Introductory note: This article is written for all the well-intentioned, kind-hearted A&Aers(we will use A&As as an abbreviation at times for Atheists and Agnostics during this article for the sake of brevity lol).They have been unwittingly sold a bill of goods by a very skilful and manipulative cabal of philosophers and marketers that have been operating for a very long time.I hope this article may serve to put a dent into their well-honed atheistic armour!

There is a common social narrative, in contemporary society,  that religious people are brain-washed by their religious leaders and agnostics are free-thinkers! Actually,nothing could be further from the truth! For over two hundred years, at least, the Western mind (and now it is present in the East as well) has been indoctrinated with atheistic principles .From the French Revolutions ” Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité” which puts all the emphasis on the human position to Nietzche’s “God is Dead” to the Empiricism of John Locke and the so-called “Scientific Revolution”, the Western mind has been inundated with atheistic concepts that put man at the centre of the Universe as opposed to God.Ironically this is the polar opposite to the equally politically correct Copernican discovery that the sun was the center of our galaxy,not the Earth.As opposed to that great astronomical discovery,A&As assert again the centrality of man as opposed to his Creator.I guess human arrogance and self-centeredness continues to reassert itself in various and sundry ways!

N.B.Empiricism is a biggie here because it says that all you can know is what you can see and hear with your five senses.Only the outer and the measurable is true in this vision. “Evidence-Based” and “data based”-we hear those phrases over and over again like a tired mantra.Now science has taken up the flag of this Empiricism and misled many,many people who have lost touch with their inner senses.Working as psychiatrists and psychotherapists, we can see how that imbalance wreaks destruction on peoples lives as well as their general understandings.On a larger scale the politicians and administrative governing bodies, including those pf private corporations, are all corrupted by this point of view! No wonder we are in such a mess!

This philosophical brain-washing has been going on right up until the modern epoch.So we have the Existentialists like Sartre and Camus making the same case.In Britain we have the esteemed philosopher Bertrand Russell writing”Why I am Not a Christian”. And then there are the great scientific geniuses like Freud and Marx and Darwin (although in all fairness to the latter, he ,for one,remained a believing Christian up to his death) telling us the same story.In recent times we have been treated to the eloquence of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins repeating the same narrative.So anyone thinking that he,himself,came up with this narrative is seriously deluded or incorrigibly arrogant.The story-line has been developing for centuries!

Now,the story line goes something like this.”Religion has been a bad actor for millenia.It has caused countless acts of violence and sowed division across the globe.Now there is some Truth to that statement.I will spare you,for now,however the historical analysis of non-religious movements like Fascism and Communism.The historians that have investigated this have concluded that non-religious movements have actually caused more death and destruction than religious ones!- but that is a discussion for another time.

This  story line also tells us that although religion is BAD ,spirituality is GOOD,What is ignored in that affirmation is the fact that almost all forms of spirituality come from religion! I discovered that for the first time when I studied Transcendental Meditation back in the seventies-advertised as a secular practice.I quickly realized that the meditation techniques being taught were permeated through and through with Hindu philosophy,language and rituals.So too is Mindfulness- related to Buddhism and Yoga to Vedantic Hinduism. Separating spirituality from religion is like separating breathing from lung function! Impossible.Can’t be done.

Another part of this atheistic narrative is that science can explain everything.Really!? So when we see the obvious  contradiction in the image  of the famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, almost completely incapacitated in a wheelchair because of A.L.S promoting the Big Bang Theory as a potent theory for origin of the Universe,we have to recoil in disbelief! The fact that we do not react with disbelief is a sign of how far we have dissociated ourselves from common sense! The Big Bang Theory may tell us what some of the early events were in the Creation story.But it certainly doesn’t tell us the Original Cause.

In fact None of the Great scientific theories can tell us the Original cause-neither the theory of Evolution, in biology, nor the Class Struggle, in political history, nor the Unconscious of psychoanalysis nor the Theory of Relativity in Physics..They  only address intermediary causes.And thus they tell us nothing about ultimate Causation and even less about meaning!

Another interesting irony here- there is more diversity in religious theory than there is in A&A theory!The agnostic discourse almost always has the same refrain.”Religious people are deluded.They believe in order  to make themselves feel better about their lives.And their religious leaders have put a blindfold over their vision” .They all,universally, say the same thing!

