Chapter Inshirah – Part 1

Short chapter of the Quran includes dense meaning.  This the 12^th Chronologically revealed chapter during the Meccan period of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Messengership.  Mostly it follows Chapter Duha (Morning Light) which enables us to make the connection such as we are needy, orphan… and we are provided sustenance, hence the need for feeling secure in our existence.

Inshirah means “expansion”.  We need to understand these verses as related to our practical life.

“Did We not relieve your heart for you?” 94:1

My Creator is speaking to me about my heart and as an addressee of the revelation, I am expected to confirm this: “Yes, you have made my heart at peace and all my worries and anxiety about the future is gone.”

Do we feel relaxed in our existence?  Do you feel that your heart is relaxed and comfortable?

Having a comfortable heart requires having a comfortable future expectation where I am sure that everything is being taken care of not only for tomorrow and next year but also after death is given.  If everything is not being taken care of, then my heart will not feel relieved.  Rationally, you may feel comfortable by keeping yourself busy and dumbing your feelings on a temporary base, but your human feelings still linger around.  In other words, being aware that this is the true way of understanding life/existence, but I have not trained enough to adapt my feelings accordingly.

Belief is directly related to one’s understanding and is transferred to one’s feeling.  Feelings always need to be progressing to settle down.  Example: If someone promises you that whatever you need will be provided by someone and do not worry about anything and you do understand that it will be provided, then can you start feeling secure in your life?  Not really because you must get more evidence and be more convinced about this promise, you need to work on it.  You cannot learn any subject in one year, it takes a long time.  Just as the teachings and education of the Quran took 23 years, this is an approximate time-period for human beings to develop security in their existence.

As long as you are registered with the school and attending classes and if death is given to you, then it is not your responsibility.  If you are given opportunity to continue studying, then you continue education till the end.  It takes a while to become a professional in any subject.  We need to have the same attitude as far as the purpose of our existence is concerned.

Understanding something rationally is easy but internalizing it within your own feelings is not easy.  We should not get frustrated about this.

Ask: Am I on the path?  Even the Speech of God says: I have perfected the message and it is now your turn to learn it i.e. text book is ready, and we have to go through it, study it and there is no end to it.

We should never be idealistic as it turns into perfectionism which is the enemy of human development where you see the destination only and thus get disappointed to see it far ahead.

Do aim at perfection but do not become a perfectionist because a perfectionist looks at perfection at every step of his life.  This is DANGEROUS because we cannot find perfection in any step of our lives.  We perfect our lives when we are given death as if the Creator says: “I understand who you are!”

How much have you worked on yourself?  HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF HAVING AN IMPACT ON YOUR FEELINGS USING YOUR FREEWILL?

• Have an impact on myself first through freewill. While using my freewill, I have to concentrate on my personal responsibility towards myself.  Freewill is a magical thing in our life and we have to use it consciously in order to teach ourselves and convince myself.  Main concern is to have an impact on my own feelings. I can have an impact on others only as much as I had impact on myself.

Why relieve of the heart, not the mind?

The control of my mind is more or less under my choice: How should I reason about this?  Which kind of evidence should I look for?  Do I have evidence out there?  Even if someone says that God has sent guidance to human beings and by following the guidance, human beings will relieve themselves from all sorts of worries because of the promises mentioned in the guidance.  If you are able to understand and confirm the reality of this guidance, then you will be relieved from all your worries.  STILL, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND the Quran, we have to see if it makes sense to me and being convinced rationally, and then taking it to yourself and have an impact on your feelings by communicating with your feelings such as: “Is it really true?  Can I accept it?  Am I ready to put it into practice? Do my senses feel comfortable about the conclusion reached by my mind?

This building must have an Architect.  Have you thought of the Architect of the building while you are using it?  Rational conviction is necessary for establishing belief foundations.  Otherwise, you will say that this building happened by random processes and you will train your feelings accordingly i.e. they happened by chance.  Let see what chance brings to me tomorrow.  Can you be secure in any matter related to your life like this?  No, that is not human.

Attributing the existence of anything to chance and accidents is not human and it cannot be applied to my humanity.  If I see my existence as a result of unconscious processes, then I have no certainty in my existence.  If there is no certainty in my existence, then I cannot have security in my being i.e. my consciousness requires security, otherwise it keeps fluctuating between looking for meaning and being doubtful.

