Aboard Noah's Ark - 3

Just like the elements of the creation, be them small or big, are messages from God, natural events, too, are signs and messages of God, be them ordinary or out of the ordinary.

Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, "What did Allah intend by this as an example?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient, (2/26)

Unfortunately, those who have molded their minds so that they will not see those messages even if posed explicitly cannot find true guidance. Instead, they seek alternative explanations and cover up the eyes of their hearts.

I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right; and if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. And if they see the way of consciousness, they will not adopt it as a way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as a way. That is because they have denied Our signs and they were heedless of them. (7/146)

We then replaced their misfortune with well-being until they were relieved and began saying, "Our fathers had also experienced good and bad days." Suddenly, We struck them (with torment) while they were all unaware (of what was happening). (7/95)

This is, perhaps, what had happened with the son of Noah, when he said that he could escape the flood by climbing a high mountain. In their view, this rain was the long awaited water after a drought that struck them hard, which in fact was a warning from God but which was missed by the people of Noah for the reason stated above.

Then I said, Ask forgiveness of your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving: He will send rain to you in abundance (71/10-11)

And it sailed with them through waves like mountains, and Noah called to his son who was apart [from them], "O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers." His son replied, "I shall climb up a mountain and this will save me from the flood." Noah said, "No one can escape on this day from God's command except those on whom He has mercy." The waves separated Noah from his son who was then drowned with the rest (of the unbelievers). (11/42-43)

Then, it is clear that the events that happen to us personally or as a society are communications from God in different languages. These languages can be in the civilized manner as in the admonitions of the holy books, or they can be in more physical forms such as economical crises, natural disasters, pandemics, wars... All in all, the message is clear. The will of God is established sooner or later, but whether we are going to benefit from it or lose badly depends on our choice of actions.

And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He defers them for a specified term. And when their time comes, then indeed Allah has ever been, of His servants, Seeing. (35/45)

Till, when the messengers despaired and thought that they were denied, then came unto them Our help, and whom We would was saved. And Our wrath cannot be warded from the guilty. (12/110)

It is also noteworthy that being in a society that is committed to evil, in and of itself, is a potential risk. If you are there and working to spread the message of God through your actions and communications, then you personally may be safe. However, extended duration of "no result", that is no change for the better, may be a sign that you shouldn't stay there anymore. Being in a decisively sinner community is also a risk in the sense that you yourself can shift towards them. After all, you are an individual in the face of a society. Even if you don't commit those sins yourself, you may start supporting their evils through various make-ups in your mind. So, one must separate from a sinning society at some point or at some depth. If you have to stay in there, you must detach your heart and/or your personal life from them to stay properly guided. Otherwise, you may find yourself at the same dreadful end.

And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust; and know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil). (8/25)

To sum up, an economic or political crisis or a war or a pandemic affects everybody. These events are for sure messages or afflictions from God, but those who have blinded their hearts won't be able to see this. Furthermore, joining the party of such blind hearted people, even if you don't actively do evil, is a fault in itself. In such cases, when the time comes, God establishes the order by force. These forces may be incomprehensible or invisible. The incomprehensibility, we talked about it. But what about invisibility? Angels? Yes, angels are part of the answer, but not the whole of it.

And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise. (48/7)

When the angels are in action, this may be invisible to us, like a miraculous intervention, or it can be visible to us behind certain veils. For example, when the people of Lot were destroyed, it was the angels at work but in the appearance, a natural disaster of some sort was taking place. Similarly, during the Event of the Elephant (105/1-5) when the army that was about to destroy the Kaaba was itself destroyed by the birds, it was angels at work behind the veil. Again, during the Battle of the Trench (Handaq) in the Islamic history, the wind that made it impossible to stay outside, let alone fighting, was a clear, but invisible, help from God. It was fulfilled by the angels, but the manifestation of this help was an unyielding and endless storm.

O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when armies came to [attack] you and We sent upon them a wind and armies [of angels] you did not see. And ever is Allah , of what you do, Seeing. (33/9)

After this journey to the future in time, if we snap back to our time on the ark, obviously those who have been blind towards the messages of God have been eradicated, and we are in an explicit coverage by God. Still, the same question bothers us, what to do to avoid a massive relapse to the heart blindness?

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.