The Spider’s Web; Al-Quran, Chapter 29 (Al-Ankabut)

Introduction

Al-Ankabut (The Spider) happens to be the 29th chapter of the Quran, and historically it was revealed to prophet Muhammad during the most critical juncture of his ministry when the persecution of his followers by the Meccan chiefs were at their most extreme levels in order to undermine the burgeoning faith of Islam. Therefore, the subject here reflects the divine light emerging in the wake of utmost darkness, as a comforting guidance to his companions at the crunch times of their mission. It also attempts to cultivate the very essence of Islamic teachings regarding universal principles of order in human culture.

The stories recounted in this chapter carry metaphorical connotations due to the nature of hermetic symbolism used in their presentation. For instance, the title, Al-Ankabut or The Spider, metaphorically refers to the journey of the astrological Sun through the twelve signs of the zodiac, often depicted as a "Spider's house." This imagery suggests a cosmic web woven by celestial bodies whereby each sign representing a segment of this intricate structure.

Since this chapter expounds the most momentous period of the early Islam, and hence it relates the mystery of the Astrological Twilight Zone. This zone symbolizes a threshold between light and darkness, mirroring the profound challenges faced by the nascent Muslim community in their state of transition from weakness to strength. It is important to note that in this article, I have extensively relied on the authoritative compilation of Islamic narratives known as "The Stories of the Prophets" by Ibn Kathir.

The Astrological Twilight Zone

The ‘astrological twilight zone’ comprises of the rising and setting places of the Sun i.e., Aries and Libra, and the astrological signs in the immediate neighborhood of those regions, i.e., Pisces, Taurus, Scorpio, and Virgo. Overall the twilight zone consists of six out of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Their differences from other signs is mostly on account of the level of variations in the intensity of Sunlight that they tend to offer between the transition periods of light and dark, whilst other signs on either sides tend to remain perpetually in the state of total dark or total light. Here, it is important to note the certain astrological principles at work within this zone such as for instance, the signs with more light in the zone would overcome the corruptions of the signs with lesser light, whilst the opposite signs within the zone can restrict each other from indulging in certain erroneous dispositions.

This chapter of the Quran was revealed around the time when prophet Muhammad was about to migrate from the city of Mecca to Medina. In the explanation of this chapter, I shall first state the verses that refer to the twilight zone of the zodiac, and afterwards discuss the spiritual philosophy associated with their narratives.

Astrological Pisces, and the Story of Noah’s People

The verses (14-15) refer to the story of Noah. It says,

14. And verily we sent Noah (as Our messenger) unto his folk, and he continued with them for a thousand years save fifty years; and the flood engulfed them, for they were wrong-doers.

15. And We rescued him and those with him in the ship, and made of it a portent for the peoples.

Noah refers to the sign of Pisces. According to the Muslim lore narrated by Ibn Kathir, Noah had admonished his people from the worship of Idols, but they refused to heed his warnings. Then Noah made a ship in the midst of land, where alongside the passengers he gathered all sorts of animals and plants. The predictions he had made for the impending flood came true and destroyed everything in the land, except those on board at his ship.

The idols in this story are a reference to the ‘Virgin’ symbol of Virgo (the sign opposite to Pisces), and the inundated land is analogous to the element ‘earth’ of Virgo; whilst the flooding represents the ‘water’ element of Pisces, and the surviving ship of Noah is also allegorical to the ‘fish’ symbol of Pisces.

Astrological Libra, and the Story of Abraham’s People

The verses (16-27) in the chapter refer to the story of Abraham. Here, I have stated only two of these verses for the purpose of explanation.

16. And Abraham! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Serve Allah, and keep your duty unto Him; that is better for you if ye did but know.

24. But the answer of his folk was only that they said: “Kill him” or “Burn him.” Then Allah saved him from the Fire. Lo! herein verily are portents for folk who believe.

Abraham (symbolically the sign of Libra) also contended with his people against their practice of idol worship (the Virgo trait). Since Libra possesses more light in the twilight zone than Virgo, Abraham refused to worship the idols, and defeated the reasoning of his people by using diplomatic arguments associated with the Libra trait. Therefore, the Abraham’s people yet tested him against the ambitions and passions of ‘fire’, which is the element of the opposite sign of Aries. But Abraham being a true Libra, withstood the trial of fire without any hurt due to the characteristic balance of his disposition.

