The world has entered the Age of Aquarius declaring: The time for renewal is upon us!

Heeding this announcement, I too have renewed my outlook on the Quran, and have begun to approach it with a totally new understanding!

The warning in this miraculous Book of Knowledge, “You say you follow in the footsteps of your forefathers, but what if your forefathers were on the wrong path?” compelled me to re-evaluate the Quran from the very beginning with a completely new outlook.

Religion has become contaminated with outdated interpretations of the past and degenerated with stories from the corrupted version of the Old Testament, further reducing and simplifying it for the masses to understand. I knew beyond doubt that the reality of religion could only be reached through the correct understanding of the Quran.

So, on the 15th night of the month of Ramadan, I commenced my mission to decipher and share this knowledge with my brothers and sisters. I thoroughly studied the Quran in light of the well heeded guidance of eminent saints and scholars, such as Abdul Qadir Jilani, Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi, Imam Rabbani, Ahmad Rufai, and Imam Ghazali (may Allah’s peace and blessing be upon them all). Thankfully, committing 15-18 hours a day, I was able to complete my study in 120 days. Thus emerged the understanding of the Quranic verses in respect of the meaning of the letter B.

Since the Quran addresses the whole of humanity throughout all ages as guidance to the truth, this particular construal has been done in the light of the realities of today, the modern age.

It is an explanation of why certain incidents that took place thousands of years ago, the details of which are unknown, have been narrated time and time again reaching us today, and possibly even the generations to come.

Most importantly, it employs a holistic approach to the seemingly disconnected events, laws, edicts and commands of God, integrating this miraculous knowledge, to define just how and why it is a concern to humans.

Let us now delineate our findings, some of which have been included in our work.

The Quran has come to man to inform them of the reality of their essence and what they will be faced with in the future, so they can observe certain practices and abstain from others accordingly.

What is the reality of a human being? Why did the Quran come to remind – invoke (dhikr) mankind of their reality?

The answers to these questions, along with how man should understand the One denoted by the name Allah, are the most important and prominent topics covered in the Quran.

Let me approach this with the method of the Quran and explain with a parable. Think of a baby who is placed in a car at the time of birth and is brought up in this car until he is 40 years of age, never once leaving the vehicle. Until he is 40 years old he is consistently programmed with the conditioning “you are this vehicle”, such that by this age he has absolute and doubtless belief in it. Imagine now, he is told, at the age of 40: “You are not this vehicle, you are a human being, get out of this vehicle and be free!” But alas! He has come to see the steering wheel, the gearstick, and the gas and brake pedals as his very organs! How, at this point, can he be ‘reminded’ of the reality that he is not this vehicle, but that he is a ‘human being’ who can live independently of this vehicle?

He must first believe in what is being told, and then he must follow the instructions that are given to him so he can be emancipated...

As I have tried to explain with this simple example, Humans are beings with pure universal consciousness who have opened their eyes in an earthly body, operated by an individual consciousness!

Their self, the consciousness that is the Universal Intellect (Aql-i kull), has become veiled during the course their life, and human beings began to think they are merely the decomposable biological body they occupy.

Thus it became imperative to remind them of their reality! That is, that they are not the decomposable biological body in which they are temporarily residing, but an ethereal being! A being that will change dimensions, level by level, realizing its angelic properties (Quran 84:19) with which it will experience the realm of Paradise!

This is why Rasuls were manifested to remind (warn) earthlings of their human qualities. So that, humans, aware of their essential reality, can prepare themselves accordingly for the infinite existence awaiting them after their biological bodies return to the earth.

As for those who lack human qualities, they will deny their reality (kafir) and live their lives driven by their earthly and bodily desires, deprived of the expressions of pure consciousness. Consequently, they will continue their indefinite existence fully aware in the state described as Hell.

Everything that has emerged from nothingness into this realm of multiplicity derives its existence from, and functions with the Names of Allah. As such, in respect of pure consciousness, humans who become aware of and live according to this reality are termed vicegerents.

