The Reasonings (page 132)-
“The Second Way
When we enter the division of time known as the past, we should consider the following four points:
The first is that those who specialize in a branch of science and base their thesis on it will demonstrate eminence in that branch.
The second is this, O brothers and sisters! If you have some knowledge of human nature, you will accept that even a person who has little renown cannot lie to a group of people about an insignificant matter without giving themselves away through anxiety or unease. And yet there is a person who is unlettered, but has great renown and honor, who, while undertaking a tremendous task and needing protection against his enemies, easily speaks about great causes before large congregations (and the whole of history), and who, in the face of great obstinacy, acts without any anxiety or hesitation. Furthermore, no contradictions can be found in what such a person proclaims with such pure sincerity and great gravity. In addition, he does so in such an intense, elevated manner that it vexes his opponents. Will not all these show his truthfulness in the brightest sun?”
We are studying the past. Since we are studying a historical person, we must go to history i.e. the past. That is the principle. Whereas when we study the message, the message is alive for us and we do not have to go to the past. Quran should not be read within the context of the past BUT the person who claimed to be the Messenger of God was a historical person and we must see his conditions within a historical context. Most people usually confuse the matter. They take the time of the revelation of the Quran (the Message) as an event that happened in the past, and so the Messenger who brought the revelation or the Quran (the Message), also lived in the past. They look at the life of the Prophet in the conditions of his own time. Indeed, his life must be considered within the conditions of the time that he lived in. That is inevitable. However, when it comes to the Speech of God (Revelation, Quran or the Message), although it was revealed to a historical person with a historical context, the revelation claims to be an Absolute Speech of God (which makes me conclude that the universe must have a Maker right now and the Messenger is conveying the Message of God to me right now).
- We cannot read the Quran within its historical context.
- BUT we must look at the life of the Prophet within his historical context.
- We must make the distinction, otherwise we reduce the Quran to educating the people in the time of its revelation within history. DANGEROUS!
Although the person Muhamad has lived in a historical context, his exemplary life is not only limited to his historical context. That is, he dealt with people around him according to the conditions of his life term by following the principle in his behavior that he established. In other words, we must make up the principles that he applied in his life, interpret it and adopt it to our life conditions.
There is a difference between reading the Speech of God and getting a universal message out of it by seeing the historical biography of the Prophet (seerah) and the narrations of his sayings and acts (hadiths). It is not the same as the Quran is. The Quran is a universal Speech to everyone at every time.
Who is speaking when I read the Quran? My Creator is speaking to me RIGHT NOW according to my LIFE CONDITIONS. I should not take this to its historical context. Whereas within the exemplary life of the Prophet, he is not an eternal being but employed by an eternal being. His guidance is from an eternal being but as a man, he is acting within his life conditions according to the situation of time-space he lived in which is not exactly like the Quran. We must interpret it and get some general principles out of his exemplary life.
First, we must take notice of his life conditions. Example: he spoke to a particular person and we must see that a person in this condition must be treated in this way. Now, bring it to our life conditions: how can I deal with a person that I am interacting with now or even myself? Take an example from it. However, from the Quranic speech, we do not have to do this. Example: when Quran speaks to a historical matter such as something happen to a certain person (Noah, his son, Pharaoh…), we do not have to go to history, see the conditions there (such as how Abraham treated his father) and get universal principles out of it. No. Just directly see that Abraham is me and his son is me. Whereas in the exemplary life of the Prophet, how he dealt with his Uncle for example, I must not only take a lesson from it but also try to extract a universal principle from it. But when we read the Quran, we should not take an example from it, rather directly relate the case to our life.
In our current age, we must listen to experts from history and study the past to see what happened in the lifetime of Muhammad and how his relationship with the message and conveying the message to the people had an effect in people’s lives.
- How can a person within his capacity/power be successful by himself without being employed by the Creator of the universe and give success to him? That is, without the help of the Creator, can Muhammad as a person succeed what he has done by himself, using his own power and capacity?
