Chapter Inshirah – Part 4

94:4 “And [have We not] raised you high in dignity?”

There is a Muslim scholar who prayed only for the welfare of the non-believing people.  One day, one of his study mates asked him/her why s/he doesn’t pray for the believers.  S/he simply answered: “I gain more understanding of my reality by seeing the grave mistakes in non-believers.”

• Lesson: If your current thoughts are not challenged, then you do not grow in your understanding of the reality.

What does it mean to be raised up high in dignity?

• It means to be taken care of in terms of being provided guidance when it is desired.
• Example: Everything is at our service. That is, there are endless meanings to things in creation which points to its Creator. In other words, we have angels working for us to bring us meanings.

There is a verse that goes as follows: “God has breathed from his spirit into human beings.” (32: 9.) That is, we are not part of God, but we are totally connected to It.  In other words, all our manifested qualities are nothing more than the qualities of the Source of our Existence manifested in us.  Our abilities do not belong to us.  We are just reflection of the Divine qualities, which is the highest in dignity as a created being.

In the scriptures when it is mentioned that the Angels prostrated themselves before Adam, it means that the Angels are obedient to helping us see the meaning or the qualities reflected in our being and other creation as employed by the Creator of the universe.  Whereas, Satan just look at things for itself i.e. the material side of the things only, not the inner aspect.

We are not flesh and bones, we are our spiritual side.  Just like there is water inside a jar, similarly our body and spirit are the same way where water is the spirit and jar is our body.

The word “rafa’a dhikrak” (raised high in dignity) refers to us, the human beings as the vicegerent. Just as Prophet Jesus (PBUH) was “being raised high in dignity” in terms of realizing and manifesting the qualities of his Creator (refer to the verse: “nay, God exalted him unto Himself” Quran 4:158 where the word “rafaa” is used).  People think that Jesus was raised in heaven physically (it may be so), but everyone dies, and the spirit of the dead goes into heaven, which means the spirit does not belong to this physical world any more after death

It is not hard to understand the Quran as it speaks to everyone.  It does not distinguish between a certain class of people or is advantageous over a spoken language.  If the Quran is read superficially, then it becomes dangerous because we take things in its material sense only and hence, we are not able to introduce its message to our spiritual side.

We are not the producers of anything.  We just let things flow to us.  Just as a tree has fruits hanging in it and the tree is not the Source of Existence of the fruits, similarly, we are not the Source of Existence of the knowledge or information that we share.

What is wrong with saying that I take pity on other people?

• You are attributing the sense of helping out and taking pity to yourself. Just as if you say that “I am beautiful” where you attribute beauty to yourself as if it belongs to you and you are its producer.  Rather, I am provided with beauty being manifested in me i.e. I am made beautiful or I am created beautiful.

Essentially, all the quality manifested in creation belong to its Source of Existence.  So, how can a rational human mind appropriate the quality to itself?  Yes, you do like the quality but you are just a mirror reflecting it.