What people conceive of as matter does not have absolute existence, and is in reality made up of nothing but perceptions is as remarkable as the facts that the universe was created from nothing, that existence is eternal, and that we rise again to eternal life after death. God creates the universe at every moment with its numberless details, perfect and without defect. Moreover, this creation is so flawless that the billions of people who have lived on the earth so far have not understood that the universe and everything they see is an illusion, and that they have no connection with the reality of matter.

     In the 21st century, this truth has become more evident because scientific discoveries have definitely proven that we are actually never in touch with matter. Although many people still refuse to accept this fact, it is not something that can be ignored, disregarded or rejected. On the contrary, knowing the true nature of matter is an important condition of being a realist. For this reason, it is very important for those who consider this question to grasp its significance. Some of those who read about the real nature of matter have stated that they do not understand why so much importance has been given to this question. They even say that it has no relation to faith, and ask why it has a place in every discussion about faith. However, the importance of this topic is now evident. A knowledge of the true nature of matter scares materialists because it destroys their worldview, and it is very important for Muslims to understand this truth and to try to let people know about it.

      This knowledge helps people to understand some questions about faith and must be explained as being as important as any other matter concerning faith. As a result of an explanation of the real nature of matter, people are cleansed from their attachment to the things of this world, they direct their thoughts to the afterlife, they are rescued from a grave error and they can easily grasp some truths that those errors prevented them from understanding. Someone with a materialist view of the world, or someone who has been brought up under the influence of this kind of worldview, can never understand certain questions such as, "Where is God?", "Do heaven and hell and hell exist?", "What is the nature of spirit and eternity?", "Is there life after death?". But perceiving that matter is an illusion naturally provides answers to these questions, and enables people to clearly see that God is the one absolute Being.

     When people understand what matter is, they strongly sense that everything by which they are bound to the life of this world-their desires, passions and everything that makes them forget God and the Day of Judgment-are deceptive and vain. Learning the true nature of matter is what saves people from the desires of this world. It directs them with pure hearts and sincerity towards God and saves them from the error of associating others with Him..

     This is a century in which people display arrogance, conceit and every kind of inhuman and amoral behavior. However, when they realize that they themselves, and those whom they look up to, are just shadow beings, their arrogance and conceit will be replaced by humility and gentleness.

     All these developments will be the means by which we will achieve a secure and comfortable society, in which people can live without meanness, selfishness and pitiless competition.

     Certainly, there will be one important result that will come from an awareness of the fact that we have no contact with matter, and that any idea we form of matter is an image: The collapse of materialist philosophy

     Now, we shall discuss in detail why the fact that matter is not absolute is one of the most important discoveries in history.

     The Truth About Matter Shows That God Is The One Absolute Being

     One of the most important things implied by this fact is that God is the One Absolute Being. Some people, under the influence of materialist philosophy, think that matter is absolute being. Some of these people believe that God exists, but when they talk about the existence of God, and where He is, they display their ignorance. For example, if they are asked "Where is God?", they will answer, "Show me your intelligence; you cannot. So, God is a reality like intelligence, but you cannot see it." Others say (God is surely beyond that) that God has an illusory existence like that of radio waves. According to their view, they themselves and the things they possess are absolute existence and God's existence encompasses this material existence like radio waves. However, what is illusory is they themselves and the things they possess. The One Absolute Being is God. God's existence embraces everything. Human beings are in no way absolute beings but a transient image.

     This truth is revealed in these words:

     God, there is no deity but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (The Koran, 2: 255)

     The fullness of faith consists of understanding this truth, avoiding the mistake of associating others with God and acknowledging God as the One Absolute Being. Someone who knows that, apart from God, everything is a shadow existence, will say with certain faith (at the level of Haqq-al yakin - truth of certainty) that only God exists and there is no other deity (or any being with strength) besides Him.

