Different Purposes in Reading the Quran: Belief in Prophethood – Part 6

If you do not experience a meaningful interaction with the universe, then you are no different than a robot. Just as you fill your car with gas, you may be gulping food with no feeling. The main problem that we need to overcome is to stop thinking of our relationship with the universe at a two dimensional level only i.e. Me Matter. INSTEAD, we need to realize that matter (in and of itself) does not communicate with our humanity but the MEANING projected by the matter is what communicates with our humanity. In other words, our humanity communicates through the MEANING we receive from the matter.

When we eat (physical action) we experience enjoyment (non-physical). Example: I like avocados. Not only do I enjoy its taste but also I get mesmerized with its creation (texture, design, color). Hence, we do not merely have a physical connection with matter i.e. hand/tongue/teeth connecting with the avocado. Physicality of objects does not add any value to my humanity. Our humanity which encompasses all our senses and consciousness of our existence collects information from the matter. For example: my power of sight sees matter and gets some meaning from it (like/dislike…). My existence only benefits when there is a connection that is established through meaning. We use our senses (non-physical side) to understand the meaning of the physical world.

• Our existence necessitates a meaningful communication with the universe. Whether this communication is one of enjoyment or sadness (the meaning I extracted from matter), there is a dialogue taking place.

Thus, my relationship with this universe is not based on material, physical substances only. The reality of this matter points to the fact that my existence (and that around me) is more than physical.

Messengers are sent to tell us: Do not communicate with the universe in just a material sense. Rather, communicate with it to get meaning i.e. seek a message from the physical created objects. It may sound surprising but the reality is that the ability to seek message beyond physicality is within us but we may not realize it. Every created object projects the following message: “I have a Maker”. The component parts of the object do not have the quality to be the source of the message it brings to me. My relationship with every created object tells me that its Creator is sending a message to me i.e. the object is a consciously designed, made object created to communicate with me. Since I am also wisely designed and equipped with the ability to communicate, I get meaning from them. However, I am a human being with consciousness but the meaning I extract from the object communicates with my consciousness though the matter itself does not have consciousness.

• Every created object exists as a result of the will of its Creator. There is a conscious will behind each act of creation, with whom I should seek to communicate.

Scripture says: This world has a Creator and this Creator has created you and has equipped you with the qualities to understand your being and the Creator.

• Example: I find myself thirsty and in need of something to quench my thirst. The One who has made me thirsty, is the same One who has made water available for me with those very characteristics to quench my thirst. I have to train myself to recognize the Creator’s conscious will in the creation of water when I stop to take a drink i.e. the most appropriate form of matter is prepared for me and I enjoy it.
• Revelation comes to us to help us know the potentialities that are within us. Therefore, we need reminders from a teacher to help us uncover our potentialities.

Why do we need a Prophet? Just as you cannot learn any subject without a textbook and teacher, similarly you cannot understand your existence without the scripture and the Prophet. When you learn to prove a theorem, you become a defender of that theorem and you want to teach others. Similarly, Prophets are the teachers of their Creator’s teachings looking to train the next generation of teachers. Each generation will have to keep relearning the previous accumulated information under proper guidance.

• Analogy: For a seed to germinate and grow into a fruitful plant, it has to be given the right conditions.
• Similarly, we all have the potentiality to learn about creation and the Creator and we have all been put under the right conditions here on earth. Unless we are not trained or guided, our potentiality will not grow. We need guidance from scripture and teachers that support our training.
• Human beings speak, understand and ask questions from themselves to seek answers. Since I cannot guarantee the answers to these questions by myself, I need guidance (a teacher and a textbook). After being taught we understand the answer to be right or wrong.

Almost everyone at some point in their life will ask:

• Who brought me here? What are we doing here? What is this world? What am I?

The One who has given me existence and has given me the ability to ask these questions don’t you think It must provide me with answers? Furthermore, the One who gave you the ability to see, do you think It does not see you? It is impossible to deny that a Conscious will has made me to exist. Did I emerge by myself with my human qualities? We can logically conclude that we are made and we are the product of a Conscious Will. There is nothing accidental or futile in my existence. Since the One who has made me with the ability to speak must definitely speak. So why shouldn’t I expect my Creator to speak to me?

