THE REPROACH OF THE SUBJUGATOR TO THE SUBJUGATED TO
In the Holy Qur'an, we read an expository address in which there is indebtedness of man to the Exalted Allah who presents some of His favors and bounties and recounts some of the blessings He bestows upon him. But this man is ungrateful and rebels against his benefactor. He becomes heedless and turns away from truth. He ascribes things to other than their real Owner. He glorifies the one who is unworthy of glorification, and turns away from the One Who is the Great King, the Owner and Controller of all affairs.
I have chosen this Friday sermon to be a comment on a Divine address in which the Subjugator reproaches, addresses, draws the attention of, and instigates the subjugated to, to be grateful.
The Exalted Allah makes this man a central point among the other creatures. He makes all the benefits and advantages of the other beings at his service so that he (man) should praise his Lord and be thankful, obedient and execute the commands of the Only King who subjects all these things to him.
In Surat An Nahl, from which I have chosen some excerpts fitting for this occasion, the Exalted Allah Recounts ten of His great generous favors, benefits and blessings. The Exalted Allah said:
3-He has created the Heavens and the Earth for just ends: far is He above having the partners they ascribe to Him!
4-He has created man from a sperm drop; and behold this same (man) becomes an open disputer
5-And cattle he has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.
6-And ye have a sense of pride and beauty in them as ye drive them home in the evening, and as ye lead them forth to pasture in the morning.
7-And they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most kind, Most merciful.
8-And (he has created) horses, Mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and he has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge.
9-And unto Allah leads straight the way, but there are ways that turn aside: if Allah had willed, he could have guided all of you.
10-It is He Who sends down rain for you from the sky: from it ye drink, and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which you feed your cattle.
11-With it he produces for you corn, olives, date palms, grapes, and every kind of fruit: verily in this is a sign for those who give thought.
12-He has made subject to you the night and the day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by his command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.
13-And the things (He created) for you on this earth which He has multiplied in varying colors (and qualities): verily in this is a sign for men who celebrate the praises of Allah (in gratitude).
14-It is He Who has made the sea subject, that ye may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender, and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves, that ye may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah and that ye may be grateful.‏
15-And he has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourself;
16-And marks and sign posts; and by the stars (men) guide themselves.
17-Is then He Who creates like one that creates not? will ye not receive admonition?
18-If ye would count up the favors of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
19-And Allah doth know what ye conceal, and what ye reveal.
20-Those whom they invoke besides Allah create nothing and are themselves created.
21-They are things) dead, lifeless: nor do they know when they will be raised up.
22-Your God is One God: as to those who believe not in the Hereafter, their hearts refuse to know, and they are arrogant.
In this Qur'anic text, the Exalted Allah recounts ten favors of His, then He draws the attention of the addressee to five remarks.
As for His ten magnificent favors, the Exalted Allah presented the sight of the earth and the heaven. He also mentioned the favors He created wisely and harmoniously without any discrepancy among them. They are created to serve man behaviorally, psychologically, religiously and physically. These favors overwhelm and surround man from all sides.
It is a marvelous picture drawn by the Qur'anic eloquence in a wonderful way. In it, the Exalted Allah seems to say to man: I have created you on the earth after I have prepared it for you with complete equilibrium and presented to you everything you need.
The present confusion, maladies and bad consequences we witness today are all the result of man's misuse of this universe. Consequently, man feels restlessness in soul and sickness in body.
If man dealt with nature, that the Exalted Allah, created with no intention of change and alteration following the Satanic advice: "I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah" (An Nisa', v. 119), he would have been spared this confusion.
When I read the verse "It is Allah who made out of the things he created, some things to give you shade" (An Nahl, v.81), while I was suffering from the excessive heat (as you know, you are living now in an excessive wave of heat), I said to myself: "What does the Holy Qur'an say about heat?", for there is nothing, great or trivial but is mentioned and clarified in the Holy Qur'an. In the Holy Book, I read a secondary minute that led me to this comprehensive subject, It is in the following Exalted Allah's speech:
"It is Allah who made out of the things he created, some things to give you shade; of the hills He made some for your shelter; He made you garments to protect you from heat, and coats of mail to protect you from your (mutual) violence. Thus does He complete his favors on you, that ye may bow to his will (in Islam)" (An Nahl, v. 81).
