Chapter 32; Those Who Do Good Find Good, Part 2

Those Who Do Good Find Good, Part 2

(Chapter 32 in “The Quran and the Life of Excellence” by Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed)

And when it is said to those who are conscious of God, “What is it that your Lord has revealed?” They say, “What is good.” For those who do good, there is good in this world, but the reward in the hereafter is better still; for how excellent is the abode of the God conscious!

During our regular bi-monthly Meetups in New York City which are based on the book by Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed, our practice is to discuss one chapter from Dr. Abdulhameed’s book two times in a row. On March 7th, we discussed Chapter 32 (summary of the chapter and some thoughts of those present were posted previously) and on March 21st, we discussed the same chapter again.

When we thought about this chapter again, we thought that a person of faith is always hopeful and always tries to help self and others. It seems that a majority of Muslims is stuck and so paying attention to what we think about when we think about God, if we at all think about Him - which in and of itself is a problem - and reevaluating our beliefs should be our priority. We must understand that by following rituals blindly, memorizing Quran without reflecting on it and doing what others tell us we should do because that means piety, we tend to not think about what we are doing nor do we think about God. It is possible to go through our lives without once reflecting on what it is that God wants to tell us. Consider an example of an engineer memorizing a book on building a bridge; who among us would say that that bridge would not collapse? Being passive and accepting misery are states that are opposite of what this aya teaches because in order to do good and receive good, one has to actually think about what one wants to achieve and then act, that is, do something.

Reflecting back on the part of the chapter where Dr. Abdulhameed stated that a lot of us feel that we need an expert to tell us what is the right way to think because we are not learned in religion, we feel that trying to live through someone else’s mindset makes our lives complicated and difficult because that other person, that is, an expert, did not have the experiences in life we had. If we try to live our lives through someone else’s eyes, then we tend to compare ourselves to others. What can comparing ourselves to others mean to us and for our own lives? We must lay ourselves bare before our own selves because we are bare before God no matter what. So, why not be honest and brave with ourselves and ask ourselves what is it that we believe and why do we believe that and what is it that we want to achieve in life? We must ask so that we may receive.

What complicates things in many Muslim communities is that when we were taught the basic tenets of our religion, we were not taught to quiet ourselves so that we can hear ourselves and think deeply about God and the things He said to us. Our Prophet used to spend a third of the day and a third of the night by himself. Why? So that he may quiet himself in order to think and reflect. Any deep insight is not gained by cursory reading. If we think about something deeply, then we become resourceful.

Dr. Abdulhameed has also developed an exercise for each chapter to help us internalize the ideas behind the chapter. The exercise for this chapter states:

1) Write a paragraph about an interpretation of religion which results in harm. Describe an alternate interpretation of the same teaching that can be beneficial.
2) Write a paragraph abut a belief you had in the past out of which you have evolved. Describe how this change occurred.
3) What part of your life can be described as doing good to others?

Summary posted by Alma Subasic

Chapter 32; Those Who Do Good Find Good, Part 1

Those Who Do Good Find Good, Part 1(Chapter 32 in “The Quran and the Life of Excellence” by Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed)

And when it is said to those who are conscious of God, “What is it that your Lord has revealed?” They say, “What is good.” For those who do good, there is good in this world, but the reward in the hereafter is better still; for how excellent is the abode of the God conscious!

During our regular bi-monthly meetings in New York City, we discuss one chapter from Dr. Abdulhameed’s book and the following is the summary from our meeting on March 7th, 2016:

The purpose behind the aya that says that those who do good will find good in this world is that it refers to a formula for success and what it takes is that we need to focus on continually doing good. The religion has been used as a source of good, wisdom, and morality and at the same time, it has been and continues to be, used as a way to justify many injustices in the world. In addition, it has been used as a source of authority for those that want to keep the authority and advantages they have over others.

The teaching of this chapter is very simple and it says that we need to train ourselves to overcome our negative tendencies in order to let the true light within us shine, so that we can show with our own lives what is truly meant by this aya: positive thoughts, speech and action, thinking well of ourselves and others, creating a positive intention within our minds when we do something, not looking down on what God gave us in our person or our experience, letting go of anger, jealousy, hopelessness and self-pity, and never wishing to harm anyone. These are not lofty ideals that are unattainable or attainable only by a select few. The idea is to work on internalizing, that is, seriously thinking about and looking to understand what it means to be God-conscious - something that the first part of the aya is asking us to do - by making a concerted effort and being honest with ourselves as to what we are trying to do. If we try to contemplate this idea of God-consciousness a couple of times, an encouragement is surely to follow. Once God consciousness has been achieved, it become easier and natural to want to do good.

We must remember that the Quran and consequently, the religion of Islam, is not what it has come to mean for many people, judging by their behavior – a set of complex rules and obligations that burden. Working on true understanding of ayas is like any other effort that we do because we think it will be worth our while in the long run: we get as much out of it as we put into it. We must remember that if we don’t try, it doesn’t make sense to expect God to try.

