(Text of the khuṭbah delivered at UBC on Friday, April 5, 2013)
[First khuṭbah]
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي خلق السماواتِ والأرضَ وجعل الظلماتِ والنورَ ثم الذين كفروا بربهم يعدلون، فالحمد لله الذي لم يتخذ ولدا ولم يكن له شريك في الملك، والحمد لله الذي أنزل على عبده الكتابَ لينذرَ الذين قالوا اتخذ اللهُ ولدا، ما لهم به من علمٍ ولا لآبائهم، كبرت كلمةً تخرج من أفواههم؛ فالحمد لله الذي له ما في السماواتِ وما في الأرضِ وله الحمدُ في الآخرةِ وهو الحكيمُ الخبيرُ،
وسلامٌ على عباده الذين اصطفى، فسلامٌ على آخر الأنبياء والصديقين والشهداء، وسلام على عيسى الذي آتاه اللهُ الكتابَ وجعله نبيا، وسلام على موسى الذي آتاه اللهُ التوراة، وسلام على إسحاق وإسماعيل وإبراهيم فإنهم كانوا قانتين لله حنفاء وما كانوا من المشركين.
Praise is due unto God, who created the heavens and the earth, and darkness and light; yet there are those who confuse created things and beings with their rabb [Q6:1]. Praise is for God who has no offspring and no partner in zher dominion [Q17:111]. And praise is for God, who bestowed kitāb on zher servant Muhammad so he could warn those who say God has a son – no knowledge whatsoever of the matter do they have, nor did their forefathers have any; too big a word is what issues from their lips [Q18:1–5]. Thus, praise is for God to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, and praise is due unto zhim in the next world; zhe is wise and aware [Q34:1].
And salām on zher servants whom zhe chose (as zher messengers) [Q27:59] – salām on Muhammad, the last of zher prophets, and on those who testify and bear witness to his commissioning as a prophet; salām on Jesus who received God’s kitāb and was one of zher prophets; salām on Moses who received Torah; and salām on Isaac, Ishmael, and Abraham, all of whom were devoted to God, and were rather straightforward in their belief, and were surely not among those who adore, prioritize and worship things and beings other than God.
Brothers and sisters: Back in September last year, I talked about the first 20 āyāt of al‑Baqarah, the second sūrah of Qur’an. This stretch of āyāt describes to us how different people respond to guidance. We are told that the latest instance of God’s kitāb (i.e. Qur’an) is guidance for muttaqīn (who are conscious of God) [Q2:2].
ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه هدى للمتقين
The very first attribute of muttaqīn, virtually a prerequisite to appreciate guidance in kitāb, is their willingness to believe in what is beyond their immediate perception [2:3]. Thus, it is said:
ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه هدى للمتقين الذين يؤمنون بالغيب
Today, I want to talk further about the importance of īmān bi‑al‑ghayb (or belief in what is beyond our sense perception) in the Qur’anic scheme of things.
One of the main reasons why people dismiss the possibility of God and an afterlife is because they cannot see God or heaven and hell. If “seeing is believing”, how do people believe in angels that they have never seen? How do people believe in a prophet’s claim that they are representative of God, or that they received God’s word?
A good number of human beings are unwilling to believe in what they cannot see. And if we think about it, it’s not unreasonable to want to see something one has been asked to believe in.
Does Qur’an address this issue? What does Qur’an have to say to someone who insists they won’t believe in God because nobody has ever seen zhim?
Well, Qur’an does address the issue. Apparently, the demand to see or experience God as directly as possible is not new.
Different prophets introduced the one God to their peoples at different times. A good number of any prophet’s audience thought the idea of a God that they could not see was incredible. So the unbelieving people of all times demanded that the prophet bring God face‑to‑face before them.
Thus, Qurʼan notes when prophets invite people to God, they say “[who and] what is Raḥmān? Are we to prostrate ourselves before whatever you bid us [to worship]?” [Q25:60]
وما الرحمن؟ أنسجد لما تأمرُنا؟
When Moses invited Pharaoh to God, the sustainer of all existence, Pharaoh thought Moses was mad. He mockingly asked Hāmān to build a lofty tower for him so that he may take a look at the lord of Moses. [Q28:38, Q40:36–37]
فأوقد لي يا هامان على الطين فاجعل لي صرحا لعلي أطلع إلى إله موسى وإني لأظنه من الكاذبين
Even the Israelites who responded favorably to Moses told him at one point, “We shall not believe you until we see God directly.” [Q2:55]
وإذ قلتم يا موسى لن نؤمن لك حتى نرى الله جهرة
Similarly, people among the audience of Muhammad asked why they did not see God; why God did not speak to them directly; or why angels or other miracles did not descend from the sky. [Q2:118, Q25:21]
وقال الذين لا يعلمون لولا يكلمنا اللهُ أو تأتينا آية؛
وقال الذين لا يرجون لقاءَنا لولا أنزل علينا الملائكةُ أو نرى ربَّنا
Demands concerning angels and miracles went hand in hand with demands concerning God.
