Quran 30-34 Al - Baqarah

Ayat 30 “ And when Thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a Viceroy in the Earth, they said: wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee! He said: surely I know that which Ye know not”.

Ayat 31 “And he taught Adam all the names, and showed them to the angels, saying : Inform me of these if ye are truthful”.

Ayat 32 They said: Be glorified! We have no  knowledge save that which thou has taught us. Lo, Thou, only Thou art the knower, the wise.

Ayat 33 He said: O. Adam! Inform them of their names and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and earth! And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide.

Ayat 34 And when we said unto the angels : Prostrate yourself before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis: He demurred through pride and so became a disbeliever.

From the above verses it is obvious that man is the Viceroy of Allah on the Earth, that he was given knowledge and on-going ability to learn and to seek the truth about the Universe. When Adam informed them of their names, Allah said: “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth.” It certainly means that He shared and introduced him to the secrets which mankind had to inherit from Adam. Man has ever since been inquisitive about the world he lives in.

A Viceroy follows the fundamental commands of his superior but deals with day-to -day administration according to circumstances keeping in mind the guidelines given to him.

If praising Allah and singing His hymn was the only objective, then Allah had angels to do so. But He had others plans for man.

Ever since man appeared on his earth whether by special creation or by evolutionary process, as some believe, the truth is that man has an undisputed ability to seek and acquire knowledge and has been doing so since his creation.

One of the issues that has always preoccupied his mind was! Is there a creator of the Universe?

The study of the history of development of human race clearly shows that man looked towards many heavenly objects and believed that a certain object was God. Man worshipped the sun, the moon and images of great people believing that represented God.

Allah could have let the humans find Him but this would have taken a very very long time. If we were to presume for argument’s sake that there were no revelation s from Allah and no Prophets, then even to-day man would have been in darkness about Allah.

Even if man had come to the conclusion that there was a creator of the universe, he would not have found a universal divine code for living and moral ethical and social structure. Man has made great strides in scientific, industrial and social field but a look at different civilizations leave us in no doubt that we differ in our approach to issues of moral /social nature.

Allah in his wisdom did not wish to leave us unguided till we found the eternal truth about Him. Therefore, He sent his Messengers from time to time to guide us towards two main objectives:

        1. His existence and its significance for man.
        2. To guide us towards a code of life on the earth.

He sent His messengers, particularly at the time when man was tempted and led astray. He taught humans the eternal truth about Himself and guided them to live with each other on this earth according to His commandments while persuing knowledge and secrets of heaven and earth.

He gave man a framework to safeguard him against the forces that could tempt him and distract him from the right path.

We know from history that whenever man lost his way, the consequences were disastrous.

I shall be looking into the background of that on-going conflict in the next chapter.

Al-Baqarah

Ayat 35 “And we said “O, Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat yee freely (of fruits) thereof where ye will but come not nigh this tree lest you become wrong-doers.”

Ayat 36 “But Satan caused them to deflect there from and expelled them from the happy state in which they were and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other. There shall be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time.”

Ayat 37 “Then Adam received from His Lord words of revelation and He relented towards Him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful.”

Ayat 38 “We said: Go down all of you from hence; but verily there cometh unto you from Me guidance and whosoever followed My guidance, there shall be no fear come upon them neither they shall grieve.”

Ayat 39 “But they who disbelieve and deny revelations, such are rightful owners of fire. They will abide therein.”

In the above verses Allah has summarized the whole history of not only prophethood but the destiny of man.

        a. Man (Adam and Eve) lived in the Garden after creation and were given advice by Allah: They were in fact allowed to enjoy lot of things but were disallowed only one thing.

        b. Iblis, by persuation tempted Adam and produced intense desire and curiosity to indulge in what was disallowed:

This was the beginning of conflict between duty and desire; Thus the happy and innocent state of existence came to an end.

        c. Iblis was able to lead them astray.

        d. Allah deported them from the Garden and Iblis and men became a foe of each other.

        e. Adam was just a man at that time and not a prophet.

        f. He was then destined to live his life on this earth, constantly dealing with temptations and desires.
 

Whatever view we have about creation of man, the above verses put so beautifully the inner world of mankind; whatever school of thought one belongs to, the struggle between the two forces will go on as long as we exist in this world.

Sometimes the good and sometimes the bad in us overcomes the other and we see the consequences in the world accordingly.

        g. Adam then received from Allah words of revelation and thus was the first to be chosen for His guidance.

In other words, Allah, never left man unguided from the moment situation arose. He was there to show the way.

        h. The message from Allah was clear and definite.
He will send his guidance from time to time and whosoever follow it will receive His favour in this world and the life here-after i.e. return to the Garden from where he was expelled.

        i. But if a man disobeyed and followed Iblis, his place will be in the fire.

Iblis will continue to tempt man as he did at the beginning.
 

SATAN
(Sura An-Nisa)
Ayat 119 “Whom Allah cursed and he said surely I will take of thy bond-men an appointed portion and surely I will lead them astray and surely I will command them and they will cut the carttle’s ears and they will change Allah’s Creation.

Whoso choseth Satan for a patron instead of Allah is verily a loser and his loss is manifest.

Ayat 120  “He promiseth them and stirreth desires in them and Satan promiseth them only to beguile”.

It was only fair that Allah gave guidance and example by men of virtue to cope with and sublimate those desires. Allah began to give a framework soon after creation, according to man,s state of development.

In the early days, the life was elementary, the needs were few. The community was small and the social requirements were less complex.

As communities developed, social groups were formed, kingdoms were established Allah’s message began to take note of changed situations.

Many prophets and messengers appeared at intervals.

