Section Al-Furqan – Part 12

We pray to God to keep us on the right path, and we are thankful to Him to allow us to study the Qur’an.

We will continue to study Section Al-Furqan of the Qur’an to get the message that is applicable to our lives right now. Interestingly, the verses we studied were mentioning the deniers gathered on the day of Resurrection, but they put me in check where I must watch my own self and not be misled by false ideas from materialist scientists. The last few verses were teaching me to watch out in my living right now and see to what I attribute the source of existence to be. I may say that everything is created by God, but I may divert into other directions by giving creative power to other created beings. 

The next verse that we will investigate refers to verse 25:17 that we had studied mentioning the other gods that one may be worshiping. In the presentation of the verses, God is illustratively asking, in order to draw the reader’s attention to reflect on it, the things whether they had any qualities to themselves that would mislead His worshipers. The phrase “those they worship besides God” from that verse is something to pay attention to as we study the next verse:

فَقَدْ كَذَّبُوكُم بِمَا تَقُولُونَ فَمَا تَسْتَطِيعُونَ صَرْفًۭا وَلَا نَصْرًۭا ۚ وَمَن يَظْلِم مِّنكُمْ نُذِقْهُ عَذَابًۭا كَبِيرًۭا

25:19 [The doomed will be told], “Your gods have clearly denied your claims, so now you can neither ward off the punishment nor get any help.” And whoever of you does wrong, We will make them taste a horrible punishment.

The verse mentions that those who rejected the message of the prophets are doomed now. The presentation depicts the scene of the Hereafter, but we will see how we can benefit now from this verse in our living. Relating this verse to the phrase “those they worship besides God” would be anything that I thought is causing something to benefit me. It may be nature, it may be things, financial power, some authority, institutions or even friends and family members. We can replace God with anything, anybody, in the position of being the source of existence. All of them are described here as “Your gods”; the gods of those who deny the message of the prophets teaching us about the Absoluteness of God. I may think that I have something because of him or her. What I gained would never have been possible if it was not for my friend or money etc. This verse is saying that the being you are assigning to be the cause of what you received is your “god” now. With this thinking, I am assigning the qualities of God to something else as to be the source of existence. We need to remember that in our daily language we may unconsciously use this kind of language without really meaning it. The Qur’an is teaching us how we should comprehend what reality is. 

We must grasp the concept of the source of existence of the whole universe and everything else. First, we must understand that the universe is a created existent being. Whoever is the cause of the existence of this universe, together with everything within it time and space wise, is meant to be the source of its existence. The term “source of existence” means that this source is not of the nature of this universe. This concept is referred to as “Ghaib” in the Qur’an. The word “Ghaib” is literally translated as “unknown” or “unseen” but that means something that I don’t see in this creation. These translations are limiting the One who is the Creator of the universe as this One is not describable within the descriptions of the universe. The “unknown” and “unseen” can also be applied to other beings such as spirits, jinn which I do not see as physical entities. The qualities or characteristics of beings in the universe are “unseen”. I don’t see beauty in something physically, but I see something as beautifully created. I see the form, but I don’t see the physical form. All the attributes are unseen such as the compassion in my mother. Have I physically seen the compassion of my mother? I can see my mother physically, whereas for compassion, I cannot see physically. Both the physical body of my mother and the quality of compassion she manifests are of the same nature as manifested created qualities. I can question the source of existence of my mother as well as the source of existence of the compassion she is manifesting, both of which are created. My mother’s spirit and her manifesting compassion are both part of this universe. All the qualities manifested in the universe are created beings. I should question the source of existence of these qualities that I am communicating with. Some people use different terms such as “Causer of causes” but the clearest phrase is “the source of existence”.  

What does “Your gods have clearly denied your claims” mean here? Verse 17 of this section claims that anything other than God can become “gods” for me if I do not think that they need to be created. For example, my mother, her compassion, her spirit or my status, my money are things created which are things other than God. Hereafter is another created being just like the creation of this world. We must be clear in our understanding about what we mean by the “source of existence” of created things. The qualities of beings such as compassion, knowledge, beauty, spirit are referred to as relative “ghaib” (unseen) as opposed to physical material existence which we see. Angels, the Hereafter are also referred to as relative “ghaib” beings. The qualities and characteristics of beings are relative “ghaib” when compared to physical existence. Belief in “Ghaib” should mean belief in the One who is the Creator of the universe, who is not describable by any qualities of the universe. This being must exist and must be the Absolute source of existence. 

How do I understand “Your gods have clearly denied your claims” i.e. the false claims being denied? For example, I may say that the Doctor has cured me or medicine is the source of health, or food has satisfied me? In my practical life, I understand that they are created by God in such a way to satisfy my needs which are my bodily needs. They are created in such a way that while being employed to satisfy my bodily needs I have to reflect on them how they are created and who is employing them to serve me. In the way that they are created I will see the signs of the qualities of their Creator. How about my human needs? Can the doctor satisfy my eternal life expectations? Can food satisfy my permanent perfect taste expectation? Their creation denies that they are the source of existence; they don’t satisfy our human expectations. Their very created existence denies that they are the source of existence; they are employed. They don’t satisfy our human expectations but their Creator is introducing Himself to me  through creating and employing them for me.  I as a human being see nothing of the universe to satisfy my human needs.

