The death of Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest minds of our generation, comes at a difficult time. A nation divided by #Brexit, a nation whose very foundation, the National Health Service, is under threat.

Leadership is a treasure a few have mastered, and in a very selfish way, I feel as if we as a nation have lost a man whose insight and support has been immeasurable.

It is odd that a man who believed so much in science defied repeated scientific and medication expectations of how long he would live.

At 21, he was diagnosed to live for just two more years, yet somehow, he defeated science and died at the age of 76. In my eyes, this is a miracle, and one of many proofs that no matter what any circumstance, should God will a thing, nothing can stop it, change it, obstruct it, or deny it.

In his tribute to Stephen Hawking, British Muslim scholar Usama Hasan shared that in a conversation on predestination, Stephen concluded, “Is everything predestined? Yes, everything is predestined, but it might as well not be, since we can never know!”

Usama added, “His reasoning for this conclusion was that although the laws of physics determine everything, we could not possibly predict the future since, to do so, we would need to solve zillions of non-linear equations simultaneously, and this is similarly impossible.”

Adding his own short tribute, American Muslim scholar Omid Safi shared a quote by Stephen, “It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.”

So, it is to the meaning and purpose of the life, the universe, something we all seek to contemplate. My own understanding is that the richness of life is something which trains us all to learn about love. And we do so in this life because when we enter the next, it is this learning, that will enable all of us to connect with our Creator.

God’s Mercy

Romanticism aside, it is known that Stephen had stated many times that in his view, there is no God. Yet as a believer in God, I hold to the view that inspiration and guidance are mercies from God, in whichever capacity, to all of us.

How can it be that a man who has done so much for humanity cannot take benefit from the Mercy of God, while in Islam we are taught that a prostitute was given freedom from hell fire simply for giving water to a thirsty dog?

So, it is to understanding who or what God is. This defines every single one of us. Our life experiences help us define a relationship with our Creator. They reflect the way we interpret life’s purpose and meaning, and they enable us to form a concept of a God in our mind.

And this understanding changes across time. Consider early Muslim society where slavery was an accepted norm, just a way of life for some, whereas today, with time, education, comprehension of human rights and dignity, the notion of slavery is alien to the vast majority of us.

Similarly, for Stephen, he spent much of his life in the pursuit of science. Speaking of God, Stephen said, “Because there are laws, such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. It is not necessary to invoke God to light a blue touch paper and set the universe going,” a reference to the Big Bang. And yet, as a person of faith, like many people of faith, my view is that is it not God who created the law of gravity? The distinction between the Creator and the created, being a foundation for most of the world’s belief systems.

In the Qur’an, God says that we, all of us, will be tested, according to our respective abilities. For some, it may be with property, for others, with family. For Stephen, perhaps his trail is not the limitations set by his illness, but instead, his challenge was to do as God commands in the Qur’an: to question, to seek, to ponder, to discover, to understand. This perpetual search for understanding science better is not a distraction, but the very thing which leads us to enrich our spirituality.

Stephen has said repeatedly ‘There is no God,’ and part of me wants these statements to be just the first half of his belief, “There is no God, but God.” Wishful thinking, for sure.

The reality is that for those of us who are alive, we cannot say what happens next for certain, as no person has returned to life after death.

But, in an interview with ABC News, Stephen said, “One can’t prove that God doesn’t exist.” So, for Stephen who has passed, he has now discovered what is next. And as my personal belief holds, it is only fitting for the One who is Beautiful, Loving, Kind, and Wonderful, who inspired Stephen to achieve so much, to confirm that God is indeed Greater than what people ascribe to God.

In a speech, Stephen once said, “There is nothing bigger or older than the universe. Then it was discovered that the universe was expanding.”

And the Qur’an says, “And it is We who have constructed the heavens with might, and verily, it is We who are expanding it steadily.” (51:47)

Stephen continued, “Different galaxies are moving away from us. This meant that they must have been closer together in the past. If we extrapolate back… This was the Big Bang, the beginning of the universe.”

And the Qur’an says, “Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were once joined together, before we separated them.” (21:30)

Thank you Stephen for your contributions to science and challenging us all to discover and understand more. Despite your illness, you were blessed with the ability to investigate science, better than most of us alive today. And may that knowledge of God’s creation, and sharing knowledge of God’s creation, admit you to the Mercy of the One who Creates, ameen.

May God Almighty have mercy on those who have gone before us and those who follow, ameen.