Part 3

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ 

بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِمَا لَمْ يُحِيطُوا بِعِلْمِهِ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْوِيلُهُ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ

 یونس - 39

Of course they denied it. Because they didn't have comprehensive Knowledge about it. And the realization of it has not come to them yet. Similarly those before them, denied because of the same reasons.

Yunus - 39

 

Some people insist that it is not sufficient to have an understanding of some verses of the Holy Qur'an such as the concept of Re-incarnation, without being able to rationalize it. In other words, before such as understanding of the Divine Book, we have first to prove that Re-incarnation is, at least, possible to Human Reason. 

In the history of the Muslim world, many Islamic philosophers and theologians disputed the idea of Re-incarnation based on Human Reason. Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra were the two most famous amongst them. Let us first give a very short description of these two personalities, which I have selected from Wikipedia;

Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Persian پورسينا Pur-e Sina [ˈpuːre ˈsiːnɑː] "son of Sina"; c. 980, Afshana near Bukhara– 1037, Hamadan, Iran), commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine.

His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. The Canon of Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Montpellier and Leuven as late as 1650. Ibn Sīnā's Canon of Medicine provides a complete system of medicine according to the principles of Galen (and Hippocrates).

His corpus also includes writing on philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, physics, as well as poetry. He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age.

Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī also called Mulla Sadrā (Persian: ملا صدرا; also spelt Molla Sadra, Mollasadra or Sadr-ol-Mote'allehin Persian: صدرالمتألهین;) (c. 1572–1640) was a Persian Shia Islamic philosopher, theologian and ‘Ālim who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century. According to Oliver Leaman, Mulla Sadra is arguably the single most important and influential philosopher in the Muslim world in the last four hundred years.

According to these people, the very mechanism of Re-incarnation is impossible. In other words the question is; "how would the re-incarnation of a soul (after death) take place?"

Ibn Sīnā believed that once a certain human body has reached the stage of getting a soul, by the divine law of creation, a certain soul would be created to that particular body. Now, if another soul would re-incarnate, that means a certain body would have two souls and this is impossible.

Mulla Sadrā, on the other hand, disputed the view of Ibn Sina, regarding the creation of a separate soul for the body at the same time. According to Mulla Sadrā, the human soul and the human body, are the SAME from the beginning !

" The relation between the body and the soul, as supposed by most people, is not like a relation between a man and a place or his dress that can be taken off and dropped in time.

Thus, Mulla Sadra believes that soul evolves gradually in a  body; its relation to body is not the same as the relation between one thing and another, and soul and body are intertwined as a real unit. For example, the relation between soul and body is not like the relation between carpenter and saw, but it is like the relation between form and matter of a chair, which manifest themselves in one and the same existence.
 

There is such a union, for example, between matter and form in a natural composition consisting of matter and form, and therefore it is impossible to retain one of them and to destroy the other. For, as it is known, the form of everything is its completeness and perfectness. The relation of each soul with its body is the same."

http://www.mullasadra.org/new_site/English/index.htm

In conclusion, regardless of Incarnation or Re-incarnation, there is no soul outside to enter the body. Rather, the soul will appear in the body, in the same way, as the "meaning" appears within a "word". However, after the evolution of the soul, the soul will be independent of the body.

That means the very idea of Transformation of Soul doesn't exist. Therefore, Re-incarnation is impossible.

My answer

Regarding the view of Ibn Sina, it would mean that the "human being" is basically the " body " which needs a " soul " at a certain degree of its developing. In other words, the " soul " is created because of the " body ". So if there would be no " body ", there would be no " soul " either.

So two physical bodies, regardless of their different occupation in Time and Space, are completely two different human beings, in all conditions and circumstances.

On the other hand , it is not possible for a certain " body " to have more than one " soul ". So for every single " body ", Allah created a certain " soul ". But this means Man is the body! And this is a reasonable outcome of his understanding in general.

Is this, the Great Message of the Qur'an to Mankind?! If it is the case, then what was the view of those disbelievers (Kafereen الکافرین ) on this issue?! And why were they DIS-believers ?!

 However, if we look at it from the other side i.e the " soul ", and consider it as the basic definition of (the existence of) the " human being " which needs a certain " body " at a certain Time and Space, then the outcome will be completely the opposite. For the " body " will come and go. Whiles the " soul " will remain. 

This means the idea of Re-incarnation is, at least, possible. Because it is possible to the ever-existing soul to have several temporary bodies in different times and spaces.

In conclusion, Allah didn't created a certain " soul " to a certain " body ". Rather, He created a certain " body " to a certain " soul " in a certain time and space.

Unity of body and soul

The revolutionary creation of the idea belongs to Mulla Sadrā. The outcome of his theory is;

" As pointed out above, there is a special connection between body and soul, and this combination is a natural and unitary integration. They are inseparable in an essential and substantial movement. The soul and the body emerge from potentiality to actuality together, and that the degrees, powers and acts of the soul are at the same level with those of the body during the process of substantial movement."

http://www.mullasadra.org/new_site/English/index.htm

 

In such a case, Re-incarnation would means that the actual soul would return back to its original stage as a potential one. And this is impossible. Because this is opposite to the substantial movement of the soul which is the cause of its potentiality and evolution, and even its very existence.  

For instance, a seed by the substantial motion will develop and progress from potentiality to actuality which is a tree. In this stage, it is impossible for the tree ( the actual state) to return back to the seed (the potential state).

