Page 102 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion

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. (Surah Qaf: 16)

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
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) 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, some of them are ignorant of this reality.

100 MATTER: THE OTHER NAME FOR ILLUSION