I was searching for answers but then I realized...

Science teaches us that there is an explanation to everything. It teaches us to search for the truth, to find the cause to all problems. Science teaches us to understand the world such as what causes a volcano to erupt, how does a light bulb work, how do chemicals react?

In Medicine, we seek explanations as to how our human body functions and what happens when things go wrong. We try to determine the cause of illnesses and to explain why diseases happen in some people but not others. We search for risk factors such as the link between lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Even psychologists attempt to explain the patterns of human behavior and why people behave or react in certain ways.

As a scientist, I have been searching for explanations everyday, to understand this world and this life in the context of causes and 'whys'. I deal with patients everyday and my job requires me to try and understand why patients do not take their medication, why people seem ambivalent in trying to change their lifestyle when they know it is harming their health. Hence, trying to understand, to find answers, to make sense of things has become part of my nature.

However, two nights ago something happened that totally blew me off. On my way home as I was driving along, it occurred to me that somethings just do not have an explanation. I went somewhere to search for answers and yet, despite their knowledge and expertise on the matter, they were unable to give me any answers at all.

This universe is still a mystery to all of us. There are so many things that we do not understand, so many things that are unknown to us and it is important for us to remember, that the knowledge of Allah is beyond this vast universe. If we were to use the branches as pens and the ocean as ink, we will still be unable to fathom all the knowledge and wonders of Allah, His Knowledge and His creations.

Say: Though the sea became ink for the Words of my Lord, verily the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even though We brought the like thereof to help. (18: 109)

This world is a material world, a reality in which our senses can feel, touch, taste, see and hear but there are also things that Allah SWT has created that are real but intangible such as the angels and the jinns. There are things that are tangible and yet, its existence is so far away that we can barely imagine it's true nature such as the sun, the planets and the stars. However, the most important thing is that there are things that are beyond our senses that our only knowledge of them is through the revelation of Allah SWT in the Qur'an such as the day of judgment, the hereafter, jannah and jahannam.Yet, these are the most the important things and Allah SWT describe them as the true life, the real ultimate destination.


Often, our limited mind focuses only on this material world. We feel things, we see things and we want things but despite the knowledge of the hereafter that resides in our mind, we fail to make that the focus of our lives. Maybe it is because the link between this life and the hereafter is unclear, what actions do we need to do in order to get there in one piece? Often secular mentality has made us believe that the actions related to hereafter are only those relating to worshiping actions (the ibadah) and has detached the 'worldly' actions such as the seeking of knowledge, the study of science, working to provide for our family from the concept of reward and punishment

Yet life is not just about ibadah...we have to eat, we have to work, we have to go to school, we have to find shelter, buy or rent a house, find transport to go to work. There are so many other aspects of life that requires us to do actions other than ibadah. So, what happens when we undertake these actions if we were to separate them from the reward and punishment of the hereafter?


If only we were to reconcile every action, every responsibility that we carry towards ourselves, our family, all the people around us, the environment...everything to the hereafter. For us to recognize that everything we do can earn us reward or punishment depending on whether it is carried out in halal or haram way. Then, maybe that awareness of the hereafter will become more prominent. 


So, I was seeking for answers to quench my thirst and yearning for understanding. I thought if I understood then, I would be satisfied. However, the truth is...the only thing that matters in seeking knowledge is to get closer to Allah SWT. The truth belongs to Allah SWT alone. We will never be able to understand everything and somethings are best left alone...especially in the realms of the unseen (ghaib). The most important thing is for us to recognize that the more we learn, the more we should realize how insignificant we are and how little we truly know about the Power and Knowledge of Allah, it should humble us and inspire us to obey Allah SWT more.