To Seem or Not To Be

Tawhid — the oneness of Allah — is often taught as a simple creed: there is no God but Allah. Yet, as faith deepens, its meaning unfolds in many layers that speak not just to belief, but to perception, intention, and the way we navigate existence itself.

In my own journey, I did not realize at first that what I called intuition — that inner pull toward honesty, fairness, and patience — was, in reality, Allah’s guidance. It was the whisper of fitrah: the natural inclination Allah placed in every soul. It always served my rights, because it served the truth Allah made me capable of perceiving. But living in a time when so much of life feels on display and subject to quick judgment, it becomes naturally evideint how the display of this guidance is being perceived to an audience. 

Society, as it stands, is built to keep speculation alive. Constant debate, suspicion, and the delight in contradiction serve as entertainment; they keep the collective ego occupied. Agreement — which often emerges from sincerity and truth — is discouraged because it threatens to end the game. Once truth is recognized, people are no longer bound together by the thrill of speculation; they find independence, and the crowd loses its purpose. In this way, the huddle of society remains intact, driven by what is unsaid and unresolved.

Yet, behind every loud claim and stubborn disagreement is something more fragile: the neglected child within each person, craving the security that comes from being right — because they once felt unseen or unheard. The insistence on being right becomes a shield, a borrowed sense of worth, an illusion of control. And in that insistence, the ego finds its false rights: rights that serve the self, rather than truth.

We live in a time where many of us become obsessed with having our faults accepted or even celebrated — rather than acknowledged and corrected. To keep that comfort, we sometimes resort to small lies, or even big ones, just to “kick it,” to stay part of the circle that reassures us. Instead of striving to align ourselves with truth, we use the collective bind of society as a cop-out, as if the agreement of others could make what is wrong somehow right.

In this way, ignorance becomes a refuge: blissful because it spares us the pain of confronting our own contradictions. But Allah doesn’t want us to insult our own intelligence by ignoring what we inherently know in our hearts. We’ve been given fitrah, reason, revelation, and conscience — all the tools we need to recognize truth from falsehood. And even though life comes with free will, it also comes with a kind of “easy safety mode”: the guidance that keeps us from stepping beyond our limits.

True tawhid calls us beyond the need to perform for others or to have our faults accepted just to soothe the ego. It reminds us that ultimate authority and truth belong only to Allah, and that our intuition — when it truly serves justice, mercy, and sincerity — is part of His guidance. In the many layers of tawhid, we learn to let go of the illusion that our worth comes from speculation, control, or public validation, and instead return to the quiet certainty that Allah alone is sufficient.

This understanding also teaches us not to step beyond our capacity or overestimate our knowledge, deceiving ourselves into thinking we know all there is to know. Real growth isn’t about forcing others to embrace our shortcomings, but about turning inward — acknowledging our faults before Allah, and striving to do better for His sake, even if no one else sees. In aligning with Him, we discover the unity, humility, and sincerity our hearts were always meant to seek.

Disclaimer:

This reflection invites readers to approach the Quran as a book they want to believe is true, rather than dissecting it with a cold, magnifying detachment that risks turning guidance into speculation and truth into doubt.

Just as we nurture our closest relationships with unconditional love, integrity, and openness, so too should we approach the Quran: as a living book of life meant to transform hearts, not as an object to prove wrong.

Judgment Day is ultimately about having integrity — about facing our choices honestly.
Hell isn’t something to admire for its harsh warnings; it’s a place no one wants to end up, a reality that should soften hearts, not harden them.
And the fear of God isn’t terror for its own sake — it’s the awe of knowing our lives rest in the safest, most just and merciful hands we will ever know.

Life’s painful moments often reflect the long unfolding of human choices across history. In those moments, the Quran teaches us to seek understanding from Allah, the One who holds the reasons and wisdom behind it all.

Read gently. Read humbly. And above all, read with the intention to connect, not to conquer.

٨٥ يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ وَفْدًا
85. The Day We shall gather the righteous to the Most Beneficent (Allah), like a delegation (presented before a king).

٨٦ وَنَسُوقُ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ وِرْدًا
86. And We shall drive the sinners to Hell, like thirsty cattle driven down to water.

٨٧ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ عِندَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ عَهْدًا
87. None shall have the power of intercession, but such a one as has received permission (or promise) from the Most Beneficent (Allah).

٨٨ وَقَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَلَدًا
88. And they say: The Most Beneficent (Allah) has begotten a son (or children).

٨٩ لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْـًٔا إِدًّا
89. Indeed you have brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing.

٩٠ تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ ٱلْجِبَالُ هَدًّا
90. Whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins,

٩١ أَن دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ وَلَدًا
91. That they ascribe a son (or offspring or children) to the Most Beneficent (Allah).

٩٢ وَمَا يَنبَغِى لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا
92. But it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Beneficent (Allah) that He should beget a son (or offspring or children).

٩٣ إِن كُلُّ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّآ ءَاتِى ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ عَبْدًا
93. There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (Allah) as a slave.

٩٤ لَّقَدْ أَحْصَىٰهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا
94. Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting.

٩٥ وَكُلُّهُمْ ءَاتِيهِ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ فَرْدًا
95. And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender).

٩٦ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَيَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وُدًّا
96. Verily, those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Beneficent (Allah) will bestow love for them (in the hearts of the believers).

٩٧ فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَـٰهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنذِرَ بِهِ قَوْمًا لُّدًّا
97. So We have made this (the Qur’an) easy in your own tongue (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), only that you may give glad tidings to the pious and righteous (Al‑Muttaqun), and warn with it the most quarrelsome people.

٩٨ وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْنٍ هَلْ تُحِسُّ مِنْهُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَوْ تَسْمَعُ لَهُمْ رِكْزًا
98. And how many a generation before them have We destroyed? Can you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) find a single one of them or hear even a whisper of them?