I’ve been recently listening to Sh. Imran Hosein and I must say that I find many of his teachings very much resonating with my personal thoughts. And so, as part of my ongoing contribution to the world, I will write up some posts summarizing a few of his lectures. Let me begin with a most beautiful explanation he has given of the first four verses of Sura al-Layl:
Consider the night as it veils in darkness, (92:1)
and the day as it rises bright! (92:2)
Consider the creation of the male and the female! (92:3)
Verily, you aim at most divergent ends! (92:4)
The night and the day are presented as two separate entities, followed immediately by a seemingly unrelated verse mentioning the creation of man and woman. It concludes with a proclamation that man (as he is commonly understood to be the subject of the verse) is full of diversity in his work.
In Sh. Imran’s understanding, the presentation of the day and the night is, in fact, directly linked to the creation of man and woman. As different as are the day and the night, so too are man and woman. The day with his sultry brightness is the period of toil and work. The night with her mysterious darkness is the place of cool comfort and serenity.
The day is naturally attracted to the night and the night to the day. When the day approaches the night, the skyline reflects the universal change in mood. The day calms himself in preparation for the night’s warm welcome. All the hustle and bustle found in the blazing heat of the day is brought to a soothing end.
As the day turns to dusk and the dusk turns to night, the tender embrace of the night overtakes the sluggish day. Once the day enters the night, he succumbs to her alluring influence and takes a backseat. The night reigns supreme within her domain.
And when the time comes for the day to leave, the night refuses to let him go quietly. She slowly releases the day, one ray at a time, until finally the day breaks free of her comforting grasp and goes back to work.
Presented as such, it becomes clear how the phenomenon of the day and night translates to the Quranic understanding of the relationship between man and woman.
What remains clear throughout this reading is that each of these creations of Allah (swt) are exceptionally unique. The day can never become the night (and vice versa) nor can man ever become woman (and vice versa). And if there was any doubt, the fourth verse puts it to rest by explicitly declaring that the functions of man and woman are separate. They are not to be confused nor mixed up. Just as the day and the night are complementary yet completely distinctive, so too are the roles of man and women.
Now let us see what would happen if the roles were to become distorted. If the night became the province of work (or other activities) with the day being used primarily for sleep, the result would be society-wide chaos. It's been proven, for the most part, that individuals working extended stints in the graveyard shift suffer a variety of medical conditions. Besides work, other types of nocturnal activities, in conjunction with the lack of sleep, undoubtedly result in lowered productivity and effectiveness. And finally Ben Franklin must have known what he was talking about when he coined the phrase ‘Early to bed, Early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’ (smile)
Another noteworthy point in the interpretation of these verses is that neither the day nor the night can claim superiority – both are equally essential to maintain the natural balance. Only a fool would declare the day more important than the night. And only a vampire would declare the night more important than the day.
And so, one can easily deduce the Quranic view on claims of male (or female) superiority.
Many may question or even denounce such an unorthodox reading, but I found it extremely enlightening and very much in line with the ever-flowing wisdom found in the spiritually refreshing fountains of the Quran.
WAW
5 days ago
12 comments:
Me too, I found it enlightening
:)
gess
The first time i listen to sheikh imran talking about that surah. I was amazed subhanaallah a ubique way to understand the surah. Thanks brother.
Mash'Allah this is very nice! The Quran is indeed amazing full of Wisdom and insight into various aspects of creation.
Just wondering though why it's denounced as being unorthodox. How do other scholars (both classical and modern) interpret these verses?
mashallah thanks for sharing the beautiful knowledge. incredible.
Oh the things I learn from this blog...
This is awesome! I take back my hard words, "I Hate Feminists". I will refer to this if anyone asks my views on the roles of men and women.
Your are seriously amazing haha.
I actually wrote a post, after 1 whole month. I think this has been the longest time between two posts.
I would like your wise opinion on it please.
http://themuslimkid.blogspot.com/2010/03/sources-for-islamic-law.html
But really great post!!! Its excellent, more than usual.
