Sense of Sight is one of five major physical senses humans posses through which the images are cultivated into comprehensible concepts blending pre-acquired information with the new appearing information and saving it to the memory by labelling and connecting the images with data. The details could be supplied either by an external force (human language) or a self creative information (assumptions and hypnosis). However the physical world matches the conceptual system of human beings enabling them to understand more about their environment (universe), living beings, and abstract concepts which could be somehow linked to something of their perceptual potential (love, spirit, hatred, …), the information beyond that level can either lead humans to insanity or create a hallucinative world where every data is self-created. That’s why the humans have a problem with understanding the existence, or the concept of seeing God.
We, humans, confront every aspect of life with the same understanding tools which are the Human Senses, Assumptions, Science – a man-made knowledge of nature, and previous Resources (History, Books, …) which most of the time fails when it comes to understand the God. On the other hand, an ideology of people called Sufism following the mysticism (عرفان) utilize the divine knowledge (Holy Books) – according themselves, to perceive the God in a different manner through sensual approach seeing the God in everything.
The problem with the first group, who approaches with understanding tools, is with the conformity of physical tools with metaphysical concepts. As an instance, you cannot use a scissor to cut a love bond. As long as they try to understand something through experiments, it will not conform with metaphysics and that’s where problem is. We have to understand that not everything is bound to time, space, and matter.
The way, the first group approach, to find, see or understand God will never deliver any result except illusion, and delusion. The God is not bound to physical world (time, space, or matter) which is why the physical understanding tools fail to examine the God. This is where the Sufis are steps ahead of the first group in seeing and understanding the God through divine knowledge – The Holy Books specially Quran enables us to see the God in a different manner in case we are not contented in its literal meaning and and decode its 7 deeper levels. “The Quran, which is said to the commonalty, is for the purpose of ordinance, and it’s said with properties for its seekers.” Said by Shams Tabrizi.
There are two verses of Quran which are exactly to help humans understand the God. They are:
– 《لیس کمثله شیء وهو السمیع البصیر؛[۱]》(شوری ۱۱) – 《ولله الاسماء الحسنی فادعوه بها وذروا الذین یلحدون فی اسمائه؛[۲]》(اعراف ۱۸۰)
[1] Translation: The same as God is nothing and God is hearing and has sight.
[2] Translation: And for God, there are good names. Call the God with those names and abandon those who distort the Osmith (اسما) of God.
Clarification
As stated previously, the humans are not able to understand or see the God. That’s because the mental capacity of humans can only perceive things within the boundaries of physical world – the universe. The God who is the creator cannot be contained within limits which is being created by the God. That’s why God clearly mentions there is nothing alike the God. When there is nothing alike the God that the humans might have seen it, the chance of of understanding the God lessens to the lowest percentage. The mindset of humans are limited to what the evolution of man kind have collected or might collect which does not contain any information related to things we might not have confronted or imagined.
The second verse mentioned above however purposes a better way to deal with the understanding of the God which is through the Osmith (اسما) of God. One unique speciality of the Osmith (اسما) is the way they are being linked with the physical world or the humans. As an instance, one of the Osmith (اسما) of God is (شِفا) which means “cure”. The humans have always experienced illnesses which is an aspect of the physical world. The God, who cures everyone and everything, precisely have chosen this Osmith (اسما) to connect with man kind through an experience they are all familiar with. And the same rule applies to all the Osmiths (اسما) of God. Thus, the only way humans can understand the God is through the Osmiths (اسما) which are all embodied in humans and the physical world. That’s why the Sufism calls humans The Manifestations of God. Every human embodies the soul of God along with some of the God’s Osmiths (اسما). For instance, some are generous, some merciful, some powerful, some wise, and so on. The only difference is in the scale of it. The humans only manifest a minuscule portion of the God’s Osmiths (اسما). Humans are the mirrors which reflects the beauty and power of God. The existence of humans points out the existence of God. Hence, the humans should not seek the God beyond but within themselves. The God is not outside, but inside us. As it is said in Sufism, only the path inside can lead to the God. “I can see God in you.”
08-Oct-2021
Author: Basam Murtaza Tahoor
Basam Murtaza Tahoor is an English Writer. He has written many short stories, articles, and poems.
