Why do even Muslims fail to understand the essence of Islam?
Islam is a message a pathway that connects humans to an eternal and ever-lasting source the one God; it is a response back to a created being who is capable of understanding the one true and self-dependant being.
Man was created and fashioned by God; through a material self, he potentially could be a species on this earth but it was just a thing not a being; then God added self into it which we called consciousness and it became the human being; which is capable of understanding who thyself is and in extension understanding God.
For this self (human) to understand and grow it needs to detach itself from the divine and its creator; hence this round globe is always the destination of this being; where it can flourish and set this world according to its imagination.
This newborn human was devoid of any Sin, but Heaven was an obstruction in the process of Evolution of this new being because ..
Heaven was already made perfect, so how could this man show his creative abilities?
How can it establish justice on a plain where there is no injustice?
How it can grow its progeny when the realm does not allow it?
Man is made a vicegerent so it can establish its rule; on this universe; God bends the rule and makes this universe align with human needs and puts potential in this mere Human to reach the limit of this universe or even go beyond.
God created this plain of material; and hid the spiritual as an essence, reality is not material or immaterial but it is both; it's not a duality but it is essentially one.
Human is a perfect mix of body and soul, but when they operate on anything it does not do with a dual nature they understand or opinionate as a whole.
For Human existence and flourishing it needs to explore the universe and find and make it useful for itself and other beings it shares this planet with, but it does not mean it takes its existence as its essence.
God has given humans innate qualities for fairness, justice, equality, and seeking truth; essence is when this mortal sets up the world it uses those qualities to create balance and justice in this world; and show compassion and mercy to itself and its surroundings.
Hence we have a saying, “He who knows himself knows his Lord”. Imam al Ghazali also said “Whoever knows the mysteries of the spirit, knows himself. If he knows himself, he knows his Lord. If he knows himself and his Lord, he knows his matter is heavenly in his nature and instinct, and that he is a stranger in the corporeal world, that his descent into it is not a result of his nature in itself.”
Even Angles complained when God was sending this human to earth; that it would cause violence and injustice, but God wanted to set this realm of Good and Evil where this human can realize and find itself.
Why revelations were sent
God with its unbounded mercy and love; wanted its beloved to find a way back to itself; Man is the only being capable of imagining God's beauty and magnificence; so God does not want its most perfect creation to suffer and struggle more than necessary for human growth and realizing its full potential.
For guidance, self-awareness, and reflection; God sends multiple revelations through its most pious Prophets; which it elected from the human species; and the main objective is to remind humans of who they are and who God is and warn them of a day when they will be judged.
If we look around everything has a purpose and fulfilling what it is, only Humans have the free will to accept God's message or reject it, but if they reject it and do not try to set this earth on justice and find a way back to its creator it will suffer and struggle to find meaning and peace.
So what is Islam
Islam is the final message in continuation of the same message sent to the first human Adam the Prophet. It is a mercy and gift to that weak human who cannot find a way and balance by living away from the beloved.
It's a pathway for a human; to save themselves from the extreme of becoming only spiritual and thinking purpose is to live like a monk in isolation and peace or on the other extreme consider projecting power as the only true means to be a human and put all its effort in becoming a governor or CEO of a sizable empire.
Islam is the middle way that leads to a true monotheistic God; rejecting all false Gods of nationalism, materialism, communism, and individualism.
God wants humans to establish the world justly; to set up something we need power and a strong group locked into a higher goal and be protective of themselves; this requires humans to have a will to power and tribalism and desire for sex.
But to establish a Just society we need a moral code, ethics, and a sense of fairness; which we also find ingrained in us.
Hence as Humans, we have both the desires of will to power, sex, and tribalism which are materialistic while also higher God-like attributes of Justice, Freedom, Equality, and Creativity.
Revelation is required in those decisions of humans, where we have a blind spot; balance between man and women, rights of parent and child, ruler and those ruled, employer and those it employs, and finally man and its relationship to itself.
God has created humans of different colors and physical characteristics, so we know and identify each other; like a garden where multiple types of flowers make it more beautiful rather than monotonous; but we are all equal in the eyes of the lord as we all belong to the progeny of Adam the Prophet.
The perfect human being
Prophets are role models God has sent to showcase the humanity of the true essence of a human being; they perfected how to stay strong and balanced despite persecution and resentment from their followers.
To reveal the last of this sequence of messages God decided to send its final message, Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the seal of the prophet; it's the final block in the building of revelations.
God with their final message decided to preserve it; otherwise, it would be an injustice to humans following after the Prophet who was not given a chance to adhere to these exact words of God.
With the Quran being the final message, God ensured it is sent through the best of messengers; so we find the final messenger both equally successful in a religious sense and equally successful in a secular sense; he was a pious, patient, and perfect in dealing with people; but equally strong and brave on the battlefield; he was persecuted and punished in his early days of prophethood; struggle to even have a meal for weeks.
After he migrated to Madina, and after the establishment of a model society, where he became a ruler and statesman; he also remained humble and Just.
The Prophet of God; showed throughout his life what it is to be a perfect human being, who does not lose sight of God and the goal of living for his master; while taking care of people around him; and ensuring they are progressing on their spiritual journey; and through their support he was able to create a just and balanced society.
In this definition of a human that Prophet PBUH lived by; human is measured and gauged by the impact it can produce on this world into changing it back from oppression to justice; in removing the burden of false God and wrong practices in setting equality and freedom between people. At night standing in front of its creator giving back gratitude for all its blessings and in the day ensuring justice is prevalent among people and no one commits oppression on another human.