We are going to make a comparison: Was this person acting with his own power or with the help of his employer? That is, the Creator of the universe employed him to convey the message and implement the message. Our argument: whether Muhammad as a historical being was acting on his own or under the guidance of the Creator of the universe?
- Was he a very clever successful person or was he employed by the Creator of the universe?
Comment: If the message this person is bringing is making sense to us, then we are confirming the message that it is coming from the Owner of the universe. Now, what we are checking whether what this man claim is his own production? (As an employer, I would check to see whether this person can do the job and his credential matches what he claims to be?) However, I do not feel the need to check this because I am already convinced with the message as it resonates with my being, that it is from the Owner of the universe and so Muhammad must have been employed by the Owner of the universe.
This is one of the essential item in understanding that Muhammad was a Messenger. However, we are now studying another aspect of understanding that Muhammad was a Messenger, something extra.
Comment: But that does not make sense. I know that the universe must have an Owner and I am learning the ins and outs of the working of this universe and my being, and this person whatever he is made to deliver make sense to me.
This is a problem. Some people say that the Quran is enough for us. I do not need the exemplary life of Muhammad as an exemplary model for me.
Comment: Well, we do need the narrations. As a teacher, you give the student the textbook and a lab manual to work out the topics.
It is not that simple. How can we benefit from the Prophet? If someone says that I am satisfied with the content of the Quran that it is from the Creator of the universe and I am getting guidance from it, then that is enough. Where is the function of the messenger (believing in the messenger) apart from believing in the book of the Creator? You say that the Quran is from God. You cannot reduce belief in Messengership (revelation) to only a person who brought the message and has no function.
Example: A postman brings in the letter and delivers it. Do you pay attention to the quality of the postman? We never pay attention to who the postman is. That is a big gap in our lives because we are trying to establish that it is not the postman who produces the message for me, rather he is the instructor of the content of the message. Now, he becomes an important element in my life. That is why belief in the message (books) is one item, the second item is belief in the Messengership of Muhammad.
- An instructor coming to you with a book, taking you to the lab and he says that I am going to instruct you how to apply the content of this textbook into practice.
Most people ignore the function of this instructor in our lives. Why? There are many things that the public is missing. Example: As far as understanding the universe and its nature, belief in angels are missing in the perception of the believers. There are no such concepts. Why belief in angels is important and what am I going to do with it? This is missing in the scholarship. The existence of angels, what does it mean for me and how can I apply it to my life? I believe there are angels because the Quran says so. What is the effect of belief in angels in my life? People who devout themselves to the message of the Quran saying that we are followers of Muhammad is a problem because they accept the existence of angels because it is in the message. The effect of belief in angels in one’s life is completely missing. Muslims say that we believe in the existence of angels but it is not studied. People are not concentrating on it. Even most scholars are not aware of its importance. What belief in angels should bring into my life? The same goes with belief in Messengership of Muhammad, however by following the sunnah (fiqh matters), we think that we are benefiting from belief in Messengers by following certain rules in our lives.
In seerah book, Muhammad’s life is studied not as an exemplary instructor for me but how great the person was and the difficulties this person went in his life. In hadiths books, certain actions are narrated and fiqh take rules from these narrations. How about the effect of belief in angels or messengers in my life? How about the effect of presence of angels and of messengers in my life? How can I live with angels or messengers? It is a serious matter.
- Angels are present. Have you ever tried that i.e. living with angels?
Theoretically, I am aware of it. Here is the parallel, do we live with the messenger? If the message of the Quran is alive and if the messenger is not only a postman, where is the instructor present in my life? I am in the lab of the universe. Quran is in my hand. There is no instructor. Instructor must be present as the speech of God is universally present with me. Look at your life, have you ever lived with the Prophet? In the narration, Prophet says when you remember the Prophet, it means that I am present with you. People understand that when you make a salawat (confirming the message the Messenger brings), he hears it. It does not mean to recite it verbally, that means nothing, and it is just an imitative language process.
- When you remember that the book is with me and I am in the lab, but I cannot put it into practice without guidance of the instructor. Where is the instructor in my life? When I bring this aspect into my life, the Prophet says that I am present with you. This is the missing point in our lives.
