COMMENTARY#looking_at_oneself
In the beginning, Allah reveals signs to you. Then, your rational mind engages in reflection, contemplation, and exploration to understand and uncover the hidden message within. Majority of knowledge seeker take the easy route not only trying to understand the signs but also figure out by forming an interpretation of the hidden message embedded in the signs. However, more often than not, the rational mind is conditioned by false understanding, misinterpretation, illusion, and own desire. Due to its inherent limitations, it is unable to grasp the ultimate truth on its own. This means that while the rational mind has the capacity to approach truth, it must first be cleansed of misconceptions and distortions. Those who follow this approach are called Saba, the rationalists. This chapter emphasizes the limitations of relying solely on reason and affirms that ultimate truth originates from your Rabb, the true nourisher and sustainer. The rational mind’s role is not to construct truth but to refine its understanding and deepen its awareness of what has already been revealed by your Rabb. All that exists is encompassed within and emerges from the singular source, your Rabb.
All praise belong to Allah, the One to whom everything that exists truly belong Nothing is hidden; all is known and held within the all-encompassing presence. The signs you receive, the contemplation you engage in, the revelation granted to you, and the understanding you attain - all unfold within the perfect awareness of the One. Denial arises when the mind clings to its illusions, believing that no transformation will come. Yet, the truth is already woven into the fabric of your inherent script. The truth that will transform you is destined to arrive, that will establish ultimately to the dissolution of your soul. (34:1-3)
Your reward, then, is to find security in the script already written within you. From this inner knowing, you engage in corrective actions, eradicating impurities and refining your rational mind. And this very process of purification is both your opportunity for seeking forgiveness and your true provision of truth. (34:4)
Those who strive to refuse to take action and remaining in a state of stagnation, will inevitably face the consequences of their own inaction, a suffering (punishment) that arises as the natural outcome of their resistance. Those who have been given knowledge recognize the truth with certainty. Those who reject their true nourisher, the Rabb, will urge you to rely solely on your independent rational mind, claiming that even after you have been reduced to nothing, you can still transform and evolve yourself into a new state of being. These are the ones who harbor doubt and do not believe that an agitated mind can receive guidance directly from his Rabb. They will say that you fabricated a lie against Allah even if you receive the hidden message truly from your Rabb and claiming that your rational mind is veiled from the truth. In reality, they refuse to find security in their Rabb, the true nourisher who reveals the truth. The revelation will come only when your rational mind is silent and your anfus (souls) dissolved. If you evaluate your inner strength based on both your present and past experiences, you will realize that what you possessed is insufficient for true transformation. If you do not progress, you will remain stagnant, and that stagnation itself is a sign for you to recognize. (34:5-9)
In this aspect, you should reach inward from within you toward Dawud, whom Allah has granted the ability to dissolve rigid, untamed, and illusory thoughts. Allah will loosen you from your stubbornness, allowing them to turn repeatedly toward Dawud. You will be deeply grateful to Allah, for Dawud and his companions play their role in breaking apart the rigid, untamed, and illusory thoughts, ensuring that you are not drawn into their stubborn grip. The force pulling you toward stubborn thoughts becomes most evident during your inner battle, between good and evil (the struggle between transformation and resistance). It also appears in situations resemble similarity that seem true but lack authenticity. You should also reach inward to Sulaiman, who surrender his soul completely. Through his surrender, Allah grants him the spirit of truth. With this spirit, his understanding unfolds in a steady, measured progression, bit by bit. Allah is fully aware of all that you do. Your path as a rationalist remains confined to the surface, where the higher consciousness remains veiled, and your experience is limited to the stimulation of fresh thoughts within the lower consciousness. When you face affliction tainted by impurities, you will be unable to arrive at the realization that true liberation requires the dissolution of the self (anfus), the unseen truth. As a result, you will remain trapped in your own self-imposed suffering. (34:10-14)
