2. Al-Baqara

God alone has created man and all that is in the heavens and on earth. He has invested the world with profound significance and He constantly looks after its needs. The proper course for a man is to take God as his Creator, Master and Sustainer, and not attempt to set up anyone as a partner with Him; that is, a man should give himself up entirely to God. But since He is invisible, it often happens that man gives importance to some visible object and worships that instead of God. He equates the created with the Creator—sometimes just a part of it and sometimes creation in its entirety, at times calling it by the name of God and at times doing so without taking God’s name. Therein lies man’s basic error. The prophets taught man to glorify God alone, and forsake the other things that he had elevated to a position of glory. People whose hearts are attached to objects other than God consider the call of true religion repugnant. They have become so greatly attached to their supposed ‘deities’ that they cannot believe that they are unreal. They cannot believe that the truth is what is proclaimed by a mortal just like themselves.

God alone has created man and all that is in the heavens and on earth. He has invested the world with profound significance and He constantly looks after its needs. The proper course for a man is to take God as his Creator, Master and Sustainer, and not attempt to set up anyone as a partner with Him; that is, a man should give himself up entirely to God. But since He is invisible, it often happens that man gives importance to some visible object and worships that instead of God. He equates the created with the Creator—sometimes just a part of it and sometimes creation in its entirety, at times calling it by the name of God and at times doing so without taking God’s name. Therein lies man’s basic error. The prophets taught man to glorify God alone, and forsake the other things that he had elevated to a position of glory. People whose hearts are attached to objects other than God consider the call of true religion repugnant. They have become so greatly attached to their supposed ‘deities’ that they cannot believe that they are unreal. They cannot believe that the truth is what is proclaimed by a mortal just like themselves.

God alone has created man and all that is in the heavens and on earth. He has invested the world with profound significance and He constantly looks after its needs. The proper course for a man is to take God as his Creator, Master and Sustainer, and not attempt to set up anyone as a partner with Him; that is, a man should give himself up entirely to God. But since He is invisible, it often happens that man gives importance to some visible object and worships that instead of God. He equates the created with the Creator—sometimes just a part of it and sometimes creation in its entirety, at times calling it by the name of God and at times doing so without taking God’s name. Therein lies man’s basic error. The prophets taught man to glorify God alone, and forsake the other things that he had elevated to a position of glory. People whose hearts are attached to objects other than God consider the call of true religion repugnant. They have become so greatly attached to their supposed ‘deities’ that they cannot believe that they are unreal. They cannot believe that the truth is what is proclaimed by a mortal just like themselves.

God alone has created man and all that is in the heavens and on earth. He has invested the world with profound significance and He constantly looks after its needs. The proper course for a man is to take God as his Creator, Master and Sustainer, and not attempt to set up anyone as a partner with Him; that is, a man should give himself up entirely to God. But since He is invisible, it often happens that man gives importance to some visible object and worships that instead of God. He equates the created with the Creator—sometimes just a part of it and sometimes creation in its entirety, at times calling it by the name of God and at times doing so without taking God’s name. Therein lies man’s basic error. The prophets taught man to glorify God alone, and forsake the other things that he had elevated to a position of glory. People whose hearts are attached to objects other than God consider the call of true religion repugnant. They have become so greatly attached to their supposed ‘deities’ that they cannot believe that they are unreal. They cannot believe that the truth is what is proclaimed by a mortal just like themselves.

The call of truth is indisputably marked with a divine radiance. Its inimitable style and its irrefutable reasoning go to show that it is a message from God. Those who deny it, irrespective of this, shall find no refuge in God’s universe. Those who find God in the word of God are already given a glimpse of the next world. They are the ones who shall be admitted into the gardens of Paradise.

