Reading the Quran Here and Now: Chapter Muzammil – Part 6

One has to relate the Quran to their personal self in order to benefit from its teachings. Here are the two main requirements:

1. Strip yourself from your previous identity i.e. one should not have any biased attitude.
2. Be aware that your human qualities are the recipients of the message, which then help control your physical being.

The message of the Quran is plain and simple if only we pay attention to the above two requirements. The message always presents to us two ideas, a real one and its alternative (i.e. false one). Then, the choice is ours to either accept the reality or deny it.

• Watch out! Do not accept the false idea which is nothing but the worship of imaginary things that human beings invent as a result of their imagination.
• Pay attention! Quran points to the worship of the Creator of what is real out there in the universe.

Since human freewill has the potentiality to swing between these two ideas, you have to direct it to the real side. Our freewill also gets deviated when we interpret the Quranic message based on our personal worldview tainted with biases or certain dogmas. Quranic words have meaning according to the objectives of the Quran. That is, the Qur’anic vocabulary is concept based. Therefore, the dictionary defined words does not help with interpreting the Quran.

• Quran gives the meaning of its concepts in a certain way.
• Example: Satan represents any idea which does not have reality or a real existence. Quran does not give one a societal identity. The identity prevalent now is false because they are based on ideologies stemming from secular worldviews.
• The Quranic identity is based on the Quranic worldview.

How can I develop the Quranic Worldview?

• First establish the foundations of belief within yourself. Since we do not question our reality, the Quran helps us do that. Once we ask the question the Qur’an starts speaking to us, it provides the answer. If we did not have any question, the Qur’an sounds like a story book narrating some unknown historical events and talking about some unidentifiable things.
• Quran helps one establish their foundations of belief.
• Be aware of the imaginary world.

What is “salaat”as a Qur’anic concept?

• It is acknowledgment of your reality. It is a means of having a conversation with your Creator presenting your conclusions that you already had while experiencing the universe.

73:10 “And have patience with what they say, and leave them in a good way.”

they= people who are misguided or do not accept the reality. In other words, people who follow the imaginary world.

Imaginary world is non-existence. People who are misguided imagine that lack of light has an external existence. Hence, darkness is nothing but non-existence of light. We define “darkness” as lack of light. Similarly, take another example, there is no lie in creation. We define “lie” as not confirming the truth. This is hard to digest because darkness and lie is something that we experience, and we think that they have external, physical existence apart from the “lack of light” or “lack of truth.” This is nothing but our misconception of reality. Of course, we have freewill and, if we want, we can choose this misconception.

What leads to denial is not realizing that your existence is given. If you are aware of your human qualities, then you will question everything. Example: how come hunger exists? When you question your hunger, you will realize that the food is created to address your humanity. That is, feed your human side first, not the stomach: Do not just say: “I am hungry and I need to eat,” but question the existence of “hunger” and how it is satisfied.

Going back to the verse under discussion. in the verse the word “them”= your accustomed way of life introduced by your forefathers.

Do not get angry at them or anyone. Just check yourself! Change your position and do not be at their level. That is, you have to establish your own understanding by leaving the previous understanding aside. Do not deny it straightaway, either, just keep it aside. This requires questioning everything:

• Why do I do what I do?
• Is this my real feeling or acquired by the society and imposed on me?
• That is what the word mentioned in this verse, “hijrah” (or migration) means, changing your state of mind towards reality.
• Transitioning from a habitual state of mind to an aware lifestyle.

Finally, do not forget that your existence does not consist of your body only. Your humanity is what defines your existence. Example: through eating the food, question the existence of taste, need and food. That is how we can establish the relationship between our humanity and the Source of existence of anything that exists in this universe, especially our humanity while we are being in contact with the physical side of this universe.