MARITAL PRE-REQUISITES
5.1 GENERAL
What we have in the previous chapter are some of the finer details and significant lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, and directives (’āyat) in the Excellent Arabic Qur’ān, regarding the ancient physical form of the primal nafs before it became a living moving entity. Everything about the human material form was appropriately crafted to meet the requirements of Allāh’s (swt) Divine Will and Qadr and what was intended for it within His (swt) Creation Plan.
The Magnificent Arabic Qur’ān has also made it quite plain that, because of the Qadr of Allāh (swt), that is to say, His (swt) overriding Divine power to determine the destiny of everything, well before its creation, there was a designated role that was divinely selected for the ancient original human nafs, namely, to function as Allāh’s (swt) Khalēefa of the“earth”.
To understand what logically followed Qadr of Allāh (swt) in making that divine judgement, it is necessary to grasp the meaning of the Arabic word “Khalēefa”. The lexical meaning of the term is “a deputy, vicegerent or ruler’s representative”. That being so, that rendering serves to indicate that:
- the holder of the office of Khalēefa would have a direct and personal relationship with Allāh (swt); and
- the nature of the office is one in which the Khalēefa:
- Is not the true Ruler or Owner of the subject or subject matter over which he is to deputize;
- Would be required to have knowledge, articulate speech and intelligence to be a befitting deputy, vicegerent or representative of Allāh (swt), The Sovereign Universal Ruler;
- Would require express and very plain instructions and guidance as to the “Prime and Fundamental Directive” that is the Will of Allāh (swt), and, to achieve accurate compliance, be created and moulded as an automaton or, alternatively, be given the appropriately moulded form with faculties and a limited freedom in choice and will as regards executing and enforcing the Divine Will;
- Would require delegated authority and powers for the holder to act as Allāh’s (swt) deputy and representative in the management and administration of the affairs of the subject of his duties and responsibilities;
- Would be occupying a position of trust; and
- Would inevitably be faced with the practical issues and difficulties, if allowed any measure of freedom to choose and will regarding the discharge of the obligations attendant upon of that office, and would need time, mercy, forgiveness, and kindness, to meet and apply the divine standards (basically, proving himself to be truthful, trustworthy and just), and account for any failure in meeting those standards.
Given that it is Allāh (swt) who originated and expressly applied the term Khalēefa (Sūrah Al-Baqarah [Ch.2]:30) to the intended new and orginal Nafs (Ādam), that, by and in and of itself, is clearly an allusion that intended to show that He (swt) was cognizant of what He (swt) would be expecting of the ancient and all subsequent Nafs. Allāh’s (swt) providence would have also made Him (swt) aware that members of the human race, having suddenly become awake to their own existence in unfamiliar surroundings, would wonder about their position; they would want to know what is the truth regarding their origin, prime directive, manner in which they are to conduct themselves, and the purpose or end to which the life is directed.
So, in order not to leave people conjecturing, the Unseen Knowledge in Superb Arabic Qur’ān, has expressly stated, by way of a reminder of what was the known ancient position, that the intended primal relationship and function of the Nafs was to submit in obedience and servitude to the Desire, Will and Commands of Allāh (swt), while acting as His (swt) Khalēefa of the “earth”.
It is evident from the Arabic Qur’ānic information, and the human experience, that of the two methods of achieving compliance, it was the Qadr of Allāh (swt) that all human nafs would be afforded, not just a form that is optimumly moulded with the essential capacities, but also the capabilities of motion as a life form, to allow for its exercise of a limited freedom in discretion and will, as regards executing and enforcing the Divine Will.
5.2 THE PRIMAL BIO-CHEMICAL FORM OF NAFS
The practicalities as to how the Khalēefa of the “earth” would operate is a critical component of the Divine scheme, and clearly a matter that falls squarely within the ambit of the Qadr of Allāh (swt).
As was explained earlier, it is the expressed statement and wonderful guidance in the Glorious Arabic Qur’ān,that the very first human nafs was created out of the dust of (dark) clay and water, formed into mud and shaped liked unto pottery. That originating, forming, designing and shaping of the physical body was in accordance with the predestined Divine Command/Decree and Law (Qadr) of Allāh, which resulted and produced the “best, most just, most favorably balanced, and optimum fitra mould and structure”. It therefore became a befitting part of the then existing pre-Earth truth and reality, and a most appropriate mould for use in the creation and reproduction of all subsequent human nafs:
Surely, We have created man in the best (optimum) structure (mould/conformation); Sūrah Alt-Tēen (Ch. 95:4)
What is made abundantly plain in the Magnificent Arabic Qur’ānic ’ayāt of Allāh (swt), is that the divine scheme did not involve creating automatons. Neither of the two races, the JINNs and Man, were created in a state whereby they were under strict compulsion, and total divine control such that they were void of any freedom of choice and independent will (Sūrah Al-Baqarah [Ch.2]:256). On the contrary, the Qadr of Allāh (swt) and the evident divine intention was to create, and establish, a meritorious structure, one in which the participants would be divinely given certain essential, practical, physical, spiritual, and intellectual prerequisites. What is therefore being alluded to in the Divine Guidance in the above ’ayāt, is the practical manner in which the scheme would operate, and precise tool with which merits or demerits could be acquired.
So as to facilitate the performance of their functions and completion of their Sūrah Adth-Dthāriyāt (Ch.51:56) prime directive and life time obligation (to freely and voluntarily be a genuine ’abudullāh), that very same Qadr of Allāh (swt) manifested in the purposeful fitra/fitrah design, shape, and human material mould. That form was equipped with the physical mechanical capability to reproduce and provided with certain beneficial and meaningful gifts in the guise of the faculties for hearing, sight, and afidah.
The net effect of that fulfilment of Allāh’s (swt) predestined Divine Command/Decree and Law (Qadr), is that it gave to each individual JINN and human nafs personally (Not to Allāh (swt) or Shay’tān), authorization and the potential to utilize those very same prerequisites, to freely determine, select and will, for themselves, the moral quality in the action they are compelled to make in each moment’s state. However, it is of dire importance to the understanding of the providential greatness of Allāh (swt), because at that stage in the development of the human race, all that the Qadr of Allāh (swt) had brought about was simply a motionless/lifeless bio-chemical form. The condition of the primal material nafs at that point in its evolution would have been akin to being in a state of sleep (the lesser state of death):
And among His ’ayāt is your sleep by night and day, and your seeking of His bounty. In that surely are ’ayāt for a people who listens/hear. (Sūrah Al-Rūm [Ch.30]:24)
And He it is Who has made the night a covering for you, and Who has made sleep for rest, and has made the day for rising up. (Sūrah Al-Furqān [Ch.25]:48)
Allāh takes away the souls of each nafs at the time of their death; and during their sleep of those also that are not yet dead. And then He retains those against which He has decreed death, and sends back the others till an appointed term. In that surely are ’ayāt for a people who reflect. (Sūrah Al-Zumar [Ch.39]:43)
The Glorious Arabic Qur’ānic evidence is that there was a staged creation process of the primal human nafs (in pre-Earth Al-Akhira). Why that information is significant and beneficial to the human race is that it serves to illuminate the divine providence of Allāh (swt), and why He (swt) alone is deserving of sincere worship, and why it is just that humans should cultivate a condition of Imaan. This latter Arabic word denotes a manifest state leading to the placing of unfettered trust and confidence in Allāh (swt), because of His (swt) Divine Providence and other absolute Divine Attributes. Merely creating a motionless/lifeless bio-chemical form that was endowed with bodily organs (the ears, eyes and afidah) from which there was no immediate benefit, was therefore a majestic demonstration of the greatness of Allāh (swt), when it comes to infinite and detailed planning.