At times the situation demanded Noah and Moses, men of strength and determination and at times Abraham and Jesus, with a softer touch and kind persuasive nature.

There were two basic components of Allah’s guidance .

One: To proclaim that He was one and was the Master of the Universe.

This message was the corner stone of all revelations.

Second: To offer a framework appropriate for that time till the coming of the last prophet.

Man was thus guided to live in this world, and to do good to mankind.

No one knew better than Adam that Allah was his creator. Adam would have gone on worshipping Allah without any doubt. But the significance of revelations was to teach him how to live his life on the earth: in His name.

There are two broad aspects of human nature; a) To look after one’s needs and the needs of the community; b) To seek knowledge and to experiment and create.

In both these fields, man is most vulnerable. The usefulness or destructiveness of his abilities depended greatly on his development in the ethical, moral social field.

His messengers and prophets gave us that framework or structure in which to develop the original and unique ability that Allah gave to man at the time of his creation.

Our survival depends on keeping that delicate balance and harmony between man’s thirst for knowledge and divine guidance.

Allah, the knower of all things knew that man will go on searching the secrets of life on the earth and the universe as long as he existed on the earth to which Adam was introduced at the beginning. Whether he will reach the ultimate, only Allah knows. The possibility is that if he ignores the guidance given by Allah, he may destroy himself before he reaches the ultimate goal.

The quest for knowledge, the intense desire to create out of what Allah has provided, is taking a greater hold on man.

Man has reached an advanced stage when he can discover new secrets of universe and life at a rapid rate. He can find better ways of destruction, better ways of inventing things for comfort and satisfaction of human desires.

This may lead him further and further away from the limits that Allah has laid for mankind.

Allah gave a framework through prophets and Holy Scriptures to safeguard mankind from these evils and pitfalls.

The question arises that Allah, the Almighty, by creating Satan, had provided an environment for man to foster unhappiness and bloodshed in the world. The angles also raised the question: but Allah dismissed their plea: “He said surely I know that which ye know not” A (Al-Baqarah 30)

It is a very delicate issue, but in my view explains the whole psychology behind man’s existence and superiority.

Man lived in a happy state of mind as stated in (Al-Baqarah 31) before he was tempted. Without this desire and inquisitiveness, man had no special privilege and significance.

Without desires he would not have striven to develop his abilities and knowledge. He would have lived contentedly in the Garden, or on the earth just like other creations, existing to survive without any change.

With desires out of control he had the capacity to produce chaos, confusion, conflict and catastrophy in the world.

Man persecuted the innocent, the weak and the poor when ever his faith in Allah deserted him.

Even today we see some nations strong and stable, prosperity is rife, scientific knowledge and achievement in this field is leaping forward.

But what do we observe? The weak are constantly harassed, chaos and conflict amongst nations is spreading.

We would have certainly destroyed ourselves by now , if we did not have fear of the Nuclear War. We live in fear and not love for each other.

Such situations, in one form or the other have existed on earth many times before.

One look at the history of prophethood makes us realize that Allah sent the guidance through His messengers when;

        a.     Man disbelieved in the Creator, worshipped idols and was morally degenerating.

        b.     The powerful was bent upon destroying the weak. The  people in power began to feel like gods but were gods of terror and not kindness and mercy.

        c.     When humans were confused and did not know how to meet the ethical, moral and social needs of the growing community and civilization.

        d.     When all the above three situation s were present.

Allah sent His messengers, some we know and some we don’t to guide us and help us to achieve harmony within and amongst the fellow beings and unity with Allah.

An-Nisa-
Ayat 163 Lo: We inspire thee and we inspired Noah and the prophets after him, as we inspired Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and Jesus and Job and Aaron and Soloman and we imparted into David the Psalms.

Ayat 164 And messenger we have mentioned unto thee before and messenger we have not mentioned unto thee and Allah spoke directly unto Moses.

Ayat 165 Messengers of good cheer and of warning, in order that mankind might have no argument against Allah, after the messengers:

I would like to draw readers attention to the above verse 164 “and messengers we have not mentioned unto thee”

Allah who is Almighty, just and wise did not deny nations and countries in different parts of the world the benefit of His guidance. We may not be aware of them. We may be doubtful about some.

Many civilization s follow and talk about men of virtue. The record that we have today makes us doubtful about their Divine guidance. It is only reasonable that we should respect them.

If we were to go by the faith of the followers, then the story of Jesus, son of Mary, is a good example.

The belief that we notice in Christians is far removed from the truth.

Al-Maida
Ayat 116 When  Allah saith: O, Jesus, son of Mary ! Didst thou say unto mankind. Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah! He said: Be glorified ! it was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it then thou knowest it.

Thou knowest what is in my mind and I know not what is in Thy mind. Lo! Thou only art the knower of things hidden.

Ayat 117 I spoke unto them only that which thou commandest me (saying) Worship Allah, my lord and your lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt amongst them, and when thou tooketh me Thou was the watcher over them. Thou art witness over all things.

Suffice it would be for me to say that judging from what happened to Jesus, son of Mary, we should have respect for men of virtue whom other civilizations respect and follow, even if their lives as presented by their followers appear contrary to the basics of prophethood.

Krishna, had been presented as reincarnation of Allah. It is no different than the story of Jesus

Buddha springs some confusion into our minds. He lived long before Jesus: We should give him benefit of doubt and respect him.

This will result in better understanding and tolerance amongst people of the world and may result in peace and harmony.

The prophethood can be better understood if we keep in mind the institution of education.

The training and education of a child begins the day he is born, imparted by his parents.

