By January 25, 2021 Read More →

Chapter Qiyamah – Part 1

Chapter Qiyamah (The Resurrection)- part 1

This is the 31st revealed chapter of the Quran (chronologically), during the 4th year of the Prophetic mission, i.e. historically, between the beginning of the prophetic mission and the start of the oppression towards him (pbuh) and his followers in Mecca.  The situation gradually intensified with the prophet and his followers facing a general boycott of goods and social interactions i.e. economic, political, and psychological impositions were levied on them. For example, restrictions of marriage with a follower/believer and requesting other tribes to sell merchandise at a higher price to the believers…).  

The opposing chieftains of the tribe (elite or leader of the society) were greatly afflicted by the message because the message was leveling the ground for humanity. The message stated that everyone is equal, and everyone needs to be treated equally (poor, slaves and orphans should be taken care of, rather than being exploited because of financial handicap).  The elites were claiming to be the superior authority among the other people, and they disdained the poor people and were taking advantage of them in any ways.  

The message that the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought was focused on these social problems that were prevalent in the society, alongside the description of the nature of creation.  The message was heavily concentrated on the notion of equality against oppression, arrogant attitude, and self-claimed virtues/authority.  These were the points that were disturbing the elites.  The message of the Prophet brought a new concept about God, but the discussions were geared towards the topics of human psychology and the nature of creation.  Now, a new concept was introduced to society, the “life after death”.  That is, human beings will be resurrected in another form, and ultimately the universe will also be resurrected.

That was not a common concept around the neighboring tribes and the people of Mecca.  The Revelation was preparing the minds of the people by bringing all these subjects together and reminding them in a line of thinking and trying to give them evidence to make sense of the concept of resurrection. That was just a preliminary introduction to the subject of resurrection, a new type of creation.

This chapter that we will study can be divided into three parts:

First part: Who is speaking here and with what capacity is He speaking? From our observation of the universe, we can see that His capacity is manifested in the universe.  Also, in the way that the human being is created, you can see which kind of Creator He is.  Then, passing to the nature of the universe, we can see how human beings themselves cannot be the Source of their own Existence and are not able to give existence to themselves. They are in need to be created.

Second part: How is human nature in need to take refuge and secure its existence?  Can we really secure our existence by ourselves?  These verses demonstrate in a brilliant figurative way, explaining everything in such a way that it will leave an impact on the nature of human beings, the psychology of human beings, and goes on to help people understand their reality i.e. how selfish they are and how they love to defend themselves as to justify their own actions by any means, try to change the reality in order to make themselves appear to be a right person as if they are perfect.  These excuses are rejected by the Creator: “We know what you want to do i.e. keep yourself free of responsibility.”  Then, the topic goes to the nature of revelation.  Here, Revelation means how God instructs the Prophet, which is the message; and that the messenger (or the one receiving the message) should not really try to protect the message by himself, from his own power. The message is not from the Prophet and is not originated from the messenger of God that he would protect the message by himself.  That is to say, the Source of Existence of the message is the Creator of the universe and only He can protect His own message and make it successful.  It is a kind of warning: “Do you think that you will have a role in receiving, distributing, and protecting the message yourself?  Just relax.”  Then, it goes into the relationship between man and his Master (the Creator), how the human being desires His Creator rather than desiring this fleeting world, which is pointless.

The culmination of human neediness is strongly felt at the pangs of death when human beings experience their helplessness to the utmost degree that they cannot save themselves from the treatment they receive from their Creator.  This is needed by everyone, especially those people who take pride in their social status or power, thinking that they can command anything on anyone.  However, no one can save themselves from death, we are all helpless creatures.  

Third part: After preparing all this necessary background, comes the subject of how human beings have been created through the various stages of existence.  We did not have any control over the stages of our existence, we are under the control of the Creator only. We have no say in how we will develop in our preparation of life in this world, and later taken away from this lifeAfter pointing out that all the power in the universe is just under the control of the Creator of the universe, only then can one secure their life.  Seeing that God is creating us through different stages of creation, now when you die, He can give life again, can He not?  This question is raised here.  