Astrological Scorpio, and the Story of Lot’s People (Sodom)

The verses (28-35) in the chapter refer to the story of Sodom. According to the Islamic lore in Ibn Kathir, people in the town of Sodom lacked integrity of character on account of entertaining sexual perversions in their cultural disposition. The Quran says,

28. And Lot! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Lo! ye commit lewdness such as no creature did before you.

29. For come ye not in unto males, and cut ye not the road (for travellers), and commit ye not abomination in your meetings ? But the answer of his folk was only that they said: Bring Allah’s doom upon us if thou art a truthteller!

30. He said: My Lord! Give me victory over folk who work corruption.

34. Lo! We are about to bring down upon the folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-livers.

The major Scorpio trait involves dealing with the power dynamics associated with human sexuality, and the people of Sodom failed in that respect. Therefore, accordingly were punished by the showers of stone pellets falling from the sky representing element 'earth' of the opposite sign of Taurus, alongside the land mass of their town being turned upside down as a symbolic punishment for their perverse disposition.

Astrological Taurus, and the Story of Midian People

The verses (36-37) in the chapter refer to the story of Midian. The people of Midian were known to be very greedy, and therefore used to cheat or embezzle others in their business deals. According to the Islamic lore, messenger Shu’eyb asked them to keep the balance straight while weighing merchandise, but they refused. The Quran says,

36. And unto Midian We sent Shu’eyb, their brother. He said: O my people! Serve Allah, and look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth.

37. But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place.

The resources associated with Material Wealth is a trait of the fixed sign of Taurus. The people of Midian though were considered to be already very wealthy in comparison to most of the other towns, but yet stingy and greedy sort of disposition had its abode in their hearts. As a result, the element 'earth' associated with the fixed sign of Taurus gave away from underneath them, and the town got destroyed by an earthquake (trait of the opposite sign of Scorpio).

Astrological Virgo, and the Stories of A’ad and Thamud

The verse 38 in the chapter refers to the stories of A’ad and Thamud. According to the lore, they were two tribes of excellent craftsmen, associated with the Virgo trait. Those people were strong, tall, and used to hue their houses out of mountains and rocks. They eventually also used their strength and skills to carve idols in order to worship them as a testimony of their pride in the skill of craftsmanship. The Quran says,

38. And (the tribes of) A’ad and Thamud! (Their fate) is manifest unto you from their (ruined and deserted) dwellings. Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them and so debarred them from the Way, though they were keen observers.

It is mentioned in Ibn Kathir that when people of A’ad (Virgo) refused the warnings of prophet Hud, they initially suffered from a severe drought (absence of element water of the opposite sign of Pisces), followed by a hurricane (element air of the brighter sign Libra) and the combination of that chaos utterly destroyed their township. Also, the people of Thamud when denied their prophet Salih, were destroyed by the thunderbolts of (Pisces), that was followed by the earthquakes of (Virgo).

Astrological Aries, and the Story of Pharaoh

The verse 39 in the chapter refers to the story of Pharaoh. The Quran deals with the stories related to Pharaoh and his cronies at considerable length, but the following verse particularly mentions the two of his ministers alongside the Pharaoh himself. The verse also relates to the arrogant disposition of Pharaoh with regards to his power, mostly considered as the negative trait of the sign of Aries for being overtly egotistic and self-centered, and the misuse of powers that eventually resulted in the fall of Pharaoh in the land of Egypt.

39. And Korah, Pharaoh and Haman! Moses came unto them with clear proofs (of Allah’s Sovereignty), but they were boastful in the land. And they were not winners (in the race).

The man Korah was known to be the finance minister of Pharaoh, which is metaphorically associated with the Taurus trait, and thus he got swallowed by the 'earth' itself (the element of the fixed sign of Taurus). Whilst, Pharaoh and his secretary Haman represented Aries, and so were drowned by the waters of Pisces whilst being on the move at his war with Moses in the brighter sign of the twilight zone.