Paradoxically,in the religious domain,however,diversity abounds!Some religions(Hinduism and Buddhism for example) believe that our Ultimate goal is Enlightenment.Western religions hold that our purpose is to worship God and serve Him.Very big difference there!. Some religions,like Christianity,believe that God incarnated in the flesh.Judaism and Islam reject that idea categorically.Judaism believes in the chosen nature of its nation while Islam and Christianity believe in the Equality of all humans.The list goes on and on.But it is intriguing to see that are more substantial differences in the minds of religious people than that in the supposedly “free- thinkers”.How ironical?! All the ‘free thinkers’ come to the same conclusions.Makes you wonder about their supposed freedom!

Now,let us get to the crux of the matter-the Basic Epistemology if you wish.The idea that there is no God is just that-an idea.Any self-reflecting atheist will have to admit that! You cannot prove the non-existence of something.Even the Western legal systems have come to the same conclusion.You cannot prove the non-existence of a thing or an event.So the notion of the non-Existence of God is just that-a notion.

On the other side,let us forget for now about Prophets and Saints and mystics and angels and Holy Books for now-although that is admittedly factoring out a lot of data! But I know how much those entities are anathema to the A&A mindset.So instead let us look at the n.d.e experiences as I relate them in my book “The Big Questions:Evidence-Based Faith'”These are ordinary people,most often not particularly religious some even being atheists prior to their experience.

Yes I am well aware that there is a commonplace pseudo-scientific argument that these represent the delusions of a dying brain.Anyone familiar with brain physiology and pathology should immediately see through that bogus argument( if you need more ‘scientific’ proof you can check out the work of Bruce Greyson and Pim Van Lomel although I must say that if you need to go that far in your research ,you are probably a lost cause lol). All forms of brain pathology create dysfunction and perturbations and physiological disease like headaches and vertigo and epilepsy.This form has as its effect more compassion,more serenity and more perspective on human life itself.How could that possibly be pathological?! Au contraire, instead of incapacitating the individual,it improves mental health and clarity.

So… these ordinary people in life-threatening situations see deceased relatives ,the heavens and the hellworlds, and beings of Light and God Himself-sometimes as separate from them and sometimes merged in His Essential Consciousness.They confirm ALL the teachings of the saints and mystics.And they have no more doubts!Then they report back to us their discoveries- as witnesses.

Let me be very clear here.If you are still holding on to an atheistic or agnostic position you are believing in a philosophical theory rather than in actual human experience.IMHO,that is a really bad choice-a bad exchange.And the loss in the hereafter could be VERY long-lasting.May God help you see the light!

Addendum.Since the most common objection about the relevance of the n.d.e experience is that it must be a change in brain chemistry caused by the dying brain, let me give you what I believe to be an accurate and simple analogy.And btw, this modernistic,”scientific” reflex,about brain chemistry,is a thoroughly conditioned response.Where are you now Skinner,the father of the conditionned reflex lol, now that we need you to explain this to people lol?!

The analogy goes like this:It’s the beginning of the summer and a   neighbour tells you that there is a new ice-cream shop that opened down the road.So what are the possibilities? The neighbour may be a compulsive liar or even a sadistic teaser.Or he could have mis-spoken (dysphasia lol) or bought new glasses recently and thought that the computer repair shop was actually an ice-cream place.Or again he could be a psychic who saw into heavenly worlds where there are always ice-cream shops on hot days lol. Those are the kind of obtuse explanations the “scientists” are looking for!

But, far and away ,the most likely version is that the ice-cream shop is a reality and you are best off checking it out ASAP! You see,the scientists are operating from theory and conjecture and ideology.The bottom line is they don’t want to believe in other-worldly realities because it goes against their attachment to Philosophical Materialism and Atheism.Actually,now that I think about it,Agnosticism is actually a sophisticated cover-up for Atheism.They,too, prefer their “mind-productions” to actual reality.May God help them to open their hearts and souls.On the other hand,if they just use their minds it will surely lead them astray!

What do most people say they want?They say they want the Truth.In Arabic the word is “Haqq” and it refers to both Truth and Reality.Epistemology is the science of accessing that Reality.From there,everything becomes possible! Without it,everything is meaningless!

Most modern people have been trained to think that the way to knowledge is to accumulate data and then analyze it logically.I like to call that the “Aristotelian Approach”I have found that way to be inefficient,defective and misleading .Watch the justice system operate if you don’t believe me.

