Chapter Falaq – Part 9

113:5 “and from the evil of the envious when he envies.”

It may be difficult for a person to admit that s/he is envious. If we pay attention to ourselves everyone will realize that they have, to a certain extent, some envious attitude.  For example, nowadays in social media various means are used to impress other people.  Whatever is being shared may not necessarily be in order to impress other people but as a result of being
impressed by someone, one may share something and thus sharing as a counter impressing attitude.

• If I myself am not envied by things, then I do not want to put anyone in a position where they would envy what I have.
• If I want to impress others for anything that I have or do, that means I am impressed by other people. If we have anything that we deem enjoyable and need to share it, then we look for any excuse to talk about what we have. For example, to announce the purchase of a new car, without announcing it straight, I will make a story and try to bring it into the story to mention it. We are skilled in this human weakness.

We are grateful to what has been given but we may appropriate the ownership to ourselves.
It is not what I have been given but what I have. Regardless of what practical religiosity we may claim, do we want our friends to know about the new car? Do I wish that someone sees me sit into that car? These are the sources of envy.

Now let’s see why the Guidance says that I should seek refuge with the Lord of Daybreak from
the evil of the envious when he envies. We have been talking about our own envy rather than the envy of other people on us.

• We will realize that the effect of other people’s envy is because of my envious attitude.

Envious attitude is being proud of what I have although my tongue may claim otherwise. There is nothing wrong by having things. It may be said as long as it is permissible such as not obtained via cheating, unjustly but in a proper way. These are ethically reasonable but what is the attitude that we have on those things? Moral and ethical is one thing but the verse is addressing a more fundamental human condition which how guidance should be benefited from. Moral and Ethical are already within me if I really know myself.

• Even if I say that these things are given by God, do I have this inkling to be proud of them and desire to show to others?

We are not talking about other people’s envious attitude towards us but our own envious attitude. Other people’s envious attitude should not affect me as long as I have the rightful attitude towards envious feelings. If I know within myself that if I do this, it will demonstrate that I am weak in not preventing myself from envious attitude. If I am aware of myself then I will be aware of other people’s envious attitude as well. I will understand whether someone is trying to make me jealous about what they have, then I will handle it accordingly by disregarding it since I am aware of my own attitude.

• I can develop a shield for myself on how to prevent from other people’s envy.
• We are not a victim of envious people. It is illogical.  Also, in general, causes have no effect on me, they cannot create anything.

If other’s envious attitude does not affect me why then the Qur’an asks me “to seek refuge with God from the evil of the envious when he envies”?

It is a reminder for me to be aware that the things which are given to me are not the result of my act of creation. I asked the Creator of the order of the universe by obeying His Will to create them for me. Not because of chance that I got them, rather I asked the Creator to create them for me, He accepted my request and created it. By realizing this I must prevent myself from falling in an attitude which causes envy in others. As a result, by developing my consciousness that I cannot take any pride for what God grants me, thus, I shun away from taking an attitude which causes envy feelings in others. That is the way to take refuge with God from the evil of the envious.

If you feel that others are envying you just feel sorry for them and try to help them recognize that what you have is nothing to do with you, but it is grace of your Creator. They also should turn to God and obey His order in the universe and communicate with Him to give them the same or more. He is the Provider. In fact, everything is based on our consciousness of God.

• Only the will of the Creator is in creation and order demonstrates only how the will of the Creator operates. Order does not have an independent effect on us.
• Stop following blindly the tradition. Question yourself, what does it mean?  Otherwise you will fall into superstitious life your whole life.
• Everything comes from you, no one can have an effect on you and you must develop yourself. I must work on my own.
• No one can harm me or benefit me. Only me and my relationship with my Creator, how much I acknowledge Him.  My father being a saint does not save me.  The solution remains on me.
• You are how much you have trained your feelings i.e. what you are.

How can I prevent myself from harming me through jealousy, envious attitude and other things?

The tongue represents what I have in my heart, unless it is imitatively repeated like a parrot.  I need to train myself so that my senses do not trap me.

First, I must refresh my definition of what existence is in its entirety.  If I realize that the existence of this universe is the result of a Conscious Will, rather than accidents and that everything is in an order, organized in a specific way, then I will help myself understand my reality.  The order never changes (orderliness) but the application of the order changes.  That is to say, order never changes without cessation.  Order in the universe is fixed, at the same time, the change in the order is also fixed.

