Allah The Exalted — Page 103
All a h the Exalted 1 0 trated through heaven and earth, could not get rid of their doubts and suspicions and became involved in all types of errors and wandered far afield in their absurd fanta- sies. If they thought of the Being of the Creator, they proceeded only thus far that observing the great orderli- ness of the wise system they imagined that it should have a Creator. It is obvious, however, that this idea is incom- plete and this understanding is imperfect, for to say that this system needs a God is not equal to saying that God in fact exists. This was only their conjectural understand- ing which cannot bestow satisfaction and contentment upon the heart, nor can it entirely remove doubts. This is not a cup which could quench the thirst of complete un- derstanding which is inherent in man's nature. In fact, such imperfect understanding is very dangerous, for after a great deal of noise it leads to nothing. So long as God Almighty does not affirm His Existence by His word, as indeed He has done, the mere observa- tion of His handiwork does not afford satisfaction. For instance, if we see a room which is bolted from inside, our first reaction would be that there is someone inside who has put up the bolts for it is impossible to put up the bolts from outside. But if over a long period no one from inside should respond to repeated calls, we would have to abandon our assumption that there is someone inside and we would imagine that there is no one inside and that the bolts have been put up through some clever device. This is the case of the philosophers whose understanding does not go beyond the observation of God's work. It is a great mistake to imagine that God is like a corpse which has to be brought out of its grave by man. If God has to be dis- covered through human effort, all our hopes of such a God are vain.