THE WORD OF GOD

The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad) The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED People have a great deal to say about other human beings but are at a loss for words when it comes to the subject of God. Why? Yes, people are storehouses of encyclopedic knowledge about human beings, but they are empty and uninformed where God is concerned. It is because they have not experienced the greatness of God. They have not witnessed the miracles of God. They are only aware of the creatures while remaining blissfully unaware of the Creator. People utter the words ‘God is great’, yet why do not they actually experience the greatness of God? People recite the words Allah-u-Akbar which means ‘God is great’ in their prayers but in practice, the greatness of others besides God dominates their lives. They do not realize that the aura of greatness surrounding humans in this world is just a façade put on for the test of humans. Those who can see through this façade will realize that no one besides God has any real greatness. Why does the greatness of other humans dominate people’s lives? Man is forced by his very nature and the circumstances in which he finds himself on earth to seek some external source of dependence. Unable to rely on his scant inner resources, he seeks a prop in life— one who will compensate for his shortcomings. Only God with His Infinite power can help us and guide us. However, since God is not visible in this world, man, wanting to see something before he believes it—usually sees other human beings and allots the greatness to them that should have been allotted to God alone.