Session 57 Notes
Do we really need to be guided in our existential living? Do we even acknowledge that there is meaning and purpose in living beyond this temporary life that we are striving for mostly to satisfy our bodily needs. Don’t we feel our human side, our spirit crying out for eternal happiness. Where can we find the answers and guidance to address our eternal needs? There is nothing in the universe that fulfills that. We used the analogy of the need for a smart GPS in our previous Session that would guide us to our purpose in living. Why are we here in this world, for what purpose? What do we have to accomplish in this world? No one in the universe really knows why we are here and where we need to go existentially. The universe speaks silently and says in the way it exists that its existence is meaningful and purposeful, pointing to its Source of Existence but nothing more. Who this Source of Existence is and what my purpose of living is? I look at my bodily existence and think about my human feelings. They also tell me the same message: “Your existence is meaningful, there must be purpose in your existence.” That is all; no more. I definitely need a smart GPS that is provided by the One who knows us. The One who created us, the One who sent us in this world for a purpose. This One must provide us guidance as nothing else in the universe can provide it. This smart GPS is the revelation of the Qur’an which guides us by addressing our existential needs. It must tell us who is our Lord, who is the Owner of the universe, what kind of Owner is He? All these questions are in this topic of purpose of the Qur’an that we are discussing.
The main purpose of the Qur’an is to establish that our Creator is the Creator of the universe and He must be an Absolute Being, i.e. we cannot define Him within the conditions of this universe, in terms of what He has created.
The ones who do not submit their existence to a Creator, they try to understand the concept of the creator within the conditions of the universe. This is impossible because the universe itself needs to be created. The creator of the universe and the universe itself are two different existential categories. For example, we cannot define the engineer of a laptop computer in terms of the pieces of the computer. Similarly, we cannot define the author of a book within the conditions of the physical body of the book. We can logically understand this. Unfortunately, the materialist scientists say that human or animate genes record information. Neither gene fragments nor their combinations possess qualities such as knowing, choosing, or making decisions about anything; they are created entities that must exist exactly as created and continuously modified by the Absolute Creator of the entire universe. The one who records the information within the DNA cannot be defined with the material parts of the DNA. It logically would be ridiculous to claim so. However, the atheistic idea says that since we cannot experience God in the universe, we cannot confirm it, we cannot use a word for it, therefore belief in God is out of question. They don’t have an answer for their critics and they prefer to put off the problem. It is obvious that the universe cannot create itself but needs to be created. The message of the Qur’an thus establishes first that the Creator must be an Absolute being, therefore, the Absolute cannot be defined with the language of the universe.
We will see the second purpose of the Qur’an which is prophethood.
The Qur’an provides more than abstract knowledge; it pairs revelation with an instructor, living guide.
The Qur’an pairs revelation with an instructor, a living guide which we definitely need. The Qur’an is like a constitution. For example, one cannot judge according to the constitution. The lawyers or those people who are specialized in law know that they need laws which are driven from the constitution. So the laws put the theoretical construction of the constitution into practice. In comparison, a country without a constitution says that their tradition is their constitution. In general, for humanity; the constitution is provided by their Creator; this is the revelation of the Qur’an. Our Creator knows who we are and why we are here; He sends human instructors which we can communicate with and relate to, that would interpret the Qur’an to make it practical in our living. We need a human being we can relate to, someone who tells us the direction that we should take in our lives.
Prophethood: to fulfill its purpose, the Qur’an constantly invites people to follow the instructors who are assigned and trained by God. As the verse of the Qur’an says:
“وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ”, the prophets do not speak from their own emotions or feelings but what is revealed to them. (53:3)
This verse means that they put their practice according to the teaching of Revelation. Every prophet is there to guide people, teach them the principles of Revelation that they can easily apply in their practical living. Under the guidance of the exemplary life of the prophets, the Qur’an aims at shaping moral and intellectual responsibility.
A side note is to understand that hadith is not necessarily “wahi”, revelation from God.
How are we going to evaluate our life? The prophets should tell us what we are going to do here in this life. They should tell us the meaning of the existence of everything including human beings and their feelings looking for happiness.
