Quranic Terminology: Being (Un) Thankful to the Lord God (3) Between Giving Thanks and Remembrance
Published in May 31, 2018
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
The Almighty Lord God says the following in the Quran: "And it is He who made the night and the day alternate - for whoever desires to remember, or desires to be among the thankful ones." (25:62). Thus, those pious monotheists who faithfully remember their Lord God are also those who desire to praise and glorify their Lord within gratitude and thankfulness. What is the link among (1) night and day, (2) being thankful, and (3) remembrance mentioned in the verse 2:62? To provide an answer to this question, we give some details in the points below.
1- We assume that God has taken a piece of the Eternal Time and made it explode; thus, the moving, transient time has been created along with the transient realm of the physical universe (i.e., heavens and the earth) and the Barsakh metaphysical levels that overlap them; each level of them has its own time as part of the dimensions of its existence.
2- The above point applies to the creation of human beings; i.e., God has created all souls of the human beings together at one time from the very first soul of Adam (see 4:1, 6:98, 7:189, and 39:6). All human souls are created by God inside a Barsakh level; when the of each soul comes to enter into the test of life, it is breathed into the embryo/fetus to take a body form; the soul after death takes the shape and features of its body: "It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills. There is no God except He, the Almighty, the Wise." (3:6); "We created you, then We shaped you, then We said to the angels, "Bow down before Adam;" so they bowed down, except for Satan; he was not of those who bowed down." (7:11). When the soul of any human being is born in flesh within its predestined time, the countdown for its predestined time of death automatically begins: "God created you from dust, then from a small drop; then He made you pairs. No female conceives, or delivers, except with His knowledge. No living thing advances in years, or its life is shortened, except it be in a Record. That is surely easy for God." (35:11). Hence, the duration of one's lifetime and one's earnings/provisions, prosperity, calamities/adversity, etc. are part of predestined fates; yet, one is granted the freedom to choose to (dis)obey and to (dis)believe.
3- Human beings are born while being endowed with natural instinct of monotheism; i.e., the belief in the One, True God the Creator; yet, within the influences of social environments and the free will of choosing between piety and sin, most people fall into the trap of polytheism by deifying things/items and mortals; thus, one may recommend one's soul with good deeds within piety or be among the heedless who corrupt and destroy their own soul: "And the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness. Successful is he who purifies it. Failing is he who corrupts it." (91:7-10).
4- The vast majority of human beings are heedless: "...But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:92). This is because they are distracted by endless things within this transient, temporary life; they rarely (if ever) think about the Last Day and their real destiny: "Those who do not hope to meet Us, and are content with the worldly life, and are at ease in it, and those who pay no heed to Our Verses. These - their dwelling is the Fire-on account of what they used to do." (10:7-8). Thus, the days of their lifetime pass by while they are too busy to take heed of the fact that they are heading to death within the speed of 24 hours per day. When their predestined time of death comes, they feel remorse in vain after it is too late for them to be saved: "Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back. That I may do right in what I have neglected." By no means! It is just a word that he utters. And behind them is a barrier, until the Day they are resurrected." (23:99-100). When the soul is taken by the angels of death, it sees its dead body it has deserted forever, which is originally created of dust; the soul enters into a state of slumber and senselessness in the Barsakh realm, its original location before it was born within a human form. There are billions of souls of dead people in Barsakh, and an unknown number of other souls of those yet-to-be-born human beings, as each soul waits for its time to be tested in life on earth; for more details, we refer readers tour book, in English, titled "The Book of Death" found on this link: (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=120).
5- God has created Time as a moving dimension within the physical existence; no one can stop the movements of the earth, moon, or the sun, or indeed any of celestial bodies; they will continue to move and revolve until the predestined time when the universe is destroyed when the Hour comes, as the Last Day will begin along with God's Judgment of all human beings who will be resurrected and be made to stand before the Dominant Lord God. Hence, one's life in this transient earth is like a train moving into one direction; people get into this train of life when they are born and leave it when they die; the vast majority of people forget the fact that they will die eventually; they are not awake from their state of heedlessness until it is too late for them: when they see the angels of death.
6- Only real, monotheistic believers work hard to earn the Eternal Life; they remember their Lord all the time and praise/glorify Him within thankfulness and gratitude; they reflect and contemplate upon the creation of the universe all the time and they worship their Lord God within piety; they implore Him to be saved from Hell and to be among the winners of Paradise; they know that God did not create the universe for no reason: "In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, are signs for people of understanding. Those who remember God while standing, and sitting, and on their sides; and they reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Our Lord, You did not create this in vain, glory to You, so protect us from the torment of the Fire." "Our Lord, whomever You commit to the Fire, You have disgraced. The unjust ones will have no helpers." "Our Lord, and give us what You have promised us through Your messengers, and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Surely You never break a promise."" (3:190-194).