His feeding is regulated and his other instincts or desires are gradually modified, Of course we have to recognize the infant state of his  body and mind. He learns to walk and talk.

He then enters the formal education system and learns the alphabet and other basics. It may be elementary but without these basics, further education is impossible. The teacher is doing a job, which may not be of complex nature but is equally important. It has no reflection on the abilities of the teacher. A task was given to him and he performed it. It had to be done.

After primary education, a child progresses to middle and passes his entrance examination. At college level,  the basics taught earlier are used to acquire further knowledge, the child is now maturing . The theories in science, mathematics and other subjects that he had learnt in its simple forms from various teachers began to take complex and advanced shape.

The adolescent now passes his degree and becomes a man. Finally he passes his master’s exam and reaches maturity. He is now ready to enter the field of experience and knowledge possessed with sound qualifications and background.

The world is his to explore and to generate visdom. He has been equipped and trained.

The evolution of religion took more or less similar course with one difference. The principal of the institution remained the same. He is Allah, the knower of all things.

The teachers, who were inspired by Allah, guided the growing child by command of Allah. Therefore, the fundamental truth about Allah which mankind had to learn as foundation of Deen remained a constant feature. By different ways Allah revealed to man the truth about Himself, to leave no doubt in his mind about His existence.

Abraham, the upright, David with his psalms, Moses with his magic and miracles, Jesus blessed with the Holy spirit to heel and raise living from the dead, conclusively established the Glory of Allah:

The socio-moral and economic systems were modified from time to time according to the stage man had reached in his development. At a given time in the history of revelations, man was following the will of Allah, before the coming of the next prophet.

After Jesus, son of Mary, the time had arrived to revise all that was taught before, to modify enlarge, complete and to give it a final touch.

When Allah chose prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as His final messenger, He asked him through angel Gabrial “Read” The prophet replied “I can ‘t read” The voice again said, “Read”, He replied again “I Cannot read”. A third time the voice more firm, commanded “Read” He said, “What can I read”. The voice said;

“Read in the name of thy Lord who createth”
“Createth man from a clot”
“Read. And it is Thy Lord the most bountiful”
“Who teacheth by pen”
“Teacheth man that which he knew not”

It is obvious that man’s creation is unique in the sense that he was given ability to learn, explore and experiment and find the secrets of Universe.

But this time through prophet MUHAMMAD (PBUH) Allah wanted to teach all that only He (the knower of all things) could reveal to guide the human race forever to  achieve the heights that man was given when angels were ordered to prostrate before Adam.
 

 This could be divided into periods:
a) The period at Mecca (13 years)
b) The period at Madina (10 years)

 Surahs revealed at Makka mainly deal with Allah as the Master of Universe, the Creator and the Master of the Day of Judgement. The Makkan Surah’s trace the history of prophets civilizations, their rise and fall and the reasons for their downfall.

“And we seized all of them for their crimes: Against some we sent a violent wind hurling stones, and some we seized with a mightily blast and some we submerged under the earth and some we drowned . It was not for Allah to wrong them They wronged themselves.”

The Main objective was to instill a strong faith into the unseen and to raise the foundation of Towheed and to lay the basis for what I call pillars of Islam, so as to build a strong structure of Al-Islam.

The prayer which were said scretely in the early years were established on regular basis by the 4th year.

The basis for Zakat, fasting and haj were all established by the time the prophet migrated to Yathrab (Al-Madina)

The Brief psychological Significance of Foundation and Pillars of Islam.

Towheed: The  foundation of Islam is belief in one Allah without this no structure is viable.

Faith in Allah and His Messenger prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

There are many people in the world who believe in Allah, though they do not accept the prophets. They seek guidance on individual basis and follow that they think is right.

 As I made it clear earlier, unless we recognize and accept the man whom Allah had chosen to deliver His message, we cannot follow the path with heart and soul.

Namaz: is an attempt to establish an on-going relationship between man and his Creator. Prayer is a constant reminder that Allah is the supreme master to whom we our allegiance. We surrender and act on injuctions revealed by Him. Each time we recite Sura Fatia we say and beg.

“Show us the path, The path of those whom Thou have favoured”.
“Not the path of those who Thine anger”.
“Nor of those who go astray”.

Thus we begin and end the day by urging ourselves to act righteously.

The prayer is the beginning and not the end of our duty towards Allah and our fellow human beings.

This could only be achieved by acting on the injuctions given by Allah in the Quran and following the life and example set before us by His messenger, prophet MUHAMMAD (PBUH).

Fasting: The month of Ramazan is an intensive training schedule to exercise control over our inner desires as well as thanks giving month to Allah for revealing Quran.

The training we are receiving in Ramazan is expected to become part of our daily life throughout the year and after.

Zakat: Firmly establishes in our mind that we are part of a society and not living individually.

We learn to share our wealth with the less fortunate. Through Zakat, we provide facilities and opportunities for others to acquire means to support and train themselves. We are brothers living for each other. When members of a society only begin to live for themselves without care for others, then prosperity is short lived. Allah bound us together in the spiritual and the material sense.

Hajj: A symbol of unity; Muslims from all over the world are closely knit together as one. There is no distinction of race, color, creed, position and nationality. They all surrender and prostrate before Allah and become one.

