Recap: We receive innumerable things in this universe and are subject to various experiences. We must question how these things exist. Human beings are created in the perfect form as far as all their human and body needs are concerned. The body and the human senses are compatible with how this universe functions. Everything is perfectly arranged by the Creator of the universe. It is this Creator that decides to create and executes your human choices (as a result of your picking a choice), that is what we experience in this world.
Example: A teacher keeps reminding the students that if they do not study, then s/he will fail them: “I will fail whoever does something wrong and does not study/learn.” When a student receives a failing grade, the teacher says: “I failed the student” and the student says: “the teacher failed me”.
- The execution of the act of failure is done by the teacher.
- The teacher failed the student because the student did not perform his/her duty.
Is it an arbitrary decision from the teacher where the teacher says that I decide who passes and who fails? Does the teacher have no sense of justice?
Unless the teacher is a weird person, the practical teaching system works in this way where the teacher decides the grade according to the effort of the student. The system does not say that the student decided to fail. Rather, the teacher fails the student on not meeting the requirements. The education system is perfectly working, and classes are taken care of by the teacher.
- Similarly, the universe is teaching every day in the perfect way and the Creator of the universe is educating and grading us in the perfect way. We just need to study and attend the class! Everything is given to us perfectly.
If someone is mentally disturbed/handicapped and does something wrong, then s/he is not responsible for it and punished for it. That is how the order is. If the student was ill, and had an excuse, the teacher does not fail him and gives him another opportunity (i.e. does not punish him). He is not responsible for missing the studies because he did not choose the circumstances.
The Creator of the universe who created the order in the best way where endless different species in the world are given what they need. Every animal is given the sense (or consciousness as we see them) to take care of their young. And they are given teeth to snatch what they need, along with a digestive system. They defend themselves and do not want to die and look for any opportunity to escape from danger. Who is teaching them this? They are all treated equally according to their capacity. The Creator is demonstrating that He is the Absolute Just One. No injustice takes place in this world! However, through human hands, we may choose injustice because we have freewill and consciousness. Every conscious being is educated by their Creator according to their capacity. Whether we as human beings take the opportunity to train ourselves in order to perfect our capacity so that we will fulfill the purpose of our life or we may choose not to learn. Every plant and animal has a purpose in their life that they fulfill according to their capacity.
But human beings (as compared to any other species) have the potentiality to embrace every quality manifested in the universe as much as we can discover. That is, we have more abilities within ourselves. In the course of time, as we study and investigate the universe as a human race, we discover new things and qualities manifested, which is not strange to us. Example: look at how technology is rapidly developing by discovering what is covered up within the order of the universe. How do we do that? By using our potentialities. In other words, the more we use our potentiality, the wider and better our capacities become within ourselves. This shows us that there is a perfect compatibility between human potentialities which is waiting to be developed and discovered. At the same time, the order of the universe also has many layers of qualities waiting to be discovered by human potentialities. Human beings develop their potentialities to acquire certain skill sets for their professions. However, a cat or an animal will not work to become an astronaut. We are given huge potentialities waiting to be discovered. Similarly, the universe must also have its potentialities waiting to be discovered by human potentialities. There is a perfect compatibility between qualities manifested in the universe and the qualities manifested within human beings. This cannot be accidental!
We are discovering the qualities manifested in creation, the universe and myself that belong to the Creator of those qualities. Example: No one thought of apps and technical devices 20-30 years ago. Now, a small child knows technology better than adults and they will start making apps at a very young age. At the same time, we are becoming aware of the qualities manifested in our human capacities, which is nothing, but the qualities of my Creator manifested in me. There is a perfect arrangement, communication, reciprocal conversation between these two elements (me and my Creator).
This is becoming clearer in the minds of human beings that this can never be the result of accidents! After all, my genes or cells do not have the sense or qualities to develop a potentiality, they are just matter. They are made of particles and no one can claim that the particles have the qualities like human beings to make plans, think about and prophesize their future and accordingly increase their capacity. My cells are subject to following the order of the universe and have no Conscious will of their own. We can understand this.
