Recap: A person who knows who s/he is, what is his/her human reality, will be able to acknowledge what his/her Creator is. That is the worshipful relationship (uboodiya) between the created being (a’abd) and His Creator (ma’abood). In other words, the Creator of the universe reveals Himself to us based on how much we realize our human needs and His presence in our lives.
Our Creator does not need anything from us, we are in need of His Eternal Mercy. We do not serve God, rather if we pay attention, everything is being given to us, He serves us. Therefore, we must know our human reality. We acknowledge God for our own benefit, to feel consistent with our human reality, and not to contradict it. When you establish a worshipful relationship with your Creator, you feel confident within yourself and happy with your Creator.
Section Najm is related to human ascension, and we must use the Prophet’s ascension (pbuh) as an example to perform our ascension. Where are we expected to ascend to? What is our ultimate aim or destination? My aim must be to get to know my Creator and have a relationship with Him. This is not an easy endeavor in our practical lives as we are always distracted by worldly gains and problems. But we must try to establish our connection with the Creator.
I must try to become aware of the Source of my existence i.e. so when I perform prayers, I am presenting my conclusions about myself, and the creation to the One who owns everything. That is how I can exercise the relationship of expressing that nothing is mine, and everything is His. We are training ourselves here for this purpose. That is, we must get to know what we are given and return it back to its Owner. For example, O my Creator, you have given me youth and good health, and I am here to express my gratitude to You for it. This is the relationship that we are expected to put into practice, and if we cannot practice it always on every occasion, then at least try during the daily prayers.
When you wake up in the morning, a new day comes into existence and the twilight appears. It is a new manifestation presented to you by Your Creator, therefore, acknowledge that and return it back to Him by expressing: “this is a Grace from my Creator”. We will return to God not only after we die, but we return to God every time. That is, at every moment, we are expected to return back to God by acknowledging Him as the Source of our Existence providing us with not only Mercy but Eternal Mercy. That is why the Quran keeps mentioning about reaching our ultimate goal. The language in the Quran such as wa ilahi turjaoon, meaning all things go back to Him, you have to reach the end of your purpose of existence, which is, return everything back to its Real Owner. We must do all this now as it is the conditions of this universe, because after we die, it’s too late.
You must acknowledge all that you are given now, and return back to Your Creator with acknowledgement. For example, I am using my hand to type and eat food, but it is from You, O Creator of the universe. That is what rujoo means, returning back to its Owner. If we do this, that will be our ascension. This section Najm is describing our ascension now. How are we going to achieve this ascension? It is through the aim of Revelation, because we have questions/concerns which go beyond the limits of this universe. For example, I am made, who made me? Can I find the answer to this in the universe? Did my cells make me? Nonsense! Nothing can grow by itself. Everything is given existence by its Creator. We cannot find an answer to what is the Source of my Existence in the universe. Whatever appears to be giving me existence here, needs to be questioned, and we need to find out what gives them existence. Hence, it becomes a vicious cycle if you keep looking for the Source of your Existence in this universe, because everything in this universe needs to be explained with how they come into existence.
Nothing can create itself, therefore, there must be a Source that gives it existence. When I realize that I am given existence and everything else is given existence, where did I get this existence? The universe does not have the answer to this question because things are created and the whole universe needs to be given existence. The things of this universe cannot be the Creator of themselves, just as I cannot be the Creator of myself, a very practical conclusion.
Why do I exist? The One who gave me existence gave me the ability to ask this question, and therefore He must answer it. Otherwise, why would He bother creating me with this question?! The universe does not answer our queries, yet we seek answers. The universe is like an open space prison because human beings can not get out of it. We want to be totally free in our existence, but it is impossible within our living conditions here. We are residing in our bodies i.e. not only imprisoned in the human body but also the body of the universe. What type of set up is this!? That is why Revelation is necessary, because human beings need answers to this dilemma. This section of the Quran is telling us how to get satisfactory answers to our human condition.
مَا كَذَبَ ٱلْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَىٰٓ
53:11 “The heart did not falsify what it saw.”
