Section Al-Furqan – Part 40

We will continue with our study of Section Al-Furqan of the Qur’an. We last investigated the verse mentioning the All-Merciful One. I must ask about Him, the One who is fully aware of everything at every moment. I must ask Him about the reality of existence. Also, by examining creation, asking created beings, I will find out about the Most Merciful One. From my examination of creation, I receive the news that this creation is from the Most Merciful One. Rather than using the word “God”, the verse is deliberately making use of “The Merciful One”. 

We will continue with the next verse that continues the usage of “The Merciful One” to emphasize the importance of Mercy of God in our living in this universe. 

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ قَالُوا۟ وَمَا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ أَنَسْجُدُ لِمَا تَأْمُرُنَا وَزَادَهُمْ نُفُورًۭا ۩

25:60 Yet, when they are told, “Prostrate yourselves before the Most Merciful,” they say, “And who is the ‘Most Merciful’? Should we prostrate ourselves before whatever you command us?” And it has increased them in repulsion.”

This is one of the prostration verses where the word “prostrate” would mean submitting my existence to the Most Merciful One. This is when I realize that my existence is from Him, the Most Merciful One. Historically, the prophet (pbuh) gave people this message and some of them asked “who is this Most Merciful? Should we just prostrate ourselves before whatever you command us?” The prophet (pbuh) gives the message to people via Revelation. The message is such that I would humble myself when I realize that I am a created being, created by Him. Through this realization, I would submit my existence, prostrate to Him, the One who is Most Merciful. The verse continues by mentioning that the message increased their repulsion to it. 

We are expected to investigate that the source of existence of this universe is a Merciful One. What is the reason the disbelievers are asked “to prostrate before the most Merciful”, rather than God? We can connect this to the previous verse which told me that I should ask my existential questions, which are essential, to the Most Merciful One. By observing the universe, questioning the existence of beings, I can understand that creation is out of mercy. We cannot find mercy in lifeless, blind matter. If I don’t see mercy in the creation of anything then I would not want to prostrate before Him. This is the reason the verse doesn’t use “God”. Although I may accept that God is the Creator of the universe, but there are certain things created that I don’t like. If I don’t see mercy in their existence, the way that they are created, then I would not be prostrating before their Creator. 

The word “God” is deliberately not used here, in order to prevent someone from criticizing God, the Creator of the universe directly. If one does not see mercy in creation, including things we don’t like, we will find ourselves in trouble with those things that we are unhappy with. When everything goes well, we don’t really question. If something bothers me, hinders my expectations, I start questioning that event. In the creation of things that we deem misfortune; we must see that the event has been created out of mercy. If we fail to see the mercy in the creation of the event, then we rebel, reject, and would not prostrate to our Creator. 

For example, someone may say that you call the creator of the universe merciful, how do you explain the war conditions, babies dying, calamities that happen? Unfortunately, many get carried away with this and fail to see the Mercy of God in the existence of these events. The Qur’an emphasizes the word “Mercy”. When I encounter something that I don’t like, I must realize its creation is out of mercy. Instead of complaining, say “Alhamdulillah”, thank God for this wake-up call. I generally see that creation is out of mercy but when these special events happen which bother me, this verse invites me to see that their existence is also out of mercy.

Who is commanding them to prostrate? Why do they say, “whatever you command us”? They think the prophet (pbuh) himself is telling them. If someone gives the news to others that they are created beings and they need to submit their existence to the One who creates them and that we must be thankful to our Creator. The verse illustrates that some people confuse the one who conveys God’s message with the one who originates it.

Some people would think that the person conveying the message is ordering them, asking them to join their community, to be one of them.We must be careful with our language while conveying the message to people. The person we speak to must be put in connection with their God, they can think about it within themselves. For example, I cannot ask someone to accept Islam without explaining to them what it is. I can invite them to think of their own existence in this universe. Think about where I am getting my feelings from? Why do I look for eternal pleasure? Can one be thankful to “natural laws”? We have the sense of thanking for any favor done to us. A reasoning person will understand this idea to thank material beings is absurd. Can physical matter create my feelings, my consciousness? I must be careful with my language when communicating with people and should not make it a missionary language. Instead of following the Muslim community, one should be following their Creator. 

The Qur’an emphasizes to believe in “your Lord”. I recognize my Lord and am grateful to Him. My being and the existence of the universe that I am living in are all prepared and provided by a conscious Creator; I can only humble myself before Him. The verse asks us to worship the “Most Merciful One” rather than using the word “God”. Thus, the verse invites me to see how everything is freely provided to me; I am here as a guest of the Host of the universe.

Why has it increased their repulsion when they are asked to prostrate before the Merciful One? There is an expression of “truth hurts”. When one is told about all the blessings, the mercy one is surrounded with, they don’t want to acknowledge the source of existence because of their arrogance to not accept that the Lord of the universe is treating them with mercy. If they don’t want to accept it, hearing this reminder hurts them. Everyone knows the truth that the universe is created freely without anyone needing to do anything. I am benefiting from this universe out of what is created by the Most Merciful One. Deep down everyone knows that creation is a conscious action, deliberately arranged, cannot be the result of chaotic accidents.

تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ بُرُوجًۭا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَٰجًۭا وَقَمَرًۭا مُّنِيرًۭا 

25:61 Blessed is the One who has placed constellations in the sky, as well as a radiant lamp and a luminous moon.