According to Mulla Sadra, this is exactly what the meaning of Re-incarnation is. Because the body and the soul at the beginning are ONE and the SAME. He says further that this is a reactionary movement which is opposite to the progressive movement of the entire universe.

The Rules of Debate

But, regarding rejection of Re-incarnation, the way of his reasoning is unreasonable. Because you should always hold onto the basic rule and principle of a scientific debate.

The theory of Mulla Sadrā, may include the rejection of Re-incarnation, however, it is not intended to be a specific rejection of Re-incarnation. In order to do that, he would have the same  presumption as the believers of Re-incarnation in order to have a common background. Otherwise, they would never meet each other.

In other words, with such a position that body and soul are ONE, Mulla Sadra, already ended the debate before it could be started! Therefore, there is nothing left to discuss! And this is against Human Reason!

Besides, Re-incarnation doesn't mean "returning back", but "Returning". The tree will return to its previous state. But it will not return back to its original seed which is the potential state. Rather the tree will cause its NEW seed which is actually the final part of its actuality. And all the attributes of the tree, as its soul, will appear in that new seed. 

This is actually the Rotation or Circulation which Mulla Sadra believes to be the only movement in the universe.

If Mulla Sadra's description of the reality would be correct, then Re-incarnation would means the returning of the soul to its previous semen (or body)! Whereas according to the idea of Re-incarnation, the soul will " Return to the Earthly Life " through a " new body " which is a product of the actuality of the soul. This is called Karma. 

However, it is Resurrection which means the " returning back ". I will show this in the Qur'an, in the near future. 

In a way, Mulla Sadra is right, based on his own presumption, accordingly the body and the soul are ONE. That's why it is crucial to have a debate based on the same presumption and common background, in order for a debate to take place.

By the way, what is the law of this Material World compared to the law of Spirit World? The law of this Material World has nothing to do with the law of Spirit World. And we just don't know how the Unknown World works! That's it.

Many others opposed Mulla Sadra because according to his doctrine not only Re-incarnation is impossible, but also Resurrection would be impossible. And in my view, even the spiritual evolution of human beings would be impossible.
   

 ***************

  
Human Reason or Mind ?

My intention, here, is not to discuss about their theories. My point is to dispute their claiming that not only Human Reason should go side by side the Divine Book, but rather goes before it!

It must be said, here, that this is about divine beliefs and faiths. Of course, I believe in Human Reason which according to Islam is one of the greatest Messengers of Allah, provided that it is Real Human Reason, not a false prophet!

The Real Human Reason is, as the Divine Book. However, what they call Human Reason, is actually the imagination of the Human Mind which is against the Pure Human Reason!! 

That's why they are disputing in most cases with each other. Because of different people, Minds are many. However, the Human Reason is ONE. The REAL  Human Reason is the Heart

لهم القلوب یعقلون بها

الحج – 46

They have such a Heart that they think wisely by it !


The Pilgrimage - 46

  

فهم قلوبهم لایفقهون بها

الاعراف – 179

So they have such a Heart that they cannot understand by it !


Those Known – 179

They say; " the idea of Re-incarnation is against the Human Reason ". And they are right! However, the Human Reason is not against it! 

The difference, is due to their considering of a false Re-incarnation which is, of course, against the Human Reason. But because of the Human Reason is pure, it would never be against the true Re-incarnation.

Human beings perception and knowledge are a mixture of realities and unrealities. It is no doubt that most of our perceptions and knowledge are nothing but our imagination and ignorance. We don't encompass everything in our knowledge of the Universe and Life. Then how can others' theories, perception and imagination be accepted by the Human Reason as the " Knowledge " and accordingly judge what is the Truth and what is the Untruth?! This itself, is against Human Reason.      

 

قل هل من شرکائکم من یبدأ الخلق ثم یعیده قل الله یبدأ الخلق ثم یعیده فانی تؤفکون قل هل من شرکائکم من یهدی الی الحق قل الله یهدی للحق افمن یهدی الی الحق احق ان یتبع امن لایهدی الا ان یُهدی فما لکم کیف تحکمون و ما یتبع اکثرهم الا ظنّا ان الظنّ لایغنی من الحق شیئا ان الله علیم بما یفعلون و ما کان هذا القران ان یفتری من دون الله

یونس - 34 الی 37

  

Ask them; "who, among your companions (the false gods), can begin the creation and later on return it?" Answer; " it is Allah Who begins the creation and later afterwards returns it". Then why are you taking it the wrong way?!

Ask them now;"who, among your companions (the false gods), can guide one to the Truth"? Answer;" it is Allah Who guides to the Truth". 

So shouldn't you follow the One Who guides to the Truth, rather than the one who not only doesn't guide to the Truth, but he himself must be guided?

Then what is wrong with you?! Look, how do you argue and judge?!

The majority of them just follow their own imagination. Whiles the imagination will not enrich you without needing the Truth at all.

Surely Allah knows exactly what you are doing. And this Qur'an is, in no way, something which will teach you the lies of the others.

Yunus - 34 to 37   

So concerning the Beliefs and the Faiths, we must ONLY listen to and follow the Divine Guidance; for example, the Holy Qur'an, the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita and also the True Human Reason (the Heart !).

و تومنون بالکتاب کلّه

آل عمران - 119

And those who believe in ALL divine books.