So, although primal human nafs was at first a motionless and lifeless bio-chemical structure that was endowed with ears, eyes and afidah, at some point in time in the future, when the nafs is activated to become a moving living creature, all the potentials of of that composition would become obvious, useful and valuable.
It is the same principles of Divine Providence, and why it is absolutely just that every human being should have Imaan that is clearly being expounded in wonderful guidance in Sūrah Al-Naḥl (Ch.16:78) of the prevailing Arabic Qur’ān, which provides that every human being is created, and comes from their mother’s womb, knowing nothing. There is a difference in the creation process between, the stage at which the primal human nafs was a motionless/lifeless bio-chemical form and a child that is born from its mother’s womb, and this will be considered in the next subsection.
The Islāmic position however, based upon the allusion in the following Arabic Qur’ānic ‘ayāh, is that there is a similarity between the ancient pre-Earth Al-Akhira process in creating out of clay and the reproductive embryonic development in the womb:
That is the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Exalted in Might, the Merciful, He Who created everything in the best way and He began the creation of man from clay. Then He caused the procreation of his posterity out of the quintessence of a fluid despised/disdained. Then He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed of His spirit/soul (created by Allāh for that person) into him; and He gave you hearing (ears), sight (eyes) and afidah. Little thanks do you give! (Sūrah Al-Sajdah [Ch.32]:6-9)
What is implied and made clear in the above passage is the parallel between both the two types of creation process that is mentioned. It depicts plainly that the first stage in both cases is the creation and moulding, out of clay or sperm (the latter being “the essences of a despised fluid”), of a lifeless bio-chemical form. This point is fortified by the modern scientific opinions and in the ensuing ḥadith of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh).
The scientific consensus is that, by the end of the first trimester (the third month,about 90 days) of the gestation period, the fetus of your new offspring is fully formed. The eyes begin to develop from the third week to the tenth week. By the fifth week the embryoblast comprises two layers, the epiblast (ectoderm), and the hypoblast (endoderm). The epiblast will differentiate into the three primary germ layers which are formed as three overlapping flat discs of the embryo, from which all the structures and organs of the body will be derived.
The three primary germ layers are the top layer — the ectoderm — that will give rise to the outermost layer of skin, central and peripheral nervous systems, eyes, and inner ears the outermost layer of skin, central and many connective tissues. Late in the fourth week in the human embryo, at its cranial end, the superior part of the embryonic neural tube bends ventrally to develop the three flexures (swellings) that form the primary brain vesicles. These vesicles form the future forebrain (prosencephalon), midbrain (mesencephalon), and hindbrain (rhombencephalon).
The middle layer of cells — the mesoderm– is responsible for the bones, ligaments, kidneys, heart and a primitive circulatory system, and much of the reproductive system.
The third and inner (lower) layer –the endoderm– will form the lung, thyroid and digestive cells.
By the eighth week (six weeks after conception) fetal development would have taken place with the lower limb buds taking on the shape of paddles, the fingers, external ears, eyes and nose taking form and becoming obvious, the heart beat becoming detectable. At the start of the second trimester (the fourth month) the reproductive organs and genitalia are present, fully developed and will continue to mature in order to become functional.
While the modern scientific statements appear to be more detailed, they are still consistent with the ancient Islāmic truth. They are not, in substance, significantly different from the statement made by the “Unlettered Messenger” and desert Arab, Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), some 1400 years earlier. In the proceeding ḥadith, that Messenger of Allāh (pbuh)asserted that, in approximate terms, after conception and over the first 120 days of the gestation period, there is a three-cycle process, during which each new bio-chemical structure (the fetus) is formed:
Abdullah bin Mas’ud) reported that Allāh’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) who is the most truthful (of the human beings) and his being truthful (is a fact) said: Verily your creation is on this wise. The constituents of one of you are collected for forty days in his mother’s womb in the form of blood, after which it becomes a leach-like clot of blood in another period of forty days. Then it becomes a lump of flesh and forty days later (if He wishes to complete the creation) Allāh sends His angel to it with instructions concerning four things, so the angel writes down his livelihood, his death, his deeds, his fortune and misfortune. By Him, besides Whom there is no god, that one amongst you acts like the people deserving Paradise until between him and Paradise there remains but the distance of a cubit, when suddenly the writing of destiny overcomes him and he begins to act like the denizens of Hell and thus enters Hell, and another one acts in the way of the denizens of Hell, until there remains between him and Hell a distance of a cubit that the writing of destiny overcomes him and then he begins to act like the people of Paradise and enters Paradise. (Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim Book Number 033, Ḥadith Number 6390)
It was mentioned above that the prevailing scientific understanding is that, by the fourth month of the pregnancy, the reproductive organs and genitalia are present, and will continue to develop in order to become fully operational in the future. The same was also true of the design of the lifeless bio-chemical primal human form. The original, and every subsequent nafs, was not some useless junk that, when an attempt is made to put it into action, would prove incapable of operating and performing its tasks effectively and efficiently.
It was created with all the optimum necessary internal and external bio-chemical elements, and then moulded into the shape that, when activated, would enable it to maneuver, exercise its talents, and be a practical and useful everyday-operating system that is capable of efficiently fulfilling its divinely given purpose, and shoulder total responsibility for its every words, decisions and actions. The Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) ’ayāh explains that Allāh (swt) “fashioned him (Ādam) in due proportion”. This statement is meant to enlighten about the three stages in the process of creating a functional human being. Whether the divine skill exercised is in creating by using the dust of clay and water or through the reproduction system, evidently, the first stage in that creation process will come to an end, when the lifeless material body is “fashioned in due proportion”.
By that is not meant that every lifeless bio-chemical created structure is made flawless. The Wonderful Arabic Qur’ānic evidence is that Allāh (swt) knowingly created it with a weakness in its physical aspects, namely the flesh (Sūrah Al-Nisā’ [Ch.4]: 28), which has made it prone to act in haste and niggardly when evil touches it (Sūrah Al-Ma’ārij [Ch.70]: 19-20).
What it does mean however, is that before the lifeless physical form can become fully functional, and for Allāh (swt) to complete it for what He (swt) intends it to be, it must attain excellence on several levels. Every nafs is bound to be optimum in shape, precisely measured, well ordered, justly and acutely balanced, and meet the all standards in its fitra/fitrah which, in truth, makes it a fitting part of the pre-existing cosmic reality. To that end, among the enabling assets decreed, given and moulded into the form were: (i)) the faculties of hearing, seeing, and al-fuād (Sūrah Al-Isrā’ [Ch.17]: 36); (ii) the capacity for articulate speech; (iii) the capability of exercising a limited freedom of choice and will (Sūrah Al-Insān [Ch.76]: 2-3); and (iv) its fitra/fitrah standards that would give it a bias towards what is truthful and justly balanced (Sūrah Al-Infitār [Ch.82]: 7).
In addition, so that the nafs is capable of functioning in the manner intended under the Divine scheme, and is worthy of representing Allāh (swt), to the aforementioned gifts would be added the faculty to reason, the capacity to desire, a limited freedom of choice, and the power to will actions. The “Unseen Knowledge” provided by Allāh (swt), of the ancient creation events of the primal human nafs, in their correct chronology, shows quite clearly that all those gifts existed, and were operational immediately after the creation of that first material human body, Ādam. It was therefore ready to be processed at the next level; that is to say, it was of the requisite standard of excellence for Allāh (swt) to “breath into it, the spirit/soul” created by Allāh (swt) for that person, to perfect and complete him.
