Human beings devote almost their entire lives to the pursuit of material gain. In the hope of living a more comfortable and prosperous life, they often rush through daily routines without thinking.
But does this matter we constantly chase truly exist? Do the beautiful houses, luxury cars, the latest smartphones that we work so hard to obtain throughout our lives actually exist? Or are they, like the images we see in our dreams, nothing more than representations formed in our minds? And could it be that, without realizing it, we are actually living in a simulation?
What is matter?
The true nature of matter — the fact that matter is not actually made of “matter” — is now a scientifically proven fact. Quantum physics has overturned all materialist assumptions by demonstrating that matter can transform into energy, and by showing that an object can exist in more than one place at the same time.
The renowned physicist Fred Alan Wolf describes this truth about matter not being what materialists claim it to be in the following words:
“What constitutes objects is not more objects. What constitutes objects is ideas, concepts, and information.” – Prof. Fred Alan Wolf
When we step into the world of quantum, we realize how fragile the reality we take for granted truly is. Light behaves both like matter and like a wave. This particle, known as the photon, travels through space as an energy wave. Yet when it encounters an obstacle, it behaves as if it were a physical object, revealing itself as tiny particles. This astonishing discovery marked the birth of modern physics. Beginning with Max Planck, it was developed by some of the greatest minds in scientific history — Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Louis de Broglie, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and Wolfgang Pauli. Each of them was awarded the Nobel Prize for these revolutionary discoveries.
It was Louis de Broglie’s discovery that truly changed everything. He demonstrated that in the subatomic world, not only particles exist — waves do as well. He also proved that electrons, protons, and everything we perceive as matter are, at their core, energy waves. At this point, the materialist perspective was shaken. Because the foundation of the understanding that "matter is an absolute reality" had collapsed.
The interior of the atom was not solid, as once imagined, but a sea of vibrations — something that bore no resemblance to matter. Particles sometimes became visible, sometimes transformed into waves and virtually disappeared. In short, the concept of absolute matter had transformed into an abstract flow of energy. This was a profound revolution.
Quantum physics revealed that what we call the “real world” is, in fact, a reflection — a plane of perception. Matter was not as solid as we thought. Reality itself was shaped by observation. One of the directors of the Max Planck Institute, Prof. Hans-Peter Dürr, summarized this truth with a striking statement:
“Matter, whatever it may be, is not made of matter.” - Prof. Hans-Peter Dürr
Dreams and Feelings
To better understand the reality of matter, let's pause for a moment and look at dreams. There is a world in our dreams as well. There, we walk, talk, touch walls, and feel the wind. Everything is real, but until we wake up. But in fact, all those images, sounds, and feelings are created entirely within our minds, even though they do not exist in any way outside. The dream body, dream house, dream cities that we believe to be real are all just electrical signals processed in our brain.
Interestingly, the same process occurs in daily life. Light, sound, and touch signals from the outside world are also processed in our brain. We cannot know if there is a real counterpart in the outside world. Technically, there is no difference between dreams and real life; both are formed in the brain. In short, humans only interact with their perceptions. Whatever they see, hear, or feel is a perception formed within themselves. In reality, they cannot go beyond these perceptions. Because all the scenes they see are images specifically presented to the soul.
There is no proof of the existence of matter. Everything we perceive with our five senses is merely a perception formed in our brain. Therefore, it is never possible for us to directly access the world outside our brain.
When we dream, we cannot understand that what we experience is not real. Just as we find it difficult to accept that what we see now, while living in this world, is merely an illusion formed in our mind. However, the way we perceive the images we call real life is exactly the same as in dreams. In both cases, the image is formed in our brain. The same signals activate the same centers in the brain. In respect of formation and reality, there is no difference between the image in a dream and the image we call real. We doubt the reality of the image in neither case while watching them.
What about what we see right now? A person who dreams of walking through a field of sunflowers realizes he is in fact lying in own bed. When we wake up from a dream, we can say, “It was all just a dream.” So, how can we prove that what we see now is not a dream? Actually, we cannot prove it. whether it's a dream or it’s the real life, a person perceives the same images.