Human beings are created in the perfect form and conformant to the environment i.e. how to discover the qualities manifested in the universe which cannot belong to matter. We search for what can be the Source of Existence of these qualities. Again, it is within the human potentialities. It is amazing and we can come to the conclusion of something which is not within the universe, but it is in our potentiality. There must be an Absolute Being that cannot be described within the conditions of this universe. Human capacity goes beyond the limitations of this universe.
We must know how precious of a creature we are. That is why the Quran says: “if you do not appreciate the qualities that I endowed you with, you will be the worst creature.” That “worst creature” will be an ungrateful and neglectful person. Example: If one says that one dollar is not important and drops that dollar while going on the highway. The losing of one dollar does not bother anyone. However, if you drop billions of dollars and ignore it: “you deserve to be beaten, what are you doing, why didn’t you utilize it?!”
- Gaining good things deserves to be appreciated more and more.
- Voluntarily losing the good things deserve punishment. That is how human beings understand where this punishment (regret) is given to us so that we will appreciate the value of creation within ourselves and within the universe.
95:6 “Except those who have faith and do righteous deeds. That is a never-ending reward.”
Those who appreciate the qualities given to them and therefore, appreciate the One who gave these qualities to them and use them for the purpose these qualities are created for i.e. to be utilized to get to know their Source of Existence. Mostly, people tend to reduce the righteous deeds to thoughts and actions such as: “I have a sense of religion which teaches me to be good to others and do good charitable work, perform religious duties of fasting, pilgrimage…, then I am performing righteous deeds.” Everyone tries to obey the rules as much as they are taught in their religion. Some may go to houses of worship and perhaps study the scripture. These are all righteous deeds when morally one doesn’t lie, doesn’t steal, doesn’t gamble, doesn’t do injustice to others… These are correct and one can number them as they are mentioned in the Quran. Yes, they do affect our lives but more essential than these are the fundamental elements that make the base of these righteous deeds.
What are these fundamental elements?
Understanding that the human feelings are given to us in order to experience and practice them by going through the manifestations of the qualities in the universe. By finding out these qualities and questioning the source of these qualities, I become loyal to the source of these qualities saying that: “these human qualities that have no limit and are given to me by You in the form of a grace and I am very thankful to You. Your qualities are manifested within me. I have to put these qualities into practice as manifested by You i.e. You put them in me in order for me to get to know Your qualities because these qualities are given to me in order to remind me, teach me who the owner of these qualities is”.
- It means that all my actions must be performed to acknowledge the owner of my qualities; that is the ultimate purpose of existence i.e. I get to know who my Creator is through:
- Step 1: realizing that these qualities exist within me.
- Step 2: putting them into practice within the conditions of this universe.
- Step 3: While I am interacting and practicing my qualities in the universe in my everyday action, I must aim at acknowledging the qualities of the Creator which are manifested in me as well within my capacity as a human being.
Through the manifested qualities of the Creator I must understand the qualities of the Creator in its original form i.e. belonging to Him by multiplying these qualities by infinite. Example: I can see what is going on around me. That is, I must acknowledge that the quality of Power of sight is given to me by My Creator. This is the necessary point to acknowledge which we cannot ignore. “I acknowledge that this ability to see is given to me by My Creator.” But, what does it show me or demonstrate to me? The Creator is introducing itself to me as a conscious Being that He is the source of seeing. My seeing is when I see, I only practice it within a limited area (today I see and tomorrow I forget). But the Creator of the power of sight must be the source of sight and must be according to the capacity of the Creator. What is the capacity of the Creator? It is indescribable within the conditions of the universe i.e. I cannot define it with anything that I learn of creation. He is the Creator, Originator, the real owner of all these qualities in the form of absoluteness. I would say: “My Creator is the source of sight which is infinite”.
What is the purpose of these qualities or the power of sight in our example?
Obviously, eyes don’t see but the spirit sees i.e. when the spirit is taken away, eyes do not see. The power of sight uses eyes as a tool to put power of sight into practice within the conditions of this universe. Hence, the power of sight belongs to the human side and eyes belong to the body as material. When the human spirit is taken away from the body, the power of sight is evidence that my Creator must have Absolute power of sight, otherwise He cannot be the Creator, that is the main purpose of the qualities/power of sight given to me. When I am practicing my power of sight, I have to practice it with this consciousness, or God consciousness (in the language of the Quran called taqwah). It means being aware that I should never fall into negligence of ignoring that this power of sight is given to me in order to acknowledge, confirm and confess not to attribute it to myself but to the real owner of the power of sight. That is, the real owner of the power of sight is the Creator. When I say, I can see well, I need to have this God consciousness. Do you use eyes for the purpose of its creation?
