Topic: Longing for Paradise. What is the solution? (Part 3)
This presentation can be watched at:
This presentation can be watched at:
We have a sense of consciousness but we don’t always listen to our consciousness.
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It is challenge and we
usually exist in a state of flux
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How can we overcome this
and what is the solution?
Quran says: Every being will receive death/ For everything
there is an appointed time (ajal)
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Although we can never be
sure of how long our ‘limited time’ is, we are sure that there is an end.
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There is nothing in this
world that does not have an end because everything is limited
o
We may be unable to grasp
existence of beginning and end of the whole universe BUT through our
experiences with creation, we can see a beginning and end of life in this
world.
Analogy: Receiving a fixed monthly salary
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Ajal can be thought of in terms of one’s monthly salary
o
My monthly salary is $100
o
The money that I receive
will be used. The question is: Will I be benefitting from the money I use OR
will I just be losing it?
§
For every $10 spent, I will have $10 less in my monthly
account.
Parallel: We have a lifespan of 60 years.
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For every year that passes,
my age increases BUT my total lifespan is decreasing
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With every passing moment,
I am losing from my appointed number of days (ajal)
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You gain a breath in each
moment BUT you are losing breaths from your total share
The amount of sustenance prescribed for us is fixed.
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We may enjoy each dish we
eat thinking that it is a ‘gift’
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But at the same time, with
every ‘gift’ is a loss
o
We are losing from our prescribed/set
portions
A young person is happy that he is growing BUT the reality
of the fact is that the person is also losing from his ‘total age’.
If you use it, you lose it
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How can I overcome this
contradiction so that my desire to keep gaining (and not losing) be satisfied?
o
By questioning the source
of everything
o
If I acknowledge the source
of everything (the One who gave me a fixed number of years, breaths, etc)
In my own existence, the pain I feel with every ‘loss’ is a
sign BECAUSE I dislike losing each moment
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It is a sign that I ought
to refer each moment back to its owner
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The problems (and pains)
begin as soon as I attribute an independent existence to the event/moment/treat
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If I recognize that
EVERYTHING, including myself, is being created, the loss of each moment is not
really a loss because by losing that moment I am learning that I cannot own
anything
o
I am in the Creator’s realm
and everything belongs to Him.
We often hear the phrase: Don’t be religious. Just enjoy
‘life’
But, I realize that I cannot just enjoy life because I
instinctively know that every dollar I spend means that I am losing from my
total wealth.
There must be a reason for the days/sustenance I have been
given that support my human nature
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Human nature: Desire for
perpetual gain. Abhorrence for loss.
I will experience a benefit in every moment IF I realize who
the Giver of each moment/provision is
I will experience perpetual pain if I perceive ownership of
each moment/dollar and attribute it to myself.
If my life only consists of days here on earth, it would be
a depressing reality BECAUSE with every passing moment, I am only losing days.
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For it to be a meaningful existence
I have to find meaning in every ‘moment’ and not ‘lose’ each moment that
passes.
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I want to see the benefit
of my actions at every moment, in that moment itself.
o
Don’t deceive yourself with
false ‘future’ promises
Analogy: A book has x number of pages, similar to the number
days in my life.
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With each page I read, I am
left with (x-1) number of pages
o
Similarly, with each day of
my life that I grow with, my total number of years are decreasing
o
Living, then, is painful
and has no real meaning
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As I extract the meaning, I
am not ‘losing’ the page BUT am experiencing a connection with the author and
‘gaining’ the information that he chooses to deliver through the words
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I am in direct connection
with the author
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Although I am reading ‘lines’
in the book, I am connected to the author
o
The number of pages are not
important
o
What is important is for me
to extract meaning from words so that I can be directly in connection with the
author.
