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
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Ha Mim
By the Book that makes things clear, surely We sent it down on a
blessed night—We have always sent warnings—on that night every
wise decree is specified by Our own command—We have been sending
messages, as a mercy from your Lord, He hears all and knows all. He
is the Lord of heaven and earth and all that is between them—if only
you would really believe—there is no deity save Him: It is He who gives
both life and death—He is your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers.
(44: 1-8)
The total clarity of the Quran is in itself proof of its being the Book of God, and this being so, its tidings and forecasts are also definitive. There is no scope for any doubt about them.
The beginning of the revelation of the Quran took place on a particular night—a night fixed for important godly decisions. The revelation of the Quran was not a simple event. It resulted from a decision regarding the dawn of a new era of history. That is why it was revealed on this specially blessed night. Primarily, the Quran was and still is a declaration of Truth. It came into existence in order to show the falsity of polytheism and the truth of the Unity of God. Most importantly, it provides man with a standard by which to distinguish between truth and falsehood. The Quran was the distinguisher among nations solely on this basis
Yet, they toy with their doubts. Wait, then, for the Day when the sky brings forth plainly visible clouds of smoke. That will envelop the people. This will be a painful punishment. Then they will say, Lord, relieve us from this torment, for truly we are now believers in You.’How can they benefit from admonition, seeing that a messenger had already come to them explaining things clearly? Then they turned away from him and said, ‘He is a madman, taught by others!’ Were We to ease the torment for a while, you would still revert to denial of the truth. On the Day We inflict the direst scourge upon all sinners, We will certainly exact retribution. (44: 9-16)
The subject about which these addressees of the Quran were in doubt was not the existence of God but the oneness of God. While accepting the existence of God in a traditional manner, they continued to practise the religion of their forefathers and their leaders.
The Quran proved the beliefs of their forefathers to be baseless, but they were not ready to accept this position. On the one hand, they found themselves without supporting arguments while, on the other, they found it impossible to banish from their minds the image of the greatness of their forefathers and leaders. This dual dilemma had pushed them into the realm of doubt. The preacher of God appeared to them too small a person for them to accept, or to act on his advice to abandon their so-called great men.
Those who do not accept the Truth through persuasion expose themselves to the danger of having to accept it under threat of punishment. They may accept it in the latter instance, but at that time their acceptance will be of no avail.
We tried the people of Pharaoh before them: a noble messenger was sent to them, saying, ‘Hand over God’s servants to me. I am a trustworthy messenger for you. Do not set yourselves above God: I bring you clear authority. I have sought refuge with my Lord and your Lord lest you stone me [to death]. If you do not believe in me, at least keep away from me.’ (44: 17-21)
The call for Truth is, in fact, a manifestation of God’s power in the shape of reasoning. In this way, God announces Himself through human beings, while He Himself remains unseen. The divine call, therefore, becomes a trial for its addressees. The truth seekers acknowledge it and bow down before it, while those who are enamoured of appearances consider it unimportant and ignore it.
But after rejecting the call to accept the Truth, man cannot avoid facing the consequences. During the lifetime of the Prophet, these ruinous consequences became apparent in this world itself, just as had happened in the case of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Where there was no immediate evidence of such divine retribution, the deniers had to face the consequences of their actions after death.