Recap of the previous discussion:
When we studied the first verse, we saw that there is a kind of conflict that happens between the human ego and his/her conscience. The human egoistic desires say one thing and the conscience lets the human know whether that is something satisfactory or not. When I contradict with my reality – the way I am created, I get into a battle like situation where my conscience tells me the truth against the false ideologies. This battle is thus going on within me. The panting noise is when I try to fight and struggle with the truth and reality. I have to work harder to justify the false ideology which I have fantasized following my egoistic ambitions, and thus the heavy breathing.
What should I do if there is a conflict? Do I silence and shut up my conscience?
So, I find myself endowed with consciousness and the power to choose. The question is thus am I free to choose between what my conscience says and the other idea?
- Another one: Is there any way that I may think that some egoistic desire is true?
What I would do is justify myself by making a case and cover up with excuses for the egoistic desires. What is the function of free will?
Am I free to go against my own reality – what my conscience reminds me of? Yes, I am free.
If I don’t want to follow my conscience, then I will come up with excuses to justify the egoistic desires. Is there any way for a person not to be aware whether this is right or wrong?
- There is no way for a person not to be aware.
Is it possible for me to be unaware that I am following my ego? Both questioning and not questioning is a choice. Not questioning is a choice when we don’t want to face our reality and thus pretend to be ignorant. However, the conscience is there and is telling us the right.
What is Islam?
- Islam – submitting to the way you are created; the order in my creation. To follow one’s conscience without spoiling it, is the essence of Islam, i.e. Islam is the guidance from the One Who created me.
- Some scholars define Islam as supreme, pure humanity.
- God’s guidance cannot contradict human conscience, otherwise it would be a contradiction.
Expectations and infinite potentialities have been given to me. Prophetic mission is to teach me to let my potentiality come out so that I can convince myself.
- It is a help, guide, treatment center. Who goes to the treatment center? One that is in need of being cured. If someone feels they don’t need help, then they wouldn’t go.
- I need to follow the truth which is what my conscience is guiding me to.
- If Mercy is lacking somewhere – then the Source would not be Absolute. Trust the One Whose Mercy is ever with you.
100:2 and by those which strike fire, (by dashing their hoofs against the stones;)
All the “by” translation comes from the Arabic letters “wa” and “fal”. It means consider the war horses – i.e. consider your ambitions and desires within yourselves.
There may be a physical war when the unbelievers attack the believers unjustly, in which case the believers have to defend their physical body. Otherwise, there is no reason to declare an offensive war against the physical body of the believers. Example: Killing physically a body is against human nature. The concept of war in the Qur’an is ideological, unless for physically defensive purpose. One must destroy the ideology of “unbelief”, rather than a person. Killing an unbeliever does not destroy “unbelief,” it prevails. People may develop sympathy towards the killed person which in turn leads sympathy to “unbelief.”
What is the gain in physically killing a person?
People who attack are usually feeling insecure about their unbelief. Defense is human nature within the conditions of this world. Human conscience tells me to defend myself. Defend your belief ideologically, and when you are attacked physically, your body.
In this verse, the horse cannot be understood as physical “horses.” In the defensive war, believers also use horses – the strike of fire could be any horse believer’s or non-believer’s. If we understand this as a physical description – we contradict ourselves because the horses are presented in this verse as symbolizing the attitude of those who attack the “truth.”
Question: How do I understand “strike fire” allegorically?
For example, in the sciences if a scientist makes the research and finds the order of the universe, then s/he finds out the best explanation of the order. However, this scientist doesn’t interpret it in a materialistic way, and attributes the findings within the order of the universe to the One Who gave existence to the universe together with whatever exists in it. The one with this interpretation is not at all acceptable in the scientific field nowadays. They are furiously rejected by those who follow the materialist worldview with no reason other than the interpretation of the scientific findings by the honest researcher. Consequently, they are outcast from the profession.
- Discovery is the same, but the interpretation is different.
If it is said “it is designed in this way”. Can this be acceptable? Not to the logical free-thinking human mind. If material scientists are confident in their standing – they would defend their truth – but they cannot defend as today’s scientists who are adamant about rejecting the idea of conscious Creator.
Some people born into a traditional “Muslim” community may renounce their affiliation with Islam and start debating the members of this “Muslim” community, is a different case. They are right and we should sympathize with them. They were right to reject traditions that have nothing to do with Islam. Imposed religion (in fact, tradition of a certain culture rather than the religion of God) by self-declared Muslim elders, authorities with no logically consistent explanation.
Every young generation is expected to question, but if someone doesn’t investigate, then, they go with the flow, at the end tradition becomes their habit.
Prophets are always attacked because they never follow the tradition. They take furious attacks.
100:3 “rushing to assault at morning”
Whenever they have anything that looks like truth, deviate the truth and attack.
There is an artificial and political conflict between belief and science in this age. They say you attack us for not believing in God and yet use inventions from us. Can you show me any technological gadget which is not within the existing order of the universe? They all belong to the Creator of the universe with its order. Science can only unearth what is already in the order of the universe. Believers welcome the discovery of the order on which the creation of the universe is based, but they reject the interpretations of these discoveries and claiming that they happen by themselves accidentally, which goes against human logic and senses.
- We must be thankful to the creator of the order.
One famous scientist said that in a court case – whether they can teach in schools any belief in a transcendental Creator, in a science class. If we teach that the universe is created by God, then which God will I present? Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu? Leave all this and the better option is “evolution”. This was the defense.
- Is this justification, right?
100:4 “thereby raising clouds of dust”
Causing confusion. Making the truth ambiguous. When I am justifying something for myself, I may also be raising clouds of dust on my own ambitions and make it look somehow justifiable.
100:5 “and plunging into the midst of the enemy”
Attacking them or any ideologies with no hesitation. Conscience is the enemy of egoistic choice. In a dispute, both parties blame each other from their own perspective. That is, all these are interpretations of the people’s own choices, not under the witnessing of the physical evidences.
100:6 “Surely, the human being is most ungrateful to his Lord.”
This verse seems completely irrelevant to the previous descriptions. That is the argument by the Orientalists. The war field and horses were being described and now talking about human being as ungrateful to their Lord.
The whole point is to make man realize the state of human beings. We don’t thank our Creator, that we have been given the criterium of conscience within me to see right from wrong, when we do not utilize it. I will use my free will to the way my conscience is guiding me. The Orientalists are not pleased with this interpretation and relegate these verses to physical war conditions. They deliberately prefer to read the Qur’an in a specific way to show that it is pro-war and encourages its readers to prepare themselves for physical wars.