This next stage of the divine creation process actually begins with some “unseen” activities leading up the actual “breathing of the spirit/soul” into the lifeless corporeal body. But, before looking at those events, it is important to remind ourselves and have a very sharp and comprehensive picture of where we are in this effort.
At the stage in the creation process, just before the Rūuḥ (spirit/soul) is breathed into the primal human, all that exists was a material form with certain built-in capabilities. For a functional and meaningful relationship to exist between Allāh (swt) and His creation, or between the two opposite genders of the human race in an Islāmic Marriage, the human factors in those relationships must be capable of motion, possess knowledge and be able to understand, apply and communicate it effectively, as well as be able to interact with the other entity in the relationship on many different levels. Therefore, a reason for edifying humans about what this second stage of the creation process is, is to expound upon the method by which all those things are achieved on a practical plane, and of the dire and critical importance of the force that enables it.
The matters necessarily prior to the “breathing of the spirit/soul” into the lifeless bio-chemical form are taken up in the earlier quoted ḥadith of the Holy Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh), narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud). Recall that it provides that, 120 days after conception, “Allāh sends His angel to it (the material that was moulded, liken unto pottery) with instructions concerning four things”. So, the angel writes down his livelihood, his death, his deeds, his fortune (whether he will be blessed) and misfortune (whether he will be wretched), then the soul is breathed into him. (Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim Book Number 033, Ḥadith Number 6390) (Ṣaḥiḥ Bukhari Book Book Number 54, Ḥadith Number 430).
The Marvelous Arabic Qur’ān has also provided, in the proceeding terms, a metaphor bearing a similar import:
And it is He (Allāh swt) Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed. (Sūrah Al-‘Arāf [Ch.7]: 57)
It is Allāh Who sends forth the winds, so that they raise up the Clouds, and We drive them to a land that is dead, and revive the earth therewith after its death: even so (will be) the Resurrection! (Sūrah Al-Fātir [Ch.35]: 9)
Very briefly, what we have as symbolisms in the above ’ayāt, are: (i) the “wind”, which carries information, and is thereby an allusion to the information that is sent down by Allāh (swt); (ii) the “Rain-laden cloud”, which is a reference to weight of the responsibility borne by the angels in carrying the “Rūuḥ ” for the particular individual, and the record of Allāh’s (swt) advance knowledge of the intricate details of each person’s life and what they will merit in the end; (iii) the “Rain” in those contexts is the metaphorical spirit/soul (Rūuḥ ); and (iv) the “Land” represents the lifeless (“dead”) bio-chemical form (the body made from clay or the fetus) that becomes alive, functional, and capable of reproducing, when the rain/spirit/soul is caused to mingle in a divinely decreed union with the hitherto “dead” land.
Every wind is by divine decree and the Qadr of Allāh (swt), and every rain drop is irresistibly joined to a specific and decreed patch of land. It should also be noted from the above ḥadith that all what is written and recorded regarding each creation, is done while it is a fetus, still in the womb of its mother. The effect of these two pieces of information is that, if one is not careful, they will come away with the incorrect understanding about the Qadr of Allāh (swt), and how it applies to the exercise of the individuals limited freedom of choice and, as a corollary, their success in Deen and the Islāmic Marriage.
Within the current Divine creation scheme, there is not a person, living or dead, male or female, that was not created by Allāh (swt). To that extent, it is definitely the correct understanding of the sense in the above Sūrah Al-Fātir (Ch.35: 9) ‘Ayāh,and the ḥadith, that the grant of life and death, the time and timing of those two things, what forms the contents of time and space in between those two events and one’s gender are all within and determined by Allāh (swt); the Cause, Originator, and Ultimate Irresistible Force that decrees and determines those matters. That is what is meant by, the Arabic term, Qadr of Allāh (swt).
But what is the Qadr of Allāh (swt) is quite distinct from the making and moulding of the qualitative nature of individual’s consciousness, character, and conduct – these are accommodated, entertained and indulged. However, the success in Deen, and of a person’s Islāmic Marriage are not the subject of the Qadr of Allāh (swt). The benefits in being All-Knowing is that Allāh (swt) is able to record and forward plan, in advance, how the matters known are to be managed in order to maintain justice, order and balance. To expound and crystalize the understanding, the Qadr of Allāh (swt) is used to manage His comprehensive knowledge and understanding about the past, present and future of things:
When the Event inevitable cometh to pass, Then will no (soul) entertain falsehood concerning its coming.— And ye shall be sorted out (divided) into three groups (classes): (i) Then (there will be) the Companions of the Right Hand;- What will be the Companions of the Right Hand? (ii) And the Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand? (iii) And those Foremost (in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter). (Sūrah Al-Wāqi’ah (Ch.56: 1-2,7-10)
As a direct result, without causing any cosmic disturbance and injustice, the Qadr of Allāh (swt) is used to determine in what era (the earlier or later times) and during what precise period of the epoch, what individuals and however many of the people in each of the three groups (the highly successful, moderately effective, and those that will fail in Deen), should be given life and precisely when each person is to die, so that the proportion and balance in the cosmos is maintained, and continuity is assured.
In short, it is the Qadr of Allāh (swt) that has dictated that, of those who respond to the mercy and kindness of Allāh (swt), by freely exercising their limited freedom of choice and will, with firmness, determination and integrity, to attain nearness to Allāh (swt) and qualify to be among the foremost in Deen, a large number of them would live and die during the earlier period of human development. It will similarly be responsible for allowing during that same phase, a goodly number of the moderately effective members of the “right hand”, to also have existed and died then.
It is similarly Allāh’s (swt) Ultimate Irresistible Force and Will that would have decreed and compelled that only a few of the numbers of those that have attain nearness to Allāh (swt), and that qualify to be among the foremost in Deen, should live and die during the latter era of human existence. It similarly accounts for marking and distinguishing the later times, in human evolution, with the presence of a goodly number of the moderately effective (the members of the “right hand”), who will live and die during this latter era.
The people of the “left hand” are those whose consciousness, character, and conduct will manifest a lack of trust and confidence, and who are ingrates Allāh’s mercy and kindness of (swt); they are the ones that will fail in Deen and their marriages. As regards what percentage of their total number will be from the earlier period on planet Earth, this is not expressly stated and is difficult to establish. The allusion however is that the people forming this group will be from both the earlier and as well as the later period on planet Earth.
What the Qadr of Allāh (swt) is not responsible for is the moral quality in the thoughts, words and actions, that merited them being classified as belonging to the people of the “Foremost”, “Right” and “Left Hand”. If it was the will and divine decree of Allāh (swt) to include the class they merited within His (swt) direct control, there was absolutely nothing to prevent Allāh (swt) from creating every one of those people, and every moving object (including the JINNs) as automatons, and compel their worship by forcing them to believe and live uprightly:
He is Allāh beside Whom La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Supreme King, the Holy, the Salvation (so it rest with Him only), the Giver of faith and security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, Al-Jabbar (the Compeller who subdues wrong and restores right), the Supreme (to who Greatness belongs). Glory be to Allāh! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. (Sūrah Al-Ḥashr [Ch. 59]: 22)
Those who associated partners with Allāh will say, “If Allāh had willed, we would not have associated [anything] and neither would our fathers, nor would we have done anything that is prohibited.” Likewise did those before deny until they tasted Our punishment. Say, “Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except conjecture, and you are falsifying.” Say, “With Allāh is the far-reaching argument. If He had willed, He would have indeed guided you all.” (Sūrah Al-‘Anām [Ch.6]: 148-149)
And had your Lord-Sustainer so willed, all those who lived on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, do you then think you can compel people, against their will, to believe. (Sūrah Yūnus [Ch.10]: 99)
The foregoing ‘Ayāt (“proofs, verses, lessons, teachings, messages, signs, miracles, evidences, revelations, and directives”) underscore Allāh’s (swt) absolute power to determine the destiny of all things. It also evidences the point that, in relation to the races of JINNs and Man, Allāh (swt) has established the attainment and maintenance of the state of ’abadullāh (the sole worship of Allāh [swt] in a sincere and meaningful way) as their goal. So that the end in the divine scheme, for which they were created, is established and made truly just, Allāh (swt), in exercising His absolute and irresistible power, has decreed and given to every nafs, a life-time and a limited freedom of choice and will (the exercise of which is done and examined within the framework of relationships), to make and manifest their election. So that it would be right and just for there to be a judicial enquiry into the exercise of the limited degree of freedom of choice and power to will, which makes JINNs and Man capable of determining whether to benefit or harm their own nafs, the decree and grant was not only pursuant to Allāh’s (swt) Qadr, but also absolute, unavoidable and unfettered.
