afu
16-11-03, 06:59 PM
Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmattullahi wa barkatuhu.
After the various names of Allaah I do not know of any
other word that inspires more awe in me than the word
AL-FURQAN - 'the criterion'.
In it's usual context it is taken to mean the Qura'an.
However, in my opinion it's meaning need not
necessarily be restricted to this. The Furqan is
simply a thing that helps us 'differentiate'; between right and wrong,
Truth and falsehood, Good and Evil, Justice and
Injustice. It may be a book, but at the same time it
may very well be a man, a people, or for that matter
even an attitude; as long as it helps us
'differentiate'!!!! Seen from this point of view the
meaning of this word acquires a whole new dimension.
Moreover, in my search for it's meaning in Surah
Al-Furqan I realised that all through the Surah the
emphasis is on the 'ordinary' as against the
'extra-ordinary'. There is no mention of any miracle
or any out of the world experience, rather, the whole
Surah seems to be echoing with a heart rendering call
to the inner soul to recognise the 'not so obvious'!
First, lets start with the Qura'an. Look at the copy
of the Qura'an that you possess! Look at it again!
What do you see? It is basically a book consisting of
a number of pages with printed matter in it, neatly
bound in a covering.....just like any other book! In
fact, if someone were to place it in a pile of other
books I would not be able to recognise it, simply by
it's appearance. I would have to ACTIVELY SEARCH for
it! I would have to read it, line by line, ponder over
it's meaning and it's implications and only then,
would I be able to recognise it as God's word; as the
CRITERION! The situation was even worse in the days of
the Prophet pbuh when the Quran was not present in the
form of a complete book, but rather as scatterred
verses safely guarded in the hearts of pious men.
"Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an
revealed to him all at once? Thus (is it revealed),
that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have
rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-arranged stages,
gradually." The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:32
Again, think about the Prophet pbuh! Hadrat Ayesha RA
once described him as 'the living Qura'an' and using
the same logic the Prophet pbuh was also 'the living
Furqan' and why not? Don't we use his sayings and
traditions to 'differentiate' between good and evil,
right and wrong? Of course we do! And yet he was no
more than a man. He would mend his shoes, go to the
market, buy household grocery, help his wives in in
their daily chores, wash his clothes........just like
any other ordinary man. In fact, if he were to be
standing next to me in a market place I would not be
able to recognise him.
"And the apostles whom We sent before thee were all
(men) who ate food and walked through the streets: We
have made some of you as a trial for others: will ye
have patience? for Allah is One Who sees (all
things)."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:20
To identify him, I would need to have been looking out
for people of that sort in the first place......the
sort that would guide me as to what is right and what
is wrong. I would need to analyse his personality and
see what he stands for and only then would I be able
to recognise him as the Prophet of God. In other
words, I would need to be ACTIVELY SEARCHING for men
like him.
Again, look at nature. Don't you see a set balance in
the movement of the planets, in the alternation of the
day and night, in the water cycle and in the human
body...... a 'criterion' according to which everything
seems to be working.
"And We have distributed the (water) amongst them, in
order that they may celebrate (our) praises, but most
men are averse (to aught) but (rank) ingratitude."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:50
If this balance were to be disturbed even for a
moment, or if things were not to work according to the
criterion even for a moment, horrilble destruction
would follow, the like of which man has witnessed many
a times before ...........in the like of storms,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Again, look at the ruins of previous civilizations!
Analyse the reasons for their growth and for their
downfall. Analyse the reasons behind their successes
and their ultimate failure. And then you will see how
justice is being done in this world, how the evil ones
are destroyed and how the good become victorious. You
would see how the 'criterion' or the 'Furqan' works in
our lives. You would see how inevitable destruction
follows when a nation decides to go against the
'criterion'!!!
"And the (Unbelievers) must indeed have passed by the
town on which was rained a shower of evil: did they
not then see it (with their own eyes)? But they fear
not the Resurrection."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:40
And that was the justice of this world alone! Then
what about the JUDGEMENT DAY, the day of sorting out,
the day of 'differentiation', the day when the
righteous shall be seperated from the unrighteous, the
day when the good will be rewarded and the evil ones
punished............the day that the 'criterion' shall
be wholly in Allaah's hand!
"That Day, the dominion as of right and truth, shall
be (wholly) for ((Allah)) Most Merciful: it will be a
Day of dire difficulty for the Misbelievers."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :26
And finally look into your hearts my dear friends!
Allaah has blessed us all with a conscience, an inner
voice that helps us recognise the Truth, that makes us
feel guilty when we do something wrong, and that which
is completely at peace with ourselves when we are
doing the right thing. According to a hadith when you
are in doubt, ask your heart for the heart gives the
best of the fatwas! This is the Furqan of the Heart!