Corcerning this issue, the Exalted Allah presents to man solutions with which he can adapt himself to heat and cold, but man prefers to make something else depending on his own opinion.
"He made you garments to protect you from heat". Scientists of cosmology say that when clothes are made from cotton or flax linen, they protect man's body from the heat.
Notice the gathering of the three elements in the Holy Qur'an: shadows, shelter, and garments, for by means of these three elements, man does not feel the heat:
-Shadows alleviate the heat because they veil the sunrays.
-Shelter is something that protects and isolates man from the heat.
-Garments are clothes made from plants.
When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was living in Mecca that was very hot, he used to go to Cave Hira' which is a kind of shelter. In that cave, there was a continuous shadow as well as a current of air that passes through from one winding side to another. Scientifically speaking, twisting makes the hot waves break. This was what our forefathers did when they built their houses in the old city. The hot air used to pass through the winding lanes and cool down.
In the past, people used to wear the kind of clothes suitable for the season of the year. But nowadays, man is advised to wear clothes made from the material that the Exalted Allah created to be burning fire, i.e., petrol that comes out of the earth.
It is the misuse by man who imagines to present something more capable of benefit than that created by Allah, the Exalted. Man believes that he can run the world as he wishes, but the Exalted Allah gives everything He created its proper function, then He guides man to its right use.
Man invented new scientific means, and smoke and gases began to rise from factories till the result was raising the temperature of the atmosphere because of the evil done by man: "Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the deed) that the hands of men have earned" (Ar Rum, v. 41).
The Exalted Allah appoints man in the most appropriate status suitable for him, then He guides him to the proper use of things, but man's catastrophe lies in his illusion that he can change the use of these things far away from the guidance of his Lord.
Nowadays, tunnels are dug through the mountains, while a lot of scientific studies indicate that this action will result in great earthquakes in the near future, because the weights of the masses that the Exalted Allah put on the earth were wisely, not haphazardly reckoned. The Exalted Allah presented this earth to man and said to him: "Be responsible for it, and benefit from it for it contains everything useful for you", but man destroyed it.
Let us go back to the Divine address which is our subject matter today. The Exalted Allah begins first with the great incident which is the creation of the universe. He said: "He has created the Heavens and the Earth". In this verse, the Exalted Allah refers to the creation of the two worlds, the material and the spiritual, in other words, the subtle and the dense worlds, for the whole universe consists of the material and the spiritual, or sense and meaning. But He, Great and Glorified be he, summarized His wisdom in one statement when He said: "He has created the Heavens and the Earth", i.e., He created the universe by wisdom not falsehood and haphazardly. Thus, the whole world, which is created by wisdom, is the first action the Exalted Allah mentions, and the first favor He recounts in His address. The Exalted Allah means to say: "I created my universe with all its heavens and earth, its sense and meaning, by wisdom not haphazardly."
"Far is He above having the partners they ascribe to Him!". The Exalted Allah cannot be compared with any other thing that some ascribe the ability and power to, nor can there be partners sharing Him His dominion, Glory be to Him.
Then, the exalted Allah mentioned the second action which is the creation of man. He said: "He has created man from a sperm drop".
Oh man.. notice how when the Exalted Allah arranges the sequence of His deeds, he mentions you on top of the list.
After mentioning the creation of the universe by wisdom, He said that He created you, oh man, before His mentioning the creation of mountains, seas and what the heavens and earth contain.
He, Great and Glorified be He, said first, "I created man", to refer to the high status of man , the fact which some are ignorant of, thus they degrade themselves and descend to the level of animals whose only aim in life is eating, drinking and enjoying themselves.
We are heedless of the secret of our creation and the high status the Exalted Allah bestowed on us to be His servants.
