Satisfying Hearts – Part 5

Recap: We all want to make sure that what we believe in is the truth. We do not want doubts to overtake us. Although, the existence of doubt is good but we need to overcome it. How can we overcome doubts? If we pay attention to the Quranic verses carefully, they can help us overcome doubts. If you want to confirm what you really believe in (with your heart and intellect), you have to look and interact with creation. The verses explicitly or implicitly encourage us to investigate by stating: “Look at things, how are they made?” The purpose of the Quran is:

• To teach us why the things exist as they are.
• To help us connect with the Creator.

Belief in God lies in our observation of the universe. We gather evidences to confirm the truth that the Scripture is calling us towards:

• We have an Owner, we are here on a purpose and our responsibility is to educate ourselves by studying the creation in the universe.

The purpose of our existence has nothing to do with adding any value to the already existing universe. Our selfish interpretation of our own existence prompts us to study the universe for worldly benefits only. That is why we need to seriously think about our purpose of existence here in this universe. The purpose of our being here in this universe is:

• To get to know who our Lord is.
• To introduce our Lord to our human qualities.

When we interact with the universe, it is an opportunity for us to get to know the qualities of the Creator manifested in the universe. We should use our profession or school subjects to get to know our Creator.

Our creation with endless needs is perfect. To satisfy our needs, we ought to interact with the universe. Example: when we are hungry, we eat food. We are not created to eat food. On the contrary, we are created to acknowledge the Source of the food that we eat.

There are no cracks in the universe. It means that creation is taking place perfectly and consistently; every action is pointing to its Creator only. Nothing in this universe can sustain itself and is independent from its Maker. We cannot find one exception to prove it wrong.

Creation is inevitable for us to observe. If you want to make sure about your conviction in your belief in the Creator, there is only one way: it is consulting the witnessing of the creation which is in front of you. We are all endowed with the qualities to experience and confirm the universe.

“How” (kayfa) verses encourage us to study the universe and have a satisfied heart. We cannot rely on our dreams to achieve satisfaction in our existence. Although, the existence of dream is not created haphazardly but it a sign that nothing happens accidentally. Dreams are one of the signs teaching us that there are unimaginable kinds of creation in this universe. Everything happens in a perfectly organized order. They are not a source of knowledge that we can trust.

Verse #1: “Have you not seen HOW your Lord extends the shadow, and if He willed, He could have made it stationary? Then We made the sun for it [His work] an indication.” Furqan (25):45

Quran claims to be the speech of the Creator. It is the Creator‘s responsibility to tell me that He creates. It is my responsibility to confirm that He creates. Quran speaks to us as the guide in order for us to investigate it as the truth. The Creator of the universe, God, is disclosing Himself to human beings and we have to confirm it through experiencing the universe.

