moses and noah and jesus and abraham come up a lot in the qur'an. they are men who are recognized, who people can remember, identify with, revere. they are referred to as men of great humility who brought with them the message of One-ness, to "choose no guardian beside Me" (xvii: 2).
the message of the prophets are accentuated with the refutation they received from the people of the time and in turn the lesson the masses missed out on, which will result in "a painful doom" (xvii: 10). the disbelievers lay in constant contrast to the believers: the zalimoon versus the mu'minun, the idolaterers versus the subscribers to the One-ness, the arrogant versus the humble, those who are cynical and miss portents and those who believe in the hereafter and see the signs.
"an We appoint the night and the day two portents. We make dark the protent of the night, and We make the portent of the day sight-giving, that ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and that ye may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning;" (xvii: 12)
the hereafter is essential to keeping man on the right track. it is the distraction we need to abide to aspire for greatness, surah xvii suggests. in ottavia butler's parable of the sower, the protagonist, olamina, tells people that the goal of earthseed philosophy is to fly into the stars. this, according to butler herself, during an interview, is a necessary distraction. people need distractions to keep them reaching, she said.
the hereafter lies around the bend, as the now is as short as the lives of your grandmama and great great dada. surah xvii reminds us of "how many generations we have destroyed since noah!" (xvii: 17). placing too much emphasis on "that which hastenth away" (xvii: 18) will only lead a state of being "condemned" (xvii: 17).
for those who recognize the impermanence, there is a code of conduct they follow, one of surrender. in babylon, the surrenderer appears as winter blues, being in bed for hours after daylight, of not wanting to get up, of blowing out nicotine and walking like ekg after another pub crawl.
surrender surah xvii says, as the people of israel did not, as the people of noah did not, as the people warned by messengers did not. surrender from the example the arrogant have left, afterall, where are they now? surrender to the One-ness by being a good human being.
there is the surrender of humility and the surrender of nihilism. sometimes the line is blurry.
sometimes i'm walking a tight rope, middle fingers up to everyone, opening the suicide doors, singing kanye out loud - i decide my fate, you decide yours, man is you saying something? man you can't tell me nothing. no, you can't tell me nothing.
you can't tell me nothing i say as i keep it pushing, walking past you like u were just another ad in the babylon train, as i strut like a royal bengal puma through the bourgeois, the saggy-pant hood, fake thugs, prissy desi chicks, the haters, the women who want men who will sweat them, the men who demand being the center of attention, the gatekeepers who hold keys to organizations and funding and talk community but work like monarchs - nah, you can't tell me nothing.
but really, you can tell me, and i'll listen, as part of my worship, my namaste - "thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him and show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, say not 'Fie' unot them nor reoulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word" (xvii: 23). abbu has been reminding me of this recently, as i grow isolated from them, from everyone, between heaven and hell, tightroping between surrender (islam) and surrender (nihilism).
among other things, this is part of the ticket in to the herafter, the Guidance, is your ticket to ride. the Guidance is treating your parents with respect, keeping your voice low, and your composure diminutive to theirs. the Guidance is to "slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you" (xvii: 31). the Guidance is: "come not near the wealth of the orphan" (xvii: 34).
the Great Guidance paves a path of righteousness for you. walk right little homie.
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