The most important Furqan! For only when this Furqan
is in complete control of ourselves will one be able
to identify the Qura'an as God's word and the Prophet
pbuh as God's messenger. Only when it is in complete
control of ourselves will one be able to ponder over
nature or the ruins of a nation and realise the
reality of the Judgement Day. It is only when base
desires begin to dominate our conscience that our
hearts become blind to these obvious facts and we
begin to grope in darkness seeking for miracles and
miracle men to guide us while the truth of the matter
is that we have decided not to guide ourselves.
"Seest thou such a one as taketh for his god his own
passion (or impulse)? Couldst thou be a disposer of
affairs for him?"
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :43
Towards the end of this surah, Allaah describes a set
of people who, having identified the Furqan, have
molded their lives accordingly. They live and die by
the Furqan so much so that they become the living
embodiment of the Furqan themselves, and any person
who would witness their doings would spontaneously cry
out that "what this man does is right and what others
are doing is wrong"!. They all have certain
characteristics starting from the way they walk to
their innermost desires. Their description ends with a
glorious dua...........
"And those who pray, "Our Lord! Grant unto us wives
and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and
give us (the grace) to lead the righteous.""
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :74
This dua clearly shows that these people are not
satisfied by molding their lives alone but are also
driven by an ardent desire to establish the same in
society. That is why they pray for a goodly family and
the imamat of the muttaqeen. This is no simple dua, it
is a dua for a revolution
, a call for a change in leadership in society from
the unjust to the just, from the unrighteous to the
righteous, from the rebels against God to the
God-fearing!
Thus,brothers and sisters, when seen this way you
would realise that the Furqan is not always obvious!
It requires a sincere heart, a keen mind, an ardent
desire to seek out the truth and an active search to
identify it.The Furqan is a thing that needs to be
actively searched for in the Quran, the Sunnah, the
examples of the companions and in our own souls. The
Furqan is a thing that needs to penetrate our lives
so completely that every action of ours becomes a
practical demonstration of the Furqan. And finally and
most importantly, the Furqan is a thing that demands
us all to strive our utmost to establish it in society
as a whole. If not, brothers and sisters, the Qura'an
will continue to exist but it will seize to be the
Furqan; the Sunnah of the Prophet pbuh and the example
of the Companions RA will continue to exist but it
will seize to be the Furqan; YOU will continue to
exist, but your hearts will be dead, and your
conscience will seize to be the FURQAN!!!!!
And the result.................
"Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for
your prayer; but you have indeed rejected (the truth),
so that which shall CLEAVE shall come."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :77
Allaahafiz!
After the various names of Allaah I do not know of any
other word that inspires more awe in me than the word
AL-FURQAN - 'the criterion'.
In it's usual context it is taken to mean the Qura'an.
However, in my opinion it's meaning need not
necessarily be restricted to this. The Furqan is
simply a thing that helps us 'differentiate'; between right and wrong,
Truth and falsehood, Good and Evil, Justice and
Injustice. It may be a book, but at the same time it
may very well be a man, a people, or for that matter
even an attitude; as long as it helps us
'differentiate'!!!! Seen from this point of view the
meaning of this word acquires a whole new dimension.
Moreover, in my search for it's meaning in Surah
Al-Furqan I realised that all through the Surah the
emphasis is on the 'ordinary' as against the
'extra-ordinary'. There is no mention of any miracle
or any out of the world experience, rather, the whole
Surah seems to be echoing with a heart rendering call
to the inner soul to recognise the 'not so obvious'!
First, lets start with the Qura'an. Look at the copy
of the Qura'an that you possess! Look at it again!
What do you see? It is basically a book consisting of
a number of pages with printed matter in it, neatly
bound in a covering.....just like any other book! In
fact, if someone were to place it in a pile of other
books I would not be able to recognise it, simply by
it's appearance. I would have to ACTIVELY SEARCH for
it! I would have to read it, line by line, ponder over
it's meaning and it's implications and only then,
would I be able to recognise it as God's word; as the
CRITERION! The situation was even worse in the days of
the Prophet pbuh when the Quran was not present in the
form of a complete book, but rather as scatterred
verses safely guarded in the hearts of pious men.
"Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an
revealed to him all at once? Thus (is it revealed),
that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have
rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-arranged stages,
gradually." The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:32
Again, think about the Prophet pbuh! Hadrat Ayesha RA
once described him as 'the living Qura'an' and using
the same logic the Prophet pbuh was also 'the living
Furqan' and why not? Don't we use his sayings and
traditions to 'differentiate' between good and evil,
right and wrong? Of course we do! And yet he was no
more than a man. He would mend his shoes, go to the
market, buy household grocery, help his wives in in
their daily chores, wash his clothes........just like
any other ordinary man. In fact, if he were to be
standing next to me in a market place I would not be
able to recognise him.
