REPLIES TO
OBJECTIONS REGARDING THE REALITY
OF MATTER
Objection:
"Can we never directly experience absolute existence? I am
uneasy at knowing that I exist only in a world of perceptions."
Reply:
Only God exists absolutely. Whatever else we see is a manifestation
of God. People generally assume that they and others do physically
exist, and that God permeates them, a bit like radio waves. (Allah
is surely beyond that) Yet the truth is the exact opposite of
that. In other words it is only God who exists. We must not be
deceived by the fact that we cannot directly see His Being. Wherever
anyone turns, whoever he looks at, whatever he is actually seeing
is the manifestations of God.
Furthermore, far from making someone
uneasy, this fact should give even greater happiness to anyone
who believes in God. It is a great honor that God is all that
exists and that we, His servants, are illusions. That fact is
cause for rejoicing. It multiplies the awe we feel for our Lord,
and our submission to His infinite might.
It is also an important statement
that people will naturally be freed from their worldly desires,
and that will allow them to worship God without attributing any
partners to Him. That is because saying "Something else must
exist besides God," is actually attributing an equal to Him,
and claiming that there is another power outside that of God.
However, that can never be the case with a true believer. Such
a person has no fear of anything but God. When he comes by any
strength or power, he knows that these really belong to God. When
a doctor finds a cure for his sickness, he praises God as the
One who has really supplied the cure. He knows that the doctor
is just an agent for the cure God has caused to come about.
God always creates the most beautiful
and best of everything. That fact must never be forgotten. In
one verse, God reveals:
Return to your Lord, well-pleasing
and well-pleased! (The Koran, 89: 28)
A person must always
be content with every event that God creates. In that case it can
be clearly understood how this truth we are discussing can bring
people closer to God. What is more, when the Koran is read again
with this truth in mind, the wisdom in many of the verses can be
more readily appreciated.
It is true, however, that someone
who does not believe in God, who is trapped by his worldly desires,
who has no hope of the hereafter, and who holds materialist views,
could be made terribly uneasy by this situation. It is truly disappointing
and crushing for such people to understand that all the things they
desire, all the people they assume to have absolute existence, are
really just illusions. When they understand the truth, they will
see that they have spent all their lives chasing illusions, and
wearing themselves out in vain with their desires. They will see
that they wasted their energies in denying the truth. They will
be truly saddened by that, and even humiliated.
They will also suffer grave disappointment
in the hereafter from assuming that all such illusions were truly
real.
Those
are the people who have lost their own selves. What they invented
has abandoned them. Without question they will be the greatest
losers in the hereafter. (The Koran, 11: 21-22)
Yet, the fact that
everything is an illusion, that God is all that truly exists, is
a source of great joy to anyone who accepts God as his only friend
and protector, and who genuinely loves Him.
Objection:
"Is the end of this world of perception nothingness? Can
people remain in that nothingness?"
Reply:
One of the things that prevent people from thinking about
this subject is that they are frightened of remaining in complete
nothingness. When they consider the implications of this, they
realize that what they think they touch is actually nothing at
all. However, nothing apart from the will of God can remove any
of the causes that He has created to test us in this world. These
causes will continue to be created until the moment of our death.
We will
continue to undergo such tests as feeling the hardness of a table,
seeing our blood when we cut our hand, pain, suffering, fear and
sickness. The fact that we live in a world of nothing but perceptions
will not do away with our close connection to such causes. Even
when we die, there will still not be nothingness. As God has revealed
in the Koran, we will begin a new life of different dimensions
and causes. There is no reason to think that we will end up in
nothingness. Since God has created human beings in this environment
which tests us, He will continue to provide us with perceptions.
That is in fact what He reveals in the Koran. When our perceptions
in this world cease, perceptions of the hereafter will start,
and we will never feel ourselves to be in nothingness.
Objection:
"Can someone who understands that everything is an illusion
continue to be tested in this world?"
Reply:
This is a very important subject. Some people suggest that the
test will come to an end when this truth is finally understood.
However, that is a dishonest idea. As we have already seen in
other replies, the test will continue as long as we live.
Even though
God causes us to live in this world of perceptions, He also links
the world to all its many causes and effects. For instance, when
we are hungry we eat something. We do not say, "It is all
an illusion, so it does not matter." If we do not eat, we
grow weak and eventually die. God can remove these causes and
effects whenever He wishes, for whoever He wishes, by whatever
means He wishes. We can never know when or why He will do this.
However, this is a most important truth: God charges us with abiding
by the whole of the Koran, and we continue to live in the sphere
of causes in order to abide by the divine commandments in it.
