The Sixth Matter: Sciences speak of God each in its own tongue

 

 

The following is a brief indication of one of the thousands of the universal proofs of the pillar of belief in God, many of which, together with explanations, can be found in the Risale-i Nur.

In Kastamonu some high-school students asked me: “Tell us about our Creator, for our teachers do not speak of Him.” I said to them: “All of the sciences you study speak continuously of God, the Creator, in its own tongue, and makes Him known. Do not listen to your teachers; listen to them.

“For example, a well-equipped, well-designed pharmacy has many medicines and pills, composed of different, precisely-measured components. This indicates, without a doubt, to the existence of an extremely skillful and learned pharmacist. In the same way, the pharmacy of the earth is stocked with countless life-giving cures and medicines. Through the science of medicine, even the blind can know the All-Wise One of Majesty Who is the Pharmacist of the largest pharmacy of the earth.

“Let us use another example. A wonderful factory that produces thousands of different cloths woven from a simple material indicates without a doubt the existence of a manufacturer and a skillful mechanical engineer. Similarly, the factory of the Lord, which we call the earth, has countless parts, and each part possesses hundreds of thousands of machines. Without a doubt, the factory that is the earth makes known, through the science of engineering, the existence of its Manufacturer and Owner.

“Another example is a shop that has a well-organized storage place for numerous varieties of provisions brought there from hundreds of different places. The very existence of the shop indicates in turn the existence of a shop owner who prepares, stores, and distributes those provisions. Now the earth on which we live may be seen as a huge storehouse of mercy or a Divine vessel which traverses a vast orbit each year, housing innumerable species which require different foods: as it passes through the seasons on its journey, it fills spring, which is like a huge wagon, with a great variety of provisions and brings them to all the living creatures whose sustenance was exhausted during the winter. This storage depot, which is the earth, surely indicates, through the science of economics which you are studying, the existence of the Owner, Manager, and Organizer of this depot that is the earth and makes Him loved.

“Or imagine, for example, an army that consists of numerous tribes and nations, each one requiring unique provisions, weapons, uniforms, drills, and demobilization. If its miracle-working commander meets all their needs on his own, without forgetting or confusing any of them, surely the army and its camp will serve as an indication of this commander’s existence and make him appreciated. Similarly, every spring a single Commander-in-Chief provides a newly recruited army of countless animal and plant species with uniforms, rations, weapons, training, and demobilizations in a perfect and regular fashion. He forgets nothing and does not become confused. This Divine army of spring indicates, through military science, the existence of that most attentive and sensible Ruler of the earth, its Lord, Administrator and All-Holy Commander, and makes Him loved, praised, glorified, and acclaimed.

“Or imagine a magnificent city illuminated by millions of mobile electric lamps with an inexhaustible fuel and power source. Such a set-up would evidently point to the talent of a wonder-working artisan and extraordinarily skilful electrician who makes the lamps, establishes the power source, and provides the fuel. And it would cause others to admire and congratulate this electrician.

“Now many of the lamps—the planets and the stars—which adorn the roof of the palace that is the world, in the city that is the universe, are a thousand times larger than the earth and move with an amazing speed. Yet despite their rapidity, they move most precisely without colliding with one another; they are not extinguished, nor do they run out of fuel. The science of astronomy, which you study, tells us that our sun, which is like a lamp or a stove in the guesthouse of the All-Merciful, is hundreds of thousands of times larger than the earth and several billion years old. To keep burning each day, it needs as much oil as there are seas on the earth, as much coal as there are mountains, or as many logs and pieces of wood as exist on ten earths.

“It is clear, then, that such lamps indicate with their fingers of light the existence of an infinite Power and Sovereignty Which, in turn, illuminates the sun and other similar stars without oil, wood, or coal, allowing them to travel at great speed without colliding with one another or being extinguished. Thus, the science of electricity and the testimony of those radiant stars indubitably indicate the existence of the Sovereign, Illuminator, Director, and Creator of the greatest light exhibition of the universe, and make Him loved, glorified, and adored.

“Now imagine a marvelous book. Within each line of that book, another, smaller book has been written, and within each word, a whole chapter—a sura—has been inscribed with a fine pen. This book is most meaningful and expressive, and all of its topics corroborate each other. Such a book shows as clearly as daylight that it must be the product of a particular artist, who is possessed of extraordinary perfections, arts, and skills. It makes us appreciate the author and call down God’s blessings upon him. “What is true of the book in the example is true of the vast book that is the universe. For example, we see with our own eyes a pen inscribing on the page of the earth hundreds of thousands of plants and animal species, each one of which is like an entire volume in itself. And they are inscribed all together, one within the other, without error or confusion; they are inscribed with such perfection and precision that an ode is compressed in a single word, like a tree, and an entire book is to be found within a point that is a seed. However much vaster and more perfect and meaningful than the book in the example mentioned above is this infinitely meaningful compendium that is the universe, this embodied ‘macro-Qur’an,’ in every word of which there are numerous instances of wisdom, to that degree—through the natural sciences that you study, it makes known the Inscriber and Author of this book of the universe with His infinite Perfections. Proclaiming “God is the All-Great,” it makes Him known; declaring His sacredness with “All-Glorified is God,” it describes Him; and praising Him with such expressions as “All praise and gratitude are for God,” it makes Him loved.

“Indeed, through its extensive measure, its particular mirror, its far reaching view, and its searching and instructive perspectives, each of the hundreds of sciences makes the All-Majestic Creator of the universe known with His Names, Attributes and Perfections.

“It is in order to elucidate the evidence explained above, which constitute a most convincing and magnificent proof of Divine Unity, that the miraculous Qur’an frequently describes our Creator in terms such as ‘the Lord of the heavens and the earth’ and ‘the Creator of the heavens and the earth’.”

I told the students all of this and they accepted and affirmed it, saying: “Endless thanks be to God, for we have received a true and sacred lesson. May God be pleased with you.”

I added as follows:

“A human being is a living machine subject to many sorrows and capable of knowing many pleasures. Although totally impotent, we have infinite physical and spiritual enemies. Although completely destitute, we have infinite internal and external needs, and we suffer continuously from the blows of gradual decay and separation. But if, through belief and worship, we can establish a connection with the All-Majestic Sovereign, we will find a source of support against all of our enemies and a source of help for all of our needs. Everyone takes pride in the honor and rank of those in high places with whom they enjoy a connection. Given this fact, if one establishes a connection through belief with the infinitely Powerful and Compassionate Sovereign; if one enters His service through worship and, by so doing, changes the sentence of execution at the appointed hour of death into a most welcome acquittal and discharge, imagine the pride, joy, and contentment they will feel.”

To the calamity-stricken prisoners I repeat what I said to the schoolboys: those who recognize and obey Him are prosperous, even if they are in prison, while those who forget Him are like wretched prisoners even if they live in palaces.

Once a wronged but fortunate man—fortunate on account of his belief and ensuing martyrdom—said to the wretched wrongdoers who were executing him: “I am not being executed; rather, I have been discharged from my duties and am going forward to eternal happiness. However, I can now see that you are condemned to eternal punishment; this suffices as my revenge upon you.” And saying “There is no deity but God,” he died a happy man.

All-Glorified are You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us. Surely you are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

 

Said Nursi