Continuing with our study of section A’raf (Cognizant), let’s study the following verse:
فَعَقَرُوا۟ ٱلنَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا۟ يَـٰصَـٰلِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
7:77 They then cruelly slaughtered the she-camel and turned with disdain from their Lord’s commandment and said, “Salih, bring about that [punishment] that you had threatened us with, if you are truly one of God’s messengers.”
The most important concept here is the mentioning of the she-camel, what does it represent? The she-camel is presented in the Quran as the miracle demonstrating that prophet Salih is the appointed prophet by the Creator of the universe. The slaughtering of the she-camel signifies that they want to destroy the miracle of prophet Salih, they wanted to destroy the evidence for his prophethood. The evidence which is described in the Quran as an “ayah”, a sign. The miracles that are given to the prophets, everything in the universe as created beings, and the message that the prophets bring are all signs of God. By slaughtering the she-camel they are turning away from their Lord’s commandment which is not to slaughter the she-camel.
Besides representing the miracles of the prophet, the she-camel also represents in this causal world anything that is not protected by any being in this world but is protected by God. We see that God does not interfere with human free will and lets it completely free to operate. On the day of resurrection, the account will be taken by God there. Anything which is public property such as any part of creation is public property, the verses and the message that the prophets bring is also public property, they are all for the benefit of the people to be used by them, anyone who is interested.
Those that do not want to accept the message, they want to destroy the tools that people have access to understand the truth. We have to be careful as the enemy of God in this age are not the ones who don’t believe in Islam or in God. Most people know in general what Islam is as they find in the culture. Only the conscious knowing ones who want to reject the teachings of Islam for various reasons, may they be political, social, economic or competition of religions, can be seen as the enemies. Interestingly, they don’t attack the Muslim people physically but they use their weaknesses to deviate them from the path of learning the religion of Islam, studying the Quran. By distracting them into other things, many are kept away from learning their purpose in existence. Any whims in the people can sweep them away from the religion of Islam. Those who consciously want to destroy Islam attack the Quran by trying to deviate the attention of people leaving them no time and energy for the teachings of the Quran. That is what they do by killing the she-camel. We have to try to protect the she-camel of Islam which are the signs of God as the universe, human soul, and the Quran. Unfortunately, we don’t see much interest in the Quran even among the Muslim population, let alone studying the signs in the universe and human soul.
The phrase “وَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ “, is translated as “turned with disdain from their Lord’s commandment”. They are looking down at God’s order by not taking notice of whatever is happening in the universe, not seeing that it is from God’s command. How do they turn down from their Lord’s command? Some of them may not even believe in God so how would they turn down from God’s command? We mostly understand God’s command as stated in the scriptures, however, we should understand the command in the general sense. That is, this command of my Lord is understood with three evidence of the truth:
- “أَمْرِ” in the way the things are coming into existence in the universe, happening according to the will of the Creator. Although it is not emphasized in the classic Islamic scholarship, human feelings are also part of the order of the universe because all our feelings and tools are created by God within this order.
- “أَمْرِ” in my creation, my human qualities which are also a result of the command of my Creator.
- “أَمْرِ” in the verbal speech, described in God’s revelation
We can combine these three commands of God in understanding that the enemies of God are not taking notice of these “أَمْرِ”, commandments of God. We also have to be careful to know that I cannot change the order of the universe. The other thing is that I may distort my human feelings and as a consequence may ignore or reject the scripture which would put me in a position where I would be completely away from it.
Continuing with the verse, the enemies said: “وَقَالُوا۟ يَـٰصَـٰلِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ “, translated as “they said ‘Salih, bring about the [punishment] that you had threatened us with, if you are truly one of God’s messengers.’” They are asking prophet Salih to bring them God’s punishment. The scriptures present the scenarios when anyone disobeys God’s message, they will physically suffer in this world. At the same time the Quran mentions that this punishment is felt within human beings. We may ignore this punishment within us or we may confirm it. How do we ignore it?
Human feelings need permanent satisfaction but I am free to reject those feelings as if it is just some sort of imagination, some type of well wishing. In our practical life, we may be smiling, be happy and physically enjoying life but deep down our spirit may be suffering from pain. We try to ignore it and be heedless, not be aware of it.
The people asked prophet Salih to bring this punishment to them. They understood the punishment as the last day of destruction of the universe, destruction of human feelings for denying the Creator and feeling the unbearable pain. That is why some may choose to take the attitude of drunkenness, heedless, keeping busy with something, so that we may forget about our reality. Human beings cannot reject their reality. They keep themselves busy with something, being involved with some sort of activities. This does not mean that we should not go to work but while performing my professional job I can still have an attitude where I can connect to my Lord.
