Chapter Qadar – Part 2
Qadar part 2
Recap: On many occasions, the Quran speaks like this: “what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? (97:1)” or “what will make you know what the striking calamity is? (101:2-3). It is as if the Speaker in the Quran is drawing our attention to: “do you know what “it” is, I will explain it to you?” These are concepts that the Quran introduces to the audience in order to strike their attention because they are not familiar with those concepts (although at first glance it may seem they know the word only, not as a concept introduced by the Qur’an).
The Quran uses specific words for a specific meaning within the Quranic context. Example: For the meaning of “laylat-ul-Qadar”, “layl” is used in many different forms. Quran is not drawing our attention to the “layl” that we are used to in our daily languages such as “night”, rather it means something that I need to know about. Therefore, we should read it as “the night of power” is not what I think I know but the Speaker in the Quran is letting me know that “I am going to introduce to you to a new concept so that “laylat-ul-Qadar” will gain a new meaning for you.”
The understanding of the “Night of Power” is different for different people as each of us have our own unique experiences and realizations. One may claim that no one tells us what day the night of power is, and we must search for it by ourselves because the Quran and the prophet (phub) do not explain it with a clear reference which night it is. Also, the prophetic narrations (hadiths) give us seemingly vague information. However, we can deduce that everyone must have a specific night which fulfills the meaning of what the Quran wants to teach us about the Night of Power.
The “Night of Power” is explained in the next verse by the Speaker Himself, what He means by this expression.
97:3 “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.”
When the Quran uses any number (age of a Prophet, layers of heavens and earth which refer to the multiplicity of the combinations of the celestial bodies), the number of angels…), all the serious scholars including the Prophetic teachings have the consensus that these numbers are not meant to represent exact and precise numbers. Rather, the numbers give a hint about the various aspects of God’s Throne which in the case of angels, brings my understanding to the vastness of His qualities i.e. angels (Command of God) that sometimes represent justice, sometimes beauty or the Command of God/angels represented as Mercy…
- The numbers such as 70,000 angels for example mean more than I can see and imagine.
“Angels” does not mean an entity like a human being as we may imagine, waiting in front of God for His command and saying: “Yes, sir, I will do this”. The Absolute Being cannot be represented as such i.e. some entity out there that everyone is obedient to like a governing body, a king or a president of a country. Rather, angel is the meaning that I extract based on my interaction with the universe. Example: Joe invited George to his house and George finds 1/ a friendly atmosphere, 2/ lovely relationship, 3/ generous hospitality, 4/ nourishing food and 5/ treatment in a just way. George experiences all this and concludes that the meeting was carried out by 5 angels. That is, each quality that George experienced is represented by an angel at the Command of their Creator. In other words, one angel represented Lovely quality/feeling, another angel represented a Nourishing Provider… (my spirit communicated with a Nourishing/Providing angel).
Angels mean directly receiving God’s will and presenting it in my life. When it is said, 70,000 angels carrying God’s throne, it means that human beings can comprehend the manifestations of God’s qualities from 70,000 perspectives or as many as one can possibly recognize. Each of the qualities is represented by an angel because this is the angelic side of creation in the universe. In other words, the angelic side of the universe declares that: “This is nothing but the act of the Creator, God”. This awareness of existence becomes so exciting because we see the universe with the various meanings and perspectives manifested such as: “what a beautiful order, design, illustration, form, delicate Mercy…”!
All these refer to the qualities of the Creator from my perspective. When God speaks to me, He speaks to help me so that I may learn and develop what constitutes my perspective (not His perspective because His perspective is Absolute). He speaks to me and shows me how I should construct my perspective while interacting with the universe. He is inviting me saying that: “When you look at the universe, don’t look at the atom, rather see what the atoms are writing for you. Read the meaning from which you will see endless perspectives all referring to Me. They are carrying My Throne.”
I cannot refer creation to anything else other than the Absolute Infinite Creator of the world. That is how we should read the Quran, rather than losing ourselves in numbers. Also, we may not have that amount of a thousand months of lifespan here. It means that a thousand months of my endeavor to get closer to my Creator is worth one Night of Power.
- The Night of Power means the pinnacle or utmost degree I can reach in realizing the manifestations of the qualities of my Creator.