The basic guidance for a rationalist to uncover the hidden message, you have to consider exploring both perspectives of the the hidden message based on facts and hidden message based on illusion, as contrasting opposites offer a clearer view. So consume both these 2 perspectives of hidden knowledge while be grateful to Allah and enter the doorway of discovery. If the rationalist disregards the foundational guidance from Allah, to explore both factual and illusory knowledge with gratitude, then they risk being replaced with corrupt knowledge. This knowledge lacks true substance, becomes suffocating, embeds itself deeply within the mind, and arises from only a fragment of awareness. Over time, it distorts perception, making it difficult to discern truth from illusion, ultimately leading one further from genuine understanding. This is how Allah reward the rejecters and those ungrateful. (34:15-17)
Between the rationalist and the community bound by shared beliefs, a manifested expression of reality is placed, a sign of truth woven into existence. Within this, the path of spiritual exploration of truth is precisely measured. The journey unfolds both in darkness (when revelation is absent) and in brightness (when revelation is present), urging the seeker to navigate with trust and security, knowing that both states hold meaning in the unfolding of understanding. When the rationalist realizes they are receiving corrupt knowledge, they seek Allah’s help to remove it. In response, Allah make a fresh representations (in the form of signs) scattered in disintegration. This fragmentation compels the rationalist to strive to uncover the hidden message, piecing together truth from the scattered patterns and values. Those who are wrapped in despair and believed in the apparent certainty, they follow the corrupt knowledge. The rationalists have no authority over those who follow those who are wrapped in despair (Iblis), but Allah grants them insight to distinguish those certain in their faith, willing to dissolve their souls, from those who remain in doubt. (34:18-21)
Anything besides Allah holds no authority over even the slightest weight of truth, nor do they manifest any sign that inherently contains the truth. Also, no intercession can bring any benefit. They must overcome their fear of dissolving their souls to realize that the truth comes from their Rabb, your true nourisher. Indeed, when it comes to guidance, it is you who are in clear error, for it is Allah who provides all provisions, both from the higher consciousness and the lower consciousness. You will not question us about which part of our covenant with Allah we have violated, nor will we question you about your violations. Indeed, you will witness who among us our Rabb establishes the truth. He is Allah alone. Nothing is attached or associated to Him. (34:22-27)
Allah has given you bashirin, a rational mindset in its entirety as a self-warner, enabling you to examine evidence, recognize truth, and deepen your confidence and certainty. This mindset must be used to establish truth and guide the evolution of your agitated mind. The promise of evolution however, will come to an end when you fail to use your rational mind to execute a direct experience of dissolution of your souls. (34:28-30)
Certainly, those who reject Allah’s message will never accept the Quran, the expression of truth revealed by their Rabb, their true sustainer and nourisher. They have always relied on their own rational minds to navigate their spiritual journey. Yet, when they find themselves unable to justify their understanding, they turn to others for guidance, though never with the intent to surrender to Allah. Among them, some are weaker in reasoning and argumentation, so they follow those who were arrogant (appear stronger) in rational thought. However, the truth remains that each individual has the innate capacity to recognize truth for themselves. That is why those who claimed superiority will say to those who saw themselves as weak, “We never prevented you from recognizing the truth; rather, it was you who turned away.” (34:31-32)
Those who perceive themselves as weak, who have surrendered their strength in rational thinking, will place blame on others for the deception they fell into, both in times of ignorance and even when truth was within reach. Yet, every action is ultimately the result of one's own choice. There are those who will suppress their regret when they witness the consequences of their actions. In doing so, the very restraint that separates them from truth becomes familiar, even comforting, prolonging their detachment. Among the rationalists who perceive themselves as weak, Allah will send a warner. Yet, no matter how deeply attached and comforted you are by what you hold onto, those who choose to reject the message will deny what has been sent to them. And so, they will sink further into an ocean of delusion, trapped in the depths of internal conflict. They claim to be knowledgeable and thoughtful, assuring themselves that they will not be among those who face the punishment. Yet, indeed, your Rabb grants provision only to those who truly will for it. (34:33-36)
