Aboard Noah's Ark - 4

You are on the ark with Noah. What can be more fortunate? Well, God has more for you in His plan:

And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that (as for) the land, My righteous servants shall inherit it. (21/105)

Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient. (24/55)

Although these Quranic verses were revealed not in context of the Great Flood, they certainly point at the same fact. Those who were rescued from that colossal destruction are promoted to a much higher level: being the inheritors of the land who are responsible for the amelioration of things after corruption. With responsibility comes authority, and vice-versa. Remember that the believers with Noah pbuh were the low level people in their society, but now, they became the highest and most powerful. This sharp intervention of God, which turns out a blessing for the believers and for the future generations to come, is surely another trial for the survivors, as the examination in this life goes on until death.

Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned. (21/35)

Pondering over how to fulfill your responsibility, taking lessons from God's practice is a reasonable approach. Looking back, you see that God has been extremely patient with the disbelievers, and always instructed His messenger to call them to commonsense and critical thought. He warned them with afflictions before the final action. And in the end, He did not tell his messenger and the believers to fight against them, but to simply withdraw from them and busy themselves with the construction of the ark. During this period, the disbelievers started making fun of Noah, and he had simply replied with ironical threats. 

They said, "O Noah, you have disputed us and been frequent in dispute of us. So bring us what you threaten us, if you should be of the truthful." (11/32)

And he constructed the ship, and whenever an assembly of the eminent of his people passed by him, they ridiculed him. He said, "If you ridicule us, then we will ridicule you just as you ridicule. (11/38)

Finally, we know what happened. In fact, the same situation was also present during the time of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

They say, "If what you say is true, when will the final triumph come?" Say, "On the day of the final triumph, the faith of the disbelievers will be of no avail to them, nor will they be given any respite". (32/28-29)

So, a clear lesson from these is that to bring a decisive end to evil and to have a fresh start in good necessitates establishing a noteworthy and timeless lesson to the survivors through punishing the perpetrators of evil. If necessary, you have to amputate a limb in order to save the body. God willing, the stem cells are going to complete the missing part in time. 

This does not mean to eradicate evil from the face of the planet for good, though; because the rule of the game is that you can only curtail evil, but not annihilate it. For example, your anger may spur you to execute punishments in ways surpassing the limits of justice, when you were supposed to act in the name of God and justice. So, lesson two, beware of not becoming the seed of evil yourself.

O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well­-Acquainted with what you do. (5/8)

A third lesson in context of the anger against evil can be drawn from the definition of anger. It is the behavioral response of our immune system to repel evil (for further reading on anger, you can see the Anger Engine series in this blog: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7). Anger has the ability to muster all powers in our being to engender the desired safety and security. That is, when you are determined to get rid of something for good, you take irreversible action. You take a step that ensures that you will not return to the same conditions. Take differently, you do things such that they preclude the replay of the same events. In fact, if you are a wise person, you employ your anger to avoid the evil in the first place, instead of curtailing it after its establishment. Now let's see some examples of both cases.

If you compare dating and marriage, the former is a rather reversible act while the latter is relatively irreversible. That means if you want to step back from marriage after it is done, your return is going to have an irreversible toll on you. To highlight and commemorate this irreversibility, the two essential things that make a marriage licit in Islam are its announcement and the mahr (goods or money) given to the bride. These are there to avoid evil in the long run, which can occur when people take marriage as a game, i.e. a reversible step.

Other cases of irreversible, giant steps include the Israelites' story with Moses pbuh. In order to avoid a return to the pharaoh's regime, they were required to escape the city, by which they risked their lives. Once they escaped, there was no return, or else they would be killed. After this, when they fell to worshiping a cow statue, they were required by God to slaughter a real cow by their very hands so that they can see the absurdity of their practice, i.e. they had to slaughter their god!

Similarly, the first Muslims in Mecca had to migrate to Medina, by which they abandoned all their belongings and their loved ones. The first believers in Medina, on the other hand, gave up their internal deadly fights and forwent any revenge against each other. On top of forgiving each other, they undertook hosting their fellow migrant believers, and had to establish a mutual fraternity by which they shared not only their houses but also their wealth. Above all, these two communities, i.e. migrants and helpers, took all of the powers of the world then against themselves by proclaiming their faith and by embracing the messenger of God.

