DISCOVERING THE TRUTH
The critical aspect of the creation plan of God is that man has been created with total freedom. Paradise is the reward for those who use their freedom correctly.
Man is a truth-seeking being. I have personally experienced this myself. From childhood, I have desired to search for the Truth somehow or the other. In the year 1942, this desire became particularly intense. At that time, my condition was such that I would go off into the wilderness and, in solitude, would cry out, “O God! When will you come? Till when shall I wait for your arrival?”
Finally, I got the answer to this in a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. According to this Hadith, God said: “I was a hidden treasure. I wanted to be known. Therefore, I created man.” (Kashf al-Khafa by al-’Ajluni: 2016) According to this statement, the purpose of man’s existence is to attain a realization (maarifah) of his Creator. Moreover, as a reward for this realization, he will be rewarded with a place in eternal Paradise in the Hereafter. The period of man’s life before his death is the period to acquire this realization, and the post-death phase of his life is the period to live a life of comfort and peace in eternal Paradise if he proves eligible for this.
How Can We Realize God?
Realization of God is no easy matter. It is a challenging campaign. This is because an element of doubt is present in every single component of this world in the pre-death period of life as we are on a test here. In this world, nothing is bereft of doubt. In the pre-death phase of life, man’s task is to draw apart the curtains of doubt and see the Truth. Despite doubts, he should obtain a state of complete certainty.
A veil of doubt is placed over everything that exists in the world. As soon as a person takes birth in this world, he finds himself in a jungle of conflicting thoughts. Man is confronted with all sorts of philosophies of life that can leave him utterly confused. There are dogmas of religions and other worldviews, and each religion or ideology claims it is true. Each person nurses a storm of emotions and desires inside him, which are a hurdle in acting rationally. Everyone is entangled in family attachments and social bonds. Everyone is guided by self-interest. Everyone is so caught in the web of wealth and relationships that he does not know what to do or what not to do.
Only someone who can develop objective thinking can realize the Truth in such a situation. He should develop the ability to lift and remove the curtains of doubt and see Truth as Truth and falsehood as falsehood. He should see things as they indeed are. Along with this, he should be able to accept willingly what he knows to be true. If he realizes something is right, he should accept it unhesitatingly. Changing the direction of his life, his aim should be to attain self-discovered Truth.
The means to remove the curtain of doubts that man is confronted with is just one: knowing and understanding God’s creation plan. This creation plan explains things so that all doubts are removed, and the Truth is made evident, like the sun appearing bright and shining after the dark clouds have moved away.
