THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE

2.1 GENERAL

Interpretation

In extrapolating from what we are told about the events during what is divinely termed, “the Great Period/ Al-Akhira Day”, namely, that every individual will be concerned only with themselves, it is reasonable to conclude that humans are created to be selfish as regards their own salvation:

At length, when the deafening and piercing call [of resurrection] is heard, during that Period/ Al-Akhira Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his spouse and his children. Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others. (Sūrah Al-‘Abasa [Ch.80] :33-37)

So, to many it might seem patently obvious why, in construing, the text or subject matter, it should be looked at in its proper context. But, the fact is misunderstandings often occur either because some people have cultivated a perverse mind, or, they might misinterpret things because they were not aware or unwittingly have omitted something of significance, or it might be that they have arrived at the same station of error or mistake due to confusion and delusion. The net effect of all or any of those reasons, while seeking to grasp the true meaning of a text or something, is injustice, and that is never acceptable. All those reasons are potential mitigating circumstances, which speak to the degree of mercy or punishment that is to be applied. One should endeavor to avoid injustices at all times and in every circumstance, and the surest way of achieving that objective, is to ascertain the real intentions of the person making the statement, made the object or created the situation.

Allāh’s (swt) information about Himself is the truth and authentic, and He (swt) has said that:

Allāh, there is no god but He, The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, All-Sustaining Eternal Fount. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. (Sūrah Al-Baqarah [Ch.2] :255)

As a result, it cannot, and will never be that the Originator and Creator of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage has died and will never be available to comment on and explain the reasons behind the origination and creation of that noble institution, the timing of it coming into existence and becoming established, its purpose, particular features and structure. Indeed, among the absolute attributes of the Originator and Creator of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage, is that He is also All-Knowing, The All-Aware and The Wisest. As a consequence, He (swt) knew that the current situation regarding Islāmic Institution of Marriage would arise, and that His direct and literal input in explaining matters would become vital and absolutely necessary.

What qualifies as the direct and literal Divine Words, Sayings and Teachings is the splendid and eloquent recitation, which was given to Prophet Muhammad [pbuh], Allāh’s (swt) final prophet and messenger, and that calls itself the “extremely clear Arabic Qur’ān”. What is contained in it are the critical pieces of information about the “Unseen Period”, before the creation of Man, which provide the explanations that are vital for the understanding of the context of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage. That ancient “Unseen” information regarding pre- Earth Al-Akhira was considered in the first of the four books in this tetralogy. Although each part of this effort should also stand on its own, the real intention is that they should be read together as if it were a single work. The details of that first book are therefore extremely important in grasping a real understanding and the context of this second work. But, the children of Ādam are prone to forgetfulness, and to assist in refreshing those who have read it, and to give brief explanation to those who have not, the following useful, if not invaluable, summary is provided.

2.1 PRE-ĀDAMIC MARRIAGES

2.2.1    Pre-Creation Concept of zawj

It may come as a complete shock to people that while the Islāmic Institution of Marriage among humans began with the actual creation process itself of Ḥawwā’, that there is a more general Islāmic concept of marrying, combining, fusing, connecting, coupling, or merging two or more components that predates the origin of the human race. This general idea of having a pair of everything goes to the very core of Allāh’s (swt) comprehensive Divine creation plan and, as a consequence, a sound knowledge of the Islāmic concept of zawj is absolutely critical to the pure understanding and worship of Allāh(swt), as the All-Knowing, The All-Aware and The Wisest Originator and Creator. Indeed, that is a tremendous statement which no mortal man is qualified to make, so the basis upon which it rests must be Divine in origin and proven to be as such.  But before venturing to deal with the issue of proving that statement one should first understand the meaning of the Arabic term zawj, and its feminine variant zawjah. It is a word that is derived from the root زَوَجَ (zawaja).  According to the Arabic–English Lexicon I of E.W. Lane Vol 3, column 3,  pp.1266-1267, it signifies :

A sort of the being of any kind that is one of  a pair, or couple, and زَوْجَات‎ (zawjāt)) signify a pair or couple any two things paired or coupled together, whether they be likes or contraries zawj signifying either one of such things or dependent, each on the other or a sort of thing or a sort of thing having its like or having its contrary (as with bitter and sweet; night and day; or male and female) though sometimes applied to any sort of thing and to a single thing or it is applied to a single thing only when having with it a thing of the same kind; Thus, zawjāt signify a pair or couple of such things (plural  azwaaj) such as a pair of chickens or sandals

That being said, the Superb Arabic Qur’ānic evidence runs as follows:

And it is He (Allāh) who has spread the earth wide and placed on it firm mountains and running waters, and created thereon ZAWJAYNI (two pairs [sexes]) of every [kind of] plant [and it is He who] causes the night to cover the day. Verily, in all this there are ayāt (lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidence, and directives) indeed for people who think! (Sūrah Ar-Ra’d [Ch.13] 3)

Limitless in His glory is He who has KHALAQA ALAZWAJA (created pairs in opposites) in whatever the earth produces, and in men’s own selves, and in that of which [as yet] they have no knowledge. (Sūrah Yā Sīn [Ch.36]:36)

Whatever it be wherein ye differ, the decision thereof is with Allāh. such is Allāh my Lord: In Him I trust, and to Him I turn. (He is) the Originator-Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) from among yourselves, and AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: THERE IS NOTHING WHATEVER LIKE UNTO HIM, and He (alone) is the One that is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth: He enlarges and restricts. The Sustenance to whom He will: for He knows full well all things (Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42] 10-12)

What we find, when all the above passages are taken together, is that there is a comprehensive picture and list of all that has been created zawj (in pairs comprising both genders), and it basically encompasses every known animate thing (humans, plants, animals), as well as what man does not know.

However, it is a mistake to think that the Arabic noun zawj is only limited to what is in the animated nature – human, animal, and vegetable kingdoms. The following Superb Arabic Qur’ānic evidence, and the rendering provided by E.W. Lane above, makes it quite clear that it also applies to inanimate opposites:

And He [Allāh it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were [yet but] smoke; and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, “come [into being], both of you, willingly or unwillingly!” – to which both responded, “We do come in obedience.” (Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 11)

This is a very privileged glimpse into the Pre-Creation realm, and what is evidenced is that, at the inception of the creation process, two forces, smoke and earth, were joined, married, paired, and fused together. Without getting too involved into the science, unlike the earth, smoke is not a solid, but a collection of tiny airborne solid, liquid particulates and gases. They can thus be classified as opposites. That fusion, union and pairing between the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth) was entered into with the mutual consent of both, however it was not their position to refuse, because it was the will, and decree of Allāh (swt), that they should be joined together, whether or not they greed.

It is important to note that, what is being referred to, is the cosmic primordial state of the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth [not Planet Earth]). One should avoid becoming confused, the way some readers of the Bible have, because of the divine use of terms that, in modern times, have a particular reference and meaning. The Divine Pre-Creation “Unseen” objects referred to as the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth) bears no resemblance, are NOT, and have absolutely nothing to do with planet Earth and the skies of our prevailing realms of Al-Akhira, and Ad-Dunyaa, both of which did not exist then, and would not be created for a long time (eons) to come, according to the reckoning of “Pre-Creation Time”. 

Whatever the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth) would have represented then, they were clearly not the same, however, they were undoubtedly complementary forces such that they could be joined, paired, or married together to become a single union. The Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41 11) event therefore evidences, supports and strengthens the understanding that a broader, and more general, Islāmic concept of marrying (or combining, fusing, connecting, coupling, or merging) two harmonizing yet opposite components, existed and predates the origin of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage among humans.