• Is it my Lord who is extending the shadow or is it the movement of the earth causing so?
• This text implies that the Creator is causing the movement.
• How can I believe it?
• Now, we investigate.
• The sun is made to emit light; it cannot be the cause of the movement organizing the relation between itself and the earth and the galaxy of which it is a part.
• The verse is drawing our attention to the movement in creation.
• If the universe was static, then we will not be able to extract any meaning out of creation.
• What amazes us is how the things are perfectly moving in a certain way?
• The earth is moving but it does not have the ability to make a movement by itself. The earth is made to rotate.
• Nothing is happening arbitrarily.
• The earth, the sun and every particle in this universe do not have any knowledge or “Conscious Will” of their own. They are all subject to a “Conscious Agent” other than themselves.
• Every creation in this universe (including ourselves) is subject to the order of the universe.
• As we study the qualities in creation, in reality we study the manifested qualities of their Maker.
• The objects themselves cannot be the Source of their actions. Is there anything in the universe moving unconsciously without being subject to the rule of the Conscious Order Giver of the universe? We know that the objects are unconscious, but the motion prevailing in the universe demonstrates consciousness!
• In this verse, the Speaker is urging us to think about the continuous movement in the universe: Is there any time that the shadow does not change its position? No.
• The motion of the universe is constant, continuous and ceaseless.
• Nothing is static for even a fraction of a second.
• We cannot find any moment in the universe where objects are acting independently; they altogether demonstrate a consciously organized order. All these dependent objects themselves cannot be responsible for the meaningful order of the universe.
• Everything in this universe is continuously at motion and declares:
• “I cannot sustain my own being.”
• “I am subject to a constant change.”
• “This constant change is subject to a “Conscious Will” that controls the whole universe”.
• If everything is subject to change, they cannot be their Creator; but they exist. How can we explain their existence then?
• If we cannot be the Sustainer of our own existence, then we cannot create ourselves because we are dependent.
• If I am dependent on a “Conscious Agent”, I cannot create something else either.
• In order for anything to give existence to itself, it would have to exist “first” in order to create itself.
• Hence, I cannot attribute my existence to myself.
• To conclude, “There is nothing self-sustaining in the universe”, we need to first establish the methodology within ourselves:
• In the universe, I observe that objects exist and they are not sustaining their own existence.
• Nothing is self-sustaining its own existence (lailaha)
• There must be a “Conscious Agent” giving existence to the objects. (illallah)
• The One who gives existence should not be of the same nature as the objects. He must be self-subsistent.
• Belief in God must be my logical conclusion (a priori) of this universe.
• When something is self-sustaining, it means that it is not of the nature of this universe. Necessarily, we conclude that the Creator of this universe must be Absolute.
• We cannot define “Absolute” in terms of this universe. The nature of His existence cannot be described.
• Although, we cannot comprehend the nature of the Qualities, Attributes of this Absolute Source of the universe, the Qur’an’s mentioning the Names of the Creator (asma-ul-husna) helps us realize His qualities manifested in the universe.
• There are no accidents in this universe. Everything is consciously organized.
• This shows us that there is an Absolute Being creating this order. He must be the One who organizes everything, gives motion to everything, and teaches us who He is: The Sustainer, The Order Giver, The Gracious…
• How can we have a satisfied heart about believing in what is unknown to us?
• Look at the motions in the universe. Motion is the most striking evidence for anyone looking for the meaning of their existence.
• Motion is the source of acknowledging The Creator.
• Hadith describes that God is time. Time symbolizes the constant motion and we can find the traces of God’s Qualities in this constant motion where the act of creation takes place.
• Lesson: We have to reflect on creation (including our own existence) which is in continuous motion. Example: merging of light into day, separation of the oceans, mountains crumbling, resurrection…
• This is an invitation for us to go and investigate the universe.
• If you were to summarize the whole Quran in one sentence, you say: lailaha illallah
• You cannot have a satisfied heart if you are not convinced.
• Belief is your personal conclusion without any doubts.
• You can comfortably conclude that this objects that are subject to constant motion cannot be the creators of themselves (lailaha) therefore, they altogether are given existence by the One Who creates the universe in its entirety (illallah.)

VERSE#2: “Do they not look at the sky above them?- HOW We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?” Qaf (50):6

• “Look at the sky”.
• This is a claim from The Speaker saying that He has made the sky. He is challenging us to investigate the universe and come up with any other Source besides Himself that can create the sky.
• Now, we investigate the whole universe to see if there is anything in the universe which is the cause of existence of the sky.
• The sky is subject to continuous change and a perfect motion. It is in a harmonious, integrated and perfectly arranged order.
• This universe consists of particles and these particles cannot be the Source of their own existence as long as they are in the universe.
• We cannot find any flaws in the creation of this universe, not even one exception. “Cannot find any flaws” means here “any thing which contradicts to what the Qur’an claims that they are all dependent on their Creator, God.”
• Just by studying one particle, we conclude: any particle/object which cannot be the “source” of its own existence cannot be the “source” of existence of anything.
• Any conclusion that we reach concerning the universe must be a universal conclusion:
• The Creator is Absolute.
• If your existence needs an Absolute Creator, nothing can be apart from the Absolute.
• Nothing can escape the Absolute Creator.
• We cannot explain the existence of anything in this universe if we do not ascribe it to an Absolute Source.