The Family of Imran- 119

Thus, the Human Reason cannot accept that we judge a concept surrounding a belief or an idea which belongs to The UnKnown World, like the concept of Re-incarnation.

We cannot even encompass the Known World which is the Material Nature. Then how can we trust our dark Mind?!

Such a trust is opposite to Human Reason and the Divine Books.

کذلک یبیّن الله لکم الایاته لعلکم تعقلون

البقره - 242

In such a way, Allah enlightens you His Signs in order to make you to think wisely.

The Caw - 242

امن یبدأ الخلق ثم یعیده و من یرزقکم من السماء و الارض اله مع الله قل هاتوا برهانکم ان کنتم صادقین قل لایعلم من فی السموات و الارض الغیب الا الله و ما یشعرون ایان یبعثون بل ادراک علمهم فی الاخره بل هم فی شک منها بل هم منها عمون و قال الذین کفروا أ إذا کنا ترابا و آباؤنا ائنا لمخرجون لقد وعدنا هذا نحن و آباؤنا من قبل إن هذا الا اساطیر الاولین

النمل - 64 الی 68

Is there any other god than He Who beings the creation and later returns it and the One Who supplies you from the Heaven and the Earth? Tell them; " if you are honest, then bring your logical reasoning".

Tell them; Nobody, neither in the Heavens nor on the Earth knows about the Unknown but Allah. And they don't know when they will be raised up again.

Of course, there is nothing left of their knowledge. Of course, they are in doubt about it. Of course, they are blind to it.

And the disbelievers asked;"once we and our fathers are turned to dust (after death), are we going to turn up again?! In fact, we and our ancestors have been promised of his idea before. Indeed this is nothing but of Ancient Myths and Legends".

The Ants - 64 to 68

HOW or WHO ?

The other point is why would it be for us (believers of the Qur'an) that important to know HOW re-birth can be possible and take place, in order to believe in it at all? 

Is this the way of having faith, according to the Qur'an and Islam, in general? Or as I explained, in the part one, we have to have trust in the divine messages and teachings?

Because the same case would also concern the idea of Resurrection. Did you believe in that because you first got to know HOW it will take place according to human logic and knowledge? Of course NOT! Did the early believers ask the prophet for explaining HOW such a thing would be possible before they would make a dictum to believe it? Of course NOT!

However, those disbelievers, they did that !! Yet, not in order to believe, but to discredit Muhammad (peace be upon him)!!

And this has always been their way of refusing, in history; 

بل قالوا مثل ما قال الاولون قالوا ء اذا متنا و کنا ترابا و عظاما ء انا لمبعوثون لقد وعدنا نحن و اباؤنا هذا من قبل ان هذا الا اساطیر الاولین

 المومنون – 81 الی 83

They asked questions like what the first ancient people asked; “once we are dead and turned to dust and stones we will rise up again?! In fact, we and our ancestors have been promised of this idea before. Indeed, this is nothing but of Ancient Myths and Legends”.

 
The Believers- 81 to 83



That's why we never see such a single verse from those believers. This itself is an " Ayah " i.e a message!

Interesting enough those disbelievers never asked " HOW " but " WHO " !

  قال من یحی العظام و هی رمیم قل یحییها الذی انشاها اول مره

یس - 78 الی 79

(The disbeliever) asked; "WHO will bring life to the bones while they are scattered like ash"? Answer; the One WHO created that at the first time, will bring life to them again.

Yasin - 78 - 79

و قالوا ء اذا کنا عظاما و رفاتا ء انا لمبعوثون خلقا جدیدا...فسیقولون من یعیدنا قل الذی فطرکم اول مره

الاسراء - 49 , 51

And they asked; will we be raised up again in a new creation (body), once we are bones or nothing left?!...then they will ask; but WHO will return us? Answer; the One WHO created that at the first time. 

The Mystical Journey in the Night - 49 to 51  
 

 قالوا یا ویلنا من بعثنا من مرقدنا
یس- 52  

They said (!); O, WHO raised us up from our beds?

Yasin - 52

 

The truth is that knowing the mechanism of Re-incarnation and HOW we will be re-born doesn't help us in our spiritual journey. That's why God never explain HOW our " Returning " or " Ma'ad " will take place.

However, it is the basic spiritual knowledge to know " WHY " we will return;

 

الیه مرجعکم جمیعا وعد الله حقا انه یبد الخلق ثم یعیده لیجزی

یونس - 4

Everybody on your journey is towards Him. This is a promise of Allah which will come to true. Indeed, He begins the creation and afterwards return it, in order to reward (your actions).

Yunus - 10

 و ان لیس للانسان الا ما سعی و ان سعیه سوف یری ثم یجزیه الجزاء الاوفی و ان الی ربک المنتهی

النجم - 39 الی 42
 

Indeed, nothing belongs to the human being but his/her own actions. And indeed s/he will face his/her actions soon and gradually his/her reward will be completed, and indeed towards your Lord will be the Final Destination.

The Shining Star - 39 to 42

Surprising enough, once the disbelievers got to know that it is the One WHO created them at the first time, WHO will create them again and return them again, they got silenced.  This should be the second " Ayah " (Message), regarding this matter!

A message for us, is if we are not ready to learn from our fellow believers at the time of the prophet, we should, at least, learn from those disbelievers!

 

Think about this!

