The Mysterious Story of Abraham's Sacrificing his son - Part 2

The three remaining questions from last post were:

1. Why Abraham is so highly spoken of throughout Quran to the degree that he is called "friend of God"?
2. What is the impact of Abraham on the world after him?
3. What kind of relationship with God is illustrated in Quran by the story of Abraham's life?

1. It appears to me that the main events in Abraham's life has one thing in common which makes him so special before God.  I believe that is his total devotion to God throughout his life as far as it is narrated in Quran.  He has proven his complete surrender to God by following God's orders despite all the odds. That is to say, he surrendered himself to the fire they had thrown him in as the punishment for shattering their idols into pieces.  Abraham left his second wife "Hajar" and his son "Esmaeel" in the desert of Mecca as God had commanded him, despite the extremely harsh conditions of the terrain he left them in, with no foods and water.  The action of sacrificing his son had also the same intention although it was not commanded by God and was stopped by God. Same was true about building the "Kabaa" (God's home) in a place that was uninhabitable at the time.

Quran has not narrated the story of Abraham's life from the beginning to the end, as we can see throughout Quran it only states the highlights or the most important points of an event skipping over the details.  Perhaps we can say that Abraham like any other human being was living a normal life and he was learning by trial and errors like all of us except the fact that he has made such a critical and determinant choices to surrender to God's command in the events that has been told in Quran.  In other words, we have been given our life time to try and learn for ourselves until we spiritually ripe enough to the degree when we can surrender ourselves to God with such a pure devotion as Abraham's ,when we are tested in certain occasions.  This implies we can all walk the path Abraham did, although I do not mean we can end up being a prophet or being so special to God.  Nonetheless, everyone can have a unique relationship to God which I believe is the underlying concept of God's being "Rahim", as explained in early posts. 

Speaking practically, we can constantly try to align our intention of doing the mundane tasks with God's satisfaction as we perceive so.  Yet there will be a few occasions in everyone's life when making a choice for the sake of God will appear against the norms, against our personal interests and perhaps could be very costly to us.   I believe those are the decisions that will fundamentally affect our life afterwards.  By the way of example, if we found ourself in an unhappy marriage already with a child or with children and we feel like God would be happier with us if we stay in the marriage mostly because of the kids,  while it is clear to us that we can have a better life if separated,   this decisions can tremendously affect the future life of the children and may bear an unexpected fruit which will worth all the hardship of the long years of patience.   Needless to say, I do not mean that we should stay in a wrong marriage at all costs. 

2. I believe Abraham's surrender to God so purely not only has made him a friend of God, as stated in Quran, but it also has impacted humanity tremendously.  According to Quran in the verses following 37:110 all later prophets' ancestry could be traced back to Abraham trough either "Eshaag" or "Esmaeel".  Therefore, it maybe reasonable to assume that if it wasn't for Abraham mankind might not had the greatest/dearest prophets "Moses", "Jesus" and "Mohammad".   In verse 37:100 Abraham prayed to God to be granted a righteous child and in 3:35-37 "Omran's wife" (Maryam's mother) dedicates her baby to God which led to the birth of Jesus.  

It is fascinating how prayer of a few individuals (other humans) have affected the course of history of humanity so drastically. This is while in the eyes of the praying person God may not have granted him what he/she wished for because mother of Maryam asked for a son but she gave birth to a girl who years later turned out to be the mother of Jesus.   In the same way, it might be faire to say that if Adam's sin in heaven brought his descendants suffering on earth, Abraham's actions resulted in guiding humans to happiness again.   My point is this is potentially the scope of the effects the our relationship with God can bring about. 

3.  I believe Abraham's relationship with God illustrates an ideal way we should connect to God, that is we are to practically commit ourselves to God and do whatever we do in life for him. That is the true meaning of being God's servant (which is not the right word I believe).  We have to conceptualize the image that Quran is depicting from our potential relationship with God and discover what Quran is truly about.  We are to find a word which represents total devotion, which gives one entity priority over all others in our life in practical terms , in our actions not in our words or merely in our feelings. We are here to find out this relationship by trial and error by a learning process of dedicating yourself to different things and beings until we realize there is only one supreme being which is worth sacrificing everything we have for. That is when we fall in the true love which is eternal and will include all the humans' as well. 

The Mysterious Story of Abraham Sacrificing His Son

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

فلما بلغ معه السعي قال يا بني اني ارى في المنام اني اذبحك فانظر ماذا ترى قال يا ابت افعل ما تؤمر ستجدني ان شاء الله من الصابرين 37:102

"And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, "O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think." He said, "O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast."

فلما اسلما وتله للجبين  37:103

"And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead,"

وناديناه ان يا ابراهيم  37:104

"We called to him, "O Abraham,"

قد صدقت الرؤيا انا كذلك نجزي المحسنين 37:105

"You have fulfilled the vision." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good."

ان هذا لهو البلاء المبين 37:106

"Indeed, this was the clear trial."

وفديناه بذبح عظيم  37:107

"And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice,"

وتركنا عليه في الاخرين  37:108

"And We left for him [favorable mention] among later generations:"

سلام على ابراهيم   37:109

"Peace upon Abraham."

