81: 14 “Everybody knew what it has produced?”
- Do I know what I have produced here?
- Do I know that what I am doing here is either right or wrong?
Quran says you know whether you are doing right or wrong. It all lies in your understanding and ideas. We are created in a way that we automatically know it but we may not admit to it because we put some conditions, in other words we put our own preferences into it first and then try to make sense of things by denying or confirming the truth. These are called “hidden factors” and these blur one’s way to the path of attaining the absolute truth.
Usually, if I do not perceive that whatever I am doing is wrong, I more than likely cover it up with other excuses. We are not talking about actions; rather we are talking about the reason behind the action. If we do not investigate the motives behind what we do, then we are not brave enough to face the reality and that is why we take the lazy way. Example: You attend a class and say to yourself that it is not that important. “If I get a B, I will be fine. It is not part of my major course of study”. With this attitude, one is hiding their laziness behind excuses instead of paying attention to the details in class.
In our practical lives, we may take a path based on our understanding and at the moment, it may seem right. Please note that no one can guarantee that what s/he concluded is absolutely true, in other words right for him/her. We can all change tomorrow or next year. As long as we are thinking sincerely and seriously that what I have concluded is true, not under the consideration and influence of any external factors such as family, society… or having your own objectives. Will one be responsible for it if one thinks, conclude and act “solely” according to his/her thinking/conclusion?
Religion or belief system has to be at the center of our lives (not a secondary matter); hence everything needs to be “always questioned”. Example: Are you sure absolutely sure that praying is right? Have you ever thought about it?
If you feel that you are absolutely sure about your conclusion and that is why you are following it, will you be responsible for it? In reality, ultimately no one knows if he is right or wrong. For the sake of argument, let’s say this person, in fact was wrong; will this person be responsible for his/her choice? No, because s/he tried his/her best in what s/he believes in as far as his/her investigation is concerned leading to a conclusion. (devoid of personal preferences because people do not want to submit totally to the will of the Creator). Example: This is the will of God presented to me, but I have my own rule for my own freedom that I like. Most people acknowledge God and the will of God, but they want to be “free in their zone”. “Free” means not submit to the truth. That means spending some time for the sake of his/her own preferences to satisfy him/her. Even saying: “I cannot spend a lot of time on this matter. That is how I understand and it looks true to me, let me go ahead with it, without seriously investigating it within his/her capacity”.
- Every soul knows what s/he has been doing, in other words, the kind of attitude that s/he takes towards his/her existence and creation around him/her.
Some people escape to put forward certain questions that they do not have answers to. That is why they impose their ideas on others and they do not let you be free if you ask certain questions. They do not want to know it because they know that if they question the existence of any quality of a being, there is no cause in nature that a certain quality will be given to an object. But, what is the cause of existence of the qualities of the object, we have to question that.
On the other hand, there are some people who need to ask themselves: On what basis do I say that God has created the universe perfectly? Do you even have the background to say that? This verse is alarming us: “Hey you are aware that you are cheating yourself!” In this context, the verse does not say that God knows what is hidden in your heart. Why does not it say that God knows it? The reason is because you know it and it all starts from you. God’s knowledge of the reality is something, our ability to know what we are doing is another. By presenting the case that you know it, the verse is saying: “please I am telling you do not cheat yourself”. Another verse: “God knows what is going on in the depth of your hearts”. How do I know that God knows what is going on in my heart? The One who created you with the ability to know what is going on within you definitely must know it because He created you with the ability to know what is going on within you.
The One who creates you knows what you are inspiring within yourself to cheat yourself. Example: Claiming that “our religion is the best or what we are doing is the best.” The reason is that you do not want to go through investigating the fundamentals.
The reality is plain and simple. You know what you have chosen and the reason why you have chosen what you have chosen. Knowing this reality can be used as a tool to be true to yourself. You may or may not use it. The purpose is for your own benefit. When one does not use it, one does not explicitly admit that he is not trying to understand the truth, in other words investigating and questioning. “Be serious with yourself, I created you with the ability to know what you are doing so watch out, question it and take it seriously for yourself, don’t oversimplify it”.
While making a choice, you are exposed to two realities:
- Reality that I have not investigated.
- Reality when I covered it up with my own theories. (I do not want to go into it as it will go against my priorities i.e. laziness).
We have to face these realities and continue investigating. That is why there is no end in making sure of your conviction. That is, “certainty in belief” (yaqeen in Arabic) has no end. We should not stop! We mostly stop because we are satisfied with inherited religious conclusion.
