The realization of God is an intellectual discovery. No one can achieve realization just by repeating God’s name or, by meditation, training himself to silently utter the word of God spontaneously with every breath or beat of his heart. Such practices are irrelevant to attaining maarifah. They have no connection or relation with the realization of God.

There is a tradition which tells us that: “God has created man in His own image.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 6227) There is also an Arabic proverb which says: “One who has recognized himself, has recognized his God also.” (Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 10, p. 208)

This is doubtless very meaningful. It means that just as a human being has an ‘I’ (a sense of being), in the same way God has an ‘I’ on a much larger scale. The existence of this consciousness (the ‘I’) in human beings is an exception in the whole universe. While showing man’s unique status, it also proves the existence of God. Because, if there is a small exception in this universe in the form of man, this is a sure proof of the existence of a very great exception: the existence of man necessarily offers proof of the existence of God.

This has likewise been expressed in the tradition—God has created man in His own image. That is, just as God has an exceptional existence, in the same way, human beings also have an exceptional existence in the universe. If a person ponders upon this exception, he will certainly discover God, he will call out—“I am, therefore, God is!”

Source: Discovering God