Recap: The previous verses (part 6 of this series) drew our attention to our provisions; how wonderfully they are created, and they cannot be attributed to dumb matter. The universe is the result of a conscious choice and everyone can question this special treatment (the universe) presented to us. The previous verses talking about Divine favor inform us that everything here is a purposeful act for you to enjoy. What it means is that you can conclude that this universe must be the result of a Conscious Choice, for you cannot see a Conscious Choice within the universe or within the existence of the matter. Hence, you cannot attribute the act of creation to anything of this universe. From being treated well in an honorable way where we enjoy life here in the universe, the subject in the next few verses suddenly changes to that of a terrifying scene.
80:33 “But when the piercing resurrection call is heard,”
Yes, everything is purposefully done here, and you enjoy it, but watch out! This place is not a permanent place for you as it will come to an end. That may not sound pleasant i.e. the doomsday is coming soon or approaching us. Is this something bad for us? While we are enjoying our living here, our consciousness has already been employed here with the information to be delivered to us that “this place is not the ultimate place that you are created for. There must be another place. Did you enjoy all the things that have been created for you?” Your consciousness awakens you now:
- and you say: “yes, everything seemed to be good but there is an end here, why is that?”
We understand that this universe is created by a Conscious Being that is treating us in a nice way, and we are created without asking the Creator to create us and to provide us everything for our needs. Also, we are provided with everything that our consciousness needs i.e. the knowledge that I need is provided in the creation because the acts of creation are very meaningful, and we are given the capacity to decipher the meaning in their existence and communicate with them. We see that some things are lovely, some things we dislike, everything is done knowingly with Wisdom, Mercy, Knowledge…
- We cannot say that something is created without any wisdom.
We see that all these qualities (Mercy, Love, Knowledge, Wisdom…) are everywhere, including warnings we receive to warn us of dangers, and the sense of justice we have when we see wrongdoings. Our desires/feelings require all of this, but things still happen while living which disturb us, and we do not want it.
- Example: if we see injustice somewhere, we are not happy with injustice and rebel to seek justice. That is a way to communicate with the Will of the Creator, which means that my Creator says: “You should not like injustice to happen”.
- I take my lesson, saying that I am not going to do the same thing that I dislike here because I have the free will, and I will choose justice, support it along with agreeable, beautiful, and enjoyable things. I will reject all the things that are disagreeable to my feelings.
I am always faced with options to choose from what I like and may make wrong choices, but my human qualities or soul or consciousness always remind me what is right. That is human reality.
- Example: While I am choosing to enjoy a certain travel destination, I fully enjoy it (or exploit it) without questioning where things are coming from, what meaning those things convey to me and what kind of response I should make. I may choose to forget about questioning but my consciousness keeps warning me and urging me that this choice does not fit your nature i.e. benefitting from all the beautiful things without searching the reason why I am here and be presented with all the beautiful things without knowing their meaning.
Also, my consciousness reminds me of why I am always warned not to take the wrong option, which contradicts my nature. My human nature tells me; that is how I am made to make a distinction between right and wrong.
- While I am in this position, I may choose not to take the warning that I receive from my consciousness (that is an option. However, I am never left alone).
My consciousness says that you can choose now to enjoy, but there is an end which you cannot escape from because you will be taken out of this place, out of this type of creation. Your body will be separated from you, and you will be left with the choices you made. That sounds exactly like how the Quran describes “the piercing resurrection call,” i.e. we may be enjoying existence here but there is no such thing as a free existence just as there is no free lunch out there.
What am I going to pay for the free existence here? You do not have to pay anything financially or physically, instead use your human qualities to search for the Source of Existence of all these things. Where are they coming from, who is behind this deliberate and purposeful action, we all must think and accordingly, I should direct my feelings towards this Source and be honest to my conclusions. That is, I must question, how things come into existence and what can be the Source of Existence of this world? Then I ask, this is presented to me by what? I may choose that this has been presented to me by matter itself (referred to as “nature”). It is an option i.e. I happened to be in existence as I am, accidentally or haphazardly.
