THE INVISIBLE GOD
It’s not just God; everything is in the unseen. It is not specific to God alone; everything that is to be believed must be accepted at the level of unseen.
This is the conviction Quran provides to its readers. Quran is the Book of God. The message of the prophets was based on true knowledge. The author of the Quran is One who knew what Quantum Physics was long before Quantum Physics appeared.
May God enable all of us to read the Quran correctly, to know the truth that He has declared in the Quran, to discover the wisdom contained in the Quran, and then to become true believers, to be true worshippers.
Peace is a product of a positive mental attitude, while violence is the result of negative thinking.
This is an English rendition of an Urdu speech delivered by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan on July 30, 2017.
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
My Lord! open up my heart and make my task easy for me. Loosen the knot in my tongue so that they may understand my speech.
This morning, I was sitting in front of the office, thinking about the Quran, when a verse came to my mind. This is the Book; there is no doubt in it. It is a guide for those who are mindful of God, who believe in the unseen (…). (2: 2-3) “Those who believe in the unseen,” this part of the verse got hold of my attention. I thought the words should have been something like: “Those who believe in God, Who is in the unseen.” However, this is not the case in the quoted verse.
I found this question very important. You know that there is a saying in Arabic: “To know that I do not know—it is half knowledge.” If you could set up a right question, you have got half the answer. That’s what happened to me today. The question that came to my mind was, why didn’t God say, “Those who believe in God, Who is in the unseen” instead of “Those who believe in the unseen”? There is a profound truth hidden in these words. It took thousands of years for human beings to arrive at the truth in this matter.
In previous times, the most common statement to deny the existence of God was that “God is not visible.” People used to say, “How can we believe in God Who is not visible? Our eyes believe only what we have seen. How do we believe what is not visible?” This went on for thousands of years until science discovered that nothing was actually visible. It’s not just God; everything is in the unseen. It is not specific to God alone; everything that is to be believed must be accepted at the level of unseen.
This happened thanks to the development of science in the last 400 years. You know that modern science started 400 years ago in the time of Galileo. Then science continued to move forward until a German scientist “Max Planck” discovered “Quantum Physics.” He is called the founder of Quantum Physics and was also awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Many scientists worked on it until quantum physics became an established theory in science.
What is Quantum physics? Quantum Physics, in essence, can be explained as: Nature of objects in reality is quite different from what is apparently visible. Sir Arthur Eddington, a British scientist, wrote a book published in 1929 titled The Science and the Unseen World. In it, he wrote that the table I am working on is actually a collection of electrons. We think of it as a wooden table, but on analysis, it is a collection of many electrons. Electrons are not visible. Thus, it is not just God who is invisible (unseen), all things are unseen.
Thus, from the very beginning, the Quran made clear that one has to believe in the unseen because there is nothing that is actually seen. At first, man didn’t know that he was a collection of electrons. Then, the atom and the electron were discovered. As a result of these scientific discoveries, man knew that everything in this world is unseen. What you think is visible is actually the unseen because it is a collection of electrons and electrons cannot be seen.
Under Quantum Physics, it was a great revolution in the theory of knowledge. Before that, only two things were known in the world of knowledge: certainty and perhaps. Now, a new concept was introduced through Quantum Physics: probability. This is a big revolution. The entire foundation, on which the argument for the denial of God was established, collapsed. Quantum Physics scientifically proved that probability is less than certainty but more than perhaps.
Consider again the example of the table. You observe the table which is composed of atoms. And the atoms and subatomic particles cannot be seen. You do not observe the electron. You infer the existence of electrons. Thus, probability is a reliable scholarly method, and it has been assumed that “probability is less than certainty and more than perhaps.” How great it is this truth is hidden in the above-quoted verse.
This morning, I was wondering why God said, “Those who believe in the unseen” and not “Those who believe in the unseen God?” God is in the unseen, and everything else is also in the unseen. Your mother, your son, your desk—all are hidden. Going deeper, they all are composed of electrons—water, elephants, trees, humans, etc. And there’s a great truth hidden in this verse. The universe functions on natural laws. There is truth that must be discovered in these laws.
