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“The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea; And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.”  --Khalil Gibran

“A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. Is it such a Message that ye would hold in light esteem? And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false? Then why do ye not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying man) reaches the throat,- And ye the while (sit) looking on,- But We are nearer to him than ye, and yet see not,- Then why do ye not,- If you are exempt from (future) account,- Call back the soul, if ye are true (in the claim of independence)?” 

"Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise. ”Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. "Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!"

 

“And that which is (locked up) in (human) breasts is made manifest. That their Lord had been Well-acquainted with them, (even to) that Day?” (Qur'an 100:10-11)

(Qur’an Ta-Ha: 14-16)
"Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.”Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. "Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!"

“Truly dost thou marvel, while they ridicule, And, when they are admonished, pay no heed,- And, when they see a Sign, turn it to mockery,”
(Quran 37:12-14)

The conversation is being continued from here.  This conversation will focus in on a few verses of the Qur'an.  The conversation is quite detailed and long and requires some thought and reflection.  I will address civil questions at the end.  The previous blogs on the Queen of Sheeba are here: 5a and 5b. 

(Qur’an al-Waqia: 80-86)
“A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. Is it such a Message that ye would hold in light esteem? And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false? Then why do ye not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying man) reaches the throat,- And ye the while (sit) looking on,- But We are nearer to him than ye, and yet see not,- Then why do ye not,- If you are exempt from (future) account,- Call back the soul, if ye are true (in the claim of independence)?”  

(Qur’an Ta-Ha: 14-16)
"Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.”Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. "Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!"

Wazwaz: Everyone seeks and wants to know the truth, but with the exception of a few, we all prepare ourselves to receive it selectively. Many of us are prepared to receive truth that validates us, benefits us and elevates us against others. However, truth seekers don’t just seek the truth, but they also prepare themselves to receive it, all of it - since many truths are against us, against our views, our desires, and our opinions. Comment on the Queen of Sheeba and the group addressed in Al-Waqia?  Like the Meccans, she received a message from a prophet, but her response is drastically different. How do we understand her response in comparison?

Shaykh Qays: The prophets call to something outside of themselves, to a higher source, a Higher Truth which, in reality is but God Himself. Queen of Sheeba was concerned with the truth, seeking knowledge, and having a life based on higher principles. The Queen put the principle of the truth, and living on the truth, and receiving the truth, above everything else, including their position, their culture, their religion, their wealth, etc.,

According to Islamic teachings, revelation is about noble values that guide to the originator of the heavens and the earth. So our understanding is that desires and selfish interests affect one’s perception and reception of the truth. People may be convinced of the truth, but may oppose it anyway because what is important to them is what they accumulate from this world.

From an Islamic perspective, you also have people who prevent themselves from recognizing the truth; they make excuses. We see this in many people in Mecca, where they made excuses like, saying the Prophet (peace be upon him) was insane or possessed. This was done, in fact, to all the Prophets. There are and always have been people who have vested interests, who use mockery and attacks to oppose the truth and nurture an environment where it is maligned and mocked. They say the person is mad. Today they say the people are uncivilized. Today, some people view Muslims as uncivilized.

During his presidential campaign, someone asked Senator John McCain if Obama was an Arab or Muslim, and Senator McCain responded that these accusations are not true, as Obama is a decent family man. So that is a kind of an excuse. In such excuses there is self-deception rather than self-knowledge. Such excuses allow people to fool themselves. For true self-knowledge to take place one has to have a direct relationship with God. There is something called the truth, and it has a greater right over us than everything we do and own. So Prophet Abraham said,

"Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims." (Al-An`am 6:162-163)

Wazwaz: Would you agree that one accepts their mortality while the other is divorced from the knowledge of their mortality. One has self-knowledge of who they are while the other is in delusion and acts like they are immortal. They might claim to believe in death, but act as though they are independent of it.

Shaykh Qays: God is addressing a group of people who have forgotten something and He is reminding of it -, that at the moment of death - they are in dreadful anticipation. They are sitting there anticipating, waiting, powerless and vulnerable, dreading what is to come. Yet when they are talking to the Prophet, they are mocking, ridiculing, and jesting instead of listening, reflecting and investigating what the Prophet is saying.

God is reminding them that now you are in this state, but when you are sitting looking at someone who is about to die, someone dear to you, someone precious to you that is not in your state. Remember the reality of your state and that death will face you as well and with it the fear of God. God is simply describing the reality of their state at that time. It is a precise and clear description. Everyone is there, everyone is vulnerable, and everyone is traumatized.

Humble yourself and ask if your attitude toward the revelation, or your attitude toward the truth correct? Think about it when you consider that you are NOT able to bring back the soul, your precious loved one, not the machine, but your dear one back to life. I do not think that they felt that they could bring the soul back, but they are being reminded of what they knew from experience but forgot as they jested and mocked. I do not agree that the condition of the believer is always positive.

