Synthesis of Iman and its Constituents

Surah Aal-i-Imran 190-195

003.190 Without a doubt, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are definitely Signs for people of pure mind-

003.191 Men who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (they cry out): "Our Master!You have not created this in vain! Glory toYou! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

003.192 "Our Master! Those whomYou admit to the Fire,You truly cover them with shame, and never will wrong-doers find any helpers!

003.193 "Our Master! we have heard the call of one calling (Us) to Faith, 'Believe inYour Master,' and we have believed. Our Master! Forgive our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take toYourself our souls in the company of the righteous.

003.194 "Our Master! Grant us whatYou promised us throughYour messengers, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: ForYou never breakYour promise."

003.195 And their Master accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female:You are from each other:Those who have left their homes, and been driven out, and suffered harm in My Cause, and fought and were slain,- I will definitely blot out from them their evil acts, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from Allah, and with

Introduction
1. Surahs have strong beginnings and strong ends. 2. Two Ahadith

Three Questions
y Why believe? y What is the mutual relationship between the different articles

of faith? y What is the Quranic methodology of inviting towards Iman?

Iman
y Iman is to believe in a set of unseen realities. y Two levels
y Claim with the tongue y Attest with your heart Real Iman! y Two ways of achieving this faith y Subconscious- grow up practicing y Conscious-Think and ponder

The Journey Of The Pure Mind

y First Level- Gnosis y Second Level- Recognition of an Afterlife y Third Level- Immediately respond to a Messengers call y Fourth Level- Act the belief

y Who are the ulul albab y Albab is the plural of lub- essence y People whose minds are free from vanities. y Antonym- people of clouded intellects (drugged) people.

Running on automatic pilot.

Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people of intellect.

Ayah- sign/memento

041.053 Soon will We show them our Signs in the utmost horizons (of the universe) and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Master witnesses all things?
y

Third category of ayaat: Qur anic ayaat Catalysts

In other words
y Observe the phenomenon of the universe- you see

coherence, organization, purposefulness the dormant cognizance of Allah leaps forth from you heart and illuminates your consciousness.

y The Strength of Gravity & the Atomic Weak Force: Physicist P.

C. W. Davies has calculated that a change in the strength of gravity or of the atomic weak force by only one part in 10100 would have prevented a life permitting universe. Volume of the phase space of possible universes: Roger Penrose of Oxford University states In order to produce a universe resembling the one in which we live, the Creator would have to aim for an absurdly tiny volume of the phase space of possible universes Now, how tiny is this volume? According to Penrose the volume of the phase space would be 1/10 to the power of X which is 10123. This is smaller than the ratio of a Proton! This precision is much, much greater than the precision that would be required to hit an individual proton if the entire universe were a dartboard!There are only three possible explanations for the presence of the above fine tuning of the universe.

Gnosis
y The Only Creator y All-Powerful y All-Knowing y All-Wise

Newton: Don t doubt the Creator, because it is inconceivable that accidents alone could be the controller of this universe. Herschel: The more knowledge we have, the more irrefutable proofs we obtain for the existence of an Eternal Creator with infinite power. Geologists, mathematicians, astronomers and biologists have co-operated in setting up the edifice of science which is the edifice of God s greatness.

How would you untangle a mess of wires?

y Find one end and dont lose it! y So to unravel the mysteries of the universe you do the

same

003.191 Men who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (they cry out): "Our Master!You have not created this in vain! Glory toYou! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

y Both dhikr and fikr together y When fikr is not going any further increase the dhikr; its the

fuel for your thought process. y Dhikr not only on the tongue but in the heart.

y The perfection in the universe, the purposefulness- yet

theres something missing. y Human actions appear to go to waste. o o

003.192 Our Master! Those whomYou admit to the Fire,You truly cover them with shame, and never will wrong-doers find any helpers!

They hear the call

003.193 "Our Lord! we have heard the call of one calling (Us) to Faith, 'Believe ye in the Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take to thyself our souls in the company of the righteous.

003.194 "Our Lord! Grant us what Thou didst promise unto us through Thine messengers, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: For Thou never breakestThy promise."

y Dua- acknowledge that Allah All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and

All-Powerful. Manifestation of Iman

y Abu Bakar As-Sidiq , Khadijat-ul-kubra

, Warqa bin

Naufal, Zaid bin Amar, Salman al-Farsi .

005.083And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray: "Our Master! we believe; write us down among the witnesses.

And their Master accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female:You are from each other.

y Religiously, spiritually you are all equal!

Actions talk louder than words

Those who have left their homes, and been driven out, and suffered harm in My Cause, and fought and were slain,- I will definitely blot out from them their evil acts, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from Allah, and with Allah is the best of rewards.

y
y The situation was such that they were forced to leave

y
y Bilal, Khabab bin Art, Yasir, Summaya y Not over money, land etc. Solely in the path of Allah.

y
y Mus ab bin Umair

and Hamza