Through Force or Faith? — Page 217
Chapter 5 — Faith and Reason: Islamic Perspective 217 He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He knows all things full well ( S u rah al- H ad i d, 57:4). However, He comes near those who try to get near to Him and away from Satan. He reveals Himself to those who sever their ties with ego and strive to lose themselves in God. Therefore, despite God being transcendent He is Immanent as can be understood from these verses: َو ِهّٰلِل ُقِرْشَمْلا َو ُبِرْغَمْلا١ۗ اَمَنْيَاَف اْوُّلَوُت َّمَثَف ُهْجَو ِهّٰللا١ؕ َّنِا َهّٰللا ٌعِساَو ٌمْيِلَع To Allah belongs the East and the West; so whithersoever you turn, there will be the face of Allah. Surely, Allah is Bountiful, All-Knowing ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:116). َو َوُه ْمُكَعَم َنْيَا اَم ْمُتْنُك١ؕ َو ُهّٰللا اَمِب َنْوُلَمْعَت ٌرْيِصَب … And He is with you wheresoever you may be. And Allah sees all that you do ( S u rah al- H ad i d, 57:5). Quran tells us that God is the light and luminance of the Earth and Heaven: ُهّٰللَا ُرْوُن ِتٰوٰمَّسلا َو ِضْرَاْلا١ؕ Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. … ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:36). However, Him being manifest in this world is not direct. Instead, He has kept a veil of secrecy between Himself and his servants, which He does not remove for every ordinary person. However,