Bismillah Dear Y all, Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh InshaAllah all is well with you and your families. Ayah 10 Surah Luqman (#31) خ ل ق الس ماوات ب غ ی ر ع م د ت ر و ن ها و أ ل قى ف ی ال ا ر ض ر واس ی أ ن ت مید ب ک م و ب ث فیها م ن ک ل داب ە و أ ن ز ل نا م ن الس ماء ماء ف ا ن ب ت نا فیها م ن ک ل ز و ج ک ریم He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see, and cast firm mountains in the earth lest it should shake with you, and He has scattered in it every kind of animal. And We sent down water from the sky and caused every kind [of plant] to grow in noble pairs. Surah Luqman ayah 10 The first few ayahs of this Surah, talked about the wrongdoers and their punishment, and then the last couple of ayahs talked the faithful ones who perform righteous deeds and their rewards. This ayah talks about Tauheed (Divine Unity). This ayah talks about five things that are linked with each other that are created by Allah swt; heavens without any pillars, mountains that hold the earth firm, animals that live on earth, water sent from the sky which is necessary for the plants to grow. خ ل ق الس ماوات ب غ ی ر ع م د ت ر و ن ها He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see Allah swt created heavens without any visible pillars. In other words there are pillars but we cannot see them. The heavens are supported by the law of attraction and repulsion. There is a hadith of our eighth Imam, Imam Ali Ibn Musa al- Ridha (as): Husayn Ibn Khalid narrates, that Imam al-ridha
(as) said: Immaculate is Allah, Does not Allah say without any pillars you can see? Narrator, replied, yes, then Imam al-ridha said, so, the pillars are there, but you cannot see them. Allamah Tabatabai in al-mizan, under Surah Ra ad ayah 2 (Part of this ayah is similar to the ayah in discussion), says: Raising the sky (or heaven) is separating it from the earth in a way that it (the sky) becomes dominant over the earth by casting on (the earth) its rays and sending down its rain and thunderbolts and other things upon it. It is elevated above the earth without any pillars on which it depends and which are sensible to man. Therefore, man should discern that there is someone raising it, keeping it from moving from its place and holding it so that it does not slip from its resting place. Allah swt is the one who created these pillars that are not visible and it is Allah who is keeping them at their places so they do not go bizurk. All of it is because of the power and will of Allah. It is obvious this ayah and the hadith of Imam al-ridha (as) was hard to understand in those days, but now in this day and age, science talks about the law of attraction and repulsion and makes it easy for us to understand. The miracle of Quran is that it talks about things that were unimaginable in those days and after 1000 years and after the progress of science these concepts are understandable. و أ ل قى ف ی ال ا ر ض ر واس ی أ ن ت مید ب ک م and cast firm mountains in the earth lest it should shake with you. Formerly, it was thought that mountains were merely protrusions rising above the surface of the Earth. However, scientists realized that this was not actually the case, and that those parts known as the mountain root extended down as far as 10-15 times their own height. With these features, mountains play a similar role to a nail or peg firmly holding down a tent. For example, Mount Everest, the summit of which stands approximately 9 km above the surface of the Earth, has a root deeper than 125 km.
Today, we know that the rocky external layer of the Earth's surface is riven by deep faults and split into plates swimming above the molten lava. Since the Earth revolves very quickly around its own axis, were it not for the fixing effect of the mountains, these plaques would shift. In such an event, soil would not collect on the Earth's surface, water would not accumulate in the soil, no plants could grow, and no roads or houses could be built. In short, life on Earth would be impossible. Through the mercy of Allah, however, mountains act like nails, and to a large extent, prevent movement in the Earth's surface. Mountains are blessings of Allah and a mercy for us, otherwise it would have been impossible to live on earth. SubhanAllah, again this concept was hard to comprehend in the days when the Holy Quran was revealed but now due to the progress of science we can understand and comprehend this concept. After talking about the heavens how Allah secured them with invisible pillars and also holding the earth by casting mountains on it, then the ayah talks about the creations on earth و ب ث فیها م ن ک ل داب ە and He has scattered in it every kind of animal. Allah swt created all kinds of animals and filled them on earth; like birds, insects, fishes, domestic animals, wild animals And He did not create them in vain rather He has a distinct goal for every one of the species. Quran talks about some of the goals, for example honey bee Surah Nahl ayah 69, says that honey bees has juice (honey) in their bellies which is a cure for the mankind. Quran talks about cattle and the different uses of cattle for example in Surah Nahl ayahs 5 and 6. و أ ن ز ل نا م ن الس ماء ماء ف ا ن ب ت نا فیها م ن ک ل ز و ج ک ریم
And We sent down water from the sky and caused every kind [of plant] to grow in noble pairs. The previous part of the ayah talks about animal kingdom that Allah swt created, now for the survival of the creations water is essential, so this part of the ayah is saying, that Allah sends down water from the heavens and this causes plants to grow. There are many animals that live on plants and then there are many animals that live on animals that live on plants. Water is essential for all the living things including us humans. It is Allah who sends down water. This ayah also points to the fact that there are pairs in the plant kingdom too. 1400 years back it was not proven that the plants had pairs (male and female) too. But science now confirms that plants have pairs too. This ayah talks about the blessings Allah swt has provided us with and also it is an eye opener that Quran talks about the concepts 1400 years back that science just discovered recently in the last couple centuries. Hadith: The Prophet (SAWA) said, He whose good deed pleases him and whose sin upsets him is indeed a believer. [ Kanzal- Ummal no. 700] A true believer is one who is pleased to do good deeds, in other words doing a good deed for the believer is not a burden rather it is a pleasure. For example reciting duas or reciting Quran is a good deed, but for some people it is a big burden reciting long duas or reciting Quran. They would spend hours in doing insignificant things that are not useful at all, but when you ask them to recite Quran or duas they claim that they just do not have time. Some do not even make an effort to learn Arabic so they could recite Quran and Duas in Arabic; they have time for everything else, but not for Quran! True believer is one who takes pleasure in performing good deeds.
A true believer is one who does not take his sins lightly, rather he gets upset. We should look into ourselves and see if our sins are upsetting us or not? If they are upsetting us then we should repent because that is the next step. If the sins upset us and we continue sinning, then our getting upset makes no sense. Does it? Ahkaam (Ay Sistani s rulings): I listen to a tape recorder, radio or television emitting the voice of a reciter of the Qur'an, reciting a verse which demands prostration. Should I prostrate? A: Certainly not. You are not obliged to prostrate yourself except when you hear it (the verse) from the reciter himself, not on his recorded tape. (FM, p. 400) FYI: There are four verses in Quran where it is wajib to do Sajda when we recite it ourselves or when we hear some one recite it, live. The four ayahs are: Surah Fussilat ayah 38, Surah Sajda ayah 15, Surah Najm ayah 62, and Surah Alaq ayah 19. Note: other than these four ayahs, everywhere else we see the symbol for Sajda it is Mustahab (recommended) to do Sajda but not wajib. Alhamdulillah Wassalaam Ali Azhar Arastu