 

  • Can He not give life again to the dead body?  (75:40)

 

From the very beginning (particles of the embryo), the dead body was given life, and can He not give life again to a dead body?  This is a striking way of approaching any subject related to “ghaib” (or Absolute).  Again, at first, the agent is introduced, which kind of Agent He is?  Second, coming to the nature of creation and human beings, how helpless everything is before His power. Then after demonstrating all this, this chapter “The Resurrection (or Qiyamah)” does not say that you are going to be resurrected.  Rather, it concludes the topic just preparing the mind to accept this concept.  It does not say that I will resurrect you and take you into account.  Rather it poses the question to you: “Isn’t He able to do that, the one who is holding the whole universe not able to give you existence after He gives you death?”  Despite the fact that the same Agent has created you with the sense of not wanting to die, He gives you death.  He gave you life and then sets you up for death and gives you death, can He not give you life again?  On this the chapter Qiyamah concludes.  

 

  • It is a model of thinking for us, how can the subject of resurrection be understood by ourselves and how reasonable is it to accept the notion of resurrection under the witnessing of everything around us, including ourselves?

 

If you want to talk about “life after death”, you should not jump into the hereafter with the knowledge that you have acquired.  The Quran does not speak like this!!!  Rather, after presenting the evidence does the Quran prepare the mind to accept the subject.

75:1 “No, I call to witness the Day of Resurrection”

“la” is a letter/word that usually represents negation.  When “la” comes at the beginning as a swearing word by God (“qasam”), it first attracts one’s attention as an expression of “no! no! no!”  What does this mean? Such phrasing implies: “What I am going to tell you is different from what you know.  Leave alone what you have thought about so far, it does not make sense.  I am going to give a firm oath, following the evidence.  That is the reason, for what I am going to give you the news about, telling the truth, rather than what you have thought about.” 

  • This attracts my attention to be prepared for what is being told to me i.e. it is not what I have thought about that I need to leave aside. Rather I will be told about something completely different than what I know.

Most people have different interpretations of the word “la”, some say it is just a negation. Nevertheless, in this verse, “la” seems to be a word drawing the attention of the audience, saying: “Hey, be careful, do not come with your previously developed ideas, keep it aside, I will tell you something and you can compare that understanding after you listen to me.  It does not mean that you will reject your idea and automatically accept my presentation.”  It means that I should not try to come up with a counter argument straightaway.  Be patient and listen carefully.

I swear by” means that I am going to give you the news of Resurrection.  I will introduce to you this and bring the subject to your attention, so this resurrection will be the witness to many other realities, pay attention to it!  

  • Don’t say: “what does it mean that we will be resurrected after rotting in the grave and then we will be given life again?  That is the story of ancient people.”
  • No, it is not that simple!

Qiyamah” means to stand up or do “Iqamah”.  Iqamah means to make a revolution within one’s existence. After knowing and realizing the reality of this world everything turns upside down for me. This verse draws my attention to the way that everything is continuously changing in their existence. Do you not see that their existence is constantly being renewed and given a new type of existence? Does it not present you with an example of the ability of the Agent that He is resurrecting you constantly?

  • “As a result, you will be surprised to see what happens and how it happens. It (your reality) will be coming to you, that is certain, I swear by it.  I am bringing this reality as a witness to you that you can be convinced if you are a man of truth”.

75:2 “And no, I call to witness the self-reproaching spirit.”

This verse emphasizes on the introduction about the witness of that news but this time, it comes up with another concept “self-reproaching spirit”.  That is, you will find yourself with the fact that what you have been thinking of so far was wrong.  “How nonsensical I was, I never thought about it?!”  

“Nafs-i- lawaama” is your self-reproaching soul i.e. your human reality will come to the realization that it has the capacity to understand this and so what it has been neglecting, rejecting and not taking into account was the truth.  “I will tell you and you will understand that you were wrong and careless about the truth”

  • You will be sorry that you did not take into account what I am going to tell you now about resurrection”.  

The following verse starts introducing how the Speaker, the Creator of the universe is able to resurrect, touching the human reality i.e. look at yourself!

75: 3 “Does man think that We (as the Speaker) cannot [resurrect him and] bring his bones together again [resurrect him]?

Even the bones are dissolved in the grave.  Resurrection or “the concept of qiyamah” is mainly related to the bodily resurrection here at this stage of the human journey (in this chapter).  Later, throughout the period of revelation, the nature of the human soul is going to be explained.  At this stage, the human soul is not brought into the discussion because human beings experience in this world that their existence firsthand consists of the body.  That is what the human being sees at this stage and they know that they have feelings and emotions but cannot go deep with it (not necessarily referring to the contemporary of the Prophets through this).  