What is also divinely stated, in the following two passages, about the events following that joining or marrying of the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth), adds further support, and even greater proof of the presence of zawj during the Pre-Creation period:

And He [it is who completed them and] decreed that they become seven heavens in two (Creation) Aeons / Periods / Days, and He assigned and imparted unto each heaven its function and duty. And We adorned the lower heavens (the skies nearest to the earth) with lights, and (provided it) with guard to made them secure, Such is the decree ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.(Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 12)

Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were as one single unit of creation (having been coupled joined fused together), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (Sūrah Al-Anbiyāa [Ch.21]:30)

The essence of those Divine Pre-Creation “Unseen” information is that, after marrying the samā’ (skies) and the ardthi (earth) together, so that they became a single unified body, the All-Powerful and Irresistible Allāh (swt) then commanded that newly formed single unit to be explosively cleft asunder. From that explosion (which in modern science is commonly called the Big Bang) He (swt) formed out of the continually expanding seven firmaments, over the next two Creation Aeons / Periods / Al-Akhira Creation Days, a pair of concomitant realms (named Al-Akhira, and Ad-Dunyaa):

So verily I call to witness the planets that recedes. (Sūrah Al-Takweer [Ch.81]:15)

And it is We who have built the heaven (the cosmic system/universe) with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (Sūrah Adth-Dthāriyāat [Ch.51]:47)

Let us be very clear then: what this Divine, enlightening and Noble Arabic Qur’ān (recitation), is saying, long before the development of modern science, is that the forming of the single cosmic “Pre-Creation Unit” was the watershed or turning point or the physical manifestation that marked the starting point and beginning of the creation process what would give rise to our existence. It was following the marrying of that zawj (pair), and after whatever the length of a period in time, according to the reckoning of “Pre-Creation Time”, with the Sūrah Al-Anbiyāa (Ch.21:30) “Cleaving Asunder”(the comparable modern science, so called, “Big Bang”) that the current universe originated.  The combined knowledge in the above passages tells us that the “Pre-Creation Unit” subsequently separated to form our phenomenal (“Connected /Related”) realm (Ad-Dunyaa) with its individual nebulae, galaxies and expanding solar systems, and the even more remarkable “Next/Other” realm (which is the meaning of Al-Akhira).

2.2.2    Function Behind Pre-Creation zawj

It is also the proper understanding, derived from the ’ayāt, quoted in the preceding subsection from the Upright Arabic Qur’ān,that the Pre-Creation Islāmic concept zawj (pairs) does not hang in midair, without having a solid and proper foundation purpose and a function. 

There is a divine purpose, and an extremely high spiritual reason at that, behind the origination of the Pre-Creation Islāmic concept zawj (the polarity; pairs), that is evident in all creation, including among JINNs and Man, and which expresses itself in the existence of antithetic and yet complementary forces. That majestic objective is alluded to by the use of the statement, “Verily, in all this there are ‘ayāt indeed for people who think!”, which taken from the above quoted passage from Sūrah Ar-Ra’d (Ch.13: 3). This passage is intended to underscore and make abundantly clear the fact that Allāh (swt) has placed in the realms many ’ayāt, about the Islāmic concept of zawj (the polarity; pairs), and that the people who will truly benefit from them are the people who “think, reason, and ponder”, intelligently, justly, honestly and sincerely.

 The Arabic noun ’ayāh, is the plural of the word ’ayāt, and the meaning, and sense, attributed to it are “proofs, verses, lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, revelations, and directives”. What is therefore deduced from the context in which is used in Sūrah Ar-Ra’d (Ch.13: 3) is that, they were decreed by Allāh (swt) for the edification and enlightenment of certain members of the human race.  These are the ones who exercise their divinely endowed freedom of choice to aspire to cultivate and build for themselves, a sound, intelligent and wise consciousness and personality, and to manifest that quality in all their actions.

What is the unequivocal understanding to be derived from the following passage is that, if someone aspires and strive to be of the personalities that do what is right and are contemplative and wise, they are compelled to think about the natural phenomena and wonders in creation:

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession or alternation of night and day, there are indeed ’āyat for all who are endowed with insight, [and] who remember Allāh when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down (on their sides) to sleep, and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth (and the wonders therein with the thought): “O our Rabb (Lord Cherisher and Sustainer)! Thou hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose.   Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire! (Sūrah Al-‘Imrāan [Ch.3]:190-191)

What is useful and significant about the passage in Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42] 10-11), is that it narrows down what it is the men of insight will see, when they remember Allāh (swt) while pondering creation, and those natural phenomena that are comprised in the heavens and the earth. They will discover that polarity is evident in all of creation, including among JINNs and Man, and that, behind the numerous examples of zawj (pair or pairs) in the cosmos, there is a primary divine and purpose. Further, there are no short cuts or other means whereby a person will be able to attain, and confirm for themselves, the ultimate knowledge, understanding, and profound wisdom, that the singularity and astonishing uniqueness of Allāh (swt) is the primary purpose behind the creation of zawj (pair or pairs), and thus the real “lesson, teaching, message, sign, miracle, evidence, and directives” (’ayāh) that is being taught, and it is critical (for the redemption of each person’s soul) to know, understand and be constantly aware.

To the men of insight, with the EXCEPTION of Allāh (swt), zawj (pair or pairs or opposites – khalaqa alazwaja) is seen and identified as voicing and exposing itself in the existence of antithetic, but complementary, forces of every created thing known to man, (Azwajan (pairs) of whatever the earth produces; in ourselves; and of the cattle) and things beyond their knowledge. The reason for them excepting or excluding Allāh (swt) is because:

1.   Allāh (swt) is the “ODD” and real opposite of creation; and
2. the men of sound and profound understanding, and wisdom, will find “NOTHING WHATSOEVER that is LIKE UNTO Allāh (swt), and that He (alone) is the One that is All-Hearing and All-Seeing” (Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42] 10-11)

The first of the above two points is taken up by the following verses:

CONSIDER the daybreak and the ten nights! Consider the EVEN (multiple) and the ODD (One)! Consider the night as it runs its course! Considering all this – could there be, to anyone endowed with reason, a [more] solemn evidence of the truth? (Sūrah Al-Fajr’ (Ch.89] 10-11)

One of the effects in being expelled from Al-Akhira, to the realm of Ad-Dunyaa, is that the members of the human race became remote from the presence Allāh (swt) and, as part of of the divinely decreed Islāmic Deen, they, critically, are now required, even though they cannot see Allāh (swt) manifestly, to believe; have trust and confidence in the existence of Allāh (swt), and His (swt) vastly superior Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom. To achieve that objective, Allāh (swt) has created Man with the capacity to receive knowledge, and to reason intelligently in order to attain real understanding. Added to that, Allāh (swt) has presented, in the created natures of all created matters, and the Monumental Arabic Qur’ān, convincing proof as to the dignity, goodness, and nobility in being totally absorbed, on every level and in every moment of life, with Allāh (swt), instead of any other of the created matters.

What is presented in the opening of the Sūrah, quoted above, are divinely described as the “solemnest evidence of the truth (and reality)” regarding Allāh (swt). They are thus Divine “Unseen” Statements, ’ayāt, that are soberingly dreaded, and whose probative value are truly impressive and of the weightiest in proving the truth about Allāh (swt).

Among them is the ’ayāh, “Consider the even (multiple) and Al-Watri (the ODD)!”. The Arabic term Al-Watr (or Al-Witr), according to lexicoligists serves to draw attention to what forms the foundation and purity of the Islāmic Deen, and to illuminate it; namely, the unmistakable Islāmic concept “that which is Single” and “One”. The knowledge, understanding and wisdom locked in that “Unseen” Divine remark is available to every member of the human race; however, it will only be of benefit to educate those people who strive to use their intelligence and reason soundly. What, it is submitted, they will discover from the Divine Unseen Evidence in the Mighty Arabic Qur’ān, is that Zero as a complete and perfectsymbol (“Positive Zero”), and the numeral of man’s numerical systems termed One, apply exclusively to Allāh (swt). Contradistinction is the Islāmic concept of zawj (the polarity and pairs as in having a counterpart or counterparts) which applies to everthing in creation.

Living in the realm of Ad-Dunyaa,andbeing divorced from Al-Akhira, naturally give rise to the question of what is the origin of the created world, and at first sight, without contemplating and reasoning the evidence in creation, one is staring at the possibility of nothingness. But people have always struggled to understand the concept of nothingness, because, in truth, it is alien to true reason, intelligence, justice and the true reality behind existence. What one is able deduce is that the concept of nothingness, (meaning [negative] zero, is a perversion of the Man’s innate understanding of his Creator. Plainly, what follows is “Unseen Knowledge” that is, mind-blowingly, totally beyond the human capacity to grasp and retain a constant awareness:

Allāh (swt), There is no god but He,-the Ever-Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. (Sūrah Al-Baqarah [Ch.2]: 255)

Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, – let it extol and declare the Praises and Glory of Allāh. for He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: It is He Who gives Life and Death; and He has Power over all things. He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Hidden: and He has full knowledge of all things. (Sūrah Al-Ḥadēed [Ch.57]: 1-3)

These ’ayāt speaks to a Divine attribute that depicts Allāh (swt) as being wholly Al-Watri (the ODD); He (swt) alone (the single) is Self-Perpetuating; possesses all the necessary qualities to be The Complete and The Perfect Circle of existence “0”, which has Neither Beginning and Nor an End; the First and the Last; Giver of life and death; and Evident and the Hidden. The following ’āyah, is further overwhelming proof that the concept of zero, in the sense of having nothing, the absence of any quantity or being, is referable and applies only the created matter:

Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing – (a thing not thought of or even) mentioned or mentionable?” (Sūrah Al-Insāan [Ch.76]: 1).

