CHAPTER - 3
– UNDERSTANDING RABB THROUGH SURAH FATEHA
HOW
GOD WAS BORN?
The entire human race has the
same basic aspiration, which is to be happy and avoid sufferings. But very few
people understand the real cause of happiness and suffering.
We generally believe that lack of materialistic gain is the major cause of
suffering and as a result we devote all our time and energy to acquire it. We
presume that accumulation or distribution of wealth can bring happiness. But when we
contemplate, this same wealth could be the cause of all our suffering.
We need to learn the art of balancing happiness and sufferings. We know that
money is essential for us to enjoy life, but we are unaware that being in
pursuit of money also brings in immense problems and anxiety. We accumulate wealth at the cost of our family and friends, with whom we enjoy so many happy moments, as a result we lose them too and we lose our health as well then it becomes the cause of worry and tension.
In recent years our living
standards have improved immensely. Our understanding of the world has increased
considerably, and as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress;
but unfortunately there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in human
happiness.
There is a lot of suffering in the world today, owing to many problems. Indeed,
it could be said that there is now more problems and greater unhappiness than
ever before. This shows that the solution to our problems and those of the
society does not simply lie in the technology or knowledge of the external world but in the
inner world of self as well. Both internal and external worlds are
interconnected to us. Have we ever thought and looked around what is going on
in the world? We need to notice right now and note, what we don’t like and what
is causing pain to us? We are simply glued onto the 114 chapter ancient Arabic book assuming it as "complete guide" and some believe that the word “Kitab” and “Quran” are same. We are unaware that the pages of that guide book is actually our script/al-kitab which is embedded within us. We simply ignore that inherent script [Zalikal-Kitab] which has immense lessons to offer but we fail to look into it. Instead of simply pondering and wasting our time and
energy on some foreign language for guidance, we need to make an effort to
grasp the contents of the universal message from that specific Book which we
all possess in our own language (14:4).
We are so quick at blaming everything on the external factors, for all the bad that is happening in our lives, that we miss out to probe the valuable
messages or sign lies within and around us. The basic dilemma that we face will
guide us back home towards the truth, of who we really are and why the external
factors affect us. For example simply by the cutting of trees, the quality of
our basic needs is affected, such as, the air we breathe, the sun-shine we bask
in, the water cycle and the food chain. This proves that we do not live in isolation;
in fact we are all interconnected to the external world and this we hardly realize.
Our brain would stop functioning, if it isn't connected with the cosmic consciousness / universal mind,
our true Lord / Rabb.
The happiness and suffering are actually states of the mind, and so their main
causes cannot be found outside the self. The real happiness lies in the establishing of connection with the system of consciousness [Allah] which leads to the voluntary peaceful submission of the self to the internal Kingdom of God. This voluntarily surrender of the self with complete awareness produces the state of
inner peace and tranquility termed as Muslim in Quranic parlance. If our mind is peaceful, we will be happy all the
time, regardless of external conditions apart from our basic needs of survival.
But if it is disturbed or troubled in any other way, we shall never be happy,
no matter how good our external conditions would be.
External conditions can only make us happy, if our mind is peaceful. Mind acts
like a fulcrum between happiness and suffering. We can evaluate this through
our own experiences. For instance, even if we are in the most beautiful
surroundings and have everything we need, but the moment we get angry, any
amount of happiness we may have, simply disappears. This is because negative
feelings like ego, suspicion, jealousy, rivalry, insecurity and fear destroy our inner peace.
The attitude of others or manners also affects our peace of mind. Peace is the by product of our internal reaction to the external factors.
We can see from this that if we want true, lasting happiness we need to develop
and maintain a special mechanism for inner peace. The only way to do this is by
training our mind through right and positive thoughts – gradually reducing and
eliminating the negativity from our life, caused by a agitated state of mind [An-Naas].
Replacing them with a positive, peaceful state of mind, and that is by having
positive thoughts within you. Muslim is not a name of any particular
community. It is an adjective which describes the peaceful / humble and sound state of mind towards his surroundings. If the man does not maintain a peaceful environment and covers up his misdeed by justifications is termed as a Kafir in Quranic terminology, it also means one who does not manifest his true self honestly or one who is in dark or in ignorance, means having no knowledge or the one who conceals or covers up the truth. This attitude breeds arrogance an attribute of Satan.
Those who fail to understand the importance of the inner psychology of self integrating with the innate nature will never be satisfied with their life
and will never achieve the state of bliss they desire. The integration or unity or
bonding of heart, mind and body mechanism is called Tawheed in Islamic sense - The alignment or unity of mind, body and soul requires complete knowledge / awareness / consciousness of self. When we have
high awareness or level of Consciousness, [Deen] accepting or submitting or giving back to the Mother Nature becomes easy and our topmost priority. The empathy in us does not emerge
due to fear of hell or greed for heaven but due to our own high level of
Consciousness present by the virtue of having a humane mind [Insaan] and the spirit / air of consciousness [Ruh] of the Rabb present in us. After acquiring the highest level of consciousness the difficult path of implementation becomes easy and less painful for a conscious aware mind.
People who do not wonder over
their own potentials will always feel the vacuum of deficiency to be fulfilled
by their cravings and they will always feel the burden of insecurity. Such feeling of emptiness either develops unethical habit of acquiring things unscrupulously or through "Divine" intervention. For such the need of a “God” arises as they expect easy succor from unexpected quarters to fulfill their
dreams, rather than utilizing their own Knowledgeable Consciousness and working on it. Dejection
and feeling of insecurity is the perfect breeding ground for believing in
the emergence of an alien supernatural savior in the form of the “Almighty
God religious God", who could improve or uplift their plight.
The tasks that we fail to accomplish; we want "God" to fulfill them
on our behalf. Because we feel that it is the Will of "God" that is
the main hurdle in fulfilling our desires. So we perform various rituals to
please the “God”. Then if our desire is not fulfilled we console ourselves by
lying to ourselves that "God" is wise and He knows what is good for us. Or some smarter among us will say that "God" is taking our exam, so we should exercise patience and concentrate on sincere devotion towards "God." Various forms of logic are applied
to justify the importance of "God’s” role in our life. We don't dare to
think beyond anything contrary to the belief of the " Religious Almighty God". Our basic belief is that if we perform rituals “God” will be pleased and
He will work for us towards achieving success.
Now changing the "will of God" becomes the biggest task in our life. To appease the "Almighty God of Religion", different kinds of rituals are
invented and performed. The result of such mentality is that the alien "Almighty
God" becomes the Owner and Driver of the individual’s life. Maintaining the
relationship with unknown God becomes a matter of prime importance and
pride as well. Different “Holy Books” are being published to know the will of
"God". Places of worship and pilgrimages are established and are
given utmost importance. Opportunist caretakers of these places are given immense
importance and reverence in the society.
The entire life revolves around the appeasement of "Religious God" and how one
can escape from His punishment. To appease the so called God, first we have to appease the
"God-men" and to appease these God-men we have to fleece the
"God-men’s assistants". Such practices emerge because of the greed
for rewards and fear of punishment ingrained in our mind by the clergy. This belief
begins to haunt and eventually becomes the sole basis of one’s life. Serving
humanity has taken the backseat. Worshiping of superficial God or gods becomes the order of the day. Religious teachers and preachers are given more importance than school teachers, free thinkers and scientists. Rationality is taken over by mythology and there is no room for contemplation. Believing in miracles and all type of superstition becomes the way of spending normal life. Humanity, commonsense, secularism and tolerance is replaced by giving too much importance to the worship of tribal or cult and the God, gods or deity of the religion, cult, sect through various rituals.
