The specific trait which distinguishes man from all else in creation is his ability to read all of God's signs.The human intellect is in a sense the ultimate decoder which when is refined and polished can witness the face of the divine in all of its many modes in all of creation; for as the Quran says: "Wheresoever you turn there is the face of God"(2:115). To see all the signs of God and be called to the remembrance of God in all modes is thus the human norm.Islam understands such knowledge to be the goal of all religions.This is not the knowledge of facts and information but knowledge of things as they are in themselves.A knowledge in which everything is given its proper place because everything is seen in relation to God, and the relations between things are understood on the basis of their relationship to God.

From this point of view to know something outside of God is not to truly know them, for nothing can exist outside of its relationship to God; no existent exists outside its dependence upon Absolute Existence.It is for this reason that the Prophet Muhammad (sws) would often pray: "Oh God show me the things as they are in themselves.Show me the truth as the truth and give me strength to follow it.Show me falsehood as falsehood and give me strength to avoid it."