Consciousness requires comfort and human security.  Reason tries to evaluate the cause and effect relationship, how things are happening.  The consciousness tells the reason to give me security.  When it comes to the heart i.e. my human feelings, consciousness comes into the debate that I need security.  Now, the verse says that you will be relieved from your anxiety can be confirmed.

As far as the teachings of the Quran is concerned, the main theme of the Quran is not you feeling secure in your future profession, rather what do you attribute this certainty to?  Can you make anything certain for you?  No. Only the One who is going to give existence tomorrow is going to guarantee existence tomorrow.  Connecting your existence to its own Source and defining the Source as an Absolute Source is your responsibility.

Our expectations are the result of our own speculations.  Example: Attributing guarantor-ship of the future to yourself does not work. Does it?  No.  Yes, you will try your best in your profession, but you cannot guarantee anything by yourself, just trust the Source of your existence and the Source of the sense of desiring security in your future.  Where did you get this desire?  Since He gave this desire, he will take care of it.  If you have self-centric expectations, then you will be in trouble.  “O God better give me success in my profession.”  This is as if imposing your expectations on the plan of the All-Knowing Creator.

Who does not want to be secure in their existence?  No one.  Even the sense of anxiety is given to us and the need to feel secure in our existence.  That is how we are programmed.  How can I not trust the Owner of all my senses?  Every sense which is given to us is a promise from my Creator that such sense must be fulfilled in Absolute form.

All the promises mentioned in the Quran infers the necessity of an Eternal Life.  Example: To get limited food, do you need limitless food?  No.  However, if the Source says that I have limitless Source, doesn’t it teach you that this worldly life in this condition is nothing for you?  Yes.  This news tells you that this worldly life is nothing for It to create for It has infinite qualities and the future includes something beyond this world, another type of creation which satisfies my feelings as they deserve to be satisfied.  Hence, we need to benefit from the universe to establish and be convinced with the news of an Eternal Realm by questioning how every single thing in it requires an Absolute Source of Existence to come into being.

• The universe is a witness to the news of an Eternal Realm as inferred also in the verbal speech, the Quran. The universe is evidence for me to confirm such news.

Comment: Can the verse be applied to the relief of the mind?

Do you make any decisions without using your mind i.e. thinking?  We do not need guidance about reasoning.  It is necessary to go from the mind to the heart.  The freewill directly refers to mind process and then I have to refer it to the heart and discover the guidance from the Creator of the heart and try to reconcile the two by listening to my feelings with no partiality such as: “What do I expect? What do I fear?  What do I hope?  Every human  desires perfect life, perfect marriage, perfect children…  We all want the best possible bounties in life.  The reconciliation between what my feelings say and what the verbal explanation about me which promises a future says; do I see the harmony between the two?  If you do not understand, then re-evaluate and re-consider the correlations between the guidance from your Creator and your human feelings.  Perhaps you are evaluating your feelings under certain prejudices, expectations that you build up, not the way that you are made.  Example: I am not satisfied with my existence because of my conditioning where I think that satisfaction lies in having so and so profession.

• Be comfortable in evaluating my feelings and do not distort them and make my own decisions, rather use it as opening to Eternity. Example: do not say that I want to be happy in this world?  Rather, say that “I want to be happy eternally” because the One who gave you this sense is Eternal.  “As your capacity deserves to be treated accordingly”.  Don’t be cheap that I want to be happy in this world until I die.

Human beings are created for Eternal Happiness.  “Please God give me Eternal Happiness, you can, and this need is a Promise from you.” In order to understand the Creator, you first have to understand (by using your reasoning which works within the conditions of this universe) that I am created, and I need to be created.  If someone cannot make sense of his/her existence within the conditions of this universe, then is there anyway for this person to realize that there is an Absolute Source?  No.  First start with I am created within the conditions of this universe and I must have a Maker, this conclusion is not satisfied within the conditions of this universe.  Creator must have Absolute qualities.  Can a limited source give existence to the universe continuously with full perfection?  No.

Similarly, since I have the need for Eternal Happiness, the Creator of this sense must be Eternal.  Can particles give me the sense of Eternal Happiness?  No.

