Discovering God by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

The realization of God is the essence of religion. Realization of God (ma’arifah) is the beginning as well as the end of religion. The position of ma’arifah in God’s religion is that of the seed. Just as a seed grows gradually into a full tree, similarly ma’arifah shapes the entire personality of a person. Without ma’arifah, religion is reduced to a spiritless form. With ma’arifah, religion is like a lush green tree and without it, religion becomes like a dried up tree. If religion is the body, ma’arifah is its spirit.