Human intellect dwells on the options, and questions it. Is it possible that the existence is haphazard? At this stage, let’s reason about this by observing the universe, listening to my feelings, and the qualities I perceive in the existence of the universe. Be honest with your reality. Can randomness or nature be the Source of my existence? Nature cannot have the will, power and mercy in order to arrange all this for you, it itself is subject to the order, it cannot get out of the order, it is the slave of the order and thus cannot be the originator of the order. Who puts nature subject to the order? We must question, and human intellect can inquire about this and come up with an idea that fits our human disposition.
- Does it make sense to you that nature makes all the provisions that you enjoy? Be free to think about this and be honest with yourself.
If I understand and choose the option that this existence is a deliberate action, then I automatically reject all other options. If we say that the universe cannot arrange all this accidentally by itself, then we inevitably go to the idea that the human mind brings, that there must be a cause of existence to this universe. What should I do now since this Cause of Existence is doing everything consciously, purposefully in a well-organized way?ow can I understand death (i.e. the piercing resurrection call comes to my eyes that I am going to be taken away from this universe)?
The transient, fleeting nature of this world keeps disturbing me. On the one hand, the things in the universe are good to me and I am benefitting from them, but they cannot stay, they go in the past i.e. the universe is subject to passing, transience i.e. things must go. This passing of things provides another sign that I notice that things cannot sustain their existence. This is another important news. Everything is subject to change constantly. I cannot stop my existence from changing. Can I freeze my existence and have a static existence? (Anyways, we don’t like static existence because we like changes). But my existence is subject to death as a result of this change, what is going on here? Such amazing things are going on here which seem to be purposeful actions by the One who gave existence to me and the universe, all purposefully arranged. What can this news signify for me? Why is this news important?
What is the significance of this news of death for me and you?
We must think about it! If things don’t leave me, then I will leave them. This news tells me personally: “Hey, take care of your relationship with the Owner of the things here, that is your responsibility, do not run away from it.”
- You can direct your choice to the right option. No one can help you. Even if someone tells you something, ultimately, YOU MUST DECIDE YOUR FUTURE– why am I here in this universe? What am I expected to do in this world?
Why do you think that we are presented with such a scenario and that the consciousness is enabled to be aware of what is going on and continuously reminds us that we should keep in mind that this is not a permanent place for you and I?
This contradiction between human feelings and the nature of this universe causes me to reconsider all my life from scratch. That is, I am given the desire for perfection and eternal delightful life which I love and I do not want to bother about anything; everything must be secure for me. But the universe says that it is not the place for this to be actualized. Although the universe witnesses that the Creator of the universe can provide it because my human qualities (along with the universe) can witness that the Creator must have Absolute qualities or must be Absolute in Its qualities, the universe is unable to fulfill those desires. Only an Absolute One can provide me with what I am expecting from It. I must direct my feelings to the Creator and acknowledge my position before the Creator. I must admit that I belong to my Creator. I must understand what my status is and what the status of my Creator is. Now, I must come in contact with my Creator, i.e. establish my personal position in front of my Creator, be in the presence of my Creator.
Comment: Death creates a sense of urgency not to waste time.
Yes, not to waste my time, but in order to do what? What is urgent out there? If I waste or do not waste my time, in the end, I will still die.
Comment: Isn’t the impending nature of death the same motivation for people to be hedonistic and exclusively focused on living without any notion of resurrection?
The hedonistic attitude does not take notice of the reality of their lives, and just focuses on what benefits and gives them pleasure here and now. However, human consciousness says that this is not the right thing to do because I am given the quality to take notice of the real nature of life. But I should not be hedonistic for what? How would numbing my consciousness keep me away from my reality? Also, what am I going to do with the notion of death and desiring eternal pleasure?
- How can I make sure that the resurrection will take place?
Comment: I do not want to waste time because I want to understand and establish a relationship between me and my Creator. We shall try to live in Its (the Creator of the universe’s) presence as much as possible.
Indeed, everything is passing except my acknowledgment of the qualities of the Absolute Creator. The things pass, but my Creator’s qualities continue manifesting, continue demonstrating themselves to my consciousness. The things are passing, but the qualities of my Creator continue presenting themselves to me. This transient nature of the universe/creation is the best help for me to understand that my ultimate purpose is not to enjoy things in the universe until I die and go into annihilation. My consciousness says that I do not want to go into non-existence. If only I have the option, I would prefer to be eternally happy. Is there any way?