Period at AL-MADINA
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    M. Pickthall also summarises the life of the prophet in those 10 years in the following paragraoh:

“He personally controlled every detail of organization, judge every case and was accessible to every suppliant. In those 10 years he destroyed idolatry in Arabia: raised women from the status of a cattle to complete legal equality with man: effectively stopped drunkenness and immorality which had till then disgraced the Arabs. Made men to live with faith, sincerity and honest dealing, transformed tribes who had been for centuries content with ignorance into people with greatest thirst for knowledge; and for the first time in history made universal human brotherhood a fact and principle of common law. And his support and guide in all the work was the Quran”. (M. PICKTHALL; Glorious Quran page 15)

In the first 13 years Allah prepared the Momins for duties towards Allah and His Messenger, and responsibilities towards fellow beings. He raised the foundation of belief in one Allah and established the basis for pillars so that a stable, everlasting structure could be built on it.

Muslims all over the world accept the five pillars of Islam. May I ask! Are pillars there to support a structure or not?

No building is strong and stable without a sound foundation and pillars but pillars on its own do not constitute a building. Pillars and building are inseparable. A building built on weak foundation and supporting pillars is shaky, very weak indeed.

There are many countries and  civilizations at the present time which have a socio-moral structure and seem to be doing well. But a passing glance at those civilizations make us realize its shaky nature. They are not built on the firm foundation of faith in Allah.

Allah through prophet Muhammad ((PBUH) raised a structure, which was to last for ever. When the work was done i.e. how to live on this earth in the name of Allah. He proclaimed, “This day have I completed your Deen and chose Al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah knew that his mission had reached the goal.

In the tenth year of Hijrah he went to Makka for the last time. He preached his farewell sermon from Mount Arafat. He reminded them all of the duties Al-Islam enjoined upon them. After telling them their duties towards Allah, he spent major part of his farewell message on duties towards each other and urged them to live as brothers and that a person shall be judged on the strength of good deeds.

The message was addressed to all mankind. He was the messenger for the whole world.

The basis for pillars were raised during the first 13 years at Makka but the message about completion of Deen and the declaration that prophet Muhammad was the final Messenger came 10 years after Hijrat. It was also made clear that prophethood had come to an end.

It is the surrender of our purpose to the Will of Allah that is Islam. It promises success in this and the world hereafter.

Deen Al-Islam can be compared to magnificent building constructed on sound base of Tawheed, supported by Five pillars.

Note: Pillars arising from a solid base may be an impressive sight but can you imagine someone not going further to complete the building.

We muslims are, ironically doing just that, showing off our pillars, comparing and arguing about them with each other. But such a supporting steel safety structure does not protect us from wind, storms, rain and cold. Somehow we mistakingly believe that our primary function as muslims is to  praise Allah , pay Zakat if forced to, keep fasts if we can and rush to Makka for Haj to get our past sins forgiven. Then we come back and start afresh. Indulge in wordly persuits with no regard for limits placed by Allah. Our minds are set on reserving a seat/place in the paradise but we fail to realize that there is lot of travel to be done in between. That travel is living our life on this earth according to the dictates of Holy Quran; in the name of Allah. We have to earn our place in the paradise and if in doing so we make genuine mistakes or succumb to human failings, we ask for forgiveness and sincerely work to remedy the situation, then we may hope that Allah is forgiving.

But if our Niat (intention) is to pay lip service and keep on  deliberately doing the same wrong things over and over again, then I am afraid that we are not only cheating ourselves, but also trying to cheat Allah.

An-Nisa
Ayat 17 “Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah toward those who do evil in ignorance (and )then  turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah. These are they toward whom Allah relenteth. Allah is ever knower, wise”.

Al-Imran
Ayat 185 “Every soul will taste of death. And ye will be paid on the day of re-surection only that which ye have fairly earned. Whoso is removed from the fire and is made to enter paradise, he indeed is triumphant. The life of this world is but comfort of illusion”.

Ayat 186 “Assuredly ye will be tried in your property and in your persons, and you will hear much wrong from those whom were given the scriptures before you and from the idolaters. But if ye persevere and ward off (evil) then that is of steadfast heart of things”.

Ayat 142 “Or deemed ye that ye would enter paradise while yet Allah knoweth not those of you who really strive nor knoweth those of you who are steadfast”.

The majority of us assume that we have earned a place in heaven, by pleasing Allah by our prayers. We then fall victim to our desires and inadvertently obey Iblis; We ill-treat our fellow brethren, acquire wealth by fair and unfair means. We neglect our duty towards our children, relations and other fellow beings.

We deprive other people of their due share and bestow favours on those we like. We create disunity, disharmony and at times hatred amongst our brothers/sisters in faith and other human beings. We show no care for others and kill or maim others by our careless and callous behaviour on the roads. We create filth, unhygienic surroundings. We see our children die of horrible unavoidable disease, the young die prematurely and our old suffer a lingering agonizing death.

But why should we care! We have done our duty to Allah by saying our prayers! We have pleased Him so why bother about doing good things. But have we pleased Him?

Quran is not all about prayers and forgiveness. It is  a book of action.

Allah has put it so beautifully in quran “who is better in religion than he who surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good to men and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright. Allah chose Abraham for a friend. (An-Nisa; 125).

The world was at a critical and significant period of change at the time of Mohammad’s  (PBUH) declaration as Messenger of Allah.

The timing of his prophethood acted as a bridge between the two phases, so that Allah could guide mankind just at the right moment.

It was the beginning of period of literacy-people were becoming aware of the importance and value of reading. Writing and the advantages of preserving knowledge.

It was a period when people and communities with tribal and national interests were recognizing the value of international relations. There were conquests of other territories before, but the field of international relations was a totally different concept.

Science in  its various forms was about to emerge as one of the main persuits of man.

Research in medicine and other scientific fields was beginning to take hold of people’s imagination.

        b) On the other hand, Egypt, India, Greece and China had lost its glitter.

