Page 44 - Eternity Has Already Begun
P. 44

ETERNITY HAS ALREADY BEGUN





                 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 is revealed in
                 the Qur'an, human beings cannot see Allah but Allah sees them.

                    Eyesight cannot perceive Him but He perceives eyesight... (Surat
                    al-An'am: 103)
                    Certainly, we human beings cannot see the Being of Allah with
                 our eyes but we know that He completely encompasses our inside,
                 our outside, our views and our thoughts. For this reason, Allah re-
                 veals Himself in the Qur'an as "controlling hearing and sight"
                 (Surah Yunus: 31) We cannot say one word, we cannot even take
                 one breath without Allah's knowing it. Allah knows everything we
                 do. This is revealed in the Qur'an:
                    Allah – Him from Whom nothing is hidden, either on earth or in
                    heaven. (Surah Al 'Imran: 5)
                    When people observe the copy world in their brains, imagining
                 that they are dealing with the original matter, that is, as they lead
                 their lives, the closest being to us is clearly Allah. 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" (Surah Qaf: 16)
                 is hidden in this fact. Allah has encompassed man all around and is

                 eternally near to him.
                    That Allah is eternally near to human beings is also revealed in
                 this verse: "If My servants ask you about Me, I am near..." (Surat al-
                 Baqara: 186) In another verse the same reality is expressed, "Surely
                 your Lord encompasses the people with His knowledge." (Surat
                 al-Isra': 60).
                    Many people continue to err by thinking that the nearest thing to
                 themselves is themselves. However, Allah is closer to us even than
                 we are to ourselves. Allah reveals this fact in these verses: "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"
                 (Surat al-Waqi'a: 83-85). But as revealed in the verse, because people


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