Is there any way to reach eternal happiness? The nature of transience and the nature of the end of my life with “death” is the best means for reminding me that I should not attach myself (my expectations) to this universe itself or to anything of this universe. These types of verses (the one under discussion) come to our aid.
Now, if you understand that you need to be in connection with your Creator and you need to connect your feelings to the Creator, then you attach all your expectations to your Creator because you are in need of permanence and only your Creator is the permanent One. So be in contact with this Permanent Creator of the universe. This is a matching relationship between you and the Creator (a Permanent One). The rest of the things in the whole universe cannot satisfy you.
Comment: In some religions, they do not have a notion of after-life.
We can listen to what ideas people present but we do not make comparisons between religions here. There may be slight differences between them but we look for the truth as much as we can. If an idea is presented to you, ask yourself if it makes sense to you i.e. do you think that life consists of this world only? My consciousness says that I have been given existence and at the end (tomorrow or the day after) I will be given death. I didn’t decide to come to this world and it’s not my decision to go out of this universe. I am subject to the order of the universe and I have to choose/work within the order of the universe. However, my consciousness and feelings go beyond the limitations of this world. I question where did I get these feelings? They require satisfaction beyond the limitations of this universe. They require Eternal Perfection, Permanence and Eternal Satisfaction yet there is nothing that SOLVES this dilemma in this universe. What should I do? This is a pressing question for the human being. Actually, this reality makes me feel satisfied that definitely life for my human side cannot consist of life in this world. Yes, for my body this universe is the temporary abode. But my feelings are what I am, where I want to be as energetic as I was when younger, without losing anything. Where did I get this feeling from? The universe says that you are subject to death. The physical matter says that we are all transient including you i.e. you cannot stop your being here, and my feelings rebel against this news that I do not want to be like this. Where did I get these feelings? Whatever has given me existence has given me these expectations and feelings (consciousness) as well. It definitely means something for me, the One who created me is telling me: “Hey, you have not been created for this world but you are created in this world in order to prepare yourself for another creation that your human side is yearning for. That is why I am giving you the opportunity to find a way to prepare yourself for the next creation, another type of creation.” I do not know what it is, and I am not interested in how it is going to be, I cannot speculate because it is not my duty to create this second creation. However, my desire is there for such a creation and accordingly, I prepare myself for it. I AM ONLY RESPONSIBLE TO BE AWARE THAT THERE MUST BE ANOTHER CREATION AND THE ONE WHO GAVE ME THESE SENSES (wanting Eternal Satisfaction) MUST BE RESPONSIBLE TO CREATE THE NEXT CREATION.
Comment: The verse under discussion (80:33) is mainly talking about death. How can that be related to an afterlife?
We are trying to understand “death” so we can be sure that resurrection will take place. The Arabic word “saakhkha” can be interpreted as a noise or blare, a reminder or news of the death of myself and everything around me. Reminding me that this universe is going to be destroyed, and another universe will be presented for you. “Piercing Resurrection”– In order to experience resurrection in this world, as far as I am in this world, I have to concentrate on my death where I am aging while I am here. I should take notice of “death” while I am here and solve the problem for me and try to understand the meaning of death for me so I can be sure that resurrection will take place.
- “saakhkha” does not mean death, rather it is the voice which tells me that a very important event will take place, take notice of it.
- “saakhkha” is the news of death but death of what? Death of myself and anything around me, all my beloved ones, and the death of the whole universe.
Now, resurrection depends on my understanding. If I interpret death as the end to my existence, then there is no way to talk about resurrection because death is the end. If I solve the problem of death and reach to the conclusion that there must be another creation, then “saakhkha” means to call to the next creation. This depends on my understanding of the reality of this universe so I take a position accordingly and this will lead me to understand the word “saakhkha”. If we do not concentrate on the meaning of death and solve the problem of death, then we cannot understand the resurrection or the purpose of life in this universe.
