MARY—Auntie! There is a general saying; ‘Seeing is believing’. If we see a thing we believe in it. If we cannot see God how can we believe in His existence?
BUSHRA—This maxim ‘Seeing is believing’ is not always true. Sometimes our perception is wrong. For example in a hot desert we see water nearby but it turns out to be a mirage. Moreover, there are numerous things, which we believe exist, even though we do not see them with our eyes. Even within the sphere we occupy, things like TV signals, radio waves, and many other kinds of radiations exist and can be used to our advantage, but they cannot be seen with our eyes nor can they be heard with our ears or felt with our hands.
Similarly, no one can deny the existence of pain, sorrow, happiness, hope and so on, yet these are not visible to us.
According to major religions of the world, God is present everywhere. He is limitless, but our faculties are limited. We, therefore, cannot fully understand the nature of that which is limitless.
MARY—If we cannot understand the nature of God fully, how can we believe in Him with full conviction?
BUSHRA—There are many things which we do not understand completely, yet we believe in them. For example the majority of us do not fully understand the nature of radiation, which carry radio and TV signals, yet we believe in their existence.
Again, most of us do not fully understand the complexities of modern day technology such as computers, yet we all believe that they exist and work for us.
The important thing to remember is that there should not be any contradiction in our beliefs.
We are surrounded by mysteries, revealed through the study of nature, which we have to believe in even though we do not understand them completely. On the other hand we can never believe in contradictions.
We should remember that the image of God in His attributes as propounded by the Holy Quran, has no contradiction, nor is there any contradiction in His creation i.e. the entire universe.
If we, therefore, fail to fully understand the nature of God, it does not logically imply that we must reject His existence.
MARY—Thank you auntie, now I am beginning to understand the real concept of God. I hope that you do not mind us asking such questions.
BUSHRA—Not at all, it is my pleasure to tell you as much as possible about our Beloved God, Who created all things, big and small, and provided for the existence of everything He has created.
SALMA—Mum! It is nearly teatime. Shall I make a cup of tea for you?
BUSHRA—Yes, that would be lovely. Let us all enjoy a cup of tea and then we will continue our discussion.