No change should there be in the creation of Allah [Quran 30:30]
Abstract
Islam
is based on the last revealed scripture, The Quran, revealed through Muhammad
fourteen centuries ago. It uses the
phrase The Right Religion in some places. One of the decrees of The Right Religion
is that there should be no change in the creation of Allah. The Believers need to realise the direct relevance of the scripture to our times and its pertinent reasoning.
Transhumanism
aims to transform the human being. It seeks to tinker with the very core of
what makes us human. It is beautifully packaged in the rhetoric of progress and the promise of transcending the existential challenges facing
mankind.
This
study is an attempt at understanding the phrase The Right Religion [الدِّينُالْقَيِّمُ] in its
usage across the Quran, in the context of the Creator God’s absolute right to decree
and command; and through His guidance, understand the reason why there should
be no change in Allah’s creation, especially in human nature.
Full
Text
بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَهْوَاءَهُم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ
فَمَن يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا
فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا
فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا
لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ
ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ
وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
[Al-Quran
30:29 - 30] Nay, follow those who do wrong, their desires, without
knowledge. Then who (can) guide (one) whom Allah has let go astray? And
not for them any helpers. So direct
your face toward the religion (law), inclining to truth. [Adhere
to] the fitrah (separation) of Allah upon which
He has created separated [all] people. No change should there
be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion (law),
but most of the people do not know.
Al-Quran
30:30 is the basis of the series of posts subtitled Mission of the Messengers.
A key phrase is [الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ] ‘The Right Religion’. What does Biotechnology, especially Biomedical Engineering have to do
with Religion, when Religion is Ancient and Technology and Engineering modern
scientific advancements of our age? Or is it so?
Transhumanism (abbreviated
as H+ or h+) is an international and intellectual movement that aims to
transform the human condition by developing and making widely available
sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and
psychological capacities.
Why
should Believers resist improvements in their condition when twenty-first
century technologies hold promises of greatly enhanced capacities? The Quran is
a Book about humans and the temporal human condition. It informs us of past
events we have long forgotten, to help us prepare for an eternal future. The
following ayaat remind us of what we were, and what we’ve lost, and more
importantly, what we can aspire for!
Allah
creates good everything that He creates:
[Al-Quran 32:7] The One Who made
good every thing He created, and He began (the) creation (of) man
from clay.
It is important to bear in mind that we have been created from materials from the earth, so as to remember the law is forbidding changes in the body. The text is forbidding changes in our physical self!!!
Allah has not only created, He has also separated His creation, mentioned by the term fatir in a number of ayaat across The Quran. An entire surah is titled Surah Fatir. Its the thirty fifth surah. The first ayat mentions the fact. The surah goes on to mention that Allah is maintaining His creation in harmony:
Allah has not only created, He has also separated His creation, mentioned by the term fatir in a number of ayaat across The Quran. An entire surah is titled Surah Fatir. Its the thirty fifth surah. The first ayat mentions the fact. The surah goes on to mention that Allah is maintaining His creation in harmony:
[Al-Quran 35:41] Indeed, Allah upholds the
heavens and the earth, lest they cease. And if
they should cease, not can uphold them any one after Him. Indeed, He
is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.
If Allah were to permit corruption, the entire creation
would eventually sync out of balance. Upsetting the balance is a crime:
[Al-Quran
55:7 – 55:9]
And the heaven, He raised it and He has set up the balance, That not you may
transgress in the balance. And establish the weight in justice and (do) not make
deficient the balance.
Yet, in this temporal test, there is no compulsion in
religion (الدِّينِ):
[Al-Quran 2:256] (There is) no
compulsion in the religion. Surely has become
distinct the right (path) from the wrong. Then whoever disbelieves
in false deities and believes in Allah, then surely he grasped the handhold -
[the] firm, (which) not (will) break [for it]. And Allah (is) All-Hearing,
All-Knowing.
Changing Allah’s creation is an audacious and futile effort,
as nobody can improve upon His creation. The result of such efforts is corruption
of creation:
[Al-Quran 30:41] Has appeared the corruption in the land and the sea for what have earned (the) hands (of) people, so that He may let them taste a part (of) that which they have done so that they may return.
[Al-Quran 30:41] Has appeared the corruption in the land and the sea for what have earned (the) hands (of) people, so that He may let them taste a part (of) that which they have done so that they may return.
