This is the 7th revealed chapter of the Quran during the 3rd year of Prophethood. The first revealed chapters construct one’s worldview. We need to construct our worldview about the nature of this creation. What is this universe?
The first audience of the revelation and most of us nowadays are aware that the universe must have a Creator. Revelation was not really emphasizing on belief in God, as a Creator, rather emphasizing on the nature of this creation. Although we may believe that the universe has been created but the Creator and the universe is not directly connected in our minds. That is, I am in contact with what is created by God but not with God, the Creator as related to this creation. This is a problem for most people who believe because we don’t use our human senses/human qualities in order to understand the Source of their existence and connect the human qualities to their Creator and act with this understanding.
Yes, the universe is created by God but am I in contact with the Creator? How?
The universe is just a training place nothing more than a means to get in contact with the Creator. Example: You experience a bird singing. Use the bird and its singing in order to get in touch with the Creator of the bird and its singing quality in order to be pleased with the Creator of that quality in the bird. The bird is just a vehicle, a means to get in touch with the Creator.
The Speech of God in these first revealed chapters is drawing our attention to the nature of creation:
- Whether they can sustain their existence by themselves?
- Whether they are permanent?
- Whether we can trust objects themselves?
These verses include not only judgment day but more so one’s current state of being right now. We have to read these verses as guiding us or constructing our mindset to understand that the sun/stars/mountains cannot sustain its existence by itself because it has no quality to do that. We need to renew our understanding. Every moment is doomsday. Yesterday is destroyed. One hour ago is destroyed. Now we are experiencing a new creation.
- What I should care of is what I am experiencing right now.
This physical world cannot sustain its existence and its qualities. They are all given existence with qualities. Let us analyze the fourth verse with this understanding of the universe. “And when the pregnant camels are abandoned” What is your pregnant camel then? Pregnant camel refers to the most precious asset for you from which you hope to secure your future. Example: wealth, career, marriage… If I have this position, I will be secure.
ASK YOURSELF: When can I abandon my pregnant camel?
After realizing the transient nature of this universe that nothing can preserve its existence by itself or from anything else in the universe; nothing can prevent themselves from being destroyed, no one can preserve his/her life because we all know that we are going to die and we cannot protect our existence as we are now, can we abandon our pregnant camel(s).
Everyone has some sort of aims and aspirations for the future from which they hope to achieve something. Now, under which conditions can we abandon our object of worship? In other words, under which conditions is the most precious thing not precious anymore?
When you realize that you cannot sustain your own life by yourself, something in the universe that was deemed so dear is unable to sustain as well, nothing else remains important in the world. Even the most precious thing will be abandoned. For example, when I realize that I am going to die the next minute, what matters for me? Nothing. We get lost in meaningless worldly concerns: I am late for work, I lost my car keys, I forgot to give money back, I am covered by insurance…. When you are dying, nothing matters then. You are abandoning it.
The previous three verses say that everything is fragile; they are destroyable. When we realize that nothing can sustain its existence, we never lay our hope in them. As a result, we abandon our “pregnant camels”. Not physically because we are in this world but intellectually/ rationally. Our understanding/perception of existence becomes clear. Yes, we may have hope for something and yes we will strive to get it but intellectually we will know that it is not the source of our security as far as our existence is concerned. We will abandon it intellectually/rationally. Now I will look for a sense of security in my life, a point of reference where I can lay my trust in. Then if I look for a point of reference, I say that I cannot trust anything in this universe but I need something to put my trust in, where is it? It should not be within this universe because everything within the universe is not able to sustain its own existence. Yes, you do have physical relationships with objects/events such as your job, school, family and you are physically engaging yourself with these objects but you will realize that this cannot be the source of your security. That is how the Quran is constructing our perception of the world by teaching us through the universe.
81:5 “when the wild beasts are gathered”
What does “wild beasts” represent?
Unlike herds and domesticated animals, wild beasts do not live together because they do not trust each other. They do not take care of each other and when they get together, it is usually as a result of getting support or consolation.