How do these fundamental elements constitute righteous deeds?
Righteous deeds are commonly referred to the practicing religious people. Some may choose not to look into belief matters seriously i.e. just live and die here by enjoying without concerns about what all this means. We must utilize all our qualities in order to get to know the Creator, which is called “imaan” or belief.
Religious people usually confirm that every single quality that we experience belongs to the Absolute Being. However, in practical religious terms, the usage of eyes are not to look at prohibited things. That is correct, do not use it for bad intentions or to see the faults of people. The Quran mentions that i.e. don’t be suspicious about others. These are the outcomes of righteous deeds. The real righteous deed is acknowledging that this is a tool or a means given to me to understand who my Creator is, what kind of qualities He has and to acknowledge that these qualities belong to Him. That is called “belief”.
- All deeds which are performed based on this consciousness i.e. certainty of confirming the real owner of our feelings/qualities is belief.
Practically, yes do not look at prohibited things as prescribed/described in the scriptures. However, If one reduces the use of eyes to not look at prohibited things/areas only, then it would not have any real human purpose. The human capacity is so huge. By not looking at what is prohibited (haram), doesn’t make you perform your duty. The real purpose of the Power of sight is given to me in order to acknowledge the Creator of the power of sight, what kind of a Creator He is. This is just a simple example. We can extend it to all our experiences and qualities such as I have a sense of love, fear, anxiety, pain, justice and appreciating beauty.
The verse (95:6) implies: Except those who believe and confirm that these perfectly created human qualities need to be utilized in order to realize the necessary belief, which is the first step. And then, act righteously as the consequence of that belief. That is, using this belief as the base of your actions i.e. the righteous deed of not looking at prohibited things. In practical terms, do not use your eyes to look at prohibited things.
First establish the belief i.e. these qualities are given to me to realize and understand who I am supposed to believe in and how I am supposed to believe. Belief, in the language of the Quran, means belief in God, the Creator, the Absolute One, unimaginable One.
It means that I have to utilize all my perfect human qualities as I am created in this perfect form in order to get to know and acknowledge the Creator in the perfect way. As much as possible I have to work for this. Then perform some practical physical side of it i.e. don’t look at prohibited areas.
The righteous deeds are usually understood as independent from belief. For example, I believe in God and now I am done or I witness that there is only One God and the Prophet is His Messenger, my belief side is done. Now let me do some righteous deeds. For what? The point is that we do not make a revolution in our lives that from now on I will live with these 2 fundamental principles (God and His Messenger) and try to understand the deeper content of these two fundamental principles.
You must use your human capacities to make sure of what you believe in. This point is highly emphasized in the Quran and the Prophetic teachings.
First belief (imaan) must be established, then the righteous act must be established. These two elements cannot be separated. First belief and then the result is that I am not going to look at prohibited things.
- Belief is inseparable from the action; they are integrated within each other as if they necessitate each other.
- Example: In order to practice your power of sight in the right way, you have to be conscious that this is a trust to me from My Creator in order to acknowledge His power of sight i.e. He is the One who is the Absolutely Seeing One in every detail and so I have to use my eyes in an honest way (not to look at prohibited areas) according to His teachings. While you are not looking at the prohibited area, you are practicing the acknowledgment that you have established in the belief side of it.
What is an eternal reward?
For example: If you believe in God, did you state your testimony to faith (shahada)? Yes. Are you a Muslim? Yes, so you should not look at prohibited things while using your eyes. Why is the eye specifically given to me, do you realize that? Yes, I am not going to look at prohibited things. I will be taken to paradise, because I did not look at prohibited things. This is the end of the story which is partially true but very superficial. What a shallow understanding?!
Eternal reward is within my realization of the owner of the qualities. In the example of seeing, if you realize and acknowledge that the power of sight is given to you in order to know and submit yourself to its owner saying that: “You are the source of existence of my power of sight, which means that you are the Creator of it and you must have the quality/attribute of All-Seeing (name of “Al Baseer” as per the Quranic language) which is absolute/infinite”.