Comment: Is “saakhkha” related to “nafkhatu’l soor”?
We do not reject the idea that the Quran must be studied from “eloquence perspective” or “grammatical perspective (balagha)” or “historical perspective (in relation with hadiths)”, they are all wonderful studies. We don’t go there, rather we concentrate on what news I get from the verses of the Quran so that I can apply it to my practical living here and now. What should I do with “saakhkha” or “nafkhatu’l soor” now? There may be differences if we go into the details of the roots of the words and how it is used, and we may get different perspectives. That is not our aim here. Our aim is to derive meanings from the Speech of the Creator of the universe for me right now. Example: while talking about “saakhkha”, we are talking about death because I need to know the news that my Creator is telling me. This shaking news, no matter what I do in this world, comes to my mind and says that my life will come to an end; don’t think that you are a permanent resident of this universe. There is no permanent residence of this universe. Everything here is temporary. What are you going to do with this news? What do you think of this nature of creation? What is your responsibility now? What is your duty now?
If I do not understand that my existence should continue after I die, what is “yaumu’l qiyamah” (after life) for me then? We are being very practical here, rather than going into the details of the structure of the verses. We want to make sure that this “piercing resurrection call” is always with me and I hear it in my consciousness: How am I going to deal with this transient nature? Should I not be concerned with death? Should I get angry with the Creator that You created me, make me taste life and now You are taking it away from me? Am I being cheated? How can I utilize this contradiction within myself to solve my human existential problems?
The “piercing resurrection call” is for me to wake up and correct my understanding and get me out of this contradiction which is haunting me. My human reality informs me that my feelings cannot be given by this universe (feeling of eternal happiness), and so the One who created me has given me this sense and this very sense of desiring Eternal Happiness is a promise from my Creator that this desire is going to be satisfied. In this verse God speaks: “Whatever you want in your being is created and given to you by Me and I am telling you that I am going to treat you with these feelings.”
If someone says that “the life of this world is going to come to an end when we die, (then everything will go into non-existence as far as I am concerned). The universe exists (with you and I in it) but that does not concern you”. How much can you enjoy this life then? Temporarily you can enjoy it, but your consciousness continuously urges you: “Hey you enjoyed it, but you will lose everything one day. Today you enjoyed your life, but it will become yesterday and no way to bring it back”. Everything is continuously flowing into the past and you cannot grasp the past and stop time. That is human consciousness which always pokes human beings that “you are enjoying it, but it will go and at the end it will completely disappear from this world.” This person may seem to be enjoying the moment s/he is in, but his/her human feelings will not let him/her alone because the consciousness is always there. We all experience this here. If I have something, I enjoy it and I am happy but suddenly it comes to my mind that one day I will lose it.
Most of the enjoyment is mixed up with the pain of losing it and we do not want pain. My Creator tells me that you should not choose pain, but I say yes, I know I should not choose pain, but it is with me. Now, my consciousness says that there must be a solution to it i.e. you have to get rid of this “pain of losing” completely. There must be a way. The only way to attach the constant temporary pleasure that we are experiencing here and make it continuous is to connect with the One who is creating the temporary pleasure continuously. Yes, I have to look at the continuous act of creation of pleasure in this world, which points to an Eternal source of pleasure.
It means that the objects where the temporary pleasure is continuously manifested cannot be the source of pleasure, that is how the Creator is reminding me. The things/objects go away but the desire in me persists with me i.e. I want pleasure with no pain. Now, I understand that the One who is creating the universe in this way is telling me that: “Do not look to things as the source of satisfaction, I am the One who is creating the pleasure in whatever you are enjoying in this world. The matter is not the source of pleasure for you, it is disappearing, don’t you see, but My presence is always there with you, so attach your expectations, heart, being and consciousness (choose this way) to the One who creates the pleasure in this world.” Although the universe is transient, He keeps demonstrating that He is the permanent One and infinite One. And so, our infinite desires can be satiated only with ACKNOWLEDGING that our pleasure (without any pain) can be possible only when we attach it to the Creator of the universe, therefore, the Creator of your senses. While I am doing this connection, I understand that it is totally on my personal choice. So, I must concentrate on my responsibility to understand this reality. But, how about the others I love?