All my feelings start realizing that each of my feelings refers to one aspect of the qualities of the Creator and that aspect of the qualities of the Creator becomes familiar to me. I thus say: “Yes, my Creator is the Generous One, Delicate One, Merciful One”.
Even when we do wrong and feel injustice, our Creator treats us with justice and says something we should never forget: “My Mercy encompasses everything including My wrath/curse which is what you need in order to realize what your reality is in this world, I am treating you in order to draw you back to the right path so that you should have the right relationship with Me and so you wouldn’t deviate from the right path.” Just like a mom reprimands her child, gets angry at the child or prevents the child from doing something for the benefit of no other than the child itself. Sometimes the mother may express with crunched up eyebrows letting the child know that she is not happy with what the child is up to, again for the benefit of the child-mother relationship. This is how we can understand that all events whether I deem them as good or bad are the manifestations of His Mercy and Compassion.
Even the existence of Hell is the manifestation of the Mercy of God, like cleaning your dirty clothes in a washing machine or like the rust on the metal needs to be cleansed. If my metal of the spirit gets rusty, it needs to be cleansed. What about the fire in the hereafter? No one knows what that is like, all we know is the fire that we experience here i.e. I experience here the severe punishment when I am in the wrong as being my “fire” telling me to correct myself. The bottom line, no one wants fire and we are all scared of it because it’s something that we cannot stand as it is painful. If you do not want fire, then don’t get rusty. In order to prevent us from getting rusty, God reminds us in a severe language i.e. I do not want to put you in Hell so that your rust will be burnt, and I am warning you from now on, don’t do that. Also, I am warning you from the senses given to you within your own feelings/spirit which informs you when you go astray/deviate.
The universe is obeying the will of God and the human spirit (which is from God) also obeys the will of God. The human spirit tells me that you are doing something wrong, but I may choose to shut it up, that is my option. Just as when the phone rings, I have some options, answer the call or reject the call. The worst option is to block the caller i.e. I will never get the reminder anymore.
- A lock is put on the heart of such people (symbolic teaching of the Quran) when one says: “please do not bother me”. Even not answering the call i.e. ignoring it is detrimental; May God protect us from such options!
From our consciousness, the news comes from the Speech of the Creator, as well as from the universe. Are you aware of what the teaching of the Quran is for you? Have you studied it? If you are aware of the Speech of the Creator, then you get to know who God is as much as possible. Similarly, with the Prophetic narrations, I also receive reminders from his sayings/actions. These are the means for us to receive news and understand what we are doing is right or wrong.
Continuously, from various channels we see the similar messages being imparted on us so that we become resilient. The message allows us to check ourselves whether we are doing something right or wrong. If we take notice of it, then we are good. Otherwise, we develop rust which must be cleansed to bring back the purity. That is Mercy.
God’s Hell is nothing but Mercy. It may be difficult to digest this because we do not like Hell. However, this reality is something for me to realize and be pleased with. Why is the Quran always mentioning about Hell? Because the Creator does not want me to go there and through various means, He is constantly reminding me not to choose that way. It is as if God is begging us not to go astray.
- God treats me according to what I need, not what I wish as a result of careless thought in fro the development of my spirit.
97:3 “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.”
How do I make my Night of Power? It is the night when I reached the pinnacle of my consciousness/awareness of God. That level is my pinnacle and I felt closest in my life to God and you feel that as much as your pinnacle is high and elevated/enlightened, that much your life becomes meaningful and the feelings are relaxed, worries disappear, hope is alive, and I am excited about the future i.e. when am I going to be in the presence of my God. This realization goes on until I start neglecting and going back to worldly concerns. That is how human life is with ups and downs, the Creator of us, God knows us because we are His creatures.
Comment: What does it mean that Night of Power is better than a thousand months?
A thousand months represent approximately 83 years. Example: A scientist works for 60 years and then in the end, he becomes a nobel laureate. He then says that this is what he wanted: “that is my peak and ultimate target”. Similarly, Lailat-ul-Qadar (Night of Power) is a believer’s noble moment i.e. a believer reaches his ultimate level and there is no further achievement for him. There are many degrees that can be attained in reality but as far as my endeavor and my capacity, that is what I am. Hence, that is my Night of Power.