In this day and age, people who have a material understanding of the universe say that this universe and the human being is a product of matter/body (brain, memories and learning through memories…). That the human beings are the result of the function of their material body.  Materialist view reduces the human being to an animate being.  Every animal has a different quality according to their instincts.  As far as I am concerned, we are living in this body and this body makes us as a human being.  

Resurrection is a subject of mainly “body life”.  When we say that I am alive, we think of our body and our living conditions called “life”.  It needs a deeper reflection that I have something else i.e.  my existence consists of not only body and life, but also some human qualities, the human side of me.  When someone dies, they say “he lost his life”, rather the body lost its living conditions. The living conditions are destroyed for some reasons within the order of existence in the universe.

  • Example: If a computer (material body) is physically damaged or loses its battery power, it does not mean that its program (function) disappeared from existence, rather it’s a non-functioning computer because the connection is lost.  Nowadays, there is cloud storage i.e. everything is preserved in the cloud, all the programs and functions are preserved there.  Similarly, when the body is not functional, it does not mean that my spirit cannot operate.  Yes, my spirit cannot operate within the conditions of this universe, but my spirit is still in existence like the program of the computer.  
  • People who reduce human beings to a material existence, define “death” as life which is not functioning in the body.  It is correct but it does not mean that this person as a human being disappeared from existence. The computer is destroyed but the program is preserved (just like cloud storage).  

At this stage, the subject dealt with the material conditions and material side of the universe and the human being.  The bones of the human body seem to be strong but even they get completely dissolved. As the Speaker in the Quran says: 

  • Do you think that We cannot gather or bring these bones together again? From the beginning it was Us who constructed the bones, don’t you think We can do that again? (Qur’an, 36: 78-79.)

75:4 “Certainly, We are able to put together in perfect order even the very tips of his fingers.”

Who is speaking here?  The One who is the source of existence of the whole universe and the human being.  Who has designed the human body from scratch?  He has designed the smallest bone from the very beginning out of a cell (from the embryo stage) that continues to develop as it is now.  There is no interference by any human beings in your bodily growth unless you go for plastic surgery, which is also within the order of the universe.  No one can do anything in this creation by getting out of the order of the universe.  Even plastic surgery is done by following the order of the universe.  In any case, we obey the will of the One who puts any particular order of the universe that we are experiencing, we cannot get out of this order, that is how our nature is.  “Even the fingertips of the smallest details, it is Us who has done it and We will bring it back as we put together in the perfect order as We did it in the beginning.”  What can we attribute the design of the human body to?  How about the human soul, consisting of endless feelings, especially consciousness, imagination, conscience, reasoning power and preserving memory…?!  Even the material side is designed by the One who has established the order of the universe.  Did you or the unconscious matter do this?  Can you change the order of the universe?  Can you interfere into the order of the universe and spoil it?  No! You obey it!  

The materialist scientist plays a magical trick, a stratagem by saying that we are cloning a human being.  Yes, you can because the order exists and without following the order, you cannot do it.  As much as the order allows one to do something, we can do it.  In any case, you have to follow the will of the One who has established the order of the universe and you cannot get out of His will because you cannot find any source in the universe which can be the Source of Existence of this order.

What is the dilemma of the materialistic interpretation of the existence of the universe?  

They say that matter exists within an order and the order functions with matter in a certain way. If there was no matter, there would be no order and if there was no order, there would be no matter.  Matter and order are interdependent to each other.  How can you say that one is the source of existence of the other since it cannot exist without the other?  Can we really separate the matter from the order?  If you separate matter from the order, then matter without the order cannot exist (a point of agreement).  However,” they are created together” means that matter is given existence by the agent or the originator of the universe within an order.  Both are given existence, adjusted, harmonized together, and work according to the arrangement of their origin of existence.  This universe and my body are given existence within this order by the Creator of the matter, my body, and its order of existence.  This same One is giving death to the body as it gives life to it.  

Again, at this stage, we are not talking about the soul yet as far as the chronological order of the revelation is concerned because people’s minds are not yet prepared for it (and so we should not jump into that subject.)