كذلك نجزي المحسنين  37:110

"Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good."

   صدق الله العلي العظيم

Quranic Verses from Quran.com

Having read the above verses, there are a number of questions that come to our mind namely:

1. Is it God who demanded sacrifice of Abraham's son through a dream? 
2. Why God stopped Abraham ?
3. What is praised by God on this specific act of Abraham?
4. Why Abraham is so highly spoken of throughout Quran to the degree that he is called "friend of God"?
5. What is the impact of Abraham on the world after him?
6. What kind of relationship with God is illustrated in Quran by the story of Abraham's life?

1.  Based on the other cases in Quran where a dream has been interpreted such as Yusuf's dream, it seems that true dreams are mainly an indication of what is to come in future.  Our personal prophetic dreams, which present clear vision of an upcoming event, corroborate this fact as well. They primarily show the events that are going to happen soon.

I am not sure if there is a concrete evidence in Quran in which God has explicitly given a command to a Prophet through a dream.  On the contrary, I believe "Vahy" meaning God's words (directly or indirectly) to Prophets have always been received in their state of full consciousness.

It also appears that Dreams have something to do with personal desires and conditions. That is  to say, dreams often answer an intention or a question that we have been thinking about for a long time or they address a personal deep concern or emotion.  From this perspective, it can be assumed that Abraham might have been influenced by a tradition of his time when it was common to sacrifice their children for their Gods. Judging from Abraham's life story as narrated by Quran however, we can realize that Abraham was always obsessed with the best he could do for God in the course of his life. Evidently, it is more reasonable to assume that he had believed such sacrifice could be the ultimate deed for God. This motivation as the main source of his dream would be more consistent with his other actions such as leaving his second wife with the new born son in a desert against all the odds, as instructed by God, where was later called Mecca the holiest place on earth for ever after.

That said, we can come to the belief that Abraham's dream was not a clear instruction from God asking Abraham's to sacrifice his son.   I have seen the interpretations which take the son's words "do as you are commanded" in verse 102 as the proof for considering the sacrifice a command from God. I am not sure if that is entirely the case. In my opinion, it only shows the son had surrendered himself to God and he was willing to give his life for God if it is demanded.

2 & 3. If the sacrifice was God's command, there was no reason for him to stop Abraham.  In verse 104 it is clearly stated that God calls upon Abraham and then in 105 God tells him "You have fulfilled the vision"   and he was told this not in a dream.

One would argue that verse 106 could be the evidence to the contrary. "Indeed, this was the clear trial."     The answer to this argument is hidden in the previous verse 105: "You have fulfilled the vision." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good."   What is the good action being rewarded by God, if it is the sacrifice itself it is not done.  What is so worthy of God's praise is infact, the Abraham's sacrifice of his dearest asset in life for God.  To give a priority to God over all his interests even if it is the life of his beloved son who is given to him after years of praying and expectations. Especially a son whose birth itself was a miracle because of the age of Abraham's wife, according to earlier verses.

We can therefore, come to the conclusion that God had never intended for Abraham's to actually kill his son with his own hand but to only test him indirectly to choose between his interests  and God's, as perceived by Abraham from his dream, definitely not based on God's command.

Most importantly, I believe the message of this event for our time is the fact that we are not allowed to hurt an innocent person with the intention of doing something for God in order to purify our soul or get closer to God.  This is a clear contradiction we can see today in many evil actions that are done in the name of religion , Islam in particular. Harming innocent man, women or children, in anyway, regardless of their faith or race is a satanic criminal act and can not be based on a true religion and its potential justification is only a distortion of truth.

I would like to emphasize that ,based on these verses of Quran, no matter how devoted we believe our action is to God, we are not allowed to commit any immoral action.  If we are to follow Abraham's footsteps look how humanly he has discussed his frustration with his son and has done noting without his consent (102).


I will try to answer the remaining  3 questions in the next post, God willing.

Does "Zaraba" Mean Hitting by Hand in Verse 4:34 ?

One of the controversial verses of Quran is certainly the verse 34 of Al-Nissa, which, seemingly, appears to suggest using physical violence against women who are in an emotional state of disobedience to their spouse.    

                                                                 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

4:34

"Men are in charge of women by what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend  from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in  absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand."

                                                                صدق الله العلي العظيم

The main idea of this verse, I believe,  is to determine the relationship between the men and women by explaining that men have dominance over women due to the advantages given to them by God and due to the fact that men support women financially. 

Having lived in Canada for some years now, I fully appreciate the significance of feminism (meaning equal rights and opportunities) in the western world as I don't find it contradictory to the fact that women and men have fundamental differences in their nature, which lead to varied needs and dependencies. Historically, women have always lived under the umbrella of men's protection in terms of their security, safety and financial needs. This dependency becomes particularly evident at time of wars, dealing with environmental risks as well as making a living. Although it is true that today women can be financially independent in many countries and they are even more successful than men, most women feel more comfortable with the idea of being financially provided for. In other words, Women, in most cases, do not prefer to earn a livelihood if they do not have to, self-improvement aspects of a job aside. 

