Say : I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak,
From the evil which he created
From the evil of the darkness when it is intense
And from the evil of malignant witchcraft.
and from the evil of the envier when he envieth
Sura of Daybreak, I came across it while reading the Quran, i am not sure what it exactly means, i know this Sura and Sura of Mankind both refer to protection from evil, as this sura clearly mentions, He creates evil and the darkness is it not? To test us? to allow us to use our intellect to make right and wrong decisions? Is the evil our nafs? is it shaitan? Is nafs and shatan one and the same, is that what the sura means?
Any responses would be appreciated.
Ya Ali Madad.
Sura Falaq The Daybreak
You have raised interesting and thought provoking questions!
Paul Brunton in one of his essays entitled 'The Mystery of Evil' discusses all the dimensions and implications of evil comprehensively. If anyone is interested in a copy let me know by email at [email protected]. The essay is contained in his book "Essays on the Quest".
I think you have answered all the questions that you pose indirectly and I agree with you.
In Islam Allah is all pervasive and omnipotent. There is nothing outside his thought and will as Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah explains in his memoir: "God supports and sustains all existence at every moment by His will and His thought. Outside His will, outside His thought, all is nothing, even the things which seem to us absolutely self-evident such as space and time." Hence this explains the evil 'which he created' in the ayat.
This leads one to question the notion of evil. It cannot be real in the absolute sense. Since it springs forth from God the All Merciful, it can only have meaning in the relative sense. What is perceived as evil at a particular instance can in the grand scheme of things serve a beneficient purpose. Hence there is a hadith of the Prophet which states that paradise is hidden in things disliked and hell in the things liked.
Paul Brunton states in the essay alluded to above: "Whatever creates a state of conflict inside or outside a living creature, and thus disturbs or destroys its happiness is 'evil' to that creature. It may originate from some animal obeying its appetites(nafs), some human behaving wickedly or some violence of Nature. It may result from an event, an action or the relation between them. Although this is quite true, it is true only in a limited and relative sense. The fact is that each creature 'thinks' the evil of a situation."
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah says in his memoir: "Islam recognizes the existence of evil spirits which seek by means of their secret suggestions to us to turn us from good, from that straight way traced by God's finger for the eternal happiness of the humblest as of the greatest-Abraham, Jesus, Mohammed."
But what is most remarkable about the verse is the mention of the daybreak, which can be interpreted as the state of spiritual enlightenment. When a person attains spiritual enlightenment through the grace of the Lord, he becomes protected from all kinds of evil mentioned in the ayat. No external evil (temptations and witchcraft) can affect the elevated soul and no internal evil (nafs) can influence him/her. The joys of the spirit are far superior than the trivial worldly pleasures and hence no need to indulge in them. Even if the whole world around him is on fire (intense darkness), the elevated soul will remain aloof and detached.
Hence the key to complete protection is to seek spiritual enlightenment. In a verse of 'Anant Akhado' (ashajee) it is stated and we recite:
"Ashajee Pap Ammara utaaro Sami, ame chhiye gunegar ji
Darshan tamara jab hi me dekhya, tyaare chhuta sarve janjaar"
Meaning
"O lord reduce the weight of our sins, for we are sinners
When I am enlightened spiritually, I am freed from all sorrows (evil)"
The following poem conveys the sense of freedom from daily cares upon spiritual vision or enlightenment.
Mirror Pond on Mount Taibo in Shanxi
By Hsu Yun
(1839 - 1959)
The water and my mind have both settled down
Into perfect stillness.
Sun and moon shine bright in it.
At night I see in the surface
The enormous face of my old familiar moon.
I don't think you've ever met the source of this reflection.
All shrillness fades into the sound of silence.
But now and then a puff of mist floats across the mirror.
It confuses me a little
But not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.
Paul Brunton in one of his essays entitled 'The Mystery of Evil' discusses all the dimensions and implications of evil comprehensively. If anyone is interested in a copy let me know by email at [email protected]. The essay is contained in his book "Essays on the Quest".
I think you have answered all the questions that you pose indirectly and I agree with you.
