The Middle East -Reading the Signs (ayat)
Over the entry of the zowiyya of Sheikh Abdullah Daghestani r.a. in Damascus is a sign in Arabic that says: ”Learn to read the signs”.
During our last Quran study group, in which we were looking at Surat al Imran ayats 90-120, the word “ayat” came up at least eight times. Yet in the 60 pages of commentary in the voluminous tafseer of “Marifatul Quran” I could not find a single comment on the significance of the term “ayat’!
Yes, we know ayats refers to verses of the Quran. But it’s meaning is far wider than that. Alternative meanings according to the Arabic dictionary are “wonder’ and “marvel”. So , yes, ayats are a form of miracle A message from our Lord as to what is really going on. But the scholars and the ummat seem to prefer to minimize their importance. I have yet to hear a Jumma khutbah in which the idea is mentioned.
Now, in the Western world, we have a different conversation. I was taught in public school (The McDonalds of education lol) that if the weather was consistent with what was going on in the plot, it was “sympathetic fallacy”.i.e it was just a literary trick and had no reality to it! So essentially the academics were ‘dissing’ the significance of signs. What else could we expect from them?! Other skeptical people would talk about “coincidence” and “superstition”-so seeing ayats becomes a form of ignorance-primitiveness.The only exception I know of, and perhaps one of the principal figures responsible for opening our minds to this idea was C.J. Jung-the famous Swiss psychoanalyst. He called this “synchronicity”- much to the dismay of his colleagues and especially his teacher-Herr Sigmund. ”Poppycock”, “magical thinking”, “superstition” all kinds of derogatory comments directed at this discovery.
Then along came James Redfield and his book “The Celestine Prophecy” and people started paying attention again.. He received these teachings, apparently, from a Shaman in Peru. And Shamanism was just gaining popularity and credibility in the Western world. So it became “cool” once again to talk about “signs”. No longer just the province of psychics, clairvoyants and astrologers.
For Muslims we have Surat 41:53: “We will show them our signs in the horizons and within themselves”- Should the Muslims not be paying attention?! What got me started on this question, once again, is the current conflict in the Middle East! The signs are everywhere! The first people that should be in a position to read them are the Muslims! Although it is highly likely that the concept exists in the Bible,. I don’t remember it being covered in Christian or Jewish teachings. It is certainly not a central theme of Sunday mass or of Rabbis speeches on the Sabbath. So where are the Muslims on this issue?! Not to be seen-especially if it involves Palestine!
Before we get into the specifics of the current signs in the Middle East, let us do what the psychoanalysts recommend and interpret the defenses first.! What prevents us from seeing the signs and then acting on them? Let us look at some examples.
1- Desire. A woman (or man for that matter) falls in love with a member of the opposite sex. She (let’s use the female example here) sees early signs of aggression in the potential mate- as well as selfishness. Whenever she proposes an alternative idea to him, he gets easily upset. He shows up late for every date-usually he has some lame excuse like the traffic or an “important” discussion with a friend. The signs are everywhere but she goes with the desire (he turns her on)! Mistake!
2- Plans. On my first trip to Europe with my medical school friend, Alan, we met a couple of American girls in the south of Italy who looked really rattled. I asked: ’What happened?”One of the ladies said: ”we got a lift from some men in a car and they assaulted us. I knew we shouldn’t have gotten into the car, as they looked shady to begin with” said one of them. “Then why did you accept the lift?” I asked. ’Well, we had an itinerary and we didn’t want to be late for the next stage of the journey”. Very common mistake-following the plan rather than the reality
3-Belief Systems and Ideology A Muslim man shows up for a psychotherapy session in obvious pain. ”What is going on?” I ask.” I am having very intense pain in my knee” “You shouldn’t be here” I say “You need an orthopedist, not a psychiatrist at this point. Let me see if I can locate one” “But I want a Muslim orthopedist” he says.” No, I respond sharply.” You need a competent orthopedist. If you want Muslim teaching you can go to the Imam at the mosque. But what you need now is a reliable joint and bone doctor”
4_ Excuses, excuses. When someone refuses to pay attention to the signs, they often have excuses-highly rationalized excuses. Yes, I know this guy is irritable but perhaps he is just nervous as we are just starting to get to know each other”. “Yes, I know I am too sick to travel but I planned this trip a long time ago, so I am going ahead with it.”” Yes, everyone told me not to go ahead with this relationship (sometimes the signs are screaming at you lol) but I want to go ahead with it anyway.
P.S. Another synchronicity. As I was writing this article I heard a documentary on the radio about the Quebec city bridge collapse in 1907. 75 workers were killed, mostly indigenous people,33 from the local community in Kahnawake near Montreal. The workers had noticed that their rivets were not holding and some of them had noticed bends in the iron. ”No problem” said the engineers(the rationalists in any building project!)Who cares about the signs when the plans that appear feasible are present. The result of these “oversights” (good word lol. Looking over the Reality) can be fatal ,as in this case!!