For example, God commands people to do good and avoid evil. He
orders defenseless women and children to be spared cruelty and
suffering. In the Koran God asks "Why are you not fighting
in their name?" It would be completely wrong and dishonest
to adopt an attitude rejecting these responsibilities that God
has placed on our shoulders.
On the
contrary, someone who is aware that it is God who shows him everything
that goes on will feel an enormous obligation in response to every
image he sees. Unlike many people, he will always try to support
good and prevent evil. That responsibility can never be passed
on to others, and no excuses to the effect of "Let someone
else do a bit, I've done all I can" are acceptable. Someone
who knows the true facts of the situation will say, "If God
is showing me this image, then He wants me to find a solution,
and I am responsible for doing so."
In conclusion,
everyone must do all he can to carry out the responsibilities
laid on his shoulders in the Koran. Knowing the true nature of
matter -and coming by a view of the world in accordance with that
nature- further strengthens all our efforts to gain God's good
pleasure, and increases our determination many times over.
Objection:
"Is it really true that God is everywhere? Does His sovereignty
not lie in the heavens?"
Reply:
The great majority of people believe in the existence of themselves,
matter, and the world they see around them. They think of God
as an illusion that somehow surrounds this existing matter. (God
is surely beyond that) Or, since they cannot see God with their
own eyes, they say "God must be somewhere we cannot see,
in space, or somewhere far away in the sky." That is an enormous
mistake.
God is
everywhere, not just in the heavens. As the only thing that truly
exists, God permeates all the universe, all people, and all places.
Wherever you turn, the face of God is there. It is wrong according
to the Koran to say that God's sovereignty lies only in the heavens,
because He is everywhere. As we have seen in earlier sections,
it has been revealed in several verses of the Koran that God is
everywhere, closer to us than our own bodies, and that wherever
we turn we see the face of God. For instance, He says "...
His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth..." (The
Koran, 2: 255) Another verse stresses that there is no doubt that
the Lord encircles all that people do:
"...
But my Lord encompasses everything that you do! " (The Koran,
11: 92)
As
is revealed in the Koran, God is not solely in the heavens. God
is everywhere. This truth has been given us by mean of the Koran.
The explanation
of the secret behind matter will enable people to understand these
verses better. Those people who see that matter has no absolute
existence will understand that God is everywhere, that He sees
and hears them every moment, that He witnesses everything and
is closer to them than their own bodies, and that He hears every
prayer offered to Him.
CONCLUSION: HELL IS THE HOME OF ARGUMENT
In the
Koran, God draws attention to human beings' argumentative natures,
"We have variegated throughout this Koran all kinds of examples
for people, but, more than anything else, man is argumentative!"
(The Koran, 18: 54) Most people pretend not to understand the
simplest truths, no matter how clear they are, especially if they
think these truths conflict with their own interests. They go
into unnecessary detail, ask pointless questions that can never
lead to any definitive conclusion, and reveal an argumentative
nature. On account of that character trait, most people throughout
history have argued with all the prophets and messengers chosen
by God, and put forward unrealistic arguments to oppose the clear
truth that has been given to them. The aim behind this opposition
was not a genuine desire to learn the truth, but rather a wish
to make difficulties so they could ignore it.
We must
exclude here those people who ask questions out of a genuine desire
to learn the truth, consider and understand it. Of course it is
totally reasonable and necessary to ask questions about this very
important subject, and to refer to those who know more about it,
since most people will have come across it for the first time
in their lives and it will completely change their ways of looking
at the world. It is also evident that people who ask questions
out of a genuine desire to understand are different from those
who are simply argumentative and skeptical and lack all understanding.
The people we are talking about here are those who refuse to see
the truth, and who have grown used to argument and denial.
God describes
the state of mind of such argumentative types in a verse:
They
retort, "Who is better then, our gods or him?" They
only say this to you for argument's sake. They are indeed a disputatious
people. (The Koran, 43: 58)
One of the examples
of stubborn and argumentative people given in the Koran is Pharoah.
