Time and History Vis-أ -vis the Holy Qur'an

By: Mohammad Ishaq Khan

Change as the Causal Conjunction between Divine and Temporal Time
Change is the movement in space-time of both spirit and matter. In fact, no other concept of knowledge in human sciences brings us closer to understanding the infiniteness of Divine time as the particularities of human environments in their spatio-temporal setting. Various societies in their specific historical, geographical and cultural environment have their own time; so do men, living in such environments. The emerging point is the specificity of time characterizing societies and men that create conditions for change. No example other than the historical experience of the West in the emergence of the Renaissance and Reformation movements illustrates our point better. At the root of the striking developments made in the field of technology and science in the West was the human will to conquer all that was spiritual, or its orchestrated synonym - irrational. Although the Protestant ethic was a vital factor in the capitalist development of the Western nations, it only served to promote the knowledge of time essentially related to man's terrestrial existence. Consequently, the concept of change was understood mainly in terms of man's material development, no less and no more.
Although the divide between spiritual and secular has been the most prominent legacy of the Renaissance and Reformation, little is known about the dispersion of the Western mind in several directions under their liberating influence. The driving force behind the growth of knowledge in the West was the idea of conquering and controlling the forces of nature for the progress of material civilization. No wonder that free action and complete liberty of belief for each individual person produced several notions of time based on the theory of division of labor and time. Notwithstanding the importance of organizing labor and time for the productive development of Western societies, the emerging concept of compartmentalizing life into work and leisure brought about deep ruptures within the personality of the Western man. This is particularly reflected in the striking difference emphasized by Jacques Le Goff in his categorization of a merchant's and a theologian's time. The difference between the two notions of time is as wide as the schism between the Western man and his soul if not of such proportions as between the state and religion in the West. But according to the Qur'an, work and leisure are intrinsically integrated and continuous conditions for the development of the human soul and mind. The leisure for a true believer is not to be understood as a time free from work or other duties. The Qur'an says:
"Therefore when you are free, nominate. And make your Lord your exclusive object." (94:7-8).
(Allama Yusuf Ali comments on the above verses: "When there is rest from the task of instructing the world, the contact with the spiritual kingdom continues, and indeed it becomes more intimate and concentrated.")
Nowhere does the Qur'an propound the notion of space-time. Rather, it attributes the downfall of nations to the moral laxity of leisure classes or groups. Significantly, the Qur'an urges Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to offer prayers at appointed intervals during the long hours of daily work and during midnight. The relationship between work and worship in Islam is thus characterized by a believer's sublime devotion to the Cause of causes. The very existence of man on this planet is not an unusual or accidental combination of the divine and temporal times but the causal conjunction between them. Therefore, Man is, repeatedly urged to harmonize his thought and behavior in accordance with the Mind of the Qur'an.