With these in mind, if you look at the recent history of the Middle East, you see that the nations that underwent a revolutionary transformation and cut their ties with their past achieved a real transformation, whereas the nations that assumed minimal modifications only went through a change of garment, without evolving really. I am not going to defend all of the events that took place during these periods in the twentieth century, but it is clear that decisive changes need and prerequisite irreversible and giant actions.

In the Noah's ark, as you and humanity are about to begin life anew, keep in mind that if you want future generations to embrace something and not give it up, they are going to have to make great sacrifices and work hard for them, just like you made when you took the faith introduced by Noah.

Trustee of the Revelation

Have you ever witnessed violence against people or heard about it? What about a violence by the rich and powerful on the poor and weak? What about a violence by a famous one on an ordinary one? As you know, it is very easy and rewarding to fight against violence committed by the weak, poor and ordinary people. The same is not true for the opposite, though. If you are trying to stop an evil committed by the rich, powerful and famous, long before you suffer "correctional" sanctions, you face the public that admonishes you against what you are doing, either because they think you are going to get hurt or because they believe there is no way your accusations could be true of "such a nice person". Given all, you may feel divided between heeding your conscience and prioritizing your own safety. In such a case, what if the Creator of everything orders you to go forward with your cause?

"O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message..." (5/67)

Throughout the 23 years during which Muhammad pbuh performed his duty as a messenger of God, he had to go through similar situations several times. Sometimes, it was due to stopping evil, yet at other times, it was about changing the traditions, and at other times, it was going against the status-quo. So, you can say that the last 23 years of his life were very much stressful; a state not favorable for the core of his mission: preserving the Quran.

Aisha, one of the wives of the prophet Muhammad, when asked about the character of the prophet, had told that his morals were those of the Quran,  (Muslim, 746). This was so, indeed, because the divine book is not fully established in humans' perception, until and unless it is practiced. So, you could call the prophet, in this respect, the living Quran. Nevertheless, as time goes by, conditions change, and for example today, the events and traditions of the 7th century sometimes look irrelevant to us. So, the living example of prophet is not necessarily 100% applicable to us today. The good news is we have the book of God in its original form. And for that, we owe a lot to the messenger of God, since it was him who established the tradition of memorizing and preserving the text of the revelation. 

Today's science tells us that stress is detrimental for the memory. In the above paragraphs, I had mentioned that the period of Quran's revelation was also the same time frame that harbored countless stressful events. So, on top of those, keeping the Quran in your mind, a book that amounted to 600 pages over the span of 23 years, definitely brings another factor of stress. All together, the stress that Muhammad pbuh was going through could undermine his core mission. So, the Creator regularly sent relieving verses:

Then High above all be Allah, the True King. And be not in haste (O Muhammad SAW) with the Quran before its revelation is completed to you, and say: "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (20/114)

O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. (5/67)

Then maybe you will kill yourself with grief, sorrowing after them, if they do not believe in this announcement. Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in works. (18/6-7)

Do you not see that We have sent the devils upon the disbelievers, inciting them to [evil] with [constant] incitement? So be not impatient over them. We only count out to them a [limited] number. (19/83-84)

Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word. Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul), and most suitable for (framing) the Word (of Prayer and Praise). (73/5)

So, on one side, the messenger was facing extreme challenges, but on the other side, his courage was refueled by God. One of the challenges, and actually the very first one, was to proclaim that God is one and only one. In a society, where people believe in multiple gods, introducing the idea that there is one and only one God is a great challenge. Here, I am not going to talk about the aspect looking towards the people; rather, I want to focus on the messenger. 

