Session 59 Notes
When we look at the universe, examine it, we can easily come to the conclusion that there must be a Maker or Creator. Nothing in the universe can happen by itself. It is impossible for unconscious matter to arrange itself, adjust itself to its environment in order to survive. Matter has no knowledge, power, and will to keep its existence. Unfortunately, materialists give interpretations denying the necessity for the need of the Absolute Creator. The Qur’an gives the example of those denying the message of God, saying that they know it as they know their own child, yet they choose to deny the messenger of God (Qur’an 2:146). A practical example is when we tell a lie, we know that it is a lie. It’s a shame to be in denial knowing the truth out there. We only harm ourselves with denial of the truth by having the feeling of uneasiness in our being.
Coming to this conclusion of the Absolute Being is fundamental in the teachings of the Qur’an. We have discussed, “tawakkul”, having the connection and confidence in our Creator, having hope in Him and keeping our relationship within Him in our living. We are definitely in need of the smart-GPS (message of the Qur’an) that not only teaches us the destination address of our lives but also trains us on reaching that address safely and happily.
The other purpose of the Qur’an was prophethood, the necessity of having a human teacher, who becomes our practical model of living. We further discussed that the practice of divine rules, Shari’ah, is nothing more than putting our belief in God in our practical life. Otherwise, belief remains theoretical, an idea. Once it is practiced, it becomes practicing the Shari’ah rules, which is our choice of obeying God. For example, a young man may say that he has parents. That is just information and an idea. His relationship with his parents is important. When he practices this relationship with belief in God, then that is following the divine rules, Shari’ah. If the belief in God is not put into practice how much can we benefit from it? Just as believing in justice without practicing it adds no real value to my character, it is still better than denying it altogether.
We all know that we will soon graduate from this school of the universe and there must be another life. What should we do now? We must pay attention to our time in this school, learn what is going on around us. This responsibility of being a student comes through Shari’ah rules, God’s guide to human beings how to organize their personal and social living. For example, when the chancellor of the university calls one of the professors, this professor would immediately take it seriously. However, if some ordinary person summons him, he would not take that call with the same seriousness. Similarly, when the Lord, the Sustainer of the universe says something, we must heed to what He says seriously. That is what the Qur’an teaches us: do whatever we are doing in the name of God, i.e. obeying God, which is Shari’ah. Whatever action that one does, is meant to remember our Creator.
Let’s examine a quote from the revivalist scholar Nursi on how to remember our Creator:
“Try to reflect as fully as possible, the light and expression of all the Most Beautiful Names, as they appear within the teachings of the Shari’ah and the excellent model of prophetic practice.”
The author is mentioning to be careful in our living whereas to see the expression of the Most Beautiful Names of the Creator as they appear in the teachings of the Shari’ah and the excellent model of prophetic practice. The prophetic practice demonstrates to us the light and expression of all the Most Beautiful Names of God as they manifest in the actions happening in the universe. The universe is functioning in a way where every being needs some other being. We human beings are created with hunger which necessitates for us to get food. When we see someone in need, we are made in such a way that we automatically feel the need to help them. The atheist person would also be helping those in need. Some people are given wealth and some are not, some are healthy while some are not. The important point is not about helping someone or feeding someone but paying attention to how this universe is organized in such a way! For example, the plants and trees are created with the need for water, air and light. The plant is obedient to the command of its Creator, it behaves in the way it was created to act. On the other hand, water, air and light are also created to help the needs of the plants. This is the manifestation of the name of the Provider. The tree in its existence is following the Shari’ah, divine rules practicing what is written in its innate essence.
The materialist mind says that things happen by themselves, an accident. Many books have been written explaining that things happen by themselves. This is just like saying that the letters of the alphabet fell down and adjusted themselves into meaningful words and phrases by the letters themselves. The Qur’an describes the arrogance of man transgresses all truth, which is what denial is. Everything in the universe obeys the divine laws, Shari’ah, except for some human beings by choosing to contradict their intellect, feelings and consciousness.