Consequently, when that limited human freedom is exercised, it is as a result of the Qadr of Allāh (swt), and by reason of His Sovereign Authority (Sultān), making it free of direct Divine and or Shay’tānic controls. It is thus the Qadr of Allāh (swt) that NEITHER Allāh (swt) or Shay’tān is permitted to directly control, interfere and compel a person to go against the moral path they have chosen and willed; hence the following inexorable and fundamental Islāmic principle:
Let there be no compulsion in Deen (the Islāmic Way of Life –religion). Surely, right (what is clear and just) is totally distinct from wrong (unjust and false); so whosoever rejects aṭ–Ṭāagūt (meaning, false worship/falsehood/evil propensities), and believes (have trust and confidence/faith) in Allāh, has surely grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold (support/a strong handle) that never breaks. And Allāh is All-Hearing, All-Knowing
Thus, under the prevailing creation situation, it is unjust for any human being to be forced (and they will not be coerced by Allāh (swt), or His (swt) messengers,) to believe, if it is their will to disbelieve. It is equally reprehensible and unjust if theshay’tēen were allowed to forced a person to disbelieve, if it is their will to choose to pursue, and uphold as morally right, the noble standard ordained by the universal fitra/ fitrah, their Islāmic Marriages, and the attainment and maintenance of the state of ’abadullāh.
It was therefore against that backdrop that the Qadr of Allāh (swt); a deliberate and divinely determined Royal choice and command, created a design, and human bio-chemical form with the correct contents and optimum capabilities to be what Allāh (swt) intended it to be. From the outset, the goal in the Divine plan was to originate and create a world, in which the system of zawj (pairs of the same type [male and female humans]and opposites [right and wrong]) is used to create situations, within a divinely selected structure, in which humans are granted a limited freedom and required to discriminate between what is comprised in the two groups of the zawj of what is right and wrong. That power and duty, if exercised with integrity and in a just manner, would have the effect of elevating human beings from the status of being a mere animal (which instinctively follows the Divine Laws that regulate their conduct) to a moral being.
Drawing strength and guidance from the above Sūrah Al-Fātir (Ch.35: 9) ‘Ayāh,all what is written and recorded in advance, regarding the truth as to the moral state of each new creation at the end the term of its sojourn, as well as all what comprises that spiritless and lifeless (it has no Rūuḥ ) human bio-chemical lump itself, constitute sufficient proof, lesson, teaching, message, sign, miracle, evidence, revelation, and directive (“’ayāh”) of the absolute right of Allāh (swt) to be worshipped, and the disqualification of all else for such a position. It speaks to the Divine Providence of Allāh (swt) which is one of the principal ’ayāt. Hence, the All-Knowing, Most Wise, Creator sees it fit to include all the essential details about it in his eternal Arabic Qur’ānic Guidance.
Relative to Allāh’s (swt)meritorious Divine plan and the prevailing created realms, that primal form, and every subsequent reproduction of it, was at its optimum with everything, to operate precisely as it was originated, devised and established to be by Allāh (swt). It is clearly commonsense that there was an active presence of Allāh’s (swt) Divine Providence in assigning and announcing in advance (to the then existing JINN race) the role of Khalēefa of the “earth”. That event occurred long even before the human bio-chemical form of the primal human nafs was optimally moulded to meet the needs and standards of that office, and the primal principal relationship, in the form of the Sūrah Adth-Dthāriyāt (Ch.51:56) core directive.
The Rūuḥ -less and lifeless human bio-chemical lump was, like its reproductive counterparts, complete with the presence of reproductive organs and genitalia at that early stage of the creation process. There is both a socio-material and spiritual significance in this material design. The obvious socio-material importance is that it provides strong evidence that the original nafs was intended to be one half of a pair (zawj – see post), and that there would be a secondary relationship with that other half. The spiritual lesson, teaching and guidance in that situation, is the further high profiling of Allāh’s (swt) Divine Providence. The implication was not just about the possibility of completing the pair (zawj), but that its creation in the future would be as certain as Allāh’s (swt) word in announcing the impending creation of a new species (the human nafs), and there was now present in reality, a human bio-chemical form that fulfilled the Divine proclamation and the promised Cycle/Period/Day of Resurrection and Judgement.
Given the Divine Intention to bring about, in the future, a principal and secondary relationship, absolutely everything that was put into the design of the original, and every succeeding nafs, is for the purposes of facilitating those divinely intended balanced, effective, practical, orderly, tranquil, enduring, and optimal relationships.
It is clearly rational that to fulfil the intended physical, moral and spiritual duties of the principal relationship, the primal human nafs would require a shape that gives it the capability of standing respectfully before its Sovereign Lord, Cherisher, Nourisher and Sustainer. It should also have the ability to bow with deference and prostrate as a mark of utter submission to Allāh (swt).
The concept and rise of the reality of relationships necessitated that the two elements in the relationship ought to connect communicably, and possess the faculties to interpret, reason and understand each other, as well as enabling the servient element to willingly or unwillingly action commands. The “earth” the Khalēefa would be required to manage and administer, was plainly not just a single speck of dust, rather, it would be a wide expanse, and that dictated the need for the means to be able move about the “earth”. To fulfil that obligation would therefore require a means of transportation, the ability to see, learn and distinguish all the contents of the “earth”, store information, weigh up situations, reason and make judgements. To that end, the human bio-chemical design, optimally and anticipatedly, includes feet, hands and the faculties and bodily organs (the ears and eyes) to hear and see, as well as the two processing, regulatory and command units being the afidah and the Crainal brain.
To satisfy the responsibilities and meet the standards of that principal relationship, the the Qadr of Allāh (swt) dictated that servient party would be given a complementary structure, one that physically connects and links to a zawjat (with which he would be bonded in an Islāmic Marriage) and create a secondary relationship. This latter relationship is thus an integral aspect of the ethical and spiritual duties of the principal relationship. It would give rise to rights and obligations, and the same physical shape, organs and faculties that are essential for the discharge of the principal obligation would also be critical in meeting the standards, and completing marital, domestic and social duties. The foresight in designing the functional hands and feet, pertains to the benefit in them not only as an instrument for war and conflict, but also as the means for touching as a method of enhancing connectivity between spouses and showing affection, which is critical for showing caring and to underpin the peace and tranquility of the Islāmic Marriage.
5.3 THE BIO-SPIRITUAL UNION
The lesson given, acquired and learnt from Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) is that there are significant ’ayāt in the chronological order in which the events it has narrated are set. What it illuminates and has expressly stated regarding the actual human creation process, is that the first stage of the original clay and water-based humans become complete, when the lifeless / spiritless bio-chemical form is “Sawwāhu”:
Then He Sawwāhu (fashioned him in due proportion, made him what he was intended to be), wa nafakha fēehi Rūuḥi (and then breathed into him something of His spirit). Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:9)
That Sūrah Al-Sajdah process, with its established stages, is also the same for the humans that are reproduced and their fetus.