 

Part 2

 

بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحیم

 What is the Qur'an ?

 i

وَ قَالَ الرَّ‌سُولُ يَا رَ‌بِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَـٰذَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ مَهْجُورً‌ا

الفرقان - 30

And the Messenger said; O, Lord ! Indeed my people have abandoned this Qur'an.

The Criterion - 30


Maybe the strongest reason that most of our fellow Muslims reject the concept of Re-incarnation is the claim that the belief of " Re-birth " is not mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. And, because we Muslims must learn the teachings of the Qur'an and follow only what it says, thus it justifies that there is no reason to believe in an idea which is not part of the teachings of the Qur'an. In other words, why should we say something which the Holy Qur'an has never said?

Besides, the Holy Qur'an has come with a belief which is an alternative to the idea of Re-incarnation; i.e. the Resurrection.

This kind of rationalization is due to their unconsciousness about what kind of a book is the Qur'an .
 
The second part of this discussion will thus address this important issue.

********

 
Let us begin with a contradiction in the statements given above. If the Qur'an didn't mention "Re-birth" at all, and we must only follow the teachings of the Qur'an , then how can we reject something which is not mentioned as they claim?! Is the rejection of Re-birth part of the teachings of the Qur'an?

By the way , where did such a rule or principle come from? Is such an attitude an Islamic one? Is this also part of the teachings of the Qur'an or the Pure Tradition of Muhammad? 

Why should we follow a rule, principle or an attitude which is neither mentioned in the Qur'an nor in the Pure Tradition of the Prophet ?! 

Shouldn't we believe and follow only those statements which are mentioned, according to their own words?! 

Thus, the characteristic of a wrong - understanding is nothing but one of contradictions. 
  

Besides, this is actually opposite to the teachings of the Qur'an. Listen;

و لقد ارسلنا رسلا من قبلک منهم من قصصنا علیک و منهم من لم نقصص علیک و ما کان لرسول ان یاتی بایه الا باذن الله

غافر - 78

And indeed We have sent Messengers before you. Some of them we have mentioned to you and the others we haven't mentioned to you. And a Messenger will not bring an information (sign) without the permission of Allah.

The Forgiver/The Believer - 78

Does this mean that we should not believe in those Messengers because the Qur'an didn't mention the stories of them ?! Is this a legitimate reason to reject those Messengers , just because we didn't learn to know them in the Qur'an ? 

Isn't it part of the Unknown World which the Qur'an repeatedly commands us to believe in as the criteria for our pure faith ?

 تلک من انباء الغیب نوحیها الیک ما کنت تعلمها انت و لا قومک من قبل هذا فاصبر ان العاقبه للمتقین

هود - 49

This is one excerpt of information from the Unknown World by Revelation. Neither you nor your people did know about it before. So be patient. Surely the Future belongs to those who hold on to the spiritual self-discipline firmly.

Hood - 49

That means there were other people who already knew about other divine masters, teachings and Realities.

ذلک الکتاب لا ریب فیه هدی للمتقین الذین یومنون بالغیب
البقره - 2 , 3

This the Book within is undoubtedly a Guidance to those who hold on to spiritual self-discipline. These are people who believe in the Unknown World.

The Caw - 2 to 3

According to this verse, the people of Muttaqin are those who hold on to Spiritual Self-Discipline at the highest level of spiritual development. Because, they believe and have faith in the Unknown World. Thus, by not being mentioned specifically, in detail or extensively in the Qur'an, this does not imply that some of those unknown realities do not, in fact, exist.

Or, they might say, if Allah mentioned Re-incarnation in His other Books, then He would also mention it in the Qur'an. But neither do they believe in those other books, or at least, the concept of Re-incarnation in them. If they would do so, then they would change their understanding of the relevant verses in the Qur'an. However they reject all of them.
 

فلما جاءهم الحق من عندنا قالوا لولا اوتی مثل ما اوتی موسی اولم یکفروا بما اوتی موسی من قبل قالوا سحران تظاهرا و قالوا انا بکل کافرون 
القصص - 48

 When from Us the Truth came to them , they said;" How come it didn't bring to us those teachings like it is brought to Moses"? But, didn't they, the disbelievers, even reject previously what was brought to Moses?! And they said; " These are black magicians (ie. Moses & Muhammad) which support each other, and we are rejecting ALL of them".

The Stories - 48

This verse show that even if some ideas are not mentioned in the Qur'an, it doesn't mean that we should not believe in them. So it is, not only possible for the true Muslims to believe in those things which are not mentioned in the Qur'an, but in many cases we must believe in them as true believers.

Thus, the idea that says; " because Re-incarnation is not mentioned in the Qur'an, therefore, it is a false idea ", is itself a false idea!  

The Right Way of Reading

How do they know that the belief of Re-birth isn't mentioned in the Qur'an? For some other Muslims from the early history of Islam, the belief of Re-incarnation was mentioned in the Qur'an.

That means even the very claiming that the belief of Re-birth doesn't exist in the Qur'an, depends on whether you are a believer or a dis-believer.

So, it is about how to read the Qur'an;
 

الذین ءاتیناهم الکتاب یتلونه حق تلاوه

البقره - 121

 Those who have been given the Book, will read it in a right way.


