Lesson Five
Fortress of Oblivious Humankind, Oblivious Jinn-kind (Al-Nas Surah )
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
1. "Say: I proudly seek refuge in the Provider of oblivious humankind" .
2. "The King of oblivious humankind" .
3. "The Steering God of oblivious humankind" .
4. "From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, who withdraws(when a person resorts to God):"
5. "He who whispers evil in the chests of oblivious humankind:"
6. "Through jinns and oblivious humankind."
In this noble Fortress, the Almighty God guides you, oh listener, to the way which will save you from the evil of Satan and his whispers. If you follow His Guidance you will then see the truth of everything; so you will be able to distinguish between what is bad and what is good, so that this enemy will have no way to overcome you. It is you who will overcome this enemy.
Therefore, God says: "Say: I proudly seek refuge in the Provider of oblivious humankind, the King of oblivious humankind, the Steering God of oblivious humankind, from the evil of the sneaking whisperer, who withdraws (when resorting to God),"
Verse no.1
8. "Say: I proudly seek refuge in the Provider of oblivious humankind,"
The word "say" is addressed to the Envoy (cpth). It means: "say to My obedient followers that they should proudly seek refuge in Me." It is also addressed to humanity, If anyone reads this verse "Say: I proudly seek refuge" , they will feel as if they have heard it recited by Al’lah to His noble Envoy, and then the reader’s spirit will enter into God’s Presence along with that of the Envoy. Thus it can understand what it says and can comprehend the Godly Purpose of such words.
Therefore, the statement "Say: I proudly seek refuge" denotes: you, believer! Say to yourself: ―I proudly seek might and protection." Let your state always be the state of one who is proud of their Provider, who clings to their Possessor, and resorts to their God and Director.
The Almighty has revealed three of His Attributes to you, to provide a reason for your spirit to come nearer to Him, and to provide a motive for you to see the necessity of this nearness. Thus, you find yourself with no choice except to seek His Might and to keep resorting to Him as He is: "the Provider of oblivious humankind."
"The Provider" , mentioned previously in ‘the Opening’ Fortress, is the Grower who supplies all of us with life. His Sustenance is not restricted to merely one element of yourself, but instead it is extended to all of your spirit, your body, your soul and each of your organs.
To be more specific we can say that this Sustenance is extended to: the eye, and the systems and layers it contains that allow it to see things; the ear, and the membranes and stapes inside of it that allow it to hear sound; the heart, and the ligaments, tendons inside of it; and the digestive system, the glands juices it contains. In fact, you can say that each atom of your body and each of your cells – however small and minute they might be, and even including those which are so small as to be inconceivable – all depend on this continuous Sustenance for their formation and ongoing existence. Fortunately, this Sustenance from the Almighty is comprehensive and permanent, and so it never ceases for even a single moment.
Verse no. 2
9. "The King of oblivious humankind,"
The Almighty is also the King of oblivious humankind. "The King" is the One Who comes to control people through His Support and Provision for them. people have a genuine need for His Favor and Support, and therefore they surrender to Him and continue to connect with Him and enter into His Presence, both through their spirits and their bodies.
Verse no. 3
10. "The Steering God of oblivious humankind,"
The Almighty is the Steering God of oblivious humankind. As mentioned before in ‘The Opening’ Fortress, "God" is He Who is obeyed and who regardless of anything else, conducts the steering of His followers. Al’lah is the Steering God of oblivious humankind, who – in accordance with their choice – directs them to what is most appropriate for them, and accrues the greatest benefits to them. It is He, the Almighty, Who directs all of your works and your affairs; it is also He that steers each of your organs.
It is at His Direction that the hand works and moves, the eye looks and sees, the ear listens and hears, the nose smells, the mouth chews, the tongue moves and talks, the heart expands and contracts, the chest moves up and down, and so forth.
In short, every sense and every part of your body are directed by the Command of God and are subject to His Direction. While you possess the will and the choice, the might, the power, and the steering in deeds are from Him, the Almighty.