Let’s say that a human being decides to help out his neighbor. One option is to become proud of having helped the neighbor, telling all your acquaintances about this great help provided to a neighbor in order to solidify that pride. The other option is to understand that the compassion and care to help the needy neighbor was arranged by the Lord of the universe. The One who created me, created that feeling in me. Physically, I may be helping and feeding someone but I must realize that I am employed by my Creator to be of help to the needy ones. My Creator gave me the feeling of helping others. By serving those in need, we become witnesses to God’s Divine Names in action. He is the Creator and Owner of all we hold; He is generously, compassionately and mercifully helping, feeding, nourishing, and sustaining His creation with infinite mercy and compassion.
In this social life, we cannot claim to be administering things but everything is being administered by the Creator of the universe. The actions we perform are not ours to claim ownership to but we are all obeying the divine rules of the Shari’ah in the name of our Creator, manifesting His Most Beautiful Names. Doing the action must be accompanied by practicing belief, doing it in recognizing the Beautiful Names of God. We are being trained and educated in a merciful way as to who owns the feelings, the property and the universe. WIth this awareness all the names of God start manifesting, demonstrating themselves even in the most ordinary action.
Without the Shar’ah rules, we could never know how to prepare ourselves for the next creation. Unfortunately, some people see Shari’ah rules as a responsibility which must be done. One has to wash themselves, one has to pray 5 times becomes a burden. How can it be a burden? Any small action we do with belief opens the door of Paradise for us. All these actions are profitable actions when belief is applied. About 5% of the Qur’an mentions rules compared to the rest of the verses. The important point to understand is that opportunities are given to us to remember our Creator in those small sets of actions. These are opportunities given to us by the Chancellor of the universe, the Creator, which needs to be taken seriously; we are obeying the Creator of the universe not any ordinary being.
Let’s examine the following related verse in obeying our Creator:
رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَـٰرَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِيتَآءِ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ ۙ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ ٱلْقُلُوبُ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ
“Men who are not distracted either by commerce or profit, from remembering God, and paying the prescribed alms, fearing a day when hearts and eyes will turn over” (24:37)
Whatever we do in life must become the means of remembering God. Keeping up the 5 daily prayers is a facilitation for our day to remember our Creator. Similarly, the alms giving, “Zakat” is also a means to connect to our Creator. These are the basic concentrated forms of worship. However, all of our actions whether it be commerce or any other action must be done according to the Shari’ah, by remembering God. The obedience to the Shari’ah should be the means to remind ourselves who is the Chancellor of the “school” of the universe, Owner of the universe.
The phrase “fearing a day when hearts and eyes will turn over” means that in this life we will definitely die. One doesn’t have to get old to face death. While we are living, we know that we will die one day. How much can one enjoy knowing that they will definitely die? We can temporarily enjoy ourselves by forgetting our Creator, forgetting death, keeping ourselves busy with something. No matter how much one keeps their minds off facing death, the verse is advising us to remember the reality of death coming and to not ignore it.
Qur’an also trains us how to reach the last destination safely and happily
The Quran navigates us towards it, helps us complete our journey joyously, i.e. enjoying while we are living.
- Resurrection: Guaranteeing the most essential human need of eternal happiness and providing evidence for its reality. We are all looking for eternal happiness. We look for it in our buying things and doing activities, we want them to last forever. The Qur’an shows the evidence in creation demonstrating to us that the One who created us is not letting us disappear, go into non-existence. He is continuously renewing our existence which must continue after death.
The Qur’an guides human beings on how to prepare themselves for the Hereafter and warns them severely not to deprive themselves from His Merciful treatment. By not believing in the Hereafter, one just deprives themselves from the merciful treatment of their Creator even though they are given the feeling of enjoying eternal pleasure.
