One Day You Will Understand: Only God Exists
“They will leave this transient world and be honored with the presence of the Sublime Majesty in the eternal abode. They will be freed from the noise of causes and the dark veils of means, and they will reach their Merciful Lord, in the eternal center of sovereignty, without any veil. Everyone will directly know and find who their Creator, their Worshipped, their Lord, their Master, and their Owner is.”
(Mektubat, Twentieth Letter, First Station)
These sentences by Bediüzzaman Said Nursî describe the true and naked reality that a human being will encounter after departing from the worldly life. By leaving the realm of transience, the human enters an eternal realm where veils are lifted, causes lose their significance, and only the existence of God shines. This transition is, in essence, the greatest meeting where the highest degree of Tawhid (Divine Oneness) is manifested.
The True Direction of the Human Journey
“Dâr-ı fânî” refers to the temporary world in which humans currently live. This place is a realm of intense tests, surrounded by causes. In contrast, “dâr-ı bâkî” is the eternal life; it is entered through a door opened by death, stepping from transience into eternity.
In this world, humans are constantly engaged with causes: they work for sustenance, visit doctors for healing, and seek solutions for difficulties. However, all these cause-and-effect relationships are veils, by the wisdom of the test. The true agent, the one who creates and governs everything, is only God. In the Hereafter, these veils will be lifted, and causes will vanish. There, there is no test; only truth exists.
This truth is described by Nursî as “being freed from the noise of causes.” In other words, humans completely detach from the complex images of the world and the shadows of causes. They will then know that:
There is only one true Doer: God.
The Sublime Presence: A Union Without Means and Veils
“The Sublime Presence” is the manifestation of God’s grandeur, majesty, and eternal sovereignty. In the Hereafter, the servant will be accepted into this presence without any veil or intermediary. This is the greatest union that the human soul longs for.
In the world, humans reach God through:
- His works,
- Evidences,
- Manifestations of His Beautiful Names (Esma-i Hüsna),
- The words of the prophets,
- The teachings of revealed books.
In the Hereafter, however, there are no means, no causes, no veils. Humans will encounter their Lord directly. In this encounter, the servant will:
- Recognize their Creator,
- Recognize their Worshipped,
- Recognize their Lord,
- Recognize their Master,
- Recognize their Owner.
This recognition is not merely intellectual. It becomes a witnessing (shuhudi) knowledge, perceptible to conscience, soul, and feeling, as clear as sight. The unseen dimension (ghayb) of faith in this world transforms into a direct vision (mushahada) in the Hereafter.
Only God Exists
The phrase “Only God exists” is a truth often accepted in worldly life as a requirement of faith. In this life, humans say it by believing, not by seeing. In the Hereafter, however, this truth will be seen, felt, and lived.
In this world, Divine Power hides behind causes. This concealment is part of the wisdom of testing. As Nursî explains:
“Honor and majesty demand that causes appear as veiled in the eyes of reason; Oneness and majesty demand that causes withdraw from the effect of truth.”
(Mesnevi-i Nuriye)
In the Hereafter, this veil is completely lifted. Everyone will see the one true reality behind all:
- The doctor is not the Healer; God, the Shafi, is.
- The job does not provide sustenance; God, the Razzak, does.
- No one protects; God, the Hafiz, protects.
This understanding is what Nursî conveys with: “Everyone will directly know their Creator.” The Hereafter is where Tawhid shines in a pure, unshadowed, veil-free manner.
The Center of Eternal Sovereignty
In the Hereafter, the servant is admitted to the center of God’s eternal sovereignty. This “makarr-ı saltanat-ı ebedî”—the center of Divine rule—is the realm of Paradise and Divine presence.
This rank fulfills the human soul’s innate desires for permanence (beka) and beauty (cemal). The servant no longer engages with the perishable but with the Everlasting Essence.
The Qur’an expresses this truth:
“Everything besides Him will perish. Judgment belongs to Him alone, and to Him you will be returned.” (Qasas 28:88)
This verse summarizes the reality that emerges in the Hereafter: Only God exists.
The Meaning of the Ultimate Journey
Death is not annihilation; it is the gateway to truth. Even though the world is a realm of shadows and veils, the Hereafter is:
- Where truth is unveiled,
- Where Tawhid is fully realized,
- Where the servant meets the Lord directly,
- Where causes no longer exist,
- Where reward and peace begin.
Nursî’s expression “reaching the Sublime Presence without veils” captures the essence of this ultimate meeting. The human will experience direct union with the Lord who created them from nothing, nurtures and disciplines them, and fulfills every need.
And in that moment…
The human will comprehend the entire truth by living it
