The first chapter deals with the epistemological description of various types of knowledge. It is important to have an outline of how knowledge is acquired before we can shape our world view. This chapter compares revealed knowledge i.e. Quran with other branches of knowledge like science and philosophy. Throughout this book Quran has be quoted to provide basis of different opinions. Quran is an argument itself and needs no other proof to be accepted. The validity of Quran will be discussed in chapter 4.
The second chapter deals with the description of God as explained by Imams of ahlulbayt(as), Muslim theologians, philosophers and mystics. It is important to know what is meant by what God is before answering the question whether He exists or not. We cannot prove or disprove existence of something without first describing what it is.
The third chapter deals with philosophical arguments about existence of God. How by using pure reason, we can show not only that God exists but in fact God is the only reality that exists and everything else is just a manifestation of His existence.
Chapter 4 deals with two of the greatest signs of God, i.e. the Quran and Prophet Muhammad(saw) and his pure progeny. Uniqueness of Quran, its language and how this speech could not have come from any human being will be discussed. The second part of this chapter will narrate anecdotes from lives of Prophet Muhammad(saw) and the Imams of ahlulbayt (as) to highlight nobility of their character and mannerism which itself is an argument for monotheism.
Chapter 5 deals with questions about God’s knowledge and His acts. This chapter lays the foundation of how God plays an active role in nature and in our personal lives.
Chapter 6 discusses the reality of this life and the life to come after death. Without a clear understanding of how afterlife is linked with this life we cannot comprehend the philosophy of this life and role of religion in it.
Chapter 7 discusses what is the purpose of creation, our role in this world and what are we supposed to achieve from this life? What is the ultimate goal of our existence?
Chapter 8 discusses practical aspects of monotheism. Monotheism is not just for philosophical discussions but is a practical ideology to live by. The degree of belief is monotheism is reflected in our actions.
Chapter 9 discusses how love in addition to the intellect soars us towards our perfection. Sometimes it is the logic of love which supersedes the intellect to bring out the best in us.
Chapter 10 deals with history of human thought from the time of Babylonians, through the philosophy of ancient Greece, Islamic/Arab science and culminating in the scientific revolution of the West. It describes how some have replaced idol worship done by the ancients with the worship of god of science.
Chapter 11 deals with the relationship between reason and revelation and describes when applied correctly these guide towards the same reality. This chapter tells us how reason is insufficient for us to be moral and how revelation raises the bar for our morality.
Chapter 12 deals with the non-believers and discusses reasons why some people end up losing faith even though may have advance degrees in science or philosophy.
Chapter 13 discusses modern understanding of the universe in light of physics and its inability to explain how universe could have come into existence on its own. It also briefly discusses the metaphysical aspect of reality which lies beyond the physical universe.
Chapter 14 discusses the theory of evolution by natural selection and the evidence in support of it. A critique of scientific evidence is discussed to show how broad conclusions are drawn from this theory without actually having solid empirical evidence to back these tall claims. This chapter also discusses philosophical and spiritual aspects of human existence and presents a viewpoint about descent of Adam(as) and start of human race.
Chapter 15 discusses relationship between religion and spirituality. It also touches upon religious pluralism in the context of Islam.
Chapter 16 discusses how revelation tells us about existence of other intelligent beings besides mankind and how that changes our perspective about ourselves.
As described above, the book gives a monotheistic world view from the perspective of Islam. It is not a comparative study of different religions to show what they say about God, rather it covers many questions in relation to Monotheism and gives answers from the perspective of Islam. It heavily relies on Quran and teachings of Shia imams(as). It also draws concepts from the philosophy known as "Transcendent theosophy or al-Hikmat al-Muta'liya", developed by the most prominent Muslim philosopher in the past four hundred years, Mulla Sadra Uddin Shirazi. The book also contains many mystical insights and ethical points. It is a fast-paced book which is covering a lot of topics. At times the content may appear dense and complicated. Some of the points have been repeated at more than one place. If some areas are difficult to follow, that reflects my inability to covey the meaning properly, for which I hope you overlook my shortcoming. Please attempt to read difficult parts more than once or refer to the references for more in-depth study. I hope people can gain something from reading this book.
Syed Hasan Raza Jafri , Houston, Texas Rabiul Awal (1439AH), November 2017