- “If You are not the source of absolute sight, how can you give billions of people sight, manifested at the same time?
- “In order to be a Creator, You must be Absolute and beyond the limitations of this universe because the universe can only be Your product and You gave existence to the universe.”
This realization opens up to the infinite. So, when you don’t look at something “haram” or prohibited, this action and realization will be rewarded by the One who gave you the power of sight, a One who is infinite. Now, His reward is according to how much I have learnt and benefitted from His teachings. Has the human being fulfilled the purpose of his/her existence by believing, confirming, being aware of Him (that the Creator of the power of sight is the Absolute Seeing One) and acting i.e. our interaction with the universe in the way He desires or directed me is an acknowledgment?
- Example: if you say “I love you” to your spouse and s/he asks you to get a glass of water but you hesitate and don’t want to go to the kitchen to get it, then your love is just on the tip of your tongue, not the heart. Rather, when you love someone from the heart, you look forward to an opportunity to fulfill his/her desire, so that you will physically practice your love.
- Similarly, I will practice the desire, the direction, the will of my Creator with love from the heart i.e. how am I going to use my sight. Then the reward will be given by the Absolute Being. My actions performed with this consciousness is going to be rewarded and fulfilled by an Infinite Absolute One. Hence, the reward cannot be limited. That is why the Quran says that there is a never-ending reward for those who believe and act accordingly in the righteous way i.e. “the ones who keep the covenant with Me”. The covenant is the consciousness that this power of sight is given to me by someone, I did not produce it and my parents did not produce it. My mother was not even aware of how my eyes were designed. So who is arranging that? The reward must be given by the Absolute Being.
First audience of the Quran did not have the concept of eternal life. They said that we will die and disappear from existence. That was the main argument against the Prophetic mission: “Can you bring our forefathers back to life?” Mostly, they did not want to give up their egoistic attitudes i.e. “no one is going to stop me from doing what I want” and declaring oneself to be independent.
No one can say that I exist independently. We are all subject to the order of the universe and created by something else who puts us in the order of this universe. If you want to go in the wrong direction, then “I can create the result and you will be in the lowest of the low because you wasted your most precious quality and reduced your human ability to nothing and your value results to nothing. However, if you use it in the right way, your reward will be in the best form.
- Eternal life starts from here i.e. this direction.
Yes, we learn from religion, tradition that there is a hereafter (akhira), but how much of the concept of eternal life is dominant and prevalent in our daily practical living? When we go back to our lives after listening to these discussions, this concept becomes somehow alien to us or external to our reality: “Yes, I will die, and I hear from religious discourse that there is life after death. The Creator of the universe can do it. Am I convinced about it? Well if religion says so, then I cannot say no because I do not know.” This kind of attitude does not have any impact on my practical life in this world. That is why we cannot bring eternity into our spiritual life while we are living in this world i.e. Living in the presence of an Absolute Being and being aware that I belong to the Absolute being, who has no spacetime limitations, so I belong to the infinite life giver. Even if I am going to die, I am not afraid of death because my Creator is the absolute source of life and I belong to Him. As long as He is the absolute life giver, He will give me life. Why? He introduced Himself to me as the Life Giver by giving me life. The life that I am experiencing now is the most obvious and clearest witness that He is the Life Giver. The Creator is Absolute and the Life Giving quality must be Absolute as well and I belong to Him, so why should I bother and be afraid of death? This does not mean that life is cheap, and I should go kill myself here, which is my choice. That is, if I use my life not according to the will of my Creator who gave me life, then I reduce my life to accidents, myself or nature.
Can I say that I am an independent being?
If I was an independent being, I would have cut my relationship from my Creator. And, if I do not have a Creator, then I cannot create myself anymore and nothing of this universe can create me. This lack of Life Giver in my life will put me in a painful state here because I will find out that I cannot guarantee this life and I will lose it. This anxiety of losing life will suffocate my spirit and I cannot enjoy my life here knowing that at any time I can die and disappear. This fear in my consciousness gets stuck unless I acknowledge that my life is given to me by a One who is this Absolute Source of life.
- If I act with this consciousness, then the reward will have an effect on me right now as soon as I acknowledge it (I belong to the Absolute Being), the reward starts.