Muhammad Asad in his work “The Message of the Qur’ān”, says that the Arabic verb Sawwā, literally means, “that which is made or formed in accordance with what it is intended to be”; “endowed with inner coherence and with qualities consistent with the function which it is meant to perform and adapts it to the exigencies of its existence” (see note 9 Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32);note 1 Sūrah Al-‘Alā (Ch.87); and note 5 Sūrah A(l)sh-Shams (Ch.91), pages 634, 946, and 954 respectively). Others have simply rendered it to mean “fashioned in due proportion”.
What this latter Arabic verb is meant to convey is that the human bio-chemical form was not created accidentally or by chance. Allāh (swt) was well aware when He (swt) formulated the intention to originate and create the insān (human), and deliberately endowed it with a specific hanēefan design or pattern that accords with the pre-existing heaven and ‘earth’, with the potential to have bodily needs, urges, emotions and reason, and with the capacity to hear, see and discern between wrong and right (hearing, and sight, and afidah).
Additionally, Sawwā is the appropriate description because, in line with His (swt) original expressed intention to create a Khalēefa of the “earth”, the lifeless and spiritless bio-chemical form was given the necessary body parts to fulfil the role of the Khalēefa in the two senses of the term. It comprised ears, eyes, physical heart and two information processing units (the cranial brain and fuād), as well as the necessary reproduction sexual organ.
The physical components, ears, eyes, and the heart together with the cranial brain and fuād would give that lifeless and spiritless bio-chemical structure the potential to acquire the necessary and critical knowledge of Allāh(swt), and to be able to worship Him (swt) as well as to act as Allāh’s (swt) deputy in the management and administration of the “earth”.
That the lifeless and spiritless bio-chemical form comprised, at that stage, a male genital, opened it up to the possibility of being made to function as one half of a zawj (pair), and a spouse within a marital relationship. It is in this latter situation that it would be allowed to utilize that physical sexual capability to reproduce a successor, thereby giving real meaning to the term Khalēefa.
By the end of that first phase, the lifeless and spiritless bio-chemical system had, in and of itself, taken its place among the cosmic and natural self-evident “miracle, proof, lesson, teaching, message, sign, evidence, revelation, and directive (an ’ayāh)” that was not only Sawwā but, relative to the creation scheme and all the various functions and activities it would be required to perform, a structure that was also “’aḥsani taqwēem” (the most excellent of moulds):
We have indeed created man in the best/excellent of moulds, Then do We abase him (to be) the lowest of the low, – Except such as believe and do righteous deeds. (Sūrah Al-Tēen [Ch.95]: 4-6)
The lifeless bio-chemical human structure was a supernatural phenomenon in that it never existed before, not even as a concept, and was originated and created out of mere dust of clay and water. Its fitra/fitrah (pattern) and intricate details, were such that the lifeless / spiritless form (and the later reproduced fetus) possessed in the rightful places, all the required dire and critical bodily components and chemical prerequisites for it to become Sawwā; that is to say, “fashioned in due proportion” and capable of functioning and fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
There are obvious physical facts and signs that the human structure, and creation scheme of which it forms a part, was not a chance creation, but rather, part of forward planning and an intelligent scheme of a providential Originator and Creator. Those facts are also an allusion as to the real purpose behind the first gathering of all the then angelic beings,as well as an impending ordinace, for JINNs and humans, of a Way of Life (Deen) that would be based upon having trust and confidence (Imāan) in whatever the Originator-Creator says about the future.
Thus, if Allāh (swt) says that He (swt) is going to originate and create a new species or that there would be a Cycle/Period/Day of Judgement, neither of those statements should be taken as being empty or a wishful intent. Rather, one should not entertain the slightest doubt, but have certainity in their Creator-Rabb, and see them as definitive statements and assurances of the inevitable happening of those events; they will surely come to pass.
The human bio-chemical structure was part of an intricate Divine forward planning and intelligent providential scheme, and not a chance creation. From the obvious fact of its bio-chemical nature, is derived the patent evidence and proof that it formed part of the complex system of zawj and Even (pairs). The substances from which it was created comprised both solid and liquid, and this is clear evidence of a pair of opposites. Those two materials would have the effect of making the new creation opposite in substances to the earlier species, the JINN race, that was created from the smokeless fire (light) of scorching wind, which in effect made them intangible (or spirit beings). Also, for that bio-chemical material essence to become a moving entity, it was anticipated that it would be coupled to a spiritual force (another pair in opposites). Lastly, the presence of a genital evidences, proves that it was to be part of a pair of opposites in gender of the same type of species. To date the law of science cannot explain in concrete terms that initial origination nor its creation process.
The clear lesson and message in the origination and creation of that lifeless entity is that it owes its existence to a force other than itself, and that, whatever has no life and intelligence cannot be its own creator or a a witness to its own creation. It is thus a sign that reveals the existence of an Originator and Creator, and acts as a self-evident directive to seek to know, acknowledge, show gratitude and adore that entity.
The ultimate purpose of the origination and moulding of the basic bio-chemical human shape, was that it should form part of the system of proof that Allāh (swt) is indeed the Eternal, Self-Subsisting Giver of Life, and the Rabb of all the worlds. According to the Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) ’ayāh, having created the bio-chemical human figure, the next essential step is the “Nafakha”, meaning, the breathing into it, before it could become an independently active, moving and living entity, capable of reproducing a successor of its own kind:
But He Sawwā (fashioned him in due proportion to function and be what it is intended to be), and Nafakha (breathed) into himsomething of Rūuḥihēe (My Spirit). And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and afidah: little thanks do ye give! (Sūrah Al-Sajdah [Ch.32]: 9)
Thy Lord said to the Malāaikati (Angels): “I am about to create from out of dark-slime (mud) transmuted (moulded into shape)“When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and Nafakha (Breathed) into himof Rūuḥēe (My Spirit), fall ye down (prostrate) in obeisance unto him.”.” (Sūrah Al-Ḥijr [Ch.15]: 28-29)
The information about the “Nafakha [breathing]” is of benefit to humans, in that it forms a significant part of the divine creation process, which denotes and underscores the presence of two things that are the opposite of each other and separated by their natures; namely the “Material” and the “Spiritual”. What existed before the “Nafakha [breathing]”, was an optimal corporal entity that could be likened to “land that is dead” (Sūrah Al-Fātir [Ch.35]: 9), but which is moulded in due proportion and provided with the means to function and be what it is divinely intended to be. However, the means or faculties it was given would only become meaningful when it ceases to be in a lifeless state, and becomes capable of being in motion, reproduction, and perpetuating its existence with sustenance.
Among the tremendous benefits provided with the aid of the information contained in Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:9), is that it affords to humans the opportunity to appreciate the actual “Breathing” (Nafakha) into the, hitherto, Rūuḥ-less and lifeless bio-chemical form as a watershed. The “Breathing” (Nafakha) comes in between and separates the first and second phase of the human creation process. The knowledge and understanding of these two separate and phases and states are highly significant, instructive, and enlightening. What the “Breathing” (Nafakha) does is that it distinguishes the state of the bio-chemical structure before its occurrence, from the condition of that same human form after it has been impacted by whatever is breathed (Nafakha) into it.
