Know thyself

My Dear Readers,

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. (May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you)
  

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

(See end note in the first post)

Know Thyself: 

The phrase "know thyself" is firmly embedded in the gene pool of the human race, making itself known throughout human history in the works of famous philosophers, and in and across the major religions of the world. For example we read in an old Delphic maxim  γνῶθι σεαυτόν, (gnōthi seauton= "know yourself")(from Wikipedia), and in  श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता (Śrīmadbhagavadgītā) we are taught to  उद्धरेद् आत्मनात्मानं नात्मानम् (uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam= "elevate ourselves via our own mind")(Sankhya-yoga). In the Qur'an (41:53) we are asked to look for signs within ourselves

سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ

In time We shall make them fully understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within them­selves.....

In Muslim philosophy and mysticism, there is an oft-quoted saying frequently attributed to Prophet Muhammad(ﷺ): (مَنْ عَرَفَ نفسَه فقد عَرَفَ ربَّه), i.e., one who knows himself, knows his Lord, or words to that effect.  The  author of the blog could not find verification of this hadith, except as attribution to Yahya bin Muadh, but mentioned this to let the readers know that while it often comes up in context of "know thyself", the scholars of hadith do not hold it to be a reliable narration.

Anyhow, the author would like to talk a bit about why this post is titled such. Recent months have seen untold suffering unleashed by human beings upon each other, and it is almost impossible not to get heart-broken at the sorry state of affairs.  The author in this pained state came across the conversation between Allah and angels in the Qur'an (2:30) where the angels asked about man's propensity to violence and potential to shed blood:

    وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً قَالُواْ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاء وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

     
2:30 AND LO! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon earth one who shall inherit it." They said: "Wilt Thou place on it such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood? Verily (we do not question but) extol Thy limitless glory, and praise Thee, and hallow Thy name" [God] answered: "Verily, I know that which you do not know."(audio) 

It was Allah's reply that got the author thinking, what indeed does Allah know about mankind that the angels did not know, and humans like me do not know either? After all, there must be a truly compelling reason that justifies man's creation and makes the world and all its mess worthwhile?  The hope of discovering this answer is, in essence, the goal behind writing this post.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

 وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً   

 17:70 NOW, INDEED, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam,  and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favoured them far above most of Our creation (audio)
The word (كَرَّمْنَا) has been translated as "to be honored" or "to be conferred dignity upon" and the expression renders itself suitable to be understood as the human race has been bestowed a great honor by Allah.

About the ayah above, Maulana Rumi says (ref) :

هیچ کرمنا شنید این آسمان
که شنید این آدمی پر غمان

"We have honored......"  was not addressed to the sky,
But to the melancholic Adam

Allah further says in the Qur'an in surah Luqman:

أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُّنِيرٍ   

 31:20 ARE YOU NOT aware that God has made subservient to you all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and has lavished upon you His blessings, both outward and inward? And yet, among men there is many a one that argues about God without having any knowledge [of Him], without any guidance, and without any light-giving revelation (audio)

This ayah, and several others to similar effect, also puzzled the author. Are the heavens and earth really subservient to us?  Or subservient only to some such as Prophets, or saints?

Iqbal tells us (ref) that the universe is made for us:

نہ تو زمیں کے لیے ہے نہ آسماں کے لیے
جہاں ہے تیرے لیے ، تو نہیں جہاں کے لیے

You are neither for the earth nor for the skies:
The universe is for you but you are not for the universe.

But in another couplet, he qualifies as to who are truly the inheritors of this universe:

عالم ھے فقط مومنِ جانباز کی میراث
مومن نہیں جو صاحبِ لولاک نہیں ھے

That godly man gets world’s bequest, who risks his life in ceaseless quest:
That man no Faith can claim at all who lives not up to Prophet’s call

(For the expression لولاک please see the explanatory notes at the end of this post).



Perusing the Qur'an , we can find many references to man's lowly biological origins, such as man having been "created out of clay (tin)" or "out of dust (turab)" for example:

 وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَانَ مِن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ 

 15:26 AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark-slime transmuted (audio)

And yet Allah says in the Qur'an (17:70 above), about man's superiority over most of the creation. Some exegetes of the Qur'an argue about man's superiority over all creation, including angels. The author believes that human beings as a whole are not superior to angels, who were created by Divine light, however, Allah has given potential (His Spirit Qur'an 38:72) to human beings to tap into, with which we can surpass all creations, including angels.  This is the topic for another post, but if any of the readers would like clarification, we could explain why we believe as such.