“THERE IS NO GOD, EXCEPT THE SYSTEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
Pre-Islamic religion in Arabia consisted of indigenous polytheistic
beliefs, Nestorian & Ebionites Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Nestorian
Christianity was the dominant religion in Eastern Arabia prior to the advent of
Islam but Ebionites were more similar to Islamic beliefs and they are also called Jewish Christians. In the latter stages of the pre-Islamic era, Christianity gained
converts with some unorthodox sects, such as the Gnostics also having a
presence.
The sedentary people of pre-Islamic Eastern Arabia were mainly Aramaic speakers
and to some extent Persian speakers, while Syrian functioned as a liturgical
language. In pre-Islamic times, the population of Eastern Arabia consisted
of Christianize Arabs, Armenians Christians, Persian-speaking
Zoroastrians and Jewish agriculturalists. This period was called dark ages, as
there were complete cultural and economic deterioration. There was total
absence of enlightenment and reasoning, because religious dogmas do not allow its
followers to use their intellect and foresee outside its folds.
In
such an era of multiple beliefs and doctrines, a towering personality appeared
in Arabia. He was identified as Rev. Mohammed Ibn Abdullah –
Many, many salutations to him. Who proclaimed the phenomenal phrase “There
is no god [ilah], except the System of Consciousness [Allah]” - لا اله الا الله -
He unified Arabia into a single unit under this banner. His philosophy was that
of love and brotherhood of mankind. He encouraged the use of reason,
understanding the limitations / boundaries (hudood) of our
system of consciousness and shunned blind worship of all big and small deities.
He dearly wanted to uplift mankind from the shambles of blind worshiping in the
name of religion and its various sects. He promoted and compiled the Arabic translated version of
book which is the original version Jewish Christian philosophy as the living
guide for mankind. The book is recognized as Al-Quran by the followers of
religion Islam. The book Quran never encourages the worship of God, gods or
deities rather it defines and explains them. The first introductory chapter of the book Al-Quran is AL-FATEHA, which is about the 'The Opening of Mind'.
The precondition of
understanding any book or literature is to get rid of the blockages from the Mind and become clean (56:79). The name of the chapter is Al-Fateha which
instructs us to open the blockages of the mind, by explaining the characteristics
of Allah (system of consciousness) / Rabb [fountainhead, chief / governor]. Rabb is a very important word of the book Quran, the connotations of which is discussed more than 5000 times in the entire Quran. The term Allah / Rabb and its connotations needs to be
understood in the right perspective if we are sincere to study and gain
knowledge from the book Quran. Without understanding the essence of Allah/Rabb no one can understand the book Quran. And the main problem is we claim to have understood everything except the term Allah/Rabb. The importance of the term Rabb / Allah is like the importance of head in the body. We cannot understand the message of Islam or the book Quran without having proper understanding of Allah / Rabb. Can we imagine a body without a head? Allah / Rabb is the integral part of ourselves.
Zalikal-Kitab is that script or writings or engravings, in which are guidance for the diligent [Mutaqi]. Nothing is omitted in that book (6:38)
- and there's no doubt about it, only the diligent / thoughtful will
take guidance from it (2:2). Zalikal Kitab is not the “Quran”, but that
practical book of life through which any diligent / thoughtful can walk carefully in the
concrete jungle of the world and take guidance, even though if their language is not Arabic [14:4]. In Quranic context Al-Kitab mainly refers to the script inside us, which has reflections / reminders / memories, thoughts for us, will you not then use your intelligence (2:146) (6:20) (21:10). And the inherent Rasuls speaks our own language through signs [ayaats] so that we can understand and distinguish falsehood and become wise (14:4).
The respected author of the book Quran has narrated the message by depiction of characters in theophanic style like in Aesop’s fable. Quran or Furqan or Kitab or Zikr or Hakim or Basirah (2:185) (21:10) (38:1) (36:1) (2:203) are all embedded in every human which warns, guides, and teaches to differentiate things at every moment or stages of life. That's why all the "messengers" follow only what is revealed to them by their Rabb (governor, fountainhead, consciousness), as Quran is the mental perception / intelligence (Basirah) of our Rabb (7:203-205). To understand a book you need a Mind and not a God. That is why Surah Al Fateha, instructs us to open our
knowledgeable mind and look up to that practical book (Zaalikal-Kitab)
which is inside as well as outside us and there is no doubt, a guidance for the
people who are diligent. This is how surah 1 connects to surah 2.
WHY RABB IS MIND / FOUNTAINHEAD / HEAD OR A GOVERNOR?
Some people think that the
mind is the brain, but that isn’t correct. The brain is a physical organ that
can be seen with the eyes and can be operated if required. Eyes and ears are
the extensions of the brain.
The mind, on the other hand, is not a physical organ. It cannot be seen with
the eyes, nor does it have a photograph or an image. The brain, therefore, is
not the mind but simply a part of the body. The main topic of Quran is universal Consciousness which includes human mind THE FOUNTAIN HEAD of our system. The Quran explains the System of Consciousness (Allah) through lower conscious and higher conscious mind by labeling them as Al-Ardh and Samawat respectively. The derivatives of the word Al-Ardh and As-Samavat has occurred 770 times in the entire Quran. The author tried to explain the word Rabb / fountainhead through the 99+ attributes of Rabb as it is difficult to define the source of all knowledge empirically. Head or fountainhead or Consciousness [Rabb] can only be understood through its attributes; by this we can at least identify the essence of Rabb. The research on Consciousness is being done by different eminent physicist but it is still at an infancy stage nevertheless they have not ruled out its existence.
The entire Quran revolves around the word Rabb.
Starting from chapter 1 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ to the last chapter of
the Quran- i.e. قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاس - the word
Rabb is used frequently throughout the Quran, thus highlighting its
importance. We need to ponder as to why this word Rabb, along with the word
Allah is an important part of the message. The respected author has kept on
harping all the time to check out this word called Rabb / Allah. His purpose was
definitely not to make his followers a devotee of Rabb or “God”, but to
explain to them the importance of Rabb / Allah in our lives. And no doubt he has made a
tremendous effort to explain the role of Rabb in our daily routine of life. Because
without Rabb (Fountainhead of all knowledge) on our side, our Life is worse than animals
and the system of consciousness would smear upon us layers of confusions, and we will be always in the state of
commotion that doesn’t use their intellect or commonsense (8:22) (10:100).
And it is obvious in our lives; I don’t need to produce any evidence for it.
Although plants, animals, insects and every particle in the cosmos possess consciousness but at different levels. However the book Quran only talks about the different levels in human consciousness and its effects if not handled properly.
There is nothing within the body or outside it, that can be easily identified as our Rabb [Consciousness / fountainhead]; yet we are connected to it 24x7. Consciousness is the natural tendency to feel, perceive or experience, evolve, adapt, act subjectively and govern. All attributes belong to
the knowledgeable Consciousness -
No vision can grasp Him, He can grasp all visions, He is Subtle and
Well Acquainted. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him, nor sleeps.
He is Self Nourishing and Self Sustaining. He is our System of consciousness (Allah), All
attributes belong to Him only – He is The Lord, The Master, The Owner, The Guide, The
Formless, The Provider, The Guardian, The Protector, The Lawyer, The Source of
Peace, The Creator, The Evolver, The Forgiver, The Fashioner, The Subduer, The
Bestower, The All Knower, The All Hearer, The Judge, The Just, The Aware, The
Appreciative, The Opener, The Most High, The Preserver, The Maintainer, The Expander, The All
Embracing, The Powerful, The Reckoner, The Generous, The Watchful, The
Responsive, The Wise, The Universal, The Finder, The Restorer, The Alive, The
Germinator, The Humiliator, The Abaser, The Constrictor, The Subduer, The Compeller, The Creator of Death, The First and The Last - He is our Mind, our
Consciousness, our Rabb; to Whom belongs the 99+ characteristics or attributes; He is
our Rabb.