We have many dimensions of existence missing in our lives. We do not study on it. When we study messenger-ship, we study it not as a living instructor for me but a biography of his life or some narrations which brings responsibility for me to put into practice. Example: Prophet used to pray two rakats (units of prayers) before going to masjid to pray morning prayer. I do it as well, but this does not bring the instructor into my life. It is narration. Fiqh (jurisprudence) is supposed to do that i.e. by doing his actions in your life, it must be a means of brining the instructor into your practical life. The fiqh side is supposed to be a reminder that the Messengership of Muhammad is with me (yes, the Messenger-ship must be with me). Although, the person of Muhammad (as abdullah, a creature of God) died but the “Rasool Allah” (Messenger of Allah) must be with me.
The Prophet instructed the people that while you are praying you have to say: Assalamualaika ayyu-un-nabiyyu (Peace be upon you O Prophet). Some people deny this because they say that you cannot bring a dead man into your life. However, as an instructor, he must be alive. People who deny say that: “You cannot say Peace be upon you O Prophet” because these people, unfortunately do not see the presence of Messengership of God, which is not Muhammadun abduhu but Muhammadun Rasooluhu. There is no Rasool (Messenger) in their lives. Saying that I believe in the existence of angels does not necessitate to live with angels. Similarly, belief in the Messengership of Muhammad does not necessitate to live in the presence of Muhammad as an instructor/messenger. That is another dimension of existence.
Comment: In order for me to understand and acknowledge the individual who is bringing to me the textbook, as not just a delivery man but also as an instructor to the textbook, I will also have to verify that the person is an expert on the textbook and is capable of teaching the textbook to me and is not just a reader of it as myself. In that process I need to have some way of accepting that person as an instructor or see them as befitting that role.
Instructing what?
Comment: how to benefit from the textbook?
How I can put the message into my practical life? The instructor must be present in my effort to put the message into my practical life. Is it present? No. There is no such dimension in our understanding. Science says that there are 11 dimensions of existence in the universe. It means that our world is so dull/meaningless, not corresponding to immense capacity of human spirit. Example: I have a pencil, thank God I am given a pencil. That is so simple, but the spirit wants to have experiences of Absolute and unlimited pleasure which is living in the presence of God.
The universe is just an exhibition hall where creatures are introducing themselves to me and saying: “I am a definite evidence that your Owner has employed me here (belief in angels) to interact with you and covey the message to you. So, see in my “presence”, every being says, “the Source of existence treating you”. Example: While using the computer, I am interacting with the Programmer of the computer who is not present. But the Programmer is present within the program. The Programmer programmed and went away because s/he is not the Creator, s/he is only a user of the creation. How about the Lord of the universe, is It gone? No. How can I be in His presence while using the “computer” (the universe)? As I communicate through the program, in the program I see the action of the Programmer. I am directly interacting with the Programmer while I am using the computer if the Programmer is an Absolute Being. Similarly, when I am reading a text, I am actively interacting/communicating with the mind of the author. Author has died long ago but still his knowledge is present here and I am interacting with him, not physically because he died. How about the Creator of the universe? I must have a living and live interaction with the Creator of the universe through using the program and interacting with the meaning that I am extracting. The meaning is angels. Through these angels, I am in the presence of God. That is another dimension in my life.
Let us put 4 dimensions into our material life. Author wrote this last century and is gone. There are a lot of words in one page that I am interacting with and I am learning something from the text, not the author because the author is not present. That is how our life is. Do I deny that this book is written by an author? No. Everyone says that it is written by an author. Similarly, do I deny that this universe is created by a Creator? No and this does not mean that I am living with It. In this case, there is no such dimension which is living in the presence of God.
How can it be possible to live in the Presence of God?
The action conveys a message to me and while I am interacting with the action (using the computer program and understanding the meaning in text), I have another dimension of existence in my life that I am interacting with the Author of the universe. Always live in the presence of God. That needs training which is only possible by realizing that these meanings are actively reflecting the presence of the Creator to me and letting me know that this is the message of my Creator to me: “This is my Creator and It is sending this message to me and It is present here.”
