A Light That Continues

Knowledge is not just a collection of words; it is the insight and a light that Continues to gleam in a person’s eyes. One who wants to see things by using this light becomes able to see many things. And he who enlightened once dislikes darkness and dumbness for himself. Who does not rush to the destination when the path is clear? A straight path, which has limits on both sides. And a path that does not lead forward, but upward. Allah’s pleasure within Allah’s will is the limitless goal of life which trains a man to fly.

(1)	And those who call upon others besides Allah, they do not follow (anything else) but only assumptions. And they only race speculative horses.
         (Chapter Yunus, part of verse 66)

(2)  It is He (Allah) who has made the night for you, that you may find peace in it, and made the day bright (giving sight). Indeed, in it are great signs for those who listen.
   (Chapter Yunus, verse 67)

(3) They said that Allah has taken a son. Exalted is He; He is the (one) free of need. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. You have no proof of this (polytheism) Do you say things about Allah that you do not know?
    (Chapter Yunus, verse 68)

(4)	Say: Undoubtedly, those who lie about Allah will not prosper.
     (Chapter Yunus, verse 69)

(5)	Then We sent many messengers after Noah to their (own) people, so they brought them clear proofs, but still, they did not believe in (guidance) what they had denied before. Similarly, We seal the hearts of transgressors.
  (Chapter Yunus, verse 75)

Past Summary:

From the explanation of the first three out of the five selected verses of Surah Yunus, it became quite clear to us that:

“Man has no control to acquire knowledge and wisdom by himself”

Both knowledge and intellect are given by Allah SWT. It includes both types of knowledge (religious and worldly). A man has no control over the distribution of these blessings and the bounties of Allah. We have also learned in the previous article that humans are limited.

Man’s knowledge and wisdom develop and diversify with age. But this matter of development is also completely under the control of Allah’s will. Allah SWT has provided all the logic in the form of open signs for contemplation. And everyone has the basic intellect to use them, so now the questions with which we ended the previous article are:

1. Each and every person has basic sense and knowledge in the form of open signs, then why are so many of them deviating?
2. Is this world and all its huge signs, which Allah SWT has created, sufficient to bring man closer to his lord?

Let us now ponder over the fourth verse and find the answers to these questions.

Verse 4:

(4) Say: Undoubtedly, those who lie about Allah will not prosper.
(Chapter Yunus, verse 69)

They cheat themselves:

There are two things in this verse that I have highlighted, which are the keys to our above lock.

“Those who lie about Allah”

A lie is when we know the truth in our hearts. If we hide it and express something else then it will be a lie. It means, they recognize the facts and are aware of the truth. A person who is lying clearly knows that he is making a false statement. And the truth is what, he is hiding inside. He chooses to deny the truth and take the way of assumptions.

Assumption means those self-made imaginations they fabricate without any evidence. The existing proofs go against these assumptions. And they know this fact in their chests. Then Allah SWT has said about these people:

“They will not prosper”

They won’t prosper means they will not get better. Knowing the truth and still rejecting it. They are not willing to give Allah any space in their hearts. So how will they be able to feel that fear and hope of mercy from Allah SWT in their hearts? They select evil for themselves and will definitely not get good desires (guidance). Bad deeds are their destiny!

 Those people lie about Allah despite knowing the truth. We are getting this information from the One who created man, his heart, and all his organs. And he is well aware of the secrets of the chest.  But this is not the end, a person once lied about Allah, and now he is doomed and will burn in hell. This is not the case at all!

Verse 5

(5)	Then We sent many messengers after Noah to their (own) people, so they brought them clear proofs, but still, they did not believe in (guidance) what they had denied before. Similarly, We seal the hearts of transgressors.
(Chapter Yunus, verse 75)

He Sustains Mercy upon Mercy:

“Sent many messengers”

 Certainly, Allah SWT is most Merciful and extreme generous. Allah has made kindness obligatory upon Himself. Cruelty and injustice are not attributes of Allah SWT. And He is very affectionate to His servants. Allah SWT gave wisdom to man and elucidated the signs in the world to fulfill the requirements of this wisdom. But this is not the ending. He did not leave his servants here. Allah SWT sent prophets and messengers to remind and explain these signs, who came to the people with intellectualism.

A Light that Continues:

What the prophets brought was not only verbal reminders.

• They were all rational and logical arguments.
• There were books full of knowledge and logical arguments.
• There were bright miracles on people’s demands.
• There was law and codes of conduct to make life easier.
• And the Prophets had every possible individual and collective effort.

So that the people who went astray can admit their mistakes, endorse the truth, repent, and become able to ask for forgiveness. So they should be shown mercy.

They keep wreaking themselves:

“They did not believe in (guidance) what they had denied before.”

Ever since the creation of the world, Allah SWT sent the first person as a messenger. So that he can guide his generations to their Lord. After that, countless prophets and messengers came to this world from Noah (A.S) who tried their best to reform people’s mistakes and beliefs. So those who have harmed themselves can redeem, those who have forgotten can remember, and those who crave the truth can achieve.