Similarly, we are all qualified to read the signs in this
universe
There are 3 elements when we read:
1)
Me: I have to first see
that my existence is meaningful
2)
The object (creation): I
will search for meaning in all of creation
3)
The author/creator (God):
The meaning will connect me to the author
Rather than eating an orange, I have to READ the orange and
look for meaning in it, in the qualities of the orange, my experience while
eating it and connect myself to the author
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If I eat it without looking
for meaning, I am just eating ‘paper’
When we read a book, we are not really concerned with the
physical paper itself. Rather, we are concerned with the meaning that is being
imparted.
1)
I am endowed with the
ability to understand meaning
2)
The book itself has meaning
(it is not meaningless paper)
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The meaning exists within
its existence
o
For materialists, however,
existence is nothing more than just a piece of paper
o
In doing so, they are
torturing themselves
o
They choose to deny any
meaning and when one denies meaning, how can there be a connection to the
author?
o
Existence becomes futile
when we don’t use our human qualities to read meaning.
I should use my abilities to decipher meaning BECAUSE I have
been given the ability to do so.
As soon as I start reading the meaning, there is NO value in
the paper itself.
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If I don’t seek to extract
the meaning, I will be in pain because each page (moment) is being lost and
cannot satisfy my desire for eternal happiness
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But if I am absorbed in the
meaning, I will have no concerns whether the book has 10 pages or 100 pages.
Each page conveys meaning that the author intended for me. I read it and
connect myself to the Absolute author.
If we communicate with the Creator, we see that in all of
creation is a message and we can experience the Creator’s mercy, provision,
compassion, etc.
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The objects itself have no
value EXCEPT that it transfers a meaning to you
The author is communicating with you through the meaning in
the book.
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You don’t need the author
to be present in front of you
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It doesn’t matter if the
author is dead
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You are still in connection
and communication with him
His (God’s) way of creating is such that at every moment, He
is creating endless books
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The author of this universe
is Absolute
o
How do I know?
o
Nothing in this universe
has the ability to create
o
But yet, everything is
sustained in such perfect harmony
o
There needs to be a Creator
and He must be beyond this universe.
o
Beyond the universe is
beyond my perception and I can only describe that as being Absolute.
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If I look for meaning in
creation, every moment I am in connection with the Eternal Creator
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Death no longer matters
because I am always gaining meaning from the Absolute Creator.
Sahih International: So leave them to plunge in vain talk [indulgence] and play
about, until they meet their Day which they are promised
70:42 (Asad) Hence, leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words] [19] until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs which they have been promised
Life of materialists: With every step, I am getting closer
to my death
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Meaningless existence
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Life is such a torture
Life of a believer: With every step, I am in connection with
the Absolute Creator
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Existence is a mercy
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Life gives me an opportunity
to know my Creator
Leave them: If I
indulge in meaningless talk (eating paper), life is meaningless. I might else
kill myself now, if I am eventually just going to die.
We are all between two numbers.
Let Y be days in our lives.
Let X be the days that pass
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For every day that passes
(x), I am left with (y-x) days
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When x=y, we will be left
with nothing
At the end of every day, it is gone.
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Unbelievers are enjoying
nothing because they are constantly in loss
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Leave this idea (of a
meaningless world) alone
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It brings absolutely
NOTHING but loss
We are reminded in this verse to make sense of our own
interaction in the world.
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It is not about belittling
people who don’t share your beliefs
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Rather, this verse is
saying that we should leave THEM (attitudes that do not see meaning in
creation)
Muminoon (believers)
are together (as brothers)
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Not our physical bodies BUT
rather our beliefs
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Quran is speaking to our HUMAN QUALITIES (unlimited)
o
The Quran is the book of Absolute guidance
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Don’t reduce and restrict
it to limited space and time
Yahudu: Plunging into
something and becoming engrossed in it
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Getting lost in the matter
itself
o
Don’t get lost in
meaningless talk (price of an orange, location of purchase, weight of an
orange, vitamins in the orange, etc)
§
Through putting vitamins in
the orange, the Creator is telling you something (MEANING)
§
Look for the meaning
§
Meaning is anything that
connects you to the Eternal Creator because only that satisfies our desires
“… Say: “God!” – and
then leave them to play at their vain talk.”