I also observed in the book Quran that all the prayers / invocations of the "prophets" are addressed to the Rabb only and not to Allah, because Allah is also an attribute which represents Rabb. I also realized that
from the list of the 99 names of "Allah" the word Rabb is missing. Although the
“scholars” are of the opinion that it is one of the greatest names, yet
ironically we don’t find this important name among the 99 names of Allah. I
realized that when we pray or supplicate, it is only we, our own self who hears
our plea and no one else. The self (nafs) is also known as mind. One of the meanings of Nafs
according to Arabic lexicon is mind. Furthermore Allah also uses the word nafs
for Himself in the Quran (3:28) (5:115) (20:41). Please don’t canonize any word or take
it literally as words are just medium to deduce the essence of the message.
Although, the prayer does make a temporary
psychological impact or placebo effect on us, it thus creates a false sense of contentment because words have positive power to heal. This
feeling of temporary satisfaction develops an attitude of carelessness and
hara-kiri. This is very dangerous as it encourages a fatalistic and sedentary
lifestyle. The ignorant people believe that their prayers are working for them.
Such type of belief breeds irresponsibility and dependency as they totally rely
on "God" for their work without realizing that “God” will only help
them if they help themselves (13:11) (8:53) by working
sincerely on a straight and righteous path.
The essential point of understanding the mind is that, liberation from
sufferings cannot be found outside the mind or the CONSCIOUSNESS. Man is the prisoner of his own
thoughts. Serving the mind with good thoughts can bring out the best out of it.
Permanent liberation can be found only by taking help of the mind for right and
straight guidance. Feeding or serving of negative feelings like suspicion, fear, greed, miserliness, selfishness and insecurity can invite its wrath and it
can be the cause of our going astray (1:7).
Therefore, if we want to be free of problems and attain long lasting peace and
happiness we need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the mind / consciousness,
which can bring out unimaginable bounties in our favor (108:1-2). The
anomalous behavior of the Mind / consciousness (Rabb) is one of the important subjects of the
“Quran”.
SELECTING THE RIGHT MEANINGS FROM THE LEXICONS:
I have tried my level best to present the detailed meanings according to the
context of the message. This is done in order to make the subject more sensible to the readers. Some of the important words that suffer due to belief in “Shan
e Nuzool”, Traditional Arab Religion” and “Modern Arabic” are Rabb, Allah,
Rasul, Nabi, Salat, Zakat, Saum, Haj, Ramadan, Malaikah, Ibadat, Qiyamah,
Qatal, Nisa, Al-Ardh, Al-Samawat etc the list is long. We have confined the meanings of the above
words to just one or two meanings, which are “colloquial and popular meanings”.
Apart from these so called established meanings, which the “scholars” have
imposed on the masses, we are not even ready to think on other aspects and are
content with the traditional usage. We should know that the “Quran” is written
in pre-Islamic Arabic. It is the behavior of any language to evolve and discard its old
meaning. We translate old Arabic words with the help of Modern Arabic
dictionaries with little regard to the context or its morphology and syntax
throughout the “Quran”. We never dare to question; in fact those who question
are declared heretics. The biggest casualty is the message of the “Quran” and
consequently the downfall of its followers due to not able to grasp the essence
of the message.
There are few key words in this surah that need to be understood in the right
perspective. These keywords will act as a foundation towards the understanding
of the entire "Quran" in all our future references. All the meanings
are deduced from the classical Arabic Lexicons. The readers may not find some
meanings in modern Arabic dictionaries or the traditional "Quranic"
dictionaries. The language of "Quran" is pre-classical
"Arabic" and some of the meanings are also deduced from the subject
of the verse itself, but care is taken, never to deviate from the basic root
word. My aim is that the interpretation or explanation of the verses of the
chapter should be in contextual sequence and its message should appeal the readers rather than justify the hadith/biblical stories.
To deduce the correct meaning from the list of so many hints and suggestions
given in the lexicons is like solving a riddle. One has to thoroughly go
through all the meanings and examples presented to understand the meaning of
the concerned word. Interpreters or translators pick and choose the
meaning according to their convenience or in accordance to the general
consensus of the masses. For me making sense of the message is the topmost
priority. The context of the concerned subject decides the meaning of the word.
If the mind is not influenced by any outside source, it is easy to deduce the
right word. Consistency of the meaning also plays a very important role in
deducing the right meaning.
THE BASIC MEANING OF RABB ACCORDING TO CLASSICAL
LEXICONS ARE:
Rabb = Possessor, Owner, Command or
Authority over it. The message of the book Quran is for agitated minds (An-Naas).
Looking at the meaning of the Rabb we have to ponder, who has authority or
command over our agitated minds or who guide us to straight path. The answer is obvious; it’s our Mind / our own consciousness - The
Lord of Mankind. It’s the universal truth and fact that the mind which guides,
governs and controls and has power over all of us. We can analyze that this
meaning fits into all the properties and characteristics of ‘Mind as Rabb’. As
the book Quran connects to the entire human race, the message should not be
subjected to any limitations such as any religion, caste, creed, region or
sect. Its message can never be suppressed, confined as it appeals to all those who have mind. When we say it’s a message
for all, and it should prove so. Thus even an atheist should not deny its
existence. The message should be 2+2 = 4 irrespective of what language it is
presented in, the meaning of Rabb (Mind / fountainhead of knowledge / Consciousness) should be applicable to people of
every class; every region and it should be acceptable universally, in any era. Rabb
or Mind or Consciousness is the only logical and correct answer as it touches
every human, animal, bird, insect, tree or any technology. Without
consciousness nothing can come into existence.
SOME ADDITIONAL MEANINGS OF RABB ARE
- He ruled, he governed, He brought up, nourished, he conducted, regulated,
reared, fostered, take care, lord, master, chief command, inseparable, bringing
up to maturity.
WORDS DERIVED FROM THE WORD RABB ARE:
Tarbbiyat = conditioning of
mind and bringing it up by degrees, upbringing, nourishing - Rabbani = A
person who possesses knowledge, - Arabba Nabi = foster fathers of Prophet,
Rabeeb = Like-minded people in an alliance, - Rabubi = Knowledge of science, -
Rabbatul Bayat = House wife, Rabbul Bayat = Head of the family, Rabbath =
Foster mother or a firm knot, - Rabbi = Learned pious man, - Yurabbi = Raise
(as in raise a child), Rabban = Beginning or commencement of the
first or fresh state of anything,- Marabb = Place of counsel,- Marbub = A
slave, a bondman or one who is possessed,- Murabba = after maturing
of fruit or its juices and collecting it in a congealed form called murraba,
Arbab = Plural of Rabb or owners.
After going through all the above lexicon meanings and its derivatives it is
wrong to confine the meaning of this all important word called Rabb, to just a
conventional meaning of god, lord, master, Lord of mankind. It will cause great
injustice to the universal message of the the book Quran. In Quran Rabb is addressed
as my Rabb, our Rabb, his Rabb, your Rabb, their Rabb, and its Rabb, his master
or lord and lords. Sometimes it is addressed in singular form, sometimes in
plural form and sometimes even feminine gender. This diversity of forms of Rabb
points out that the Quran is not only talking about a single
Ar-Rabb but many derivatives of rabb, apart from the culturally held belief of
one God. I leave it on the readers to deduce the actual meaning of
this magnanimous word Rabb. Now the fate of the word Rabb is in your
hands, you decide, you ponder, as to what should be its actual meaning but
without zero in the correct meaning of Rabb no one can understand the true
essence of the message of Quran.
RABB IN SOME VERSES OF THE BOOK QURAN
7:205 Think / remember /
contemplate your Rabb in your nafs...
*************************************************************************************
79:16 When his consciousness / mind
spoke to him with deep sanctity of secrecy
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82:6 O Man what has beguiled you
concerning your valuable mind/consciousness
82:7 Who has evolved you, proportioned you,
then justified you?
