TIME

TIME
- A Qur’anic Perspective -


We always talk about time and space in our practical life. Have we thought about what time really is? It is time now to talk about “time.”

For most of us, time and space seem to be twin sisters. In order to get a good grasp of the concept of time, we will start with our conception of space, which we seem to have a firmer grasp than time.

Space:

While our body remains where it is now, we can extend our imagination of space further and further into galaxies after galaxies, and then into galaxy clusters. Is it possible for us to imagine the end of the universe? Nowadays, even children know that there is no way for us to reach the end of the universe because we all know that space is curved and that we can simply make our imaginary journey in such a curved space. (1) At the end, we may come back to the same place where we started the journey, but this time from behind.

This is a journey into outer space; can we try the same journey into the micro world, into an atom, for instance? What do you think; can we penetrate and reach the end of this atom? I have never attempted this, and neither can anybody else. However, imagination is free. We can make an imaginary journey into an atom, yet there is always another smaller piece that needs to be gone through. Isn’t that interesting?

Neither the macro universe nor the micro universe has a conceivable end even for our imagination, let alone can the mind envision penetrating them physically.

Are we aware that when we travel, our body moves through space only by changing its location? It can only be in one location at a time, not in two locations at once. However fast we move, we are always in one location only. That means that our body occupies only the place where it is, no matter how fast we move in space. As we move in space, we think we are invading the whole field of space from the point we started to the point we ended. That is just our imagination. We all know that as we move we vacate the previous place and enter into a new place.

Can we simply conclude that in terms of space, we, like everything else, exist only in one location at a time? It is our imagination that extends the space we occupy.

Time:

How about making an imaginary journey into time, since we cannot make one physically? Will it be the same as the one we did in space, coming back to the same point where we started? That is a serious question.

If the imaginary journey is in time, then, we have two options: Traveling into the past and traveling into the future.

Past:

Let’s embark on a time ship and travel into the past. We are going backward, yesterday, last year, last century, a million years ago, billions and billions of years ago, it does not matter, as this is an imaginary journey. However far back that we think the beginning of the existence of the universe is, to this point we can travel through the time tunnel. Where are we going to end up? Can we imagine the time before the existence of the universe? I am trying to, but it does not make sense to me. I have nothing to base my imagination on. If nothing existed, how can we imagine that which does not exist? In order to extend the time tunnel we need to think of the existence of something. If we cannot think of a thing which exists then we cannot think of the time in which it existed. As far as human capacity allows us, we cannot think of a thing which is beyond time and space. (2)

Can we then conclude that if there is nothing in existence then there is no way for us to conceptualize time?

In our imaginary journey into the past where did we arrive? Again the same place as we started off!

Future:

How about traveling into the future? What? I think this is not possible. I cannot imagine tomorrow. I have no experience of it. It does not exist. I can only imagine something that has existed before and, only then, I may continue to imagine its existence. The future means “does not yet exist.” We only HOPE that the things we have become accustomed to through our previous experiences MAY carry on existing.

Is it not important to notice the difference between imagining the past and imagining the future? Our imagination of the future is not real, it is merely HOPE!

We can elaborate on this matter further. Let’s board an airplane in New Orleans and fly over the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River originates at Lake Itasca and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans is a place somewhere between these two points. What we see is a continuous of flow from where it originates to where it ends. It looks like a line, a continuously moving line.

Let’s apply this view to time. Is time a continuous line like a flowing river?

As far as imagining the “past” is concerned, we can imagine the Mississippi River as coming from Lake Itasca; this imagination is valid because it really existed. But how about as far as imagining the “future” is concerned? Making an analogy of the “future” to the Mississippi River as flowing into the Gulf of Mexico is not valid. Why? Yes, in reality the Mississippi River runs through New Orleans and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. But in our analogy, the Mississippi River stops at New Orleans because the “future” does not exist since we haven’t seen what is past New Orleans. We cannot imagine that which does no exist. We can just HOPE that it may continue to come into existence, or it may not. We do not know. We have to wait and see.

This river example will be a correct analogy if we imagine that we are watching over a river originating from a source and continuing to flow to the place where we watch it paving its way into its riverbed. We always watch over the first runners of the water molecules which constitute the frontline of the river in the riverbed, (3) and no more than that!

Hence, our understanding of time as a flowing river is not altogether correct! It is only correct for the past and the present, but not for the future.

