We will continue discussing the verses from Section Al-Jinn of the Quran and relate them to our living conditions. Just to recap, this section presents the Jinn having a conversation with God in terms of their relationship with Him and His Revelation. They let us know that there are believing Jinn who are benefitting from Revelation, having believing men as their counterpart. There are also disbelieving Jinn that have the counterpart of disbelieving men. These disbelieving Jinn are represented by Satan, whispering to man alone with nothing to support them as there is nothing in the universe that would justify disbelief. The whole universe exists as a witness to the truthfulness of belief. The human spirit, Revelation from God, angelic side of the universe, angel Gabriel representing the meaningful side of creation, and prophetic message are other elements that inspire us to the truthfulness of belief. We are unable to distinguish the means of inspiration coming from Jinn because other means of inspiration inform us of the same truth by our spirit, prophetic messages, angelic side of the universe and the believing people and Jinn coming to us all together in harmony. We can’t really tell which inspiration is coming from which means. We are bombarded with evidence to support our belief whereas Satan is singled out in whispering options that have no evidence to support his claims. It is alone in its whisperings.
We should keep in mind that this section is not only speaking to Jinn but is addressing human beings as well, through the believing Jinn. Otherwise, the stories out of this section from certain interpretations are highly confused and misses on getting the guidance for human beings. There are a lot of made-up stories about Jinn possessing people as common people could not see any physical reason for the psychological disturbances in someone. The prophet (pbuh) himself was accused of being “مجنون”, someone who is possessed by Jinn. Those accusing him could not fathom his interpretation of describing the meaningful side of creation to the Lord of the universe and took it as speculation rather than the truth.
Let us study the following verse.
وَأَنَّا مِنَّا ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا ٱلْقَـٰسِطُونَ ۖ فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ تَحَرَّوْا۟ رَشَدًۭا
72:14 And some of us have surrendered, and some of us have deviated. Those who have surrendered attained right guidance,
We can see a parallel of this verse within human beings where some have deviated from the truth by taking a prejudiced attitude claiming that the existence of things is happening by themselves, as a result of accidents. All these claims have no evidence as everything is coming into existence within a perfect order, continuously changing with perfect order, showing no signs of any accident. The way things are coming into existence shows that something conscious who has knowledge, power and wisdom is operating in the universe. Whereas others have surrendered to the truth by using their free will, i.e., confirmed the truth, accepted that there is the Creator of the universe, and live according to it.
The word “ٱلْقَـٰسِطُونَ”, translated as “deviated” has to do with the usage of one’s free will. Similar to Jinn, human beings also are given the option to either follow the right or wrong by exercising their free will. The meaning of “ٱلْقَـٰسِطُ” means to divide but when used in the fourth form, the word means to be just, مُقْسِط is used in the Qur’an frequently and it means one who observes justice.
The phrase “فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ تَحَرَّوْا۟ رَشَدًۭا” translated as “those who have surrendered attained right guidance” is an advice for us to take heed.
وَأَمَّا ٱلْقَـٰسِطُونَ فَكَانُوا۟ لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَبًۭا
72:15 But as for those who have deviated, they have become fuel for hell.”
The word “حَطَبًۭ” is translated as “fuel”. The word literally means “wood” which is meant to be fuel for a fire. This word is used in the Qur’an in Section Al-Masad describing the fuel one carries for their own fire. The wife of “Abu Lahab,” (which means the wife of the father of blazing flame) was described as carrying the wood for fuel to be burned. The presentation teaches symbolically that any supporter of unbelief would also be burned in the fire with the “wood,” (the baseless claims used to support unbelief,) that they carry themselves. “Abu Lahab” is a title like “Abu Hurairah” which literally means “the father of a kitten” signifying the character of a person who loves and takes care of cats. “Abu Lahab” is used in the Qur’an representing anyone who is the inventor of many excuses to deny the prophetic message, thus preparing his own “fuel of hell.” And “his wife” represents anyone who supports him.
The more one deviates, fabricating excuses to deny the truth, the more they increase the fire and pain for themselves in this world as well as the hereafter. Usually, we understand the fire to be created in the next creation, after we die there will be another creation. We can confirm that there must be another creation as the purpose of this life, this meaningful life of human beings cannot be reduced to having a short span of life that we get in this world. Everyone understands that they will die at some point and be separated from their flesh and bones. This temporary world cannot satisfy the human spirit at all. There must be a purpose of the capacity of the human spirit going beyond the capacity of this universe where one would be given another existence, another body that is appropriate to satisfy the infinite needs of the human spirit. The One who has given me these feelings of yearning for infinite satisfaction is promising me that such an existence must be fulfilled. These feelings cannot be satisfied in this world and we understand that the universe must have a Creator that possesses infinite qualities who can satisfy those feelings. Understanding this Creator to possess infinite qualities conforms to my human feelings seeking such a being who can fulfill my infinite need of satisfaction. The most powerful One has created within me the need for infinite satisfaction. Also, by creating my free will, He is promising me that there is another creation where He will satisfy my infinite desires if I have not denied the reality of my Creator and asked Him to satisfy my desires. My Creator is telling me to get ready for the next creation; don’t deny that you will be given another creation as your existence here is to prepare yourself for this purpose.
