Chapter Inshirah – Part 3

The Prophetic message is all about establishing our purpose of living here, what is the point of living in this universe?  This message is not only revolutionary to the people back then but also to us right now.  How can I explain the purpose of my life?  Is life the result of a Conscious Choice?

“94:5 And, behold, with every hardship comes ease!”
“94:6 verily, with every hardship comes ease!”

At first glance this looks like a confusion.  That is, every hardship comes with ease.  We are going through difficulty of life, where is ease there?  As soon as hardship comes, it includes within itself ease.  No one feels comfortable with that.

Clue to understanding the verse:  Within the hardship lies ease.

Anything that I claim must be approved by myself.

Comment: If there is a question, then there must be an answer.  Why?  When I examine myself and see the desire to ask the question, I find myself with the need to get an answer within my existence.  Regardless of being a product of blind nature or created by an Absolute Being, I find myself with this need of seeking out answers to my questions.

As far as we are concerned, my Source of Existence developed within me the quality to ask questions.  Why am I stressed out? Why am I happy?  It is almost impossible not to be stressed out in life because of how the society puts pressure on us.

The Source of Existence of the question that I find myself with must also be the Source of Existence of the need to seek answers.  There is the quality of asking questions in my make.  This need is given within my existence.  If there is a question, then necessarily there must be an answer to it whether I get it or not.  Example: if the body is made with the need of oxygen, then that must be provided.  If you want to be loved, then there must be a lover.  You may get it or not and if you have a materialistic understanding of your existence, then it is a failure.  Try to find the answer.  Is this the answer?

By using your human qualities, go out in the universe and find the answers there.  Universe is a combination of matter which has been put in a certain order and the universe is working perfectly within an order.  Example: I am ill, but I do not want to be ill and I feel not perfect when I am ill, but the creation side of illness is perfect.

I must be satisfied here, the One who gave me difficulty must provide me ease here.  So, I do not have to wait until I die to feel the satisfaction.

I cannot imagine a Creator creating me with limited capacity that I cannot approve or confirm.  Unless I do not study, I do not know.  The aim of the Speech of my Creator is to educate me so that my potentiality to understand my reality becomes my capability and I understand it.

• Quran does not speak to intelligent people or to my capacity.
• Quran helps me to discover my potentiality. I must listen to the Speech from my Creator in how to develop my capacity into ability.

Education encourages us to dig into our potentiality and turn it into capacity.  I leaned not because my teacher taught me this way, but I understand it now.

Verse: “We have taught you the Quran” (Qur’an, 55: 2.)  It means that the Quran is an educator; we must listen to the Quran, to what it says.  Is it really true? Can I confirm it as I am?  Unless it makes sense to you, you cannot confirm it.

• If mind is not satisfied, feelings cannot be satisfied.

Dig out your human qualities and find out that you are made, by whom and by what?

If I am the result of random happenings, then I ask can it be true?  Can I attribute my existence to my cells or any source which does not have the ability to create itself or to give existence to anything else?  Matter cannot do anything by its own choice.  There is no particle in the world which is free to come into existence or to annihilate itself.

I am made by a Conscious Being, I cannot be the result of my cells. The particles in the cells cannot be the Creator of their own cells.  They have to obey the universal order which is at work in the universe.

Everyday we are made to experience same routines.  Example, you are hungry every day.  What does it signify?  The need for hunger must be for a higher purpose, a need to connect to an Eternal Source and thus consciousness must be utilized to get to know an Eternal One.  Otherwise, you are a bankrupt person who puts money everyday in his bank account and the balance still remains zero. Would you really keep depositing some money into this account? Every day goes by and at the end your balance is still zero when you die from a materialistic point of view because when you die you will disappear from your existence and the end result will be nothing.

Finally, without experiencing hardship in terms of making my existence meaningful here, I would not get to know the meaning behind the existence of this universe.  Example: Through experiencing illness, I get to know the Owner of Health, The Provider, The Healer. Through knowing the reality of death I get to know that I have been given life, thus I realize that my existence is given to me by a Life Giver. For a conscious being this is the purpose of existence, becoming aware that her/his existence belong to a Creator, Provider of Health, Life Giver etc. Only through this realization, conscious beings can have the security for their existence and hence for their lives.

• Hardship helps me be on the way to fulfilling the purpose of my existence which is to get to know who I am as far as my neediness is concerned i.e. I am created and my existence points to the Source of my existence.

Conclusion: Only through neediness which is hardship, human beings can realize that their existence belongs to a Source of Existence who is present everywhere at every moment to introduce Itself to conscious creatures to make them feel secure in their existence. They realize that their Source of Existence is an Omni Present, Omni Potent, Omniscient etc. One.