Page 190 - Allah is Known through Reason

losophy that denies the existence of Allah and causes it to collapse. This
is the reason why materialists like Marx, Engels, and Lenin felt panic,

became enraged, and warned their followers "not to think about" this con-
cept when they were told about it. These people are so mentally deficient
that they cannot even comprehend that perceptions are formed inside the
brain. They assume that the world they watch in their brain is the "exter-
nal world" and cannot comprehend obvious evidence to the contrary.
This unawareness is the outcome of the little wisdom Allah has given
the disbelievers. As Allah says in the Qur'an, the unbelievers "have hearts
wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears
wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle – nay more misguided, for
they are heedless (of warning)." (Surat al-A'raf: 179)
You can explore beyond this point by using the power of your personal
reflection. For this, you have to concentrate, devote your attention, and
ponder on the way you see the objects around you and the way you feel
their touch. If you think heedfully, you can feel that the intelligent being
that sees, hears, touches, thinks, and reads this book at this moment is only
a soul and watches the perceptions called "matter" on a screen. The per-
son who comprehends this is considered to have moved away from the
domain of the material world that deceives a major part of humanity, and
to have entered the domain of true existence.
This reality has been understood by a number of theists or philosophers
throughout history. Islamic intellectuals such as Imam Rabbani, Muhyiddin
Ibn al-'Arabi and Mawlana Jami realised this from the signs of the Qur'an
and by using their reason. Some Western philosophers like George
Berkeley have grasped the same reality through reason. Imam Rabbani
wrote in his Maktubat (Letters) that the whole material universe is an "illu-
sion and supposition (perception)" and that the only absolute being is
Allah:
Allah… The substance of these beings which He created is but nothingness…
He created all in the sphere of senses and illusions… The existence of the
universe is in the sphere of senses and illusions, and it is not material… In
reality, there is nothing in the outside except the Glorious Being, (Who is
Allah). 40

190 Allah is Known Through Reason