Rasuls are the enlightened ones who acquire the Knowledge of the Reality through pure consciousness (without the influence of their personal consciousness) from the Names and angelic potentials in their essence via revelation and who communicate these truths at the level of consciousness.
To believe in the afterlife, or an eternal life, is to know with conviction that the Self will not become extinct after losing its body during death, but that death is also an experiential reality. That is, when the physical-biological body is omitted a process called resurrection (ba’th) will take place, during which one will pass to another dimension of life with the spirit body, shared by other invisible beings and eventually continue its life in either of two dimensions known by various names.
When the letter B is used as a prefix to a word in regards to having faith, such as ‘to believe in the hereafter’ (bil-akhira) or afterlife, it points to the various stages of development the Self will indefinitely go through (Quran 84:19) in pursuit of self-actualization.
The concept of ‘protection’ (taqwa) or ‘to have fear of Allah’ is also generally misunderstood. Since the name Allah does not refer to an external God, the real reference is made to the Names and their governance. Allah created the worlds with the Names and governs it with the System known as Sunnatullah. The one law that most absolutely applies here is that of the Name al-Hasib inherent in one’s ‘Name composition’, whereby one’s experience of their latter stage is a result of their former stage. Simply put, whatever behavior one has at any given time whether it is an action or a thought, one will inescapably live its consequence at some point in their life. This has been expressed as ‘the One who is swift at reckoning’ (Sari'ul-Hisab) and ‘the One who responds to wrongdoing with severe punishment’ (Shadidaul-Ikab).
Therefore, living in a system with caution and prudence has been termed as ‘fearing Allah’ or as ‘protection’ (taqwa). Since ‘Sunnatullah = the System and mechanics of Allah’ is essentially the manifestation of the Names of Allah, it is not incorrect to refer to this as ‘fear and protection from Allah’ after all. As such, an act of ungratefulness to any being is an act of ungratefulness to Allah, and its consequence will be lived accordingly! This process is known as ‘jaza’ (consequence). Hence, jaza is not really the result or punishment but the automatic experience of the consequence of an act.
The Quran invites its readers to contemplate through its innumerous parables and metaphors, all to remind (dhikr) humans of their own reality.
Unfortunately, due to the conditions of time and place, and the comprehension levels of the people, the examples that can be given are not many. Due to this, the limited number of objects that people do know of has been associated with various meanings over time, such that the same word has been used to refer to different things in different times, or to different specifications of the same thing. For example, while the Arabic word ‘sama’ is seldom used to refer to the ‘sky’ or ‘space’ it is more commonly used in reference to the ‘states of consciousness’ or the ‘intellectual activity in one’s consciousness.’ Another example is the word ‘ardh’. While infrequently used to refer to the earth, it is generally used to refer to the ‘human body.’ The human body is also denoted by other words such as ‘an’am’ which means ‘domestic animal’ referring to the animalistic nature of mankind, i.e. eat, drink, sleep, sex etc., and ‘dabbah’ which refers to the material and earthly make-up of the biological body. The word ‘shaytan’ (satan) has been used to connote mankind’s tendency to reduce and limit their boundless consciousness, in respect of their essential Name composition, to the base bodily state. The word ‘mountain’ is also seldom used to denote what it actually means; while it is more commonly employed to imply the ‘ego’, the ‘I’ or ‘I’ness. Also, when the word ‘ardh’ is used in reference to the ‘body’, the word ‘mountain’ is seen to denote the ‘organs’ of the body. For example, the verse ‘the mountains walk but you perceive them to be still’ indicates the constant activity and renewal of our interior organs, which seem to be fixed like the mountains on earth.
The word ‘zawj’ is also used in various contexts to mean different things. While its most common usage is to mean ‘partner in marriage’ it has also seen to be used in the context of consciousness implying the partner or equivalent of consciousness and the body that will fall into disuse at some point. In fact, the seventh verse of chapter 56, al-Waqi’ah, states ‘azwajan thalathah’ to mean ‘three kinds’ not three wives!
If we evaluate the words of the Quran in a constricted literal sense and in reference to only one meaning, we will not only be doing grave injustice but also paving the pathway to the primitive belief that it is an obscure and inconceivable Godly book of commands!
Whereas the Quran is the articulation, through revelation, of the Rabb of the worlds (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), giving us the knowledge about the system by which the implicit qualities of the Names manifest to create the explicit world. This is what ‘religion’ is!
Man, in other words ‘pure consciousness’, is the personified Quran. Earthlings who believe themselves to be no more than their physical bodies have been called ‘human beings’ due to this universal consciousness present in their innermost essence. When units of consciousness (in earthly bodies) refuse to have faith in this, they are denying their innermost essence and reducing themselves to mere material existence. Hence, the Quran describes such people as ‘they are like cattle, nay, they are even more astray (from being a human) in their way’ (Quran 25:44). In other words, only the animalistic appetites of their physical bodies drive their lives. They deny the magnificent and superior qualities of their own reality and function only with the stimuli of the neurons in their intestines (the second brain), thereby reducing their lives to the animal – bodily state.
As for the frequent narrations of the lives and examples of Rasuls and Nabis in the Quran… All of these are also examples of possible intellectual or physical errors humankind are prone to and should be cautioned against. Nevertheless, such incidents have been lived by every human population of every century in one way or another!
In regards to the creation of Adam, the Quran says: ‘Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam’ (Quran 3:59). That is, in terms of his physical body, Adam was also born from a mother’s womb. His body also went through all the common biological stages of development. This has been explained through various metaphors.