Discovering the Truth

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH The critical aspect of the creation plan of God is that man has been created with total freedom. Paradise is the reward for those who use their freedom correctly. Man is a truth-seeking being. I have personally experienced this myself. From childhood, I have desired to search for the Truth somehow or the other. In the year 1942, this desire became particularly intense. At that time, my condition was such that I would go off into the wilderness and, in solitude, would cry out, “O God! When will you come? Till when shall I wait for your arrival?” Finally, I got the answer to this in a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. According to this Hadith, God said: “I was a hidden treasure. I wanted to be known. Therefore, I created man.” (Kashf al-Khafa by al-’Ajluni: 2016) According to this statement, the purpose of man’s existence is to attain a realization (maarifah) of his Creator. Moreover, as a reward for this realization, he will be rewarded with a place in eternal Paradise in the Hereafter. The period of man’s life before his death is the period to acquire this realization, and the post-death phase of his life is the period to live a life of comfort and peace in eternal Paradise if he proves eligible for this. How Can We Realize God? Realization of God is no easy matter. It is a challenging campaign. This is because an element of doubt is present in every single component of this world in the pre-death period of life as we are on a test here. In this world, nothing is bereft of doubt. In the pre-death phase of life, man’s task is to draw apart the curtains