Chapter Quraysh – Part 2

The early revelations (from the Meccan period) are deep in meaning, precise, eloquent, and concise. Although these chapters may be considered old as far as being revealed to the Prophet (pbuh), the meaning in these messages (chapters) is ever fresh.  If we are not aware of the value of the qualities of these chapters, we would just take them at a shallow level (as in talking about a certain tribe/race).  

• Rather, the mentioning of Quraysh for us Here and Now represents the deep meaning of pilgrimage (hajj) i.e. living with the awareness of Absoluteness of God (tawhid).

We may pray five times a day throughout our whole lives and usually repeat several times these short early verses.  Whereas, hajj takes place only once in my life and it covers all my prayers.  However, there is one condition i.e. I must know what every single required action that I perform during Hajj signifies.  That is, for three consecutive days, we must take our consciousness alive.  And then, we must be mindful of the meaning of hajj while turning to qibla (Absoluteness direction) and performing prayers.  It is as if prayers (including turning to qibla) means to be on the way to hajj.  Although while in praying, I am not performing the hajj yet but intend to be on the way to receiving the meaning of hajj.  In a hopeful way I will perform the prayers with the consciousness of the Absoluteness of God while saying God is great (Allahu Akbar, Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar).  All these fundamental formulas (invocations) of the Islamic teachings help us to inculcate the notion of tawhid (Absoluteness of God) and purifying the Absoluteness of God in our living: “Only You have self-existence and everything belongs to You.  Every praise belongs to You, every exaltation belongs to You, every gratefulness and thankfulness belongs to You. You are the Hamid (originally deserved to be praised).  You are the praised One not because someone praised You or not, rather You are the Origin of being praised i.e. Your essential being deserves being praised.  Because we are here in this universe and we have no other option but to be in a state of admiration of the manifestation of Your actions/qualities witnessed in this universe”.

This universe is only one manifestation of His qualities: “You are the One who cannot only create one star, animal or one object, rather You are the Creator of an endless universe.  It means that you can create another everlasting universe because you are the Absolute Source.  Creation is a means for You to show Your Will and introduce Yourself to us conscious beings.  You just will and You do not have to imagine and work on a project like an architect works.  Again, You just will for things to come into existence and You are able to do that.”  This sense of awareness of the infiniteness of the Creator should make us realize that every prayer is a journey to hajj.

106:2 “secure in their winter and summer journeys.”

We are not estranged from the conditions which are created in the universe for us because we know that whatever is created and given existence is from Him, the One who knows everything at the same time with His Absolute Knowledge, the One who wills as He wills with His Mercy. However, human beings may turn it into something painful for them.  If someone presents to you the best thing that you need and if you reject the thing he presents which is good, then you will be the loser.  That is, you will deprive yourself of His Mercy.  Mercy is out there but I can turn my back to it and reject it.  I can deny the Mercy and say that this life is going to end with no meaning and be turned into dust and become compost.  Although life gives the news that the One who gave existence to you is the Absolute Merciful One.  This life is nothing but a manifestation of His Compassion (treating your consciousness) letting me know that I am valuable in the eyes of the One that has given to me existence: “Everything I need is provided for me within my existence, perfectly adjusted according to my conditions and the conditions around me”.  

 

• While you are securing your existence, you are on a journey (Arabic rihla).

 

How can we achieve security in our existence while we are on a journey?

We are on a journey going through different living conditions, just like we experience different climate conditions, sometimes summer and sometimes winter.  All these conditions are beautiful but if we do not utilize them properly and prepare ourselves properly as it should be, then we put ourselves into trouble.  For example, winter is necessary to provide a new creation and prepare the climate conditions in order to present a new creation to us, demonstrating that: “Look at all the different climate conditions created where several things come alive during spring and become dead during the winter season.  They are brought into life with a conscious will and a deliberate arrangement so that human beings should not be misled that things are sustaining themselves and are here forever.”  The change of seasons is a reminder that things cannot stay alive by themselves and so there must be a conscious will behind the livelihood of everything.

