Quran-Universe Parallel Reading: Chapter Takwir – Part 13

“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

It is important for us to know how to deal with other people, not to judge anyone but more so what our responsibilities are as far as our relationship with other people is concerned.

There are various purposes that scholars study verses of the Quran:

To understand the language.
To look into its historical context.
To get lesson from it.
To explain narrations (hadiths).

While doing all that, scholars bear in mind that some verses cannot be taken out of their context or cannot be studied independently from the previous and following verse. Some verses do not require this principle, just as the verse above that we are studying. That is, we can break down the verse into sections and each section of the verse has its own significance (or independent principle).

“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger”

If I do not have any sign of a danger coming, do I feel any sign of a danger? No. Similarly, if there is no Messenger, then there is no punishment. (We are not talking about punishment in the far future but now).

When you hear “religious responsibilities”, it is a responsibility according to your own nature and understanding. There is no distinction to be made between religious responsibility and non-religious responsibility.

God does not punish, what does it mean?

It means that one does not feel the pain of doing something against his/her own nature. If you do not feel any contradiction within yourself, then you do not feel the pain. It is as if the verse is saying: “I have created you in a way where you do not feel any stress within yourself. You are at peace and you know nothing.”

What is the Messenger?

Whatever makes me be aware that if I do not follow the message then I feel the pain. If I follow the message, then I am at peace. The messenger is the source of information that reaches you and you take a stance before the message, either go along with it or contradict it.

The message is there, what kind of attitude I take towards the message. We have to be careful not to misinterpret the message. Can I cheat myself? Yes I can pretend as if I am following the message. But am I aware deep down that I am putting my own barriers to interpret the message in order to prefer to mean what I want to hear from the message? I am free to interpret. The message is in creation and in my own creation which consequently refer to an after world. There are two ways that the message is arriving to me:

Message coming from creation.
Message being delivered in human form (verbal speech)

The messenger refers to the two ways as mentioned above. Now as far as “sent the Messenger” is concerned, it means that the message is provided for us. The message is provided to me and I may be aware of it or not aware of it. Message is provided by the Creator of the universe. If the Creator has not provided the message for me within my capacity, can I take any positive or negative attitude towards the message? Yes, because the message is provided within my capacity and I am free to interpret it in a negative or positive way.

If a fly lands on your lap, it is employed to bring you a message from its Creator. Messengers refer to the Prophets and the angels. Angels represent the meaning in creation, which means that I communicate with creation through angels. Even the Prophet received the message through angels. But there are different types of angels, angels of the fly, angels of the tree and angels that bring verbal explanation of what creation refers to. The explanation is coming from the Creator of the universe. Example: the food that you eat, the taste is transferred to you by an angel. You have to interpret this taste within your own capacity. Let’s say a Prophet comes up with a sentence from the Creator and you have heard of this sentence but at the end of the day, it is you who is going to interpret it. We have to understand that the messenger has many kinds of message. The taste is a message, food carries message to you… Let’s say scriptures are messages and they are carried to the Prophet by angels and the Prophets pronounce them in verbal form so that human beings will understand the words but still we should never forget that even if the message is in verbal form, it is us who will interpret it. The meaning in the revelation never comes to you in your mind as it is. It is inevitable for human beings not to interpret the message.

Let’s say there is a Messenger who claims to have received the word of God and has put that in written form in the form of a book. If you do not read the book, you never get the message. When you read it, it becomes a message and within your capacity you interpret it. The message is interpreted within the capacity of the man, not potentiality.

If we reduce this above verse to a revelation revealed to the Prophets only, then the scripture does not speak to us. Majority of the world has not studied scriptures i.e. interpret it for themselves and benefit from it. Scripture is the spoken word of God. It means God is speaking and I am listening. We have to attempt to understand the message.

There are degrees in communicating with the message. Most people in New York have heard of the Quran and Muhammad. Do you think that the message has arrived to them? No. Is everyone who has heard about the Quran is aware of what it is all about? No.

