In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

The historical accounts given in this sūrah have centred on the theme of God’s oneness. In all these accounts, God’s messengers emphasized the truth of God’s oneness to their peoples, and warned them against associating partners with Him. In each account we see how the warnings of those messengers came to pass. Now the sūrah moves on to deal with the central issue of God’s oneness from a different angle, which refers particularly to human nature as created by God. It speaks of a firm pledge with far-reaching implications for human nature and its constitution. Indeed, acknowledging God as the only Lord in the universe is ingrained in human nature, which admits to it by its very existence and by what it feels deeply at heart. Divine messengers bring reminders and warnings to those who deviate from their essential nature. Believing in God’s oneness is the basic issue of a covenant between human nature and the Creator of human beings. Therefore, they have no justification for breaking this covenant, even if God did not send them any messenger to remind and warn them. But it is God’s grace that dictates that human beings should not be left to their nature alone, because it may deviate, or to their minds because they may err.

Hence, He sends them messengers to bring them happy news and to warn them so that people may not have an argument to press against God after He sent them those messengers.

Tackling the question of God’s oneness from this angle the sūrah follows several lines. The first of these is a narrative speaking of a situation that, according to some reports, took place in the past history of the Children of Israel. More accurately, its speaks of a type of people that may exist at any time or place. In any society or generation, we come across those who have enough knowledge to lead them to the truth and to follow guidance, but they nevertheless defy their own knowledge and sink into error just as those who are devoid of all knowledge. Indeed, their own knowledge adds to their misery and deviation because they remain devoid of the faith, which makes knowledge a guiding light.

Another narrative line describes how nature moves gradually away from believing in God’s oneness to associating partners with Him. Here we have a married couple who are full of hope with respect to the child they are expecting. By nature, they turn to their Lord making all pledges to Him to be very grateful if He would give them a healthy and dutiful child. When their wishes are granted, they begin to deviate and associate partners with God.

A third line is descriptive, showing how receptive human systems stop functioning until people go a very long way into error so as to sink below the level of animals. This deservedly turns them into fuel for Hell. They have minds, eyes and ears, but they understand, see and hear nothing. This leaves them hardened in error.

A further line is inspirational, trying to resuscitate those receptive systems so that people may think and reflect. They are encouraged to look at what is in the heavens and the earth and to contemplate God’s creation. It also reminds them of the predetermined moment of death and invites them to reflect on the position of the noble Messenger who calls on people to follow guidance. Yet those who have gone astray describe him as mad. And we have a line that disputes their claims about their alleged deities, which lack all qualities of Godhead, and indeed lack the essential qualities of life.

All this ends with a directive to the Prophet to challenge them and their deities, and to declare that he dissociates himself from their community, beliefs, deities and worship, and turns to the only true patron and guardian “who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.” (Verse 196)

The previous passage concluded the story of the Children of Israel with the scene of the pledges they gave to God in the shadow of the suspended mountain. This new passage follows on that final scene and begins with a discussion of the broader covenant God has taken from human nature. The scene is even more awesome and splendid than that of the suspended mountain.

Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and called them to bear witness about themselves. [He said]: “Am I not your Lord?” They replied: “Yes, indeed, we bear witness to that.” [This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were truly unaware of this;” or lest you say, It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God, and we were only their late offspring. Will You destroy us on account of what those inventors of falsehood did?” Thus We make plain Our revelations so that they may return [to the right path]. (Verses 172-174)

In this short passage we have the central issue of faith and human nature portrayed in a uniquely vivid scene that shows the generations of the faraway future, as they are still in the loins of human beings, before they make their appearance in this visible world. All of them are gathered in front of their Creator who asks them:

“Am I not your Lord?” (Verse 172) They all acknowledge His Lordship, admit their position as obedient servants and His status as the only Lord. They are no bigger than small atoms held in the hand of the great Creator.

This is a sublime scene with no equivalent in human language or its imaginative portraits. Its remarkable nature becomes even greater when our minds try, as hard as we can, to visualize it, looking at all these countless cells being gathered together and brought forth. They are then addressed as rational beings, on account of the innate qualities God has placed in them. They respond like rational beings, acknowledging their position and status and giving their pledges when they are still in the loins of their ancestors. We are filled with awe as we contemplate this splendid scene, looking at these tiny cells, each holding a potential life. Each is the seed of a complete human being, with unique qualities, waiting for permission to grow and appear in its special form reserved for it in the world beyond. It gives its pledge and enters into a covenant before it appears into this world of ours.