- Before training, we must be aware that we are missing some dimensions of existence in our lives.
First, we are living in a very materialistic life, although we say that we believe in God, angels…but we live in a 4-dimensional existence. But the spirit must be satisfied. That is why our spirit feels imprisoned and does not feel that whatever is happening is happening because of my Creator right now treating me. That is my Creator’s action, how can I not be happy with it? This consciousness needs training and that brings another dimension. This is one example of missing dimension.
Almost equally, the same effect we have no dimension of Presence of Messenger in our lives. Why? We have not trained ourselves. Claiming that I believe in the Messengership of Muhammad is not denying it because we have no evidence to deny it. Do you deny the existence of Berlin? No. That is what our belief in Messengership is. The experience of living in Berlin is different from not denying the existence of Berlin.
- Similarly, believing in Muhammad as being the Messenger is not the same as living with the Messenger.
The Messengership side of the mission of the Prophet must be alive. We must make sure that apart from the evidence that we get from the Quran as being the word of God, we must have yet another dimension. This Word of God must be represented by a person as a Rasool (Messenger), not a person. He must be alive with me as a Messenger. I must live in this world with another dimension to my life. HEIGHT, WIDTH, TIME, SPACE. We are imprisoned with only 4 dimensions in our lives with no meaning.
- There is no presence of Eternity and Creator in our lives, although we believe in God. This is only possible through belief in angels and we must work on it.
Another dimension, God’s speech is Eternal, and this God is speaking to me now and it is represented by an instructor. This is missing. What is the solution? we will come there.
Another dimension that must be present is belief in the existence of Resurrection. With the word akhir, it means that you live the end-result of your life right now. If I do not see this dimension that every moment that I am living, my conclusion, action (my action depends on my awareness i.e. what I am doing), that this awareness has an eternal dimension, then I am not living. This is eternal life in the hereafter which must be present now through my awareness. That is yet another dimension of existence here. We usually say that we will die and be resurrected and that is not present in my life. If a vector goes to eternity (if something has eternity in future, don’t you think mathematically it has no beginning?
- Anything which is eternal has no beginning.
If something has a beginning, then it cannot be eternal. Existence of the Creator must be Eternal, so existence is eternal, and you cannot put a limit to it. If life in the hereafter is going to eternity (theoretically we can know it, not practically), Quran emphasizes on it, your created life will be with no end. It means that I can live Eternal life right now because it has been given to me by an Eternal Being, and it will not begin after I die, it has already begun.
We are from the Eternal Creator and we will go back to the Eternal Creator, that is the Quranic message: inna lillahi wainna ilayhi raaji’oon i.e. if my Source is Eternal, then my existence must have been given this aspect/dimension. Another dimension to be added to our 4-materialistic life dimension. (angelic side of creation, Messengership side of creation, eternity side of creation). Don’t say that I exist right now and tomorrow I may not exist. This is contradictory to the Absoluteness of your Creator. Tomorrow, I may not be in this room as I may die tomorrow, but this does not mean that I may not exist tomorrow. I may be given another existence in another room.
Walyaumil akhir means that my presence in this room may be the last one. It does not mean that my existence will be the last one. I will be, not here but somewhere else. When we say akhirah, it means the last experience of this life. Every day, every moment, we are having the last experience of this life, not existence. One day will come and we will not be in this room anymore. It does not mean that your existence will disappear. No, being in this room will be the last experience of this life in this room (the world.) We must understand the “akhirah” in the same way.
Yes, there is an end to the experience of my life in this world, but it does not mean that my Creator is going to forsake me, and I will not exist any more. No, I will be in another room/life conditions. My experience in this world is temporarily but it does not mean that my existence is temporary because my existence is from an Eternal Creator. We belong to an Eternal Creator and we will go back to the Eternal Creator. It means that my existence is with the Eternal Creator and I do not mind because It is going to take care of it, the Eternally Self-Existence One.