97:4 “The Angels and the Spirit come down in it by their Lord’s leave to carry out every matter.”
The Angels and the Spirit come down in your Night of Power to carry out every matter. It means that every matter will be enlightened, become meaningful and the angels will carry that moment. Just as we said earlier, an angel represents one beautiful perspective of the realization of my feelings. One aspect of my feelings is attached and connected to my Creator. Some people can have a strong connection with the Creator like a strong wire, while others have a thin wire like relationship. If the energy power is powerful and I have a thick wire, then I get a strong connection. With a thin wire, as far as I am concerned, at least, I hope that I have any kind of connection with the power station (weak or strong, doesn’t matter). Of course, we prefer a strong connection but at least I am connected to it. I am connected to It means that when I start getting the pleasure with being in touch with my Creator or being in the presence of my Creator then I will start to get more energy and my wire will become thicker because we need thick wires to carry more energy (just an allegory). In any case, how do I know that this is the Night of Power for me? Have you received the good news from the angels? How about the spirit which brings you the message from your Creator? Are you able to communicate with God and have a conversation with God?
- As much as I relate myself to the presence of God, that much connection I will have with my Creator in my realization.
Comment: What is “the Spirit”, why not only the “the Angels”?
There are other verses in the Quran that mostly combine the words angels and spirits. Usually by some commentators, the “spirit” is translated as representing “Gabriel”. Why is that so? It is a traditional way of understanding a spirit (rooh), very common among some scholars. We don’t reject that interpretation but what do you mean by “Gabriel”? Angel Gabriel as represented in the Quran and the Prophetic sayings is that particular angel that brought the message from God to the messengers and, as an extension, to me. It means that the message of God needs to be conveyed to other people. You and I are not the Prophets of God, but Gabriel, as the conveyor of the message, brought the message of God ultimately to me. The Quran uses everything as the representation of a messenger such as mountains, birds, trees, stars, figs and loves. Even a bug that I may dislike is a message from the Creator so I can get closer to God i.e. everything is created for this purpose but while we are living here, we usually get lost in bodily needs such as food, shelter… However, we are spirit beings and we have spiritual needs as well. What does this mean?
- The spirit (Gabriel) is from God who carries the message to the Prophet.
- My spirit has been breathed from God’s spirit, same word of “spirit” (rooh).
This means that the message, sign/ayah/ in the Quran has been used for:
- The verses of the Quran.
- The creatures in the universe.
- The miraculous demonstrations at the hands of the Prophets demonstrated by God (i.e. announcing that this person has been employed by the Lord of the universe. They demonstrate through a physical creation which is called “miracles”.)
Angels are everything created in this world to represent the qualities of their Creator in the things. The “spirit” is the meaning which God sends to me, reveals to me through the universe. Similarly, when it comes to the Quran, the meaning communicates with me verbally, as a verbal explanation or conversation. My feelings go along with the verbal speech of my Creator in this created world. Now, the Revelation that the Prophets receive is the verbal explanation of the universe’s message to me (which the prophets received in a verbal form). Both the angels and Prophets function the same as they are appointed from the same source bringing the same message, one is action wise and the other is the speech (verbal explanation via the prophets). The third one is the human spirit which is very mysterious. When I take a bite on a fruit, I get the taste. What gets the taste, the tongue, the physical matter or is it what we call my spirit? The spirit tastes, sees, hears i.e. it interacts with everything and that is what makes my experience. My spirit gets the message, recognizes it and thus communicates with my Creator. This specific personal means of communication between me and my Creator is represented in the Quran as “the Spirit” which you can call “Gabriel” (which in the tradition is represented as one angel, rather than endless representations that our spirit can tap into).
Example: If you go to a place where people are talking trash, nasty smell is all over and no one listens to each other but just makes lots of noise. When you go there, the smell is nasty and you see that people are not respecting each other, and just “killing time”. You say that there is no spirit there, everything is meaningless. Therefore, “angel” is the generic word for the meaningful side of everything that connects me to God.
- More importantly, the meaning which is directed to me corresponds to my feelings and can be presented to me in my language.
