Chapter Qaf- Part 10

Qaf, part 10

There are two sides of the human being, spirit, and conscious mind.  Spirit is a conscious acknowledgment of God.  The tool to see and experience that the qualities manifested here are the qualities of the Creator. This side is given to us by our Creator to communicate through the creation with God because we cannot communicate with God. The difference between anything created and the Absolute is infinite.  I can only understand that such a Creator must exist, but what kind of Creator He is can only be understood through the manifestation of His Absolute qualities.

Example: If someone says that I am an excellent Carpenter, I will say that I do not know.  If you are a Carpenter, then perform your quality for I will not know that you are a Carpenter until you perform your act.  Otherwise, I cannot be convinced about that which does not manifest in material terms.  Also, I would not know the meaning but if the meaning is symbolized in speech, texting, and writing, then “I would know what you mean, and I am absolutely sure that you are the source of the meaning in things.”  But if you did not manifest them, I would not understand your talent as a carpenter. This is so essential because the core of understanding “ghaib” and believing in it and feeling certain, although we have not experienced the qualities physically, is possible only after the qualities  manifest physically.    I can only be sure after looking at art manifested on the wood, it shows that it is the art of the Carpenter.  It shows that whoever made the art must be an excellent artist.  I do not have to see the person, just the physical appearance of the art is enough to understand the Artist.  That is what believing in ghaib means.  That is what God keeps telling us in His message that: “We need to have certainty in our belief in ghaib”.   This is an intellectually comprehensible matter.

Now, the inner urge takes the quality manifested in the universe and appropriates this quality to the thing itself.  This claim comes from saying that my qualities belong to me.  Example: I am powerful, I am healthy, I am a good man most of the time sometimes I do wrong, I own myself and I exist as I am.  This reasoning makes everything disappear from reality as in grabbing into a black hole.  How can I say that I own myself?  I made my ears or my feelings?  How can your cells develop your feelings?  Who made your cells?  Your cells are a piece of art.  Can it have consciousness to plan something?  They all act according to the principles of creation, that is how the science of medicine is possible.  Also, when we study the psychology of human beings, we find the principles according to which the body and the human feelings act by obeying a perfect order.  Nothing acts arbitrarily, everything is always subject to principles i.e., the order of the Creator’s choice.  So, how can the things be the Source of their own existence?  That is what the human mind cannot understand.  We can choose to deny the reality and appropriate the qualities to ourselves and the things themselves.  This side of the human beings is always fighting with the spirit.

50:25 “withholder of good, transgressor, and doubter,”

This is the inner urge or the egoistic interpretations, the black hole side of the human being, that swallows the reality and makes it disappear for himself.

50:26 “who has set up another deity beside God: throw him into severe punishment.”

When I say that I am the Source of my own existence (SOE), my cells own their qualities and functions by themselves, they are improving their existence, choosing their best options, and adapting themselves to their environment by themselves.  Example: cows are producing milk, or the tree is giving fruits.  This attitude sets up their own creator or they are assigning some creators within the universe .  When I say that I am a good man, I do not say that I create the universe.  Even the Pharaoh character has the same attitude.  We are assigning small goddesses to things.  This is the problem that the Quran reminds us to be alarmed about.  Example: I trust in my wealth, or insurance company.   

Comment: To claim that causes create is withholding truth from others which is transgressing, and it engenders doubts and certainties.

Do not expect that you will find any part of the universe and assign it to be the source of anything in the universe.  The Quran implies: “To bring something into existence which did not exist before, it means that I will have to will, and it will come into existence.”  How is the cell acting?  That is the quality of God, i.e., it is not the cell that is acting, rather that is how God willed it so.  It means that my cell is acting according to the Order of the whole universe.  Whoever established the order of the universe is the Creator of the act of my cell, that is His will.  The Creator means self-existing and creates the things only by willing it.  In other words, the universe is coming continuously into existence as a result of His will.  He is not changing one thing into another or creating things one by one, rather the order is established in such a way that the things employed are assigned as the carriers of His will within the conditions of this created universe.  Example: A building made up of stones is a human action, or the human body is made up of cells which are made up of sub particles.  That is, endless things are being employed in the creation in a perfect order so that we conscious beings can easily perceive how perfectly the act of creation is manifested.  That is, I can only understand that this is the action of a conscious being when I see that a lifeless being is employed in such a way that the result is perfect.