In comparison, while women seem to be psychologically dependent on men, men are physiologically relying on women. That is why we can see more single moms than single fathers. Women show a tendency to replace their spouse with their children. Judging from life experience, I believe men and women equally need the opposite gender to evolve to their full capacity that is embedded in every human nature. 

That said, it appears men have an innate feature that when they provide for a woman they expect an exclusive commitment in return with regard to their sexual and physical intimacy needs. That is to say, men by their nature assume a dominance over their mate.  This serves as a foundation for their entire psyche and of course it works equally the same for women as well. The significance of this psychological interdependence becomes clear when it is shaken by one side cheating over the other be it in a marriage or not. The extreme reactions that most people show in response to these situations range from personal emotional drama to committing a serious crime against the partner. There are everyday news and movies to evidence this fact of life. 

The main controversy however, comes later in this verse where it is stated that when a woman shows disrespect and unwillingness toward her partner (reason is unknown) then Quran instructs a sequence of actions which starts with talking her off the mood, then if that doesn't work, abandoning her in bed is the next step and finally if either one does not help the situation it appears that Quran says striking is an option which means hitting by hand. The verse further emphasizes that when the woman seems to behave properly there should be no further follow up on this matter. 

I personally have serious reservations to take the Arabic verb "Zaraba" as hitting in this context. That is mainly because we can think of quite a number of arguments against this interpretation. Namely, the woman may have rightfully some reasons not to be willing toward her partner. Secondly, I doubt if physical violence could help anyone's temperament in such situation. And thirdly, it is not conceivable to set a punishment without exact details that would be unprecedented in Quran. Lastly, if physical supremacy of men is meant to be the final solution, it will be contradictory to the next verse 4:35 in which a biding arbitration by a representative from each side is ordered as the ultimate resort to settle lasting family disputes. 

Searching Quran for the different meanings of "Zaraba" we come across to three distinct applications. 

1. Meaning to give an example in verses : 2:26, 13:17, 14:24, 14:45, 16:75, 16:76,........
2. Meaning to hit by hand in verses : 7:60, 7:160, 37;93, 38:44, 38:44.
3. Meaning figuratively to travel, to cast, to cover in verses : 2;273, 3:156, 4;101, 5;106, 20:77, 18:11, 2:61, 43:17 and 43:58. 

It is a huge relief to see this verb is used to mean other than hitting. That is why I am inclined to believe that "Zaraba" in this case is meant to travel or to leave the woman alone which I think in real life is the most practical temporary remedy for this situation. I admit however, that we can not find a similar context in Quran in which "Zaraba" is explicitly used to mean moving out. Nevertheless, we can always ask ourselves which meaning is closer to God's satisfaction. This way, I will have no hesitation that interpreting "Zaraba" figuratively to mean travel or move out will be the best fit in this case. 

At the end of the day, we can always perceive Quran in line with God's satisfaction or we can read it word for word to support the desires of our ego and to pursue our personal interests in the name of religion. Today, a suicide-bomber or an ISIS Jihadi. for example, would claim that he is fighting for God, to the best of his knowledge.  The truth of the matter is. there is only a fine line between the two intentions which can only be seen in the light of a pure and guided heart.  Nevertheless, once these intents are materialised, their outcome are incomparable and easy to differentiate. 

Finally, this discussion may also demonstrate the fact that in the absence of the Prophet, the only legitimate authority for interpretation of Quran, we are left with hadith and personal inspiration, both of which seem to be relative and indefinite despite being extremely helpful. This will lead us to a very practical conclusion that any human understanding of holy scriptures are merely personal understandings which can not be regarded as God's orders. It does not matter whether it is based on years of studying religious texts or if it is based on personal inspiration. 

The Metaphysical Side of Human Being?

Firstly, everyday when we look at ourselves in the mirror the first thought comes to mind is "this is certainly not me".  It is true however, that we feel we are looking at our body as a possession which implies that there is a real me beyond the image in the mirror.  We can hardly deny this feeling that has existed with us ever since we have reflected on this matter. 

Secondly,  when we are asleep whether over nighttime or when we are unconscious due to a medical condition, we are not expected to be responsive and reactive to our environment.  In other words, our consciousness seems to be what we are identified with, whoever we are.  Human character, personality and temperament can not be attributed to our body.  

Thirdly, as Rumi said, when some one is dead his or her loved ones do not consider the remaining body to be their love.  Evidently, it is not the visible body that we love. The dead person is considered gone while the physical body is still present. 

These classical examples from daily life represent a profound truth about the nature of our entity. They lead us to believe that the core of our existence ,in fact, lies in the supernatural side of us that exists in an invisible dimension to our eyes.  

Let's have a look at a few of the related Quranic verses which hopefully will guide us to form an idea of the true nature of human being beyond a body of flesh and bone.

                                                            بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

4:1
"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.

21:35

"Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned."


14:51
"So that Allah will recompense every soul for what it earned. Indeed, Allah is swift in account."