In Islam Allah is all pervasive and omnipotent. There is nothing outside his thought and will as Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah explains in his memoir: "God supports and sustains all existence at every moment by His will and His thought. Outside His will, outside His thought, all is nothing, even the things which seem to us absolutely self-evident such as space and time." Hence this explains the evil 'which he created' in the ayat.
This leads one to question the notion of evil. It cannot be real in the absolute sense. Since it springs forth from God the All Merciful, it can only have meaning in the relative sense. What is perceived as evil at a particular instance can in the grand scheme of things serve a beneficient purpose. Hence there is a hadith of the Prophet which states that paradise is hidden in things disliked and hell in the things liked.
Paul Brunton states in the essay alluded to above: "Whatever creates a state of conflict inside or outside a living creature, and thus disturbs or destroys its happiness is 'evil' to that creature. It may originate from some animal obeying its appetites(nafs), some human behaving wickedly or some violence of Nature. It may result from an event, an action or the relation between them. Although this is quite true, it is true only in a limited and relative sense. The fact is that each creature 'thinks' the evil of a situation."
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah says in his memoir: "Islam recognizes the existence of evil spirits which seek by means of their secret suggestions to us to turn us from good, from that straight way traced by God's finger for the eternal happiness of the humblest as of the greatest-Abraham, Jesus, Mohammed."
But what is most remarkable about the verse is the mention of the daybreak, which can be interpreted as the state of spiritual enlightenment. When a person attains spiritual enlightenment through the grace of the Lord, he becomes protected from all kinds of evil mentioned in the ayat. No external evil (temptations and witchcraft) can affect the elevated soul and no internal evil (nafs) can influence him/her. The joys of the spirit are far superior than the trivial worldly pleasures and hence no need to indulge in them. Even if the whole world around him is on fire (intense darkness), the elevated soul will remain aloof and detached.
Hence the key to complete protection is to seek spiritual enlightenment. In a verse of 'Anant Akhado' (ashajee) it is stated and we recite:
"Ashajee Pap Ammara utaaro Sami, ame chhiye gunegar ji
Darshan tamara jab hi me dekhya, tyaare chhuta sarve janjaar"
Meaning
"O lord reduce the weight of our sins, for we are sinners
When I am enlightened spiritually, I am freed from all sorrows (evil)"
The following poem conveys the sense of freedom from daily cares upon spiritual vision or enlightenment.
Mirror Pond on Mount Taibo in Shanxi
By Hsu Yun
(1839 - 1959)
The water and my mind have both settled down
Into perfect stillness.
Sun and moon shine bright in it.
At night I see in the surface
The enormous face of my old familiar moon.
I don't think you've ever met the source of this reflection.
All shrillness fades into the sound of silence.
But now and then a puff of mist floats across the mirror.
It confuses me a little
But not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.
In relation to the topic and kmeherali's explanation, here is SMS's farman :
"What is meant by pure deeds (amal)? And how can they remain pure? To keep amal pure, one should be in remembrance at all times. Keeping this remembrance is very difficult because Satan the devil deceives man all the time. Satan is there with you, ever ready, day and night. Only Haqiqati momin can save himself from his deception"
"What is meant by pure deeds (amal)? And how can they remain pure? To keep amal pure, one should be in remembrance at all times. Keeping this remembrance is very difficult because Satan the devil deceives man all the time. Satan is there with you, ever ready, day and night. Only Haqiqati momin can save himself from his deception"
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nowroozalisabiti
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:29 am
- Location: Afghanistan
Ya Ali Maddad,
The Question about Satan was discussed in this forum before. Dotrins>Relation between science and religion>page 14 as below
One day Hazrat Muhammad(S) was preaching that each human being has two devils with her/him. A person asked," Ya Rasoolulah( Oh, Messenger of God)! Do you have those two devils with yourself, too?" The prophet answered," I had that two devils with me, but I made them Muslim." We Ismaili should consider the hermeneutic form of this Hadith. Each human being has three Nafs(Passions, Essences). 1. Nafs Natiqa(Faculty of Speech). 2. Nafs Shahwani(Sensual or Carnal Essence). 3. Nafs Ghazabi(The Rage). The purpose of the mentioned Hadith is that, Muhammad said that he had overcome on the Carnal essence and Rage essence. It means that his Faculty of Speech has overcome on the two devils. Therefore, we conclude that there are the devils with each MAN. MAN makes errors and says Satan misled me. Is Satan so powerful that he can stray the two people who live in a moment one in America and one in the Australia in the same minutes? Or, Can he stray the thousands persons stray in a moment all over the world? So, Satan is our carnal strengh and rage strength. For further information, please see Khan al-Ikhwan of Naser Khusraw, Saf(Section) 35, Page, 110.
