WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE TRUST OR FIRM BELIEF ?

WHAT IS TRUST OR FIRM BELIEF ? -  أ م ن

Whenever I come across the word 'believe' in the traditional translation of the book Quran, another word would automatically pop up in my mind and that word is 'blind'. I was allergic to the word believe as I always thought that this word is interconnected with some essence of blindness in it. My biggest weakness is that I could not accept anything blindly. I never understood this word in the context of the book Quran. I wonder why the book Quran emphasize its reader to think, ponder, use reason, intellect and at the same time also emphasizes its reader to believe, that too in the unseen or imagine beyond the range of mental  perception [بِالْغَيْبِ]. Believing in the gayab [unseen] was unimaginable for me. That time I was unable to figure out why the book Quran gave so much importance to the word 'BELIEVE' or 'FIRM BELIEVE'.  

It is important to know the essence of this frequently occurring phrase - يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا - Who are this individuals who are addressed and why form iv perfect verb is used

The basic meaning of the word أمن aman is to feel secure or safe, tranquility in heart and mind, free from fear and trust. When this word comes in form iv verb āmana (ءَامَنَ) it carries the sense of transformation that doubles the intensity of the meaning from security / safety to that of continuous believing in self, trusting self, having firm faith in self. The word āmana and its derivatives have occurred 537 times as form iv verb. It is not possible to have complete soundness, security, safety without the safety and security of health, wealth and soundness of mind. When understanding the phrase يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا  one must understand that it is only addressed to those who are safe, secure and sound in all the aspect of life. One cannot be a true or firm believer [Momin . aaminoo] only on the virtue of lip service, rituals or dress code.

The book Quran calls Allah as Momin (59:23) because this word possess without an iota of deficiency in its meaning. Provider of tranquility, peace with safety and security cannot be incomplete in any respect. This word has a highest sense of accountability, responsibility and obedience embedded in its meaning. Any Tom, Dick and Harry cannot call himself momin only on the basis of performing superficial rituals or adorning customary dress code. Momin is a title very difficult to sustain and when the author of the book Quran addresses someone as aamino that means that individuals must comply all the attributes of Momin in all respect. In worldly sense the fact is any person who is not financially, mentally or physically healthy or sound cannot experience or feel real safety and security; thus he cannot be recognized as Momin. To seek knowledge one must be sound in basic aspect of life. An empty stomach is not good for seeking knowledge. Food, clothing and shelter are basic need for every individual and their immediate dependent. If one need to seek knowledge one must fulfill these basic responsibility to become safe and secure [Momin] or firm believer. 

In the context of the book Quran the momin is one who understands / recognizes and believes with his Allah, Rasuls, Kitabs, Malaikah and yaumul aakhirah - 4:136 - Here the Quran is not talking about things which we have not seen or experienced

The complete theme of the book Quran can only be understood by using strong imagination  or mental perception and in traditional jargon it is called unseen [بِالْغَيْبِ]. Note the book Quran does not discuss any physical characters as majority among us believe. The book Quran never propagates its reader to believe something which they cannot able to witness or experience / feel or imagine through their insight or senses.


Generally people can't understand the crux of the message of the book Quran because they have not seen or witnessed its phenomenon themselves. They relate the message of the book Quran to doubtful histories narrated by their forefathers and on that basis they revere / idolize or hate those characters. Those characters are used by the respected author just as illustrations for better perception of the subject but the masses treat them as their real heroes or villains. They don't understand that those characters are just personified in order to make the message book Quran more vibrant.. 

All the characters of the book Quran are illustrations that exist in our thought / self or as an idea but not having any physical existence [بِالْغَيْبِ]. If we conceive the intended meanings of those characters we can find their concrete existence in our own self [nafs] or thoughts. The main subject of the book Quran is Allah / Rabb, Shaitaan / Iblees, Malaikah, Nabi / Rasul, Pharaoh, Jannah and Jahannum. These words are very important but to understand these words we need to have powerful visualization / contemplation / imagination as they come under the ambit of the unseen [بِالْغَيْبِ]. For contemplation or imagination one need to first secure himself and his immediate dependent, then only he can proceed further in the search of unseen knowledge. Becoming Momin is not easy, it is the highest quality and one of the attribute of Allah.