The Qur’ān portrays this splendid scene describing a great truth, which is deeply established in human nature. This Qur’ānic description was made fourteen centuries ago, when no human being had any vision of the reality of human creation, apart from myth that had no foundation. Now after all these centuries, human beings have come to know some rudimentary elements of that truth. Today, biological science tells us that genes keep a record for every human being, showing his or her qualities or characteristics when they are still in the loins of their ancestors. These genes, which keep the records of no less than three thousand million human beings, may be pooled together in a space not exceeding one cubic centimetre. Had this fact been stated at that time, it would have been met with derision and incredulity. But God certainly says the truth, as He states: “In time We shall make them see Our signs in the utmost horizons (of the universe) and within themselves so that it will become clear to them that this revelation is the truth.” (41: 53)

Ibn `Abbās, a companion of the Prophet who is renowned for his scholarship, reports: “Your Lord went over Adam’s back with His hand, and out came every human being He would be creating until the Day of Resurrection. He took their pledges and made them bear witness about themselves, saying to them: “Am I not your Lord? They replied ‘Yes, indeed.’” (Verse 172)

How did this event take place? How did God take the offspring of Adam’s children from their loins to make them testify? How did He ask them, “Am I not your Lord?” And how did they reply, “Yes, indeed.” The answer to all these questions is that our human perception cannot understand how God acts, since it cannot perceive God’s own nature. Perceiving the `how’ is subsequent to perceiving the nature of the one who does. There are numerous actions that the Qur’ān attributes to God, such as the following few examples: “He then applied His design to the skies, which were yet but smoke” (41:11); “He is established on the throne of His Almightiness” (10: 3); “God annuls or confirms whatever He pleases” (13: 39); “The heavens will be folded up in His right hand” (39: 67); “Your Lord comes down with the angels, rank upon rank” (89: 22); and “Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them.” (58: 7) All these actions and many others reported in authentic ĥadīths as having been done, or will be done by God must be accepted as perfectly true, without any attempt on our part to understand how. It is just as we have mentioned that the perception of ‘how’ is subsequent to perceiving the nature of the one who does it. There is simply nothing that resembles God in any way.

Hence, there is no way that we can perceive His nature or how He accomplishes His deeds. There is no possibility that we can resemble His action to anything we know, since there is nothing that resembles God in any way. Any attempt to do so will end in error and failure. All philosophers who tried to describe how God acts could do no more than come up with theories of endless confusion.

One interpretation of this statement suggests that the pledge God has taken from the offspring of Adam’s children relates to their nature. He has established in their nature the tendency to acknowledge His Lordship as the only God in the universe.

They grow up with this tendency until they deviate as a result of external factors of one sort or another.

In his commentary on the Qur’ān, Ibn Kathīr reports that many scholars are of the view that this testimony from the offspring of Adam’s children refers to the fact that in their very nature, they have a tendency to accept God’s oneness. This is why the Qur’ānic statement says, “Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam”, rather than saying, “from the loins of Adam himself or from his loins.” And the statement speaks of “their offspring”, to indicate the succession of their generations, one after another. This is similar to the Qur’ānic statement: “It is He who has given you the earth to inherit.” (27: 62) God also says: “He brought you into being out of other people’s seed.” (6: 133) Here, in the verse we are discussing, God goes on to say: “And called them to bear witness about themselves. [He said]: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied: ‘Yes, indeed’.” (Verse 172) This means that He has created them admitting this fact, testifying to it at the very moment of their existence. Scholars also say that testimony is sometimes given verbally as in the Qur’ānic verse: “They will reply: `We bear witness against ourselves.’ The life of this world has beguiled them. So they will bear witness against themselves that they were unbelievers.” (6: 130) At other times, the testimony can be made by adopting a certain position or attitude, as that described in the Qur’ānic verse stating: “It is not for the idolaters to visit or tend God’s houses of worship, while they bear witness against themselves for being unbelievers.” (9: 17) This means that their situation testifies against them, not that they make a statement to this effect. The same applies to the Qur’ānic verses: “Man is surely ungrateful to his Lord, and of this he himself is a witness.” (100: 6-7)

