COMMENTARY
ON THE QUR`AN
Chapter 55: Surat Al-Rahmân
The Beneficent
By:
Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
In
the name of Allah,
the Beneficent, the Merciful
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This is the Hell which
the guilty denied.
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They circle around between it and hot, boiling water.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
The final abode of those
who are in denial is the Fire, a bottomless pit (jahannam).
Everyone in this life has tasted an aspect of the Fire. Adam had
never experienced a lie, so when Shaytân suggested to him
that he taste the fruit of eternity whilst he was still in his
original garden, he believed him and thereby experienced the
agitation of the fire of desire and disobedience. We have therefore
tasted the Fire and the Garden. Had we not experienced these states
we could not have any choice or discrimination. Indeed worldly
creation could not come about. Everyone knows the meaning of
uncertainty, disturbance, agitation, fear, anxiety, hatred and
anger. All of
these are fires.
Should a man leave these emotions within himself long enough, they
will manifest themselves physically and cause imbalances in the body
such as stomach ulcers, high blood pressure or other mental or
stress illnesses.
In life, man goes round
and round without stopping, as if hallucinating. In the Arabic
language, certain words sound very similar to others, a phenomenon
which evokes a subliminal association in meaning. Hearing one word a
person might, quite naturally, recall a similar word, though they
have different meanings. The root system of the Arabic language is a
vast receptacle of meanings. All the words of a similar sound have
the potential to lead one to a single root.
Those who are at a loss
in this world will no doubt deny the Beneficent (al-Rahmân)
in the next world. They are at a loss in both; they but move from
the frying-pan into the fire. We often move from one situation to
another without real inner progress. A man divorces one wife and
enters into an even worse relationship with another. He does not
realize it is Allah's love descending upon him, urging him to change
his attitude. This life is but a short prelude to the next life.
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And for one who fears
standing before his Lord are two gardens.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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Having in them various
kinds.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
For one who recognized
lordship, who recognized that there is One Reality in charge, who
feared transgressing His laws and was completely in His hands, there
are two gardens. One of them is a garden of eternal bliss, the
garden of the spirits (arwâh). The other is the garden of
hearts, the garden of eternal witnessing (mushâhadah). These
are the two 'secret' gardens. There are many other examples of
garden pairs: the garden of form and the garden of meaning, the
garden of wakefulness and the garden of sleep, the garden of the
east (sunrise and day) and the garden of the west (sunset and
night), the gardens of the beginning and of the end.
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In both of them are two
springs flowing.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
In the Garden, there are
two springs that flow, nourishing in an invisible way, just as man's
heart is also nourished invisibly by love and true freedom. People
gather together to bury someone who was loved by them, and thus
death revives love in living hearts. It becomes a hidden spring, an
inner river. Death also reminds people of Allah. It reminds man of
the physical end so that he becomes less conceited, mean, arrogant
and hard-hearted.
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In both of them are
pairs of every fruit.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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Reclining on beds, with
inner coverings of silk brocade, the fruits of both gardens within
reach.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
How can one deny the
bounties of Allah? In the gardens there are fruits of every kind and
description. There are two different flowing rivers of bounty and
two complementary types of beings: man and woman.
Reclining on beds of
silk brocade implies that all that could be imagined in the way of
comfort, luxury and relaxation is available. It implies being in a
state of great tranquility with one's heart at rest. This is, of
course, never possible in this life, because as soon as one becomes
tranquil and secure, some change or disturbance occurs that must be
dealt with; agitation in this life is never-ending.
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Therein are those of
restraint whom neither man nor jinn have touched before.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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As though they were
rubies and coral.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
Access to the inner
gardens are for those who restrain themselves, who lower their gaze
modestly. The females of the Garden are the perfect match to bring
about the ultimate contentment. They have never been touched and are
forever pure. There 'perpetual' virginity elevates man's imagination
from the physical vulgarity to which he is accustomed in this
earthly world. This implies a higher state of purity, one based on a
timeless equilibrium; the instant desire arises, it is assuaged.
