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. 

Human Dignity

On Human Dignity: Sura 17, Aya 70

“Indeed, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam, carried them over land and sea, provided for them nourishment out of good things, and endowed them far above most of Our creation”.

 This aya points to an important spiritual reality: the intrinsic worth of man because of his great potential. Everyone knows this truth instinctively. For this reason, the most important need of a human being is to feel valued, to be respected and to be honored.

We don’t need to earn our self-worth by accomplishing anything; it was given to us by God. However, when we internalize this truth, great achievement is inevitable. We must first become conscious of the fact that we were made by the Most Magnificent God and that we have a degree of His magnificence within us. If we reflect on this idea regularly until it becomes a conviction, we begin making favorable choices in every situation and, eventually, these accumulate, resulting in a spectacularly successful life.

We are blessed as Muslims because a solid understanding of our religion gives us freedom and power. God infused us with His spirit and therefore, we have inherent great worth. Through this understanding, we are saved from the agony of desperately seeking to conform to externally imposed ideals. We are preciously unique creatures and do not need to prove our worth by spending our lives chasing after material and social standards of success dictated by society or imitating the artificial beauty norms established by the latest trends. This never-ending chase destroys a person’s self-esteem.

In contrast, when we have high self-esteems, we treasure our lives and spend our time wisely. We take care of our minds by constantly learning, of our souls by reflecting and praying, and of our health and bodies by eating well and exercising. Our bodies and our souls were given to us by God as a trust; they do not belong to us. We are accountable for them and must take excellent care of them. If we follow this path, the path of Islam, we manifest an inner and outer beauty so radiant and powerful that no superficial approach could ever match it.

The Quran and the Life of Excellence teaches us that in order to benefit from this knowledge: “we should act in ways that recognize our self-esteem, irrespective of our circumstances. Train yourself to behave with poise, to walk like a dignified person, and to talk like a noble person. Do not use words of inferior meanings and never use foul language. You create your self-esteem by how you conduct yourself when you are alone. Always be aware that the way you dress, sit, stand, talk or eat, even when you are by yourself, makes a statement about the value you place on yourself.”

Reading the Quran Without Understanding Does Not Bring Any Benefit.

Reading the words of the Quran can bring great benefits if we think about them and understand them. Reading or reciting without understanding does not produce any benefit.

People doing salat in their daily routine recite some surah in the prayer. Many people don’t understand what the surah means or why they are reciting it.
When someone dies, family and friends gather and do a reading of the Quran, thinking that it will earn benefits for the deceased, even though nobody understands what they read.

Many people read through the whole Quran during Ramadan, thinking that it earns them ‘thawab’ or credits even though they do not understand what they read.

During Ramadan, traveeh prayers are held in mosques in which the Imam recites through the Quran at a rapid rate. Most people who attend traveeh  have no idea what the recitation means. Their minds wander everywhere during the prayer and they become restless.

The Quran is a book of wisdom, instruction and inspiration. Reading its text without understanding does not bring any benefit.

It is better to read one or two ayas and think about them rather than read many pages without understanding.

Understanding the Quran versus Its Memorization

Sura 47 Aya 24        أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

“Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Quran, or are their hearts locked up by them?”

This aya asks us to earnestly seek to understand what is in the Quran, because wisdom is not grasped by superficial reading. The Arabic word ‘tadabbur’ is used in the aya, which means to think and understand deeply.

Note that there is no instruction in the Quran for people to memorize it.

Memorization like a parrot dulls the mind and it does not produce understanding.

A major reason for social and spiritual stagnation in the Muslim world is rooted in the belief that recitation of verses you don’t understand brings you closer to God.

 People repeat memorized suras that have no personal meaning for them, and believe they are earning credit in salat.

Note that people engaged in violent sectarianism and groups like the Taliban and Boko-haram believe they are very religious because they continuously recite memorized suras and dzikr phrases.

In most mosques the imam is someone who has memorized the Quran, but has little understanding of how life works, and many people ask him for guidance in solving their problems.

In the early days memorization was the only way to preserve the text so Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged people to memorize. But there is no need for it now because we have printing.

In any case, it is a mistake to believe that that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wanted people to memorize the Quran without thinking about what is in it, as is the common practice now.

If some people memorize an engineering textbook without deeply analyzing and understanding its contents, a bridge they try to build will collapse.

 The Quran teaches how you and I can raise ourselves to a life of excellence. This is not possible if we memorize some or all of it and keep reciting what we memorized. It becomes possible if we make an earnest and sustained effort to understand the amazing insights it gives to uplift our lives.

A misunderstanding that prevents people from understanding the Quran

There is a very common misunderstanding that blocks people from understanding the Quran. It is the assumption that the Quran is a continuous reading.

We all know that the Quran was revealed over a period of 22 years. Five short ayas were revealed when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was forty years old. Many months passed before the second revelation came and it is in a different sura. Afterwards revelations came when the Prophet (pbuh) needed guidance or inspiration. Each revelation has a different purpose and a different insight. And they came at irregular intervals.

But now we have the Quran as a Book and it feels natural to read it in sequence. You can open the Book and read from page 1 to page 15 in half an hour. When we re read like this we get confused because there is a different insight after every few lines.

