Looking Through the Apple

Looking at the apple and looking through the apple are two different things. There are two perspectives here. If you just look at the apple itself without thinking about who made it, you only see its material qualities. For instance, you talk about the beneficial vitamins in the apple, but you don’t think much about who placed those vitamins in the apple in the first place. In that case, you cannot fully realise Allah, who created the apple and blessed us with it.

Whereas if you look through the apple, it becomes an object. You now wonder about the one who made it. When you look through the apple, you see it as a work of art and search for the artist behind this delicate work. You will ask, “Who hung this delicious fruit on these branches for us? Who adorned it inside and outside to appeal to our senses? Who filled it with healthy and nutritious vitamins we humans need?” You will search for the maker of all these effects. Thus, with this perspective, you will realise that the beautiful shape, wonderful fragrance, and delicious taste of the apple can only be made by Allah, who knows us and has mercy on us. With this perspective, you do not say, “How beautiful this apple is!”, rather you will say, “How beautifully this apple was made, how wonderfully it was created for us!”