There is never permanent
satisfaction in any relationship in this life, save only the
relationship between the bondsman and his Lord. In every other
relationship there is blame. A man blames his wife, and she blames
him. Nobody blames himself; and so it never ceases. Man expects most
from others while not expecting submission and abandonment from
himself. A person who can live with himself, can live with anyone
else.
Rubies and coral
scintillate in their purity. The ultimate beauty of nature is pure
and simple, without interference or compromise. In the Garden, women
have not had to beautify themselves; they are beauty itself;
naturally real and pure; the essence of beauty timeless.
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Is the reward of
goodness but goodness?
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
Is not the reward of
good action good recompense? Every action has its equal and opposite
reaction. When one has done good it will come back. But is the
goodness done for Allah or is it for one's own whims and fancy? Many
people think they are acting correctly while in reality they are in
a muddle and at a loss. There is a tradition which says: 'The
sleep of one who knows (i.e. the awakened soul) is better than the
wakefulness of the unknowing worshipper.' Wakefulness is
measured by the degree of knowledge and recognition of Him who is
worshipped: Allah.
Many people strive for
right action, establish charities and carry out acts of generosity
and so on. If they expect those whom they help to fall at their feet
in gratitude, it means that these so-called generous people are not
serving for Allah's sake. The verse, 'Is the reward of goodness
aught but goodness?', is often misunderstood. If one's action is
honorable, it will only have a like reaction. Is the good action (ihsân)
in the way of Him Who created man? The service that man renders for
the Beneficent (al-Rahmân) should be the best. How else can
he repay Him? How can he repay the mercy of Allah other than by
reflecting His
perfect Attributes? The faithfulness of the slave of his Lord is
exemplified by all the prophets in their actions, and the best we
can do is to follow in the dust of their footsteps.
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And besides these are
two other gardens.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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Both inclining to
darkness.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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Wherein are two springs
gushing forth.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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In both the fruits and
palms and pomegranates.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
Besides the two gardens
previously referred to there are two others: the gardens of those
who fear to stand before Allah in the next life. 'Both inclining
to blackness': the word used for this short phrase means that
which is of a dark green color inclining to black from being much
watered. Still these gardens are not of the pure light which is the
essence of everything.
In both of these gardens
are also two springs. Within every event one finds two situations.
Within each duality there is yet another duality, in the sensory and
in the meaning. The unfolding of duality within duality is unending.
When one reflects upon this world and its affairs, one will find
that there is no end to reflection; it is a bottomless sea
encompassed by the boundless shores of Reality.
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In them are what is good
and beautiful.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
Within these gardens are
only what is good and beautiful. In this world there cannot be good
without bad existing alongside it. Every good action that man wants
to initiate is surrounded by the possibilities of wrong action. One
must wade in and cut through the jungle of wrong action to reach
what is in the center. The way of wrong action is easy, for it is
diverse; but the way of right action is difficult, for it is
precise. Virtue is surrounded by vices in all directions.
Always within the beauty
of this world lies its opposite, ugliness. As beautiful as anything
may be, think of it when it is decaying. Think of a pond of
beautiful water lilies; then think of them in winter and how they
die and rot. Think of a beautiful woman; then think of her when she
is old, decrepit and on her deathbed. Beauty in this realm always
contains ugliness, whereas in the next realm there is only pure
beauty.
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Pure ones confined to
pavilions.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
Hûr or virgins of
paradise, are in the highest state of perpetual purity, which is
what is most desired. The pure ones are confined to pavilions, the
abode of fulfillment and contentment. The pavilions referred to are
the enclosures of final homecoming.
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Neither man nor jinn has
touched them before.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
These entities are pure
and unpolluted and not tarnished in any manner. Coming into the next
life, men become neutralized be these 'power' entities.
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Reclining on green
cushions and beautiful carpets.
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Which then of the
bounties of your Lord will you deny?