It would appear to be the implication in the following ‘ayāh,that specific royal command of Allāh (swt) is necessary in each and every particular case, for the lifeless bio-chemical form to be perfected and completed:
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allāh, the best to create! Sūrah Al-Mu’minūn [Ch.23]: 14
Accoding to the earlier mentioned ḥadith, narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud(see, Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim Book Number 033, Ḥadith Number 6390),once it is decreed, Allāh (swt) then sends His angel to the lifeless bio-chemical form, bearing the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) and with instructions concerning four things that are a matter of Qadr. The latter four matters are recorded and tied to the particular lifeless structure before the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) is breathed (Nafakha) into it.
What takes place after the “Nafakha [breathing]” is that the Rūuḥ takes up occupation, merges and is actively present in the hitherto lifeless bio-chemical structure, which ceases to be a union of a pair (zawj) of substances, both of which have the same material nature; water and earth are opposites but they are both material in nature, hence the earlier use of the phrase substance-union).
There is now an added further pair (zawj and Even), one in which thenew union comprises a pair (zawj) of elements that are the opposite in nature (the tangible bio-chemical form and intangible Rūuḥ), and would cause the new creation to fit and become cohesive with Allāh’s (swt) pre-existing cosmic system of zawj and Even. So, in this new arrangement the Rūuḥ become a de facto partner, and its active presence has the effect of activating the essential pre-existing bio-chemical capabilities, thereby causing that lifeless bio-chemical structure to become transformed into a living organism.
The great and significant spiritual lessons drawn from the lifeless Ādam is therefore that, it is impossible for an entity to give what that entity does not have. The Rūuḥ-less or lifeless bio-chemical form and, as a corollary, every human fetus, is not self-originating and therefore could NEVER originate and create its own lifeless bio-chemical form, give to itself existence, or the force of life which it does not have.
Given that lifeless state, it also follows that Ādam’s lifeless bio-chemical form was not, and no individual can or will ever attain consciousness and be in an awaked state, during the Nafakha [breathing] into their own body. Nor are they permitted to be aware so that they can consciously experience the Nafakha [breathing] into the body while they are a new creation in the womb. The Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) ’ayāh expressly states that it is the Rūuḥ (Spirit) which is the subject of the Nafakha [breathing].
Further Glorious Arabic Qur’ānic ’ayāt have also expressly explained that, the same state of bio-chemical unconsciousness which exists at the end of the first stage of the creation process, is also applicable when the Rūuḥ (Spirit) is leaving one’s own body or the body of another during death, as well as when it leaves or enters their own body during sleep. And despite the proximity of any human being when this process is taking place, no human being is authorized to see or experience it leaving or entering another’s body while they are in a state of deep sleep:
It is Allāh that takes away the souls (of human beings) at (the time of their) death; and those that are not yet dead (He takes) during their sleep. And for those whom He has passed the decree of death He keeps back (from returning to life), But the rest He sends back (to their bodies) until the (expiration of the) appointed term. Verily in this are ’ayāt (Signs, lessons etc) for those who reflect. (Sūrah Al-Zumar [Ch.39]: 42)
The Glorious Arabic Qur’ānic narrative, tendered in Allāh’s (swt) own literal words, and which speaks to what it is that was Nafakha (breathed) into the purely material, and lifeless bio-chemical Ādam,is the term Rūuḥihēe (something of My Spirit). This Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) possessive narrative strongly suggests that the subject matter has a personal connection to Allāh (swt), and is His exclusive property. Allāh (swt) therefore stands as the Single Eternal Self-Subsisting Source from which everything has originated, and from which they have received their essentials and the capacity to exist as moving living things.
Consequently, for the Rūuḥ-less or lifeless bio-chemical form of Ādam to be perfected, the express sanction of the Ever-Living and All-Powerful Sovereign Source of authority was vital.
The inference drawn from the use of the term Rūuḥihēe (something of My Spirit) is that it was, and is still, the absolute divine and royal prerogative of Allāh (swt), to permit a designated Rūuḥ to be allocated to a lifeless bio-chemical structure. So, the Royal Will, Decree and Command is indispensable, without it the primal, and every subsequent lifeless bio-chemical form, will never become completed as a living, active, moving and talented human nafs. Additionally, it is also with the authority, and command of Allāh (swt) only, that Angels are permitted to descend with the designated Rūuḥ, to Nafakha (breathe) it into the lifeless bio-chemical forms, so that Allāh (swt) might complete and commission them into existence as breating, living, and moving entities. This cosmic dominion of Allāh (swt) is encapsulated in the following passages:
Whatever is in the heavens and on earth,- let it 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 kulli shay’in qadēer (قَدِیۡرٌ شَیۡءٍ کُلِّ – He over all things has the Power to originate, shape and determine all their destinies).(Sūrah Al-Mulk [Ch.57]: 1-2)
Allāh! 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)
The information contained in the “Unseen Knowledge” in the Glorious Arabic Qur’ān provides, that the Sovereign Will and Decree in such situations is but a single commend and entire Word; “BE”:
Whenever We will anything to be, We but say unto it Our word ‘Be!’ – and it is. (Sūrah Al-Naḥl [Ch.16]:40)
He (Allāh swt) it is Who gives life and causes death; And when He has decided upon an affair (and wills a thing to be), He says to it only, ‘Be!,’ and it is. (Sūrah Ghāfir [Ch.40]: 68)
Surely, the similitude of Jesus before Allāh is like the case of Ādam. He created him out of dust, then He said to him, ‘Be!,’ and he was. (Sūrah Al-‘Imrān [Ch.3]: 59)
And the Word of thy Lord find its fulfillment in truth and justice. None can change His words; and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Sūrah Al-An‘ām [Ch.6]: 115)
Evidently, there are two aspects to Allāh’s (swt)words, and the Divine Decree “Be” in particular. Firstly, the Sovereign Pronouncement and Sounding, which contains the necessary originating and evolutionary force, as well as the fitra (fitrah) and the precise and optimum measure relating to the subject matter. The second feature of the Divine Decree “Be” is in the subject matter: (i) becoming a manifest ‘Truth’ and facet of the total existing reality (That is to say, it comes into reality with a nature that fulfills and accurately reflects what the thing was divinely intended to ‘be’); and (ii) being orderly and just (Meaning it has the essential fitra (fitrah), all the necessary faculties to complete its divinely assigned purpose(s) and possessing optimum measure so as to be justly balanced and cohesive with the pre-existing realities.
That then is the Splendid Arabic Qur’ānic exposition of the primal standard and process by which the Rūuḥ becomes present in each lifeless bio-chemical form, while the Qur’ānic word “Rūuḥihēe (something of My Spirit)”, which is a possessive term, serves to explain in whose ownership it was prior to its arrival.
Looking at the context of possessive narrative, the Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:9) Rūuḥihēe (something of My Spirit) term clearly speaks to: (i) the initial divine characteristics of the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit), immediately prior to the breathing of it into the bio-chemical form; and (ii) the initial pure and pristine condition of the nafs-union; before the union would become impacted upon by the indispensable needs and futile desires of the union:
And by the nafsin (soul-physical body union) wa maa sawwāahāa (and what has made or formed it perfect and accurate in accordance with what it is meant to be) — And (its capability of) being inspired with fujūurahāa (meaning, what is immoral and wrong) and taqwāahāa (meaning, what remains awake and conscious of Allāh so that it does what is morally correct and avoids hurt, harm and loss) Then he indeed truly increases and prospers who purifies it, And he who falsifies and corrupts it is in loss and ruin. (Sūrah Alsh-Shams [Ch.91]:7-10).
But, that Arabic term (Rūuḥihēe [something of My Spirit]) does far more than just to inform about ownership, it also pointedly educates the human race as regards the original and divinely chosen ethical standard, and state, of the Rūuḥ (Spirit).
