Allah and the Universe (4/4)

Allah in all His divine messages to mankind commands us to contemplate His universe and seek His signs and portents. Why does He command us to do this? Certainly,  He would not have asked us to do so, if He had known  that  there  was a single  sign in the  universe  that  could  testify  against  His unity  and  His  supreme  powers.   Surely,   a  person   who  is doubtful  about  what he designs or makes  does not insist on your  inspecting  it  thoroughly   and  will try  to  distract  your attention   from  discovering  its faults.  In contrast,   a person who is sure of his skill and the perfection of his work will be only too eager not to hide anything.  This is the case with Allah's universe.  He commands us to look into it and explore its harmony and flawlessness because He is sure of its perfect order.

We are told in the Qur'an to contemplate creation and the universe, because in them are signs and portents in which Allah reveals His unity and His all-compassing power. As there  are signs in the creation  of man,  so are there  portents in the  creation  of the  earth  and  the  heavens.  About these portents Allah says:

"We shall show them Our portents  on the horizons  and within  themselves  until  it will be  manifest  unto  them that  it is the Truth…" (Surah Fussilat, 41:53)

If Allah  were  not  truly  the  architect  of this universe  and did not know its secrets and how it functioned,  or if He were uncertain   about  its perfection,   would  He have commanded us to examine  it and  explore  it? But, being its Creator and being certain of its perfection,   He challenges mankind to find any flaws in its structure and functions.

This  challenge  to  mankind   to  ponder   on  the  process  of creation   could  not  have  been  made  unless  the  challenger were  Allah  Himself,  Who  has wisely and  purposefully   put these   signs  into   the   universe,   and  is  manifested   in  the obedience  of nature  to His eternal  will.

When we ponder on this, we soon come into contact with Allah’s greatness.  This,  indeed,  should  be the ultimate  goal of man: to let his searching  and inquisitive  mind explore  the marvels of Allah's  universe  and to try to discover for himself his  inability to harmonize    with   it  without   surrendering himself  to his Creator.   But man has willingly accepted the trust.  About this Allah says:

"Lo!  We  offered  the  trust  unto  the  heavens  and  the earth  and the hills, but they shrank  from bearing  it and were  afraid  of it.  But man undertook it.  Lo! he has proved a tyrant and a fool."  (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:72)

What  is meant  by this  verse  is that  all other  creatures, except  man,  declined  to undertake the responsibility  of the trust  (the free  choice between  good and evil) and were wise enough to surrender  their will entirely to Allah's  perfect will. They knew that submitting their will and freedom of choice to Him would give them more happiness and spare them the pitfalls of choosing between good and evil, lest they betray the trust.  But man, being audacious and ignorant, failed to realize this, and in his foolhardiness accepted and betrayed the trust. The result is that a portion of mankind has become hypocrites and non-believers,   thereby bringing punishment upon themselves.   Thus  man,  because  of his  audacity  and ignorance,  wronged  himself when he volunteered  to bear the burden   of  the  trust  and  accepted   the  freedom   of  choice offered  to him by Allah.

To explain the above, let us suppose that an acquaintance has  come   to  you  at  the   beginning   of  each   month   and deposited  with you  a certain  sum of money  and asked  you to keep it for him in trust for a certain  period  of time.  When he  comes  at the  end  of that  period  to  claim his money  he discovers that you have squandered  it on your pleasures  and have  nothing  to give him.  This is what man has done with Allah’s trust.  For He had bestowed upon him of His bounty in abundance   and told him to enjoy what He gave him,  but at the  same time  had  cautioned  him not to use His trust  to corrupt  the  world.  Thus  man  was told  not  to  steal,  not  to disobey  His commands  and not  to be unjust.  But man was too foolish to assume the trust and freedom of choice.  Satan has found in man's freedom of will a convenient access to his soul, and has been able to corrupt it. With this freedom of will man was also made accountable   for his decisions to Allah, for any breach of the trust carried its own punishment.

All  the  divine  messages  which  Allah  has  conveyed  to mankind have laid  down  the   right  way  which  is  to  be followed. But the  trust   which  man   alone   from   Allah's creatures  has willingly undertaken   has given him the option to  do  or  not  to  do,  to  obey  or  to  defy  the  will of Allah, because  when  Allah  said  to  man,  "This  you  must  do,  and this  you  must  not,"  He  did  not  force  him  either  way,  but left  him  to  make  his own  decision. None of Allah’s other creation have been given this free will. The sun for instance, is not free to set or rise as it pleases, nor are the moon and the stars. Even the angels have not been granted this freedom of choice and will.

How did man exercise this freedom?   Indeed, as Allah predicted,   man failed to honour the trust.  In his ignorance he missed the right path,  denied  his Creator  and substituted heavenly   bodies,   stone  idols,  beasts  and  all  other   things which he thought  were capable  of helping him or influencing his destiny,  thereby  surrendering   himself to the devil. In his ingratitude,   he spurned  the divine messages which were sent to him  to  show him the  right  way to the  good,  secure  and rewarding  life. Instead  he began  setting  down his own laws to  suit  his  own  ambitions   and  desires   and,   as  a  result, disrupted   his  own  life  and  subjected   the  human   race  to misery,  hardship  and Allah's  wrath.