We do not have to investigate all of the alternatives. Example: when you are solving a problem at the simplest level and it is working for you, why go to the alternative? Instead, go investigate deeper and deeper with the same problem until you become sure for yourself that this way of solving it makes sense. Similarly, start explaining your being in this world with simple questions. If that does not work, then you look for alternative solutions. If someone does not start with deep reflections, how can they know the Maker? Starting with simple questions:
- Am I created or not?
- Am I made or not?
- Are my legs made?
- Are my feelings created?
- How can I know the Maker?
Investigate the qualities of a thing and try to locate the Source. If the thing is working and you cannot locate the source here, then the source cannot be found in the world. If the source cannot be found in the world, you keep further questioning.
Question: Don’t the excuses become the reality for you?
The verse is saying that you know it is an excuse and not the reality. Every atheistic idea (denial) knows what it is doing. People say science will explain but it never explains any single thing at the primary level by questioning what is the source of existence of this. Science says that they are not interested in theology and hence do not question the source. Science studies matter, its qualities and how it works. But how do you explain the existence of the matter, let alone the qualities? Everyone knows that they are escaping from facing the reality. The real danger lies with us saying that Atheistic ideas are wrong but my belief in God must be correct, I do not need to investigate anything, and I have no doubt. Lots of alternative ideas keep coming into the way of reasoning while they say that there is God that created the universe. But, if there is something that goes around which you do not like, you get annoyed. Why do you get annoyed? Why don’t you find a solution since everything is created by God? It means that there are no foundations in the claims. We cannot judge about anyone else, I have to be realistic within myself!
- You know it whether you are pursuing the truth or looking for an excuse to justify your own preferences.
Comment: You are responsible for “your Paradise” according to your level of awareness of the Source of your existence. You “create” Hell based on your choice as well. As far as the qualities of “your hell or your paradise” are concerned, you are responsible for cultivating some (positive choice) and ignoring others (negative choices).
“Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the benefit of his own self. And whoever goes astray, then he goes astray to his own loss. No one laden with burdens can bear another’s burden. And we never punish until We have sent a Messenger.” Isra (17): 15
You know that you are developing a right understanding and it benefits you. If you did not have this capacity, you would not know what you are doing. Verse is saying: “Hey reader, look at yourself you will understand that if you take the right understanding, you will benefit from it i.e. you will understand it. If you take a wrong attitude, you will harm yourself.” Do we always take a right attitude or make some excuses not to be serious about fundamental belief matters? We also know that it is not hidden from us. We also know that if I take the right attitude, I feel it and get it. If I take the wrong attitude, I will get harm from it. Can people harm themselves? Yes. We know that this is wrong, but we do it and then we have the audacity to say that I do not like it. If you choose the lazy way, saying “when I get older after retirement, then I will reflect on existence”, postpone it, you are very well aware that you are stopping your growth and harming yourself, you know it.
- Lesson: Discover yourself, what is going on within yourself and do not hide behind the excuses you produce because you know what you are doing.
Wrong way of teaching about religion: E.g. “If you think that no one saw it, God is seeing it, you cannot hide from God.”
Instead, teach: “If you choose the right or wrong, it is within you and you will know it that is the sign of the knowledge of your Creator that He created you with this ability”.
The reason I gave myself is this: “Since I am made in this way, since I know it, my Creator should know it as well”. God’s knowledge (what God is, Its essence) is external to you and it is not important. First, take care of your own responsibility what you are doing, is it right or wrong? Question it within yourself.
Burdens: I am responsible for taking care of my own qualities. Is it heavy? No, because it is the way that you gain pleasure.
The verse above is saying: “You can try to help others as long as they are open. If one is not open, then you are not responsible for it.”
Also, someone’s wrong choice should not be an excuse for you. Take care of yourself! Also, it does not mean that we should be careless about other people.
Get rid of excuses such as: Because I was in this atmosphere (friendship, atheist/religious parents…), what alternatives did I have? Is this the right excuse? No. What are you expected to do? Be yourself! Everything must be investigated by yourself! You can find yourself in a certain culture but try to question it, do not take it for granted. Slowly you become aware which side of the culture is right and which side is wrong. Community life mostly gives one security about their already existing culture; hence it is a hidden factor. This attitude makes us lazy, not to be serious about religious matters which are really existential matters. Example: can I say that since you are a bad guy, so your father and mother must be bad people? No. Example: This person belongs to x country and he harmed one of our citizens, so we will declare war with that country. It is obviously wrong to say that! What are we supposed to do? Investigate that “particular individual”. We cannot generalize something because of a particular individual case. Most of the problems of the society are that they accuse the mass body instead of a particular individual case. It is important to establish social justice but one that is based on individual responsibility. Let’s say that last year you did something wrong and you understand this year that you did something wrong, can I blame you that you pretend to be good now because I know you are bad from last year. Last year’s person is not the same as this year’s person and this year’s person is not responsible for last year’s person. However, societal rights are different. If you stole something last year and they found out now, then they punish you now. That is not the subject under discussion, the person must have repented we do not know. But justice must be applied, and the judge cannot say that by taking this decision he is absolutely right. He must say that “according to the law of the administration of the society, I am passing this verdict/decision, but you might have changed, I do not know”. Let’s say you found out that I am telling a lie. Does it mean that all my human qualities are bad? No. Can you throw a person in the prison because he is lying? No. His other qualities are innocent; you cannot throw all his qualities in the prison. Similarly, if a person makes a mistake, we have to be careful that he made a mistake in this character, but it does not mean that all his character is corrupt. We have to watch out! If someone does not practice religion, can you throw this person away? No.