Matter cannot produce meaning and so my given faculties cannot produce meaning as well. I find myself programmed with thoughts that question existence. Is my brain producing my thoughts? No, my organs are the sources, they are only the tools given to me to be utilized so that I may decipher meanings through them. I have the potentiality to be aware and in order to awaken and develop this potentiality, I need reminders and guidance. The concept of messengership is needed so that we may receive guidance in our unique and present life. We need to steer clear of historicizing the book and the prophets. For most, religious culture is steeped in historicizing religion and we hear innumerable stories about events that happened in the PAST.

• Do NOT relegate the guidance to the past. Instead, read the scripture as the Creator is communicating with you NOW.

We need to tune ourselves to read the Scriptures in a way that is applicable to our CURRENT SITUATION.

Similarly, we need to stop materializing the concept of angels and the hereafter as something ‘separate’ and ‘distant’. In doing so, we live a life that is separate from our reality (the NOW moment), a life that keeps religious dimensions in the past or future realms. Thus, we go on living our daily lives where religious duties are performed from a two-dimensional perspective (past and the future) only.

• Example: I pray so that I will gain paradise in the future. Rather, my prayer needs to be for the present.
• Example: I believe because I am born in a believer’s family (past). Rather, my belief needs to be re-confirmed for the present.

My Creator is speaking and creating the world right now. What is the Source of existence of this universe that I am living in right now? We don’t ask this. Neither have we thought about our breathing, fingers texting, listening to music… How is it all coming into existence? It is being given existence by the Absolute Creator/Speaker. It means that time-space does not apply to the Absolute because It is the Creator of every moment otherwise I cannot explain the existence of this universe right now.

• My Creator speaks to me right now and It is the Creator of every moment. I have to interpret the Creator’s speech through Its book (Quran // Torah – recordings of Its speech through Its messengers), as though I am being spoken to directly. Read the book as the Creator speaking to you right now.

Without the existence of matter, we cannot get any meaning.

• Example: I experience a sense of enjoyment when I eat a delicious fruit. The essence of the communication between the fruit and me is that I have the ability to taste and the taste exists in the fruit.
• Both matter (Fruit) and Physical body (Tongue) are required to be in communication in order for me to experience the Source of my being. However, they are not ends in and of themselves because the phenomenon of taste points to the Source of Existence that gives taste where my given faculty of taste buds experiences the fruit.

Here is a generalized summary leading to the worldview we are trying to establish:

1. If something exists, it must have a Creator. Anything that exists is the result of its Creator. There is a Conscious Will that has made its existence possible. We need to check ourselves to be sure that we are aware of this dimension in all our interactions.
2. As I communicate with the universe, I conclude that I am being created by a Conscious Being right now. Through matter, my Creator presents Itself to me. I MUST DEVELOP THIS COMPREHENSION IN MY PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD OTHERWISE I WILL GO TO THE LOWEST OF THE LOW i.e. a robot, not even an animal.
3. Meaning is continuously coming to me through matter. That is, I can deduce meaning (like/dislike) from every object/event in the universe. These meanings are purposeful; full of wisdom and makes my being worthy of living otherwise life will be meaningless. People search to get meaning in their existence by doing all sorts of things in order to make life enjoyable but they do not realize that the universe is already meaningful and communicating with every conscious being. That is why Messengers come in to make one realize this reality i.e. how to benefit from the universe. The Messengers come to us to guide us, letting us know that: “Everything is prepared for you. Enjoy that which is provided and be grateful for it. The Creator is constantly making you feel Its presence. Entertain yourself here by being thankful to your Creator”. It is so simple!

Everything in this universe is meaningful and is speaking to us. The Creator communicates with me through the meaning that I extract from His act of Creation. If we choose to not seek meaning, we will remain distant from the Creator. As a matter of fact, the Creator is always sending me a message saying that I am here, I have not forgotten you, I am sending you a personal message. Since I find myself in search of meaning for my life SO He must speak to me. Just as He sends me the act of creation NOW, He must speak to me NOW within my conditions. Everyone receives meaning from the universe from his personal perspective. For example, Sarah’s universe is different from Mike’s and Mike’s universe is different from Sarah’s. We all experience what we feel.

Analogy: A truck loaded with food stops in front of you. You eat the food and enjoy it. The truck departs. What remains is the feeling (enjoyment). The truck and other physical things are simply tools. What makes an event have an effect on us? Let us look into the following two feelings:

Why do we get happy seeing small children? There is an emotional experience taking place.