What is being expounded in the above quoted passage, and the ’ayāt of Sūrah Al-Fajr’ (Ch.89: 10-11), is the message teaching and guidance that, unlike his Creator, Man has a past when he was not even a hypothetical notion, had never been mentioned, and truly zero in the sense of being in a non-existent state. That concept and state of [negative] zero must never be applied to Allāh (swt), and if done unjustly, the effect is it defaces and cause a perversion of what ought to be Man’s innate understanding of this wonderful concept of his Creator as the Ever-Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal.

As regards Allāh (swt) being truly and exclusively “the One”, this matter was considered earlier. Recall that, save and excepting Allāh (swt), with everything else in the created worlds, the concept of zawj applies. The unambiguous and ultimate zawj, in terms of polarity or opposites, is the ‘EVEN” in the form of the time-bound created world of counterpart or counterparts (that Allāh (swt) sustains), on the one hand, and the “ONE”, explicitly, the Non-Created First and Last, Ever-Living, Self-Subsisting, All-Powerful, Most Wise Allāh (swt), on the other hand. In the following Sūrah, the latter is indeed the befitting and majestic designation that Allāh (swt) has given to Himself (swt), to signify that He (swt) is “Unique” and “there is nothing that could be compared with Him“:

SAY: He is Allāh, the ONE and Only; “ Allāhu Aṣ-Ṣamad He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.  (Sūrah Al-‘Ikhlāaṣ [Ch.112]:1-4)

The fact and reality of Allāh (swt) being the ONE (swt) is logically linked to the final ’āyah,in the above-quoted Sūrah, which provides that He (swt) is absolutely unique, with nothing whatsoever that could be compared to Him (swt). Practically, this has two implications. First, it means that men of sound knowledge, insight, wisdom, and judgement, will never attempt the impossible, in trying to describe or define Him (swt) who is the absolute opposite and beyond the created worlds of counterparts, of which man is also a part. As a result, any attempt at depicting, describing or representing Allāh (swt), figuratively or by means of abstract symbols must be regarded as blasphemous repudiation of the truth of Allāh’s (swt) uniqueness in being ONE (swt). Also, since Allāh (swt) is absolutely unique and beyond the boundaries of human comprehension or imagination, to acquire pure knowledge of the true as to the Divine Qualities Characteristics and Attributes He (swt) possesses, humans are wholly dependent upon what comes, “Directly and Literally” from what Allāh (swt) has said about Himself (swt):

 No human vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all human vision: for He alone is unfathomable, All-Aware. (Sūrah Al-An’ām [Ch.6]:103)

Thus, the function of the absolute zawj (the “Even and the One”), in terms of the polarities that exist, is to prove the truth that Allāh (swt) is truly Unique, with nothing whatsoever that can be compared with Him (swt) and, therefore, His (swt) worship must embrace, in every respect, that unique and incomparable ONENESS and, if that adoration is to be sincere and just, it is vital that it should be to the exclusion of absolutely everything that is comprised in what polarizes to Allāh (swt).

The Arabic term aṣ-ṣamad profoundly expresses the next logical and practical consequence, which flows directly from Allāh (swt) being the ONE. However, aṣ-ṣamad is one of those Arabic terms that poses great challenges, when trying to render it into English.

The Arabic term Aṣ-Ṣamad, in its approximate rendering, embodies the notion of Allāh (swt) as a Single, Unique, Incomprehensible, Independent, Absolute, All-Powerful, Self-Subsisting and Eternal Primal Cause, without which the time-bound created realms of counterpart or counterparts would not exist or continue subsist, and on whom whatsoever exists, and is comprised in what polarizes to the One Allāh (swt), is wholly and totally dependent as the source for its beginning and, being that THE ONE is alsothe“All-Hearing and All-Seeing” Rabb (Lord, Cherisher, Nourisher and Sustainer), to facilitate its continuing survival.

In looking at that extremely rough meaning one can clearly see that it also speaks to the purpose behind Allāh (swt), the One, mentioning in Sūrah Yā Sīn (Ch.36:36) thatHe(swt)khalaqa alazwaja (meaning, created pairs). Muhammad Asad in his “The Message of the Qur’an” an English translation of the Noble Arabic Qur’ān explains that the phrase khalaqa alazwaja is a reference to the polarity (opposites) evident in all the animate and inanimate facets of creation, which expresses itself:

 In the existence of antithetic and yet complementary forces, like the sexuality in human beings, animals and plants, light and darkness, heat and cold, positive and negative magnetism and electricity, the positive and negative charges (protons and electrons) in the structure of the atom, and so forth.

When contemplating the created wonders in nature the men of sound knowledge, insight, wisdom, and judgement, will therefore be able see, and identify Allāh (swt) as exempt from what evidences zawj in the complementary or opposites as animate pair, or pairs, in every created thing whatsoever known to man in his world (which is, the earth produces; in themselves; of the cattle),and of things beyond their knowledge. It is therefore more appropriate to consider in conjunction with each other, the profound and practical effect of the ONE being also aṣ-ṣamad, and the purpose in Allāh (swt)creating pairs(khalaqa alazwaja).

With knowledge and understanding of the significance of Allāh (swt) alone being ONE, and all else are EVEN, as in being comprising in a pair (zawj), the men of sound intelligence and wisdom are on sure and certain foundation for having genuine trust and confidence in Allāh (swt).

The men of insight are aware that the Islāmic Deen.is not founded upon raw emotions. Accordingly, they use the divine gift of intelligence in search of the truth, namely, to become fully aware and conscious that Allāh (swt) is not only truly Unique, with nothing whatsoever that can be compared with Him (swt) but, that the only entity that is, singularly and as the ONE, entitled and deserving of their trust and confidence, and to be genuineingly worshipped to the exclusion of absolutely everything comprised in what polarizes as the opposite to Him (swt).

To solidify and fortify those men of sound intelligence and wisdom with further overwhelming justification for trusting and having confidence in Allāh (swt), they are provided with the reality of Him (swt) being the ONE (swt) and also Aṣ-Ṣamad, from which they are able to draw further and additional āyah, whichevidence and confirm the divine statement (made in Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ (Ch.42: 10-11)that there is “NOTHING WHATSOEVER that is LIKE UNTO Allāh (swt).

The following ’āyat passages are designed to teach and educate human beings about the real source that caused their existence and the function designated to them in having formed them into a pair (zawj) of harmonious genders, male and female. To state the obvious, the divinely expressed purpose behind the polarity in the sexes (a pair) is so that the animated species could be divinely granted the honour of participating in Allāh’s (swt)demonstration of His (swt) phenomenal and unique skill in recreating the species and multiplying them, using the reproductive process and system He (swt) has established.