Angels have had a critical role in conveying God’s word to zher prophets and messengers. Since angels were supernatural beings, the doubting members of a prophet’s community would ask them to bring angels face‑to‑face before them. Sometimes, they demanded that angels should accompany the prophet as proof of their commissioning by God. At other times, they demanded that an angel be sent down as a prophet; for people thought it was incredible that one of them – a human being – was God’s messenger.
Similarly, the demand for miracles resulted from people’s incredulity concerning the appointment of a mortal from amongst them as God’s messenger.
Thus, the incredulous audience of Muhammad announced to him, “We shall not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth, or you have a garden of date-palms and vines and you cause rivers to gush forth in their midst, or you cause the sky to crash on us in pieces as you have threatened, or bring God and angels face to face before us.” [Q17:90–92]
وَقَالُواْ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ الأَرْضِ يَنبُوعًا، أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ الأَنْهَارَ خِلالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا، أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاء كما زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِيَ بِاللّهِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةِ قَبِيلاً
Instead of entertaining such demands concerning God, angels, and miracles, Qur’an responds by rhetorically asking if the people in doubt were going to wait until God or angels showed up in the shadows of clouds [Q2:210, Q6:158, Q16:33].
هل ينظرون إلا أن يأتيهم اللهُ في ظلل من الغمام والملائكةُ؟
هل ينظرون إلا أن تأتيهم الملائكةُ أو يأتي ربُّك أو يأتي بعض آيات ربك؟
Qur’an makes clear that the day when some of God’s portents or angels actually show up, the matter will have been decided, and believing shall not avail someone who did not previously believe [Q6:8, Q6:158].
ولو أنزلنا ملكا لقضي الأمرُ ثم لا ينظرون؛
يوم يأتي بعضُ آياتِ ربك لا ينفع نفسا إيمانُها لم تكن آمنت من قبلُ
It is evident that Qur’an does not entertain the demand to see God or angels. Qur’an emphasizes that the day people could see angels or some of God’s portents, they would no longer have the opportunity to believe – it would be time for God’s judgment. Essentially, human beings are expected to evaluate the metaphysical truth claims of Qur’an and their implications for human life even though God and angels cannot be seen until it is too late.
Like God and angels, Qur’an also records people’s incredulity concerning revealed word of God, or kitāb. Thus, Qur’an sarcastically remarks that those who have an avoidant and rather casual attitude towards admonition (al‑tadhkirah, or Qur’an) want to be individually given spread-out scrolls of revelation [74:52].
بل يريد كل امرئ منهم أن يؤتى صحفا منشرة
Out of utter disbelief, those who doubted the divine origin of Qur’an invoked God, “If this [book] is indeed the truth from you, then shower upon us stones from the skies, or inflict on us [some other] grievous suffering.” [Q8:32]
وإذ قالوا اللهم إن كان هذا هو الحق من عندك فأمطر علينا حجارة من السماء أو ائتنا بعذاب أليم
Instead of offering what was demanded, Qur’an responded by pointing out to Muhammad that even if God sent down a book in print from the sky that they could touch with their hands, those who were bent on denying the truth would dismiss it as magic [Q6:7].
ولو نزلنا عليك كتابا في قرطاس فلمسوه بأيديهم لقال الذين كفروا إن هذا إلا سحر مبين
They would reject Qur’an even if it could move mountains, or cleave the earth asunder, or make the dead speak [Q13:31].
ولو أن قرآنا سُيِّرَتْ به الجبالُ أو قُطِّعَتْ به الأرضُ أو كُلِّمَ به الموتى
It is clear from the Qur’anic stance on the matter that some miraculous descent of Qur’an in print from the sky cannot cause those who are bent on denying the truth to believe. At any rate, Qur’an is not willing to entertain such demands. Human beings will neither receive the word in their individual “spiritual” experiences, nor will it be sent down from the sky in print; such is not God’s will. Instead, humankind must rely on the delivery of the message by the messengers of God. Subsequently, a reader of Qur’an is expected to evaluate the content of the book, and therefrom judge its authenticity.
So far, I have tried to show you how Qur’an records and dismisses people’s demands to see God or the angels, or to receive God’s word individually or in print from the sky.
Let us now turn to those occasions where Qur’an more directly emphasizes that Islamic belief is by nature īmān bi‑al‑ghayb, i.e. belief in something that is not amenable to immediate human perception.
