| | Ahmed Hulusi rendition of Surah The Spider(al-`Ankabut)
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| 29:1 | | Alif, Lam, Meem! (His knowledge in His knowledge with His knowledge!) |
| 29:2 | | Do people think they can get away with just saying, “We believe” and not be confronted with who they really are through trial! |
| 29:3 | | Indeed, those before them were also tested with objects of trial... Allah (not an external god-deity but their very essential reality) certainly knows and will expose those who are truthful (to their word) and those who are liars. |
| 29:4 | | Or do those who do bad deeds think they can outrun Us... What bad judgment they have! |
| 29:5 | | Whoever hopes to meet with Allah (to experience the manifestations of the One referenced as ‘Allah’ in one’s consciousness, according to one’s natural disposition), indeed (let them know that) the term of the bodily life, which is also Allah’s discretion, will come to an end! HU is the Sami, the Aleem. (This definition at the end of the verse points to the ‘incomparability’ [tanzih] of Allah through HU, and the ‘similarity’ [tashbih] quality of Allah by giving references to His Names, in order to form a non-dual unified view for the reader, according to my understanding.) |
| 29:6 | | So, whoever strives with determination (to live this faith; this reality) strives only for his own being. (The greatest Jihad [strife] is the one done against one’s self!) Indeed, Allah is Ghani from the worlds (in terms of His Absolute Essence, Allah is free from being conditioned and limited by the manifested compositions of His Names)! |
| 29:7 | | As for those who believe and fulfill the requisites of their faith, surely We will erase their bad deeds (the traits of their ego) from them and reward them with the best of their deeds! |
| 29:8 | | And We have enjoined upon man to be kind to his mother and father... But if they bid you to associate with Me that which goes against your knowledge, then do not obey them! To Me is your return... I will inform you of (the meanings of) your deeds. |
| 29:9 | | As for those who believe and fulfill the requisites of their faith, surely We will include them among the righteous. |
| 29:10 | | And there are some among the people who say, “We believe in Allah, our essence with His Names,” but when they encounter hardship in the way of Allah they mistake the provocation of man for the punishment of Allah. And if victory comes to them from their Rabb, they say, “We were really with You.” Does Allah (as the creator with His Names) not know better what is in the breasts (the brains of people)? |
| 29:11 | | Surely Allah knows those who believe, and those who are hypocrites (the two-faced who use their intellect in favor of their vested interests rather than for the sake of the Truth). |
| 29:12 | | Those who deny the knowledge of the reality say to the believers, “Follow our understanding and we will bear your mistakes (sins)!” The deniers cannot bear the responsibility of their mistakes... Indeed, they are liars. |
| 29:13 | | They will indeed bear their own burdens and (other) burdens along with their own... And they will definitely be held responsible for their fabricated ideas during the Doomsday period. |
| 29:14 | | And We have disclosed Noah to his people and he stayed for a thousand years less fifty among them! But the deluge overtook them upon their wrongdoing. |
| 29:15 | | We saved him and the people of the ark, and made it an exemplary lesson for the people. |
| 29:16 | | And Abraham... How he said to his people, “Serve Allah and protect yourselves from Him! This is better for you if you understand.” |
| 29:17 | | “You worship idols besides Allah and you invent things! The things you worship besides Allah cannot give you any life sustenance! Ask for your sustenance from Allah (your essence)... Pray to him and be thankful to Him... Unto Him you are returned.” |
| 29:18 | | “And if you deny, (know well) that the people before you also denied... Upon the Rasul is only (the responsibility) of clear notification.” |
| 29:19 | | Did they not see how Allah originates the creation and then returns them (to their origin or to a new creation for the second time)... Indeed, this is easy for Allah. |
| 29:20 | | Say, “Examine the earth (the body) and look at how He originated creation... After this Allah will form your second life (the body of your future life)... Indeed, Allah is Qadir over all things.” |
| 29:21 | | “He gives suffering to whom He wills and grants mercy to whom He wills... To Him you shall be transformed (you will realize that the Names comprise your essence)!” |
| 29:22 | | “You cannot render Him powerless neither on the earth nor in the heavens! You have no guardian or helper besides Allah.” |
| 29:23 | | Those who deny the signs of Allah in their being and the meeting with Him, it is they who have lost hope in My grace; there shall be intense suffering for them! |
| 29:24 | | But the answer of the people (of Abraham) was, “Kill him or burn him!” But Allah saved him from the fire... Indeed, there are signs in this for people who believe. |
