Science And Metaphysics
Faith in the unseen means affirming those realities that cannot be perceived by the eyes, solely on the basis of rational evidence. We cannot see the Divine Essence; the Day of Judgment is still hidden from our sight; we did not witness Jibrīl (Gabriel) conveying revelation to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Yet, despite this, we affirm all these truths. The reason is that there exist such powerful proofs for these realities—in the human self, in the horizons of the universe, and in the very discourse presented by the Messenger of God—that no person of sound intellect can deny them. Thus, we do not accept them unthinkingly; rather, we accept them without seeing. To demand visual observation for something that cannot be seen but can be understood through reason is, in fact, the height of irrationality. In our own age, science has discovered countless realities that lie beyond the direct grasp of our senses, yet we accept them with the same certainty with which, in broad daylight under an open sky, we acknowledge that the sun is shining and its light is spread everywhere. The foundation of our faith in the truths presented by the Qur’an is precisely this principle. They are indeed beyond sensory perception, but they are not beyond reason. We have weighed them on the scale of intellect and found no deficiency in them. Hence, we believe in them as matters of the unseen—meaning that we affirm them on the basis of conclusive rational and natural proofs, without insisting that they must first be seen with the eyes before being accepted.