Thus, the Provider of oblivious humankind, the King of oblivious humankind and the Steering God of oblivious humankind orders you to seek refuge in Him at every moment.
The word "oblivious" can be translated as "An-Nas" in Arabic. It is a name that refers to all the children of Adam.
Humanity is so-named because they are coming into this world and entered into the world of shapes and bodies caused them to forget the knowledge of Al’lah that they had possessed in Al-Azal, the world of spirits. Meanwhile, the physical body in which humans now exist became a veil, preventing the spirit from possessing consciousness of itself, and becoming aware that it is a weak and powerless creature in consequent need of its Creator and His continuous Care for it. However, if it returns to enter the Presence of its Provider, it will remember its original state and will recover its former knowledge. God says, through His Envoy’s tongue: "...but none will remember except those who come back (to God)." The Holy Qur‟an, Fortress 40, Ghafir (The Forgiver "God‟), verse 13
In another verse He says: "…and none will remember except those who have minds."
The Holy Qur’an, Fortress 3, Al ‘Imran (The Family of ‘Imran), verse 7
Thus, if you truthfully feel proud of God, the Owner of the aforementioned Qualities, and wholly resort to Him, then you will be safe from the evil of the sneaking whisperer. That is why God says: "From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, who withdraws (when a person resorts to God)" .
Verse no. 4
11. "From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, who withdraws (when a person resorts to God):"
"Evil" means ‘harm’ and ‘damage’.
"Whisperer" is derived from the verb ‘to whisper’ which means ‘to speak secretly with evil suggestions’.
"Sneaking" is derived from the verb ‘to sneak’ which means ‘to go stealthily’.
Therefore "the sneaking whisperer" is the devil. This verse indicates two qualities of his:
- Firstly, the verse tells us that he is a "whisperer" , because he whispers evil suggestions to the spirit when it is far from God.
- Secondly, the verse says that he "withdraws" , which means that Satan withdraws because he becomes defeated and is expelled. When the spirit returns to God, seeking His Might and Help, Satan shrinks, draws back, and flees.
If the spirit maintains its nearness to its Provider and establishes a permanent link with Him, the devil will have no control over it at all. Then he will not be able to approach it nor dare whisper to it.
This spirit remains in a heavily fortified and inaccessible place for as long as it remains in God’s Presence and maintains permanent communication with Him. However, if it leaves this Holy Presence, the whisperer will hasten to it, and will tempt it with that which would ultimately sadden and deject it, and with that which entails evil and harm.
Verse no. 5
12. "He who whispers evil in the chests of oblivious humankind:"
As for the way of whispering evil thoughts to people, the Almighty has illustrated it to us when He says: "He who whispers evil in the chests of oblivious humankind." The Almighty mentions ‘the chest’ because it is the spirit’s location and its center.
Thus the devil whispers to the spirit, and makes it envisage the temptation that he offers.
Finally, the Almighty has revealed the entrance of the devil into you and the way by which he sneaks to you. He says: "Through jinns and oblivious humankind."
Verse no. 6
13. "Through jinns and oblivious humankind."
According to what is shown by this noble verse, the devil whispers to people in two ways:
- A hidden interior way: when you do not see him with your eyes or feel him with your senses, but you feel him inside of you nonetheless, and perceive him with the aid of your spirit, at a time when he himself comes to you and tempts you with that which leads to disobedience of God. This method of whispering is what is referred to by the word "jinns" .
- An obvious and clear way: this is when he comes to you wearing the spirits of people who are far from God, and talks to you on their tongues about that which would cause damage to you. He makes the things which would lead you to break with the Orders of God seem fair to you through the words of these people. However, this would only result in your misery and distress. That is what is meant by the words "oblivious humankind" in this last verse.
Thus, if you enter into God’s Presence, seeking refuge in Him, you will save yourself from the evil of the whisperer and live happily as a master who cannot be defeated. This is because you will then live under the Protection of your Merciful and Noble Creator, in the state of bliss that He has created for you.