My relationship with the world is left to my freewill/my responsibility, but my mind and feelings must be related to the Eternal Source.  As far as my practical life is concerned here, I need $5 today, I look for it within the condition of this world, which is a motivation for me to contact the universe to provide me with $5 and benefit from the universe.  This is my relationship with the universe that I need $5 today, just an example.  BUT, WHAT IS EXPECTED OF ME?  Question, “Why do you need $5 today?”  Because you want to satisfy your expectations.  Will you want another $5 tomorrow?  Yes, but if you really consider your feelings, you want to have security for Eternity from having $5.  While getting the $5 for example, the Source must provide me with Eternal Satisfaction (attribute your expectations to the Absolute Source).

My body is subject to death within the conditions of this universe, but my human soul (feelings and expectations) do not get satisfied with anything that has an end.  Whatever is promised by the Absolute One in the Quran is related to an Eternal Life, He is providing you with everything and is Absolute.

If only I refer all my troubles to God, and do not be limited and have narrow expectations, such as “I want to have the best house” for example, then I will experience Eternity.  In reality, everything is related to Eternal Happiness in every sense which is guaranteed but, in this world, we have to be in interaction with the order of the universe.

In order to experience the relief, we have to train ourselves and refer any problems to the Source.  What is the purpose for the problems to be given to us?  Am I here for judgment or am I here to acknowledge who my Lord is?  I have to understand everything as undergoing this education of acknowledgment, so I will understand who my Owner is?  Nothing is a “test,” in the Quranic context, everything is a means of training to understand the Absolute Source.  Example: if you never get ill, do you ever feel the need for healing?  Is there any way that you would be able to recognize that such a thing as “health” is provided to you?  Even if you do not have the word “health” in your language, it would not mean anything.  We can only understand what is going on in this creation in their contrast.  If there was no illness, there would be no health for me.  If there was no health, I would never think that there is a Source of health.  Hence, being given the illness is a blessing, not a test, rather a means of training helping us reach the ultimate aim of life.  It is a good thing that I get ill when it is created, but I do not desire to get ill.  I get to know about illness by seeing others or myself getting ill and so I get to know about health.  If there was no such word about illness, then we would not know the sense of getting healthy.  If there is a word for it, then it means that it has something to contrast.   Example: If there was no other color besides green, we would not know about the sense of color.  Green means not blue, not white or no other color i.e. no options.  We learn through contrast.  Anything given to us which makes us feel needy is great. Unfortunately, we mostly call it injustice, illness, poverty, calamity.

If there was no injustice, we would never know about justice and the Source of Existence Just.  The Source introduces Itself through opposites i.e. I am the Creator, the opposite of which is createdness of the universe, I am the Healer through illness (opposite), I am the Permanent One through transience (opposite).

Everything is created in order to help us perfect our understanding of our Source of Existence, Lord.  So how can we say that God is testing me?  How can we translate this universe into a test?  A teacher tests his students, but the aim of the Creator is to teach you who you are, what is your Source of Existence, get acquainted with this Source of Existence and attribute your Existence to It, so you will know who your Lord is.

When you are ill, yes try to get healing but know that it is the best opportunity to know about health which is provided by whom?  I have to search for it.  Through this I am getting to know that my Creator is an Absolute Healer, thank you for teaching me.  If there was no hunger, there would be no need for food. If there was no food, I would never have the concept of Nourishment, Provider, Helper.  If there were no negative things, our purpose of existence will be nil.  Thanks to the contradictions and human expectations in the form of limitedness so we understand the Source must be Absolute.

We have to question the concepts we hear, we have to renew ourselves.  Do you think that you will be left without being provided the means to educate yourself?  Can you find out who your Creator is with no negativity?  Is it possible?  We are created with the nature that we understand everything with contrast.

Expression in Arabic: “The things are known by their contrast,” if there was no contrast, we would not know about the other part of the contrast”.

Be thankful!  So, when you are hungry, look for the food.  Never be angry with why you are hungry!  Be happy!  If you are never hungry, then you will never taste the pleasure of food.  If you never get ill, you will never taste the pleasure of health.  If you never get old, you will never get the taste of being young.  That is a blessing, and we are becoming aware of our reality.  We are needy, and we are provided with everything that we need but in order to teach us what we need, we will be provided with contrast.