By December 14, 2013 Read More →

Saturday Discussion – 14 December 2013

Topic: The Words, 17th Word, Pg 222

To be arrogant is total loss; whatever you do, all things will be against you.

So both states demand abandoning the world here.

What does being arrogant mean?

Purpose of the Quran: To teach us who our owner is

  • Hence, any description we find in the Quran serves to inform us of our
  1. Purpose in life
  2. Qualities of our Creator

We never read the Quran to make a comparison between two created things

  • That is NOT the purpose of the Quran
  • We have to always be reminded of the Creator of all of creation

Function of the existence of anything in this world is to GLORIFY its creator

  • Quran teaches us how to read creation AND how to understand His signs
  • Nothing in creation is more superior than another
    • Everything points to the Creator, and in that way it is all equal

When the Quran makes a comparison between unbelievers and believers, He is making the comparison in terms of their respective relationship with the Creator

  • The Quran is not saying that one is superior over the other, in physical, created terms
  • Instead, the Quran is guiding us towards the state of belief that we should gear ourselves towards.

Say: All those who are unbelievers

  • What makes a man an unbeliever?
    • Not because of His physical qualities
    • Rather, the persons disbelief in his Creator is what makes him an unbeliever
    • We are to be reminded that we should not be disbelievers in terms of our connection with our Creator

If I am attaching my qualities to my Creaotr, I am a believer

If I am attaching my qualities to anything other than my Creator, I am a Christian, Jew, unbeliever, etc

Jews, Christians, Unbelievers, etc are not referring to specific people BUT to belief connections and how we ought to think about God.

Munafiqun: We can never identify and label someone as a munafiq because it is not something overt. The Quran’s purpose in telling us about it is to teach us about how we ought to establish our relationship with the Creator.

*Remember, the Quran is teaching us that which we do not know (information from alam-ul-ghaib)

Ta’wil: Re-adjusting the understanding of the words in the text in accordance with the purpose of the text and the role of the speaker. Not about an arbitrary interpretation.

  • Quran’s purpose: To teach me what I do not know and to guide my human qualities
    • When I read the Quran, I have to understand it according to the purpose of the speech
      • To guide me to the reality that EVERYTHING glorifies GOD
      • Any news in the Quran cannot be taken literally. It has to be read in accordance with the speaker’s purpose (to guide me)
        • As such, I will interpret it in as much as I am aware of the fact that I need guidance

A man tells you: Don’t bother about this life. Let’s just enjoy.

  • You don’t have to unfriend him
  • You have to, however, be unfriendly towards the statement itself.
  • Disagree with the advice NOT with the physical person

Arrogance: An attitude which does not acknowledging your Lord

  • I am created by my Lord
  • So are my hands, eyes, feelings, emotions, cells, actions, etc
  • EVERYTHING is created by my LORD
    • When we attribute creation to ANYTHING besides GOD, we are being arrogant towards GOD

There are endless degrees of understanding what created-ness means AND subsequently, endless degrees of arrogance.

If I am arrogant, it means that I am disconnecting myself from my Creator.

  • Example: Satan was arrogant in his claim (thinking that fire is better than clay) and hence refused to prostrate to Adam
  • He was arrogant at the stage where he attributed his thoughts about fire and clay to himself
    • At that point, satan is at loss BECAUSE he is disconnecting himself from his Creator

If I am arrogant, whatever I do it will be against me. Why?

  • You are attributing your actions/thoughts to yourself
    • In doing so, you are giving yourself a higher status than reality BECAUSE you do not create your own thoughts
    • If you attribute the result of an action to yourself, it is lie
      • You have just made a mistake against yourself.

While I may say that there is a Creator of this whole universe, I do not acknowledge God in my reality (at particular states of my life)

  • We have to be aware of our thoughts/actions in our day to day interactions
  • When we claim things to be ours, instead of returning it to the Creator, we are being arrogant and have just committed a mistake.
    • Arrogant: Failure to acknowledge God’s ownership and instead attributing ownership to yourself.
    • State of loss: I think I am the owner BUT in reality I am not. Case of mistaken identity.

Humble: Becoming aware that the Creator of the universe is creating everything

  • Nothing is by you
  • Everything is God’s grace
  • Attributing yourself and all your actions as something that is being given to you by your Creator
  • You claim nothing

If we are not humble, everything we do, will be against me.

Commonly heard: If you are arrogant, you will be punished in the hereafter.

Reality: If you are arrogant, you will be punished right here, right now.

Analogy:

I am an arrogant person.

  • I made this amazing dish and I am going to enjoy it
  • The more I enjoy it, the more my human qualities will remind me: It is not going to last
  • This feelings hurts my human qualities
  • While my animalistic side is satisfied, you are aware that your animalistic tendencies are temporal
  • By being arrogant (and NOT acknowledging my Lord’s ownership) I will be at loss as much as I am arrogant
    • Depending on the quality of the pleasure you get from this world, that amount of pleasure you will miss

If you lose $1 million, you will feel sorry for the loss of $1 million

If you 1 cent, you will feel sorry for the loss of that small amount.

As humans, our consciousness constantly reminds us that our enjoyment will perish away

  • We may intoxicate ourselves to suppress our consciousness but the consciousness never perishes

Stop ignoring your reality. Accept your reality.

Whatever we do in this world that is arrogant (any human thought, expectation, action that is NOT attributed to an Absolute Source), will go against us.

– We bring nothing but a horrible end to ourselves.




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