Reflections on The Existence and Unity of The Creator-1

 

By Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

 

Creatures come into existence easily and, although of various kinds and species, resemble one another in many ways. They are spread out on the earth with perfect order and display a perfect proportionateness and equipment. As this demonstrates on a broad scale the necessity of an All-Wise Maker’s existence and His Unity and the perfection of His Power, the creation of innumerable, different well-composed compound beings out of simple lifeless elements also testifies, to the number of those beings, to the necessity of that All-Wise Maker’s existence and points to His Unity, and those beings show as a whole the perfection of His Power and His Unity in a most brilliant way.

Also, there is an infinite degree of differentiation and compounding within infinite profusion. For example, while seeds and roots exist under earth in extremely confused position, they are amazingly distinguished in growth, and like the particles of food entering the body in confusion being separated and shared out among organs and tissues with perfect measure and wisdom, the particles going into trees in confusion are distinguished and distributed among leaves, flowers and fruits. This shows the necessity of the existence of that absolutely Wise, Knowing and Powerful One and His Unity and the perfection of His Power. Also, it demonstrates the grandeur and perfection of His Lordship that, making the world of particles into a boundless, vast field, He sows and harvests it every moment with perfect wisdom and obtains fresh crops of different worlds from it, and causes those unconscious, powerless and ignorant particles to perform innumerable, systematic functions just as if they were extremely learned, conscious and capable.

Thus a large window is opened onto knowledge of God through these four ways, and they display the All-Wise Maker to the mind on a large scale.

Now you unhappy, heedless one! If you do not want to see Him in this way and recognize Him, free yourself of your reason so as to become like an animal and be saved!

The testimony of all the Prophets, upon them be peace, who are those with luminous spirits among mankind, based on their manifest and evident miracles, the testimony of all the saints, who are those distinguished with their illumined hearts, relying on their wonder-making and spiritual discoveries, and the testimony of all the purified scholars, who with their enlightened minds rely on their researches and quests for truth, to tie necessary existence and Unity of One, the Creator of all things, and the perfection of His Power, form a truly vast and enlightening window, through which the position of His Lordship shows itself continually.

O you helpless denier! Who do you rely on so that you do not heed those people? Or, by closing your eyes in the daytime, do you imagine the world to be in darkness?

The worship performed by all beings in the universe evidently demonstrates an Absolutely- Worshipped One. Those who penetrate the world of spirits and the inner dimension of things and meet with the angels and spirit beings, testify that all spirit beings and angels worship an Eternally- Worshipped One in perfect obedience, and all living beings are observed to be performing duties in perfect order in a manner resembling worship, and all inanimate things evidently render services with perfect submission in a like manner. As all this shows the necessary existence and Unity of a True Object of Worship, so too the true knowledge of all gnostics, which bears the weight of consensus, and the fruitful thanks of all the thankful, and the blessed recitations of all those who recite God’s Names, and the praises, which cause the increase of Divine bounties, of all those who praise God, and the pronouncements and descriptions of Divine Unity, based on decisive proofs, of all those who believe in it, and the true love of all lovers of God, and the true will and desires of all those who seek Him, and the earnest searching and inclinations of all those who turn to Him, all demonstrate the necessary existence and Unity of that Eternally-Worshipped One, the One Who is Recognized, Mentioned, Praised, One Beloved, Desired and Sought, and the perfection of His Lordship.

Also, the acceptable worship and supplications of perfected people, and the spiritual radiance, visions and illuminations resulting from them, again demonstrate the necessary existence and Unity of that Everlasting and Eternally-Worshipped One and the perfection of His Lordship.

Thus these three aspects open up a broad, light-giving window onto Divine Unity.
And He sends down water from the heaven and brings forth with it crops and fruits as provision for you, and He has made subject to you the ships so that they sail through the sea by His command, and He has made the rivers subject to you; and He has made subject to you the sun and the moon, both pursuing their courses, and He has made subject to you the night and the day; and He gives you of all that you ask Him. If you were to count God’s bounties, you could not enumerate them.

The mutual helping and solidarity of beings in the universe and the fact that they respond to one another’s call for assistance show that all creatures are trained by a single Instructor, are administered by a single Director, are at the disposal of a single Disposer, and are the servants of a single Master. For through a universal law of mutual helping, the sun cooks the things necessary for the lives of living beings on the earth by the command of the Lord, and the moon acts as a calendar, and light, air, water and sustenance hasten to the assistance of animate beings, and plants hasten to the assistance of animals, and animals and plants together hasten to the assistance of human beings, and even the members of the body hasten to the assistance of one another, and the particles of provision hasten to the assistance of the cells of the body. This most wise and generous mutual assistance among those unconscious beings, and their responding to one another’s needs and their supporting one another under a law of munificence and grace, a law of compassion and care and a principle of mercy, demonstrate, clearly and evidently, that they are the servants, officers, and creatures of a unique One of Unity, a peerless, Eternally- Besought-of-All, an Absolutely Powerful, Absolutely Knowledgeable, Absolutely Merciful and Compassionate, Absolutely Generous and Munificent, Necessarily-Existent One. So, 0 you who are bankrupt of good reasoning and sound judgement because of materialistic philosophy and scientism! How do you respond in the face of this mighty window? Can chance have a hand in this?

 

Fountain Magazine: Issue 21 / January - March 1998