2. Al-Baqara

Once the Jews had set their minds against the message of Islam as being worthless, they became alarmed by the heartfelt acclaim with which many were receiving it. They considered themselves the only ones qualified to pass decrees on truth and falsehood: how could others be allowed to believe in what they themselves had chosen to disbelieve? The first step that they took was to incite the polytheists to rise up against the Muslims. Secondly, they tried to mislead Muslim converts about their new religion, putting doubts into their minds in the hope that they would revert to the religion of their forefathers. It was only natural that this should provoke the Muslims, but God told them that this was not the time for violent reaction. Muslims should always be patient, since patience prevents one from taking negative retaliatory measures in the heat of the moment. They should be steadfast in prayers, for prayer brings one closer to God. They should never fail in the payment of the prescribed alms (zakat), for a society in which the rich are willing to share with the poor will be based on compassion; there will be a real sense of togetherness among its members. The Jews used to tell new Muslim converts that if they had to forsake their ancestral religion, they should become Jews or Christians. Being the descendants of saints and prophets throughout history, they were the ones who would go to heaven. But the Quran tells us that one does not merit entry into heaven by dint of belonging to a certain community. Everyone will be judged according to his own actions. National status is of no significance in the sight of God. To be sincere in one’s faith is to become so devoted to God that everything else assumes secondary importance. Prejudices, personal loyalties, material or worldly interests should not come in the way of responding to the call of truth.

To the Israelites the criterion of truth was their association with the prophets and saints. That was why they believed that their community was in the right while other communities were in the wrong. As for the Christians, they considered themselves unique in that God’s ‘beloved son’ had been sent to them. Even the polytheists of Makkah thought of themselves as superior to others, basing their claim on the fact that they were the guardians of God’s Sacred House. Thus every nation had set its own self-styled religious standards, according to which they themselves inevitably appeared to be in the right, and everyone else in the wrong. Their actions, however, did not substantiate their claims. For one thing, they had become divided into sects, though all of them swore allegiance to the divine scriptures. They took every opportunity to deny others the right to enter places of worship, though they would say that they were doing this to protect the sanctity of these places. In fact they were ruining them, for places of worship become derelict when people are denied the right of worship there. If a worshipper has the correct attitude, he will never deny the right to worship to those who come to do so; he will never persecute those who come to serve the Lord. When one is truly conscious of God’s greatness and one’s own helplessness before Him, one’s humility will show in one’s dealings with others: one will not seek to harm one’s fellow men in any way, let alone deny them their fundamental right to worship God.

To the Israelites the criterion of truth was their association with the prophets and saints. That was why they believed that their community was in the right while other communities were in the wrong. As for the Christians, they considered themselves unique in that God’s ‘beloved son’ had been sent to them. Even the polytheists of Makkah thought of themselves as superior to others, basing their claim on the fact that they were the guardians of God’s Sacred House. Thus every nation had set its own self-styled religious standards, according to which they themselves inevitably appeared to be in the right, and everyone else in the wrong. Their actions, however, did not substantiate their claims. For one thing, they had become divided into sects, though all of them swore allegiance to the divine scriptures. They took every opportunity to deny others the right to enter places of worship, though they would say that they were doing this to protect the sanctity of these places. In fact they were ruining them, for places of worship become derelict when people are denied the right of worship there. If a worshipper has the correct attitude, he will never deny the right to worship to those who come to do so; he will never persecute those who come to serve the Lord. When one is truly conscious of God’s greatness and one’s own helplessness before Him, one’s humility will show in one’s dealings with others: one will not seek to harm one’s fellow men in any way, let alone deny them their fundamental right to worship God.

Another error into which they fell was to liken God to man. A human being, for instance, cannot be in two places at the same time, and, in consequence, people think that God is also to be found only in some particular place. But God is everywhere. True, He has prescribed a direction for us to face when we worship, but this is a purely organizational requirement for prayer; it does not mean that God is to be found in only one direction and not in any other. Another outcome of this basic misconception of God’s nature is people’s attributing a son to Him. But only those who have needs beget sons, and God is above all such imperfections and limitations. He is complete in Himself. Such beliefs do not stem from God; man has invented them himself.