The Caw - 121


As I showed in part 1, according to the teachings of the Qur'an, once we have faith in a belief, we will be guided to the right path. Once we believe in Re-incarnation, then we will be guided to read the Qur'an in the right way which guides us to the clear and repeated mentioning of Re-incarnation in the Qur'an.

However, the most important thing is, we don't know the Language of the Qur'an. We usually consider this Book of Allah as an Arabic text and we read it with a common human language. Because this is our secondary nature, which we inherited and learned. So we read the Qur'an with wrong language.

That's why - at least - most people don't understand the Qur'an. For example, the brave ayatollah Khomeini said;

" my life is ending but I have never understood the Qur'an ". 

He's right, but WHY ? Because we never can understand a book by wrong-reading which is due to wrong-language.

**************

Also, how can Resurrection be an alternative belief to the idea of Re-incarnation , without rejecting it clearly ? For it might be understood that there are two different alternative ways of the Qur'anic concept of Returning (Ma'ad معاد) in Islam. This is actually the reasonable outcome.

So, it's not enough to consider a new idea like Resurrection. It is also necessary that a clear rejection of Re-incarnation be mentioned in the Qur'an. 

That's why according to a traditional Islamic principle;

 " If a belief or idea is not rejected clearly , by the Qur'an , then one is allowed to believe in that belief or idea".

Then main problem which I mentioned earlier is , most of us Muslims either didn't understand what kind of the book is the Qur'an or have forgotten it. Then, let's clarify this crucial issue right here;

The Unique Status of the Qur'an

The Qur'an itself describes its attributes, in order to teach us what kind of a book it is. I have chosen here those most important description of the Qur'an by itself;

1. The Best and Most convincing way of Guidance.

ان هذا القران یهدی الذی هی اقوم

الاسراء - 9

Surely this Qur'an will guide you in a manner which is the best and Most convincing.

The Mystical Journey in the Night - 9

2- The " Doubt Removing " Guidance

ذلک الکتاب لاریب فیه هدی للمتقین

البقره - 2
 

There is no doubt that this Book is the Guidance for those who hold on to Spiritual Self-discipline.
The Caw - 2

3- Criterion for the Truth.

 الله الذی انزل الکتاب بالحق و المیزان 

الشوری - 17

 Allah is Who has sent The Book of Truth and Criteria.

The Consultations - 17

 

4- Distinguishing  the Truth from the Untruth.

5- Warning the whole mankind of Falsehood and Untruth.

تبارک الذی نزل الفرقان علی عبده لیکون للعالمین نذیرا

الفرقان - 1

The Glory is to Him Who has sent the Criteria to His servant (Muhammad) as a warning to the worlds.

The Criterion - 1 

6- Fair or Just Judgement

انا انزلنا الیک الکتاب بالحق لتحکم

النساء - 105
 

We have sent down to you, based on the Truth, for Judgement.  

The Women - 105

7- Completed Book 

Which means it must bring up and mention any issue which might be necessary to guide and help the whole of mankind.

و لقد صرفنا للناس فی هذا القران من کل مثل

الاسراء - 89

 And We have brought up and explained in this Qur'an issues of every subject. 

The Mystical Journey in the Night- 89

8- Enlightenment of everything 
 

و نزلنا علیک الکتاب تبیانا لکل شئی و هدی

النحل - 89

 And We have sent to you a Book which explains and enlightens EVERYTHING in order to guide you.

The Bee - 89

9-Unchangable words

 

و تمت کلمت ربک صدقا وعدلا لامبدل لکلمته 

الانعام - 115
 

 And the Words of your Lord are completed as a true promise. And they are unchangeable.

The Blessings - 115


10- Non difficulty and Non confusion; it should not cause any difficulty or confusion in searching and understanding the truths.

11- Purifying; it should not only liberate us from any doubt, but even cleanse us from any impurity which we probably have in our minds.

We can find these two attributes in the verse below 

 

ما یرید الله لیجعل علیکم من حرج و لکن یرید لیطهرکم و لیتم نعمته علیکم لعلکم تشکرون

المائده - 6

 Allah doesn't want to cause you troubles and difficulties. However, He wants to purify you. That's why He has completed His blessings in order for you to become grateful.

The Table spread with foods - 6


Unfortunately, we have forgotten this Unique Status of the Qur'an. This Age is The Time of Returning to the Qur'an and its Unique Status.  

Conclusion

If we acknowledge the status of the Qur'an as Criteria (المیزان), which distinguishes (الفرقان) the Truth from Untruth, in order to guide the whole humanity in the best and most convincing way, without any doubt, confusion or difficulties, then the Qur'an should not only mention a false belief like Re-incarnation, but also reject it in the best and most clear way without needing any interpretation at all.

Otherwise, it would be opposite to the all beautiful attributes of the Qur'an. In such a case, the Qur'an is not a legitimate authority for being a Guide Book for us all, and we have to turn to other books!

Also, the Qur'an describes itself as The Best Guidance Book for the whole mankind. Amongst them, millions of Hindus and Buddhists.

If the Qur'an didn't mention the concept of Re-incarnation at all and, more important, never rejected it openly, firmly and clearly, the responsibility of a false belief for millions of people would be on the Qur'an!

