off topic: Rebirth: Surah 23:12-15 Al Mu'minun (The True Believers)

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Rebirth: Surah 23:12-15 Al Mu'minun (The True Believers)

 

Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); 2872 Then we placed

him as (a drop of) sperm,

In a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then we made the sperm into a clot

of congealed blood;

Then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; Then We made out of that

lump bones,

And clothed the bones with flesh; Then We developed out of it

another creature. 2874

So blessed be Allah, the Best to create! After that, at length ye

will die.

 

surah 23:12-15 Al Mu'minun (The Believers)

 

2872 In this beautiful passage, Allah's creative work, as far as

man is concerned, is recapitulated, in order to show man's real

position in this life, and the certainty of the future; to which he

was referred for his reward in verses 10-11 above. For the various

stages of creation, see n. 120 to 2:117. Here we are not concerned

with the earliest stage, the creation of primeval matter out of

nothing. It is also a process of creation when inorganic matter

becomes living matter. Thus inorganic constituents of the earth are

absorbed into living matter by way of food and living matter

reproduces itself by means of sperm. This is deposited in the ovum

and fertilizes it and rests for a time in security in the mother's

womb. The first change in the fertilized ovum and the conversion

into a sort of clot of thickly congealed blood; the zygote cells

grow by segmentation; then the mass gradually assumes shape in its

growth as a foetus. From the lump develop bones and flesh and organs

and a nervous system. So far man's growth is like that of an animal,

but a further process takes place which makes the infant animal into

the infant man. This is the breathing of Allah's spirit into him

(15:29): that process need not be precisely at a given point of

time. It may be a continuous process parallel to that of physical

growth. The child is born; it grows; it decays and dies; but after

death another chapter opens for the individual, and it is to remind

us of this most momentous chapter that the previous stages are

recapitulated.

 

2874. From a mere animal, we now consider man as man. Is it not a

Sign of wonder in itself that from dry dust (turab, 22:5) or

inorganic matter should be made protoplasm (moist clay or organic

matter); from it should grow a new animal life; and out of it should

grow human life, with all its capacities and responsibilities? Man

carries within himself Signs of Allah's wisdom and power, and he can

see them every day in the universe around him.

 

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.

 

 

 

This verse tells of the Journey of Life, from the humblest amoebae

to the glorious Homo sapiens. Animals only become human when the

Creator breathes His Holy Spirit into them and they become

conscious of God. (In the animal kingdom only humans are conscious

of Him.) They continue to evolve still higher till they are able to

become the eternal spirit. These are the evolutionary stages from

animal to human being, and finally, the Spirit. This process takes

billions of years and goes on indefinitely as the entire universe is

also evolving.

 

1) So what makes humans think that the evolution from human to

spirit will be accomplished in a single lifetime?

2) What makes them think that the long winding cycle of evolution

spanning billions of years will abruptly come to a screeching halt

and force them to become perfect in a single human life?

3) What blinds them to the Reality that extends far beyond this tiny

cosmic dust particle call Earth?

4) What makes them think there is no rebirth?

5) What makes them think there is no cosmic regeneration?

6) What makes them think that spiritual Reality isn't in perfect

harmony with cosmic Reality?

7) What makes them think that a single life will make them realize

what took the Creator billions of years to perfect?

8) How long will it take an ape to grasp Adam and Eve?

9) And what is an ape anyway - a creature of God to amuse us, or

a reminder of a very long and difficult trek that has led us to this

glorious and priceless human form?

10) Is evolution going to suddenly stop at the physical level or is

it going to relentlessly continue into the eternal spirit?

11) Have we reached that point where we are at that earliest Dawn of

the Resurrection?

 

 

Look up to the heavens and dream again for eternity is within grasp!

 

 

Jai Shri Mataji,

 

 

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