Discovery of the Unseen God

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), a British philosopher, writes in his autobiography (published in 1873) that he had formerly believed in God as a matter of tradition. But once his father, James Mill, said something to him, which put an end to his belief in God. His father asked, “If God created man, who created God?”

Without doubt the greatest hurdle in achieving God-realization is that, whereas God is limitless, man’s mind has its limits. The matter of maarifah, in actual fact, is to attempt to discover a limitless being by a limited being and believe in it with total conviction. This is maarifah. Without surmounting this hurdle, no one can be credited with attaining God-realization.

The discovery of God is different from other discoveries. For instance, gravity is also a subject of discovery. But this discovery relates only to science. On this basis, no one is going to receive eternal reward. But the discovery of God entitles the discoverer to a great reward. Those who have discovered God are destined to gain entry into Paradise. That is why a price has been set on the discovery of God. Without paying this price, no one can be given credit for discovering God. This price is that with his limited mind man must encompass a limitless Being and while engaging with the seen world, he should be able to discover the unseen God. God-realization is the name of this discovery, and Paradise is its reward.