By definition, angels (or spirits) cannot do anything but by the will of the Creator, i.e. they only receive God’s choice (command) and executes it obediently and have no other options like human beings to ignore it, do it or not do it. That is the Angelic side of creation and every action in the universe. Example: You are writing a book in which you want to convey some meaning. When you write, the writing on the page is like an angel because it loaded the meaning you as the author wanted to convey. The reader may or may not get it, it’s up to the reader but the meaning is there and does not change.
- Similarly, the relationship between the author and the written form is like the relationship between God and the message. The universe is like a book which cannot betray the message of the Creator. Is there anything which is free as not to obey the order in the universe? Can you show one thing which is acting on its own will and not obeying the order of the Creator?
That is why whatever we hear, whether it is from the universe, from our feelings, from the message, from the teachings of the Prophets, all are realized with the leave or permission of God according to the will of God. My spirit cannot disobey God in its essence and that’s why my spirit cannot mislead me. The teachings of the Quran never mislead human beings. The Prophets never present something non-conforming to human beings. These statements are by definition. The same goes with the universe and the angels who execute the will ofGod in the same way, i.e. without any mischiefs or distortions.
The universe is there as a witness for us and there seems to be no contradiction in what it says and what the Speech of God offers. However, when it comes to interpretations, we are free to do so but we will be responsible for our “interpretations”.
Comment: Are we to understand that the experience of the human spirit is also a message?
Yes, human spirit conveys the message as it is from God, but we have freewill and just like in the phone call analogy above, we may not answer or block the call i.e. we may choose not to listen to the message from ourselves and not hear anything from myself. This is synonymous to how the scripture mentions that the seed will not grow into a tree as it will be all rotten (i.e. I have corrupted it with my usage of freewill) because its qualities to develop will be destroyed. Example: The book is there, and one option is that I can open it and try to read/understand what it says. The worst option is not to open the book or throw it away, but the book and its meaning is there. We are presented with what the spirit says and can choose to listen to it. What the spirit tells me is what God wants me to know. Some scholars describe that not listening to the spirit is like a rotten seed which cannot grow into a tree; all its qualities are destroyed by my freewill. Just as a book is there which I can open, read and try to understand or never open it. The worst side is that I can burn the book and throw it away. What the spirit says is what God wants me to know, I may distract the message i.e. I must be consistent within my own message from myself (my spirit).
Belief in God is not enough but being consistent and not contradicting your own spirit, that is what needs work and what we have to watch out: Am I listening to my spirit or just distorting it? If we condition ourselves and make excuses about the reality saying that “in this day and age the Quranic message is not applicable to me”, then we can never receive human guidance because we have blocked ourselves by limiting ourselves with the values of the existing civilization. Mostly we block the understanding of the Quranic message.
- Which criterium are you basing this off, the society or your spirit? Be honest with yourself! We have freewill and we need to watch out for ourselves! Am I following my egoistic ambitions? Am I following the biases that I have developed?
If we question it, then we realize where we stand because the message is within us. As long as we live in this body, the message is there because we have three layers of existence: 1/ body, 2/ life, and 3/ spirit. When life is in the body, the body is functioning, and the spirit dwells in it. When life leaves the body, the body does not function which is death where the spirit departs as well.
- Death means that without life the body is not a proper dwelling place for the spirit to be in.
As if God says to the spirit: “Ok, I gave death to the body, come back to me now”. That is, when I die, my spirit leaves the body. In my living here, the body and life coexist together, spirit is there but I have to understand that I always have an option (the freewill) i.e. I may follow the message from the spirit or not. If we deviate which is conditioning ourselves where we do not listen to the spirit anymore, we start distorting the meaning of the verses of the Quran as well.
- In other words, everything happens according to my attitude i.e. my relationship between my freewill and spirit comes first which I am responsible for (not distorted one, without any bias or have a criterium within myself). Then when I read the Quran, I will see the correspondence between the message and what my spirit tells me (i.e. confirming each other).