Movement of the Soul
The Mind of the Qur'an is focused on man and his self (Nafs) in relation to Allah. Man's time on this planet is just a cause, but not the Cause of causes. What produces an effect in a given situation is the human action. This simple fact is related to the material development of society consequent upon man's efforts to harness or control the forces of nature. The principle that nothing can happen without a cause urges us to explore our own urge to understand the time that dwells in our own selves. Our inner time is distinct from that of our physical existence. The difference between an organic matter and its soul is comprehensively wider than that between the earth and the sky. While the organically grown human body from its birth to death is confined within the temporality of its biological evolution, the movement of the soul is not simply a matter of evolution, but more profoundly, that of self-examination and self-recognition. The movement of the soul has always been constant because of its immortality and eternal verities. Its laws are endlessly unchanging. But what makes us obey or violate its laws is our own awareness or ignorance of the spiritual-historical phenomena.
Awareness of the constant movement of the soul grows within the realism of one's mind and heart on waging a constant struggle against the snares or dangers to which the soul is essentially a spirit infused into the matter by Allah Himself (Al-Qur'an, 15:29 & 38:72). How is it then that the Qur'an speaks of three stages of the soul viz; the soul inclined to evil (nafs e ammarah) (Al-Qur'an, 12:53), the soul that is self-reproaching and seeks Allah's grace and pardon after repentance and tries to amend (nafs-e-lawwamah) (Al-Qur'an, 65:2) and the soul at peace (nafs-e-mutma'innah) (Al-Qur'an, 79:27)
Is there any inconstancy within the constant time of the soul? Such questions of crucial nature are not difficult to answer once we realize that the inconstancy of the time of our own mundane existence veils the eternity of our inner time. Human soul is inclined to evil only upon turning soul-less. This lowest stage of human existence thrives on a concept that matter is superior to soul. The fundamental and eternal moral principles of the soul, once flagrantly violated in pursuit of material, though momentary pleasures of mundane existence, uproots the soul from its original environment. This is the reason that time consumed in merely material pursuits ruptures the union of the Divine and human souls even after death. The soul inclined to evil is thus constantly consumed by fire (hell) after death. The repeated Qur'anic dictum that the hell shall be a permanent abode for the wicked, speaks of the time of the souls that either didn't repent or were not at peace with themselves even during their lifetimes. Didn't such soul-less souls turn the world into a battleground for an open rebellion (fasad fi'l-ardh) against the dictates of conscience and consciousness of the striving and illumined souls?
The key to understanding the movement of the soul or our own inner time is self-introspection which is why, according to the Prophet (SAW), one who recognizes oneself, recognizes Allah. The recognition of self means recognition of the bewildering complexities and mysteries of our puny existence vis-a-vis the Omnipotence and Omnipresence of Allah. It is a prelude to a sustained struggle within our inner-selves for the protection of our souls from becoming rusty. The soul, indeed, rusts due to lack of training. Although intrinsically pure, it is exposed to several dangers in the absence of self-examination.
Consequently, the negligent man who corrupts the purity of his soul ceases to be a spiritualized matter. But those who strive to purge their souls of the rust of mundane affairs don't lose connection with their inner time. The difference between the human souls at the lowest stage and those situated in the middle (lawwamah) is both of a higher kind and degree. While those of the former become conditioned to mere ordinary concerns of man's existence, those of the latter are attuned to the inner depths of living in the past, present, and future. This is also the reason that the spiritual existence of a human soul of the middle category in the form of visions and dreams is in certain cases the inward movement of the time that has neither a beginning nor an end. For instance, the dream of a soul finding one living in the remote past or future cannot always be described in merely psychological terms. The psychological analysis is not always enough to explain a phenomenon that does not fall within the purview of a psychoanalyst's inquiry. How can a psychoanalyst be a witness to or experience the inner movement of a soul that is not his own? The inner movement of the soul of a spiritualized matter is comprehensible only to a few gifted individuals whose souls are at peace (mutma'innah).
"O soul that art at rest! Return to your Lord, well pleased
(With him), well pleasing Him, So enter among My servants, Afnd enter into My garden. (Qur'an, 89:27-30)
Such is the state of death of the human souls at peace. For such souls, death is not the dividing line between the mundane and the spiritual worlds; rather it is the unveiling of the veiled, i.e., Divine Time. Thus, so long as the spirit was inside the human body, its movement was known to none other than the ever self-disciplined and self-examining self-alone. Being one's own nature or particular part of one's nature, self is often synonymous with one's personality, moulded of course by the interactions of the soul, mind and heart. While the heart is the center of one's thoughts and emotions, the soul is spiritual or non-material part of a person, believed to exist after death. The Qur'anic verse that Allah exists somewhere between the self and heart of a human being actually points to the eternal movement of the soul. The Qur'an says:
"... And know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart...." (Al-Qur'an, 8:24)
The death of a human personality is, therefore, merely an extinction of the human body and the unveiling of the real nature of its eternal soul. The entry of the soul at peace into the Paradise doesn't mean the passing of the soul from one stage to another but a joyous affirmation of its Covenant to return to its origin. Contrary wise, veiling of the veiled in respect of the corrupted souls is a horrifying experience of eternal nature synchronous with the Divine action or Time.