Are We a Passing Idea in a Divine Consciousness?

In an era where social media platforms have turned into noisy arenas for futile debate, the atheists of the digital age have come out disguised as new philosophers. They chew on old misconceptions wrapped in modern attire, presenting them as intellectual discoveries that undermine faith.

Among the fallacies they promote most heavily—blending philosophy, science, and religion—is a claim alleging that the entire universe is nothing but a passing moment in a "Divine Consciousness," and that man is merely a temporary idea that Allah wanted to "experiment with" before folding its page.

These claims—even if they seem striking or intriguing to some—are nothing but a recycling of intellectual illusions that have fallen flat before definitive texts, sound logic, and established scientific facts.

Here, we dismantle this misconception from its roots, expose its flaws, and demonstrate how the story of creation is far greater and more enduring than being reduced to a mere moment or an experiment.

The Text of the Fallacy

"Allah created man because He was not satisfied with the worship of the angels, for they worship Him without freedom and without choice. So He wanted a free being to worship Him by his own will; thus, He created man, charged him with the trust, and made life an abode of testing. However, when this test ends and the believers enter the gardens of bliss, and the disbelievers enter the abode of torment, the human will comes to an end. For in Paradise there is no worship, and in Hell there is no choice—only eternal bliss or eternal torment. At that point, everything returns to what it was before the creation of man: a fixed existence with no movement and no freedom, as if the story began only to end.

For Allah, all this time is a single moment to Him, and the starting point returns exactly as it was.

So, was the entire universe just a brief moment in an eternal Divine Consciousness? And were we merely an idea that Allah wanted to experiment with?" End of quote.

This misconception combines 3 hypotheses:

1.      That the purpose of creation was temporary.

2.     That free will ends and loses its meaning in the Afterlife.

3.     That Allah 's perspective of time renders the entire universe a mere valueless "moment."

The response to the misconception is outlined below:

First: Confusing the Divine Perspective with Human Time

Time in our perception is a line moving from the past to the future. Physically, however—as Einstein demonstrated in the Theory of Relativity—time is merely a dimension within the fabric of the universe that changes based on speed and gravity, and an external observer could theoretically see it all at once.

Allah, Glory be to Him and the Almighty, is the Creator of time, so He is not governed by a past or a future. When we say, "a moment to Allah," we are describing the matter from a limited human perspective, not from the reality of Divine eternity. The fact that Allah sees it "all at once" does not mean it is valueless, just as—and to Allah belongs the highest example—a film that a director sees in its entirety before it is screened does not lose its meaning.

Second: The Assumption That the Sole Purpose of Creation is the Test

The test is an essential stage, but it is not the ultimate purpose. The supreme purpose—by the text of the Quran—is: {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.} [Adh-Dhariyat 51:5].

Worship in Islam is not a temporary set of rituals, but rather knowing Allah, the Almighty, drawing closer to Him, and finding tranquility in Him. This knowledge continues in the Afterlife, but in a more perfect form. In Paradise, worship becomes pure delight, free of religious obligation or hardship, while in Hell, those punished recognize the greatness of Allah, even if their realization is coupled with pain.

Third: Projecting the Human Concept of "Experimentation" onto the Creator

To humans, an experiment implies ignorance of the outcome. Allah, the Almighty, possesses eternal knowledge; He knows what was, what is, what will be, and what would have been had it been destined to happen. The creation of man is not the "testing of an idea," but rather bringing that which is known out of eternal knowledge into actual existence to manifest the effects of His names and attributes.

The purpose of creation is to manifest the Divine Names:

• In the world of angels, absolute obedience prevents the manifestation of the meanings of the Forgiving, the Accepter of Repentance, the Forbearing, the Pardoning, and the Merciful.
• But in the human world—where there is freedom, error, and choice—these names manifest in a living reality.

Therefore, creation is not a moment that ends, but rather an event that alters the spiritual and material nature of the universe forever:

• The angels, after witnessing the story of mankind, are not as they were before it.
• Existence witnessed the greatest scene: man's choice when facing the call of Allah .
• The results of this choice remain eternal.

Freedom... and the Question of the Afterlife

In Paradise, there is no will to choose disobedience, but that does not mean freedom disappears. Freedom in the Afterlife transforms from the freedom to choose between good and evil into the freedom of absolute action within goodness, without physical or psychological restrictions.

In Hell, freedom remains in terms of the awareness of the outcome, but the will is restricted by the consequences of the past.

This is similar to education: an exam is not the objective of a school, but a means for qualification. After passing, you do not continue taking exams; instead, you practice your profession with greater freedom.

Refuting the Idea of a Passing Moment

A. The Logic of Purpose and Outcome: Any action that yields a permanent result cannot be described as fleeting. An exam might last two hours, but its impact determines the fate of an entire lifetime. The worldly life is short, but its results are eternal.

B. From Physics: In every nuclear or chemical reaction, the new system never returns completely to its previous state. This is a principle of thermodynamics (entropy). Similarly, the universe after the human experience does not return to the way it was.

C. From Psychology: A powerful emotional or intellectual experience alters a person's identity forever. What then of the experience of creation and divine testing? This experience altered the identity of angels, jinn, and all of humanity.

Dispelling the Idea of a Cosmic Illusion

Some atheists claim that the universe might just be a simulation or an illusion, but:

• The laws of physics are precisely coherent, suggesting no randomness.
• The universe is designed with what is called "Fine Tuning," which allows for the emergence of life.
• This fine-tuning cannot be explained by chance, which confirms the existence of intent and purpose, not an experimented idea.

A Programming Analogy to Clarify the Concept

Imagine a programmer who created a virtual world containing free characters that interact and make choices. For the programmer, the entire story is present within the code; for the characters, the story unfolds moment by moment.

The difference is that Allah does not experiment; rather, He has known the story since eternity, and He created it to be realized in reality so that the meanings of justice, mercy, and wisdom may manifest through it.

The Eternal Value of a Moment in Time

Value is not measured by the length of time, but by the impact of the event. A single moment in the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the night of the Migration changed the history of the world. What then of the human test, upon which depends the eternal fate of billions of souls?

The Holy Quran Settles the Meaning

Allah Almighty says: {Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned? So exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne.} [Al-Mu'minun 23:115-116], and {And We did not create the heaven and earth and that between them in play. Had We intended to take a diversion, We could have taken it from [what is] with Us - if [indeed] We were to do so.} [Al-Anbiya 21:16-17], and {And We did not create the heavens and earth and that between them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them do not know.} [Ad-Dukhan 44:38-39].

The absurdity assumed by this misconception is rejected both textually and rationally. Material science stands helpless before explaining how electrical signals in the brain transform into self-awareness.

This internal presence that calls itself "I" is the will of Allah Almighty, and a proof that man is not merely blind reactions, but a soul that Allah Almighty breathed into the body: {So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.} [Al-Hijr 15:29].

We are not an experimented idea, but rather part of an eternal story intended since pre-eternity, its results extending without end.

High exalted is Allah far above what they say.