     The materialists do not believe in the existence of God, because they cannot see Him with their eyes. But their claims are completely invalidated when they learn the real nature of matter. Someone who learns this truth understands that his own existence has the quality of an illusion, and grasps that a being which is an illusion will not be able to see a being which is absolute. As it says in the Koran, human beings cannot see God but God sees them.

     Eyesight cannot perceive Him but He perceives eyesight... (The Koran, 6: 103)

     Certainly, we human beings cannot see the Being of God with our eyes but we know that He completely encompasses our inside, our outside, our views and our thoughts. For this reason, God reveals Himself in the Koran as "controlling hearing and sight" (The Koran, 10: 31) We cannot say one word, we cannot even take one breath without God's knowing it. Therefore, God knows everything we do. This is revealed in the Koran:

      God - Him from Whom nothing is hidden, either on earth or in heaven. (The Koran, 3: 5)

     It is very important that God watches us, sees us and hears us at every moment. Someone who realizes this, even if he does not see God with his eyes, knows that He is aware of him at every moment. For this reason, no matter what he is doing, he knows that God is watching him. Consequently, he is careful not to do anything to displease Him and will be mindful of what he does, says, and thinks. In the Koran, it is revealed that God is close to us in everything we do; that He watches us and that eludes Him.

     You do not engage in any matter or recite any of the Koran or do any action without Our witnessing you while you are occupied with it. Not even the smallest speck eludes your Lord, either on earth or in heaven. Nor is there anything smaller than that, or larger, which is not in a Clear Book. (The Koran, 10: 61)      

     Certainly God, who is Absolute Being, knows every aspect of the human beings which He has created as illusions. This is a very simple thing for God. But some in their ignorance may find this hard to understand. However, when we observe the impressions we think are the "external world", that is, as we lead our lives, the closest being to us is not an impression, it is clearly God. The secret of the verse "We created man and We know what his own self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein." is hidden in this fact. (The Koran, 50: 16) But when a person thinks that his body is composed of matter, he cannot conceive of this important reality; this is again because he thinks that the nearest thing to him is his body. For example, if this person conceives of his existence as being his brain, he does not admit the possibility that there is a being closer to him than his jugular vein. However, when he conceives of the fact that there is no such thing as matter, and that everything is a facsimile that he experiences in his mind, then concepts such as outside, inside, far and near have no meaning. His jugular vein, his brain, hands, feet, his house and his car that he thought were outside himself, even the sun, the moon and the stars that he thought were so far away, are all on the same plane. God has encompassed him all around and is eternally near to him.

A person who hugs his child, embraces his spouse and chats with this mother thinks that these people are more intimate with him than anyone else. However, God is closer to a person than this friend, spouse, children, or even himself. As it is revealed in the Koran, God is nearer to a person than his jugular vein. (The Koran, 50: 16)

     That God is eternally near to human beings is also revealed in this verse: "If My servants ask you about Me, I am near (to them)..." (The Koran, 2: 186) In another verse the same reality is expressed, "Surely your Lord encompasses mankind round about." (The Koran, 17: 60). In spite of this, people continue to err by thinking that the nearest thing to themselves is themselves. However, God is closer to us even than we are to ourselves.

     The fact that God is the nearest Being to a human being is emphasized again in this verse: "Why then, when death reaches his throat and you are at that moment looking on-and We are nearer him than you but you cannot see" (The Koran, 56: 83-85) Indeed, a person on the point of death or lying in a hospital bed may think that the closest being to him is the doctor at his bedside, his mother who is embracing him, or his friends touching him and holding his hand. But as it says in this verse, God is closer to him at that time than anyone else. Moreover, God is the single closest Being to him not only at that particular moment, but from the first moment of his existence. But, because people do not see it with their eyes, they are ignorant of this reality.

