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 CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad
tidings to humankind, 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
Ha Mim. This Book is sent down from God, the Almighty, the Wise One. We created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them purely for just ends, and for a specific term, but those who reject Faith turn away from what they have been warned of. (46: 1-3)
The study of the universe reveals that inherent in it are wisdom and meaningfulness. Then, how can a set of systems which is so meaningful at its beginning become meaningless at its end?
Truth, monolithic and immutable, is the greatest power of the universe. In spite of this, why is it that people reject it when it is presented before them? The reason is that in the present world people are simply informed of the Truth. In the Hereafter Truth will impose itself on them and at that time those very individuals who treated the Truth as unimportant and ignored it, will break down before it.
Say, ‘Have you thought about those you call upon apart from God? Show me what they have created on the earth. Or do they have a share in the heavens? Bring me a Book revealed before this or some other vestige of knowledge, if you are telling the truth. And who is more misguided than one who invokes, besides God, such as will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection, and who [in fact] are not even aware of his call, and when mankind is gathered together, they will become their enemies, and will deny their worship? (46: 4-6)
Knowledge is in fact of two types: revealed and established. The former reached man through the prophets, while the latter was established as such by means of research and experiments carried out by human beings. Neither of these two types of knowledge indicates that there is any being worthy of worship except the one and only God. When neither supports the concept of polytheism, how can a polytheistic credo be appropriate for man? One who seeks the support of any thing or any being other than God, will find himself abandoned by that thing or being in the Hereafter.
And whenever Our clear revelations are recited to them and the Truth is brought to them, those who deny the truth say, ‘This is plain magic.’ Do they mean to say that the Messenger himself has fabricated it? Say [O Muhammad], ‘If I have fabricated it myself, you will not be able to do anything to save me from God. He knows quite well what talk you indulge in. He is enough as a witness between me and you; and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful One.’ (46: 7-8)
Say, ‘I am not the first of God’s messengers, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but what is revealed to me, and I am merely a plain warner. Say, ‘Have you thought: what if this Quran really is from God and you reject it? What if one of the Children of Israel testifies to its similarity to earlier scripture and believes in it, and yet you are too arrogant to do the same? God certainly does not guide evil doers.’ (46: 9-10)
The Makkan polytheists regarded the Jews, whom they often met on trading expeditions, as a community of prophets and therefore very learned in religious disciplines.
When the Prophet Muhammad had become a controversial personality in Makkah, a number of these polytheists made enquiries of certain Jews about him. In the meantime, a Jewish scholar told them that, according to their books, a prophet was due to appear in those parts, and that he (Muhammad) might be that very prophet. Evidently, this Jew had indirectly accepted the prophethood of Muhammad.
The events of history had already proved that God’s messengers do appear along with God’s books. It was written in ancient divine scriptures that such a messenger was due to appear among the Ishmaelites. In the life and sayings of the Prophet of God, all those signs were clearly found that signalled prophethood. In the face of such signs and portents, those who denied the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad were not doing so on any rational grounds, but simply because, by accepting one who had hitherto been an ordinary individual in their eyes as the prophet of God, they would be damaging their own high position.
Those who are more concerned with their own pride and prestige than with the Truth, will always be led in the wrong direction by their warped mindset.
In ancient Arabia, the addressees of the Quran were too preoccupied by the greatness of their forebears to give its message any proper consideration. They said that it distressed them even to hear it, because it ran counter to the religion of their august predecessors and, on this account, they rejected it. But the Quran had another aspect to it and that was its literary supremacy. Every Arabic linguistic expert has felt that it is an extraordinary work. It is true that the works of certain human beings possess extraordinary literary value, but there is a limit to the merit of a composition by an ordinary mortal. Indeed, the literary majesty of the Quran is inconceivably greater than any possible feat of the human mind. In order, therefore, to lessen the importance of the Quran from this angle, its detractors held that it was magic, i.e., it was a feat of magical presentation and not a sublime rendering of facts.
When opponents stoop to obduracy, any serious person would remain silent after saying, ‘The issue between you and me is now before God for His decision.’ This is not defeatism but a forward-looking strategy. If one remains silent before an obstinate person, one actually distances oneself from the dispute and that brings one’s opponent face to face with his own conscience, so that if there is any feeling of rectitude left in him, it should be aroused.
The rays of the sun do not enter a closed room. Similarly, a closed mind cannot be the recipient of God's inspiration.