Despite man's lowly origins, humans possess the potential to surpass all creations as can be seen in the following insightful poem attributed to Sa'adi:

آدمی زاده طرفه معجونی است
  از فرشته سرشته وز حیوان
گر کند میل این شود به از این
    ور کند رای آن شود پس از آن

 What a strange elixir is Man, 

A compound of the angel and the animal, 

moving towards the former he can surpass (all angels)

and by approaching the former makes him lower (than the animals)

 Iqbal alludes in a couplet rich with historical and literary references that :

خاک گشتن مذهب پروانگی است
خاکراآب شوکه این مردانگی است

Decimating oneself is the destiny of a moth, 

and your bravery O man, lies in in defeating your lowly origins 

(literally: becoming the "father of dust" a reference to Sayyidina Ali )

So the key to achieving our true destiny is to dominate our baser instincts and not allow them to rule over us. And yet, most often we do not do this. Allah tells us in the Qur'an 80:17-23:

   قُتِلَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ

[But only too often] man destroys himself: how stubbornly does he deny the truth!(audio)

       مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ

[Does man ever consider] out of what substance [God] creates him?(audio)

   مِن نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ

Out of a drop of sperm He creates him, and thereupon determines his nature(audio)

    ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ

and then makes it easy for him to go through life;(audio)

      ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ 

and in the end He causes him to die and brings him to the grave;(audio)

   ثُمَّ إِذَا شَاء أَنشَرَهُ

and then, if it be His will, He shall raise him again to life,(audio)

 كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَا أَمَرَهُ

Nay, but [man] has never yet fulfilled what He has enjoined upon him!(audio)



Verily, we have not fulfilled what was enjoined to us. We have been created for a higher purpose, not for indulging in our baser selves, and for a permanent resting place not for this ephemeral world. Jami laments in one of his famous works:

دلا تا کی درین کاخ مجازی
کنی مانند طفلان خاک‌بازی؟
تویی آن دست‌پرور مرغ گستاخ
که بودت آشیان بیرون ازین کاخ

How long, my soul, in this false world wilt thou
Pursue the childish play which charms thee now ?
Thou, dainty bird, wast bred with care to rest,
Far from this vain earth, in a sweeter nest.
 (translation from Ralph T. F Griffith)

The question that we must ask ourselves is, indeed, how much longer?

والله أعلم   
 Wa Allahu 'Alam (And Allah is the All-Knowing)  




Explanatory notes:

The expression (لَوْلاکَ) means "were it not for you", is a literary reference to a well known hadith Qudsi, where Allah has reportedly told the Prophet Muhammad(ﷺ) :

لَوْلاکَ لَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْأَفْلاکَ

Were it not for you,  I would have not created the heavens.


This hadith is the subject of much debate, and while the wording in question is not considered an authentic narration from the Prophet (ﷺ), it is, as Mullah Ali al-Qari said, "Though Ibn Ishaq al-Saghani says this is fabricated even so I say its meaning is authentic even if it is not a hadith.” (See Ref and discussion).

On Unity of the Ummah

My Dear Readers,

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. (May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you)
  

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

(See end note in the first post)

On Unity of the Muslim Ummah: 

وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىَ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

 

 3:103  And hold fast, all together, unto the bond with God, and do not draw apart from one another. And remember the blessings which God has bestowed upon you: how, when you were enemies, He brought your hearts together, so that through His blessing you became brethren; and [how, when] you were on the brink of a fiery abyss.  He saved you from it. In this way God makes clear His messages unto you, so that you might find guidance! (audio)

وَأَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلاَ تَنَازَعُواْ فَتَفْشَلُواْ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

 8:46 And obey Allah and His Messenger. and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere: ! (audio)


I chose just two ayat among many others, that unequivocally extol us on the importance of unity, and exhort us against dispute/discord.  And we, the heedless ummah have not yet fully understood the  gravity of the above ayat, and the import of "فَتَفْشَلُواْ". The hope of attaining unity is the message of the khutbah today.

Before we go into the details of unity, it is perhaps pertinent to remind ourselves of the position to which Allah has elevated this Muslim ummah:

 كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم مِّنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

3:110  You are indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind: you enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and you believe in God. Now if the followers of earlier revelation had attained to [this kind of] faith, it would have been for their own good; [but only few] among them are believers, while most of them are iniquitous:! (audio)

The reason for bringing forth this nation/community is to ensure the establishment of peace and justice in the world, as no other revelation will come to any nation, except that has already been revealed. And it is the duty of this ummah, to not only epitomize the final revelation, but promulgate and propagate it far and wide, and with it, ensure that the world is free from discord and chaos.

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ

2:143 Thus, have We made of you an ummah justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations......... (audio)

With this noble responsibility on the shoulders of this ummah, it does not behoove of them to debase themselves with infighting and discord.  These artificially and disproportionately exaggerated  schisms do not do justice to the perfect deen of Islam. How can we be responsible for spreading peace and justice, when we ourselves are responsible for ignominious acts in the name of Islam? As is sadly noted by Iqbal:

 "Against its guardians, the Haram (Kaaba) brings grievances of such villainy decked out as loyal zeal, that, upon hearing of it would make even the idols shudder" (from Bang-e-Dara-157 Mein Aur Tu )

Looking back at our common history, this unfortunate situation is not new. We, as an ummah should be indignant, primarily at our (illegitimate) rulers, who were relentless in pursuit of the throne to the point of fratricide. Or should we be angry at our sectarianist pulpitarians, who for misplaced religious(pseudo) fervor or similarly abject intents and purposes, sowed disaffection, and the roots of bloodshed?   Or at the foot-soldiers, or pawns at the hands of such establishment, who shed innocent blood remorselessly due to their baser instincts or in their naïveté. Or at the silent majority,  who chose the biggest crime of all-silence in the face of injustice?