What precisely is the essence of the Rūuḥ, how it functions, and what was the proper sense and meaning behind that possessive description, is known only to Allāh (swt), the Knower of the hidden and the manifest, the ancient past, the current, and future of both the realms. However, one is able to proffer neither an unreasonable, nor unjust understanding of those issues based upon how it is transferred, and the consequences that inevitably flow from the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) entering into the bio-chemical human form.
It is expressly provided that it is through the act of “Nafakha [breathing]” that the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) is placed into the bio-chemical form. This speaks to its nature in that it is clearly something that is capable of entering into the human body by blowing it in, and perhaps withdrawal is through a similar but opposite manner (sucking perhaps) – the truth is known only to Allāh (swt). The warning and allusion in the following ‘ayāh is that all matters pertaining to the essence and process of the Rūuḥ entering and leaving the bio-chemical form is wholly outside the province of the Khalēefa of the “earth”:
[It is] a revelation from the Lord/Cherisher of the worlds. Then is it to this statement that you are indifferent /hold in light esteem? And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false? Then why (ye do not intervene), when it (the soul of the dying at death) reaches the throat And you are at that time looking on – But We are nearer to him than you, but you do not see – Then why do you not, if you are exempt from (future) account, bring it (the soul), back if ye are truthful (in the claim of independence)? (Sūrah Al-Wāqi’ah [Ch.56]:80-87)
But, according to the revealed Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:9) chronology of events, there are matters about the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit), within the context of the human creation process, that are essential for human edification and its role in managing the “earth” as its Khalēefa. What those ordered events reveal is that, even with that breathing of the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) into the primal male nafs, Ādam (and the same for every subsequent nafs), all that was accomplished was the creation and establishment of a nafs-union. The work of creating a knowledgeable, intelligent, and morally steadfast and upright Khalēefa of the “earth” (a truthful, just and trustwothy “self”, “ego” and “separate and independent person”) was a process that was yet to be completed, and that would not only take time, but was left up to each individual.
Thus, the merging, unification or marrying of those pairs of opposites is for a divinely fixed and determined period:
Nor can li-nafsin (the body and soul union) die (taste death) except by Allāh ‘s leave, the term being fixed as by writing. If any do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the Hereafter, We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve us with) gratitude. (Sūrah Al-‘Imrān [Ch.3]: 145)
The Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand?… they were wont to be indulged, before that, in wealth (and luxury), And persisted obstinately in wickedness supreme! And they used to say, “What! when we die and become dust and bones, shall we then indeed be raised up again?- “(We) and our fathers of old?” Say: “Yea, those of old and those of later times, “All will certainly be gathered together for the meeting appointed for a Period/Cycle/Day well-known (the Resurrection Period/Cycle/Day). (Sūrah Al-Wāqi’ah (Ch.56: 41, 45-50)
The inevitable effect then is that the Rūuḥ will remain sojourned as one half of each of these highly important unions, and while it is being transportedin itsbio-chemical container by the vehicle of time, the Rūuḥ as part of the new union, would unavoidably experience challenges that would test the intelligence, and the capacity of the union, to make sound judgements.
This merging, unification or marrying of a pair of opposites is by no means a random, chaotic or purposeless event. What one is able to deduce from the following guidance is that, for reasons pertaining to a universal judicial process and the dispensation of justice, the identification of each material bio-chemical form is critical, and so, to facilitate ease in establishing accurately the identity of every union, and as a corollary the intangible-spititual force associated with it, the material bio-chemical form has been given its own unique mark or print:
Verily, I call to witness the Resurrection Period/Cycle/Day… Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. (Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah [Ch.75]:1, 3-4)
The evident just reason, and purpose, behind this personal identification system, is that the Rūuḥ (Spirit), once it is Nafakha (breath) into the lifeless bio-chemical forms, becomes not only one half of the zawj (pair) of the new union of opposites in substance, but becomes caught in a situation wherein it is inescapably exposed to the desires, and is directly impacted by demands of its material bio-chemical partner in the union. Thus, in practical terms, this merging, unification or marrying of that pair of opposites will trigger and set in motion a new transformation process, one in which the consciousness, personality, and doings of the uniquely identifiable bio-chemical form (for a divinely fixed and determined period) plays a direct and highly significant role in impacting the Rūuḥ.
It is therefore of great importance to note that, as a member of the union of opposites, during the divinely decreed and fixed sojourn, the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) is NOT permitted to separate, except in certain specified circumstances, and then only under strict supervision. Based upon the “Unseen Knowledge” and information contained in the following Splendid Arabic Qur’ānic exposition, the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) is capable of leaving (subāatāa, meaning, its “cutting-off” [or leaving points]) the association, but not on its own accord and will, and only when its material bio-chemically designated vehicle is at rest during sleep, or when its designated fixed sojourn period comes to an end with death:
And We have created you in pairs, And We have made your sleep subāatāa (cutting-off or leaving points for the soul and for rest for the body), And We have made the night as a covering, And We have made the day for the activities of life. (Sūrah Al-Nabāa [Ch.78]: 8-11)
And among His ’ayāt (Signs, lessons etc) is your sleep by night and day, and your seeking of His bounty. Verily in that are ’ayāt (Signs, lessons etc) for those who hearken. (Sūrah Al- Rūm [Ch.30]: 23)
On all other occasions throughout the divinely decreed fixed terms, there is always continuity of the uniquely identifiable substance-union, and the Rūuḥ (Souls/Spirits) remain exposed and are liable to be influenced and transformed, not by the actual things that satisfy the essential needs and vain desires of its material bio-chemical aspect, but by the moral quality in the reasoning and decisions leading to the exercise of the power that wills the actions to acquire those things.
This potential of the Rūuḥ (Spirit) to become transformed by the actions of the particular substance-union falls within the Qadr of Allāh (swt) and, within the context of the prevailing Divine Scheme, it is the real cause and justification of all the substance-unions being given separate identities. It is also a reason for the judicial process during the Resurrection Period/Cycle/Day, since it becomes necessary for the moral and qualitative nature of the actions (the chosen morality in thinking, personality and behavior) of each individual substance-union to be enquired into. There is thus a just end for which the divine plan was devised: there is an unavoidable need for the establishment of the Cosmic Tribunal to inquire into and hold each substance-union directly and wholly accountable its own deeds.
For Allāh (swt) to use the term Rūuḥihēe (My Soul/Spirit) in respect of the matter that is Nafakha [breathed] into the lifeless bio-chemical form, it must be that it is pleasing, acceptable and consistent with Allāh’s (swt) nature, and so possesses its own distinctive primal divine condition before is breathed and transferred to the lifeless human form. It is because this primal divine state of the hitherto unattached Rūuḥ (Spirit) will become exposed and subject to the authority and will of the new regime why it is termed nafs by Allāh (swt); hence hereafter the use of the new term nafs or nafs–union (for the meaning, see post). It is submitted that, it is to assist and enable humans to grasp what truly lies behind this change in terminology (the change from Rūuḥ to Nafs), why they have been provided with the Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9) account of the ancient creation process.
What the revealed narrative of the chronology in the creation of Ādam shows, is that the act of “Nafakha [breathing]” is the means by which the bio-chemical form, when moulded in due proportion, became transformed. A further function is that it also speaks to the nature of what it is that was breathed in (“Nafakha”), and that clearly was something that, because of its mass and/or nature, could be blown and is thereby capable of entering into the human body, and perhaps withdrawn in a similar but opposite technique:
[It is] a revelation from the Lord/Cherisher of the worlds. Then is it to this statement that you are indifferent /hold in light esteem? And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false? Then why (ye do not intervene), when it (the soul of the dying at death) reaches the throat And you are at that time looking on – But We are nearer to him than you, but you do not see – Then why do you not, if you are exempt from (future) account, bring it (the soul), back if ye are truthful (in the claim of independence)? (Sūrah Al-Wāqi’ah [Ch.56]:80-87)
The warning and allusion here is that all matters pertaining to the essence and process of the Rūuḥ entering and leaving the bio-chemical form is wholly outside the province of the Khalēefa of the “earth”.
