part of the cultural dimension of ethnic diversity in due recognition of the human role in the origin and development of languages, the natural foundation of the formation of human language needs to be understood and appreciated. The possibility of a human role in the formation and development of language presupposes the existence of a natural power and capacity in man for that sort of development.

According to the Quran, man’s natural capacity for language is not something that he has gradually acquired through an evolutionary process. While languages may evolve with the passage of time and even subject to the temporal process of birth and death as attested to in human history by the disappearance of many old languages, man’s natural capacity for language does not. This capacity is an integral part of the original nature (al-fitrah) of man. God has created man with a capacity for intelligent speech. Says the Quran (55:3-4): “He has created man: He has taught him speech (al-bayan).”12 Since man has been created in the image (surah) of God, and speech is one of God‟s Attributes, it follows that man necessarily possesses the attribute of speech.

Following Aristotle, Muslim philosophers of the Peripatetic school (al-mashsha’iyyun) define man as a rational animal (al-hayawan al-natiq). Using the same Arabic expression, we may describe man as a “speaking animal” or an animal endowed with speech. This word, al-natiq, translated here as „rational‟ is etymologically related to the word al-nutq, which has been understood as referring to both intelligence as acquired by man’s rational faculty and man’s intelligent speech.13 According to al-Farabi, man’s intelligent speech is comprised of two dimensions: internal speech (al-nutq al-dakhil), which refers to ideas and their meanings in the mind; and exterior speech (al-nutq al-kharij), which refers to the expression by language of what is in the mind.14 Interestingly, in the Quran, in referring to Prophet Solomon’s miraculous ability to understand the “speech of birds,” the word mantiq al-tayr has been used.15 The word mantiq is etymologically related to al-nutq, and is used to mean both speech and logic.

There is a profound reason why, in His cosmic Plan, God wants to create man as a creature endowed with speech. According to this Plan, man has been created to worship and serve God. This worship necessitates a spiritual relationship between God and man, and speech is clearly an essential component of this relationship. The essence of worship is prayer, but without intelligent speech no meaningful prayer would be possible. The canonical Muslim prayer to be performed five times daily necessitates the recitation of the Opening Chapter (surat al-fatihah) of the Quran and other spiritual formulae invoking God in various ways. Without this recitation, no canonical Muslim prayer is deemed legitimate in the sight of God.

This forgoing discussion demonstrates in a clear manner the deep significance of language not only to the relationship between man and man but also to the relationship between man and God. For this reason, when God wanted to create the first man, Adam, he also decided to equip him with the faculty of speech. The Quran appears to be alluding to this faculty of speech when it speaks of the bodily creation of Adam in the following terms: “Behold! The Lord said to the angels: “I am about to create man, from sounding clay (salsal) from mud molded unto shape.””16 Another verse speaks of the creation of man “from sounding clay like unto pottery (salsal kal-fakhkhar).”17

Taking the two verses together, some commentators understand them as conveying the meaning of man’s bodily shape made from dry clay that is capable of emitting sound. They maintain further that the emitted sound most probably refers to the human capacity for speech.18  God’s  “breathing into Adam of His Spirit” mentioned in the succeeding verse19 is what enables man to have an intelligent speech with a spiritual content in his communication with God.
In light of the multi-faceted significance of the human language, Islam expects man not only to show deep respect for the diversity of languages that characterizes ethnic diversity but also to celebrate its underlying divine wisdom and power. The Quranic verse on the “variations in your languages” previously mentioned, in fact, invites man to ponder on this phenomenon as one of the signs (ayat) of God, meaning the sign of His Wisdom, Knowledge, and Power. The Islamic respect for the diversity of human languages is further deepened by the Quranic teaching that “there never was a nation or community (ummah) without an admonisher having lived among them”20 and “God does not send a messenger to his community except in the language of his folk.”21In other words, God has spoken in the past to the different branches of humanity, and He has done so in their respective languages. This means that God Himself has conferred respect on human languages. Genuine respect for the diversity of languages, whether inspired by spiritual considerations or otherwise, could go a long way toward promoting the cause of cultural symbiosis.

The main purpose of ethnic diversity – the division of humankind into nations and tribes as asserted by the Quran (49:13) – is to enable man to know one another (lita’arafu). Quite obviously, as supported by many of its verses, the Quran understands this mutual acquaintance (ta’aruf) to be multi-layered and to be productive of other things viewed as indispensable to the development and advancement of cultural symbiosis in human societies. The various levels of knowledge as understood in the Quranic idea of “mutual acquaintance” between different ethnic groups range from knowledge of physical characteristics such as skin color to knowledge of psychological traits, and from knowledge of manners and customs to knowledge of the higher aspects of culture and civilization.22

Mutual acquaintance is to lead to mutual understanding (tafahum), cooperation and mutual help (ta’awun), and mutual tolerance (tasamuh), all of which are necessary to the healthy realization of cultural symbiosis. Cooperation and mutual help between members of different ethnic groups, even when acknowledged and pursued at a lower level, is likely to enhance mutual acquaintance and raise it to a new level. This new level of mutual acquaintance can have the positive effect of broadening the scope of mutual understanding, cooperation and help. There is a dynamic interaction between mutual acquaintance and mutual cooperation. The deeper the quality of mutual acquaintance is cultivated the better would be the quality of mutual cooperation it generates. So is the reverse true. Quite clearly, as implied by the quoted verse on ethnic diversity, the Quran is interested in elevating mutual acquaintance between different and diverse human groups to its ideal level, which it defines in spiritual terms.

