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""And whoever turns himself away from the remembrance (dhikr) of al-Rahman (The Compassionate), We appoint for him a shaitan (a satan), so he becomes his close companion (and associate). And most surely they (the satan's) turn them away from the path, though they (the people) persistently imagine that they are rightly guided...." (Qur'an 43:36-37)
This verse, highlights a repeatedly arising theme in the Qur'an - the
importance of dhikr (remembrance of God) - but highlights it in a
unique and powerfully crucial manner. It links the turning away from a
steady and steadfast contemplation and remembrance of God in the aspect
of His Mercy and compassion with the entry of Shaitan (Satan) into
one's affairs. And as verse 43:37 indicates, this entry is an
invisible, unperceived arrival so that the person remains unaware that
he has been turned and deflected away from a felicitous path but
instead imagines that he "is rightly guided". This theme of people
turning away from God's name of Mercy (al-Rahman) and compassion recurs
in several
places in the Qur'an and is perhaps due to these people desiring a
special
recognition or concession for their group, their viewpoint, their
tribe, or their social and political status. "No remembrance comes to them from the
All-Merciful newly arrived but they turn away from it." (Qur'an 26:5)
Instead they are faced with a general beneficence that does away with
special pleading and levels all
hierarchies except that of consciousness and awareness of God and
beauty of conduct.
Rahman and Rahim are two denotations of mercy used throughout the
Qur'an. The Rahman is generally considered to be an all-embracing
universal mercy and compassion (linked to God's Majesty) which pervades
existence and from which everything in
existence derives benefit, while Rahim is sometimes defined as a more
specialized and focused mercy.
Here (in verse 43:36) we are invoking, through dhikr of the name
al-Rahman, the entry into our hearts of that generalized mercy through
which all creation obtains benefit - a benefit which is not restricted
only to particular groups, and which is not withheld from anything or
any creature in existence. And the invocation is an invitation for that
mercy to enter and settle into our hearts.
Note: If there is an
impediment to this process - to engaging in a remembrance with the
heart - if we find it difficult to open this door it is, perhaps,
because we ourselves are the door - and if the door is locked, it is
locked through our forgetfulness, negligence, and through the careless
habits acquired over a lifetime which hinder a true inward
consciousness and awareness from arising within us. When we are in this
state, then the dhikr is first a recognition of the door, then an
approach to the door, then a knocking on the door, and finally an
opening of the door of our heart.
When remembrance (dhikr) of Allah is connected with the aspect of His
mercy and compassion, that quality of mercy begins to manifest within
one's own
character - it gains a real, living presence and the heart expands with
it's growth. One's thinking, words, actions, and all one's
relationships within families, communities, and in the wider world
begins to display this mercy. This dhikr then becomes a shield against
the countless invisible ways in which Shaitan injects himself into
people's lives, even into their religious lives so that, as the verse
indicates, "...they (the people)
persistently (and mistakenly) imagine that they are rightly guided...."
(Qur'an 43:37) though they are deflected from correct guidance.
This is why we find Imam Ali (a.s.) provided a guideline for
determining the character of a people. He said: "Be not mislead by their prayers and
fasting...rather, try them when it comes to telling the truth and
fulfilling trusts." (Nahjul Balagha)
When weighing a person's trustworthiness and their religious ethos, the
Imam said not to look at their prayer, fasting, and hajj but to look
into their character and how this character displays itself in the
workings of life. Then we can see where their attachments lie, what
their desires lead to, and what principles manifest in their behavior
and aspect.
This is because the prayer, fasting, etc. are a means. Although
initially they may be an end in themselves, they are an extraordinary
means of remembrance through worship (and they always remain a
necessary obligation
since they never cease to be an ever expanding means). Remembrance is a
means of awakening a slumbering consciousness, which is in turn a means
of transformation, and this transformation leads to inner upliftment,
and this upliftment makes it possible to draw near to the one to Whom
we pray. Prayer is the means and each prayer is an opportunity to
advance in this process. So the question becomes: what has our prayer
made of us?
The Prophet said that "whoever has
no worldly life has no religious life". By this he did not mean
that we should plunge ourselves into worldly pursuits but that the one
who separates his inner religious self from his life within the trials
and distractions of the world has not grasped the full purport and
meaning of religion. If we pray and fast, attend the masjid, perform
the rituals and consider this the entirety of religious life we are, in
a sense, secularizing our religion. Our inner religious self has never
had its mettle tested in the world if it remains safely and comfortably
within these confines. When it is tested, will the world get the better
of us, or will our faith (our iman) guide and direct the quality of our
behavior in the world?
