Knowing that Allah is Omnipotent and Omnipresent
With the verse “Does humanity reckon that he will be left to go on unchecked?” (Surat al-Qiyama: 36), Allah tells human beings that they are always under His control. But unaware people are far from thinking and grasping this fact. However, only a moment of sincere contemplation will suffice to think what life would be if man had to accomplish and control everything by himself.
For example, right now we are unaware of all the things happening in our bodies and feel no need to take an interest in them. And yet our organs continue to function in constant harmony with each other. As far as we are concerned, our first priority is having a constant supply of oxygen to sustain our lives. Of course, we have other priorities as well, such as controlling our heart’s beating, maintaining our blood circulation, keeping the acidity in our stomach balanced, digestion, and countless other functions.
Imagine the impossible, that we controlled all of our bodily functions. For example, who controls these functions when we are asleep, for they never stop. If our heart slipped out of control for just a few minutes, it would stop beating and we would die. But it is also true that we need to sleep. And this is not all we would have to do if left on our own. For example, we would have to ensure the external conditions needed to sustain our lives.
Clearly, since we cannot control our own bodies, it requires a great deal of imagination to think that we could possibly have any influence on the countless delicately adjusted and balanced systems underlying the world and the universe. When we consider this and see that we cannot control anything, we realize that Allah controls all things with His supreme knowledge and power. We understand that He has created and controls all that exists, both animate and inanimate. But to reach this level of knowledge, we must defeat our lack of awareness by always being aware that Allah sees us and act accordingly. He is always observing us, creating our actions and us. In fact, there is no moment when He does not encompasses us: “Surely your Lord encompasses the people with His knowledge” (Surat al-Isra’: 60). Believers who know that Allah encompasses them know that He is aware of all that they do, say, and think, both openly and in secret, for He is omnipresent and omniscient:
Do you not see that Allah knows what is in the heavens and on the ground? Three men cannot confer together secretly without Him being the fourth, or five without Him being the sixth, or fewer or more than that without Him being with them wherever they are. Then He will inform them on the Day of Resurrection of what they did. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Mujadala: 7)
An honest consideration of this clear truth is enough to root out one’s unawareness, for it enables them to perceive the truth and live a good life in both worlds. Knowing that they are always under His sovereign power, they will fear and respect Him and avoid doing anything that would earn His wrath. In addition, they will know that Allah sees all of their good and fine actions and they will be joyful for the day when He rewards them. Understanding that everything happens in accordance with the trials He has predestined for them for their own good, they remain patient. As a result, they will attain the Garden He has promised to all believers.
