Qalander Baba Auliya R.A

As worshippers exited the mosque after offering Friday prayers, there stood a person distributing religious literature. People were showing such impatience to get their hands on that literature, that it seemed as if it was candy that was being distributed. A book came into my possession as well. As I stated to leave, a friend called from behind and said, 'Come, let us sit somewhere. We can debate over this religious booklet.' I said, 'brother, I'm but a humble servant—what business do I have arguing and debating! My creed is to serve humanity and God's creatures. The one who serves does not get caught lip in controversial issues.' But upon much insistence of the friend, the two of us sat down in a restaurant. The friend said, 'Religion is merely the name of restrictions—do not do this, and not do that. And these restrictions are attributed to a being that cannot be seen. And you call this invisibility ghaib [the unseen]. I tried to excuse myself from this situation and said, 'my brother, religion and ghaib, both of these topics have to do with belief, and belief is not complete until it becomes observation. And as far as that Being is concerned that is related to religion and ghaib—that Being has the power to manifest itself as an observation whenever it pleases.' As much as I had wanted to avoid it, the debate had started, and I recalled something that had been recorded, of Qalander Baba Auliya (RA).

Abdaal-e-Haq, Hasan Ukhra, Muhammad Azeem Barkhia, Qalander Baba Auliya (RA) states:

 In spirituality, the concept of existence without the presence of matter has a particular significance, and the concept of existence without the presence of time is also mentioned. All fields of knowledge that have come under discussion until now and that pertain to spiritual values...within all those fields of knowledge, the universe, which has significance within the observed manifestations, is of secondary importance. First, it is the hidden and the unseen which is contemplated, and it is the hidden and the unseen that one tries to understand. If the hidden and the unseen become easier to understand, then questions such as, 'how do physical manifestations come into being,' and 'what are the laws that pertain to the existence and creation of physical manifestations' ...all these issues start to unfold within the mind, and thought perceives them in the same way as it does the many other experiences which occur within a person's life from childhood till the age of consciousness.

There is an affinity towards a particular thinking in them. Allah the Exalted has called all such things, which pertain to the unseen, by several names in the Holy Quran. The prophets have mentioned these names and have presented their attributes before the people.

The Books prior to the Holy Quran also shed light on these matters, but within those Books this matter is discussed only sporadically. The greater details are found in the Holy Quran. When one ponders the details contained in the Holy Quran, one realizes that the unseen has more significance than the physical manifestations. It is essential to understand the unseen. What is called religion or faith is based on the unseen. Physical manifestations are also mentioned within religion, but they hold secondary significance. It has never been given primary importance in any age. The material world may wish to give it as much importance as it desires, but gradually they have also started to think along the same lines. For example, the present day scientists have also been forced to give precedence to the unseen. First they assume a thing. After they make an assumption about a thing they start to deduce its consequences, and once they have deduced the consequences, they declare that all such things are real, necessary, and certain. Just as in the 20th century, it is the role of the electron that is under discussion. Regarding the electron, the scientists hold a singular opinion that, 'it simultaneously behaves as a particle and as a wave.' What needs to be pondered is that a thing, which is merely an assumption, operates in two different ways, and this activity is believed to exist with certainty. Along with this, they also say that neither has an electron ever been seen by anyone, nor is there a possibility that anyone will ever see it in the future. But despite this, they consider the existence of the electron to be as solid reality as any reality which humankind has ever thought of or experienced. Obviously, it is only an assumption that is in their minds, and from that assumption they get to such a conclusion, to such a stage...a stage they declare to be, of inventions and of extreme importance and of success for them. They start to introduce this important stage to the human populations. It often happens that after a few years or after a longer period of time, they reject what they used to present as the truth. After rejecting that, they bring up various new formulas, and they start to rove these formulas the same status of truth that for years, to an extent, they had given to any of the now rejected "truths." It is obvious that the unseen world holds precedence for them, even though they are materialistic, and call themselves the admirers of the material world. Even for a moment, they are not willing to admit that the being of Allah the Exalted or the realm of the unseen is a possibility, or that it has any significance, or that it means anything, or that it is acceptable, or that it is inappropriate to overlook it. Such concepts, which can be called materialism always surround them, and whenever the unseen is mentioned to them, they always have the same demand: They say that, 'as long as we are not shown a demonstration we cannot get to know it, nor will we believe that the unseen can be informative,' or that, 'we are not willing to give any place to the concept of the unseen, or make any mention of the unseen, in the world of science.' In any case, however they may say that this it is just a style of thinking and a manner of expression. But in the practical world, and in the practical stages of reflection, they are in the same position as that of a person who believes in the unseen and presents the being of Allah the Exalted, and who believes in all the agencies which Allah the Exalted has mentioned in the Holy Quran, and in those agencies which constitute the conditions of faith and which have influence over any person who believes in Allah. And he considers all these agencies and all these beings to be such a solid truth as a materialist would consider, a stone or a mineral, or any other such physical manifestation which always remains in front of their eyes, and that which they touch, taste, and understand, and regarding which they say that, 'it has an alternation, a balance, an amalgamation, an effect, and a strength.' And this is how they mention everything they see in the material world, and they believe in those things in a particular way. In other words, what I am saying is that just as a devotee of God has faith in the unseen, a devotee of matter has faith in the material world. Neither can a worshipper of God do without the belief in the unseen, nor can a worshipper of matter fare any better without his belief in matter. Both have their own style. And what they have in common is that they have belief and certainty regarding that style. And it is this faith and certainty that they call life. Actually, what should be said is that no life is possible without faith and certainty, whether it is the life of a worshipper of God, or the life of a materialist.