Requests also can be made verbally or by adopting a particular position. This is evidenced by the Qur’ānic verse stating: “He gives you of everything you ask Him for.” (14: 34) Scholars say that a factor that supports this view is the fact that this testimony is counted against them as they associate partners with God. Had this taken place in the way some people suggest, then everyone would have remembered it, and it would have been taken against them. It is suggested that its being reported by the Prophet is sufficient as a proof of its taking place. This is true, but we should remember that those unbelievers rejected everything that God’s messengers have stated. Since this is stated as an argument against them, it must be a reference to their nature, which admits God’s Lordship and oneness. For this reason, the Qur’ānic passage goes on to say: “[This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `We were truly unaware of this;’ or lest you say, ‘It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God.’” (Verses 172-173)

The ĥadīths to which Ibn Kathīr refers as confirming this Qur’ānic statement are quoted here. Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate in their authentic collections, the Şahīh, a ĥadīth narrated by Abū Hurayrah who quotes the Prophet as saying: “Every human being is born with upright nature. [One version puts the statement as: every human being is born believing in this faith.] His parents then make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.” A ĥadīth related by Muslim quotes the Prophet as saying: “God says I have created My servants following the pure faith. Satans then assaulted them and removed them from their faith, forbidding them what I have made lawful.” Al-Aswad ibn Sarī`, one of the Prophet’s companions who belonged to the Sa`d clan reports: “I joined God’s Messenger in four expeditions. Once, when our people had killed enemy fighters, they also attacked their children. On hearing this, the Prophet was very angry and rebuked them, saying: ‘How is it that some people attack children?’ One man said: ‘Messenger of God, are they not the children of unbelievers?’ He said: `The best among you have been born to unbelievers. Let it be known that every human being is born following the right faith. He will continue to do so until he is able to express himself. His parents then make of him a Jew or a Christian.’” For our part, we do not exclude the possibility that the event related in this Qur’ānic verse took place as is described, i.e. literally: “Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and called them to bear witness about themselves.” (Verse 172) We believe that it could easily happen as God has described, because there is nothing to stop it happening when God wills. But at the same time we do not exclude the interpretation outlined by Ibn Kathīr and approved by other scholars. At any rate, we can conclude that there is a pledge made by human nature to God Himself, declaring that human nature believes in His oneness and will continue to do so. This means that the essence of God’s oneness is well established in human nature, and every human child is born with this clear tendency. It deviates from it only when an external factor corrupts its nature by the manipulation of the dual susceptibility of human beings to follow right guidance or to deviate from it.

This is a latent susceptibility which can be influenced by external factors and circumstances.

We go beyond this to say that the truth of God’s oneness is also well established in the nature of all existence, of which human nature forms only a part. It continues to be a part of that whole existence, governed by the same laws and reacting to whatever takes place. The great truth of God’s oneness is acknowledged by the nature of the whole universe, as it is also established within human nature itself.

The law of unity which governs the whole existence is clearly evident in the outer appearance of the universe as well as its coherence, the perfect compatibility between its different parts and components, as well as its consistent movement and action. It is also reflected in the complete absence of conflict between the various rules and laws operating in the universe and their practical effects. Furthermore, we see it in the unity of the essence of atoms, according to the latest findings of human knowledge. That essence is radiation that results from all matters when their atoms are made to split and release their charge.

As human knowledge advances, it uncovers more and more of the law of unity that applies to this whole universe, and the rules that dictate its actions and reactions, not automatically, but by God’s free will that operates consistently at every moment and every turn. However, we do not rely merely on what is uncovered by human knowledge, which can never be absolute, considering the means available to human beings. We simply take this human knowledge as supporting evidence. Our foremost basis in establishing any universal truth is what is stated by the Creator Himself who knows perfectly what He has created. The Qur’ān leaves no room for doubt that the law which governs this whole universe is the law of unity, set in operation by the consistent will of the single Creator who is limitless in His glory. Nor does the Qur’ān leave any room for doubt that this whole universe submits to its Lord, acknowledges His oneness and worships Him in the way and fashion known to God.

Of these we only know what God has told us. We certainly see the effects of this worship in the consistency and coherence that we observe in the universe and its operation.

This same law also applies to man who is, after all, a creature living in this universe. It is firmly rooted in human nature, which feels it instinctively and acts in consistency with it, as long as it remains sound, far from corrupting influences. When human nature suffers corruption, it becomes less instinctively aware of this law and allows fleeting desires to dictate its action, instead of following its perfect law that is well established within its own constitution.

This law is a covenant that has been made between human nature and its Creator.

It is established in every single living cell from the moment it comes into existence. It predates God’s messages and messengers. According to this covenant every cell testifies to the Lordship of the one God who has a consistent will that has established a single law to govern the whole universe as well as its own actions and reactions.

