"allah! there is no allah but he,-the living, the self-subsisting, eternal. no slumber can seize him nor sleep. his are all things in the heavens and on earth. who is there can intercede in his presence except as he permitteth? he knoweth what (appeareth to his creatures as) before or after or behind them. nor shall they compass aught of his knowledge except as he willeth. his throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and he feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for he is the most high, the supreme (in glory)."
(al-baqara, 255)
"allah is he who created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. through the midst of them (all) descends his command: that ye may know that allah has power over all things, and that allah comprehends, all things in (his) knowledge."
(at-talaq, 12)
however, most people do not perceive allah as he is described in the above verses. they believe in some superstitions that they make up themselves. as a matter of fact, they cannot comprehend his eternal power and greatness, they think that allah is somewhere far in the universe, and does not, or rarely interferes in "earthly matters". those people are defined in the qur'an, in the verse hajj 74 : "no just estimate have they made of allah: for allah is he who is strong and able to carry out his will."
conceiving allah's power thoroughly may be the first ring of the belief chain. believers leave the distorted values of their community and deny them saying: "there were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against allah;"
(al-jinn 4)
the believers believe in allah the way qur'an describes. they examine the signs of allah in both external and internal worlds, and they start to understand the great art and power of allah. but if the believers happen to overlook allah and ponder deeply on him and on his creation, they may start to shift to the immoral beliefs of the others. allah mentions this as a potential risk in the verses about the believers who give up during the war in al-e-imran 154: "...while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, moved by wrong suspicions of allah-suspicions due to ignorance..."
a believer would never like to make such a mistake, therefore he should free his heart from everything that belongs to the belief of the ignorant and accept this real faith with all his heart as the way qur'an describes.
to fear allah, is the beginning of all. the more one fears allah, the more superior he becomes in the presence of allah. and since this has no limits, one can increase this fear if he desperately requires it from allah. qur'an gives the examples of the prophets. the believers can compare themselves with the prophets and understand that they really can increase their fear to allah.
allah wants people to fear himself as strong as can be. in order to gain that, many various ways can be found, for example; spending in allah's way, doing good deeds, taking the prophet as our example, obeying him, being attentive on the rules of allah etc.
"so fear allah as much as ye can; listen and obey and spend in charity for the benefit of your own soul and those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity."
(at-taghabun 16)
"o ye who believe! fear allah as he should be feared, and die not except in a state of islam."
(al-e-imran 102)
nothing in the universe is accidental. as qur'an tells us: "... he doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail,..." (al-rad 2). in another verse: "... not a leaf doth fall but with his knowledge:..." (al-anaam, 59). it is allah, who creates and directs all the events; how they will begin and how they will end. it is again allah who determines every movement of every star in the universe, every state of every living thing on earth, the way one will live, what one will say, what one will encounter with, as expressed in the verses:
"verily, all things have we created in proportion and measure."
(al-qamar 49)
"no misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before we bring it into existence: that is truly easy for allah:"
(al-hadid 22)
the believers should be aware of this big reality, therefore they should never act as those who deny. having understood that life is just "watching the destiny", they should never get disappointed or afraid of anything. they should be confident and sober as mohammed (saw), who tells abu bakr "... "have no fear, for allah is with us"..." (al-tawba 40) when found in the cave by the idolaters who want to kill them.
since allah is the decision-maker, every happening is in favor of the believers: because everything has been planned for the benefit of religion and for the hereafter of the believers. for that reason, believers trust and rely only on allah. he is the only protector. what a believer should do is to behave as allah wants him to: fulfilling his responsibilities but waiting to see the result, believing that it has already been planned by allah. below verses express this mystery which is unknown to unbelievers.
"... and for those who fear allah, he (ever) prepares a way out, and he provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. and if any one puts his trust in allah, sufficient is (allah) for him. for allah will surely accomplish his purpose: verily, for all things has allah appointed a due proportion."
(at-talaq 2-3)
"say: "nothing will happen to us except what allah has decreed for us: he is our protector": and on allah let the believers put their trust."
(al-tawba, 51)
what the believers should say to the unbelievers is also stated in the qur'an: "no reason have we why we should not put our trust on allah. indeed he has guided us to the ways we (follow). we shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us. for those who put their trust should put their trust on allah."
(ibrahim 12)
"if allah helps you, none can overcome you: if he forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? in allah, then, let believers put their trust."
(al-e-imran 160)
in the qur'an, it is mentioned that the unbelievers are the people who does not recognize and appreciate the signs of allah. the significance of a believer is his ability to see those signs and proofs. they know that these are not created in vain, they can realize the power and great art of allah everywhere and find ways to appraise him.
"men who celebrate the praises of allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): "our lord! not for naught hast thou created (all) this! glory to thee! give us salvation from the penalty of the fire."
(al-e-imran 191)
many times in the qur'an, there are expressions like "will you not take heed?", "...there is a sign for thinking men" which emphasize the importance of pondering on the signs of allah. allah has created an endless list of things to be the subjects of pondering. everything we see and sense is indeed a manifestation and sign of allah; so all those in heavens and in earth and in between may be a means of pondering for us. one of the verses tells:
"with it he produces for you corn, olives, date-palms, grapes and every kind of fruit: verily in this is a sign for those who give thought."