The ’āyat also serve to provide divine assurance that the same Originator with the creative power that (in furtherance of His (swt) divinely chosen method by which progenitors would multiply and organically perpetuate their kind and likeness in another being) created, and has made evident throughout the universe, the phenomenon of polarity and the two sexes, in humans and in other animated beings, has the power to repeat that feat, as well give life to the dead:

Does Man, then, think that he is to be left to himself (uncontrolled) to go about at will (without a purpose)? Was he not once a [mere] drop of (lowly) sperm that had been spilt, and thereafter became a germ-cell – whereupon He created and formed [it] in (due proportion) accordance with what [it] was meant to be and fashioned out of it the two sexes, the male and the female? Is not He, then; the power and ablity to bring the dead back to life? (Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah [Ch.6] 36-40)

Allāh is my Lord: In Him I trust, and to Him I turn. (He is) the Originator-Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) from among yourselves, and AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) among cattle: BY THIS MEANS DOES HE MULTIPLY YOU: THERE IS NOTHING WHATEVER LIKE UNTO HIM, and He (alone) is the One that is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. (Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42] 10-11)

In total contrast to those matters that are created “Even” in pairs (zawj), Allāh (swt) is Al-Watr, Aḥad  (The One) and Aṣ-Ṣamad.  As such, the intelligent male and female humans are able to distinguish and not confuse Him (swt) with the animated worlds. With the aid of their intelligence they are empowered, inspired and enabled to exalt Allāh (swt) above the evident universal phenomenon of polarity and the “Even” or pair (zawj) – the two sexes (in humans and in other animated beings), because they clearly identify that He (swt) is Aṣ-Ṣamad and has no need for consorts, and Al-Watr and Aḥad (The One) is thus, too Majestic, sublime, powerful, complete and independent to depend on another to beget anyone, nor is He (swt) Himself begotten:

And Exalted is the Majesty of our Rabb (Lord Cherisher and Sustainer): He has taken neither a wife nor a son. – (Sūrah Jinn [Ch.72]: 3)

In the following lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidence, and directives (’āyat), all the above points are again addressed and comprehensively dealt with by Allāh (swt), when He admonishes the human race in this manner:

And He (Allāh swt), it is who has brought you [all] into being out of one living entity, and [has appointed for each of you] a time-limit [on earth] and a resting-place [after death]: clearly, indeed, have We spelled out these messages unto people who can grasp the truth! And He it is who has caused waters to come down from the sky; and by this means have We brought forth all living growth, and out of this have We brought forth verdure. Out of this do We bring forth close-growing grain; and out of the spathe of the palm tree, dates in thick clusters; and gardens of vines, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] so alike, and yet so different! Behold their fruit when it comes to fruition and ripens! Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who will (truly) believe! –and yet, some [people] have come to attribute to all manner of invisible beings   a place side by side with God – although it is He who has created them [all]; and in their ignorance, they have invented for Him sons and daughters Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition: The Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a consort / mate for Him – since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything? (Sūrah Al-An’ām [Ch.6] 98-101)

Evidently, in this noble Deen of Islām, there is indeed, a primary and definite purpose behind the evident and cosmic concept of zawj (the polarity and pairs as in having a counterpart or counterparts) in creation. It is plainly a proliferous ’āyah of the evident presence of the polarity and multiplicity in all animated nature, which Allāh (swt) intends, having established it from the very outset of the Creation Period, and given to Man knowledge, intelligence, and limited authority over the earth, the latter should ponder, contemplate, deliberate, reason and utilize to discover the truth about Allāh (swt).

And so, upon realizing that “there is nothing that could be compared with Him” or “Like unto Him” define, and on becoming fully aware that the concept of begetting, and having progeny, are wholly inconsistent with the sublime exalted Majesty of Allāh (swt) (Sūrah Maryam[Ch.19] 92), and completely remote from Allāh (swt) as Al-Watr, Aḥad (The One) and Aṣ-Ṣamad, the intelligent, wise, sincere, truthful, trustworthy and just (believing men and women) among the human race, will unreservedly illuminate His (swt) Oneness and Absolute Uniqueness.

Armed with that knowledge, they would have also, as they must all do, confirm for themselves the truth about Allāh (swt); as their Rabb (Lord, Creator-Sustainer) and, in hope of their redemption, exalt His profound difference from anything that exists, or could exist, or that the human consciousness, imagination or comprehension could conceive or imagine. They would do this practically by sincerely putting their trust and confidence in Allāh (swt,) by unflinchingly obeying, resigning, submitting and executing whatever is the desire, will and command that reflects Allāh’s (swt) vastly superior, divine knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

• •                Pairing of the Realms

The Cambridge Dictionary defines realm as “an area of interest or activity”, and it would appear this rendering is consistent with the divine approach to the created world. Earlier it was explained that the prevailing cosmic configuration began when Allāh’s (swt) irresistible might prevailed upon theprimordial skies and earth, to form them into a single mass (Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 11). Having formed that single unit of creation, He (swt) then exploded it into measured sections (Sūrah Al-Anbiyāa [Ch.21]:30), which, after two divinely decreed Creation Aeons / Periods / Al-Akhira Creation Days, of unspecified lengths (Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 12), was transformed into the current pair (zawj) of concomitant realms. The Divine division is by no means arbitrary, during that first two Creation Periods (Eons/Days), following the formation of the single primordial unit of creation, the exploded mass was firstly, divinely designed into seven heavens, and then the lower of them was given a special feature:

And He [it is who completed the (exploded sections) and] decreed that they become seven heavens in two (Creation) Aeons / Periods / Days, and He assigned and imparted unto each heaven its function and duty. And We adorned the lower heavens (the skies nearest to the earth) with lights, and (provided it) with guard to made them secure, Such is the decree ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.(Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 12)

Thus, what was deliberately generated by Allāh (swt) out of the seven heavens was the current pair (zawj) of realms, the lower of which He (swt) name Ad-Dunyāa, and the heavens above that are termed Al-Akhirah. In its basic form, the word Al-Akhirah appears 71 times in the Splendid Arabic Qur’ān and 115 times when the word count includes occurrences with prefixes, such as bilakhirati (Sūrah Yusuf [Ch.12]:37). It is derived from the trilateral root “a-kh-r, and it has been rendered to mean “hereafter” are “last“, “other“, “next“, “second” or “to delay“. The word Ad-Dunyāa also appears 115 times in that same noble scripture, and it is a feminine Arabic word that carries the appropriate and literal meaning of either “the one that is connected/related to” or “the closest/closer” or “the lowest/lower”.

It would seem that, the critical components by which to distinguish what constitutes Ad-Dunyāa from Al-Akhirah, is the specific design that is given to that former. What is deduced from what is provided in the aforementioned Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12) passage is that, the region that is designated Ad-Dunyāa has been given and adorned with “lights and what secures” it. However, that is only what they appear to be on their surface. As shall be shown, they too form part of the overwhelming body of Divine guidance and knowledge, which Allāh (swt) intends to benefit the human race, by knowingly imparting His (swt)’āyat (lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives for the human race) in that guise to provoke, and stimulate, the deliberate and conscious use of the human faculty of thought, reasoning and intelligence.

So that one does not become lost amidst the vast but necessary details, one is reminded that this effort is most certainly about the Islāmic concept of Marriage/ Pairs (zawj). However, that marriage cannot and is most definitely not just about merely joining a pair of opposite genders (male and female) of the same kind in a sacred bond. Nor is the dominant element in an Islāmic concept Marriage/ Pairs (zawj) the raw physical act of sexual intercourse.

What has been made abundantly clear is that, Allāh (swt) was “not Begotten”, “Has no consorts” “does not (have sexual intercourse) to beget”, and “has no son(s)” (Sūrah Al-An’ām [Ch.6] 98-101; Sūrah Al-‘Ikhlāaṣ [Ch.112]:1-4). In other words, Allāh (swt) is the “ONE”, and “it is He (swt) who originated “EVEN” – the Islāmic concept of Marriage/ Pairs (zawj) – in order to demonstrate that He (swt) alone is the “ONE”, and “there is none to be compared with Him (swt) nor “like unto Him (swt).So it is then that, to manifestly demonstrate His (swt) absolute Divine power to give life and death, and to reinforce and strengthen the point regarding His (swt) ONENESS, Allāh (swt) gave a design to the components forming a pair (zawj – opposite genders of the same kind), the capacity of performing coitus, and the honor  of participating in the process He (swt) has established to reproduce progenies and multiply the animated aspects of His created realm (see ante, Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42] 10-12; Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah [Ch.6] 36-40).

The question then is, “Of what measure of importance is that ancient pair of realms (Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa), and the lights of Ad-Dunyāa”? What do they have to do with the Islāmic concept of Marriage/ Pairs (zawj)?” A simple answer is that they all stand as a manifest and evident testimony of Allāh’s (swt) providence and wisdom in providing the human race with permanent and enduring natural cosmic ’āyat (lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives for the human race) of the form, nature, structure, and purpose of the Islāmic concept of Marriage/ Pairs (zawj) and the family. What the following expositions are intended to practically illustrate, is the way in which that is indeed the case.