The Exalted Allah makes everything serviceable to us so that we serve Him only. " it is We Who created him from sperm", i.e., man is created from a minute particle of water, but man becomes ungrateful, "yet behold he (stands forth) as an open adversary" (Yasin, v. 77). After all that favor given to him by his Lord, he disputes and rebels against the guidance that the Exalted Allah sent to him to be guided rightly in all fields of life. He, Glorified and Exalted be He, said to man:
"This is my present to you, and you will not be righteous nor will you by guided by other than my law".
But man rebelled against his Creator and said:
"I don't want religion, I 'd rather have a law put by mankind. I prefer the atheist secularism, I prefer such and such…to heavenly religion."
Man begins to spread mischief.
"He (stands forth) as an open adversary". Man disputes with the King Who controls the whole universe and guides him to what is beneficial for him.
On a marriage occasion that took place recently, I said that the Islamic world has begun to remember its identity, while the human world has begun to remember its essence.
The example of the Islamic world remembering is what we witness nowadays in may countries, like Turkey. Secularism tried its best to make the Muslim forget his identity, but he, at last, remembers his identity. Sooner or later, this will be the case with all the Muslims all over the world, , because Islam is the greatest identity on the earth.
On the other hand, the human world remembers the human essence as described in the Holy Qur'an by the Exalted Allah: "We have indeed created man in the best of moulds" (At Tin, v.4). Nowadays, a great number of people, all over the world, seek truth. Most of them embrace Islam hoping to regain the truth of their humanity, i.e., the original essence of their human rank after they have felt that they have been changed into, either moving mechanical machines, or into libertines ignorant of the real purposes of the universe.
The Exalted Allah then mentioned the creation of the animal world. The animal world is like that of man in shape, or similar to it, but the difference is that man is honored because of his spirituality. The animal world is mentioned directly after the mention of the creation of man because it is put at the service of man. The Exalted Allah said:
"And cattle he has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat".
The Holy Qur'an summarizes the benefits of the animals which you can recount.
"And of their (meat) ye eat" is a reference to the nourishment by which man strengthen his body.
'And ye have a sense of pride and beauty in them as ye drive them home in the evening, and as ye lead them forth to pasture in the morning".
In this verse there is one psychological element which causes man's relief, i.e., when man looks at the animal world from the artistic point of view, he feels comfort and enjoyment.
Then the Exalted Allah mentioned the employment of these animals in transportation. One of the miracles of the Holy Qur'an is displayed at this point, for other unknown means of transportations are mentioned too, though they do not belong to the animal world. The Holy Qur'an presents miracles so that an idiot would not have the excuse of saying: "Look at the Qur'an that mentions the animals as means of transportation, whereas we are living in the age of planes and fast vehicles".
The Holy Qur'an always challenges the disbelievers and says to man: "I address you at the time of riding mules, and at the time of riding vehicles unknown to those who used to ride mules. The Exalted Allah said:
"And they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most kind, Most merciful. And (he has created) horses, Mules, and donkeys, for you to ride".
These animals are different from the camels that are included in the category of livestock, but the function of the former completes that of the camels, though they are not considered livestock.
"And (he has created) horses, Mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and he has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge".
The Qur'anic address is miraculous and challenging at the same time. The Exalted Allah seems to say: "I am going to create the plane, I am going to create vehicles that people will know in the future, but it is Me who is going to guide people to invent them. It is Me Who knows and teaches the secret of making things: "He taught man that which he knew not" (Al 'Alaq, v. 5).
Do not have the illusion that if you are guided to a benefit, you are liable to surpass the laws of Allah!
Definitely not, for the One Who guides you to this benefit is Allah, the Exalted.
The One Who guides you to invent a new device is Allah, the Exalted.
"And He created", because it is He alone who creates everything, "other things of which ye have no knowledge". The Exalted Allah's address is brief and challenging.
"And unto Allah leads straight the way", i.e., it is He who guides. The Exalted Allah asserts the fact that what is going to be produced in the future by man will be facilitated and inspired by Him, "And unto Allah leads straight the way".