• We are communicating with the qualities of cuteness and innocence in a child. The baby is a vehicle (angel) communicating a message to you about its Creator

Why do we get sad and dislike hearing news concerning the harm of loved ones? There is an emotional experience taking place.

• We are communicating with the essence of emotion; not the physical event
  • The event is a vehicle through its meanings (carried by angels) communicating a message to you about your Creator

I need to develop the concept that the Creator of the universe is always a speaking Creator. Again, we just need to tune ourselves to receiving the message of the Creator in the events we experience. Additionally, I need to feel the presence of Prophets in my life i.e. this universe has messengers that are continuously teaching me how to extract meaning from the universe (yet another dimension to my perception of the universe). Not only is the Creator speaking to me right now via angels but also the Prophet is speaking to me right now via his exemplary teachings.

Messengers are constantly teaching us how to utilize our human qualities to the best of our abilities. If we find ourselves in need of such a role model or teacher to guide us on how to interpret meaning from creation, we will be able to implement Messengership in our lives. The universe is constantly communicating with me through the Messengers, which teaches me the exemplary way (practical side) of understanding that creation is ongoing.

• Only when you feel a need to learn, will you seek out a teacher, attend his class and learn.

AT THIS STAGE:

The Quran needs to be read from the end to the beginning as it is compiled now.

• The verses at the end establish the foundations of belief gradually building up.
• This is more or less the chronology of how the Quran was revealed.
• Similar to how we read textbooks assigned by the teacher, it must be read at your level i.e. if you are a beginner, you read the beginner chapters. Do not try to go to the advanced chapters yet as it will not make sense.
• In general, the compilation of the Quran is from its end (completion of religion) to the beginning. Follow the sequence of revelation because it is your life story.
• If you are aware of the different dimensions of your creation and want to bring it into your present life i.e. if you want to become a student of God’s teaching (the Quran), you have to attend the first class. That is, the first verse revealed was: “Read, in the name of the Lord who created you”.
• Through creation, learn about your Creator at your level. Think about your human reality. If you have human questions at your level, you can get answers through your creation.
• Quran’s revelation is the life journey of every human being.
• We have to begin our lessons from the first verse (as above) and learn accordingly, just as we have to attend school from first grade. If we jump to the verses revealed later, it will most certainly not make sense to us.
• You have to proceed with learning about your existence, in the sequence that your Creator means to speak to you.
• Jumping to judicial verses and trying to understand it without going through the beginner’s chapters, will inevitably lead to IMITATION or DENIAL. If someone does not realize that s/he has been imitating inherited culture, this person will not feel the need to start the beginner’s class. Additionally, s/he would not know that the Creator is speaking to him/her right now saying “Read”.
• What should I “Read”?
• Creation + The universe + Yourself.
• That is, the One who creates, your Lord, in Its name, read (creation + the universe + yourself) in order to become aware of Its presence in your life.
• Who am I? What is this universe for?
• If you have not asked these existential questions given to you by your Creator, then you have not attended the first class of the school of the universe yet.

Abrogation cannot be accepted. The Creator educates the reader within his/her capacity as He is speaking to you directly. (abrogation means to revoke)

• With belief approach alone, abrogation of judicial rules does not apply. That is, within certain given conditions, you are to act accordingly.
• Analogy: when it is cold, water freezes. When it is normal, water is liquid. Does liquid water abrogate frozen water? No.
• Does College education abrogate primary school education?
• No. It was necessary at that stage of life. Now this is necessary at this stage of life.
• With belief approach, nothing gets abrogated. When the Qur’an is read for jurisprudential approach alone, then, abrogation may need to be applied.

Belief in the Messengership must be established and be used as a liaison between the judicial matters and belief foundations.

• You cannot perceive an event in the Messenger’s life as only teaching you judicial rules; it must be accompanied with proper belief system.
• Jurisprudential matters (religious rules) are mostly reduced to actions only. However, the actions are not independent; they are necessitated by belief foundations. We have to also seek out the belief perspective within the action. The act must have some sort of connection with my worldview (since belief perspective has many dimensions.) Otherwise religious rules will not make sense to you.
• When rules do not make sense to us, it is because we have not understood its belief aspect.
• Belief is not CULTURE or TRADITION. Belief is a personal connection to a matter that makes meaningful sense to my human capacity. Belief requires personal certainty and conviction.