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 CE. 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
We have tied the fate of every man about his neck; and We shall produce a book for him on Resurrection Day that he will find spread open. It will say, ‘Read your record, today there will be none but yourself to call you to account!’ Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it for his own good; and whoever goes astray, goes astray at his own peril; no bearer of burdens shall bear the burdens of another. Nor do We punish until We have sent forth a messenger to forewarn them. (17: 13-15)
In ancient times superstitious people tried to predict their fate by observing the flight of birds or the revolution of stars, or through different charms. In the present day, even those who do not believe in such superstitions, attribute their fate to some mysterious cause or the other. They think that it is some external factor which truly influences their destiny.
God, however, says that the human fate is not linked with the birds or the stars: neither is it connected with any external thing; indeed, the fate of every man hangs upon his own deeds. Whatever a man thinks or does is being recorded throughout his existence. On the Day of Judgement, therefore, man will find his life history written in the shape of a diary, which contains all matters, both great and small.
God raised prophets among the various communities and revealed the scriptures to them. He did this so that people should be aware in advance of the unforeseeable Day of Reckoning. Now it is for every man to decide what fate he wants to face in the future: eternal paradise as a result of his following the path of guidance, or an eternity in hell as a result of his straying from that path.
When We decide to destroy a town, We command the affluent section of its people, but they transgress therein; thus the word [sentence of punishment] is justified, then We destroy the town utterly. How many generations have We destroyed since Noah’s time. Your Lord is well aware of the sins of His servants and observes them all. (17: 16-17)
The conduct of the leading group of a community is the chief indicator of the level of honesty or corruption of the community’s members. Only this group has the understanding and resources to influence their inferiors. Only they can bear the cost of leadership.
This is why the reformation of the prominent group amounts to the reformation of the whole community and the corruption of this prominent group amounts to the corruption of the whole community. If a study is made of communities right from the time of Noah to the present day, the history of each community will confirm the correctness of this general principle.
Those leading lights, or elders of the community, who exploit the people to establish their leadership, teach the community emotionalism instead of realism; they teach the community to live in wishful thinking, instead of admitting the truth. In short, instead of making the community attentive to God, they turn it away from God by making it attend to worldly concerns. Thus misleading the community, they bring about its destruction.
When leaders of this kind dominate a community, it is to be expected that God has taken a decision to destroy it. Every event of this type happens by God’s will, for no deed or misdeed of any person or community is hidden from Him.
We give whatever We will to whoever desires immediate gains; but then We have prepared Hell for him which he will enter, disgraced and rejected. Anyone who desires the Hereafter and makes a proper effort to achieve it, being a true believer, shall find favour with God for his endeavours. (17: 18-19)
In the present world as man travels towards his ultimate destination, he finds himself standing before a fork in the road. One side leads to the path of immediate gains, while the other is a path on which everything is to be given on merit. One who follows the first path chooses instant benefit (ajilah), whereas one who follows the other path chooses the Hereafter (akhirah).
On the one hand, man has before him the way of opportunism, which leads him straight to immediate honour and wealth. On the other hand, there is the way of infinite love of truth, the credit for which man will receive only when he begins his life after death. If a man has a grievance, one way of dealing with it is to become vindictive and vengeful. The other option is to forgive and, offering prayers to God, leave the whole matter in His hands. Similarly, man may spend his wealth in fulfilling his desires and furthering his ambitions, or he may spend it for the cause of God.
Likewise, there are two different ways of dealing with life’s contingencies: one is to fulfil one’s own desires, while the other is to dedicate oneself to the worship of God. One is to give importance to appearances, the other is to give credence to the reality of the unseen; one is the way of expediency, while the other is the way of principle. The former bears the mark of impatience while the latter makes manifest the virtue of patience.
The first way is associated with temporary gain followed by eternal deprivation. The second way is that of temporary loss followed by everlasting honour and success.
Upon all, both these [who desire the world] and those [who desire the Hereafter] We bestow the bounty of your Lord: none shall be denied the bounty of your Lord—see how We have exalted some above others [in the present life]. Yet the Hereafter shall be greater in degrees of rank and greater in excellence. (17: 20-21)
Be it in this world or in the Hereafter, success results from availing of the opportunities provided by God. For those who have made success in the life Hereafter the goal of their lives, God has made such dispositions as will facilitate the spiritual journey leading to that success in the next world.
One can see that in this world some people are ahead of others, while some are lagging behind. Some have more and some have less. These are ways of telling us in the language of symbols, that there is no limit to opportunities in this world of God. The harder one works the more one achieves. Similarly, the more one is involved in Hereafteroriented activities, the greater the reward one will receive in the Hereafter. Furthermore, whatever one receives in the next world will be eternal, while whatever one receives in this world will be ephemeral in nature.