of Nokounam Session 1540
Surah Yunus, one of the Meccan chapters of the Holy Qur'an, with profound and sublime verses, invites humanity to contemplate the boundless Divine Majesty and their own insignificant position before the Creator of existence. This Surah, emphasising the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Divine management of affairs, and the return of creatures to God, opens a gateway to Divine knowledge. The present lecture, with an in-depth focus on the opening verses of this Surahespecially verse threeand employing spiritual metaphors and analogies, calls human beings to humility, worship, and submission before the Lord. This text, organised systematically and composed in eloquent language, endeavours to elucidate the lofty meanings of these verses through detailed explanation and semantic connections for audiences interested in Qur'anic knowledge.
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ ۖ مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Your Lord is indeed Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself upon the Throne, managing all affairs. There is no intercessor except by His permission. That is Allah, your Lord; therefore, worship Him. Will you not then take heed?
Verse three of Surah Yunus, with majestic diction, introduces God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Ordainer of all existence, and the Possessor of the Throne. This verse, by emphasising Divine greatness, summons humanity to reflect upon its own incapacity before the Creator. The magnitude of God is so vast and boundless that no terminology can fully encapsulate it. Concepts such as the heavens, the earth, the Throne, and the governance of affairs are all allegorical; mankind attains only a general perception of their greatness without grasping their ultimate reality. This incapacity is not a sign of weakness but an invitation to humility and acceptance of Divine guidance through faith.
In a narration cited in the lecture, when someone asked a religious scholar about the meaning of Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest), the reply was: "God is greater than can be described" (الله أكبر من أن يوصف). This expression beautifully demonstrates that any attempt to describe God fails in the face of His infinite majesty. Humans, like birds beneath the limitless Divine sky, can only spread the wings of faith and submission in flight, but cannot traverse the entire expanse of this sky.
This incapacity in description does not imply absolute helplessness but rather an invitation to a knowledge attained through worship and intimacy with God. By acknowledging this limitation, humans abandon arrogance and choose the path of submission and servitude, as the Qur'anic verses invite: فَٱعْبُدُوهُ (Therefore, worship Him).
The lecture refers to the conduct of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) as a sublime model of human response to Divine Majesty. He, perceiving Gods grandeur, would engage in worship, supplication, and weeping from night till dawn, so much so that the dust beneath his feet would turn into mud from his tears. This behaviour did not arise from weakness but from profound knowledge and humility before the Creator. Human beings, in the face of Divine Majesty, are like a drop before the boundless ocean; the more they perceive this grandeur, the more they are drawn to worship and submission.
Nevertheless, the lecture regretfully notes that many, despite awareness of God's greatness, remain heedless. Their understanding of this grandeur does not lead to behavioural change or increased worship. Such heedlessness acts like a veil over the spiritual sight, preventing humans from recognising their true position before the Creator.
In compelling language, the lecture criticises human arrogance. Contemporary humans, sometimes due to superficial knowledge or an illusion of wisdom, consider themselves great and resist humility before God. This arrogance is like a wind that steers the ship of knowledge away from the shore of truth. Whereas Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) described himself as the least of the least (أقل الاقلین), modern man occasionally imagines himself equal to the heavens and the earth, unaware that before Divine Majesty he is but a negligible particle.
One of the most prominent features of the lecture is the use of analogy comparing humans to creatures such as ants, beetles, and flies, to demonstrate human smallness before Divine Majesty. Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) considered himself even lesser than these creatures, stating: I am the least of the least (أنا أقل الاقلین). This expression is not out of humiliation but from profound humility and knowledge. Despite all human claims, sometimes humans fail to comprehend the simplest truths, while seemingly insignificant creatures, by their Divine instinct, sometimes grasp reality better than humans.
The lecture, using an original metaphor, refers to the experience of cooking bone marrowless bones. When these cooked bones were offered to dogs, the dogs instinctively understood the bones were empty and turned away. However, humans, despite great efforts to prepare and cook, remained unaware of this truth. This metaphor reflects a mirror showing human epistemic incapacity compared to the simple instinct of animals.
Referring to a dialogue between a master and a student, the lecture critiques the limitations of superficial sciences. The student, relying on modern scientific methods, attempts to challenge the masters experience and demands scientific experiments. The master, with wise expression, emphasises that Divine truth transcends mere empirical methods. Religious knowledge is like a lamp illuminating the path of cognition, whereas apparent sciences sometimes settle as dust upon the eyes of truth seekers.
This critique is not a denial of science but an invitation to recognise its limitations compared to Divine knowledge. Reliance solely on material sciences sometimes renders humans incapable of grasping truth, whereas humility and submission before God open the way to true knowledge.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَٱلْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُۥ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا۟ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلْحِسَابَ ۚ مَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّ فِي ٱخْتِلَٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَءَايَٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ
He is the One who made the sun a radiant light and the moon a luminous body, and ordained for it phases that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create this except in truth. He explains the signs in detail for a people who know. Indeed, in the alternation of night and day and all that Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who are conscious of God.
These verses, with splendid expression, present the cosmic system as a sign of Divine wisdom. The sun and the moon, with their astonishing order, and the alternation of night and day, are like mirrors reflecting the greatness and wisdom of the Creator. However, humans, beyond the superficial aspect of this system such as time calculation, cannot grasp its truth. This incapacity is an invitation to contemplate Divine wisdom and avoid arrogance.
The Holy Qur'an emphasises that God created this system except in truth. Here, truth refers to the purposefulness and wisdom of creation. Yet, this wisdom, like a gem inside a shell, is beyond human intellectual reach. Despite all human advances, humans can only observe the outward appearance of this system and cannot access its essence except through faith and piety.
دَعْوَىٰهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَٰنَكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَٰمٌ ۚ وَءَاخِرُ دَعْوَىٰهُمْ أَنِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
Their call therein will be, Exalted are You, O Allah! and their greeting therein will be, Peace! and the last of their call will be, Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
This verse, with delicate expression, describes the state of the inhabitants of Paradise in glorification and praise of God. Such glorification and praise rise like a melody from the depths of the mystics' souls and indicate closeness and intimacy with the Creator. Although the details of this state are unknown to earthly humans, this verse paves the way for closeness to God through worship and glorification.
The opening verses of Surah Yunus, in sublime language, portray the boundless Divine Majesty and human smallness before the Creator. These verses, introducing God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Ordainer of affairs, and the destination to which creatures return, invite humanity to humility, worship, and submission. The lecture, utilising metaphors and analogies such as the conduct of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) and the comparison of humans to insignificant creatures, nurtures this message and emphasises the necessity of avoiding arrogance.
Qur'anic allegorical concepts such as the heavens, the Throne, and the cosmic system surpass human comprehension and can only be approached through faith and piety. These verses, like a lamp in a dark night, illuminate the path of knowledge and servitude and guide humans towards worship and intimacy with God. The lecture, with simple yet profound language, reminds that understanding Divine Majesty must lead to behavioural change and increased worship, not to heedlessness and arrogance.
Supervised by Sadegh Khademi
