Al-Furqan: The Most Distinguishing Criterion

Al- Furqan  25:45. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to thy Lord?—
How He doth prolong
The Shadow! If He willed,
He could make it stationary!
Then do We make
The sun its guide;

46. Then We draw it in
Towards Ourselves,
A contraction by easy stages.

47. And He it is Who makes
The Night as a Robe
For you, and Sleep as Repose,
And makes the Day
(As it were) a Resurrection.

Allah SWT, in these ayaat, reminds us again of his signs.  Here in Surah Al-Furqan, He refers to the Criterion.  The word furqan is from the root, FRQ, which means to distinguish, to discern.  The word furqan is the most expansive version of this meaning, similar to the word, rahm or mercy and rahman, the most merciful.  The furqan is the best, most distinguishing criterion. 

Allah SWT mentions the shadows.  He is the one in control of the Heavens and the Earth.  The shadows change through out the day.  The shadow depends on the light.  It begins with the sun rise and moves shorter and shorter until the noon, when the sun is at the zenith and there appears no shadow.  Then the shadows lengthen again as the day moves into the sun set.  The Shams, the Sun, is the dalil or proof of the dhalal – the shadow or shade.  Besides a beautiful use of the Arabic language in the words dhalal and dalil, Allah SWT also reminds us of shade and light, of ignorance and knowledge.  The Sun, the Light is a guide, steady and true, the shadow is transient, temporary. 

Our lives begin like the shadow under the sun at dawn,  slowly we strengthen and the light replaces the darkness as we learn and grow, then we reach the full brightness of our maturity, and then we decline, our shadow ever lengthening until the night of death.

Allah draws the light back to Him in slow stages, just as He will draw us back to Himself after the stages of our lives.  Inna lillahi wa inna ilaa llahi rajiun

When the Night comes – in our lives, as a time of rest and repose – at the end of our lives, as a more complete sleep, before the dawn of resurrection.  It is said that Allah SWT takes our souls when we sleep and returns them to our bodies when we wake.  When we die, this process becomes permanent. 

48. And He it is Who sends
The Winds as heralds
Of glad tidings, going before
His Mercy, and We send down
Pure water from the sky,—

49. That with it We may give
Life to a dead land,
And slake the thirst
Of things We have created,—
Cattle and men in great numbers.

50. And We have distributed
The (water) amongst them, in order
That they may celebrate
(Our) praises, but most men
Are averse (to aught) but
(Rank) ingratitude.

Allah SWT is so generous to man.  He sends down winds as heralds of life giving rain, just as He sends Messengers as heralds of life giving guidance.  Allah SWT uses the same word, arsala, for both.  And He sends down the rain.  The rain, this water from the sky, is life giving and it is purifying.  He provides us a means to purify ourselves from all filth, physical and spiritual. 

Allah sends down these gifts to revive the dead land, and the dead souls.  Elsewhere Allah mentions that those who do not believe are as if dead in their hearts and souls.  The water of revelation, of guidance, is capable of reviving their dead hearts, if they but take advantage of it.

Allah SWT has created the many men and animals, and He has SARAFNAHU, He has distributed the water of His Mercy among them in order for them to remember Him, but most are forgetful and ungrateful. 

We all should remember Allah.  He created us from before and gathered all of the Bani Adam before Him and asked, “ are not I your Lord?”  and we all said, “balaa – yes you are our Lord.”  But most now forget.  They are lost in the shadow and do not take advantage of the light of Islam.

53. It is He Who has
Let free the two bodies
Of flowing water:
One palatable and sweet,
And the other salt
And hitter; yet has He
Made a barrier between them,
A partition that is forbidden
To be passed.

54. It is He Who has
Created man from water:
Then has He established
Relationships of lineage
And marriage: for thy Lord
Has power (over all things).

55. Yet do they worship,
Besides God, things that can
Neither profit them nor
Harm them: and the Misbeliever
Is a helper (of Evil),
Against his own Lord!

56. But thee We only sent
To give glad tidings
And admonition.

57. Say: "No reward do I
Ask of you for it but this:
That each one who will
May take a (straight) Path
To his Lord."

58. And put thy trust
In Him Who lives
And dies not; and celebrate
His praise; and enough is He
To be acquainted with
The faults of His servants;

Next Allah SWT provides us an analogy of water.  He mentions that He created man from water.  He created lineages and marriage.  He created these things we love of families and mates, of genetics and sex.  All of this is of His creation. 

He has also created the fresh water and the salt.  The fresh water gives us life.  The salt can harm us.  People lost at sea can die of thirst despite being in the midst of water, and if they drink the water, it will over saturate them and kill them. 