******************************************************************************************
81:29 And you cannot wish it, unless you desire the System of Consciousness [Allah], the
knowledgeable mind / consciousness [Rabb].
*******************************************************************************************
89:6 Did you not observe how your
mind / Consciousness works with repetitions / persistency?
*******************************************************************************************
96:1.
Express / Talk with identification / recognition of your mind / Governor / Fountainhead Consciousness who evolved you - (Talk with your
mind)
96:2. He evolved you from relationships [Talooqaat and alaq share the common root word]
96:3. Express with your mind / Consciousness -The highly Productive
96:4. Who has taught, what desired is
96:5. He taught man what he knew not
96:6 Verily man does transgress
96:7. Because he considers himself
independent
96:8. Surely to your consciousness
/ mind is your coming back
***********************************************************************************************
106:3 So let them continuously serve the mind / consciousness [Rabb] of this house of thoughts [Al-Bayat]. – The verse is not instructing us to serve / worship the stone house of Rabb in Mecca. to think in this way is a blasphemy which confines the Rabb in a cube shape house - [Please check the difference in meaning of bayat in traditional translations (4:81)
(7:4) (25:64)]
************************************************************************************************
108:1 We have given you the abundance
108:2 So follow your mind / consciousness and master (the knowledge)
***********************************************************************************************
BELIEVING
RABB AS GOD?
When we believe that everything comes from God and we are not responsible for
the plight we are in, we tend to become careless, lazy and irresponsible. Such type of beliefs promote
the habit of passing the buck on “God” for whatever wrong actions we take.
“God” becomes the sole decision maker of our fate and our work depends on
solely His will. And we shift our focus from sincere work to appeasing of the “Holy
God” day and night, out of fear and greed of reward. Blaming it on the
"God’s Wisdom" becomes an excuse for every failure we face and the
result is we fail to introspect our own selves. Let me begin by agreeing that
we all have different experiences that shaped our beliefs / convictions.
No one is wrong or absolutely right because individual knowledge and experience
is incomplete. What is clear is that there is no one up there with a big
magnifying glass watching to reward the good or punish the sinful. God in the
physical manifestation is Nature, impartial and does not take sides. God in the
Spiritual sense is human consciousness that fosters compassion, love, learning and adaptation. And Satan the opposite forces that manifest envy, falsehood, pride, corruption and disorder. They all are one and the same but with different dimensions. The fact that
we have a moral compass in the form of a conscience that essentially encourages
good and deters bad by triggering emotions of guilt or sin. This empathy of highest order makes us humans as opposed
to mere animals. God exists and it is in all of us. This is what I learnt from
the “Quran” nevertheless I respect your beliefs too and this is also I learnt
from the “Quran”.
The Rabb / Allah of "Quran" is different from the Rabb /
Allah of "Traditional Arab Religion"(“TAR”). Rabb / Allah
of "Quran" wants us realization, acceptance, action, hard work, discipline, love and respect towards every creation, walk the right way, to be diligent for our own good. And the Rabb /
Allah of "traditional Arab religion" demands all time praising, worshiping,
fearing, sacrificing cattles, visit to His house, throwing stones at cement
concrete Satan, kissing stone, remaining hungry just for pleasing or
gaining favor from Him.
The follower of Traditional
Arab Religion believes that if Allah / Rabb is happy He will fulfill
their desires. And if He is angry He can destroy them. Greed for reward and
fear from hell fire is the basic philosophy on which the "TAR"
is surviving. They believe that somebody up in the sky decides our destiny. Such
thinking is the main hurdle in the progress of its follower. This blind
faith in the miraculous power of "Super God" is termed as Iman
or faith by the followers of the “TAR”. They treat Allah / Rabb as a supreme deity who needs 24x7 praising and 5 times a day attendance to his house.
We fail to realize that our continuous prayers or wishes ultimately get
registered in our consciousness (Rabb) and that too without our efforts; the Rabb will
not reciprocate to our wishes unless we make a conscious effort to fulfill that wish.
The mechanism of Rabb helps those who help themselves. Our thoughts which make
us believe that "Allah / Rabb" will do the rest for
us, prevents the mind to stimulate or send signals to act. The silent and
inactive “God” is actually working on the principle of cause and effect, in
which we (our thoughts) are its chief stimulating agents. Whatever we sow, we have to reap
it. The rewards or punishment depends on how we serve or take care of our Rabb.
It’s not our physical body that bears the torture but it is the non-physical layers of mind that has to carry the burden of consequences of our wrong or right
actions (11:103-107) (7:187). So, it is we, who create Heaven and Hell during the course of our
sojourn, they are all mental state of mind. In short we are the owner of our
life or destiny. This simple message we fail to understand, - that we are the
leaders (Imam) of our own destiny (17:71).
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Before coming to the
interpretation of the surah 1, I would like to make one thing very clear
that the book Quran is not something to be sung, recited or for rote learning,
neither does it demand memorization of certain verses with correct pronunciation.
The Quran or rather I prefer to call it a book containing 114 chapters is a set
of instructions for mankind, written in pre-classical Arabic language. It's not a
new message (46:9). The same messages have
come in many languages and in every period there is a prescribed message
according to its time (14:4) (13:38).
Sincere awareness
and the sense of obligation or submission or giving back to Nature what we borrowed from Nature is called Deen in Quranic terminology and this is what the respected author has
highlighted time and again. Madeena a derivative of Deen, means place or
city or state under authority to one which all must submit.
In the “Islamic” culture much importance is given to the pronunciation and
memorization of the Arabic text by the “preachers of Islam". A lot of
people I know just play the Quran recitation or recite it as if it is a musical tune or
under the belief that it will bring good luck to them. They don't even care to
understand it or to know the meaning, let alone analyze the verses or even try
to research the Quran. They treat the Quran with utmost respect as if it is a
deity which can bring blessing or sufferings. No efforts are made to understand the
meaning of the words of the "Quran" whose message is alien to
majority of us. A false impression is created as if “God” is listening to our
rhythmic sound and it is of prime importance to utter the Quranic verses with
the correct pronunciation and rhythm. Unfortunately! We ourselves are so ignorant
of its main purpose. There are many regions in the world who have different
dialects and they face difficulty in pronouncing certain linguistic phonetics.
That does not mean that "God" will punish them. The basic purpose of the book Quran is to understand its instructions but unfortunately we behave as if we are deaf, dumb and blind.
We are simply interested
in earning brownie points from “God”. Sadly no emphasis is laid on the implementation
or understanding the message. This ignorance on our part is damaging us and the
image of Islam worldwide. The formal act of reading the “Quran” without
understanding its true essence is actually a waste of time and energy. The
"God" is never pleased by formalities. Do you think that we will be
pleased if our servant does formalities like saluting us day and night, instead
of performing actual work that was instructed to him? Wake up! Don’t be in
false illusions that the so called "God / Rabb" will convert
all your dreams into reality by just fulfilling formalities or rituals. This is
not a fairyland but reality of life. The distance between reality and dream is action. And only your conscious mind has the
power to guide you and change your life, so act now and serve Him only.
Those who believe that they
are very religious and can die for Islam are in fact the same people who don’t
know anything about “Quran” the only valid document of Islam. Their faith in
Islam is totally based on the diktat of the clergy. These people love Islam
blindly and are the vital canon fodder for the crafty clergies. These clergy class are
parasites who feed on these simple “Muslim masses” and they don’t want that
these nincompoop masses slip from their clutches by educating them. These
poor masses blindly trust and follow these superficial clergies and their
interpretation of Islam.
I was very curious to know
why the recitation of Surah Al-Fateha has become an integral part of our way of
life, that on every big or small occasion it is honored with the recitation of
Bismillahir-Rahmaanir- Raheem – Al-Hamdulilahi Rabbil Aalameen…. But after
knowing its true worth, I realized that it has amazing guidance and insight in
it. For more details refer to the article on Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.