With such a covenant made with human nature, no one can argue that he is unaware of God’s revelations that explain the divine faith or that he knows nothing of God’s messages that call on people to believe in His oneness. There is no validity in the argument advanced by anyone who says: “I was born into a family of unbelievers.

Therefore, I had no chance of knowing the faith based on belief in God’s oneness. I had to follow the footsteps of my forefathers who had erred and caused me to err.

Therefore, the responsibility is theirs, not mine”. Hence, the Qur’ānic comment on the testimony given by the offspring of Adam’s children is stated most clearly: “[This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `We were truly unaware of this;’ or lest you say, ‘It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God, and we were only their late offspring. Will You destroy us on account of what those inventors of falsehood did?’” (Verses 172-173)

But God knows that human nature is likely to go astray when subjected to the pressures exercised by satans, whether human or jinn, who manipulate human weaknesses. He is fully aware that human beings can go far astray once they are set on the way to error. Hence, He has determined, out of His grace, not to hold them to account merely on the basis of this covenant with their nature or the reason He has given them to judge and evaluate matters. He has determined to send them messengers who are given plain revelations, and to make His signs clear so that human nature can be saved from the effects of pressure. In the same way, the human intellect is freed from the shackles of its weaknesses and desires. Had God’s knowledge shown that nature and reason were sufficient for people to follow the right path without sending them messengers and messages, He might have made these the basis of accountability. But God’s grace has dictated that this basis must be His message: “Thus We make plain Our revelations so that they may return [to the right path].” (Verse 174)

They may turn back to their nature and honour their covenant with God. When they operate the faculties of perception and understanding God has established within their souls and constitution, the reality of God’s oneness becomes so clear in their minds and causes them to adhere firmly to the faith based on that reality.

Hence, we have to look on those messages and messengers sent by God as an aspect of His grace.

The sūrah then gives an example of the practical effects of deviation from sound human nature, betraying its covenant and abandoning God’s revelations after having learnt them. The example is shown through a person who has been given God’s revelations, plain, direct and easy to grasp. However, he discards them, turning away, clinging to the life of this world and following his desire. This means that he neither fulfils his first covenant nor follows the revelations providing him with clear guidance. Hence, Satan overpowers him and he stands rejected by God, unable to enjoy security or peace.

In its inimitable style, the Qur’ān does not describe this example in such terms. It brings it within a very lively scene, with violent movement, distinctive lines, clear reactions combining both the effect of a bustling life with that of a highly inspiring style: “Tell them of the man to whom We give Our revelations, and who then discards them.

Satan catches up with him and he strays, like many others, into error. Had We so willed, We would have exalted him by means of those (revelations), but he clings to the earth and succumbs to his desires. He may be compared to a dog: no matter how you drive him off he pants on away, and if you leave him alone, he still pants on. That is what the people who reject Our revelations are like. Tell them, then, such stories, so that they may take heed. A dismal example is that provided by those who reject Our revelations; for it is against their own selves that they are sinning.” (Verses 175-177)

This is a remarkable scene, absolutely new to all that human language knows of vocabulary, expression and image. Here we see a man on whom God bestows His grace, giving him His revelations and favouring him with knowledge to give him a perfect chance to follow the right path and to exalt himself. But he discards it all. The Qur’ānic description shows this man’s action as if he is peeling God’s guidance off his own body, as if those revelations form a skin that gives him his appearance.

Therefore, discarding them requires a very strong action and the exercise of much effort. It is like taking the skin off of a person who is still alive. But this is an apt description, because believing in God is so essential to human existence as a skin to a living creature. Nevertheless, this man, given God’s revelations, is exercising a strong effort to take off his protective shield in order to follow his desire and deviate from God’s guidance. Thus he falls from the bright and sunny horizon in order to cling to the dark clay. He becomes easy prey for Satan, without any protection from his designs. Satan thus catches up with him and exercises his power over him.

We then look at a miserable and horrific scene in which this creature appears covered with mud, clinging to the earth, taking the shape of a dog that pants away whether he is driven off or left alone. All these scenes follow in quick succession and we follow the rapid change from one scene to the other with complete amazement.