Let’s study the following verse:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱجْتَنِبُوا۟ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتَ
“We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, saying. ‘Worship God and stay away from false gods…’ “(16:36)
The Qur’an’s mission is not only to teach us what is right, but also teach us what is wrong. What should be accepted, embraced and practiced and what are things that we should avoid. We always find ourselves in this tension of right and wrong. Everyone knows that the mind and the human feelings say one thing, and the ego counters with something diametrically opposed to what they propose. There is always a tension within human beings. The Qur’an brings to our attention this reality of existence, the tension between belief in an Absolute Creator and unbelief, believing in false gods, i.e. materialism and naturalism would satisfy their expectations.
The Qur’an first mentions to be aware of false gods. Don’t assume that something may be the source of your existence, the source of your satisfaction. Be careful and question it. Could a material thing satisfy me? It guides us to understand that nothing in the universe can be the source of satisfying one’s expectations. It follows the formula of “la ilaha”, nothing can be the source of satisfaction in the universe and then goes to “illallah”, only the Creator of the universe can be the source of our satisfactions. This source must be an Absolute Being, who is not imaginary, something out there in the universe but the One who created the universe.
Let’s study the next verse:
لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“A messenger has come to you from your species. Your suffering distresses him; he is deeply concerned for you and full of kindness and mercy towards the believers.” (9:128)
This verse describes what we are expecting from the prophet to be towards us, a compassionate and kind teacher. The prophet does not mean some authority, like a king or emperor over them as some people may think but he is someone among you, a person like you. He knows you, knows your weaknesses but most importantly, he is employed by the Creator of the universe. He is educated and trained through the teachings of the Qur’an to be the best instructor.
Human suffering distresses him. He knows our reality of being weak, falling into mistakes. He “feels our pain”. He feels where we are weak as human beings and is deeply concerned for us. We must understand the prophetic mission. He is employed to be a help to me: “How can I be helpful to human beings?” That is a very concerned, human prophet. He is not looking to hold any superior position like a ruler but is full of kindness and mercy towards the believers. If one is looking for a teacher, they will get the message, but if someone takes him as an ordinary man, they will not benefit. The prophet is the one who will guide us to put belief in our practical life. If one is sure that the message of the Qur’an is the answer to all human questions, then he must pay attention to this teacher who will guide him to live with belief. He must be welcomed into our life.
Let’s say someone is suffering from psychological or physical bodily problems, what would they do? They would seek a medical doctor or therapist who understands the problem and would solve it. This medical professional must understand us and be empathetic to us. We must make sure that he is trying to help us rather than interested in making exorbitant money. Unfortunately, most of these professionals would not even see you until you have paid them first. That is why the Qur’an guarantees that the prophet gives advice, addresses my existential pains without taking any payment.
The phrase “ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ” is usually translated as “from among yourselves”. However, that does not fit the meaning exactly which is why the rendering “from your species” is appropriate to understand who the messenger is, a man, a person like us. If he were at a higher level of creation than us humans, he would not be able to instruct us because his life would be completely different from our human life. The Qur’an describes the claim made by the enemy of the prophets questioning why an angel wasn’t sent as the prophet . The angel doesn’t have a body like us human beings where we are confined to our bodily existence. (Qur’an, 6:8). We would not be able to learn from an angel anything as we are in need of a human being as a teacher that we can relate to.
The prophet of God is thus there:
To teach us how to fulfill the purpose of the Qur’an: The Prophetic Exemplary life
Following the Prophet’s exemplary practices of the message of the Qur’an connects one to God who employed him to demonstrate how we can apply its teachings in our living.
Let’s examine the following famous verse:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
“And you are truly a man of outstanding character” (68:4)
By mentioning that “you are truly a man of outstanding character”, God is teaching us to know that He chooses from among human beings who must have outstanding character. He knows what He creates, and He also knows what they truly are. He has chosen a person like you who is of outstanding character; take his character and his practice as an example for yourself. There is a famous hadith narration mentioning that the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) character was the Qur’an. This means that his character developed from the teachings of the Qur’an and he practiced it in his life. He was the best in practicing the teachings of the Qur’an. For us, when we follow the prophetic examples, we can also develop to have a Qur’anic character according to our capacity. We are here to benefit from the message of the Qur’an, develop our character, and fulfill the purpose of our existence.