Rome and Iran showed all the pomp and glory of empires but what a barbaric period it was for the masses and slaves. Torture, corruption, heartless enjoyment at the cost of another man’s life was a daily pastime. Bribery was rife and favour was bestowed on someone whenever it pleased the authority and stripped of honour, whenever he lost the favour. He was lucky if he did not lose his life. Immorality was at its height, wine and women were a routine of entertainment and the welfare of subjects did not figure as responsibilities of the emperor. Conqueror had no mercy for the loser. He did neither spare the women nor children. There were no laws of war and peace.

Al-Quran: Ramans 41

Corruption doth appear on land, sea because of (the evil) which men’s hand have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return.

        c) Belief in Allah was at its lowest ebb, man worshipped idols and followers of the scriptures had lost the way. Christians, instead of God Almighty, had made Jesus and Mary the focal point of their religion. God had lost His separate identity as the Creator of heavens and earth and of all mankind including Jesus.

The scriptures were re-written or changed to suit their purpose.

“Have you any hope they will be true to you when a party of them used to listen to the word of Allah, then used to change it after they had understood it knowingly- (al-Baqarah; 75)

“Therefore, woe unto those who write the scripture with their hands and then say “this is from Allah”.

The time had arrived that Allah showed the way to mankind in all spheres of life in the most effective and most conclusive style.

The world was showing all the ills and presenting all the challenges that the previous prophets and messengers of Allah had to face in various forms but all at the same time. It was time to give complete guidance in theory and practice for all time to come.

Arabia was not only suitably placed on the world map; it had the potential to make a great nation- a torchbearer of Islam.

Allah in His wisdon had long ago established the House of Allah (Kaaba) when Abraham visited Arabia and left his son Ismail behind. The prophets appeared all around Arabia in the past but not in Arabia.

It appears that Allah had already selected Abrabia as the Centre of His last mission to guide mankind.

A decendent of Ismail, son of Abraham, was to do this in the name of Allah.

All travelers from the East, West and the North passed through Arabia. Arabia comprised of many tribes but there was no central influence  or government to pose a real, over-powering threat to the prophet. Quaraish tribes had some influence but the family of Muhammad (PBUH) enjoyed a special  position.

Though there was moral and social  darkness of serious proportions in Arabia at the time, there were people who would retreat into the caves and ponder over the problems of the society and looked for an answe. They were called HUNAFA (sought true religion in the natural)

Prophet MUHAMMAD (PBUH) was one of them. He would pick up whatever meager supply he could muster, say goodbye to his supporting wife, khudija, and go to the caves and meditate, sometimes for months.

The torch was burning inside him; all that was needed was Allah’s message. It came to him as a surprise but with conviction. He went to his wife Khudija, who reassured him that his conduct was such that Allah would not let a harmful spirit come to him. There could not be a better commendation than the one coming from one’s wife, a person so close to a man.

He preached to the family and intimate friends at first, while the people of Makka as a whole regarded him as one who had gone a little strange.

At the end of third year the Prophet received the command to “arise and warn”.

“In the name of Allah , the Beneficient, the Merciful”.

        1.     O, Thou enveloped in Thy cloak
        2.     Arise and warn
        3.     Thy Lord magnify
        4.     Thy raiment purify
        5.     Pollution shum
        6.     And show not favour, seeking worldly gain
        7.     For the sake of thy Lord, be patient

Thus, began the public appearance of MUHAMMAD (PBUH) as Messenger of Allah.

The Arabs were people with strong will and determination. If on the wrong path, they did their utmost, once convinced of doing good, they did not waver.

They were not afflicated with those ills from which Romans and other such nations suffered. Human resources were still untapped and were an ideal background to work in for a man of definite direction, to use them for the betterment of humanity.

They were simple and of generous nature, were hospitable and possessed no artificiality.

The heat, sand and hard life had made them tough. They were brave, a fierce enemy and a strong friend. They had literary talent, took pride in their language and used to write poems and sentences and display them on the walls of Kaaba, and invited competition.

Thus, the people he had to face were hard to crack but once convinced were the most ideal people at that time for Allah’s mission.

The task was huge and all embracing. The mission was not just to tell people what was good and bad to instill complete faith in Allah and sense of duty and service for the welfare of mankind.

Above all, he had to impelement it, prepare and manage a model society, for future generations to follow.

It was the guidance from Allah to the mankind for all time to come, a framework within which to seek knowledge and explore the Universe. It covered all aspects of life at individual, family, group, national and international level. It laid down principals of conduct in trade, it gave for the first time the concept of welfare state and sharing of wealth with the less fortunate. It gave guidance to an individual how to conduct himself with dignity with other fellow beings. It laid down the golden rule of Universal Brotherhood. A man did not have a preference on others because of colour, race, creed, nationality or status. He would be assessed only on the strength of his good deeds. Living in peace and harmony with others was the motto but if forced to fight, strict fair and humanitarian laws for war were laid down. Rules concerning prisioners of war were given which the modern world is trying to observe. It provided complete safety and protection to the losers. Forgiveness and pardon was preferred. Public law and order was established, even the Prophet (PBUH) himself was not exempt from it. Judicial system was established, and calling on witnesses became a must.

The model society that he established was facilitated by the intensive personal training that a momin received through prayer zakat, fasting and haj.

The inner world of a momin was transformed by Tawheed and acceptance of Muhammad (PBUH) as Allah’s messenger.

By the end of  23 years, his mission was accomplished. The announcement that the work was done, was made by Allah. “This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed my favour unto you and have chosen for you Deen Al-Islam.

Every detail was carefully looked into before declaring it finished.

He had given the Final Touch.

