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 AD 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 KhanIn the name of God the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful
Alif Lam Mim Sad
This Book has been sent down to you—let there be no heaviness in your heart about it—so that you may warn by means of it and it is a reminder to the believers. Follow what has been sent down to you by your Lord and do not follow any protector other than Him. How seldom you take heed. (7: 1-3)
The Book of God is, in essence, a book of guidance. But as such it is of value only to the few who have kept their consciences alive. For the others, it amounts only to a warning of the impending grievous fate towards which they are moving because of their arrogance. The preacher of truth is concerned to see that what he sees as the absolute truth is being rejected by the majority of the people who consider it a falsehood. What is paramount in his eyes is treated by people with unconcern, as if it had no substance, as if it were completely unreal.
This is a world of trial. Here, everybody has the opportunity and the liberty to accept or reject the truth as he pleases, and even find clever words to justify his stand. But this position is a temporary one. As soon as the period of trial comes to an end, it will be revealed to all that the preacher’s words were based on eternal truths; that it was sheer bias and egotism on his opponents’ part which prevented them from seeing the Truth at the core of his arguments. It will become clear at that time that the arguments advanced by them to contradict the preacher’s words were simply a falsification of the facts and not a form of reasoning in any real sense.
How many towns We have destroyed. Our scourge fell upon them by night or at midday when they were resting: and when Our scourge fell upon them, their only cry was, ‘We were indeed wrongdoers!’ Then shall We question those to whom Our message was sent and those through whom We sent it with full knowledge, We shall tell them what they did, for We have never been away from them. Truth alone will be of weight that Day. Those whose scales are heavy shall be successful, and those whose good deeds are light [in the balance] will be the ones who have lost themselves because they wrongfully rejected Our signs. (7: 4-9)
In this world, the importance of an individual is gauged by the material splendour surrounding him, and his ability to influence people with his impressive words, and thus have a massive following. Since the preacher is not generally in such a happy position, his word is valueless in the eyes of worldly people, while the words of his opponents, who bask in material grandeur have a greater impact. But when Doomsday uncovers all the facts, the position will be just the opposite. Now, all the weight will be on the side of the Truth: Falsehood will be divested of all its arguments and will be rendered valueless.
We established you in the land and provided you with a means of livelihood there: yet you are seldom thankful. (7: 10)
Whatever God has bestowed upon man in this world has been given for the purpose of eliciting his gratitude. But this is the very thing which man does not offer to his Lord. The reason is that Satan contrives to distort his feelings and steers him away from any expression of gratitude.