What does the Most High or A’la mean?
It is common among the believing people to say that we cannot comprehend God and we cannot understand what it is? We have to make sure that if we cannot comprehend something then how can we believe in it? What are we supposed to comprehend and what are we supposed to not comprehend? We have to make it clear. People may misunderstand as follows: “Since we do not understand God, why do we have to bother about trying to understand what God is and who God is?”
We cannot comprehend the existential level of God and which kind of existence should God have? That is correct. We cannot really imagine what God is because we cannot imagine any level of existence apart from the level of existence that we are experiencing from the conditions of this world. The conditions of this world are made, given existence, created and dependent. Transient or not transient is not the point at the existential level. Even if the universe was static we cannot imagine the existential level of God because the level of existence does not change whether the universe is static or dynamic.
This world is dependent on Its existence. In other words, this universe needs to be given existence because nothing can sustain its existence and nothing can be the Source of its own existence. Every human being can understand this. I cannot give existence to my cells, my cells cannot give existence to themselves and we cannot sustain our existence. No one can describe which kind of existence this world is. Only what we see is evidence between existence and non-existence.
What is going on in our cells?
From one aspect cells exist and from another aspect they do not because they come and go. They cannot sustain their existence. Materialistic worldview has been unaccepted by Physicists centuries ago. Physicists know that the universe is not material based, rather quantum mechanics based. However, most do not accept that quanta need to come into existence by a Conscious Will that gives existence. They say that this is the nature of the universe to be or not to be because they cannot claim that electrons exist within a split of a second because as soon as you measure it, it disappears. That is how they understand the nature of this universe.
We have to think about the nature of this universe is dependent on what? We must first accept that its existence is dependent. Building block— the universe cannot sustain its own existence at every moment. Biologists say that elements in the DNA function in a certain way. They cannot sustain their existence in the split of a second. How can elements decide what to do and what not to do? Nothing in this universe fundamentally can sustain its existence. We are sure that the existence of everything is dependent on something else. That means we cannot describe the Source of existence of this world with the same nature as the substance which are given existence by the same Source of existence we are looking to describe. Are we comfortable about this? In other words, here we can only conclude the Source of existence, the One who gives existence which is called Creator of the universe known by the word “God”. We cannot describe nor define this word “God” and we are sure that the universe has a Source of existence and this Source of existence is not of the same nature as this universe is. That is obvious. The only way we can describe this Source is through negation i.e. what it is not such as it is not limited, it is not finite, it is not of the nature of this universe…
How do we express this description of the Source of Existence in prayers?
We express it by acting in the opposite way concluding: “I am nothing. I do not exist by myself. I do not claim anything belongs to me, neither anything else can claim that.”
How do I express that I am nothing but a “fakeer”? What do you do when you are a beggar? You open your hands and stretch your arms which means that “I am needy”. The One who gives is up there. I am in the opposite direction i.e. down there.
That is why in Muslim prayers, people prostrate. When they prostrate, they say “this is the only way that I can describe you O my Source of existence”. If someone consciously prostrates, He is describing God, comprehending God and defining God. This individual is appreciating his/her understanding and comprehension of God. In prostration he is expressing that “I declare that I myself cannot give existence to anything, but I am given existence. The One Who gives existence cannot be like me, in need of an Existence Giver. You must be the Most High, beyond any definition in terms of this universe. I declare that You are the Source of my existence and I am totally dependent on You.”
Can you understand your Source of existence which has completely different level of existence?
“Incomprehensible” means that the existence level of God is not comprehensible but the necessary existence of the Creator is absolutely comprehensible and logically confirmable. We have to make a difference. That is why we should not say that we cannot comprehend God because the human mind is limited; or my understanding capacity is limited. It is not a matter of limited-ness but a matter of the nature of our being or our type of existence where clearly I am the created one. Creator is beyond my level of existence and I cannot imagine His level of existence. How can I define it or express it? Through opposite direction i.e. put my head down in human humility i.e. I cannot claim anything as far as my existence or the existence of the cells or particles of my cells is concerned, I am nothing as far as my existence is concerned. Just because somebody gave me this existence, I acknowledge. How? By making prostration.
Prostration is amazing! If someone does not prostrate, s/he is losing a lot. S/he is missing a lot and s/he is not acknowledging his/her reality. This person is not being aware of what s/he is and who the opposite end is or the Source of existence.
“A’la” or “Most High” depicts the qualities of the Lord. It means that something else exists at another level of existence and I cannot really imagine it and I know that it is indescribable for me within my conditions here. I have to acknowledge my status of existence, not my limited-ness.