- As if my company of existence is the Absolute company who pays for me and his budget has no limit. Wow! Anytime, I am here or there, I have no fear of bankruptcy because the Source is Infinite.
- Then I start feeling serenity in my life where my existence is guaranteed because its source is Absolute.
After I die, I change my vehicle/body to another type of creation. I will be taken care of by the same Absolute Being, who gave me life, which I use to acknowledge that the quality of life of the Creator is Absolute i.e. the reward (ultimate goal) will be infinite i.e. my life will continue and death does not affect my life. Rather, death is a change of station, just like a fetus in the mother’s womb coming into this world, a whole new world. When the baby is born, s/he continues his/her life here on earth. We were tied up to the mother with the umbilical cord and now, we are tied up with the universe and cannot get out of it. In other words, I am always dependent on something in my life. That is to say, I cannot claim to be independent in my life in any circumstance. That is why, my Creator is continuously reminding me by creating me in this condition: “You are always dependent on Me within the conditions of this universe. Be careful, you can never declare your independence from the rest of creation and its Creator”. I cannot exist independently of the Creator of the universe.
- Whoever is creating the universe is teaching me that I am dependent on Him, “come back to Me”. Can we really declare our independence from the Creator?
The first audience of the revelation were introduced with never-ending life/existence/reward. How about us? We are introduced to the never-ending life within us. This means that we must go through these stages right now by becoming acquainted with the religion of Islam. I should establish in my realization/consciousness that I need to work on this subject and become certain (as much as possible) that I belong to a Being who is going to reward Me with an eternal life as a result of my acknowledgment, learning about Him and becoming familiar with Him.
- Those people who are intimate friends of God (wali of God) have the consciousness: “I am always living in this world with the consciousness of my Creator. As a result, there is no worry for them.
- Why do I worry about anything at all if I recognize that my Owner is infinite? As a human being, while being conscious of my soul, I should worry about nothing, my soul is free from any restrictions whatsoever to be with my Lord. My soul is from my Absolute being and I belong to Him. I claim nothing by myself and I trust my owner who is the Absolute One, no limit.
Don’t reduce yourself to superficial claims such as I hope to go to Paradise after I die. First, what have you done, have you fulfilled the purpose of your existence? You get what you deserve. Just like a teacher gives you a good grade based on your effort. Similarly, depending on your sincere relationship with the education system of the universe, whether you acknowledge the education system or not, you get your grade accordingly.
95: 7 “Then what causes you to deny the day of resurrection (deen).”
What is “deen” (faith)?
- One meaning is the “day of resurrection.”
- But what exactly does it mean?
The root meaning of the word “deen” means one’s debt, when the day comes, and you are asked to pay your debt back.
But what are we to give back?
- We are given the tools to acknowledge the Creator.
- We are given these freely.
Now, the Creator will say: “Pay your debts now, what have you done with the capital I have given to you, which kind of profit did you make and how did you use it? It is payback time. Just like a teacher comes to the class to teach and at the end of the semester asks us to pay back i.e. what did you learn? In other words, pay your debt now. Isn’t that human? Pay your debt!
It is a limited understanding to translate “deen” as the “day of resurrection” or “religion”, there is no English translation to it. The real “deen” that we must understand is that the Real truth becomes apparent (haqaiqul haqiqiyah i.e. not relative truth).
Example: We are given the power of sight. The relative truth means that I have the sight and I can see. That is according to my worldly experience. Even a blind person has the concept of seeing, it means that power of sight exists even if I cannot see properly because my eyes are not functioning properly. Otherwise, my power of sight is perfect to see, only the tool is not working within the conditions of the order of the creation of this universe, This is just what we experience in this world without questioning the source of existence of the power of sight.
- When we question the source of existence of the power of sight, we conclude that this source must be the One who has unlimited power of sight and He is the Absolute Source of Power of sight. That conclusion points to the Absolute truth. Is it physically perceivable within the universe? No, like the meaning of a speech, we experience the air waves but we do not physically experience the meaning in the speech The Absolute Truth is the logical conclusion of the human spirit and cannot be experienced physically.
