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Section Fatiha, part 6

Section Fatiha, part 6

Recap: We see the manifestations of the Creator’s qualities in our creation and in the creation of the universe.  Per the Quran, these qualities must belong to the Creator of the universe because no one in this universe can give existence to these qualities.  Whether you call the Creator of the universe as the Merciful One (Ar-rahman) or God, what matters is the awareness of what God signifies in relation to His qualities.  These qualities of God i.e. the names of the Creator (asma-ul-husna) are infinite as the Creator of the universe is Absolute.

Verse 1:2, helps us weave a pattern of the names of God i.e. each word is interconnected with the preceding and following verse to form a network.  Whatever goodness and qualities that we experience in the existence and creation of anything, we see that they all deserve to be praised, because the mere existence of anything with its qualities must be realized by the One that creates the universe.  Just as the sun is made to manifest the quality of heat and light equally for all creation in the universe, similarly, the qualities that we experience in the creation of each being points to an Absolute Source of existence.  For example, the existence of the quality of “beauty” manifested in a flower belongs to a One that not only creates the flower and the vast universe but also creates my being within the context of the whole universe.  

The interconnectedness of beings must never be overlooked in our reasoning and awareness.  Unfortunately, Scientists study things in isolation from the rest of creation, which is impossible because we cannot evaluate one part of the universe by separating it from the rest of creation.  Again, everything is intricately interwoven with the rest of creation.  Similarly, the Qur’anic message also presents such interwoven structure with its words and verses, which must be read in the same way, where each verse or word is interconnected with the whole context of the Quran, which points to an Absolute Being.  

Here is an example of how the verses in this section (Fatiha) of the Quran shows the interrelationship:

In the phrasebismillah”, the word “Allah” is included, which encompasses all the Names that can only belong to Him. The phrase “rabilalameen”  describes who “Allah” is. The word “ar-rahman” describes the phrase “rabilalameen”, the Lord of the universe who creates it with His Mercy.

When we conclude something to be an Absolute Being, we can identify it with what He has done i.e. His creation or His act.  Just as when we look at and admire a beautiful scenery in the universe such as a sunrise, we conclude that such a magnificent act of creation must be performed by Someone.  This reasoning must always function in our consciousness so that we can weave the pattern of what this Someone refers to in terms of its qualities and Names, which makes us realize the Owner of the universe to be an Absolute Being, not of the nature of this universe.

Who is God and what do you mean by God?  

We cannot talk about God in an abstract sense. God is described as “the Lord of the whole universe”.  The Organizer of the whole universe.  The Beautifier of the whole universe, just to name a few qualities. For example, Jane has a wonderful set of hair, and when Mary comments on Jane’s hair, she must relate the quality of beauty to the Creator of the hair and ultimately connect it to the Creator of the universe.  

What is the difference between ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ and ٱلرَّحِيمِ?

ٱلرَّحِيمِ مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ

“The Eternally Merciful, Master of the Day of Retribution”

 The quality of “rahman” (Mercy) is experienced by everyone equally in creation where we notice that everyone is treated equally, regardless of whether they acknowledge the Giver of Mercy or not.  Just as some students in school are more diligent towards their responsibilities as students, and excel well in their classes/curriculum, similarly, some human beings perform their mission of being given existence attentively by acknowledging the qualities manifested in creation as pointing to its Creator.  In the school example, Mercy is provided to everyone, where the school administration freely provides the same services and facilities for all students.  Similarly, in creation, the Creator of the universe treats everyone equally; no one can say that the believers in God are more favored than the disbelievers in this world.  For example, it is very cold in your town, and as a believer if you think that God will treat you with more Mercy by providing you with services to stay warm just because you acknowledge and are grateful to the Creator of the universe as opposed to a disbeliever, then it is a misunderstanding, because the order of creation treats everyone equally, i.e. if you look for opportunities to stay warm, then warmth is created at the will of the Creator.  There is no difference between a believer and disbeliever in God as it pertains to being a recipient of ar-Rahman (Mercy).

