2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

The Most Gracious
has imparted this Qur’an [unto man].
He has created man:
He has imparted unto him articulate thought and speech.* -- Q55:1-4
*The term al-bayan – denoting “the means whereby a thing is [intellectually] circumscribed and made clear” (Raghib) – applies to both thought and speech inasmuch as it comprises the faculty of making a thing or an idea apparent to the mind and conceptually distinct from other things and ideas, as well as the power to express this cognition clearly in written or spoken language (Taj al-‘Arus): hence, in the above context, “articulate thought and speech”, recalling the “the knowledge of all the names” (i.e., the faculty of conceptual thinking) with which man is endowed.
The term ism (“name”), “implies, according to all philologists, an expression “conveying the knowledge [of a thing] … applied to denote a substance or an accident or an attribute for the purpose of distinction” (Lane 1V, 1435): in the philosophical terminology, a “concept”. From this it may legitimately be inferred that “the knowledge of all the names” denotes here man’s faculty of logical definition and, thus, of conceptual thinking. That by “Adam” the whole human race is meant here becomes obvious from the preceding reference, by the angels to “such as will spread corruption on earth and will shed blood”.
* The phrase: “the knowledge of all the names” is reference to 2:31: “And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things”.

Which, then, of your Sustainer’s powers can you disavow?* -- Q55:13
*The majority of the classical commentators interpret the dual form of address appearing in this phrase – rabbikuma (“the Sustainer of you two”) and tukazziban (“do you [or “can you”] two disavow”) – as relating to the worlds of men and the jinn;
but the obvious explanation (mentioned, among others, by Razi) is that it refers to the two categories of human beings, men and women, to both of whom the Qur’an is addressed. The plural noun ala’ rendered by me as “powers”, signifies literally “blessings” or “bounties”; but as the refrain, which is repeated many times in this surah, not only bears on the bounties which God bestows on His creation but, more generally, on all manifestations of His creativeness and might, some of the earliest commentators – e.g., Ibn Zayd, as quoted by Tabari – regard the term ala’ , in this context, as synonymous with qudrah (“power” or “powers”).


Prophet said

“…Excessive talk without remembrance of God produces hardness of heart; and indeed the remotest man from God is the hard-hearted”– H: Tirmizi. N: Ibn Omar.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

And so, set thy face steadfastly towards the [one ever-true] faith, turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the natural disposition which God has instilled into man:* [for,] not to allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created -- this is the [purpose of the one] ever-true faith; but most people know it not. – Q.30:30
*The term fitrah, rendered as “natural disposition”, connotes in this context man’s inborn intuitive ability to discern between right and wrong, true and false, and, thus, to sense God’s existence and oneness, Cf. the famous saying of the Prophet, quoted by Bukhari and Muslim: “Every child is born in this natural disposition; it is only his parents that later turn him into a ‘Jew’, a ‘Christian’, or a ‘Magian’.” These three religious formulations best known to the contemporaries of the Prophet, are thus contrasted with the “natural disposition” which by definition, consists in man’s instinctive cognition of God and self-surrender (islam) to Him. ( The term “parents” has here the wider meaning of “social influences” or “environment”).

He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them.* And He alone is a dispenser of grace, truly forgiving. -- Q.34:2
* This definition comprises things physical and spiritual: water disappearing underground and reappearing; the metamorphosis of seed into plant, and of decaying plant into oil and coal: traces of old artifacts and entire civilizations buried in the earth and then reappearing within the sight and consciousness of later generations of men; the transformation of dead bodies of animals and men into elements of nourishments for new life; the ascent of earthly vapours towards the skies, and their descent as rain, snow or hail; the ascent towards the heavens of men’s longings, hopes and ambitions, and descent of divine inspirations into the minds of men, and thus a revival of faith and thoughts and, with it, the growth of new artifacts, new skills and new hopes: in short, the endless recurrence of birth, death and re-birth ( as mentioned above) that characterizes all God’s creation.