Those that have deviated from the right path will carry their fuel for the pain of their future, in their existence here. What does it mean to carry the fuel for hell? It means not only in the hereafter but right here in this world as well. Anyone who denies the Creator in this world cannot live in peace psychologically and this pain gets felt in this world and carries over to the next world. This pain of denial is nothing but the Mercy of God reminding them that they are doing something wrong. The unbelievers reduce their existence to only body so that they hopefully wouldn’t even think about hell fire or eternal life seeing that after they die their body rots in the earth. As a human being, we have qualities to reason and think much more than animals. We see animals as living beings to have many qualities including feelings, but the human spirit can acknowledge its source of existence. I can question who is my Creator that gives me existence. My consciousness and intelligence work to inquire about things, they let me know whether I am on the right or wrong track.
In this world, despite seeing all the evidence, can I make false claims that things are happening by themselves? If I look at my existence, I cannot explain it to be happening by itself. I feel that there must be another kind of creation. Is there any evidence that it will happen? I come back to myself and see if I make up an excuse, I realize that whatever I come up with to deny the next creation is just an excuse. My feelings do not get satisfied with not having another creation where I can live eternally in bliss. If I do something approvable by my nature, I feel happy. This feeling is created in me so that I will understand that I am on the right track. I want to share my happiness with others. Whereas, if I do something wrong that contradicts my human nature, I feel ashamed of it, and hide it from others. I feel troubled that I should not have chosen this way: “how careless I was”. I am always in between happiness and feeling pain. When I tell a lie, I am not happy. Although I may get some worldly, material benefits from it, the pain from telling false and taking people’s rights gives me a painful feeling. The wrong choices contradict my reality and the reality out there. My feelings are infinite with no end, so the punishment of this pain will continue with no limit. In this world, we all die, the most honest person and the most horrible person die and become equal. This is unacceptable to my sense of seeking justice. Everyone is given the sense that wants the criminal to be punished, the innocent to be rewarded. One doesn’t have to be a believer to accept this, even an atheist will not accept such injustice. Although, by claiming that things exist by themselves, one is committing a crime against the right of beings that declare they are brought into existence by the Lord of the universe, they too reject this behavior and ask the authorities to stop him and punish him. The universe is seen without an owner, free to be used as one wants. The things in the universe are seen as natural, accidental beings. The same people say that they have feelings. Where are those feelings? Are they in your body, in the form of matter? When someone insults them, they say: “I feel offended”. Where is that feeling coming from? The feelings exist but have no material side to them but a spiritual side. They deny this spiritual side of things in their interpretation of explaining beings in the universe but when it comes to their personal life, they mention their feelings speaking to them. Practically, everyone lives with their spiritual side, with their feelings but fabricates stories in explaining the existence of the universe. This verse tells us that everybody brings his own fuel to hell, or the other option is to bring his pleasure and enjoyment to paradise.
وَأَلَّوِ ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَـٰهُم مَّآءً غَدَقًۭا
72:16 If they had taken to the right way, We would have saturated them with water.
The phrase “وَأَلَّوِ” is translated as “if” which can be misleading to some Arabic students who may take it as a verb when it is not a verb. The “وَ” is taken as meaning “and” the أَن together with the “لَّوِ” which means “if” where the combo of the these there words together is a structure in Arabic becomes وَأَلَّوِ the meaning of which will be “if ever”. The phrase “ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلطَّرِيقَةِ” is translated as the “they had taken the right way” which is according to human nature and the reality of the universe, without deviating into the wrong path. We use phrases such as “I am on the way, I am coming to the right way” which can be seen as connecting myself with my source of existence, the Creator of the universe. Attaching one’s existence to their Creator is not a long way but is extremely short.
Why do people say it is hard to connect with our Creator? Yes, we are mostly neglectful, we forget our connection with our Creator, imagining Him to be far above the universe. The short road is to see anything’s existence and connect it to the source of its existence, the Lord of the universe. When I understand that at this moment I exist, and my existence is dependent on something else. I find myself existing right now and the necessity of human reasoning forces me to say: “who is giving me existence right now?” I can ask “What is the source of my existence right now?” I can confirm that I need existence right now, newly created by a Creator willing to create in this way. That is where belief in God comes in, the Creator must exist as my existence is just now renewed and freshly created. In my existence right now, I can acknowledge my Creator. I don’t need to travel anywhere far to confirm His existence but can confirm His existence by looking at my own existence right now. Something is creating me right now, is the belief in “Ghaib”, which is not “made of matter” that can be shown in a lab. The Creator must exist right now creating me in a new form right now. The Creator of this universe by definition cannot be defined with the same qualities of the universe but must be a completely different existence than that of the universe. Just like the engineer of the computer cannot be found within the computer. I arrive at the conclusion that there must be a Creator not of the nature of the universe, which is what constitutes my belief.