Whoever acknowledges the Creator and understands that creation unfolds purely through His Mercy gains a profound sense of satisfaction in their existence. When one aligns with the divine order and trusts in the Creator to bring about results, God manifests those outcomes in both physical and spiritual dimensions. Some may recognize that the results stem from the Creator of the universe, while others may attribute them to natural processes devoid of consciousness and mercy. Though both receive the same physical outcomes, the difference lies in their inner states: the former finds assurance and contentment created for him, knowing their Creator is merciful and their existence is secure, free from the fear of annihilation after death. The latter, however, faces despair, as they perceive nature as unconscious and incapable of offering any promise beyond nonexistence when they die.

Again, as mentioned above, ar-rahman (the Merciful One) is tied to “rabil alameen” (the Lord of the worlds), i.e. in this world God treats the believers, non-believers, and disbelievers equally.  When it comes to “ar-raheem” (the Eternally Merciful One), it is tied to “maliki yaumiddeen” (the Administrator of the Day of Retribution) where permanent existence is practiced. 

What does “the Day of Retribution or Judgment” mean?

Please note that most scholars translate “maliki yaumiddeen” as “the Day of Judgment”, which loses its meaning and prevents the human psyche to self-reflect on their inner selves in most cases.  Another way to say this is  “Day of Retribution” which treats everyone as they deserve. Everyone gets the result of how much they utilized their given qualities to fulfill the purpose of their existence.  For example, a lazy and non-diligent student will blame the teacher for earning a failing grade. It is hard to acknowledge and say that “I failed because I did not study”, and it is easier to say and put the blame on others that “The teacher failed me”.  We are mostly quick to consciously overlook our negligence and project ourselves to be free of faults.  For example, John leaves his laptop on the table at the cafe shop as he uses the restroom. When he comes back, the laptop is gone.  Human ego claims itself to be free of fault and will say, “someone has stolen my laptop”, rather than “I left the laptop unattended.”  These are small examples to understand how we are quick not to take responsibilities of our doings, however, we should really check ourselves with how we deal with situations in our lives.  

Again, there is no special treatment for the believers in this creation, but when it comes to the Day of Retribution, there is a difference.  For example, you offer a meal to someone, and they just snatch it from you and criticize the lack of flavor in the meal rather than being grateful. How would you feel?  Insulted.  Will you give them a meal again?  No.  On the other hand, if they “thank you” for the food and express their need again, would you not want to give them a limitless supply of food if you have it?  Yes.

Thus, “ar-raheem” (Mercy) as it is presented in the Quran as the Infinitely Merciful One treats the person who recognizes his Lord (Rabb) as having infinite qualities with “Eternal Mercy” i.e. Mercy on an infinite basis.  The person who says that s/he happened to be in existence accidentally and is the result of blind unconscious matter, will be treated accordingly i.e. God will ask that person to ask the blind matter to provide him/her with eternal Mercy, whereas the person who recognizes his Lord, will say to God that “You are the One that created me as a human being, provided for all  my needs, and to You alone I am indebted for Your boundless Mercy“.  That is, if someone (with consciousness and spirit) acknowledges the infinite qualities of the Creator, s/he will be treated according to what its spirit recognized in this worldly life.  On the other hand, if someone claims that they are the product of nature and just happened to be given existence like this, then God will ask them to seek out matter (as they thought that “matter” provides for them), which has no consciousness. 

A believer says that “I am created with special characteristics equipped with tools to acknowledge the One who created the whole universe because my spiritual qualities are directly related to the whole universe.  The point about the whole universe is important because that is what Scientists mention when they refer to “Quantum”. They mention the possibility of multiple universes communicating with each other.  We can extend this understanding to the human capacities which go beyond the limitations of this universe.  What does this mean in simple terms?  