Present:

Let’s try to understand time with another metaphor: What we experience is only the present – the moment we exist in right now. If we accept that the present represents as a point, then the past will be to the left of this point and the future to the right of it. We can imagine the points which have existed in the past and put them together horizontally next to each other. What we find here is an imaginary line starting from the very beginning of the existence that we imagine ending at the point which represents the present time which we experience right now. We can extend this imaginary line as long as the things have existed in the past. Although this line does not represent any existence, it represents the points that we recall either through our experience or transferred knowledge of the universe which has previously existed. That is why we said it is an imaginary line.

How about the right side of this imaginary line? Can we put more points to the right of this line? There is no point in existence yet. We cannot imagine any points representing the future. Thus, we cannot stretch the line to the right of the point which represents the present existence? It is not possible!

But what we can do is this: We can stretch this line not horizontally but vertically. If we want this line to represent all the existing things as wide as the present universe, it becomes vertically as thick as the whole universe that existed in our imagination. We need to bear in mind that this wide line represents only our imagination of the things which have existed in the past. At the very end of this imaginary wide line, the last points constitute the very edge of the right side of this line. There is no real line which represents the existence that we experience. There is a very thin, not constant at all, fluid like line – in fact points - vertically drawn. All the rest of the line which represents the past points of existence exists only in our imagination. They no longer exist in the present.

At this point we converge time and space. How?

Right now, we are experiencing existence, aren’t we? This is the present time. Although it is ever fleeting, we are experiencing its existence. Now, let’s talk about space. Space is an aspect of existence we are experiencing right now, not the things we have experienced a moment ago – they have gone. Neither is space the things which will come into existence a moment later. These “future” things have not yet come into existence.

Let’s examine time. The universe which we experienced a moment ago no longer exists; it has past. The universe which we will HOPEFULLY experience a moment later also does not exist yet. We are only experiencing the current moment in which we are living. Isn’t that correct?

Let’s assume that we are watching a film. What are we really seeing? Only the frame of the shot that we are watching, aren’t we? At this point, we can imagine the scenes we have seen in the previous frames. This is just an imagination and we can call it the “past.” How about the rest of the film that we have not seen? Can we experience them? Can we imagine them at all? We can call it the “future.” The real thing that we experience is simply one frame and as it appears it passes. We cannot experience two frames at once!

Time and space converge:

So, we can conclude that time and space converge at a point, not on a line. Time is not linear. Every moment the universe is given existence, and we are experiencing only the momentarily existing universe.

Can we say, then, if there is no existence there will be, for us, no way to talk about time? Time means existence. Space means a transiently existing universe. So, time means space; space means time; they depend on each other. There are no two different existences, such as time and space. They are but two different aspects of the same entity: Existence.

Is the universe “GIVEN” existence?

The reason to use “given” is because there is no other way of explaining existence of the existent universe. “Past” means, “that which no longer exists,” and “future” means “that which does not yet exist.” That which does not exist cannot be the source of existence. Yet, the present does exist. There are only two possibilities for any human reason to explain this: Either the “present” gives existence to itself or it is being given existence by something which exists. Before the “present” itself exists it does not exist. How can that which does not exist give existence to anything in the present? No human mind can accept this idea. “Present time and space” exists and it is coming into existence anew. “Past existence” cannot be the Giver of existence to the “present” because the “present” is different from the “past existence;” it has different qualities. The “past” cannot know the ‘future” simply because the “future” does not exist for it, and that which does not exist cannot be known. Every moment exists independently from the previous existence. Therefore, we can conclude that the “present” is being brought into existence out of nonexistence by something which exists right now. We call this existent, the Giver of Existence, God.

By using the film strip metaphor, we may say: A frame cannot be the creator of the frame adjacent to it. Every frame needs to be made independently. The adjacent frames may be very similar to each other, but they are not exactly the same. Therefore, the preceding frame cannot be the Giver of existence to the following frame because for the preceding frame there is no way that it will know what the following frame is going to be like. For the preceding frame the following frame does not exist. That which does not exist cannot be known. Although it seems to be “transforming” into the following frame, everybody knows that this is an illusion to the eye, nothing more, nothing less.

Aging:

This perception of time and space helps us grasp, along with many other matters, the nature of aging and death, which are the two major concerns of human beings, after becoming familiar with the meaning of existence.

Do you think you are getting older? I do not. I realize that I am just given a new existence every moment differently, albeit slightly, from the previous one. (4) As long as we are given existence, everybody is as “youthful in existence” as a newly born baby! Everybody and everything is being brought into existence anew every moment. We should not, then, talk about aging, nor should we say that “time is wearing us out.” (5) Rather, we should be talking about our awareness of freshness of every moment. Just watch, how miraculously things are being brought into existence out of nonexistence! Enjoy your existence and be thankful to the One Who gives it to you.

