CAN THE UNIVERSE HELP A SEEKER REACH THE TRUTH? (2)
Spiritual Lessons from Nature
GOD created a perfect and complete world as an eternal abode for man called Paradise. Then, He wanted to know who was worthy of inhabiting that eternal world. For this purpose, He created the time-bound and imperfect abode in which we are now living. This life, therefore, is only a test. Man is constantly under the observation of his Lord. With every utterance and movement, man is writing his own eternal destiny. One who, during his pre-death period proves deserving through his conduct will in his post-death period, be rewarded with admission into the perfect world of Paradise. Others, however, will be flung into the universal junkyard, that is Hell, condemned for eternity. So, they will lose both the worlds, the present incomplete world as well as the next perfect and everlasting world.
God has revealed Himself in two books—the Quran and the universe. The Quran is a literal version of God’s word, while the universe, or nature, is a practical demonstration of it. These two are the basic sources of spiritual inspiration for a man who seeks to live a life according to the divine scheme. This dual source of divine inspiration is mentioned in the Quran in the following verse:
It was God who raised the heavens with no visible supports, and then established Himself on the throne; He has regulated the sun and the moon, so that each will pursue its course for an appointed time; He ordains all things and makes plain His revelations, so that you may be certain of meeting your Lord. (13: 2)
The universe is a manifestation of the attributes of Almighty God. It is a source of spiritual nourishment for those who want to lead a divine life on earth.
So, the Quran is like a guidebook. It prepares the mind so that one may properly understand the universe and live in it as desired by God. A true believer (momin) has precisely such a prepared mind. When he sees the universe with its various parts functioning in an absolute coherent manner, he spontaneously says: “There is no god but one God!” and when he examines it, he will find that there are so many complex happenings in its vastness. Nevertheless, he finds that every part of the universe is highly predictable. With this discovery, he realizes that it is as if God was suggesting that he himself should have a predictable character. When he observes that the various parts of the universe function with absolute harmony, he realizes that, in like manner, he should live in complete harmony with society, without hatred or malice towards anyone. When he sees the events of the universe always proceeding towards a meaningful result, he realizes that man’s life, too, must have a meaningful end. Thus he exclaims:
Lord, You have not created all this without purpose. Glory be to You! Save us from the torment of the fire. (QURAN 3: 191)
God has revealed Himself in two books—the Quran and the universe. The Quran is a literal version of God’s word, while the universe, or nature is a practical demonstration of it.
In brief, the universe is a manifestation of the attributes of Almighty God. Hence, it is a source of spiritual nourishment for those who want to lead a divine life on earth. For them, the whole universe becomes a great means of attaining spiritual perfection. This spiritual development continues incessantly throughout their earthly life. As the ultimate result of this life-long developmental process, they attain that degree of spirituality, which the Quran calls the Rabbani soul. It is such as these who, in the life Hereafter, will be told by their most compassionate Lord:
Enter the Garden! No fear shall come upon you nor shall you grieve. (QURAN 7: 49)