In this universe, I am introduced to my Creator’s infinite qualities, so I am grateful to the One who is the Owner of the universe, or multiple universes, because every time a new universe is created smoothly in front of us.  It means that every moment a new creation is going on and brought into existence, which we call “infinite universes”, because the source is Absolute.  We are given huge capacity, and if we acknowledge its Creator to be Absolute, then we will be treated infinitely.  For example, “al-Haakim” refers to the one who governs and rules over the entire universe.  “Al-Hakeem” is the one who creates each and every being with infinite Wisdom.  Similarly, al-rahman is the one who treats his creation with Mercy by creating beings just as the manifestation of His Mercy and pointing to His Generosity. Whereas, “ar-raheem” is the one who treats the believers with infinite Mercy by giving their spirit the comfort of being secure in all of their feelings making sure that they are going to be satisfied permanently in Resurrection after the death of the body.  Again, “ar-rahman” can be experienced from created things in this universe by everyone treated equally, but “ar-raheem” can only be experienced when I acknowledge that the One who treats me with mercy is an Eternally Merciful One.  

Finally, the Eternally Merciful One is related to the Master of the Day of Retribution.  That is, a time will come when you will be judged with what you have done with the limitless capacities and tools that were endowed to you and how honest you were with your creation by attributing it to its Source of existence.

REFLECT on your reality: We must seriously think, how come I am a human being?  How come I exist like this as a human being?  Where did I get this quality of thinking and asking questions along with other enormous capacities?  How am I aware that I have questions that need answers?  

How do you feel when you hear that there will be a “Day of Retribution,” happy or nervous?

The spirit has the qualities to acknowledge its Source of existence.  A day will come (Day of Retribution) when the Creator will ask us what have you done with the enormous potentialities and opportunities that We provided you with?  What have you done with your spirit?  Just as the students in a school are given a certain time to learn and be successful for life after graduation, similarly, we are allotted a certain time here to train our spirit for an eternal life.  That is, when we are given death, we will be treated according to the results of our learning in this school of the universe i.e. did we train our spirit with the human qualities that we were endowed with to acknowledge its Creator?  After we die, we will be given an existence which is eternal, because we are given the desire to get a permanent satisfactory life.  This desire is a promise from our Creator that I will give you an eternal life that will satisfy the capacity and expectations of your spirit, but only if you utilize your human qualities properly in this temporary existence.

Comment: There is a sense of happiness and nervousness when we hear the Day of Retribution.

لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ

Quran, 39:53 “…Don’t despair of God’s Mercy…”

Who will be despaired of God’s Mercy?  The one who denies God. (Qur’an, 12: 87)  If you deny God, then how can you expect His Mercy?  If in your practical life, you do not acknowledge that the universe must have an Owner and I have an Owner as well, then how can you conclude that everything is the result of the manifestation of Mercy?  

A believer in God acknowledges that the universe must have an Owner who has provided everything for them, and that this creation is the result of God’s Mercy.  If a believer sincerely acknowledges that s/he is given existence because of the Mercy of God, and then sometimes s/he is not that attentive performing this acknowledgment consciously, then only through sincere repentance would God turn this nervousness/fear into a satisfying heart.  The condition is that the believers ask for forgiveness from their Lord (Owner, the Creator of the universe), and acknowledges their failures.  

Example: John realizes that he should not have wasted his youth playing video games.  As an adult, he repented for wasting his time but finds himself still addicted to gaming.  John needs to acknowledge that he failed again and needs to repent to his Lord: “I am sorry, I have been neglectful once again, please forgive me O Allah”, which means that next time he is resolute not to do it again.  Hence, when we turn to God for forgiveness, we must also encourage ourselves not to do it again. The asking for forgiveness act i.e. saying Astaghfirullah should be the beginning for the resolution of not doing it again, it is a reminder for us not to do it again.  If you turn this neglect and failure into seeking refuge with the Creator’s Mercy, then it becomes an encouragement for you and your nervousness lessens.  This news gives me the hope that I will not disappear from existence when I die.  When I die, I will start a new eternal life according to what I deserve.