80:34 “that day when everyone flees from his brother,”
We all love our siblings and families. You may say that your brother is a good man and he attaches his heart to the Creator. Does it help you? No. Example: My brother is a doctor. Are you a doctor? No. Does your brother being a doctor make you a doctor? No. What this verse is telling us is that I must concentrate on me first and foremost.
“That day” is when I concentrate totally on my relationship with my Creator. In other words, at that moment, I must concentrate on myself, and not put any reliance on another person. This does not mean that I should not take help from others i.e. someone else’s status of consciousness doesn’t help me but if I open myself to a person’s consciousness/awareness of reality and listen to it then, it’s up to me whether I will confirm it or not confirm it.
- Ultimately, it remains on me whether I will accept or digest it with my feelings, live by them and follow the requirement of this realization that I am a created being and the Creator of the universe is my Owner, Lord (Arabic “Raab”).
- I am a created being owned by Him and everything is provided by Him.
- I am the beneficiary in this world and just receiving bounties.
If I acknowledge His being the Owner of my existence (feelings and expectations), I will understand that I am in total need of Him and I cannot get any help from anyone unless I make it my own after learning from them. This depends on my conscious relationship between me and Him. If I establish a conscious relationship with Him, then I cannot say that my brother’s virtues may help me unless I learn from him and make it my own.
- I can help myself only by attaching myself to the Creator and acknowledging that He is the only Source that provides what my feelings require.
- My understanding of my status before my Creator is a personal matter.
How about our relationship with people around us and who are beloved to us? In my personal relationship with others, no one can act on my behalf. But in terms of the life of this world, I can help my brother if he listens to me. Similarly, I can listen to my brother if I am willing to receive his wise advice.
80:35 “and from his mother and father,”
80:36 “and from his spouse and his children”
80:37 “each one of them, on that day, worries about his own destiny”
The moment that everyone flees from their relations because only my relationship with my Creator is what matters. What does it mean? Everyone should be concerned about their awareness of their status before their Creator. That is the only concern. It does not mean that I should not communicate with other people (mother/father/spouse/children) and not take notice of them.
As far as the news of death is concerned or the transient nature of this universe is concerned, my relationship with my Creator will be a totally personal relationship. Someone’s realization of the presence of God does not help me and if someone does not want to listen to me (i.e. my realization of being in the presence of God), then that does not help him/her.
- Everyone is responsible for themselves and I must be responsible for my own self.
These verses are related to life in the hereafter and may be translated as understood traditionally. The conventional scholars present the case as such that everyone will be concerned with his/her own account. The principle we follow in these classes is not related to the hereafter (a near future we are used to) because I have to get ready NOW in this life for the hereafter while I am living in this world. I must apply the meaning of these verses while I am living in this world. Note: it does not exclude that i.e. the description will be practiced in the hereafter, definitely it must be if I understand that death is not the end to my existence, and my existence must continue after death.
We are all in the school of the universe and the Professors are the Prophets. For our time now, it is the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings upon Him). The Owner of this school is the Creator of the universe. We must take lessons from the teachers taught by the Professors (Messengers of God). We must learn from other people (father/mother/spouse/children) whoever is available for us.
These are beloved people to us. However, no one can help me if I haven’t established my relationship with my Creator. Example: In the school when the teacher teaches something, does your father’s knowledge help you at all? No but if you ask him to come to your aid, and if you learn something from him, only when you learn, it helps. So, if you only learn 10%, that is it for you.
Ultimately, it is up to you to learn and benefit from these people while living in this world and you will be as much as you learned. That is, I will be as much as I realized my connection with the Creator, how much I am aware of it and how long I am keeping this relationship alive.
When I hear of someone’s death, it reminds me that I will die as well. That remains with me. Now, how much am I aware of my relationship with my Creator with this news. How much have I learned in school, that much I will be practicing once I get out in my professional life i.e. I will practice my knowledge as much as I learned in school. This is an important conclusion i.e. I will be practicing the presence of God (my Creator) in the next creation, as much as I am conscious of my relationship with Him and how much I kept the relationship alive NOW? Usually, after hearing someone’s death, we may keep the relationship with our Creator for some time but then soon get lost in the world. The real question for me to ask is:
- How often do I keep this consciousness alive and effective while living?