When the last scene of a dog always panting away is raised before our eyes, we have the highly significant comment on the whole panorama: “That is what the people who reject Our revelations are like. Tell them, then, such stories, so that they may take heed. A dismal example is that provided by those who reject Our revelations; for it is against their own selves that they are sinning.” (Verses 176-177)

That example is certainly applicable to them. Signs indicating guidance and pointers guiding to faith have been provided for them in such a way that these are felt within their own nature and constitution as well as the whole universe around them. They, nevertheless, discard all these to corrupt their own souls and to fall from the position of man to the position of animals. They find themselves just like a dog covered with mud. Faith would have provided them with wings to fly up to an elevated position, and their nature would have ensured for them the fairest form and the best position, but they have chosen instead to come down and occupy a position that can only be described as ‘the lowest of the low.’ “A dismal example is that provided by those who reject Our revelations; for it is against their own selves that they are sinning.” (Verse 177) Can there be a more dismal example than that? Can there be a worse action than discarding guidance and pulling oneself away from divine revelations? Is there anything more disgraceful than clinging to the lowly life of this earth and succumbing to desires? Can any human being cause himself more wrong than the one who does this? By so doing, he tears apart that protective shield which could have ensured his safety. Instead, he leaves his soul easy prey for Satan and sinks to the level of animals, with all that it entails of worry and uncertainty. He is soon seen as a dog constantly panting away.

Can we think of a more vivid, lively and inspiring description of this case? The Qur’ānic style is at its most effective when it gives such descriptions and examples.

It is pertinent to ask here whether these verses tell a story that actually took place or whether they refer to a particular case that happens frequently. If it is the latter, then it is perfectly right to tell it as a story.

There are reports which tell that these verses speak of a man from Palestine who used to lead a very pious life, prior to the arrival of the Children of Israel in the Holy Land. These reports describe in great detail how he deviated from the truth and then rejected it altogether. No one who has studied the numerous reports that have been derived from the books of Jewish history, some of which found their way into the commentaries on the Qur’ān, could discount the possibility that the story of this person is just another of these unauthentic reports. It is impossible to be certain of all the details that are given in this story. Moreover, these reports suffer from a great deal of contradiction, compelling us to approach them very cautiously. Some reports suggest that the man belonged to the Children of Israel, and that his name was Bel`am ibn Bā`ūrā’. It is also reported that he belonged to the powerful Philistines.

Yet in some other reports he is said to have been an Arab named Umayyah ibn alŞalt.

It is even suggested that the description applies to a man who was contemporary with the Prophet and that his name was Abū `Āmir who earned the title, ‘al-Fāsiq’, which means `the transgressor’. Other reports suggest that he was a contemporary of the Prophet Moses, while still others mention that he lived at the time of Joshua, who, with the Israelites, fought the Philistines and defeated them.

This took place when the Children of Israel had completed forty years in the wilderness after having refused to enter Palestine with Moses. The Qur’ān reports that they said to the Prophet Moses, at that time: “Go forth, then, you and your Lord, and fight, both of you. We shall stay here.” (5: 24) It is mentioned also that the revelations which this man was given included the greatest name of God which ensures the answering of any supplication. On the other hand, it is mentioned that he was given scriptures and that he himself was a prophet. More conflicting details are given.

For our part we have chosen not to go into the details of any of these reports, since there is nothing in the Qur’ānic text itself to support any of them and there is no authentic ĥadīth attributing to the Prophet any statement to give any of them more probability. This is in line with our approach which we have chosen in this commentary. We concentrate on the significance of this story describing the conditions of those who deny God’s revelations after they have recognized them and deviated from the line they demarcate. This is a frequently encountered state of affairs in human life. Many are those who receive religious education but turn their backs on the guidance it provides. They simply use their knowledge in order to twist the meaning of Qur’ānic revelations so that it can serve the interests of those who are in power, and consequently, their own worldly interests as they see them.

We have seen many a scholar ready to state that Islam, God’s religion, adopts a certain attitude when they fully know that what they are saying is in conflict with the truth. They manipulate their knowledge in order to issue rulings that aim to support a ruler that has usurped God’s authority and violated His law.

Some of these acknowledge that the authority to legislate belongs to God alone, and that whoever claims such an authority actually claims Godhead and he is, therefore, an unbeliever. They go on to state that whoever acknowledges that authority as belonging to such a person is also an unbeliever. But contrary to their knowledge of this fact, which is essentially known to all believers, such scholars are ready to include such tyrannical rulers in their prayer, describing them as Muslims and their practices as the highest form of Islam. They conveniently forget their earlier statements that classify such rulers as unbelievers. We have also seen some of these scholars writing lengthy theses on the prohibition of usury, and yet a nod is enough to make them spend long hours writing articles and theses that claim usury to be lawful. Some of them are ready to bless wanton practices and promiscuity giving it a religious guise.