So, all beings are merely images; a reality shown to us like a movie scene. But we are not who makes this movie. Then, who creates this flawless movie of reality? Who creates this universe, vivid in every detail, colorful, audible, and tangible? That is the real question. Who is the creator of this perfect reality we watch in our minds?
The answer is clear and unequivocal: It is our Almighty Lord, Allah, who creates everything from nothing at any moment, who creates everything just with a command of “Be.” Allah, the Creator of all things, the Possessor of infinite power and might, informs us of this truth in the Quran as follows:
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
“The Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 117)
Sight
Have a look around yourself. What a colorful, vibrant world there is. The sky is blue, the sea turquoise, the flowers multicolored; a scene painted with thousands of shades of light. It is impossible to go unamazed. All these are endless reasons and beauties granted to us to thank God.
What if I told you that there is actually no light outside of our minds? Lamps, car headlights, neon signs, even the sun in the sky... It might be difficult to believe that these things do not actually emit light in the sense we know.
We perceive the outside world through the presence of light. However, reality is much different than we imagine. In fact, there is no light in the outside world. What we call light is merely a perception created within our brains. In reality, there reigns pitch darkness outside. It is the interpretation of the signals that come to our eyes what appears us as a bright world. The technical explanation is quite simple: The sun and other light sources emit electromagnetic particles, or photons, of various wavelengths. These photons spread throughout the universe. However, these particles themselves are not light, but merely packets of energy. Just like radio waves, infrared and ultraviolet rays are.
Some of these particles are so heavy and they carry so much energy that they often shatter the molecule they collide with and continue on their path without much deviation. This is the underlying reason why radiation causes cancer. Weaker types are used in X-ray machines. What an X-ray machine does is to convert invisible waves into visible light. In other words, the image is actually an artificial perception created by the device. This example shows that light only exists when it is perceived by the eye and interpreted by the brain.
Just as technological devices capture invisible subatomic particles and convert them into images on a screen, the human brain perceives electrical signals triggered by photons as images through chemical reactions. Outside, there is no light in the sense we define it. Everything is transparent. What we call light is entirely perception. Humans did not create this perception system of their own volition. Our sensory organs were specially created for us to be grateful. Our Lord draws attention to this truth in the Holy Quran as follows:
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
Say: ‘It is He who brought you into being and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show!”
(Surah Al-Mulk, 23)
Now let's talk about color. Have you ever thought about colors? Actually, there is no such thing as color in the outside world. No object has its own color. Color is merely an interpretation produced in our brains. To have a better understanding of this, let’s examine how our computers interpret colors - computers only work with electrical currents.
Have you ever wondered about that vibrant yellow hue you see when you look at a lemon? Does "lemon yellow" really exist in the real world? And when a lemon is displayed on our computer monitors—assuming no paint is seeping through the wires—how exactly is that yellow produced? Let's take a closer look.
Zoom in on the lemon image on your screen; you'll see that the color yellow is actually made up of countless tiny pixels. Each pixel contains three tiny lights: red, green, and blue. Billions of times per second, an electric current flows through computer cables. The language of these currents is quite simple: low voltage is 0, high voltage is 1. In other words, just “present” or “absent.” These 1s and 0s are converted into numbers by the processor, and these numbers determine how brightly each color light in the pixel on the screen will shine, with values ranging from 0 to 255. Thus, new colors can be created from the mixture of red, green, and blue.
In the case of the lemon example, the computer gives the following command: “Red 255, green 250, blue 205.” That is, open the red fully, open the green almost fully, and reduce the blue a little. And when we look, we see that the electricity coming through the cables is interpreted and displayed as yellow. Our computers are pre-programmed to interpret electrical currents at certain values as yellow. So, what is real in this case is how the electricity is interpreted - the yellow itself is not real.
What about our brains? The human brain behaves in a similar way. When we look at a lemon, the photons reflected from it—which are not actually the colors themselves—i.e., light particles, hit our eyes, stimulate the cells in the retina, and these stimuli are converted into electrical signals. Our brain interprets these signals and assigns a meaning to that wavelength. And the brain says, “The defined counterpart of this electrical current in me is yellow.”
