Without doubt the life of the believer is dull and unexciting. Doubt is a big amphitheater where men and women play gladiators with Satan's paper tigers. The believer who is confirmed in his or her faith is most likely to make the discovery of the scientifically alerted person when he or she knows the difference between a mirage and a body of water in his or her journey from one oasis to the next. One's oasis is the fountain of faith in the most Living God (Allah) and the heat and wind of the desert of daily life are the challenges that face us as we negotiate between the physical and the metaphysical. The faithful believer is someone who has learned to make the distinction between information, knowledge and wisdom. Information about the existence or non-existence of God is galore in our age of vast information. Knowledge about God is a combination of adventure and patience. This is why the Qur'an emphasizes patience as one of the ninety-nine names of the Creator. Without patience the Creator who is constantly disobeyed by his creatures could have pulled the plug of life and existence long time ago. For the faith who believe in the Last Days and Judgment the patience of the Creator is the source of this prolongation of our way of life in civilization and culture since the days of Adam.

Science is another quest of the human being that demands a great deal of patience. In order for the scientists to make breakthrough in their fields of endeavor much time and energy is required. With patience and persistence they became successful. By the same token, the believer in the knowledge of God should know fully well that their challenge is a tall order. The frustrations of the science in his experiments echo the frustrations of the believer trying to hold on to the tail coast of the Prophet or the leader of this long and arduous journey to the Beyond. Moving from information to knowledge one searches for the meaning in life through the collected knowledge of the faith community as well as the wisdom contained therein.

The point of conflict between the experimenter of faith in science and the believer in God is the lack of reinforcement for the deceased ones. Since no one has returned from the dead unless his metaphysics promotes a theological and ontological notion of reincarnation that grants multiple entry visas to all the faithfuls, those of the Abrahamic faith who know fully well that in this life all of us have a one-way ticket to the Beyond. Here information, knowledge and wisdom become the major points of convergence or polarities.

To return to Mother Theresa and her encounter with doubt, let me state here that in the Muslim tradition great thinkers such as Imam al-Ghazzali wrote long time ago that doubt is very much a part of our human condition and the believer whose mind is not captured permanently in the web of the Devil should be able to benefit almost always from these momentary encounters. I use the desert traveler and the oasis metaphor to convey his meaning. Mother Theresa was a human being and for this and other related reasons known only to her and her God I say peace and tranquility be upon her in her grave.