The Quran refers to such blessed souls as the ‘living’ and ‘seeing’ ones. While contrarily, those who fail to recognize or deny their reality, are referred to as the ‘non-living’ and ‘blind’ ones. Humans who recognize and live accordingly to their reality, possess angelic properties in terms of the essence of pure consciousness. Such humans are essentially comprised of the properties denoted by Allah’s names. As they manifest the meanings of these Names, in ways befitting true humans, the state referred to as heaven occurs. In other words, heaven is not an abode for mere earthlings, but a state of life for humans whose angelic qualities can become manifest. I earnestly hope this point is understood well.

All examples and events that are narrated in the Quran are for the sole purpose of enabling humans to remember their essential reality, to know themselves, and hence to make better use of their current lives.

One of the most important things that deserves attention in regards to the style of the Quran is:

Everything, that is, the heavens, the earth and everything in between, is formed by the properties known as the Names of Allah. Hence, all perceivable and unperceivable things are invoking (calling upon) the One denoted by the Name Allah, by means of their life and function. Therefore, everything, with its natural disposition, is in a state of servitude to the qualities of the Names that comprise its existence, i.e. to Allah.

Due to this, the word ‘WE’ is used frequently in the Quran, emphasizing the reality that just as the ‘meaning’ aspect of creation has been created with the Names the ‘action’ aspect of creation also comes about with the properties of the Names.

Thus, by saying ‘WE’, the actions arising from the seeming multiplicities are actually being referred to their rightful owner.

‘The Rabb of the Worlds’ (Rabbul Alameen) refers both to the existence comprised of the Names and the actual Names comprising it.

This being the case, the structural properties of the pre-eternal Names and their expressions, i.e. the cosmos, are in no other state but that of absolute servitude to Allah. Creation is in a constant act of invoking and remembering Allah, displaying Allah’s knowledge and power, at all times. Allah informing mankind about this reality is nothing other than a confirmation. This is why Allah says ‘WE’ when referring to the Names.

This being said, in order to prevent one from conditioning or limiting Him with these meanings, the warning that His Absolute Essence (dhat) is ‘beyond and free (Ghani) from the worlds’ is frequently made. Nothing in existence can be likened to or define His Absolute Essence.

This also means, His ‘governance of the worlds’ is through the paths of each of His Names, whether these Names manifest under the name of astrology, or as the known and unknown life forms within the cosmos; whether one calls it consciousness, or forms of consciousness, invisible beings, or heaven and hell, all dimensions of existence are various ways of His governance.

As for the real meaning of polytheism or duality (shirq): one who fails to recognize the One denoted by the name Allah in all that is implicit and explicit (within the self and in the outer world) as the manifestations of the Names is defined as a polytheist or a dualist in the Quran. In other words, assuming a separate and equal existence to the manifestations of Allah’s Names is an act of fragmenting the Oneness of reality, and hence an act of advocating duality (shirq). (The original word that is used in the Quran is min dooni Allahi which means ‘as equal’ or ‘equivalent to’ referring to an existence that is ‘other’ than Allah. Whereas, Allah affirms that no other form of existence can be found outside of Allah as Allah encompasses the whole of existence. Thus, negating any possibility of the equivalence of other gods, lords, etc, the Quran uses the word min dooni Allahi.) That is to say, it is an act of committing shirq (assuming a separate existence) with the Names, to the Names.

As can be understood from above, Allah, who in respect of His Absolute Essence is free from concepts such as duality and non-duality, defines shirq to be a failure to recognize the true nature of existence. That is, when one fails to see that everything in manifestation is essentially comprised of the Names, one is assuming an equivalent existence to the Names, and this goes against the reality of non-duality. Hence, such a person falls short of truly understanding Allah and goes on living in an illusory world in his imagination.

Denial (kufr) on the other hand, rests upon the false belief that none is governing the individualized consciousness other than itself. Restricting the infinite consciousness to an individualized manifestation by calling it ‘I’ is a grave insult and limitation to the infinite qualities of the Names, which cannot be confined to a mere physical body. Such an attempt is termed denial (kufr) and is said to be going against the infinite qualities of the Reality of the Self, at least in terms of faith. Continual attempts in this way eventually lead one to confine the Self to the physical body alone, paving the path to pursuing a life of bodily pleasures, and adopting the view that death is extinction rather than a change of abode.

