Section Al A’raf – Part 63

We will continue with our discussion of section Al-Araf (The Cognizant) and try to benefit as much as possible by applying the teachings to our living. It is important that we digest this message to live as cognizant beings that are aware of the reality of this universe and live with purpose in this world. 

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ۖ فَٱدْعُوهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ

7: 194 Those [matter, nature etc.] you invoke besides God are created beings like yourselves. So call upon them and see if they will answer you, if your claims are true!

One has to be secure in whatever claims they make. This verse mentions calling upon those we may see as having divine qualities. Some scholars say that the people being referred to here are those who died, close friends of people, knowledgeable, virtuous people that are being called upon. Perhaps a few naive people may be practicing this but the Quran’s message is universal and applies to everything that we may see as having divine qualities.

Whatever we may call for help to provide for us, to satisfy our needs, i.e. whatever we imagine to be our source of satisfaction, starting from our existence, life, hopes, feelings and sustenance. Call those things that you think may be the source of the reason for the existence of you and your satisfaction. Nowadays, it may be a person that we admire to satisfy our needs; perhaps the government, state or more so money or even myself that satisfies my needs. Call all those besides God who is the Owner and Creator of the whole universe. That is what we should have in our mind for God being the One who owns the whole universe, sustaining everything in the universe where every being is individually created perfectly. The verse is saying call whatever you think as the master, administrator of the universe. Call them but not the real Owner of the universe, who continuously gives existence to everything within the universe that did not exist before and see if they will answer you to satisfy your expectations. In a way, the verse is saying: Are you sure that the things in the universe will satisfy you as they are all subject to the Will of their Creator.

أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌۭ يَمْشُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍۢ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌۭ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌۭ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۗ قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ شُرَكَآءَكُمْ ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلَا تُنظِرُونِ
7: 195 Do they have feet to walk with? Or hands to hold with? Or eyes to see with? Or ears to hear with? Say, “Call upon your deities and scheme against me without delay!”  

The audience of the Quran is the general public where complicated examples at the atomic level or molecular structures cannot be given. The very obvious thing is if someone understands from the word “عِبَادٌ” used in the previous verse as only referring to human beings then they would restrict their understanding to human beings either dead or alive. It is assumed that in some parts of this world, people worship saints but they only esteem and respect their virtues. Some uneducated people may ask for intercession from them. Being convinced about the necessity of God’s existence they wholeheartedly follow the religion they found in their culture and do not reason much. We should be careful not to reduce this word “عِبَادٌ” referring to a handful of people only.

As we learn from the general teachings of the Quran, the word “عِبَادٌ” refers to the ones that are glorifying their Lord, i.e. everything created is “abdullah”, God’s worshippers. The prophetic teachings also describe the “ibad-ullahi-s-saliheen” to be the ones in the skies, the stars, their angelic sides declaring their glorification, praising God and describing His greatness and perfection. They are glorifying and announcing the qualities of the Creator of the universe. I, as a human being in my feelings should also announce the Absolute qualities of my Creator. 

The verse is making me question: can those things created do anything as they want? Do they have feet to walk or hands to hold? Do they have any quality to see or have ears to hear? If I speak to other creatures such as the sun and clouds, do they really hear me? One may say that my dog or cat can hear me but can they really understand what you are really saying apart from their trained routine? If I tell a plant something, does it respond to me? If I ask it to come, does it come to me? We understand from these examples in the above verse that they have no free will to choose. This is a very simple example to teach the general public. Although this verse is mentioning hands, feet, eyes and ears which are parts of a human being, we cannot restrict it to just human beings similar to the word “عِبَادٌ” as only pertaining to human beings. How about the angels, the stars, the universe, water, rain, particles and atoms which are no different from a tree or the cells of my body where they have no free will to choose but only follow the order in which they are created? We should understand that they are all “عِبَادٌ” (worshippers) that are following God’s Will and declaring His Absoluteness. 

