Page 258 - For Men of Understanding

rior nature of His creation and His omniscience, Allah shows us this material
universe in the form of an “illusion,” “shadow,” or “image.” As a consequence
of the perfection in His creation, human beings can never reach the world out-
side their brains. Only Allah knows this real material universe.
Another interpretation of the above verse is that Allah constantly maintains
the images of the material universe that people see. (Allah knows best.) If Allah
did not wish to show the image of the world to our minds, the entire universe
would cease to exist for us, and we could never reach it.
That we can never directly contact the material universe also answers the
question of "Where is Allah?" that preoccupies a great many people.
As mentioned at the start, many cannot comprehend Allah's power and so,
imagine Him as present somewhere in the heavens and not really intervening

in worldly affairs. (Allah is certainly beyond that.) This logic is based on the
assumptions that the universe is an assembly of matter and Allah is "outside"
this material world.
However, just as we can never reach the material universe, neither can we
have full knowledge of its true essence. All we know is the existence of the
Creator Who brought all these things into being-in other words, Allah. To
express that truth, great Islamic scholars like Imam Rabbani have said that the
only absolute being is Allah; and that all the rest, except Him, are shadow enti-
ties.
That is because the world we see is entirely in our minds, and to directly
experience its counterpart in the external world is totally impossible.
That being so, it would be wrong to imagine that Allah is "outside" of a
material universe that we can never attain.
Allah is surely "everywhere" and encompasses all. This reality is explained
in the Qur'an as follows:
... His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and their
preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent.
(Surat al-Baqarah: 255)

What! Are they in doubt about the meeting with their Lord? What!
Does He not encompass all things? (Surah Fussilat: 54)
The fact that Allah is not bound with space and that He encompasses every-
thing roundabout is stated in another verse as follows:
Both East and West belong to Allah, so wherever you turn, the Face
of Allah is there. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-
Baqarah: 115)

Material beings cannot see Allah; but Allah sees the matter He created in all

256 For Men of Understanding