This is the reasonable outcome of such a Book which describes itself as Fair Judgement for the whole of humanity. The verse below explains the reason of sending the Qur'an in another way;

 

افغیر الله ابتغی حکما و هو الذی انزل الیکم الکتاب مفصلا و الذین اتیناهم الکتاب یعلمون انه منزل من ربک بالحق فلاتکونن من الممترین و تمت کلمت ربک صدقا وعدلا لامبدل لکلمته و هو السمیع العلیم

الانعام - 115

Do you seek other than - the words of - Allah (in the Qur'an) for judgement?! Despite He is Who has sent down to you all, a Comprehensive Book. And those to whom We gave the books, they know that this Book is sent down from your Lord, based on the Truth, in a way in which you will be without doubt. Thus, the words of your Lord have been completed as He truely promised. These words are unchangeable and He Hears and Knows best.

The Blessings - 115

Another attribute of the Qur'an is to ward off any kind of accusation, i.e including the concept of re-incarnation.

The Hindus and Buddhists would say;

If  you are right that Re-incarnation is a false belief, please bring YOUR Divine Book which guides us better, in this issue, than OUR books . 

قل فاتوا بکتاب من عند الله هو اهدی منها اتبعه ان کنتم صادقین

القصص - 28 

Speak! if you are honest, then bring us another book of Allah which guides us better than the others!

The Stories - 28
 
Or, Hindus and Buddhists would come with an argument and excuse that if we had yet another good guide book like your Holy book (the Qur'an), then we could be guided by it in the right way as well; 

و هذا کتاب انزلناه مبارک فاتبعوه و اتقوا لعلکم ترحمون ان تقولوا انما انزل الکتاب علی طائفتین من قبلنا و ان کنا عن دراسهم لغافلین او تقولوا لو انا انزل علینا الکتاب لکنا اهدی منهم فقد جائکم بینه من ربکم و هدی و رحمه فمن اظلم ممن کذب بآیات الله و صدف عنها

الانعام - 155 الی 157

And He has sent this Book as a blessing. Then follow this and hold on to spiritual self-discipline in order to be blessed by His Grace. Otherwise you would come with an excuse and say; "if a Book would be sent to us, then we would be the best guided people among them!" 

However, indeed Enlightenment, Guidance and Grace from your Lord has already come to you! Who is the most unjust than the one who denies the Signs of Allah and turns away from them?

The Blessings - 155 to 157

However,  the Qur’an would make Hindus and Buddhists disappointed. Because it has neither mentioned the concept of Re-incarnation nor rejected it as a false belief. Despite it would be a  Comprehensive and the Ultimate Book of God!

In fact, those of my fellow Muslims, are lowering the status of the Qur'an to the lowest standard of a man-made book without noticing it! However, not even a man-made book can responsibly guide people, in a proper and right way, by merely choosing not to address a false idea or belief and disregard it without due consideration.

Millions of Hindus and Buddhists would tell us;

Re-incarnation is neither rejected in OUR divine books nor in YOUR divine book. Then for Gods sake how should we know and be guided; that this is a false belief in the sight of God ?!

Ironically, this means that their books of those who reject Re-incarnation as a false belief would guide humanity better to the Truth than all Books of Allah!!

فویل للذین یکتبون الکتاب بایدیهم ثم یقولون هذا من عند الله لیشتروا به ثمنا قلیلا
البقره - 79

 It is a serious responsibility of those who are writing their OWN books and then say ; "this is from Allah"!  In this way, they are lowering the value of His words and sell them  cheaply.

The Caw - 79

If Qur'an is the final guide book for all humanity, it must clearly state and literally reject the idea or belief in Re-incarnation or Re-birth in the Qur'an, in order to even guide Hindus and Buddhists, and purify them from false notions.

The rejected subject, in the Qur'an, must be in direct words and clarifying language without any doubt. In other words, without needing any human interpretation of the Qur'an.

The difference between these two points of view;

.There is no mention of an idea or a belief in the Qur'an.

.There is no rejection or denial of it in the Qur'an.

is; the first statement doesn't imply that the concept of a belief is wrong, whilst the latter, means that the concept has been mentioned and rejected as a wrong or false belief. 

That's why it is a crucial principle that the Qur'an is the world's most reliable Divine Book which is supposed to guide the whole mankind from Darkness to Light would mention the wrong belief clearly and reject it decisively.

Answer to a question

Does it mean that the Qur'an as Criteria (المیزان), which Distinguishes (الفرقان) the Truth from Untruth, would bring up ALL the ideas of Mankind in order to discuss and finally judge them?!

The answer is; of course not! The Qur'an may have brought up few minor false ideas which were relevant and current in its own environment of advent. However, it doesn't mean that the Qur'an would bring up all minor and major issues and ideas in the world. 

The Qur'an has brought up and mentioned all those basic elements , subjects and also those controversial topics which are crucial for the spiritual life of human beings, higher consciousness and Unity (Tawhid).

That's why the Qur'an says; 

و لقد صرفنا للناس فی هذا القران من کل مثل

الاسراء - 89

 And We have brought up and explained in this Qur'an issues of every subject. 

The Mystical Journey  in the Night- 89

 

That means the Qur'an has selected issues from every subject which was necessary to mention for clarifying. Otherwise the Qur'an would express it in an other way like; ( فی هذا القران کل مثل ) without « من » !

New minor ideas regardless of their truth or falsity are still coming and going! The very " idea " that the Qur'an would bring up exactly every single idea of Mankind, itself is a false idea!
 

