Look at where you started and where you ended up, that is Allah, when Allah said I am the passing of time this is what He meant, Sayyidinah Umar (ra) taught us this.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah said: The sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time (Dihr/The Passing Of Time), in My hand is the night and the day (Change). (al-Bukhari, Muslim).
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
” قَالَ اللَّهُ: يَسُبُّ بَنُو آدَمَ الدَّهْرَ، وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ، بِيَدِي اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ”
رواه البخاري وكذلك مسلم
Nothingness, emptiness, timelessness, eternity, meaninglessness, futility if these words exist in your vocabulary and your state it means you have not seen Allah or how He brings everything together around you. When you feel any of this in life it colours how you see and experience the universe which means how you see Allah because what He created is His will in motion, then that becomes what you think of Him.
Allah the Exalted said about this: “I am as my servant expects me and I am with him as he remembers me” (Bukhari), which means ‘I shape my servant’s reality according to how He thinks I am in himself’. Allah doesn’t change the universe itself or its laws but the universe is versatile enough to shape everyone’s reality individually, and what Allah is ultimately talking about is each persons perception and how the universe reacts to his actions because of it.
If you had all the time in the world to learn how this entire universe was created, how everything works, then you would understand and see How He moves all things through the forces and systems in the Universe and every one of the steps involved, you would see all of that occurring in front of you, and like riding a bicycle once you learn you never forget and know how to see Him instantly, such is the reality of the Angels who are as old as the universe.
If you saw someone creating something in front of you, you would know Him from His work this is how Allah is seen, but because we can’t see Him we look at this process in the opposite direction to see Him.
We look at His work first to see Him in it, then when it becomes familiar to us we see only Him, this is because Allah doesn’t have a body to identify Him with, He isn’t bound by the universe so He gives you signs (Isharat) to know He is there. But how can you see Him if you never study the world around you to know it, if you’re in a state of Ghaflah, heedlessness, paying attention to only what makes you happy that is you sole reality and our focus is blind to every other kind of reality that points to Him.
The Angels who are as old as the universe, Allah created them for this very purpose to witness the universe from the ghayb (subatomic) that everything originates from and saw it being created, from particles to atoms to its bodies taking shape, this is where their knowledge of all things comes from.
They see that time isn’t endless, an infinite loop with no beginning and no end, it is contained within boundaries and Allah began it, everything exists in the space and time He created for it, it all started with Him and it will all return to Him when the universe ends. Beyond Him is nothingness itself, and without Him we would have been truly nothing, His exaltedness defines our worth as we near Him or move away, His perfect qualities give meaning to our character and individuality.
The only infinity that exists is the limits of our perception, because He exists there is no infinity in the universe, what we think, imagine, conjure in these terms is our disconnect from the originator so the infinite we are looking at is the shortsightedness of our vision into the distance, we can’t see its end so it is infinite, but some Human’s reached the end and know what the complete picture of life looks like.
The human mind is not infinite in capacity nor do we think in limitless ways, mans intellect is entirely surrounded by boundaries, limits and the systems of the human body all of which it relies on and they exist according to laws of the universe, His laws.
We can’t experience life in the same away as Angels who are the closest thing to an infinite being, so, Allah asked them to give their knowledge and experience to the prophets and mankind through revelation and inspiration because Allah created the human body to receive knowledge this way, from this we know our reality can be shaped by the experiences and knowledge of others.
Allah said “I Am (the passing of) Time” and because of that many asked, what does Allahu Haq (Reality) mean. The word Haq itself means Truth, Justice and Reality, and each of these words is in the absolute sense referring to the absolute truth/justice/reality of the universe.
Throughout the Quran and many Ahadith whenever something represents Allah without deficiency other than it is a thing created and limited by the boundaries of the universe, Allah associates it with Himself directly to teach us that these things represent His qualities correctly, and through them, we can understand Him.
Allah does this in a few places such as His Arsh (Throne), Kursi (footstool), Time (meaning, the span of time), and the reality (Haq) created by the universe.
The truth and justice Allah is referring to in the word Haq (reality) is the truth and justice of the universe but such meanings are implied in the Quran rather than stated directly. Unlike other religions Islam always teaches about the universe by first teaching about Allah directly, then it asks man to discover how this idea is the workings of the universe. Hence justice in this context was called Karma in other religions, while in the Quran Allah teaches us, “Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope. For it (is only) that which it hath earned, and against it (only) that which it hath deserved” (2:286), Allah wants you to focus on Him so you don’t forget Him as you study life around you.
Every action we take in life there is a reaction to it in the universe, and this verse tells us pure actions bring about benefit while evil actions bring about evil, therefore as the prophet (saws) declared “Actions are judged only according to their intentions. Every man will (only) have (according to) what he intends” (Bukhari).
A Muslim ascribes everything to Allah first then to its causes in the universe. Because the reality is that Allah gives through the universe only according to what we intend, many scholars through history used science to explain how the universe works with respect to Allah’s hand in it.
If we ask whose reality are we experiencing the Answer is Allah’s reality because He created the life we experience according to His will and that decided the laws of the universe; “VERILY, your Sustainer is Allah, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons (periods), and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit (He is responsible for change in the universe), with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command (Laws): oh, verily, His is all creation (Matter) and all command (all Laws that govern). Hallowed is Allah, the Sustainer of all the worlds! (In the Universe)” (7:54)
We are tasked with knowing life to ultimately Know Him; “This is so, because Allah is the Reality (Haq): it is He Who gives life to the dead (creates life from dead matter), and it is He Who has power (through the laws of the universe) over all things.” (22:6) This verse teaches us through the topics it associates with each other that His power over everything means that because He declared He is the reality of the universe it is directly related to the laws of the universe, this is the total picture being drawn from the verses three topics which starts by declaring “this is so (in the universe) because”.
