6. Al-An'aam

In this world communicating the Word of God is a task of some complexity. This is because God has ordained that the Truth be veiled in doubt, so that man may find reasons for rejecting it alongside arguments in support of its acceptance. The real test of man is that he should be able to tear down the veil of doubt and raise himself to the position of certainty. He should eschew doubt in all its guises and take a firm hold of the divine Truth. Believing without seeing is the real test of man. When reality is made visible, its acceptance has no value. Man denies the obvious truth. On obtaining power, he degrades others. One man makes another the victim of his tyranny. Why is this so? Does man wield absolute power in this world? Is there nobody here to stay his hand? Is there a combination of opposites in God’s regime, given that He seems to have filled man’s world with oppression and injustice and the rest of the world with mercy and meaningfulness? No, it is not so. God, who is the Lord of Heaven and earth, is also the Lord of that creature who toils during the day and rests at night. Just as God’s grace is given unstintingly to the universe, so also is it given to human beings. The difference is that for the rest of the world, His grace is fully in evidence right from the first day, whereas for the world of human beings, His grace will be fully shown on the Day of Judgement.

In this world communicating the Word of God is a task of some complexity. This is because God has ordained that the Truth be veiled in doubt, so that man may find reasons for rejecting it alongside arguments in support of its acceptance. The real test of man is that he should be able to tear down the veil of doubt and raise himself to the position of certainty. He should eschew doubt in all its guises and take a firm hold of the divine Truth. Believing without seeing is the real test of man. When reality is made visible, its acceptance has no value. Man denies the obvious truth. On obtaining power, he degrades others. One man makes another the victim of his tyranny. Why is this so? Does man wield absolute power in this world? Is there nobody here to stay his hand? Is there a combination of opposites in God’s regime, given that He seems to have filled man’s world with oppression and injustice and the rest of the world with mercy and meaningfulness? No, it is not so. God, who is the Lord of Heaven and earth, is also the Lord of that creature who toils during the day and rests at night. Just as God’s grace is given unstintingly to the universe, so also is it given to human beings. The difference is that for the rest of the world, His grace is fully in evidence right from the first day, whereas for the world of human beings, His grace will be fully shown on the Day of Judgement.

In this world communicating the Word of God is a task of some complexity. This is because God has ordained that the Truth be veiled in doubt, so that man may find reasons for rejecting it alongside arguments in support of its acceptance. The real test of man is that he should be able to tear down the veil of doubt and raise himself to the position of certainty. He should eschew doubt in all its guises and take a firm hold of the divine Truth. Believing without seeing is the real test of man. When reality is made visible, its acceptance has no value. Man denies the obvious truth. On obtaining power, he degrades others. One man makes another the victim of his tyranny. Why is this so? Does man wield absolute power in this world? Is there nobody here to stay his hand? Is there a combination of opposites in God’s regime, given that He seems to have filled man’s world with oppression and injustice and the rest of the world with mercy and meaningfulness? No, it is not so. God, who is the Lord of Heaven and earth, is also the Lord of that creature who toils during the day and rests at night. Just as God’s grace is given unstintingly to the universe, so also is it given to human beings. The difference is that for the rest of the world, His grace is fully in evidence right from the first day, whereas for the world of human beings, His grace will be fully shown on the Day of Judgement.

Man is a creature with a will of his own and that is why voluntary worship is required of him. Those who do not choose to exercise their will rightly, do not deserve a share in God’s bounties, not having fulfilled the purpose of their creation. After the period of trial is over, all human beings will be gathered in a new world. On that Day God will take into His hands the direct control of the rest of the world. On that Day God’s scale of justice will be operative. On that Day those who admitted the reality and surrendered themselves to God will come to the fore and those who did not, having led a life of arrogance and obstinacy in the world, will be the losers. Whenever a man adopts an arrogant stance, it is on the basis of some backing. But the things on which his arrogance depends for support have no value in this universe. Nothing has any power here, for the sole possessor of power is God. All are dependent on Him and He is not dependent on anyone. So, on the Day of Judgement, only those who had sought out the real support, who had made the true faith the religion of their lives, will be successful.

