The Divine Gift of Reflection: What Makes Us Human? (English Translation of presentation by Mr. Rizwanullah, Scholar Al Mawrid, Lahore)

 

The Divine Gift of Reflection: What Makes Us Human? 

(English Translation of presentation by Mr. Rizwanullah, Scholar Al Mawrid, Lahore) 

Epigraph

"And He made for you hearing, sight, and hearts — yet little are you grateful."
— Qur'an 32:9

Reading Time: 8 minutes

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We share much with the animal kingdom. Like other living creatures, we experience hunger and thirst. We possess instincts that drive us to seek fulfillment. We work to preserve ourselves and continue our species. In these fundamental aspects, humans and animals walk parallel paths.

Yet something profound distinguishes us. When the call of religion reaches humanity, responses vary dramatically—some embrace it wholeheartedly, others turn away with indifference or avoidance. This divergence reveals a unique human capacity. But what exactly sets us apart? What transforms a biological creature into a human being?

The Qur'anic Account of Human Creation

The Qur'an, particularly in Surah As-Sajdah, provides a profound explanation of our origins:

"He began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his progeny from an extract of a humble fluid. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him of His spirit, and made for you hearing, sight, and hearts." (Qur'an 32:7–9)

This verse reveals that human creation unfolded through distinct phases. In the beginning, human beings appeared and perished like other creatures. Then Allah initiated a new process—fashioning and perfecting the human form from humble origins. The culminating act was breathing into humanity something of His own spirit (rūḥ).

This divine breath is what fundamentally distinguishes us from all other living beings. No other creature received this gift—this infusion of a divine element.

Beyond Instinct: The Spiritual Dimension

After Allah breathed His spirit into humanity, the Qur'an tells us He granted faculties of listening, seeing, and understanding—capacities that enable us to comprehend, reflect, and make moral decisions.

Now consider animals also see, hear, and think to some extent. We observe these cognitive activities among them. However, their faculties function entirely within the sphere of instinct and immediate need—finding food, water, shelter, and ensuring reproduction. Their perception serves only survival.

Humans, in contrast, use these same faculties not merely for physical survival but for higher purposes. We can reflect beyond our instincts. We contemplate meaning, pursue justice, create beauty, and seek truth. This capacity emerged after Allah breathed His spirit into us. Through this divine endowment, humanity became distinguished from all other creatures.

The Nature of Divine Spirit (Rūḥ)

When the Qur'an speaks of Allah breathing His spirit into humanity, what does this mean? Does our physical life depend on this spirit?

The word rūḥ operates on two levels. In everyday language, we use it to mean life or soul—"a person's spirit has departed." But in the Qur'anic sense here, the word transcends physical life.

Even before Allah breathed His spirit into the human form, biological life already existed—the body was animated, functioning, living. According to the hadith, after about one hundred and twenty days, the spirit is breathed into the developing child. Yet even before this moment, the embryo possesses biological life—a beating heart, movement, and growth.

This rūḥ is something different from the realm of the unseen, a reality whose true nature we cannot fully comprehend. When the Qur'an says, "He breathed into him of His spirit," it doesn't mean literal blowing, but rather that something proceeds from God's command—an act of creation giving rise to consciousness, perception, reflection, and moral discernment.

This is what distinguishes the human being from all other creatures.

The Honor and the Responsibility

Allah has honored humanity by granting these faculties. But this honor entails responsibility—we must use them as they were meant to be used, especially in understanding divine truth and responding to God's message.

True gratitude (shukr) for these gifts doesn't simply mean saying "thank you." In Arabic, shukr means recognizing the value of something and using it for the purpose for which it was given. If someone gives you a gift, you appreciate it not only by expressing thanks but by using it rightly—for the purpose intended by the giver.

When Allah says, "little do you give thanks," He means we must:

1. Be thankful that He made us human, not animals—granting us the honor of being descendants of Adam
2. Use these faculties as He intended—to recognize His signs, understand His guidance, and follow truth

If these two forms of gratitude are absent, we fail to fulfill the purpose of the divine gifts we received.

The Moral Decline: When Faculties Are Misused

But what happens when these God-given faculties are not used for their higher purpose?

A person may excel intellectually in worldly affairs—in science, technology, business, or art—yet when it comes to religion, revelation, or reflection on God's message, their mind becomes inattentive and dull. It is as if their ears cannot hear, their eyes cannot see, and their heart cannot comprehend.

The Qur'an describes such people powerfully:

"They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle — nay, more astray. They are the heedless ones." (Qur'an 7:179)

Why "more astray" than animals? Because animals use their limited faculties correctly, for their basic survival needs, as nature intended. They cannot be blamed for lacking higher consciousness.

But humans were granted intellect, understanding, reflection, and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. We were given the capacity to hear God's message, to reflect on its depth, and to recognize truth from falsehood. When we fail to use these faculties, we fall below the level of animals. We sink beneath the rank God honored us with.

The Parable of the Shepherd

The Qur'an presents a vivid parable to illustrate this spiritual deafness:

"The parable of those who disbelieve is that of one who shouts at what hears nothing but a call and a cry; they are deaf, dumb, and blind — they do not understand." (Qur'an 2:171)

Just as sheep hear the sound of the shepherd's voice but do not comprehend what he says, so too does someone who ignores the divine message. Though they hear it, they are spiritually like those animals that hear sound but fail to grasp meaning. The Qur'an paints the picture of a person deaf, blind, and heartless—not in a physical sense, but in the sense that their spiritual perception has died.

A Modern Paradox

Here lies a contemporary paradox: "The world is cash and the Hereafter is deferred payment." Modern humanity sees immediate benefit in worldly pursuits—using God-given abilities to master technology, science, and achieve material progress. Yet when it comes to religion, the same person becomes lethargic and indifferent.