The Revelation coming down is represented by angel Gabriel, it means that the message is revealed. We cannot use personified figures for something which cannot be physically described. Just as we cannot physically describe our thoughts, similarly, we cannot use figures to describe the beings that are employed to carry the manifestations of the qualities of the Creator of the universe i.e. angels.
In the conditions of this universe, an author is able to convey his ideas through writing with his hand or speaking with his mouth. When it comes to the meaning side of the universe, it is transferred to us through means that are not of any physical form of this universe. The Quran describes angels as bringing the command of the Creator into this world. For example, when I type an idea on a keyboard (angels), the idea is transferred into the screen (the universe). When you read it, my idea is transferred to your mind as you perceive it. Similarly, the Creator’s Speech in the universe is transferred through angels.
Everything in the universe has an angelic dimension. For example, your form (and human side) in the existence of your being is transferred from the manifestation of the qualities of the Creator. When you look at the universe, there are different kinds of manifestations taking place, and nothing is similar. This means that the Source of Existence must be Absolute. We observe endless creation continuously being renewed with no hesitation. This means that nothing is an obstacle to each other, and there is no waiting in line, because everything is happening all at once. This is amazing, that is why we say that the Source of Existence of this universe must be Infinite and Absolute, i.e. cannot be like anything of this universe. Also, this is the reason why we say that God cannot be imagined, comprehended or put in a form because everything we do will be taken from this universe. We conclude an Absolute Source, but it is indescribable within the conditions of this universe.
The transfer of speech and meaning from the Absolute Being to the universe is explained in the Quran with the language description of “angels”. It means that the angels represent the message of the Creator i.e answers to human beings’s questions. The Absolute coming within the conditions of the universe and reaching the human mind is called “Revelation”. The Revelation of the Quran encompasses every message of God from the Bible to the Torah.
When Revelation reaches the human heart, it totally matches human expectations. The heart represents human qualities, starting from consciousness, intelligence, emotions, feelings, and reasoning. In its totality, human qualities cannot say that the message of God does not fit or answer my human questions. Just as 2+2=5 would be rejected by every rational being, similarly, Revelation is either confirmed or rejected by people. That is, you are given the quality to qualify or reject guidance sent to you by the One who created you. You are made in a way that you are given the questions by the One who created you, and the answer is sent to you by the One who created you.
The verse is simply alluding to the fact that the angels that bring Revelation to human beings cannot be rejected by human qualities. This is a message from your Creator, and if it does not match your feeling, you just reject it.
There are various ideologies out there about presenting humankind the truth, and every religion declares to present the right truth. In the name of Revelation, Judaism, Christinaity and Islam claim to present the truth. Which religion should I follow then? The fallacy in such a question is our assumption that following a religion will keep us on the right side. As a result, people subscribe to a religion without questioning and using their reasoning about the fundamental principles (religious beliefs) encapsulating that religion. Following a certain religion without the proper understanding of what belief in God entails is just an imitation of the cultural aspect of that religion. We must be brave and investigate Revelation, and then choose to subscribe to a religion if what the Revelation offers makes sense to you.
If anything is from the Creator of the universe, then it should never contradict your nature, by definition. Then this claim is followed by, how can I rely on myself? That is where we need to be attentive about i.e. we must use our human qualities and see if the message of God fits my human expectations. It is very very simple. If you want to be honest about seeking answers to your human expectations, then you must question and confirm what the message of God presents. There is no room for imitation in this process. If you do not understand, then you study it, but eventually we all must confirm the understanding for ourselves. For example, if you are a student in a Biology class, and what you are being taught does not make sense to you, what do you do? You leave the class. Similarly, only when Revelation makes sense to us and we can confirm it, do we apply the teachings. Otherwise, putting a religious label on ourselves without working on the process of confirmation is just a religious identity that we carry.
The Quran challenges its reader, “if you do not accept what I offer you, then bring your evidence and disprove me”. It means that if you think that “chance” is creating you, then bring your evidence. Furthermore, if you are arbitrarily existing in this world, then prove it. Aren’t we all subject to the same order in the universe? Yes. Can we get out of this order of the universe? No. It means that we are obedient to the order of the universe. So how can our existence be out of chance?!