The pinnacle of our journey can be reached through observing the meaning of Absoluteness of God (tawhid) in our mind and soul, becoming sure about the Absoluteness of God, and introducing this Absolute Creator to our feelings so that they will face each other (my feelings and their acquaintance with the Absoluteness of God).  Example: The Creator is all-Knowledgeable.  That feeling is given to me to acknowledge that the Creator of the universe must be an All-Knowledgeable One and is Absolute (has Absolute meaning and knowledge).  This encountering of my feelings with tawhid happens at the same time.  In the Quranic language, I am Shahid (the one witnessing) and I am Mashood (being witnessed) (85: 3) i.e. I am both at the same time.  In other words, the Absolute Being is witness to my security in my belief and at the same time, He is aware that I know Him as I do witness.  The Creator witnesses that I am in a state of witness and realization, called individual ascension (miraj).  This ascension to realizing the Absoluteness of God in one’s life.

The word ilaaf means that from my side I am secure in my existence, life, expectations, hopes and fears.  Although I fear, I know that my Creator protects me.  I know that I may lose something, and at the same time, I know that my Creator can compensate it with His forgiveness, as long as I ask Him to do so i.e. repent for my shortcomings, mistakes and ask Him to forgive me.  I am sure He will do that as long as I am sincere in my repentance.  That security will continue as I journey by going through winter and summer living conditions.  

Winter conditions represent something lacking, life is lacking, it is cold.  At the same time, it may be so cold that I cannot bear it.  The Prophet (pbuh) describes this case like this: “I have seen poverty next to denial (kufr)”.  That is, the life conditions of winter may be so severe that we may not bear it and start doubting that how come this Creator can be Merciful?  How come this Creator does not know that I am in an unbearable condition?  How can He put me in this way?  Maybe He is not Merciful, maybe He does not exist, all this is just my bad luck.  Because I am under the stress of severe winter conditions or difficult situations that I may fall into despair.  That is, by going through the winter life experiences, I may lose my security.  We must be careful because we are going to be given all types of living conditions.

A Quranic verse: “Do you think that you are going to be left without being given different living conditions so that you may find it hard to bear and say that I believe in God?”  (29: 2.) Believing in God is just the beginning.  When we experience the different weather conditions, we tend to appreciate the experiences.  Without going through the cold winter days, we cannot appreciate the cool spring days and warm summer days, which then makes us appreciate the cold winter days.

Everyone will have in their life journey (rihla), different climate conditions.  Our focus should be on our rihla, which is reaching the peak of my realization of my Creator to be an Absolute One, incomprehensible One, and beyond imagination.  That is why we go through these life conditions to train ourselves for every level of the manifestation of God’s different names at different stages.  

• In the winter I am trained with heavy conditions so that I understand God’s Mercy manifested in those conditions.  
• In the summer, I am trained with different living conditions, so that I appreciate God’s Mercy manifested as well in those conditions.

Everyone has different types of life experiences.  Sometimes, I will understand that I cannot bear the living conditions here (completely at the moment of death) and incapable of overcoming my problems within the conditions of this world.  So, I have to submit myself to my Creator and turn to Him and acknowledge Him as the Provider of my needs: “I understand now that it is not me who is managing my life, that experience was also needed by me.”  HOWEVER, this is a dangerous state because we may start doubting.  That is why the Prophet (pbuh) warned us: “Being in a poor life conditions may draw you next to denial.  Watch out! That is the peak of your realization of your position before your Creator.”

• We cannot say that the Creator is managing the climate outside, but I am managing the climate within my house.  With the harsh cold winter, I turn on the temperature inside the house to warm it up, as if I can compete with what is created out there for me.  Sometimes when winter is severe, and if your heating system inside is not working properly (a poor and needy state), then that is a Compassionate reminder.  That is, rather than coming next to denial, we should be so conscious and aware of our status that I am given these conditions in order to realize that when I am heating the house, I am not challenging the Creator.  “I must realize that the heating conditions are given to me by my Creator. I am not heating the house”.  

We need to be watchful of such lip service as winter conditions outside the house is God’s business but within my house, I am controlling everything: “Thank God I can pay the bills”.  Feeling comfortable and experiencing that I am managing my life perfectly and comfortably, i.e. whatever happens outside does not bother me anymore.  My system works perfectly.

Who is taking care of everything?  