The Qur’an is a very concise book where if it is possible in Arabic Grammar, by using one letter less in a word to convey the same message then the Qur’an prefers to use the shorter word with one less letter. That is part of the Qur’an’s miraculous conciseness which is precise in what it wants to convey. In this verse, there is no further argument to the previous verse as if the previous verse was settled already and the subject seems to be changing in this verse.  Suddenly, the verse mentions “Blessed is the One who has placed constellations…” and one would ask what is the relation of this with the previous verses? 

The previous verses mentioned asking the Merciful One about the reality of existence, and to prostrate to the Most Merciful One. Here it describes that this Merciful One is the Blessed One who has placed constellations in the sky as well as a radiant lamp and a luminous moon. The verse gives examples of the manifestations of this Most Merciful One in the universe. Highlighting the examples of the manifestations of merciful creation is how the connection with the earlier verses is made. All the arrangements in the universe such as the sky, clouds, sun, moon, atmosphere, mountains, rivers, seas, etc. are part of merciful creation. I can further extend this understanding, did I arrange all the members of my body, the feelings and senses within me? They are all manifestations of the Most Merciful One, freely provided to all of us. If I am not biased, and haven’t conditioned myself not to accept a Creator, I would agree to this merciful creation of the universe.

Without answering the question asked in the previous verse, this verse goes on to say “He, the One who has placed…” In this context, the Qur’an does not make use of the word “God” for the same reason as it uses “Merciful One” in the previous verse. The verse mentions “Blessed is He” who has done all this for you. I must think about who is doing all this. This verse is an invitation for me as well to question who is perfectly arranging everything in my life, in the universe. That is why the Qur’an doesn’t use God in this verse but “ٱلَّذِى”, “He, the One” who has placed everything perfectly.

The Qur’an gives as an example of the sun and the moon to represent the constellations. One of the principles of the Qur’an is that it usually mentions the particulars to refer to the general. For example, the Qur’an describes many things in terms of particulars which are specific events. It gives us examples of how we should speak to people, to be practiced in our lives. One must speak to them using examples that they are familiar with. When the revelation was first revealed, it spoke according to the capacity and living conditions of the people present. The Bedouin Arabs were familiar with dates, camels and some other fruits which we see mentioned in the Qur’an. 

Why do we think this is the rule? Because people need examples that are particular to what they know. I learn from these examples mentioned in the Qur’an that I too must speak to people using examples of what they are exposed to. This is why the Qur’an gives the example of sun and the moon in the above verse. It uses this example many times, as well as clouds, and the creation of day and night. Everyone experiences these phenomena, being exposed to the sun and the moon. Here, we may not be paying attention to clouds as much as the desert folks pay attention to them for the creation of rain. Unlike the current trend, rain is welcomed as great news (بشرى) for them. Rather than complaining, we must be careful to realize all the blessings that are created for us in the universe.

Another example of this principle of the Qur’an is to give the example of Moses in certain cases and in another the example of Noah, in another Abraham, etc. All of the prophets are specifically mentioned in the Qur’an to help me with one aspect of my life. For example, “Moses threw his staff” is a particular case. I must ask what is the general principle? If I am careful with this principle while studying the Qur’an, the Qur’an will no longer be a history book for me. I will understand that the specific event is the cherry on top. I must see what is underneath this cherry which is a whole pie. The sun and the moon are the cherry on top for me to explore the galaxies and the whole universe which is arranged for me. The sun and the moon are representatives of the trillions of galaxies.

Why does it mention “radiant light and illuminating moon” rather than the sun and the moon? Things are nothing by themselves unless they reflect qualities. For example, the tree becomes meaningful to me when I pick up the fruit from its branch. Mercy is not in the creation of the sun but in the creation of the sun with its qualities such as radiating light. When I see the creation of a mountain, it comes with qualities. Snow gathers on top of the high mountains, and we get water in the summer. The stability of the earth is also kept with the placement of mountains, and also they are employed for air to be purified, etc. For example, the Qur’an mentions that “I created all this for you…”, things in the universe are created for the purpose of benefiting me, to fulfill my needs and the needs of other beings as well.

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةًۭ لِّمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًۭا

25:62 And It is He who has made night and day succeed each other, [Revealing Himself in His creation] for anyone who desires to reflect or to be grateful.

Once again, the word “God” is not used here, but the verse describes the One who has made the night and day succeed each other. This means that the Creator reveals Himself through this creation which is for anyone who desires to reflect or to be grateful. I am invited to think about this creation. After reflecting, I would be thankful to the One who is arranging it. The night is mentioned first, which is good for our sleep, but we want a bright day as well. If there was no night, then we wouldn’t really appreciate the day. In the same way if there was no death, we wouldn’t appreciate life. We would not be able even to realize that we are given life. We get to reflect on the seemingly negative side first and then the creation of the opposite side as well, which comes with many benefits. By mentioning the creation of night and day, the change gives us the news of time dimension. Creation has been happening for billions of years, why don’t I reflect on it?

This verse gives both space and time dimension to the changes in creation, describing the continuity of creation. The previous verse in mentioning the sky, sun and the moon mostly described the space dimension.

The word “يَذَّكَّرَ” (so that they can reflect) is the shortened way of saying “يَتَذَكَّرَ”. In the verse the shorter version is used to indicate that when I reflect on creation of day and night, immediately, I would understand. Whereas the word “يَتَذَكَّرَ” would mean to think for a longer time. The shortened form gives a different meaning to it. The phrase “أَن يَذَّكَّر” means that as soon as I reflect on creation, I would be able to understand immediately that I must be grateful to the One presenting it to me. By using one less letter in the word deliberately, although along the same lines, the meaning expands.

We will continue to investigate this verse next time, Insha’Allah.