Although the prophet Moses explained the whole truth to him quite
clearly, he asked a question that had nothing to do with what the
prophet had been saying, the answer to which could not possibly
do him any good. This is the question he asked the Prophet Moses
when told about the existence of God:
He
said, "What about the previous generations?" (The Koran,
20: 51)
It is evident
that Pharaoh only asked the question to start an argument. There
was no sincere desire to learn in it, and he thought in his own
feeble mind that the Prophet Moses would have no answer. However,
the prophet immediately understood why he asked it, and gave him
a clear reply:
He
said, "Knowledge of them is with my Lord in a Book. My Lord
does not misplace nor does He forget." (The Koran, 20: 52)
Naturally, argumentative
and denying natures are not restricted to Pharaoh and similar
types who lived in the past. A large part of people today are
always ready to start an argument about subjects that clash with
their own interests, and particularly about religion. They do
not really want to understand a subject that is perfectly obvious
if approached with a measure of honesty. This is immediately clear
from their attitudes and the questions they ask. Subjects such
as destiny and the nature of matter in particular, such as we
have been considering in this book, are some that people most
often try to ignore. For that reason, questions asked about these
subjects are often inspired by a wish to convince themselves such
things are not true, rather than a sincere inquiry into the truth.
For instance, those who ask, "If everything is an image,
what is the purpose of carrying out our religious duties?"
cannot realize what a meaningless question that is. The only reason
they suggest the fact that man is created as an image should stop
him praying, or the fact that food is an image should stop some
things from being unlawful, is simply to raise an objection, without
thinking about the matter at all. Their sole aim, which lacks
any logic, is to refuse to accept the truth.
Believers, however, immediately
accept the truth when they see it, and abide by it. They say,
"We have heard and obeyed," as the Koran puts it. When
argumentative types ask them questions, they give clear replies
without getting drawn into polemics. God has revealed that believers
give this kind of reply when questioned by those who want to have
an argument:
Say, "Do you argue with
us about God when He is our Lord and your Lord? We have our actions
and you have your actions. We act for Him alone." (The Koran,
2: 139)
Those who argue with true believers,
who refuse to understand that God is all that truly exists and
that they themselves actually belong to God, thus rejecting obvious
truths, and who question the existence of heaven and hell, the
compassion of God, and His justice with illogical questions must
understand the following: They will continue these arguments for
all eternity in hell. Koranic verses describe hell as a place
of eternal argument and conflict:
Arguing
in it with one another, they will say, "By God, we were plainly
misguided" (The Koran, 26: 96-97)
When they are squabbling
with one another in the Fire, the weak will say to those deemed
great, "We were your followers, so why do you not relieve
us of a portion of the Fire?" Those deemed great will say,
"All of us are in it. God has clearly judged between His
servants." (The Koran, 40: 47-48)
As we have seen
in the above verses, the deniers will continue to argue even in
the flames of hell. Another verse deals with those who try to provoke
believers, and cites their words:
They
will say, "Our Lord, give him who brought this on us double
the punishment in the Fire!" They will say, "How is
it that we do not see some men whom we used to count among the
worst of people? Did we turn them into figures of fun? Did our
eyes disdain to look at them?" All this is certainly true
- the bickering of the people of the Fire. (The Koran, 38: 61-64)
The souls in hell
will still continue to argue in those dark and narrow places, under
the iron cudgels and the boiling water poured over them, as their
skins melt from the heat of the flames. The pointless debates will
go on forever, and they will keep asking each other why they are
suffering these torments. They will continue to fall out over God
and the believers:
Here
are two rival groups who disputed concerning their Lord. Those
who disbelieve will have garments of fire cut out for them, and
boiling water poured over their heads, which will melt the contents
of their bellies as well as their skin, and they will be beaten
with cudgels made of iron. Every time they want to come out of
it, because of their suffering, they will be driven back into
it: "Taste the punishment of the Burning!" (The Koran,
22: 19-22)
However,
they will never be able to come to any conclusion from these debates.
Those who argued over the truth in this world, and thus ignored
it, will continue arguing in the pains of hell, in great sorrow,
which will never cease.
The
continuation of this debate among the companions of hell is a
sign that not even when they see the fires of hell will those
who do not believe come to understand the truth of what they are
talking about. They will continue to deny, even among the torments
of hell:
Those
in the Fire will say to the custodians of Hell, "Call on
your Lord to make the punishment less for us for just one day."
