QURAN: A GUIDE TO LIFE AND BEYOND

predicament of all atheist philosophers and thinkers. In the absence of true knowledge their conclusions have been like those of a man, fumbling in the dark, and just hazarding wild guesses as to the nature of his surroundings, without ever truly understanding it. There have been people in this world who have devoted their entire lives to the quest for Truth, but who, in their desperation at being unable to find it, have even taken the extreme step of putting an end to their lives. And then there have been others who sought the Truth, but having failed to find it, settled for a concocted philosophy based on pure conjecture. While the latter, mistaking conjecture for reason, compiled their conclusions and presented them to the world as Truth, the former saw speculation for what it was, rejected it, then—anguished at their own ultimate helplessness—opted out of this mysterious world. Both groups were denied True Knowledge, for, in reality, no one can understand the secret of life without the help of the original Keeper of the Secret—God. True, man has been given the capacity to think and understand. But this capacity is little better than an eye, which can see only so long as there is some external source of light. In pitch darkness, this selfsame eye cannot see anything whatsoever. Only when a light is switched on does everything become clearly visible. The human intellect, like the eye, needs the light—the light of God’s revelation—if it is not to grope in the dark forever. Without God’s revelation, we can never arrive at the truth of things. The Quran presents to us the knowledge about God. It not only speaks about His existence but also paints an incredibly vivid picture of the Being who sustains and directs the universe. Not only does it tell us about the Hereafter, but describes also the Day of Judgement so graphically that its horrors become deeply etched on our consciousness. There is a well-known story of a Greek artist who painted such a realistic picture of a bunch of grapes that birds would come and peck at it. Just think that if a painting executed by an ordinary mortal could have such an extraordinary effect, what heights of consummate artistry could not be reached by the Lord of the universe in the Quran? Could any mere mortal truly appreciate the perfection of such art? The Quran presents to us the knowledge about God. It not only speaks about His existence but also paints an incredibly vivid picture of the Being who sustains and directs the universe.