-Faique
"“The sun rising from the West”, which is a major sign of the Last Day, appears to represent modern Western civilization's ‘upside down’ world in which, among many other things, women abandon their primary responsibility of rearing children in order to dress like men and go out to work full-time the way men do. The daycare center becomes the new Mummy. The child never forgets, and never forgives this neglect. And so children rebel and become uncontrollable, even for the police. But they also pay back their parents in the same coin by placing them, in their old age, in daycare centers for the aged that are really junkyards of human beings. Truly, modern Western civilization's feminist revolution has succeeded in causing the ‘night’ to become ‘day’ with dire consequences for society. Yet, with a deceptive smile, that false Western sunrise declares to her, “You’ve come a long way baby.”"
I looked up Shaykh Imran Hosein and found that segment on his site. I thought it was really interesting. He gives the sign of day of judgment, "the sun with rise from west" a new perspective.
-Faique
Since this is one of my favorites blogs due to the voice of reason and sanity, I have a request to make.
I would like you to do a post for brothers on how to navigate the often murky place they can get stuck in between a wife and place.
p.s. who sits beside the husband in the car? wife or mother?
@ anonymous: LOL! In our car, my wife does, unless someone bigger such as her brother or her late father needed the front seat beside me (I usually drive). My mother-in-law always sits in the back, as does the maid and baby. As for my mother, she lives on another continent. ;)
AA-
@R, "How do other scholars (both classical and modern) interpret these verses?"
Well, I can't say that I've read ALL the various commentaries, but the orthodox ones(ie. Ibn Kathir, Maududi, etc.) play it safe by simply keeping the two phenomenon (that of the day/night and that of man/woman) as separate - not linking them the way Sh. Imran has done.
@Anon, "I would like you to do a post for brothers on how to navigate the often murky place they can get stuck in between a wife and place."
What exactly do you mean 'get stuck in between a wife and place'?
And about who sits in the front, I think its a no-brainer. Clearly the mother sits in the front. And if the wife objects, then you haven't done a good job in helping her understand the venerable place of the mother. Of course, this veneration must go for BOTH mothers (hers and yours).
Maybe I'll post on this in a separate post...
Salam Naeem bhai,
Nice interpretation of these verses, and a good link-up where, as you said, it is seemingly unrelated.
I remember Sh Imran Hosein visiting Australia around 7-8 years back, and he was selling some of his books after the lecture which I bought and avidly read. The lecture was about the Signs of the End of Time and at the time (i was probably 17-18) - topics like that interested me no end.
However, as I re-read some of the things he has said in the past, I'm not too sure if some of his interpretations are widely accepted by other Islamic Scholars. I mean, he has interesting perspectives and interpretations of some of the End of Times ahadith, such as the Sun rising from the West (he interpreted Malcolm X to be the first ray of that sun (Islam) rising from the west) - now that's quite a brave interpretation and probably isn't accepted my most scholars.
Also, I just went to his homepage you directed me towards, and in the piece on Pakistan on his front page - he alludes to American Forces being responsible for the earthquakes. For real for real? A bit far-fetched isn't it?
He also, in one of the lectures downunder, mentioned that Sh Hamza Yusuf had sold himself to America. Now that is a huge claim, and completely unwarranted and unprovoked. It had nothing to do with the lecture he was delivering, and he just mentioned it in random.
I'm not discrediting or disrespecting the man by any means, but I just wanted to make a point that some of the things he has said in the past have been a bit too far-fetched.
WS
Saqib
AA- Saqib,
While you may be correct in your criticisms of Sh Imran, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Too many people get hung up on mistakes by scholars resulting in their outright rejection of that scholar. Of course that makes no sense whatsoever.
I have indeed found myself questioning quite a few of the interpretations opined by Sh Imran, but the vast majority of his thought is very unique and thus controversial.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, he clearly will make you look at things differently.
Salam Naeem Bhai
True - completely agree with you and I have been guilty of this numerous times, and probably am guilty of it in Sh Imran's case again.
He does make you look at things differently, and it is a welcome change sometimes.
Just thought I'd share my concerns that I have had in the past regarding some of his ideas or things he has said.
Very interesting analysis of the Surah though.
WS
Saqib
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