Why this disparity?

The answer requires reflection. If these abilities—intellect, creativity, and observation were meant only for worldly gain, then animals too achieve similar goals within their sphere. If a person believes they've been granted something higher, something more profound, then limiting those powers only to material life is irrational and ungrateful.

When we recognize that our intellect and faculties were meant to serve higher moral and spiritual purposes, we cannot in good conscience confine them to worldly aims alone. Otherwise, we waste the very gift that sets us apart.

The Path Forward: True Gratitude

The essence of this teaching is clear: Whenever we are invited toward Allah—whenever someone calls us to faith, reflection, or righteousness—it becomes our duty to use our God-given faculties of hearing, sight, and understanding to pay attention and respond sincerely.

The faculties that God has granted us—hearing, sight, reflection, and understanding—must be used not only for worldly benefit but also for recognizing and serving Divine truth.

To be truly grateful (shākir) for these gifts means:

1. To acknowledge God for granting them
2. To employ them for the purpose for which they were given—in the service of faith, truth, and moral reflection

If we fail to do so, the Qur'an warns, we descend to the level of animals: "They are like cattle, rather they are more astray." (Surah al-A'rāf 7:179)

Conclusion: A Sacred Trust

Our intellect, senses, and reasoning are not merely evolutionary faculties developed for survival. They are trusts (amānāt) (Qur'an 33:72)—sacred responsibilities meant to lead us toward recognition of the Creator.

While animals see, hear, and think in service of instinct, humans possess these faculties to seek truth, pursue justice, contemplate beauty, and recognize the Divine. The breathing of God's spirit elevated us beyond the instinctive realm into the moral and spiritual dimension.

To misuse or neglect these gifts is to betray our essential nature—to sink from the human to the animal level, or even lower. True humanity lies not in biological classification but in fulfilling the purpose for which we were created: to listen to the voice of truth, to reflect on divine signs in the world, and to align our lives with God's moral law.

The question each of us must answer is simple yet profound: Will we use the divine gifts we've been granted for their intended purpose, or will we squander them on pursuits that reduce us to something less than human?

The choice, ultimately, is ours.

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"And He made for you hearing, sight, and hearts — yet little are you grateful." (Qur'an 32:9)

Source: Mr. Rizwanullah, Scholar Al Mawrid, Lahore

🌿 Hashish: Intoxication, Law, and the Ethic of Reason

🌿 Hashish: Intoxication, Law, and the Ethic of Reason

Epigraph (Reading Time: 4 minutes) 

“Believers! This liquor, and gambling, and stone altars and divining arrows are all filthy handiworks of Satan. So, avoid them that you may succeed.  Satan only seeks to stir up enmity and malice among you by getting you involved in liquor and gambling, and to keep you from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Then will you abstain from [these things?  Abstain from them] and obey God and His Messenger and continue to abstain [from disobedience]. But if you turn away [from this guidance of Ours], then be informed that the only responsibility of Our Messenger is clear communication” – Qur’an (5:90-92)

It is evident from common sense that the real reason for the prohibition of liquor is the inebriation which it causes. For this reason, everything that intoxicates will similarly stand prohibited, and a small quantity of it shall also be prohibited as a large quantity on the principle of forbidding things that may lead to grave evils.

The question of whether hashish (or cannabis) is allowed is often discussed today in the language of medicine, culture, or recreation. Yet the moral framework approaches it differently — not merely through legality or custom, but through the ethics of reason and intoxication.

 ⚖️ The Principle Behind the Prohibition

 The Prophet (peace be upon him) declared that “Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is forbidden.” (Sahih Muslim, 2003)

 The underlying wisdom is not the drink, the leaf, or the chemical itself — it is the effect that clouds human reason. The Qur’an repeatedly reminds us that the human mind (‘aql) is a trust (amānah) from God, the very faculty through which moral and spiritual understanding arise. Anything that diminishes or disables this faculty, even temporarily, violates that trust.

 Hence, if a substance has the capacity to alter consciousness or impair judgement, whether in small or large amounts, it falls under the same rule as wine.

 🌀 “A Little Won’t Hurt” — The Modern Rationalization

 Many people argue: “I only use a small amount; it doesn’t make me lose control.”

 But this reasoning misses the ethical principle. Once a substance has the potential to intoxicate or produce euphoria, it can lead a person toward a state of indulgence. The pleasure itself — that shift of consciousness — becomes a subtle intoxication, guiding one’s will away from clarity and restraint.

 The reasoning is similar to the example:

 “I can drive safely on the wrong side of the road; no accident will happen.”

 The law is not crafted for exceptional individuals who claim self-control. It is made for the universal human tendency to guard against what the majority may fall into.

 💭 The Spiritual View

 In Islam, halāl and harām are not arbitrary boundaries; they are moral fences built around the sanctity of the human mind and soul. The prohibition of intoxicants is not meant to suppress joy, but to protect inner freedom — the very ability to think, discern, and worship consciously.

 Hashish, in its essence, shares the same potential for euphoria and disconnection from reason as wine or other intoxicants. Even if its medical use may be discussed under legitimate prescriptions, its recreational use cannot be justified within this ethical frame.

 🌙 Conclusion

 The permissibility of hashish cannot be established by the absence of visible harm or loss of control. It must be judged by the principle of potential intoxication — and by that standard, it remains impermissible.

 The moral law aims not to regulate pleasure but to preserve clarity. For once the mind — the seat of reason and faith — becomes dimmed, the human being loses what makes him truly human.

Aamir Yazdani
MPhil Islamic Thought & Civilization UMT, Pakistan
MSc Irrigation Engineering UK