If I understand this matter, my life will have another dimension and I live Eternally, then my existence is eternal i.e. belonging to the Eternal One. We may be missing all these dimensions.
Comment: It seems with this logic, I can live with the message of someone not physically present. How can I live with the messenger right now?
All these dimensions are inter-related with each other. Practically, they summarize into 6 principles (God, angels, message, messenger-ship, eternal existence, being aware of all this and living accordingly which is belief in Divine Determination. Everything is arranged as it is by the One that gives existence to everything. That is Qadar, being aware of this.) We can live within 10 dimensional, a rough chart (4 material world and the rest 6 our consciousness). If you work on it, then you will never have any worry about anything. It does not mean that in the physical dimensional life, I should not move from here to there or cook food to eat because my existence is Eternal. 4-dimensional life is the material condition that my body requires. But the requirements of my body are not important. Yes, I must take care of it, but I do no need encouragement for that. Do you need encouragement that you have to eat, take care of your health or breath? Please eat otherwise you will die. No, it is created within your physical body. What we need encouragement about is the other 6 dimensions. That is consciousness and realized through consciousness/awareness which needs to be learned and trained.
- That is what the Quran is bringing to us the consciousness that: “do not live in this fleeting world as if it is a permanent abode for you! That is the message the Quran is bringing to us that this world is not my eternal abode.
We must think if it is really true: “This world is not my eternal abode, rather a transient introductory place.” My existence is not transient, but my house is. I am a guest in this universe. The Owner of the house may put me in another house. What I need to take care of is my reality. My reality is that I belong to an Absolute Being who is interacting with me and being in conversation with me through different means and my consciousness can comprehend it, if only I train it. If an athlete does not do exercise for one week, they start losing their abilities. Musicians want to be experts in the instrument and if they do not practice for a week, they feel it. We understand the practice in terms of matter. If you do not eat, you will starve. If you do not use your capacity, it will go bad. How about our consciousness? Do we use it? We just say we believe in God and I must pray and fast. Where is the existence of other dimensions in my life? God is the Commander and I just obey, I am an honest person. Just as an employer, you obey your boss, even when the boss is not present. Similarly, the Owner of the universe is not with you physically, but He is ever-present, Absolute. We obey when we fast and pray but is It present with me? This is a big question. This needs consciousness/awareness. You cannot have the Absolute Owner of the universe next to you as a physical man.
- As long as the universe exists, or creation continues, it means the Boss is in action i.e. present, not like the boss in the office. Do I feel Its presence in me? Am I aware of Its presence in me? No, that is the missing dimension.
Belief in God is just a starting point. “Yes, I believe that there is a Creator.”, which is good without which you cannot go further BUT it does not mean any new dimension to your life. VERY CRITICAL.
Belief in angels is a starting point but we must study what are they, who God is, what the message is… Someone might have memorized the message and so it is in his/her memory, but the speech of God must be alive. He is speaking to me right now, really? Consciousness needs education, another dimension of existence. And the instructor is teaching you right now. Where is he? You do not have to know what he is saying, rather the awareness of his existence is what is needed first.
- Without message and Messengership, the existence of this universe does not make sense. Everything is perfect but purposeless. We need to educate our consciousness. Do I live in eternity?
Comment: Where is eternity?
Because we are not aware of it. If you concentrate on your existence, it is very easy. My existence must be coming from an Eternal Source and must be eternal. I live Eternity in my life. Example: my age and life conditions do not bother me anymore. That is the source of happiness and tawwakul (trust in the Eternal Creator that I belong to Him). I do not care about protecting my existence, you are my Boss/Host and I am your guest. I care only to obey the life conditions You have put me within. You are Eternal, and I am living as a guest of the Eternal Being in Its existence. These are the practical side of belief, which is generally missing. Some people try to experience them.