What is the difference between these waters? Remove the salt and the sea water can be fit to drink and water plants.  Humans are by nature, religious.  We have an innate need to worship something.  If Allah did not provide guidance, we would make things up, and we have.  In the past, we invented idols.  Today, we invent space aliens or other fanciful things.  Either way, if we worship them along with Allah, we are engaging in Shirk.  We are taking this perfectly good life giving water of the ability to worship Allah, and adding salt to it, which will only end up killing us. 

But Allah SWT does not force us to believe, He only sends messengers to give us glad tiding and an admonition, and not to demand any reward for that. 

If only we would put our trust in the One who created us, who did not begin and who will not die.  Only to Him should we raise any praises.

May Allah SWT forgive us and guide us always to His truth, to His deen.  We praise Him and seek His forgiveness.

51. Had it been Our Will,
We could have sent
A warner to every centre
Of population.

52. Therefore listen not
To the Unbelievers, but strive
Against them with the utmost
Strenuousness, with the (Qur-ān).

If Allah SWT had willed, he would raise from every village, a warner.  If Allah SWT had willed, He could raise a prophet from every single village and center of human population.  Instead, He has raised one from every people, or made it so that every person has an opportunity to hear the message. 

He has completely fulfilled this by sending Muhammad SAW, the khatma al anbiyyah, the seal of the Prophets, who came for all Mankind.  And He commands us to be a witness to all the world.  Some might say, we have not heard, but Allah SWT tells us not to listen to those who deny.  Through modern media, we are able to reach every corner of the globe. 

All we need to do is strive.  Many have misused this word for striving – jihad – it means to strive, to exert effort, in this case, in the path of Allah – to witness unto mankind the guidance brought to us by the Prophet Muhammad SAW.  When we take the shahada, we say these words not just to mouth words, but to vow to witness unto mankind, to be shaheed, witnesses as to the truth of Islam, that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger of Allah.  And we commit to put that faith into practice, which is the real meaning of jihad – strive, to act in accordance with our beliefs.  Our greatest means to witness, to testify to others about Islam is our own actions.  How do we treat our families, our friends, the people we don’t know?  Do we smile, are we just?  Are we fair, and honest? 

We have a duty and an opportunity.  Our duty is to witness, to be shaheed.  Our opportunity is use our everyday encounters with others to perform jihad – striving in the cause of Allah SWT through our righteous actions. 

On day of judgment, Allah SWT will hold us to account, and how will we answer Him?  And those around us, those who may even call us friends, what will they say?  Did we reach out to them?  Did they hear the message, the guidance? 

Yes, we need to support Islamic media efforts, but we can each do something every day, in those little brief encounters in our lives.  This is our Jihadan Kabiran, our great jihad.  May Allah SWT give us all His refreshing rain of guidance and help us to share it with others.

61. Blessed is He Who made
    Constellations in the skies,
    And placed therein a Lamp
    And a Moon giving light;

62. And it is He Who made
    The Night and the Day
    To follow each other:
    For such as have the will
    To celebrate His praises
    Or to show their gratitude.

63.  And the servants of (God)
    Most Gracious are those
    Who walk on the earth
    In humility, and when the ignorant
    Address them, they say,
    "Peace!";

64. Those who spend the night
    In adoration of their Lord
    Prostrate and standing;

65. Those who say, "Our Lord!
    Avert from us the Wrath
    Of Hell, for its Wrath
    Is indeed an affliction grievous,—

66. "Evil indeed is it
As an abode, and as
A place to rest in";

67.  Those who, when they spend,
Are not extravagant and not
stingy, but hold a just (balance)
Between those (extremes);

68.  Those who invoke not,
With God, any other god,
Nor slay such life as God
Has made sacred, except
For just cause, nor commit
Fornication;—and any that does
This (not only) meets punishment

Here in lies the furqan, the distinguisher between Heaven and Hell.  Those who follow the light, who night and day praise Allah SWT and show Him gratitude, those who stand at night in fervent prayer, who adore Allah and ask for him to avert from them His wrath and remove them from the punishment of Hell, the evil abode. 

Allah SWT reminds us that He is the source of all of our wealth, and that we should be neither spend extravagantly nor be stingy and hoard money.  We should act in a wise manner with all that Allah provides.

But most of all, we must not commit shirk, nor slay any person, nor commit sexual crimes – these are the greatest kaba’ir or great crimes, and if we avoid these, we will avoid the grave punishment awaiting those who commit them.  May Allah SWT prevent us from sin and give us His guidance and Mercy.

May He make of those who fit the criterion of those who will be with Him in the jannat al-firdaws, the highest heaven.  May He accept all of our prayers and fasting, our qiyam wa siyam, and make us of those who strive in the path of Allah, for His sake alone and for His pleasure.  And may Allah SWT grant us all the jannat al-firdaws.

Allahumma, aghfi lilmuslimeen wa almuslimaat, wa almu’mineen wa almu’minaat il-ahyaa’a minhum wa al-amwaat, innaka sami’u qareebun mujeebu udda’awaat.