THE GLORIOUS GOD OF A GLORIOUS UNIVERSE
STUDIES in astronomy show that the number of stars in our Universe is as numerous as all of the sand grains on all the sea-shores of our planet. Many stars are vastly greater in size than our sun, some even being of such enormous girth that they could accommodate hundreds of thousands of suns inside them and still have room to spare. There are many other mysterious objects in the Universe more massive than a millions suns. Studies also show that our Universe is not static, but is expanding at an incredible rate, every moment in all directions. Man has yet to comprehend the vastness of the Universe.
Research has found that the laws of nature within our Universe are perfectly ‘fine-tuned’ for life on Earth. The meaning and significance of the Universe, the planning behind it and the incomparable design within it, all point towards the existence of a supremely intelligent God who created the Universe and who controls, sustains and cherishes it. Our Universe does indeed declare the glory of God. When we ponder about the realities of our existence and the glorious Universe around us, two intense emotions develop within us:
1. The emotion of gratitude and indebtedness
2. Humility and the acknowledgement of our helplessness
In this glorious Universe, is Man an orphan child with boundless, feelings of devotion, who finds no Being, to appease his desire?
By nature, Man's condition demands that there must be a benefactor for him in this Universe. If we were to open our eyes and observe the incredibly vast Universe around us, we would find that we are an extremely insignificant and helpless creation within it.
In such a Universe, when Man observes his own petty self, he feels totally helpless; more helpless than the ant that struggles to save itself when caught between waves in an ocean. Man involuntarily desires someone, who can be a benefactor for him in this vast Universe; he seeks the refuge of a Being more powerful than the powers of the Universe so that he could come under His protection and feel safe and secure.
In the present day, nationalism, political power, ethnicity and other such affiliations are nothing but different projections presented to satisfy this innate desire of Man. But this is just like presenting a statue to someone to satisfy his or her desire of a life partner. Man is in search of one such Being who has power and control over the entire Universe. To be the focus of his affections, man desires only such a Being who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. By nature, Man desires an absolute and complete God.
By nature, Man desires an absolute and complete God.
A child weeping for its mother can be consoled for a short while by giving it a toy, but the child can never be satisfied completely. Although God does not appear before us, His creation in the form of this glorious Universe is spread all around us. We can see it; we can experience it. In such a case, Man can only be satisfied with a God so exalted that this glorious Universe testifies to His glory: a God who in reality is found to be the Creator and Lord of this glorious Universe. A God any lower in stature than this can never appeal to the mind of Man. Until and unless Man finds such a God, his search will continue. Nothing else can ever satisfy this desire.
Man has disconnected himself from God, due to which he faces a sense of deprivation in the midst of abundance; Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) begins his book, The Conquest of Happiness, with the following lines: Animals are happy so long as they have health and enough to eat. Human beings, one feels, ought to be, but in the modern world they are not, at least in a great majority of cases.
This is because that modern civilisation with its grand successes has only been able to garner a small portion of what Man desires. It has accumulated the requirements of the 'body' but has failed in garnering anything for the 'soul'.
Man seeks meaningfulness, but modern civilization can only offer him material structures made of steel and stone. Man desires life, but modern civilization can only give him a lifeless statue in the mould of a man. Man desires satisfaction for his heart and mind, but modern civilization places him in a soulless, mechanical vehicle. Man desires to meet the Creator of this Universe so that he could prostrate before his Benefactor, but nowhere can he find this Benefactor in the world that modern science and technology has created. Not finding his true God, he bows down before imaginary, fabricated gods.
Man’s need for a supreme God is so intense that it is acknowledged by even those intellectuals who do not approve of the existence of God and religion. For example, Bertrand Russell writes:
If life is to be fully human it must serve some end which seems in
some sense outside human life, some end which is impersonal
and above mankind such as God or truth or beauty.
— Principles of Social Reconstruction
This is an acknowledgement of the innate urge for a God that is embedded in human nature. By denying the existence of God, modern Man has forsaken his Creator. His salvation now lies only in once again finding God, his Creator. The concept of God is interwoven in Man’s nature. The instinct for eating grass in a goat and eating meat in a cat cannot be suppressed; in the same way, God cannot be detached from the nature of Man.
Man’s life has been fashioned in such a way that he continuously lives in a feeling of dependency. This feeling of helplessness persists in every human being. It forces Man to clutch onto a support that is more powerful than him; one that can deliver him from his weakness. It is this feeling of helplessness that drives Man in his search for God. Man needs such a God before whom he can pour out his feelings of gratitude; on to whom he can entrust all his affairs; in whose faith he will find succour even at times when there is no one to help him. Man desires a God he can trust, who will grant him success after every disaster, who can remove all difficulties from his path. Man’s feeling of helplessness can never be overcome unless and until he discovers this God.
Some religions present many Gods; but this runs completely against the natural desire of man. This is because the desire for a God is a desire for such a Being that can be made the focus of his affection; and the focus of his affection can only, and always be, one, not many things. Some other religions present God in the form of a vague spirit; but man desires a God who can see a God who can hear and one who answers. Some religions present a man in the form of God; but the God that man desires can only be that God, who is greater than his own kind.
By nature, Man's condition demands that there must be a benefactor for him in this Universe.
The God that the Quran introduces us to is the One God; He is the Lord of all forms of powers; He was always there and will always remain; He has no partners; He alone created the whole Universe; He is the glory of this Universe and He alone controls and supports the entire Universe; He sees, hears and speaks; He is always ready and present to stand by anyone who calls Him; Man can communicate with Him at all times and at all places; Everything is in His power and control; He is the succour for man in his life before death and also in life after death.
Our Universe does indeed declare the glory of God. Now it is for man to discover this glorious God.
To know that you do not know is half knowledge itself.
If an ignorant person is not aware of his ignorance,
he will continue to remain in the same state.
But when he becomes aware of his ignorance,
he sets about seeking for knowledge.
In this way his awareness of his ignorance
will become the stepping-stone leading
towards full knowledge.