So what do we learn from Sufism and Islam about this question?As I see it, there are three principal doors to knowledge-the deeper knowledge and the one that counts ultimately.

The first is the opening of the heart.We are talking here about the subtle heart -not the one of gross feelings like anger an d sadness and even joy.I won’t address the question of love for now as that can be very confusing and misleading lol.

The second  is seeing”basirat’-the inner vision.Once that is developed we can see the inner aspect of what is going on-the good and the evil of it,the sincerity and the hypocrisy,the darkness and the light.

And finally the the third is  hearing and developing ‘the ear of truth’ the entity that  hears ‘the sound of truth’.When we hear that, we have to act on the truth we hear.(Remember the sequential formula-ilm(knowledge),amal(action) then hal(state).Without the knowledge ,there is no proper action. Without the action,there is no change in state!Our nafs will surely object but our hearts will say ‘yes!’

Now the Quran tells us about this.It talks about “those whose hearts are sealed” and those who are “deaf,blind and dumb”.And we can understand that this is not outer blindness nor outer deafness but rather the inner senses.If our hearts are sealed and we are blind and deaf,we will surely make wrong decisions and that is what we see all around us.

Is there a corrective?Yes,there is.It is spiritual practice beginning with what is obligatory in our religion and proceeding to dhikr and wird and listening to wise ones and opening our hearts to the hidden and the invisible.There is no other way! Reason will not get us there.Psychotherapy will not get us there.Motivators like Antony Robbins and Steven Covey will not get us there!

Only proper spiritual practice and virtuous ways will get us there.For then, as a reward,Allah will cleanse our hearts to feel properly, clear our vision- to see what is real- and remove the ‘wax’ from our inner ears so we can hear ‘the ring of Truth’ when it chimes.

As I pursue my path and observe others, I see clearly that most people,no matter what I or other mystics say,still trust their minds(ideas and feelings) and act accordingly.Although this is instinctive,it is a serious error!A couple of quotes, from non-religious people, are in order: “The right answer is often the opposite of the instinctive one”-Clint Eastwood-“The Million-Dollar Baby. “All your problems come from the same place.You believe the contents of your own mind”Byron Katie. So what are the alternatives.

The first two alternatives to “mind productions” are very difficult for modern people.The first is to tap into the will of God.Not an easy matter.Most people are so stuck in their own will and desires that the true will of God is completely obscured.Many do not even accept the idea that God has Will.

The second alternative is to trust in an intermediary like a Prophet or a sheikh or a guru.Once again the modern mind is trained to rebel against authority and to want to be independent,autonomous,”free”.

For these reasons I will suggest a third method -despite knowing full well the actual resistance I will encounter-the Scientific Method.Yes,that’s right-the scientific method,the real one! That involves real observation and experimentation and genuine conclusions-not statistical analysis,demographics and peer-reviewed journals.Observation and experimentation.Simple as that.Simple but deep!

I’ll give you a concrete example.When I first started to learn about the Islamic Istikhara practice,I did an experiment.I took 10 decisions I had to make.Then I analyzed the data I had,did some research on the subject and some thinking and came to a conclusion.After that I did the Istikhara practice.And then I followed the situation to its inevitable conclusion.My analytic decision was wrong 8/10 times! That’s right-I was one out of five -a 20% success rate.And I believe I’m reasonably good  at that process.So all those wonderful decisions you make-are most probably wrong!

The Istikhara(it must be properly interpreted of course,which is another science) was inevitably right.When it wasn’t,it was due to misinterpretation!

Really folks,your whole process of making decisions is flawed!The one they taught you in school doesn’t work! Just look around you if you don’t believe me lol.You can observe it yourself.Admittedly,this takes deep observation and humility..It also takes a true open mind.

Medical Epistemology:I guess philosophy is important after all lol.My two favourite terms these days are Epistemology and Empiricism and its sister Philosophical Materialism.So my apologies to Wittgenstein and John Stuart Mills after all lol.

So( not supposed to use that word according to current anal grammarians .Another form of political correctness-this time in the  world of grammar.).And yet(probably also banned as a term lol) it is SO useful .Maybe that’s why they want to ban it! (the conspiratorial epistemology-to be unveiled shortly).So,I repeat,the current pandemic gives us a chance to examine different forms of Epistemology.Epistemology basically means “how do you get to the Truth,The Realty of any situation or question?”(same word btw in Arabic-Truth and Reality=Haqq!)

