QURAN MIRACLE: MANY PATHS

Quran Miracle Many Paths Many Possibilities Many Universes

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You must have heard this phrase “it’s all about the choices we make”.

Life is a chain of series of incidences going with us. As our life isn’t an accident, each one of us has a destiny that only we ourself can complete it. It is our choices that show what we are, far more than our abilities. We borrow from our tomorrow.

Choices, Options And Chances That Pop Up Every Second

١٧ وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَائِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ

And We have created above you seven paths(layers of heaven), and We are never unmindful of creation. (Surah Muminun 23:17)

Look at this miraculous verse from the Holy Quran. Muslim translators and interpreters mostly understood it as heavens or paths in heaven. In Surah Muminun verse 17 the word used is “طَرَائِقَ” translated by early Commentators of Quran as “layers or paths in heavens”. In the past, the more appropriate meanings were ignored because people were not able to understand and connect those meanings with the verse. The root word of طَرَائِقَ actually means Beating or striking of a thing, also signifies coming by night because one who comes by night knocks at the door. While the actual meaning of the word “طَرَائِقَ” Or / Tariqa طریقہ is A Way; Path; Line of conduct; Behavior, course, rule, mode or manner of acting or conduct. Also means, a line or streak in a thing. “Taraiq” طرائق also signifies sections.

Now let me tell you that what actually this verse means. Also please first see the context in which it is coming. It comes at the end of a narration of the whole life cycle of human beings starting from verse 12 of Surah Muminun. Please read it first.

١٢ وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ
١٣ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ
١٤ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنْشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ
١٥ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ
١٦ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ
١٧ وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَائِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ

And certainly, did We create man from an extract of clay.
Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging.
Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
Then indeed, after that, you are to die.
Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected.
And We have created above you seven layered heavens, and never have We been unaware of [Our] creation.

(Surah Muminun 23:12-17)

Miracle in the Use Of Word “طَرَائِقَ”

As I told you that the meaning of “طَرَائِقَ” is neither heavens nor itis related to paths /orbits in heavens. The fact that God is conveying you after narrating all of our life cycle is something that He has not created us then left us unattended only to raise us on the day of Judgement for accountability. But actually, He created above us seven/various paths. Seven channels of events opportunities and seven ways of choices, to strive and create worlds of new possibilities. The word “طَرَائِقَ” has in it not only the meaning of paths, options, choices, ways, Line of conduct……But also has a full sense of beating popping or striking of a thing which also fits here as we strike with new possibilities every second. Why it is called “Path” is because every choice you make leads you to a different destiny, a different world. To understand this, please read carefully the details given below.

Consider An Example:

God has made for you choices and options which pop up every second, and He has given you free will to choose among these options. To understand it more, I give you an example. While reading this example, don’t consider “Choice” as an ordinary or trivial thing. As each one of these choices has a destiny within them and leads us to a totally different world. Consider that you are sitting with your wife and as you have free will and options all the time. You utilize the option of moving your hand and it happens that it touches your wife’s eye and hurt her. Now, as soon as it happens, another set of options and choices open up for you that either admit your mistake and ask her sorry or another option to say that it was her fault why she brought her face near your hand, or to become more irrational and react in anger, so on and so forth.

If you choose the first option, that matter closes as such with a good impression of yours in her mind, and some other matter starts simultaneously. But if you select the second or third option, the next outcome most probably will be that she would react and maybe begin arguing with you saying that you are an ill-mannered person and you end up in abusing her. Keeping it short and just for understanding this example and the concept, you may ask her to leave your home. She starts weeping and crying. Now a set of other options and choices open up for you either you now realize your mistake and apologize or remain stubborn and keep on repeating the wrong thing. If you choose the first option, then that matter closes as such, and some other matter starts simultaneously.

But if you select the second option that is again a morally wrong option, a new scenario will pop up out of it. She leaves the house, and maybe that matter ends up on divorce. Again many options for you, but if you keep on choosing the wrong one, it will end up on divorce. Then see you have a totally different world in front of your eyes in which you are in deep pain and lonely and have a feeling of guilt in your heart. So you would have a punishment here and as well as in the hereafter. You can clearly see that you have not been punished on the wrong act but on its repetition.

Several Paths, Multiple Fortunes And Many Worlds

This universe God has made is so mysterious that you cannot grasp the whole wisdom behind its creation. God has made for you choices and options which pop up every second, and He has given you free will to choose among these options. It is a world, a universe of possibilities. A slave can become a ruler, a weak can become the strongest person, an ignorant can become the most wise.

O mankind there is scope for many possibilities, many paths, many destinies and many worlds for you. What matters is only what options you pick every second when they pop up with the changing moments. The options you pick will lead to that kind of destiny. If you are feeling miserable and feel yourself in a vicious cycle from where there is no way out, then do just two things. First pray your Lord for another destiny as there is no limit of destinies with your Lord its already woven in the fabric of this cosmos this universe of yours, in another dimension above you as is mentioned in Surah Muminun. So after pray start doing one thing, only, i.e. every moment choose morally right options whenever they pop up. If you do this and change yourself, your destiny stands changed.

Why The Word “Above” “فَوْقَكُمْ” Used Here:

For those who are curious about why the word “فَوْقَكُمْ” used here, then this is something that at the moment you are not able to digest. If you ask me again, I can reply only that these choices are actually above you in a different dimension from where step by step they come to you. We live in 4 dimensions of spacetime out of which three are spatial dimensions, and one is time. But to be more precise its not in any way the dimension of time. It is something different in another dimension right above you. Even time and space are not easy to understand. It’s just that we evolved in these four dimensions of spacetime and used to of it. We are not even able to imagine the 3rd dimension, as what we are looking is not the third spatial dimension, but it is something woven with time. Imagine even we can look at our hand only by the help of light which take some time to reach our eyes. so if we exclude time, we cannot see. Same if we look at the sky and see star only a few light-years away, even in that case we are looking in spacetime, not in space.

Another example: why we cannot see behind a building….well it is not that we cannot…but its that at current reference frame we cannot… but using the time we can go to the other side and see that.

There is a quote in physics that “Space is what prevents matter to pile altogether in one place and Time is what prevents all events from happening at once”.