Another error into which they fell was to liken God to man. A human being, for instance, cannot be in two places at the same time, and, in consequence, people think that God is also to be found only in some particular place. But God is everywhere. True, He has prescribed a direction for us to face when we worship, but this is a purely organizational requirement for prayer; it does not mean that God is to be found in only one direction and not in any other. Another outcome of this basic misconception of God’s nature is people’s attributing a son to Him. But only those who have needs beget sons, and God is above all such imperfections and limitations. He is complete in Himself. Such beliefs do not stem from God; man has invented them himself.

Another error into which they fell was to liken God to man. A human being, for instance, cannot be in two places at the same time, and, in consequence, people think that God is also to be found only in some particular place. But God is everywhere. True, He has prescribed a direction for us to face when we worship, but this is a purely organizational requirement for prayer; it does not mean that God is to be found in only one direction and not in any other. Another outcome of this basic misconception of God’s nature is people’s attributing a son to Him. But only those who have needs beget sons, and God is above all such imperfections and limitations. He is complete in Himself. Such beliefs do not stem from God; man has invented them himself.

Another error into which they fell was to liken God to man. A human being, for instance, cannot be in two places at the same time, and, in consequence, people think that God is also to be found only in some particular place. But God is everywhere. True, He has prescribed a direction for us to face when we worship, but this is a purely organizational requirement for prayer; it does not mean that God is to be found in only one direction and not in any other. Another outcome of this basic misconception of God’s nature is people’s attributing a son to Him. But only those who have needs beget sons, and God is above all such imperfections and limitations. He is complete in Himself. Such beliefs do not stem from God; man has invented them himself.

Another error into which they fell was to liken God to man. A human being, for instance, cannot be in two places at the same time, and, in consequence, people think that God is also to be found only in some particular place. But God is everywhere. True, He has prescribed a direction for us to face when we worship, but this is a purely organizational requirement for prayer; it does not mean that God is to be found in only one direction and not in any other. Another outcome of this basic misconception of God’s nature is people’s attributing a son to Him. But only those who have needs beget sons, and God is above all such imperfections and limitations. He is complete in Himself. Such beliefs do not stem from God; man has invented them himself.

All those whom God has sent to preach truth on earth have been confronted with the same kind of reaction. ‘If you are God’s envoy,’ people say to them, ‘Why are you not blessed with great worldly treasures?’ Such people themselves can think only in worldly terms, so they expect God’s messenger to come up to their materialistic standards. They cannot conceive of someone being God’s messenger who is not endowed with worldly grandeur. This is the reason the prophets of God have had to face opposition throughout the ages. How, people think, could a great God, whose kingdom encompasses everything, starting with the earth and going to the furthest expanse of the heavens, have chosen such an ordinary person as His messenger? The signs of God were reflected in the lives and teachings of His prophets; indeed, the prophets’ words and deeds, based as they were on truth, were manifestations of God’s signs. But people could not see such signs because they were too materialistic in their thinking. Their minds were moulded in such a manner that they acknowledged only tangible, visible signs of greatness; the invisible, but intensely meaningful signs that God gave His prophets meant nothing to them. When the preacher comes armed with forceful arguments based on truth, his hearers fail to comprehend them because of their negative mindset. In ancient times the Jews and Christians had been the bearers of divinely revealed religion on earth. When they went into decline, however, their religion was reduced to a set of ethnic customs: piety lay in belonging to their community and impiety in being apart from it. Their sole criterion for judging between truth and falsehood was the individual’s relation to his own community. This sectarian attitude prevented them from accepting genuine unadulterated religion when it was presented to them. True religion can be accepted only by those who are alive to their own true, human natures unlike those who, having suppressed their own true natures, have forsaken natural religion for artificial dogmas.