The ideas of Karma and Re-incarnation are old and ancient religious or spirituality ideas which generally have always been the basic and among the most important faiths in the history of Mankind. Millions or billions of humanity on the earth have always believed in them. 

According to most Muslim historians and Islamic thinkers and researchers, the belief in Re-incarnation, even was widespread in the society of the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

We should not forget that Middle East, Iran and India were the three neighboring Lands of Divinity and the main area of Divine Teachings on the earth for the whole of Mankind.

Despite this reality, no divine book has ever reject this belief, at least, literally and without any doubt!

That's why the Ultimate Divine Book of Qur'an would deal with this issue in order to clarify it once and forever. 

Halal and Haram beliefs

Allah has described in the Qur'an, what is Halal (Allowed) and what is Haram (Forbidden). Nobody is allowed to change it;

و یحل لهم الطیبات و یحرم الخبائث 
الاعراف - 157

And he allows you all Those Pure Things and forbids all Those Impure.

Those Known - 157
   
Everything which is Pure and Beautiful, is Halal (Allowed) and everything which is Impure and Ugly, is Haram (Forbidden). This includes the beliefs and faiths. This is the Universal Principle of the Qur'an.

One of them is to forbid the Returning of dead people, back to the life of this earthly world;

و حرام علی قریه اهلکنا انهم لا یرجعون 

الانبیاء - 95

And it is forbidden to those who We are destroyed (as a punishment of Allah), to return.

The Prophets - 95



The use of the word Haram, means it is against Divine Laws which are expressed in the form of the Laws of Nature, as His Kingdom. (By Nature it means both the material and immaterial and spiritual worlds).

Based on that Divine Principle and the Laws of Nature, other verses clearly reject the Returning of dead people, back to life. Plus, the Qur'an explains the reason for this, and even considers the alternative destiny of dead people.

 

حتی  اذا جاء احدهم  الموت قال رب ارجعون لعلی اعمل صالحا فیما ترک کلا انها کلمه هو قائلها و من ورائهم برزخ الی یوم یبعثون 

المومنون - 99 , 100

Once the time of death arrived, he said;"O, Lord send me back in order to do those good actions which I ignored". No! Absolutely not! This is only what YOU believe. And before them, there is the Hinder, the Intermediate World, until they will be raised up.

The believers - 99 to 100
 

Besides these two verses are supported and even completed by other verses. However, if we find a verse which in our view seems to contradict them, for instance, as an exception, then we have to immediately return to the Qur'anic Principles to confirm it. Provided that we have reviewed all the Qur'anic Principles very carefully and tested them in a proper way, then we can come to a conclusion. This is the only way to get any confirmation and discover a new reality in the Qur'an. All other means are invalid and Unacceptable. 

(Many believes, the mentioned verses above should be considered as a clear rejection of the belief of Re-incarnation by considering the idea of Resurrection in the Qur'an. However, I will prove the opposite in the near future and show that these verses are actually among the strongest verses which support the concept of Re-incarnation and reject the belief of Resurrection!)

So nobody can make something Halal or Haram which Allah  has never made reference to in His Guidance Book:

و لاتقولوا لما تصف السنتکم الکذب هذا حلال و هذا حرام لتفتروا علی الله الکذب

النحل - 116

Don't explain by your language lies like; "this is Allowed and that is Forbidden". In order to put a lie on (create a lie about) Allah.
The Bee - 116

The Red Line of the Qur'an

There is a significant difference to distinguish Haram and Halal. According to an important principle, the Haram, must have been expressed clearly and firmly. Otherwise it considered to be Halal. According to the Islamic Principle, based on the Qur'an, this is because;

" Everything (including belief and faith) is Halal (Allowed) unless it is clearly and literally proclaimed as Haram (Forbidden)."

This means we have to access a very strong and reliable means for rejecting a belief and faith. In the lack of such  Qur'anic evidence we have to act according to another principle which says;

" In the worse cases we have to be silent and strictly avoid  any rejection and denial. And pray to be guided by Allah! "

Because according this principle, rejection or denial, is a very sensitive and important decision and it demands a sufficiently high enough qualifications to do so. We have to be very careful because it 's about the freedom of human rights which is one of the basic blessing of Allah to humanity. 

Plus, it would be a very high risk to reject and deny the Truth and fall down to the Kufr (الکفر) or Disbelief which is Anti-Islamic. But, also leads other people into the Hell of Ignorance.

That's why Rejection and Denial is The Red Line in the Qur'an and Islam.

However, somebody may say that any new belief (for instance, Resurrection) in the Qur'an which is obviously in conflict with another belief (Re-incarnation), is enough to be judged as a rejection and denial of such a belief like re-incarnation by the Qur'an. 

This might be true, in some cases, regarding man-made books. But absolutely not in the case of the Qur'an, because of its Unique Status as The Ultimate Judgement.

That means even the new belief must distinguish literally and clearly between the Truth and Untruth without any need of interpretation. Such a new belief should have sounded like: 

O mankind you will live on the Earth only once !

Plus, it should not be in conflict and contradiction with other verses and beliefs in the Qur'an. 

Simply, the belief of some early Islamic branches in Re-birth is an example of, at least, its ambiguity.

Denial of Re-birth in Divine Books

How can it be explained why not even the Final and Ultimate Messenger, Muhammad, rejected and denied directly the belief of the Re-birth once and forever?! Despite the belief that Re-birth was a worldwide one in the time of Muhammad, even in Arabia, according to some Muslim historians!
 