Hypocrisy is the lowest and densest state of the bodily life. A hypocrite (munafiq) is one who chooses not only to deny the Reality but also to take advantage of the believers for material benefits by imitating them! While even a dog approaches his owner for food with true sincerity and loyalty, a hypocrite lacks genuine intent and approaches others only with vested interests. The result upon realizing the truth of the matter is indefinite burning and no compensation.

Faith (iman) is the realization of consciousness, through the intellect, i.e. through analysis of various data, that beyond the seeming reality of forms and concepts lies infinity and it is this infinity that must be sought after. It is to know the ‘I’ness as consciousness, which cannot be confined into a material form, and to strive in this path. The hadith “He who lives by ‘La ilaha illallah’ (“There is no God. There is only Allah.”) will assuredly enter Heaven” points to this truth. This is applicable for those who have not encountered a Rasul. Those who have encountered a Rasul, whether by person or by teaching, are bound to believe in the Rabb of the Worlds (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), or Allah, in accordance to the teachings of the Rasul, by having faith in the Rasul.

I say “having faith in the Rasul” because by appearance a Rasul is also an earthling with a physical body, there is no apparent difference between a Rasul and other humans. Yet the difference lies in that a Rasul is the articulation of the Reality, which cannot be seen with the physical eyes but initially experienced only through having faith.

The Quran explains faith in the One denoted by the name Allah as being in two stages. The first stage pertains to an ‘external’ creator beyond the reach of individual consciousness, that is, a creator or ‘the dimension of the Names’ comprising infinite and illimitable qualities. This is the faith shared by the majority of believers, and in terms of its proceeds, enables one to live a life bearing a paradisiacal state of existence. The second stage applies to believers with a truly enlightened heart and who have reached the essence of faith. This is the faith implied by the letter B, which points to the truth that the reality of the Self is the qualities of the Names, and these qualities are and forever will manifest themselves. Hence, it calls the believer to awaken to the reality that through his own acts he is at all times invoking and serving Allah, and as such, observing and evaluating the universal perfection of Allah on worldly forms (Hamd) manifested by the name al-Waliyy in his own being (b-Hamdihi).

‘To believe in the angels’ means to have ‘faith in the potentials’ arising from the Names. In other words, angels signify the various potentials that arise during the process of the Names becoming activated from their dormant states. Since what has come to be known as the world of multiplicity essentially comprises individualized manifestations of various Names, the higher (subtler) state of everything in existence is angelic (malakiyyah)... The difference lies not in whether this is present or not, but in whether this reality is recognized or at least, believed in or not. One who accepts himself only as an earthling through individual consciousness and who lacks faith will have grave difficulty recognizing and accepting this truth.

‘To believe in the Books-Knowledge’ is to have faith in the knowledge of reality and the mechanics of the system - sunnatullah imparted by the Rasuls and Nabis via a process known as revelation, that being the dimensional transferal (emergence) of this knowledge through pure consciousness.

Rasuls are the enlightened ones who acquire the knowledge of the reality through pure consciousness (without the influence of their personal consciousness) from the Names and angelic potentials in their essence via revelation and who communicate these truths at the level of consciousness.

To believe in the afterlife, or an eternal life, is to know with conviction that the Self will not become extinct after losing its body during death, but that death is also an experiential reality. That is, when the physical-biological body is omitted a process called resurrection (ba’th) will take place, during which one will pass to another dimension of life with the spirit body, shared by other invisible beings and eventually continue its life in either of two dimensions known by various names.

When the letter B is used as a prefix to a word in regards to having faith, such as ‘to believe in the hereafter’ (bil-akhira) or afterlife, it points to the various stages of development the Self will indefinitely go through (Quran 84:19) in pursuit of self-actualization.

The concept of ‘protection’ (taqwa) or ‘to have fear of Allah’ is also generally misunderstood. Since the name Allah does not refer to an external God, the real reference is made to the Names and their governance. Allah created the worlds with the Names and governs it with the System known as sunnatullah. The one law that most absolutely applies here is that of the Name al-Hasib inherent in one’s ‘Name composition’, whereby one’s experience of their latter stage is a result of their former stage. Simply put, whatever behavior one has at any given time whether it is an action or a thought, one will inescapably live its consequence at some point in their life. This has been expressed as ‘the One who is swift at reckoning’ (Sari’ul-Hisab) and ‘the One who responds to wrongdoing with severe punishment’ (Shadid al-Ikab).

