Ethical Lessons from the Quran, part 6

Ethical Lessons from the Quran, part 6

We will continue with part 3 of the following verse:

مَنِ اهۡتَدٰى فَاِنَّمَا يَهۡتَدِىۡ لِنَفۡسِهٖ ۚ وَمَنۡ ضَلَّ فَاِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيۡهَا ؕ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِّزۡرَ اُخۡرٰى ؕ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِيۡنَ حَتّٰى نَبۡعَثَ رَسُوۡلًا‏

17:15 “Whoever chooses to be guided, it is only for their own good.  And whoever chooses to stray, it is only to their own loss.  No soul will bear another’s burden.  And We would never punish a people until We have sent a messenger [to deliver the message].”

We are not going to concentrate as much into the belief side of these verses as we usually do, rather focus on the ethical values from the Quran.  A few reminders to keep in mind before we begin.

1. The Quran speaks to everyone; it is not just the tradition of Arabs.
2. Most people have heard about Islam, as the media nowadays is full of information on Islam.  However, there may be some people who may have not heard about even the concept of God.  Let us suppose that there are approximately 8 billion people in the world. Within that population, let’s say 2 billion people may not be aware of what the religion of Islam teaches. Hearing about a religion does not necessarily mean that its message has arrived to the people who hear it. Also, if people are only reading the translation of the Quran, that does not do justice to what the message of the Quran presents to human beings.  To seriously engage with the Quran, one must have exposure to the voluminous commentaries. We must be grateful to the people who have devoted their lives and time to understand God’s message which we are expected to benefit from.  In these classes, we are just scratching the surface in our engagement with the Quranic text.  We must be realistic with these matters that we are studying only to have an overview of the teachings of the religion of Islam through studying only some verses from the Qur’an.

PART 3

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِيۡنَ حَتّٰى نَبۡعَثَ رَسُوۡلًا‏

17:15 “…And We would never punish a people until We have sent a messenger [to deliver the message].”

1. Do we have a messenger now in our society?

No.

2. Is it enough to hear about “Islam” through the media?

No.

Ask yourself, how much do you trust the media?  If one was to follow the Quranic message seriously, then they will trust the media in a strange way, i.e. whatever they hear in the media, in most cases they need to believe it otherwise. One has to find the truth by the source that speaks the truth.

Materialist Scientists present exact numbers, and numbers are not interpretations per se. By presenting numbers and data, they claim to be explaining and providing interpretation to the truth. Therefore, whatever the media tells about Islam, the religion of Islam is not that because they only focus on the data and information.  This is equally applicable to the advocates of Islam who usually defend Islam in a way that it  becomes impossible to believe.  Think about it, how can we trust a message that is being put in a historical context and then presented to us now?  The Qur’an has a dynamic aspect. Similarly, can I put the creation of the universe in a historical context and say that today’s world is the same, i.e. every day is the same?  No. Creation is continuously changing.

We must understand that during the period of  revelation of the Quran, the religion of Islam, had its very own historical context.  If I take this historical context and present this Quran to you now, can you believe me?  Obviously not!  The revelation took place in a certain historical context that is different from what the text of this revelation conveys to us here and now.  The historical context is static, but the universe is not static.  That is, the way the universe is created and the way the Creator speaks must have a dynamic meaning, not a static narration but a dynamic interpretation.  The Creator of the universe does not present the same act all the time, like the videos that we may rewatch a couple of  times.  NEVER!  Everything is continuously renewed and presented to us anew. Although it may appear to us like a similar act is taking place, it is never the same.  For example, you may see the sunrise every day, but it is a new act today from the sunrise that you experienced yesterday.  Therefore, His speech must be understood in a continuous way.  If the Creator of the universe’s power is infinite and continuous, then His Knowledge is also infinite, and thus, renewable. The rhetorical quality of the Qur’an has the capacity to be interpreted without deviating from its purpose. It has been interpreted and applied to satisfy the needs of the previous centuries. If some people seriously study the Qur’an and Hadith narrations when they reach the level of expertise they will realize that the Qur’an has its guidance appropriate to the needs of this century. Hence, hearing about the religion of Islam in the media is not at all enough, but also in most cases very misleading.  We must all look for experts to consistently study what the religion of Islam teaches to human beings.

3. What does “the message delivered to people” mean?

If I say, alhamdu lillahi rabbil ‘aalameen, did you get the message?  No.  If I translate it for you as “all praise is for Almighty God”, now, did you get the message?  You heard the verse as a believer, and you say that I heard it, but what did you understand from alhamdu lillahi rabbil ‘aalameen?  All praise to God, but what am I praising?  It needs explanation within the purpose of the Quran.

What does the Quran teach?