If I do not understand what my responsibility is for acknowledging the Creator, then I cannot really worship Him because I do not have full satisfaction of the heart. Although, I believe that there must be a Creator but what is my relationship with Him? Nothing.
“I understand that there must be a Creator.” This line of thinking cannot be acceptable by people who reason. It can only be accepted by people who are born in a certain religious atmosphere and keep repeating the same terminology: “The universe must have a Creator and the messenger brought that news and religion must be true. So I must obey the rules introduced to me through religion”. Majority of the believers follow this path and this path is bound to fail among the new generation. Not only is technology changing but the minds of people are changing rapidly. They are losing their interest in the future and are concentrating on their daily satisfaction only: How I can enjoy my life not only today but at this moment is the main concern of the people of this century and the following ones.
With this rapid change of mindset, Islam is the fastest loosing religion. New generation has no serious faith or conviction: religion has become just a political ideology and tradition. Fastest growing religion is to enjoy your daily life only. How can I solve this problem if it is wrong? First, you cannot enjoy your daily life if your consciousness knows that you will inevitably disappear from this world. You enjoyed your life yesterday, where is it? It, at the end, has become just imagination and illusion. What is the right way of introducing belief? Concentrating on momentary existence and asking people to think about it. The universe must have a Creator is not the way to have an active and alive interaction with the Creator, it can only be a starting point.
What is an active alive interaction with the Creator of the universe? It lies here and now, my existence right now depends on something else that gives me existence. Think about it right now! All your feelings are given to you right now and are continuously being refreshed by this Creator and if you connect your existence to It right now, then you establish a live relationship with the Creator. We have to interpret existence (or have an attitude towards creation) accordingly and that is a realistic approach. Otherwise, you cannot satisfy yourself because you are aware that every moment you think that you exist but you disappear from existence at that moment. How can you enjoy yourself then? I enjoy this moment and be conscious that this moment is gone. Do not cheat yourself! Be realistic to yourself! At this stage, it has nothing to do with obeying religious rituals because foundations must be based on this awareness. Be true to yourself! Do not close your eyes and say there is no light. When you close your eyes, you make your existence dark and cheat yourself because you are denying the reality of existence of everything (which is ultimately denying yourself).
Even if I am in pain, I can still see, hear and think and I exist. I am aware that the world exists and all these qualities are given existence by someone who is giving existence to me right now. “If you know your reality, you know your God.” If you understand and admit your reality, you know your God. It is not complicated. We have to know our Creator within our own existence, creation and feelings. They are created by the One who creates everything otherwise they cannot sustain their existence.
If I acknowledge that I am in need of existence or I need to be created (there must be a Creator) and I owe everything to Him because I do not own anything. That is why prostration and in the prostration saying: “I glorify my Lord who is the Most High.” Subhana rabbi al-A’la is taken from here. It is the prayer form of this verse. The Prophet advised people to say this phrase as a supplication: “Be careful, what you are doing in prostration is included in this phrase, think about it”. As you are going down and prostrating, you are declaring the Highness or incomprehensiveness of the nature of the Creator that you belong to. If one really understands what subhana rabbi al-A’la means then they are aware that they can express this meaning by prostrating. (Rituals are really an outcome of certain understandings).
87:2 “who creates and forms it in accordance with what it is meant to be.”
We are made and the universe is made, we all conclude that and that is understandable. The Most High is teaching me when I question “how can I understand this Most High?” The fundamental thing I need to understand is my created-ness, my not being self-sufficient, my not being self-subsistent and not being able to sustain my existence. Do not wait until you die to understand that “I know that I could not sustain my life”. Right now! It is very easy to do! Can you sustain your existence right now? People mostly talk about life without comprehending the nature of existence; life is one quality of this existence. Usually people say “can you guarantee that you are not going to die tomorrow” (a commonly used religious language)? That is not a fundamental point. Fundamental point is:
- Can I sustain my existence at this moment?