It is not your accumulated knowledge or thoughtfulness that draws you closer to Allah, but rather your trust in His message and the corrective actions you take to transform your agitated mind into a state of clarity and purity. As for those who perceive themselves as weak, they will consume the message at face value, clinging to its literal meaning, and find a false sense of security in it. And they are those who will be subjected to punishment. Your Rabb extends the provision of hidden knowledge only to His true servant. And when you put it into practice, transforming your agitated mind through conscious effort, Allah will elevate you to a higher, purified state. (34:37-39)
The malaa'ikah represents a state where your inner authority is fully established, seamlessly integrated into your field of consciousness. Any authority you once held to decide, interpret, judge, or conclude through the rational mind is now dissolved and placed within your consciousness field. In this state, thoughts no longer serve the rational mind in its habitual way but instead arise as instruments of truth, crystallizing the understanding of the revelation received from your Rabb. These are thoughts that serve the jinn, the minds of rationalists veiled from truth due to their conditioned state. Glory be to Allah for the hidden knowledge He reveals. You alone are our Guardian. If ever there comes a moment when you seek to offer benefit and protect from harm, but do not have the sovereign inner authority to do so, you will inevitably experience the suffering that arises from your own self-imposed limitations.(34:40-42)
Whenever you present the truth to them—truth made evident through the revelation you have received—they will dismiss it, claiming that it is merely a product of your own reasoning, a fabrication of your own mind. In their denial, they will insist that your understanding is nothing more than a deception, leading people astray from the right path. To them, Allah will not grant them their inherent script to reflect upon, nor will they receive a warner to alert them to the truth. Their denial is not new, it stems from before. As a result, they have not grown in understanding, despite the little that Allah has granted them. Persisting in their rejection, they continue to ignore the inner voices that carry the message from their Rabb, their true nourisher. Essentially, you must establish your knowledge, actions, and transformation through either the companionship of both, the rational mind and ladunni (direct knowing from your Rabb) or through one: the rational mind, purified from conditioning and unveiled from falsehood. Indeed, these companions serve as a warner to you. (34:43-46)
Whatever reward I ask for is for you, not me. My true reward is with Allah alone. Indeed, my Rabb reveals the truth, knowledge of the unseen. When the truth comes, falsehood can never initiate or repeat. If I go astray, it is only to my own detriment, but if I am guided, it is through the inspiration my Rabb grants me. (34:47-50)
If you could witness the moment when terror overtakes them, you would see that there is no escape, as they own souls are seized. In desperation, they will cry out, “Now we believe! Now we find security in it!” But how can they truly connect with its inspiration when they remain so distant from their own souls? They had already turned away before, rejecting the truth, and they used to make assumptions about the unseen from a place of detachment. Now, a barrier stands between them and what they long for, just as it did for those before them. For indeed, they had always been trapped in a state of unsettling doubt. (34:51-54)
With the name of Allah, no-thing like the likeness of Him, whose name encompasses the measures and essence of all existence, both known and unknown to His servants, and the unfolding sequence of events leading to all observable outcomes. The Rahmaan, the Raheem. Rahmaan signifies the boundless system of educating the factual knowledge, while Raheem reflects the grace and mercy extended to those who sincerely seek and engage with this wisdom under Ar-Rahmaan.
34.1 Praise be is to Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the samaawaat / higher consciousness and whatever is in the ardh / lower consciousness, and to Him belongs praise in the aakhirah / ending (of anfus, souls). And He is the Wise, the Acquainted.
34.2 He knows what enters into the ardh / lower consciousness and what emerges from it and what reveals from the samaa'i / higher consciousness and what ascends in it. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.
