6. Al-An'aam

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.

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.

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.

In the present world of trial, man has every opportunity to find pretexts or justifications for anything that suits his interests. There are some who appear to listen to God’s message, but if from the outset they are prejudiced, the truth falls on deaf ears and so fails to touch their hearts. They set up mental barriers and, because of this, have no idea of their religious duties, even after they have been carefully explained to them. Arguments, no matter how clearly stated, fail to convince them because, whenever they allow anything of religious significance to cross these barriers, it is with the intention of disputing it, rather than receiving guidance from it. They have no intention of hearing or understanding anything of moral import. As a result, the relevant aspects of any such issue do not come within their mental grasp. Moreover, they are ever ready to present religious matters in a contorted manner. Correct arguments have no influence upon them. Due to their perverseness, they seek out in all ethical questions certain facts which they can misrepresent in order to delude themselves and others that they are on the right path.

In the present world of trial, man has every opportunity to find pretexts or justifications for anything that suits his interests. There are some who appear to listen to God’s message, but if from the outset they are prejudiced, the truth falls on deaf ears and so fails to touch their hearts. They set up mental barriers and, because of this, have no idea of their religious duties, even after they have been carefully explained to them. Arguments, no matter how clearly stated, fail to convince them because, whenever they allow anything of religious significance to cross these barriers, it is with the intention of disputing it, rather than receiving guidance from it. They have no intention of hearing or understanding anything of moral import. As a result, the relevant aspects of any such issue do not come within their mental grasp. Moreover, they are ever ready to present religious matters in a contorted manner. Correct arguments have no influence upon them. Due to their perverseness, they seek out in all ethical questions certain facts which they can misrepresent in order to delude themselves and others that they are on the right path.

For people who have this temperament, all moralizing is in vain, because in this world of trial there is no such rule as prevents them from fabricating counter arguments. Even if they do not manage to concoct such arguments, they will contemptuously ignore the truth, saying, ‘What is new in this? This is the same old story which we have been hearing for such a long time.’ In this way, even after being convinced of the veracity of moral precepts, they will find some excuse to reject them. Before God such people are doubly guilty, because not only do they themselves refrain from admitting the Truth, but they also make the Divine argument seem dubious to people in general by distorting its true meaning; they have so little understanding themselves that they are unable to make any profound analysis of the subject. In the life of this world, such people make very tall claims, and because they lose nothing by denying the Truth, they mislead themselves and others. But on the Day of Judgement, when they are called to account and threatened with Hellfire, the Truth will overwhelm them. Suddenly they will start accepting those very principles which they had denied in this life.

For people who have this temperament, all moralizing is in vain, because in this world of trial there is no such rule as prevents them from fabricating counter arguments. Even if they do not manage to concoct such arguments, they will contemptuously ignore the truth, saying, ‘What is new in this? This is the same old story which we have been hearing for such a long time.’ In this way, even after being convinced of the veracity of moral precepts, they will find some excuse to reject them. Before God such people are doubly guilty, because not only do they themselves refrain from admitting the Truth, but they also make the Divine argument seem dubious to people in general by distorting its true meaning; they have so little understanding themselves that they are unable to make any profound analysis of the subject. In the life of this world, such people make very tall claims, and because they lose nothing by denying the Truth, they mislead themselves and others. But on the Day of Judgement, when they are called to account and threatened with Hellfire, the Truth will overwhelm them. Suddenly they will start accepting those very principles which they had denied in this life.

Whenever a man denies the Truth or follows the desires of his self, it is because he does not live his life in this world on the understanding that he will be resurrected after death and made to stand before the Lord of the universe to give an account of himself in everyday life. Man has been given a certain power which he uses unhesitatingly. He has the material prop of wealth, and friends and companions on whom he relies. He has been given a brain, which he uses to think out arrogant strategies and find clever pretexts for his transgressions. The success of his initiatives deceives him; he starts placing false reliance on things other than God, and imagines that the position he enjoys today is of a perennial nature. He forgets that whatever he has been given in this world is only by way of trial and is not a matter of entitlement. This type of life is thoroughly sinful, whether led in open denial of the Hereafter or without actually uttering the words of denial. On what basis does man rush towards worldly things—thinking them his own? Man has not paid any fee for the sunlight in which he walks or for the air he breathes. No part or ingredient of the earth from which he derives the wherewithal to live has been made by him. None of the favourite things towards which he rushes can he call his own. When these things have not been created by man, should not the Lord of all these things have any right over man? The fact is that man’s very utilisation of the present world makes it only logical that he should be made to stand before his Lord on the day of reckoning.

Whenever a man denies the Truth or follows the desires of his self, it is because he does not live his life in this world on the understanding that he will be resurrected after death and made to stand before the Lord of the universe to give an account of himself in everyday life. Man has been given a certain power which he uses unhesitatingly. He has the material prop of wealth, and friends and companions on whom he relies. He has been given a brain, which he uses to think out arrogant strategies and find clever pretexts for his transgressions. The success of his initiatives deceives him; he starts placing false reliance on things other than God, and imagines that the position he enjoys today is of a perennial nature. He forgets that whatever he has been given in this world is only by way of trial and is not a matter of entitlement. This type of life is thoroughly sinful, whether led in open denial of the Hereafter or without actually uttering the words of denial. On what basis does man rush towards worldly things—thinking them his own? Man has not paid any fee for the sunlight in which he walks or for the air he breathes. No part or ingredient of the earth from which he derives the wherewithal to live has been made by him. None of the favourite things towards which he rushes can he call his own. When these things have not been created by man, should not the Lord of all these things have any right over man? The fact is that man’s very utilisation of the present world makes it only logical that he should be made to stand before his Lord on the day of reckoning.