What can all these be other than examples confirming the story of the person who had discarded God’s revelations after having received them? Hence, Satan is able to catch up with him and push him further into error. How can such a person be described except in the terms stated by God about the original person in the Qur’ānic example: “Had We so willed, We would have exalted him by means of those (revelations), but he clings to the earth and succumbs to his desires. He may be compared to a dog: no matter how you drive him off he pants on away, and if you leave him alone, he still pants on.” (Verse 176)

Had it been God’s will to exalt him by means of the knowledge he had received, He would have done so, but He has not, because the person who has received knowledge of God’s revelations had chosen to cling to the earth and to follow his own desires in preference to following God’s teachings. He is, then, an example of everyone who turns his back on divine religion after having learnt it. Instead of following God’s guidance, he pulls himself away from God’s blessings in order to be a humiliated follower of Satan and ends up in the derogatory state of animals.

What about the panting that never ceases? As we understand the story and contemplate its various scenes as painted in the Qur’ān, we feel that it refers to that continuous coveting of the worldly pleasures of this life. It is for such pleasures and other trivialities of this world that people discard their knowledge of God’s revelations. It is a worried coveting that is never satisfied. Whatever advice you give to such covetous people, they will continue to run after these pleasures and trivialities.

Every day we see new examples of such people everywhere and in all communities. Long periods of time may pass and we hardly see a scholar who does not follow this example. Only a small minority cling to God’s guidance and refuse to succumb to Satan or follow their desires. They seek God’s support in order not to covet the trifling pleasures of this world that can be bestowed by those who are in power. Hence, the example given in the Qur’ān is not limited to a single case, but occurs in every society and in every generation.

God has commanded His Messenger (peace be upon him) to tell his community, who were receiving God’s revelations, of this type of person so that they may guard against falling to the same temptation. This story is meant to be in the Qur’ān so that it continues to be recited. It may, thus, serve as a warning to those who are given any amount of knowledge, so that they are aware of the need to protect themselves against ending up in such a miserable condition if they run after trivial pleasures. If they do this, they will wrong themselves in a way that no enemy can match. If they allow themselves to move towards such a miserable end, they hurt none but themselves.

In our present time, we have seen some of these imitations of the person mentioned in the Qur’ān. They appear so keen to wrong themselves and so eager to preserve for themselves a position in the depths of hell, as if they fear that their competitors may take it away from them. Every morning they come up with something that puts them firmly in their place in hell. They continue to pant on, coveting this position until they depart from this life.

In comment, we only say: Our Lord, protect us from such a situation; grant us patience and perseverance; strengthen our resolve to follow Your guidance and gather us to You at the end of our lives as true believers who submit themselves to You.

We need now to have another look at this story and how the Qur’ān relates it.

What we have here is an example of knowledge that does not provide support or protection against the pressure of desires. Therefore, the person who has such knowledge will nevertheless cling to the earth, unable to free himself from its attractions, and will thus succumb to his desires. Satan then catches up with him and leads him by a leash made of such desires.

Because mere knowledge is not sufficient for protection, the Qur’ān tries to shape Muslim souls and Islamic life on the basis of knowledge formulated into a faith that provides the motive for implementation in everyday life. The Qur’ānic method does not present the faith in the form of a theory to be studied. Such knowledge has no practical effect, either in people’s consciences or in life. It does not help man to repel Satan and his schemes. Indeed, it sometimes facilitates Satan’s work.

Nor does the Qur’ān present the Islamic faith in the form of a series of studies in Islamic legal or economic systems, or studies in other disciplines relating to the universe or to the human soul. It presents it as a living faith that imparts life to people’s hearts and minds and makes its followers aspire to a higher standard. Once this faith is firmly established in a person’s heart, it gives him the motivation to put it into practice. It alerts the system of reception and response in human nature, in order to put man back on the right track. Thus, human nature can respond to its original covenant with God. In fact, the Qur’ān draws human nature to higher concerns and aims, and gives it freedom from worldly concerns, so that it never clings to the life of this world, or to use the Qur’ānic expression, it does not cling to the earth.

The Qur’ān also presents the Islamic faith as a system for reflection and reasoning that is far superior to all human systems. It has indeed been laid down to save human beings from the defects inherent in their own systems that suffer from errors and a deliberate twisting to facilitate desire-satisfaction and surrender to Satan’s temptations.

The Qur’ān also presents this religion as a criterion for the truth, putting human minds on the right course and allowing them to evaluate their thoughts, concepts and actions. Whatever is judged as correct by this criterion should be pursued, and whatever is rejected must be abandoned as erroneous.

