While explaining the reason for transgression, the fundamental matter to which the Qur'an draws attention is self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency means thinking that one is free of all needs and regarding oneself as sufficient. Some people begin to regard themselves as self-sufficient because of the power, knowledge, wealth and means they possess, and come to believe that they have no need of anything and are sufficient unto themselves. This feeling of sufficiency is an insidious danger that disrupts the balance of the soul, makes a person inwardly sick and ultimately destroys him; in time, it progresses to the point where the person forgets his need for God.
The Qur'an describes this state as “self-sufficiency” and clearly reveals the reason for transgression:
No indeed! Truly man transgresses all bounds in seeing himself as self-sufficient. (Surat al-Alaq, 6-7)
As attention is drawn to in the verse, the reason why man transgresses is not merely worldly means such as his possessions, property, wealth, position, fame and renown. The essential matter is how he regards himself in the face of what he possesses. When he begins to regard himself not as a servant blessed by God, but as someone who has acquired all these things through his own power and is no longer in need of anything, then what he possesses becomes a trial for him, and he transgresses by forgetting his helplessness before God.
The word translated as “transgresses” appears in the verse as “yatgha” and derives from the root (t-gh-y). The fundamental meaning of this root is to exceed the bounds and proper limits, to rebel and to become excessive. Other words derived from this root in the Qur'an are also used to mean going astray, transgressing, behaving outrageously and exceeding the bounds and limits. For example, God says of Pharaoh, “he has truly transgressed all bounds” (Surat an-Nazi’at, 17). The word translated here as “transgressed” is also the word “tagha,” which derives from the root (t-gh-y), and expresses that Pharaoh exceeded the bounds and crossed the limit.
Therefore, the expression “truly man transgresses all bounds” in Surat al-Alaq describes man's exceeding proper limits and becomng excessive. When man regards himself as self-sufficient, he begins to take his own reason, power and desires as his measure instead of the rules and limits determined by God. Thus, the connection between self-sufficiency and transgression becomes apparent: To the extent that man regards himself as free of need, he begins to exceed the limits determined by God.
The word “taghut” that appears in some verses of the Qur'an also derives from the same root. Taghut is used to mean one who transgresses and is worshiped besides God. God says, “… Anyone who rejects false deities and believes in God has grasped the Firmest Handhold…” (Surat al-Baqara, 256). Thus, while transgression is man's exceeding the bounds and limits, taghut appears before us as a being or authority that exceeds this boundary and is —may God forbid—associated as partners with God.
The verse in Surat al-Alaq, “No indeed! Truly man transgresses all bounds…” also shows the way for man to remain on the path of guidance. So long as man does not regard himself as self-sufficient, in other words, so long as he feels in his heart at every moment how much he needs God, he continues to progress in terms of faith and morality. That is because a person who knows that he is a servant created by God and that, as a requirement of the test, he is a deficient, fallible and flawed being does not regard himself as sufficient. He eagerly turns toward faith, good morality and nearness to God, acknowledges that he is deficient, feels the need for admonition, remains open to correcting his mistakes and, knowing that he is a helpless servant, never forgets that he needs God's help at every moment.
However, when the thought “I have everything; my reason is sufficient for me, my money is sufficient for me, my power is sufficient for me” begins to become established in his subconscious, this self-sufficient attitude gradually turns into the thought —may God forbid— “I need no one, not even God.” After a while, the person begins to follow his lower self and desires.
The word “istaghna” is also used elsewhere in the Qur'an. In Surah Abasa, God describes the person who regards himself as self-sufficient as follows:
As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient, you give him your complete attention, but it is not up to you whether or not he is purified. But as for him who comes to you eagerly showing fearfulness, from him you are distracted. (Surah Abasa, 5-10)
The point emphasized here is the attitude of the person who considers himself in no need, turning his face away from the truth and from advice. The person who is self-sufficient does not need the warning given to him. In contrast, the person who fears God and wants to take advice and purify himself seeing himself as being in need is a sign that he is open to guidance.
