Session 58 Notes
In this series of the purposes of the Qur’an, we started off by first acknowledging that our existence and that of the universe needs a creator, who must be Absolute. Once convinced, we must establish a relationship with Him, which led to the Qur’an teaching us about “Tawakkul”, trusting in the Providence of our Creator. The next aspect we started was the One who created us and the universe must send us human teachers. This led to the topic of prophethood, the implementation of the Revelation of the Qur’an in our practical lives. We related this to how the constitution needs to be practiced via rules and laws that uphold the constitution. Similarly, the message of the Qur’an which can be likened to a constitution, also requires practical teachings so that we may lead a life in accordance with that message in this world. We will continue with the necessity of prophethood.
Let’s examine the following verse:
لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
“The Messenger of God is an excellent model for whoever has hope in God and the Last Day, and remembers God often” (33:21)
This is important: the messenger of God is an excellent model for us. Whoever has hope in God means that whoever hopes to connect with God and reach Him, will be on track to fulfill the purpose of their existence. Following the model of the messenger of God will allow one to be respectful to their Creator. For example, if you have something that you are not using for the purpose it was made for, then that is a disrespect to the one who gave it to you. If someone wants to reach God and connect himself with Him, then how can one go there?
The smart GPS we discussed in our previous notes is the excellent model of the life of the messenger of God, who is the instructor educated by God, who practices the message of his Creator in his practical life.
Someone may say why can we not practice everything which is written in the Qur’an? Try it, one cannot. There are around 5% of general principles mentioned which are very broad. For example, the principle to act justly. How is one able to act justly, what is the criteria? We don’t know and need a teacher to guide us. For the principles of life, we can benefit somewhat from the message of the Qur’an, but someone needs to show us how to reach God and have hope in Him till the Last Day. We need a criterion to demonstrate how the principles governing our interactions with the outside world and society can be put into practice. Otherwise, chaos would ensue in the application of fundamental tenets of belief to our physical lives. We observe in all societies that no constitution can be implemented without being regulated by laws and statutes.
We know that there are principles in living the life of this world which one needs to apply to fulfill the purpose of our existence but we don’t know how to apply them. The very early Muslim scholars started concentrating on the Hadith collection right after the death of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They understood that the physical body of the prophet is gone and thus the physical example of the instructor is also gone. Who is going to instruct us now? How are we going to put the Qur’an into practice? We had the companions of the prophet who survived and they mention that the prophet used to do certain things in his life. However, the generation after them a few decades later, didn’t have any opportunity to see how the prophet was practicing the message of the Qur’an. They understood the importance of the prophetic way of living and worked on the Hadith collection where volumes of books have been written to ensure that the hadith narrations are secured and purified from fabrications, political turbulence, and partisanship. It was extremely laborious and hard work which we should appreciate. They used to travel via camels, donkeys from one country to another to find the narrators of the hadith. For example, going from Medina to a city in Yemen is a few days’ journey via a camel or donkey involved many hardships and risks. They had to meet the people personally to validate the statements of the prophet (pbuh). It was a serious endeavour which is now available to us. Nowadays we have the internet, cars and planes, so their hard work may not be so apparent to us.
In a way, we do have the excellent model preserved in the work of these scholars, we can work with that to reach God, have hope in Him and the Last Day. Our duty is now to practice the teachings of the Qur’an, have hope in God and prepare for an eternal life.
The verse mentions that those who “remember God often”, what is the connection being made? We need to realize that we are created beings in need of guidance. One must connect to their Creator for guidance to have hope in Him. For example, we just had a wonderful dinner with friends. We may neglect to recognize the blessings of the gathering with friends and the food created by God. The discussion between friends would be complimenting the particular dishes being enjoyed. As a Muslim, we may already be hardwired to say “Bismillah” at the start of our meal without remembering who created the food, who prepared it by giving it existence. It is not the fire or the chef that prepared the food. What is their role? The chef just cut and arranged the already existing things by following a particular order in creation. The fire heating and cooking the food is also part of the order in creation. Our duty is to remember and connect with our Creator to have hope in Him and know that we are here to get ready for eternal life.
The important point is to remember the mercy and compassion of the One who is treating us with all the blessings we receive. This is the way to follow the excellent model in our living. We must refresh our minds in knowing the prophetic mission is to make us connect to our Creator. The hadith narrations do the best in describing the physical activities, like taking a picture of the event. They cannot narrate what is going on in the mind, heart and feelings of the prophet (pbuh). They can narrate that the prophet said “Bismillah” and ate food, but they cannot narrate the prophet remembering God in his mind, feelings and his heart. The missing point for us is to remember God in our mind, feelings and heart in our living which is the practical aspect that we get from the teachings of the Qur’an. Both the Qur’an and hadith narrations work together, one is incomplete without the other.
