Blessings of Prayer — Page 43
43 the unlimited exercise of His control, so that at no point should His powers become dormant. 20 20 An objection might be raised that belief in the limitless wisdom of God Almighty which has the power to bring about unlimited change would result in loss of faith in the properties of things. For example, if we believe that God Almighty possesses the power to change the physical form of water into that of air, or to convert the physical form of air into that of fire, or to change the tangible appearance of fire—by means known only to Him—into the apparent form of water, or to change clay into gold or gold into clay in some stratum of the earth by exercising His subtle control over things, all this would result in chaos and all skill and knowledge would become useless. The answer to this objection is that such an idea is totally misconceived, for we see that God Almighty keeps subjecting the elements to innumerable changes through the exercise of His hidden wisdom. Just look how the earth goes through all sorts of changes and turns into countless forms. It is the earth that brings forth arsenic and its antidotes as well, and it is the same earth that brings forth gold, silver and all kinds of jewels. Similarly, the vapour that rises from earth creates all kinds of things in the sky. The same vapour that causes snowfall and hailstorm also causes lightening and thunderbolts; even ash has at times been known to fall from the sky. Do these phenomena render knowledge useless, or do they cause chaos and disorder? If you say that God Almighty has already endowed the elements with the inherent property to undergo such changes, our reply will be that we never said that the elements under question have not been invested with this inherent property. In fact, the true faith is that God Almighty, Who is One in His being, has created all things as though they are one, so that they may serve as evidence of the Oneness of the True Creator. Thus, God Almighty, in view of His Oneness and the demand of His unlimited authority, has endowed the elements with the ability to undergo transformations. With the exception of the souls—which, because of their fortune or misfortune, are destined to abide in heaven or hell according to the following verse: a and for whom the Divine design has forever determined an unchangeable nature—nothing else from among the creations is free from change. If you Contd… a Wherein they will abide for a long, long period. — Al-Jinn , 72:24 [Publishers]