These tragic scenes were replayed throughout the ages, and throughout regions, whether the Middle East, Muslim Spain, South-East Asia or Muslim India. And even today, the might of this once-glorious ummah is  incessantly undermined, due to unabated conflicts throughout its geographical boundaries.

And this discord is, in the words of the Qur'an(2:191), worse than murder (الْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ).  Murder, we know, is one of the most heinous sins. It is unfortunate that our hearts have become hardened to killing, and discord which is considered worse than killing, has firmly taken root in our societies, and our communities.

As Muslims familiar with the basis of ukhuwwah, or brotherhood in Islam, we should very well know that those people who aim to separate us along the lines of race, nationality, language, fiqh, madhhab and any such consideration are all barking up the wrong tree. And yet, when these divisive "Pied-pipers" in the garb of social, political or religious leaders play their tune from their respective pulpits/rostra, why do we, like enamored rats rush behind them to an impending doom?

The proliferation of much-needed freedom of expression via social media throughout the Muslim world, should have led to a flood of pearls of wisdom on the Internet. Instead of opening the eyes of those, for whom the message of Islam has not reached hitherto, our forums, feeds, video lists and walls are filled with noxious and fallacious diatribes against "the others".  And the sacrosanct pulpits, have hardly a semblance left of their true purpose, and those who occupy them leave no stone unturned in gushing forth vitriolic rants week after week condemning "the others" to hellfire, while staking exclusive claim to salvation for themselves and their own coterie. We are so busy filtering out the "true Muslims" from the "hypocrites", "misguided Muslims" or "kuffar" from the 1.2 Billion strong ummah, that we have forgotten to deliver the message of Islam to our remaining 6-7 billion brothers and sisters, fellow citizens of our home planet.  Not only that, our antics are reinforcing their negative stereotypes about Islam, and forcing them further away from it.  We indeed are very far from our true purpose.

Although all those who attest themselves to being Muslims share fundamental beliefs in the oneness of Allah, the finality of Prophet Muhammad's() prophethood, the Qur'an, we do disagree on many matters.  This disagreement and difference of opinion should be enriching this ummah, but unfortunately it has not, and has often led to sectarian violence.

The oldest division amongst Muslims is between Shias and Sunnis, with differences mostly derived from their different historical experiences, political and social developments, and subsequently, traditions.  This notion of tradition is so entrenched that the viewpoints often differ radically.  The beauty of inclusion in Islam can actually absorb even the radical differences, without actually having to conform to each others perspective. However, tragically, it has not been so, and the Muslim masses are frequently mislead at the behest of self-serving rulers/politicians as well as their political interests.

To unite us now, being easier said than done, we can perhaps start by revisiting the essence of brotherhood in Islam.  Let this foundation of brotherhood rest upon our mutual love of the Prophet ().  After all, we cannot be considered believers till we love him() more than anything else in this world (Hadith in Bukhari). Whenever we feel angry at someone from this ummah, or have any negative feelings about them, we should let our common love for the Prophet () eradicate such feelings. Then only the wounds will heal, the bonds will mend, and the cracks repair.  And how can this love not inspire us to unite, in the words of Iqbal, while referring to a hadith from Bukhari and Ibn Majah:

من چہ گویم از تولایش کہ چیست
خشک چوبی در فراق او گریست

How shall I tell what devotion he inspires?
A block of dry wood wept at parting from him.

(The poem can be accessed Here and here)

The author, born and raised in a Sunni tradition, has read literature from the Shia tradition and found within it efforts of uncountable pious scholars, saints and common people across centuries of scholarship,with immense contribution to this ummah.  Most of all, the fragrance of love of the Prophet Muhammad () adorns Shia tradition throughout.   And the author humbly encourages people entrenched in Shia tradition to open their hearts and minds as well, and discover the love of the Prophet Muhammad's() within those of us rooted within Sunni tradition.

Then the differences with Sufis, who have been, across the years, regarded and ridiculed by the orthodoxy in both Sunnis and Shias. And within the Sunni tradition between the four mazhahib / schools, and then between those who follow the mazhahib and the ahl-al-hadeeth. The author challenges himself, and others, to find a single person - from amongst all these adherents to a multitude of opinions- who does not love the Prophet(). And we will not find one, and if we don't, let us reject those who divide us, and choose the force of mutual love of the Prophet Muhammad's() to rein in our individual dislikes and disputes. And may Allah forgive each of us for our mistakes, and mistaken notions.

In the words of Hafez, referring in this ghazal to the story of Zayd bin Haritha (May Allah be pleased with him), when he preferred the Prophet() over his own family:

به ولای تو که گر بنده خویشم خوانی

از سر خواجگی کون و مکان برخیزم

Upon your () love, if you should summon me to be your slave
   from all existence and its rule, I swear I will arise.

And let us end with this beautiful doa' of unity, with thanks to our brothers at http://www.duas.org/:

والله أعلم   
 Wa Allahu 'Alam (And Allah is the All-Knowing)