We understand that if we really start from the origin of the human body, then the case of death makes sense.  Let us think about what we usually say: “After death, this body cannot be given existence again”.  If you think about how it came into existence, then it becomes possible for any human being with (no biases and prejudices) with an open mind to easily understand that the One who gives existence to the human body within the context of the universe, is the One that can give life once more.  

Comment: How do we explain the existence of the fingerprints?  If there is a Creator who can create a limitless number of fingerprints, isn’t this an allusion to Divine Unity (ahadiya)?  If a Creator can create so many unique creations, then clearly, He is able to bring life back to the dead, that is very easy for Him.

At this stage of presenting the concept of resurrection to the audience, we are going through a journey of the stages of revelation (taking place step by step) in order to construct a human being in the form that the Creator has aimed at in his creation.  Just presenting the subject within the context of the universe and letting the human being experience within himself that even my fingertips are arranged and formed by the One who gave me existence.  This is a sign that every human being has his/her own unique fingertips and only the One who knows all human beings can design each human being differently from others because He knows which kind of design He has given to person A, person B…and the millions of people created where everyone has a unique fingerprint.

This verse is preparing our minds for when we think about the creation of our body, even the minute details are taken care of by the One who created you, do you think that this One is not able to do that?  At this stage of reasoning, understanding and evaluating creation, human beings can only be convinced about the reality that “yes, the universe has a Creator and everything is designed by Him and originated and designed with a perfect order and that He can do it again.

How does the Quran instruct human beings and introduce the reality to human beings?  Let’s say that you are taking a course which takes 23 years to complete your studies.  Some may say that I may die in 23 years. Yes, that is possible; but take this Quranic teaching as an example that we can benefit from.  Just like during your first few years of math classes, you learn the basic operations, then later on the calculations become complicated and then you develop your skill sets accordingly.  That is, you understand that everything is given existence in a unique way, not only the fingers but also every DNA is completely unique to everyone.  No one has the same type of body; morality and our feelings are all different.  Same goes in the physical world, every atom and molecule are different.  Now, the realization of this detail may come later in the studies (later stages of development).  It is important to read the Quran in a chronological order by following the revelation period from the beginning to the end so you can put yourself in the training as if you are just receiving the message now.  In other words, every time you study one chapter, at that stage, you go through that level of teaching and so on.  Of course, throughout the course of these stages, you will start learning many things that you did not imagine at the beginning of your journey.  

Comment: Whoever has given existence to this body must give it existence again.  We don’t have to go back to the starting point of existence, rather looking into my being given existence now (present tense).  

At this stage of the 4th year of revelation, it is unclear as to how much one pays attention to the continuous existence.  When we think about the continuity of my existence, we think in a general sense.  That is, I was given existence (past tense), or I am given existence (present tense), and now I am being given existence (present continuous tense).  That is, since my existence is renewed continuously, that is what I observe.

75:5 “Rather man desires to go on living viciously.”

Human beings are always inclined to defend how he has built up his own understanding of everything and takes a defensive position at first.  Now, a person comes in and tells me a different idea, is it easy to change?  No, it is not easy to change for a human being, but it is not impossible, it may take some time.   “I have understood the world soThe purpose of the verse is saying that you want to insist in the wrong ideas, and you are not ready to put it into the question form: far in this way and there is a new idea saying about a new creation, how can it happen and how is it possible?”  Come on, we come here and then die and disappear, we see and hear from the previous ancestors that we come here, get some fame (if possible), and then die.  The following generation may or may not talk about us in a favorable way: “he was just an ordinary person without any significant quality to be appreciated by the society or he was the most amazing skilled person”.  That is how it is, and people try to build up their fame, so that after they die, they get remembered for some time.  

  • After you die, even if people remember you, does it really matter for you because you are already “dead in their understanding”? 

When it comes to the “me”, we are very defensive and take precautions i.e. we are suspicious about a new idea because we don’t want to lose our already established habits and beliefs.  That is why the revolutionary verses are sent.  A change in the paradigm of thinking about any subject takes centuries (although nowadays, for some trends, it is becoming shorter and shorter due to mass media where people want to keep trying any new idea or diet/prescription advertised).  

Why is it so difficult to make a revolution in one’s life?  Because of the shift in the thinking, the paradigm shift is very difficult for human beings.  That is why to change the customs is very difficult.  Even for ourselves, the way we eat, cook, dress or do anything.  Can you change your mother’s habit of cooking (put this spice rather than that one)?  No!  And so, it is difficult to change habits and it is more difficult to change one’s way of thinking.

