God And The Universe

Ch 5 — God and Man / Vision of God

God And The Universe — Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.

Contents (97 chapters)

VISION OF GOD p. 239

In the books of Hadith, there is a narration by the famous Hadith-e Jibreel. One part of this Hadith is: ‘Worship God as though you are seeing Him. Or if you are not seeing Him, He is seeing you.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 50) p. 239other source

In the above Hadith, the reality of worship is explained. Reflecting on this tradition, one learns that although the direct vision of God is not possible for man, man can find God at the level of indirect vision. Although apparently, there is a difference between direct and indirect vision, in terms of reality, there is no difference between the two. p. 239original + quote

How does a person attain an indirect vision of God? The method is to contemplate and ponder over God’s creation. Although God is not visible to us in His essence and Being, He fully manifests Himself through His attributes in His creations. As it were, creation mirrors God’s attributes through which we can realize the Creator. Whoever has seen the creation has, in a way, seen the Creator. Just as someone who has seen art has, in a way, seen the artist. p. 240

In recent decades, scientists have discovered that high precision and design characterize the universe. This discovery reveals that a Supreme Mind is at work behind the universe. In the language of religion, this Mind is called ‘God.’ In the language of science, one could say that following this discovery, the existence of God becomes proven at the level of probability. In Quantum Physics, it is accepted that while probability is less than certainty, it is more than ‘perhaps.’ Therefore, from the scientific point of view, probability has acquired a status close to certainty. p. 240