34.3 And say those who kafaru / reject (the sign), "The saa'ah / experience of reality will not come to us. Rather say, by my Rabb / Nourisher, knower of the ghaibi / unseen (hidden message embedded in the sign), it (the saa'ah) will surely come to you. Not a weight of zarratin / an early developed truth is absent from your Rabb / Nourisher in the samaawaat / higher consciousness and in the ardh / lower consciousness and smaller than that or greater, except that it is in kitabin mubin / a clear inherent script.
34.4 That He will reward those who aamanu / take security and do the corrective deeds. Those (reward) to them maghfirah / (opportunity) to seek forgiveness and rizqun karim / noble provision (knowledge of truth).
34.5 And those who strive to prevent (success) in Our ayaati / signs, mu'ajhizin / one who is unable to act on it - for them will be a punishment from a painful reward.
34.6 And those who have been given the knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Rabb / Nourisher is the truth, and it guides to the path of the Mighty, the Praised.
34.7 And those who kafaru / reject say, "Shall we direct you to rajulin / an independent rational mind who will inform you when you have muziqtum / shattered in complete disintegration, indeed you will be surely evolved in a new evolution?
34.8 Has he fabricated over Allah kaziban / a lie or with him jinnah / madness (covered from the truth)?" Rather, they do not yukminun / take security with the aakhirah / ending (of your souls) in the punishment and the extreme deviation.
34.9 Then, do they not see towards what is between their hands (what strength they currently possessed) and what is behind them (what strength they have accumulated in their past experiences) of the samaa'i / higher consciousness and ardh / lower consciousness? If We will, We could cause the ardh / lower consciousness to swallow with them or let fall upon them kisafan / pieces from the samaa'i / higher consciousness (disjointed information). Indeed in that is surely aayatan / a sign for every servant who turn back (to Allah).
34.10 And We certainly gave Dawud / who is capable to break up stubborn and wild thoughts, from Us fadhlan / an advantage. (We said), "O jibala / stubborn thoughts, repeatly turn with him, and the thoira / wild and fantasy thoughts." And We made (it) gentle for him the hadid / limitations (to break loose from the stubbornness),
34.11 That complete (the) deeds more and a measure in the sardi / progression, and a corrective work. Indeed I bashirun / see, with what you do."
34.12 And to Sulaiman / who surrenders (his souls), the riiha / spirit (of truth), its ghaduwwu / early stage (of Sulaiman's spirit) is notable, and its rawahu / spirit (from Allah) is notable, and We made flow (of knowledge) for him aynal qithri / the steady perception bit by bit. And among the jinn / covered (from the knowledge of truth) who worked between his hands (what he is good at) by the permission of his Rabb / Nourisher. And whoever deviated among them from Our command, We will make him taste from the intense punishment.
34.13 They (stubborn thoughts) will do for him what he willed from mahaariba / inner battle (between good and evil) and tamaasil / similitudes and (We said), "Do, a'ala Dawud / associates of Dawud (to break up stubborn, untame and illusory thoughts), a gratification." And few of My servants are grateful.
34.14 Then when We decreed upon him the mauta / annihilation of anfus, nothing indicated (to the jinn / covered from the truth) on his mauti / annihilation (of his anfus) except daabbah / a stimulating fresh thought of the ardh / lower consciousness consuming minsa-atahu / make his way charting his course. Then when it rustled with noise (rational mind afflicted with impurities), it became clear to the jinn / covered (from the truth) that if they had known the ghaiba / unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment.
34.15 Certainly, there was for Saba' / a rationalist (who rely on reason and logic over inspiration) in their misery (need for nourishment), a sign: two hidden knowledge, from right (experience based on factual knowledge) and left (experience based on illusory knowledge). Consume (the two hidden knowledge) from the provisions of your Rabb / Lord and be grateful to Him. A good baldatun / doorway of discovery, and a forgiving Rabb / Lord.