In my search for the fundamental concept of religion, I was more than convinced that the name Al-Islam was formally or officially) given by Allah to the Deen only at the end of prophetic mission) This day- have chosen.

I started with the hypothesis that if Allah is the originator and planner of the system of prophethood, how could He give it definite name before its completion.

There is no doubt that He addresses past prophets as Muslims i.e., surrendered their purpose to Allah’s. He did not announce a name for their Deen.

I do not find any evidence in Torah or new Bible that Moses and Jesus told their followers to go and preach the faith by a name.

In my view it was inappropriate for Allah to give a formal name to a structure that was still under construction and was incomplete. It would have led to may serious complications.

For argument sake, if we do accept that a name was given, then what was it? Why was it not applied? If applied then why does it not exist now.

The followers of Moses call themselves Jews, and follow Judaism, a tribal name.

The followers of Jesus, son of Mary, call themselves Christians i.e., (followers of Jesus Christ).

So we see a faith based on Christ and not on what he said. It appears that what God and “Jesus” said, did not count. It was discarded.

If Allah had given a name before, equivalent to Islam, we would have ended up with.

AL- ISLAM No.1 or First Edition.
AL - ISLAM No. 2 or Second Edition.
And so forth till the complete and final version. How confusing it would have been for all the followers of scripture.

One things can, however, be said with certainty that all the true followers of past prophets were muslims till the coming of next. Because they followed what was revealed at the time and surrended their purpose to Allah.

Allah, to be fair and just had always made sure that messengers announced the coming of the next messenger before the end of their mission.

It was not Allah who created the differences but people differed. The people changed the scriptures and not Allah.

I observe a flawless system in the institution of prophethood. All the prophets, before MUHAMMAD (PBUH) gave tidings of the coming prophets. They made it obligatory on their followers to accept them. They only talked about changes they were inspired to deliver to people. No prophet was disowned, challenged or ridiculed.

It could only happen when there is a common factor in all.

In fact after the end of Jesus’ mission, for many years the disciples were living as a Sect of Judaism till St. Paul arrived at the scene.

St. Paul was born in Tarsus (in present day Turkey). He was a Roman Citizen and was of Jewish origin. As a young man he went to Jerusalem and it appears that Jesus and Paul never met. After the death of Jesus, early Christians suffered persecution and Paul himself participated in it. Later during his travels, Paul had a vision of Jesus and he was converted. He was not chosen as messenger by Allah.

He began preaching Christianity. In  fact he was the main developer of Christian theology.

His ideas include:

        1. Jesus was not just an inspired Prophet but was Divine.
        2. Christ died for our sins.
        3. His suffering can redeem us.
        4. Man cannot achieve salvation by attempting to conform to biblical injuctions but only by accepting Christ.
        5. He added worship of Christ.
        6. Therefore Paul insisted that there was no need for  converts to Christianity to accept Jewish dietary restrictions or rituals.

The other disciples and followers disagreed but Paul’s ideas were acceptable to Romans and their resistance to Paul had no chance to survive. (THERE IS A FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR US AND SOMETHING TO GUARD AGAINST).

I say to non-believers that if there was no Allah then how could we have such a perfect institution of prophethood, stretching over thousands of years.

They all knew that they came from Allah, they knew their mission, were also aware that it was not the complete guidance they brought. So they warned and foretold of the coming prophet.

In St. Johan’s Bible, Jesus addressed \his disciples and said:
St. John: 17

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me”.
“But the fact of the matter is that it is best for you that I go away, for if I don’t the comforter won’t come”.
“And when he has come he will convince the world of its sin and of the availability of God’s goodness”.
“Oh! There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t understand it now”.
“When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes he will guide you into all truth, for he will not be presenting his own ideas, but will be passing on to you what he heard (from God)”.

Christians say that the spirit of truth was angel Gabriel, that he would inspire individuals with guidance. Whatever explanation they put forward (I am not here discussing that issue) the plain truth is that Jesus declared that he could not give all the guidance and it had to done by another when Allah considered it appropriate.

A system so well organized and the prophets so united ever since the appearance of man on the earth, could only be the work of Allah, the Almighty, the Ever-present.

We believe in the unseen Allah but through the perfectly planned institution of prophethood, we can feel His presence.

Allah gave us the religion of truth.

“He it is who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth that he may make conqueror of all religion, however, much idolators may averse”. (Al-Saffa)

From the desert of Arabia men of faith, conviction and courage carried the message to far places.

From the sands of the deserts he has given us another wealth of equal magnitude in the form of “BLACK GOLD”.

Muslim countries have the people, the resources and all the facilities to re-create that model of Islamic society, which the prophet developed during his lifetime.

It is our last chance to make it the conqueror of all other religions and social structures by showing to the world by our deeds that it is something worth following.

Alas, at present one muslim country is busy destroying other muslim country. A brother is fighting and killing a brother. Allah says in Quran;

“Whoso slayeth a believer for set purpose, his reward is Hell for ever. Allah is wroth against him and He hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom”. (An-Nisa; 93)

Allah is watching us
It is a challenge to all of us. Will we accept this challenge and show the world that we are the bearer of the torch that Prophet MUHAMMAD (PBUH) carried to change the life style of man and  brought justice and brotherly feelings and an era of righteous behaviour.

It is not books seminars and conferences and invitation to people to follow ISLAM that is going to make an impact.

It can only be done by setting an example of righteous behaviour.

One look at the muslim nation is enough to turn away not only the non-believers but the young believers of today.

Islam became the world religion because the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) acted upon ALLAH’S commands to such perfection that Quran and the life of the Prophet became inseparable.

Are we going to fail this test?

Remember the Day of Judgement when we will appear before Allah and each shall be paid what he has earned.