Someone may ask if it is only the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was the best example for us. We know that every community in some way was guided by certain prophets. There is “Nabi” and there is also “Rasool.” (the messenger.) Those who received the revelation from God are called “Rasool.” There are also the apostles “(Nabi-plural) Anbiya” who guide people. A great number of people were thus guided in many places throughout history. Every civilization has some remnants of the prophetic teachings. Over the course of time, the message gets lost with political influences, war conditions, and migrations of people from one place to another resulting in blended cultural elements mixed in with the prophetic teachings. For example, there are some ancient books in far eastern cultures that have some remnants of the prophetic teachings. It is incredible, somewhere in India or China that one may find some old books regarded by people as “sacred texts” narrating some of the prophetic messages that are found in the Qur’an though not exactly, but the subject is similar. This tells us that there were many messengers employed where the message was delivered to people, particularly in the ancient centers of civilizations in their vernacular languages far away from the Arabian peninsula. Some Orientalists claim that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) must have learned something from these texts and incorporated it into the Quran. This claim is ridiculous; for the locations in question are very far from Mecca. Let alone anyone in Mecca knowing those languages, there was not a single person who was even aware of the existence of those texts. These texts have only become known worldwide in recent centuries.
Let’s examine the next verse which mentions prophet Abraham with the same attribute as the previous verse we studied:
قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِىٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُۥٓ
“You already have an excellent example in Abraham and his companions” (60:4)
The prophet Abraham is the archetype of all the other prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, they all followed as his descendants, from the “Bani Israel”, children of Israel. We all have an excellent example in prophet Abraham and his companions, i.e. all the following prophets from Abraham have been employed to fulfill their mission as being instructors to mankind. Being the best example, “أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَة ” is not unique to prophet Muhammad (pbuh), but also applies to all the other prophets employed by God.
Let’s examine the following verse which has an interesting point:
وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
“We said ‘Adam, live with your wife in this Paradise. Both of you eat freely there as you will, but do not approach this one [particular] tree, or you will both become wrongdoers” (2:35)
Both Adam and his wife are in Paradise being asked to live freely, enjoy everything but one particular tree. This mentioning of one particular tree is important in practicing the message of the Qur’an. A guest may say to the host that you are so generous to entertain us in this endless garden but why are you pointing out one tree as an exception?
All the Shariah, divine rules, are included in this verse by mentioning “one particular tree”, a very concise statement that is full of meaning. If there was nothing prohibited, there would be no Shariah. If there were no divine rules, then there would be no need for the smart GPS, or the message of the Qur’an. Everyone would be free to do what they want. This mentioning of “one particular tree” necessitates that we have to train ourselves in how we use our free will. Our free will is going to choose amongst the choices presented. Human life is distinguished from animal life due to the fact that we can choose freely, we can prefer one thing to another, and be concerned about the future.
Now, in our lives, we have the option to eat from the tree or not. We must use the free will given to us to pick from a tree with the permission of its owner. This world we live in has an Owner, the Lord of the universe. We must remember the Owner of this universe, of Paradise, the food we eat, the dress we wear, etc. Because of one tree, our life becomes meaningful. One has to check when using their free will whether this is permissible by the Owner or not. For example, there are many different options to drink, some are alcoholic and intoxicants, this “one tree” allows us to remember God as the Creator and Owner of what I choose. That forbidden drink offers me the opportunity, whenever I intend to consume any liquid, to remind myself: “This is not the forbidden drink; therefore, I may drink it.” This situation reminds me of God, the Owner of that drink. Thus, this seemingly simple act becomes a means for me to remember God, the Owner of what I am drinking, and to give thanks to Him. This prohibition concerning a single tree provides an opportunity to put my belief in God into practice in my daily life.
Another example is of a teacher who is evaluating students. The teacher is free to exercise her free will, does she choose to be just to her students? This “one tree” should remind the teacher of the Owner, and conform to His command of being just. Let’s say the teacher decides to be unfair to a student who opposed her idea in a class, the choice of the teacher to punish the student would become “the forbidden tree”. We must thus remember God and put our hope in God.
We should attempt to connect with God in our living, the Shariah rules are also the means of connecting with God practically. We discussed Shariah, divine laws in Sessions 50-53 notes, one may refer to them and see how beneficial they are to us in acknowledging our Creator. Thanks to this “forbidden tree”, we become conscious of our humanity, conscious of our Creator and live life like a human being, not an animalistic life which allows one to do whatever they want. Animals choose the best food as well but human beings choose the best food with the permission of the Owner and Creator of the food. The recognition of the Owner is the difference between a believer and non-believer in God and His rules, the Shariah.
