THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures
The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 AD. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
It was He who spread out the earth and placed upon it mountains and rivers, and fruits of every kind in male and female pairs. He drew the veil of night over the day. In all this, truly, there are signs for people who reflect. (13: 3)
When we observe the earth, we will find that the conditions here appear to be most suitable for human settlement and growth. The earth is spread out beneath human beings like a natural floor. Deep oceans cater to human needs on the one hand and on the other there are the mountain ranges, so that both of them together help in maintaining a balance on the earth. The plants and trees could have grown independently, but they have been paired off, and pollination must play its part between them so that flowers, fruits and seeds will grow. The position of the earth is that, apart from its annual revolution around the sun, it rotates continuously on its axis. This rotation is completed in twenty-four hours, resulting in the creation of night and day. Anyone who seriously gives consideration to signs of this kind will be forced to accept that this earth is under an authoritative and powerful Lord. And He, by His own will, has made it subject to purposeful planning. Without conscious planning, this meaningfulness on earth would not have been at all possible.
On the earth are diverse tracts, adjoining one another: vineyards and cornfields and groves of palm, the single and the clustered. Their fruits are nourished by the same water; yet We make the taste of some excel that of others. In this also are signs for people who understand. (13: 4)
Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that one strip of land is fertile while another is barren. One strip of land produces crops while one nearby does not. Mujahid says that the same is the case with mankind. There are good people in this world and also bad, though the origin of all is one. There is a strange phenomenon on this earth: the soil in different places may be similar and may be watered by the same water, but in one place it will produce a tree whose fruit is sweet, while in another place it will produce a tree whose fruit is sour. One tree may have a high yield and another a low yield. This is a parallel in nature to the human condition.
It is like all human beings, although cast in the same mould, showing a marked difference from one individual to another when it comes to deriving any benefit from the divine guidance which is consistently offered to all. One will receive the full benefit of such guidance, and thus have his entire life enriched by it, while another may avail of only a part of it or even reject it altogether. In other words, the same ‘seeds’ of guidance when ‘sown’ in different individuals will produce outcomes as different as the sweet and sour fruits of our analogy.
The legal system and the
administration have their limits.
Genuine reform will come about only
if the spirit of reform is generated
among the people concerned.