7. Al-A'raaf

Moses was given dawah commands in Egypt, while laws were communicated to him after he reached the Sinai desert. This shows the order of divine injunctions. In general situations, what is required of the believers is to rectify their personal life and live as true devotees of God, and along with this, they must invite others to accept monotheism and the Hereafter-oriented life. But when the believers acquire the position of an independent community and have the freedom to organize themselves as the Israelites did in the Sinai desert, then it becomes incumbent on them to establish their social life on the basis of the Islamic law. When Moses appointed Aaron as guardian of the Israelites in his absence, he said to him, ‘Take my place among my people: act rightly and do not follow the way of those who spread corruption.’ This shows the basic principle of shouldering one’s responsibilities as the head of the community.

Moses wanted to see God, but when he learnt that it was not possible to do so, he turned to God in repentance and reposed his faith in God, the unseen. Thus man is put to the test of believing in God without seeing Him. Seeing God is a reward reserved for the Hereafter, so how is it possible to see God in this present world? Moses received his first prophetic call on the mountainside. The next time he was again called to the mountain to receive the commands of the Torah. This is an indication that the best place to receive divine inspiration is the environment of nature rather than that of human society. Where man emerges from the hubbub of this noisy world of human beings and reaches the quiet world of the trees, mountains and rivers, he begins to feel himself closer to God. His mind is free from mundane problems; it is not preoccupied with worldly thoughts, so this is the best moment for him to think without any bias or complexes which might affect his thinking. Then he can be in true communion with God.

Moses wanted to see God, but when he learnt that it was not possible to do so, he turned to God in repentance and reposed his faith in God, the unseen. Thus man is put to the test of believing in God without seeing Him. Seeing God is a reward reserved for the Hereafter, so how is it possible to see God in this present world? Moses received his first prophetic call on the mountainside. The next time he was again called to the mountain to receive the commands of the Torah. This is an indication that the best place to receive divine inspiration is the environment of nature rather than that of human society. Where man emerges from the hubbub of this noisy world of human beings and reaches the quiet world of the trees, mountains and rivers, he begins to feel himself closer to God. His mind is free from mundane problems; it is not preoccupied with worldly thoughts, so this is the best moment for him to think without any bias or complexes which might affect his thinking. Then he can be in true communion with God.

A prophet is also a man like other men. He is not a supernatural creature. His only special characteristic is that he is successful in preserving his inborn abilities intact. Therefore he is chosen by God to become the bearer of His message and may be trusted to represent Him among the people. In this sense, Moses was the best person of his community. Therefore, God chose him as His prophet, and revealed His message to him. God’s revelation provides the necessary guidance for one’s life. But these divine messages come down in the form of words, and in the present world of trial, there is always the possibility of putting a wrong or distorted construction upon these words to suit one’s own desires. But one who is serious and sincere in this matter of guidance and fears God for His chastisement or censure, will be able to draw from those words the same meaning which God wanted to convey. Thus it is only one who is desirous of finding the True Path who will receive divine inspiration from God’s words. ‘Soon I shall show you the homes of the wicked.’ That is, during your journey you will pass through the ruins of those communities that had been destroyed. They had been given God’s guidance, but they transgressed in their ways. They could not stay strong and firm in their belief, for they failed to ignore the pressures of circumstances and succumbed to their own personal desires and ambitions. So they earned God’s displeasure and were destroyed. Likewise, if the Children of Israel also disobeyed God, they would meet the same fate. God is not partial to any community in the balance of Divine justice; there is no difference between one community and another. In this world one has the opportunity to interpret God’s words according to one’s own whims and fancies and even put distorted interpretations upon them. But this is the kind of insolence which places even those who profess to be obedient on the list of disobedient persons in the eyes of God.

There are two ways of leading one’s life in this world. One way is to keep one’s eyes and ears open. Then one can see things as they really are. When truth appears, one will recognise it, for lessons are sure to be found in the signs of God which are in evidence everywhere in the universe. The other way to lead one’s life is to have a superiority complex. One who has such a complex lives as if he is the owner of this world. He does not care for anything except for his personal interests. He thinks that all the good things he is receiving in this world are thanks to his own ability and his own efforts. Therefore, he does not consider others’ needs. This attitude on his part comes in the way of his recognising and accepting the truth. The former type of man is mentally receptive to his environment. With his openness of mind he can understand the relevance of God’s signs and loses no time in moulding himself accordingly. Unlike him, the latter type of man is not receptive to his environment because of his pride and self-righteousness. He is confronted with the truth but, attaching no importance to it, he ignores it. Nature sings its melodies in silent language, but he pays no attention to it. He is not inclined towards any form of truth, which is outside his own beliefs. The world of the Hereafter is not for people of this category. Just as he ignored the message of God in this world of trials, so will he be ignored by God in the eternal world of the Hereafter, while those of the former type will be bountifully rewarded by God. Treading the path of misguidance is the result of man’s following the desires of his own self. The path of guidance can be arrived at when one rises above the influence of the self and one’s surroundings: it is a path opted for purely for the sake of God. The self-centred person who appreciates nothing but the fulfillment of his own desires rushes headlong towards the path of transgression. The right path appears strange and alien to his temperament, so he will fail to follow it. One who feels himself to be superior finds it easy to accept any proposition which does not diminish his sense of superiority. But where he thinks he will not receive due importance, he becomes disinterested.