Life is an important quality of existence, and its existence is consciously acknowledged only by conscious living creatures i.e. human beings. Life is only related to one aspect of human capacity. Otherwise there exists non-animate beings which we ignore when we think about our existence in terms of life only. There may be a small possibility that I may die tomorrow. It does not solve any problems. Does my life end when I die? Yes and I cannot even solve any problem after I die. I HAVE TO CONCENTRATE ON MY EXISTENCE. Can I sustain my existence now? When I understand that I cannot sustain my existence now, it means that I am created and the Most High is the One that gives me existence and the quality of life to my existence. This Most High forms the creation of everything, not only my creation, the creation of the dog or food, more so my particles are created by It. People mostly skip the particle level of existence. From our observation, we see that things are continuously being given existence in exactly a fitting position to fulfill the purpose of their existence. I thus conclude that there must be a source that gives existence to the things. Also, the One that gives existence knows where a piece is going to fit into the whole setting of the existence of the universe so that everything is given existence accordingly. That is why the universe is working perfectly because everything in the universe is made perfectly to work in harmony with the rest of the universe. The Source of existence of this universe must know what It is doing and aware of the existence of every single moment of every single being. Particles need to be created and need to be given form in accordance to what they are meant to be. Example: the surface of the table is rough and the carpenter sands it to make it smooth, continuously adjusting it to make it into a better position.
“sawwa” or “form giving” explains the nature of existence or creation. When I say that the universe is given existence in its totality, it is perfect. How is it perfect? When you look at a laptop, in its totality it functions perfectly thanks to what? Not only the Engineer but more so, the whole context of the laptop is arranged by the Engineer. That is, examine the laptop and notice that every part is adjusted appropriately. Is there any part not in harmony with the rest of the parts of the laptop? That is how we should understand who the Lord of the universe is. Every part of the laptop is deliberately made to fit into the whole body of the laptop in order for the whole laptop to function in the perfect way. Similarly, everything in the universe is perfectly set together within the whole context of the universe by the One Who is giving existence to the whole universe every moment.
Common understanding of the believers with the language: “look at the universe, how everything is perfectly designed”, which misses many points and it does not come to me at an existential level where I look at each being in the universe and see how it is perfectly adjusted with the rest of the universe to manifest the qualities of its Creator in the most comprehensive way. As a result, we inevitably conclude that the Creator must have Absolute qualities. Every single being in the universe needs to be given existence at every moment to fit into the new condition of the next moment at the same time. Mind blowing! That is what we observe but it depends on our perspective. If you look at the universe generally, then you conclude that it must have a Creator and it does not get inculcated in your being (reasoning, heart and feeling it within yourself.). Particles in my body are continually being renewed and perfectly adjusted to the rest of the whole universe and this process is taking place universally at every moment and changing at every moment. In other words, every moment is being adjusted to a new situation. Just as if the laptop was continuously being renewed and every single program is being adapted to another perfect form. That is how the universe is. Coming to the qualities of the particles, smallest thing you can imagine is what the universe is made up of. Creator must be Absolute! I cannot describe Absolute! It means It has no limitation to Its qualities.
“sawwa” means that everything is continuously adjusted. Have you seen any cracks in creation? No, everything is so smooth. If we deliberately reflect on it, then no one can say that it has always been like that. No one can say that two moments are always equal. Everything is made in such a way that according to my capacity of training and reasoning, I realize change at every moment. Example: for some people centuries change, for some years change. That is, some understand change in decade scale, season scale and days scale. Quran refers to night and day. You may think that the sun is changing its position; some may say the earth is revolving. Does not matter because change is taking place. We need to go to the heart of the matter: Every particle is changing at every moment. Do not wait for death to understand that I am going to change my life position. Do not wait to get a severe illness so that you cannot really practice your health. When you say that particles of your cells are continuously changing and are perfectly adjusted to the conditions of the whole universe, the Source of this change is adjusting it and you can imagine what your Source of existence is! Otherwise, how can you explain all this change? You cannot run away from yourself when you come to this. This is what the Quran describes i.e. how we should comprehend the existence of God by using “ahad”, whose Absolute qualities are manifested in every single being. What am I aware of? Every moment I breathe and as I breathe, my cells get their oxygen distributed to my body and so The Absolute keeps my life continuous.
We have to be more precise and aware with the reality of our existence: “I cannot claim anything in my existence; my entire life depends on the One who creates it and perfectly adjusts it to the purpose of my existence continuously at the same time with everything else”. Even when someone says that I do not believe in religion and I do not follow rituals. For a moment that is alright.
- Ask: Do you feel the need to make prostrations in your life? If not, then you are not a human being i.e. not realistic.
You have to make prostrations, admit this reality and demonstrate your position in a physical form: “That is what I am and I am aware of it.” If someone understands this, only then he understands the virtues of the rituals in Islamic traditions which states that every Prophet prostrated. That is why it is prescribed that human beings must prostrate. It is not because it is the requirement of religion, necessity for someone to be obliged to do something in this world otherwise he will be punished. Not because he did not pray that he will be punished but he did not admit his reality.