It could be said  that man with his inherent ability could have gained all the knowledge and the wisdon that he possesses now without any contribution from Messengers of Allah.

The question is hypothetical because we cannot undo the past and its impact on human progress.
What is the influence of Prophethood on us!
Could we have done without it!
People who put forward this argument, ignore the very basic truth about religion.
Yes. Man could have found political, socio-economic and moral structures or systems of various types because of the intelligence and knowledge that he possesses.

But certainly these systems could not have been based on recognition of Allah. Certainly we would not have been able to surrender our purpose to Allah, the core of the system of Prophethood.

This surrender to the Master of the Universe unites us wherever we are on the earth and gives us a sense of direction.

This surrender removes the possibility of personal gain at the cost of others, if we truly believe and follow it.

The Christians and majority of muslims hold the belief that Jesus will come one day.

This had perplexed my mind for a while and I could not find a suitable explanation for it.

Some learned muslums, in order to counteract the spread of Christianity declared themselves, the messiah. The coming of Jesus had misled them and they went astray.

I asked myself a question- How come that Jesus would be amongst us when Allah had declared that Muhammad (PBUH) was the final prophet?

Unable to find the answer and unable to bear the pain it caused, I buried this question deep in my subconscious and hoped that one day the answer will come up. The thought remained there for a year, knocking at the door of the conscious mind now and again but I managed to send it back with fresh reminder to keep on working without making me aware of it.

One summer evening I was busy as usual in my garden in the beautiful Surrey in England, digging with a spade and just enjoying the pleasant sunny evening. Suddenly a thought jumped from my subconscious and I stopped digging.

“Of course it has to be Jesus, son of Mary, if at all he has to come”.

“It has to be a person who was acceptable to Christians first”.

When Christians would recognize him, as Jesus with all the signs and glory that he had, they would follow him. He would then declare;

“ I have come to destroy the cross and establish the glory of Allah”.
“I have come to follow Islam and the final prophet Muhammad (PBUH). I did give you warning before I left you that the spirit of truth will come after me.

Muslims will have no hesitation to acknowledge him and the world will see the dawn of a new era of faith in Allah.

Note: We don’t need wars now, we need peace and peace can only come from Christian nations.

They have the key in their hand.

Who is better qualified to teach peace to Christians than Jesus?
It may be a dream but what a wonderful dream it is.
 

My thesis is that man’s creation was unique, that he was given a complex set of abilities and capacity to express himself (Language).

It is inherent in his nature to be inquisitive, seek, explore, experiment and discover the secretes of heavens and earth and all that is contained therein.

He has the freedom of choice; he likes to exercise his own judgement to decide for himself the direction he is going to take.

He is not programmed to obey signals, as is the rule with other creations.

The purpose of Divine Guidance was to give him guidelines and framework in which to persue, apply the knowledge gained and develop his abilities for the benefit of humanity.

Quran does not suppress, contain or encapsulate man’s abilities. In fact it motivates him to expand his vision and go on acquiring knowledge.

In Quran, Allah devotes a major part to reason with man, argues a case gives illustrations of men and civilizations to bring home the point that when Allah’s limits are transgressed, calamity befalls mankind: Quran thus honour man’s abilities that He gave him at first.

Quran gives him a purpose and a sense of direction i.e., to surrender the purpose to Allah. This is to safeguard him against selfishness and self-destruction.

How does my thesis fit into the belief that Quran is a complete guidance for mankind, a belief that I have tried to prove in my book?

This belief has led many to narrow their outlook and we are urged not to look beyond.

Faith and intelligence, in my view are companions to each other, they both complement each other. Separation of the two makes a nation with faith only backward and an easy prey to advanced nations. Knowledge without faith can be evil and Satan’s delight. As it is a very delicate matter, I would like to give examples to prove my point.
 

Quran States that’

Man should spend out of what he has been given i.e. honestly earned.

He must pay Zakat of two and a half percent (a firm directive).
Man should not be extravagant (recommendation).
Man may spend on others whatever is surplus to his needs (advice).

A social and economic framework was thus given in Quran, which the whole world accepts in principle.

But to implement above, man needs specialist knowledge of economics, of honest trade, sociology, advanced technical knowledge to effectively manage it in the present day.

It requires research into the causes and needs of less fortunate, study of personal out-look on life and what makes people extravagant. It requires the knowledge of past and present generations that when man began to look after his personal interests only, ignoring the needs of the community, nation or the world, his prosperity was short lived.

Now as Muslims do we have to borrow this knowledge from others or do we generate it from within?

Allah has given complete guidance in Quran , it is up to us to  reach the depth of meanings in Allah’s message.

In Quran Allah lays down the limits for war and peace.

“Muslims have to be prepared to defend themselves against aggression and in the larger interest of mankind. To do so we have to tax every  ability that man possesses.

While we were busy arguing about meanings and interpretations of matters of faith, the western nations were busy using Allah’s gift and are now dominating the world. We are now at their mercy and have no choice but to negotiate at their advantage to defend ourselves.

Man with all his intelligence, wisdon and experience is still struggling to find a formula for peaceful co-existance in today’s world. He is nowhere near yet. To achieve that aim man has to transform his spiritual, moral and material outlook on life. It is a great challenge for man.

Quran has given the answer, only if we are willing to understand and accept it. It requires on-going knowledge.

Cleanliness, Health and Environment

Allah and the prophet want us to be clean. “There is a cure for every disease but Allah has kept death in His hands” the prophet said.

It is upto man to use his inherent abilities to keep on finding an answer in this ever changing world and its environment. We cannot look for details either in Quran or Hadits for provision of medical education, running  a preventive health department or to run a sewarage system to deal with present day pollution.