•  Lessons in the Al-Akhirah Ad-Dunyāa Pair (zawj)

In relation to the Islāmic concept of Marriage/Pairs (zawj), two significant ’āyat (teachings   lesson, message, sign, miracle, evidence, and directives) have been identified. The first is that, within the order of things the joining, union or marriage of Ad-Dunyāa to Al-Akhirah is the primal cosmic zawj (the polarity and pairs [as in having a counterpart or counterparts]) in creation. In exactly the same way as the primal Islāmic marriage between Ādam and Ḥawwā’, inthe union or marriage of the realms, it is Ad-Dunyāa that represents the subservient partner, and Al-Akhirah, out of which Ad-Dunyāa was formed, is the dominant metaphorical spouse.

We have it on Divine authority that neither of the two race, JINNs and Man, had been created at the time, and that the creation and pairing of Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa was a mightier accomplishment than the creation and union between the primal male and female human beings:

I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor (even) their own creation: nor is it for Me to take as helpers such as lead (men) astray! (Sūrah Al-Kahf [Ch.18] 51)

What! Are ye the more difficult to create or the heaven (above)? (Allāh) hath constructed it: On high hath He raised its canopy, and He hath given it order and perfection. Its night doth He endow with darkness, and its splendour doth He bring out (with light). (Sūrah Al-Nāaziāat [Ch.79] 27-29)

The opening statement of Sūrah Al-Nāziāt (Ch.79: 27-29) is really a rhetorical question with the suggested obvious answer. For indeed, the creation of the heavens and the earth is not only a feat that is grander and more enduring, but a critical element in this “lesson, teaching, message, sign, miracle, evidence, and directives” (’āyah) is that, as vast as these two realms are and will become (given its continuous expansion), still, that ultimate and awesome zawj is there to evidence that it, like every other zawj (the polarity and pairs [as in having a counterpart or counterparts]) in creation, are all part of  the concept and system of “Even” and zawj were created and established by Allāh (swt). In that respect, they are all inferior to Allāh (swt) as the ONE, with whom they are “not alike” and “cannot be compared with”. Thus, the pair that is Al-Akhirah, and Ad-Dunyāa fulfills the divine purpose for which they were sanctimoniously joined, and, in the reality of their irrisistable pairing or union (zawj), the “lesson, teaching, message, sign, miracle, evidence, and directives” (’āyah) they bear is that, compared to the ONE, Allāh (swt), every zawj (EVEN), that is their equal in greatness or lesser, are themselves a testimony to the inferior and subservient position of they hold. Accordingly, it is for the Khale’ifa and his zawjah (and every party to the human Islāmic marriages) to then follow the example set by that primal married couple, Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa.  The skies and the earth comprised in Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa have, throughout the ages, constantly and continually acted with unflinching obedience, and in an orderly, just, truthful, trustworthy, and submissive manner. They have thereby worshipped Allāh (swt) in the manner in which they have fulfilled the role assigned, and have never been too proud, resistant, unfaithful, unjust or rebellious to their Rabb (Guardian-Lord, Cherisher, and Sustainer):

Seest thou not that to Allāh bow down in (willing submission and) worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth, – the SUN, the MOON, the STARS; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as Allāh shall disgrace, – None can raise to honour: for Allāh carries out all that He wills. (Sūrah Al- Ḥajj [Ch.22]:18)

In addition to the foregoing, the primal pairing or union (zawj) between Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa is of great relevance to the modern Islāmic married couples, because it carries an immense spiritual message regarding function for which the EVEN or zawj (pairs), among the animated creatures, was decreed and established. Earlier, when consideration was given to the Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ (Ch.42: 10-11) ’āyah, it was identified and clearly shown that the express Divine purpose of polarity and pairs (zawj – as in having a counterpart or counterparts) was to provide the divinely designated and legitimate environment for sexual intercourse and reproduction:

Allāh is my Lord: In Him I trust, and to Him I turn. (He is) the Originator-Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) from among yourselves, and AZWĀJAN (PAIRS) among cattle: BY THIS MEANS DOES HE MULTIPLY YOU: THERE IS NOTHING WHATEVER LIKE UNTO HIM, and He (alone) is the One that is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. (Sūrah Ash-Shūra’ [Ch.42]: 10-11)

EVEN, or Marriage, or pair (zawj) and procreation are intricately bound, and it is for this reason Ādam and Ḥawwā’ were not given any freedom of choice but, by divine decree, created as a pair (zawj) and Ḥawwā’ the decreed spouse/wife/helpmate to Ādam. Without being divinely married or paired to one another, and given specific divine permission, the primal parents could not lawfully have sexual intercourse and procreate. But why is the act of sexual intercourse so important, that it commands express divine permission, and the originating and creative knowledge, skill, and wisdom of the ONE, Allāh (swt), to craft a designated arena for it to take place. Evidently, it is the end result; it would trigger the divine law that would set in motion a process, which ultimately calls upon the Creator to decide whether or not to perfect the process, and bring another being into existence. 

The impression is thus given that the establishment of the EVEN or marriage or zawj (pairs), is about sexual intercourse and procreation. However, that is again only on the surface of things. The higher value to which it speaks, and of which it is a reminder, is the Creation Hour/Period/ Al-Akhirah Day when the ultimate EVEN, or marriage, or zawj (pair) between Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa will be brought to an end. In other word, since the purpose of the Islāmic (Even)marriages is to facilitate procreation, the performance of that function is a constant reminder of the Al-Akhirah Period/Cycle/Day of Judgement; through its continual role play and occurrences, human are provided with evident proof that the manner in which the termination of the prevailing concomitant relationship between Al-Akhirah and Ad-Dunyāa will take place and inevitably come to pass.

This latter point is clearly illustrated by the general Qur’ānic parallel, drawn for mankind, between the final stages of maturation, just before the birth of a child, and the divine “Unseen Knowledge” account of the events forming the final metaphorical gestation stages of the period appointed for Planet Earth; and of the realm of Ad-Dunyāa:

Assuredly, what ye are promised must come to pass. Then when the stars become dim; When the heavens is cleft asunder; When the mountains are scattered (to the wind) as dust; When the messengers are appointed a time to collect; To what (Al-Akhirah) Cycle/Period/Day are these (portents) deferred? For the (Al-Akhirah) Cycle/Period/ Day of Sorting Out… Did We not create you out of a humble fluid (held) despicable? -which We then place (and let remain) in a place (the womb) of rest (and safety), firmly fixed for a term pre-ordained (according to need)? for We do determine (according to need); for We are the best to determine (things). (Sūrah Al-Mursalāt [Ch.77]: 20-23)

The allusion here is that planet Earth, and the realm of Ad-Dunyāa, are structured and will operate, after a divinely pre-ordained term, in much the same way as the woman in the final stages of her pregnancy. The details of the ways in which they are similar are many and intricate, and therefore require a separate study. Suffice it to say, that the precise duration of planet Earth’s gestation period is pre-ordained by Allāh (swt), just as He (swt) has pre-determined and knows precisely the moment every individual woman’s gestation period ends:

Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allāh (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allāh is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things) (Sūrah Luqmāan [Ch.31]: 34)

Allāh doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion. (Sūrah Ra’d [Ch.13]: 8)

In both the above ’āyat the lesson being taught to the human race is that the matters specified are unquestionably within Allāh’s (swt) sole purview, knowledge and decision. Besides the All-Knowing ONE (Allāh [swt]), absolutely no one, from the created worlds, can claim to have individual or collective knowledge of: (i) the precise moment that the Al-Akhirah Period/Cycle/Day of Judgement will begin; (ii) the exact measure of rain in each rain cloud, the correct amount that will fall on every occasion and to precisely what particular area of land on Earth is the calculated amount appropriate; (iii) what the crystalized real-time character of every individual, still living in the womb of its mother, will be after having faced life’s challenges and experiences; (iv) the accurate amount of time each female pregnancy (human or otherwise) will gain or fall short of the gestation period; (v) the things and their net worth, that each individual will earn on whatever level in the day or days ahead; and (vi) the exact moment, in what location or structure, and in what country they will die.