The book Quran is the teacher that can inspire the senses, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning. The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. You cannot only depend on your eyes for development, if you lack imagination you cannot evolve. I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. The word in the book Quran for imagination / visualization / insight is بَصِيرٌ [baseer]. The word بَصِيرٌ [baseer] and its derivatives have occurred 148 times in the entire Quran.

The first step of any learning process is to believe. For any child the first step is to trust and feel secure then believes his/her parents and teachers in order to learn further. As you grow the next step is inquiry, investigation, analyse, study, scrutiny and research. The last and final step is to believe in self. When the teacher Quran addresses the believers it means those who believe in their self. If we want to understand any subject the first step is to feel safe and secure from basic needs of life then only one can venture out to study the depth of signs and symbols [ayaats] of universe or self. Why believing is necessary in the context of the book Quran because it deals with abstract [bil-gayab] elements that needs powerful insight. When you believe / accept or entertain some unknown phenomena it opens the door to advance investigation. If we out rightly reject something we are closing the door of investigation. For advance research first we need to strongly believe in our own idea / theory then only we can entertain pertaining to that thoughts in which we wish to research more. Research cannot happen in empty stomach and faith or happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach. A Momin is one who strongly feels safe and secure in every aspect of life.

To study the book Quran we need to first have faith / trust in Allah, Shaitaan, Malaikah, Rasul, Nabi, Pharaoh, Jannah and Jahannum. All these entities come under the ambit of bil-gayab [unseen]. When we believe in these unseen entities we open the door to investigate it further. If we want to know deeply the terminology of the book Quran we need to have understanding of those abstract terms.

The problem with majority of "Muslims" is that they think faith (īmān إِيمَٰن) with these unseen entities should be blind and no question or understanding would be tolerated regarding these unseen entities except the canonical ones drafted by the pseudo scholars. It is a common belief among "Muslims" that to discuss or to think out of box about these unseen entities is considered an act of blasphemy.


These unseen abstract entities encompasses the entire message of the book Quran and to ignore it or limit its understanding to just canonical prattle is severe injustice to the message and the author of the noble book Quran. The impeccable message of the book Quran lays in the decoding of these unseen abstract entities, without deciphering these important terms of the Quranic text no one can perceive the crux of the message. By believing blindly in these sensational entities we would be just getting superficial glimpse of the actual message. 


When the book Quran instruct us to believe it means the message of the book Quran is for those who fulfill the first criteria of learning. The message of the book Quran is only for those who believe with unseen [الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ] or are capable of imagining out of box - And if you are not able to perceive the unseen abstract entities you are not eligible to understand the message of the noble book Quran. The second criterion is to investigate these unseen entities by pondering, thinking, imagining,  contemplating, reasoning and using our own intellect. Referring to history or geography books to understand the book Quran is treading in the wrong direction. The book Quran can only be understood in the light of one's own psychology. This is the miracle of the message of the Noble Quran.

The trilateral root hamza mīm nūn (أ م ن) occurs 879 times in the Quran, in 17 derived forms:

20 times as the form I verb amina (أَمِنَ)

537 times as the form IV verb āmana (ءَامَنَ)

once as the form VIII verb u'tumina (ٱؤْتُمِنَ)

four times as the noun amānāt (أَمَٰنَٰت)

twice as the noun amānat (أَمَٰنَت)

five times as the noun amn (أَمْن)

twice as the noun amanat (أَمَنَة)

14 times as the adjective amīn (أَمِين)

once as the noun maman (مَأْمَن)

six times as the active participle āmin (ءَامِن)

10 times as the active participle āminīn (ءَامِنِين)

once as the active participle āminat (ءَامِنَة)

once as the passive participle mamūn (مَأْمُون)

45 times as the form IV verbal noun īmān (إِيمَٰن)

202 times as the form IV active participle mu'min (مُؤْمِن)

22 times as the form IV active participle mu'mināt (مُّؤْمِنَٰت)

six times as the form IV active participle mu'minat (مُّؤْمِنَة)

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SUNNAH OF ALLAH.