If a person follows his inner being, and looks at a sculpture, he chooses one of these two options: that it is a human made thing or it has become a stone by itself.  They may say the same thing when it comes to the rest of the universe.  Everything is given existence by a Conscious Being or they are a result of natural development.  We must think if this makes sense.   Example: a mother may say that I raised this child, a father may say that I provided for you.  What happens?  Apart from the Creator of the universe, we assign qualities of creatorship to ourselves.  We do this unconsciously mostly.  Also, in practical life, it is an unconscious language which we must try to avoid because I may say that I am the source of provision for my children.  It means that I gave existence to the provision.  We must be watchful while we are using this language.  No one claims that I have contributed to the creation of this universe along with God, this “shirk” or assigning partnership with God is not what the Quran means.

Comment: Why are we created with the two competing sides?  Is it the freewill?

Only by rejecting the wrong, we confirm the right and make progress.  In our creation, we are created to experience the order of the universe and we are created as without any knowledge and experience, and we are given the option of learning.  As we reject ignorance (I do not want to remain ignorant), we choose to learn and then I learn, develop, and improve our experiences.  Our nature and conscious mind recognize that learning is the best and I am given the option of not learning.  While I am rejecting ignorance and choosing a learning activity, I develop, and I am improving my human qualities.

The quality of the spirit to acknowledge the truthfulness of God is like a seed.  All the qualities of the tree are included in the seed in the form of capacity, i.e., all the programs are there.  If we assume that the seed has freewill, then the seed will choose.  The seed will get moist in the soil and start developing into a shoot and then a tree.  We are like seeds here, I have consciousness and free will, I am aware of my qualities and I may choose or not choose to grow into a tree.

There are trees with thousands of seeds, and let’s say that only a few seeds become trees.  Is it a waste?  No.  Example: I do not waste 1000 dollars, because I work hard to earn that money.  In order to make this much, in some countries you must work really hard (there is so much injustice going on in the world).  We are limited and we have limited sources, but for the One who creates everything out of His will.  Nothing is impossible for the Absolute, one trillion seeds can come into existence as easy as one seed.  The seeds are created in huge numbers because God’s Absolute Power has no limits, and the universe demonstrates it.  At the same time, if out of a thousand seeds, one becomes a tree, is it worth it?  Yes.  Also, God gave each of them the capacity that all of them should become trees.  In other words, we must try and convey the message to others, just like all the Prophets come to unbelieving communities and corrupt societies because every human being is given the potentiality to confirm the truth.  God does not send Prophets to believing societies.  When the Prophets are assigned to Messengership, they are assigned to the worst people.

Belief in God and the Hereafter is being practiced now in the world conveyed by Muhammad.  Islam is deep in these fundamental concepts as opposed to Christianity.  Most people are practicing Islam according to their capacity.  Everything is under the will of God.  God is the One who is Just and gets hold of every single event directly through His will, wisdom, knowledge and Power.  A much more profound understanding of God is spread among the Muslim community as much as the person study and work for it, they are the product of one single person. This one person may develop himself in such a way that s/he may guide millions of people. That means one person may be worth millions of people.

50:27 “His other self says, our Lord, I did not make him transgress; he had already gone far astray himself.”