• The change within the order is also taking place within an order.

Everything within the universe space-time wise has a Conscious Choice behind it.  It means that it must be an Absolute One, which cannot be within the universe.  Absolute One is the Source of Existence of every single being at every moment.  We cannot change one cell within the body according to my will.  If I want to change something, then I have to follow the conscious will of my Creator i.e. I will ask the Creator to create the result for me.  Example: I want to change the shape of my nail by following the order.  Can I tell my nail to change itself?  No, I must follow the order and obey the Conscious Will’s choice.  There is no other way.  What does this mean?  We cannot escape from the Conscious Will and establish our own will instead.

• We can only use our freewill to follow the Conscious Will, whether we recognize it or not, we are free to do that. But we are not free not to follow conscious will.  We may think we do not want to follow Conscious Will, but that would be only a fanciful thought. Can you do one thing without following the order or obeying the will of the Creator for one second?    You may name it “nature”, “accident”, you may name it “God” in any case, you are following the order established by a Conscious Will.
• Our freewill is subject to God’s will. Consciousness must be established at this level.
• “I can be successful by recognizing that I am obeying the Will of the Order-er. Feelings are given to me as the choice of the will of the Creator.”

We use given freewill already endowed in us i.e. to operate freewill is left on me.  Example: when I use the car, can I claim that I am the Maker of the car?  I am driving the car by following the way it is made and the road conditions, that is it. I am using the freewill which is given to me to be used freely, but I must be aware that I am not free not to follow the order in creation. Even when I lie down without doing any action, but still I am following the order to lie down; that is also a choice only.  Freewill by its own nature is given to us to be used freely.

• Existence of freewill is different from its usage.

I obey the order by choosing from among given order.  While choosing, I am using my given feelings and potentialities.  By using my freewill, I will obey the Will of the Creator.  Everything is His Promise witnessed in creation.  Verbal Speech: “If you come to Me, I will give it to you.”  How do we go to the Creator?  By obeying His order, I am knocking at his door and begging: “Please create it for me.”  My obeying the order does not mean that I am creating it and does not guarantee the result.

• Choice is just preference within the given order but not creating it.

As I use my freewill, a result is created.  As I use my human feelings and expectations, a result is created.  When I obey the order, the order is created accordingly.  When I get the result, it is created.

• What is left to me that I can declare that it is the outcome of my labor, power or knowledge?
• Nothing, I am just choosing.

Example: We quickly take and claim ownership of things.  This attitude becomes like a seedbed giving shoot.  Where is the ownership coming from?  Not realizing the relationship between the universe, because through the relationship with the universe, I establish the relationship with my Creator Who is the Creator of the order.  I cannot establish my relationship with the Creator in another way.  In other words, I either use physical interaction with the universe as it is or I use my human feelings to train them to be conscious of the Creator of the feelings, I am only the driver steering the wheel.  I may think that I am carrying the world by myself, but I am just a driver driving a vehicle.

The order is taking you according to your choice.  You have no claim over anything.  If you develop this understanding and if you have succeeded in something according to you, then you cannot claim ownership at all.  We mostly practice ritualistic prayers without questioning our existence and refreshing our understanding, consequently, we may claim that “I did a good job and wait for reward.

• Never let your feelings fall asleep. Always question: “why am I doing this?  What is the purpose of doing this?”
• Following culture does not wake the consciousness up! (whisperings are always with us).

Everything is about me and left to me.  That is, even when I pray, it is for myself.  I invoke God for myself.  Because as I invoke God, I awaken myself or my consciousness.  This has nothing to do with the Creator.  I am making the choice to make myself awake.  Example:  If I do not set the clock to call someone, then I forget.  If I set the clock, then without the clock ringing, I remember to call the person.  As I set the clock, I am supplicating that I should not forget the task.  That supplication does not let you forget it, that is the order of the universe, the supplication becomes a sign to make me realize what my reality in this universe is.

• Supplication does not let you forget that you have a Lord. When you supplicate, it is for yourself.  “I just ask for it.  I cannot claim anything.”

When I am aware that everything is given to me, nothing to do with my originating the result, and I am just asking for it, then I can prevent myself from envious attitude.  If you are proud of something and if you need to show it, then something is weak in your realization.

• “It is mine”, is how human character works. In fact, we choose from among already existing choices.