Humans
have been granted the free-will to choose what they will. Human activity has indeed adversly impacted the planet, upsetting the Balance and throwing many species into extinction. Humans continue to pose a grave threat to Earth. When the crimes of humans exceed a certain limit, divine intervention becomes necessary to
contain/wipe out the corruption, restore the Balance, and save the Believers from extinction:
[Al-Quran 30:47] And verily, We sent before you Messengers to
their people, and they came to them with clear proofs; then We took retribution from those who
committed crimes. And it was incumbent upon Us
(to) help the believers.
On the promised Day, the criminals will be punished, and the
Believers rewarded for their deeds:
[Al-Quran 30:43 - 44] So set your face to the religion right, before [that]
comes a Day not (can be) averted [it] from Allah. That Day, they
will be divided. Whoever disbelieves, then against him (is) his disbelief. And
whoever does righteousness, then for themselves they are preparing,
The phrase الدِّينُالْقَيِّمُ comprises of two words: الدِّينُ and الْقَيِّمُ . Looking up
its usage across the Quran, both together and independently, it helps to
realize and understand what the phrase really means:
Qayim [الْقَيِّمُ]
Qayyim means correct, right, straight, and shares the same root
with mustaqqim: [the straight path we pray for daily اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ]
Adjective
(6:161:9) qiyaman
|
قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَبِّي
إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ دِينًا قِيَمًا
|
Adjective
(9:36:21) l-qayimu
|
ذَٰلِكَ
الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ
أَنْفُسَكُمْ
|
|
(12:40:27) l-qayimu
|
أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا
إِيَّاهُ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ
|
|
(18:2:1) qayyiman
|
قَيِّمًا لِيُنْذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِنْ
لَدُنْهُ
|
|
(30:30:17) l-qayimu
|
ذَٰلِكَ
الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا
يَعْلَمُونَ
|
|
(30:43:4) l-qayimi
|
فَأَقِمْ
وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ الْقَيِّمِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ
يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَا مَرَدَّ
لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ
|
Nominal
(1) Noun
(98:5:16) l-qayimati
|
وَذَٰلِكَ
دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ
|
(2) Adjective
(98:3:3) qayyimatun
|
فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ
|
(2) Adjective
(1:6:3) l-mus'taqīma
|
اهْدِنَا
الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
|
|
Deen [الدِّينُ]
Al-Quran 4:117 – 4:121 inform us that the
rebellious Satan, when cursed by God, swore to take a portion of humans and
said that:
‘… And I will
mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will
command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the
creation of Allah." And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead
of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss. …’
Al-Quran 20:118 informs us that
there was enough in the Garden for Adam and his wife to neither
go naked nor
hungry. In Adam’s
Attempt to Improve upon Allah’s Creation, I have discussed the genetic loss of natural clothing that
Adam and his wife suffered in their pursuit of Immortality. It’s a loss we all
witness constantly on our own bodies (our bare skin) throughout our lives. Our
clothing is a sign from Allah!
Surah at-Teen
reasons that since humans have gone from being an excellent creation to a much
lower form, then how can anyone belie the Deen:
[Al-Quran 95:1-8,
Translator: Safi Kaskas] By the fig and the olive and [by] Mount Sinai and
[by] this secure city [Mecca], We have
certainly created the human being in the best of stature; Then We return him to
the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, for
they will have an uninterrupted reward. So, do you
still deny this faith? Isn't God the most Just of Judges?
[Al-Quran 95:1-8,
Translator: Muhammad Asad] CONSIDER the fig and the olive, and Mount Sinai,
and this land secure! Verily, We create
man in the best conformation; and thereafter We reduce him to the lowest of low
excepting only such as attain to faith and do good works: and theirs shall be a
reward unending! What, then, [O man,] could henceforth cause thee to give the lie to this
moral law?* Is not God the most just of
judges?
* The
word [دِّينِ], in its
various forms, is translated as judgment,
return, acknowledgement, contract, debt, recompense and religion. In Surah Yusuf, ayat 76, it is used for the law of the King [دِينِ الْمَلِكِ]. While most translators translate (بِالدِّينِ) as judgement in Q95:7, Safi
Kaskas translates it as faith,
and Asad translates it
as moral law.
The Quran starts with a prayer that is recited multiple
times in the daily obligatory prayers. It includes the declaration that Allah
is [مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ] meaning Lord of Day of The Religion or Moral
Law, and is generally understood to mean the Day of Judgment or Requital.
Surah al-Fateha
Transliteration Maliki
yawmi alddeeni
T.B.Irving Ruler
on the Day for Repayment!
