THE SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENON DEPICTS THE INEXHAUSTIBLE POWERS OF ALLAH (SURAH AL-BAQARAH AYAH 101-102)

 

When Muhammad (pbuh) came, the Jews living in Madinah wanted to contradict and dispute with him using the Torah. However, the Torah and the Qur’an affirmed each other. So the Jews rejected their divine writ by disregarding the prophecies relating to the coming of the Arabian Prophet “And (even now) when there has come unto them an apostle from Allah, confirming the truth already in their possession, some of those who were granted revelation aforetime cast the divine writ behind their backs as though unaware (of what it says” (Quran 2: 101). They knew the truth, but abandoned it, hid it and denied the fact that they even had it. When moral and material decline set in among the Jews, they were overwhelmed with ignorance, misery and decadence. They were thus drained of all high ambitions and increasingly turned to magic and sorcery. “And follow (instead) that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign for it was not Solomon who denied the truth, but those evil ones denied it by teaching people sorcery and (they follow) that which has come down through the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut - although these two never taught it to anyone without first declaring, "We are but a temptation to evil: do not, then, deny (Allah’s) truth!" And they learn from these two how to create discord between a man and his wife; but whereas they can harm none thereby save by Allah's leave, they acquire a knowledge that only harms themselves and does not benefit them - although they know; indeed, that he who acquires this (knowledge) shall have no share in the good of the life to come. (this seriously damages the spiritual status of a person).  For, vile indeed is that (art) for which they have sold their own selves - had they but known it!” (Quran 2:102). They began to search for facile means, that would spare them from hard work and would ensure them their desired ends. At this stage they were misled by the evil ones, who made them believe that the mighty kingdom and astonishing power of Solomon were merely due to occult sciences and magic, and that by revealing those they would pass on to them the keys to success. It was the evil, immoral impulses within their hearts that they got so engrossed in such practices that they ignored both the Book of Allah and anyone who summoned them to truth and righteousness. From the very ancient times Babylon was reputed to be the home of magic arts, symbolized in the legendary persons -Harut and Marut; two men who practiced sorcery. Allah sent two divine angels in human form (angels are dutiful servants of Allah's kingdom, capable of assuming the form appropriate to the specific task they are required to perform at any particular time) who could work magic and sorcery in order to test the Jews.

 These angels at once began working their magical wonders but they warned the people that their presence among them was designed to test their faith, and that they ought not to jeopardize their after-life by the practice of magic. Despite the warning it seemed that the Israelites had become so fond of their magical artifices that they continued to resort to sorcery. And it is to this legend that the Qur'an refers with a view to condemning every attempt at magic and sorcery, as well as all preoccupation with occult sciences in general. Their greatest demand was for magical arts and charms to sow discord between a man and his wife. This was the depth of moral depravity to which these people had fallen. The matrimonial relationship is, in truth, the very foundation of man's collective life. The soundness of human civilization depends on the soundness of the relationship between the two sexes. Hence, nothing could be worse than the person who strikes at the very foundations of the structure which supports both him and society as a whole. It is a sure index of its moral decadence.  It’s a moral duty on every man to reject every attempt at sorcery, as it disrupts the order of nature as instituted by Allah. Since these acts using the intention to shape energy with the aim of leaving an impact and influence that is detrimental and does not possess any reality as such as it is a mere practice and an art of deception.

       What exists but can’t be explained by the laws of nature, hiding behind the veil of human ignorance, gets a label of “supernatural”. We cannot disregard the fact that our lives are related to the unseen and there is a world existing behind this veil nor can we content ourselves with only causes and conditions that are known to us (Hamad, 2014). Faithfulness to the existence of unseen effects does not mean that one should give up the effects of knowledge and devices at hand, awaiting supernatural aid. In truth, this is the sacrifice of knowledge in favor of the unknown—something that reason cannot sanction. In fact, our realist mechanism that notifies us of the unknown behind the veil also informs us of the effects of what we know and forces us to use them. It’s this force within us that gives us life, so we need to seek that.

     Whatever little supernatural phenomenon that one may encounter, are in fact the manifestations of the inexhaustible powers of Allah showing us that He is the author of every power and every movement. Everything around us is painted with the brush of the invisible one, we need to follow those hidden secret codes, should attempt to look beyond the instruments that bring out the picture and find the painter. It’s nothing to a man’s credit, it’s Allah’s Supernatural Grace and Will that guides a man in this life (Sheima, 2016). Moreover, It’s only through supernatural aids that the understanding of the divine religions gets easier.

        The inner qualities that go into our making play a very fundamental role in our welfare and our woes.  It’s the level of thinking, intellect, spiritual merits and the inner causes at work within us that determine our felicity or misfortune. We all are thinking creatures, we think first and then these thoughts get translated into action.  Our positive thoughts lead us towards fruitful actions but filthy thoughts drive us towards defilement. Just as the trees grow gradually and yield fruit with time, so are the thoughts that make their roots firm in our souls and bring out what we have within us (Elias, 2016).

    Never let the insecure thoughts ruin something that’s truly amazing and that is the marital life. Men and women are made couples by Allah so that they can weather the storms of life together. It’s the force that welds the home and thus the society together (Siddique, 2015). In a marriage, the vows that we make, become most important in the moments when they are most difficult to keep. The couples that make it till the end are the ones who fail to give up on each other, though they do go through everything and anything that can tear them apart. They are the ones who rise to complete each other but they don’t fall to competing with each other. How many of us have genuinely and honestly paid the price of this treasurable journey of discovery that came with only one price tag and that was the “compromise”.