This religion of Islam is also presented by the Qur’ān as a plan for action that leads humanity step by step along the road that climbs up it to its highest standard and noblest situation. Each step is determined by the Qur’ān itself and in accordance with its concepts and values. Through this practical action it provides human beings with a code of living, basic principles of law, as well as the foundation of an economic, social and political system. When human thinking has been moulded by the Qur’ān, people are able to formulate their own legislation, and their approaches to scientific disciplines that study the universe and human psychology, as well as all that they need in their practical lives. They approach all this from the standpoint of believing in this religion, and strengthen it with the seriousness and practicality of the Islamic law on the one hand and with the requirements of practical life on the other.

Such is the Qur’ānic approach to moulding Muslim minds and Islamic life. An academic study gives only mere knowledge that does not protect people from the temptation of desire and Satan’s schemes. It simply cannot do any good for human life.20

The sūrah then makes a short pause to comment on the example provided in this scene of a person to whom God has given His revelations, but who discards them. In this comment, the sūrah tells us that true guidance is provided by God alone: “He whom God guides is on the right path; whereas those whom He lets go astray are indeed losers.” (Verse 178) God certainly guides those who make an effort to find guidance.

God says in another sūrah: “Those who strive for Us, We shall certainly guide along Our ways.” (29: 69) He also says elsewhere in the Qur’ān: “God does not change the condition of a certain people until they themselves initiate change.” (13: 11) He further says: “By the soul and its moulding and inspiration with knowledge of wickedness and piety. Successful is the one who keeps it pure, and ruined is the one who corrupts it.” (91: 7-10)

Similarly, God lets go astray anyone who wishes to go astray. He allows him to turn away from the elements of guidance and pointers to the right faith, sealing his heart, ears and eyes in order that he does not hear, see or understand. The next verse in the sūrah states: “We have destined for Hell many of the jinn and many human beings; they have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way. They are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179) They are described in another sūrah as follows: “There is sickness in their hearts, and God has aggravated their sickness.” (2: 10) God also says in the Qur’ān: “Those who disbelieve and persist in wrongdoing will find that God will never forgive them, nor will He guide them onto any road, except the road to hell, wherein they will abide beyond the count of time.” (4: 168-169)

When we study carefully all the texts that mention guidance and going astray, relating them to one another and taking them as a whole, we find a consistent line that abandons all the controversy of the different Muslim sects or the controversies of Christian scholastic debate and the various philosophies concerning the whole question of predestination. God’s will, which applies to human beings, is that God creates every man and woman with equal ability to follow guidance or go astray. In addition, God plants in human nature the ability to recognize the truth of the One God and to follow it, and He gives every human being a mind to distinguish guidance from error. Furthermore, He sends messengers with plain revelations to reawaken human nature when it lies dormant, and to provide guidance to the human mind when it goes astray. After all this there remains the dual susceptibility to follow guidance or error, for man has been created with this in his very nature.

God’s will has also determined that whoever strives for guidance shall have it. On the other hand, anyone who chooses not to use the mind God has given him, or not to use his sight and hearing in understanding the signs and pointers that are placed everywhere in the universe, and those contained in divine messages, shall be left to go astray.

Thus, in all situations, it is only God’s will that is fulfilled. This means that everything happens only by God’s will, not by the power of anyone else. This would not have been so, except for the fact that God has so willed. Then, in the universe there is no other will to initiate matters and events. Within the framework of this great work, man chooses his line of action and reaps the results of either following right guidance or going astray.

This is the Islamic concept, which is derived from the numerous Qur’ānic statements when taken together as mutually complementary. These statements must never be taken individually according to the prejudices of different sects. They must never be set in opposition to each other for argument and debate.

“He whom God guides is on the right path; whereas those whom He lets go astray are indeed losers.” (Verse 178) This verse sets out the terms very clearly. According to this law, which has already been explained in detail, whoever has God’s guidance is truly on the right path, and will surely attain his goal. He will be able to follow guidance in order to attain success and prosperity in the hereafter. Conversely, a person whom God lets go astray, in accordance with the same law, is indeed the loser, because he has lost everything and gained nothing, no matter how much he has in this life. All this accounts for nothing. We need only to remember that such a person has lost himself. What gain can such a person have after incurring such a loss?

This explanation of this verse is supported by the next verse: “We have destined for Hell many of the jinn and many human beings; they have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear.