When you need to eat, you do not have to be conscious. You do not need awareness of what you are doing? In the 4 dimensions of material life, you do not have to be conscious/alarmed. In order to live with the rest of 6 dimensions in your life, you have to train, and your consciousness must be always alerted. Then you will see that there is no space, time, age restriction or limitation of material life/dimension should not bother you. Be happy eternally while you are living here because the 4 dimensions/material dimension are transient and not important, you do not have to be conscious, you just do it. When you are thirsty you go drink water without being aware of it, like an animal. 4 dimensions is not human life.
As a human life, we must train our 6 dimensions. Try to do that, what can I do, how can I live in the presence of Messenger in my life? First, I must make sure that Messengership must exist and it is represented by a person, does not matter who the person is. As far as our time window is concerned, it is Muhamad. Muhammad’s Messengership must be established so we will be able to bring his instructorship into our life. Not the person but the awareness of his instructorship. We must make sure of the foundations that there was a man who was the Messenger and now how I can live in the presence of this Messenger, THAT is going to be YOUR OWN WORK. Work on it. It is not impossible but may seem impossible because we have never been aware of such dimensions. We thought we believe in God, the Quran and Muhamad was the messenger and after we die we will be resurrected. Right now, these dimensions do not exist because of the lack of awareness of these dimensions in our lives. Lots of things bother us, I cannot do this because of this, how the people will see me…because of lack of awareness of the 6 dimensions in our lives. Belief is not only a verbal expression or mental experience that look at this world as being wonderful, and it must have a Creator, but also a conscious activity. How about: If there is a Creator, what should I do? Who is this Creator?
- How am I going to relate my existence to Him as being the Creator, that is awareness? That is not mind activity, rather consciousness (shu’oor). This consciousness side is almost missing at the communal level. Some people are individually trying to work on it but in the civilization, it is missing. In the secular civilization, they don’t even enter the subject, they deny it and ignore it because they have no “scientific proof of the meaning of existence and the Absolute Being within the ‘lab’ conditions present there physically” for it. Even in the so-called believer’s community the 6 dimensions do not exist in people’s consciousness, there is no training. Only some people try.
Comment: What is the believer’s community?
Anyone who is believing that the universe must have a Creator and we will be resurrected after death is considered a believer, either you are practicing or not.
Comment: What am I practicing?
We think practicing means prayer and fasting, only rituals. We are not talking about mental or physical actions. We are talking about consciousness. There is almost no consciousness about the content of our belief in the society, even in the believer’s society. Consciousness has not been trained. It is not the subject of anyone. Some people try to concentrate on it, they train and try to do that, and we label them that they are called suffi or monks or gurus but I am not one of them.
Comment: Was the Prophet teaching consciousness?
Quran speaks to our consciousness. Quran speaks to our mind to invite us into the house of belief. There are many verses in the Quran which invite human mind to consider about creation. Example: why don’t you use your mind, why don’t you question, why don’t you look at the birds above you, think about the rain coming down, creation of trees/animals… these are addressing the mind to invite us to come in and see how it make sense that creation points to its Creator. Now you come and knock at the door of belief, enter it: there must be some signs that I understand.
Afterwards, how can I live with these articles of belief consciously in my life? We must fast, pray in our physical life but these are actions not consciousness or the awareness of where I am and what I am. Actions need to be done as you need to eat. You need to give charity, pray and fast. You need to do that, but you have to be conscious of your existence and the meaning of what you are doing. It is not difficult. Just deliberately use your logical conclusion which is necessary. But we need to be aware of what we are doing Human spirit is not limited to the mind. Most people do not use their minds and they just follow their tradition. That is not our concern what other people do. We must come back to ourselves. We are trying to go beyond the cultural tradition of the present day communities which is mostly based on this approach: “We belong to Muslim community, we are Muslims and so what are we supposed to believe?” We are supposed to believe in God, now start using our mind at a superficial level, yes there must be a Creator, I cannot exist by myself like this accidentally. That is mind! Now complete it that I believe in the teachings of Islam. I am not a Christian because Christianity does not make sense to me if you compare a little bit that God has a son! What am I supposed to do now? Pray, fast and give charity… That is what our religion is all about nowadays. How about our consciousness, needs of our spirit which needs eternity in every aspect? Where is it? Unfortunately, no training of consciousness/awareness/human spirit in the community.