You can overcome this difficulty by focusing on only one or two ayas and think about them. Pick ayas that appeal to you. Ask yourself “What is this aya telling me”? “How does this relate to my life”?, or “What is the benefit in this teaching”?. You may have to think like this for a long time. But in due course you will find answers to your questions and your understanding of life will grow.

Those Who Earned Allah’s Anger and Those Who Have Gone Astray

Recently I received a question about the meaning of the last two verses in Al-Fatiha. The Question is given below followed by my response.

Question: In Al-Fatiha, it says

Iyya-ka na`budu wa iyya-ka na-sta`een. Ihdi-na as-sirata al-mustaqiim

You alone we worship and You alone we seek the help of.

Guide us to the path straight

Sirata allathina an`amta `alay-him ghayr il-maghdubi `alayhim wa la ad-daallin

The path (of) those You have given grace, not those who Your

anger (is) on them and not those who went astray

In the later ayat, who are those that have Allah’s anger and who are those that have 'gone astray' ?

Traditionally and in many English translations this is viewed as the Jews and the Christians. I find this disrespectful to people honesty following a faith in good conscience. .If indeed that is an appropriate rendering, then I am troubled, for I do not feel that monotheistic faiths are mutually exclusive  (yes, there are differences, but) I feel that these differences can be respected rather than picked over. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Reply:
  The interpretation you refer to is based on this Hadith:

 Narrated Adi bin Hatim: I asked Allah’s Messenger about the aya: "Ghairil maghdubi ‘alaihim [not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger]," he replied: "They are the Jews". And : "Walad dallin (nor of those who went astray)," he replied: "The Christians, and they are the ones who went astray".

 This Hadith is quoted by Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud

It refers to the Jews and Christians in Medina who struggled against Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Sura 2 has many statements accusing those Jews of acting against what they learned from the Torah. The Christians were criticized for being exaggerated in their devotion to Jesus, declaring him to be God and not a man who was a Prophet.

But note also aya 62 in sura 2 which says:

Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

This shows that the hadith quoted above is not a condemnation of all Jews and Christians.

 Moreover it is said in sura 4 aya 93 : “If a man kills a believer, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein, and the anger and curse of Allah are upon him.”  

From this aya we can infer that the majority of those who are earning Allah’s anger at this time are from the Muslims because of their readiness to kill people, Muslims of other sects and non-Muslims simply because they don’t agree with them.

Those who are astray

This refers to people who abandon truth out of exaggerated devotion and ignorance. An illustration of this is provided by the present day worshippers among Muslims who pray day and night but don't know what they are saying in their prayers.

 Go to traveeh in a mosque in Ramadan. There are hundreds of people praying but most have no idea of what is being said in prayer. They worship Allah in a manner that is misguided and devoid of knowledge.

Religious Tolerance

Sura 22 Aya 67

To every community We have given ways of worship which they observe. Therefore, do not let them draw you into disputes on this matter, but invite people to your Lord, for you are on the right way.

An attitude of religious tolerance is described in this verse. It is in recognizing the authenticity of the different ways of worship found among different people. Different religious traditions represent different possible paths to God-consciousness, and it is a mistake to argue with people about their traditions and rituals. 

The opposite attitude is to consider our own particular ritual of prayer as the only one acceptable to God. An extension of this belief is that all other ways are misguided and those who follow them are bound for hell. This belief is the root of intolerance. It has caused enmity and bloodshed between religious communities for centuries.

         

When Muslims were a new community on Long Island in the 1980s, they formed an association but did not have a building of their own. They approached a church, and the elders of the church gladly gave them permission to hold their prayers in the church. The church elders demonstrated the wisdom conveyed by this aya.

In a few years, the Muslim community collected enough funds to build a mosque of their own and moved their congregation to the new building. A few years later, a group of Ismaili Muslims approached them because they were new to the area and did not yet have a building of their own. They asked the officials of the mosque for permission to hold their prayer services in the mosque. The mosque officials denied them permission. “The Ismailies are misguided people, and their prayer is not correct,” said one of the mosque trustees. The mosque trustees did not understand the message of this aya.

This attitude is common in mosques throughout the world. It is at the root of the deep suspicion many Muslims display toward peoples of other faiths, not only non-Muslims, but also Muslims with alternate traditions. In many countries Muslims following the teachings of different imams are alienated from each other, and sometimes hostile to each other. Minority Muslim populations such as the Ismailies, the Druze, and the Ahmadies feel isolated and persecuted in many Muslim countries.

 An essential part of Muslim reformation is to recognize that tolerance is not a Western idea, but it is a universal concept from the Quran. It is beneficial to everyone who practices it. Societies where people accept each other irrespective of religious beliefs are strong and dynamic, and societies where there is intolerance among faith groups are splintered and weak.

The attitude of self-righteous intolerance comes partly from feelings of insecurity about your own ways. If you have not thought about your rituals of worship deeply and are not sure why you do them, you feel threatened by the alternatives offered by others. If, on the other hand, you are sure that you are on the right way as the aya above points out, you will gladly acknowledge that other people have their own authentic ways of worshipping God. This tells us that we should focus on improving our own prayer and other rituals, so that they bring peace and fulfillment to us, rather than criticizing what others do.