Nonexistence:

Does nonexistence exist? I do not thing it does. Nonexistence is nonexistence; it does not exist. How can we talk about something which does not exist? Are we even able to imagine nonexistence? I do not think we are. There is nothing that we can imagine about. Yet, we talk about nonexistence. Yes, we do; we talk about tomorrow or next year which does not exist and we have no experience of them. We carry our past experiences of existence into the future, hoping that it will be given existence “similar,” not exactly the same, to the one we have experienced earlier. Our talking about future is nothing but a HOPE. As it has been said previously, “future” means “does not exist yet.” That which does not exist cannot even be imagined.

So, can we say future does not exist? Yes, we can. However, we need to bear in mind that we are talking now from the perspective of our experience, not from the perspective of the Giver of Existence.

The Giver of Existence:

The Giver of existence cannot be within our experience. We can only experience existence of a thing after it has been given existence. If One is the Giver of existence, that same One cannot be the receiver of existence. I wish to emphasize this point: He is the Giver of existence, not the receiver of existence. Therefore, the Giver of existence must be Self-Existent and Self-Sustaining.

The constantly renewed existence of the universe is the evidence of the Giver’s existence. The qualities of existing things in the universe are the signs pointing to the Attributes of the Giver of their existence. (6)

Death:

What about death? Since every moment is a new existence, are we not constantly experiencing being brought into existence and being taken away from existence? Yes, we are. If death is a problem for us, then the reason lies in our conception of our own existence.

As we observe it in the universe, there is perfect order, harmony, balance etc. in the way things are being given existence. In the order of the existence in time and space we also witness that nothing is preserved exactly the same but very similar. For example, when we look closely at especially the animate beings, they are given existence very similar but different from their previous existence. It is this similarity that makes us get familiar with the things around us.

Whenever this similar but different way of coming into existence is subjected to a radical change in the order with which we are accustomed, then, we become surprised as if it should not be as such. We can take “earthquake” and “death” as examples of such radical changes.

The earth rotates and we are so accustomed with it that we cannot imagine even for a moment that it is not going to rotate, or start rotating in a way that shakes us or disturbs us, as if it has to rotate in a perfect balance. Yet, the earth is being granted existence in a way that it appears to be rotating by itself. However, when we think about its existence in time, every moment it is being brought into existence with an appearance of rotating, but within a perfect order. We took this ever-new existence for granted and that it has to be in the way as we have been experiencing. The earth cannot rotate itself because it cannot give itself another existence in any slice of time in the future. The earth itself needs to be brought into existence, and before the “future” becomes the “present,” the previous form of existence becomes the “past.” In every moment every being is subject to another existence. (7)

When an earthquake happens we feel a shock. In fact, we should get shocked at the sight of the earth that comes into existence as if it is rotating at every moment. Rotation of the earth is as new an existence as is an earthquake. It is being given existence in a way that we call earthquake. An earthquake is also receiving existence within an order because everything is given existence within an order. Why? Do not ask me; it is not I who is giving them existence. Ask the One Who is giving existence to the universe. He will tell you why He is doing as He is doing it; just closely follow the way He is giving existence to the universe as well as to us. Furthermore, the ability to even ask this question is also given to us by Him.

Why do you think He is giving existence to the ability to ask how the things are coming into existence as they do?

Death is the same. It is nothing but a new existence. (8) We have grown accustomed to the way we are given existence. All of a sudden we are given a new existence with which we are not accustomed; we call it death. We mistakenly say that “a person has died.” Why shouldn’t we say instead that a person had been given existence in a form of fetus, then, a baby, a child, a young person, a middle-aged person, an old person, and a dead person? Every stage in our experience is a new existence. Why can’t we consider “a dead person,” as we call it, to be a new existence? Does “a dead person” not exist within time? This, in itself, means it is nothing but a new existence.

What happens when we are given existence in the form of “a dead person?” Again, I do not know the answer; ask the One Who gives existence in the form of “a dead person.” He will tell you when you look at your own present existence; and ask how and why you are given this existence as a young guy or as an old person. If you get the answer, the same answer is applicable to this question as well.

The purpose of existence:

Have we ever considered how we are given existence? Where are we coming from every moment? What is our origin? So, why do we continue asking questions about “death” as though we have even found the answer to our existence as a “living” being? We can find that the answer is the same answer to our current existence. We have to be straight to the point; first, we need to question our existence in the current moment. We need to stop taking for granted our existence at every moment, only then will it become much easier to find the answer to the question of “death.”