Interesting enough, not even other Divine Books of the Middle East, i.e the Torah or Bible, rejected and denied the re-birth of human beings either! Why's that?! How can we explain it in a satisfying way? How can we reject and deny a belief which none of them have ever done it before?!

On the other hand, religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism and their Divinely Revealed Books teach the belief of the Re-birth.

Now, putting all those divine religions together will only lead  to one outcome; at least, the genuine possibility of Re-incarnation!

Because, the concept of Re-incarnation had first been heard and received in India. Then after that, three other Divine Books received in the Middle East never questioned and refused that voice !

Today, at least one third of population on the earth believe in Re-birth as part of their religious belief. But there has never has been a clear Divine Guidance to help these oceans of peoples by telling them you're wrong! There is no Re-birth!

Muslim Racism?

You may say that the faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism were originally from Allah, however by the time passed, parts of their Holy books have got corrupted by Man.

This is up to you to prove it scientifically. But above all, by bringing undoubtedly evidence from the Ultimate Judgement Book i.e. the Holy Qur'an.

If Re-birth was an idea of the corrupted part of Hinduism and Buddhism according to you, then that would be a controversial topic within them in, at least, many centuries. How come, in thousands years, not even one single believer of millions of Hindus and Buddhists, ever questioned the idea of Re-incarnation as a true divine belief ?! This is just impossible.

Controversial topics have always taken place in the history of Islam. One the hottest debates has actually been whether to believe in Resurrection or Re-incarnation. The Muslim theologians and philosophers were divided in this issue.

Now, how come WE Muslims who are outside the faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism, know better about something of these faiths which nobody of their own theologians and philosophers would ever know, just because they are Hindus and Buddhists? Doesn't sound it as a kind of racial attitude?!  

انما المومنون اخوه فاصلحوا بین اخوانکم و اتقوالله لعلکم ترحمون یا ایها الذین آمنوا لایسخر قوم من قوم عسی ان یکون خیرا منهم

الحجرات - 11

 ALL believers are brothers and sisters. So you have to make peace between yourselves and hold on to divinely spiritual self-discipline in order to be blessed by Allah.

O, you believers of all peoples, don't humiliate each other to show some of you are better than the others.

The Dwellings - 11

By the way, as the religion of Moses had been corrupted, God sent Isa (Jesus) and when even the religion of Isa had met the same destiny, God sent Muhammad. Similarly if the concept of Re-incarnation shows that, even the religions of India have been corrupted, then it is on Allah to send new books to guide the followers of those religions. This is a reasonable demand.

Remember that the Qur'an emphasizes that the Messages of Allah would be sent to every people by means of their own people, language and culture and even their time;

لقد من الله علی المومنین اذ بعث فیهم رسولا من انفسهم یتلوا علیهم آیاته و یزکیهم و یعلمهم الکتاب و الحکمه

آل عمران - 164

Indeed it was a great blessing of Allah to the all believers that He has chosen Messengers from themselves in order to read for them His verses and purify them and teach them the Book and Wisdom.

The Family of Imran - 164

و لقد بعثنا من کل امه رسولا

النحل - 36  

And surely We have sent a Messenger to EVERY society in ALL times.

The Bee - 36

Notice that the word « امّه » in the Qur'an means both " Society " and " Time ";

و لئن اخرنا عنهم العذاب الی امه معدوده

هود - 8

And if We defer their suffering for a period of time...

 
Hood - 8

و ما ارسلنا من رسول الا بلسان قومه لیبین لهم

ابراهیم - 4
 

And We have never sent a Messenger but, with the language of his own people in order to enlighten them.

Abraham - 4 

Re-birth; Invention or Revelation?

Luckily and thanks to Allah, the vast majority of Muslims consider Hinduism and Buddhism and their Holy books, at least originally, as divinely, based on the Qur'an which reveals that Allah has sent Masters , Messengers and Books in every culture and civilization. This Qur'anic fact is well known by all Muslims.

However, there may be some Muslims who question whether Hinduism and Buddhism, and their Holy books, are also from Allah's Grace and Guidance.

It is up to these Muslims to prove it, only based on the Qur'an as Criteria (المیزان) which Distinguishes (الفرقان) the Truth from the Untruth, i.e the Ultimate Judgement.

As long as they cannot do it, according only to the Principles of Islam, they should consider Hinduism and Buddhism and their Holy books, as the Holy Guidance from Allah.

Re-birth as a man-made idea?!

But is it possible to Man, to create an idea such as Re-birth ?! How? This is scientifically impossible. Simply because it belongs to The Unknown World :  عالم الغیب

It is not the ordinary people who manufactured the idea of Re-birth. It is, however, the ordinary people who may deny it!

How can ordinary people make an idea like Re-birth easily, but it is difficult for Allah and His Messengers to reject that idea directly and clearly ?!

In fact, it would be impossible to come to such an idea like Re-birth without Divine Revelation.  

The scientists or atheists amongst you might disagree. But, the final conclusion to this discussion, is that we may not be able to prove or disprove Re-incarnation scientifically, but if we reject it, we deny our own possibility for Divine Revelation and Enlightenment on the Truth!

 

However, it is necessary for us Muslims to review the Qur'an on this issue with an open mind to allow Allah to reveal to us directly and personally more light and insight on this topic. 

Think about this !