Before going to that, we must first ask: Why does God speak to human beings? The universe and the human spirit are perfect creations.  Isn’t the universe enough?  Aren’t my human qualities enough?  Why do I need more explanation if I am simply following my human qualities?

When you say, alhamdu lillahi rabbil ‘aalameen, what are you thanking God for?  The food is ready for example, and you say alhamdu lillahi rabbil ‘aalameen.  If there is no food provided, do you still say alhamdu lillahi rabbil ‘aalameen or do you say: “hey God what is happening, you forgot us here, hello?”  What type of a hypocritical relationship is that with the Creator of the universe!? Education and training is needed for me in terms of how I need to use my human qualities.

Therefore, the message delivered to people means the content of the message is understood in my time period, relevant to the conditions that I am in,  where I am in space and time. The message must be presented to me in a way that conveys the message of my Creator to answer my human questions, guides me on how to use my human qualities.

Human questions have nothing to do with what I am going to eat later today?  What to eat are my bodily needs and expectations, which are animal needs.  Yes, I must have my breakfast and so do the birds early morning need breakfast.  The type of food needed may be different for all animals, but still the relationship between hunger and food is the same.  What about my human side?  When I eat something, do I have some other requirements that birds do not have, for example?  I have the capacity to think about the past and the future, animals do not have this capacity as they live in the moment.  Unlike human beings, if animals did not have food yesterday, and do not have food tomorrow, they do not worry about it to the point of making it a big deal.  They do not have a kitchen, fridge and pantries to store food.  (Ants are an exception in the insect kingdom with storing food).  How long do I worry about my body?  Until I die.  After I die, I do not care because I am not here as a body anymore.  However, what about my spiritual side which needs satisfaction, beauty, and wants to enjoy the good things. What happens to that knowing that I will die?  When I die, I will not have all these beautiful things anymore, so I should not die.  Is it possible not to die?  Impossible!  As a result, all my expectations shatter, when I realize that I will die.  Why am I struggling in this world?  It is so meaningless since I will face death at the end!  What I need is a message from the One who created me with the need that extends into infinity and perfection as a response to the feelings that He gave me which yearn for eternal pleasure?  That is how I am, for I want everything infinitely perfect.  But there is nothing in this world which will satisfy this need. The Speaker in the Quran says that I created you with this need, and I will take care of you for I am infinitely Powerful!  Don’t you see the vast world being taken care of to conclude that!?  Read my message which has infinite layers of meaning in it, get the message from all your human expectations, as I have prepared you for an infinite world.  If there was no news from God about an infinite world, would you know about an eternal life?  No.  If I did not have the concept of God, let alone a Creator who takes care of my needs by creating the need for an eternal life purposefully as an invitation to find Him out, and connect myself to Him, then I will just use this world to keep entertaining myself until I die by trying to extend my healthy life as long as possible although I am well aware that I will lose everything I gain at the end

Thus, the meaning of “hearing the message of God” needs to be reconsidered to get the infinite dimensions and layers of meaning to see it within my own living conditions and get the answers to my questions now.  All my human questions must be answered in this world in order that I will live with no despair for my future existence and life.

4. Have we, Muslims, really received the message of Islam?  Who is responsible for “delivering the message” and “receiving the message” nowadays?

Being born in a Muslim family, you keep hearing words such as the Quran, Allah, the Prophet…  We must have heard of Bukhari, but have we read the Bukhari?  Not really.  We must be realistic with our reality.  Have we read volumes of tafsir books (Quranic commentaries)?  No.  Receiving the message of the Quran has layers of meaning.  Hearing that there is a strange religion of the Arabs, Islam, to the point of analyzing only one verse of the Quran in one volume of the tafsir (for example 600 pages) and studying it for your whole life (for example 65 years) may or may not qualify you to have received the message of Islam fully.  Even if you study and concentrate on one aspect of the Quran, be mindful about which aspect of the Quranic message is studied (belief aspect, theological aspect or historical aspect)?  Therefore, hearing the message, receiving the message and being born in a Muslim family cannot be akin to receiving and understanding the message. Receiving the message has myriad layers. Everyone will be responsible according to the opportunities presented to them. Accountability is proportionate to the facilities provided by God for them. Deliberate avoidance of the resources is the source of responsibility as well.

