6. Al-An'aam

Our earth is a unique phenomenon in the whole universe. The system prevailing here has been made congenial to the conditions of God’s creatures—human beings. A major part of the interior of the earth consists of fire but it does not burst open. The sun is at exactly the right distance mathematically, and does not move closer or farther away. A man always needs air and water; so air has been spread over the earth in gaseous form and water has been stored under the surface of the earth in liquid form. There are countless similar arrangements that are constantly maintained in the right proportions on the earth. If there were even a slight variation in these, it would be impossible for a human being to live here. Sleep is a wonderful thing. Man roams about here and there; he sees and speaks; but when he sleeps all his senses become suspended, just as if life had oozed out of them. When he has had his full sleep and wakes up, he becomes as active as before. This is, so to say, an example of life and death. This event demonstrates how a man will die and how he will be resurrected, i.e. be brought back to life. These events prove that all men are in the power of God and soon that Day will come when God will take fateful decisions about them in the exercise of His powers.

Our earth is a unique phenomenon in the whole universe. The system prevailing here has been made congenial to the conditions of God’s creatures—human beings. A major part of the interior of the earth consists of fire but it does not burst open. The sun is at exactly the right distance mathematically, and does not move closer or farther away. A man always needs air and water; so air has been spread over the earth in gaseous form and water has been stored under the surface of the earth in liquid form. There are countless similar arrangements that are constantly maintained in the right proportions on the earth. If there were even a slight variation in these, it would be impossible for a human being to live here. Sleep is a wonderful thing. Man roams about here and there; he sees and speaks; but when he sleeps all his senses become suspended, just as if life had oozed out of them. When he has had his full sleep and wakes up, he becomes as active as before. This is, so to say, an example of life and death. This event demonstrates how a man will die and how he will be resurrected, i.e. be brought back to life. These events prove that all men are in the power of God and soon that Day will come when God will take fateful decisions about them in the exercise of His powers.

No other living creature in this world faces so many troubles as human beings do. This is so, because man is intended to be subjected to adverse conditions so that all artificial, unreal thoughts are driven out of his mind, and he is able to see his own true nature. The fact is that whenever a man confronts any major trouble, he starts single-mindedly calling upon God. At that time, all the man-made veils are swept away from his mind. He comes to realise that in this world man is completely humble and helpless, and it is God alone who has all the power. But as soon as his troubles are eased, he reverts to his usual neglect and recklessness and becomes the same man as he was earlier.

Basically, polytheism (shirk) is the reposing of one’s faith in some entity other than God, while monotheism is directing of man’s entire faith solely towards God. One form of polytheism is that which involves worship of deities and of other phenomena. But exhibiting ingratitude instead of gratitude is also ‘shirk’. The more common form of shirk is that whereby a man makes a deity of himself; he starts having faith only in himself. When a man proves to be vain, it is as if he has faith in his efforts alone. When a man considers his earnings as actually having been generated by him, he in fact has faith only in his own talents. When a man overlooks another’s right, he thinks that nobody can inflict any punishment on him for doing so. When a man dares to oppress another, he thinks that he has full powers over the wronged person and there is nobody to prevent him from doing whatever he likes to him. All these are forms of vanity and pride. And pride is—before God—the worst type of shirk, because indulging in this amounts to placing oneself in the position of God.

Basically, polytheism (shirk) is the reposing of one’s faith in some entity other than God, while monotheism is directing of man’s entire faith solely towards God. One form of polytheism is that which involves worship of deities and of other phenomena. But exhibiting ingratitude instead of gratitude is also ‘shirk’. The more common form of shirk is that whereby a man makes a deity of himself; he starts having faith only in himself. When a man proves to be vain, it is as if he has faith in his efforts alone. When a man considers his earnings as actually having been generated by him, he in fact has faith only in his own talents. When a man overlooks another’s right, he thinks that nobody can inflict any punishment on him for doing so. When a man dares to oppress another, he thinks that he has full powers over the wronged person and there is nobody to prevent him from doing whatever he likes to him. All these are forms of vanity and pride. And pride is—before God—the worst type of shirk, because indulging in this amounts to placing oneself in the position of God.

If due consideration were to be given to the human condition, no one would ever be proud. Man is buffeted by winds which can turn into a cyclone at any time and completely wreck his life; he stands on land which can at any time be rent apart by earthquakes; he lives in a society which is so fraught with internal enmities that even a spark is enough to push the whole of society into a bloodbath.

If due consideration were to be given to the human condition, no one would ever be proud. Man is buffeted by winds which can turn into a cyclone at any time and completely wreck his life; he stands on land which can at any time be rent apart by earthquakes; he lives in a society which is so fraught with internal enmities that even a spark is enough to push the whole of society into a bloodbath.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that God fixed a religious festival day (‘Id) for every community, the purpose being that on that day they should glorify God, offer prayers to Him and fill the whole day with His remembrance. Those who came later made their religious festival (‘Id) a day of fun and frolic. (Tafsir Kabir). There is a purpose behind every religious activity and then there is its outward aspect too. The purpose of ‘Id’ is the collective demonstration of the glorification of God and His remembrance. But too much attention is paid to the externals of ‘Id—for example, the wearing of good clothes, arrangements for group activities, etc. Now, making ‘Id a mere event of fun and frolic amounts to neglecting its real purpose, which becomes forgotten in the fuss which is made about its outward and material aspects, such as a show of good clothes and possessions, the hustle and bustle of shopping, arrangements for entertainment, and the pomp which goes with a show of one’s position, etc.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that God fixed a religious festival day (‘Id) for every community, the purpose being that on that day they should glorify God, offer prayers to Him and fill the whole day with His remembrance. Those who came later made their religious festival (‘Id) a day of fun and frolic. (Tafsir Kabir). There is a purpose behind every religious activity and then there is its outward aspect too. The purpose of ‘Id’ is the collective demonstration of the glorification of God and His remembrance. But too much attention is paid to the externals of ‘Id—for example, the wearing of good clothes, arrangements for group activities, etc. Now, making ‘Id a mere event of fun and frolic amounts to neglecting its real purpose, which becomes forgotten in the fuss which is made about its outward and material aspects, such as a show of good clothes and possessions, the hustle and bustle of shopping, arrangements for entertainment, and the pomp which goes with a show of one’s position, etc.