We will continue to study Section Ya-Seen of the Qur’an with a short summary of what we studied last. In verse 59, we looked at the mentioning of separation of the people of Paradise and Hell which is made in black and white terms; a clear distinction where there is nothing in between. We also investigated the usage of the word “criminal” and understood what kind of “crime” one may be committing in not using one’s spirit to acknowledge the Lord of the universe. In verse 60, we discussed what is the covenant that I have with my Lord. What kind of contract is it? The human spirit and qualities are given to me where I should be using them to worship God alone. Another point was the worshiping of Satan. I must not worship Satan who represents non-reality and is clearly my enemy.
Let us investigate the following verse:
وَأَنِ ٱعْبُدُونِى ۚ هَـٰذَا صِرَٰطٌۭ مُّسْتَقِيمٌۭ
36:61 and that you worship [only] Me? This is a straight path.
My worship of God alone is the straight path. The Qur’an uses the phrase “صِرَٰطٌۭ مُّسْتَقِيمٌۭ”, translated as “straight path”. How do we connect the worshiping of God with the “straight path”? How do I adjust my life pattern to align with the straight path of worshiping God?
The Qur’an uses the word “عبد” which is translated as “worship” where this worship is usually understood as performing prayers and obeying the rituals that God asked us to perform in our lives. These acts are correct and they happen at certain times of our day, fasting happening one month a year, alms giving (zakat) is giving a certain proportion of one’s property. All these acts are the practical applications of worship. However, there is much more to understanding worship.
I am given a spirit that connects straight to God when I let that happen. This can happen at any time and everywhere, not only during performing religious rituals. My awareness and consciousness are needed where I will see that whatever I do is the creation of the One, who is the Creator of the whole universe. He is the Owner of everything by giving existence to everything in the best way. In the existence of everything I can see the manifestation of the qualities of my Creator, He is present there with His qualities. Everything is a piece of art where I can see the qualities of the Artist manifested in the art.
How can I keep my path straight and not crooked? For example, if I say that I picked up some fruit from the tree that is created by God. I may reflect on the soil, water, atmosphere as being arranged by God. However, I may fall into thinking that the tree is created with the quality to produce the fruit: “Of course, God created the tree, He gave the potential to the tree to produce the fruit.” I have been on the straight path that connects me straight to my Lord but towards the end, the tree comes in my way and my path gets crooked: it is through the tree that I am getting the fruit. I can divert myself from the straight path by thinking through the earth, through the air or through my job that I am obtaining the result.
Why is this no longer a straight path? I thanked God for the creation of the tree which was a straight path but when I say that the fruit is obtained through the tree, I crooked my path to God. The thanking of God occurred through the creation of the tree but what about the fruit, is it a production of the tree?
If I understand and realize that neither the tree nor other elements can create the fruit, I see it as a direct creation of God without any intermediaries (شافع ). The fruit follows a certain order of creation for me to observe and learn. When I need the fruit, I will follow the order in creation which is to obey God’s Will who creates things in an orderly fashion. I am petitioning the Creator of the fruit by learning and applying His order in creation which is to sow a seed and wait for the tree to grow. I must use my will by submitting it to God’s Will by following His order of creation. That is how God creates the universe to teach me how to communicate with Him.
This world is a training and education place where I must follow the stages to communicate with my Creator. I need the water, soil, atmosphere to be created, I need the tree to be created, I need the earth to rotate and the seasons to change. My obeying of the order is my training to realize that I cannot create the fruit, neither the tree, water nor soil can create it. The material elements have no qualities to choose anything, decide or execute anything. When I need the fruit, it is not God who has to obey my need, but I must obey His order in creation, which is the essence of worship within this world. There is no time or space where I am not given the opportunity to fulfill my worship of God. I must use my awareness and consciousness to fulfill my worship of God, be extremely careful from falling into negligence. This is referred to as “تقوى”, having a direct connection with God without anything or anyone in between the things and their Creator.
The “straight path” is my having that direct connection with God. It is what we must strive for in our lives here. We must practice as much as we can. We must struggle in our practical living to get out of negligence which is referred to in the Qur’an as “جِهَاد”. The verse in the Qur’an:
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَهَاجَرُوا۟ وَجَـٰهَدُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاوَوا۟ وَّنَصَرُوٓا۟ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّۭا ۚ لَّهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌۭ وَرِزْقٌۭ كَرِيمٌۭ
8:74 Those who believe, migrate, and struggle in the cause of God, and those who give shelter and help, they are true believers. They will have forgiveness and an honorable provision.
