Page 888 - Atlas of Creation Volume 1

of state would they find themselves, once they realize that they are boasting of nothing but images in their
own minds?
In many of their dreams, they in fact find themselves possessed of grand houses, fast cars, precious jew-

els, rolls of banknotes, and loads of gold and silver. In their dreams, too, they enjoy a high rank, own facto-
ries with thousands of workers, possess the power to rule over thousands, and wear clothes that command
everyone's admiration. But just as boasting about one's possessions in a dream often subjects one to ridicule,
he is sure to be equally ridiculed in this world for boasting of images he relates to. After all, what he sees in
his dreams and what he relates to in this world are both merely images in his mind.

Similarly, when people realize the reality, the way they react to the worldly events they experience
should make them feel ashamed. Those who fight fiercely with each other, swindle, take bribes, commit
forgery, lie, covetously withhold their money; who do wrong to others, who curse and beat them, who are

full of passion for office and high rank, who envy and try to show off, who exalt themselves above all oth-
ers—all will feel disgrace when they realize that they have committed all of these deeds in an illusion.
Since God creates the entire universe and reveals it to every human being individually, the Ultimate
Owner of all possessions in the world is God alone. This fact is revealed in the Qur'an:

But to God belong all things in the heavens and on Earth: And He it is that Encompasses all things. (Surat
an-Nisa': 126)
It is hugely foolish to cast away religion for the sake of passions whose original objects one can never

reach, and thus lose eternal life.
At this point, it's important to grasp that the truth we are considering does not mean that all the posses-
sions, wealth, children, spouses, rank and position one possesses and longs for will vanish in the future, and
so are meaningless. Rather, it predicates that in fact, people have no direct contact with any of their posses-
sions. They are merely perceptions they watch from within their brains, composed of images that God shows

to test them. As you see, there's a big difference between those two propositions.
Although someone might not want to acknowledge this fact right away and would prefer to deceive
himself by assuming that all his possessions really exist, he must finally to die. When he is resurrected in the

Hereafter, everything will become clear, and "sight will be sharp." (Surah Qaf: 22) On that day, he is apt to see
everything much more clearly. If he has spent his life chasing after imaginary aims, however, he will wish he
had never lived, and say "Ah! Would that [Death] had made an end of me! Of no profit to me has been my
wealth! My power has perished from me!" (Surat al-Haqqa: 27-29) On the other hand, a wise man should
try to understand the great reality of the universe here on this world, while he still has time. Otherwise, he

will spend all his life running after dreams and face a grievous penalty in the end. In the Qur'an, the final
state of those people who run after illusions (or mirages) on this world and forget God, our Creator, is stated
as follows:

But the unbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mis-
takes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: But he finds God [ever] with him,
and God will pay him his account: and God is swift in taking account. (Surat an-Nur: 39)

Logical Deficiencies of the Materialists

From the start, this chapter has clearly stated that matter is not absolute, as materialists claim, but rather
a shadow that God creates out of nothing and whose original we can never reach. In an extremely dogmatic

manner, materialists resist this evident reality which destroys their philosophy, and bring forward baseless
counterclaims to refute it.
George Politzer, for example, an ardent Marxist and one of the twentieth century's biggest advocates of
the materialist philosophy, gave the "bus example" as the greatest evidence proving that he could reach the

original of matter. According to Politzer, even idealist philosophers run away when they see a bus about to
run them over, and this proves that they do confront the actuality of matter. 198
Samuel Johnson, another famous materialist, was told that one can never reach essential matter, and
tried to "prove" that he could make contact with the essence of stones by giving one of them a kick. 199

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