And [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denying the truth: but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth!* -- Q.38:27
*I.e., a deliberate rejection of the belief that the universe – and, in particular, human life – is imbued with meaning and purpose leads unavoidably – though sometime imperceptibly – to a rejection of all moral imperatives, to spiritual blindness and, hence, to suffering in the life to come.

[And all this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart. -- Q.38:29

And In your own nature, and in [that of] all the animals which he scatters [over the earth] there are messages for people who are endowed with inner certainty. --Q.45:4


Prophet said

“He who is pleased to see people standing in his honour, should seek his seat in hell fire” – H: Tirmizi. N: Mu’aawiya.

Think of the reward!
“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.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

And He it is who out of this [very] water has created man,* and has endowed him with [the conscious of] descent and marriage-tie:** for thy Sustainer is ever infinite in His power. -- Q.25:54
*See second half of 21:30 where the creation of “every living thing out of water” is spoken of, as well as 24;45, which mentions in this connection the entire animal world (including, of course, man)
** I.e., has enabled him to attribute spiritual value to, and to derive strength from, his organic and social relationship.

….until such time as they [who gave the lie to God’s messages] shall come [to be judged. And] He will say: “Did you give the lie to My messages even though you failed to encompass them with [your] knowledge?* Or what was it that [you thought] you were doing?”-- Q.27:84
*I.e., without having understood them or made any attempt to understand them.
This verse will be addressed to non-believers after resurrection. However, is it not something to think about today for those of us who though believe in God’s massages but do not try to understand them!? Have we ever done this to any message?
(Re study of the Quran refer to the Friday Post of May 14, 2010).


….were they [who gave the lie to God’s messages] not aware that it is We who had made the night for them, so that they might rest therein, and the day, to make [them] see?* -- Q.27:86
* In the present context (as in 10:67 or 40:61) the reference to “night” and “day” has a symbolic significance: namely, man’s God-given ability to gain insight through conscious reasoning (“the day that makes them see”) as well as through the intuition that comes from a restful surrender to the voice of one’s own heart (“the night made for rest”) – both of which tell us that the existence of God is a logical necessity, and a rejection of messages is a sin against ourselves.


Prophet said

Consider this reward for a little effort:
“When you get up in the morning charity is due from every part of your body: All glorification of God (to say subhan-Allah) is charity; all praise of God (to say Al Hamdo Lillah) is charity; there is no god but God (to say La ilaha illal lah) is charity; God is the Greatest (to say Allaho Akbar ) is charity; enjoining the doing of good and forbidding the doing of evil is charity. Two Raka’t of prayer* offered early after sunrise equal all this”-- H: Muslim. N: ABU Zarr.
*This is Ishraq prayer. Time to do this begins 20 minutes after sunrise. Just in case one happens to perform Fajir prayer after sunrise, then the Ishraq prayer will be after the Fajir prayer.

“He who keeps silence will be safe* ” -- H: Ahmed and Tirmizi. N: Abdullah-b-Amr.
* As it is in silence that one reflects and also is saved from frivolous talk.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

Are, then, they who are bent in denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder?*—and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not [begin to] believe?** -- Q.21:30
* It is, as a rule, futile to make an explanation of the Quran dependent on “scientific findings” which may appear true today, but may equally well disapproved tomorrow by new findings. Nevertheless, the above unmistakable reference to the unitary origin of the universe – metonymically described in the Quran as “the heavens and the earth” – strikingly anticipates the view of almost all astrophysicists that the universe has originated as on entity from one single element, namely, hydrogen, which became subsequently consolidated through gravity and then separated into individual nebulae, galaxies and solar systems, with further individual parts progressively breaking away to form new entities in the shape of stars, planets and the latters’ satellites.
** The statement that “God made out of water every living thing” expresses a most concisely a truth that is nowadays universally accepted by science. It has threefold meaning: (1) Water – and, specifically, the sea -- was the environment within which the prototype of all living matter originated; (2) among all the innumerable – existing or conceivable – liquids, only water has the peculiar properties for the emergence and development of life; and (3) the protoplasm, which is the physical basis of every living cell – whether in plants or in animals – and represents the only form of matter in which the phenomena of life are manifested, consists overwhelmingly of water and is, thus, utterly dependent on it. Read together with the preceding statement, which alludes to the unitary origin of the physical universe, the emergence of life from and within an equally unitary element points to the existence of a unitary plan underlying all creation and hence, to the existence and oneness of the Creator.

