All these facts bring us face to face with a very significant question.
If the thing we acknowledge to be the material world is merely comprised of perceptions
seen by our soul, then what is the source of these perceptions?
In answering this question, we have to take the following fact into
consideration: matter does not have a self-governing existence by itself. Since matter is
a perception, it is something "artificial". That is, this perception must have
been caused by another power, which means that it must in fact have been created.
Moreover, this creation should be continuous. If there was not a continuous and consistent
creation, then what we call matter would disappear and be lost. This may be likened to a
television on which a picture is displayed as long as the signal continues to be
broadcast. So, who makes our soul watch the stars, the earth, the plants, the people, our
body and all else that we see?
It is very evident that there exists a supreme Creator, Who has created
the entire material universe, that is, the sum of perceptions, and Who continues His
creation ceaselessly. Since this Creator displays such a magnificent creation, he surely
has eternal power and might.
This Creator introduces Himself to us. He has created a book within the
universe of sensations He has created and through this book has described us Himself, the
universe and the reason of our existence.
This Creator is Allah and the name of His Book is the Qur’an.
The facts that the heavens and the earth, that is, the universe is not
stable, that their presence is only made possible by Allah’s creation and that they
will disappear when He ends this creation, are all explained in a verse as follows:
It is Allah Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest
they cease (to function): and if they should fail, there is none - not one - can sustain
them thereafter: Verily He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir,
41)
As we mentioned at the beginning, some people have no genuine
understanding of Allah and so they imagine Him as a being present somewhere in the heavens
and not really intervening in worldly affairs. The basis of this logic actually lies in
the thought that the universe is an assembly of matter and Allah is "outside"
this material world, in a far away place. In some false religions, belief in Allah is
limited to this understanding.
However, as we have considered so far, matter is composed only of
sensations. And the only real absolute being is Allah. That means that it is only Allah
that exists: everything except Him are shadow beings. Consequently, it is impossible to
conceive Allah as a separate being outside this whole mass of matter. Allah is surely
"everywhere" and encompasses all. This reality is explained in the Qur’an
as follows;
Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the
Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the
heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth?
He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall
they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the
heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is
the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Surat al-Baqara, 255)
The fact that Allah is not bound with space and that He encompasses
everything roundabout is stated in another verse as follows:
To Allah belong the east and the West: Whithersoever ye
turn, there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, all-Knowing. (Surat
al-Baqara, 115)
Since material beings are each a perception, they cannot see Allah; but
Allah sees the matter he created in all its forms. In the Qur’an, this fact is stated
thus: 'No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision" (Surat al-Anaam,
103)
While we watch these sensory perceptions in the course of our lives,
the closest being to us is not any one of these sensations, but Allah Himself. The secret
of the following verse in the Qur’an is concealed in this reality: "It was We
Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are
nearer to him than (his) jugular vein." (Surah Qaf: 16) Another verse relates the
same fact: "We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about."
(Surat al-Isra, 60).
On the other hand, it is impossible for man, who is nothing but a
shadow being, to have a power and will independent of Allah. The verse "But Allah has
created you and your handwork!" (Surat as-Saaffat, 96) shows that everything we
experience takes place under Allah’s control. In the Qur’an, this reality is
stated in the verse "When thou threwest, it was not thy act, but Allah's."
(Surat al-Anfal, 17) whereby it is emphasised that no act is independent of Allah. Since a
human being is a shadow being, it cannot be itself which performs the act of throwing.
However, Allah gives this shadow being the feeling of the self. In reality, it is Allah
Who performs all acts. So, if one takes the acts he does as his own, he evidently means to
deceive himself.
This is the reality. A person may not want to concede this and may
think of himself as a being independent of Allah; but this does not change a thing. Of
course his unwise denial is again within Allah’s will and wish.