Safi
Kaskas Master of the Day of Judgment.
A M
Daryabadi Sovereign of the Day of
Requital.
Ahmed
Ali King
of the Day of Judgement.
The following three ayaat inform us that the True Religion must and will eventually prevail over all religions:
Surah at-Taubah
[Al-Quran 9:33] He (is) the One
Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion (of) [the] truth, to manifest it over all religions. Even
if dislike (it) the polytheists.
Surah al-Fath
[Al-Quran 48:28]
He (is) the One Who (has) sent His Messenger with guidance and (the) religion, the
true that He (may) make it prevail over the religions all. And
sufficient is Allah (as) a Witness.
Surah as-Saff
[Al-Quran 61:9]
He (is) the One Who sent His Messenger with guidance and (the) religion (of) the
truth, to make it prevail over the religion all of them, although
dislike (it) the polytheists.
What is The Right Religion? [الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ]
9:36 Indeed, the number of months with Allah is
twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens
and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves Nafs during them.
And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you
collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him].
12:40 You worship not besides Him
except [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah
has sent down no authority. Legislation is not but for Allah. He has commanded that you
worship not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.
30:30 So direct your face toward the
religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah (separation) of Allah upon which He has created separated [all] people. No change should there be in the
creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. (translation edited for clarity; in italics)
The phrase [الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ] has also been used in the Quran in the following ayaat:
30:43 So direct your face toward the correct religion
before a Day comes from Allah of which there is no repelling. That Day, they
will be divided.
98:5 And they were not commanded except to worship
Allah , [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to
establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.
Notice
that Q30:30 and Q30:43 both ayaat are from Surah Ar-Rum.
The ayaat in between them, Q30:31-39, list the requirements of the correct
religion beginning with establishing prayer, strict monotheism, non-sectarianism, sincerity in
worship, belief in qadr, spending in charity and refraining from usury; Q30:40
reminds us that Allah alone grants life and death and will resurrect, and then Q30:41-43
mentions the present, past and future consequences of not adhering to the Right
Religion!
Surah al-An’am
[Al Quran 6:161] Say,
"Indeed (as for) me, has guided me my Lord to a straight path - a religion right,
religion (of) Ibrahim - a true monotheist. And not he was from the polytheists.
Earlier
in the Surah, after discussing polytheistics superstitions and prohibitions, and clarifying the matter, the straight path is listed as:
[Al-Quran 6:150-155,
Translator: Yusuf Ali] Say: "Bring forward your witnesses to prove
that God did forbid so and so." If they bring such witnesses, be not thou
amongst them: Nor follow thou the vain
desires of such as treat our signs as falsehoods, and such as believe not in
the Hereafter: for they hold others as equal with their Guardian-Lord. Say:
"Come, I will rehearse what God hath (really) prohibited you from":
Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your
children on a plea of want;- We provide sustenance for you and for them;- come
not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which God
hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you,
that ye may learn wisdom. And come not nigh to the orphan's property, except to
improve it, until he attain the age of full strength; give measure and weight
with (full) justice;- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can
bear;- whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfil the covenant of God: thus doth He command you,
that ye may remember. Verily, this is
My way, leading straight: follow it:
follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path:
thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous. Moreover, We gave Moses the
Book, completing (Our favour) to those who would do right, and explaining all
things in detail,- and a guide and a mercy, that they might believe in the
meeting with their Lord. And this is a Book which We have revealed as a
blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy:
When
beginning the narration about Adam being tempted to eat off the forbidden tree in pursuit of
Immortality and a Kingdom that Never Decays, the covenant is mentioned in Surah Taha:
[Al-Quran 20:115] And verily We
made a covenant with Adam before, but
he forgot; and not We found in him
determination.
Surah az-Zumar
extensively discusses sincerity in DEEN, and concludes with the picture of
QIYAMAT when God will judge us all:
[Al-Quran 39:67 – 68] And
not they appraised Allah (with) true appraisal, while the earth entirely (will
be) in His Grip (on the) Day (of) the Resurrection, and the heavens (will be)
folded in His Right Hand. Glory be to Him! And High is He above what they
associate (with Him). And (will) be blown [in] the trumpet, then
(will) fall dead whoever (is) in the
heavens and whoever (is) on the earth except whom Allah wills. Then (it
will) be blown [in it] a second time, and behold! They
(will be) standing waiting.