First, we must understand and confirm “ءَامَنُوا۟”, belief in God, then “هَاجَرُوا۟”, changing position which is migrating from one world view to another. For example, I will try to be more conscious of my life. This is followed by “وَجَـٰهَدُوا۟”, strive to be consistent as much as possible in my decision on the straight path. This does not happen once in my life, but it is a continuous training. To reach Ka’ba represents to reach “Tawhid ”, symbolically which is the pinnacle of my realizing “Tawhid”. This is where I conclude that there must be an Absolute God and the rest is His creation. What is important is that I must be on the road to reach Ka’ba. Can I reach it perfectly? No, but I must try my best to be on the road. If while on the road I am given death, I ask for the forgiveness of God: “Oh my Lord, I was trying to reach Ka’ba perfectly and you gave me death. I seek refuge with Your forgiveness.”
وَلَقَدْ أَضَلَّ مِنكُمْ جِبِلًّۭا كَثِيرًا ۖ أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُوا۟ تَعْقِلُونَ
36:62 For indeed [Satan] has already misled a great many of you; why do you not use your reason?
The phrase “أَضَلَّ” is translated as “already misled” by using the past tense. It means that practically, I am informed that Satan has already been successful in misleading a great number of human beings. This means that human beings have some weaknesses where they need to be cautious about not being negligent, arrogant, or having egoistic attitudes and concerns. These feelings can take me out of the “straight path”. Satan represents all these non-reality, non-existent ideas. God warns us that I will be faced with these options and must watch out. In this verse, I am being informed of this reality that I have the option as many people have fallen into this trap of Satan.
Do I feel that something external to me is misleading me in my daily life? We find ourselves in a secular environment where I need to use awareness, reasoning to not be misled. Can we resist these non-realistic ideas? Do we have the option to prevent the seduction of this negligence? The verse uses the phrase “جِبِلًّۭا كَثِيرًا۟” where a great many of you have been misled. This verse infers that it is possible not to be misled and prevent ourselves from the seduction of Satanic whisperings coming our way to reach God, i.e. to connect ourselves to Him.
Why are we asked to use our reason (تَعْقِلُونَ)? I must be myself, use the reason given to me and not be carried away by surrendering my intelligence to non-realistic ideas, I must question them to see if the ideas are right. We must make a migration from these environments, have our own guard to protect ourselves from being seduced and strive not to give in to non-realistic ideas. That is part of our education and training.
Another question is why am I to use reason, “تَعْقِلُونَ”, rather than belief “تؤمنون”? In this context, to resist the seductive offerings of Satanic whisperings, I must use my reason to establish firm conviction. Reasoning comes first and then belief establishes in my heart. My feelings will say that I will not submit myself to this irrational way of living. I must be reasonable and be straight in my relationship with my God; my focus must be to connect with God. We must question which is “reasoning.”
How am I going to save myself from the assault of Satanic ideology? I must seek the answers by questioning whether they are right or wrong. If my reason tells me that something is right to fulfill my connection with my Creator, I should apply it. This is where I would use belief, my strong conviction that I have an Owner which is submission to Him. Worship is not only praying, but also in being careful on how I am going to protect myself from Satanic ideologies and civilization. I must reason the legitimacy and reasonability of the culture and determine what I need to do. I should be careful not to be carried away with the flow of fashion and social trends.
It is easy and comfortable to go with the flow. How do we struggle to go against the trend? For example, joining an army and whatever the commander asks me to do is easy. However, if the soldier questions and investigates the reality they would come up with their own conviction. This is much more difficult to do than joining the army. Most people in the army don’t bother why they are there but look for the material, financial benefits. Thinking and trying to find the right way is not easy. Some people avoid reflection on what is right or wrong but find it easy to just follow their religious guide.
I must use my reason to conclude about the truth, make the decision to migrate from wrong to right, and struggle to fulfill the requirement of this right path. I must try as much as possible to not ignore my connection with God in anything that I am doing. This requires consciousness to begin with and that is what the Qur’an is saying to use reasoning first to practice my belief.