They will ask, "Did your Messengers not bring you the Clear
Signs?" They will answer, "Yes." They will say,
"Then you call!" But the calling of the disbelievers
only goes astray. (The Koran, 40: 49-50)
It is
clear that explanations and reminders given these people will
be of no benefit, since they will continue to refuse to call on
to their Lord even in the fires of hell and to be swollen with
pride. No matter how many examples are given them, no matter how
much proof, they still will not understand. God reveals how some
people will never believe in another verse:
They
have sworn by God with their most earnest oaths that if a Sign
comes to them they will believe in it. Say: "The Signs are
in God's control alone." What will make you realize that
even if a Sign did come, they would still not believe? (The Koran,
6: 109)
For that reason,
we must not be surprised if some people refuse to accept the truth
of what we have been discussing here, no matter how clear and evident
it is. Their stubbornness in the face of the truth is actually a
revelation from God
An increasing number of people are
coming to accept this truth, which changes people's fundamental
ideas and obliges them to have faith in God. Accepting this truth
enables people to love and willingly abide by all the features of
that pleasing morality revealed in the Koran, and removes all evil
feelings-such as competitiveness, hatred and enmity-and replaces
them with love, compassion and humility, which is the true nature
of matter. Those who say, "How is it that it took me so long
to realize a truth so obvious and simple as this?" are in the
majority.
It is very important that anyone who
understands this one truth should tell others about it. It enables
people to definitively grasp other difficult subjects, such as destiny,
time, death, the resurrection, heaven and hell. Everyone who does
this will both enable others to understand the Koran better and
more quickly, and will be a means whereby people turn rapidly to
the true path.
God has given the glad tidings that
when nothing is associated with Him, when only He is worshipped,
when only He is accepted as the one deity and the one power, then
the morality of the Koran will rule on the earth:
God
has promised those of you who believe and do right actions that
He will make them successors in the land as He made those before
them successors, and will firmly establish for them their religion
with which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear,
security. "They worship Me, not associating anything with
Me." Any who disbelieve after that, such people are deviators.
(The Koran, 24: 55)
For the morality of the Koran
to hold sway over all the world, the most important condition
is for people to believe that there is no other power than God.
The subjects discussed in this book need to be thoroughly understood
in order to get rid of such polytheistic ideas as thinking that
matter has an absolute existence outside God, that He can only
permeate matter in an illusory manner, to see God as an entity
just as abstract as intelligence, to imagine that human beings
have a power other than God, that people can change their destiny
if they choose, or that time and place are absolute. Those who
ask why the matter is so important and why we devote space to
this subject at every available opportunity in all our books,
should think some more about it.
God is the only being to exist absolutely.
He sees and hears us as we read or think about this book and knows
the secrets of our hearts. God surrounds us from every direction.
God exists absolutely. It is we His servants who are abstract.
This fact is a source of great joy and beauty to all who love
God and realize that they are His servants. It cannot be right
for Muslims to seek to avoid this truth. Muslims must accept the
truth with all their hearts, not diminish themselves in the sight
of God by ignoring it. God issues a warning to His believing servants
in the Koran:
Do
not mix up truth with falsehood and knowingly hide the truth.
(The Koran, 2: 42)
We must not forget
that the revelation of this truth will be a means whereby materialism
will be overthrown, and spirituality and pleasing morality will
rule the earth. People in materialist circles who realize this are
very uneasy when this truth is revealed, and resort to the most
ridiculous and desperate means to prevent it from reaching peoples'
ears. This is because they know it will undermine the entire basis
of their philosophy. However, the truth about matter has now been
revealed in complete clarity and openness. This truth, which used
to be just a philosophical speculation because of the lack of scientific
evidence, has now been totally validated scientifically. Frederick
Vester, for instance, who grasped the truth of the matter, has this
to say,
The
statements of certain thinkers that "man is an image,
everything experienced is temporary and deceptive, and this universe
is a shadow," seem to be proven by science in our day.
All materialist
squirming is to no avail. Now that knowledge can be communicated
all over the world in the blink of an eye, this truth that they
have tried to hide from peoples' eyes for hundreds of years is now
being read, learned and explained everywhere, from Guyana to England,
America to Indonesia, Singapore to Sweden, and even in the strongholds
of materialism, Russia, China, Cuba and Albania. Materialism is
falling apart with the greatest collapse in history. That is because
it has today been realized that we can never approach the original
of matter. We cannot know whether it exists outside our minds. It
is totally illogical to build a philosophy on something that nobody
can ever see. If we can never have a direct relationship with matter,
then there can be no materialism.
This important fact, which makes it
easier to understand a number of signs and subjects in various verses
of the Koran, completely demolishes the superstitious and antireligious
belief that is materialism. This is a major development. God states
in the Koran:
Rather
We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through
it and it vanishes clean away! Woe without end for you for what
you portray! (The Koran, 21: 18)
As is revealed
in this verse, when the truth comes to replace falsehood, matter,
which is the brain of materialism, which is a false ideology, also
disappears. No materialist has the slightest chance of holding back
or changing this fact.