So let us examine four forms of Epistemology as applied to the Covid pandemic and  try to see their relative value.I will personalize these approaches in order to make the point more vividly and graspable.

1. The Didier Raoult paradigm-information on the ground.For those that don’t know this fascinating character from Marseilles,he is one of the first doctors to promote hydroxychloriquine as a Covid treatment-mostly based on his clinical experience at a hospital in Marseilles.He even took the trouble to document his cases and show that at his clinic ,they had reduced the death rate by about 70% by this approach.Further studies done in the right way,using HCT early in the illness with azithromycin and Zinc came to similar conclusions-anywhere from a 60-80% reduction! All of this based on examining the facts on the ground.This principle is applicable to many other situations .Ask the people who are there experiencing it.But no! The current Epistemological paradigm forbids this! It is dismissed either as “subjective” or “anecdotal” or some other disparaging term.         I was pleased to hear from my brother in NYC whose future son-in-law was himself working on the ground in a Brooklyn hospital where the doctors noticed that HCT was useful early in the illness and they were not even using it with antibiotics and zinc! But no,the CDC and WHO will hear nothing of this .They need their prospective, double-blind ,placebo-controlled peer-reviewed (i.e. non-existent studies) lol to arrive at conclusions.)
2. The Chris Martenson (peakprosperity.com) paradigm.Unlike the former paradigm  Chris is working from outside the battlefield.But he uses the on the ground workers as one source amongst others.Then he interviews people who have experienced the illness(how strange and unscientific lol!),looks at the research including the less high-profile journals and the non-statistical scientific reports.He scours the newspapers,TV Cable News and radio reports.From this vast array of sources he is able to discern the chaff from the wheat, pick out the B.S. even in hot-shot journals like Lancet and JAMA and then come to conclusions.He is almost invariably right and when he isn’t, he admits it.   Oddly enough I have seen judges in the courts using a very similar process of teasing out the reality from an abundance of sources.And in my experience, they consistently understand the Reality better than the “expert doctors” who are supposed to be the  experts in the area! That is because the doctors are using the next paradigm-the Fauci approach lol
3.  The Fauci and his acolyte Sanjay Gupta approach- also known as current scientific consensus.These people only believe in peer-reviewed,placebo-controlled,double blind prospective studies and Cochrane database metastudies and official organizations like WHO and FDA and CDC..They are very often wrong as has been Fauci all along in this pandemic.He got the mask issue wrong(not enough studies?!)the hydroxychloroquine issue wrong(looking at the wrong studies and ignoring the right ones) and the man-made nature of the virus(how he could get that one wrong is beyond me as HE was instrumental in creating it!). The problem is that most medical personnel and certainly the formal afore-mentioned institutions(WHO,FDA,CDC,NIH) are all using that paradigm! No wonder we are in such confusion and such trouble.
4. I can’t complete this abbreviated list of Epistemological approaches without mentioning the Brian Rose,Sayer Ji Plandemic conspiratorial epistemology.These people see the lies and the deceptions of the official stories of government and health institutions but go way beyond the facts into paranoid projections.So the fact that there was a 201 Event meeting of government and public health officials and businessmen organized by John’s Hopkins University  in October 2019 that simulated a pandemic to try to develop strategies to deal with such an event means for them that the pandemic was planned.Wrong! The fact that the Wuhan lab was under the control of the Chinese military means that this virus was a bio-weapon of war.Wrong again. The fact that Bill Gates screwed up with vaccines in India and Africa means that he is trying to depopulate the world so that he can better control it.Anyone with familiarity with the paranoid mind-set(I was a psychiatrist for 45 years lol) can recognize the cognitive errors in these kinds of distortions and projections.On top of it,they may be dangerous as they stir up unnecessary fear and anger in a situation where there is enough realistic fear and anger to go around already!
5. Btw, each of these types of Epistemology can be used in many other areas of life as well.As I have indicated in other articles on this blogsite-which you are free to explore.In fact,I consider myself to be an Epistemologist of Spiritual Reality and Truth.              In summary.we have all been conditioned and brain-washed into a form of Epistemology that is seriously flawed.Either we believe what the authorities tell us(Big Mistake!) or we over-use our minds and come to logical but wrong conclusions.We need to cleanse our hearts and ears and eyes to perceive correctly.And that requires a lot of inner work! God be with you.Salaams,Sufi Ibrahim