The Majesty of God
Faith in Islam is based on realization of God. The greater the realization, the greater the faith. This faith is completed only when you are able to discover God in all His majesty. When a person discovers God in all His majesty, his condition becomes that which has been described thus in the Quran: “True believers are those whose hearts tremble with awe at the mention of God.” (8:2) In this matter, modern astronomy has played a great positive role. It has provided a framework for recognizing the unimaginable majesty of the Creator. With the help of this framework, one can summon up the concept of the unimaginable majesty of God, the Almighty.
Astronomy has been scientifically studied for several hundred years. The telescope was invented in 1608, and with it the Italian scientist Galileo, carried out an observation of space in 1609. Such astronomical observation went on making progress. In earlier times the telescope was installed on some mountain. Now the period of space science has dawned in which powerful telescopes have been launched into orbit in space. Now these space observatories have enabled man to observe very remote areas of the universe whose distance from the earth can only be described in terms of light years. In this way, a whole vast new sphere has come to the knowledge of human beings by which they may conjure up the majesty of God.
In this connection, there has been a recent astronomical discovery of a huge black hole. This was discovered by an electronic telescope far out in space. This black hole is capable of eating up the entire solar system. Astronomers have discovered, what they say, is the biggest ever black hole which weighs as much as 6.8 billion suns. According to the scientists, this black hole, identified as M87, is as large as the orbit of Neptune and is by far the largest and the most distant object in the nearby universe. As a point of comparison, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way is 1,000 times smaller than this one which has been observed some 50 million light years away. (The Times of India, New Delhi, January 18, 2011, p. 19)
This phenomenon, along with other such phenomena, provide a great source of realization of God. They make the power of God understandable to a formerly unimaginable extent. The hearts of those who think on such great matters will tremble at the concept of the majesty of God, and the hair on their bodies will stand on end. These scientific findings serve as reminders to man of his extreme helplessness and of God’s extreme powerfulness. Perusal of them is, without doubt, a universal source for the acquisition of high realization of God.
What is realization? It is, on the one hand, a person’s coming to understand his limitations and on the other hand, his discovery of God’s limitlessness. As a result of this discovery, the state produced within one is realization of God. For a person who has attained to this, it is as if all the doors to God’s blessings, in this world as well as in the Hereafter, have opened up to him. It is the most fortunate of men and women about whom it will be said in the Hereafter: “Enter the Garden! No fear shall come upon you nor shall you grieve.” (7:49)