"But there are ways that turn aside". This is another miraculous point. There is reference to the fact that what man will invent, will be the cause of decadence. Man will make it, but it will be corrupted.
What happens now when a petrol carrier is destroyed in the sea?
What happens when a vehicle runs into another one? "But there are ways that turn aside".
Thus is an address that needs thorough meditation. How could what our Lord created be unfair?
Certainly, the Exalted Allah creates everything, but you, Oh man, are the cause of corruption:
"Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul" (An Nisa', v.79).
"if Allah had willed, he could have guided all of you", i.e., if the Exalted Allah wanted to make you like animals, He would have deprived you of the freedom of choice, as the bee that is guided to the suitable flower, and as the lamb that is guided to the plant that cures its pain, but He gives you freedom of choice, and makes your responsibility according to this choice he charges you with.
"if Allah had willed, he could have guided all of you", but He gave you freedom of choice.
The Exalted Allah mentioned in the fourth place sending water:
"we made from water every living thing" (An Biya', v. 30).
The Exalted Allah sends water for people to drink, for plants, for trees, for the food of animals and man;
"It is He Who sends down rain for you from the sky: from it you drink".
The Holy Qur'an guides man, but man misuses this favor. The purest kind of water is that which is sent by the sky. If the water of rain were distributed to all mankind to drink, no one would be thirsty on the face of the earth.
The purest kind of water is that which is sent by the sky, but because of our sudden material development, we suffer from the crisis of the lack of electricity, the lack of water, and we flounder…!
Certainly, this is the ignorant man who is not clever enough to be guided by the address of his Lord.
"and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which you feed your cattle", i.e., you graze your cattle .
The water of the rain that He makes serviceable for you is the cause of growing many kinds of plant:
"With it he produces for you corn, olives, date palms, grapes, and every kind of fruit: verily in this is a sign for those who give thought".
The fifth action of the Exalted Allah is subjecting the day and night, because man's body needs both, and everything on the earth needs them too, but there is no time enough in this sermon to present details on this issue.
"He has made subject to you the night and the day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by his command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise".
This is the type of calculation and the type of disciplined universal equilibrium that man can make use of.
If only man would study the phenomenon of the ebb and flow in his body, not only in the sea, when the distance of the moon from man is changed. I have read a study about the innumerable benefits that man can get from the ebb and flow, but in our present time, man is concerned only with the earth more than the sky.
Summing up, and briefly speaking, the sixth action is: "He subjugated all that is on earth" so that an arrogant may not say: "the Holy Qur'an has left out something in this address, for we have invented the information science, the computer, electrical energy, hydrogen energy, and the atomic energy…".
The Holy Qur'an summarized all the above mentioned by saying:
"And He created for you the things on this earth which he has multiplied in varying colors (and qualities)".
That is, there is abundance of the things the Exalted Allah created. Notice how the Exalted Allah repeats the expression: "For you", so that we can see the truth, and realize that the whole universe around us is put at our service, but, alas, we are heedless of the Subjugator of this universe.
"And He created for you the things on this earth which he has multiplied in varying colors (and qualities)".
This is a concise statement which refers to the variety in kinds, classes, shapes and classification, "verily in this is a sign for those who give thought".
Then the Exalted Allah mentioned the seventh action which is creating the sea and what it includes:
"It is He Who has made the sea subject, that you may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender, and that you may extract therefrom ornaments to wear; and thou see the ships therein that plough the waves, that you may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah and that you may be grateful".‏
This verse refers to man's seeking the bounties of Allah from the sea, whether it is in trade, in travel, in exploiting the treasures of the sea, and in whichever way he likes.
"That you may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah". Can the ignorant say: "The petrol in the depth of the sea is not mentioned in the Holy Qur'an!"
Certainly not, for the Exalted Allah summarized the idea saying: "That you may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah", i.e., search for His bounty everywhere, in the sky, on the earth, in stone or in trees.