34.16 But they turned away, so We sent upon them saylal 'arimi / flow of the evil-natured knowledge, and We replaced for them with their two hidden knowledge, two hidden knowledge lack of substance, suffocating, ingrained (difficult to erase) and thing from a little awareness.
34.17 That is (how) We rewarded them with what they kafaru / rejected. And We reward (the rationalists) except the ungrateful?
34.18 And We made between them (the rationalist) and between the quraa / community of those connected by shared beliefs, which We had blessed in it quran zohiran / a manifested expression of reality and We measure in it the sayra / spiritual exploration. Explore in it layaali / by darkness (when there is no revelation) or by brightness (when there is revelation), securely."
34.19 They said, "Our Rabb / Lord, alienate between us our spiritual explorations," and zholamu / (they) wronged their souls, so We made them ahaadith / fresh representations (for the manifestation of signs) and We scattered them in complete disintegration. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful.
34.20 And certainly Iblees / (thoughts) wrapped in intensed despair, proven to be true of his certainty, so they followed him, except a party from the mukminin / those who took security (with Allah).
34.21 And to him, there is no authority from over them except that We make them know who yukmin / take security with the aakhirah / ending (of souls) from who is in doubt. And your Rabb / Lord, preserves over all things.
34.22 Say, "Call those you claim from other than Allah." They do not possess a weight of zarratin / an early developed truth in the samaawaat / higher consciousness and not in the ardh / lower consciousness, and they do not have in both from any associate, nor is there for Him from among them zhohirun / manifestations.
34.23 And the shafa'ah / intercession (to step in with the truth) does not benefit in His nearnest except for who He permits, until when fear (to dissolve their souls) is removed from their hearts. They will say (to one another), "What has your Rabb / Lord said?" They will say, "Al-Haq / the truth." And He is the Most High, Al-Kabir / the Greatest.
34.24 Say, "Who provides for you from the samaawaat / higher consciousness and the ardh / lower consciousness?" Say, "Allah. And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error."
34.25 Say, "You will not be asked about what are our violations (of the covenant with Allah), and we will not be asked about what you do."
34.26 Say, "Our Rabb / Lord will gather between us; then He will decode (the signs) between us with truth. And He is the All-Knowing Decoder."
34.27 Say, "Show me those whom you have attached with Him as associates. No! Rather, He is Allah (No-thing to Him), the Mighty, the Wise."
34.28 And We have not sent you except kaaffah / entirely to an-nas / agitated mind bashiran / a pleasant rational thought (who trust the transformation) and naziran / a self warner (to put oneself on guard). But most of an-nas / agitated mindthe do not know.
34.29 And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"
34.30 Say, "For you is the promise of a moment you will not remain (ending of your souls) from it sa'aah / direct experience of the reality (the promise of annihilation), nor will you proceed."
34.31 And those who kafaru / reject say, "We will never nukmina / take security with this qur'an / expression of truth (that there is a covenant to evolve) and not with those between his hands (what he uphold)." And if you could see when the zholimun / unjust (misplacing the truth) are made to justify (what they understand) before their Rabb / Lord, (they) some of them yarji'u / consult to others. The saying is those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant, "If not for you, surely we would have been mukminin / those who take security (in Allah)."
34.32 Those who were arrogant will say to those who were weak, "Did we avert you (turn you away) from guidance after it had come to you? Rather, you were mujrimin / those who violate their covenant (with Allah)."
34.33 Those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant, "Rather, conspiracy by the darkness (without guidance) and brightness (with guidance) when you were ordering us we takfuru / reject with Allah and set-up to Him, equals." But they will conceal the regret when they see the punishment; and We will make the restraint (that will cut-off the truth) in embracement (affectionate and prolong) of those who rejected. Are they rewarded except for what they used to do?
34.34 And We did not send into qaryatin / community of those connected by shared beliefs) from (any) warner except mutrafiha / those affluent said, "Indeed we reject with what you were sent with."