SUNNAH OF ALLAH:

We all talk a lot about Law of God [قانون الله], we think God has given us some list of Laws through a book which we all have to follow but ironically the Arabic word Qanoon [قانون] which means law is not found in the entire book Quran. Same laws cannot be imposed on diverse communities, it can be changed or modified according to the circumstances. There can never be any fixed laws for entire mankind. The concept of fixed laws gives birth to the attitude of bigotry and prejudice.

When “Muslims” talk about sunnah the general sense is that they are talking about the “verbally transmitted records” of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapproval) of the Rev. Mohammed bin Abdullah [PBUH] of Arabia. These transmitted records were later recognized as Hadith or Sunnah of Rev. Mohammed [PBUH] and they are considered as law by the majority of "Muslims".

In the pre-Islamic period, the word sunnah was used with the meaning "manner of acting", whether good or bad. During the early Islamic period, the term came to refer to any good precedent set by the tribal traditions which was immutable. Early schools of Islamic jurisprudence also had a more flexible definition of Sunnah than was used later, that being "acceptable norms" or "custom". After the term al-sunnah was canonized it eventually came to be viewed as synonymous with the sunnah [path, a way, Arabian lifestyle] of Rev. Muhammad [PBUH].

Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (150-204 AH), popularly known as Imam al-Shafi'i, emphasized that the hadith of Muhammad is the final authority and that even the Qur'an was "to be interpreted in the light of traditions (i.e. hadith), and not vice versa." While the sunnah / hadith has often been called "second to the Quran", but it has also been said to "rule over and interpret the Quran". Imam Al-Shafi'i "forcefully argued" that the sunnah / hadith stands "on equal footing with the Quran.

The recorded Arabian lifestyle of Rev. Mohammed [PBUH] and his honorable companions has nothing to do with the understanding of the message of the book Quran. Their respective lifestyle was a personal choice whereas the message of the book Quran has nothing to do with their personal acts or conducts of individuals. Nonetheless the pseudo scholars brought personal likes and dislikes of the messenger and his companions as a guide to understand the universal subject of the book Quran thus confining and limiting the vast knowledge of the book Quran.

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SUNNAH:

Sunnah سنة ˈsunna, plural سنن sunan ˈsunan is an Arabic word that basically means something that is fixed, pierced, thrust, mounted upon it… In colloquial Arabic أسنان [asnaan] means teeth due to its fixed structure. Sunnah and asnaan share the same root word س ن -   

THE WORD SUNNAH OF ALLAH IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BOOK QURAN:

The word “Sunnah” and its derivatives appear 21 times in the book Qur’an, but there is no specific mention of sunnat al-rasool (sunna of the messenger) or sunnat al-nabi or sunna al-nabawiyyah (sunna of the prophets).

The phrase “Sunnah of Allah” [سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ] appears eight times in five verses [33:38, 33:62, 35:43, 40:85, 48:23] of the book Quran, but many learned people who claim to have the knowledge of the book Quran are surprised when they are asked about sunnah of Allah, they behave as if they are hearing these words for the first time. They are aware of the words like sunnat al-rasool (sunna of the messenger) or sunnat al-nabi or sunna al-nabawiyyah (sunna of the prophets) but they have never heard about the phrase sunnat of Allah [سُنَّتَ اللَّهِ] although these phrases are present in the Quran.