Did you, then, think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not have to return to Us?* -- Q.23:115
*Lit., “that you would not be brought back to Us”, i.e., for judgment.
On the Day of Judgment, God will say this to the doomed sinners.
We are continuously returning to God is the truth we should recall every day. The only way to prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment is to be concerned about it! Then, simply to follow God’s guidance: the Quran, that guides throughout this life into afterlife.
“Will they not ponder over this Quran? – or are there locks upon their hearts” God says in 47:24 about those ‘in whose hearts is disease’.
Study of the Quran has to be taken seriously. Doing it every day (so many things we do every day, don’t we?); pondering over even if it is just one verse. Using commentary/explanatory notes will prove helpful.
(Please also refer to the Friday Post of May 14, 2010).


Prophet said

“Recite the Qur’an morning and evening,* recite in a good voice and reflect upon it,** so that you may be rewarded” – H: Mishkat. N: Ubaidah.
* This seems reference to morning prayer, after-sunset and night prayers in which recitation is voiced, as noon and afternoon prayers are offered in silence. (Al- Hadis)
**The Tradition is directing us to learn the meanings of what we say when we perform our prayer because it is only then we can “reflect” upon it. This will be in the direction of performing the prayer in communion with Him.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says


Thus, step by step, We bestow from on high through this Quran all that gives health [to the spirit] and is a grace unto those who believe [in Us], the while it only adds to the ruin of evildoers. – Q.17:82

Are, then, they who are bent in denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder?*—and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not [begin to] believe?** -- Q.21:30
*It is, as a rule, futile to make an explanation of the Quran dependent on “scientific findings” which may appear true today, but may equally well disapproved tomorrow by new findings. Nevertheless, the above unmistakable reference to the unitary origin of the universe – metonymically described in the Quran as “the heavens and the earth” – strikingly anticipates the view of almost all astrophysicists that the universe has originated as on entity from one single element, namely, hydrogen, which became subsequently consolidated through gravity and then separated into individual nebulae, galaxies and solar systems, with further individual parts progressively breaking away to form new entities in the shape of stars, planets and the latter’s’ satellites.
** The statement that “God made out of water every living thing” expresses a most concisely a truth that is nowadays universally accepted by science. It has threefold meaning: (1) Water – and, specifically, the sea -- was the environment within which the prototype of all living matter originated; (2) among all the innumerable – existing or conceivable – liquids, only water has the peculiar properties for the emergence and development of life; and (3) the protoplasm, which is the physical basis of every living cell – whether in plants or in animals – and represents the only form of matter in which the phenomena of life are manifested, consists overwhelmingly of water and is, thus, utterly dependent on it. Read together with the preceding statement, which alludes to the unitary origin of the physical universe, the emergence of life from and within an equally unitary element points to the existence of a unitary plan underlying all creation and hence, to the existence and oneness of the Creator.


And, indeed, many times have we repeated [all this] unto men* so that they might take it to heart: but most men refuse to be aught but ingrate. -- Q.25:50
*A reference to the frequent many-faceted reiteration, in the Quran as well as earlier revelations of all the evidence of unmistakably pointing to the existence of a conscious Creator (Zamakhshari).



Prophet said

“Whoever wants to have the pleasure of making his reliance on God (Tawakkul)* effective let him stick to silence” – H: Baihaqi. N: Anas.
*Tawakkul means to have full faith and trust in God.
Hence, if you undertake any work, start it with complete planning and determination. Then, be willing to accept whatever be the outcome. Because of your trust, God will certainly help if the work is good for us.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says