Allah has vividly summed up in the following verse how Satan is able to infiltrate man’s soul and tempt him into surrendering   it to its volition:

"But the devil whispered to him, saying: O Adam!  Shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that wastes not away?"  (Surah Ta-Ha, 20:120)

In  fact, Satan   has  used  the  two  things  that   are  most tempting   and  alluring  to  man,  which  are  eternal   life  and inexhaustible wealth.  Man has always longed to live forever, to maintain his youth and never grow old, and to amass all the wealth his hands could seize. 

It is through these two desires that Satan finds easy access to man's soul. In fact it was this lust for eternal  life and endless wealth that prompted man  to  invent  his own idols,  hoping  that  they  would  ward, off  evil  and  sickness  and  guarantee   him  wealth.   It  is this same  avarice  which stirs man's  hypocrisy  and idolization  of authority,  power and human talents,  in the hope of maintaining sustenance  and health.  The truth is that these man-made idols are incapable of inflicting any harm or doing any good to anyone of Allah’s creatures.  

It is the  fear  which  Satan sows  in  the  hearts  of  the  unfaithful   that  renders   them  so weak  and so insecure  that  they begin to seek the  assistance of other  creatures,   or  for  the  same  reason  to  believe  that their  destiny  is governed  by someone  other  than  Allah.

Indeed this false belief in powers other than Allah is the result of fear that can only dwell in the heart in the absence of faith.  A person  whose  heart  throbs  with faith in Allah's incomparable   power  knows no such fear, nor seeks any help other  than that of Allah,  Whom he knows is always watching over  him,  ready  to  answer  his  pleas  and  protect   him.  In contrast,   only  those  who  are  enticed  by lust  and  ambition which  they  cannot  satisfy  by  legitimate   means  are  always eager  to  seek  ways  and  means  other   than  those  that  are decreed  by Allah.

To explain  this,  let us imagine  that  I am a rich man who covets  someone   else's  fortune   and  plans  to  possess  it  by illegitimate   means  despite  my  conviction  that  such  an  act breaches  the standards  of a virtuous and happy life as decreed by  Allah.   This   forbearance  is  intended  to  protect   me, because  I am only one  member  of a whole  society,  and if I allow myself to defraud  someone  else of his property,   and I make  a habit  of it, then  every  other  member  of the  society should  be  allowed  to  defraud  me.  This is the reason why Allah has disallowed such practices. If I reflected  on these divine injunctions  for a few moments  I would soon reach the conclusion  that they were decreed  to spare me Allah's  wrath and  damnation,  and  to  protect   my  own  possessions.   But Satan  knows  of my lust for wealth  and how much  I long to possess   the  other   man's   property   and  is  ready   with  his soul-stealing   stratagem.  

Yet  though  Allah  has  warned  me and informed  me of Satan's  strategy  and the way he enters the  souls  of  men,  so  that  I  may  guard  myself  against  his tempting  tactics,  I knowingly  disregard  His cautioning,  give myself up to my ambition  and lust, stifle my conscience  and defraud  the  unwary  man. 

But  as soon  as the  deed  is done and my hunger  for the other  man's  property  is satisfied,  my inner   soul,  which  has  seen  Allah   and  known   Him  well, suddenly  awakes,  begins to torment  me and displays before my mind's  eye the  magnitude  of the misery  I have brought upon  myself in this world  and the awesome  damnation  that awaits me in the  Hereafter.   I might  try to  look  for  reasons to justify my wickedness  and ease my anxiety and stifle it by clinging to some made-up  excuse,  or dismiss as improbable any divine punishment.

The following example may explain what is actually meant in the above lines. If we introduced   a youth  to a very pretty woman  and  told  him that  she was his for the  night,  but  at the same time showed him a burning furnace  in the backyard and told him that in return  for that night's pleasure  he would be  hurled  into  the  furnace,  would  he  accept  the  offer?  Of course not!

Divine  punishment   is hidden  from  us,  being  one  of the unseen  truths,  so Satan  makes  use of this to gain access to our  souls. By persuading  us that  there  is no punishment  for the  rebel,  nor  reward  for the  righteous,   we are tempted  to embark  on the road  to sin. Once man has embarked on this path he gives his lust full reign and becomes obsessed with the glitter of the world and all its material wealth and power, heedless of what awaits him at the end of his journey.  Such a  miserable  traveller   finds  his  only  support   and  ease  of conscience  in his denial  of Allah's  existence.  But  the  mere fact that  he is in constant  struggle with himself and attempts to cultivate  his doubts  is, in itself,  the unconscious  proof  of the  existence  of Allah,  for no one  can deny what  does  not actually  exist.