(an-nahl 11)
let's think for a while of one of the items mentioned in the above verse; for instance of the "dates". tree, as well known, grows up from a seed out of the earth. from this tiny seed (a seed is not even 1 cm3. in size), an enormous wooden mass of 4-5 meters long and hundreds of kilograms of weight, forms. the only thing that seed can use while constituting this great mass is the earth in which it is buried.
how can a seed know how to constitute a tree? how does it know to how to decompose the necessary substances in the soil to form wood? how can it predict the required shape and structure? this last question is especially important, because it is not an ordinary wooden piece that emerges out from the seed. the seed develops a complex living organism with roots for assimilating substances from the earth, with veins in itself and with branches that are perfectly organized. a human being has difficulty while drawing even a picture of a tree, but on the other hand a simple seed can produce that extremely complex object using the substances in the soil.
this observation concludes that a seed is extremely intelligent and wise, even more than us. or better to say, there is an amazing intelligence in what a seed does. but what is the source of that intelligence? how can it be possible for a seed to have such an intelligence and memory like a computer "chip"?
the chips are produced by people who have intelligence and knowledge. just like a seed, which is created by allah with the ability to develop a tree. every seed on earth is encompassed by allah and grow within his knowledge. in one of the verses it is said:
"it is allah who causeth the seed-grain and the date-stone to split and sprout. he causeth the living to issue from the dead, and he is the one to cause the dead to issue from the living. that is allah: then how are ye deluded away from the truth?"
(al-anaam 95)
seed is merely one of the numerous signs that allah has created in the universe. if men begin to think with not only their minds but also with their hearts, and asking the question of 'why' and 'how' to themselves, they can understand that all the universe is the proof of the existence and power of allah.
as we have stated at the beginning, allah has created the universe to show the signs of his creation. nothing is created in vain.
however, the unbelievers cannot understand; since they don't have the ability to "see" this purpose. as the qur'an expresses: "they have eyes wherewith they see not, ..." (al-araf 179). they do not have the wisdom and comprehension to realize the important reality with their materialistic vision.
on the other hand, believers are different than this 'blind' group because they realize and accept that the whole universe is created by allah with a certain aim and wisdom. this belief is the first step of faith. as faith and wisdom, both of which are in parallel, increase, they will start to identify every detail of allah's creation.
one of the things to be done to identify the details of allah's creation is to be careful and observant. because the ability to see the signs of allah and not to be "blind" like the unbelievers, require a high concentration.
"be quite sure that to allah doth belong whatever is in the heavens and on earth. well doth he know what ye are intent upon: and one day they will be brought back to him, and he will tell them the truth of what they did: for allah doth know all things."
(al-noor 64)
"ah indeed! are they in doubt concerning the meeting with their lord? ah indeed! it is he that doth encompass all things!"
(fussilat 54)
one should train himself to recognize the signs if allah and should always keep this in mind. otherwise, mind will start to wander, jumping from one topic to another, wasting time thinking about useless things.
mind is like water; unless it is directed which way to flow, it spreads away, to the places that you would not want it to flow. this is a kind of unconsciousness; you can not control your mind. you can not focus and concentrate on a subject. actually, you can not conceive the truth behind the events happening and also can not ever have the competence to interfere in them. on the contrary, your mind gets directed by those events. you are "bewildered" all the time which is not an attribute of a believer, but the unbelievers.
"... if anyone assigns partners to allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place."
(al-hajj 31)
believers, on the other hand, are the ones who direct their minds, try to better perceive allah and who try to better serve his religion. as expressed in the verse; the believers are the ones "who avoid vain talk;" (al-mumenoon 3). they free their mind from any useless thoughts and whenever they realize the appeal of satan, they rescue themselves just like the qur'an describes:
"those who fear allah, when a thought of evil from satan assaults them, bring allah to remembrance, when lo! they see (aright)!."
(al-araf 201)
therefore, the believers should be careful to keep their minds free of useless thoughts. thus they should always keep the ropes of what is happening around them and they should always be on guard.
all things are created with wisdom and with an inside view. there is a benefit for the believers in all the things and events that occur. because allah is on the believers' side and doesn't let them down.
the things that we come across may seem to be unfavorable for the believers at first. however one should understand that even those events, for example a plot of the unbelievers, will turn out to be something good for the believers. allah will let them realize these benefits sooner or later.
there are many examples of this kind of situation in the qur'an; the life of yusuf (joseph) is one of the most remarkable ones. in his childhood, yusuf (joseph) has been thrown down to the bottom of a well by his brothers, then he has been rescued. however, later, he has been accused of seduction and has been imprisoned, even though he was innocent. for a person that do not have the faith, these incidents may be thought as unfortunate disasters. nevertheless, yusuf (joseph) always keeps in mind that these can only happen within allah's command and that all will certainly turn out to be a goodness. this is what happens, allah turns the whole "disasters" to good; yusuf (joseph) gets released from the prison and gradually becomes one of the governors of that land.
the situation with yunus (jonah) is no different. he fled to a laden ship, then he drew lots and was rejected then he was thrown into the sea and a big fish swallowed him. qur'an informs that he was rescued and was sent to a group of people only because he glorified allah;
"had it not been that he (repented and) glorified allah, he would certainly have remained inside the fish till the day of resurrection. but we cast him forth on the naked shore in a state of sickness, and we caused to grow, over him, a spreading plant of the gourd kind. and they believed; so we permitted them to enjoy (their life) for a while."
(as-saaffat 143-148)
all these examples given in the qur'an teach us that; an event which seems to be a "misfortune" does not really happen to be so for a believer. if one puts his trust in allah, and seeks refuge in him and asking help only from him; then nothing will be "regretful" for him. allah creates some difficulties but they are only for test and to strengthen believers' loyalty and faith.
on the contrary, the opposite is valid for the unbelievers. nothing at all can be good for those. things that seem to be delightful or nice to them are indeed "misfortunes" and these will increase their torment in the hereafter. anything that they achieve unjustly are put into their record, for which they will be responsible. allah commands in the qur'an as:
"and let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which allah hath given them of his grace, think that it is good for them: nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar, on the day of judgment. to allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."
(al-e-imran 180)