We must start this process by making our conclusions which are the results of our mind activities for sure and then bring our spirit with freewill into the field:
- If there is God, so what?
- If there are angels, so what does it have to do with me?
- If there is Eternal Life, what should I do with it?
- If there is a Messenger, then what?
First, I must make sure logically convinced that the Messengership must exist and a person must be the messenger. I must make sure this. Now, that remains with me and the mind activity should not finish there. Now, what should I do with it? What does it mean for me for my practical life?
Comment: When mind activity finishes, you then weed out the historical side.
Bring belief in God into your practical life—one dimension.
Bring Acceptance of existence of angels in life—another dimension.
You are living with this awareness now. Angels are every time communicating with me and my Creator is the ever self-existing one. I belong to Him, I do not bother about my existence, if I hurt myself, it hurts, I feel the pain, but my existence does not change, I still exist. Physically, I must do something, it is practical side, you do not need encouragement about it, you do it. That is how we are created as animals, instinct encoded with what to do. When animals are hurt, they try to cure themselves in various ways, that is how they are instructed. Human beings must learn, animals do not have to learn. Sciences are all about mental activities which is not bad. But these activities must bring data for my consciousness and spirit and so I must experience that. We are not taught this aspect, but we understand it. That is personal, you cannot learn consciousness training in a community. You must intend to do it, search for it even if you are within a community. Start with: How can I make sure that my existence belongs to an Eternal One? When that syncs in: You forget about the type of your existence (whether you are hungry, full, healthy…you forget about it) because your existence belongs to an Eternal One. That is the core of our happiness. My existence belongs to Him, whatever happens is because of Him. I am aware of It. It is not difficult. Bring this subject into consideration. “There is such a thing, what am I going to do with it?” When you ask the question, you start becoming aware of such a thing must exist.
When you enjoy outdoors, you think what is making me enjoy this? Similarly, when you enjoy the company of an unspoiled baby, you feel some sympathy and love for it. What does it mean? You are communicating with something else, not with the matter. When you eat something and you like the taste, you are communicating with something else, not the matter side of the food. Concentrate on it: what does it mean for me? Question it! If you do not question, you do not get the answer.
Comment: Quran speak to our mind and awakens our consciousness.
It speaks to our minds in all of its verses. It is an invitation to come in to the palace of belief. Come, there is a banquet here. Some people say there is no banquet that I see here. It means that if you look at a flower, you say that it is a banquet. You do not just look at the flower and say: It is a plant and I like it. If it was so, then it does not become a means of communication with the Creator of beauty. I like it and we will all die, the flower and me, that is it. In other words, they do not come to the palace of belief. All logical evidences introduced to us in the Quran is an invitation to enter the palace of belief, just to get into it and then you can conclude that there is something here. When you enter, it does not mean that you know what is in the palace. Now, it is on you to explore it. The rest of the Quran trains your spirit/soul, how to really deal with what some people claim, satanic whisperings, how people are destroyed because of their misinterpretations or indifference…These are invitations to get into the palace and benefit from the banquet, explore it.
- All the training of most Quranic verses is training human soul/spirit, not human mind only.
If we are not aware of these dimensions of belief in our lives, i.e. which kind of life am I expected to live after I believe in all the six pillars/dimensions, what changed in my life/awareness/consciousness? Example: I started praying 5 times a day or if I am a drinker, I stopped drinking. These are all material changes. They are not related to consciousness.
Consciousness means living in the presence of your Lord. When you go to a garden and the climate is nice, temperature just fine and you smell nice fragrance, do you feel relaxed? Yes. What is happening there? There is another dimension of existence there. How about bringing belief in God within your presence, angels within your life, speech of God in your life i.e. God is continuously speaking to you, communicating with you, teaching you how to feel and experience life, this is right/wrong, giving you guidance? When you have this consciousness and the consciousness becomes alarmed, then you start forgetting about material side of things. The material side of thing is automatic, just like animal instinct. What am I going to eat today? That is the animal side, pushing you to do shopping and cook, that is not human side of us. The result of mental activity is human, but only one aspect of the function of the spirit. Mind is only one tool of the soul.