Without realizing that the heating system inside is also God’s grace and if it is taken out for a couple of days, it is so that we experience this reality as well and we need to remember: “It is Me who is heating your house and providing the order of the universe in such a way that you human beings can discover how to heat your house”.  The creation of heat is My action, the creation of technology are My actions and grace to you provided within the order which I created for You.  These are what some of the life conditions are and we must go through the winter life conditions (mild/harsh/severe) to get educated about our reality.

• Lack of power, lack of property and knowledge may be so severe that we must be very careful.  Similarly, more power, property and knowledge can also be dangerous.  

The word “saif” means summertime.  That is, enjoy what is given to you, especially during the summertime, go and enjoy the outdoors.  We are made in a way where we are inclined to feel secure with what is at our disposal.  However, we must be careful.  That is, we may be given so much that we may start feeling secure in our existence not derived from the security coming from God who provided all.  Rather, we may start feeling confident in ourselves which turns into self-confidence that I worked hard, or my luck went through, and I worked on having this property, I don’t need anyone, and nothing can harm me.  This further expands to as if I can take care of myself by hiring expensive doctors to treat my illnesses and restore health.  In other words, I can take care of myself and forget about the provider.  This climate can also be experienced in our lives and one may deal with it according to one’s accustomed way of life.  We may start feeling self-sufficient and forget about our neediness before our Creator.  We must be going through these living conditions in our “rihla” or journey of realization i.e. belief.  These verses have deep meanings.  We can turn the verses into a historical dead document and that would be an insult to the Creator of the universe.  Again, we must be very careful to read the message as to be universal and applicable to me here and now.

103:3 “So let them worship the Lord of this House”

As a conclusion of these life experiences, all the messengers (Prophets) unanimously declared to worship the Absolute God.  They all concluded that the Absoluteness of God can never be represented here, within the conditions of this universe.  For me, this verse reminds me that the Creator through the simplicity (stones) of the Ka’ba represents the Absoluteness of God.  Everyone who believes in tawhid, Oneness of God turns towards the Ka’ba in the city of Mecca because that is how the Creator wills.  The place is sacred because God willed it so: “You will unite there annually to remember and take lessons from each other and how you should experience physically the Absoluteness of God by directing our feelings and directly connecting to Him.”  That is, our spirit directly coming from God is able to acknowledge its Source of Existence and so this acknowledgment is fully experienced. 

• Through this congregation or through this universe and united agreement (In Islam there is no such thing as nation) on the belief that the Creator can only be the One who is the Absolute One, we will be physically united as well to express such because we are created in physical form as well.  

Historically, the sacred place is set in Mecca. It is not because the earth is sacred there but the simple stone structure is willed by the Creator of the universe to be at that physical location.  It is meant to be the place to commemorate the acknowledgment of the Absoluteness of God.  That is, God could have appointed any place and we should never sanctify any place of the earth.  Mecca becomes sacred because God decided it.  Nevertheless, any piece of earth is sacred as it is God’s property.  

This place is called “haram” i.e. “in this place that I assign for you, there will be no other thing/object that will be acknowledged other than me, no human ego will have any freedom, but only the freedom to choose and follow God’s will.”   That is the gist of hajj (pilgrimage), submitting your will to God’s Absolute will.  That is during the “ihram”, making “haram” i.e. prohibit to act independently in my usage of freewill but align it to act upon God’s will.  For example, God has created one stone near the Ka’ba, and we have no right to move that stone using our will.  Furthermore, within the “haram”, we have to be careful in our interactions with the creation around us. For example, I have no right to repel or kill a fly landing on my head.  The only right I have is to acknowledge that this fly is acting according to God’s will and God willed it to be there.  I have no right to chase it away.  

In the Quran, this is depicted by a verse: “You cannot hunt any animal”.  This is 3-day worship in our lives only once in our lifetime.  

• If you cannot do this type of worship within the 80 years of your life, then what are you expecting in 3 days?  

Are you ready for a complete submission to God’s will within the vicinity/environment of this sacred place assigned by God? 

•  If not, then you have not educated yourself enough and so you need further training.  
• You must take more courses and training and experience!  You need it!

That is why “hajj”/pilgrimage is very difficult!!  It does not mean that you shouldn’t go.  Rather, you must prepare yourself and are given years to practice.  We mostly reduce the preparation for “hajj” to financial means.  Rather, we must prepare and go to “hajj” with enthusiasm: after getting ready with the most difficult/severe experiences of life in order to submit totally to God’s will.  If you can do that then go for it!!