Let’s examine the next verse:
فَٱنظُرْ إِلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِ رَحْمَتِ ٱللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Look then at the signs of God’s mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death! Surely, that same God can raise the dead. For He has power over all things” (30:50)
Nowadays we see that in the northern hemisphere, the autumn, fall season is demonstrating the gradual decline of plants and trees, leaves changing colors, drying up and falling, preparing for the death of winter. The One who is demonstrating all this is telling us not to worry, the Spring season is coming after death, that is the sign of resurrection in the universe. The same God that created life is the One who gives death and then resurrects again.
We are all aging and must get ready to depart this world. We must understand the meaning of life, why is it given, why is death given. We all need death because we are losing our abilities as we age, we all want to have perfectly working eyes, ears, body, etc. The old age body does not suit the desire of human feelings seeking eternal existence. Thus, death is necessary to get the proper tools to satisfy our eternal desires.
Let’s look at the following 2 verses that are related:
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
“Did you think that we have created you in vain and that you would not be brought back to us?” (23:115)
أَيَحْسَبُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَن يُتْرَكَ سُدًى
“Do people think that they will be left unaccountable for their actions?” (75:36)
Why are we given all these faculties of eyes, mind, consciousness, feelings, etc? They need to be used in the school of the universe to learn something about the Eternal Being. One cannot waste them on temporary pleasures only. We must understand who is organizing and treating our existence in this world. Can anyone claim that they live here without any accountability? We have been encoded with the feelings for desiring eternity. All my faculties must be used for the purpose that they are given for.
Belief in Action: Implementing Justice in the Real World
- Establishing Justice and a social order within real living conditions rather than abstract speculations.
We expect justice in our lives. The One who gave us our faculties, our life, feelings for eternity, surely would not contradict those feelings. Other living beings in the universe too try to escape from death; they also desire to live eternally. Nothing in the universe demonstrates through their existence that they are created for temporary existence and that they are going to fall into nonexistence.
Justice is not only judging between arguing people. Everything in the universe is created with Justice, created with a purpose in their existence. The Owner of the universe must keep a record of what He creates and must reward accordingly to uphold justice. Since he created us with the desire for eternity and a pleasurable life He must treat us with justice and therefore give us what He promised in our creation. Otherwise, breaking this promise will contradict His being a just Creator, to which the way the existence of the universe witnesses that its Creator is a just One.
Let’s study the following related verses on Justice:
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ
“We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidence and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [ their affairs ] in justice…” (57:25)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ ٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبِينَ ۚ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَٱللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا ۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ أَن تَعْدِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن تَلْوُۥٓا۟ أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
“O believers! Stand firm for justice bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God even if it is against yourselves, your parents, your close relatives, whether the person is rich or poor, God is best to ensure their interests. Refrain from following your own desires, so that you can act justly. If you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do” (4:135)
Our Creator is encouraging us to uphold justice, deal with justice in our affairs. Even the one who misuses his free will knows how important justice is when it applies to him. We need to expand the meaning of justice. For example, are we using our eyes that are given for a purpose, with justice? Let’s say that you witness a beautiful bird that flew past you. If one says: “oh, that’s just a bird”. Did we do justice to that bird? Some of us may insult the creation out there by not appreciating that they are the witness to the perfection of their Creator. We need to recognize the perfect creation of the bird with its qualities demonstrating the qualities of its Maker. I must use all the qualities, abilities in me and the universe to recognize the source of their existence. That is doing justice to the universe.
Beyond Ritual: Worship as a way of life
- Worship means helping human beings how they should prepare themselves to fulfill the ultimate aim of their life. How they should define themselves before their Creator and accordingly practice what is needed to keep themselves aware of their position before their Creator.
Let’s review the following verses on worship:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“I created jinn and mankind only to [know Me so that they will] worship Me” (51:56)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you remain conscious of Him” (2:21)
The ultimate purpose of worship is to remain conscious of God. That is also known as “Taqwa”, being conscious of who our Creator is. Keeping the connection between us and our Creator is to worship our Lord.