91:7
"And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it"

91:8

"And inspired it its wickedness and its righteousness,"

91:9

"He has succeeded who purifies it,"

91:10

"And he has failed who instills it ."

50:16
"And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein"

39:42

"Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought."

38:72

"So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration."

  صدق الله العلي العظيم

 
I would like to begin by clarifying that the purpose of this writing is not to find out the way and the sequence in which the first human was created but it has the intention to put together different pieces of underlying information in the above messages in order to form an understanding of the metaphysical side of human being according to the Quranic view.

Clearly, from 4:1 we can understand that all humans were created from the same essence " Nafs" as it is called in Quranic language.  In most translations "Nafs" has been turned to "soul" which I am not sure if it is the right counter word in English since soul is used in the last verse 38:72 in its distinguished context.  For the lack of a better term, we should stick to the original word "Nafs" for now.

   Over the verses that follows, "Nafs" and its functions is described with some details:

• 21:35 states the mortality of "Nafs". 
• 14:51 Every "Nafs" will face the consequence of what it has achieved. This concept will pave the way to understand hellfire as an outcome rather than punishment in the afterlife. Furthermore, it implies that our actions and our choices impact our "Nafs" permanently. That is, in the course of our lifetime we will gradually shape our "Nafs" into its final status before we leave this world.  
• 91:7 God has made the "Nafs".
• 91:8 God speaks to us through "Nafs" which is the base for our internal moral judgments. "Nafs" is therefore, our source of inspiration and is our communication channel with God in which our ethical feelings are formed. Depending on God's inspiration we will feel guilty, troubled, or conversely happy and content.  Human conscience as known today is probably the perfect fit for this Quranic description. 
• 91:9 The success of our life in this world is determined by the final status of our "Nafs".  In this sense, the highest achievement of our life time is to purify our "Nafs" from all voices but God's.  
• 91:10  The real failure in life, on the other hand, is to completely lose our "Nafs" to sins and to Satan in general, as opposed to God. 

Before proceeding with last three verses we need to establish what is "Nafs" as far as we can read between the lines.  From the explained verses, we can infer that "Nafs" is the common core of all humans with inherently the same nature which gives everyone an equal potential to prosper spiritually.  Additionally, everyone is given a pre-determined limited time to learn from the laboratory of life by freely experiencing wicked and righteous actions.  We are given the freewill to choose between engaging devil and divine to see how they affect our happiness in the short and in the long term.  The choices we make in our life will reflect on our "Nafs" and will either illuminate it or darken it steadily so that "Nafs" itself will represent the result of our life journey.

An enlightened "Nafs" has overcome the temptations of Satan and has grown under the light of God's inspiration. It has learned and practiced God's names and his qualities. Such guided "Nafs" finds peace and happiness in following God's light in terms of differentiating good from bad or right from wrong in daily life's judgments and actions.  It glows with light and emits love to all others in his or her proximity.  This perfected "Nafs" has been in touch with truth most of his lifetime in this world so when it enters the next life it is well suited to live in harmony with  the world of pure, unveiled truth. That is why, it can enter the heaven which was tailored to its exact status so that "Nafs" will continue to further learn and thrive in its ever continued growth toward God.

In Contrast, the "Nafs" that has followed Satan's voice and has engaged in evil actions will get darker and darker and loses its functionality and its capability to hear the inspiration of God.  As a result, such "Nafs" will deny sings of God, which work as guidelines to the truth, to the degree that it will entirely lose its ability to see the reality of life and to grow out of the basic lessons of this world. Having turned to a senseless stone at the end, such "Nafs" has to go through the hard way in afterlife to learn what it has missed in the first life.  As a matter of fact, whenever we humans stubbornly resist learning a fact of life we end up with learning it the hard way.  That is, through a painful and forceful process.  In other words, if we choose to willingingly and knowingly disapprove the ultimate truth of the world, which is God, we will virtually turn our "Nafs" to a stone. Then, perhaps the only cure would be to melt down this hardened "Nafs" by fire in order to turn it back to a pulpy flexible core that will regain its original features including its learning potentials. This way, the restored "Nafs" can appreciate and follow the light of God to move out of that hard learning phase of hell.

Summarizing the functions and features of "Nafs", it is the source of inspiration equally from God and from Satan.  "Nafs" initially is created in an equilibrium between its inclinations toward goodness and wickedness until we prefer one over the other.  Otherwise, the freedom of choice would not make sense.  That is to say, if one force was overriding the other we would have felt powerless and predetermined, which is certainly not the case.  Our thoughts and actions will nourish our "Nafs" so that it will become the product of our life.  It is the only saving that we will transfer to the next life and its final status will entitle us to the next learning setup which hopely will be heaven for all us.

That said, "Nafs" is not the only component of our supernatural being.  The verse 50:16 explicitly stats that  "And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him,...."  which implies that it is not the "Nafs" who is in control.   "Nafs" too works as possession of our true self.  In fact, the nature of our entity who is in charge of all aspects of our being is mentioned in the beautiful and  extremely important verse 38:72;  "So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration."  When God was done with the making of first human, that is creating from clay, shaping and making the "Nafs" he has blown into us from his holy spirit.   This is the missing piece of our puzzle and the most precious one. 