In reality, neither lemons are yellow nor does light have a color. Everything we see is nothing more than the interpretation of electrical signals, along with all their details. The electrical signals that reach our brains from our eyes are made meaningful for us. These signals are constantly recreated as colors in our minds. In reality, everything is transparent. Neither electric current nor photons have color.
Colors are constantly being recreated in our brains. The lemon we think that we see is actually an image created in our minds.
It is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, who created this perfect order and determined colors for us. Allah draws attention to this subject in the Quran as follows:
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
“Allah's color – and what color could be better than Allah’s? It is Him we worship.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 138)
Hearing
Sound is actually a vibration that does not exist at all. It is an electrical signal created when waves in the air strike the small bones in our ears. Neither a note has any real existence nor does a melody have a shape that travels through the air. We actually hear those sounds, that music, inside our brains. The tone of an instrument, the voice of a person; they are all just signals interpreted in our brains.
There is actually no sound outside our brain - absolute silence reigns. What exists in the external world are merely physical vibrations called “sound waves.” The transformation of these vibrations into meaningful sound occurs not outside or in our ears, but within our brain. Thus, there is no music actually playing outside; it plays inside us. In the Quran, Allah says:
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
“Everything in the heavens and everything in the earth glorifies Allah, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the Wise.
(Surah Al-Jumu'ah, 1)
There is a rhythm in every point of the universe: atoms, stars, hearts... All are part of the same divine orchestra. Everything ceaselessly glorifies Allah.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
Do they make things into partner-gods which cannot create anything and are themselves created?
(Surah Al-A'raf 191)
Touch
Just think about it; you reach out your hand and feel that touching something. But are you really touching it? Physically touching something is actually impossible. Think of a basketball player; they appear to be holding the ball tightly with both hands. Their fingers touch the surface of the ball, as if they are gripping it by applying pressure. However, this is just an illusion. In reality, the atoms on the player's fingers never touch the atoms on the ball.
As atoms approach each other, the electrons surrounding them also approach each other. At that moment, the electromagnetic force comes into play. The electrons repel each other via virtual photons, and this repulsion is so strong that it is impossible for two atoms to actually touch each other. So, his fingers holding the ball do not actually touch the ball's surface; it is only the repulsive force between atoms that creates a sense of contact in our brains.
At that moment, we think we are touching something. However, what we call “touch” is only an electrical signal interpreted by the brain. That being the case, it would not be wrong to say we have never truly touched single thing in our entire lives.
This physical reality leads us to a deeper truth. Everything we think we touch is actually just a perception formed in our brain.
One might approach senses of sight, hearing, and smell with skepticism. But the sense of “touch” gives the impression that the outside world truly exists. However, in reality, touch, like other senses, is a signal generated in the brain. If the brain doesn't receive that signal, even if a person touches a substance, they cannot feel it.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
... The skins of those who fear their Lord tremble at it and then their skins and hearts yield softly to the remembrance of Allah...
(Surah Az-Zumar, 23)
What about the pain that we feel? Pain feels so real, doesn't it? When we bump our knee, we feel that ache instantly. It's as if the pain is coming from inside our knee... Yet scientifically, the situation is very different. At the moment of impact, the nerve endings under the skin are stimulated. These stimuli become electrical signals and are transmitted to the brain, to the pain center, via the spinal cord. The brain interprets these signals. In other words, the location, intensity, and form of the pain are formed in the brain. However, the electrical signals reaching the brain are coded in such a way that we perceive the pain as coming from a specific part of the body. In reality, there is no consciousness in that area that “feels” the pain. Our knee is not even aware of its own pain.
The question at this point is: If pain is only generated inside the brain, then who suffers? Is it your body that you see in the mirror that is suffering, or is it your soul that observes the electrical currents within your brain as images? Just like the images we see, the pains we feel are also perceptions generated in the brain.