As witnessed by the historical records, after he made this claim, people starting shifted from "being surprised" to "being insulted", and then they grew in animosity to the point of waging war against him. Before we go that far though, in the beginning times of his mission, the Meccan pagans made an offer to him, which he rejected saying "even if they put the sun in my one hand, and the moon in the other, I am not going to give up. Either I die on this way or God makes me succeed in my cause." When this event happened, Muhammad was not in excellent conditions. Yes, he had a good reputation of being honest and truthful, he was the best in morals in the society, but those did not necessarily translate into power. Not at first sight, at least. So, this meant, he had to rely on God's help for power. 

At this point, you can feel that such experiences were actually the surgical operations of God on His messenger to hone his belief. After all, if the messenger is not fully convinced of his own mission, how else could he stand against the entire world? Trusting in your Lord who set you out on your cause means that, in reciprocity, your Lord has put His trust on you. And the first thing that follows this trust is the clearing of the fake powers and wrong information from your heart.

Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant. (33/72)

Luqman advised his son telling him, "My son, do not consider anything equal to God, for it is the greatest injustice." (31/13)

Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is Most Honorable, who, by the pen, taught the human being: Taught man what he knew not. (96/1-5)

Islam, when it was first established in the Arabian peninsula, accepted Jerusalem as its qibla; meaning, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the target direction for prayers, and it was held most holy. This, in the beginning, gave the believers a confirmation and mental comfort that Islam is in the same line of Judeochristian tradition. The same fact also gave a hint to the Jews and Christians about the veracity of the message brought by Muhammad pbuh. However, there was a subtle point in all this. Jerusalem was holy, not because it was holy on its own but, because God had appointed it as such. 

This meant that if God chooses another location as holy, things change accordingly. In other words, it is not that "you are on the right path because you are turning to the right direction", but that "you are on the right direction because you are on the right path". This distinction became clear when the qibla was shifted from Jerusalem to Mecca. Even some of the believers were challenged by this shift, because the mentality was not properly set before. In a society where the confirmation of things come from their roots in the tradition, establishing something that has no roots in the tradition, be it cultural or religious, is both radical and outrageous. So, as the person who started all this, Muhammad had to stand tall and strong in the face of any backlash from his followers and from the members of the other two religions.

But if they turn away, [O Muhammad], say, "Sufficient for me is Allah ; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne." (9/129)

So, with knowledge comes power and freedom. And with freedom comes responsibility. A distinctive property of prophet Muhammad is that, unlike many other significant figures in history, throughout his mission during which he continuously rose to greater power, he always sided with truth, and did not become a tyrant that crushes the weak. A prime example of this was witnessed when a Christian group came to Medina and had a discussion with the messenger about the status of Jesus. This discussion later grew into a heated debate. My intention here is not to talk about the content of the talks but to describe the frame of events. This discussion is taking place in Medina, where the Christians had no power at all. They are discussing the topic not with an ordinary person but with the person at the top of the political and military power. And the venue for the discussion is not any public place or home but the mosque. Yet, the Christian group is not afraid of going forward with their arguments, which is a sign that they have not been treated badly nor had they been threatened in any way. Looking at such details of the frame of these events, it is obvious that such self-control on the side of prophet Muhammad is a sign of being trustworthy with the trust given by the Lord of the Worlds.

After all these, what is our take home message? The messenger of God was sent not only to the people of the 7th century Arabs but also to everyone until the end of time. So, looking at his example on being trustworthy with "introducing revolutionary elements", we can conclude that if we are convinced of the truth of an idea or an action, if we are sure that it does not contradict with the fundamental borders drawn by God, then we can trust the One who inspired us that idea or action.

God further enlightens those who seek guidance. To those who do charitable deeds which produce continuing benefits, your Lord will give a better reward and a better place in Paradise. (19/76)

Why do Original People Have Strong Ego?

Ego has a negative connotation in the daily jargon. Especially in the recent years in the aftermath of the age of ego, people are praising all kinds of  sources of pleasure and are condemning ego due to its push for selfish and self-centered moves. This reactionary attitude, as is typical of all reactionary moves, brings about a blindness towards certain aspects of the human nature. In this atmosphere, scholars, thinkers, artists and leaders are destined to suffer the most due to their innate, strong ego.