And nothing has prevented Us from sending [this message, like the earlier ones,] with miraculous signs [in its wake] save [Our knowledge] that the people of olden times [only too often] gave the lie to them:* thus We provided for [the tribe of] Thamud the she camel as a light-giving portent, and they signed against it.** And never did We send those signs for any other purpose than to convey a warning -- Q.17:59
*This highly elliptic sentence has a fundamental bearing on the purport of the Quran as a whole. In many places the Quran stresses the fact that the Prophet Muhammad, despite of being the last and greatest of God’s apostles, was not empowered to perform miracles, similar to those the earlier prophets are said to have reinforced their verbal messages. His only miracle was and is the Quran itself – a message perfect in its lucidity and ethical comprehensiveness, destined for all times and all stages of human development, addressed not only to the feelings but also to the minds of men, open to everyone, whatever his race or social environment, and bound to remain unchanged forever. Since the earlier prophets invariably appealed their own community and their own time alone, their teachings were of necessity, were circumscribed by the social and intellectual conditions of that particular community and time; and since the people to whom they addressed themselves had not yet reached the stage of independent thinking, those prophets stood in need of symbolic portents or miracles in order to make the people concerned realize the inner truth of their mission. The message of the Quran, on the other hand, was revealed at a time when mankind (and in particular, that part of it which inhabited the region marked by the earlier, Judaeo-Cristian religious development) had reached a degree of maturity which henceforth enabled it to grasp an ideology as such without the aid those persuasive portents and miraculous demonstrations which in the past, as the above verse points out, only too often gave rise to new, grave misconceptions.

Prophet said

“It is part of the excellence of a person’s Islam that he should discard what is of no benefit to him either in this world or the hereafter” – H: Tirmizi. N: Abu Hurairah.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (to be continued)

God says


Whenever He sends down water from the sky, and [once dry] river-beds are running high according to their measure, the stream carries scum on its surface;* and, likewise, from that [metal] which they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments or utensils, [there rises] scum.

In this way does God set forth the parable of truth and falsehood: for as for as the scum is concerned, it passes away as [does all] dross; but that which is of benefit to man abides on earth.

In this way does God set forth the parables of those who have responded to their Sustainer with a goodly response, and of those who did not respond to Him. [As for the latter,] if they possessed all that is on earth, and twice as much, they would surely offer it as ransom [on the Day of Judgment]: a most evil reckoning awaits them, and their goal is hell: and how evil a resting place! -- Q.13:17,18

*Sc., “while the water beneath remains clear”.


And never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people’s tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them; but God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides him that wills [to be guided] – for He alone is almighty, truly wise.* -- Q.14:4

*Or: “God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills”. All Quranic references to God’s “letting man go astray” must be understood against the background of 2 : 26-27 – “none does He cause to go astray save the iniquitous, who break their bond with God”: that is to say man’s “going astray” is a consequence of his own attitudes and inclinations and not a result of an arbitrary “predestination”. In his commentary on the above verse, Zamakhshari stresses this aspect of free choice on the part of man and points out “[God] forsakes him who, as He knows will (consciously) choose to deny the truth and will persevere in this (denial); and… He bestows His favour upon him who, as He knows, will choose faith: which means that He makes the issue dependent on (man’s) free choice (al-ikhtiyar), and thus deserving either [God’s] favour or the withdrawal of [His] aid … and does not make it dependant on compulsion [i.e., predestination], which would rule out [man’s] deserving anything of the above.”


Reminder to use the honorific given below.
After name or title of the Prophet say: “Sal-lal- lahu ‘Alaihi wa Sal-lam”;
(peace and blessings be upon him)
After the name or the title of every prophet (nabi) and apostle (rasul) say:
“ ‘Alai hissalaam” (peace be upon him or them)
After the name of their family member, as well as a companion, say:
“Radi Allahu ‘Anhu—or ‘Anha—or ‘Anhum ”
(may God be pleased with him--or her--or them)
And for others, say: “Rahmat-Allah-e-‘Alaih”
(God’s mercy be upon him)



Prophet said


“Invocation* of a Muslim is accepted for another Muslim who is away from him. When he invokes for him, the commissioned angel near his head says: Be it so (Aameen); and for you be the like rewards.” -- H: Muslim N: Abu Darda’a.

*To call for help with earnest desire.