When the realization that God is All-Powerful, the Giver, while man is only a taker becomes articulate, it is described as the glorification of the Lord.

The Quran has repeatedly urged man to glorify God. There are other similar synonymous words used in the Quran such as praise (1:2), glorify (30:17), revere (tahmid, tamjid, taqdis), etc. We can sum up all these words as acknowledgement. What is called acknowledgement in relation to man, is called glorification in relation to God, that is to say, man’s expressions of God’s glory and majesty.

The relation between God and man is that of Giver and Taker. A servant has nothing to give to God. The only thing he can offer God is to discover God as the Lord of the worlds, as the All-Powerful Being. Realization is the name of this discovery. When a servant strives towards God, that is, engages in deep thinking about God, at that time by God’s grace, the reality of God, the Omnipotent, is revealed to him. He attains realization of God with perfect conviction. He subsequently experiences an intellectual storm in his mind. He starts uttering words of high acknowledgement of God. This is the inner realization becoming articulate. This is the event which has been described as the glorification of the Lord. This is to discover the Creator through the creation. This is to discover the Sought One by the seeker, this is to discover the Omnipotent by the totally helpless. This discovery can be differently described as the moment when a human being discovers his Lord. He is then in a position to see God without seeing Him, to experience God’s closeness in spite of the immeasurable distance separating them.

The Glorification of God is the explosion of God-realization taking place in the mind of a soul who has discovered God. In the Quran, God-realization is called maarifah. When one realizes God in the real sense, it becomes a part and parcel of one’s existence. When this happens, all those high and noble manifestations expressed in such words as love, gratitude, and remembrance of God come into evidence within a believer. The Quran says that “those who believe love God most.” (2:165) Faith in God is for man to discover God to the extent of loving Him more than anything else. One who loves God the most is one who has made God his object of worship. Such Glorification of God is a rich and amazing experience that can be expressed in the simplest of words: “God is great!”

Wahiduddin Khan

August 6, 2020

New Delhi, India