Necessity of Knowing God
Why is knowing God necessary and important? What are the consequences of not seeking to know God?
Theologians have brought two arguments to establish the necessity of knowing God: the possibility of punishment in the Hereafter in case the prophets are telling the truth (preventing possible harm), and the necessity of being grateful for the blessings that God has given the humans, which is only possible after knowing Him (necessity of gratitude to the Provider). Throughout history, human’s attention to God and his innate desire to identify the origin of existence have increased the importance of knowing God.
Importance of Knowing God
Identifying the origin of existence has always been one of the concerns of mankind, and a major part of various religious sources has been devoted to the description of God and his relationship with humans and the world. The importance of knowing God can be considered in terms of its effects on the individual and collective life of humans. There is no doubt that the life of a person who knows God is fundamentally different from that of a person who does not believe in God.
There are even fundamental differences in the lives of two God-believing people who have different images of God. All this is because a person’s belief in God and his perception of His attributes impact various aspects of his life, motivations, intentions, judgments, and actions. In other words, belief in God and perception of His attributes give a special meaning to life and bring a person a special character and identity.
Necessity of Knowing God
A basic level of knowing God is embedded in human nature (fitra) and is mixed with their existence. This innate knowledge only prepares the ground for the growth and excellence of humans in knowing God. However, in order to further emphasize the necessity of knowing God, Islamic theologians have mentioned some arguments proving the necessity of knowing God.
Prevention of Possible Harm
Every person who knows about the existence of divine prophets and their call to worship God has a possibility in his mind that if the prophets are truthful in their call, he will be punished for not following the instructions given by them, and consequently, great harm will be inflicted on him. On the other hand, intellect dictates that one should avoid harm or punishment as much as possible, even if there is only the possibility of that.
Therefore, when there is a possibility for every human being to be punished for not complying with religion, and since intellect deems it necessary to prevent the harm caused by disbelief, it dictates that one should research and reflect on the existence of God and His attributes so that if there really was a God and the call of the prophets was true, he could save himself from the divine punishment by following their instructions.
Necessity of Gratitude to the Provider
There is no doubt that human beings enjoy many blessings in their lives. On the other hand, the human intellect considers gratitude to “the Provider” (of blessings) a necessary thing. Therefore, it is necessary for humans to be grateful to the provider of blessings, and since the gratitude to a being depends on knowing him, human reason dictates that one should try to know the true benefactor, God.
Note
- This article is mainly taken from "ضرورت خداشناسی" on Persian wikipasokh.