Thinking that I can sustain my own life and I am rich enough to guarantee my future. When one realizes for example that their profession is not sustainable by itself and they feel fragile and weak and need support from the environment and others. Similar to the understanding of abandoning “pregnant camels” i.e. abandoning our trust in ourselves or others, which depends on our intellectual realization of the transient unstable nature of this creation, if we do not realize this, we trust ourselves, knowledge, family support, bank account… However, when we realize that the universe is not stable by itself and I cannot sustain my own life, I either look for support from others in the universe (similar to wild beasts mentality) or look for a source to support my existence. The only way to secure my future is to look for a Source which is not within the universe because everything in the universe consists of the same matter which has the same qualities such as transient, dependent, powerless, no freewill and cannot sustain their existence by themselves. Even if we do not know 99% of the cosmos, be assured that they consist of the same nature and qualities as mentioned above. There is no sign that they have consciousness to sustain their qualities and existence.
81:6 “and when the seas boil over”
Since water is known to be the means of extinguishing fire, now it becomes the means of fire. Realizing the reality of the nature of this universe turns one’s world upside down. The means that was once a refuge is not a source of refuge anymore. According to our perception, we think that the order is stable and perfectly functioning. In fact the order themselves cannot execute its process and it’s not in their nature. The order is just employed in this way and is dependent and in need of its existence. Nothing can protect anything here. Example: who can guarantee that water has to be as it is now? What cause can you bring to demonstrate that water will be stable as it is like this? Is there any cause in the matter that the sun will rise tomorrow or the earth will continue rotating? Give a cause demonstrating that things will definitely exist tomorrow. We have been living here for x numbers of years with expectations that we are used to or an accustomed way of observing the universe such as the order in existence, it is regular and the sun is rising… But when we think about the nature of the universe, can we find any cause that the world will exist as it is tomorrow? Everyone agrees on this regardless of being a believer or not: “There is no cause within the universe to make sure that the existence of anything tomorrow will be guaranteed like it is today?” Just because we are accustomed with the word existence, we hope that it will happen tomorrow as it happens today within the same order.
- Nothing can guarantee that the order of the universe will continue tomorrow as it is today.
There is no reason for water not to become the source of fire. This makes us realize that: I cannot trust this world; this world does not have to be as it is. In fact, nothing in this world can sustain its existence. If nothing is sustaining their existence, then how is their existence being sustained? There is no reason in this universe to sustain the existence but it is being sustained. How can you solve this problem? Now you look for a sustainer which is not within the universe. Reconstruction of the mind is beautiful in order to teach us the reminder from the Quran.
Training of the human soul is continuous: How the human soul is attached to its origin.
81:7 “and when the souls are reunited (with the bodies)
We are here in this world as soul and bodies functioning together. Our soul is using the body as a means of communicating with the universe. Our soul has the freedom to interpret this relationship with the universe, either make sense of it or not. How do we live in this universe? We see, hear, smell, touch and interpret. Soul is using the body as a tool to develop an interpretation of what is going on in this universe. If we did not have a physical body, could the soul communicate with the world in this condition of the universe? No.
We are not merely bodies; we are soul which is acting through using the body. When I realize that my soul does not have to have body, then I know that it can always be separated. Do they have to be together? No one can guarantee that the soul and body will have to be together now. We need to understand the nature of our own existence. When we use our body to communicate with the universe, our soul interprets the event. Which kind of meaning do I have in my relationship with the universe, and uniting the soul and body together? It means that when our body and soul are united in our understanding right now, not necessarily after we die, which is correct that we will die, no way to escape from it. We don’t have to die in order to experience this. Ask yourself: what have I done through using my body? Unite body and soul together and question: how did I utilize my body? When you use the body, the action of the body is not important, how the soul interprets this action is everything. Let’s unite body and soul: Have you questioned what did you do yesterday with your body, how did your soul interpret your body’s actions? After resurrection, same thing will happen; you will be asked what did you do with your body, how you used it, benefited from it, interpreted its actions, which kind of conclusions did you derive?