In this verse, Allah SWT is talking about their previous responses to current behavior. Those who denied the truth earlier, adopt the same attitude again. They don’t like to admit their mistakes and come on the right path. Despite all the devotion of the prophets, argumentation, books, live miracles, and warnings, they do not deviate from their course. They don’t take anything into account and again reject all logic, signs, miracles, and evidences.

Rejecters of Love:

“We seal the hearts of transgressors.”

Undoubtedly, this attitude is reckless. Despite the truthfulness of the Prophets, they are not only denied but they are also hurt and mocked. Those people deny their births and mortality by denying Allah SWT. They know the truth in their hearts, but tell lies upon lies. They ill-treat themselves and those who bring the truth. Now the seal is applied. Here these people are left in their sickness when they cross all limits.

They prefer their desires for themselves and leave their Lord who created them. Their own will is more important to them than Allah’s will. So what they want is given to them. Desires, abilities, and means to fulfill those desires are provided .After recognizing their Lord, they deny Him. Then whatever they want is other than the truth, and everything other than the truth is false and evil. Then that becomes their destiny.

Religious and worldly knowledge, A Chaos:

For many people, understanding the reality of religious and worldly knowledge is a confusing matter. Apparently seems like, these are two disciplines of completely opposite directions. We have come to know that religious knowledge starts from the signs of nature and goes up to prophets and books. But the knowledge of the world seems to be created by man himself.

We do not understand the reality of these two divisions of knowledge, the balance and ratio between them. With this uncertainty, there are profound classifications, branches, and a great number of teachers for worldly knowledge are available. And its benefit seems very close and important. As a result, all inclination, interest, and training have turned towards this direction. While in the case of religious knowledge, this classification and obtaining clear results seems to be very vague and distant.

Worldly Knowledge, Knowledge of Names:

All worldly knowledge and its branches, science, mathematics, arts, and languages, have come out of the knowledge that Allah SWT had taught Adam (A.S.).The basis of all worldly knowledge is that of names. Allah SWT had taught this knowledge of names to Prophet Adam (A.S.) with wisdom to differentiate. Because of this knowledge and recognition, Adam gained superiority over angels and jinn.

It was like software that was installed in the first human being. Then it transferred from generation to generation. All sciences are actually names that man gives to everything. He can separate one thing from another and is able to categorize. With this basis, all the disciplines and languages in this world have come into being. We find mention of this in this verse of the Qur’an:

And He taught Adam the names- all of them. Then Allah presented these things to the angels and said, "If you are truthful, tell me the names of these things." They said: Exalted are you; we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Indeed, You are all-knowing and most wise.  Allah said, O Adam! So tell them the names of these things. So when he told them the names of these things, Allah said: Did I not say to you that I know the unseen things of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?
(Surah Al-Baqarah – 31, 32, 33)

Hence, all the areas of knowledge come from the “knowledge of names” taught by Allah SWT. This is the basic potential that Allah has given to man that expands with age.

Religious knowledge, knowledge of Revelation:

Religion is the knowledge that Allah has conveyed to man after giving him basic intellect. All the wisdom, laws, and directions for the right path that comes through the Prophets and the chosen servants of Allah are part of the knowledge of revelation. Which includes divine books as roots. Biographies of prophets as practical examples of those books.

Revelation is actually the command to use the information of this world in the right and most constructive direction. It tells us the code of conduct. Religion is actually the balance that we have to establish in every matter of the world. The laws included in religion are the ratios (dos and don’ts) to create balance.

Without this knowledge of revelation, knowledge of names is just an empty scabbard without a sword. Which can be apparently beautiful but useless. The real thing is that sword that makes us able to strive and Provides protection. Addresses all the intellectual objections towards our Lord and elaborates on the purpose of being here in this world.  

So, the knowledge of names and the knowledge of revelation are two rivers of knowledge that have been given to man from the most powerful and all-knowing. It clarifies the limits (obedience) for a man. Makes him Allah’s slave only, that liberates him from all other slaveries. So, both are the knowledge provided by Allah SWT to bless mankind with mindful conscious recognition of their Lord. And both are delivered in a perfect blend according to Allah’s will.

Result:

From the beginning of this series to the end of this article, three very important things have     become clear to us:

“We cannot even desire if Allah does not”

“The provision and distribution of Knowledge and wisdom are

completely in the control of Allah.”

“Man has no authority here either.”

End:

Now with these clearly known results questions arise towards human behavior.

1. Who are the people who, despite having knowledge and wisdom, deny the truth and lie about Allah?
2. Why do they do this?
3. Are they using any of their authority here?

It is important for us to understand the reasons for these behaviors in order to know the range of human control. If there is anything that is within the control of man?

We will start our next article with these questions. In sha ALLAH!