Glad Tidings: Comfort, Delight &
Coolness of the Eyes!
Abstract
The
Quran promises ‘comfort of their eyes’ as a special reward for Believers who
patiently persevere. The Quran also encourages humans to worry, cry and prepare
for the promised Approaching Day that it is repeatedly warning about.
Humans
shed tears when overwhelmed by extreme emotions. The topography of tears varies
with the emotions that cause them.
Full
Text
وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا
أُولَٰئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ الْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَامًا
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَمُقَامًا
And those who say,
"Our Lord! Grant to us from our spouses and our offspring comfort (to) our eyes, and make us for the
righteous a leader."
Those will be awarded the Chamber because
they were patient and they will be met therein (with) greetings and peace. Will
abide forever in it. Good (is) the settlement and a resting place.
تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
أَفَمَن كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا كَمَن كَانَ فَاسِقًا لَّا يَسْتَوُونَ
Forsake their sides
from (their) beds; they call their Lord (in) fear and hope, and out of what We
have provided them they spend.
And not knows a soul
what is hidden for them of (the) comfort
(for) the eyes
(as) a reward for what they used (to) do.
Then is one who is a
believer like (him) who is defiantly disobedient? Not they are equal.
Comfort
or coolness of the Eyes [قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ] is an Arabic phrase which implies that now
the person has finally found comfort and is shedding tears of joy. For example,
in the ayaat in these excerpts, these women are provided coolness of their
eyes: Q19:26 Maryam after childbirth; Q20:40 & Q28:13 Moses’ mother upon
being reunited with Moses, the baby; Q28:9 Pharoah’s wife in taking up Moses,
the baby, in her care; Q33:51 the wives of the Prophet in their relationship
with their husband.
The
Quran offers hope for eternal and permanent gratification to the Believers. No
matter what challenges and difficulties they may be tried with in this life,
they are promised a loving family: to cherish & be cherished forever!
Tears
The
Quran also mentions tears twice:
Q5:83
mentions tears of recognition of truth, and Q9:92 tears of sorrow due to
inability to participate.
Science of Tears
Scientists
classify tears into three basic kinds: Basal, Reflex and Psychic. Psychic Tears
are shed when a person sheds tears when overcome by emotions.
Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears#Types
:
Tears
brought about by emotions have a different chemical make-up than those for
lubrication; emotional tears contain more of the protein-based hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and Leu-enkephalin (a
natural painkiller) than basal or reflex tears. The limbic
system is involved in production of basic emotional drives, such as
anger, fear, etc. The limbic system, to be specific, the hypothalamus, also has
a degree of control over the autonomic system. The parasympathetic branch
of the autonomic nervous system controls the
lacrimal glands via the neurotransmitter acetylcholine through
both the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors.
When these receptors are activated, the lacrimal gland is stimulated to produce
tears.[6]
Art of Tears
An
interesting study by artist Rose-Lynn Fisher who has photographed tears under a
microscope reveals the topography created by a variety of emotions. Each
emotion sketches a unique picture: http://rose-lynnfisher.com/tears.html
Excerpt from Smithsonian
Magazine:
As
Fisher pored over the hundreds of dried tears, she began to see even more ways
in which they resembled large-scale landscapes, or as she calls them, “aerial
views of emotion terrain.”
…
Closely
studying tears for so long has made Fisher think of them as far more than a
salty liquid we discharge during difficult moments. “Tears are the medium of
our most primal language in moments as unrelenting as death, as basic as hunger
and as complex as a rite of passage,” she says. “It’s as though each one of our
tears carries a microcosm of the collective human experience, like one drop of
an ocean.”
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-microscopic-structures-of-dried-human-tears-180947766/#1md8Fxpz5BSeAH5R.99
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-microscopic-structures-of-dried-human-tears-180947766/#1md8Fxpz5BSeAH5R.99
Our
present life, granted to us by our Most Merciful God, has a very important
purpose. What we believe and do in this life affects our eternity. The Quran guides
us and repeatedly warns us of the promised resurrection and judgment. Those who
are forgiven will be generously rewarded with all they desire and much more.
Those who are not able to use this life to earn God’s forgiveness will lose everything,
including God’s mercy. Surah anNajm concludes as follows:
هَٰذَا نَذِيرٌ مِّنَ النُّذُرِ الْأُولَىٰ
أَزِفَتِ الْآزِفَةُ
لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ كَاشِفَةٌ
أَفَمِنْ هَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ
وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ
وَأَنتُمْ سَامِدُونَ
فَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ وَاعْبُدُوا
This (is) a warner,
from the warners the former.
Has approached the Approaching Day.
Not is for it besides Allah any remover.
Then of this statement you
wonder?
And you laugh and
(do) not weep,
While you amuse
(yourselves)?
So prostrate
to Allah and worship (Him).
References
No comments:
Post a Comment