Death itself is an answer from the Giver of the ability to ask this question: “We do not exist on our own. We are constantly given existence by the One Who gives us existence in order to help us realize that: ONLY HE EXISTS ON HIS OWN. ALL THE REST DEPENDS ON HIS ACT OF GIVING EXISTENCE (WHICH IS CALLED “CREATING”) TO EXIST.

The purpose of the manner that things are given existence seems to help us realize that we are continuously given existence by the One Who creates whatever exists at all times. He is called God, the Absolute Creator. Through the act of creating, He reveals Himself to us and lets us know that He is always with us; He never leaves us alone, and asks us to trust Him. He is all Powerful, all Knowledgeable, all Merciful, etc. We know this just by observing His way of creating the universe.

Are we so insignificant in existence?

Do we feel in suspension, very fragile in existence; we exist but we do not secure our existence, totally depend on something else? Yes, I feel so. Is that even a problem at all? The answer is both yes and no. Why?

If we want to claim to own our existence, the answer is, yes. It is a problem because there is no way for us to claim any ownership over our existence; it is not true, it is not possible. We cannot cheat ourselves and convince ourselves that we are controlling our lives.

If we want to submit to our reality, then the answer is, no, not at all a problem. Our existence is under the control of the One Who sustains the whole existence continually. If we are not to trust this Creator, who else, including ourselves, can secure our existence even for an instant? He is the Creator, we are not. Why should we pretend to be Gods? That claim is not true!

In conclusion:

We cannot think of space without time, neither can we think of time without space. They coexist, i.e. there is no time or space which exists independently. That is why we cannot examine any thing only in space or only in time independently at one moment.

The significance of this is to realize that our existence is a matter of continuum. We can only imagine the past and the future, no one or nothing can sustain its existence even for a moment. Even the present time is not fixed, it is continuously flowing. We only can talk about our existence in terms of “being brought into existence, and at the same moment, being taking away from existence.”

The only existence is the Present. We can experience it albeit in a flowing way. As we try to touch it, it slips away through our fingers; if we want to see it, the moment we look at it, it disappears. It exists, but it cannot sustain its existence even for a moment. Isn’t it obvious that we are continuously in need of receiving existence? How come, then, do we claim to sustain our own existence? (9)

The Past does no longer exists, therefore, we cannot experience it; we only can experience it in the form of imagination.

The Future does not exist; we can neither experience it, nor can we imagine it. We may think we are imagining future. This is just an illusion. We can only recall our past experience of existence. We exist in the present with this remembrance of the past, and this does not have anything to do with the future. Our imagination of the future is then nothing but a HOPE that it may exist.

We are using our free choices at every present moment for an expectation that our choices are to be given existence. We cannot create anything, but HOPE. The Creator of the present, the past and, when it is created, the future, is the One Who answers our hopes. Shouldn’t we all realize that our practice of free will is nothing but a form of prayer to God? Shouldn’t we all admit that the actions we claim to perform are nothing but answers to our prayers? (10)

We are totally dependent on the One Who brings us along with the whole universe into existence continuously; it is called God.

We have no right to claim anything, but be grateful to God, the Giver of existence.

ali mermer

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Footnotes:

(1) “…If you can pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, pass beyond them! But you cannot pass beyond them…” The Qur’an, 55: 33.

(2) Here rises a theological problem. If we say that time and space are constantly given existence. We can logically conclude that there must be something which gives them existence and this “Giver of Existence” must of necessity be beyond time and space of which He is the Creator. That is why we cannot imagine the One Who gives existence to time and space, but we can logically be sure of His existence.

(3) The river analogy is valid only for water and not for the riverbed. In this analogy, we need to bear in mind that there is no riverbed which exists independently.

(4) “On Him depend all creatures in the heavens and on earth [for their existence as well as for sustaining their existence]; every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.” The Qur’an, 55: 29.

(5) “And they say: ‘There is nothing but our life of the world. We die and we live, nothing but time destroys us.’ But of this they have no knowledge whatever: they do nothing but guess.” The Qur’an: 45: 24.

(6) “He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all forms and appearances! His [alone] are the attributes of perfection. All that is in the heavens and on earth declares His limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!” The Qur’an, 59: 24.

(7) “Will they then ascribe divinity [ability to give existence], side by side with Him [the Giver of Existence, God], unto beings that cannot create any thing, since they themselves are being created.” The Qur’an, 7: 191.

(8) “He who has created death as well as life…” The Qur’an, 67: 2.

(9) “Verily, man becomes grossly arrogant whenever he believes himself to be self-sufficient: for, behold, unto your Sustainer all must return.” The Qur’an, 96: 6-8.

(10) “But your Sustainer says: ‘Call unto Me, I shall respond to you’…” The Qur’an, 40: 60.