"And the apostles whom We sent before thee were all
(men) who ate food and walked through the streets: We
have made some of you as a trial for others: will ye
have patience? for Allah is One Who sees (all
things)."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:20
To identify him, I would need to have been looking out
for people of that sort in the first place......the
sort that would guide me as to what is right and what
is wrong. I would need to analyse his personality and
see what he stands for and only then would I be able
to recognise him as the Prophet of God. In other
words, I would need to be ACTIVELY SEARCHING for men
like him.
Again, look at nature. Don't you see a set balance in
the movement of the planets, in the alternation of the
day and night, in the water cycle and in the human
body...... a 'criterion' according to which everything
seems to be working.
"And We have distributed the (water) amongst them, in
order that they may celebrate (our) praises, but most
men are averse (to aught) but (rank) ingratitude."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:50
If this balance were to be disturbed even for a
moment, or if things were not to work according to the
criterion even for a moment, horrilble destruction
would follow, the like of which man has witnessed many
a times before ...........in the like of storms,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Again, look at the ruins of previous civilizations!
Analyse the reasons for their growth and for their
downfall. Analyse the reasons behind their successes
and their ultimate failure. And then you will see how
justice is being done in this world, how the evil ones
are destroyed and how the good become victorious. You
would see how the 'criterion' or the 'Furqan' works in
our lives. You would see how inevitable destruction
follows when a nation decides to go against the
'criterion'!!!
"And the (Unbelievers) must indeed have passed by the
town on which was rained a shower of evil: did they
not then see it (with their own eyes)? But they fear
not the Resurrection."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan:40
And that was the justice of this world alone! Then
what about the JUDGEMENT DAY, the day of sorting out,
the day of 'differentiation', the day when the
righteous shall be seperated from the unrighteous, the
day when the good will be rewarded and the evil ones
punished............the day that the 'criterion' shall
be wholly in Allaah's hand!
"That Day, the dominion as of right and truth, shall
be (wholly) for ((Allah)) Most Merciful: it will be a
Day of dire difficulty for the Misbelievers."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :26
And finally look into your hearts my dear friends!
Allaah has blessed us all with a conscience, an inner
voice that helps us recognise the Truth, that makes us
feel guilty when we do something wrong, and that which
is completely at peace with ourselves when we are
doing the right thing. According to a hadith when you
are in doubt, ask your heart for the heart gives the
best of the fatwas! This is the Furqan of the Heart!
The most important Furqan! For only when this Furqan
is in complete control of ourselves will one be able
to identify the Qura'an as God's word and the Prophet
pbuh as God's messenger. Only when it is in complete
control of ourselves will one be able to ponder over
nature or the ruins of a nation and realise the
reality of the Judgement Day. It is only when base
desires begin to dominate our conscience that our
hearts become blind to these obvious facts and we
begin to grope in darkness seeking for miracles and
miracle men to guide us while the truth of the matter
is that we have decided not to guide ourselves.
"Seest thou such a one as taketh for his god his own
passion (or impulse)? Couldst thou be a disposer of
affairs for him?"
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :43
Towards the end of this surah, Allaah describes a set
of people who, having identified the Furqan, have
molded their lives accordingly. They live and die by
the Furqan so much so that they become the living
embodiment of the Furqan themselves, and any person
who would witness their doings would spontaneously cry
out that "what this man does is right and what others
are doing is wrong"!. They all have certain
characteristics starting from the way they walk to
their innermost desires. Their description ends with a
glorious dua...........
"And those who pray, "Our Lord! Grant unto us wives
and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and
give us (the grace) to lead the righteous.""
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :74
This dua clearly shows that these people are not
satisfied by molding their lives alone but are also
driven by an ardent desire to establish the same in
society. That is why they pray for a goodly family and
the imamat of the muttaqeen. This is no simple dua, it
is a dua for a revolution
, a call for a change in leadership in society from
the unjust to the just, from the unrighteous to the
righteous, from the rebels against God to the
God-fearing!
Thus,brothers and sisters, when seen this way you
would realise that the Furqan is not always obvious!
It requires a sincere heart, a keen mind, an ardent
desire to seek out the truth and an active search to
identify it.The Furqan is a thing that needs to be
actively searched for in the Quran, the Sunnah, the
examples of the companions and in our own souls. The
Furqan is a thing that needs to penetrate our lives
so completely that every action of ours becomes a
practical demonstration of the Furqan. And finally and
most importantly, the Furqan is a thing that demands
us all to strive our utmost to establish it in society
as a whole. If not, brothers and sisters, the Qura'an
will continue to exist but it will seize to be the
Furqan; the Sunnah of the Prophet pbuh and the example
of the Companions RA will continue to exist but it
will seize to be the Furqan; YOU will continue to
exist, but your hearts will be dead, and your
conscience will seize to be the FURQAN!!!!!
And the result.................
"Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for
your prayer; but you have indeed rejected (the truth),
so that which shall CLEAVE shall come."
The Glorious Qura'an: Surah Al-Furqan :77
Allaahafiz!