7- Since monotheists remember their Lord God and they are certain to meet Him, they work hard to be among the winners within this inevitable fate of attending the Day of Judgment, as the return to God is the destiny of all humanity in the Hereafter: "Respond to your Lord before there comes from God a Day that cannot be turned back. You will have no refuge on that Day, and no possibility of denial." (42:47). Believers who are thankful to their Lord and who praise/glorify His Holy Name perform many good deeds within piety and monotheism; they are never polytheists; they never deify things/items or mortals; they are sure that God will reward them in Paradise and will never waste the fruit of their good deeds.
8- Hence, these pious monotheists perceive the value of time; time is their lives; each passing minute is irretrievable; they prefer to use minutes of their day within good deeds and acts of worship. They know that no one can freeze or stop the passage of time or retrieve a passing moment and that their duration of life is limited and never endless. They know that their deeds, thoughts, and words are recorded, minute by minute, by the angels in their Book of Deeds.
9- The only method is to repent and atone for one's sins by performing good deeds as best as one can, in terms of quality and quantity, so that one's sins are covered (i.e., forgiven and pardoned) and overlooked by the Lord God on the Last Day to make one avoid Hell and be among the Paradise dwellers.
10- God has allotted to each of us the duration of one's lifetime on earth; we must be thankful to the Lord and praise/glorify His Holy Name by making the best use of our limited lifetimes.
11- This thankfulness is to perform many acts of worship , especially the glorification of God's Holy Name while observing piety all the time until we die; this purification will make God forgive our sins and small mistakes, since no one is immune 100% against committing mishaps and small sins. Acts of worship are mentioned in the Quran; the daily five prayers, glorifying God's Holy Name every day, the annual fasting of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca once during one's lifetime. God reminds Quran-believing people repeatedly about these acts of worship within the Quranic sharia legislations so that people would wake up from their heedlessness, unawareness, and oblivion (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18409).
12- Those who are heedless and never care about worshiping glorifying, and obeying their Lord God and they are never thankful to Him will wake up after it is too late for them when they see the angels of death coming to take their souls; the angels of death slap and kick their ethereal souls, which take the shape of their earthly bodies while telling them of the irrevocable decree of God that their fate is Hell: "How about when the angels take them at death, beating their faces and their bottoms? That is because they pursued what displeases God, and they disliked His approval, so He nullified their works." (47:27-28); "If only you could see, as the angels take away those who disbelieve, striking their faces and their bottoms: "Taste the torment of the Burning." "That is because of what your hands have committed, and because God is not unjust to the servants."" (8:50-51); "Those wronging their souls while the angels are taking them away - they will propose peace: "We did no wrong." Yes you did. God is aware of what you used to do." Enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein forever. Miserable is the residence of the arrogant ones." (16:28-29).
13- Upon dying, the monotheistic believers, who spent their lifetimes in good deeds within piety and thankfulness to the Lord God, are told by the angels of death about their fate in Paradise: "Those who are in a wholesome state when the angels take them - will say, "Peace be upon you; enter Paradise, for what you used to do."" (16:32); they would be frightened as they see ethereal, Barsakh beings for the first time, but the angels of death allay their fears, because they passed the test of life successfully, in contrast to billions of human beings who fail this test. God says in the Quran: "Those who say, "Our Lord is God," then lead a righteous life-they have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. These are the inhabitants of Paradise, where they will dwell forever - a reward for what they used to do." (46:13-14); "Unquestionably, God's friends have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. Those who believe and are among the pious ones. For them is good news in this life, and in the Hereafter. There is no alteration to the words of God. That is the supreme triumph." (10:62-64).
14- Within one's monotheistic faith/belief in Allah as the Only True God without any other deities/gods/partners/associates and within one's good deeds, one is not among the heedless, oblivious, unaware ones; one is thus among those who remember the Lord God all the time within thankfulness and within glorifying and praising His Holy Name. This is our reflection and these are our ponderings on this verse: "And it is He who made the night and the day alternate - for whoever desires to remember, or desires to be among the thankful ones." (25:62). Within the verses after 25:62, God mentions the description of those thankful ones who praise and glorify their Lord God who remember Him all the time: they are called the servants of the Dominant Lord; see 25:63-76.
15- This is how the Quranic verses explain one another, as the only explanation for the Quranic text is provided by God Himself in the Quranic text itself: "Whatever argument they come to you with, We provide you with the truth, and a better explanation." (25:33); "Then, when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its explanation." (75:18-19).