Therefore, living in a system with caution and prudence has been termed as ‘fearing Allah’ or as ‘protection’ (taqwa). Since ‘sunnatullah = the system and mechanics of Allah’ is essentially the manifestation of the Names of Allah, it is not incorrect to refer to this as ‘fear and protection from Allah’ after all. As such, an act of ungratefulness to any being is an act of ungratefulness to Allah, and its consequence will be lived accordingly! This process is known as ‘jaza’ (consequence). Hence, jaza is not really the result or punishment but the automatic experience of the consequence of an act.

The Quran invites its readers to contemplate through its innumerous parables and metaphors, all to remind (dhikr) humans of their own reality.

Unfortunately, due to the conditions of time and place, and the comprehension levels of the people, the examples that can be given are not many. Due to this, the limited number of objects that people do know of has been associated with various meanings over time, such that the same word has been used to refer to different things in different times, or to different specifications of the same thing. For example, while the Arabic word ‘sama’ is seldom used to refer to the ‘sky’ or ‘space’ it is more commonly used in reference to the ‘states of consciousness’ or the ‘intellectual activity in one’s consciousness.’ Another example is the word ‘ardh’. While infrequently used to refer to the earth, it is generally used to refer to the ‘human body.’ The human body is also denoted by other words such as ‘an’am’ which means ‘domestic animal’ referring to the animalistic nature of mankind, i.e. eat, drink, sleep, sex etc., and ‘dabbah’ which refers to the material and earthly make-up of the biological body. The word ‘shaytan’ (Satan) has been used to connote mankind’s tendency to reduce and limit their boundless consciousness, in respect of their essential Name composition, to the base bodily state. The word ‘mountain’ is also seldom used to denote what it actually means; while it is more commonly employed to imply the ‘ego’, the ‘I’ or ‘I’ness. Also, when the word ‘ardh’ is used in reference to the ‘body’, the word ‘mountain’ is seen to denote the ‘organs’ of the body. For example, the verse ‘the mountains walk but you perceive them to be still’ indicates the constant activity and renewal of our interior organs, which seem to be fixed like the mountains on earth.

The word ‘zawj’ is also used in various contexts to mean different things. While its most common usage is to mean ‘partner in marriage’ it has also seen to be used in the context of consciousness implying the partner or equivalent of consciousness and the body that will fall into disuse at some point. In fact, the seventh verse of chapter 56, al-Waqi’a, states ‘azwajan thalathah’ to mean ‘three kinds’ not three wives!

If we evaluate the words of the Quran in a constricted literal sense and in reference to only one meaning, we will not only be doing grave injustice but also paving the pathway to the primitive belief that it is an obscure and inconceivable Godly book of commands!

Whereas the Quran is the articulation, through revelation, of the Rabb of the worlds (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), giving us the knowledge about the system by which the implicit qualities of the Names manifest to create the explicit world. This is what ‘religion’ is!

Man, in other words ‘pure consciousness’, is the personified Quran. Earthlings who believe themselves to be no more than their physical bodies have been called ‘human beings’ due to this universal consciousness present in their innermost essence. When units of consciousness (in earthly bodies) refuse to have faith in this, they are denying their innermost essence and reducing themselves to mere material existence. Hence, the Quran describes such people as ‘they are like cattle, nay, they are even more astray (from being a human) in their way’ (Quran 25:44). In other words, only the animalistic appetites of their physical bodies drive their lives. They deny the magnificent and superior qualities of their own reality and function only with the stimuli of the neurons in their intestines (the second brain), thereby reducing their lives to the animal – bodily state.

As for the frequent narrations of the lives and examples of Rasuls and Nabis in the Quran... All of these are also examples of possible intellectual or physical errors humankind are prone to and should be cautioned against. Nevertheless, such incidents have been lived by every human population of every century in one way or another!