• You can go to a place called Mecca, your body can be there, but your freewill may be subordinating your spirit and being the actor in your life, rather than acknowledging the will of the Creator.

What is the real meaning of “hajj” preparation (rihla)?  

One’s life journey or rihla is important.  After this “rihla”, you come to worship the Lord of this sacred place assigned by your Lord.  It is sanctified because the owner of the universe assigned it to you.  It is beautiful to see the sacredness as coming from your Creator and you submit yourself to It by going there.  May we all go to “hajj”!

• If you go, then keep in mind: “I am going to the house of God, and I have to unite as an umma (community) who submits to the Oneness of God, coming to experience in the form of a festival, where every individual comes in order to submit themselves to the Absolute will of the Creator with no individualism and egoism whatsoever.”

Hajj is worth experiencing in one’s life, and that experience should be enough for that person as a source of energy or belief (imaan) for the rest of his life: “Yes I have gone through this experience and I can continue to do it.”  You just have to submit yourself to God’s will and everything else will be left as God willed. That is abiding by “haram” i.e. you cannot do as you want, and you can only do what God wills you to do. It is a complete submission for 3 days to perform your “hajj”.

Since you went through “rihla” and reached the peak in your realization of the Creator, now worship the Lord of this house (bait).  “Bait” can be extended to anything in the universe. It must be the Lord of that thing that you will find security in.  Because you are not worshipping the house itself, rather you are worshiping the Lord of this house.  That is, you are not worshipping your property, rather you are expected to worship the Lord of the property.  I am not taking pride in my possessions, rather I am expected to worship and be proud of the Lord of the possessions, who is the One that gave them to me.  Instead of worshipping the food provided by my spouse, rather I am acknowledging and worshipping the Lord of that food.  I am not worshipping my youth, rather in my “rihla”, I am expected to worship the Lord of my youth, who has given it to me freely.  

• Everything can be put under “rabba hadhal bait” i.e. worship the Lord of this house, do not worship the house itself (Ka’ba)).

This must become one of the principles of the constitution in my living journey.  Throughout my “rihla”, whatever conditions are created for me (winter/summer), try to experience my consciousness/awareness that I am the worshipper of and expected to worship the Lord of whatever I feel secure with (haram).  

• Example: I have a beautiful outfit on me, that is my “bait” (house) now.  Don’t worship the outfit, rather worship the One who provided the outfit for you, the One who creates the order of the universe, which enabled me to make the outfit.  The outfit is created to be a means of clothing, protection for your body, that is provided.  

• Don’t worship the universe, rather the Provider/Creator of the universe.  
• Don’t worship the tech gadgets that you use or the engineer, rather worship the Creator/Provider of the technology, which is made possible from the Owner of the universe, provided by my Creator.  
• Don’t fall into saying that I am proud of human development, tech gadgets, spacecraft, GPS,…and all wonderful devices, rather worship the Lord that provided the order of the universe so that human beings can benefit from it.

• The Creator of the universe provided human abilities so we can discover what is hidden within the heavens, the universe, the sky, and the earth.  It means what is hidden within the order of the whole universe, we have to discover it.  In physical form, we discover the tech gadgets, but the Lord of the tech gadgets must be discovered through the different qualities manifesting here in the universe and relating them to their true Owner.  Also, He is presenting these qualities of His to my consciousness so that through these elements in the order of the universe, I can acknowledge the qualities of my Creator, the Lord of the universe, the Lord of the order.

• Don’t worship nature, worship the Lord of nature.  

These verses have endless meanings and these meanings must become the pillars of our understanding.  We need to reorient our minds and hearts to these meanings so that we can prepare ourselves for “hajj”.  Even if you come across financial obstacles, you are at least spiritually ready for the meaning of “hajj”.  

 

• Life and “rihla” (journey in various conditions) is given to us for this preparation.

 

103:4 “Who has fed them against hunger and has made them safe from fear.”

Any type of need, not necessarily a physical hunger. When your need is satisfied, know that it is satisfied by the Lord of the house.  We can extend the meaning to everything that we experience.

What do we fear?

