[Al-Quran 50:6-8] Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and how it has no rifts? And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind, Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Tears of Joy

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.
[Al-Quran 25:74-76]



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.
 [Al-Quran 32:16-18

 

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: 
Excerpt from corpus.quran.com 

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.
Tears brought about by emotions have a different chemical make-up than those for lubrication; emotional tears contain more of the protein-based hormones prolactinadrenocorticotropic 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 


Weep for Forgiveness 
Excerpt from corpus.quran.com 

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).
[Al-Quran 53:56-62]



References



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