In regards to the creation of Adam, the Quran says: ‘Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam’ (Quran 3:59). That is, in terms of his physical body, Adam was also born from a mother’s womb. His body also went through all the common biological stages of development. This has been explained through various metaphors. Besides all of this, however, what is really meant by ‘Adam’ is a human who has consciously recognized and accepted all of the meanings of the Names and thus deserved the title ‘vicegerent’. This is what truly matters. All the rest are details and probably even unnecessary, as it doesn’t really matter from where and how the material body, which will eventually decompose back into simple matter under the earth, came about. Certain symbols and metaphors have been employed to imply his biological aspect was created from the earth’s atomic constituent, like all other earthlings, but his biological body is of no relevance to what is really being denoted by this name. ‘Adam’, is ‘pure consciousness’, formed from nothingness, and composed of (‘ja’ala’ not ‘khaleqa’) the qualities of the Names and designated as a ‘vicegerent’ (khalifa) on earth. It is a shame that many fail to understand this reality and spend their lives arguing over the creation process of his mortal biological body!

The satanic being referred to as ‘Iblis’ has an interesting story. Iblis, while essentially a Name composition comprised of angelic qualities, displays an inadequate expression of the Names al-Waliyy, al-Mumin and al-Hadi. Due to his own inadequacy, he fails to recognize how profoundly the Names are manifested on the creation of supreme form (‘ahsani takwim’). Hence, he evaluates Adam according to his apparent qualities and fails to see his superiority in terms of the Names and their expressions. Moreover, he assumes that accepting the superiority of Adam over his own creation will mean denying his own reality, since he too is created with and from the Names, and thus he refrains from prostrating. Evidently, it is impossible for one to evaluate a quality that he himself lacks.

Eventually this leads to pure consciousness in the form of Adam approaching the forbidden tree, i.e. becoming restricted by the requisites of the bodily life. This is also an interesting anecdote. Satan convinces Adam to the ‘wrong’ according to his own ‘right’, imposing the idea: “You have been created with the reality of the Names, you cannot be restricted or conditioned by anything, you should do as you wish. If you don’t eat from the forbidden tree, that is, if you don’t live the requirements of the bodily life, you would be accepting limitation and thus denying your essential reality, thereby depriving yourself of immortality!”

Consequently, humanity at the level of the Inspiring Self (nafs-i mulhima), symbolized with the name Adam, becomes veiled from the higher states of pure consciousness, and falls to the bodily state of the Commanding Self (nafs-i ammarah), becoming conditioned by bodily needs. When this reaches the ultimate point of forgetting their own essence, the reminders and imparters of reality, i.e. Rasuls, become manifest, inviting mankind back to their essence, back to having faith in the higher states of consciousness.

When human beings, who are manifestations of Universal Pure Consciousness, begin to experience themselves as individualized conscious beings in this physical body, the struggle of this relationship with their ‘partner’ (body) and the battle to go back to their essential reality commences.

In short:

There are two types of consciousness. The first is the manifestation of the Names as a whole, to observe itself through the appearance of individualized compositions. This is the Universal Pure Consciousness. The second kind is the individual consciousness of each manifestation, formed by genetic inheritances, environmental conditionings and astrological influences. For the purpose of clarity in this book, we will refer to the second kind as ‘consciousness’ to avoid confusion. Consciousness is an output of the brain and hence confines itself to comprise only the body (humanoid). Consciousness uses the mind to evaluate ideas and to live accordingly. But the mind, pressured by the body’s biological make-up, often malfunctions. As such, it is near impossible for the mind to find the reality all on its own. Furthermore, the mind makes judgments based on sensory perception. This is why the mind is invited to ‘believe’, to have ‘faith’ in what lies beyond its area of perception. For, the reality ‘beyond’ matter encompasses matter.

While the stories of Abraham (saw) caution us from idolizing and deifying our exterior and interior faculties, i.e., the body and its components, the narrations about Lot (saw) give examples of the felonious lives led by those who were captives of their bodily demands and sexuality. In the case of Moses (saw) on the other hand, the emphasis is on the Pharaoh’s claim to be God, warning us from the grave danger we may encounter in pursuit of getting to know our true selves.