- Behind being neglectful in one’s rituals lies not acknowledging one’s reality.
If minds are not satisfied, heart will not be satisfied. Example: if you are hungry you eat food. If you do not eat material food, your hunger will never go away. Physical satisfaction must be accomplished and then my feelings will say afterwards that I am being taken care of. We have to satisfy our biological needs in order to let our feelings experience satisfaction.
How are we going to make progress? By understanding and reflecting on the idea of what does belief in God really mean and what does it encompass? Generally, the believing communities base their belief system on only accepting the existence of God. Now you have to interpret the world and understand what is going on here and how they are related to you so that your acceptance of God would benefit you. Otherwise I simply change my face to the right direction from denial but I am not moving further.
- Changing to the believing side from denial does not mean much.
Belief is a free choice and you have to demonstrate it physically for yourself as a result of your free choice by expressing that “I am nothing and I have no right to claim anything because every moment of my existence is dependent on the One who gives existence and It must be Absolute One in Its existence.”
- Prostration is not a need for something but my acknowledgment for the Source of my existence as being the Absolute One and as compared to It, I am just the opposite in rank.
Acknowledgment of my existence being dependent puts me in a low rank but it does not mean that I am a worthless being. Going into prostration or physical expression means that I cannot describe how High you are but I can know my position or the nature of my created-ness as far as I am concerned in regards to my reality.
In physical form, how can I express the lowest position as appropriate to my nature? We learn that from the Messengers on how to do it. Throughout human history all human nature displayed the same need; how can I express my human nature? All Prophets prostrated, the representative of God’s guidance showed the same thing to human nature.
- Belief system never changes because human nature never changes.
Belief requirements related to your social life need to be adapted and become part of your lifestyle. Religion helps you with that i.e. in this condition you should have a certain kind of lifestyle, world view.
Asking someone for the functions to press on a keyboard for specific tasks, “fiqh” or rule side of religion is like that i.e. “please let me know what to do”.
As far as belief is concerned, it is personal, one has to develop for themselves. That is human nature and all human nature are the same because the purpose of creating human beings is the same. Belief system under all Prophets by definition must be the same: “Human beings must prostrate”.
Can you see without your eyes? No. Similarly, that is how we are constructed and so we have to express our understanding through bodily practice as well as being conscious of what we are doing. Prostration means physical practice of expressing your reality. Belief cannot be put into practice without putting into physical form. Belief is not an intellectual activity only but fundamentally it starts with an intellectual conviction and then I have to practice it physically which means prostrate your body and while prostrating be aware of what you are doing through expressing Subahna Rabial A’la, (O my Most High Lord, You are free from any shortcomings or defects!) that is the Prophetic leadership combined with teaching. We need a textbook and also an instructor to teach us how to practice the textbook, hence Prophet is necessary.
Why is religion necessary?
Belief in God alone cannot make me practice my conclusion in this world since it becomes an intellectual ideology and nothing to do with the connection between my Creator and me. Belief in God stays aloof within my being i.e. external. Some people love this attitude: Believing in God and that is it, because they cannot deny God. Accept that He exists but let Him not interfere in my life. Like being the citizen of a country where I do not want to obey the law and pay taxes. I acknowledge the authority and by not paying the taxes, the authority puts me in prison. I did not reject the authority of the state but I did not abide by its rules. Therefore, you have to act accordingly. It means obey the rules and pay the taxes, if you do not obey, then you will be punished. In other words, my life in this state would mean nothing.
Let us take another analogy. Sultan has no power, no authority and does not impose any obligations on you to be the best citizens. Being a Sultan means what? Nothing.
In family life you have connections accordingly. There is not a part of human life without obligations. Every part of our life is demonstrating physical practice of our understanding which must be practiced. That is why religion is necessary. The first thing is to establish that you are created and you have a Creator.
Another analogy: You do not accept the king. As a result, his obligations would mean nothing and you act on your own every day. You thus get tickets, punishment and you will spend your life in prison. Human reality is the same way and that is how human nature works: “I believe in God but I never follow physical practice for it”. It means that you do not have a religion and you do not look for an instructor, then you will be in prison, i.e. Hell.
Quran’s teaching puts everything in balance unlike human relationships where you are put into jail immediately. You do not get punishment immediately you get warnings from the Creator. If you keep doing that you will be punished. If you acknowledge the warning: “I am sorry it was a mistake and I would not do that again”, then that warning does not put you in prison i.e. Hell.