A further similarity is that, in the same way the womb carries fetuses that are alive and dead, so too does planet Earth – the human body of every believing (alive) and disbelieving (dead) soul must inevitably return to the soil from which it was made. Then at the precise appointed and fixed time, known only to Allāh (swt), planet Earth, like the pregnant woman who must obey the irresistible call and laws of her body, will begin to experience its natural contractions. Below are the merged passages, in order to present the coherent experience with which women will have a greater appreciation and understanding:

On the (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/Day everything that can be in commotion will be in violent convulsion, Followed by oft-repeated (convulsions) (Sūrah Al-Nāaziāat [Ch.79]: 6-7)

When the earth is shaken to her (utmost) convulsion, (Sūrah Al-Zalzala [Ch.99]: 1)

Hearts that (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/ Day will be in agitation; Cast down will be (their owners’) eyes They say (now): “What! shall we indeed be returned to (our) former state? “What! – when we shall have become rotten bones?” They say: “It would, in that case, be a return with loss!” (Sūrah Al-Nāaziāat [Ch.79]: 8-12)

Verily the (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/ Day of Sorting out is a thing appointed, – (Sūrah Al-Nabāa [Ch.78]: 17)

The (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/Day that the Trumpet (of Resurrection) shall be sounded, for ye shall come forth in crowds; And the heavens shall be opened as if there were doors. (Sūrah Al-Nabāa [Ch.78]: 18-19)

But verily, it will be but a single (Compelling) Cry, When, behold, they will be in the (full) awakening (to Judgment). (Sūrah Al-Nāaziāat [Ch.79]: 8-12)

And the earth throws up her burdens (from within), And man cries (distressed): ‘What is the matter with her?’- On that (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/Day will she declare her tidings: For that thy Lord will have given her inspiration. On that (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the deeds that they (had done). (Sūrah Al-Zalzala [Ch.99]: 2-6)

And the mountains shall vanish,as if they were a mirage. (Sūrah Al-Nabāa [Ch.78]: 20)

It is plain to see how these two matters correlate. As with the childbirth stages of an ordinary woman that experiences repeated contractions and cervical dilation, planet Earth will similarly experience repeated contraction-like convulsions and the lower heavens opening up (like the cervix) as “if it were a door”. Leading up the occurrence of those events, the following cosmic changes are also predicted:

He (man) questions: “When is the (pre-determined Al-Akhirah) Period/Cycle/Day of Resurrection?“…. At length, when the sight is dazed, And the moon is buried in darkness. and the sun and moon are joined together (Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah [Ch.75]: 6-9)

When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up (becoming enshrouded in darkness); When the stars fall, losing their lustre; when the mountains vanish (like a mirage) (Sūrah Al-Tahwir [Ch.81]: 1-3)

 What accounts for those things, in the similitude of woman that is fully engaged in childbirth, are: (i) the fact that, although born with a full visual capacity to see objects and colours, beyond 8-15 inches away, newborns have blurry (“dazed”) vision and, it is said, that they prefer to look at round shapes with light (like the sun) and dark borders (like the Moon perhaps); (ii) the cessation of the womb’s inner lining, which equates the heavenly beauty and wonders inside, when the womb collapses with the fall of the mountain that was the pregnant woman’s belly vanishes “like a mirage”; (iii) the dilation of the cervix, which allows the two worlds (the world inside the mother’s womb and the world in which the mother performs her activities) to merge and, after the mother’s final single compelling cry, the newborn to awake (with its cry) in the metaphorical Al-Akhirah world of the mother. This is strikingly similar to the merging of Ad-Dunyāa back into Al-Akhirah.

Thus, the personal experiences of women, during childbirth, are there as manifest proof of the reality and truth about the Period/ Cycle/Day of Judgement and Sorting out. They serve as a reality screen on which to show, and bring alive, the Arabic Qur’ānic graphics about the process for the Period/ Cycle/Day of Judgement and Sorting out, and the sequence of events at the commencement a new cosmic order that re-establishes Al-Akhirah as the only realm.

Since behind creation of Even/Pair (zawj) and, as a result, the Islāmic marriages, is the divine object of using the capacity of animate creatures to multiply, as part of the “lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives” (’āyat) proving the truth about the Period/ Cycle/Day of Judgement and Sorting out, for that reason alone, one cannot and should never be take the Islāmic marriage lightly. Nor, for that very same reason, should its hierarchical structure, composition, standards and purpose vis-à-vis the spouses be violated constantly, in pursuit of lust and mere physical gratification. With that in mind one can now see the significance in the ONE, Allāh (swt) informing humans that, as with the heavens and on earth, the SUN, the MOON, the STARS;are not too proud to prostrate in worship of the ONE, Allāh (swt). In like manner, men and women of sound knowledge, intelligence, and understanding of the higher spiritual value of the Islāmic marriages will never desist from having trust and confidence, and submitting in worship and servitude to Allāh (swt).

• Lessons in The Sun, The Moon, And Stars

Before venturing to discuss the sun, moon and stars we should remind ourselves of their context. Recall that when the absolute authority, might, knowledge, and wisdom of Allāh (swt) weighed down upon the primordial Al-Akhirah it came toghther in willing obedience to form a single unit (Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 11). No information is provided as to the length in time it took that single unit to be formed, and so it should be read as being superfluous to the body of Divine Guidance decreed by Allāh (swt) to be necessary for human redemption. After that, what took place was that Allāh (swt) shattered that newly formed single ancient realm (Sūrah Al-Anbiyāa [Ch.21]:30), and over the duration of yawmayni (two (2) “Creation Periods” – Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [Ch.41] 12) He (swt) formed firstly, the prevailing seven heavens, and then next, He (swt) gave to the lower of those seven heavens the name Ad-Dunyāa, and some special features that placed it into a concomitant relationship with the new Al-Akhirah.

So as to do away with confusion that arises regarding the term, “Creation Period”, let us remind ourselves that the entire creation took six “Creation Periods”:

Your Rabb (Guardian-Lord Cherisher and Sustainer) is Allāh, Who created the heavens and the earth Fee sittati ayyamin(in six Periods (Eons/Days) (Sūrah Al-‘Arāf [Ch.7]:54)

The Arabic word ayyamin is derived from the root Y-W-M and its masculine noun yawm(the dual is yawmayni, and the pluralis ʾayyām)has been rendered to mean either day or cycle, age, era, period, time, epoch. The former is more applicable to the realm of Ad-Dunyāa, while the latter is more appropriate for the events occurring in Al-Akhirah. The reason for this difference in approach is the fact that, at the inception of the first two Creation Period the seven heavens were being formed, and the lower heavens with its Ad-Dunyāa, could not and did not exist for there to be our current “day”, according to how time is presently calculated. What existed was a different means of reckoning ancient Al-Akhirah’s “Time”, which was and remains a relative concept. Hence the One Thousand Four Hundred and Forty (1,440) year old Magnificent Arabic Qur’ān teaches:

Yet they challenge/ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But Allāh will not fail in His Promise. Verily yawman (Age, Era, Time, Epoch, or a Day) in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (Sūrah Al- Ḥajj [Ch.22]:47)

The angels and the spirit ascend unto Him (Allāh) fee yawmin (in an Age, Era, Period, Cycle, Time, Epoch, or a Day) the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years. (Sūrah Al- Ḥajj [Ch.70]:4)

In that era and realm “Time” was and continues to be measured by the duration of a process or an event, as a result, we are left none the wise as to how long were the two “Creation Aeons / Periods / Epoch /Al-Akhira Creation Days” in truth. Accordingly, there has always been a Divine “Arabic Qur’ānic Concept of The Relativity of Time”, which existed long before Albert Einstein’s special and general scientific theories.

The special features that are given to the lower heavens were clearly designed and intended to distinguish it as a new realm from its Al-Akhirah counterpart. According to Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12), what changed the landscape of the lower heaven was its designation with the new name of Ad-Dunyāa and Allāh’s (swt) adornment of“it…with lights, and (it being provided) with guard that made them secure”.

With the exception of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) exceptional, extraordinary and supernatural “Night Journey” (In Arabic, Al-‘Isrā’ wal-Mirāj”, see Sūrah Al-‘Isrā’ [Ch.17]:1,60; Sūrah Al-Najm [Ch.53]:13-18), no human being has been given the authority, nor do they  have the capacity to go beyond the boundaries of the lower heaven:

O ye assembly of Jinns and men! If it be ye can pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, pass ye! not without authority shall ye be able to pass! (Sūrah Al-Raḥmāan [Ch.55]:33)

In light of that reality, humans cannot speak with any authority about what is at the extremities of the region of Ad-Dunyāa and beyond; that knowledge all forms part of the body of “Unseen Knowledge”, which we are totally dependent on Allāh (swt) to inform us about and to explain. With that understanding, it is from the combined divine Arabic Qur’ānic knowledge, in the preceding quoted passages, that one has derived the Islāmic understanding that, notwithstanding the lower heavens being designated an independent realm, with the presence of the Sun, Moon and Stars for its own particular, independent, and separate method of calculating “time” (Trial Time, see post). it remained connected and has continuing relations to the heavens above it, which are collectively known as Al-Akhirah.