Those expecting a physical punishment do not understand that feelings are punished with disbelief, not believing in one’s Creator resulting in meaninglessness, having no hope, seeing no life beyond death. We can ignore our reality by having an attitude of: “As long as I am enjoying right now, I don’t care what happens afterwards.” Thinking that death is the end of existence but we understand that people die but existence continues. The One who gives me existence deliberately plans out my life in this world from birth to death.
The verse sounds as if the enemies are challenging the prophet. The people who don’t believe in the message think that the message is not from God despite the messengers repeating that this is God’s message. It is not the prophet but God who is threatening with the punishment. The prophet has no authority to create anything at all, but just deliver the message of God. The scriptures describe everything in physical terms, the Quran specifically describes the destruction of this world in physical terms. Paradise and Hell are presented to us by giving the examples from this physical creation. For example, paradise in physical form is presented as the best expectation as we know and feel in this world. The description of hell also as we know physically in this world. The next creation will have its own form that we cannot know about, a completely different level of existence. The physical creations are just examples as evidence to human feelings.
The people challenged the prophet by rejecting the message and exclaiming: “let’s see what will happen to us”. They want the punishment to be demonstrated by the prophet himself and not by God. They don’t believe that Salih is getting this message from God, denying the possibility that God speaks and tells the prophets to convey His message. The One who will destroy the deniers is the Creator of the universe. The Quran gives physical examples such as the mountains will be scattered (70: 9). Is there any reason that mountains will not be crumbled if the Creator doesn’t will so? Mountains cannot be as stable and strong as it looks to human eyes if the Creator had not created them like this under His will. These kinds of descriptions invite us to see that the universe does not have any quality within itself. For example, there is no reason that I will be alive today or I will be destroyed today! No one can stop their existence, protect their life within this universe even for a second. If the order is destroyed, everything is destroyed.
فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
7:78 Then the earthquake seized them; and in the morning they were found dead on their faces in their homes.
The Quran narrates that God destroyed them by creating an earthquake and they were found dead in their homes. What is important in this verse? The phrase “فِى دَارِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ “, translated as “In their own homes”, where they feel comfortable. In their case, the home represents their comfort zone of the corrupted ideas, denying the reality claiming that when I deny the reality, I will be free from responsibilities, I won’t have any authority, no superior being above me.
The scriptures tell us that the superior position belongs to the Lord of the universe as God describes himself as the Lord of the universe “Rabbul Alamin”. We mostly use the phrase “Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen”. Another way to state and express gratitude: “Alhamdullilahi Rabbil samawati wa l-ard”, All praise be to the Lord of the heavens and the earth.
When I do something wrong which hurts my feelings; what is the best way to get rid of this guilty feeling? What should I do? The Quran mentions that “While they are enjoying in their denial of their reality, in their creation, denial in the message the prophet brings to them, God catches them there.” How do we experience this within this world? Within myself, wherever I go, whatever I do, deep down my soul would feel the pain of loneliness, meaninglessness, living in a world where everything has a dead end. No one can deny death, no one can deny that they cannot guarantee their life, no one can deny that the universe needs to be created. The human free will can claim anything but it does not necessarily mean to base the argument in any reasonable way. As a human being, I can’t give any such idea importance, as it makes no sense. It is impossible to escape from one’s reality but we can attempt to disregard it. We should never forget that we are given free will.
فَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَةَ رَبِّى وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تُحِبُّونَ ٱلنَّـٰصِحِينَ
7:79 So he turned his back on them, and said ‘O my people, I have delivered to you the Message of my Lord, and advised you sincerely; but you do not love sincere advisers.
This is the crying voice of prophet Salih. He couldn’t stand the destruction that the people were suffering from. As a human being, how can they stand this? Historically, this event of punishment might have happened physically during prophet Salih’s time. These days, all those who reject the prophetic messages are not experiencing any physical punishment. We hear that during the lifetime of prophet Muhammad, physical destruction did not happen. There were wars but both opposing sides received damage. The believers were also killed in the war conditions. According to the order of the universe, believers are not favored. We cannot threaten as the followers of the prophetic message that: “if you do not believe in God and the message that the prophet brings, you will be destroyed by calamities.” It is ludicrous to tell people nowadays that if you deny the prophetic message, God will destroy you physically right now.
When talking to people, I should know that I am not a prophet, I haven’t received any promise from the prophet that if a person who doesn’t believe in the message of the Quran, will be punished physically. We should not present the message in this context. We should not say that if the people don’t follow the message of the Creator, they will be taken away by an earthquake, the believers will walk away and be safe. We cannot take the Quranic message in this way. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not threaten the people with physical destruction. We don’t hear or see this exemplified in the life of the prophet (pbuh) even though some people severely tried to prevent him (pbuh) from spreading the message.
