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109. AL-LAH is Absolute Reality. In relative terms, reality is what lies between GOD and nothing.
110. This range is the realm of things, all of which originate from a greater reality of words and symbols.
111. The language of the Qur’an is more or less symbolic depending on the subject matter.
112. Symbolic language works by simultaneously evoking images and multiple levels of meaning.
113. This is particularly evident in GOD’s “most lofty metaphor” – the heavens and the earth.
114. They symbolize, among other meanings, a vertical order of reality that transcends creation.
115. Adam’s appointment as GOD’s representative on earth came with a transcendent knowledge.
116. This knowledge, which the angels lacked, consists in the creative power of naming things.
117. Naming brings things, both real and illusory, into being . . . hence its power and its danger.
118. While names provide access to higher realities, they also can lead to lies, delusions, and enmity.
119. Modern orthodoxy tends to equate reality with science, facts, and incoherent egocentric values.
120. Qur’anic reality integrates, by contrast, the main human concerns – our inner being and final fate.
121. Reality is personal and reciprocal. Since personality implies interaction, He reciprocates with us.
122. Reality is elusive, as not all can be known by us, and effusive, as His expressiveness is boundless.
123. Reality is expressed in meaning what He says, saying what He does, and doing what He wills.
124. Reality takes effect in several ways – first conceptually, as we are spoken into being, then factually.
125. Reality speaks to all humanity, but at various levels; it is our highest values that best echo Reality.
The GOD You Already Know 