WHY THEOLOGIANS & THE MASSES IGNORE THE PHRASE SUNNAH OF ALLAH:

The phrase sunnah of Allah should be understood with the context / essence of Fitrat Allah [فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ]. As there is no change in the nature of Allah [فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ], same way there is no change or alteration in sunnah of Allah [فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا] – Now before understanding sunnah of Allah it is very important to understand the term Allah which for majority of us is a big taboo to even think about this term, understanding the term Allah is out of question. They will quote verse after verse from the book Quran but it is impossible to understand the verse without having the correct understanding of term Allah. The reason that they don’t ponder over this important term Allah because they assume it is an invisible deity / God and to imagine about Him is blasphemy. It is ridiculous / premature to discuss sunnah of Allah without understanding the term Allah.

We cannot understand the book Quran without understanding the sunnah and fitrat of Allah. The triliteral root fā ṭā rā (ف ط ر) occurs 20 times in the Quran, in six derived forms:

But the phrase fitrat allah فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ only appeared once. We are busy understanding the fitrat and sunnah of everyone except Allah. We are so rigid in our understanding of Allah that we don't even want to discuss it. We are prepared to twist, distort, misreport, manipulate the attributes of Allah to suit our traditional understanding of Allah but not ready to see, verify and check this important word from another dimension. The religious concept or the translation of Allah is the main reason why rational people are mocking Quran and leaving Islam.

3:2 اللَّهُ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ 

The position / status of Allah is not of an ilah [the one which we serve or adore / deity] except / but He, the Ever-Living, the Eternal.

The book Quran clearly states that Allah is not an ilah [god]; the one we serve, adore as if it is an object of worship. The word Allahu is a nominative case which signifies that the character of Allah is described that He is not an object of worship.

4:80 - مَّنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللّهَ وَمَن تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا

Who obeys the rasul, so he obeyed Allah, and who turned away, so We did not descended you upon them them as a protector.

When the verse says obeying rasul is obeying Allah people become curious to know the details of Mohammed bin Abdullah and they refer books of Hadiths compiled and written by Imams of those times. This way the message got totally distorted and the followers of the book Quran assumed that the vibrant word Al-Rasul is used for Rev. Mohammed bin Abdullah (PBUH) and the word Allah is used for somebody Invisible, Mighty, Creator, Master, Owner, Controller Lord of the Universe. 

Nobody want to discuss the Sunnah of Allah because he was fashioned by the scholars beyond comprehension and discussion. Everybody was/is interested in knowing the sunnah /  mannerism of Mohammed bin Abdullah of history rather than understanding the phrase Mohammedur - rasul Allah (مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ) of the book Quran -

The fact is the book Quran is about understanding the psyche / Nafs of Allah or Nafsi Wahidah and through its many attributes of that Nafs but the tragedy is that we are being forcefully and systematically controlled not to think about these all important term. Without knowing the Nafs of Allah we cannot understand the psyche / nafs of man (30:30). The message of this wonderful book Quran becomes futile due to misunderstanding of a very important term Allah of the book Quran. A very vital term Allah is simply ignored because of the rigid mindset molded by the pseudo scholars of religion Islam. 

 QURAN DESCRIBES ALLAH AS NAFS / SELF:

لاَّ يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِن دُوْنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ أَن تَتَّقُواْ مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَإِلَى اللّهِ الْمَصِيرُ


“…And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination…”   (3:28)

Comprehend the sense of term Allah through understanding the word Nafs. The Quran has used many times the word Nafs for Allah

3:30, 5:116, 6:12, 6:54, 20:41 - The book Quran says Allah is Nafs.

وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي

"And I have manufactured/produce you for Myself لِنَفْسِي – (20:41) - Here the book Quran says Musa was made for Allah's Nafs.

The term Allah is the BASE in understanding the Deen Islam and the book Quran. Without knowing the Nafs, Fitrah and Sunnah of Allah it is impossible to understand the message of the book Quran. The relation of Allah with human beings is inseparable. The book Quran is a catalog of human psyche and the term Allah is the most important part and parcel of human psyche [Nafs].

The relation of Allah within the context of the book Quran with every human being is very important. Performing various rituals to maintain this important relationship with Allah is foolishness, foolhardy and primitive.