Seeing the Inner Reality of Things

Seeing the Inner Reality of Things I n August 1962, when the Russian space traveler Andriyan Nikolayev returned to earth from his journey in space, he addressed a press conference in Moscow, where he exclaimed: When I landed on earth, I wanted to kiss it! This world is suffused with innumerable favourable things for a person to avail of. No other place anywhere in the known world affords the same sort of favourable things. When Nikolayev travelled far into space, he was simply awestruck! There was nothing there in the huge expanse that could provide human beings solace and comfort. After this experience, when he landed on earth, he realized the value of this planet, in exactly the same way as when one is very thirsty one realizes the value of water. The world, along with all its many favourable possibilities, appeared so very precious and lovable to him! This is what is termed as ‘making something a deity’ in the terminology of Islam. A human being does not see the Creator directly, and so he makes a created thing his deity. But a true believer is one who passes by external things and reaches to the inner realities, who realizes that all visible things are actually created by the invisible Creator. He knows that everything in the whole cosmos has been brought into being by some immensely great Being. Such a person, on seeing the myriad created things of the universe, is led to the