By now, you are probably asking:” What does all of this have to do with the Middle East?! So here we go
The Jews had been returning to the Holy Land all through the 19th Century. By the mid 1800s they were the majority in Jerusalem. And this accelerated after Theodore Herzl’s call for a nation in 1897 and then again after the Balfour Declaration in 1918.. There were probably tensions already in the 19th century between Jews and Arabs but the first large-scale violent event occurred in 1921 with the Jaffa riots- where 47 Jews and 48 Arabs were killed .Interesting statistic btw.Equal numbers of death.The Palestinian cause has been so badly managed that in recent times the proportion is more like 10 times the amount of Arabs killed and in the current conflict in Gaza it is approaching 40 times .What progress?!
We are now more than 100 years into this conflict! During this 100-year period, the Arabs have lost three wars- 1948, 1967, and 1973; they have had thousands of casualties, now more or less doubled during the current conflict in Gaza, lost much territory and underwent unimaginable amounts of tragedy and misery. Yet, nowhere are there indications that they are reading the signs! Instead, they are doubling down in terms of violence and hatred. This is certainly NOT the sunnat of our Prophet saws who went from victory to victory including over the Jewish tribes in the area! Time to say: “ Our approach is not working”! Instead, what we hear is “From the river to the sea” i.e. “Get rid of them”. Hasn’t worked for 100 years but no reason to reconsider!
To keep this within the Islamic perspective, think of the trajectory of the early Muslims. As soon as they were given Divine permission to fight, they were mostly victorious. They won at Badr with the help of angelic forces and were on the verge of winning at Uhud when some of their soldiers broke rank- a painful lesson for the community but one well-taken. After that, there were mostly victories, expanding numbers of converts, expanding territory. Almost the perfect opposite of what has been happening to the Palestinians. I have yet to hear of anecdotes of angels helping out Hamas and Islamic Jihad. God forbid!
And why might this be?! My first response would be:” They are not following the signs”. Instead, they are following their mental images, their desires. ” From the river to the sea” they repeat. Then they show us maps with no Israel on it, just Palestine. Sorry guys, that is NOT the Reality-maybe in your wishful imagination but not on the ground. And on the ground is the Will of Allah, whether you like it (which clearly you don’t) or not.
Now on the Jewish side, they, too are NOT reading the signs. For them it is more difficult as they seem to be succeeding?! They have won all the wars and suppressed all the uprisings! They have built an economically prosperous, modern society. And they have largely maintained a functional democracy! Yet ,they live in constant fear (the inner signs) of terrorism, of attacks from all sides, including Hizbollah in the north. There is increasing opposition within their own country and abroad to their land grabs in East Jerusalem and the West bank and the country is becoming increasingly divided politically-except paradoxically during war time. So they are not really doing well.
So what is their excuse? They keep citing “anti-Semitism” as the reason. But that ,too, is an excuse. Why the anti-Semitism? Are they not feeding it?! Is there not more and more animosity to their cause, including amongst their allies in America? They too need to read the signs or they will be heading to their own “nakba”.
The reader would now be entitled to ask me how I read the signs lol. Ok.I will oblige. The Jews returning to the Holy Land is part of Divine Destiny. Theodore Herzl himself saw Moses in a vision approving of his mission. Many of the Christians have come to the same conclusion. Even the Islamic hadith that Hamas likes to use in a hateful way about Muslims killing Jews in the end of time, implies that the Jewish people have returned. Otherwise the Muslims would have no-one to kil! .Is this hadith prescriptive as Hamas would like to suggest? I beg to differ. Rather it is predictive, Prophetic if you wish, of exactly what is already happening. The question is :”can we prevent future death and destruction?” And I believe the answer is “yes”.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist” as the saying goes to conclude what the signs are indicating IMHO. All the forces outside the principal combatants have the same idea. After 4000 years of tribal conflict the Jews and Arabs have to arrive at a peace agreement that will honour the rights of both sides. We are no longer living in a world where you can wipe out the other tribe with impunity! There have been many proposed agreements in the past-1937,1947,1951,1980,2006 etc, etc. The Jews have often accepted them, the Arabs have consistently refused- preferring their wishful, nationalist agenda without accommodating the other side. But things are starting to change. First was Egypt and then Jordan who were willing to compromise for peace-despite the protestations of the Palestinians. And now there is the UAE and Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. So some Arab states are coming to their senses and realizing that peace has all kinds of advantages and war only benefits the prideful and the self-destructive. We are not that far away!
At this point, probably the greatest obstacle to peace is Iran-a country run as a cult of conflict and self-destruction ever since the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini (“Death to America. Death to Israel”) However, if the Jews and Arabs are able to arrive at an agreement that satisfies all the other parties, the Iraninas should be sidelined. They are, for now, like a parasite that feeds on the illness in the host agent. Once the agent is healthy, the parasite either leaves or dies. And perhaps the people of Iran ,most of whom dislike their own government, will end up replacing them. Inshallah.
I hope that helps open your mind and gives you hope for the future. Salaams,Sufi Ibrahim