Chapter Takathur – Part 1
The Qur’an, Chapter “Greed for More” (al-takathur)
The chronologically 16th revealed chapter of the Quran
Greed for more – Keeping yourself busy, wasting/Passing time.
This verse belongs to the early part of the prophetic period. How the Quran gave shape to the minds of people? Includes the people at that time as well as us.
We don’t go further in matters of religion – everything is directly related to our world view. What we understand from our life, our creation, this universe…
How does the Quran shape the mind of people?
We must go through the journey that the Quran takes us through. Without establishing comprehension of abstract matters (directly related to our worldview- what is the meaning of this existence, what is the point in existing), these questions need to be responded. Otherwise, claiming to belong to a religious group without establishing the meaning of one’s existence is pointless.
Meaning of existence – taken as a philosophy.
- The meaning of life is the foundation of the teachings of Islam. It is also the very foundation of human inquiry.
Really satisfied in mind and heart with your existence.
- Knowing why you are here, for what purpose.
Without getting satisfactory answers to such questions, you may just be following cultural values pass down by your family or civilization.
“I need to have a satisfied heart and mind”—That is, my existence is consciously arranged.
Where does “I” stand in “we worship” concept. I am just joining the herd without taking care of my responsibility. MOB psychology turns human being into a sheep or puppet. This is a reduction to one’s human reality. Turns human beings into a sheep – Shepard’s dog controls all the sheep in the herd.
Have your personal decision in belief matters.
For my hunger, can someone else eat? Will I be satisfied?
- When someone else has the answer, is that the answer for me?
- We need to ask what am I doing in this world, what does it mean to exist?
- We may not realize the fundamental question and quickly identify ourselves to a community. Does that answer any of those questions?
Analogy: If Jane eats, can John be satisfied as well since he is hungry? No. Similarly, I must satisfy my hunger for myself.
Children keep asking questions, “why”, and then they get despaired with not receiving answers to their questions. As a result, they start imitating and kill their abilities.
Quran is a philosophical and psychological book. Lots of interpretations of what is the nature of our existence and what is the purpose of our existence. The combination of these two subjects is the bedrock of the teachings of the Quran.
Performing rituals for the sake of ritual brings no value to my humanity. I may have performed prayers without being aware of my existence.
102:1 “You are obsessed by greed for more and more,
102:2 “until you go down to the graves.”
102:3 “No indeed; but soon you shall know.”
102:4 “Again no indeed; but soon you shall know.”
102:5 “No indeed, if you only knew with the Knowledge of Certainty.”
These verses are just the foundational building blocks. This chapter is also an analysis of the human psyche. How do we administer the human feelings?
Speech is one word – putting on top of each other and it disappears. Anything for the sake of itself, like enjoyment, disappears immediately. But only its meaning remains with you if you have got it. If you do not pay attention to the meaning you lose everything eternally. It will never come back to you again in this world. No-one can bring “yesterday” back again. You are welcome to cheat yourself with its photo until you die.
How does human emotions respond to this philosophy? Keeping yourself busy with momentary pleasure to distract yourself?
Kathura means “to be/become many, more”. “Takaathur” means keeping myself busy with more and more, to be engaged with increasing things in number.
I cannot deprive myself from the bounties of life. There is no amusement for the sake of amusement only i.e. without responding to your human expectations, you cannot get any satisfaction.
“I need a future which satisfies my human expectations. I should not have an objective for until I die because if I define myself as such, then I think that my human expectations must end after death!?”
- Consult your human senses. Let me see what the meaning of life is now!
I cannot be satisfied with my existence until a million years and then go into annihilation. I am in this world until I die. Is it true that existence and human feelings get satisfaction within this universe’s period of existence or does my human expectations want more? Consult yourself. If someone question his own expectations without conditioning himself then he will say that I will not want to get old. That is innate in us. We want to have longer period of pleasure if possible. Ask yourself: If it is possible, would I prefer to be a youthful person as I were at the age of 17 years? Why do we really bother about black-holes that are billions and billions of years away from us? Do we want it to go into it now? Why not? If we were told that tomorrow will be the last day of our galaxy, then it will go into black-hole, would we honestly say that, we do not bother? Why bother? Are we going to die anyways?
- Understand what you are, then will understand what you need for guidance.
What are you looking for? Investigate yourself first. What do I want? Decipher your own reality, what your life expectations are? Which kind of entertainment or enjoyment you want?
If I do not know my own capacity or question my own human feelings, then I do not know what I want. Yes, it is innate to find the meaning in our existence. What do I need? We limit our horizons with death. I want a house and it must be perfect until I die. Do we think that this life is a nasty joke? Why do we take it seriously and work for it so hard then? If life is not a joke, then it is the only precious gift that we have. If so, why do we not take it seriously and question the purpose of living as conscious human beings here even if it is a temporary dwelling place. Our human feelings are in great need of satisfaction for never ending perfect existence.
