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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