I can only introduce or use the word consciousness as representing human side. That consciousness is not being trained commonly. That is the missing dimension in any given secular society. If you do not use your mind i.e. accept the invitation to the banquet of the palace, you will never have any opportunity to use your consciousness. You are not eating, but going to garden, how are you going to experience the beauty of the sounds of the birds? First, accept the invitation. Mind activity and therefore belief is necessary. Without mind activity, consciousness does not work.
- After your mind is convinced and you submit to it, now is the time to start the training of your consciousness.
Without using your mind, you cannot accept the invitation. If a poor looking guy says: “I have food and a banquet”, then you do not take notice of it. Is there any way you can take benefit from the banquet offered by this poor guy? No, because you are not convinced. If you receive a message from the Mayor addressing your name, please join me next Sunday on the banquet. You go because you are convinced. You go there but if you do not eat there, what happens? You believe that it was true, but you did not benefit from the banquet, what happened? You were not a denier (denying in would be in the case of the poor guy giving food), but after being convinced (mayor’s invitation is real – you believed,) it is not enough, you must go and eat, experience it. This experience is belief in God, another dimension in your life. Does a child bother about food this evening? Parents take care of it. It means that child lives with the awareness that his nourishment is guaranteed. That is another example of difference between realization. Someone must take care of it, child does not bother. Child just says I am hungry, where is the food? It means there are differences in our life experiences, consciousness is one of them.
I believe in God, where is He in my practical life? I believe in angels. Where are they in my life? The Physical book is not the Speech of God. My awareness of the message is the Speech of God. I believe in the Messenger. Where is the Messenger? He died. “Muhammadun Abdullah” died as a created human. “Muhammadun RasoolAllah” as a Messenger must be alive, where is it? Do you see the missing dimension in our lives? Providence of God, I am under the protection of God. I am under the Existence policy issued by the Eternal Being. Everything is guaranteed. (trick—life insurance is until you die, whereas, Existence policy works while I am alive). If you are not aware of the reality, people exploit you.
Comment: Is human freewill aspect from mind or consciousness?
Does not matter. It is a different element. Just as a camera side of computer, microphone side of computer, program of the computer, they are a whole. This is an aspect of our existence. We must work on it, how they work, mind is one element, freewill is another. Everything starts with freewill. If you do not choose to go to the banquet, there is no way. If you choose to go to banquet, then you are utilizing your freewill to eat from it or not. If you do not will to investigate this dimension of existence, you will never be there.
- Freewill comes first in function, you must will and choose. Afterwards, mind must be satisfied, and other human elements must be trained.
Everything perfectly works in harmony at every stage. You must choose to make one more step. If you do not choose, you stay there. Every time your freewill must decide/choose to go one step ahead in one direction or another.
While in your commute, think about: “I have concluded that there must be a Creator, what does it mean for me?” Living in the presence of God may have nothing to do with fasting, not eating/drinking…ii is just material side of your creation. It is not necessarily the result of consciousness. What is the consciousness of living in the presence of angels, God, eternal life…? We must start going into this, but it is personal. I can speak to you and give you evidence that you must believe in the existence of Muhammad as the messenger of God. But I cannot make you live in the presence of the Messenger, that is your personal experience.
Why are we reading this text? To convince our mind that Muhammad is the messenger of God and I must bring the Messengership of Muhammad into my life, but I must be convinced first. The logical explanations and evidence are presented here. If you are not convinced, then you cannot make progress conscious wise.
Am I using my consciousness?
One way of understanding may be, “I obey when I fast and pray.” But is the boss present with me? Am I aware of His presence in me?
Belief in God is just a starting point. It does not add a new dimension in my life. Speech of God must be alive? He must be with me right now? Without message/Messengership, existence of the universe does not make sense? Do I need Eternity? My existence is coming from an Eternal Source. My age and life conditions do not bother me anymore. I belong to Him. I am living as a guest of the Eternal Being.