     The fact that God is not circumscribed by space but embraces all things is revealed in another verse:

     Both East and West belong to God, so wherever you turn, the Face of God is there. God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (The Koran, 2: 115)

     In another verse, God explains this reality in this way:

     It is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself firmly on the Throne. He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are-God sees what you do. (The Koran, 57: 4)

     All of this implies that God is the One, True, Absolute Existence. With His Knowledge, God embraces human beings who are shadow beings and every other thing. This fact is also pointed out in the following verse:

     Your God is God alone, there is no deity but Him. He encompasses all things in His knowledge. (The Koran, 20: 98)

     In another verse of the Koran, God warns people against being heedless:

     What! Are they in doubt about the meeting with their Lord? What! Does He not encompass all things? (The Koran, 41: 54)

 

All the acts performed by a human being belong to God. For example, a child's being able to read, a project realized by an architect, a scientist's discovery, a meal cooked in the kitchen, an artist's work... It is God who has created all of these things and brings them to be.

      Human Actions Also Belong To God

     God has created man as a shadow being with no power or will independent of Himself. This reality is revealed in this verse:

      But you will not will unless God wills... (The Koran, 76: 30)

     The great majority of human beings are unaware of this fact. They accept that God created them, but think that the work they do belongs to them. However, every action performed by a human being is created with the permission of God. For example, a person who writes a book writes it with the permission of God; every sentence, every idea, and every paragraph is composed because God wishes it.

      God reveals this very important principle in several verses; one of these verses is, "... God created both you and what you do?". (The Koran, 37: 96) In these words "... when you threw; it was God who threw... ", God reveals that everything we do is an act that belongs to Him. (The Koran, 8: 17)

     In another verse, God instructs the Prophet to take charity from believers, but in the continuation of the verse, He explains that it is really He who takes charity:

     Take charity from their wealth to purify and cleanse them and pray for them. Your prayers bring relief to them. God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Do they not know that it is God who receives repentance from His servants and accepts such acts of charity, and that God is the Ever-Returning, the Most Merciful? (The Koran, 9: 103-104)

     The great Islamic scholar Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi explains that the deeds we do belong to God:

     As for the spirits, the source of the actions that derive from them is not found in their entities. It is God alone who puts spirits and objects into action continuously. If there is nothing in the world but impressions, that means that there is nothing in reality but one being. Spirit and matters are not comprised of chosen beings and determined facts. They are comprised of divine acts; various manifestations of the almighty being. In the same way, things that are said to be finite or infinite are nothing but a single entity seen from two different points. 36

     As Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi explains, it is God who creates every deed and makes the soul of the doer believe that it is he himself who is performing it. God creates this sense so realistically in every soul that someone who throws a stone, for example, really thinks that he is throwing it himself. However, a person who is a shadow being cannot perform the act of throwing, but God makes him feel as if he is performing the act. As a result of the wonderful perfection in God's creation, a person senses this feeling intensely and actually thinks that he is holding the stone, drawing back his arm to exert strength for speed and throwing it.

     Human beings live at every moment dependent on God and, whether they know it or not, or whether they accept it or not, they are subject to God. God reveals this in this verse:

     Everyone in heaven and earth prostrates to God willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening. (The Koran, 13: 15)

Everything a person does, all the success he has won and all his talents belong to God. This reality does not change if the person is a great statesman, the richest person in the world, a beloved artist or a scientist who has made an important discovery. Everyone lives in submission to God and does what He wills.

     In this way God tests and trains every human being. Today those who cannot understand or accept this obvious reality will, when they are raised from the dead, see everything in its true light and understand that their own strength avails for nothing:

     The metaphor of those who reject their Lord is that their actions are like ashes scattered by strong winds on a stormy day. They have no power at all over anything they have earned. That is extreme misguidance. (The Koran, 14: 18)

     God is the only Being who has power over all things:

     Everything in the heavens and everything on earth glorifies God. Sovereignty and praise belong to Him. He has power over all things. (The Koran, 64: 1)

36- Ferid Kam, M.Ali Ayni, Ibni Arabi'de Varlik Dusuncesi (The Idea of Being in Ibn Arabi), p. 37

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