Balance of Elements in the Twilight Zone

The verse 40 of the chapter relates the consequences of disturbing the elemental balance in nature. It says,

40. So We took each one in his sin; of them was he on whom We sent a hurricane, and of them was he who was overtaken by the (Awful) Cry, and of them was he whom We caused the earth to swallow, and of them was he whom We drowned. It was not for Allah to wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

Here, the hurricane represents the disturbance in the element ‘air’; the ‘awful cry’ can also be translated as a strong blast or explosion, which is akin to the element ‘fire’; earthquakes represent trouble in the element ‘earth’, and floods or deluges represent turbulence in the element ‘water’. The verse ends by stating that people only cause trouble for themselves by not living with wisdom in their disposition of living, as the function of human intelligence is essentially to keep themselves psychologically balanced with regards to the transient nature of their physical environments.

The mention of the prophets in each of the stories, and the importance to follow their guidance is symbolic of the element ‘spirit’. For whenever the spirit rules the material elements than there exists the order of harmony, balance, and peace in the world; and thereby humanity stays away from all forms of corruptions associated with the excess of vanity, idolatry, greed, lust, and pride. But once spirituality is abandoned in human existence, it leaves a fertile ground for vices to breed. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to guard against those iniquitous modes of behaviors in the human cultures, such as those that Quran mentions in the following verses (41-44) for the significance of being judicious in life.

41. The likeness of those who choose other patrons than Allah is as the likeness of the spider when she taketh unto herself a house, and lo! the frailest of all houses is the spider’s house, if they but knew.

42. Lo! Allah knoweth what thing they invoke instead of Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

43. As for these similitudes, We coin them for mankind, but none will grasp their meaning save the wise.

44. Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth. Lo! therein is indeed a portent for believers.

In verse 41, the spider’s house is a metaphor for the zodiac. It says that to keep ones consciousness in balance is usually very tricky and requires great spiritual wisdom, and the verse 43 suggests that wise people would understand the importance of this message. For the nature of mystery teachings do not allow the contamination of sacred ideals, nor does it permit the desecration of holy rites due to the corrupt attitudes of ignorant masses. The enlightened have always had their purpose fulfilled by keeping the law whilst working with the order in correspondence to the eternal mystery of truth.

The following verses from chapter 05 of Quran include some of the most controversial punishments for the crime of apostasy present in any sacred book of a religion. Nonetheless, there is a definite underlying esoteric theme in the text that is not usually distinguished by traditionalist scholars, and likely adds value of a greater purpose to the Quran.

The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom; Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (05, 33-34)

The four punishments that are described in the Quran here are elemental punishments for the alchemical processes of decomposition, sublimation, incineration, and dissolution. The punishment of 'death' is by the element 'earth' because the body returns to the earth corresponding to the process of 'decomposition'. The punishment of 'crucifixion' is by the element 'air' because the body hangs in the air and eaten by the birds corresponding to the process of 'sublimation'. The punishment of 'cutting the hand and feet on alternate sides' is by the element 'fire' because afterwards the wounds need to be cauterized by the fire, or else they get infected, and the punishment is corresponding to the process of 'incineration'. The punishment of 'expelling out of the land' is by the element 'water' because when expelled from the land one ends up being in the domain of water, where one gets to be dissolved corresponding to the process of 'dissolution'. These punishments are of the mystical nature and significance, rather than for one to be concerned about them in any literal sense of the judgement.

The End Note

The idea of an effective punishment is always to deter the crime, and to also inspire the wisdom of right actions. The esoteric part is always hidden under the gravity of situation, so that no one takes the responsibility of power with a lack of vigor, or the higher authority of universal judgement with a culture of ignorance, because everything that may compromise the superior purpose to the inferior motive is dangerous to the cosmic order of life. Therefore, these punishments are never meant to be for any literal application, since they are all esoteric in nature representing the greater universal principles that cannot be violated without the dire consequences. I should conclude this article by quoting a couple of initial verses from the chapter 29 of Quran, and that I hope the reader would have found it revealing and useful.

Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested with affliction? Lo! We tested those who were before you. Thus Allah knoweth those who are sincere, and knoweth those who feign. Al-Quran (29, 2-3)