There was a clever man named Samiri among the Israelites. When Moses left for the mountain, leaving his people in the care of Aaron, Samiri started misleading them. He collected pieces of jewellery from the people and moulded them into the shape of a calf. The sculpting art of the ancient Egyptians was such that when air passed through it, a bellowing sound came out of the calf’s mouth. People are generally awed by strange things. So this ‘miracle’ of the calf led them to believe that there was something sacred about it and they began worshipping it. Thanks to Samiri’s engaging way of speaking, people started gathering around him. His influence increased to such an extent that he soon acquired a large number of followers, except for Aaron and a few of his companions. Nobody dared to openly protest against him. In the face of this mass following, even the protests of Aaron were not strong enough to sway the people and no other member of the community had the courage to speak up. This has always been the reaction of the public from ancient times to the present day. A clever person by his sheer eloquence may draw a huge crowd, even on some non-issue. The public who are attracted to trivialities which are unrelated to the facts do not have the ability to think deeply enough to analyse what is true and what is not. That is why they rally to the side of such a person, thus adding to his popularity and importance. And if anyone attempts to reveal the truth, he is simply ignored in the same way as Aaron was.

There was a clever man named Samiri among the Israelites. When Moses left for the mountain, leaving his people in the care of Aaron, Samiri started misleading them. He collected pieces of jewellery from the people and moulded them into the shape of a calf. The sculpting art of the ancient Egyptians was such that when air passed through it, a bellowing sound came out of the calf’s mouth. People are generally awed by strange things. So this ‘miracle’ of the calf led them to believe that there was something sacred about it and they began worshipping it. Thanks to Samiri’s engaging way of speaking, people started gathering around him. His influence increased to such an extent that he soon acquired a large number of followers, except for Aaron and a few of his companions. Nobody dared to openly protest against him. In the face of this mass following, even the protests of Aaron were not strong enough to sway the people and no other member of the community had the courage to speak up. This has always been the reaction of the public from ancient times to the present day. A clever person by his sheer eloquence may draw a huge crowd, even on some non-issue. The public who are attracted to trivialities which are unrelated to the facts do not have the ability to think deeply enough to analyse what is true and what is not. That is why they rally to the side of such a person, thus adding to his popularity and importance. And if anyone attempts to reveal the truth, he is simply ignored in the same way as Aaron was.

There was a clever man named Samiri among the Israelites. When Moses left for the mountain, leaving his people in the care of Aaron, Samiri started misleading them. He collected pieces of jewellery from the people and moulded them into the shape of a calf. The sculpting art of the ancient Egyptians was such that when air passed through it, a bellowing sound came out of the calf’s mouth. People are generally awed by strange things. So this ‘miracle’ of the calf led them to believe that there was something sacred about it and they began worshipping it. Thanks to Samiri’s engaging way of speaking, people started gathering around him. His influence increased to such an extent that he soon acquired a large number of followers, except for Aaron and a few of his companions. Nobody dared to openly protest against him. In the face of this mass following, even the protests of Aaron were not strong enough to sway the people and no other member of the community had the courage to speak up. This has always been the reaction of the public from ancient times to the present day. A clever person by his sheer eloquence may draw a huge crowd, even on some non-issue. The public who are attracted to trivialities which are unrelated to the facts do not have the ability to think deeply enough to analyse what is true and what is not. That is why they rally to the side of such a person, thus adding to his popularity and importance. And if anyone attempts to reveal the truth, he is simply ignored in the same way as Aaron was.

When Moses came down from the Mountain and saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, he held Aaron responsible for this, under the impression that he had neglected his duty as a reformer. Moses caught hold of him in anger but Aaron clarified his position and told him that he had done all he could to show them the right path. But they had not listened to him. So Moses checked himself, and started praying to God for Aaron. Many misunderstandings take place between believers, but after clarification they return to normalcy, just as if no misunderstanding had ever taken place.