The Quranic education is attained and applied to change our life, which does not occur all at once.  The revelation of the Quran is gradual, the Prophets educating themselves and their communities is also a step by step, gradual process.  There is nothing in the universe which is not gradual.  The creation of the universe is also happening gradually; for example, human beings, plants and animals are created from a cell until they fulfil their purpose gradually.  The sun gradually moves to give way to the night.  You are continuously changing gradually.  Students learn gradually, the teacher cannot expect the student to learn the curriculum in one day, our education starts from kindergarten until death.  Similarly, a habit is not attained overnight, rather it is a gradual process.  

God knows what He has created, that is why He reveals the Quran gradually.  If we follow the Quranic teachings chronologically, we see that the first thirteen years establishes the belief foundations for the believer, which is to admit that s/he is created by the One who created the universe, the universe cannot sustain its existence by itself, and there will be a day that this universe will be destroyed, where we will be considered for how we used this existence given to us (with our doings, actions, deeds).  

Why do then people reject and prevent the Prophets from spreading the message? The prophets are representatives of God on Earth helping us be attentive with our responsibilities, which is to just acknowledge our Creator in everything.  The Prophet (pbuh) was appointed by God, and then he was appointed by his community to be their leader to administer their affairs.  At that time, there were three main power centers in the world, the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire and the Medinan Administration.  The Prophet (pbuh) did not self-elect himself for anything, unlike what we notice throughout history where people self-appointed themselves in political power, such as sultans, kings, emperors, and dictators.  While administering the Medina Empire, the Prophet (pbuh) never expected, requested or asked for any perks to make himself and his family distinguishable from the rest of the community.  As is known throughout centuries, he was a humble noble person who made his living in a simple room the door of which was closed only with a curtain accessible to the public place of worship, known as “Masjidunnabawy”, nothing luxurious as what we would expect from people in power.  He was not interested in fame but was zealous about fulfilling his mission as a human being and messenger of God.  

The Prophetic message is plain and simple: “Just acknowledge your Creator, worship Him alone and don’t see anyone superior to you, everyone is equal (as created beings) in terms of their status in the society.  You need to worship God i.e. respond to God with thankfulness”.  People are free to follow or not to follow the Prophetic message, however, no one should take the position of opposing such a message if they do not like it.  The reality is that human consciousness acknowledges the truth, but some people choose to stay in denial and want others to stay in denial as well so that the truth does not prevail.

In the first few sections of the Quran, the basic moral teachings are presented which includes not to lie, and not to steal.  The emphasis in later sections of the Quran, is placed on transforming people’s worldview, for example, not stealing primarily means not stealing from God’s property and attributing the qualities that belong to God (asma ul husna) to yourself or someone else.  For example, John may say that he is a healthy person because he eats healthy and lives an active lifestyle.  The Quranic message asks us to be mindful that health is given to us by our Creator, and He is favoring John by creating the results of good health for him.  That is, following the order of eating healthy and living an active lifestyle does not guarantee the result i.e. good health and an infinite life.  Then why are we stealing God’s property and attributing it to ourselves!?  Are we being negligent of how creation is happening? Have we become accustomed to neglecting the Creator of the universe or have we become people who are taking things for granted?

If we are looking to bring about a dramatic revolution in our lives with how we deal with our daily affairs, then such a change happens gradually.  Therefore, when we ask for forgiveness, it does not mean that we will be the best person in the world the next day.  We must start with initiating the need to change and feeling the need to motivate ourselves to enact such change in our lives.  Instead of being nervous, we must seek forgiveness from God, so that the good news can start penetrating our hearts that “after I die, I will not disappear from existence”.  Just as in college, after 4 years, students are expected to graduate to go on being successful in their professions, similarly, there will be a day where we will be given the consequences of what we made from this life journey here, so that we will practice what we learned.  If someone does not realize that this universe is a training place to fulfill the purpose of their existence and securing an eternal life with God, then such a person thinks that when they are discharged from this existence, they will disappear.  As a result, they don’t feel bothered by questioning the reason why they are given existence here, because they have conditioned their minds that at the end, they will disappear. In fact, no one really can shut down their inner feelings of permanent satisfaction. When anyone intends to get anything they look for the best and most durable option regardless of being a believer in eternal life after death or not. 