Oh man! Look for your benefits, for the Exalted Allah has given you permission to look for them wherever you find them, but be guided by the Divine address, and do not ignore it.
"That you may be grateful".‏
Do the countries of petrol thank the Exalted Allah for the bounty of petrol that He, Glorified and Exalted be he, bestowed on them, or they exploit the wealth of this bounty to change their countries into a pit of corruption? There, you can find immorality, wasting of money, and abominable deeds that you are not found in poor countries.
"That you may be grateful".‏ Have you been thankful to your Lord?
Then the Exalted Allah mentions the eighth bounty of mountains:
"And he has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you".
A geology scientist mentioned to me that all the mountainous masses on the earth, set by the Exalted Allah, prevent the shaking of the earth, because the earth is not exactly global. It is rather semi ball-shaped, and if it were not for these masses, shaking of the earth would have continued during the process of the rotation of the earth. The Exalted Allah created these mountainous masses so that man should not feel the inconvenience of this shaking, and not be bothered by it while he works, relaxes or sleeps.
"And rivers" is the ninth mentioned favor. As is mentioned before, water that descends from the sky is beneficial for drink and plants, the Exalted Allah abbreviated the idea in this place saying: "and rivers", so search for the benefits of rivers.
As the Exalted Allah guarantees the purity of the sky water, He mentions drinking it, but He does guarantee the purity of the river water because the hand of man has polluted it more than polluting the air. In spite of the fact that, nowadays, the air is polluted, the polluting of river is greater. How many the polluted rivers are..! See the Orontes in Homs and Hama, the two Syrian cities, and the historic river, Quwaiq, in Aleppo!
The tenth action is making the geographical and astronomical signs at the service of man so that he can recognize time and place, or what is called the ability of orientation. This earth is different from that of the Hereafter that is called As Sahera. It a the place where mankind will be gathered on the day of Resurrection. It is neither crooked nor curved. There will be neither a mountain nor a winding, and one cannot distinguish a place from another. But the Exalted Allah makes this earth different from that on the Day of Resurrection:
"And marks and sign posts; and by the stars (men) guide themselves".
In this verse, signs of orientation for place and time are mentioned.
Finally, I'd like to recount the five admonitions after mentioning the ten bounties:
The First Admonition:
Is it not more fitting for you to direct your hearts to the One who Creates, and turn away from the one who does not?
"Is then He Who creates like one that creates not? will ye not receive admonition?"
The Second Admonition:
Is it not more fitting for you to notice the innumerable abundant graces bestowed upon you from the Exalted Allah?
"If ye would count up the favors of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
The Third Admonition:
Is it not more fitting for you to notice that the Exalted Allah is the only One who has absolute knowledge of the minutes of everything? He, alone, knows what you conceal and what you disclose:
"And Allah doth know what ye conceal, and what ye reveal."
When you realize this fact, you become righteous, because you know that the Exalted Allah controls all your activities. When you do that, you will be in no need any more for the law that punishes you to make you be righteous.
The Fourth Admonition:
Is it not more fitting for you to notice that other than the Exalted Allah is like the dead.
"And put thy trust in Him Who lives and dies not" (Al Furqan, v. 58).
"Those whom they invoke besides Allah create nothing and are themselves created. They are things) dead, lifeless: nor do they know when they will be raised up".
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
"The most truthful line of poetry the Arabs said is what Labib said: 'Certainly, everything is false but Allah."

The Fifth Admonition:
Is it not more fitting for you to know for sure that the Deity is certainly and truly One and Unique, and that materialism and arrogance are the secret of denial of Truth?
When materialism and arrogance are gathered in man, he will deny the Truth. So, if you happen to meet a man who has the sin of committing an abominable deed, close your eyes and say to yourself: "This man is materialistic or arrogant, or he is both".
"Your God is One God", i.e., the one you worship is truly one, "as to those who believe not in the Hereafter, their hearts refuse to know, and they are arrogant".
Allahum… do not make our hearts directed but to You, and verify us with servitude in your presence, favor us by bestowing on us the purity of knowing You, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.