Nothing is achieved without
proper hard work, good character and intelligence. The subject of the the book Quran is inherent script of mankind [21:10] and how to connect with it. The right understanding of Rabb
will help us in achieving our aspirations - nothing is achieved by just
reciting or performing rituals. The wonderful book "Quran" is about
integrating the right thoughts in our daily lives and not just reciting the Arabic speech in a
rhythmic tone and expecting miracles to happen. Now we have to analyze as to
why this small chapter is placed at the beginning of this book and named as AL-
FATEHA and given prime importance. What is so significant about this surah? Why is it so important?
SURAH Al-FATEHA – THE OPENING, THE UNLOCKING, THE PREFACE.
INTRODUCTION:
This surah is the key to the entire "Quran". The title of this
surah indicates its true essence.
Miftah, a derivative of the root word F-T- H – means key or opener.
Understanding of this surah in the right perspective is the key to understand
the entire "Quran". This surah is also known as: Ummul Quran” – “Mother
of the Quran" because this surah nurtures or corrects us throughout our
life. Even though the name of the surah is Al-Fateha, but nowhere in the surah
have we come across this word. That does not mean it does not have any
significance relation with the surah. It contains a very important hint to understand
this magnificent surah.
This powerful surah opens up or explains Rabb in a similar manner as the way
surah Ikhlaas explains Allah. The 7 small but effective verses define a very
big and crucial word called Rabb. In these verses lies the crux of the clear
cut meaning of Rabb. Once the meaning of Rabb becomes clear it is easy to
understand the entire “Quran”. A little
common sense and a little out of the box thinking will help you in knowing your
Rabb – Lord of Mankind.
Surah Fateha has many attributes, each one indicating a different aspect of its meaning. In the eyes of Arabs if a thing is recognized by many different labels or names, that is the indication of its predominant significance. Some names of surah Fateha are Al-Fateha, Ummal-Quran, Ummal Kitab, Sab'ul Mathani, Al-Hamd, As-Salah [The Connection], Ash-Shifa, Ar-Ruqyah (The Ascent), Asasal-Quran (The Foundation), Al-Kanz (The Treasure), Ash-Shukr, Ad-Dua, Ash-Shafiyah (The Restoration), Al-Kafiyah [The Sufficient], Al-Wafiyah (The Compact / Covenant) ], ALIF LAAM MEEM - ALM is short form of surah Fateha and the introduction to the entire message of the book Quran, which continuously reminds us about the Rabbul Alameen and Maliki Yaumi Deen, that's why surah Fateha is also known as Ummal Quran & Ummal Kitab.
EXEGESIS:
In only 7 small verses the honorable author made an effective effort to explain
and remind us the role and purpose of Rabb in our daily lives, in a very simple
and eloquent manner - The chapter begins with Bismillahir-Rehmaan-nir-Raheem which
is the integral part of the surah and the most important phrase of the Quran, hence the respected author honors it with the top most
position. It is important to know the autonomous character of Rabb which is
Self-Nourishing, Most Helpful. Allah is one of the attributes of Rabb and it is
explained in detail in Surah Ikhlas.
The surah starts with the most frequently used and most important phrase of the
Arabic language that is بسم الله اترحمن الرحيم –
(Bismillah – ir - Rehman ir- Raheem) - an earnest appeal to recognize / understand the
System of consciousness which is Self Nourishing / Educative and Most Helpful. For example a unit of a
battery which runs on its own, without the help of any outside source - very
similar to that and in the same manner, how the mother's womb functions without
any external help and is beneficent and protective to the child. Rehman and Rahim
signifies the same effect that of a Self Nourisher, Self Sustainer and Most Protective as womb of the mother which develops and educates the child. The root word of Rehman and Rahim is same
i.e. is ر ح م – R H M which also means womb because the function of a
womb is to develop mental faculties and take care of the child's overall development. The main function of Rehman is to develop and nourish the mental faculty through knowledge.
Next is the most familiar phrase of the "Quran" -------
Al-Hamdullilahi Rabbul Aalameen. The root word for Hamd is ح م د. One of the meaning of hamd / حمد is - to address, approve. We have no
other option but to accept, that all the addresses and approvals belong to the
Knowledgeable Rabb (رب العالمين) – but the eminent translators have made a
grave mistake in the beginning of the ayat of the “Quran” by translating Al-Hamd
as “all praise”, thus damaging the essence of message immensely and promoting the sycophancy of "God". Such interpretation portrays as if "God" is praise and attention hungry. Another
folly is taking Aalameen as worlds. The root word of Aalameen is علم,
which means "to know", Aalim, Maulim, ilm,and Taalim are some of the
derivatives of this word. It is confounding that how and why the
meaning of Aalameen changed to worlds? The Arabic word for world is Duniya (دونيا)
in the ayat. In “Quran” the phrase Rabbul aalameen appears
almost 39 times. We must ponder on those ayats, also as to why this word ilm is
linked to Rabb. Mind / Consciousness is linked to ilm / Knowledge. Mind / Consciousness without awareness or knowledge is
useless. Hence, Rabbul Aalameen means
Knowledgeable Mind or Consciousness or the fountainhead of knowledge and not any personified Lord or deity sitting in the sky or on the throne.
We have to sincerely acknowledge with full conviction that all approvals and
all addresses belong to the Knowledgeable Consciousness / mind. And it is a fact that without the approval or consensus from the mind we cannot do anything. But the irony is we do not recognize His absolute control over us? We must accept the fact that we are His prisoners.
And if we continuously serve Him well, He will take care and guide us to the path of bliss
and liberty and if we serve our desire; He even holds the power to lead us
astray (1:7). This is why we seek refuge with Rabb in surah 113 & 114.
These surahs and many more, briefly describe the anomalous behavior of the Rabb
and why we need to protect it from evil whispering. But after knowing the
powers of Rabb are we really afraid with His characteristics? The respected author sincerely wants us to understand this anomalous and sophisticated
mechanism of Rabb, who is also known to be Ar-Rehman, Ar-Rahim, Al- Wadud,
Al-Hadi, Al-Quddus, As-Salam, Al-fathah and can also transform into Al-Qahar,
Al-Jabbar, Al-Mani, Al-Makar, Al-Muntaqim, Ad-Darr, Al-Mumit if we don’t protect and safeguard Him from evil thoughts. - He is the Embedded Power House of our entity
and has the potential to guide us to the established path or can lead us astray
by prompting evil into our central system. No doubt it is the right application
of the mind which leads us to the established path.
Here it is very important to understand the meaning of Deen and the correct
essence of this word will help us in understanding Deen throughout the Quran.
Usually whenever the word Deen is referred, "Islam" comes to mind.
Although Deen does not mean the “religion Islam", Deen is an
extremely subtle word which needs to be understood in the right context. The
meaning of Deen varies from context to context.
In fact air, water,
sun-shine, trees and earth are all parts of the interconnected systems without
which we cannot survive. All the lives depend on each other. Just like how we are inseparable
from our body parts, similarly, we are inseparable from these systems of obligations. Now what
is the connection of Deen with these systems and why Deen is called obligation
or submission or religion? The fact is that our entity is indebted or obligated to these
systems because we consume air, water, sunlight and food from these systems
without repaying back. Whatsoever that we have borrowed from these systems we have to maintain the balance by paying back. So
we have an obligation and are indebted towards these integrated systems which acts like a complete unit to lend us, thus
we always address them as single Owner / Malik. And we can never repay what we have
taken from this integrated Units is Ibadah (service). Our each and every moment is a borrowed one and we behave as
though we are free and have no obligation towards our natural systems and we are busy fulfilling our needs. One of the meaning of Deen in the context of this surah is obligation / submission of accounts because we are living a life of a borrower. In Quranic context Deen also means submission to inner peace and harmony [Islam] which is the only religion accepted by our system of consciousness (Allah).
