Wednesday, February 26, 2014

surah xxii: the pilgrimmage

"o mankind! if ye are in doubt concerning the resurrection, then lo! we have created you from dust, then from a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh shapely and shapeless, that We may make it clear for you" (xxii: 5).

surah xxii tells us that life is more than death. that our lives are forever. that we are all held accountable for our deeds. that actions have reactions "because the hour will come" (xxii: 7).

according to science, modern science, the conglomeration of previous knowledge, the smallest stable unit of matter is the atom. every atom, based on the number of protons it has, is an element, i.e. hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, etc. when these atoms combine to form molecules, a chemical reaction is said to happen. the combination of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen is an example of this. water, can be liquid, solid, or gas. but regardless of what form it takes, matter exists.

we are chemicals in motion, born into bodies, live a short while, become dust, trees, apples. with each chemical reaction, we undergo a change - ageing, wrinkles, building, muscles, flexibility. much of our new manifestation, whether it be as someone doing a headstand and a split, or someone becoming obese and depressed, has to do with the work we put in, the energy we invest. the resurrection is observable, as it is constant, and the circumstance you find yourself in is due to actions in the way you spend your time and energy yesterday.

certain pillars are here to ground us, to remind us of this Oneness, so that we maintain our circumference within the orbit of life. otherwise we stray, otherwise we drift off orbit, otherwise we forget chemical reactions, the immortality of matter, that our actions today will shape what we will become tomorrow. "and when We prepared for abraham the place of the house, saying: ascribe thou no thing as partner unto Me, and purify my house for those who make the round and those who stand and those who bow and make prostration" (xxii: 26).

surah xxi details the requirement of people who surrender to make a pilgrimage, around the house of ALLAH - the house that abraham built - the atom, the first element, the 108 elements. our circle around this, is that of the electron around the proton and neutron. our negative charges - nafs - ego, become neutralized in the process of orbit, of the orbital that we follow in communion like flocks of birds flying in circles in the clear blue skies, without a clear indication of who is the leader, to the human eye.

the leader in the circles around the house of ALLAH - the cell - the atom, the core, the nucleus, is none other than what our lives are integrally tied to like an umbilical cord.

"and proclaim unto mankind the pilgrimage. they will come unto thee on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every deep ravine" (xxii: 27).

the pilgrimage allows us to humble ourselves, to let go, to be Guided by the prescriptions set forth by Air Land Liquid Atmosphere Heat. our orbit is designed for us, it is laid out, and what is required of us, is to submit as ALLAH "knows all that is before them and all that is behind them, and unto ALLAH is Hearer, Seer. (xxii: 75)

No comments:

Post a Comment