Definitely we will die and taken into account for what we have done with our body. Because body is transient but soul is Eternal, looks for Eternity or Permanent Existence. Body cannot look for Permanent Existence. Body is fragile but soul is firm and not like the body. Body changes but soul does not change. It does not mean that I do not educate my soul. My soul is of the nature of the laws. The application of the laws is temporary but the laws are constant in this kind of creation. That is, the order in creation has no inconsistency in it. My body is transient but my soul is constant in it. I have to come back to the usage of my body so I question what I have done using my body and how did I interpret it and which kind of conclusions I reached through my interaction with the universe. With this understanding, I can conclude that in the hereafter when we are resurrected, the same thing will happen. We don’t have to wait until we die in order to take ourselves into account, ask yourself now what have you done last year, last month, yesterday … how did you utilize your body? The soul will be united with another type of body which is compatible with the type of creation in which it will act. You will get ready for it because we are not living in this world only as a soul or body. They are together. Why are they together? Because the soul utilizes tools from the body and communicates with the universe and interprets meanings in order to come to a conclusion. Ask yourself: What did I do yesterday, which kind of life I lived yesterday and what was my conclusion as a way of communicating with the universe through my body.
- Which kind of conclusions I reached as a result of communicating with the universe through using my body?
You can unite the body and soul through reflections. Example: When you ate food today, what kind of perception of the event you had? In other words, were you conscious of your communication of the food through the body? Reasoning: I ate food and I did not steal it. Now, I can question this event within myself. The food was deliberately prepared for me through the order established in the universe and I was made to enjoy it by the One that has given existence to my sense of taste and dental structure.
The verse is really drawing our attention to the fact that the body and soul will be united and taken into account within the type of creation we are experiencing here. Soul and body cannot be separated. Some say “I am a spiritual person” while others say “I can satisfy my stomach by myself.” Therefore, saying that I believe in God because I am a spiritual person or have a good intention does not unite the body and the soul. One has to realize what is being done with the body and for what purpose. Example: You have to eat when you feel hungry. However when you eat, what do you do? You interpret this action. What was your conclusion when you ate food? What did you get out of it?
81:8 “and when the buried alive is asked:
It might have happened in the past on an occasion as far as the baby girls are concerned but how does this verse apply to me now?
Any human potentiality that is not developed into ability, then, it is buried alive. The meaning that the beings carry may also be “buried alive” if ignored by conscious beings. Our duty is to discover them and utilize them with our consciousness.
Tradition takes the verse to meaning that the “female babies are buried” in which case we can question the following:
How can you bury a female being alive?
- By reducing female beings to beings for reproduction only.
- By exploiting their femininity.
A parent may bury a daughter to house chores, school, job or marriage only. They may not treat daughters as responsible human beings. For example, when the baby is born, mother is assigned to only look-after the baby. At the same time, the female beings may be treated as if they are not full human beings, not responsible for learning, questioning…reasoning intellectually like boys. But this mentality has faded away in recent years. What is it being replaced by?
Women themselves seem to be exploiting their femininity and reducing themselves as object of attraction. They may use their femininity in order to impose themselves on others for ambitions only: look at me, desire me… In other words, female beings may not be using themselves as perfect human beings but just to attract attention. In this sense, they are burying themselves. While being full human beings, they may make themselves attractive not only for the opposite gender but also as a competition with other women.
81:9 “for what crime it was killed,
Why do you kill yourself as a human being while you are alive?
ASK yourself: Am I not a full human being responsible for my own human qualities as much as a man is? Women may mostly see themselves as if they are not intellectually as developed as men are so they reduce their life to certain activities (we are not referring to profession) which are void of intellectual/rational reasoning.
Comment: As a female, I do not feel comfortable with the way this is being interpreted. Most men are equally responsible for showing off their machismo.
We need to make this verse as applicable to both male and female beings. We need to make it a universal message as best as we can. Men are also mostly concerned with getting the highest paying job and in some cases looking attractive… A universal message here would be that one should not bury their humanity while alive for the sake of worldly gains such as profession, looks or attracting the opposite gender rather using the human qualities for the sake of communicating with the universe and using them as a reference to the One that gives existence. Nevertheless, the core message of the verse is that femininity should not be exploited because women have a tendency to use their femininity as a means of attaining something.
Comment: This verse could have said “boy” but given the culture at that time when the verse was revealed, we have to take account of it and at the same time remove it to apply to ourselves.
We need to universalize the message in any verse bearing in mind that the Speech of the Creator of the universe speaks to me individually as a human being. With this, no one can claim that they have grasped the whole meaning of the verse. Also, we cannot say that there is something in the verse that we cannot know. If my Creator is speaking to me about something which I do not know, then it is meaningless to tell me. In every regard, we have to make sense of what is being said by making it applicable to our conditions here and now