5. Have you heard of “Hinduism”?  Is it enough for you to be responsible for accepting or rejecting it?

Yes.  It seems that everyone has heard of Hinduism somewhere in school when they teach world religion.  Most of us have even taken College classes.  However, whatever you heard in the class, has that been enough for you to reject or accept the beliefs of Hinduism.  No.  Spending only 2 hours a week over a span of a semester will not be enough for us to make any decisions.  At the same time, if a Muslim Professor presents to you Hinduism in a class with 2 hours per week for a semester, then will that perception be enough to confirm or reject Hinduism?  Similarly, if a professor (either Muslim or not) ignorant of the core Islamic teachings presents to you Islam, a semester of studies will not do any justice to confirm or refuse Islamic teachings.  We must be realistic with our reality and decisions to the point of being aware of people’s perceptions while presenting religion to us!  We cannot be responsible for accepting the message when we only hear it for a short time.  That is why this Quranic verse says, “we will not punish a people until we have given them the message.”  We must also be aware that when we talk about people, we cannot blame anyone, rather we must be serious with our own responsibilities to study God’s message.  How can we expect others to be responsible for Islam if we ourselves do not know Islam that well?  We must have empathy with people.  Again, think about it, did you reject or accept Hinduism or Islam, for example on the right ground?

6. Whom can we call now “unbeliever”?

Go and ask people on the street, what religion do you follow?  Most of them will say that I was born in a Christian family.  Do you believe in Christianity?  As a child, my mom used to take me to church.  That is what people say generally.  Most people will say that I am busy with my life now.  Do you believe in Islam?  Obviously, they will answer no, because they have no idea about Christianity, just some childhood memories.  Hence, we must be very cautious to refer to people by their identities.  For example, if I am born in a place where the population is Muslim, does it make me a real Muslim, where I submit myself to my Creator?  Similarly, if your parents are Turkish and you were born in the US, does that make you a Turk?  No.

Everyone is responsible for as much as they are informed about Islam.  That is, the more you learn, the more you will be responsible.  Most of the people do not want responsibility and will say that it is better not to learn because you will be more responsible if you do. Let us take a practical example to understand this better.  Did you graduate from a 4-year College?  Yes.  Did you know that every semester, the more you attend your classes, the more you will be learning, as a result, the more you will be responsible for the final exams?  When you enrolled you knew that you will be responsible for your learnings at graduation, you will be responsible for devoting your time for 4 years, and you will be responsible to pay a tuition every year, with all these responsibilities, you chose to attend college.

Why do we do all this?  Why do parents do their best to get their children to seek a good education?  Why all this struggle for increased responsibilities?

It means that we are all responsible for our learnings.  That is how this verse is to be understood i.e. God says that if I have not given you the opportunity to get my message, then I will not take you to account, and you will not be responsible for its learnings.

Let us expand the example above to post-graduation.  Let’s say that you graduate as an Engineer.  You will be responsible to apply your skills in your profession.  If someone graduates as a history major, will they be responsible to apply Engineering skills?  No. We cannot blame someone who has not taken Engineering courses for  they are not  responsible to apply Engineering skills in a profession.  On the other hand, if you want to be an Engineer and have not learned Engineering, then you should blame yourself for not learning.  Pass judgment for yourself, not others, say, I have not perfected my profession, and I am responsible.  Don’t blame someone who has not studied Engineering.  Take care of yourself, you must learn when it comes to yourself, because you want to learn. Human Beings are created for perfection, the more you know why you are living here, the more satisfied you will be with your life.  That is, the more you know what the purpose of your creation is, who your Creator is, and what your Creator expects of you, the more pleasure you will get from your existence here.   In this regard, religion is not a paid course, it is a free course and the best course as it helps fulfill the purpose of your existence.

We are enrolled in this university of this universe. God is teaching us by creating new creations in the universe. He is speaking to us by sending the message.  We are aware that we have a treasure, which is the Quran and the Prophetic Hadiths.  The more you get the treasuries, the more you enjoy it.  You will be pleased with the more you learn while you are here, and what your human expectations are for, and how can you satisfy them?  The more your human expectations get satisfied, the more pleasure you get in life.  When you are hungry, and you only get a few bites of something, don’t you ask for more?  Yes.  However, there is a limit to how much your stomach can handle, but there is no limit for satisfying and feeding the human spirit, because the human spirit is infinite. The more you feed the spirit, the more you get pleasure as much as you are aware of your needs.

We will study more of the Quran to satisfy our spiritual needs.  The more you learn, the more you enjoy.  The more understanding we have about our existence, the more we will be satisfied in our lives here, that is how our human nature works.  Some people close the learning door contrary to their nature because they don’t want to be responsible and use the same attitude with religion. They will be accountable for choosing the option which contradicts the way they are created.

Finally, we have no right to judge others, nor to  stereotype others.  We understand that if I have not received the message, then I will not be responsible for it.  However, I have received the message and my nature necessitates me to be satisfied.  As a result, my spirit is trained only through learning what my Creator presents to me because I cannot learn it from anyone else.  The more we learn, the more we will be satisfied.  Everyone wants to be successful and learn more to get the pleasure; this is how God created us, the school of the universe is free with free courses to satisfy our human existential expectations.