At the level of thought, the Quran envisages the deepening of mutual acquaintance to the point of all ethnic groups acknowledging that, as different branches of the same human tree, they have a common human origin and ancestor in the form of the first human couple on the planet Earth, identified in the Abrahamic religious tradition as Adam and Eve, and they have a common destiny as fellow planetary citizens. Another ideal enunciated in the cited verse concerns the true meaning of human dignity. The real worth of a person does not reside in his or her social status, his or her blood and color, his or her race or ethnicity, his or her wealth, and not even his or her belonging to a particular creed. Human dignity and honor is to be defined and judged essentially in terms of piety and righteousness.

The Quran insists that these ideals must have their consequences on the practical plane of collective human life. A true belief in our common human origin means that we should always be mindful of our status as members of a single human family. It also means that we should always believe in the universal ideal of the unity of humankind and human brotherhood. This ideal would serve as an excellent philosophical framework for the societal pursuit of the common good and cultural symbiosis in a pluralistic world through the progressive realizations of mutual acquaintance and understanding and mutual cooperation.

Our commitment to the other ideal, namely the idea of human dignity and honor based on the spiritual principle of piety and righteousness (taqwa) that transcends all forms of sectarian considerations provides the much needed antidote to the problems of ethnocentrism, racism, and religious extremism rampant in the contemporary world. From the perspective of the Quran, the correct approach to inter-ethnic, inter-cultural, and inter-civilizational understanding and to the unity of humankind is one that is based on spiritual principles. In short, the human quest for cultural symbiosis in the global community has to be guided by universal, spiritual principles and values if it were to truly succeed. Pure ethnicity by itself without the aid of spirituality, and thus without religiosity – inasmuch as religion is the universally acknowledged source of spiritual principles and values – would not be able to elevate mutual acquaintance between ethnic groups to the point of understanding the underlying wisdom of ethnic plurality and diversity and of acknowledging God as the ultimate source of humanity’s common origin. For this reason, the Quran has come up with a spiritual guidance on how human beings should deal with problems arising from ethnic diversity.23

The necessity of spirituality and religiosity in human life brings with it the problem of religious plurality and diversity. Although from the point of view of the Quran, the core message in the teachings of all prophets and messengers of God is the same, namely the worship of God the One, these teachings have to manifest themselves in the form of different religions as dictated by the changing needs of human societies living in different time and space. As in the case of ethnic diversity the Quran is also deeply aware of the threat posed by a perverted understanding of religious diversity to peaceful co-existence and mutual cooperation in human societies. Accordingly, the Quran has invited humankind to really understand why they have to attribute religious diversity to divine wisdom and at the same time to avoid theological disputes and hairsplitting that run counter to the true spirit of religious life itself. Rather, the Quran appeals to humankind to compete with each other in the promotion of virtues and doing of good works:

….To each among you, have We prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If God had so willed, He would have made you a single people (ummatan wahidatan), but (His Plan) is to test you in what He had given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues and good works (al-khayrat). The goal of you all is to God; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute.”24

In the foregoing discussion, we have outlined the salient points in the Quranic conception of cultural symbiosis. In light of these Quranic teachings we are able to better understand and appreciate the phenomena of ethnic and religious diversity that has caught the global attention of our times and why it is our responsibility to advance the cause of cultural symbiosis. Not only that, the Quran has also prescribed and defined the various processes that must be operational in collective human life for cultural symbiosis to be a living reality. Among the most fundamental of these processes are mutual acquaintance (ta’aruf), mutual understanding (tafahum), mutual cooperation (ta’awun), and healthy competition (tasabuq). These processes together will hammer home to man the point of mutual interdependence of all forms of life on the planet earth in general and of human life in particular, which in turn affirms the unity of all life.

The Quranic view of cultural symbiosis has inspired many Muslim thinkers in different ages to offer a philosophical and scientific understanding of it. Undoubtedly, the theme of mutual interdependence in human society has been a popular one in classical Islamic philosophy. Whenever Muslim philosophers then discuss the subject of human society or human civilization, it is incumbent upon them to dwell on the idea of mutual interdependence as a basis of human social organization. They emphasize the point that human beings are mutually interdependent for their physical needs such as food, shelter, and defense or protection from external danger. This means that mutual cooperation is necessary to the human species, the result of which is social organization or civilization. Echoing the views of many philosophers before him, the famous philosopher of history, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) wrote:

“It is absolutely necessary for man to have the cooperation of his fellow man. As long as there is no such cooperation, he cannot obtain any food or nourishment, and life cannot materialize for him, because God fashioned him so that he must have food if he is to live.......When, however, mutual cooperation exists, man obtains food for his nourishment and weapons for his defense. God‟s wise plan that man should subsist and the human species be preserved will be fulfilled.”25

But human beings are capable of realizing various levels of mutual cooperation, and thus various qualitative levels of social organization, in response to the various levels of human needs, because God has made them to serve the higher purpose of life. The lowest level of mutual cooperation is meant to serve the fulfillment of human physical needs. But man has also non-physical needs. Since Islam views man as a spiritual and sentient being, a view shared by other religions, he has spiritual, moral, and intellectual needs which could only be fulfilled if he were to develop a higher level of social organization and a more refined civilization. In other words, a more developed and refined cultural symbiosis is needed. In religious terms, as asserted by Ibn Khaldun, quoting the Quran, this higher level of cultural symbiosis is to enable man to materialize “God‟s desire to settle the world with human beings and to leave them as His representatives (sing: khalifah) on earth.” 26

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