CONCEPT OF MAN Understand the Islamic
CONCEPT OF MAN Objectives: Understand the Islamic Appreciate the Purpose of Man on this Earth Become familiar with Qur anic verses regarding man Part 1 Comparing the Islamic concept of man with the Christian concept of man. According to Christianity man is born sinful that is, the sin of Adam is inherited by all the children of Adam. Through Baptism and the sacraments this wound in his soul is healed and by participation in the life and sacrifice of Christ he is saved. In Islam however, there is no original sin and regards man as born pure and sinless. According to the Qur anic teaching: Man has come from Allah and will return to Allah Surely we have created man of the best stature (Ahsan Taquim), then we reduced him to the lowest of the low (Asfal Saafilin) (95: 4,5) In the above verses, Qur an teaches that man s relationship with Allah is that of Sun and its reflection in a mirror. Sun represents Nur of Allah while Mirror symbolizes a human being. If we ponder on this example we come to a conclusion that the Sun Ray from one end is one with the Sun, however with respect to the other end it approaches the mirror, to form a reflection of the Sun. Likewise, our relationship with Allah is such that our soul, like the Sun s Ray, has two levels of existence. At one level of our existence we are always one with Allah but where the Nur of Allah touches the body (mirror), it creates a lower level of existence called human beings. What s the point? The point is that in the above referenced Qur anic verses Allah states that he has created man of the best stature here he is referring to man s higher status where he is one with Allah. Then he goes on to say that We reduced him to the lowest of the low ; this is in reference to where Allah created the humans, and made them forget about their higher status of being one with Allah. He then sent humans on this earth with a challenge to see if they can recognize their higher self or not. To make that challenge more interesting he gave Man the intellect to choose right from wrong and sent his Divine guidance on earth at all times in the form of Prophets and Imams; to remind man of his purpose in life. Therefore, one of Imam s title according to Qur an is Muzakkir the reminder.
Part 2 Following is Imam Sultan Mohammed Shah s Farman that supports the aforementioned point: Dar-Es-Salaam 29/9/1899 Those who have only superficial knowledge of the faith have fantastic notions about me. They believe my job is to heal the sick. This is not my task. My task is to show you the Way to the Truth, so that you may achieve your real destiny, which is the state of fanafillah. Fana stands for annihilation, fi meaning in and Allah being God. To be fanafillah is to lose oneself in God s Essence you must keep on asking yourself: What is God and why cannot I become one with Him? you must have such ambitions and you should meditate over what I am saying. For instance, Jesus became one with God. He was in Love with the Haqiqat (i.e. the Truth). As a result he was able to attain union with God. You must also have heard about the mi raj of the Holy Prophet. People say that he rode on a horse up to the heavens and that was his mi raj. This is the foolish idea of the masses. God does not dwell only in heaven, He is to be found everywhere. The night of me raj is the one on which the Prophet revisited his original home. Only the wise and the intelligent will understand the parables of the Prophets. The unintelligent ones will take stories at their face value. The intelligent person will be able to recognize the true dignity and grandeur of man. Man is he who is able to distinguish between good and evil. Do not think that this task is too difficult for you. It is not that only Hazrat Ali s progeny can attain this status. Whoever is determined enough will be able to reach the goal. In order to understand the status of God you must first understand your own status as man. What is the point of a man s life when he busies himself night and day with good deeds and accumulates wealth, and has to die in the end? What is the value of lifelong worship when it does not lead to Liberty? The thinking man will never be satisfied with partial achievement. When you bow down in the worship of God, you must implore Him to help you attain your true home. Like a child separated from the mother, one must yearn for reunion with God. Hazrat Ali has said: He who knows himself knows God. Prophetic Hadith: Man is made in the image of God Why are Humans Ashraf ul-makhulqaat? Part 3 According to the Qur anic teaching man is Ashraf ul-makhluqaat the finest and highest of all creation
Thus according to the Qur an, man is not a bundle of tissues and bones as is the materialistic interpretation of man found in the West. The Holy Qur an provides ample testimony to the exalted status accorded to man. When Allah created man he ordered the angels to prostrate him. All the angels prostrated themselves, save Iblis, so Allah asked: Allah Asked: O Iblis what prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with my own hands? Art you haughty? Or art you one of the high ones? (38:75) Iblis said: I am better than he. You created me from fire, and him you created from clay (38:76) This thought of Iblis, this pride and arrogance reduced him to a Satan. For Allah said: Then get out from here: for you art rejected, accursed (38:77) Therefore, man is not just a bundle of tissues and bones or clay the outward form as Iblis saw it, but the spirit which Allah breathed into him. For Allah asked the angels to prostrate before Adam only after He had breathed His Spirit into him. Allah says in the Qur an: So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit do you fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him. (15:29) Thus man possesses the Divine Spirit and the rational faculty brought in by the spirit of God. However, Iblis saw the lower side of man (his clay) and failed to see the higher side Divine Spirit endowed with rational faculty. This position of man leads him to occupy an intermediate position between angels and animals. A man has to choose between right and wrong good and bad. He has been given the choice- the freedom of action. On the other hand, the actions for the angels and animals are determined by nature. Man can ascend above all degrees of universal existence and by the same token fall below the level of the basest of creatures. However, man cannot uplift himself spiritually all by himself. He needs the aid of God to discover himself as being one with Allah, because he always forgets who he is and what he should be doing in this world.. Although Man has in himself the possibility of being God but he is always in the state of neglecting this possibility. But the Grace of God is always there to save man and to guide him, awaken him from this dream and remind him what it really means to be a man. It is through the guidance of Prophets and Imams that man can realize or achieve his goal, it is through them (Prophets, Imams) he is constantly invited to goodness. Thus Humans are Ashraf ul-makhuqaat provided they obey Allah s Messenger and attain Haqiqi (true) Knowledge, carry out their Prayers and do Good deeds, in other words strive on Sirat al-mastaqim to attain Self Recognition i.e Fana fillah. Part 4 Humans are Ashraf ul-makhuqaat provided they obey Allah s Messenger and attain Haqiqi (true) Knowledge, carry out their prayers and do good deeds, in other words strive on Sirat al-mastaqim to attain self recognition i.e Fana fillah.