We are to take the elevated character, the manners, the freedom from
lower attachments that sincere adherence to the pillars of the religion
can unfold within us, out into the world. We are to apply this in our
day to day affairs - both the easy and the difficult. Truthfulness,
patience, fulfillment of trusts, good speech and manners, generosity,
kindness, humility, charity, mercy, guarding the weak, involving
ourselves in the best affairs of society, in the guardianship of rights
- and we are to do this in an ihsan (beautiful) manner - without
crudeness, without being rough in action or speech. Like Prophet Yusuf
(Joseph)
who, in a foreign country, living among a foreign people with a foreign
religion, rose to the highest prominence through his reliance on God's
mercy and acted with the patience, truthfulness, and beauty of
character which emerged from this unwavering reliance. As Sura Yusuf
says:
"...most surely (man's) self (nafs)
is wont to command (him to do) evil, except those who (are connected
with) their Lord's mercy....We reach with Our mercy whom We please, and
We do not waste the reward of those who do good (who act in the most
beautiful manner)." (Qur'an 12:53,56)
That society in which Yusuf rose to prominence did not look at his
prayer and ritual practices (after all, these would have been foreign
rituals to them) but they looked at his character, his truthfulness,
his patience, his elevated knowledge, his sincerity, his fulfillment of
trusts. Without these, which are among the fruits of efficacious prayer
and fasting, can it be said that we have truly prayed and fasted. The
people of Egypt reacted to how Yusuf comported himself within that
society. He did not seek to blend in, that was not his goal - but he
became known through the excellence of his conduct. "For the righteous are only known by that
which God causes to pass concerning them on the tongues of His
servants. So let the dearest of your treasuries be the treasury of
righteous action....Infuse your heart with mercy, love and
kindness...." (Imam Ali's letter to Malik al-Ashtar)
Unfurling this level of awareness and comportment within ourselves is a
difficult matter. For, as the Qur'an states, humans have a tendency to
be forgetful and heedless when they interact in the world. In our
thoughts it is easy to imagine ourselves behaving magnanimously and
with dignity when faced with difficulty and hardship, when heavy
pressures and dangers alight upon us. But when the reality surrounds
us, our minds desperately seek escape or seek to strike out against the
perceived causes of our difficulty and our hearts twist and turn
confused and without direction. In such situations we may grasp, in our
distress, at any direction that provides a path of action.
When our hearts are perturbed and made uneasy by events, the best
direction to turn is towards the remembrance of God, for "...surely by Allah's remembrance are the
hearts set at rest." (Qur'an 13:28) And the dhikr, the
remembrance, that encompasses God's aspect of Mercy through His name
Al-Rahman, will stand as a protecting guard over error, arrogance, and
an invisible, and deceptive enemy. Otherwise "...whoever turns himself away from the
remembrance (dhikr) of al-Rahman, We appoint for him a Shaitan (a
Satan)...." (Qur'an 43:36) This safeguarding dhikr begins on the
tongue, enters the mind with concentrated consciousness, settles into a
heart softened and cleansed through remembrance of Al-Rahman, and
manifests in the myriad small actions a person engages in each day. It
becomes a shield and a truly beautiful means of drawing near to the
mercy of the Most-Merciful (al-Rahman) who has promised to be the
companion of the one who engages in His dhikr.
"I am the close companion of the
one who remembers Me." (hadith Qudsi)
And for a people, a community, who live in a state of sincere
remembrance, all things become possible.
- Irshaad Hussain
Related articles:
The
fulfillment of Yusuf's dream
The
hermeneutics of takfir
There are some people who represent the religion and its teachings through the spoken word, there are some who represent it through the written word, and there are others who represent it through their actions - and this third type has, potentially, the path of greatest impact in representing one's faith. However, this third type, the person of action, though primarily a blessing, can in some circumstances, be a danger. This depends on the level of their knowledge and their manner of connection to the tenets of their religion, the interpretation of the book, and their inner connection to God.
For a person may be immersed in religious ideology, but if that strong
connection binds them to an ideology which, in the political strife and
confusion of our present day, allows or encourages them to walk into a
marketplace or a masjid and detonate
themselves to indiscriminately take the lives of men, women, and
children, then they and their ideology are a harm to the religion and a
mischief within it. This is a specially dangerous mischief as it is one
that originates in modes of interpretation and thought that are riddled
with an intellectual disease - one that pivots around a centre of
callous and careless declarations of
takfir. And these declarations unfortunately become legal
precedents that can be used to continue to perpetuate
confusion, strife, and fitna into the future - just as past fatwas
pronouncing takfir on various groups are seized upon by today's legal
minded bombers to justify their slaughter of innocents. And so the few
who pose this kind of danger have a negative impact that is out of
all-proportion to their numbers.