What can be the obstacles for people that they may not expose themselves to the Quran unless they have a reason for it? Example: there is a man with good values who quotes some verses from the scripture and that arises your interest in reading it. Otherwise there will be no reason for you to read it. Similarly, if there is a group of people that display morally bad behavior, there would be no reason for you to take interest in reading their scripture.

How does the Muslim community represent Islam in their practical lives and languages so that the majority of the people will get interested in studying the Quran? Here are the obstacles that prevent people from reading the Quran:

Misrepresentation of the Quran by the practicing Muslims claiming that their values are shaped by the Quran. We may not represent the Quranic message in our lives physically. Historically misrepresentation of the Quran by the practicing Muslims turning the religion into kingdom where kings follow their own political agenda. (Action wise representation of the Quran as a follower).
Misrepresentation of Islam by mass media.
Living in a place where there is no “know” about Islam.

If someone has not heard of the message of the Quran, then they are not responsible for studying the message.

While we are dealing with people, we should never be judgmental about others. Never pretend to have knowledge. If you know one topic, speak with evidence. Islam cannot be represented as a collective religion. If a human being is looking for a truth, then s/he should be able to recognize it.

People are responsible for the message they are receiving within themselves either from creation or from verbal form. They may contradict themselves with the message they receive and turn blind to it.

Is ignorance a bliss?

What is “ignorance”?

It is a human fault, which is not being aware of something and the refusal of knowing it (remain blind).

Am I choosing ignorance or not? Ignorance is a choice. I heard that the universe is interesting and it brings to me news from within myself (innate disposition) and that I am not created for nothing i.e. I must have a purpose. This requires thinking and investigation. What we do is that we usually give priority to our worldly profession and not pay attention to what we think we should be interested in. That is how ignorance is a choice for me. Example: I hear that the Quran is the speech of God speaking to me. Do I spend some time to pay attention to what God is telling me now, let me listen to it? Just for one hour a day, not half a day, let me see what God is telling me. This means that most of the time I choose ignorance. If someone chooses not to investigate something that s/he comes across, then s/he is choosing ignorance. Is this ignorance a blessing? No. Ignorance is cheating ourselves. Why do I give priorities to other things? That is my free choice. By definition, if something is not my conscious choice, it is not ignorance and it is not having knowledge either. Conscious decision to avoid is human choice because we are choosing if we are aware that this is the message. Example: I have heard of this message, so let me investigate it further. If I am choosing something that is avoiding from giving priority to what the truth as the purpose of my existence in this world, that is my choice.

Every human being is potentially able to understand the truth but how much we have turned our potentiality into ability, that much I will be aware of the truth. That is also one’s choice. If a person is not able to study, reflect and think and tries his best to do so, then s/he is responsible according to his/her capacity or how much s/he has developed. But I need to take notice of my own responsibility i.e. how much am I developing my abilities so that I can understand the truth better. My main responsibility is to understand the truth.

Something maybe a messenger for one and not for another and that is based on how much they have trained their potentialities. Try to turn your potentialities into abilities as far as searching for the truth is concerned, not only to develop your profession. We have to work for a profession because we are given a body here but do give some priority to learning what the Creator is explaining to you and presenting to you in this world so that you can communicate through this evidence with the Creator and develop your ability accordingly.

It is within the human nature to have curiosity. As soon as you get to know something, curiosity starts functioning because human beings are created with this capacity. No one can claim that I have no sense of curiosity (then you are a robot).

Ignorance is a choice but not knowing something is not a choice. You know what you are running from. That is your responsibility. Example: I can see but I blindfold myself and say that I cannot see anything. I am not responsible for not being able to see but that is my choice and preference. My preference here is my responsibility.

“We never punish” is plural because it refers to the Lord of all types of creation i.e. the representatives of all kinds of creation which belong to It. In other words, it is saying that I am the One who creates you; I am the One who creates the universe. It also refers to the qualities of the Creator such as the One who creates with Power, with Mercy, Justice…