In truth, the decision maker and the owner of our the physical body as well as the metaphysical part "Nafs", is our "Soul", which is of the spirit of God ruling over both the visible and the invisible side of us.   Our Godly soul is the ultimate self. It is the eternal essence of us which inherently has the potentials of God on a human scale. Although it is like a drop of an ocean, it has the similar qualities and properties.  It is the will, the determination that drives us through life. It is the one who picks from the inspirations and temptations we receive through our "Nafs".  It is the intellect and the spirit that resides on the invisible dimension of our existence. It is the driving force that is subtle yet in complete control of all our physical body similar to God's relationship with the material world. "Mind" is probably, the equivalent modern day term for soul. our supernatural entity. 

Having looked at the features and functionality of  "Nafs" and "Soul", we may recognize that "Nafs" is very much analogues with our heart and likewise "Soul" is reminiscent of our brain.  That is to say, as "Nafs" presents the divine and the devilish inspirations to our mind so does our heart pumps up the bright and dark blood to brain and throughout our body. We may further conclude that it appears as if  our physical body, our heart and brain in particular, is a material representation of our metaphysical side.  This makes sense especially when we take the symmetrical property of all creatures into account. 

At the end, as much as the above revelations fascinate us, they lead us to more challenging questions 

Does this metaphysical side exist in all creatures ?  
To what extent our "Nafs" is influenced by our parents' considering that we inherit their gens ?  
   

    

     

The Amazing Story of Human Creation in Quran Might Be the Answer to the Evolutionists as well.

  Among the verses of Quran in which the creation of human is narrated, verses 30 to 34 of Al-Bagarah (2) are quite unique.  In a fascinating comparison of Adam with angels, essentially, God reveals the fundamental supremacy of human nature that qualifies him to be God's successive authority on earth.  One would wonder what the distinguishing feature of man is that has made him even superior to angels?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

2-30

"And, when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know."

2-31

"And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful."

2-32

"They said, "Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise."

2-33

"He said, "O Adam, inform them of their names." And when he had informed them of their names, He said, "Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed."

2-34

"And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.

  صدق الله العلي العظيم

From www.Quran.com

    Perhaps judging from the animals' life previously existed on earth, angles had reasons to believe that any other new creature in the material world would necessarily involve killing and blood shed over dominance of earth's resources for survival.  This actually seems to be true for the most part of the history of human's life too, if we were to dismiss the intellectual and spiritual growth of mankind. God, however, proves them wrong by putting Adam and angles to a test which was to learn the names. And the result ,according to the verses 30&31 above, is that Adam learned the names but angles did not.  

    Considering the fact that nature and details of the names have not been specified (in my opinion because it doesn't matter actually), the remarkable revelation of these verses is to demonstrate the unique learning capability of humankind in comparison with the best of creation that are angeles.  This contrast could not have been made more explicit.  Learning ability, to the extent that humans possess,  is indeed the main distinguishing feature that superiorize us over all other beings in the seen and in the the unseen world. 

    The prominent counter argument would be the limited learning capacity we can see in most animals in terms of being trained to behave in a certain way in exchange for food or other treats. "Conditioning" is probably the name of this type of learning.  In this sense perhaps, we can encapsulate the evolution of all natural creatures in a form of conditioning as well.  It is a well known fact that from the smallest to the largest live organisms learn from their natural habitat how to improve themselves in order  to survive in competition with other species. This process of gradual and subtle improvements towards perfection over millions of years, natural evolution/selection, is basically what has derived all creatures including mankind from a single cell or gen all the way up to their current shape and form, in the evolutionist point of view.  

   While it is true that all living creatures are equipped with some degree of learning talent, the evolutionary changes that take place even over a very long period of time have never made a fundamental alteration to the nature of that creature.  They are always imposed by the survivability principle with minor scope of refinement.  Animals ,for example, may learn to change the color of their skin in order to act as camouflage to hide from their predators or from  their prey. Please check out the link below to see unbelievable examples of such cases.  Yet, it is highly unlikely that a crawling Gecko for instance, learns to fly or live in water no mater how long he is given to evolve.  

http://www.boredpanda.com/animal-camouflage/

   Learning process in human on the other hand, can be summarized as an intellectual and spiritual transformation from the few known facts we know about a question in our mind to the unknown answers.  In other words, it is a metaphysical journey from obvious, from apparent and from the seen world to the unseen world with often times unpredictable results.  History is the best display of the range of astonishing learning of mankind from the beginning of time to now.  By the way of example, math starts with defining numbers as its basic foundation and then simple operations such as addition, subtraction and multiplication follow.  All this elementary findings are easily verifiable by our 5 senses.  From this simplicity it builds up its complication to entirely theoretical and abstract concepts such as calculus.  Similarly, the same escalation of complexity can be traced in chemistry, physics and in all other branches of natural science.  

    Interestingly enough, when it comes to an absolutely abstract subject namely philosophy, it appears that the same chain of thoughts take place.  That is to say, we start with an undeniable fact like, "I think so I am" as Descarte said, and then develop our metaphysical principles on this base.  

