al-Ma’ida 15-16 : the Qur’an is a guiding light

يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ قَدۡ جَآءَڪُمۡ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمۡ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّمَّا ڪُنتُمۡ تُخۡفُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ وَيَعۡفُواْ عَن ڪَثِيرٍ۬‌ۚ قَدۡ جَآءَڪُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورٌ۬ وَڪِتَـٰبٌ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (١٥) 

15. O People of the Book! Certainly Our Messenger has come to you; he clarifies for you much of what you kept hidden from the Book, and he absolves much. Indeed a light from Allah has come to you, and a clarifying Book.

يَهۡدِى بِهِ ٱللَّهُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ رِضۡوَانَهُ ۥ سُبُلَ ٱلسَّلَـٰمِ وَيُخۡرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ بِإِذۡنِهِۦ وَيَهۡدِيهِمۡ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬ (١٦) 

16. Allah guides with it whoever follows Its contentment to the ways of peace, and It causes them to come out of the darknesses into the light, by Its consent, and It guides them to a straight path.

Every time I see a verse beginning with “O People of the Book,” the first person that comes to mind is my Catholic mother-in-law, and then all the various professors who taught me at Syracuse University. I have always felt like despite differences in our religious backgrounds, our approaches to faith and inner peace were similar, and we had a deep kinship in our spirits. Verse 15 speaks to the “People of the Book,” those who understand the Book of Life, regardless of personal origin. The Qur’an appeals to all people, as we all share the experience of humanity.

As human nature is, however, it is normal that over time, people in power have hidden important truths from the public. This is as true in earthly politics as it is with regards to our sacred inheritance as human beings; history is written by the winners, and scriptures have been manipulated by those with various intentions. Surat al-Ma’ida verse 15 calls people out on this tendency and announces that “Allah” (Source, God) claims and confirms the purpose of the Messenger bearing the Qur’an as one who helps make sacred truths (co-creating, manifesting, living the abundance which the Divine has made fundamentally available to all, etc.) accessible once again to humanity. 

Importantly, while verse 15 points out that the light and clarifying message comes from the Book of Life, its direction is open. The message is not restricted to only men or women, Arabs or non-Arabs, or earthly followers of the Messenger Muhammad. It is a broad statement offered to anyone listening who wants to follow a path of peace and harmony, and it causes people to come out of darkness and into light.

Thankfully we still have the original text of Qur’an available today. Although its meaning has not escaped misrepresentation through shallow translation and interpretation, we can still return to the original Arabic text and dig deeper to better understand the universality of its message. Let’s explore the light of the Qur’an as it guides us on our human journey.

Triple D for Balance in Relationships

Life exists in relationships. To be successful in life, we should work on establishing and maintaining successful relationships. Relationships, being mutual, require balance in give and take. We need to have a sense for what to let go of (Detachment), what to hang on to (Devotion), and how to keep going despite difficulty (Determination).

Detachment is letting go, not insisting on clinging to that which does not serve us. Here are seven things we should detach ourselves from. You can choose a day of the week to practice each one, until you can release them consistently:

• Let go of identifying yourself based on your religion, culture, and race.

• Let go of identifying yourself based on your achievements and reputation (good or bad). Reputation is not located in you, but resides in the mind of others, so avoid allowing your self-concept to be dependent on whom others perceive you to be.

• Let go of how you compare to others, and any need to be seen as better than others.

• Let go of the need to be recognized by others. The less you need to take credit for your work the more you stay connected to God/Source. Then you become free to achieve with peace, compassion, and love.

• Let go of the need to be right, and allow yourself to learn and expand your perspective.

• Let go of the illusion that feeling offended serves a higher purpose. Release your negative emotions to make room for positive ones.

• Let go of dreams you have not yet fulfilled. Be grateful for the experiences, abilities, and blessings you already have.

Devotion is the commitment to love. We can be devoted to a deity, to a sports team, to a TV show, to our families. Devotion means consistently showing up in support, through good times and bad. It means holding something or someone in your heart, cherishing it, and consciously directing your actions to create positive results for the object of devotion. Devotion is grown through repeated, deliberate action conducted with love. Love in a relationship cannot be cultivated spontaneously or learned academically. You will only find true love by actively engaging in relationships. In order to experience love in a relationship, you must choose to put yourself fully into working on this relationship with consistent and sincere effort.

Determination is a key factor in maximizing the results of our brief human experiences. Determination is working with strong intention, a primary source of power for energy beings like ourselves. Putting energy into intention creates vibrations that propel us towards a desired situation. In order to achieve your goals, you must maintain your focus on your own intention. Do not allow others to derail your journey. If you work unflaggingly towards your own goals, step by step, you will not be deterred from achieving them.

Your existence in this life is as a temporary expression of consciousness. The same applies to all other elements of creation, human and non-human. Allow yourself to observe the interactions between these elements and use your experience to learn and grow as an individual. If you balance your attention between what deserves to receive your intentional effort and what will benefit from release, you successfully interact with the other consciousnesses around you. You have success in your relationships. You have success in your life.

Triple G for Contentment

You are a farmer. You have lost everything in a natural disaster. All you have left is the land, however ravaged, and one seed. Just one. But you know the power of this potential. Grateful for the possibility, placing your faith in the miracle of the unknown, you tuck it into the soil. You give it water, and time. Soon enough, it sends forth its first jade tendrils, and then its sturdy stalk. By and by, you harvest fruit and seeds. Back to the beginning, you sow, and tend, and reap. And soon, your hands are full, your arms overflowing with bounty. All of this you owe to the one seed, a vessel for your gratitude and awareness that quickened the sustaining life you enjoy today. Without thankfulness and knowledge, you may have cast aside what appears to be an insignificant thing. But with appreciation in your heart, you were able to overcome the obstacles and give the future a chance. With determination to share what you had, however little, you smoothed the road to an easier tomorrow. And in the end, you grew success.

So it is with our hearts. A man can be materially wealthy well-beyond average, and feel his life is lacking. Or, you can be barely able to offer guests clean water and coarse, homemade bread, but you do so with honor and sacrament, and for this it tastes all the sweeter, seems all the more sustaining. When we feel grateful for our blessings, however small, our excitement to celebrate “little things” easily infects those around us with positivity and delight, spreading happiness and love. It is true that “the more you give, the more you get.” As we raise the vibration of our hearts and of those around us, we grow in courage and resiliency, and feel the pulse of abundance more in tune with our own hearts. Grateful, again, for our experience of provision, we step up a level in our celebration, our sharing, our strength. Our gratitude, giving, and growth become a self-perpetuating cycle of celebration and success built not on having, but on being.

Tune in to the presence and potentials around you in your life. Take advantage of your opportunities to extend what blessings you can share to those around you. Recognize the room to grow. Become your better life.