Everything in creation is obedient to the order that we observe in the universe. Even a cell placed in a particular position in your body is obedient to the One who puts it in an order i.e. The Orderer of the universe. Although you experience your freewill and are conscious that you use your ability to choose, you obey the order set by The Orderer, and you cannot guarantee your future, let alone escape death. Human beings are free to claim anything that they want, but without providing proper evidence, that claim is void. For example, when we walk, we cannot practice the action of walking other than by obeying the order in the universe set by The Orderer.
It is important to notice that if you cannot confirm a concept right now, then it still leaves the door open to revise it and then conclude. When we approach Revelation with our pre-conceived ideas, we think that we can find answers to some of our questions in the universe. Since people cannot find the Source of Existence of what they are looking for in the universe, they feel hopeless. People get disappointed when they cannot see God in the universe. We only see the act of God manifested in the universe. For example, when you see art, can you see the artist in the art itself? No. You get to know about the artist through the qualities manifested in the art. Similarly, through the art manifested in the act of creation, you can see the Creator’s qualities. Then you can confirm that this quality belongs to its Source of Existence who must be Absolute. In other words, you must look for the Actor in the act that is manifested by Him in the universe. That is why the Quran keeps mentioning that everything within the universe is nothing but an “ayah” i.e. signs to its Creator.
The verse pinpoints that what was revealed to human beings cannot be denied. Therefore, if you do not understand something, take some time to study it, rather than blindly accepting it or bluntly rejecting it. Again, when something is not easily understandable, then it is an invitation to further investigate, study it, reflect upon it, ask the experts to help explain it to you.
أَفَتُمَـٰرُونَهُۥ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ
53: 12 “Do you dispute with him what he sees?”
The word “ma’yaroona” means disputing back and forth. As the Revelation was coming down to the Prophet (pbuh), it is as if it was inferred that one will see no way to dispute it, because it must make sense to you. The way the verse should be understood is that one will find no way to counter argue with it. Check it for yourself. These types of verse from the Creator of the universe is a call to human beings that we cannot find anything to challenge or falsify the message. The message of the Quran is as it is. You can try to challenge it but you will fail.
Historically, the Quran and religion are presented to us to be accepted as they are. However, the way the message of God speaks to us in Revelation calls us to confirm the content of the message for ourselves here and now using the evidence from the universe. Therefore, to accept the content of the Quran, we must go through the process of confirmation with our experiences of the universe. For example, what does Noah’s arc represent? Do I need to go get traces of the arc as evidence? No. I must see what the arc represents for me right now, which is the message of God, and use it to make sense of my existence here. That is how I embark on Noah’s arc.
If you do not get the right direction from the GPS Navigation, can you ever reach your destination? Similarly, without a proper source of guidance, you will never be satisfied with your existence, and ultimately your Creator. To get the right direction is worshiping the Creator. That is what Noah’s arc represents, if you do not follow it, you will always drown in the flood of secular materialist understanding of the world and never reach eternal satisfaction in your existence.
The materialist understanding of the world is based on science, which studies and discovers the order (rules/laws/principles of creation). If there are no principles, there will be no science. They see a consistency in the existence of creation, which is the order. However, they say that the order is happening randomly. If the order was acting by its own will, then how come nothing can get out of the order. For example, we think that the fish is swimming in the sea as it wants. Rather the fish is subject to obey the order in creation. Things are not as free as they want to be. Let us try to explain the movement of the wind, which they say is accidental. No molecule of air can move from point A to point B without following the order. Can an air molecule act against the order? No. An air molecule goes from the cold area to the hot area, not the other way around i.e. it has to follow the order. If an air molecule cannot act randomly, how can anything else act randomly? Can electrons move around the nucleus randomly? There is a rule and they are obeying the order. So how can we say that something is acting on its own freely?! As a human being, I have freewill but I can only choose from options within the order of the universe. I am also subject to a rule and thus obey the order.