Why have Muslims failed to understand Islam?
The majority of Muslims today are devoid of the soul of Islam; which wants a human to be constantly on the lookout to perform its duties as a vicegerent in this world; ensuring humans are not slaves to other humans or even to themselves, making sure nature is preserved and to put back everything will be put into its due place according to what its real value is.
O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may get to know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.
Some of˺ the nomadic Arabs say, “We believe.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “You have not believed. But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts.
Below are a few reasons why in the early days of Islam, people moved away from the authentic essence that this message demands.
- The first and second generations of Muslims were trained by the Prophet PBUH himself. They have the walking Quran among themselves, but as Islam grows many people enter based on tribal affiliation or because Islam possesses power and authority in the land.
- In the beginning, starting with the Prophet PBUH's death; the next 4 leaders were elected through mechanisms of finding a pious worthy ruler and through popular selection by people; but it changed back to a tribal way of electing leaders soon after.
- Focus shifts slowly from the Quran to Jurisprudence and deducing laws from the Quran and Prophetic sayings; so legal proceedings can be established based on it.
- Many of the non-Arabs who accepted Islam did so based on dealing with Muslims and finding the Justice and Simplicity of Islamic theology and did not necessarily understand Arabic.
- Muslim monarchs prompted ideas and only those scholars who presented the version of Islam which did not challenge their status quo.
Now In the modern world, Muslims are found to be further away from the true message of change in Islam and the essence of Quranic teachings of love, ethics, fulfilling obligation, reasoning and reflection, and evaluating one's relationship with the creator is all seems strange for a believer who still considers Quran as God book.
- Most Muslims today are cultural Mulsim, and they think what is followed in culture and by their parents is what Islam demands.
- The majority of the Muslim countries today had freedom when colonization ended; when colonizers left they made sure the corrupt and tyrant leaders were placed and education and bureaucracy represented their interests and tilt toward Western hegemony; which continues.
- Orthodoxy and Secretarisim are quite prevailing among Muslim scholars; so instead of teaching the essence of religion, they are more interested in producing students who resemble their way of looking at religion and remain loyal to their school of thought.
- Many educated and intelligent Muslims who were produced through the education system developed a certain resentment toward these scholars and in extension to Islam; since if Islam is what these scholars preach then they do not want to be attached to it.
- Corrupt and Incompetent rulers in the Muslim world wanted to ensure that focus would not be served on developing the masses and educating them; hence many in the Muslim world, do not read and remain uneducated. This resulted in many who cannot understand and reflect the Quran in the modern paradigm.
- Many educated Muslims are inspired by Western thoughts and ideas of liberalism and secularism; and are happy with the definition of religion where it's confined to a private affair and set of rituals. For them, they carved a trim-down version of Islam which only deals with do’s and don’ts.
- For the same educated class discussed in the above point; with the explosion of material wealth and luxury, these educated-class Muslims are busy in the rat race created by this capitalistic world, instead of finding time to learn and reflect on what their beliefs entail.
- Extremism - there are a few who picked certain parts of the Quran and based on it tried to establish towns or regions in reflection of those partial thoughts; they were deluded and exploited by the powerful leaders to fight for them as proxies. These extremist groups also have been getting a supply of recruits from the desire of the West to bomb and create destruction in Mulsim land for the last 30 years.
- Ethnicity — Modern nations were cut into pieces after the Second World War, and most of this nationalism line cut through these centuries-old ethnicities after borders were drawn a desire for freedom and liberation has been fuelled and exploited in that region. right and wrong are blurred under these ethnic lines and where us vs the state becomes more important.
- Unity and Love — The Quran's message is of unity, equality, justice, and love; Western mindset and orientalists know that Mulsim would not be able to compete with them materially ( because of a bigger uneducated class and corrupt leaders) but they still know if Muslims become aware of the message of freedom and equality of Quran and become united it could threaten these puppet Muslim leader and in turn to Western Imperialism. This means Islamphoboia and ridiculing Muslims through media become common and many learn Islam only through this lens of popular and mainstream media.
The Quran is a message of change, God is not dependent on Muslims' desire to learn, read, and reflect on the Quran; we do acts and show gratitude for our good and our benefit.
Indeed, Allāh will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allāh intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron. 13:11
Quran is full of stories where many of the nations God has destroyed, one could reason why a merciful God brought torment to nations; one must not forget God is not only Merciful and Compassionate but also Just and Wise; it does every act out of infinite wisdom and wants to balance and propel humans to stand for Justice and against oppression against themselves and other and if we do not its difficult for God to replace us with other nation who love Allah as Allah love them.
Iqbal summed up what is a Muslim in these verses
A Muslim truly gets grandeur new with moment change and every hour:
By words and deeds, he gives a proof of Mighty God, His reach and power.
To rout the foes, to grant them reprieve, do pious deeds, and show great might:
Are four ingredients that make A Muslim devout who shuns not fight.
The Faithful acts on aims and ends that Nature keeps before its sight:
In the world, he sifts the good and bad, In the future shall judge wrong and right.
While dealing with friends and mates, He is dew that thirst of tulip slakes:
When engaged with his foes in a fight, like torrents strong makes rivers shake.
Such thoughts that shine like lustrous stars in my brain, like a workshop, can provide:
You can select the star you like, so that your Fate this star may guide!
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