The word for colorful
carpet also mean a genius. `Abqar also is a legendary place
inhabited by the jinn. It signifies certain comforts and joys
attained by the people of the Garden. No longer confined by their
bodies, they are of another nature and reality.
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Blessed is the name of
your Lord, the Majestic, Mighty and Glorious.
This chapter begins with
the Name of the One whose Beneficence encompasses all, the One Who
taught the knowledge of Himself based on discrimination and balance,
the Qur`an. Allah's first manifestation was His light, the light of
knowledge. The chapter ends with: Blessed be the name of your Lord.
If man calls upon Allah, He will approach his original and final
abode.
Man is on a journey in
this life. He has in his hand a passport which reads 'Allah'. Allah
is the destination and the port but one must pass through the
barrier of the ego-self (nafs). If man travels through that
port then he is on his way to his Lord. When he reaches the essence
of the Name, it is one with Reality. While journeying, the traveler
might say what his destination is, but the passport is not the same
thing as arrival. The experience of arrival does not begin until he
is actually there. You do not experience wakefulness unless you have
left the experience of sleep behind.
Man is only as good as
his intention. Stopping time, compressing it together rather than
telescoping it, brings the Name and its reality together. If one's
heart is completely with Allah, the Name will be the key to the
door. When the door opens, one will discover that the Lord has
always been there. He has unbounded love for His creation. His
creation contains every meaning, all of which are encompassed within
the primal blueprint innate in humankind.
In this impossible
situation of the world man strives to be glorified and honored but
finds it futile because honor and glory belong on to Allah. If man
honors and glorifies Him, he may eventually see only Him. Then the
options of others, whether good or bad, mean little. People admire
him, and he does not mind. People curse him, and he does not mind;
because, having put himself in the lowest possible position in
ego-self hierarchy, his mind is focused only on Allah. Allah's
reward for this submission and behavior is the opposite: He bestows
upon him real honor, that is, the knowledge of His Divine Essence.
The key to knowledge of
all-encompassing Beneficent is the recognition of His infinite mercy
and love. Whichever way man turns there is only blessedness. If his
experience is sweet, it is blessedness; if it is bitter, it is
another type of blessedness. How can there possibly be peace without
war? Or health without illness? How can there be Islam, submission
to Reality, unless there is a boundary beyond which are its enemies?
There is the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and the house of
denial (dâr al-kufr). One state cannot exist without the
other. How can life be treasured and valued unless there is the
experience of its opposite, death? How can there be the experience
of wakefulness without sleep? Both opposites of every experiential
state are glorious and a blessing from Allah.
The knowledge of the
self (nafs), once it is experienced, is one of the highest
gifts because it is the knowledge of the Lord. If man is faithful,
if he trusts, he will continuously see the mercy (rahmah) of
the Beneficent (al-Rahmân) in every aspect of existence. This
is the positive contentment of the Muslim. He possesses
discrimination, the ability to discern a healthy atmosphere from an
unhealthy one, but within either situation he recognizes the
blessing of Allah. His contented heart guides him to correct action
(ihsân), to the station of excellence (maqâm al-ihsân),
acting as though Allah sees him even though he cannot see Allah.
Man must aspire to purer
action until he is, as an individual, doing his utmost according to
his total ability. Then he shall have attained the station of
excellence. He is in the right place at the right time, doing the
right thing. This is the highest reward of the good state (maqâm
al-ihsân) for good action (ihsân).
If one can do something
better than one is doing, one should do it. Once that point of total
commitment has been reached, a person will be able to burst out of
his self-imposed and imaginary constraints. Then he will not be
where he does not belong nor will he be where he does not get the
maximum real benefit and fulfillment.
The highest reward is
the recognition of the honor and the glory of the Lord upon Whom man
is forever dependent. If he is a dedicated and pure servant, the
robe of His glory and His honor will also be placed upon him. A true
servant is so finely tuned to his Master that he almost reflects the
Master's authority and knowledge. If the Lord's bondsman is truly
loyal and committed, he will then reflect the majesty and the glory
of the most Gracious.
End of the Surah
