Mayeda: Qur'anic Destiny

For Muslims, the Qur'an is much more than just a religious book. The Qur'an is the Word of God. The Qur'an is said to be so beautiful, so pure, so sacred, and so powerful, that its only possible origin is from the Holy One Himself, God. Muslims consider the Qur'an a miracle itself that was sent from God through his final prophet, Muhammad. Arabic reading Muslims say that the Qur'an's extraordinary holy power and beauty can only experienced if read in Arabic. Those who have read the Qur'an in Arabic agree that the Qur'anic voice is so original, powerful, and that there's something so special about it that it cannot be described. For that reason, Muslims absolutely believe that the Qur'an cannot truly be translated or interpreted into any other language.

The Qur'an has such a profound emotional effect that a recitation of the Qur'an oftentimes bring Muslims to tears. Devout Muslims will often listen to the recitations of the Qur'an by famous reciters for a source of inspiration and simply for its entertainment value. I had an opportunity to listen to a famous reciter on CD during my history class one day. After closely listening to just a few recitations of Suras in Arabic, I had the worst case of chicken skin in my life. The voice. was packed with varying emotions, lots of desire, and had an extraordinary and indescribable power. I knew instantly that the Qur'an possessed a certain level of power and beauty, and I was intrigued to learn the meaning of those Suras. Because I already knew that a translated version of the Qur'an doesn't give the reader the same feeling as the original one would, I was quite pessimistic on the value that the translation would have. After several nights of Sura reading, I found myself in awe. The words of the Qur'an were so powerful, deep, and righteous that it made my heart skip a beat. Some stanzas brought me joy, some brought me anxiety and insecurity, and others brought me fear--these were just a few emotions I strongly felt while reading. However, the Qur'an brought about some subjects of my life that I am sensitive, curious, and very emotional about. The Qur'an really made me think about some profound aspects of my life: my destiny or fate of my day of reckoning.

As a young child, I always wondered what I'd be when I grew older. I hoped that I'd be an astronaut, a father and husband, and a whole bunch of other things. I hate to admit it, but I grew up only thinking about my future and lived a very carefree lifestyle. However, things have changed drastically since then. After reading The Opening, the first Sura , I saw that the final stanza was in regards to the subject of fate. The Opening says,

"Guide us along the road straight
the road of those to whom you are giving
not those with anger upon them
not those who have lost the way" (Sura 1).

When this Sura says to "Guide us" it means for God to guide us as humans "along the road straight", or along the right direction or path in life. The right direction or path in life means the correct way of life, morally and physically. This stanza made me think about my life as of today and what is the right "path" or "sunna7 for me? This question is very ironic to me because I feel that I am at the age where I have many options that will greatly influence my destiny in life, and I want to choose the right one. For instance, in High School, I am always faced with many decisions like whether I should take all honors courses or should I get involved in drugs, and at times I feel overwhelmed, insecure, and in need of some type inspiration.

Is "the road of those to whom you are giving" the right path? I believe that this is the right road or path that God wants one to be on, but to get on this road one must be willing to give, which is an aspect of the Five Pillars of Islam. I agree that people should be generous because if they don't have the good will of giving, they are greedy and self-centered individuals. When I think about generosity, I think about my grandfather, who is now eightythree years old, and after reading this Sura, I realize that he is one of the nicest and goodhearted people I know. Maybe this Sura is true; generosity is the path to good fate.

After reading the closing of The Opening which says, "not those with anger upon them" and "not those who have lost the way", I felt a jolt of insecurity that I could be a person who has anger within and maybe I could have already lost the way. It then made me think, why could I even think that I am angry or how I could have gotten off the right path? After doing some soul searching, I came to a conclusion that everyone must have these types of insecurities, and if they denied it, they would only be lying to themselves. From this Sura, I gained some wisdom and knowledge about myself and ultimately concluded that to stay on the right path towards destiny, I should simply live life with happiness and to develop my morals and actions with only good intentions. The Opening was able to only answer part of my question on how I run my life towards a positive destiny. For more answers, I turned the pages of the Qur'an to The Cheats.

The Cheats begins with the description of the bad fated "cheats,"

"Cursed are the cheats
who when their portion is measured among people
take their full share
who when they measure the share of others,
are frauds" (Sura 83)

From this stanza, it clearly concludes that the "cheats" are avaricious and selfish people. They are very materialistic people who base their lives around materialistic objects. 'The cheats" are the types of people who take more than their equal share and will even steal from others' portions. Not only does this violate one of the Five Pillars of Islam, it signifies that the cheats are not on the right path. Referring back to The Opening's last stanza, it says that one should be willing to give in order stay on the right "road" or path in life. When reading this sura I compared the "cheats" to me, and looking back upon a few incidents, the "cheat" has come out of me. I'd hate to admit it, but I'm part "cheat," but I think that everyone has a "cheat" inside of them, no matter how good of a person one is. The Cheats also says,

"Cursed are those who call it all a lie
who deny the day of reckoning"

From this short passage, the "cheats" are once again said to be cursed because they call "it" a lie. "If' is mostly likely God or religion, so the "cheats" are most likely to be sacrilegious people "who deny the day of reckoning" or the day when the whole truth of the person is unveiled. I, myself, have a very difficult time thinking about my death. This maybe a weakness that I have, but I definitely do not deny my day of reckoning. The Qur'an emphasizes that the day of reckoning is the day your earth life will end, and you will be judge on whether you shall go to heaven or hell. The Most High sura describes the process of one's judgement day,

"We will make you recite.
You will not forget except what the will of God allows
He knows what is declared and what lies hidden
He will ease you to the life of ease
So remind them if reminder will succeed.

Those who know awe will be brought to remember He who is hard in wrong will turn away He will be put to the fire neither dying in it nor living He who makes himself pure will flourish who remembers the name of his lord and performs the prayee' (Sura 87) After reading this sura stanza, I really thought about what it meant to me. I found this sura to be so true on how people like you and I will hide things that we don't want to confess even if it means suffering or having to pay a consequence. In this situation, not confessing your secrets on your day of reckoning means eternal suffering in a fire that you don't die or live in. We as people, try very hard to hide things from others, but more profoundly, ourselves. Knowing this makes me feel weak mentally as a person and makes me wonder why we have to trick ourselves into feeling secure. The day of reckoning is the moment of truth that all Muslims must confess their hidden secrets to enter the heaven. Maybe every person should have a moment of truth with himself or herself to live a life of truth, not lie. After reviewing the Qur'an's suras and more importantly, myself, I have answered my own question of how I can live my life to a positive fate. Live happily, be generous, and ultimately, be true with oneself, and everything else will take care of itself.