The phrase “لَأَسْقَيْنَـٰهُم مَّآءً غَدَقًۭا” translated as “we would have saturated them with water”. What does giving the person who is on the right way a lot of water mean? The Qur’an speaks to human beings according to their concepts that they use in their language. “Arabic” is a human language. When the Qur’an says “this Qur’an is in Arabic” it means “God is speaking to you with human language so that you will understand it.” What does giving water to human beings, to animals and to plants result in? Watering the plants is more visible as the plant grows. Water is employed in this universe to be a means of growth, continuation of life. The verse is indicating to give plenty of water to anyone who takes the right way, in a way saying that the Creator of the universe will support this person, give him pleasure of belief in their heart so that they will be comfortable in their submission to the Creator by saying: “the universe is my home, I am a guest here. The host is very generous for providing me with everything. The more that I keep remembering, this understanding becomes more alive in my feelings, thus the more pleasure I receive. This is God’s favor to encourage me, it gives me the pleasure of belief.
On the other hand, those who choose to deny the Creator, pain is given to them so hopefully they will realize that meaninglessness does not help to satisfy human feelings. Does anyone feel happy by being forced to do something meaningless? We are created with the feeling to dislike meaninglessness. Why do we bother to do anything? If I realize that everything is meaningful, provided for me, I feel pleasure. I don’t want to die as I am pleased with my existence. Only when one is exceptionally experiencing unbearable unsatisfaction with their existence, they prefer to not live in this world and commit suicide. Majority of people prefer to continue their lives even if they suffer from some serious pain. For a disbeliever, one who denies the Creator of the universe, since they don’t find meaning in their existence, they still prefer to extend their life. Their life goes along with their understanding of everything being meaningless. For believers, even if the body does not get much food and enjoyment, they still would prefer to exist as they have hope in the One who created them with this need they try their best to keep searching to find food. They are aware that the Creator guarantees that He will provide for everyone’s needs in this world and in the next creation permanently. The struggle is with people’s human choices that restrict the distribution of the food and other resources that are created bountiful by their Creator. I cannot accuse the Creator, but I can accuse the human choices that manipulate the resources and create artificial boundaries. Human beings must be free to go where they want, they should be able to work to gain what they want from God’s blessings.
لِّنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَن يُعْرِضْ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِۦ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًۭا صَعَدًۭا
72:17 as a test [opportunity to learn and choose] for them. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of their Lord, He will subject him to an increasing suffering!
The word “فْتِنَ” is translated as “test” which is the “opportunity to learn and choose”, to learn what is right or wrong and then decide to go with one of the choices. This is not like a teacher testing a student as if God is testing me. It is not that kind of test but the opportunity to learn and choose. Another word that is translated often as “test” is the word “بَلِيَّة” which is when someone goes through some event, something touches them where they have the opportunity to learn and choose. We are continuously given the opportunities to choose in our living.
The phrase “عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ” is translated as “from the remembrance of their Lord” where one should pay attention to the word “رَبِّ” which is different from “الله”. Every word of the Qur’an is deliberately chosen to make the right point that is fitting perfectly. In this context, remembrance of “their Lord” which is a meaning wise translation; literally it means “his Lord”. God is the concept of the Creator of the universe whereas the Lord of the universe is the One who is taking care of the needs of the universe, the sustainer and maintainer of the universe. The word “Lord” is popular in both Christian and Jewish theology. The word “rabbi” is also derived from there which signifies the person who takes care of the Jewish community. In Islam, the Lord is not only reserved for certain types of people, such as Muslims only but the Rabbu-ul-Alameen, the Lord of the universe, who is giving me and everything existence, maintaining my existence, keeps renewing my existence and is always taking care of my needs. Whoever remembers this, keeps this in mind the fact that I exist ensures that I have a Creator who is taking care of my needs. If I think that I am taking care of myself, I am not creating but choosing among created options. I should never forget that I am being taken care of by my Lord. Whoever turns away from the remembrance of their Lord will be subject to an increasing suffering.
Let’s contrast this to the verse before where the one who takes the right way is saturated with water, i.e., he gets an increase in his happiness. In this verse, whoever turns away from the remembrance of their Lord will get an increasing suffering. For example, I am going from New York to Chicago, the closer I get to that destination, the happier I become to be meeting with friends there. If I go on the wrong path which distances me from my destination, the more anxiety, pain and suffering will be experienced. This world is not static, our existence is not static, our pleasure and pain are not static. If we are on the right way, happiness increases, while on the wrong way, pain increases. To increase the pain is a sign to come back to my Lord, it is a manifestation of compassion of my Creator. To increase the pain of unbelievers is the manifestation of His mercy.
Whatever happens in the universe is nothing but the manifestation of mercy. The verse 7:156 has the phrase “وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ” which means “My Mercy encompasses everything.” Mercy has invaded, spread out in everything. The pain in denial is mercy, the pleasure in doing something right is mercy as well. This means that there is always mercy, at all times.