This Lord of the house is the One who has made them safe from fear.  Human beings are afraid of losing health, property, and wealth.  Any type of fear is a need that needs to be expressed (knowing that there is no guarantee that it will be satisfied here).  

 

• We are in need to feel secure from all sorts of needs that we experience in our lives. 

 

How about your spiritual side?  

• Your soul feels that it has no security for its anxieties, worries, and fears because we all know that we cannot secure anything.  At the very end, we all know that we will not be able to secure our existence, life, health, wealth, beloved ones, i.e. nothing at all.  We will just be taken away from this world, that is our fear:  

• I don’t want to lose anything, but I will.
• I cannot guarantee anything, but I don’t know what tomorrow will be like.  

• Example: You may have a wonderful family life, but you do not know what will happen a year from now, God forbid!  
• We have all sorts of fears and so we have to turn our hopes to the Lord of this house, this school, the universe.  See the universe as a school, a training place, going through our “rihla”.  

How can I make my fears secure? 

That is possible only by acknowledging the Lord of all things in the universe. Whatever happens, any events created for us, this Lord of everything in the universe is the One, the only One who can be the source of security, who can be the securing force/power.  Who else can secure our fears?  Can the stars secure me?  Who can imagine that the stars can secure our feelings?  No one!  How about the mountains, they seem strong?  Or perhaps the atmosphere in the universe or “mother nature?”  They have no consciousness!

We may feel secure in our efforts, professions, wealth, health insurance, retirement plans, family support…  

• Feeling secure in our existence is only possible when we realize that whatever is given to us in the form of needs or provision (profession, family….) all are created for us by our Creator to be used . They are the means to acknowledge Him albeit they are all transient and we will definitely lose what we have in this world.  

Something to ponder over: “The shroud one wears on death has no pocket, no bank account, no relative…”  We may be living with our spouse/children and celebrate 60-70 years silver/golden jubilee anniversaries.  However, when I die, my spouse or family will not be with me, everyone will have their own place in the grave.  That is the physical expression of the reality of this life: “I have no one in this world who will provide me with existential security!”  Even your most beloved one will leave you alone.  

“Hajj” is a call for me to experience this reality physically and remember that my soul will also be alone before my Creator, no one can support me but Him.

The Quran is full of messages (around 21 verses), explicitly stating to get ready for a day where no one can help you, you will be left alone by yourself and separated from your beloved ones/family.  Isn’t this a good opportunity for us to realize, (God forbid!) if one of our beloved ones are visited by the angel of death, this virus nowadays?!  What do we do? We do not even get closer to our beloved ones, we keep away from them because of the fear of our own death. 

The death angel (called “Azrael” in Arabic ) has armies in the form of viruses.  When they come to visit us (God forbid!), we have to say that angels are reminding us of something i.e. we cannot secure our lives.  All medical advancements such as vaccines cannot suffice because in the end, we will all be visited by the angel Azrael and taken away from here.

What shall we do?

All the means that are provided to us ought to be used to worship the Lord of the house “bait”, not worship them.  Utilizing the universe and benefitting from the things that we are given will be a means of thanking, praising, and glorifying the One who has provided them for us.  

• We must bear in mind that we must worship the Lord of all the order in the universe (technology, hospitals, banking system, medicines, insurance…) worship the Lord of this facility provided by Him.  

 

• You can feel security only after acknowledging Him and seeking refuge with Him.

 

Historically, we hear that the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) prayed to God to make this place full of bounty.  He left his wife and small child alone in the middle of the desert at the care of the Lord of the universe.  We can make sense that Abraham must know that the Lord of this house is the only One that we can trust.  We cannot trust the means, rather only He can take care of us.  This belief made Abraham so confident in himself that by leaving all the means, he experienced his utmost level of trust in his belief in God, in trusting God at this place: “I know that you will take care of me and everything and everyone else.”  

Please bear in mind that these are figurative ways to present our reality to us.  No one should leave their family like this saying that God will take care of them – be mindful of your responsibilities!  We need to learn and understand how to read the Absolute Speech of God and benefit from it.  May the Lord of the universe guide us as much as we are seeking in gaining and applying this knowledge!

 

Tags: Abraham, Absoluteness of God, Al-Quraysh, Earlier Revelation, Hajj, Nation, Pilgrimage, Prophet Abraham, Quraysh Series, Race, Tawhid