Allah and His Prophet give us guidance and concept for clean living. We have to use our abilities to achieve it.

Thus Quran does not limit a man in his persuit of knowledge. Quran inspires him to use his abilities. The Quran, however, gives him a purpose and that is to serve humanity in the name of Allah.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that time spent in acquiring knowledge is time spent in Abadat; seek knowledge even if you have to go to China, is another famous saying of the Prophet. S.A.W.

I am sure that a muslim did not have to go to China to learn Quran in his time. Thus I derive support for my thesis from Quran and the life of the Prophet.

“Allah did not take away the gift of intelligence and creative activity that He gave man at first but guided him when he fell for the temptation offered by Iblis”.
 

Question:-

        1. There is a belief going around in the minds of significant number of muslims that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will see us through to paradise, even if we have very little faith.

May I ask if Allah sent His messengers and the Final prophet to offer us a short cut to paradise or for us to follow the guidance to the best of our abilities on this earth?

I would like Ulema to ponder over this and present the true purpose of Allah’s guidance and our purpose in following it.

        2. Majority of muslims, when death occurs due to careless driving, preventable diseases and sickness because of filth, declare, “it is Allah’s Will He brings us in the world and He takes us”.

May I ask if Allah wants us to do nothing to look after ourselves?

Is it possible that we have failed to give true interpretation of Quranic message about Allah?

I think that Imams and Ulemas after morning prayer should participate in welfare activities along with the residents. The example was set by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who used to visit the bazaars and streets daily. He used to pick up banana skins from the ground in case somebody slipped and also because it was unhygienic. He inquired about the sick and the needy regularly. He was part of the society.

Why do we hesitate to follow his example?

May I ask those learned scholars of Islam a question, who differ in their opinion about the message and the meanings of  Quran and then argue and fight with bitterness with each other.

Has Allah revealed the truth to any one of them. If He has, then he must come forward and declare it.

If not, (certainly not) then remember that if one person has a right for an opinion,, the other person has an equal right. So let us agree to disagree without bitterness.

The fact that past Fiqh schools of thought differ could mean that they took into consideration the changed circumstances at a given time and they had their Own way of thinking. So let us consider the present in the light of fundamental principles of Islam, while keeping in mind the past and the future.

On my part, I have my view point and have expressed it. Honest discussion promotes knowledge and understanding and will have positive influence on younger generation, who may rebel otherwise.

I would welcome discussion and disagreement.

I will listen and if I wrong, I will accept it. Whatever happens I will stay a friend to those who disagree.

That in my view is the only humble way I can honour Allah’s gift of intelligence and inquisitiveness that He gave man when he was created.

Non Muslims have been projecting Islam as a barbaric religion because it prescribes tough punishments to those who transgress Allah’s Limits. May of us believers sometimes do show wavering faith, because of this deliberate and constant attack on Islamic Laws and Value Systems how many of us look at the other side of the coin and say that Islam is the only religion (Deen) in the world that cares so much for the people that it punishes those who disturb the peace of the society.
In the form of Qisas, the physical punishments are lifted up into the sphere of morals and faith.
Can anybody tell me of a country or society where criminals are dealt with leniently and the society is at peace?
Would you call the punishments barbaric when you punish one to save all other innocent and law abiding citizen.
Would, Not it be barbaric when law abiding citizen loose their limbs, wealth and life because of lawbreakers?
Before metting out punishments, Islam establishes a system which caters for the basic needs of the people in the form of faith, mental and physical training, zakat and baitumal and establishes a judicial system that provide justice for all in the name of Allah. Nobody can escape whether he is a man in authority or of influence or an ordinary citizen.
A just, honest and lean society is the Goal.
Don’t just look at the tough punishments, look how caring Islam is.
(in the  law of Qisas there is life to you, o men of understand that ye may restrain yourselves 2_179.
 

Dr. Muhammad Rafiq Mirza
39 Kaghan Road
Islambad.
 

DISCIPLINE IN LIFE AND ON THE ROADS

Muslims all over the world believes that Islam is the last message from Allah and through the final messenger Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H gave us the complete code for life.

Looking at the present situation of the Muslims one wonders at the lack of civic sense chaos on the roads and the moral sickness of the society and many questions come to the mind. One wonders as to why we have forgotten and ignored our objectives in life while we proclaim our attachment to our Deen and diligently observe the faraiz but we neglect the aim of those faraiz, But I will confine myself to one simple question, which is based on my observations and analysis since 1994.

We have seen the majority of motor vehicles being driven in an erratic and careless manner. In fact in Pakistan far more people are killed and maimed on the roads than anywhere in the world, the ratio is around 30 to 1.

I have asked many scholors of Islam, Immams of Masjids that when you tell people to show displine in the Mosques and ask them to stay in a straight line and don’t push your way through others to get to the front when you are late or otherwise, Do you also tell them to observe this behaviour while in the outside world, especially while driving on the roads. The answer I got was that it has nothing to do with Islam. It is a wordly matter for the police and it cannot be classified as a sin.

I may be wrong but I believe that when you kill or main somebody on the roads because of your careless driving you have committed an unpardonable and unforgivable sin and careless driving is a virtue which will be rewarded by Allah manifold.

Is our behaviour on the roads, lack of discipline and lack of care for others outside the domain of the complete code for life? If it is not, then why is it that this aspect of our life in never taught and discussed in the Mosques, while delivering sermons at the Jumma prayers.
 

Dr. Muhammad Rafiq Mirza
39 Kaghan Road F-8/3
Islamabad
Ph: 2263931