So, the prevailing position is that, despite its relation to Al-Akhirah, the lower heavens were ascribed the status of a separate realm, called Ad-Dunyāa. What gives it its distinguishing features are the two things mentioned in Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12), namely, the presence of the “Guard” to secure it, and “lights”. For the sake of completeness in our knowledge, and so that the human race is not left guessing what specifically those two things are, divine teachings and explanations have been provided. The following are the only Arabic Qur’ānic statements, of which one is aware, offering some measure of explanation about the Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12) “Guard”that made the lower heaven“secure”:

Behold, We have adorned alssamaa (the part of the [seven] heavens that is) Ald-Dunyāa with the beauty of stars, and (guard) have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force, [so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high, but shall be repelled from all sides, cast out [from all grace], with lasting suffering in store for them [in the life to come] but if anyone  does succeed in snatching a glimpse [of such knowledge], he is [henceforth] pursued by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness. (Sūrah Alṣ-Ṣāffāat [Ch.37] 6-10)

‘And we (the rebellious jinns have tried) peering into the secrets of heaven; found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires. We used, indeed, to sit there in (established hidden) stations, to (steal) a hearing; but any who listen now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush. (Sūrah Jinn [Ch.72] 8-9)

Indeed, We have set up in the (lower) heavens great constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold; – and We (guard and) have made them secure against every satanic force accursed so that anyone who seeks to learn [the unknowable] by stealth is pursued by a flame clear to see. (Sūrah Al-Ḥijr [Ch.15] 16-18)

The divine “Unseen Knowledge” in the above preceding ‘ayāt is therefore that the “Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12) “Guard”,of which it speaks, is not that of strengthening physical structure of Ad-Dunyāa. Rather, it is the type of “guard” that is there for security measures; to protect the secrets in Al-Akhirah from the snooping ears of the expelled rebellious jinns. How they are described (rebellious and accursed tānic force), the places they are able to access (regions of the heavens), and how they are dealt with as intruders (pursued by stern guards and flaming fires clear to see), all points to them being creatures that have flying capabilities.

As regards the “lights”, specificity is provided in the divine teachings and explanations in the following passages:

“‘Do you not see how Allāh has created seven heavens one above another in full harmony with each other, and has set up within (the lower of) them the moon as a light [reflected] and set up the sun as a [radiant] lamp? (Sūrah Nūḥ [Ch.71] 15-16)

Your Rabb (Guardian-Lord Cherisher and Sustainer) is Allāh, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Periods (Eons/Days), and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil o’er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the SUN, the MOON, and the STARS, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allāh, the Rabb (Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer) of the worlds! (Sūrah Al-‘Arāf [Ch.7]:54)

He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the SUN, the MOON, and the STARS are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who use their reason (intelligence) and are wise. (Sūrah An-Naḥl [Ch.16]:12)

Seest thou not that to Allāh bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth, – the SUN, the MOON, the STARS; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as Allāh shall disgrace, – None can raise to honour: for Allāh carries out all that He wills. (Sūrah Al-Ḥajj [Ch.22]:18)

By all account and without any doubt whatsoever, the Sūrah Fuṣṣilat (Ch.41: 12) “lights” of the lower heavens, which is labelled Ad-Dunyāa, is made up of our SUN, MOON, and the STARS. What ignites them as matters of great interest is not only the fact that they too reflect the concept of “pair” or polarity, but because, in above quoted ‘ayāt from Sūrah An-Naḥl (Ch.16:12), after educating mankind as to why they are able to benefit from the Night, Day, Sun, Moon and Stars, we have the highly instructive statement, “verily in this are ‘AYĀT for men who use their reason (intelligence) and are wise”. What is clearly expressed in the words here is that, the divine guidance, intended for the edification and redemption of men and women from the Hell fire, upon the rational and wise, can only be seen, acquired and understood if a person complies with the base divine instructions in Sūrah Al-‘Imrān (Ch.3:191), whilst using their reason and intelligence and restraining the vain desires from causing them to swerve, distort and refrain from doing justice.

It is not for man to impute his own vain and theoretical ideas as to the real object behind the created world, nor should men and women, in ignorance or out of laziness, simply assume that there is no meaning to life, or the created things, save to eat, drink and survive. The inevitable truth and reality is that they did not create themselves or the surroundings, and that they have some measure of intelligence is evidence and self-evident proof that there must exist a source which is Al-Watr and Aḥad (“The One”) and Aṣ-Ṣamad (“The Source”) of the entire cosmic knowledge and wisdom. A logical corollary of that is that Al-Watr and Aḥad (“The One”) and Aṣ-Ṣamad (“The Source”) is Allāh (swt) and the Originator and Creator of the wonders of creation.  What those intelligent and wise people are therefore required to do is, with the object of unearthing, determining and establishing Allāh’s (swt) real purpose, to always keep Him (swt) in mind, while contemplating and investigating all or any of the wonders of creation.

Investigating and contemplating the primordial created realm, in search of the pure understanding of the origin of Even/Pair (zawj), and thus the Islāmic marriage, has also led to the unearthing of it in the presence and active relationship between the Sun, Moon and Stars. The question then is, ‘what is there for humans to learn from the existence and the independent operations, and or collective relationships, of those cosmic matters, so as to better their conduct, strengthen in a real and significant way their knowledge of the purpose of the Islāmic marriage, as a divine redemptive lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives (’āyat)?’

In looking at the human surroundings in the “Naturally Created Things and Worlds” the presence, function and operation of the sun, moon and the stars, in all probability, provide the purest similitude. It will be shown that it further expounds upon the Islāmic marriage as a divinely created institution with a fixed and decreed structure, which speaks most appropriately to the functional relationship between male and female human beings, the standard of obedience and the level and quality of the submission that is expected of them to realize the purpose of the Islāmic marriage and Deen.

Some of the ‘ayāt in that speak to those subjects were quoted above to explain the Splendid Arabic Qur’ānic reference to “Lights”. Others run as follows:

He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant light and the moon a light [reflected], and has determined for it phases so that you might know how to compute the years and to measure [time]. None of this has Allāh created without [an inner] truth. (Thus) doth He clearly spell out these ‘ayāt (messages, signs) in detail unto people of [innate] knowledges who understand. (Sūrah Yūnus [Ch.10]:5)

By the Sun and his (glorious) splendour (brightness); By the Moon as she follows him (Sūrah Alsh-Shams [Ch.91]:1-2)

The number of months in the sight of Allāh is TWELVE (in a year)- so ordained by Him the Creation Cycles/Period/ Epoch He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred: that is the straight usage. So wrong not yourselves therein, and fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together. But know that Allāh is with those who are conscious of Allāh and restrain themselves. (Sūrah Alt-Tawbah [Ch.9]:36)

Allāh is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the ‘ayāt (lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives) in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer. (Sūrah Al-Ra’d [Ch.13]:2)

When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; When the stars fall, losing their lustre; … When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like);… When the scrolls are laid open; when the world on High is unveiled; When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat; and when the Garden is brought near;- Then) shall each soul know what it has put forward. (Sūrah Al-Takwir [Ch.81]:1-2,7,10-12)

There are plainly several levels of knowledge and guidance about the Islāmic marriage in the above and the other ‘ayāt that will be referred to. But, before considering those points it is absolutely imperative that it is not forgotten that the standpoint from which things are being explained, is while the reader is standing at the end of the first two Creation Cycles/Period/ Epoch, when the creation of the seven heavens had just been completed, and the creation of Man was a thing still far, far, far off in the Al-Akhirah future “Time”.

Even at that point in time, the most strikingly manifest and obvious guidance, is the similitude between ranking, structure and relationship between the sun and the moon, to that of the future ranking, structure and relationship that would become established between the two persons (nafs) that would be the Khalēefa and his zawj. How the Arabic term Nafs is arrived at will be explained later, it suffices that it is the singular of the plural Anafus, and it literally means, “self” or “ego” or “a separate and independent person” (comprising the material and spiritual aspects of the human race).

