Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Day # 20

So far this exploration of surat al-baqara has taken us through the journey of the Devine guidance provided for us:

⁃ attributes of those who can be guided

⁃ The defences of those who’s hearts have been corrupted

⁃ The way to remain connected to this task of receiving guidance on a personal and group/organisational level.

In the previous verses, this journey has lead us to the five pillars of Islam as five pillars of a healthy psychic structure or a sound heart.

We have seen that Shahada, the first pillar could be interpreted as a conscious turning towards God, symbolised in turning towards Makkah.

Followed by prayers which are a constant reminder of our contract with God. A constant disruption of daily routines and a constant act of remembrance that alleviates anxiety, if one remained connected to the meanings above.

The verses that follow talk about pilgrimage and start with the rituals performed in the hills of Safa and Marwa. These hills are associated with the story of Hajer, the wife of prophet Ibrahim and her son Ismael. Prophet ibrahim left her and her son in the desert with little provision. It was God’s command and they all submitted to it. When she eventually ran out of provisions, she started pacing from one hill to the other looking for water and praying God for help. Eventually, ZamZam water erupted at her son’s feet.

If we think of this ritual that millions perform during hajj and of its symbolic meaning for the organisation of believers, it helps understand the importance of focusing on the primary task, a state of constant return to God. Nations in modern times, especially muslim communities have been the target of various attacks and endured many diasporas generating an influx of refugees.

Prophet Ibrahim and his family are people who have absolute faith in God, who submit and trust in his judgment, whatever the consequences. They do not sit and lament, “why me, what have I done to deserve this.” They do not see themselves as helpless martyrs. Hajer keeps going back and forth looking for a way out of her dilemma, and keeps praying to God until a change happens. So faith is an act of internal belief backed by positive action.

It made me think of verse 11 in Surat Al-hajj (pilgrimage):

There are also some who serve God with unsteady faith: if something good comes their way, they are satisfied, but if they are tested, they revert to their old ways, losing both this world and the next- that is the clearest loss.

This takes us back to the concept of steadfastness that is crucial in matters of faith.

This act that we as Muslims commemorate during pilgrimage is a way to anchor in our minds and hearts the importance of believing in the unseen, that there are things beyond our grasp, and the importance of relying on God.

But how do these verses relate to the verses that come next and that talk about different aspects of disbelief?

TBC…

2:158  Safa and Marwa are among the rites of God, so for those who make major or minor pilgrimage to the House it is no offence to circulate between the two. Anyone who does good of his own accord will be rewarded, for God rewards good deeds, and knows everything

2:159  As for those who hide the proofs and guidance We send down, after We have made them clear to people in the Scripture, God rejects them, and so do others

2:160  unless they repent, make amends, and declare the truth. I will certainly accept their repentance: I am the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful

2:161  As for those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers, God rejects them, as do the angels and all people

2:162  They will remain in this state of rejection: their punishment will not be lightened, nor will they be reprieved

2:163  Your God is the one God: there is no god except Him, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

2:164  In the creation of the heavens and earth; in the alternation of night and day; in the ships that sail the seas with goods for people; in the water which God sends down from the sky to give life to the earth when it has been barren, scattering all kinds of creatures over it; in the changing of the winds and clouds that run their appointed courses between the sky and earth: there are signs in all these for those who use their minds

2:165  Even so, there are some who choose to worship others besides God as rivals to Him, loving them with the love due to God, but the believers have greater love for God. If only the idolaters could see- as they will see when they face the torment- that all power belongs to God, and that God punishes severely

2:166  When those who have been followed disown their followers, when they all see the suffering, when all bonds between them are severed

2:167  the followers will say, ‘If only we had one last chance, we would disown them as they now disown us.’ In this way, God will make them see their deeds as a source of bitter regret: they shall not leave the Fire

2:168  People, eat what is good and lawful from the earth, and do not follow Satan’s footsteps, for he is your sworn enemy

2:169  He always commands you to do what is evil and indecent, and to say things about God that you do not really know

2:170  But when it is said to them, ‘Follow the message that God has sent down,’ they answer, ‘We follow the ways of our fathers.’ What! Even though their fathers understood nothing and were not guided

2:171  Calling to disbelieversis like a herdsman calling to things that hear nothing but a shout and a cry: they are deaf, dumb, and blind, and they understand nothing

2:172  You who believe, eat the good things We have provided for you and be grateful to God, if it is Him that you worship

2:173  He has only forbidden you carrion, blood, pig’s meat, and animals over which any name other than God’s has been invoked. But if anyone is forced to eat such things by hunger, rather than desire or excess, he commits no sin: God is most merciful and forgiving

2:174  As for those who conceal the Scripture that God sent down and sell it for a small price, they only fill their bellies with Fire. God will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them: an agonizing torment awaits them

2:175  These are the ones who exchange guidance for error, and forgiveness for torment. What can make them patient in the face of the Fire

2:176 This is because God has sent the Scripture with the Truth; those who pursue differences in the Scripture are deeply entrenched in opposition

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