Whether you like it or not, ego is part of our basic nature. If you admit it and tame it, you can put it to good use for yourself and for others; but the opposite is true, too. If you disregard it or shun it, then it is going to develop according to its untamed nature, and when the time comes, your ego is going to manifest itself in ways you may or may not like.

The group of people I mentioned above happen to have a stronger ego among others, and their individual and social lives suffer the most from this subtle issue. Why? Let's see the story from its beginning.

In the schooling systems, at best, the talents of the students are fostered, but their ego stays untamed, mostly because it is shunned: "Ego is something bad, so, better not to talk about it at all...". Later in life, we see, for example, a thinker who doesn't know how to conduct their ideas to other people and lead a civilized discussion; an artist who dislikes and harshly criticizes others' art; a scientist who crushes the students. It takes several years and trial-and-errors for them to get over this, of course if they can! And when they finally emerge from this ego trap, they are already old and outcast. Their family lives, too, suffer the same attitudes and, the original people find themselves in a social cemetery.

Now, is this all there is about ego? Did the Creator give ego to make us suffer? Is ego merely a tool of devil to create conflict and misery? And why are the most influential and valuable ones among the humans the unlucky ones for having a larger share of ego than the rest?

Said Nursi, an Islamic scholar of the early 20th century and author of the Risale-i Nur Collection, suggests the ego as a versatile tool given by God to humans to feel, measure and understand His attributes. That is, for example, an artist is the one to better appreciate the art on colors and shapes in the nature and universe, a physicist is the one to better see the invisible but omnipresent order at all levels of existence from micro to macro universe. This notion highlights the essential role of ego in fulfilling the requirements of being a servant of God, and it encompasses not only the talented people but also the ordinary.

In fact, if you dig deeper into the Eastern teachings on education of the self, you will discover that, instead of disregarding or shunning the ego, they are also pointing at a crux for ego where wisdom, trustworthiness, mercy and will power unite into one spirit. So, can we use this same perspective to have an idea of why original people are given strong egos? We sure can!

Let's see some examples throughout the history. Imagine yourself witnessing Galileo Galilei defying the dogmatic attitude of the Middle Age inquisition courts and speaking in the face of the oppression they have been exercising on the minds. What is the force that he has to do such a brave objection and to stay firm on his word?

Imagine Isaac Newton, the greatest scientist of all history according to many. How did he manage to survive despite his antisocial attitudes, and how did he go on to use mathematics as a tool to study the universe? Today, we take this for granted, but why in the world should numbers and symbols on a piece of paper explain the "future" of the existence? And with what force did he preserve his motivation and continue his studies despite a body of religious elite questioning his intentions?

Imagine Said Nursi standing against a global body of atheist scientists and philosophers who embarked on annihilating the idea of a creator. How did he persist on his teachings and commitments in the face of exiles, tortures and how did he speak so bravely in favor of the Islamic practices at a time when the opposite was the norm?

Imagine Abraham Lincoln, the father of the USA. How did he manage to stand against his own political failures for so many years until eventually seeding the union of the states?

How did Albert Einstein insist on not accepting the hegemony of the Newtonian understanding of the universe and developed a relativistic understanding that shook the minds? And ironically, how did the same Albert Einstein fail to accept the quantum behavior at the micro scale that was going against his own baby, the relativity?

This list can be extended. An original person in any field of life, before receiving the proper acceptance among the people, faces dire resistance socially, intellectually, but they manage to stand against all those thanks to some force within. When the same happens for the sake of a personal issue in private life, we call such people egoistic, but in the above-mentioned cases, these people see a light of truth that empowers them. The instrument that receives this light of truth and converts it into useful deeds is ego.

With a tamed ego, a scholar can work on a new theory and defend it in the face of entire humanity, because and if the same ego is receiving the light of truth. With a tamed ego, an artist can consistently exercise a style and interpretation in their art even if it goes against the accepted public opinion, because and if their ego is shining like the moon due to the light falling on it from the Light of all existence.

And with a tamed ego, ordinary people can do extraordinary actions in the face of the status-quo, because and if they are clinging on to a rope descending from the heavens conveying timeless truths.