Let’s examine the following verse:
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ٱلنَّبِىِّ ٱلْأُمِّىِّ ٱلَّذِى يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَٱتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
“Say, People, I am the Messenger of God to you all from Him, who is the Owner of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity but Him; He gives life and death. So, believe in God and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet who himself believes in God and His words, and follow him so that you may find guidance” (7:158)
From the structure of the verse we can understand the main mission of the prophet. In the general Muslim culture, the prophet teaches us, for example, how to perform our prayers, how to fast and the conditions of the Hajj Pilgrimage etc. That is correct as well and within the mission of the prophet (pbuh), but they are the products of his main message. The foundation of his message is to go through “lailaha illa hu”. Unfortunately, many of us take this foundation for granted and jump straight to practice. The primary purpose of the Creator sending prophets to humanity is to make known to us who the owner of the heavens and the earth is.
What is the most important sunna for the believers? To live with “la ilaha illahu” and to be confident in this belief. The prophet is teaching us to live every moment of our lives with: “there is no deity but Him”. One can apply this in every act they perform. For example, while eating food, instead of seeing the food satisfying us, we need to follow the sunnah and see that food cannot satisfy us. Only the One who provided the food, gave existence to the food can satisfy us. That is the fundamental teaching of prophethood.
One may say that they start in the name of God by saying “Bismillah” at the beginning and enjoy the food: “the food was delicious, nourishing, and delightful and thank the one who cooked it for them.” Where is God, the creator of the food? Where is the creator of hunger? Where is the creator who mercifully provided the teeth and the tongue? Where is the creator who mercifully provided the food, readily and freely presenting to us? We must refresh our minds to this foundational teaching of the prophet and practice this sunnah in our lives.
Unfortunately, the sunnah practice is usually misunderstood in the general Muslim culture. We are usually told to jump to the last step which should be the result of our belief, missing out on the first step which is the foundation of all what we do in this life.
The verse continues to explain the mission of the prophets, namely, the task of teaching us who the Owner of the heavens and the earth is as follows: “There is no deity but Him; He gives life and death”. Everything is started by Him and ended by Him where life is given to not only to human beings but animals and plants as well. As life is given, at the same time death is given. Life is given to the universe and at the same time death is given to the universe. At every moment, we die and are given life again. We are not the same person from yesterday. One may be feeling gloomy yesterday but all cheerful learning about the prophetic mission today. The two qualities of “ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ”, giving life and death are being manifested at the same time.
The scientists studying particles say that they cannot hold on to matter, cannot observe it at the same time. As soon as they say it is here, it goes away. By having been created in this way, they demonstrate that nothing in the universe can stand on its own for even a fraction of a second, everything is completely dependent on the One, declaring that there is no god but Him.
The verse continues where the prophet asks to believe in God and His messenger. The prophet himself believes in God and is His messenger. When the prophet receives the message from angel Gabriel, he himself believes the message is not from the angel who is the transmitter, but it is from the Creator of the universe. The prophet also believes that this message is what he needs in his life, it can only be provided by the One who knows him and the whole universe. The Creator of the universe must know what the purpose of our life is, and accordingly we must be guided. I must be careful to go on the way that God provides us and not some other way.
If a person wishes to become informed about any subject, they must necessarily undergo a process of education. Human beings are created with an innate need to perfect themselves through learning. The Qur’an says the “unlettered prophet” means that he is not taught by anyone. He even did not know how to read and write, let alone being educated to compose the Qur’an himself. Had he been someone other than someone who could neither read nor write, his contemporaries would have rejected this claim, clearly seen that he was lying, and never would have followed him. On the contrary, they believed so strongly that he was the Messenger of God that they defended the message he brought from God at the cost of their lives. Every child needs teachers to learn how to read and write. However, the prophet didn’t learn from anyone. Being “unlettered” means that the prophet is not educated, is not given or provided any information by anyone of this world. This doesn’t mean that he is an ignorant person, but he is a very intelligent person. He understood the message he received very well; he championed it and put it into practice in his personal life, even at the cost of his life. He is being taught by the Creator of the universe as he received all of his teachings from the Creator of the universe. We human beings, many of us have gone through education, albeit, secular education. We are not taught by the Creator of the universe as the prophets were. For us, we need to be taught by teachers. We should follow the prophet (pbuh) who is taught by the Creator of the universe and get educated from him.
Briefly put it: The prophet (pbuh) is employed to teach us our purpose of existence, how one can live with belief in their situation. We all need guidance to strive to attain the eternal happiness our souls constantly yearn for by fulfilling the ultimate purpose of our creation in this world.