By July 20, 2017 Read More →

Quran-Universe Parallel Reading: Chapter Fatiha (2017) – Part 8

Recap: To be guided on the straight path means to be in acknowledgment of the Source of our existence with the shortest path, not allowing for deviation prolonging the acknowledgment. The straight path does not allow for any contradiction or clash to understand the truth.

1:7 “The path of those upon whom You have bestowed your favor, not of those who have earned your wrath nor those who have gone astray.”

Who are the people upon whom God has bestowed His favor?

  • The ones that are using the shortest distance to acknowledge Him.

How are the rightly guided favored?

  • Since they are not contradicting their human nature (primordial disposition), they are the recipients of Eternal Happiness.

How do I get Eternal Happiness here?

  • Concentrate on your need to desire Eternal happiness: Since it is given to me and I cannot find anything else within me and the universe to give it existence, I attribute such needs to the Existence Giver. There must be a One who has given me such needs. As soon as I acknowledge Him, I am on the straight path and thus I feel satisfied in my existence. Within this satisfaction I feel that I am favored by my Creator.

Life in this universe is of such a nature that everything is transient here. Nothing in this universe can satisfy us permanently. Our human feelings desire perfection in everything with no end but the transient universe cannot give it to us. Whether we are 25 years old or 75 years old, we still want to see perfectly and we want all our organs and body to function properly. But we know that after a certain age, the body is not that energetic as it used to be but the desire to want energetic body is still there. The desire is there within me and I know that it is given from the One that gives existence and so I attach my overall being to it. Body is not my primary concern at all, it is just like a piece of meat which becomes compost. When you cut your hair or nail, they are discarded and become compost. Similarly, when I die from this universe, my body dies and rots here. On the other hand, it is my humanity which is of much concern. That is, if I train myself here to introduce my spirit to its Creator, then I (spirit) must be given an Eternal life when my spirit leaves the temporary body/housing.

Where am I given this idea of desiring Eternal Happiness? I am created that way, its plain and simple. Human side does not want to experience old age, illnesses and dissatisfaction. We need to recognize ourselves i.e. human side does not accept the end to anything we enjoy.

Check your want to be joyful. Is it under the influence of external factors or the way you are created? Pleasure must be appropriated to human qualities not bodily enjoyment only. Human needs are eternal but bodily needs are temporary. Example: every morning you get up and are given hunger. When you eat a meal, your body gets satisfied temporarily but your humanity expects full satisfaction and so by using this experience, get your humanity to connect to the Source of existence of the meal, of your hunger, satisfaction, i.e. the straight path.

I need everything in Absolute sense here: If I comply with my human nature and see that the Source of existence of my human needs is an Absolute One, then I understand that my being belongs to the Source of existence of the universe. That is acknowledgment where I interpret the condition of my existence here where I realize that my material side does not matter anymore which is subject to the transient universe whose Source of existence is the One I desire who must be Absolute.

Some say that the Prophetic types were guided on to the straight path. Before making such statements, we need to define what a Prophet means. What is required to be a Prophet? The one who carries the message of the Creator and transfers it to others through his personal experience. Please note that personal experiences are always subject to personal interpretations. Messengers are representatives of the message of the Creator in this universe. Their function or mission is what we should be concerned with instead of losing ourselves within historical details.

We have to describe everything according to our humanity. For example, if you lose an arm let’s say, does your humanity die? No. The arm is just a lump of matter. Your spirit never gets old but your body does. Spirit wants to be active but the body does not allow for it after a certain age which is within the order. Since this desire to stay young and active is there, it means that we do not want to lose anything. Within our being (spirit), we have this innate need of keeping our qualities forever with perfection.

Those who understand this reality as a human being, i.e. as belonging to an Absolute Creator, are comfortable in their existence. “Guide us to the straight path” is expressing: “Please God make me realize my human nature and allow me to be consistent with the way I am formed. Please do not let me divert myself from my human nature towards the body expectations.” Body expectations are temporary satisfactions which do not give eternal pleasure to the human spirit because the human spirit desires eternal pleasure.

Have a right definition of yourself. Express your need: “Please keep me on the straight path and do not to let me spoil my nature.” Being consistent with the way I am created requires me to repeat this prayer in order to remind me not to destroy my human qualities.

What is wrath?

  • An interference that serves as a reminder to one’s reality.

I need to figure out the way I am created. That is what I am doing here:

  1. Acknowledge that you are created by a Creator.
  2. If you do contradict yourself the way you are created, then you start malfunctioning and that is referred to as the wrath, unease in my existence.

Although I acknowledge God, I am not satisfied in my life. Why? Because I am not using my humanity as it is created, for its purpose is to know who my Lord is within the shortest distance.

Who earns the wrath?

  • If I focus on temporary happiness, then I am bound to feel unhappy.
  • If I direct my sense of joyfulness to any source other than the Absolute One, then I do not feel satisfied with my human expectations. That is, I start feeling the wrath.

Within your createdness, you find the Creator. The material side is the means to connect to the Source. If I use them as aim, then wrath comes. Again, everything here is a means of referring their existence to their Creator. Without referring it to the Creator, I jump into created things and expect them to satisfy me.

When I distort my human nature, it’s inevitable not to feel the pain. If you feel guilty as a result of distorting your human nature, then know that all pain we receive because of our mistakes act as reminders. As long as we keep making mistakes, He (our Source of Existence) keeps reminding us.

Who are the ones gone astray (daalleen)?

  • Incarnating God in the universe. When your object of worship becomes matter itself.
  • When you see that everything in the universe is the Source of your happiness. Seeing things and events as a chain of causes.

Difference between earning wrath (maghdoob) and gone astray (daalleen):

Earning wrath is received when you make the distance between you and the Creator longer by deviating it. Example: I am hungry, I eat food and although I thank the Creator of the food, but still I may think that the food is the source of my nourishment. When I do not train my human senses, I feel pain in my existence and that is the wrath. This is also going astray, as I have incarnated food/matter as God, the source of my satisfaction. The food in and of itself has no quality to satisfy me. However, the shortest path would have been acknowledging the actual source of existence of the food and to realize this source as satisfying and nourishing me. Another example would be expecting Paradise from the material things such as a promised land. Hence, thinking that happiness comes from the created things with no realization of the source of existence.

Finally, we need to bear in mind that secular understanding of religion is mixed up with religious terminology. The point of the Quranic teaching is to educate me and therefore, I need to look at every path within myself.




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