That is why the materialist Philosophers say that no one can claim the absolute truth looking for the physical appearance of it in terms of matter. They are right within their worldview, which is limited to the relative truth i.e. the truth which is based on the physical side of matter.. This judgment is according to the physical conditions of this universe in a limited created form. However, the source of existence of this limited form of existence is still the Absolute Creator who is the source of existence (limitless) forever. He creates the universe continuously by changing it with no difficulty, hesitation, creating and acting smoothly, no shaking up or confusion in any corner. The source of Existence must be Absolute otherwise it cannot happen all at once.
We understand that the relative truth that I have, the power of sight exercised in a limited area i.e. reduced to the function of my physical eyes only, is limited to my lifespan on this earth, according to the order of the universe. When my power of sight, which is the part of my soul is taken away (death,) my eyes do not function anymore because it is not the eyes that see, but within the order of this type of creation in this universe, through the eyes the human soul sees. If I use my consciousness I will realize that the Source of Existence of the power of sight cannot be anything of the universe. That is to say, everything is arranged by the Creator of the universe in such a way that my power of sight also exists by His will and according to His plan as He wills. When I reach this reality, that is the way to pay my debts to my Creator, which is acknowledging the Absolute truth.
- The Creator of this universe is the absolute truth. This needs to be acknowledged by the human consciousness which realizes that the truth must be from the Absolute Creator.
The word “deen” (religion/faith/accountability/final judgment day/retribution) are not wrong but must be understood with the accountability of the Absolute truth. This means understanding that none of the particles can be the source of the Absolute Truth; they can only point to the necessary existence of the Absolute Truth, which is described in the language of the Quran as belief in God. The Quran probes us to question, “when you say God (lailaha illahu), what does it mean?”
The universe cannot have the absolute truth within its own capacity because it is created, and the Creator of the universe is the source of the absolute truth and the universe belongs to Him. This Lord of the universe is the Absolute truth. Judgment can only be realized by Him.
- After I die and everything dies and the universe dies, what remains? My consciousness of the Source of my existence remains.
He will keep my existence in a different form as everything is changing in my life every day. I was once a baby and now I am aging. Everything is changing every moment but at the same time, I am given continuous existence by the same source. I am always given existence, my body changes, my spirit doesn’t change. That is, my Creator is showing me by changing my existence without my will that I cannot own myself and keep myself as I am: “I operate on you and you cannot operate on yourself and so you are totally dependent on Me.” So, use your freewill by obeying the order (you don’t create the result) i.e. I must be aware that I ask the Creator of the order to give the result of my choice within the conditions of this universe.
As far as human capacity is concerned, we confirm that my Source of existence is the absolute being, but the universe keeps changing. What I am experiencing physically here is not the absolute One but limited, dependent and transient existence. But I want to see permanent existence and I look for permanent existence i.e. eternal happiness. Is there any permanent happiness in this world? My experience says no. We are always struggling with this one which means that my Creator is teaching me that there is no permanent existence here, but I give you the desire for permanent existence to turn your desire to Him, not to the matter.
“That is My promise to you if you do your job properly, you may deserve to be given permanent existence (in the language of the Quran it is called Paradise). You will enjoy the garden which does not look like anything of this universe just as your conclusions about the absolute truth had nothing to do with the conditions of this universe which is completely different and you cannot describe it. Now the permanent life, I will give you and you cannot describe it within the conditions of this universe”. You can only liken it to something full of pleasure, comfort and joy…very limited language in this world. How about the eternal One, permanent One? I cannot describe it with anything at all. Example: I can experience temporary partial happiness and a few minutes later, something happens, and I forget about it and it ends. On the other hand, the permanent experience, I cannot experience it here, but I am given the potentiality to realize that such a being/thing must exist. This reality cannot be rejected and denied.
What makes you deny? Is there any reason to deny the existence of the manifestation of the Absolute truth in a permanent base, not transient base? Can the Creator not do it? Don’t you see how He is demonstrating Himself to you in this beautiful world (and in the verse of the Qur’an quoted above)?
- What causes you to deny the Absolute truth (or “deen”)? You cannot find any acceptable rational evidence that absolute truth is not going to manifest Itself on a permanent base.
Finally, don’t take the belief side of your spirit lightly, it is a serious matter.
95:8 “Is not God the most Just of all judges?” (next time)