     Even more interestingly, the impact of acquisition of knowledge on humans is not limited to mental faculty but it will also result in an spiritual transformation. That is, if you learn math long enough it becomes your second nature and you become a mathematician which is a name given to a person with certain cognitive skills who has developed capabilities in solving mathematical problems. The same is true about becoming a physicist, a chemist, a physician or a philosopher for that matter. They develop specific traits and characteristics that are associated with each profession.  In reality, their personality has changed or to be exact, their mind has evolved to a superior entity that they were not before while their physical appearance has not altered at all.  By the same token, we can fly as a bird or we can swim as a fish without physically transforming to one.  We become a driver when driving becomes our second nature.  We become a foreign language speaker particularly when the names of that language become our second nature. Through these examples we can clearly see that we convert to what we truly learn. 

     Contrary to all other creatures on earth, human evolution is in truth not confined to the material world.  We learn about kindness and charity to others by practicing these names and once we have experienced these qualities long enough then we become kind and generous. This is definitely an spiritual elevation as acquiring these characteristics make us enjoy life more deeply and we will feel more peaceful internally than ever before. We learn about forgiveness by being forgiving and above all, we learn about love by loving others.  

    Much to the surprise of angles, humans can learn the names on earth which involves mud and blood.  Nevertheless, we are capable of transcending beyond our material nature and reach for the stars well above the reach of all angles.  That is what God has made us for and that is how mankind was created in the first place.  The inevitable spiritual transformation occur either through the earthly experiences of  life or through the hard way of afterlife for some. 

   In short, the above verses explains the Quranic view on creation of human.  That is essentially he has been originally designed and created differently from all other beings including all creatures on earth and all the metaphysical ones in heavens. According to Quran, human being came to existence from an smelly mud and has learned some of the names so far, proving to be the second authority on earth.  Since the ultimate attributes belong to God and the ultimate truth is in fact the nature of God, it should be no surprise to perceive humanity as the only creation who is well capable to elevate his spiritual being as close as possible to the characteristics, the names, of God.   This seems to me a convincing understanding of appointing a successive authority on earth as stated in the first verse. 

    I wonder if the Quranic perspective of human evolution is seen in nature besides mankind and if such transformation is ever conceivable as the work of nature for any other creature on earth in the evolutionist view.  

  

  

   

Halal and Haram Foods

   One of the areas where Sharia Laws, which is mostly derived from hadith and tradition, clearly differ from Quran is the definition of Halal foods particularly with regards to the way animals are killed for their meat.   The following is a list of related Quranic verses (as far as I have found) with their English translation.  I have not included the original Arabic words for brevity.

                                                              بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

2:173

"He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine (pig), and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah . But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

5:3

"Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah , and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

5:4 

"They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah ." Indeed, Allah is swift in account."

5:5

"This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers. And whoever denies the faith - his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers."

5:96

"Lawful to you is gain from the sea and its food as provision for you and the travelers, but forbidden to you is gain from the land as long as you are in the state of ihram. And fear Allah to whom you will be gathered."

6-118

"So eat of that [meat] upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned, if you are believers in His verses."

6-119

"And why should you not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned while He has explained in detail to you what He has forbidden you, excepting that to which you are compelled. And indeed do many lead [others] astray through their [own] inclinations without knowledge. Indeed, your Lord - He is most knowing of the transgressors."

6-121

"And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him]."

6-142

"And of the grazing livestock are carriers [of burdens] and those [too] small. Eat of what Allah has provided for you and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy."

6-145

"Say, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure - or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah . But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], then indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."

16:115

"He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah . But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit] - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

   صدق الله العلي العظيم

Translations are quoted from www.Quran.com

 

      I often find it hard to write an interpretation for verses of Quran because it feels to me as if I am trying to shine candle light on something which is already under dazzling sun light.  Our explanation seem to be like the fainting lights of a candle in the sun shine of God's words. Sometimes, it appears that God is too evident and too apparent to be conscious of, in the sense that water is invisible for a fish or similarly perhaps air to us. We only become aware of them by experiencing their absence. That is to say, we appreciate daylight by night so does a fish appreciate water by going out of it. Could this be true about our freedom to sin against God too? Could this be the reason for God to let the Satan deviates from his instruction in the first place?  I believe it could. 

 

    Back to the definition of Halal food, it has been clearly specified in the first verse above (2:173) that "HARAM" includes dead animals, blood, pork as well as any animal that has been killed as a sacrifice for other than God. In other words, only if any animal is slaughtered in dedication to (or in the name of ) anybody or anything other than God, then it is "Haram", otherwise, it is not.   More interestingly, the very same details and explanation has been repeated in a number of other verses including 16:115 which is the last one in Quran concerning this matter. 

    From this verse we can solidly deduct that if at the slaughter of an animal no name is mentioned and it is not a sacrifice dedicated to other than God, its meat is "HALAL" as clarified in quite a few places to avoid any misunderstanding. On the other hand, in verse 6-119 it is emphasized that the opposite is not true.  That is, if God is named at slaughter that food is absolutely "Halal". 