When I look at the universe, events are taking place. There are sometimes tornadoes, wild animals feed on weak animals… How about myself, can I not help but take in oxygen by breathing in and out? Yes. What about the wild animals, aren’t they also made to breathe in and out? Yes. The reality is that we are created in this way. What we call a wild animal is as innocent as you are. When you eat the fruits and vegetables, aren’t the fruits and vegetables innocent as well? Yes. How about you? Are you a murderer when you pick a fruit from a tree, bite it, chew it, eat it, and swallow it for your stomach? Do you feel guilty or do you say that it is HOW I AM CREATED where everything is helping each other with mutual support, fulfilling each other’s needs and connecting with each other?!
Now, the fruit is created for me, animals are created for me to eat, plants are created for animals to eat. The earth is created for all of us and that is how we communicate with each other; we taste it and understand each other. Example: when you water the plant, do you see the plant is feeding on innocent water feeding off the minerals of earth, is the plant stealing the minerals? Excuse me! Life that starts from the earth which brings forth vegetables that animals and human beings feed off from; is there anyone stealing from one other, a murderer in this creation? How about a doctor cutting the umbilical cord connecting the baby and the mother, is he/she a murderer?
The mother is happy when she gives birth to a baby and the baby is happy to start a new life. Everything in creation is happy. When the soil and water are consumed by plants, the water and soil are happy that they have been sacrificed. The plant is also happy as it grows into a life. When the plant is eaten by animals, plants are happy. Also, animals are eaten by other animals. Example: Whales are created to feed off small fish. This does not make the whale a wild animal/murderer, rather that is how life develops from one form into another. We must understand these types of relationships in the universe.
Thus, we can deviate the message of our spirit by choosing a direction which contradicts my real human nature and condition myself that “what I prefer is what the truth is”. With that attitude, I am bound to understand the Quran according to my prejudices developed earlier in my life.
This does not mean that everyone’s understanding of the Quran although different are deviating from the reality/truth. Rather, going against the general teachings of the Quran, contradicting it with your human nature according to the requirements of this age, civilization, life conditions around me (what should I do now, this is the reality for me now as I cannot really apply this verse of the Quran anymore or these are the results of my hard work…) and thus we break the covenant with our Creator which is presented in our being as “my spirit”.
The constitutional treaty between me and my Creator is my spirit. That is, my spirit is dictated by my Creator. The spirit of the human being is breathed from God’s spirit i.e. God has written the constitution and put it in the pocket of my heart (symbolically speaking). Hence, I must be loyal to this constitution. That is the treaty between me and my Creator which is how I acknowledge my Creator, i.e. through this treaty. Now, I must try my best not to distort it or contradict it.
We have freewill and we may choose the wrong way (egoistic interpretations/attitude). Upon making a mistake we may say that: “I shouldn’t have done such and such but I did it. I shouldn’t do it, but I am still doing it”. Ok, we are weak and not strong enough at certain moments, that is acceptable and understandable. But that is a way to ask for forgiveness (don’t’ worry about it) but never try to justify your weak points. This is very important! For example, if you are in a situation where you do not want to leave the company of friends due to any reason and you know that its prayer time. While living, options are there for me to choose from and that is where I must work on keeping that treaty with my Lord. Your Creator is Generous and says: “If you miss it, then come back to Me, I understand, ask for forgiveness and repent”. If you repent, then that is within your human nature. However, if you do not repent due to pride, then that is conditioning yourself.
Comment: How do you differentiate between guilt and spirit?
Guilt is another aspect of the spirit. The sense of guilt is given to us not to suffer from it. Example: I might have done something long ago which I should not have done. Should I keep carrying the sense of guilt and blaming myself forever? No, blaming the soul (nafs) is not a good one but a satisfying soul (nafs) is a good one. The blaming nafs should realize that there is a contradiction between what my nafs inspires and what I did or have chosen which may have been against my inspirations. Now, ask for forgiveness. In the teachings of the Quran, there are verses indicating that asking for forgiveness is an encouragement or call to return back to God when I deviate from the right path i.e. come back again (there is no number there). The literal meaning of repentance means to turn back to God.
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- If we are under the pressure of the sense of guilt, we start breaking away from God saying I have no face to turn to God anymore. That is cutting off your relationship with the Creator.
- When I do something wrong and accept that I have done something wrong, it means that I am still in contact with the Creator, repent and get out of this sense of guilt. This is such a loving and friendly relationship where your Creator is in the know of all this situation/condition!
