“Things are not always what they seem.” You’ve probably come across those words before. A quote that usually cautions against making judgments or assumptions based solely on how something appears to be. The words encourage critical thinking and a willingness to look beyond the surface to uncover deeper truths. In fact, the quote can be considered for most things that we experience in this life. We judge people by how they act, how they speak, how they appear. (All this is something I spoke about in the input on “personal assumptions”. But in this case, I am not going into the aspects of positives or negatives about it… in this case, I am simply pointing it out as an element, that we do it).
Humans tend to accept things as they appear to be, without further thought. However, just because something is “generally known”, or accepted by a majority of people, it does not always make it true. And just because something appears to be in a certain way, it does not always make it so… as we can see from the inspiration sent by Allah…
سورة الأنفال ٤٣-٤٤
إِذۡ يُرِيكَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِي مَنَامِكَ قَلِيلٗاۖ وَلَوۡ أَرَىٰكَهُمۡ كَثِيرٗا لَّفَشِلۡتُمۡ وَلَتَنَٰزَعۡتُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأَمۡرِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَلَّمَۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمُۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ
وَإِذۡ يُرِيكُمُوهُمۡ إِذِ ٱلۡتَقَيۡتُمۡ فِيٓ أَعۡيُنِكُمۡ قَلِيلٗا وَيُقَلِّلُكُمۡ فِيٓ أَعۡيُنِهِمۡ لِيَقۡضِيَ ٱللَّهُ أَمۡرٗا كَانَ مَفۡعُولٗاۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرۡجَعُ ٱلۡأُمُورُ
سورة النساء ١٥٧
وَقَوۡلِهِمۡ إِنَّا قَتَلۡنَا ٱلۡمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمۡۚ
Surah Al-Anfaal 8:43-44
Remember in thy dream Allah showed them to thee as few: if He had shown them to thee as many, ye would surely have been discouraged, and ye would surely have disputed in (your) decision; but Allah saved (you): for He knoweth well the (secrets) of (all) hearts.
And remember when ye met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes, and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted. For to Allah do all questions go back (for decision).
Surah An-Nisaa 4:157
That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them
A very clear example that we can look at from another point of view, a scientific perspective, is the belief that was held in ancient times that the Earth was flat. That’s how they saw the world… how could it be any different? As it happens, this belief actually still exists among certain groups of people today. Indeed, I was surprised to find out. But, the point is… we often put faith in how things appear and then build a certain logic around it. Let’s consider something that all humans have a similar understanding about. Elderly women can’t give birth. Why? Production of necessary cells decreases…
سورة هود ٧٢-٧٣
قَالَتۡ يَٰوَيۡلَتَىٰٓ ءَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا۠ عَجُوزٞ وَهَٰذَا بَعۡلِي شَيۡخًاۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيۡءٌ عَجِيبٞ
قَالُوٓاْ أَتَعۡجَبِينَ مِنۡ أَمۡرِ ٱللَّهِۖ رَحۡمَتُ ٱللَّهِ وَبَرَكَٰتُهُۥ عَلَيۡكُمۡ أَهۡلَ ٱلۡبَيۡتِۚ إِنَّهُۥ حَمِيدٞ مَّجِيدٞ
Surah Hud 11:72-73
She said: “Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!”
They said: “Dost thou wonder at Allah’s decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, o ye people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!”
We generally put faith in the system, in how things appear through observations. It’s physical, visible. That’s our proof. It makes sense. Yet, behind all the faith that we put in the things we observe in the world, every aspect of life comes down to one thing…
سورة يس ٨٢
إِإِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُۥٓ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيۡـًٔا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
سورة البقرة ١٠٦
أَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ قَدِيرٌ
Surah Yaseen 36:82
Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, “be”, and it is!
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:106
Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?
We may not always remember Him as much as we should, when our thinking and understanding is tied to things of this world. We put faith in such things, perhaps more than we realize. But, to make yet another connection to the aya I also used as an example in my previous input… hidden truths are by design… in other words, “things are not always what they seem”…
سورة طه ١٥
إِنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ ءَاتِيَةٌ أَكَادُ أُخۡفِيهَا لِتُجۡزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفۡسِۭ بِمَا تَسۡعَىٰ
Surah Taa-Haa 20:15
“Verily the Hour is coming – My design is to keep it hidden – for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour.
Overall, the quote “things are not always what they seem” serves as a reminder to approach the world with curiosity, open-mindedness, and a healthy dose of questioning. It encourages deeper exploration and critical thinking in our interactions with the world around us. That’s how we truly learn. May Allah grant us wisdom.
I hope that you found this an inspiring input and that it has brought something to consider.
The best of times to you all inshallah.
Peace, happiness, and stay faithful.
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