Surah Hud begins with a declaration, and subsequently clarifies that not everyone will believe, and informs us why only some people are able to take guidance:
[Al-Quran 11:1] Alif Lam Ra. (This is) a Book are perfected its Verses moreover, explained in detail from (he One Who) (is) All-Wise, All-Aware.
[Al-Quran 11:118-119] And if your Lord (had)
willed surely He (could) have made the mankind one community, but not they will
cease to differ. Except
(on) whom your Lord has bestowed Mercy, and for that He created them.
And will be fulfilled (the) Word of your Lord, "Surely I will fill Hell
with the Jinn and the men all together."
Surah
al-Waqi`ah informs us of the
three categories that people will be divided in and that it’ll be an
alternate form of creation.
Equitable Justice [قِسْط] vs Injustice [ظُلْم]
Surah al-A`raf ayat 29 orders balanced or equitable justice [قِسْط] and gives good news to those who comply with sincere submission:
Surah al-A`raf ayat 29 orders balanced or equitable justice [قِسْط] and gives good news to those who comply with sincere submission:
[Al-Quran 7:29] Say, "My
Lord has ordered قِسْط and set your faces at every masjid and invoke Him
(being) sincere to Him (in) the religion. As He originated you (so) will you
return."
Zulm
means injustice, and polytheism is a great injustice:
[Al-Quran 31:13] And when said
Luqman to his son while he (was) instructing him, "O my son! (Do) not associate
partners with Allah. Indeed, associating
partners (is) surely an injustice great."
Satan
commands injustice on many levels, from the smallest to the gravest, leading up
to eventually polytheism and to making changes in the creation of Allah,
specially the human software, so as to lead humanity into loss and extinction.
Surah Ghafir
quotes the Believer admonishing his people against the ‘zulm’ they were
indulging in:
[Al-Quran 40:30 - 31, Translator: Rodwell] Then
said he who believed, "O my people! truly I fear for you the like of the
day of the allies, The like of the state of the people of Noah and Ad and
Themoud, And of those who came after them; yet God
willeth not injustice to his servants.
Transhumanism
is the gravest evil facing humanity in this twenty first century. It seeks to
corrupt the very core of what makes us human. It is beautifully packaged in the
rhetoric of progress and the promise of transcending the existential
challenges facing mankind.
The
consequences of Wronging
the Self have been mentioned in the Quran. Genetic studies of Apes and Pigs
support the Quran’s claim that when People of the Book wronged themselves, they
were transformed as a deterrent punishment for those to come later. Our
technology makes it possible to wrong ourselves, and it shows us the genetic
evidence of how things may go wrong.
Those who do not believe in the scripture try to find their answers in
their Theories of Evolution. The Believers need to realise the direct relevance
of the scripture to our times and its pertinent reasoning.
May Allah save us from the
deception and injustice of Transhumanism, the evil that threatens to
corrupt our very being!
[Al-Quran 16:33 - 34, Translator: Yusuf Ali] Do
the (ungodly) wait until the angels come to them, or there comes the Command of
thy Lord (for their doom)? So did those who went before them. But God wronged
them not: nay, they wronged their own souls. But the evil results of their deeds
overtook them, and that very (Wrath) at which they had scoffed hemmed them in.
Surah Ahzaab
cites injustice as a reason why humans are unfaithful to their Trust, and this
is why we must be judged:
[Al-Quran 33:72 – 73, Translator: Safi Kaskas] We
offered the Trust to the heavens, the
earth and the mountains; but they refused to bear it and feared it, yet the human being took it on. He
has always been unjust and ignorant, [This is in order that] God punishes the hypocrites, men and women, as well as
the men and women who associate others with Him, and why God turns
mercifully towards the believing men and women, for God is the Ever-Forgiving,
the Mercy Giver.
What was the Trust we were entrusted with? In this life, we have been entrusted with planet Earth, and granted insights in the knowledge of creation. Why grant us, or any
other creation the knowledge, if we are not to use it? Do we have a greater
purpose than just living our lives in this temporal world and enjoying the
delights of the Gardens in the Hereafter? The Quran reiterates that the Gardens
of the Hereafter will be granted as an inheritance. Inheritance implies
ownership and responsibility. Furthermore, there seems to be a very grand role
awaiting some of us in the Divine Government:
Surah Al-Qamar
[Al-Quran 54:54 - 55]
Indeed,
the righteous (will be) in gardens and river,
In
a seat (of) honor
near a King Most Powerful.
near a King Most Powerful.
Concordance in the Qur’an:
الدِّينِ
الْقَيِّمُ
ظُلْم
قِسْط
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