Even when people predict the weather, they analyze data, following a rule of calculation i.e. obeying the order. If a cloud is dragged by the wind, based on the temperature change from one area to another, everything is obeying a particular order. Science finds the order of how the movement of air molecules is happening, but science cannot show how the order of the universe is coming into existence. When we realize that the things have to obey the order, and therefore, there is no random happening in the universe. That is when we ask, what is the source of the existence of the order? There must be an Absolute Source of Existence, otherwise I cannot explain the existence of the intricate and perfect order that I observe here. The existence of the order in the universe is evidence to the qualities of The Orderer, the Source of Existence of the universe.
There is a difference in saying “obeying the order” vs “acting within the order”. Everything is obeying the order, rather than acting within the order, because nothing can act on its own will. The obedience to the order is “worshipping its Creator”, that is what the Quran is emphasizing on. The Cause of the existence of this order is the One that everything is subject to and obeying it. The order is what the universe is all about, we are looking for the source of the existence of the universe.
Everything exists within the order and obeys the order. Even a computer virus is programmed to come to your laptop. To get rid of the virus, you find out the order in the universe as the antivirus, and obey it. That is, by obeying the order in the universe, you are obeying the will of its Creator. Similarly, as a human being, you can speak by only obeying the order and saying things with your mouth. Can you speak with your nose? No. Furthermore, while breathing, I use my mouth, nose, teeth, lungs and the whole respiratory system. We are all obeying the order but we are given the choice to choose breathing within the limited area from the order. We can choose the left way or the right way, but we are still obeying the order in our choices. There is no way for anything not to follow an order. There is no random happening within an order. That is why science depends on the order. If there was no order can you have any science? No.
As far as we can see, the order is working perfectly. I am not responsible for what I do not know. I can only speak from within my observation. Some may argue how to explain a calamity. The word “museebah” in the Quran is used for that, however, it is not a calamity, rather, something to the point, to fulfill the purpose of your existence. A calamity is something no one likes. The Quran says that “in the museebah, you will see that it is perfectly done for you. Similarly, people argue about flaws in creation like an earthquake or tsunami. Your perception says it is a flaw, however there is no flaw in the existence of anything. Can you show a flaw in the order? No. When you see something to be defective, it means that you are given the sense not to like it. You describe flaws as something that you do not like, such as old age or illnesses, for example. The Quran reminds us to be careful here because “purposefully designed for you to understand the purpose of your existence”. I am here to acknowledge that my existence is totally dependent on the will of Something else, not me. I am transient, but I am given the sense to be permanent and perfectly happy in my existence.
We must question every feeling that we are given. For example, we would not like to dirty a beautiful shirt. This sense of disliking stains on the shirt is given to us. The Creator of this sense of dislike tells you that you cannot guarantee what you want, you may receive something that you like or don’t like, but try to understand why you are created this way. The transience of this world is not likeable to anyone. We all desire permanence. Can you get permanence in this universe? That is the human concern, because the desire for permanence is given to you. The One who made you and gave you that concern must answer and fulfill it. Don’t expect permanence from any created thing. If your Creator gave you this desire, why should He not fulfill it?! Only the Creator of the universe can give me permanence.
The One who takes care of our needs here and provides for us must be the One who will take care of our eternal needs as well. Oxygen is here for you to breathe in, food is here for you to get nourishment from, everything is provided here for our living. However, some of our needs i.e. the human expectations for eternal life and permanence cannot be found in the universe, yet the need is there. The One who introduces the universe to us says that everything in you is a promise from Him, we just need to acknowledge Him and connect ourselves to Him. What is your Creator? This universe or the Creator of this universe? The universe does not satisfy my eternal needs, therefore the Creator of the eternal needs will satisfy my needs.
We avoid death as much as we can, but when it is given, the fulfillment of the desire for eternal happiness must be given. That is what we are doing here, rejecting the false god i.e. the universe will satisfy me. Impossible! Nothing in this universe can satisfy me, lailaha. Rather, the One who gave me the desire to be happy forever can satisfy it ilallah. He must be the source of question and answer.
Finally, we cannot dispute the Revelation, we will fail. When we challenge Revelation to reflect upon, we can only conclude lailaha ilallah, that is the main teaching of the message of the Quran. If you do not embark on Noah’s arc (puh) or Mumahmmadan’s arc (pbuh), then you will be suffocated in the flood, and will not be happy in your existence because the universe cannot answer your human questions.