If you read God’s punishment in the scripture, you will feel it in your experiences within your feelings.  What is the significance of the description of the “destruction” or of the hereafter?  Human beings are given the opportunity to remain ignorant and deny the truth.  God’s punishment in the Quran mostly are physical descriptions taking place in the next creation, but here we can experience them in our spiritual feelings in this world.  The physical destruction in the Quran is mentioned as examples.  The description of the hereafter are all bodily descriptions, but this bodily description lets us know how the human soul feels distressed with unbearable feelings.  This news is described as unimaginable torture in the Quran as far as the punishment in the hereafter is concerned.  However, when we look at the world here, if a person does not believe in God and bluntly deny the reality and tries to deviate the path of other people, we see no physical torture.  If I put myself in that attitude, I say that everything dies and finishes when I am given death, things are happening randomly and accidentally I start feeling the torture of this understanding.  

If I happen to think of myself in these terms, then do I have any bodily punishment?  Listen to my feelings, I feel that I have no meaning and purpose in this world, but I have some wishful thinking.  These are not wishful thinking; we happen to be like this.  However, the conscious mind says that I want everything to be the best and most comfortable life.  Why should I bother about my children and the prosperity of other people?  If we happen to be like the unbelievers, then why bother about anything?  My feelings are the result of accidents, so why should I bother?  Example: you receive a check of a million dollars from your employer.  Can you say that it is accidental?  No, you do not tear it off because it is meaningful and useful and I loved one million dollars, why shouldn’t I?  That represents my feelings, i.e. I love eternal happiness.  Is that possible?  Yes, if you admit that the universe is the product of an Absolute Creator which is everywhere in the universe and all the qualities are the manifestation of an Absolute being, so here is the universe witnessing and here are my feelings witnessing.  Why should I not use this check?  I also expect my Employer to send me this money and He is an Absolute Being and a rich man.  Why shouldn’t I?  Nothing is going to diminish His budget because He is an unlimited power of financial source.  It is appropriate to my feelings, and I do not tear the check, rather I cash it.  Why should I contradict my feelings?  If you think that is an accidental happening, then you go into a black hole.  Everything is confirming each other, (the universe and) I am confirming, and the options i.e. the egoistic side is also given to me to help with confirming.  We are not forced to do anything, Satan says that “I did not force you to follow me, you were just given the option and were expected to reject me, that was my mission.  I am a good performer and obedient of my mission, I am representing the bad options”, that is why Satan is cursed.  In fact, it is created to function in this way.  Also, Satan represents non-existence, and you may choose to follow it.

50:28 “He God says, Do not dispute in My presence, since I had already given you a warning.”

Conscious mind is with me, and the Prophets come with the message, as discussed earlier.

50:29 “and My judgment cannot be changed: I am not unjust to any creature.”

When I say “be, it is” and I am not unjust to any creature.  The Quran says that if someone believes in Me and s/he is conscious of Me, I will reward Him thousands of times.  However, when it comes to the deniers, I will punish them as they deserve to be (without any multiplication like rewards).  We may say, well, “if You are Generous, then why not forgive them in the hereafter?” Here, if you ask for forgiveness, then you will be surely forgiven.  “Whoever repents, his repentance will be accepted”.  If the repentance is not sincere, then we cannot call it repentance.  Repentance means a sincere confession of one’s mistake.  

Now, a person claims that “the things happen by itself,” but s/he only says “Please God forgive me” is not repentance, because repentance is not verbal, rather repentance must be a conviction, and if s/he changes his understanding, only then can s/he feels it that s/he is forgiven.  After the school of the universe is closed, God says that I will treat the denier equal to his/her wrong choice.  One may say: “Why not punish the deniers with the multiplication just like the Quran describes the rewards in the hereafter as being multiplied?”  Believe in the existence of God, brings enormous pleasure in my life. Similarly, if I am denying the existence of God here, it kills all my hopes and expectations in this world.  In the hereafter, everyone will be treated equally, but the Quran says that the believers will be rewarded with multiplication, depending on how the person deserves. Of course, s/he deserves what is only known to God, that means the ultimate decision rests with God.

Next time: How the things (reward/punishment) happen in this world and in the hereafter and how the Quran describes it?

6:160 “Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold.  But whoever comes with a bad deed will be repaid with its equivalent.  They will not be wronged.”