With the interpretation of different electrical signals in the brain at the same time, both the image of “falling” and the sensation of “pain” occurs. Just like the images that we see, the pain we feel is also a perception produced within the brain.
In other words, we both “see” our knee hit something and ‘feel’ the “pain” of knee.
Yet, both of these experiences occur at the same center - which is our brain.
However, neither the knee hurts nor the image suffers. Both the pain and the image are perfect perceptions created by Allah in our brain, just like a dream scene.
Every pain, every feeling, every sensation—is a miracle specially created by Allah.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
Allah brought you out of your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing at all, and gave you hearing, sight and hearts so that perhaps you would show thanks.
(Surah An-Nahl, 78)
Taste
Taste is one of the most enjoyable senses in our lives. A piece of chocolate, a fresh lemon, or your favorite fruit...
All of them carry an almost unreal happiness on the tip of our tongue. But have you ever wondered where these tastes actually originate? Let's take a look together.
There are four basic chemical receptors on the human tongue: sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. Just as countless colors appear on computer screens through the combination of red, green, and blue in different proportions... Similarly, different combinations of these four taste receptors on our tongue create thousands of distinct taste sensations. These receptors detect the chemical substances in the food we put in our mouths with every bite and convert them into electrical signals through a series of complex processes.
When these signals reach the brain, the brain interprets them, and this is what we call taste. When you eat a slice of cake, the image of the cake formed in your brain is combined with the sweetness signal formed in your brain. When these two perceptions combine, the feeling that makes you enjoy that cake emerges. While you are eagerly eating the cake, the only thing happening on your tongue is the conversion of a few chemicals into electrical signals. The taste experience actually occurs entirely in your brain. So, you never directly perceive objects in the external world. You cannot see, smell, or taste the lemon itself; you only perceive how your brain interprets that object.
If your taste buds were to stop working for even a moment, your brain would never be able to taste it even if you ate your favorite food in the world, and your sense of taste would be completely lost. Don't be taken in by how vivid and real the taste of everything you eat feels. All the flavors you think you taste are nothing, but a perfect perception created in your brain.
Here is what scientific facts tell us: What we call taste is not the external world itself, but the meaning our mind assigns to it. In reality, nothing is inherently salty, sweet, sour, or bitter. What we call taste arises when electrical signals generated by the tongue receptors that detect chemicals in food reach the brain, and the brain interprets these signals. Things we eat actually has no real taste. For example, bitterness is actually a perception that is already present in your brain. When electrical signals corresponding to the sensation of bitterness reach the brain from the tongue, the brain interprets these signals and you think, “Yes, this pepper is really hot.”
It is Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the possessor of infinite power and strength, Who created this perfect system of taste perception allowing us to perceive all varieties of tastes—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and many more—with all their subtleties.
I seek refuge in God from the accursed devil.
It is He who produces gardens, both cultivated and wild, and palm-trees and crops of diverse kinds, and olives and pomegranates, both similar and dissimilar. Eat of their fruits when they bear fruit and pay their due on the day of their harvest, and do not be profligate. He does not love the profligate.
(Surah Enam, 141)
Smell
If you ask someone, “How do you smell?” they will most likely answer, “With my nose.” However, this is not as accurate as we think. Gordon Shepherd, a professor of neurology at Yale University, explains this as follows:
“We think we smell with our nose, but it's like saying we hear with our earlobes.” - Gordon Shepherd
Our sense of smell operates on the same basic principles as our other senses. The visible part of the nose is merely an entryway, and its function is limited to drawing odor molecules from the air. The volatile molecules responsible for the scents of vanilla, rose, or lavender travel to the olfactory epithelium deep inside the nasal cavity. There, they interact with specialized receptors on the cilia. This interaction is rapidly converted into electrical signals, which are then interpreted by the brain’s olfactory center. What we perceive as smell is simply the brain’s interpretation of these electrically induced signals.
Whether pleasant or unpleasant, the scent of perfume, flowers, food, or a sea breeze... All the scents you like or dislike are not outside, but are created in your mind. Moreover, scent molecules never reach our brain. Just like with sound and sight, the only thing that reaches your brain are electrical signals. So, all the scents we perceive are simply the brain's electrical interpretation of molecules coming from the outside world.
