God's Creation and the purpose of life can be viewed from another perspective altogether. It can be viewed simply from the perspective of the Seen and the Unseen. All of God's creation can be categorized as belonging to one of these two worlds. Belief too, can be viewed from this perspective. When one says "I am a Believer", isn't he really saying he believes in both the Seen and the Unseen? And when someone is a disbeliever, isn't he really saying he doesn't believe in the Unseen (or at least in the Unseen world as described by the Qur'an)?
The Seen world is not only what we can 'see' with our eyes, but includes what we can sense through our five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. It also includes what we can detect through the technology our minds were given the ability to develop such as ultrasound, infrared, X-rays (and the entire electromagnetic spectrum), subatomic particle detection (e.g. neutrinos), and the list goes on.
The Unseen world is the world which can never be detected by us in this mortal life. This includes God Himself, His angels, the Jinn, the Heavens (other than the first level of heaven which is the universe we live in), Hell, other Unseen forces only God knows, and our very own souls. When a Believer makes a prayer for example, he is really asking God to use His forces of the Unseen world to help him in the Seen world. The disbeliever, by definition, cannot make a prayer because he doesn't believe in the Unseen.
God is the Controller of both the Seen and the Unseen worlds. Control means to direct and regulate.
In the Seen world, humans understand some of the directions and regulations assigned to it by God. We call these the Natural Laws of the Universe or Scientific Laws. Every discipline of science has identified laws, theories or principles that govern and apply to that realm of science. And of course, we are also seeking the 'Unified Theory of Everything' which seeks to unite all known scientific laws. God says 'He has made the Heavens and the Earth for the benefit of mankind'. This partly means He has given man the intellect to understand the laws by which He regulates the Seen world, and that we can use this understanding to our benefit by developing technologies to harness it, and in so doing, seek His bounty.
The Unseen world however, is something man can never harness by science. The Unseen world is directed and regulated by another set of laws altogether, laws we do not know and only God knows. However, God has given us clues on how to call upon the Unseen for our benefit through revelations given to the Messengers. Since it is Unseen, the only way we can call upon it, is through Faith and Prayer. It is my belief, that the firmer the faith of an individual, the more the Unseen world will respond to his prayers. The Believer has a big advantage over the disbeliever. The believer can call upon the full might of God's Creation; he can use both the Seen and the Unseen worlds to help him. Whereas, the disbeliever can only harness the Seen world. The two are not equal.
There is a defined relationship between the two worlds: The Unseen world can observe the Seen world, but not the other way round. Although we cannot see God, the angels, the jinn...they can see us. As the Qur'an says (paraphrased), 'the Jinn can see us from a place where we cannot see them'.
Why then did God create the Seen and the Unseen worlds?
This can be partially answered. On the Day of Judgement, the Seen world will disappear, and the Unseen world will appear. Only the Unseen world will remain. This is The Great Irony: That which we can see will no longer be, and that which we cannot see, will be. The purpose of the Seen world is only for man to accumulate Unseen things for the Unseen world. And what are the Unseen things? They are our deeds and the intention behind those deeds. Everything else perishes and only these survive.
Can you see a deed that's already been done? Can you touch it? Taste it? Smell it? Hear it? Can you develop an instrument that can detect a deed? How about the intention behind the deed? No, you cannot. The deed and its intentions therefore meet the criteria of the Unseen. And since all that can be 'seen' will disappear, our souls and the deeds they accumulate will be all that remain, since they are already part of the Unseen world.
When viewed from this perspective, we can see the Seen world is truly a game. That we are truly deceived to think that the purpose is only the Seen world itself. And that the Seen world is truly illusory because it is temporary. The Unseen world is the true life. It is real now, and it will continue to be real for eternity after the Seen world ceases to exist.
I feel sad for the disbelievers, who spend their entire lives searching for pleasure, of one sort or another...for something that is so short lived...at the expense of what really matters; our eternal life waiting for us in the Unseen world.
The Seen world is not only what we can 'see' with our eyes, but includes what we can sense through our five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. It also includes what we can detect through the technology our minds were given the ability to develop such as ultrasound, infrared, X-rays (and the entire electromagnetic spectrum), subatomic particle detection (e.g. neutrinos), and the list goes on.
The Unseen world is the world which can never be detected by us in this mortal life. This includes God Himself, His angels, the Jinn, the Heavens (other than the first level of heaven which is the universe we live in), Hell, other Unseen forces only God knows, and our very own souls. When a Believer makes a prayer for example, he is really asking God to use His forces of the Unseen world to help him in the Seen world. The disbeliever, by definition, cannot make a prayer because he doesn't believe in the Unseen.
God is the Controller of both the Seen and the Unseen worlds. Control means to direct and regulate.
In the Seen world, humans understand some of the directions and regulations assigned to it by God. We call these the Natural Laws of the Universe or Scientific Laws. Every discipline of science has identified laws, theories or principles that govern and apply to that realm of science. And of course, we are also seeking the 'Unified Theory of Everything' which seeks to unite all known scientific laws. God says 'He has made the Heavens and the Earth for the benefit of mankind'. This partly means He has given man the intellect to understand the laws by which He regulates the Seen world, and that we can use this understanding to our benefit by developing technologies to harness it, and in so doing, seek His bounty.
The Unseen world however, is something man can never harness by science. The Unseen world is directed and regulated by another set of laws altogether, laws we do not know and only God knows. However, God has given us clues on how to call upon the Unseen for our benefit through revelations given to the Messengers. Since it is Unseen, the only way we can call upon it, is through Faith and Prayer. It is my belief, that the firmer the faith of an individual, the more the Unseen world will respond to his prayers. The Believer has a big advantage over the disbeliever. The believer can call upon the full might of God's Creation; he can use both the Seen and the Unseen worlds to help him. Whereas, the disbeliever can only harness the Seen world. The two are not equal.
There is a defined relationship between the two worlds: The Unseen world can observe the Seen world, but not the other way round. Although we cannot see God, the angels, the jinn...they can see us. As the Qur'an says (paraphrased), 'the Jinn can see us from a place where we cannot see them'.
Why then did God create the Seen and the Unseen worlds?
This can be partially answered. On the Day of Judgement, the Seen world will disappear, and the Unseen world will appear. Only the Unseen world will remain. This is The Great Irony: That which we can see will no longer be, and that which we cannot see, will be. The purpose of the Seen world is only for man to accumulate Unseen things for the Unseen world. And what are the Unseen things? They are our deeds and the intention behind those deeds. Everything else perishes and only these survive.
Can you see a deed that's already been done? Can you touch it? Taste it? Smell it? Hear it? Can you develop an instrument that can detect a deed? How about the intention behind the deed? No, you cannot. The deed and its intentions therefore meet the criteria of the Unseen. And since all that can be 'seen' will disappear, our souls and the deeds they accumulate will be all that remain, since they are already part of the Unseen world.
When viewed from this perspective, we can see the Seen world is truly a game. That we are truly deceived to think that the purpose is only the Seen world itself. And that the Seen world is truly illusory because it is temporary. The Unseen world is the true life. It is real now, and it will continue to be real for eternity after the Seen world ceases to exist.
I feel sad for the disbelievers, who spend their entire lives searching for pleasure, of one sort or another...for something that is so short lived...at the expense of what really matters; our eternal life waiting for us in the Unseen world.
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