Another related verse:
فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَىٰ شَجَرَةِ ٱلْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَىٰ
“Satan whispered to him, ‘O Adam, shall I not direct you to the tree of eternity, and power that never decays?” (20:121)
In Qur’an 20:121, although the presentation is that Adam was living with his wife in Paradise, Satan is whispering to Adam and not his wife. This differs from the Jewish and Christian theology where the woman is tempted by Satan; the Qur’an corrects that understanding. Adam is the representation of “Bani Adam”, literally translated as “Children of Adam”, which is all of us human beings. In general, Adam represents humanity in the Qur’an which includes both men and women. Thus, Satan whispering to Adam means that in our essence there is a part that is open to the wrong choice. For example, while driving, one may see a billboard of a model wearing something that makes us desire to have that thing as well. Another example, while watching an important video, an advertisement comes promoting some product claiming that it will satisfy our needs so that we will be ever happy in our life if we have it. In a way, all these advertisements are telling us that the products they are promoting will provide us with happiness, and immortality. Satan is whispering to us that having this will satisfy you, i.e. the material thing is going to satisfy you. Since human beings were created with free will, there must be at least two options available. Everything God created in the universe is good; there is no option of “evil” among God’s creations. Given that nothing in creation is evil, what kind of choice could possibly be expected of us? For human free will to be exercised, an alternative is required; yet, this alternative cannot have a counterpart in creation itself, for creation is pure goodness. An alternative lacking objective reality is needed so that a person can choose between these two options. It is precisely this task, presenting us with an alternative that possesses no reality within the realm of existence, that has been assigned to “Satan.” In one’s private life, Satan comes to offer the “tree” of immortality and power that never decays.
The prohibition symbolically expressed in the verse, “do not approach this tree” opens the door to a Satanic interpretation. The existence of this tree, like that of all other trees, is good. However, Satan presents this good creation through an idea that attributes to the tree itself the quality of “bestowing immortality upon humans.” This is precisely the matter regarding which the Quran warns us. This interpretation bears no relation to reality; it is merely a Satanic interpretation concerning the tree’s existence, claiming it to be the “source of eternity and power that never perishes.” For instance, in the present day Interpretations claiming that the universe came into existence spontaneously and by chance, that our lives evolved of their own accord, that this world has no owner, that this is the only life there is, and that we should derive the utmost satisfaction and pleasure from it until we die and turn into fertilizer for the universe. Such interpretations are Satanic.
The human reality is that we have two options:
- With the permission of God, who is the Owner of the universe.
- The other is to expect the temporary thing to satisfy us.
We constantly face these choices, if only I can get this particular model of device, my life would be set. Everyone can check themselves and see what choices they are making in their practical lives. What makes them self-sufficient? We have to be very careful: “If I have this, if I own this, I will be happy forever”. Probably in the next year or so, there would be another option with an updated version being offered to have that happy, satisfactory life again. Immortality means to live happily forever, something that never decays.
Why are there all kinds of drinks available? Why do people drink alcoholic beverages, use smoke and vape products, and intoxicants to harm themselves? Do these things make anyone happy or is it just to forget many things in their life? The whisperings of Satan is to disconnect one from their Creator. By losing one’s mind, they perceive that they are somewhat happy. To lose one’s mind and live a mentally disabled life, is that human? Satan’s whisperings have no reality at all. Rather than to live a worshipful life, Satan offers that one forgets God, His authority in the universe as being the Owner of everything. He offers to become self-sufficient by owning things that will satisfy them; wants us to choose the prohibited tree and if one does so, they are following the baseless whisperings of Satan. If one sees anything of this world as the source of satisfaction, giving them immortality and making their life perfect, that choice is following the whispering of Satan; it is to eat from the forbidden tree. Basically, benefiting from this world without relating it to its Creator is making that thing prohibited.
The other option is to recognize the Owner, God and choose what He has permitted for us. When one is eating food, the food is not satisfying us but God, the Creator of the food is. Food is just the means, it cannot know us or our bodily needs, it doesn’t know how to distribute it to the various cells of our body. Yes, pork is forbidden, how about lamb? When one eats lamb thinking that the meat is going to satisfy them then that meat becomes the forbidden tree directed by Satan. It is important for us to remind ourselves of who the Owner of the thing is, connect ourselves to Him and see His creation of the things we are interacting with.