Then Kmaheraly posted this quote to support my point of view.
Ya Ali Madad,
You have raised very interesting and pertinent questions about the nature of Satan. I only mentioned the nature of Satan being the power of illusion that scientific endeavors are capable of creating in the context of the ginan in which it was mentioned.
But you are absolutely right the greatest Satan is really within and indeed to overcome it is the greatest Jihad as mentioned in the following verse of Kalame Mowla (sayings of Hazarat Ali).
"To wage Holy War against an infidel is the command of the Lord. But a greater infidel is your lower self (nafse amaaraa). Know this as true for all. The one, who has defeated the lower self, has indeed achieved success in both worlds. The one who surrenders to the mind (lower self), is miserable
The Question about Satan was discussed in this forum before. Dotrins>Relation between science and religion>page 14 as below
One day Hazrat Muhammad(S) was preaching that each human being has two devils with her/him. A person asked," Ya Rasoolulah( Oh, Messenger of God)! Do you have those two devils with yourself, too?" The prophet answered," I had that two devils with me, but I made them Muslim." We Ismaili should consider the hermeneutic form of this Hadith. Each human being has three Nafs(Passions, Essences). 1. Nafs Natiqa(Faculty of Speech). 2. Nafs Shahwani(Sensual or Carnal Essence). 3. Nafs Ghazabi(The Rage). The purpose of the mentioned Hadith is that, Muhammad said that he had overcome on the Carnal essence and Rage essence. It means that his Faculty of Speech has overcome on the two devils. Therefore, we conclude that there are the devils with each MAN. MAN makes errors and says Satan misled me. Is Satan so powerful that he can stray the two people who live in a moment one in America and one in the Australia in the same minutes? Or, Can he stray the thousands persons stray in a moment all over the world? So, Satan is our carnal strengh and rage strength. For further information, please see Khan al-Ikhwan of Naser Khusraw, Saf(Section) 35, Page, 110.
Then Kmaheraly posted this quote to support my point of view.
Ya Ali Madad,
You have raised very interesting and pertinent questions about the nature of Satan. I only mentioned the nature of Satan being the power of illusion that scientific endeavors are capable of creating in the context of the ginan in which it was mentioned.
But you are absolutely right the greatest Satan is really within and indeed to overcome it is the greatest Jihad as mentioned in the following verse of Kalame Mowla (sayings of Hazarat Ali).
"To wage Holy War against an infidel is the command of the Lord. But a greater infidel is your lower self (nafse amaaraa). Know this as true for all. The one, who has defeated the lower self, has indeed achieved success in both worlds. The one who surrenders to the mind (lower self), is miserable
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zubair_mahamood
- Posts: 238
- Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 6:12 pm
- Contact:
Ya Ali madaad,
I read this hadith before but not the explanation as its mention above. When we believe in Allah without seeing then we must also believe in saytan. When human body was created The mud used was brought from the worst part of earth and Allah put His Noor into body so all human have worst qualities of mud. We can’t decide which act is evil except Allah. There were many occasion were saytan tried to stop Prophets and mumins from following Allah Command like Prophet Adam when He was in paradise, when Prophet Ibrahim was following Allah command of sacrifice.
They are many hadiths of conversation of saytan’s with Prophets or Mumins. One such conversation which shows a quality of saytan is, “When Prophet Adam was desolated from paradise… He was sitting weeping and repenting for disobeying Allah than saytan came to him and Prophet said “stop don’t come near me u r bad! very bad, u made me disobey Allah’s command”… saytan replied I didn’t do anything but Its was your wish to become part of what was not yours made you do that” we are given exact detail of what is haram or halal right from the beginning of human by Allah, by Prophet, by Imams or by Hazar Imam. If we cross those limit or wish to cross them then we do evil act.