| 29:25 | | And (Abraham) said, “You have deified idols besides Allah because of your emotional ties to each other (to your ancestors) in the worldly life. Because of this you will disown and curse one another during Doomsday! Your abode is fire and you have no helper.” |
| 29:26 | | After this Lot (his nephew) believed him and said, “I shall migrate to my Rabb!”... Indeed, He is HU, the Aziz, the Hakim. |
| 29:27 | | And We gave Isaac and Jacob to (Abraham)... and We formed Nubuwwah and knowledge in his descendants... We gave his reward in the world... And in the eternal life to come he is indeed among the righteous. |
| 29:28 | | And Lot... How he said to his people, “Indeed, you commit an indecency that no one has committed before you!” |
| 29:29 | | “Indeed, you sleep with men and sever (the natural process of reproduction), and you do this in public.” But their answer was, “So, bring the punishment of Allah then, if you are true to your word!” |
| 29:30 | | (Lot) said, “My Rabb, help me against these corrupting people!” |
| 29:31 | | When our Rasuls came to Abraham as good news, they said, “Indeed, we will destroy the people of this region... For they have become people who do wrong to themselves.” |
| 29:32 | | (Abraham) said, “But Lot is also there?” They said, “We know who is there... Surely we will save him and his family... Except his wife, she has become of those who remain behind.” |
| 29:33 | | When Our Rasuls came to Lot he felt distressed for them and great discomfort (about what may transpire)... (Our Rasuls) said, “Do not fear or grieve! Indeed, we are here to save you and your family... Except your wife, she has become of those who remain behind.” |
| 29:34 | | “Indeed, we will disclose a suffering from the sky upon the people of this region because of their corrupt beliefs.” |
| 29:35 | | And indeed, We have left a clear exemplary sign (from that region) for those who use their intellect. |
| 29:36 | | And to Madyan (We disclosed) their brother Shuayb... He said, “O my fellow citizens... Worship Allah, believe in the eternal life to come, and do not cause corruption on the earth.” |
| 29:37 | | But they denied him (Shuayb)... And thus the intense quake seized them and they were left fallen on their knees in their homes. |
| 29:38 | | And (We did the same thing to) Aad and Thamud... You should have understood this from the state of their dwellings... Satan (their ego) had made pleasing to them their deeds and averted them from the (True) path... Even though they were endowed with the ability to perceive the reality! |
| 29:39 | | And (We did the same thing to) Qarun, Pharaoh and Haman... Indeed, Moses came to them as clear proofs but they were arrogant (full of ego) on the earth... But they could not escape (Our power)! |
| 29:40 | | We seized each one with the result of his own wrongdoing... Upon some We disclosed a cyclone! Some were seized by the terrible billowing sound! And some We caused the earth to swallow up... And some We drowned... And Allah did not cause them to suffer, but it was they (their constructed self, ego- identity) who caused their own suffering. |
| 29:41 | | The example of those who take friends besides Allah (by deifying each other) is like that of a female spider who takes a home... Indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of a female spider! If only they knew. |
| 29:42 | | Indeed, Allah knows the things to which you turn besides Him... HU, the Aziz, the Hakim. |
| 29:43 | | Thus We emphasize these examples to people! But none can duly evaluate them with their intellect other than those of knowledge! |
| 29:44 | | Allah created the heavens and the earth in Truth (with the qualities pertaining to His Names)! Indeed, there is a sign in this for those who believe. |
| 29:45 | | Read and inform the knowledge (Book) that has been revealed to you, and establish salat... Indeed, salat keeps immorality (going to excess as a result of corporeality) and bad deeds (things that go against sunnatullah) away... Indeed, the dhikr (remembrance) of Allah is Akbar (enables one to experience Akbariyyah – Absolute Magnificence)! Allah knows the state you are in. |
| 29:46 | | Except those among them who do wrong! Strive in the best of ways with those to whom the knowledge has been given in the past and say, “We believe in what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to you... Our God and your God is ONE! To Him we have submitted.” |
| 29:47 | | Thus We have revealed the Book (knowledge of the reality and sunnatullah) to you... Those to whom We have given a Book believe in Him (as their essential reality)... And among these are also some who believe in Him (their essence)... Only those who deny the knowledge of the reality (those whose hearts have been sealed) deliberately deny Our signs. |
| 29:48 | | And you did not recite any book (like the Torah and the Gospel) before (the knowledge we disclosed), nor did you inscribe it with your right hand... (Hence, he may be literate in the general sense...25:5). Otherwise, (had you been literate) the ones who wish to falsify your words would surely have had doubt. |
| 29:49 | | On the contrary, it (the Quran) comprises clear signs within the depths of those to whom the knowledge has been given... Only those who do wrong to themselves deny Our signs (that are inherent in their essence). |