I can steal and when I steal, you cannot punish all my being. No. You have to punish the stealing part of me. Imprisonment is not Islamic. By putting a person in prison for one quality, you have deprived this person of all his qualities. Similarly, if you do something wrong, no one can accuse your mother, brother or any other family member. No one has the right to accuse your other qualities and the members of your family.
The verse is also drawing our attention to the fact that we should not produce any excuses not to try to help other people. That is what the Prophet struggled with as well, trying to help others out understand the meaning of their existence. He was not responsible for them (in other words for their responsibility) but he was trying to help them out. Also, we should stay clear from excuses such as it is inevitable not to be corrupted because of the society. Remember that the society’s burden is for itself and your burden is for yourself and you cannot make an excuse of the society’s burden on yourself.
You are only responsible for your capacity to bear burdens. Another’s capacity is for them. Your understanding of the world is unique for you. You are the unique person for whom the whole universe is created, not the person next to you. You have to take care of yourself. You have the feeling to help others and convey the truth to make them realize what is true. Do they have to obey or accept it? No. But you know that you should help out, that feeling is within you. Don’t make any excuses such as because of my family background, friends and social circle, I have followed a certain way of life. Go back to the source of the excuses, why do you particularly choose a specific circle of friends? Afterwards, you say that I am doing something wrong according to the influences of my friends. Why do you choose that? Accuse yourself because you have chosen it. As far as being born in a particular family, it is not your choice.
Traditionally it is known among scholars that your last breath is important. What does that mean? You are developing yourself and then death comes. That is, you will not be responsible for your previous actions, but you will be treated for the best of your actions. In the Islamic tradition, God looks at your belief in God. That is, if you have a grain of belief in your heart, I am not going to punish you. What does it mean? Because the other side of you was wrong but the grain of belief in God was right. Prophets encouraged people to have a certainty in belief in God and make it alive. If someone is really convinced that I am created and my existence is meaningful which is the requirement of belief in God, will you then waste yourself? This seed is an encouragement that God is not going to burn this side of you which is belief in God. You cannot be put into prison totally. There is a beautiful beauty there. That is, if you have a seed of belief in your heart, it will grow and flourish. Don’t be disappointed, keep watering this seed and work on it more and more.
In Islamic penal law system, there is whipping i.e. when a person transgresses the rights of the society in a “believers’ society” according to the severity of his crime he is punished publicly by whipping. In other societies they prefer to put him in a prison for certain number of years and punish all his qualities. Think about which one is more effective and right to practice! (In a non-believers’ society, whipping or other Islamic penal law requirements cannot be applied. Islamic penal law is valid only for an Islamic society where people are really aware of what they believe.)
Make your own decision and be consistent within your own self. Example: Am I doing this to develop a status, career or make money? Most of the immigrants come here to make money, get secular education and make higher income. After making this choice, you cannot accuse the society saying that I cannot protect my children in this society. This is an open community so do not blame the society. It was your choice to come here, why do you complain? Take care of your responsibility.
No one can say that I am not qualified to handle a certain problem because potentially everyone is given endless potentialities, but it is up to us which one of them we are going to decide to make into ability. Potentially, you can study another subject, but you have chosen a particular one. God does not give you any burden which is not within your reality.
Prophet went to the cave (Mount Hira) to take care of his own burden and questions. If you are open to search, the questions come and are followed by answers. If you put forward your own responsibility and put it into practice and start searching for a solution for it, is the answer guaranteed? Yes. “How can I get satisfaction for my existence? You will get the answers only if you are consistent in your questioning and searching for the answer. The person who question receives the answer. If you look for opportunities, you will get answers. But if one says I am not getting any answers it means you are not being consistent in your search. Not because the Creator does not show or give you guidance. If you do not look for it, you will never get it and even if it may be in front of your eyes.
People keep reading the Quran but get no guidance from it because they have no question. Don’t blame other factors (such as family…), take care of your responsibility and be consistent with yourself.