“Desiring to go on living viciously” means that man does not want to change his view of the world and understanding of life and hence they go on living with their values with no revision.  So far, what they have learned has been inherited from the societies, that is what we do and that is our reality.  That is why the Quran says as if: “Yes, I am aware of this, but have you ever thought about your reality i.e. whether what you are doing is right or wrong?”  That is the question.

The following verse is interesting to decipher human psychology now.  What does this psychology include in it?

75:6 “asking [derisively], “When is that Resurrection Day to be?”

In Arabic, there are different ways of asking the time or date?  “Ayaana” is not like a set time of an event.  When is this resurrection day going to happen? Is the question being posed here?  As if asking me in a sarcastic way because I have no hope about it i.e. I think that I will die and disappear and become rotten bones.  When people argue with the Prophets they mostly say (as narrated in the Quran): “Do you think our ancestors will be resurrected again?  They are gone centuries ago, how can they be resurrected?  Have you seen anyone come back to life again?  Where do you think it will happen?”  

When the question is raised like this in a sarcastic way, the evidence is needed to be presented to such mentality i.e. the evidence needs to be sharp and to the point as to attract our attention now.  Suddenly, the tone of the Speaker changes i.e. the subject does not change but the manner of addressing becomes as if saying: “I have to speak to this person in a serious way and I will tell you when.” 

75:7 “So, when the eyesight is dazzled”

You will be completely shocked when it will happen.  

75:8 “and the moon is darkened”

Do you think that this moon is giving light/reflecting light?  Do you think that the moon is the source of existence of its light?  Can the moon produce light by itself?  It is just an object that needs to be given existence; how can it produce light?  It cannot really keep this quality of giving light by itself, it cannot produce it and keep it.  Hence, it can always be taken away by a One who enabled it to reflect light or give light. It is not your arrangement or the arrangement of matter; matter has no such quality to do that.  

75:9 “and the sun and the moon are merged!”

وَجُمِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ


What is brought to our attention here is that the order of the universe is not produced by the matter itself; matter (sun and moon…) have no consciousness and no quality by itself.  They can only be under the Creatorship of a One who is the Source of Existence of the order of the universe.  Only He can arrange them, otherwise the sun and the moon cannot co-exist by themselves.  Why should they?  Who is keeping them upright? Who is arranging them, how is the system perfectly measured?  What has the quality of measuring it?  Does the matter have the quality to do all this arrangement by itself?  No, matter is subject to this arrangement as well, it cannot be the source of this arrangement.  That is the dilemma of materialism!

Does the moon and the sun arrange their way of existing without crashing?  If they arrange it themselves, then they must be the master of the order, but they are subject to the order?  How can you be the master of something that you are subject to?  That is a logical contradiction.  It is arranged in this way by the One who created this universe.  The same One can take the light of the moon and make it completely dark by changing the order of the act of creation i.e. with no light at all, because it is the One who gave light to the moon.  Also, the One who established the relationship of the sun and the moon in relationship with the earth as far as our practical life on earth here is concerned (we are not going into the depths of the galaxies where very specialized people study and get mesmerized with the arrangement of such systems), is the same One that brings everything into existence.

You don’t have to be an expert to understand the message of the Quran. If you are an expert, then you understand the message of the Quran better.  Not everyone can do that and that is why the Quran starts at the simplest level to introduce the subject.  

Here, the attention of human beings is drawn to prepare the mind that the One who puts the universe (moon, sun and earth…) in their location and makes them move in their perfect order where the arrangement is under control completely.  This same One can destroy it and the same One can revive it again.  He is the One who is the source of this arrangement, can He not do it again?  It is introducing the subject to the minds of the people.  Think about it: “Can anything that is perfectly arranged happen by itself accidentally?” Why should it happen accidentally?  How can it happen to come into existence accidentally?

The celestial bodies cannot really control themselves because they have no consciousness.  Example: I see how the things are ordered in my room by a conscious being.  I cannot say that things got arranged by themselves and are acting perfectly by themselves.  Also, they cannot get out of the order that they claim to have originated, can they?  How ridiculous is this for the human mind!?  

Comment: Perhaps we can use another translation for “viciously” in verse 5 such as debauched or immoral or a mixture of all this.

