Fussilat: Made Distinct

“WE SHALL SHOW THEM OUR SIGNS IN EVERY REGION OF THE EARTH AND IN THEMSELVES, UNTIL IT BECOMES CLEAR TO THEM THAT THIS IS THE TRUTH.  IS IT NOT ENOUGH THAT YOUR LORD WITNESSES EVERYTHING?  TRULY, THEY DOUBT THAT THEY WILL MEET THEIR LORD; TRULY HE ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING.” (41:53-54)

The above verses are the ending of the surah 41 (Made Distinct) and the ending of this reflection.  

In the following verses, I see the story of our lives.  We find tranquility in our companions.  We need the approval of our friends and family.  It is true.  But how many of us have ever reflected that “their” approval is not enough for “truths”.  We need to step out of the circle of our company and go to the opposite and the side and the above and the below and to the diagonal and the vertical and the horizontal to check out our truths.

“We have appointed, for the disbelievers, COMPANIONS WHO MAKE THEIR PAST AND PRESENT SEEM FAIR AND RIGHT TO THEM, but the sentence has already been passed on them, along with generations of jinn and men before them: they were losers.  The disbelievers say, ‘Do not listen to this Quran; drown it in frivolous talk: you may gain the upper hand.’  We shall certainly give the disbelievers a taste of severe punishment. We shall repay them according to their worst deeds– that is the reward of the enemies of God– the Fire will be their lasting home, a payment for their rejection of Our revelations.  The disbelievers will say, ‘Our Lord, show us those jinn and men who misled us and we shall trample them underfoot, so that they may be among the lowest of the low.’  As for those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and take the straight path towards Him, the angels come down to them and say, ‘Have no fear or grief, but rejoice in the good news of Paradise, which you have been promised.  We are your allies in this world and in the world to come, where you will have everything you desire and ask for as a welcoming gift from the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful One.’” (41:25-32)

In the same surah (41: Fussilat, [Verses] Made Distinct), where God speaks of:

1)      Good and evil are distinct.  Repel evil with what is better.

2)      Our eyes, ears, skins will speak about our abusive behavior and negligence of God in the Day of Judgment.

3)      Don’t be deluded by identity politics and satisfaction in the approval of your companions.

God then expresses that God is never unjust to his creatures: every simple event is registered and counted, from our skins to a wheat coming out of its sheath:

“Whoever does good does it for his own soul and whoever does evil does it against his own soul: your Lord is never unjust to His creatures.  Knowledge of the Hour belongs solely to Him and no crop comes out of its sheath, nor does any female conceive or give birth, without His knowledge. On the Day He asks them, ‘Where are My partners?’ they will answer, ‘We admit to You that none of us can see [them]’: the gods they invoked before will have vanished away; they will know that there is no escape.” (41:46-48)

And in the same surah, where God expresses that good and evil are clearly distinct, and every single event is counted for, and our eyes, ears, and skins will testify about the way we lived, God again calls for reflection that after all these evidence, reflect what if the Quran is the Truth:

“Say [Prophet], ‘Have you ever thought, what if this revelation really is from God and you still reject it? Who could be more astray than someone who cuts himself off so far [from God]?’” (41:52)

And again, in the following verses that reveals the truth about the Truth that will be unfolded in our own self and in the world, God shows us how the truth is in the open and will come into open—as in our time.  This has been ringing in my ears for a long time now.

“We shall show them Our signs in every region of the earth and in themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord witnesses everything?  Truly, they doubt that they will meet their Lord; truly He encompasses everything.” (41:53-54)