Both groups mutually disprove each other, and mutually act on what they believe. In Al-Waqia, God is reminding that group by bringing them to a point of vulnerability. It is a rhetorical challenge, not an actual challenge. So yes, there is that disconnection as you said.

Wazwaz: How would you comment on what you believe is the source of disconnection?

Shaykh Qays: The source of disconnection is the nafs (ego) and hawa (desires). They are content with the status quo, just how Mecca was, just how the idols were, just how the Kab’ah is, just how their fathers were worshipping. The status quo was self-serving, so they were content with it. They do not want to be bothered with self-accountability on the Day of Judgment, and reflecting on everything that they do, at every moment of the day. That state is called taqwa, being constantly aware.

When you look at animals, I was saying to my son recently, if we look at animals, they are seldom unaware. They are constantly alert; their ears turn this way and that way. Yet human beings who live on the same planet want to be oblivious. They want to sit back and relax and be oblivious to everything around us. Faith calls us to reality, to be constantly aware, to be conscious, to think, to listen, to reflect on our vulnerability, to be awake. The source of the problem here is the people’s stubborn attachment to their desires and ultimately to this World.
 

(To Be Continued...)

"No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”
--Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

In previous blogs, I began a conversation with Shaykh Qays Arthur, titled, Toward Understanding Islam and Muslims.  Currently, Shaykh Qays gives private lessons on worship and Islamic beliefs at his home in Amman, Jordan and via the website QaysArthur.net.  In the conversation, we addressed monotheism, including several spiritual aspects on faith and guidance.  This blog will address the issue of surrender or submission in Islam, and it will complete the section on faith and guidance.

Surrendering to God requires knowledge, and not just knowledge, but more importantly self-knowledge.  In truth, you cannot surrender to God without knowledge.  In this blog – I want to first explore the concept of surrendering to God, or submission, which has been misunderstood as nurturing a mindset of blind obedience, an inferiority complex or irrational belief.  

Many of the conversations in the Qur’an aim to take us to the threshold of our own mind, the part that lies asleep, so we can stop, reflect, remember and understand.  I found the conversations to be quite unique and upon reflection, God removes the masks we wear to expose our inner reality, layer by layer, to help us see ourselves and our arguments with more precision and reflection.  Hence, as I explore surrender or submission to God, I will focus mainly on the importance of self-knowledge.

This conversation will focus in on a few verses of the Qur’an.  The conversation is quite detailed and requires some thought and reflection.  It is not meant for easy quick reading.  It is quite long and will be posted in parts.  If you can hold your questions til the end, as the conversation will first try to reconcile the previous discussions and then fully explain submission in Islam.  I will address civil questions at the end.

Wazwaz:  Shaykh Qays, I want to share with you some verses in the Qur’an regarding two groups of people and if we can focus on them for this conversation.  Can you share your initial comments on the following?

(Qur’an al-Waqia: 80-86)
“A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. Is it such a Message that ye would hold in light esteem? And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false? Then why do ye not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying man) reaches the throat,- And ye the while (sit) looking on,- But We are nearer to him than ye, and yet see not,- Then why do ye not,- If you are exempt from (future) account,- Call back the soul, if ye are true (in the claim of independence)?”  

(Qur’an Ta-Ha: 14-16)
"Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.”Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. "Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!"

Shaykh Qays:  From my reading the commentary on both, the verses in al-Waqia address a group of people who live in a world of rejection, and denial of the obvious. The Qur'an calls people to reflect on things that they are familiar with that ought to bring them to correct conclusions regarding truth. But people who are bent otherwise don't see it.

So the Qur'an advanced its argument to remind people about what it is that they ought to see by way of meanings as they experience life. One of the things I found interesting in the commentary of the verses in chapter Al-Waqia is how the Qur'an calls people to reflect on the moment of death.  This was not an uncommon experience in the past but it has become something of a rarity in contemporary society. Such things as death are taught and seen from a “scientific” point of view. There is no reflection on it. Like living, death, we are taught, goes back to functions of systems: the nervous, circulatory, respiratory systems simply stopped functioning due to some mechanical cause. The philosophical assumption being that the human being is a machine in a universe that is a machine. But the Qur’an speaks to the meaning of it all, beyond the mechanics. And it speaks to people who see themselves not as machines but as human beings who are creatures of purpose and meaning. It calls us back to a distinctly pre-modern mindset based on the grit of real life and, in this case, the death experience. I find this to be something that is extremely powerful and needed.

People now, perhaps more-so the young, need to come back to fundamental questions like that of purpose. Such questions require real knowledge to answer; not trials, studies, and theories. Contrary to what many of us are taught we are not merely machines. This we learn from Revelation, the highest source of knowledge we have. The fact that we are similar to machines in terms of how we function does not mean that is the reality of who we are. The Qur'an calls us to be aware of ourselves, aware of our circumstances, connected to reality; mere machines can’t do what the Qur’an asks. Our circumstance - what does it mean? This verse of the Qur'an is calling humanity to look at or rather recall the theater of death, if you will. It reminds us about something that is traumatic and humbling in its certainty, that tells us about our reality, and is worthy of reflection.

