Quran-Universe Parallel Reading: Chapter Fatiha (2017) – Part 7

1:6 “Guide us to the straight path.”

What do we mean by the straight path?

• Following our natural human disposition.

Within our human natural disposition lies the recognition that I am created and so I must have a Creator. That is a starting point. Since we are created, we should also be able to recognize that we are given certain characteristics and tools such as our human faculties to work with.

Where are we going?

We have to find a straight path to fulfill the purpose of our existence. But first we must establish these fundamentals through questioning:

1. Nothing can come into existence by itself. (How come the things exist?)
2. Nothing can sustain itself.
3. How can things communicate with each other in perfect harmony?
4. Does the order change itself or is it made to change?

“Khalaqa” (created)”Fatara” (created + tools)

The straight path has a starting point as mentioned above. So I conclude that the One that gives me existence also equips me with tools to fulfill the purpose of my existence.

Our destination is to connect with the Creator of the universe through the shortest path, not a crooked path. That is what “guide us to the straight path” refers to.

There is an interpretation of a Quranic verse: “Wherever you are, I am with you.” (Baqara (2): 148) It means that the Source of our existence is nearest to us than our jugular vein. (Qaf (50): 16) How can we confirm that?

• Look at creation around you. In my creation, I see the act of creation. Within my createdness, I see the act of creation. Whoever is giving existence to me is acting. I do not see Him physically which is impossible but I see what He is doing.

Some say, God is within me. The concept is right but methodologically it’s a wrong language. INSTEAD, start with your own existence. That is, “within my own existence, I see God.”

Methodologically wrong language: “God created us”. INSTEAD, reverse it. That is, “In my being created, I see the act of creation.” I can assure it because every day, I am changing and someone is changing me.

What are we doing here?

We are just confirming the answers to our questions. The answers to our human questions are in the Quran.

How does it work?

Just as a Math teacher gives you an equation to solve for x. When you tell the teacher what x equals, s/he asks you for the procedure that led you to your answer. Similarly, the universe is where you investigate and work out your procedure. The scripture is where you confirm your result from the universe. If both match, you confirm the scripture to be the Speech of your Maker. It’s a two way process. Also, the ritualistic prayers is expressing the result of your daily life i.e. what you concluded out of your investigation of the universe. Hence, the demonstration of the universe comes before presenting your result.

How do we conclude about God?

1. Start with the constituent parts of anything: How the constituent parts came into existence?
2. Negate your conclusion: This part does not have the quality to sustain its existence.

Quran always presents God as lailaha illaHu through negation. Why is that?

• Use your experience where you examine things.
• When you look at the universe, you end up concluding that the things cannot be the Source of existence of itself.
• Hu= something apart from me, this universe.

When the Qur’an speaks about belief matters it uses mostly the negating language; negating that there is nothing within the universe which has any quality to give existence to anything. As far as the practical language for the rituals is concerned, Quran speaks directly without any negation.

How are we going to establish belief in God?

We communicate with our Creator through our createdness. In the creation of our human qualities, can we see the createdness of things? Yes. Take your power of thinking for example. Is your brain (which is matter) producing your thoughts? No, matter is not the Source of existence of the power of thinking. When you die, the brain shuts off. So can one really claim that matter is causing thoughts to occur? Similarly, do you ever question how do you see? How do you explain the power of sight? When you die, you no longer see. Can the power of sight be the Source of existence of your ability to see? No, it is given existence together with all the constituent parts of what makes us a human being.

Can you concentrate on your human qualities? Yes but we are not accustomed to it and so we need to work on finding the Creator within the createdness of everything. Question how you like something. What does it mean to be happy? How come you are happy?

1. This enjoyment cannot be by itself.
2. Can I claim that I created my state of being happy?

No, I cannot claim that I created my sense of enjoyment. Within the createdness of the sense of enjoyment, you find the fatir (the One that establishes the order). Everything is created in this world at Its will.

What is the straight path between your sense of enjoyment and the Source of Existence of your sense of enjoyment?

Closer than jugular vein. It means that within the existence of your sense of enjoyment, you find the Creator who is the Source of enjoyment. He is the One who gave this feeling to you. When you enjoy something, you will say that: “God is the Source of existence of the sense of enjoyment and thus, in fact, He is acting through my sense”. Of course, I have the freewill to act one way or another way and under the light of the verse being studied, it is as if the Creator of the sense of enjoyment says: “Please do not swerve this recognition, make it straight to Me, which is the shortest distance between your createdness and My Creatorship”. That is, createdness is the very evidence of the Creator. We cannot separate them and it is as if there is no distance between them after all.

If we are careful about the human qualities we have, within our human qualities, we will find the Creator’s qualities manifesting there. Methodologically we need to have a correct approach. Example: You see a needy person and you have a want of helping him out. What are you expected to do with this feeling? Remember that the Creator of this feeling is acting though you to help this person which is nothing but following the order in creation. Therefore, instead of taking pride in your actions, take pride in the Creator of these actions and feelings. Of course, we have freewill which we may use to follow the order using the following three options:

1. Help him.
2. Ignore him (not help him)
3. Divert it (thinking somebody else will help him).

I am free to choose option 1, 2 or 3 but as long as I am in acknowledgment of my createdness and Its Creatorship that the sense of wanting to help is given to me, then I am on the straight path. If I have the opportunity to help him, good (option 1). If I cannot help him and as long as I acknowledge the feeling, then that is good (option 2). But the excuse has to be genuine, not making up stories to cover up not seizing the opportunity. Option 3 also falls somewhere around here.

But this verse is teaching us that we need to be conscious of the fact that we need guidance to the straight path. It means that I need the shortest distance without diversion i.e. Making the connection between createdness and the Creator longer by claiming that such and such things are acting by themselves though all of these are created by God. That is, by putting some other intermediaries between the Creator and your createdness. In conclusion, the shortest distance is the straight line is what the Quran is saying. The following verse is an interpretation to understand the above verse.

“Then, set your face upright towards religion in the right state, in accordance with the natural disposition which God has created human beings, not to allow any change to corrupt what God has created; this is the right religion; but most people not know.” Fatir (30): 30

• The shortest distance is the acknowledgment of God.
• Natural disposition is not from me, from the very beginning that is how we are made.
• Kayyum (The Eternal): God is self-sustaining. If you want to be religious, it means seeing the Creator within your own human senses and attributing your senses to Him, using all your human qualities by being conscious of their Source of Existence. “It is not me, it is how I am made. That is why this sense is given to me in order to acknowledge that my Creator is the Source of this sense. He is the One who gave it to me. I acknowledge that.” This is the natural disposition. From the very beginning we are made on this nature. Be careful not to spoil it, not to change it!
• We have freewill to corrupt our natural disposition.
• If you do not notice your human senses you don’t know. Although you have the ability but if you do not use it or develop your ability, you do not know. Then you are left with attributing the senses to yourself saying for example: “I do not like this or that”.
• My Creator is within my feelings. Example: My Creator gave me a feeling to prefer to help the needy. That is, my Creator manifests His Qualities within my sense of help.

We are responsible for our freewill not our senses. That is let God act though you by your freewill. Senses are already there, we just need to work on manipulating them. How are we going to utilize them? We are free there. We are not free to have the sense of liking or not liking something but we are left free to choose between options. Human senses are automatically there functioning. My responsibility is how am I going to evaluate them through my freewill.

Again, “God is within me” means that we are created in a way where we can communicate with our Creator through using our consciousness immediately within our own creation.