When all these systems merge
to become one, then it forms a single Unit. The system is for us, it lends or serves us
day and night, we are its beneficiaries. We consume the resources of the system and if we are not bothered to maintain its balance. The result will be that we will destroy ourselves but the system will not be the
loser, it is we who will cease to exist. The term
Allah means system of consciousness which literally means “Nothing For Him” and that
“Him” indicates Rabb as the entire universe depends upon Him and serves Him
only. It is important to understand that Allah is Ahad indicates each and every system carries system of consciousness and they are not separate but Wahid; i.e. the system of nourishment [Rabb] work as single Unit of Consciousness [Rabb].
For the purpose of convenience of understanding I deduced Allah as a
system of consciousness which we have discussed in detail in chapter 2 – Mankind is the most knowledgeable species among all the evolutionary cycle, and is a micro functionary of Rabbul Aalameen (The
Knowledgeable Mind). So indirectly man (Rabb) is a center of service of all
creation and master of all creation, who can create or destroy. Hence physical man and his invisible Rabb are
responsible to maintain the balance as they are the creator and the chief
destroyer too. Man and Rabb are not separate but are one. Rabb is an ocean and
man is a drop of it without which an ocean will not be called ocean. But like the water of an ocean it can change or transform from liquid to gas then solid and the cycle continuous.
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ - Owner of the moments of obligation / submission - This is a very important phrase and must be understood very
minutely. Man is not free at all as generally perceived by us. Rabbul Aalameen
is called مَالِكِ - Rabb or system of nourishment is the Owner of man because every moment of man is indebted or obligated. Deen should be understood in this sense of obligation from the Rabb. Every
moment (يَوْمِ) we are consuming His bounties without realizing that it is debt from Rabb and we have to return it and we being owned by our Consciousness or Rabb - Mind/Consciousness is the Owner of
our every moment, we are being continuously monitored or under His obligation.
Our sojourn on this planet is a borrowed one. We have to return to Him once we
have completed our journey or cycle. We are under His authority and we have to accept it
either way, willingly or unwillingly. We are inseparable from Him. To recognize
His Ownership / Lordship and act accordingly is the only way out. We are
the subject of the Lord called Rabb / Mind / Consciousness. Man is ruled by his Mind which is the part of an Cosmic mind..
The Fountainhead of
Knowledge is our Universal Mind / The system of our Consciousness is our God, so every prayer or pleading
or wishes or grievances are addressed or approved by Him only (1:2), because no one
else will redress you except your own Conscious mind. So ask help from the mind rather than
looking elsewhere for help. This is what we all have been instructed to do at the very beginning of the book Quran and
this is what we should do. The respected author of the 114 chapter book is making us independent from all external and internal deities and directing us to the inherent power of our mind or consciousness. So it is very important to serve the inherent power rather than seeking help from outside -
Whatever we feed Him (mind), will determine our growth. In short we are the
servant / slave and all our attention and focus should be to serve the Rabb correctly,
that is the key to our blissful existence. It is up to us whether we sincerely serve and be a good subject or a bad subject of the King / Malik. Bad subjects will incur His wrath.
Deen
means under authority / obedience or under obligation / submission under some authority
similar to that of a debtor according to the lexicon and also to the best of my
understanding. But in the above context of the surah it signifies "The
borrowed", because Al is prefixed with deen which signifies the specific
borrower of moments. Borrower is always under obligation of the Giver. In this
case the Giver is Rabb, that’s the reason Rabb is termed as Malik or Owner of
the borrower. The basic meaning of Deen is being under an obligation of a loan.
And we all are under obligation of Rabb, the Owner of our Life and to Him we
return (2:156).
TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION:
1 بِسْمِ
اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
With the identification of the System of Consciousness - The Rehman - The Raheem
2 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
All the approvals (الْحَمْدُ) only belongs TO Him (لِلَّهِ), the Rabb Consciousness / fountainhead of all knowledge (رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ)
3 الرَّحْمَـٰنِ
الرَّحِيمِ
Al-Rahman - Al-Raheem
Al-Rahman refers to the vastness of nature’s motherly nourishment to its evolution and al-Raheem refers to its benevolent effect on His evolutionary process. Whenever the word al-Rahman and its derivatives occur in the book Quran it signifies guidance and knowledge. So Rehman is the Possessor of vast knowledge plus Educator that gives direction to the evolution process, and al-Raheem is the Possessor of Rehmat (natural guidance) that surrounds His evolution. The system of Allah works on Justice and not on Mercy or Favours.
4 مَالِكِ
يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Owner of moments (يَوْمِ الدِّينِ) of the affairs of ledger of life (الدِّينِ)
The verse signifies our relation with the Rabb / Allah is like Owner and we are its tenant.
Deen is debit / credit ledger of life. Nature / Rabb / consciousness is the Owner and we are the tenants. We are the borrowers and He is the Lender. Deen is the efforts of balancing life by giving back what we have borrowed from Nature. We need to be a contributor and be not only a consumer.
5 إِيَّاكَ
نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
It is You we continuously serve and it is only You we continuously seek help
Without understanding the tenancy agreement we cannot serve the Owner. For that we need to understand the Owner and its tenets.
6 اهْدِنَا
الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Guide us to the everlasting / firm path / way
7 صِرَاطَ
الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا
الضَّالِّينَ
Path / way of those brought upon themselves the blessing/benefits/favours - brought the (Allah's) wrath upon themselves and not those who lost the direction / delusioned / went astray.
Meanings:
بِسْمِ = With the identification,
distinguish, higher knowledge, recognition -
prefixed preposition بِ - bi - اِسم genitive masculine noun
اللَّهِ =
The System of Consciousness - genitive
prepositional phrase
الْحَمْدُ = All the addresses, mention with
praise, approve, petition, power to control - nominative
masculine noun
لِلَّهِ
= For him only, directed towards,
belongs to- prefixed preposition lām - 3rd person masculine
singular personal noun
رَبِّ
=
Mind/Consciousness / FOUNTAINHEAD / system of nourishment / governance - genitive masculine noun
الْعَالَمِينَ
=The Science / Knowledgeable - genitive masculine plural noun
الرَّحْمَـٰنِ
الرَّحِيمِ
= The Self Nourisher [develops the facuty of mind], Self Educator - The Most Helpful -genitive masculine singular adjectives
مَالِكِ =Possessor/Owner/Holder - genitive masculine active participle noun
يَوْمِ = Moment/Period/ Day - genitive masculine noun
الدِّينِ = The submission, The obedient,
Indebted, under the obligation of the lender, obligation of the borrower, under authority, governed, the
managed - genitive masculine noun
إِيَّاكَ
= You singular- 2nd person masculine singular personal pronoun
نَعْبُدُ
=
We are obedient, servant - 1st person plural
imperfect verb
نَسْتَعِينُ
= We Seek help - 1st person
plural (form X) imperfect verb
اهْدِنَا
= Guide us - 2nd person masculine
singular imperative – 1st person plural object pronoun – implicit subject
pronoun →
الصِّرَاطَ
= The path, the way - accusative masculine
noun
الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
= The established - accusative
masculine (form X) active participle
الَّذِينَ
= Those - masculine plural
relative pronoun
أَنْعَمْتَ =
You made it easy - 2nd person masculine singular
(form IV) perfect verb - – subject pronoun
عَلَيْهِمْ =
On them - preposition – 3rd person masculine plural object pronoun
غَيْرِ=
Other than, brought, conveyed, change, alter, convert - genitive masculine noun
الْمَغْضُوبِ =
Those who are doomed/cursed, angry, wrath -
genitive masculine passive participle
لَا - Not
وَ = And / which means - prefixed conjunction waw - negative particle or explanatory particle - The conjunctive ''and'' and its Arabic counterpart ''ﻭ" are discourse markers that express certain meanings and presuppose the presence of other elements in discourse. They are indispensable aids to both the text writers and readers. The present study aims to show that such cohesive ties help the writer to organize his main argument and communicate his ideas vividly and smoothly. They also serve as explicit signals that help readers unfold text and follow its threads as realized in the progression of context. ﻭ [waw ] are necessary discourse markers that provide surface clues for the interpretation of text and the absence of such clues may cause ambiguity and result in incoherent discourse.