When the fruit of reality manifests in one’s consciousness, no matter how essentially true it may be to claim ‘I am the Reality’, it is ultimately only one compositional reflection of the infinite Names that compose one’s essence! The whole of manifestation comprises the compositional Name qualities. Thus, even though by ‘essence’ everything obtains its life force from ‘Allah’ and everything is the ‘Reality’ they are not the ‘Rabb of the Worlds’ (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), that is, nothing that has become manifest in the apparent cosmos can be the ‘source’ and ‘discloser’ of the infinite and illimitable Names! Nothing that has become manifest can be the ‘Rabb’ of other manifestations. Hence, the Pharaoh encountered what he did because of his ignorance to this truth. All those who aspire to attain and live the reality go through this perilous state, known in Sufism as the station of the Inspiring Self (nafs-i mulhima)! Resultantly, just when one is a step away from the reality, one becomes seized by the idea with which Satan infused Adam: “Do not restrict yourself! Do as you wish, become limitless!”, and falls into the dense and base pit of the bodily state, the station of the Commanding Self (nafs-i ammarah). This is why the Quran repeatedly narrates the story of Moses (saw) and the Pharaoh.

The event known as Doomsday (qiyamah) points to the various experiences of one’s consciousness during the process of death. The imminent doomsday is one’s personal death. For, with death, an unchangeable state of existence known as the afterlife commences. The global doomsday has been awaited for approximately 1400 years now, whereas all that has been said in reference to Doomsday has direct pertinence to one’s own death. While everyone has their own Savior (Mahdi), Antichrist (Dajjal) and Jesus (Isa), and is subject to the activities symbolized by these names throughout their whole lifetime, people ignorantly think ‘Doomsday’ is only a galactic event involving the end of our solar system or the world, supposedly to take place at some time predicted by some people!

Unfortunately, the inability to comprehend the life period of hundreds of millions of years at the galactic level, and the attempt to evaluate time based on the data received from one’s untaught environment, and the primitive understanding of a God with a magic wand, had led humanity to adopt an improper understanding of the doomsday explained in the Quran.

As for heaven and hell... The Quran makes a clear statement “heaven as a parable (representation, similitude)” (Quran 52:20 and 47:15, ‘Math’alul jannatillatiy’) and thus makes it evident that all expositions of ‘heaven’ in the Quran are symbolic and metaphoric. It is quite challenging to both comprehend and talk about a state of existence in which the ‘awakened’ ones will dwell, in congruence with the Power and other Name qualities they will be endowed with, and far from all bodily limitations. This is why “Allah says: I have prepared for my pious servants that which no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no human mind has ever conceived”.(Bukhari Muslim and Tirmidhi.)

Hell is most certainly an atrocious state of existence, in terms of the physical body one will assume in that environment. According to our observation it will be sustained in the Sun. I wrote about this in detail in my book The Mystery of Man in 1985. On the other hand, hell in respect of consciousness, which has a stronger emphasis in the Quran, is a far more dreadful torment: When one dies they will realize they have been endowed with the qualities and potentials of the Names, and have been given the most perfect opportunity to discover and manifest these during their earthly life. In the case that they squandered this chance by indulging in the physicality of things rather than internal values, they will feel an inexplicably tremendous remorse knowing they no longer have a chance to compensate. This burning will be the greatest hellfire one can experience!

As for the hellish state of existence while still on earth, it is when the consciousness confines itself to a bodily state of existence and becomes attached to others and conditioned by value judgments.

There are many more notes to make but I guess I should not extend this introduction any further. If the Rabb of the Worlds (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), wills, the doors of inspiration will be opened up to you also and you will have the delightful experience of READing the living Quran as it talks to you in person, and tells you about yourself.

Nevertheless, if you read this work, Decoding The Quran, in light of all that I have explained here, I believe you will hear it talking to you and feel the Quran living within your Self in a way that you have never experienced before.

If you question my concept... All I can say is, let us wait and see... Death is too near! If I am rightly guided, it is with the favor of Allah, and I am forever impotent from duly thanking Him. If this work is valid and legitimate, I don’t know how those with differing opinions will react! This is my understanding of the Quran, how you take it is up to you!

If, in this work that I share with you without any material expectation in return, any humanly interference has occurred on my part besides my Rabb’s (the Names constituting my essence) guidance and inspiration, I earnestly apologize.

All success is from Allah, and any shortcoming or error is from the inadequacy of my individual consciousness.

Astaghfir’ullah wa atubu ilayh. (I ask for repentance (forgiveness, the covering of my shortcomings due to my human nature) from Allah. My repentance (return) is to HU alone.)

 

 

AHMED HULUSI

21 January 2009

North Carolina, USA