Creation is out there, and order is out there, and Creator is continually renewing it according to my will. I must be conscious that the establishing the order has nothing to do with me at all.

1. If I do not acknowledge the Conscious Will behind the order of the universe, then I cannot stop comparing myself with others, and I am bound to be jealous.

Why is gambling considered a wrong and unjust act?

What is gambling?  Gambling is a game of chance, according to the result you gain or lose, thus giving power to chance i.e. chance is operating.  As a result of chance, I can take over your possessions.

What makes you think that gambling is legitimate?  Accepting the authority of chance over you.  Chance has the power to decide who is going to take property or loose.

• If someone believes in chance, then the order is the result of chance, not a conscious will. Example: I was lucky to go to a renowned school and this guy was not.

Gambling is prohibited in Islamic Law because it goes against the fundamental understanding of creation and existence.  Deliberate conscious existence is ignored.

• Gambling is prohibited so that human beings do not get the opportunity to experience their lives according to chance.

Have I used my freewill to obey the order and get some result from the order or am I feeling a winner as a result of chance? 

Comment: I am using my freewill to sign up for the rules of games.

When the teacher asks you questions, do you answer randomly, a result of chance or do you study, follow the order and then answer?

I use freewill to obey the order.  In gambling, there is no obeying the order.

• If someone does not accept that the universe is the result of a Conscious Will, then s/he is bound to say that chance turn in favor of me by obeying the order.

Comment: We may not use such language, but we know the reality.

While using my phone, I recognize that it is given to me, to my possession to use but the property is not obtained by me, rather given to me.  Language does not matter, it is the realization that matters.

We work in 2 ways:

1. We speak according to our understanding.
2. If we are not conscious while speaking, we pick up language of the civilization, mostly secular.

When I start using language originating from secular understanding, then I start developing feelings accordingly, and it affects me mutually.  That is, my understanding shapes my language and the language I use start shaping my understanding in turn.  Some are real conscious understanding, and some are effect of what is around.

• Question what comes out of your mouth, question it, otherwise we will be carried by the flow of the culture.

Constant consciousness is required, otherwise we cannot control and educate our feelings.  Example: It is inevitable for us to get a new shirt and we go in front of the mirror and start feeling that I am better now.  Then it is inevitable that this attitude causes envy because you are always spreading envious feelings around that I am better.

You should not utilize what the Creator has given to you to nurture your envious feelings, it has nothing to do with what you are, rather it is your attitude towards the things that you are given requires deliberation.  Are you conscious of your feelings?

• We must have deliberate intention to control our tendency toward bad feelings, what am I doing, why do I have this feeling, am I trying to impress others, why do I need this? Why do I keep talking about certain things?

In Islamic law, if you do not add any value to a merchandise (created-ness side), then you do not have the right to add some profit on it.  That is, interest is prohibited because of this.  There is not benefit out of chance and without our labor.  Without risk, there is no “rizk” (income).  Rizk means that you must take the risk and add some value on it.  Example: Buying and selling is permitted.  “Think about it, I am showing the way and you have to find it”.  Because we cannot make any benefit out of chance. You must attempt order, intend labor and expect result out of it.  That is the order.

There is no benefit except from labor.  If you gain anything not as a result of your labor, then you are in trouble.  All goes back to the order which is nothing but your expectations from your Creator.  You have no right to spend your income according to your egoistic expectations, just according to the need your Creator has given you.

• How much conscious of my position am I and nothing in the universe happens by chance?

We cannot try to impress other people.  Universe is a gift in order to satisfy my needs.  “Eat and drink but do not go into excess” i.e. using your human qualities not to satisfy your needs but to satisfy your caprices or impress others.  Jealousy comes from not being conscious of what we are doing.

• If someone takes an attitude trying to impress me, then I feel sorry for this person wasting his life, if I have this consciousness, will anyone impress me? NO!

Finally, the root cause of all problems is getting impressed by other people.  If I know that others get impressed by me, then I will have to be careful because I will have the tendency to become    proud and conceited.  If I know that other people get impressed by me, where did I get this realization from?  Well, I am acting in a way where I want people to notice me and I am using my freewill for it, so how can I not know it?

Tags: Absolute Source, Al-Falaq, Belief, Darkness, Daybreak, Eternal Happiness, Eternity, Falaq Series, Needy, Refuge, Secure Exsitence, Shaheed, Source of Existence, space-time, Temporariness, Temporary Satisfaction