Man is a creature with a will of his own and that is why voluntary worship is required of him. Those who do not choose to exercise their will rightly, do not deserve a share in God’s bounties, not having fulfilled the purpose of their creation. After the period of trial is over, all human beings will be gathered in a new world. On that Day God will take into His hands the direct control of the rest of the world. On that Day God’s scale of justice will be operative. On that Day those who admitted the reality and surrendered themselves to God will come to the fore and those who did not, having led a life of arrogance and obstinacy in the world, will be the losers. Whenever a man adopts an arrogant stance, it is on the basis of some backing. But the things on which his arrogance depends for support have no value in this universe. Nothing has any power here, for the sole possessor of power is God. All are dependent on Him and He is not dependent on anyone. So, on the Day of Judgement, only those who had sought out the real support, who had made the true faith the religion of their lives, will be successful.

Man is a creature with a will of his own and that is why voluntary worship is required of him. Those who do not choose to exercise their will rightly, do not deserve a share in God’s bounties, not having fulfilled the purpose of their creation. After the period of trial is over, all human beings will be gathered in a new world. On that Day God will take into His hands the direct control of the rest of the world. On that Day God’s scale of justice will be operative. On that Day those who admitted the reality and surrendered themselves to God will come to the fore and those who did not, having led a life of arrogance and obstinacy in the world, will be the losers. Whenever a man adopts an arrogant stance, it is on the basis of some backing. But the things on which his arrogance depends for support have no value in this universe. Nothing has any power here, for the sole possessor of power is God. All are dependent on Him and He is not dependent on anyone. So, on the Day of Judgement, only those who had sought out the real support, who had made the true faith the religion of their lives, will be successful.

The different parts of the vast universe spread out before us are so interconnected that for an event to occur, the coordination of the whole universe is necessary. This being so, no human being is capable of causing any event to occur, because no human being is in control of the universe. Here, even a small event takes place only when countless universal factors combine to set it in motion, and God alone is the controller of these factors. Amidst these universal factors, man is only the possessor of a will. The fact is that in this world whether one receives blessings or afflictions, both conditions come about by the direct orders of God. In view of this, it is utter foolishness for a man to think that he can save one or destroy another. It is also quite meaningless for a man to fear or build his hopes on anybody except God.

The different parts of the vast universe spread out before us are so interconnected that for an event to occur, the coordination of the whole universe is necessary. This being so, no human being is capable of causing any event to occur, because no human being is in control of the universe. Here, even a small event takes place only when countless universal factors combine to set it in motion, and God alone is the controller of these factors. Amidst these universal factors, man is only the possessor of a will. The fact is that in this world whether one receives blessings or afflictions, both conditions come about by the direct orders of God. In view of this, it is utter foolishness for a man to think that he can save one or destroy another. It is also quite meaningless for a man to fear or build his hopes on anybody except God.

Reality is a familiar thing for man, because it is part of man’s own nature and it speaks the same silent language throughout the universe. This was truer of the Jews and the Christians, because their Prophets and their scriptures had clearly heralded the advent of the last of the Prophets and the Quran. So, for them to know about this was as good as knowing their own sons. In spite of things being so clear, why do people not accept the Truth? It is because of the fear of some immediate loss. The cost of acceptance of the Truth is that man has to pull himself down from a high status; he has to come out of the sphere of conformism and give up ready-made advantages. When a man is not ready to make these sacrifices, he does not accept the Truth, and for the sake of instant gain, he pushes himself into a position of eternal loss. If he has a false sense of satisfaction with the stand he has taken, it is because in this world of trial he is always successful in finding explanations and justifications in his support; he readily finds the words to reject arguments in favour of the Truth—so much so that he feels free to wilfully misinterpret truth and claim that the ‘real Truth’ is that which he has adopted. Whenever a man makes entities other than God the centre of his attention, a magical halo gradually forms around them. He indulges in such wishful thinking as gives him the illusion that he has a firm hold of a very strong support. But, on the Day of Judgement, when all the veils are torn asunder, and when he sees that all the supports except that of God were absolutely false, he will have no alternative but to contradict his own statements. In other words, such people at that time will become witnesses against their own falsity. In the Hereafter they will become the rejecters of those very things of which they had been proud of being attached to. The edifice of false beliefs and explanations they had constructed will be so totally destroyed that it will seem never to have existed.