Allah is teaching us that His will and who He is are known by understanding the universe around us.
Haq (truth, justice, reality) in the Quran is reliant on the laws of the universe to bring it about, this is the general subtext of the word, therefore reality exists only because of the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, all the sciences exist, “His is all creation and all command” (7:52).
When we read 22:5 and 22:6 together we see that Allah states this in intricate detail, Allah uses the realities man experiences in life as a metaphor for His control over matter and change in the universe;
“O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection (in essence about Him), (consider) that We created you out of dust (consider how your reality came into existence from a mixture of particles), then out of sperm (the first reality man experiences), then out of a leech-like clot (his second reality), then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed (his third reality), in order that We may manifest to you” (Who we are).
Not only can we resurrect you but we have already created and recreated you multiple times in your mother’s womb. You began as life without will or power to change your situation, a drop of sperm, a creature without a soul helpless against the laws and forces of the universe. In the same manner, as Angels whose subtle bodies live alongside the forces of the universe and earn what they are given because of it, we earn the right to witness Allah’s power in life due to this helpless state that is governed entirely by the forces of the universe dictating our future without a choice. The universe shapes the reality of every creature according to its capacity (2:286) and here the universe is reacting to us in our most helpless state.
Angels have subtle bodies that afford them little freedom from the subatomic forces and reactions of the universe to have a life of their own; and so their entire focus is on the choices of Allah’s creatures whose actions reverberate in their world, and whose bodies are further removed from the subatomic depths giving them more time to act and react. The Angels who move at the speed of light and perceive the world from that perspective, have no time to themselves hence they have no self and are selfless. The prophet (saws) once asked Jibril (as) how strong was his eye sight to which Jibril replied ‘i can count (see) all the leaves on that tree’, Jibril (as) knew how many leaves there were from His first glance at the tree.
Angels have subtle bodies that afford them little freedom from the subatomic forces and reactions of the universe to have a life of their own; and so their entire focus is on the choices of Allah’s creatures whose actions reverberate in their world, and whose bodies are further removed from the subatomic depths giving them more time to act and react. The Angels who move at the speed of light and perceive the world from that perspective, have no time to themselves hence they have no self and are selfless. The prophet (saws) once asked Jibril (as) how strong was his eye sight to which Jibril replied ‘i can count (see) all the leaves on that tree’, Jibril (as) knew how many leaves there were from His first glance at the tree.
Slower creatures have more time to themselves but can’t perceive the universe as clearly as the Angels, hence Allah said in the Quran “Man was created from haste”, he has the least time to perceive the meaning behind things in the universe and reacts to events with haste to keep up.
The first forms we take, because we have no choice has more lasting consequences to our fate, the less freedom you have as a creature the more far reaching your actions spiritually. The prophet (saws) warned His companions, who never wronged anyone, when you go into a town “beware the prayer of the oppressed, there is no barrier (veil) between it and Allah”.
Allah in the verse is telling us, we start life helpless “in order that We may manifest (our power) to you”, so you are capable of seeing it from how this experience shapes your life in the future. This verse is also why spiritual purity of the mother is important, her actions in life shape the fate of her child, fate is entanglement and what she does at this stage entangles her child shaping the rest of its life.
Allah continues; “and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term (the topic of fate and Allah’s control over matter is emphasised, some are fated to die here others are born), then do We bring you out as babes (the fourth reality man experiences), then (foster you) that ye may reach your age of full strength (the fifth reality man experiences, his full “measure”); and some of you are called to die (young not experiencing more), and some are sent back to the feeblest old age (allowed to witness the last reality of man), so that they know nothing after having known (much), and (further just as) thou seest the earth barren and lifeless (like these states of man it is a slave to the laws of the universe without choice), but when We pour down rain on it, it is stirred (to create life), it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth, (this is the resurrection, our next reality and Allah will bring us into it as easy as a seed becomes a plant).” (22:5)
“This is so (you experience this) because Allah is the Reality (that shapes your life. Allah here ties Haq with the laws that govern the universe, He is teaching Muslims science by analogy because elsewhere in the Quran He instructs them to study these similitudes in full, “Do you not see how Allah strikes similitudes? (14:24), (29:42), (16:60), this is direction Allah is giving you. Most creatures only understand their way of life, but man knows Allah by understanding life from different perspectives, through this he puts together in himself the larger picture of the universe and as a result gains wisdom and sees Allah’s greater reality, that life isn’t just the petty squabbles people involve themselves in): it is He Who gives life to the dead (brings change), and it is He Who has power over all things (it is all in His Hand/control).” (22:6)
As we have demonstrated, if we understand some basic statements in the Quran we can explain other more complex and detailed passages in it. This is the nature of the Quran one verse explains another, “Allah bestows from on high the best of all teachings in the shape of a divine writ fully consistent (interconnected) within itself, repeating each statement in manifold forms” (39:23) meaning each topic is dealt with from various aspects over numerous verses. Therefore if you start with simple things you can build upon them and understand the depths of the Quran. This is a unique quality of the Quran, the scholars said it is a rule of tafsir (exegesis) that the Quran explains the Quran, and it was in this regard that the prophet (saws) said the Quran contains six layers of depths, beyond what is apparent to people.
Therefore to understand something as deep as reality (haq) we must understand it from the things that create it, exactly as Allah teaches about it in the Quran.