The Journey of God’s Discovery
Begins with Oneself

A person proceeds on the journey of truth very naturally. Every individual can begin his journey with his own self. For instance, once an Arab bedouin was questioned on the evidence for God’s existence. He replied: “Camel dung strewn on a path gives indication of a camel that has walked along the path. A person’s footsteps point to the course taken by him. Then why will not the sky ablaze with lightening, the earth with verdant greenery scattered all over and massive waves striking the ocean, point toward the existence of a Creator, who is subtle and well-aware?”

This conversation was an example of a common man’s reasoning for belief in God. The truth is that discovery of the Creator is so straightforward that a person can arrive at it with reference to phenomena occurring near him. One need not spend hours in the library or travel to distant lands in order to discover God. The only prerequisite is that a person must be a sincere seeker of the truth.

Someone once asked me how he could discover God. I asked him to reflect on his fingers and toes. Then I remarked that had one’s toes been the size of one’s fingers and one’s fingers the size of the toes, life would have become extremely difficult. Such profoundly meaningful planning could have only been done by an intelligent designer and sustainer. If one does not acknowledge the existence of such a Creator, then one will become deficient in understanding even the most obvious things.

Understanding God is as simple as understanding one’s own self. This is why one can discover God at the level of common sense. In today’s age, scientific findings about nature and the universe have helped in providing evidence for God’s existence in the light of modern discoveries. An indication of this had been given in the Quran in these words: “We shall show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth.” (41:53)