But we must not forget that there is another side to this.  The nature around us has contributed to the purity and beauty of the world, yet what have our own actions made of it? We may have refined petroleum and made machines out of iron, but we have also filled the land and sea with corruption.  We have converted the world into an arena of smoke, noise, pollution, vandalism and war.  We have taken these things to such extremes that quite frequently there appears to be no solution to the man-made problems surrounding us.  Very little has been accomplished in our factories, and indeed, in the whole field of technology.  The world around us ac­complishes much more than we human beings do.  No problems are created by the works of nature, but man’s work is constantly bedeviled by problems.

The earth rotates unceasingly in two ways - on its own axis and in orbit,  but it does not create any noise in the process.  A tree goes to work in the way of a great factory, but it does not emit any smoke.  Daily, in­numerable creatures are dying in the sea, but they do not pollute the water.  The universe has been running in accor­dance with the divine order for billions of years, without ever having to reorganize itself, for everything about the way it is organized is so perfect.  There are countless stars and planets moving around in space: they keep to the same speed, never lagging behind, and never exceeding their set pace.  All these are miracles of the highest order.  They are far more wonderful than anything that man can create, and they happen every instant in this world of ours.  What fur­ther proof do we need that the power of a Great God lies behind this world?

When we look at the different life forms, we witness an astonishing spectacle.  Certain material objects come together in one body, and there comes into being a creature like a fish swimming through water, or a bird soaring in the skies.  Of the great variety of creatures which abound on the earth, the one of greatest interest to us is Man.  In ways that are a mystery to us, he is moulded into a well-proportioned form.  The bones within him take on the meaningful shape of the skeleton, which is covered with flesh and sealed in by a layer of skin, out of which sprout hair and nails.  With blood coursing through channels within this frame, all of this adds up to a human being who walks about, holds things in his hands, who hears, smells, tastes, who has a mind which remembers things, accumulates information, analyses it and then expresses it in speech and in writing. 

The formation of such an amazing being from inert matter is more than a miracle.  The particles of which a man is composed of are the same as that of earth and stone.  But have we ever heard a piece of earth talking, or seen a piece of stone walking around? The word miraculous is barely adequate to describe the capabilities of man.  But what else is there to this walking, talking, thinking, feeling being which distinguishes him from earth and stone? This factor – life – is.

Man has only to think of the nature of his own being to understand the nature of God.  The self, the ego in man, has an individuality of its own, which is quite distinct from that of others of his kind living here on this earth.  The ego in man is absolutely sure of its own existence.  It is the part of man which thinks, feels, forms opinions, has intentions and puts them into practice.  It also decides for itself which course of action to take.  Every human being is thus a separate personality with a will and power of his own. Believing in God is similar to believing in one’s self, since it subjects one to a similar mental process. To explain this further, Allah says in the Quran that man himself is ample evidence for his self; in the same light, one need only to look at their amazing creation to ascertain the existence of God.

People demand some miraculous proof before they will believe in the truth of God and His message.  But what further proof do they require when they have the miracle of the whole universe which has been functioning perfectly for millions of years on the vastest of scales? If the doubter is not prepared to accept such a great miracle, then how is he going to shed his doubts when he sees lesser miracles? In truth, man has been provided with everything he needs to enable him to believe in God, and then to place himself at His service.  If, in spite of this, he does not believe in God, and fails to acknowledge God’s power and perfec­tion, then it is he himself and not anyone else who is to blame.

One who has found God has found everything.  After the discovery of God, no further discovery remains to be made.  Thus, when a man has discovered God, his entire attention is focused upon Him.  God, for him, becomes a treasure which he cherishes, and it is to Him then that he has recourse for all his worldly and eternal needs.

Suppose someone eats an apple, but detects no flavor in it and receives no nourishment from it.  He might be told that he has not eaten an apple at all, but only something which looks like an apple.  The same is true of one’s realization of God.  A man who has truly discovered God will blissfully savour the essence of the experience.  Anyone who claims to have discovered God without this accompanying sense of elation has certainly made no such discovery.  He has only discovered something which he mistakenly thinks is God.  He is like the man eating a fake apple and deriving no satis­faction from it.

God’s world is a collection of atoms.  In its elemental form, it all consists of one and the same type of inert mat­ter; but God has moulded this matter into countless diverse forms: light, heat, greenery, flowing water.  He has also in­vested lifeless matter with the properties of colour, taste and smell; and everywhere, He has set things in motion, having carefully controlled this motion by gravity.  Discover­ing the God who has made such a world is much more than just acquiring a dry creed; it means filling one’s heart and soul with the radiant glow of divine light and opening one’s mind to incredible beauty and delicacy.

When we eat delicious fruits, this gives us a great sense of enjoyment.  When a handsome child is born to a couple, their joy knows no bounds.  Then what of our experience of God, who is the source of all beauty, joy and virtue? On dis­covering Him, can one remain unmoved? This is something which is hardly imaginable, for such a sublime experience must surely leave its mark on one.