The Unseen: How It Should Shape Our Actions

 « And God alone comprehends the unseen

 (= the hidden reality) of the heavens and the earth, 

and to Him all matters are returning. So worship 

Him and place your trust in Him alone: for your 

Lord is not unaware of what you do” (11:123).

There are two kinds of existence:

The tangible world: this is the world and the things that we can see, touch, hear, smell or feel. For example, we can see our bodies, the bodies of people, the earth on which we stand, the trees around us, the grass, the flowers, the birds, the bees, and many kinds of animals. We can see rivers and seas, water and fire, mountains and plains, the sky with its sun, the moon and many stars. All of these are beings, all are parts of the existence: we can see them all and we can touch many of them.

The intangible world: on the other hand, there is another kind of existence regarding which we can neither see its components nor can we touch them. We believe in God, and we are sure of the existence of the soul, spirit, psyche, mind, intelligence, knowledge, awareness, etcetera, yet we cannot see or touch them. We call this kind of existence the unseen, which can be said to be the world which is beyond the reach of human perception.

The most important of all existence is the One Who is the cause of all beings: God, the Creator, the Supreme Sovereign- “the Most Gracious, has imparted the Qur’an (unto man), He has created human being, He has imparted unto him articulate thought and speech” (55:1-4). “Vision cannot attain Him, but He attains (all) vision. And He is the Subtle, the Aware” (6:103). Here we have to emphasize that this quality of God is unique and absolute. Because even when it comes to angels, for example, who are beyond the reach of human vision and perception in general, God has made it possible for the great Prophet Muhammad (peace and God’s blessings be upon him) to see the Archangel Gabriel twice, according to the Qur’an (53:13-14).

There is another kind of the unseen, that is the Jinn, from whom comes Satan, who is called Iblis (the chief devil), who tempted and deceived our parents Adam and Eve, and caused them to be driven out from the Garden (7:27). He and his tribe (= the Jinn) can watch humans, while humans cannot see them (7:27). Satan is always trying to deceive human beings, and will try always to lead them astray, but God told Satan that he shall have no control over God’s devoted persons (15:41-42). God forbids the believers from following the steps of Satan, for Satan enjoins indecency and what is reprehensible (24:21).

The biological part of human being is so complicated and indispensably important for a person, yet the unseen part of that being seems absolutely engulfing the biological part. The spiritual part of a human (= the soul, the self, the mind, the inner insight, the capacity of thought and the subtle feeling) comes into being when a special soul is breathed into the fetus by an angel (this is told by the Prophet Muhammad in one of his explanations to his companions, narrated by Ibn Massoud and reported by Bukhari and Muslim). In the Qur’an we read (the English translation): “And indeed We have created man out of the essence of clay, and then We cause him to remain as a drop of sperm in (the womb’s) firm keeping, and then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh – and then We bring (all) this into being as a new creation: hollowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans!” (23:12-14).

All this “spiritual part “of a human starts its existence when the soul is breathed by the angel (when the fetus is three months old), and develops gradually when the baby is born.

When we follow this developing creation of the human being thoroughly, how could we then deny the existence and the sovereignty of God, the Creator and the Sustainer? Or how we dare to ignore His ordinances? And how could we deny or even doubt the coming of the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment! Among the most important unseen reality, that Day is awaiting all humans.

There is no other solution in response to the exisitence of this unseen reality better than to surrender absolutely to God, to follow His guidance and to be always active in devoting oneself to Him. Actions of this devotion are not limited to doing prayers, but include all kinds of good deeds such as, for example, seeking more knowledge, helping one’s own family or helpless people and the needy, and in general performing all kinds of activities for the development of the surrounding society, as God says in the Qur’an:: “Anyone – be it man or woman – who does righteous deeds, and is a believer, him verily We shall revive with a goodly life. And We shall surely pay them their reward according to the best of what they used to do” (16:97).

In this verse of the Holy Qur’an, all believers who are seriously following God’s guidance in their everyday life, are promised goodly life in this world, and in the hereafter. In this worldly life, they are content with whatever lot they are destined to have in life, either in the form of abundant wealth, or limited means of livelihood. And in the life to come, which is unseen in this world, they are promised with an excellent life.