Page 100 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion

God's existence embraces everything. Human beings are in no way absolute
beings but a transient image.
God reveals this truth in a verse:

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. (Surat al-
Baqara: 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 is revealed in the Koran, human beings cannot see God but God
sees them.

Eyesight cannot perceive Him but He perceives eyesight... (Surat al-
An'am: 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" (Surah Yunus: 31) We cannot say one word, we
cannot even take one breath without God's knowing it. God knows everything

we do. This is revealed in the Koran:

God – Him from Whom nothing is hidden, either on earth or in heaven.
(Surah Al 'Imran: 5)

98 MATTER: THE OTHER NAME FOR ILLUSION