- Now, get out of the sense of guilt after repentance.
Carrying the sense of guilt is equal to cutting off your relationship with the Creator because it leads to a dead end. That is the path of Satan, wrong way. Repent, ask Allah’s forgiveness and get rid of the sense of guilt. It does not mean that you do it again and ask for forgiveness. Even if that happens again, keep asking for forgiveness again. Bottom line stay connected with your Creator.
97:5 “Peace it is until rising of the dawn”
The night disappeared, the dawn is evolving in the horizons and everything is changing. That is, your life is changing, your understanding of creation changed, you gained your hopes i.e. only my Creator can fulfill my needs and I cannot fulfill my hopes. Example: People talk about the American dream as the ultimate achievement of success. Similarly, “lailat-ul-qadar” realizes the existential dream i.e. the Night of Power is the way to realize all your human expectations. You cannot realize it by yourself, in other words, only the angels (i.e. Spirit) come to you by the will of the Creator/permission of the Creator, then you are in peace. All of your feelings are realized, as much as the wire is connected in both sides, God and your spirit (per analogy used earlier), that is the point. Afterwards, it’s better to develop it, improve it and make it stronger. That is called, having a strong belief in God which needs exercise, intention and a deliberate action i.e. putting it into action, praying for it verbally and action wise as well. Whatever needs to be done, you must do it. Example: studying the Quran more and listening to the commentaries on the Quran (the serious ones.)
Comment: I would associate the word dawn with “peace”.
It means that when I am in a state where spirit is in a dilemma or a turmoil about knowing and recognizing the reality, when the glad tidings (meaning carried by angels) come to you, this period is the process of enlightenment or your improvement/human development. When the dawn appears in the sky, it means that your life is enlightened, and you can live with this enlightenment for the rest of your life/day. Example: You study, learn and then go into practical life to practice/apply what you learn. That is the learning process. It is not a one time occurrence and it should not mean that you should not learn again, that is why there is no specific day for it because it varies from person to person and stages to stages. It does not mean that as soon as I reach enlightenment, peace is gone. Or, when day comes, peace disappears. No! The night is when you have a problem and you need to solve it, that process of receiving guidance is “night”. Daylight means receiving revelation and becoming aware of the content of the revelation.
- Any verse, word of the Quran cannot be interpreted contradicting the general teachings of the whole body of the Quran.
When you say that this is my level now and with this level, you carry on with your life. What is important now is to make improvement in your realization of your real being (God’s spirit and your spirit), making your connection with your Creator stronger.
Spirit (the angelic side of me and the universe) is just bringing the news to me, to my personal being and then I start living at that level. Another day, I may have another “laylat-ul-qadar”. It does not mean that belief only happens once, Belief is not static. Like a learning process, it needs to be renewed. Just as when you study Chemistry, you listen to the Professor in class and then go over to the lab and practice it at that level. When the Professor teaches something new, you do the same by practicing. When you learn it, then you become enlightened with the subject. Every time when the class ends and I have learnt something, that is my Night of Power.
- Any special occasion, for example, the last 10 days of Ramadan is an invitation or opportunity to remember and acknowledge the message of God. But remember that the practical side of any matter must be within yourself!
“He sends down angels with the Spirit as His will, to whichever of His servants He chooses, to give [His} warning: ‘There is no deity but Me, so be conscious of Me.” Nahl 16(2)
- I must be ready to receive the message and be a candidate for it. That is how the Quran must be read.
- If it has nothing to do with me, then why is God telling me all this?! It must have something to do with me.
- God, by witnessing creation, doesn’t choose anything with no wisdom, justice, and power.
- God must be a just One and treat everyone equally.
- Realize that there is nothing that has power to give existence to anything except the Creator, God.
“So We have revealed an inspiration (a spirit) to you by Our Will: you knew neither the Scripture nor the faith, but We made it a light, guiding it whoever We will of Our servants. You give guidance to the straight path.” Shura (42):52
Tags: Al- Qadar, Despair, Help, Hope, Laylat-ul-Qadar, Mistakes, Night of Power, Purification, Qadar Series, Speech of God