Al-Risala (English), September 1989
Al-Risala (English), September 1989, p. 2
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Divine Symbolism
1989 9 September 2 Divine Symbolism (372) The wonders of the world are there for everyone to see. It is just a question of keeping one’s mind open to their inner reality. One who is alive to the symbolism in the universe will find God’s radiance in everything that he beholds. He will see that every object of creation is a vehicle for God’s wisdom.
There are many verses in the Quran which tell us that, for men of keen awareness and understanding, there are signs in the universe which point to certain hidden realities. God requires man to believe in them and that is why verses such as the following were revealed:
Surely in the heavens and the earth there are signs for the faithful; in your own creation, and in the beasts that are scattered far and near, are signs for true believers; in the alternation of night and day, in the sustenance God sends down from heaven with which He revives the earth after its death, and in the marshalling of the winds, are signs for men for men of understanding (45:3-5).
It was to make the understanding of divine realities as simple as possible for mankind that God created material symbols of them in the external world. The sun and the moon, for example, show us that God Himself is the source of all radiance. The birds and the beasts demonstrate the innocence of life in the animal kingdom, thus acting as God’s representatives on this planet. The might and the greatness of God are suggested by the vastness of the sky. His mercy is brought to us by the winds and the water, and his transcendent beauty, immanent in the trees and the mountains is a marvel for all to see.
The wonders of the world are there for everyone to see. It is just a question of keeping one’s mind open to their inner reality. One who is alive to the symbolism in the universe will find God’s radiance in everything that he beholds. He will see that every object of creation is a vehicle for God’s wisdom. While the earth and the heaven are manifestations of God’s splendour, the cosmos in its limitless immensity serves as a constant reminder of divine infinitude.
