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 A.D. 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
Qaf. By the glorious Quran! Indeed, they are astonished that a warner should have come to them from among themselves. So these deniers of the truth say, ‘This is indeed a strange thing, to come back to life after we have died and become dust? That is most improbable!’ We know very well what the earth takes away from them: We hold a book which records all things. But they denied the truth when it came to them, so they are in a state of confusion. (50: 1-5)
The history of the prophets shows that their contemporaries were not ready to accept them. It was only in later times that people readily accepted their status as prophets.
The reason for this is that the prophet appears to his contemporaries as ‘a person just like themselves’. They find it surprising that one whom they have always treated as their equal should suddenly become great and start advising them. But, as time passes, a history of greatness becomes attached to the prophet’s name. So, he starts appearing to succeeding generations as a ‘person greater than themselves.’ That is why, in later periods people did not find it difficult to accept the prophetic status of a prophet. In other words, to the people of the early days, the prophet was a controversial figure, while to the people of later times he acquired the aura of an established personage. The people of the earlier period had to undertake a journey in consciousness in order to fill the gap between them and the prophet, while in the later period, this gap would have been filled by history itself.
In the eyes of those who entertain doubts about the prophet-hood of God’s messenger, everything about him becomes doubtful — even those beliefs that are already enshrined in tradition. However, nothing can act as a shield or an excuse for the doubters. If the rejecters of the prophet were simply to consider the inimitable literary majesty of his book, they would be compelled to accept as a prophet the one who brought that book.
Have they not observed the sky above them and marked how We have built it and adorned it, leaving no flaws in it; We spread out the earth and set upon it solid mountains and We brought forth from it all kinds of delightful plants, as a lesson and reminder for every human being who turns to God; and We have sent down from the sky blessed water with which We have brought forth gardens and grain to be harvested, and tall palm-trees with their thickly-clustered dates, as a provision for human beings; and by [all] this We bring dead land to life. Such shall be the Resurrection. (50: 6-11)
The meaningfulness of the universe, its creative wisdom, its being free of shortcomings, and its being consistent with human needs compel every thinking and rational man to accept the sublimity of creation, and one who gives serious consideration to the system of the universe, will find the Creator in His creations. He will see a glimpse of the other world (the Hereafter) in this world, because, in fact, the world of the Hereafter is essentially another, more superior form of the present world.
Before them, the people of Noah and the people of Rass denied this truth; and so did the people of Thamud. And the tribe of ‘Ad, and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot, and the dwellers of the Wood, and the people of Tubba‘: every one denied their messengers, and so My warning came true. Were We then worn out by the first creation? Yet they are in doubt about a second creation. (50: 12-15)
In the course of history, as presented by the Quran, it has happened again and again that as a result of the prophets’ addressees rejecting them, the communities were destroyed. A few of these devastated nations are mentioned here by way of example. The destruction of these peoples is, in fact, a sample of the conditions in the Hereafter. A part of the punishment the rejecters of Truth are destined to receive in the Hereafter is shown here in this world of today.
The first creation of this world proves the possibility of the second creation. If a man is serious, he does not require any further proof, to make him believe in the Hereafter.