Divine inspirations- the spiritual mysteries written on hearts get rejected by the most-Surah Al-Baqarah (ayah 86-88)

 

Allah describes the insolence of the children of Israel and their rebellion, defiance and arrogance towards the Prophets. They were given the Torah that they later changed and distorted its meanings. They defied the laws and commandments of Allah, and thus they will find punishment in both the worlds.  “All who buy the life of this world at the price of the life to come - their suffering shall not be lightened, nor shall they be succored” (Quran 2:86). By giving more preference to the joys and paltry profits of this world, one becomes negligent of what awaits him in the Hereafter. He might find like-minded people in this world who will deceive him into enjoying temporary pleasures of this world, but in the Hereafter there will be no helpers. “For indeed, We vouchsafed unto Moses the divine writ and caused apostle after apostle to follow him; and We vouchsafed unto Jesus, the son of Mary, all evidence of the truth, And strengthened him with holy inspiration. (Yet) is it not so that every time an apostle came unto you with something that was not to your liking, you gloried in your arrogance, and to some of them you gave the lie, while others you would slay?” (Quran 2:87). Allah gave Moses the scripture and followed him by a number of prophets sent to the Children of Israel, one after another ending with their last prophet Jesus. They were given clear proofs, signs and miracles to support their truthfulness. Allah strengthens the faith of true believers by Divine inspirations. Every time a messenger was sent to them with something, they used to refuse him. All of this occurred because the Prophets used to command the Jews with what differed from their desires and opinions. The Prophets also upheld the rulings of the Torah that the Jews had changed, and that is why it was difficult for them to believe in these Prophets. Therefore, they rejected the Prophets and killed some of them. They were so staunch in their beliefs that their convictions would remain unaffected regardless of what was said to them. “But they say, "Our hearts are already full of knowledge”. Nay, but Allah has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth for, few are the things in which they believe” (Quran 2: 88).  This was the hallmark of those bigots whose minds are seized by irrational prejudice, considering themselves self-sufficient in the religious knowledge that they possessed. It was their illusion that their hearts were the storehouses of knowledge, not needing any further preaching; so they put a cover, a seal, a stamp over their hearts themselves.  The fact is that Allah has cursed them and have expelled them from His Rahmah because of their adherence to inherited beliefs and convictions that made them deny the truth. They scarcely believe as they considered themselves as having an exceptional status in the sight of Allah so all their beliefs were centered on themselves.

     Islam has accomplished a long chain of guidance from Allah to humanity which has been accurately preserved and carefully documented. Its universal message has a familiar resonance to its origin and its essence remains the same. It is not a new way of life, it’s a culmination of the divine messages sent through all of His messengers which drew people closer to Allah, reformed their souls and beautified their character so that their purpose in life could be fulfilled (Basem, 2014).

      Divine inspirations are the spiritual mysteries written on our hearts where they wait silently for them to be discovered. These inspirations are within us like the private prayers, we just need to be silent and listen to them and they get changed into public miracles. It’s a kind of mystical journey of spiritual ascent to the Creator through the transformation of mind and heart. It’s a pure favor bestowed upon the hearts where His love resides. This Divine Love is in fact the Creative Power behind all the existence. This hidden treasure has the need to be revealed (Bray, 2014). If Allah sees one doing his part, developing what He has given him, then He will do His part. He will open up the doors, no man can ever shut. And the man will live the life that will matter. Since the difference between “who we are” and “what we want to be”, is “what we do”. So to achieve the desired sublime objectives, one will need to cleanse the indecent moral and ethical characteristics, refining and purifying self, which will then bestow the superior spiritual virtues. So when one learns “how to live”, he in fact becomes “what he wants to become”. This divine grace is a reason to love and serve Him more. It’s not an excuse to sin.

          It shouldn’t make one self-absorbed, as it will just be like a wave thinking it can find the sea. This illusion of knowledge is the greatest enemy of knowledge. If one ever became self-centered just because of any Divine favor which in fact was not to his own will, then somehow the purpose to grow through love, releasing the ego, finding the truth and returning to serve the Creation will get lost somewhere in the middle. The true knowledge is when we start admitting that we know nothing, and it becomes the time when we start realizing that there is only One who is more knowledgeable and that One alone has the best understanding of all things. If we happened to humble ourselves toward the most Supreme, it will help us get rid of any arrogance that may be lurking in our hearts and will make our hearts more spiritually healthy. May Allah help us experience this spiritual awakening and enable us to beautify our hearts and lives with His Divine Light (Aref, 2013).

     With or without our consent, we are heading to our ultimate return to the One from where we had come. We cannot escape this reality, no matter how much we deny it. So if we are to return and our destiny is somewhere else, then everything here becomes momentary, and the life itself becomes precious. It becomes a game of just a number of days. We got to give everyday a chance to become a valuable one of our lives. What if one day we wake up and find out that there is no more time to do the things we could always do. So better utilize this dunya now in a way to win the unseen treasures of akhirah. And plan this akhirah very carefully as we have to spend the rest of our lives there (Mohiuddin, 2013).