When the news of “death” is called by my consciousness, no one can help me in my understanding unless I understand it. Others may teach me, and ultimately, I have to learn. If they are ready, then I can share my conclusion with them but ultimately, I am what I have learned by myself. Take this real situation in this world i.e. I need to take the level of consciousness between me and my Creator developed here to the next life after graduation from this universe (i.e. the professional life as per analogy of school). We must be aware of this reality.
Every one of us will worry about their own conclusion/situation/affairs. In school if my GPA is 3.5, then that much I will practice and if your GPA is 4.0, that much you will practice. We are all responsible for ourselves. Your practicing of the learning will not help me or harm me and vice versa.
These verses do not mean that we should not bother about our friends/families here. Rather, we shall benefit from them or give them benefit.
- Ultimately, I will be in the presence of God as much as I construct my relationship with God here in this world.
When we experience the death of a most compassionate person for us (a grandmother for example), that should make us realize that that is our destiny as well. This should urge us to always remember that whatever I do here is worth only to make me realize that I have to be in the presence of God.
Is there anyone who keeps this consciousness alive continuously? It is not possible because we are fallible creatures, we neglect, and we make mistakes. We choose wrong directions, is there any way to restore our mistakes? Yes, that is the good news we hear from the speech of the Creator who speaks to us in order to guide us about questions that we cannot find answers to in this universe. Example: One day Joe was lost and did not remember his reality and His Creator. That day went into the past. The Creator of the universe took that event away from Joe and that day (symbolically speaking) is a “black day” in Joe’s life. What should Joe do? Let’s make the case more personal.
If someone does an injustice to me and on the following day comes back and says that I have insulted you yesterday, I am sorry, I shouldn’t have done it. Please forgive me. What do you do? I am given the sense that since this person confesses his mistakes and asks for forgiveness, what should I do? I forgive him. Now, that feeling is in me and that feeling is given to me by my Creator, that means my Creator is telling me that “Look, I am like this. Know me as the Forgiving One. I gave you the sense of forgiving so that you know who I am”.
- As a result, I say that my Creator must be a forgiving One and for my “black day” I go back and say: “Please my Creator, forgive me I ignored your presence in my life yesterday, it was my mistake, you have created me with two options and I abused this free choice and misused it or used it in the wrong way, please forgive me.”
- We can be sure from our own experiences that if someone genuinely asks for forgiveness (not in a hypocrite way), then you do forgive. That is a sign that if I genuinely/sincerely ask for forgiveness, my “black page” is erased and turned into “white”; this is the only hope that I hold on to.
If my Creator was not a forgiving One, then I will deserve permanent punishment because I will be graduating from this universe without any profession. PLEASE- Never ever get disappointed because your yesterday was black (metaphorically speaking) because you never had a real conscious connection with the Creator, not the superficial ones which we mostly do. The real connection is where I am convinced that “I belong to Him and that everything belongs to Him”.
- Hence, there is a solution, a way to ask for forgiveness genuinely, make the request from Him: “Please keep me in your presence”, that is the only way that we can make sure about our professional life after death. Asking for forgiveness, hoping that He will forgive and trusting in Him, asking for His help to keep this connection always alive.
- This means to establish a conscious connection with the Creator. The more you ask, you will see the easier it will become for you while living here, just remind yourself: “O my God, I want to be in your presence. Death is the best means of understanding that I have to be in your presence because nothing else really helps me, I am sure of it. if I forget, please forgive me”.
There are Prophetic teachings about how to ask for forgiveness, but this is the general notion that we need to have and make supplication (dua). Example: if you worry about your close friends and families, then ask God for help, “how can I be helpful to them?”, rather than getting angry with them and hurting/criticizing them. Ask God to give you the opportunity to share your realizations with them and look for the opportunity to receive advice from them as well (if plausible) on how to be a better creature in front of the Creator (Arabic “abd”), created by the Creator of the universe.