Man’s first duty to God is to be true to the covenant made between the Creator and His creatures at the beginning of the world, namely, that man should remain God’s servant. Then, his conduct towards his fellow men should be such that all the ties that God has enjoined man to keep may be consolidated. Thirdly, man should not turn people away from following the divine call raised by one of God’s servants by inventing groundless arguments against it. The message of truth seeks to harmonize man with his own nature: those who prevent others from receiving it are guilty of spreading corruption in the land. God has created man from nothing. This is a favour great enough to make man completely surrender himself to God. But God has not just created man and left it at that: He has given him an earth made to suit his needs perfectly. But there is more to the matter than merely this. Immediately after his demise, he will be brought before the Lord of the Universe to be judged. This state of affairs demands that he devote himself entirely to God; that he remember and obey God throughout his life, forever remaining His humble servant. When the divine message is so clear and reasonable, why do people not accept it? The chief cause is unwillingness to learn. This manifests itself in various ways: deliberate denigration of God’s message, attempts to belittle it by finding flaws in it, or misrepresenting it as irrational or concerned with mere trivialities. One who is not willing to learn from sound advice does not think seriously about it. When some argument is presented to him, he looks at it superficially and sets about finding some shortcomings in it. But those who are willing to learn take the trouble to give those arguments serious thought and they do not take long to realize that they are faced with the truth. It does not make any difference to them that the truth has been explained in parables of mere gnats, and other equally insignificant creatures.

Man’s first duty to God is to be true to the covenant made between the Creator and His creatures at the beginning of the world, namely, that man should remain God’s servant. Then, his conduct towards his fellow men should be such that all the ties that God has enjoined man to keep may be consolidated. Thirdly, man should not turn people away from following the divine call raised by one of God’s servants by inventing groundless arguments against it. The message of truth seeks to harmonize man with his own nature: those who prevent others from receiving it are guilty of spreading corruption in the land. God has created man from nothing. This is a favour great enough to make man completely surrender himself to God. But God has not just created man and left it at that: He has given him an earth made to suit his needs perfectly. But there is more to the matter than merely this. Immediately after his demise, he will be brought before the Lord of the Universe to be judged. This state of affairs demands that he devote himself entirely to God; that he remember and obey God throughout his life, forever remaining His humble servant. When the divine message is so clear and reasonable, why do people not accept it? The chief cause is unwillingness to learn. This manifests itself in various ways: deliberate denigration of God’s message, attempts to belittle it by finding flaws in it, or misrepresenting it as irrational or concerned with mere trivialities. One who is not willing to learn from sound advice does not think seriously about it. When some argument is presented to him, he looks at it superficially and sets about finding some shortcomings in it. But those who are willing to learn take the trouble to give those arguments serious thought and they do not take long to realize that they are faced with the truth. It does not make any difference to them that the truth has been explained in parables of mere gnats, and other equally insignificant creatures.

God has created man from nothing. This is a favour great enough to make man completely surrender himself to God. But God has not just created man and left it at that: He has given him an earth made to suit his needs perfectly. But there is more to the matter than merely this. Immediately after his demise, he will be brought before the Lord of the Universe to be judged. This state of affairs demands that he devote himself entirely to God; that he remember and obey God throughout his life, forever remaining His humble servant.

The literal meaning of ‘khalifah’ or ‘caliph’ is ‘one who takes another’s place’—a successor. In the age of hereditary rule, it was generally used for a monarch who took the place of his predecessor. According to this usage, the word came to refer to one invested with power. When God created man to dwell on earth, He decreed that he might enjoy freedom of will. The angels became apprehensive of man being corrupted by this grant of power and free will and, as a consequence, spreading evil and causing bloodshed in the world. History showed that their fears were well founded. God was also fully aware of this possibility. But He had a particular reason for investing man with power and freedom on earth. If many human beings were to be corrupted by their power, there would also be a substantial number who, in spite of their power and freedom on earth, would acknowledge God’s greatness and power and their own helplessness. Such people would, of their own free will, adopt the path of submission and obedience to God. Although comparatively few in number, they would be specially prized above all others. They would be just like the food grains at harvest time, which, although greatly outweighed in bulk by chaff and straw, are the truly valued part of the crop. (Indeed if the chaff and straw are permitted to grow, it is solely so that people may have access to grain.)