In this case, the direction of the smell is also irrelevant. Because all smells, which we believe come from outside, are actually perceived at a single point: the olfactory center in our brain. The smell of cake seems to be coming through the oven, the smell of food seems to spread from the kitchen, the smell of flowers comes from the garden, and the smell of the sea seems to be carried hundreds of meters by the wind. All these scents are formed in your brain, regardless of where you think they come from. There is no such thing as a scent coming from the world outside the brain, either right or left, front or back. Every scent is perceived at a single center, at the same point.
We mistakenly believe this perception derives from the matter outside. Just as the image of a flower is formed in your brain, not your eyes, the scent of that flower is formed not in your nose, but within your olfactory center. Even if there is a real scent outside, it is never possible to reach its true form. You may only perceive it as the interpretation of your brain. The philosopher George Berkeley, who realized this truth years ago, said:
“It was once believed that colors, scents, and other sensations actually existed. But later, these kinds of views were rejected, and it was seen that they only exist through our senses.” - George Berkeley
It is Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Who creates countless scents in our minds, Who directs us to the source of these scents, all-powerful and possesses superior artistry.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
He laid out the earth for all living creatures. In it are fruits and date-palms with covered spathes, and grains on leafy stems and fragrant herbs. So, which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?
Surah Ar-Rahman, 10-13
Brain
The outside world comes alive before us like an immense painting filled with colors, sounds, and textures. Yet, the very place all this splendor is created is in pitch darkness and absolute silence. The 1.5-kilogram piece of flesh inside our skulls, in this secure box where no light ever gets in and no sound ever echoes, billions of electrical signals collide every second.
Well, if the phenomenon we call matter is merely a low-quality electrical current, then what is the structure we call the brain itself? If the brain constructs a universe for us by interpreting electrical currents from the outside world, then isn't our knowledge of the brain itself also merely an interpretation? When we see ourselves in a mirror or observe our brain in an MRI machine, we are actually observing an image presented to us by our brain. So, is the brain matter itself, or is it also an illusion similar to our dreams?
The truth is, even if we accept our brain as a solid substance rather than an illusion, we still face a great mystery. Science tells us reality itself is nothing but energy. Modern physics has proven that the atoms and electrons that make up our brains, like everything else, are not solid objects, but energy packets vibrating at specific frequencies and condensed wave functions. When we descend to the subatomic level, the fundamental structure of matter, which we thought was stable, gives way to a deep void and vibration.
If everything is energy in its essence, then is it energy who perceives energy? If the brain itself is an energy fluctuation like everything else, then who is it that sees, hears, and says, “I am here”? Does our mind belong to some truth beyond this universe of perceptions?
To understand this amazing game of our mind, let's look into the depths of sleep again. In a dream, you may see yourself as a skilled brain surgeon. You feel the cold metallic scalpel in your hand; you see the folds of the brain you are operating on in the finest detail. At that moment, that brain is absolute reality for you.
However, when you wake up, you realize that neither the scalpel you used during the operation, nor the brain you operated on, nor even your entire body in the dream, including the brain in your dream, actually exist. You realize that all of these are a fiction created in your mind.
What is the difference between your brain in this world, which you believe to be awake, and that imaginary brain in your dreams? If everything feels so complete and real in a dream, how can we be sure that our current experience will not end with a “higher sense of awakening”?
All these wonders of the universe are actually a continuous masterpiece shown to that sublime being we call the soul. In this process of viewing, brain is merely a vehicle – an interface. When everything we perceive as physical is transformed into flashes of energy at the subatomic level, only one truth remains: This stunning artistry is a manifestation constantly created by our Lord, the possessor of infinite wisdom. Everything created is a shadow, an illusion; the only eternal and real being is Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We are watching His art, the beauties offered to us, with the spirit that comes from Him.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
They will say, ‘Alas for us! Who has raised us from our resting-place? This is what the All-Merciful promised us. The Messengers were telling the truth.’
Yasin Surah, 52