The phrase “ٱدْعُوا۟ شُرَكَآءَكُمْ” is translated as “Call upon your deities”, i.e. whatever you think as something of this universe having divine power. Whatever you think has the qualities to be a God. The partner of God means to have divine qualities that would make it a God. For example, “God is powerful but I have the quality to take care of you”. The common archetype employed by the Quran challenging the idea of assigning divine qualities to the things in the universe is prophet Abraham, the champion of “Tawhid”, the Absoluteness of the qualities of the Creator of the universe, who does not share His qualities with anything else. The concept of the Absoluteness of God is symbolized in the story of Abraham’s life where he challenged everyone to bring whatever they think is their source of satisfaction. Call upon them and ask for their help. The things in the universe are there as they are created, they have no option to choose. 

The verse indicates that if the thing in the universe really answers you and helps you, call upon those things. The phrase “ كِيدُونِ”, translated as “scheme against me”, i.e. do anything against Me. The phrase “فَلَا تُنظِرُونِ” translated as “without delay”, i.e. Don’t wait, call upon them now. This is the challenge of the prophet’s message as well to the people around him. For example, if someone wants to challenge the idea that the universe is owned by One Absolute Creator. They cannot counter reality but play with the words and use “nature”, which is unknown in the world. They refer to it as being within the universe, not something other than the universe. If nature is within the things themselves then demonstrate that they have the creative qualities in them. However, everything is subject to the order in the universe, i.e. nothing can get out of the order of the universe. No one can do anything without obeying the order set by the One who established the order.

إِنَّ وَلِـِّۧىَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ۖ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ

7:196 Indeed, my protector is God who has revealed this Book, and it is He who protects the righteous.

This Book is explaining the reality of this universe. From the word “ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ” translated as “righteous”, referring to those people who make “suhl” which means making a contract in a peaceful manner, an agreement with their Lord. A person who does not have any biased attitude. When I look at the universe, the universe tells me that the Creator of the universe is giving everything to me freely. Why should I really oppose Him or contradict Him? I should be at peace with Him, have a peace treaty with my Lord. I may have a “salih” relationship with God or with His book. In a peaceful manner, in agreement with what the universe is giving news to me of Him and what the book tells me of Him, I welcome it and agree with it. 

The oft repeated phrase is “عَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰت” translated as “good deeds”. We should revise what we mean by good deeds. What makes something good? When I agree with what the universe is telling me and what the book of the Creator is telling me. Those people who go along with the message they get from creation and His book will be protected by their Lord. This does not mean that these people will not get any physical harm in this world. As we are aware, the prophets were physically attacked. Every physical event taking place in this universe is according to the order in the universe, nothing is favored over the other but everyone is equally treated according to the order. The protection is in one’s understanding of their reality. No one can protect a person who goes against the message of the Quran, interprets the universe by contradicting the message of the Quran. No one has any theory that goes against the reality of the universe. The Creator doesn’t protect them as their claims are irrational and baseless. For example, where is “chance” in the universe? Even an atom cannot move based on chance but follows the order as it is meant to be.  When I realize that I belong to my Creator, I am secure in my existence, my inner spiritual world feels peace. That is what “وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ” means “and it is He who protects the righteous.”

وَٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلَآ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَنصُرُونَ

7:197 but those you call on instead of Him cannot help you; they cannot even help themselves.

Can I help myself without being an “abd” (worshiper) as we understood from the previous verses? I have to obey the order of the universe otherwise I cannot obtain anything. I must follow my human reality, my consciousness, feelings, reasoning, i.e. my spirit as it is created, it recognizes the truth. I am not educating the spirit, it is already perfectly educated. I am here given the free will to discover what is in my own spirit, the truth which already exists within myself. I cannot help myself as I want unless I obey the order set by my Creator. I must submit my feelings to the One who has set this order, to confirm and submit to the truth. I have to be careful in how I use my free will so that I do not contradict what the truth and reality is. Nothing in the universe including the given free will that I have can help me. For example, can I even create a single molecule of air? If I cannot help myself, the animals, plants, mountains and atoms cannot help themselves as well. Only the Creator of the universe can be our helper.

Although I seem to have the ability to choose, I cannot practice my free will without following the order in the universe. I am given a certain space to practice my free will within the order in the universe. Someone may say that “I am the creator of this artwork” or “I created this theory, knowledge”. The theoretical idols these days are “nature,” “randomness” and the physical idol is technology. The materialist scientists claim the success of their technology as their achievement ignoring that they followed the order of the Creator of the universe. The scientists are the vehicles, means to discover the technology and I thank them for their efforts but we have to admire God’s work by looking at wonderful technology made possible by following the order of an Absolute Owner. 

وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ لَا يَسْمَعُوا۟ ۖ وَتَرَىٰهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ

7:198 and if you call them to guidance, they do not even hear; and though you may imagine that they look at you, but they do not see.

The phrase “وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ” translated as “and if you call them” can also mean call unto them for guidance, asking them to show me the right way but they do not hear me. What comes to our minds are images that people may use as representative of God on earth. No one really says that this image representing God is actually God. They are using them as reminders of God’s grace, reminder of God’s compassion, justice. They may not see them as idols but we don’t really need images to remind us of God when the whole universe is out there to confirm Him. Every being in the universe is created in a way that reminds us of their Creator, who is God.

The phrase “لَا يَسْمَعُوا۟ ۖ وَتَرَىٰهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ “ translated as “and though you may imagine that they look at you, but they do not see.” For example, the vegetables come out of the soil and the animal grazes on them. It may seem that plants know that the animal needs food. Another example is milk coming from a cow as if the cow knows that I need milk. The things on earth by themselves have nothing to do with me, they are not even aware of my existence. They don’t see me, know me. The created things don’t know what I need, they cannot perceive what my needs are. They are only put in relationship with each of them according to the Will of our Creator who knows all of us as He is the one who gave existence to all of us and all the things that are put in interaction between each other. 

خُذِ ٱلْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ

7:199 Hold on to forgiveness, and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant [fools]

The term “ٱلْعَفْوَ” implies forgiveness. It means to leave the ones who don’t listen by leaving them alone. The phrase “وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ” translated as “and enjoin kindness”, i.e. treat them with kindness. If they are worshiping something or claiming something, we should not get angry with them. The Quran looks harsh to disbelievers in their physical reactionary attack to the believers. The Quran is harsh to disbelievers regarding their ideas of disbelief, the bodily punishment of which will be in the hereafter, not in physical terms while living here; the punishment is only spiritual here on earth. Hence, the believers should not attempt to punish them here on earth for their disbelief. 

The Quran narrates many physical events in the past as a result of the rejection of the prophets. We have to get the meaning in what these narratives tell us. For example, in the life of the prophet (pbuh), it is documented that there were some people attacking the believers physically or committing treason against him. Events where within the administration conflicts arose to cause confusion and dissention in society. These are all physical harm against the prophet and the Quran’s language is harsh in physical terms. In theoretical terms, Quran’s principle is to hold on to forgiveness, i.e. don’t physically attack those that reject the Quran. If they burn the “mushaf” (book form of the Quran), they can only burn the paper, they cannot burn the revelation, “the Speech of God.” The Quran says not to swear at them or insult them to make them insult your God (6: 108). If a believer insults the rejecters of God, he will be insulting their false god whereas if the denier insults your God, would be insulting the real God, Lord of the universe. The Quran tells not to insult the deniers and, in this verse on the contrary, it enjoins kindness: Let’s be human beings, behave with each other in a civilized way, not debate but have a panel discussion where we each get the opportunity to share our ideas. 

The phrase “وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ “translated as “keep away from the ignorant ones”. The word “ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ“ is usually understood as uneducated but the Quran doesn’t mean the uneducated, most of the first audience of the Quran were uneducated including the prophet until revelation came to him. The appropriate understanding of the word “ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ“ would be “the ignorant to the reality of existence.” 

Keep away from those ignorant ones because they are acting foolishly, i.e. not following their reasoning. If someone is arguing about religion without using their reasoning, don’t argue with them if they are inconsistent in reasoning about their ideas, keep away from them. If a consistent idea is presented to them and if they don’t benefit from it, then keep away from them whereas if someone is able to reason then speak to them. If someone listens without attacking then let’s listen to each other in a friendly way. 

There was an event during the time of the prophet (pbuh) where a Christian delegation came to Medina and spoke to the prophet saying that we heard that you claim to be the prophet of God. The prophet (pbuh) presented the message to them and they did not agree to it. They stayed in the mosque, used as the townhall at that time, and asked to practice their Christian rituals. The prophet agreed and did not argue with them. This is an example of the prophet exercising “وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ”, showing kindness. The delegation knew that the prophet (pbuh) was a messenger of God but they were lying to themselves in trying to compete. The prophet called them for another discussion and said that “Let’s ask for God’s curse be upon the liar” and they did not show up.