In Surat al-Layl, the connection of self-sufficiency with a person's stinginess and his turning away from the path of God is presented as follows:
But as for him who is stingy and self-satisfied, and denies the Good, We will pave his way to Difficulty. (Surat al-Layl, 8-10)
In these verses, istighna, that is, the state of considering oneself to be in no need, is mentioned together with a person’s being stingy and his denying the truth revealed by God. Thus, it is seen that istighna also negatively affects a person’s behavior and his attitude toward other people. A person who considers himself sufficient does not feel the need to share the blessing he has, considers the warning given to him unnecessary, and over time develops resistance toward the truth. The real danger, however, is that after a while, a person begins to consider himself sufficient not only in physical terms but also in the face of the truth. A person who thinks that he does not need to be given advice, to have his mistake pointed out, or to have his thinking questioned considers his own intellect and his own judgment sufficient. Thus, a person’s considering himself sufficient closes him off from the truth without his realizing it.
A person should be careful against his own lower self and should not think that he can declare his lower self to be innocent. Because a person’s lower self commands evil and evil deeds. When a person considers himself sufficient, his need to control this aspect of his lower self also decreases. A person who forgets that he is in need of God may begin to carry out every desire that comes from within himself without questioning it. The Qur'an informs us of the point to which a person can be led by making his own desires a measure, as follows:
Have you seen him who has taken his whims and desires to be his god? Will you then be his guardian?” (Surat al-Furqan, 43)
The Qur'an informs us in another verse of how dangerous this situation can be, as follows:
People whose efforts in the life of the world are misguided while they suppose that they are doing good. (Surat al-Kahf, 104)
A person who knows and accepts that he has done wrong can correct his mistake. But when he begins to regard his own wrong as right, he no longer feels the need to correct it. Because he considers himself sufficient, he does not question himself. Since he accepts his own thinking as the measure, he begins to evaluate the truth according to his own thinking. The fact that the mistakes a person makes gradually prevent him from seeing the truth is explained in the Qur'an by the concept of rust that forms over the heart, or, in the wording mentioned in the verse, “rān”:
No indeed! Rather what they have earned has rusted up their hearts. (Surat al-Mutaffifin, 14)
The decisions a person makes by considering himself self-sufficient, the mistakes he persists in, and the way he defends them begin to accumulate on the heart over time. When a person first makes a mistake and then stands behind it and defends it, what he defends eventually becomes his own truth. From this point onward, what he himself has done turns into a covering that prevents him from seeing the truth, and into a rust that accumulates on the heart.
Even if a person is wealthy, he is in need of God; even if he is powerful, he is in need of God; even if he is knowledgeable, he is in need of God. In order to use the intellect he possesses correctly and to be able to see what is right, he is in need of God's help. Nothing that a person possesses is the source of his own existence.
Only God is in need of nothing and no one. In the Qur'an, the fact that God is in need of neither anyone nor anything is expressed with the word “Ghaniyy.” God is free from all need, while all of His creation remains in need of Him at every moment.
Just as a person did not create himself, did not initiate his own life, and did not bring about the functioning of his heart and body himself, all the means he possesses, such as wealth, property, power, knowledge, position, and status, have likewise been given to him by God. If God were to stop creating, nothing that a person sees and thinks to exist, including his own body, could continue to exist even for a moment. This truth is stated in the Qur'an as follows:
God keeps a firm hold on the heavens and earth, preventing them from vanishing away. And if they vanished no one could then keep hold of them. Certainly He is Most Forbearing, Ever-Forgiving. (Surat al-Fatir, 41)
The continuation of the existence of the heavens and the earth is under the power of God. As a part of this created order, man is in need of God's creating him from moment to moment in order to continue his existence. Therefore, man’s need for God is not limited to his need for the blessings, knowledge, help, mercy, love, and compassion that God has given him. At every moment of his existence, man is in need of God for countless reasons.
This truth shows what a great misconception it is for a person to consider himself self-sufficient. A person who regards the intellect, strength, knowledge, wealth, and means given to him as though they belonged to him has actually distanced himself from God to such an extent that he overlooks the fact that he created none of these things himself. Yet it is Almighty God Who brought him into existence, brought everything he possesses into existence, and gave all these things to him in order to test him.
If a person has fallen into the illness of self-sufficiency, but wants to purify himself from this great mistake, he will have turned toward the right path at the moment he once again realizes and acknowledges how much he is in need of God. When he feels the greatness of God in his heart, confirms with his heart how greatly he is in need of Him, and accepts that everything he possesses is a blessing given to him by God, and that his own intellect, strength, and lower self are not sufficient, his heart opens to the truth once again. Thus, a very beautiful and warm bond is formed between him and his Lord. A person's liberation from all kinds of illnesses of his soul is to know that he is in need of God at every moment and to turn toward Him with great love and admiration.