Superlative Arabic Qur’ānic evidence is that, since the Creation Aeon / Period / Epoch /Al-Akhira Creation Day that Allāh (swt) created the heavens and the earth (Sūrah Alt-Tawbah [Ch.9]:36), the sun has been commissioned as the principal source of light in the heavens. This is representative of the Khalēefaship position it holds in that cosmic structure. It clearly plays the lead role in the decreed physical and spiritual aspects of its singular divine cosmic objective, to which the moon, being a zawj of like nature, plays a supportive marital role. That unitary divine cause is the cosmic demonstration of obedience and submission to Allāh (swt), and the consequential physical and spiritual enduring benefits. These two things are achieved through their ordinary operations in fulfilling their cosmic functions, namely, to enable Man to:

1. determine their phases so that they might know how to compute the years, and to measure [time],(Sūrah Yūnus [Ch.10]:5), and
2. believe with certainty in the meeting with his Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer. (Sūrah Al-Ra’d [Ch.13]:2)

It ought not appear strange, to anyone, that the sun, moon and stars are, by reason of the manner in which they operate, and fulfil their designated purposes, the divine cosmic example of how human Islāmic marriages should be conducted. The instructive fact is, that the Originator and Creator that has decreed for the sun and the moon their respective functions, orbital courses, order in rank, structure and relationship in the cosmos, (and controls all of that through His (swt) laws) would be the same Originator and Creator of Man, and who has control over the destiny of every person, male and the female alike. So, it is in anticipation of the creation of Man, the establishment of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage, and subjecting humans to systematic trials, that Allāh (swt) formulated polarity and zawj (pair or pairs), and, so that they are not left without a perfect template as a guide, He (swt) has set in place in the lower heavens the Sun, Moon and Stars, whose operation in fulfilling their divinely ordained functions would serve as the optimum, in similitude, for a successful Islāmic marriage and family life. Indeed, Allāh (swt) has invited the human race to ponder and deliberate those heavenly phenomena, and it is with reference to their unencumbered obedience and submission to the divine laws that control and regulate them, that He (swt) has said, “verily in this are ‘AYĀT for men who use their reason (meaning, their intelligence and are wise in their judgements)”.

The foregoing is thus the rationale behind contemplation of the primordial context of the Sun, Moon and Stars. What has been observed is that they are intricately connected and integral components to the lower heavens and Ad-Dunyāa. In metaphorical terms, the Sun, Moon are the cosmic zawj (pair/spouses), while the Stars represent their children, hence the divine biblical statement:

And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.(Gen.22:15-18)

Since it is Allāh’s (swt) expressed regal assurance, and Islāmic teachings, that the liqawmin ya’aqiloona (men and women who use reason and intelligence) will learn and benefit from observing the Sun, Moon and Stars, naturally, if what a person is observing in the skies are the behaviors of a figurative married couple, and their children, common sense dictates that the ’āyat (lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives) in them would also pertain to the impending establishment of the Islāmic Institution of Marriage among humans. Plainly, the divine guidance and lessons in the ’āyat,carried by the Sun, Moon and Stars, must be of tremendous importance, weight and value. Had it not been so, Allāh (swt) would not go to such great lengths in establishing this mighty Ad-Dunyāa structure to contain them, and to then personally secure them with laws under His (swt) direct command and control.

Two obvious and significant points are the lessons in what it takes for an Islāmic Marriage to: (i) withstand the tests in the circumstances that evidence the passage of Trial Time; and (ii) be in a continual and long-lasting state of Sakinah – This is an Arabic word that denotes a concentrated, deep, and penetrating qualitative state of “beauty, rest, harmony, peace, calmness, honour, tranquility, repose, happiness, felicity and being well-proportioned”.

Adhering to the Glorious Arabic Qur’ānic guidance involves active deliberation upon its divine Unseen Knowledge.  What will undoubtably be seen, by those who are indeed sincerely rational, is the constant and enduring nature of the outpouring in knowledge, in wisdom, and in the benefits, received by humans as a result of the Sun, Moon and Stars’ cosmic obedience and submission to the laws and commands of Allāh (swt). That inundation was made possible because, from the onset of ancient pre-Earth Al-Akhirah creation era, the Sun, Moon and Stars were endowed, by their Creator, with the ability to speak and teach through the language of evident similitudes in their nature, function and mode of operation (herein after called, the “Essence Language”).

The expressed purpose of that mercy and gift of the Essence Language, says Allāh (swt) in His Glorious Arabic Qur’ān (Sūrah An-Naḥl [Ch.16]:12) is to teach, educate and guide, those members of the human race who reason soundly and aspire to be instructed by the absolute and unparalleled superior intelligence of the Creator. How they are taught is through the continual physical presence of the Sun, Moon and Stars, and in them being an active and enduring cosmic example of yet another polarity that contrasts the benefits humans receive in using their limited freedom of choice and will, in lusting after the ephemeral created things.

Using the Essence Language, Allāh (swt) is able to instruct humans throughout the ages, that there is an alternative to the vain and whimsical way in which spouses conduct their marriages. Instead of pursuing what is transitory, they are shown in the Essence Language of the Sun, Moon and Stars that there is greater wisdom in aspiring and striving for those created things, the real and lasting benefits of which will only flow to persons if they are: (i) unconditional in the acceptance of a trust; (ii) truthful, trustworthy, and dutiful to the trust terms and purpose; and (iii) accepting and submissive, unconditionally, to whatever is dictated to be the resultant effect of the operation of the divine commands and laws. It is in this way that divine proof is provided that the created worlds are far from being purposeless and a meaningless pastime. There is the physical aim in enabling humans to use the Sun, Moon and Stars determine their phases and to measure time(Sūrah Yūnus [Ch.10]:5), as well as the spiritual benefit in the knowledge that polarity and pair /pairs in counterparts strongly suggest accountability, and thus great certainty in the meeting the Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer. (Sūrah Al-Ra’d [Ch.13]:2) of the proven mercy and benefits enjoyed by human beings.

The brutal and unquestionable fact is that with the Sun, Moon and Stars,which serve and demarcate the realm of Ad-Dunyāa, the lower heavens was designated a cosmic clock. This designated material function allows it to acquire two principal exemplary features, that will prove priceless to spouses to the Islāmic Marriage. These qualities are: (i) Its unrestrained cosmic obedience and submission to the divine laws and commandsof Allāh (swt), which is critical for it to work with constant and continuous precision, without the slightest change; and (ii) As a direct consequence of point (i), a guaranteed boundless, constant and enduring state of intense Sakinah (This is an Arabic word that denotes, “a concentrated, deep, and penetrating qualitative, balanced and well-proportioned state of beauty, rest, harmony, peace, calmness, honour, tranquility, repose, happiness, and felicity”);”. What is divinely expounded in the following passage is that it is not possible to capture, with the human eyes, ears and words, the real-time intense Sakinah state of the lower heavens. As a result, when gazing at the lower heavens, it causes the observer’s physical and inner sight to become overwhelmed, discomforted, and worn out:

Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power; He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving; He Who created the seven heavens one above another: No want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allāh) Most Gracious. So, turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw? Again, turn thy vision a second time: (thy) vision will come back to thee dazzled, dull and discomfited, in a state worn out. (Sūrah Al-Mulk [Ch.67]:1-4)

The conclusion reached is that the Sun, Moon and Stars, individually and as a collective body or system, provides the enduring and significant divine guide, and example, regarding the divinely decreed and accepted structure, operation, and purpose of the Islāmic Marriage. The allusion is that the Creator has established the Essence Language as the means of global communication with human beings, regardless of language, culture or tribe, who are rational and keen to acquire profound knowledge and understanding of the: (i) divinely determined and decreed structure of the Islāmic Marriage; (ii) purpose of it; (iii) nature and quality of the relationship they are to have; (iv) Islāmic social positions, function, and order in rank for the male and female respectively; and (v) optimum attitude are theyto adopt regarding the laws and guidance that Allāh (swt) has deemed it necessary to ordain, to regulate them in the execution and fulfilment of their all affairs. With the object of unearthing, learning, and drawing on the divine spousal template principles that are locked into Sun, Moon and Stars, so that they can be applied to the Islāmic Marriages here on planet Earth, mankind has at its disposal the Essence Language.With it, the future children of Ādam will be able to ponder, learn and better understand from the cosmic similitudes regarding the structure for the marital pair, the functional arrangements, the relationship they are to have with to each other, the manner and standard to be applied when auctioning and completing their respective trust obligations, and the causal consequences of being dutiful in their actions and operations in fulfilling the intended divine marital purpose.