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).