34.35 And they said, "We are more amwaalan / knowledgeable (of the truth) and awlaadan / thoughtful (by what gave birth by our conditioned mind), and we are not with mu'azzibin / those who are to be punished."
34.36 Say, "Indeed, my Rabb / Lord extends provision for who wills (for the provision) and measure (the result), but most of an-nas / agitated mind do not know."
34.37 And it is not your amwaal / accumulated knowledge or your thoughtfulness that bring you nearer, zulfaa / getting close to Us, except the one who aamana/ has taken security (in Allah) and do corrective deeds. So for them, they are those who are weak with what deeds they did, and they in ghurufaatin / consume knowledge at face value (absorbing only literal meaning and understanding without deeper reflection or spiritual insight), feeling safe.
34.38 And those who yas'awna / seek in Our ayaati / signs mu'aajizin / who are powerless, they are those who will be in the punishment, muhdhorun / those who are subjected to (the punishment).
34.39 Say, "Indeed, my Rabb / Lord extends provision to who wills of His servants and measure it (the result) for him. And what anfaqtum / you put into practice from anything, then He will replace it (evolve your agitated mind) - He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers."
34.40 And (the) moment (when He) gather them all together and then say to the malaa'ikah / inner authority, "Did these (thoughts) used to serve you?"
34.41 They say, "Subhaanaka / Glory be to you (for the swim to explore Your abundant knowledge). You are waliyyuna / our Guardian from besides them. Rather, they used to serve the jinn / covered from the truth (conditioned mind); most of them mukminuna / took security in them (thoughts given birth by a conditioned mind)."
34.42 Then the moment you do not hold authority, some of you to others, naf'an / to benefit and not to dhorran / harm, and We will say to those who wronged (misplaced the truth), "Taste the punishment of the nar / internal conflict, which you used to deny."
34.43 And when our ayaati / signs are tutlaa / recited (from your understanding) to them as clear evidences, they say, "This is not except rajulun / independent rational mind who wishes to avert you from that which your abaa / inherited beliefs (that have long guided you as fatherly support) were serving." And they say, "This is not except a lie invented." And those who reject say of the truth when it has come to them, "This is not but obvious sihrun / diversion (from the right path)."
34.44 And We had not given them from kutubin / inherent script which they could study, and We had not sent to them before you, from nazirin / warner.
34.45 And denied those from before them, (they) have not balaghu / matured a fraction of what We had given them. So they denied (their) rusuli / inner voices (that delivered the message), so how was My nakir / reproach.
34.46 Say, "I only advise you with one (thing), that you stand (establish yourself) for Allah, in twos and alone, then think." There is not with sohibikum / your companion (intellect of rational mind and ladunni, direct from your Rabb) from jinnah / madness (veiled from the truth). Surely, he (companion) is except a warner to you between your hands (what self-afflicting sufferings you have currently) a severe punishment.
34.47 Say, "Whatever reward I have asked for, it is for yourselves. My reward is only from Allah, and He is, over all things, Witness."
34.48 Say, "Indeed, my Rabb / Lord (nourisher and sustainer) yaqdhifu / projects with the truth. Knower of the unseen."
34.49 Say, "The truth has come, and the bathilu / falsehood can neither initiate nor repeat."
34.50 Say, "If I have gone astray, then I am astray only against nafs / my own soul. But if I am guided, it is by what my Rabb / Lord (nourisher and sustainer) yuhiy / inspires me. Indeed, He is Hearing and near."
34.51 And if you were to see when they are seized by terror (fear overwhelmed them), there is no escape, and they will be taken from a place closeby.
34.52 And they say, "We aamanna / take security with it!" But how will they reach it (the inspiration) from a place far away?
34.53 And certainly they kafaru / had rejected with it (the sign) from before and would project with the ghaibi / unseen from a place far away.
34.54 And hila / distortion between them and between what they desire, as was done with those like them from before. Indeed, they were in shakkin murib / unsettling doubt.
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