As long as it makes sense to me about what the message is being conveyed here.

Now, the subject jumps from one point to another.  It is amazing!  Some people get disturbed by how the Quran does not follow a smooth sequence.  We should keep in mind that this is a training, educating the human being.  Now, the attention is drawn to the nature of the human being in relation to the creation out there.  Can the creation sustain the order by themselves?  No, they are slaves to the order.

75: 10 “On that day every human being will say, “Where can I escape?”

When I realize that the sun and the moon are under the control of the One who created them, so am I also under the control of the same One.  Where can I seek refuge now?  Where can I go and find a niche to make my existence secure?  How about the moon? Even the moon cannot escape any operation from its Creator.  So, where and whom do I go to?  Where can I escape to and feel secure in my existence?  

  • Can I make my existence secure by myself or something else?  

This description presented in the verses we have looked at so far seems as if each verse is changing the subject?  No, it is not changing the subject, rather it is a model of thinking and observation where I look at the universe first and then myself in it.  It is just a continuation of the subject, although it may seem that from mentioning the sky to human beings is a jump in subjects. However, it is making me realize where can I escape into?  

Can I really make sure that I do not age?  Can I really make sure that I am free in my existence and manage my existence as I like?  Is it so?  This is a heavy analysis of the human being calling them to reflect on their own existence, look at it and say: “can I escape from any kind of operation over me by the One who is arranging everything and keeping everything under His control?

 

  • The day when the human being will say, where can I escape and secure my existence and secure my life to?  

 

In the following paragraphs we will see that human beings will practically experience this complete helplessness and submission of their existence to their Creator at the pang of death.  This is the preparation of the minds, feelings, and the emotions of human beings.

75: 11 “Not at all!  There is no refuge.”

You cannot find any point of hope, support, and power that you can say: “ok if You (the One who is supporting the moon and the sun) who is holding the moon and the sun try to attack me or harm me, I can take refuge with the emperor of Rome.”  He is as helpless as you are (he is more lost because he has lots of power and wealth and losing it. It will be painful when he starts to think about his reality). There is no way for anyone to guarantee His existence by defending Himself in any way.  Impossible!

Can you imagine that we are hearing this message for the first time and we have never heard of this before?  We used to think that everything is existing as it is like this. Then a shepherd with no wealth, status or literary knowledge, a poor orphan comes up with a very powerful poetic and descriptive language. If we read it altogether, it breaks i.e. it may not really show its eloquence with the quick reading.  Let alone the deep meaning, the poetic quality of the Speech puts us down on the ground when we read it slowly one by one.

If a person has never thought of God, the Creator or reflected on the reality of his existence will just be living like an animal. Someone then comes (an ordinary man, not a famous Philosopher/Poet/Powerful) and brings news of resurrection, seeking refuge, salvation. You would say how come this man speaks to me with this quality of literature and meaning which is so challenging and shocking?  

  • Human beings are humbled by it, that is why an arrogant soul cannot digest this.

When the revelation was revealed to the first pagan societies (even the roman empire later, and other ones as well), people had no quality of life other than fighting with each other for fun because they had no other value (just being proud of their tribe and nothing else).  Starting from scratch, the revelation began developing human beings and these human beings went from the most worthless civilization to becoming the master of the world in 40 years.  What?!  Which kind of revolution in the world can succeed in this aim and take people from the worst position to the highest powerful civilization in the world in 40 years and conquering the famous empires with camels only because of the power of civilization?  

This idea that the human being spiritually changed is revolutionary i.e. this message invaded the minds and souls of the people through these teachings and they gradually developed (stage by stage), 23 years of education ended up conquering the great majority of the parts of the known world and becoming the master of human kind of that time as a result of this teaching.  How does the teaching penetrate the feelings of the human beings and emotionally convince them; and make them submit themselves to this message, it is amazing!  

  • Can I escape and save myself?  

Can you or the most notorious materialist answer that?

In a humiliating position, they say these are human wishes and not real.  But, how did you develop these wishes?  Where did I get these feelings, from atoms/particles?  Don’t be ridiculous!?  I am not stupid to buy into this.  What is this arrogance challenging the Creator of the universe that you exist accidentally?  Behave yourself man!

It is interesting how the beauty of these verses takes us to how the human spirit should be molded into: a beautiful form so we can face our reality and submit ourselves to it.