What is science? Science is the name of discovering what is hidden in nature. If God has asked man to believe in God Who is in the unseen, it’s the mercy of God that He has made all things unseen. When you discover the universe and the laws of nature, you will know that in reality everything is unseen. If I believe this, I will have to believe in God as well. If I deny God, the whole universe must be denied.
I remember a newspaper being published from Lucknow called Nigar. Its editor was known to be an atheist. He wrote in an article: “This is the age of believing in the visible.” He was telling the people of the religion that they were asking ‘to believe in the unseen” in an age that has made manifest the laws of nature, and that only those things could be believed that were seen. But it was the physics of Newton and Galileo. Now, after research, that physics is no longer valid. Now, it is the age of Quantum Physics. Now, the whole theory of knowledge is based on “Those who believe in the unseen.” The principle which is used to believe in God is the same that is applied to prove the existence of table.
This is the conviction Quran provides to its readers. Quran is the Book of God. The message of the prophets was based on true knowledge. The author of the Quran is One who knew what Quantum Physics was long before Quantum Physics appeared. The Quran was revealed in the 7th century, and the advent of Quantum Physics came about in the 20th century. In the 7th century, author of the Quran knew what was about to happen in the 20th century.
‘We will believe in God if He is visible’, this statement is no longer an academic statement. All the facts mentioned in the Quran require thinking. To guide this thinking, a theory was formulated. It was suggested that the coherence in the Quran is the key to understanding it. This theory has no ground. Understanding the text with deep thinking and reflection is the key to the Quran.
Proponents of the theory of the ‘Coherence in the Quran’ didn’t realize that the Quran nowhere states that the key to understanding it is its order or coherence. However, the Quran does say that deep thinking and reflection on the Quran is the way towards understanding it. It’s strange that people discovered what’s not written in the Quran but failed to find what is mentioned there.
The Quran says, “Think, reflect, then you will know the depths of the Quran.” Those trapped in the theory of ‘Coherence of the Quran’ are unaware of the deeper meaning of the Quran. They are trapped in finding coherence and order between verses, between chapters, and are completely unaware of the Quran’s meaning.
Recently, I read a book by a scholar who wrote that the goal of Islam is to eradicate oppression in the world. But where is it written in the Quran? Nowhere in the entire Quran is it written that the goal of Islam is to eradicate oppression. They have discovered some ‘coherence’ in the text and thought they have understood all of the Quran. Eradicating oppression cannot be a goal of Islam. Why?
When you devise a theory that oppression is to be eradicated from the world, do you know what will happen? There is an oppressor behind every injustice. Some people are sitting in the seat of power. You are then telling them that they are oppressors. What you call cruelty or oppression is a word of your choice.
Now see that the one you call a tyrant wields power. He will retaliate. There will be a conflict between you and him, leading to another tyranny in the name of “erasing tyranny.” This is happening in many countries. This cannot be the target of Islam. Those who do not have the right way of thinking say: “This is the target of the Quran.”
There are many verses of the Quran that describe great realities. These verses could only be understood through deep thinking and reflection. That’s why I used the verses from the second chapter of the Quran. You have to raise a question. The question will bring a sense of enquiry within you, which will force you to think. Then you will come to a new reality. The real task is:
- to ask the correct question
- to find all relevant data about the question
- reflection and deep thinking on the available data
- discovery of truths through thinking and reflection
If you want to discover the deeper meanings of the Quran, learn to think, learn to reflect. I was unaware of the great truth hidden in the words ‘Those who believe in the unseen’. This verse reveals a profound truth about the universe. The Quran challenges all human beings: ‘You think that God is not visible, therefore God does not exist? You think that as you cannot see God, it means there is no God?’ This assumption has been proved as baseless. Max Planck, founder of Quantum Physics, has explained that everything in essence is unseen.