An’am (6): 91
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Should I just utter the
word and leave?
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Rather, we have to
establish the relationship with our God
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Let them play with their
vain talk. We have to connect with God.
Person 1: I prefer Californian oranges to Mexican oranges’
Muslim response: ‘ God prepared these oranges for us. Look
at how they are prepared so perfectly for my taste.”
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Leave the vain talk and
connect to the Creator
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Otherwise, everything is
just meaningless
Sahih International: But leave them in their confused ignorance [flood, deluge,
liberality] for a time [until they themselves realize their error]
23:54 (Asad) But leave them alone, lost in their ignorance, until a [future] time.
Where the unbelievers are going is leading them towards a
dead-end
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What point is there in
accumulating wealth? In trying to increase one’s lifespan?
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The purpose is to get in
touch with the Creator of the book of the universe
Sahih International: So flee to God. Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner.
51:50 (Asad) And so, [O Muhammad, say unto them:] “Flee unto God [from all that is false and evil]! Verily, I am a plain warner to you from Him!
How can I flee to God?
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I am going to flee from
‘vain’ talk and connect myself with the Creator in every situation that I am
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There is no need for my to
flee to a mosque or to a different country
o
With the right attitude,
you can be with God anywhere, not only in a place of worship
In this universe, there is no meaningless word or letter
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You are always with a
meaningful act of creation
The one who brought us this message is teaching us that we
should never forget to flee to God
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Don’t divide one’s life
into compartments of religious and mundane
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Every moment is a sign and
a message from your Creator.
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Read the book of the world.
There is no single meaningless word (creation) in this world
o
Study the science (right
down to an atom), every single thing has meaning
If we connect to the author of the book of this universe, we
will always be in eternity.
Sahih International: All that they said was, "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins
and our transgressions: Establish our feet firmly and help us against those who
resist faith."
3:147 (Asad) and all that they said was this: "O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings! And make firm our steps, and succour us against people who deny the truth!"
Sins: Not reading
the meaning in pages and wasting the ‘words’
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Of course it includes
telling lies, stealing, etc
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If we are in contact with
the Creator, there is no way we will steal or tell lies because we will not be
losing ourselves in the ‘page’ BUT are connected to the Eternal creator
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Once we establish
foundations, these ‘moral actions’ become easy
o
The real sin is when we disconnect ourselves from the author
We can only ask for forgiveness, if we acknowledge the
author
When we don’t have a foundation, performing moral
(religious) actions become different.
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It is like trying to water plants from their branches INSTEAD of their
roots
The religious ‘rules’ that we are taught by the Prophet are
for the sake of an Eternal God
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If we keep this in mind, we
will willingly perform the actions
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If we aren’t connected and
driven towards the eternity, then the actions will seem like a burden.
As far as I am concerned, I only have the free will to choose
to read OR to ignore the message
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The meaning that you then
receive from creation is directly from the Creator
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We are not independently
creating meaning
Materialists choose to distort meaning BY rejecting the
presence of meaning in creation.
I have to see the compatibility between my ability to understand
and the meaning in creation.
- If there is no compatibility, then creation would be
contradictory
Establish our feet
firmly: In the connection between
creation and the Creator
How can I enjoy my life if I am not religious?
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If I disconnect myself from
the Creator, I am in absolute loss
These verses are commonly thought of us portraying Islam as
a religion that is snobbish.
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But that is because we see
ourselves as independent beings
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Rather, we have to see the Quran’s message as
being Absolute, thus speaking to me in an abstract sense. When I establish my feet firmly in connecting
myself to God, I will receive the help of God against falling into the “dead
end” interpretation of the creation presented by people who resist belief in
the Creator.
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Even if I am in contact
with the people of nonbelievers in God, but I will never fall in their
misguidance.
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