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 AD. 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
THE PEN
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Noon (a letter of the Arabic alphabet); By the pen, and all that they write! (68: 1)
‘By the pen, and all that they write’ refers to historical record. In historical records of human memoirs accumulated and preserved in the shape of history, the Quran is an exceptional book and the bearer of that book an exceptional personality. This quality of being exceptional cannot be explained unless the Quran is accepted as the book of God and Muhammad as His Prophet.
By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. For you are truly of a sublime character. (68: 2-4)
Having a sublime character means rising above the standard of others’ behaviour. It should not be the believer’s way to deal badly with those who are not good to him, while giving fair treatment to those who are good to him. On the contrary, he should do good to everybody, even though others may not do the same for him. The character of the Prophet was of the latter type, which proves that he was a man of principle. He was not a product of circumstances, but of his own high principles. His sublime character was consistent with his claim to be a prophet.
Soon you will see, as will they, which of you is a prey to madness. Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. Do not give in to the deniers of truth. They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; just because he has wealth and sons, when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, ‘These are just ancient fables’. Soon We will brand him on the nose. (68: 5-16)
‘Do not give in to the deniers of truth’ means that the words of those who deny the truth are not worthy of acceptance. On the one hand, there is the upholder of Truth, who has taken his stand by virtue of reasoning. There is no contradiction between his words and his actions. On the other hand, there are his opponents who are of low character and have nothing to their credit except for false utterances. The missionary of Truth relies on Truth, whereas his opponents rely on their material status. The missionary of Truth is a follower of principles, unlike his opponents who are unprincipled, and whose views are highly inconsistent. For one who has a sound mind, this difference is enough to show who is on the right path and who is not.