      Going through later verses above, one may argue that 6-121 evidences quite the contrary: "And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned,.... .  It is said that one of the miracles of Quran is that the apparently conflicting verses are clarified by another verse.  In this case, verse 5:4 may be a proof to such supernatural aspect of this holy scripture.  

  

     While the verse 6-121 may seem contradictory to the content of a number of other verses at first glance, verse no. 5:4 leads us to understand that "naming God" is imperative for eating not for slaughtering animals.  That is to say, 5-4 states that a catch of trained hunting animals are "Halal when you neme God upon it prior to eating.  The fact of the matter is in case of a bird or a dog being the trained hunting animal for example, the actual hunting  may happen out of our sight and far from the point of release of the hunter.  Therefore, it is not realistic to read the requirement of  calling "God's name" to be at the moment of the catch's death until later on when we are about to eat it.  Consequently, this situation clarifies that the instruction of not eating anything unless God's name is called upon them ,in fact, refers to the time of eating not at the time of slaughter.   As a matter of fact, naming God before eating happens to be a common practice among all the religions with a holy scripture from God, who are referred to as "Ahle Kitab" in Quran.   

      I would also like to highlight the message of verse 5:5 which explicitly states that food of "Ahle Kitab"' is "HALAL" so is muslims' food for them.  That is, food of Christians, Jews and of people of of other faiths who have been given a book by God are absolutely "Halal" based on the clear content of this verse. 

     Finally, not only this understanding of "Halal" and "Haram" meat seems consistent with all the related Quranic verses but it also enables us to socialize with people of all other religions particularly with "Ahle Kitab" in terms of eating their food and inviting them to ours with the exception of pork and alcohol.   In other words, such interpretation, makes living with people of all faith in a community practical and enjoyable.   

     What this conclusion implies is the fundamental fact that the content of Quran seems applicable universally for all times whereas the traditional read of Islam may not.  This fact will become more and more evident as we go through Quran. 

        

How Long Should We Fast?

    There are cities in the world where day length is unusually long in summer time. Cities located in the northern areas of Scandinavian countries including Sweden and Norway have a day lenght of about 22-24  hours at this time of the year.  There are many more towns with lower latitude where daytime length ranges from 18 to 20 hours while in southern hampshire day time may be unusually short simultaneously.  

    If we happen to live in an area with very long hot days of summer and we find it unbearable to keep our fast so long what can we do to feel we have submitted to God's instructions on one  hand, and at the same time avoiding inflicting on ourselves an unreasonable hardship, on the other hand.   The followings are the Quranic verses about fasting.

   



2:183

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous "


2:184

"a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew."


2:185

"The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful."


2:187

"It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous."

                                                                   صدق الله العلي العظيم

   As far as the duration of fasting is concerned the last verse above determines the start time with exact details that is when  "the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]."

Conversely, the precise time to end the fast is not stated: "Then complete the fast until the sunset."  Interestingly, sunset is not defined as precisely as the dawn time is.  I strongly believe God's use of words has profound philosophy behind it and the words have been miraculously chosen to serve a purpose throughout Quran. It then follows that since God has not purposefully specified a distinguishable ending to the fast time, it has to be meant as a flexible ending.   

   That said, there are three main reasons which could lead us to believe God has intended  an adjustable ending time for Ramadan fast, varying based on location and personal circumstances. Namely: 

• Wordings of verse 187 is not providing an explicit universal distinction for the beginning of night in contrast with the start time. 
• It is almost impossible for most people to keep their fast for any length of time above 18 hours and then repeat it for a period of 30 consecutive days.  This will be conflicting with the prior verse 185 at the end of which it reads: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful."  It would be an unrealistic expectation not to mention being against the earlier words of God.  In other words, it is important to fast in a way that we can complete the specified number of days, as implied in verse 185.  
• There is already a difference of about 20-30 minutes in breaking the Ramadan fast existing among the two major denominations of Islam. This proves sunset can be inferred legitimately different by believers.   

   Considering the above, if we are to choose between fasting wholeheartedly and neglecting Ramadan fast all together, I believe it would be an act purely out of God's love (="Taghva" ) to fast at a reduced length of time.   

     Last but not least, one may ask if we can define an standard way to shorten the long days to a length of time which would be universally applicable and verifiable.   One solution, as I learned, could be to end our fast based on the sunset time of Mecca.  This makes perfect sense.  I would like to conclude that perhaps Mecca timing should be the maximum hours of Ramadan fast worldwide unless one wants to keep his/hers longer voluntarily. 

"Hijab" in Quran

   "Hijab", a head covering worn by Muslim women, is probably one of the most controversial issues in Islam.    If I believe in Quran as the book that is true for ever and is applicable to all humans, cultures and places at all times ,contrary to "Hadith" and "Sunna", I would like to know what Quran says specifically about this matter so that I can comply with God's words.  Below are probably all the related verses we can find in Quran.

24:30

"Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do."

24:31

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed."

24:60

"And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing."

33:33

"And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification."