God, the Lord of the universe, created everything in such a way that a person must ponder, think, and reflect over all phenomena to arrive at truth. The whole of science is field of enquiry. The laws of nature are hidden so that a person may think and discover them. And the joy that comes from discovery is unparalleled. God made all things a matter of discovery for human beings: discover and know! Discover electricity, discover the workings of aeroplanes. Similarly, discover your Creator.
I remember a verse: I created the jinn and humankind only so that they might worship Me. (51: 56) What is the hidden truth in verse? ‘Worship’ in this verse means realization of God. (Fath al-Qadeer al-Shuqani, Hadith 5/110) It means that what’s required of man is to acquire self-discovered knowledge. Achieve this state of self-discovered realization of God and fulfil the obligations of this discovery.
God has kept all things in the unseen so that man may discover conviction, develop deep thinking, which shall give him a thrilling experience. When you discover and realize a truth, you get a thrill. If you realize the greatness of God, the Lord of the universe the same way you look with awe at Taj Mahal or other such imposing structures, this could not elicit the feeling of thrill and wonder about God. When you ponder, discover yourself, stand on self-discovered knowledge, a strange kind of thrill is created. This self-discovered realization of God is valued by God. For you to experience this thrill, things are kept in the unseen. This thrill comes to the scientist. I wrote an article in Al-Risala (Urdu version of Spirit of Islam) about an American scientist who made a great discovery. This discovery filled him with a thrill. He wanted to tell everyone about it. It was nighttime, and most of the people were in the theatre. He entered the theatre, snatched the loudspeaker, and proclaimed, “I have discovered a law of the universe!”
If you make a realization of God, the Lord of the universe in this way, you will be flooded with the emotion to share your thrilling experience with others. You will cry out, “I have to tell the world about God! O humankind, I have to tell you who the Creator of the universe is!” You think, ponder, study, until you discover God. This thrilling discovery will guide you, even in the middle of the night, you might find yourself standing up and speaking to a human being, exclaiming, I’ve discovered our Creator! Believe Him and follow His guidance.” This is the secret of the unseen. If God were like Qutub Minar and Taj Mahal, where would this thrill come from?
Such discoveries are made from the deep meaning and thoughtful study of the Quran. Therefore, the Quran is a treasure of God-realization. It is narrated in the Hadith: There is no end to the wonders of the Quran. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) How can a person discover these wonders? Through study, thinking and reflection. If God were not in the unseen, how would all this happen? If He had appeared, how could one go somewhere and see Him? God’s being in the unseen invites you to think, study, and reflect. And when, after a long process, you discover God, you cry out, “Today I have discovered the truth!”
The greatest fact is that God is the Creator of the universe. That’s where the emotion and the urge to share this discovery with others comes from. Sharing this discovery with others is not an announcement; it’s an expression of a thrilling discovery. It’s not like, “Qutub Minar was built in such and such year” or “Taj Mahal in such and such year.” This feeling is akin to fire that comes to the heart after the discovery of reality. The only thing you remember is that you have discovered that there is a Creator of this universe, and I wish to share this discovery with my fellow beings.
This verse that we have been discussing I have been reciting since childhood. I had no idea what the real import of this verse was. However, deep thinking, reflection and study guided me to discover that this verse of the Quran makes a revolutionary statement. This verse addresses people all over the world: “O people! You say, ‘I will believe in God when I see Him—so wait here for a few days, when the journey of knowledge reaches its peak, you will know that this view is wrong.” It’s not just God—all things are unseen!
Once, a gentleman joined me on my journey—I saw that whenever he got the opportunity, he would take out a copy of the Arabic Quran from his pocket and read from it. He told me that he had been doing this for fourteen years. I asked him, “What is the gist of the Quran?” Despite being an educated man, he replied, “I just recite the Arabic words. I have never given attention to its meanings.” This is not an isolated case. All Muslims do just that. May God enable all of us to read the Quran correctly, to know the truth that He has declared in the Quran, to discover the wisdom contained in the Quran, and then to become true believers, to be true worshippers.