What is also instructive, from the divinely reported chronology of events, is that, even with the breathing of the Rūuḥ (Spirit) into the primal male nafs, Ādam (and for that matter, every subsequent nafs), all that was accomplished is the creation and establishment of a nafs–union. The work of completing the creation the Khalēefa of the “earth” is a new and practical transformation process, one which the moral condition of the Rūuḥ (Spirit) is left wholly in the hands of an evolving nafs (or nafs–union).
For the avoidance of any doubt, it is the stage at which the breathing (Nafakha) takes place that one finds the watershed that distinguishes the two distinct phases in the creation process, a shift in regime and transfer of power in the management of the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) and, as a consequence, the real reason for the shift from the use of the term Rūuḥ (Spirit) to the Arabic term Nafs, and its plural is Anafus. The literal meaning of the word Nafs is “self” or “ego” or “a separate and independent person” (comprising the material and spiritual aspects of the human race). Implicit in that rendering is that there is a distinction that must be made between what pertains to a specific nafs (self or ego or a separate and independent person) and for which only that nafs is accountable and liable, from what does not pertain to and is not the responsibility of that particular nafs but of some other entity, thing or state”.
At the heart of that distinction clearly lies the issue of accountability and responsibility, and implicit is the heavy demand for justice. As a result, the Glorious Arabic Qur’ānic use of the term “anfusakum” (meaning, “yourselves”) is employed to leave human beings in no doubt that is NOT Allāh (swt), but each individual nafs (or nafs–union) that is accountable and liable for the consequences in choosing to mould for “themselves”, the state in which death finds each nafs (or nafs–union).
The aforementioned practical transforming process commences, and is set into motion, with the breathing of the Rūuḥ (Spirit) into the unique identifiable bio-chemical form, with which the new nafs–union is formed. That would then establish a real-time substance–partnership nafs whose true goal, throughout a divinely fixed and determined period, is to directly impact the Rūuḥ so that it either transcends in moral righteousness or regresses in moral decadence. Therefore, what essentially is heralded by creation of the nafs–union is the transfer of power and a shift in governance and responsibility for the moral state of of the Rūuḥ.
As a direct consequence of establishing the new nafs government, in dealing with every affair, serious consideration is required of the two properties comprising the nafs–union. Since this new regime is now responsible for its continuous movements, reproduction, and the perpetuation of its existence, it is obliged to meet all the challenges associated with sustaining itself from what Allāh (swt), as Rabb, has created and provided. It is the duty of the new nafs government to balance and measure the correct amount of heat, liquid, air and material sustenance that is needed to maintain the well-being and survival of its bio-chemical aspects; namely, the form that is created from water and the dust of the “earth”.
Equal consideration is also required to be given to the Rūuḥ which, evidently, is capable of penetrating into the human bio-chemical structure with the force of Nafakha (breathing). Given that it is is wholly spiritual, non-material and intangible in nature, the four material elements of the earth, mentioned earlier, are inapplicable for its continuing existence as part of the nafs-union. Something else is required to sustain it.
The obvious difficulty the nafs will encounter, in meeting this aspect of its obligation, is that human beings do not have a natural ability to see the intangibles or spiritual matters. In addition, they have no idea about the real essence of the Rūuḥ because, it is while Ādam was a lifeless bio-chemical form, and while his descendants are in the womb, that the act of “Nafakha [breathing]” in the Rūuḥ takes place. The commonsense deduction is therefore that no individual is or can logically be conscious of the Nafakha [breathing] of the Rūuḥ into their own or another person’s body. Nor are they allowed awakeness when it is leaving their own body or to see it leaving the body of another, at death or during sleep, no matter how physically proximate they are to that other person.
Nevertheless, the Rūuḥ is a significant partner in the new nafs–union government, and must be given due consideration. So, what is it that the Rūuḥ brings to the bio-chemical and spirit merger, that would influence and impact the nature and attributes of that structure. This is where humans are in dire need of Allāh (swt), the Rabb (Lord, Nourisher and Sustainer) of the Unseen, to help and guide them with His divine knowledge of incorporeal matters and their relationship with the corporeal. Briefly, some of the enlightened information He (swt) has provided regarding the nafs-union, runs as follows:
I do call to witness the Ressurection Period/Cycle/Day. And I do call to witness Al-Nafsin lowwamah (the self-reproaching Soul/Spirit-body union that eschew Evil). (Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah [Ch.75]:1-2)
By the Nafsin (Soul/Spirit-body union), and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;- truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it! (Sūrah Al(sh)-Shams [Ch.90]:7-10)
These suffice to inform that both the components of the nafs-union, when completed, attained to their respective optimum (due proportion and order) so as to be what they are and to function in the way that Allāh (swt) intended, within His (swt) prevailing divine scheme.
According to Sūrah Al-Sajdah (Ch.32:6-9), the limit of the lifeless bio-chemical structure is, evidently, merely being in an optimal state. Based upon the information in the above ’ayāt, what is beyond that is what the nature of the Rūuḥ adds to the relationship between the bio-chemical and spiritual zawj (pair). Apparently, the Rūuḥ itself has a right consciousness quality, which gives it an innate bias towards what is noble, a natural disposition that avoids what is wrong and evil, and an intense desire for closeness to Allāh (swt) through His active presence in the consciousness of the nafs.
With the activation of the transforming process, the new nafs–union government, and it alone, would therefore now have the free and unfettered choice, decision and will, whether to perform deeds, the qualitative nature of which have the potential of bringing about a change that could extinguish the hitherto ethically pure and justly balanced consciousness, character and natural condition of the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit). It could therefore either:
- Retain the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit) in the morally upright state in which Allāh (swt) created, moulded, presented and “Nafakha [breathed]” it into the lifeless bio-chemical form (namely, the primal unattached condition of the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit); or
- Transform the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit), in the future, from its primal unattached condition (for which Allāh (swt) is wholly responsible)to whatever the degree of moral decadence each new nafs-union desires for the Rūuḥ (Soul/Spirit), and for which the nafs-union would be responsible and must account to Allāh (swt), during the Resurrection Period/Cycle/Day.
To achieve either of those goals, and complete the creation process under the prevailing divine scheme, the new nafs has an obligation and must itself have regard to the nature of the two properties comprising its union. On the practical plain, that would necessitate the nafs then meeting all the challenges associated with balancing their respective needs and what is it that should be acquired to sustain them at their optimum level. It is while the nafs is engaged in the execution of that function that it would go through the process of selecting, resolving, willing and moulding its preferred type of morality in consciousness, personality, and doings.
In line with the pre-existing haneefan qualitative nature in creation, the Nafakha (breathing) of the Rūuḥ into the bio-chemical structure, was critical to enable the union to become completed by personally establishing its chosen and desired true moral nafs (“self”, “ego” or “separate and independent person”). For it to be in a stae that is pleasing to Allāh (swt), the limited but autonomous united pair (zawj) of opposites (the nafs-union) would be required to prove, demonstrate and manifest, as a permanent and enduring feature, a state of god-consciousness, nobility in character, and meaningful, truthful, trustworthy and just conducts.
The question then is how would that be brought about, and which of the two aspects of the united pair (zawj) of opposites (bio-chemical or the spiritual) aught to, and is to, rank as the dominant and decisive element, and which is the servient and supporting element in that merger.
