103:1 “Consider the flight of time.”
By definition, “day” means a period of time with a beginning and end. The moment I have done something is my “day”, what we know as 24 hours. Also, “a day” is when the universe completes its life-span. Example: it is one day in the life of the earth… Another example, during the days (life-span or time) of Newton, people got excited about Science.
- That which you acknowledge as your experience is a “day”.
103:2 “Most surely man is in lost.”
If someone is not heeding to the message that the universe points to, then s/he is in loss. YOUR CONCERN: What am I supposed to do so that I am not in “loss”? Although, the verse mentions that you are in loss, you think about your concern and check to see whether you are of those who believe as the next verse mentions.
If you are outside the bounds of what is mentioned in the following verse #3, then what does it mean to be in loss?
DANGEROUS Language: “I am in line with God.” What does this sentence imply? It implies that I am aware of God. If I am aware of God, then there is no need to be in line with God because you are already there. These type of languages makes you feel that I am ok. That is, if you are aware of God, then why do you remember It because you are done now? When you forget about It then you need to remember It.
- Theory is important, and practice follows automatically is the general attitude of people. If someone is aware of God, then s/he has solved his/her problem. Yes, theory is important, but we have to apply it strategically by starting with our own practical experiences i.e. what we observe and investigate.
What does Quran mean by “loss”?
- Contradicting my reality and the result will be that I will live in contradiction with my human nature. That is, no happiness and full of psychological problems.
What is permanent for human beings when they are contradicting themselves?
- The existence of human qualities. If I am contradicting the requirements of my human qualities, then my humanity suffers according to the capacity of the qualities. Does human quality have limit? Hence, you can experience infinite pleasure or pain depending on how you utilize the human qualities.
- Don’t you think that conscious beings are aware of their real needs but may choose to deny it?
PROBLEMATIC Language: “I am not being a good believer”.
The problem is not that you are “lazy”, rather, you do not have confidence in the believe that you claim to have. You can only be good as much as you believe. You cannot be a believer but not a good believer.
- People blame themselves because of the lack of practice of “sharia” or Divine Rules/Order.
- They never pay attention that their claim to believe in God lacks confidence.
- You can be a satisfied believer only as much as you are satisfied with your belief. It has nothing to do with lack of action. Lack of action is the reflection of your lack of realization of the reality of your belief.
- Belief in God has endless layers. As much as I am aware of the content of belief i.e. what God is really, then I identify myself with this belief and it becomes my level of understanding of the rules of religion as God’s command. It is not God’s command anymore.
Mostly, people say the following:
1. Since Belief in God is correct, then religion is correct.
2. Since religion is correct, then the requirements of religion must be practiced.
Satisfaction is not in action, rather in realization of God i.e. who God is. So, you will identify yourself (your existence) according to the definition you give to the Creator. Not the other way around, i.e. “the more action you perform the more belief you have” is a wrong approach to religion.
“The Creator God has created me.” Just like a machine who has consciousness and concludes that it is made by an Engineer but now it has to act on its own. Afterwards, when the concept of God is introduced as someone watching over you, then you feel obliged to obey. When this shift happens (a psychological effect), you do not feel a personal experience of God within yourself and as a result, how you define God, accordingly, you define your actions.
How do I feel within myself? That depends on the realization of the Creator i.e. who He is for you.
Example: the verse says “eat and drink…” What does it mean when God asks me to eat? As if you do not know when you are hungry in the first place that you will eat just because God ordered you to eat. I do not feel hungry, but I must eat. Similarly, I must pray, although I do not feel the need to pray but I must do it because I am ordered to do it. Then, everything becomes an external burden just like the state summons you for parking in the wrong place. Then, your doings are not internal.
The teachings of the Quran are based primarily on how you define yourself, not on how you define God. Is it possible to define the Engineer and then come and define the computer? Can you read into the mind of the Engineer? No. So, how can you know what He is expecting from your existence? By reading His mind or reading His work? Reading His work i.e. Read the creation out there and the qualities of the Engineer reflected there, then you will understand what is in the mind of the Engineer. Only after using the computer you realize that this machine needs a conscious, knowledgeable engineer to become a computer and work perfectly.
If you want to establish a firm belief in God, then make sure that what you believe is appropriate to your nature (you need to study yourself because you are a work of Him). We must study ourselves and look at our qualities and contemplate on them. Example: What qualities do I have? What do my qualities mean? How can I utilize them at the highest level? Then, you will realize that if you are worthy of $100, then your Creator’s work is worth that much as well. That is, in your comprehension, your Creator could do only that much work.
Example: An artist says that frame A is $100 and frame B is $200. The difference has to do with the quality of the art.
What is the best art in the universe? Human beings. If you see yourself (art) as worth 1 billion dollars, then your Maker’s qualities of art is worth 1 billion dollars in your eyes.
- If you see that my human qualities are endless, then your Creator’s qualities are priceless and endless.
How can I make myself not be in loss?
- Through belief. Belief is a strong word, must mean something very significant. However, it is the least studied word.
- Just be yourself i.e. do not contradict your human qualities and that is how you can train yourself of not being in loss.