I am trying to understand my human capacity, not corporeal capacity. If a loved one is severely ill, I am ready to sacrifice everything for his/her happiness. Do I have any limit in regard to my capacity? Human capacity is open to infinity and is limitless. What are your expectations? Do you have any expectations that are limited?
- I am always looking for endless or infinite pleasure.
Is there any limit to the satisfaction of our existence without going to an eternal life? No. We need to experience this here so that we realize that we need eternity. There is no eternal satisfaction in this world.
Do you want longer and longer pleasure in this world with no pain? If I limit myself only to my body, then temporary pleasure will be accompanied with pain. However, my feelings do not accept my body restrictions. If I define myself as a corporeal existence, then my final destination is to go down the graves, and become compost. Are we happy with this end? I am not! This conclusion destroys all my pleasure in life. In my being as a human I have a feeling in me that begs for eternal happiness.
What goes to the grave?
- The body.
The human expectations never go to the grave. Human expectations have no end. Body says that I am a restricted thing for your expectations, I have to leave you now. Can I give a limit to my human expectations? No. My human expectations do not have any limit. While I am living in this world, my human expectations cannot accept an end.
- Cell is the foundation of human body, not human capacity. I am not experiencing grave for my feelings which extends to eternity and at the same time I am experiencing grave for my body.
In other words, I am experiencing grave for my body, experiencing eternity for my feelings. This is a beautiful contradiction in existence. According to Its order, this world is perfect for my human expectations. The universe is established within a perfect order. Within this order what is perfect is that my human expectations are not satisfied which is a sign that I need another creation that is permanent.
Time belongs to this universe which is existing and changing. For example, if I attribute the taste as coming from the apple, then the apple is bound to die. How about the taste you got as far as motivating and inciting your taste for Eternity? Apple is a manifestation place (body), I am experiencing the taste in the existence of apple, not from the apple itself.
When I analyze the physical side of the apple, any part cannot be the source of the taste that I experience. Just as I see beauty on the painting, but the canvas and the paint cannot be the source of beauty.
And so, the taste cannot be coming from the apple, but then where is it coming from? Here, I realize that apple is brought into existence and when something is brought into existence, then it cannot be the Source of Existence of itself and the existence of its qualities.
What am I expecting from my existence? That is the Knowledge of Certainty (“yaqeen” is the real human expectation.)
Materialist Philosophy says that everything is going into a blockhole. What is a blackhole? It is no different than a term used for annihilation. Is that so? Are my experiences here just some random meaningless particular interactions?
- I must be greedy to look for satisfaction for my human expectations.
- I must get the taste so that I can question where the taste comes from. Where am I going to get the taste? From the apple itself? No, from the Creator of the apple. Similarly, where am I going to get the art from? From the artist of the art manifested all around us.
Human aspect of our existence is operating through our body. Eat, drink and enjoy your life, for what? Human aspect of our existence questions that.
The ultimate purpose of my interactions is to know all the beautiful manifestation of the qualities pointing to the source which is not in the universe. By using the world, I am expected to see and realize and be thankful by identifying myself with the Source of my existence. Am I identifying myself with the qualities manifested which points to the Source of my Existence?
I like art. I am connecting not to the canvas and the frame but to the qualities manifested in the art which points to the Qualities of the Artist. The art and its qualities manifested is a means for me to realize the Artist.
My sprit must attach to the Artist while appreciating the work. I need to understand that my human side belongs to Him (the Artist of this beautiful world) that He only can satisfy it. I am only experiencing art in my bodily experience.
My human nature where I want Eternity and what this universe offers is transience; this is a beautiful contradiction. It prepares my human psyche to question why am I living in his world for?
Greed means that my purpose is to have apple, house and social security for example. This greed is pointless, and you will lose it. We must be extremely greedy about eternal happiness, paradise, which is directly connected to the source.
I need to see and experience art. I cannot be the source of art of this universe. I cannot give eternal happiness to myself, but I need eternal happiness. When I look at this world, it always points to realization of what is the source of my satisfaction. It says:” Hey when you look at the frame/universe, you connect to the art not the frame, you love the frame for the sake of the art manifested in it. You need to see art manifested there, in fact you need the artist to continuously satisfy your need for art. This is a way of calling, an invitation from the artist:
- “Hey, get to know the one who is going to satisfy your eternal desires. It is not in the frame/universe. “
We seek the world for the sake of art manifested in it, not the world itself. I come from the One who will satisfy my need for eternal happiness.
I have a covenant, I am needy, and he satisfies the need. I am not connected to the apple, but I am connected to the taste manifested in the apple.
Am I reducing my existence to bodily existence only? Am I looking for the need of my human satisfaction which needs art?
My experiences remind me that I am in need of the artist, and I do not want to lose this reminder. “Only You satisfy me, not the apple, the one who created the taste manifested in the apple can satisfy me.”
Tags: Al-Takathur, Expectations, Full Satisfaction, Source of Existence, Takathur Series, Worldview