33:59

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful."

24:30
   This verse is clearly instructing men, firstly, not to stare at women and secondly, it is specifying men's Hijab which is to cover their private parts.   Interestingly, the same two requirements have been repeated for women in the next verse.  Therefore, we can say the basic "Hijab" requirements are the same for men and women.

    What is impressive most in this verse and in the one after is the order to restrict our look because no matter how much men or women cover their body, at the end of the day we will need to keep our sight away from situations that we personally find provocative.  In other words, women's body could be entirely covered as dictated by the norm or by the law of a society but still they prove to be erotic judging from men's behaviour in those places.  This is exactly the case in a number of Middle Eastern countries,   I found this recommendation amazing because it is true regardless of cultural differences and it is a timeless fact.

   Last but not least in this verse, is the relationship between the voluntarily diverting your attention from sexually exciting scenes and becoming purer.  This means we can purify our soul by avoiding something for the sake of God, which is neither illegal nor does it hurt anyone evidently.  This will guide us to understand the fact that the more we align our choices for God the purer our soul will become, which is all we need in life to be saved by God.

24:31
    I believe the main criteria of "Hijab" is defined in this verse in which the particular requirement for women is commanded in addition to the two previous requirements in common with men.  That is women need to cover their adornment (jewellery) particularly their necklace over their chest.  It is stated that worn jewelleries have to be covered as far as one can control it. If they get out of their cover while moving or unintentionally it is understandable.  It is also emphasized that women should cover their chest and if they have under cover jewelry they should not use them to attract attention indirectly, by making them sound for example.

   In other words, what is this verse implies above all is that the distinctive necessity for women is to avoid being erotic by showing any particular parts of their body or their adornments or in any other way. Moreover, this verse defines the meaning of modesty particularly for women in the way they should avoid being seductive in their pose and in their manner.

  The verse continues to define the circle of relatives who are exempt from the third requirement of "Hijab" for women.  When we go through this list of people we notice that these are in fact our closest relationships with whom one feels so close and so familiar that normally sexual attraction would never arise by seeing the adornment or erotic body parts.   

24:60
    For elder women covering the sensual body parts are not as strict although they are still required to cover their adornments.  In this verse again the main principle of modesty is highlighted, which is a very relative concept.   That is to say, "Hijab" in general sense would vary community to community based on the norm of clothing for every community.  Therefore from this perspective, the exact meaning of "Hijab" is the limit of showing body parts.   In reality, it is the personal sense of modesty and shame which determines what exactly to wear and how to behave.  Most people find themselves very uncomfortable if they cross beyond the limits of their individual modesty toward shamelessness.  Needless to say, if someone insist they will find comfort even in wrongdoings but it usually results in emotional disorder over the long term.

   Giving an example, we can consider the naked public events that take place every now and then in different parts of the world. Events such as nude biking or dancing and so on.  What is interesting about these events is the fact that most people find them disgusting and indeed very few people really participate. Otherwise we would have seen an increasing participation trend which is absolutely not the reality.  There are however, always people who make a crowd of audience.  It can be argued that even the public don't identify itself with these activities, judging from the constant number of contestants.  In my opinion,  there is an enormous pressure on the consciousness of both contributors and spectators.   That is because they have neglected their feeling of modesty and shame which, in essence, is the way God distinguishes between virtue from vice inside us.  I believe our consciousness is our virtual heart that differentiates good from bad.


33:33 & 59,
     The last two verses are primarily addressed to the Prophet's wives considering the preceding verses (33 is exclusively for Prophet's wives and 59 primarily, to be exact).   In the latter one, it seems that the purpose of bringing down the outer garment is for the wives of Prophet and for the wives of believers to be disguised among the crowd so that they would not be recognized and would not be harmed.  We can infer from this verse two facts, first it shows that the norm of clothing for women at the time was long garments.  Second, which applies to our time, based on the context of this verse we can submit that if we are likely to be ridiculed or be harmed in anyway due to our beliefs we can make our appearance look like others conforming with the norms of the community.

      In conclusion, to my understanding the underlying message of Quran with respect to "Hijab" is the following :

1. "Hijab" is a relative concept which is determined by convention of a society and its limit is defined by the feeling of modesty that makes a woman refrain from appearing seductive in public.
2. There is no explicit command to cover the hair for women whereas it is unambiguously stated that women must cover their adornments and their chest specifically.    

  While "Hadith" meaning the words of our dear Prophet are the most cherished and most loved words to us ever said by any human, there are two issues with them.  For one,  they are not definitely verifiable in terms of their authenticity and their historic context.  Secondly, they seem to be applicable only to the time of Prophet in most cases.  Perhaps "Hadith" has never been meant to be the best way of life for ever  as opposed to Quran's message. Otherwise muslims would have lived their lives in all aspect of life exactly as 1400 years ago, which is needless to prove that is not the case and will never be.  In contrast, Quran invites us to listen to all ideas and choose the best one, or in modern terms Quran is the first promoter of open mindedness.

39:18

"Who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding."


                                                                     صدق الله العلي العظيم

Quranic Quotes from www.Quran.com