2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (continued)

God says

Q.2:3 who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception**, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance;***

**Al-ghayb (commonly, and erroneously, translated as “the Unseen”) is used in Qur’an to denote all those sectors or phases of reality which lies beyond the range of human perception and cannot, therefore, be proved or disproved by scientific observation or even adequately comprised within the accepted categories of accepted thought: as, for instance, the existence of God and of a definite purpose underlying the universe, life after death, the real nature of time, the existence of spiritual forces and their inter-action, and so forth. Only a person who is convinced that the ultimate reality comprises far more than our observable environment can attain to belief in God and, thus, a belief that life has meaning and purpose. By pointing out that it is “a guidance for those who believe in the existence of that which is beyond human perception”, the Qur’an says, in effect, that it will – of necessity – remain a closed book to all whose minds cannot accept this fundamental premise.

Part of verse 2:3 will be repeated next Friday, insaAllah, in order to provide comment on “sustenance”.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (continued)

God says

Q.2:3 who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception**, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance;***

**Al-ghayb (commonly, and erroneously, translated as “the Unseen”) is used in Qur’an to denote all those sectors or phases of reality which lies beyond the range of human perception and cannot, therefore, be proved or disproved by scientific observation or even adequately comprised within the accepted categories of accepted thought: as, for instance, the existence of God and of a definite purpose underlying the universe, life after death, the real nature of time, the existence of spiritual forces and their inter-action, and so forth. Only a person who is convinced that the ultimate reality comprises far more than our observable environment can attain to belief in God and, thus, a belief that life has meaning and purpose. By pointing out that it is “a guidance for those who believe in the existence of that which is beyond human perception”, the Qur’an says, in effect, that it will – of necessity – remain a closed book to all whose minds cannot accept this fundamental premise.

Part of verse 2:3 will be repeated next Friday, insaAllah, in order to provide comment on “sustenance”.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (continued)

God says

Q.2:2. This divine writ – let there be no doubt about it – is [meant to be] a guidance for all God-conscious*

*The conventionl translation of muttaqi as “God-fearing” does not adequately render the positive content of this expression – namely, the awareness of His all-presence and the desire to mould one’s existence in the light of this awareness; while the interpretation of some translators, “one who guards himself against evil” or “one who is careful of his duty”, does not give more than one particular aspect of the concept of God-consciousness.

This is the first of 2 to 5 verses of the second surah that are going to be presented in forth coming Fridays, inshaAllah. Prophet’s saying will appear at the end.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

Consider those [stars] that rise only to set,*
and move [in their orbits] with steady motions,**
and float [through space] with floating serene,
and yet overtake [one another] with swift overtaking:***
and thus they fulfill the [Creator’s] behest! -- Q.79:1-5

*The early commentators differ widely in their explanations of verses 1-5 of this surah. The clearest and simplest interpretation is that advanced by Qataadah (as quoted by Tabari and Baghawi) and AL-Hasan al-Basri (as quoted by Baghawi and Razi), who maintain that what is meant in this passage are the stars – including the sun and the moon – and their movement in space: and this interpretation is fully in tune with many other passages in the Qur’an in which the harmony of those celestial bodies in their multiform orbits and graded speeds is cited as evidence of God’s planning and creativeness.
** I.e., passing from constellation to constellation (Zamakhshari).
*** This is apparently an allusion to the different speeds of the orbiting stars (Al-Hasan and Abu ‘Ubaydah, as quoted by Razi), as well as to the extent of their orbits in relation to one another.



Prophet said

“The believer, by his (good) conduct, reaches the position of one who stands up (praying) at night and fasts during the day” – H: Abu Daod. N: Bibi Ayesha.

InshaAllah, from next Friday will start presenting verses 2 to 5 of the second surah, “Al Baqarah” These openning verses include the basis for receiving much needed guidance from the Quran, and hence, needed to be well understood.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

Consider the daybreak and the ten nights!* Consider the multiple of One!** Consider the night as it runs its course!*** Consider all this – could there be, to anyone endowed with reason, a [more] solemn evidence of truth?**** -- Q.89: 1-5
*The “daybreak” (fajr) apparently symbolizes man’s spiritual awakening; hence, the “ten nights” is an allusion to the last third of the month of Ramadan, in the year 13 before the hijrah, , during which Muhammad received his first revelation and was thus enabled to contribute to mankind’s spiritual awakening.
** Lit., “the even and the odd” or “the one”: i.e., the multiplicity of the creation as contrasted with the oneness and uniqueness of the Creator. The concept of “even number” implies the existence of more than one of the same kind: in other words, it signifies everything that that has a counterpart or counterparts and, hence, a definite relationship with other things (cf. the term azwaj in 36:36, referring to the polarity evident in all creation). As against this the term al-watr or al-witr – primarily denotes “that which is single” or “one” and is, hence, one of the designations given to God – since “there is nothing that could be compared with Him” (112:4) and “nothing like unto him” (42:11).
*** An allusion to the night of spiritual darkness which is bound to “runs its course”— i.e., to disappear as soon as man becomes truly conscious of God.
**** Lit., “a more solemn affirmation”: i.e., a convincing evidence of the existence and oneness of God.

Consider the human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be,* and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God!** -- Q. 91:7,8
*…The reference to man and that which constitutes the “human personality”, as well as the implied allusion to the extremely complex phenomenon of a life-entity in which bodily needs and urges, emotions and intellectual activities are so closely intertwined as to be indissoluble, follows organically upon a call to consider the inexplicable grandeur of the universe – so far as it is perceptible and comprehensible to man – as a compelling evidence of God’s creative power.
** Lit., “and [consider] that which has inspired it with its immoral doings (fujooraha) and its God-consciousness (taqwaha)” – i.e., the fact that man is equally liable to rise to great spiritual heights as to fall into utter immorality is an essential characteristic of human nature as such. In its deepest sense, man’s ability to act wrongly is a concomitant to his ability to act rightly: in other words, it is this inherent polarity of tendencies which gives to every “right” choice a value and, thus, endows man with moral free will.


Prophet said

“Ponder over the creation of God. Don’t ponder over God…” – Ihya of Imam Ghazali. H: Abu Nayeem. N: Ibn ‘Abbas.

The wise and the foolish:
“A wise person is one who keeps a watch over his desires and passions, checks himself from that which is harmful and strives for that which will be of benefit after death; and a foolish person is one who submits to the cravings and desires of his self, and (then) ask God (for their fulfillment)”. – H: Tirmizi. N: Abu y‘ala bin Shaddad bin Aus.