75:12 “That day, the journey’s end is with your Lord.”

“Your destination is only to your Lord”. First, He gives you existence and prepares what you need including the guidance to enlighten yourself with, and you become aware of your reality (including the guidance you needed).  That is your destination; your journey will end at the hands of your Lord.  

  • When you realize this (NOT ONLY WHEN YOU DIE), you understand that is your reality and you say: “Ok, I belong to the One who created the universe I am in His hand, He can shape me in any way He wants because I am the product of His hands.”  You must admit this!

Comment: The descriptions here is physical, yet very emotional because people are visual beings.  There is a feeling of helplessness here.  There is an interesting contrast at the beginning where man feels very self-centered as if he is the most important thing, and the contrast is that man is going to be very helpless on that day.  Is it the contrast between what is true, and the delusion man is in that is being described here?  

We don’t know “that day”, as in the day of resurrection.  The important thing to extract from it is that:when you realize this reality, that is your reality and that is the point that you will come to understand the reality of your existence.  This is experienced now and when I die, this will be experienced when the resurrection day takes place.”  As far as the purpose of the teachings of the Quran is concerned, it is speaking to me now to realize this reality.  When I realize it, the resurrection is happening for me now because I know that it is inevitable i.e. it will happen.  The moment you realize it i.e. when you die, will you be surprised that you are dying?  When I am resurrected, I will not be surprised because I have already realized that this is the true moment i.e. I already know that it will happen as it happens every moment.

After receiving this education from the Quran, we know that in reality, every moment, we are receiving the death and resurrection i.e. yesterday is dead and we are resurrected today and today will be dead and tomorrow we will be resurrected again IF the Lord of the universe wills it, nothing else can guarantee my existence, only the will of the Lord of the universe.  

  • That is, we live in a momentary resurrection at every stage of our life.

We should notice the general way of teaching in the Quran on how it develops the subject, jumping from one topic to another.  It is handling the case from one perspective then another, turning human feelings from one aspect and combining it with a way within the grasp of the teachings of revelation that there is no way to escape from it.  I can deny it verbally but my consciousness and spirit cannot deny (it is true, but I cannot submit).  That is the reality of the teachings of the Quran.  That is how we should read the Quran without losing ourselves in the literal meaning.  The purpose of revelation is to educate and mold the human being into a certain way of understanding and realization, that is guidance, the point.  It does help to know the literal meaning to go deeper into the teachings of the Quran.  However, sometimes, when we do start going into the details, we may miss the big picture.

Comment: It is important to see the jumps from topic to topic and read it as if you are hearing the message the first time.

If someone brings their previous understanding into the present discussion, it does not help.  It holds you back and it is harmful in your development of realization.  Don’t deny the previous understandings.  Anytime you sit in front of the Quranic teachings, take it as if it is the first time you are hearing this message.  That is the nature of the Quran as being the Speech of Absolute Knowledge or coming from Absolute Knowledge of the Absolute Being.  Absolute means that it cannot be restricted with time and space limitations i.e. nothing to do with the 14th century Arabia.  Now, I am hearing it within my own conditions. 

 

  •  I may have heard it before but I am a new creation NOW and experiencing a new evidence out there and so I must listen to the speech of the Creator within the context of my own existence RIGHT NOW!  
  • I have to look at the sun now.  
  • I have to look at the moon now.  
  • I have to look at myself now and I have to look at my feelings now.  

 

If I bring the previous feelings and understandings, I cannot make any development, and I will be stuck with my previous understanding; that does not fit into the nature of Eternal Speech.  If you are learning the discipline of Physics or Math, you must build your initial understanding and develop from your prior understandings and built upon the knowledge base, one on top of the other.  However, we are learning something about the reality of our existence, and this is not like learning other disciplines.  

 

  • The Quran does not give me information.  The Quran educates me!

 

Comment: Where can I escape?  That seems to be the main point that we are rehearsing day after day like a play i.e. you rehearse until the actual day of production.  In other words, every day you go to sleep, you wake up and you are rehearsing resurrection, trying to learn your lines of where can I escape?

Every moment we are rehearsing this: Where can I escape?  There is no way to take refuge with anything here.  The journey’s end is with your Lord when you realize this. It is as if the Quran is freshly revealing this news directly to me now.




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