Therefore, we must try to work on achieving God-consciousness by interpreting God’s ayas by ourselves and for ourselves without asking anyone whom we consider to be an authority in these matters to do it for us. We, of course, can consult the writings of those who have thought about the subject for a long time, but we must remember that everything we read must make sense to us so that it takes root within us. As we work on achieving the state of God-consciousness, we will begin to see encouragement along our way. Then, it becomes natural to want to do good and with a heart that is in alignment with our wishes, our wishes that now begin to reflect His will.

Dr. Abdulhameed has also developed an exercise for each chapter to help us internalize the ideas behind the chapter. The exercise for this chapter states:

1) Write a paragraph about an interpretation of religion which results in harm. Describe an alternate interpretation of the same teaching that can be beneficial.
2) Write a paragraph abut a belief you had in the past out of which you have evolved. Describe how this change occurred.
3) What part of your life can be described as doing good to others?
  
Our practice is to discuss each chapter during two consecutive meetings so Part 2 will be discussed on March 21st. Stay tuned!

Chapter 31; There are Resources Everywhere

Chapter 31; There are Resources Everywhere

During our meeting in New York City on February 22nd, 2016 we discussed what the Sura 16, Ayas 10-18 mean or say to us. 

This Sura reads as follows:

It is He who sends water from the skies; from it you drink and so do the plants which your cattle eat.

With it He causes crops to grow and olives and dates and grapes and all the fruits.  Surely, in this there is a message for people who think.

And He has made the night and the day and the sun and the moon subservient to you; and the stars are subservient by His command.  Surely, in this, there are messages for people who use their reason.

And what He created on the Earth has many shades of colors.  Surely, in this, there is a message for people who reflect.

And He it is who has made the sea subservient, so that you can eat fresh meat from it, and take from it ornaments you wear.

And on the sea you see ships going through the waves, so that you may seek to enrich yourself of His Abundance, and thus may be grateful.

And He has placed firm mountains on earth, lest it sway with you, and rivers and roads, so that you can find your way, as well as many landmarks: and by the stars people find their way.

Is, then, he who creates like one that cannot create? Do you not consider this?

For, should you attempt to count God’s favors, you could never exhaust them.

Dr. Abdulhameed’s commentary on the above Sura states that our lives are shaped by perspectives we adopt.  One view of nature is that it is vast and that it works by its own rules, irrespective of our existence.  Another view of nature is expressed by admiring its beauty.  Another view is that the physical world is a source of danger and hardship for us.  The quoted ayas allow for a perspective that nature is subservient to our needs and that we can use it for our benefit by finding creative ways as to how to make it benefit us.  It is of great importance that we fully realize within ourselves that nature has resources that sustain us, enrich us, and guide us because we can then live with an attitude of appreciation and gratitude.  This helps us in two ways:  it teaches us the benefit of positive thinking and it allows us to live in harmony with the creation, which, in turn, allows for a continuous flow of goodness to come our way.  At any moment we can encounter events and situations that cause fear and frustration but we do have an option of shedding such thinking and asking ourselves what benefit can be derived from such a seemingly harmful event/situation.  If we ask this question and are serious about finding an answer to it, then we are sure to find it. 

Another very important aspect of the ayas quoted above points to inherently human qualities that when employed the way we are asked to employ them, should guide us in the direction of a better understanding of our existence and ultimately to what God is trying to teach us.  Namely, we are being asked to reflect, to think, to use our reason, and to consider.  By reflecting, thinking, and considering we are able to understand how we can make our lives better as these ayas were a source of inspiration for early Muslims who explored nature and became leaders in science and technology.  And at the same time, as with anything else that God said and created, there are multifunctional aspects to each and every word and to each and every made thing, and that is that in addition to using our human faculties of refection, thinking, and reasoning in order to find ways to better our lives, we are reminded to use those faculties to deepen our faith in Him so that we can act decisively, bravely and at the same time conscientiously in the process of our doing anything as we move through the world and attempt to achieve a happy state here as well as in the next life. 

Some of the thoughts that came to mind to us, personal growth seekers, as we worked through this chapter stated that the same exact thing can be seen as bad or as a source of benefit and that it depends on how we look at it.  Idea is for us to realize that as we try to realize the benefit in something seemingly bad, we are thinking deeply, hopefully unlocking our own unique and true spirit of creativity as we do it.  If we passively accept everything, then there will be no benefit to discover for us or for anyone else.  Said in a different way, if we look at things superficially, we are not aware that there are deeper possibilities in what we are looking at. Our world is inexhaustible in its richness; it is about how much creativity we bring to what we see.  Obstacles and resistance is within and without each of us; it depends on how we look at them.  There is a spiritual dimension to it all. The idea is to come to the point where it becomes natural to say that God is great and for us to be truly grateful, reflecting back to the idea of the multi-functionality of every word He said and of every thing He made.  

At the end of each discussion, Dr. Abdulhameed provides an exercise that can be used to help us think more deeply about what has been discussed and reflect back on the quoted ayas.  The exercise for this chapter states: 

1)      Think of an aspect of your life which you perceive as limiting or unpleasant.  It can be in your environment or in your personality.  Think of how it can be made into a source of benefit for you.

2)      Recall an experience in which you acted creatively; you found a solution to a problem, or you had a new idea, or you made a drawing or a painting, or you wrote a piece you liked.  Think of how good it feels to be creative, and ask how you can find time to be more creative in the future.