الضَّالِّينَ =
The strayed one, lost direction - genitive
masculine plural active participle
Further elaboration of some key words:
بسم =
The prefixed preposition ‘bi’ in بِسم is
usually translated as ‘with’ or ‘by’ or ‘in’. The word that follows ‘bi’ is a
masculine noun and it’s a genitive case. The noun's root word is سمو.
The basic meaning is to distinguish anything from high elevated place. اِسم with the conjunctive Alif is made
disjunctive, when the word commences a sentence and usually with kesr. The
traditional meaning of اِسم is name - but it also means conveying the knowledge
of a thing, to recognize, identify or to distinguish by self.
حَمْدُ =
Mentioned, addressed or approved with respect. Mohammed محمد is one of the
derivative of Hamd which generally means one who is loved, respected and addressed for
redress or one who approves. When AL is added, it becomes definite article - الْحَمْدُ is actually the petition for approval presented to
Rabbul-Aalameen.
لِلّهِ =
lām is prefixed preposition - and لّهِ is 3rd person masculine singular personal
noun. so لِلَّهِ means for Him only or belongs to Him
only. Shaddah
ّ (sign
of emphasis) above ل denotes that it is a more intense form.
رَبِّ = The most important word of the book Quran and one of the attribute of Allah. It is a irony that we don't find this important attribute or character in the list of 99 names drafted by the traditionalists. Although the characteristics of Allah is more than 100.
Since Classical and Quranic Arabic is a root word language we need to infer the entire chain of derivatives to reach to the essence of the word Rabb.
The meaning of Rabb and its's derivatives are as follows:
Lord, Consciousness, Nourisher, Possessor, Sustainer, Owner, Having Authority, Ruler, Governor, Commander, Up-bringer, Master, Chief, Reformer, King, Ribbath/Rabbiun means group of learned/like-minded people with similar aim, Rabbani means knowledgeable man - Rabbul Aalameen means The knowledgeable Consciousness or mind. Rabbul bait is head of the family and Rabbathul bait means house wife because she is the brain (mind) behind the main part of the house i.e. the kitchen.
No translator has clearly defined the invincible Rabb, thereby
creating confusion and encouraging the philosophy of supplications, addressed
to the mysterious Rabb without taking any action -
Rabbani means learned or knowledgeable
man, Tarbiyat one of the derivative of the word Rabb means upbringing (conditioning of mind), Rectifier, Reformer,
Accomplisher, Bringing to the state of completion in degrees.
Rabbubi means
science, or knowledge- Marabb means one who counsels -
After an intensive study
of the meaning within the Quranic context, I concluded that if we have to
define Rabb in a simple and a single word which encompasses the essence of the
meaning of Rabb, then it is Mind/Consciousness the fountain head of all knowledge that is the right word which
represents the word Rabb.
Understanding the essence of the message is of utmost
importance, than just sanctifying the word and venerating it. My aim is that
the translation should be reader-friendly, simple, logical, and subjective,
without fear, greed and sacredness of any sort and above all it must be
educative, implementable and appealing to the entire mankind and not merely for
any particular audience.
الْعَالَمِينَ =
The root word is ع - ل - م means he knew
it or acquainted with it. الْعَالَمِينَ is the plural of علم which means to know,
hence الْعَالَمِينَ means the knowledgeable and not worlds
or universe as interpreted by almost all translators.
الدِّينِ =
This is another very important word to be discussed. The basic meaning of this
word is, he became obedient, he obeyed, submissive, enslaved, followed,
obligation, under debt - this is the primary signification of the word. When ال is
added to دين it
becomes الدِّينِ which represents some specific
specifications to be followed or obeyed on some especial moment. In the above
context it means, we have to follow our conscious/mind. Who is the Holder (مَالِكِ)
of all cause and effect mechanism of our deeds?
And the moment (يَوْمِ) of dispensation is the product of that mechanism. Madina a
derivative of Deen, means Land or city under authority.
IF RABB IS MIND / FOUNTAINHEAD / CONSCIOUSNESS THEN WHO IS GOD?
Our Rabb is one ilah (God), our Allah, the system of consciousness, but please don't make these
words sacred because the meaning changes according to its context and these
words cannot be understood in isolation. Words are meant for conveying the
message through a particular context and not for adulation. Allah or Rabb are only Arabic terms use to convey a particular message but the spirit/essence of the term can only be rightly understood in the given context. The truth has no language still it exists and its presence is felt
by all, irrespective of any language the truth cannot be hidden in the garb of
vocabularies. Canonizing or fixing the meanings of these words will limit the
limitless message of the book Quran. One of the meaning of word ilah also signifies ideology to which people serve or adore as if it is god. Quran also says that mankind have one philosophy / ideology (ilah) which everyone should follow
(2:133) (2:163).
Our knowledgeable mind
(Rabb) is our ilah as well as Allah. Our system is our Rabb and our Rabb is our
system of governance. Everyone is connected with his own Rabb (Mind) or to his own system.
Whatever we do, it is for the consciousness / mind's sake only. We fill our stomach with tasty
food; it is only to satisfy our mind. If we wear good clothes it is only to satisfy
our mind. Whatever we do, actually we are serving our own government which is in the context of the book Quran is our own mind. If our mind is
happy we are happy. If our mind is sad we are sad. Every service or duty is For Him only (40:62) (60:1) (94:8) (42:15)
(70:28) (40:28) but at the same time nothing for Him as we the nafs are the main benefactors.
Our body is the
reflection of our invisible System of consciousness / governance. "Our system is designed on the nature of Allah (system of consciousness). So we should pay all our
attention for the obligations (Deen) in right tendency (Hanif). The nature of
mankind is based on Allah's nature (Fitrat). So there should be no change for the evolution of the System of consciousness (Allah) that is the
established obligation [that has to be fulfilled], but most agitated minds know not. Turning to Him and be
cautious of Him and establish Salat (connection) and do not be among Mushriqeen
(those thoughts that comes between your salat and disturb your connection with your Rabb)" - (30:30-31).
It is a clear cut
direction in the above verse that our nature is evolved on the pattern of system of consciousness (Allah) and it cannot be changed. We are a very small component of a very vast nature of the collective systems.
Evolving for the system, within the cycle is the only established way, but most of mankind know not. We have to be careful and cautious of the obligations of our Owner (Malik) which Governs us.
We are the part of the system of Rabb or collective consciousness our Government and if we
don't take care of it, we will be the loser (2:30). For that we should try to connect or reach (Salat)
to each and every Consciousness and preserve the greater system of which we are the most important
link. If we want our next generation to survive and thrive, we should take
care of the environment our System of Governance as we take care of ourselves. We should live as a unit.
Rabb / Allah / Collective Consciousness are a part of us and are
inseparable from us; in fact we are one unit. We cannot live without Him or for
that matter nobody can. This is the truth of His Being. I am using masculine
pronouns for Rabb / Allah / Consciousness only to match with the
Arabic text as Arabic language does not have a neutral gender.
Brain without Mind is useless, Lungs without air is useless, Stomach without
food is useless, Tongue without speech or taste is useless, and Eyes without light is useless.
