By Mohsin Abdullah Shiekh
At a young age, while studying in Class 12, my mind often wondered beyond textbooks and examinations. I found myself asking questions that science alone does not immediately answer: Why do we exist? Is there a reality beyond this world? Does God truly exist? These questions were not born from doubt alone, but from a deep desire to understand existence itself.
Interestingly, it was not philosophy or theology that first guided me toward clarity, but a chapter in physics, Matter and Radiation. In learning about the nature of light and matter, I encountered ideas that quietly reshaped my understanding of reality.
Physics tells us that light, once believed to be purely a wave, also behaves like a particle. This dual nature of radiation challenged classical thinking and revealed that reality is far more subtle than our senses suggest. Building upon this, Louis de Broglie proposed a daring idea: if radiation can possess both wave and particle characteristics, then matter itself must also have a dual nature. His reasoning was simple yet profound, nature prefers symmetry.
According to de Broglie, every moving particle is accompanied by a wave, an invisible presence that governs its behaviour. Matter, therefore, is not merely solid and localized, it also exists as probability, rhythm, and motion. What appears concrete is, at a deeper level, abstract and unseen. This realisation deeply moved me. It suggested that reality is not limited to what we can touch or measure.
As I reflected further, I began to notice a pattern extending far beyond physics. The universe is woven with pairs and balances: night and day, creation and destruction, order and chaos, matter and energy. Nothing seems to exist in isolation. Everything has a counterpart, a reflection, or a completion.
This observation led me to a philosophical conclusion: if nature consistently expresses itself in pairs, then why should existence itself be an exception? If this physical world is one form of reality, it is reasonable to believe that it has a complementary reality, an hereafter, where meaning reaches completion beyond material limits.
Just as matter is not confined to a single state, life too may not be confined to a single world. The unseen wave associated with matter reminded me of the unseen reality associated with human existence. We may live in the physical realm, but our purpose, accountability, and ultimate fulfilment may belong to another.
Through this lens, faith no longer felt opposed to science. Instead, science became a signpost, pointing toward a deeper truth. The order, harmony, and symmetry of the universe suggested intention rather than accident, wisdom rather than randomness. For me, this intention finds its highest expression in the existence of God, the source of balance, law, and meaning.
Thus, a scientific hypothesis transformed into a spiritual insight. The study of matter and radiation did not weaken belief; it strengthened it. It taught me that the universe speaks in a quiet language of symmetry and depth, inviting those who reflect to look beyond appearances.
In the end, science answers how, but reflection answers why. And sometimes, a single equation or hypothesis can open the door to faith, reminding us that truth is not divided, it is unified.
(The author can be reached at: [email protected] )