| 29:50 | | They said, “He should have been given miracles from his Rabb!”... Say, “Miracles are only from Allah... I am only a clear warner.” |
| 29:51 | | Is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the knowledge that they are informed of? Indeed, there is grace and an admonition in this for people who believe. |
| 29:52 | | Say, “Sufficient for me is Allah, who comprises my essence with His Names, as a witness between you and I! He knows what is in the heavens and the earth! Those who believe in falsehood (that they are the body that is bound to deteriorate) and deny Allah, the essence of their being with His Names, they are the very losers!” |
| 29:53 | | They want you to hasten the suffering (death) for them. Had their life span not been determined, surely the suffering would have come to them! But it will definitely come to them, suddenly, when they are unaware. |
| 29:54 | | They want you to hasten the suffering (death) for them... Indeed, Hell has encompassed those who deny the knowledge of the reality (this very moment)! |
| 29:55 | | At that time suffering will cover them from above (their consciousness) and below (their bodies) and it will be said, “Taste the consequences of your deeds!” |
| 29:56 | | O my servants who believe! Indeed, my earth is spacious! (The capacity of your brain is expansive! Note that while the body and the brain, in terms of their material make-up, are denoted by the word ‘earth’, the functions of the brain, its neuronal activities and its manifestation of data, are referred to as ‘heavens.’ The reason why ‘heavens’ is used in the plural form, according to my understanding, is due to the various levels of manifested data and knowledge. Hence, by saying ‘My earth is spacious,’ there is an indication as to the vastness of the capacity of the brain and a proposal to use it as its highest level of performance in order to attain knowledge. For, the main concern is not in regards to objects that are to deteriorate under the earth but to the necessary acquisitions pertaining to an eternal life.) Serve only Me! |
| 29:57 | | Every being (individual consciousness) will taste death... And then to Us you shall be returned! |
| 29:58 | | As for those who believe (in their essential reality) and fulfill the requisites of their faith, We will definitely prepare elevated chambers for them underneath which rivers flow... They will abide therein eternally... Beautiful is the reward of those who labor! |
| 29:59 | | They are those who are patient and place their trust in their Rabb (they believe in the quality of the Name Wakil in their essence and trust in its function)! |
| 29:60 | | And there are many creatures that do not carry their own sustenance... Allah gives both their sustenance and yours... HU is the Sami, the Aleem. |
| 29:61 | | Indeed, if you were to ask them, “Who created the heavens and the earth, and who gave their function to the Sun and the Moon?” Surely they will say, “Allah”... How then do they turn (to duality despite the Truth)? |
| 29:62 | | Allah increases the life sustenance for whom He wills among His servants and decreases it (for whom He wills)! Indeed, Allah is Aleem of all things. |
| 29:63 | | And indeed, if you were to ask them, “Who discloses water from the heavens (knowledge in the consciousness) and brings the earth (the body) back to life after its death (while you were living lifelessly deprived of the consciousness of the reality)?” Surely they will say, “Allah”... Say, “Hamd belongs to Allah!” No, most of them do not use their reason and evaluate! |
| 29:64 | | And this apparent and perceived worldly life (the lowest state of consciousness) is no other than an amusement (a delusive diversion in relation to the real) and a game (in which we merely play our roles in the script)! As for the eternal abode, that is the true state of conscious life. If only they could comprehend! |
| 29:65 | | When they board the ship they divert all their faith to Him and pray to Allah... But when He delivers them to the land, alas, they fall into duality! |
| 29:66 | | So they (turn to duality and) show ungratefulness to the things We have given them (the forces and qualities within their essence) and benefit (from temporary things)! Soon they will understand! |
| 29:67 | | Did they not see how We made it a safe Sanctuary (Harem) while people were being taken away from around them... Do they still believe in falsehood (that they are nothing but the body, and bound to deteriorate upon death) and ungratefully deny the favor of Allah (the forces of the Names in their essence)? |
| 29:68 | | Who does greater wrong than he who invents a lie about Allah or denies that which comes as the Truth (Rasul)? Is Hell not the dwelling place of those who deny the knowledge of the reality? |
| 29:69 | | And those who strive (against their egos) to reach Us, We will surely enable them to reach Our ways (by enabling them to realize their innermost essential reality... The ability to observe the manifestations of Allah’s names ubiquitously). Indeed, Allah is with those who have certainty (those who turn to Allah as though they see Him, i.e. the manifestations of the qualities of His Names). |
