As young children, we are trying to make sense of the world around us. Most importantly, we are using our faculty of sight to look at our surroundings - even before we are walking on our own two feet. Reflection may begin by observing that which we can see. And it progresses with thinking deeply about that object perceived, asking questions about its existence, features, character, nature. I, for one, was a curious child. I would say 'why' all the time to the point that my mother would at last reply with, 'because the sky is so high' and just like that, our conversation would be at an end.
As human beings, we are constantly waking up to a new day and sleeping in the dead of night. Always witnessing the movement of the clouds and the appearance of the stars. We can't take this for granted and dismiss it as mere normalcy. Why? The universe is a great expanse of space, from the tiny ants crawling on the earth's surface to the giant star that is the sun. How can this occur by accident? Or with no purpose? Abdulati also puts forward questions regarding this,
'Can we find an explanation of the outstanding universe? Is there any persuasive interpretation of the secret of existence?' (1997, p.9)
It is indeed an extraordinary occurrence. Just think, for example - the sun rises at the beginning of the day and sets at its end. And this happens 365 days a year, without fail. Such precision and perfect order,
'...we observe that the universe exists and functions in the most orderly manner, and that it has survived for hundreds of thousands of years. Can we, then, assume that all this is accidental and haphazard? Or can we attribute, the existence of man and the whole world to mere chance?' (1997, p.9-10)
Source:
Abdulati, H. (1997) Islam in Focus. Egypt: Al Fatah Foundation