Thus, one notes the declaration early on in Qur’an that the latest instance of God’s kitāb is guidance for muttaqīn who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception [Q2:2–3].
ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه هدى للمتقين الذين يؤمنون بالغيب
Only a person who is convinced that reality can be greater than the observable world can find guidance in Qur’an. For those who cannot accept this fundamental premise, Qur’an will effectively remain a closed book.
And such is not the case with Qurʼan alone. Torah too was guidance for muttaqīn who believed in the existence of that which is beyond the scope of human perception. [Q21:48–49]
ولقد آتينا موسى وهارونَ الفرقانَ وضياءً وذكرا للمتقين الذين يخشون ربهم بالغيب وهم من الساعة مشفقون
Similarly, Muhammad is told that only those who fear God even though zhe is beyond the reach of human perception will pay heed to his warnings [Q36:11].
إنما تنذر من اتبع الذكرَ و خشي الرحمنَ بالغيب، فبشره بمغفرةٍ وأجرٍ كريم
Whether or not humans behave in God‑conscious ways even though zher majesty is beyond the scope of human perception is precisely the nature of the test for humankind. Thus, Qurʼan addresses the believers, “O you who have believed! Most certainly God will try you by means of the game which may come within the reach of your hands and your weapons [while you are on pilgrimage], so that God might mark out those who fear zhim even though zhe is beyond the reach of human perception.” [Q5:94]
يا أيها الذين آمنوا لَيَبلُوَنَّكم اللهُ بشيء من الصيد تناله أيديكم ورماحُكم ليعلمَ اللهُ من يخافُه بالغيب
Likewise, Qur’an asserts that the very purpose of sending messengers and revealed books to humankind and making available to them iron – i.e. setting up human civilization – is to judge who among them would (and who would not) stand by the side of God and zher messengers even though zhe is beyond the scope of human perception. [Q57:25]
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ
Finally, muttaqīn – who remain conscious of God in everything they do – even though zhe is beyond the scope of their perception have been promised rewards in the hereafter. [Q50:31–33, Q67:12]
وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ، هَذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ، مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَن بِالْغَيْبِ وَجَاء بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
The connection between taqwá and īmān bi‑al‑ghayb in these āyāt is unmistakeable.
The discussion so far should leave us with no doubt concerning the impossibility of directly observing the objects of īmān. The existence and exact nature of the objects of īmān cannot be grasped by our sense-perceptions. Our belief in God, angels, heaven and hell, and kitāb is meant to be īmān bi‑al‑ghayb.
With this I conclude the first khuṭbah.
[Second khuṭbah]
الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على الأنبياء والمرسلين.
Brothers and sisters: in the first khuṭbah, I have tried to highlight the centrality of īmān bi‑al‑ghayb in Islamic belief. Qur’an records and dismisses the demands to directly experience God, angels, or other objects of īmān, and emphasizes, instead, that the very nature of our belief in God and other metaphysical propositions of Qur’an is īmān bi‑al‑ghayb. Willingness to believe in what is beyond our sense perceptions is (1) a prerequisite in order to appreciate potential guidance in God’s kitāb, and (2) it is what we shall be rewarded for. The day when we can witness some of God’s portents, angels, and heaven and hell, the matter will have been decided, the time will be up, and there will be no opportunity to believe.
But then the question arises: if our belief in God is īmān bi‑al‑ghayb, how exactly is it reasonable? Is it reasonable at all? If it is, what kind of rationality underpins Islamic belief?
If God permits, I’ll try to address this question in a future khuṭbah.
I’ll conclude by asking God to facilitate us in shaping our religiosity in the light of zher word.
اللهم ارحمنا بالقرآن الكريم، واجعله لنا إماما ونورا وهدى ورحمة،
اللهم ذكرنا منه ما نسينا، وعلمنا منه ما جهلنا
وارزقنا تلاوته آناء اليل وآناء النهار
واجعله لنا حجة يارب العالمين
إن الله وملائكته يصلون على النبي، ياأيها الذين آمنوا صلوا عليه وسلموا تسليما.
اللهم صل على محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيد.
اللهم بارك على محمد كما باركت على إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيد.
اللهم أرنا الحق حقا وارزقنا اتباعه وأرنا الباطل باطلا وارزقنا اجتنابه
اللهم إنا نسألك رزقا واسعا وعلما نافعا وعملا متقبلا
ربنا اشرح لنا صدورنا ويسر لنا أمورنا واحلل عقدة من ألسنتنا يفقهوا قولنا
ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار
سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون وسلام على المرسلين والحمد لله رب العالمين
وأقم الصلاة.
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