Going back to the verse, if I see anything to be the source of my satisfaction, that claim is denied. The verse continues that I cannot “ward off the punishment, cannot escape it, nor get any help. And whoever of you does wrong, We will make them taste a horrible punishment.” Punishment happens for two reasons:

1. Worshiping anything other than God, the Creator of the universe
2. Doing something wrong. For example, stealing and telling a lie are obvious wrongs. 

The Qur’an mentions that the biggest wrong, described as “zulum” when it is something contrary to reality, i.e.  when one assigns the qualities of the Creator to any being that needs to be created, also referred to as “shirk”.  I may assign qualities of the Creator to matter, angels, authorities, governments, army power which constitutes the primary wrong. 

There is another wrong that we may commit against creatures: human beings, animals, plants and inanimate beings such as rocks, stars, galaxies. For example, the stars happen to be there accidentally, a result of evolution, a meaningless mass of matter happened to be there for no purpose. That is insulting them, doing something wrong as they have the right to their existence. They are there to let you know who their Creator is; rather than seeing them meaninglessly existing we should appreciate them and benefit from them. I should be conscious of not just human rights but the rights of creation, stars, planets, oceans, etc. 

Physical matter says that: “I am created and employed in my existence.” Instead of seeing the thing as employed by Its Creator, I may say that “you or your particles are doing something by yourself”.  If I attribute the lump of matter to be the source of doing something then I am insulting it, which is “zulum”. I am taking away the qualities of the Creator and assigning them to something else like physical matter. We must be careful not to insult especially inanimate beings. Everyone talks about human rights, animal rights, but nowadays people have become aware of the rights of the atmosphere, oceans, mountains, etc. as part of climate change awareness. We must protect the whole ecological system as they are created and employed to do their job where the whole universe is employed by their Creator to declare His qualities. How can I deny their declarations where they continuously declare the qualities of their Creator. We must be conscious of their rights.

On the day of Judgment, I cannot get any help from those that I may have assigned the qualities of their Creator to. If someone assigns the qualities of the Creator to something else, in this world he would think that they are receiving benefit from them and thus are thankful to them. This attitude is worship of the senseless things rather than the Creator of the universe. If I understand that something of this universe which needs to be created is creating something for me which is good for me, and if I see it as the source of existence of my pleasure, then that understanding is worship of that thing. 

In essence, the verse is drawing my attention to my consciousness, how attentive I am when interacting with my daily routine.  Let’s take an example of eating food:
1- Am I just being ignorant and not thinking about where the food is coming from? 
2- Am I thinking that the restaurant gave me the food from my money? 
3- Am I realizing that my Owner is arranging the food for me with His Mercy? 

Option 1 leads to randomness, heedlessness, not using my human qualities.
Option 2 leads to a materialistic view and is similar to option 1.
Option 3- leads to worship of God. 

In the Hereafter, all objects and understandings from options 1 and 2 will appear before me, which and I will know how wrong I was.  Therefore, here we are given the opportunity to repent so that all options 1 and 2 are deleted here as we choose the path of option 3.

The core of worshiping God is to acknowledge Him as the Creator of whatever I have. For example, when I say that God is the Creator of the universe, this understanding includes my existence, my body and my feelings, thus I acknowledge Him as my point of worship. I am saying that you are the One who gave me this. When I am eating food, I say that my Creator is sending food to me, symbolized by my saying “Bismillah Al Rahman Al Rahim” (I am receiving this food from the Mercy and Compassion of God); I am worshiping God by acknowledging Him. This acknowledgement should not be misunderstood that one does not need to utter Subhan Allah, Alhamulillah, Bismillah or perform the obligatory prayers, but acknowledgment of the Absolute Being while stating them or performing daily prayers is the core of worship. If someone does not acknowledge the Creator of the universe he inevitably acknowledges nature as acting, then that person worships nature.

I need to establish a meaningful connection with my Creator using my consciousness, feelings, intellect, and express this connection with my body via actions such as fasting, praying, giving charity to needy ones which are all to be done with acknowledgment of my Creator. The acknowledgment of my Creator is expressed via my physical actions.

Is the punishment from God, or from the choice of the deniers while in this world?

When I don’t pay attention to my human side, I would be a slave to satisfy my body on a temporary basis. Keeping myself busy only with material things to satisfy my body temporarily and ignoring my human feelings and their desires. 

The above verse is inviting me to search for an answer to my human expectations: “Who can possibly help anyone here and in the Hereafter?” 

Only the source of existence of the universe who has all beings under His reign and nothing else can help me here and in the Hereafter. I must only follow my Creator’s message and acknowledge Him. There can be nothing else to be the source of existence that would satisfy my feelings but my source of existence who is my Creator can help me here and in the Hereafter.