Prophet Salih mentions that: “I have delivered to you the message of my Lord. I did my mission. But you do not like sincere advisors.” The people took the attitude of arrogance and being snobbish that: “I am not going to learn the truth from you”. People can be arrogant for many reasons. I cannot force anyone, nor can I expect that everyone will listen to me. Those who will listen to sincere advice would be modest enough to realize that they need guidance. I cannot claim that I know everything even if I have been granted the Nobel prize, which usually deals with one particular discovery out of millions that are possible. Those who study one subject do not know about other subjects. Everyone needs advice on something from sincere people.
“So, he turned his back on them” can be seen as: “I will leave you alone and God will deal with you. When you die, you will see. Also, your conscience will disturb you, urge you that something is wrong.” If someone’s conscience does not disturb him then this person will not be responsible anymore. This reminds me of a verse that mentions that God has put a stamp on such people. What does it mean when God says that: “I have put a stamp on them.”(2: 7)? As long as they turn away from God’s appointed advisers, they will never benefit from the message they bring. Although, when they turn away from God’s message, the human conscience is still there. We cannot kill our spirit or our feelings, only temporarily can we neglect them.
وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ أَتَأْتُونَ ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
7:80 “We also sent Lot. He said to this people, “Do you commit such immoral acts as no other people in creation committed before you?
إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةًۭ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌۭ مُّسْرِفُونَ
7:81 With lust you approach men instead of women! You are wasting what is given to you.”
Now the section of prophet Salih is finished and prophet Lot is introduced in the above two verses.
The main point in these two verses is in the phrase “بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌۭ مُّسْرِفُونَ”, translated as “You are wasting what is given to you”. What am I wasting? All the human qualities that are given to me, I may be wasting them. If we try to understand this subject we have to put the content within the subject matter of “immoral acts that no other people in the world committed before you”. The verse continues mentioning that you approach men, i.e. man to man or woman to woman. The Quran doesn’t explicitly speak about the gender problem but sort of encompasses it. Nowadays, this gender problem is very common and openly declared.
In Islamic jurisprudence, there are several laws accepted by the jurists on this subject. What do they say? We should know that there are many rules apart from the known prescribed worship such as praying, fasting, giving to charity (zakah), going on pilgrimage. There are rules to be kind to people, not stealing, gambling, joining the belief struggle known as “jihad” which is highly misunderstood in the mainstream as physical fighting in war conditions, in a battlefield. The word “kitaal”, slaying someone is only relevant to the battlefield, not in non-war conditions. When in fact non-battle scenarios apply to most of us, “jihad” is in terms of struggling against the denying ideologies by introducing the reasonability of belief in the Creator, and an inner struggle within ourselves. “Jihad” has to be practiced every day, every time against the popular fashion, secular education and its indoctrination, distractions that divert me away from my Creator.
These rulings or “fiqh conditions” are described in many ways such as believers living under believing administration, non-believers living under believer’s administration, and believers living under non-believer’s administration. They all have different rulings. There are rulings on people who go for “jihad” to other places, not to do “kitaal” or killing but to teach and invite (dawa) to spread the message of God. There is a special section in the Islamic jurisprudence on the rights of people that are biologically created of having two genders at the same time divided in two sections one addressing those distinctive and the other non-distinctive; their rules are different as well. Apart from this some may just claim that they feel a certain way. A simple example: some people are addicted to vaping, do they know that it is wrong? Do they need a vape now? They will reply: “I am trembling, don’t you see because of the addiction.” It is not natural but habitual.
What are the fashion trends nowadays? People may get their haircut according to fashion. Why do they do that? Under the influence of fashion, because of the trend in the society. Everyone starts talking about a topic so I would also start talking about it. For example, many may be going to a basketball or soccer game to support a team rather than the other. Is there any logic behind their support for the team? Why do I support one team rather than the other? Of course, the players are doing their profession which has nothing to do with me. They say it is for entertainment! Is this natural? No, it is an addiction, built on habits. Do they see the logical base, its legitimacy? I don’t think anyone thinks about it.
If I don’t follow my natural way of being created, I would be addicted to certain things, drugs, and say it is inevitable, there is no other way. This would become a habit for me and I would start thinking in that way. My being, human qualities are being wasted away when I follow certain things that I am not really in need of. We have to be careful. If it is fashion, it only lasts for a certain time and then changes. All this is wasting one’s natural disposition. I have to understand from these two verses as they are guiding me to make me realize not to waste my reality, my human qualities.