Is Our Life True in Light of Reality?

Truth is the correspondence of thought with reality, or the harmony of judgment with what exists in itself, so that it withstands rational examination and methodological critique, remaining valid despite changing opinions. In other words, truth is what both perception and reason agree upon in knowing reality. Aristotle said: “Truth is the agreement of thought with reality.”

But is what we are living now real?

What we experience may be only the reality perceived by our external senses, yet truth begins when we are fully present in the moment.

Are we merely isolated “selves” acting out life,

or are we an inseparable part of this infinite universe?

We are born within a limited, defined self, confined within a body, and through our presence we create stories—each of us living a narrative.

Through these stories, we feel connected to the universe: we complete it, and it completes us.

But truth will one day cease to be absolute, and the question will shift from “Who are you?” to “Where are you?”

Death: Reality or Existential Illusion?

Who among us has experienced death and can describe it?

No one.

Physical death marks the end of the role of the self that used to think, live, and ask questions.

We say humans consist of body and soul.

Does death affect only the body, or does the soul die as well?

At death, the body ceases to serve the self, while the soul is taken, as Allah says: “Indeed, you [humans] are to die, and they [others] are to die.”

Where Does the Soul Go?

According to the religious path, the soul moves to the Barzakh (intermediate realm) after death, as Allah says: “And behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.”

I cannot argue purely through philosophy, because the religious evidence is stronger.

Our Existence in the Universe

Thus, we are:

Responsible selves

Conscious parts of a single universe

Living a temporary reality

While the full truth is beyond the present moment

Allah says:

“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.” (Fussilat: 53)

Death, then, is truth, as the Qur’an describes:

“Indeed, the Hereafter is the true life.”

Commentators explain that the word “life” here refers to the complete, true existence, while this worldly life is only amusement and play.

Our life now is not an illusion, but an incomplete reality.

Upon death, we will live the full, real life.

The ultimate question remains: Have we internalized God’s words about ourselves?