This good news (as mentioned above) gives me the hope that I will not disappear from existence, I must prepare myself for graduation and I will be treated accordingly.  If one denies eternal life, then one will never get happiness from this news. Instead, such news disturbs them, as it awakens their deep-seated yearning for eternity. To suppress these feelings and silence the message of the prophets that reminds them of this truth, they resist and even go so far as to drive the prophets out of their communities. If the result of our doings and transactions lead to death and annihilation, then why bother about anything and trying to be successful in anything?!  Hence, that is how “ar-raheem” (Eternally Merciful) is related to the next creation i.e. Day of Retribution.

We must not confuse being nervous about the Day of Retribution with being uncertain about what to do to be a righteous person.  The solution is to constantly check ourselves from our biases, prejudices and caprices that we have built overtime.  For example, am I looking for an excuse not to pray?  Some people wonder about why they must pray exactly as was practiced by the Prophet (pbuh) rather than just pray emotionally, which seems to be convenient while doing meditation.  The gist of the matter is that throughout centuries, human feelings do not change, the order of the universe does not change. Although the content of creation changes but the way of creation i.e. God’s way (sunnatullah) does not change.  We know that we must do something to reach certainty in our actions.  Therefore, we must try to clean ourselves from prejudices.  For example, ask yourself, why should I prostrate rather than just bowing down?  The Prophet (pbuh) did this to demonstrate the most fitting way to express yourself in this created world within a bodily creation.  That is, you must practice and perform your communication with God physically and emotionally i.e. expressing your happiness, gratefulness and your thankfulness.  Since I have consciousness, intelligence, and a body and tongue as well; every part of me must join in this performance of the prayer to God.  The best example is presented by the Prophet (pbuh).

Hadith: After the death of the Prophet (pbuh), a few companions were discussing the explanation of a verse from the Quran (4:18) which alludes that, “whoever asks for forgiveness before it is too late, Allah forgives it”.  One of the companions shared with the others that I heard the Prophet (pbuh) say that you see the Angel of death (means sure he is going to die at that moment) one year before you die.  Another companion inquired if s/he is sure about one year, because s/he was told by the Prophet (pbuh) that the Angel of Death appears one month before you die.  Another companion said that he heard the Prophet (pbuh) mention that a person sees the death angel an hour before s/he dies. 

This hadith narration teaches us that the various contexts of what is shared by the Prophet was dependent on the stages of gradual human development of the various companions.  No two students grow at the same level. The Prophet (pbuh) was also bothered by the things that we are bothered by as well in our living, and he practiced it in his life with gradual Qur’anic teaching.  Therefore, the narrations differ according to the capacity of the audience.  You will find yourself in one of the places of the companions.

The first companions of the Prophets during the early years of revelations had to overcome so many addictions such as drinking alcohol and lying, just to name a few bad habits, which is a gradual process to get out of.  Hence, the introduction of the prayers to God is a gradual process, and understanding the meaning of the “Ka’ba”, which represents the universe (lailaha).  

In and of itself, the “Ka’ba” is an empty structure, representing the existence of the Lord of the “Ka’ba” (the universe) i.e. “rabbul alameen”.  The gradual process of acknowledging God as to be the only “ma’bud” that deserves to be worshiped is unfolded through the years of the Quranic revelation.  We all need to check in where we stand in the Quranic revelation years, as to how much of the message we have absorbed, from doing the five times daily prayers to keeping the consciousness of our Creator alive, because accordingly we will feel the need to connect with our Creator and become familiar with Islam.  Also, this means that we must not force people to perform something and do a ritual if they are not satisfied with its idea.  Similarly, we cannot use harsh language to get people to perform their rituals as this will distance them from the spiritual essence of the religion of Islam.  We must understand that when an idea does not make sense to someone, then they are not at a specific level of Revelation yet because as mentioned earlier, there is a gradual process to everything.  We must learn to teach people with encouragement and letting them know that their time in this universe is precious.  Finally, nervousness and uncertainty happens because of the lack of proper knowledge of understanding the religion of Islam.






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