Imam Ali, in his time,
faced people of a similar bent - the Khawarij. They
had turned their back on mercy and believed themselves to be the
wrathful vengeance of God upon all those who, according to them, had
betrayed the faith. They made themselves judge and jury in determining
who these people were, and then became ruthless and indiscriminate
executioners in carrying out the sentence against them. They "...used to go out with their swords to
the marketplace. And when the innocent people gathered together without
being aware of it, they suddenly cried out 'La Hukm illa lillah' (the
decision is God's) and lifted up their swords against anybody they
happened to overtake, and they went on killing until they themselves
were killed. The people used to live in constant fear of them...." (Malati,
Tanbih, p. 51 - quoted from "The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology"
- Isutzu)
Yet they were the most rigorous of people in their outward religious
duties - prayer, fasting and the like - but the political turmoil of
the time had caused them to turn away from adherence to mercy. Strict
adherence to their legal decisions of takfir left no space for
clemency, pity, compassion, or even simple tolerance. And yet because
of their staunch adherence to
religious ritual many were deceived by them until the damage they
caused was widespread.
For if someone imagines themselves so rightly guided that they believe
that they can witness and judge what is in the hearts of those on whom
they pronounce takfir, and indiscriminately snuff out the lives of
ordinary people even in masjids and marketplaces, then they become
unfortunate modern-day examples of those people described in Qur'an
43:36-37: "And whoever turns himself
away from the remembrance (dhikr) of al-Rahman (The Merciful), We
appoint for him a Shaitan (a Satan), so he becomes his close companion
(and associate). And most surely they (the satans) turn them away from
the path, though they (the people) persistently imagine that they are
rightly guided...." (Qur'an 43:37)
The words "Bismillah alRahman alRahim" (In the name of Allah, the
most Compassionate, the most Merciful) are above every sura except the
ninth sura (sura 27 verse 30 has two Bismillahs as if in compensation)
and are a sign
that God's mercy presides over everything.
Note: Rahim occurs in a number of places in sura 9 usually paired with God as forgiver (Gafuurur-Rahim). Rahman occurs not as a name but as a bestowal from God (rahmatim-minhu - mercy from Him).
His Lordship over all things is not due to domination by violence or subjugation but to the two forms of compassion (Rahman and Rahmin) which manifest, nurture, support, surround, and enter into all things.
Sura Fatiha (the first sura of the qur'an) uses Rahman and Rahim twice.
The first time it is linked with God's essence through its occurence
after the name "Allah" - the second time it is linked with God's
Lordship over all existence through its occurrence after the word
"Rabb".
So God, is merciful in His essence and in His interaction with the
universe (that is, in His Lordship - Rabb denotes a very close
relationship with the created world of existence. Rabb indicates both
ownership and mastery as well as nurture and support for something that
is totally dependent. The ownership is not like owning something
independent of you but like ownership of something that cannot even
continue to exist without you. For example, your hand is an integral
part of you and is dependent on you, or an image formed consciously in
your mind is dependent on you for its moment by moment existence - you
are its Rabb. Allah is Rabb in a similar sense - everything is poor
towards Him, dependent on Him, and He is the Rich, the Independent - so
both in His essence and in His Lordship Allah is Merciful.
It is important to keep this defining quality in mind (for He, Allah,
has placed it as a guard over the suras and as a precursor to them) -
it is important to keep this in mind as one reads through the verses of
the Qur'an many of which will speak of punishment and wrath - yet we
should never forget that mercy stands over and precedent to the wrath -
we should not lose or become forgetful of this context as we read and
reflect on the verses.
As Imam Zain-ul-Abideen (a.s.) has said "It is astonishing that anyone
perishes as he perishes given the scope and extent of God's mercy.
- Irshaad Hussain
Anyone who reads the Qur'an is likely to be struck by the unique
nature of its construction, its unusual and constantly shifting rhythms
and the sudden transmutations and displacements in its subject matter.
At first this ever changing literary terrain seems an obstacle to
understanding, but the more time one spends with this book, the more
organic, the more natural the flow of its words feel. It is almost
like flying over an ever-changing landscape - rolling valleys
punctuated by jagged rocks, forests and plains giving way to upthrust
mountains, high plateaus broken by deep lakes, deserts sprinkled
with oasis' and cleft by canyons. Despite the variety of the forms,
despite the startling contrast of adjacent features, a complex organic
beauty underlies and unites all the various elements. These "tafsirs"
emerged from numerous brief scattered notes made while reading the
qur'an (along with numerous commentaries and the works of various
scholars whose profound analyses strongly effected my views) and
reflecting on its content. As well, for a number of years
I have participated in a hallakha, a qur'anic study circle, and many of
the
tafsirs presented here were originally researched for presentation at
that forum.