Allah’s Second Quran

BakriMusa.com
06 April 2006


Allah’s Second Quran
M. Bakri Musa
(www.bakrimusa.com)

The late Malay philosopher Haji Abdul Malek Karim Amirullah
(HAMKA) once remarked that Allah blessed humans with two Qurans. One
is open, which He revealed to Prophet Mohammad (May peace be upon
him) in the seventh century; the other closed, this vast and
wonderful universe.

Muslims are familiar with only the first Quran. Many neglect
or are even contemptuous of the second Quran, dismissing it as
“secular” knowledge.

We have an obligation to study Allah’s second Quran as much as
the first. With the first, Allah generously provided us with an
exemplary teacher in the person of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

With the second, Allah has left that to our own. In His wisdom
however, Allah did not leave us ill equipped for this pursuit. He
endows each of us with akal (intellect), an ability to think and
reason. This attribute differentiates us from the rest of His other
creations. We must use this divine gift to pursue vigorously the
secrets and wisdom of this second Quran.

The words, sentences (Ayat), and verses (Surah) of the Quran
are finite, but their meanings and comprehensions are not. They have
taxed and will continue to tax great minds. Those who declare with
great certitude that the truth of the Quran had been fully uncovered
reveal more the limitations of their intellect rather than the
vastness of the knowledge and wisdom within the Quran.

These ulamas proclaim that all we need to do to be good and
pious Muslims is to simply follow their dictates (taqlid). They
would us be the sheep, and they, the shepherd. They would have us
suppress that greatest gift Allah could bestow upon us, our ability
to think and use our reason.


The Equally Infinite Second Quran

The second Quran too is infinite. In verse 27, Surah Luqman
(31:27) (approximate translation), “If all the trees on earth were
pens, and if the sea eked out by seven seas more were ink, the Words
of God could not be written out unto their end.”

Scientists exploring the physical universe beyond and the
living world within are in effect studying this second Quran. Allah
has bountifully rewarded them – and mankind – for their efforts.
Biologists diligently studying the viruses – that most elemental form
of life – gave us lifesaving vaccines. Today smallpox is no longer a
scourge, only a laboratory phenomenon, and perversely, also a
potential lethal weapon for terrorists. Newton’s insights on physics
gave us the jet engines, rockets and satellites. And from there we
have cellular phones, MTV, and satellite television.

The Quran and the Sunnah (sayings and practices of the prophet
s.a.w.) exhort us to seek knowledge and to use our akal. Having
acquired that knowledge, we must act upon it to better ourselves and
our fellow humans. If we do not, then we would be no better than a
donkey carrying the Book of Knowledge on its back: an unnecessary
burden, not a source of enlightenment.

With akal we have the capacity to decide between right and
wrong, and even whether to believe or disbelieve.

On the Day of Judgment, Allah will judge us solely by our
deeds. We cannot excuse what we did during our lifetime simply
because we were merely following the teachings of this inspiring
ulama or that mesmerizing mullah. Islam does not provide for “being
a good German” defense. (In the Nuremberg trials Nazi operatives
used the defense that they were merely “being a good German” by
obeying their superior’s command.)

In Islam, it is us mortals and Allah, there being no need for
an intermediary. We have no popes, bishops or priest to intercede on
our behalf. Nor do we have a great savior who had sacrificed himself
to save us all.

Yes, our faith has been blessed with great ulamas, from the
Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Prophet’s companions (May Allah be
pleased with them!) to many others following them. They have
enlightened and guided us further. Ultimately however, we are
answerable for own deeds.

This is the beauty of Islam. There is no great savior for me
except Almighty Allah, and I am answerable ultimately to Him.
Ancient Muslims implicitly recognized the importance of this second
Quran. Thus, they eagerly learned from the Greeks and Romans, and
then went on to make their own seminal contributions. Muslim
luminaries of the era were unencumbered by the fact that they were
learning from infidels or that the Greeks worshipped multiple
deities. Those Muslims implicitly recognized that all knowledge
ultimately come from Allah.
Why Allah chose to reveal the mystery of the concept of zero to a
Hindu, the insight on gravity to an Englishman, and the secrets of
the atom to a Jew is not for us to question. That is Allah’s
prerogative. Suffice for us to recognize that such knowledge and
insight are for the benefit of all.

Those early Muslims did not distinguish between worldly and
religious knowledge. This artificial division of knowledge between
secular and sacred is just that – artificial. All knowledge is
sacred, and must be respected as such. My knowledge of human biology
could be used to save lives or perversely, to end or maim them.
Allah has endowed me with akal to differentiate between the two.


The Prodigal Son

To me, Anak yang soleh (The prodigal son) is a broad concept.
The engineer who builds dams that provide irrigation and better
livelihood to thousands by ending the cycles of flooding is very much
anak yang soleh. He studies the second Quran in the form of the
physical world around him, and uses that knowledge to benefit his
community.

The late Tun Razak used his knowledge to bring development to
his people, and gave dignity and meaning to their lives. He too was
a prodigal son. P. Ramlee, whose voice and melodies uplift the
spirits of millions, was another. The gifted Sudirman brought smiles
and happiness to many by honing his God-given talent in music and
then generously sharing it with us. He too was a prodigal son
personified.

It is Allah’s prerogative upon whom He would bestow such gifts
and wisdom of the second Quran. It is also His sole prerogative as
to whom He would admit to Heaven. To me, however, it would not be
heaven without the likes of Tun Razak, P. Ramlee and Sudirman.