If I see I don’t think saytan is powerful or can hurt anyone, then y does it exist…. It also does Allah’s work like if Prophet Adam wouldn’t disobey Allah word the existence of essence Human creation or existence of prayer for forgiveness or favour or to say Allah is Supreme etc was not possible. Allah’s is present every were so do the evil. Every letter we write or say begins with Allah, Mowla Ali once said “I am the dot under the Ba of bismillah,” in many cases we don’t understand what is good or evil that’s y Bismillah r ahman nir rahim is said and we are advise to bring Allah in everything we do so that even if we are wrong Allah guides us….
Nafs (carnal soul) is natural act of human nature, it is an attribute which result from supporting the aql (intellect) and opposing nafs in their natural confict, while the angles have only intellect, not the nafs as well as animals. Then what is an intellect act or an opposite act is always a question? That’s when we have Allah’s messages from Prophets and Imams to guide us to correct path. One best way to do it is to follow hadiths and farmans and if u r confused then start anything u do with the name of Allah. No dough that Allah is always present in whatever we do as without a dot no letter can begin.
When hakim Lokman was asked to get a best part of a death goat he bought his heart and when he was again asked to get a worst part of a death goat he bought his heart. Our heart if its pure by ibaadth e zikar of Allah it reaches to a level where Allah becomes our eyes, Allah becomes our hands; Allah becomes everything for us…. Which make us rise to a level where our saytan as said by Prophet Muhammad becomes Muslim and if we neglect ibaadth and Allah word we go astray.
Zubair
I read this hadith before but not the explanation as its mention above. When we believe in Allah without seeing then we must also believe in saytan. When human body was created The mud used was brought from the worst part of earth and Allah put His Noor into body so all human have worst qualities of mud. We can’t decide which act is evil except Allah. There were many occasion were saytan tried to stop Prophets and mumins from following Allah Command like Prophet Adam when He was in paradise, when Prophet Ibrahim was following Allah command of sacrifice.
They are many hadiths of conversation of saytan’s with Prophets or Mumins. One such conversation which shows a quality of saytan is, “When Prophet Adam was desolated from paradise… He was sitting weeping and repenting for disobeying Allah than saytan came to him and Prophet said “stop don’t come near me u r bad! very bad, u made me disobey Allah’s command”… saytan replied I didn’t do anything but Its was your wish to become part of what was not yours made you do that” we are given exact detail of what is haram or halal right from the beginning of human by Allah, by Prophet, by Imams or by Hazar Imam. If we cross those limit or wish to cross them then we do evil act.
If I see I don’t think saytan is powerful or can hurt anyone, then y does it exist…. It also does Allah’s work like if Prophet Adam wouldn’t disobey Allah word the existence of essence Human creation or existence of prayer for forgiveness or favour or to say Allah is Supreme etc was not possible. Allah’s is present every were so do the evil. Every letter we write or say begins with Allah, Mowla Ali once said “I am the dot under the Ba of bismillah,” in many cases we don’t understand what is good or evil that’s y Bismillah r ahman nir rahim is said and we are advise to bring Allah in everything we do so that even if we are wrong Allah guides us….
Nafs (carnal soul) is natural act of human nature, it is an attribute which result from supporting the aql (intellect) and opposing nafs in their natural confict, while the angles have only intellect, not the nafs as well as animals. Then what is an intellect act or an opposite act is always a question? That’s when we have Allah’s messages from Prophets and Imams to guide us to correct path. One best way to do it is to follow hadiths and farmans and if u r confused then start anything u do with the name of Allah. No dough that Allah is always present in whatever we do as without a dot no letter can begin.
When hakim Lokman was asked to get a best part of a death goat he bought his heart and when he was again asked to get a worst part of a death goat he bought his heart. Our heart if its pure by ibaadth e zikar of Allah it reaches to a level where Allah becomes our eyes, Allah becomes our hands; Allah becomes everything for us…. Which make us rise to a level where our saytan as said by Prophet Muhammad becomes Muslim and if we neglect ibaadth and Allah word we go astray.
Zubair