Following quote from Rasa il of Ikhwan-al safa (Epistles of Brethern of Purity) supports the aforementioned discussion: Man s central position in the world is not due to his cleverness or inventive genius but because of the possibility of attaining sanctity and becoming a channel of grace for the world about him However man by being man is imperfect, has forgotten that he is in this world with a challenge to recognize his higher status. Hence in this life man has tendency to make wrong use of his freedom, tendency to fall prey to temptation and so is in constant need of being reminded through Divine Guidance (Prophets, Imams) of his real nature. In the Ginan-e Shariff Pir describes the concept of man as: Kesri si(n)h swaroop bhulayo Aja kere sang aja hoi rahiyo In the above ginan, our revered Pir explains that man by his negligence and ignorance of his true being (supreme status), has fallen a state of illusion. The Pir attempts to explain this phenomenon through the analogy of a lion, the king of the animal world, who while growing up with sheep, forgets his true identity. Only when he sees his reflection in a pond does the lion realize his ignorance and becomes aware of his true identity. Part 5 How can Man attain his Supreme Status (Recognition of being one with Allah)? Mawlana Hazir Imam emphasizes to keeping the balance between physical and spiritual life to realize our Supreme Status Farmans: And the reason why in recent years I have made Farmans to you from time to time about your material well-being is that I have believed that in India like in other parts of the world, serious attention has been necessary to improve the living conditions of the Jamat and of your children and, in the future, of your grand-children. But that does not mean that you must be unaware of your spiritual obligations, that you should not say your prayers when you are told to say your prayers, that you should not practice Bandagi, that you should not meet the responsibilities and the duties which you have to the Jamat and to the Imam. What I am saying to my spiritual children this morning is that he or she who forsakes either of the two responsibilities which are placed on you the day you are born the responsibilities to fulfill your material and your spiritual lives- is making a mistake and I feel it important to remind you today of this duality of the life in which we live. And that you should fulfill both responsibilities. My beloved spiritual children, I would like you to reflect on this Farman and to see if you have made mistakes, and if you have, then put them right. If you have not made mistakes, then I am sure you will feel happy and confident about the future. My beloved spiritual children, I hope you will remember the Farman which I have made to you today, and I hope you will put it into practice. I want you to remember that every time you look at a watch, every time you look at a clock, every time you see a hand move by one second or one minute, this means that you have one second or one minute less in which to fulfill this Farman. It is only the spiritual life which is eternal, not the material life.
Part 6 In Da c aim ul-islam, Qazi Nu man quotes a hadith of Prophet Muhammed where he states that there are two ears to our heart, on one side an angel is sitting and on the other Jinn. They both read an individual s heart. If they find something good then angel reads it and vice versa. The above Hadith indicates to us that it s in the hands of a human being, whether he invites an angel by keeping his heart clean with Zikr and good deeds or through excessive materialism invites a devil. There is a Qur anic Ayat that also supports the above Hadith. In Holy Qur an Allah says: those who forget Him in this world, He appoints a Satan for them who becomes their close friend. (43/36) On the Contrary note: It is important to start off the day with Prayers and Good Intentions, live an Ethical Life and attempt to Remember Imam throughout the day so that Imam could become our Close Friend! The True Meaning of Religion (Risala dar Haqiqat-i Din) TRANSLATION The great religious authorities have divided the day and the night into three equal parts, each eight hours long. And if you do the proper things which are prescribed for each part of the day and night, you will succeed in your spiritual progress as well as in your worldly affairs. One part is assigned for sleep, and also food, and domestic affairs. One is to be spent in following the occupation in earning one s subsistence. And one part is to be devoted to the worship of God, whose object is the attainment of the salvation and eternal life. It is said in a hadith: The mankind, are created for perpetuating creation, for its annihilation and destruction. For this reason you must pass over this world, and hasten to attain that world, to do some work which may become the capital of your future salvation, when you will collect the profit accruing on it, in the future life. This world is the (arable land, and the future life is the crop. Whatever you have sown in this that you will reap in the next (life). Therefore, if you have failed in your resolve, permitting yourself to swerve from obedience to God, you have wasted your opportunity, and from this field you will not reap any crop. Your position will then be like that of a bankrupt, who deplores his folly when all is gone, but it is too late to do anything. By virtue of being human we will commit sins but we have to realize that there is a way to seek pardon of Allah. In Qur an, Allah mentions: 4/64: We sent our messenger to be obeyed by our command. When followers were sinned and they come to messenger and sought pardon of Allah and messenger asked pardon for them, surely they will find God forgiving and most merciful.