So it may be said that what revelation is doing is teaching us to read the signs that Allah has placed within us, and around us. That is perhaps, in today’s world, the most needed type of literacy and education.

Wazwaz: In Al-Waqia - verse 82 – there is an emphasis on negating something in an obsessive manner. I read it as defining your life on negating something that you do not believe is true instead of acting on what you believe is true. Do you agree?

Shaykh Qays: Well an obsessive approach is not necessarily bad in itself - artists and craftsmen are sometimes said to be obsessive about their craft. Neither is rejecting something in itself bad. For example, God says to those who believe, love God more than anything else. Those who believe could thus be said to have an obsessive love for Allah, while those who disbelieve have obsessive love for their idols. Also, God describes believers as those who reject falsehood while those who disbelieve reject truth. I don’t see it as saying simply that believers have a positive approach that focuses on affirmation while disbelievers have a negative approach that focuses on rejection which seems to be what you are saying unless I misunderstood you.

Wazwaz:  Let me clarify. What I am referring to is the lack of self-knowledge in people mentioned in the set of verses of Al-Waqia versus the people mentioned in Ta-Ha.  One group is obsessed with rejecting and promoting the other as standing on falsehood, whereas the other people are focused and aware on what they believe.  Is that clearer?

Shaykh Qays: The disbeliever strives to act on what he believes, not unlike the believer. And the disbeliever also strives to reject what they do not believe, like the believer. In our declaration of faith, for example, we start by rejecting or negating - there is no deity - then affirmation - except God - There is no deity except God. Our declaration of faith begins with an active rejection of all deities.  Both groups, believers and unbelievers, engage in rejection and affirmation. The distinction between the two is that one group denies falsehood and affirms the truth while the other group denies truth and affirms falsehood.

Another clear distinction is in what you referred to as self-knowledge. One group is honest and submits to the truth, and is not in an oppositional state of mind when it comes to the truth. This is manifested in that they are people who are humble servants who accept who they are, while the other group is arrogant, stingy, self-serving and concerned with their livelihoods in this world and accumulation of wealth, and/or fame, prestige, or power in this world.

To say that the overall state of the believer is constant positive action on what he believes while the state of the disbeliever is constant negating is a partial truth since they both engage in rejecting and affirming.

(To Be Continued...)

For clarification:

This conversation is meant for education only.  The internet is saturated with misinterpretations of the Qur'an and the term kafir, or disbeliever.   Some ignorant Muslims also have done damage by also interpreting the verses based on their own ego and their own pathology. 

According to Islamic teachings: "God will ask us about ourselves, not about what He should do with others."  It is strictly NON-INVOLVEMENT.  Saints and Prophets who are given Divine permission to appeal on behalf of others, appeal ONLY for DIVINE MERCY, not punishment.  While they had tremendous desire to see people in heaven and saved, they did not deceive humanity, and clearly said they have NO POWER to protect anyone from God.  They are given Divine permission to appeal for those who accept their station, and strive to follow them.

At the level of individuals, it is a major question as to what reaching and rejecting faith entail. This is why as Muslims, we cannot judge whether individual non-Muslims are in Hell — or, for that matter, in Heaven.  Likewise of Muslims.  As Muslims, we must also check ourselves if we are hypocrites or believers.  Likewise for me, I cannot say I am destined for Heaven.  I cannot say I am saved.  I do not know my state.  It is with awareness and not delusion that we read the Qur'an and reflect on our inner reality.  For references to help understand this conversation see the following links from SeekersGuidance: rejecting faith 1, rejecting faith 2 and rejecting faith 3.

On December 14, 2012, late in the afternoon - I became aware of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It was painful to read the stories, emails and newsfeed as they poured over the tragedy. In times of crisis and pain like this, as a Muslim I immediately turn to prayer to gain strength and to reflect on the situation. In the evening, I joined an online prayer service on SeekersHub in Toronto.

The Toronto team was able to gather a large crowd at the Hub and online for our prayer for the victims and families of the murder in Connecticut. "The believer is pained by the pain of another," said Shaykh Faraz Rabbani while leading the prayers for the affected families of Connecticut.

Mainly through social media discussions, I began reading various viewpoints regarding the shooting. Some argued for greater gun control. Is this tragedy due to a lack of gun control policies? Maybe. We can consider this argument. But let us consider the argument that frequent mass shootings of innocent people are not symptoms of lack of gun control policies as well. Did Timothy McVeigh use guns in the Oklahoma bombing?

 

"My third reason [for opposing the war] moves to a deeper level of awareness, for it grows out of my experience in the ghettos of the North over the past three summers. As I have walked among the desperate, rejected and angry young men I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they asked me, and rightfully so, what about Vietnam? They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today my own government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent…”