Page 588 - Atlas of Creation Volume 2

We rely on our five senses to survive. We perceive only what our senses allow, and we can never succeed

in stepping out of the boundaries of our senses. The time and space we live in are similarly perceived. If our
brain cannot detect a being through our five senses, we simply say that that being has "disappeared."
Accordingly, events, images or sensations stored in our memories still exist for us—that is, they are alive,

while those that are forgotten no longer exist. To put it another way, beings and events that are not in our
memory become past events for us. They are simply "dead" and non-existent.
Yet, this holds true only for human beings, because only human beings have a limited memory. The
memory of God, on the other hand, is superior to everything. It is boundless and eternal, yet one point de-
serves mention here: The term "the memory of God" is used only for clarification purposes. It is definitely not

possible that any comparison or similarity could be drawn between the memory of God and the memory of
a human. God is surely the One Who creates everything from nothingness and Who knows everything,
down to the last detail.

Because the memory of God is infinite, nothing existing in it ever becomes lost. In other words, no living
being created by God ever vanishes. No flower fades, no drink of water finishes, no period comes to an end,
and no food is wholly consumed. In its first form as a cloud of dust, the universe is in God's sight; every mo-
ment in history exists in His sight as they once were. The stones of Stonehenge are being set in place, the
Egyptian pyramids are being constructed, the Sumerians are surveying the stars, Neanderthals eke out their

living, the Lascaux cave images are being painted, people live in Catal Huyuk, and World War IIis raging. In
the same way, societies that will live thousands of years from now exist in God's sight, even as they are build-
ing their civilizations and arranging their lives.

Eternity has begun for a being or an event by the time it is created. For instance, when a flower is created,
it is, in reality, destined not to disappear. That it ceases to become a part of one's sensations and is erased
from one's memory does not actually mean that it has vanished or died. Its state in the sight of God is what
actually matters. Furthermore, all states of this being, from its creation, throughout all moments of its life or
death, do exist in the memory of God.

Honest Reflection

All this knowledge is of utmost importance in human life. And this is definitely not any sort of philoso-
phy or school of thought, but the result of scientific conclusions that are impossible to deny. Most probably,

many readers are reflecting on these facts about timelessness and the real nature of time for the first time in
their lives.
However, one important thing must be kept in mind: God, in the Qur'an, reveals that "only those who
sincerely turn to God" (Surah Qaf: 8) take heed. In other words, only those who truly seek the guidance of

God and strive to appreciate His infinite might and His greatness will heed these explanations and have a
full grasp of these facts.
An individual may be influenced by materialism all his life. Because of this influence, he may not have
the opportunity to think about these facts with an open mind. But this does not mean he must continue to

lead his life in error. Anyone who sees the truth must no longer insist on error, but listen to and obey the
moral voice of his conscience. God states in the Qur'an that every individual must avoid being the kind of
person who sees the truth in his conscience but flees from it:

And they repudiated them wrongly and haughtily, in spite of their own certainty about them. See the final
fate of the corrupters. (Surat an-Naml: 14)
Those who see the truth and acknowledge it, if God wills, will attain salvation in this world and in the
Hereafter:
He who brings the truth and he who confirms it—those are the people who guard against evil. (Surat az-

Zumar: 33)

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