Hands and legs without strength are useless and lips without a smile are
useless, Hardware without software is useless. These seemingly abstract things
but are useful for us - they are all related to us for our survival or our very
existence. It is incumbent on us to serve (Ibadat) them for our own
survival just as we sincerely serve our fancied "God". That does not mean we have
to perform mindless rituals to keep them happy. They are not god but they are
not even lesser than “God”. The importance of mind, air, water and light are no
lesser than our “God”. These so called smaller gods are actually vital systems
of energies without which our survival is endangered. The bottom line is that
we should care and conserve the environment as we are its product as well as the chief
consumer. These systems are continuously in service for us 24/7. We can live
without "God" but can we survive without these systems? For better
understanding we can say that every visible system is connected to a invisible
system that can be termed as System of Consciousness or Nizam e Rabbubiyaat.
La ilaha ilalallah means
there is No god except the System of Consciousness. That means our System of Consciousness is our God. La ilaha
ilalallah clearly states that there is No god and the first verse of surah
ikhalas clearly mentions that the term Allah is an infinite article because of
the Tanween attached to the word Ahad. Please do not misunderstand me if I say
there is no god or God. What I mean to say is that every System has its own
rules (Hudood) and regulations which have to be followed after
identifying it. Simply blindly worshiping the System will lead us nowhere.
Obeying the System by sincerely abiding by its rules and regulations is
tantamount to serving the System (Allah). Serving is called Ibadah in Arabic.
When we are convinced that the System is Our God automatically our every action
of serving the System becomes Ibadah, a very misunderstood word of “Islamic
Terminology”. Only a true slave (Abd) can serve a System.
If you want to live in “Paradise” treat your mind رَبَّكَ and
others mind رَبَّكُمُ as "Divine", this is the message
of the“Quran”. The dispute of my godرَبِّي and
their god رَبِّهِمْ will drive you out of the state of
bliss. There is only one God that is our God or Collective Consciousness رَبَّنَا, the God of the entire humanity. But these smaller gods make one unit of a bigger God or Rabbul Aalameen or Collective Consciousness. If we take care of our smaller gods, the bigger God will take care of us. All of the universal energies and us are connected to a single energy that we commonly identify as God. We are a microcosm of that macrocosm energy and that energy is part of us. Perform duty not rituals towards your Rabb and beware of His anomalous behavior which can create havoc for us. It is necessary to learn the lesson from Adam story why Malaikah prostrated (Sajda) to Adam and not to Rabb. We all are drops of the ocean called Rabb and we have return to Him only.
Rabb is the powerhouse of our existence. He is the first and the last (28:70). We
should guard our Rabb with full sanctity and with all the resources at our
disposal. Serving Him sincerely is the only way out; there is no other way to
achieve peace or Islam. Serving (Ibadah) does not mean to offer mindless
rituals; it means to serve our mind / consciousness with good and positive thoughts. Our
Consciousness is invaluable. He is the originator and fountain-head of all
knowledge. He nourishes as well as He is a Helper. He can create, He can
destroy. He can make our life blissful or miserable, depends on what we feed
Him. It is of utmost importance to recognize and understand the power of our
Rabb. Without Him we are nothing. He is our lifeline. He is connected to us,
but are we connected to Him? - We should implore that we are always connected
to him positively. We cannot afford to lose Him. That's why establishing of connection [salat] is very important;salat is the only bonding path to connect with our Rabb. He is everywhere, we cannot
escape from Him - All mankind must recognize it, even an atheist would accept
it. Every one of us knows what it is to lose one’s mind means? It means
total disaster. As this message is for whole mankind and He is aptly called the
Rabb of Agitated minds [بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ].
This is why this surah is called the Key to understanding the "Quran"
whose topic is Mankind. Thus we are the master or destroyer or guide of our own
journey. We are the leader of our own destination. Making an appeal to Rabb
will not solve our problems, unless we take charge
and responsibility of our own actions as the most knowledgeable
consciousness resides within us (50:16) which needs to be rightly
ignited for our positive progress and our own psyche (nafs) that keeps
on diverting us from the right path. The respected author's only concern was
that mankind should come out of the madness of blindly following rituals and
realize that we are a product of a Universal System called Rabb which is within all of us.
I am a human being and bound to make mistakes. I have tried my level best
to explain Rabb to you in a manner which I honestly feel is easy and simple. If
I failed to make you understand what Rabb is, it is due to my short comings and
limited knowledge. This is the outline of the message and can be upgraded if
required as this is not the final word. The Message promoted by Rev. Mohammed bin Abdullah (many many
salutations to him) is much deeper than my meager knowledge
to interpret the original message.
NOTE: The example of smaller gods
is mentioned for the purpose of understanding only, and not to be taken
literally. Actually air, water, sun-shine, trees and earth are all part of
interconnected systems without which we cannot survive. Our lives and their
lives mainly depend on each other. Just like we are inseparable from our body
parts similarly we are inseparable from these systems. That is why it is called
obligation or Deen because we cannot repay back, what we have borrowed from the
system. We will be always indebted to the system because we are the main
consumers of it.
What Rabb is to us, the head is to our body. As head controls our body, the
same way Rabb controls our life. Head and body are inseparable. Two sides of
the same coin. We can survive without hand, legs, eyes, ears, kidney, etc or we
can replace them. But we cannot survive without Rabb or replace it. The Rabb
and the system of a body is not two different units, but a single unit. It is
the vital part of every system. No system can run without Rabb. He is the
creator as well as the destroyer. There is no end and
no beginning to Him. He is ALMIGHTY - AL-AZIZ.
In chapter 4 and 5 of this book we will discuss the quality of our Consciousness
/ mind (Rabb) through surah 113 and 114.
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Consciousness = Mind (conscious & subconscious mind) + Body represents character of the actor.
In Quranic sense 'Consciousness' is portrayed as an amphitheater, while 'mind' is the lower stage where different actors perform in order to keep the theater alive. A real actor is one who focuses on his own script in the play to his best potential without copying other actors. All the problem starts when one fails to identify his own script and tries to emulate other actors. Everyone has their own role to play; adapting others role is the biggest injustice to the self and it is termed as shirk in Quranic terminology.
The innate vibrant script provokes man to recognize, remember and follow the signs of his inherent messengers and act accordingly.
The "mind" and "consciousness" are both informal and somewhat overlapping terms that refer to a broad collection of interrelated phenomena. Although generally speaking, the consciousness is a broader term that includes mind plus memory and cognition.
Both of these terms mean different things to different people and can refer variously to several different things. What most people would agree on is that consciousness refers to the awake state (vs. dreamless sleep or coma) and also to subjective perceptual awareness, which can shift, change, and move around, e.g. modulated by attention or in "altered states of consciousness".
The mind, which is a cultural term that is debated in philosophy and used in clinical psychology, generally refers to consciousness plus autobiographical memory, personal identity, sense of personal agency (voluntary control over actions), accurate introspection, and ability to control one's thoughts.
Consciousness is the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. It has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind. The opposite of consciousness is unconsciousness which means not awake or is unaware or is insensible.
Consciousness—Philosophers have used the term
'consciousness' for four main topics: knowledge in general, intentionality, introspection (and the knowledge it specifically generates) and phenomenal
experience. Something within one's mind is 'introspectively conscious' just
in case one introspects it (or is poised to do so). Introspection is often
thought to deliver one's primary knowledge of one's mental life. An experience
or other mental entity is 'phenomenally conscious' just in case there is
'something it is like' for one to have it. The clearest examples are:
perceptual experience, such as tastings and seeing; bodily-sensational
experiences, such as those of pains, tickles and itches; imaginative
experiences, such as those of one's own actions or perceptions; and streams of
thought, as in the experience of thinking 'in words' or 'in images'.
Introspection and phenomenality seem independent, or dissociable, although this
is controversial.
Collective
conscience is the set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes
which operate as a unifying force within society. In Arabic or Quranic terminology
it is called Rabbna – ربنا – Our Rabb. This
collective consciousness control operates the entire universal system and it is
also called Rabbul Aalameen – The knowledgeable Consciousness or the Fountainhead of all knowledge.