They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way. They are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179) Those large numbers of jinn and human beings are destined for hell. Why? And what for? There are two aspects to consider here. The first is that God’s perfect knowledge shows that such creatures will inevitably go to hell. For God to know this does not require that actions which earn the punishment of hell actually take place. God’s knowledge is absolute, free from the constraints of time, action and place. Nothing is added to God’s knowledge as a result of a motion or an action that takes place in our world.

The second aspect to consider is that God’s perfect knowledge does not in any way direct these creatures to go astray so as to incur the punishment of hell as a result. It is they who are just like the Qur’ānic verse describes: “They have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear.” (Verse 179) It is they who have not opened their hearts and minds to learn and understand. Proofs, signs, indications and pointers of all sorts are available throughout the universe and in the divine messages, providing guidance which can easily be understood by hearts and minds that are kept open. It is they who have chosen not to open their ears to listen to God’s revelations. They have kept all these means of perception and understanding idle and unused. As a result, they live a life of wilful ignorance: “They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way; they are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179)

Those who are heedless of the signs God has placed in the universe and in life itself, and choose not to reflect on the events that take place around them, and do not see God’s will behind them all, are indeed further astray than cattle. Animals have natural tendencies to guide them. Human beings and jinn have been given hearts, minds, eyes and ears to hear, look and understand. If they choose not to open their means of perception, and prefer instead to go about life without reflecting about its meaning and aim, and without looking at its events and what they signify, or hearing its messages, they place themselves below animals who have only been given their natural tendencies. As a result, they are destined for hell. It is God’s will that drives them there ever since He has given them their dual susceptibility and made the law of punishment and reward. God knows right at the beginning that their action and attitude will lead them to hell.

The sūrah follows this with a clear instruction to the believers to ignore those who deviate from the right path and go astray. At the time of the Prophet, those were the unbelievers who used to maintain idolatry in opposition to the Islamic message.

They used to blaspheme against God’s names, twist His attributes, and assign them to some of the idols they ascribe as partners to God. “God has the finest names, so appeal to Him by these and stay away from those who blaspheme against His names. They shall be requited for all they do.” (Verse 180)

The Arabic word in this Qur’ānic verse which is translated here as ‘blaspheme against His names’ signifies also twisting and distortion. The idolaters among the Arabs distorted God’s fine names and gave them to their alleged deities. They distorted the name Allah so as to call one of their idols al-Lāt, and twisted His attribute, al-`Azīz, which means the Mighty, to call another idol, al-`Uzzā. The Qur’ānic verse states clearly that these fine names and attributes belong to God alone. It instructs the believers to call Him alone by these names, without any distortion or twisting. They are also instructed to ignore the twisters who have gone far astray, and not to bother about them. They are left to God who determines their punishment. This is a very serious warning indeed.

This instruction to ignore those who blaspheme against God is not limited to that particular occasion or to those who twist and distort God’s names and attributes, or who assign them to their alleged deities. It applies to all sorts of blasphemy, such as those who adopt a twisted or deviant concept of Godhead. These include those who claim that God has a son or those who allege that His will is subject to the laws of nature, or those who claim that His actions are similar to the actions of human beings, when there is no-one and nothing like Him. It also applies to those who claim that He is the deity in heaven who conducts the affairs of the universe and who determines people’s destiny in the hereafter, but who negate at the same time His position as the deity on earth and in human life. Such people claim that He may not legislate for human life, because people are the ones who legislate for themselves in the light of their experience and guided by their interests, as they themselves see these interests. In this respect, the people are their own deities, or some of them are the deities of others. All this is deviation and blasphemy against God, His names and attributes. Muslims are commanded to ignore all this and not to bother about it. The blasphemers and deviants are warned here that they will receive the right punishment for what they do.

The sūrah has so far described types of people, particularly those whom God has destined to abide in hell. These are described as ones who “have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear.” (Verse 179) A group of them are described as ones who `blaspheme against God’s names’ and distort them. The sūrah goes on to describe other types of people, telling us about a community which holds fast to the truth and calls on people to believe in it, and implement it with determination and conscientiousness. At the other extreme there is a community of people who deny the truth and reject God’s revelations. The sūrah tells us clearly that the first community exists without a shred of doubt. They guard the truth and hold tight to it when other people abandon it and deviate far away from it. When others reject the truth as a lie, they remain steadfast.

The sūrah further explains that the others shall have a dreadful end, as God will punish them through His mighty schemes: “Among those whom We have created there is a community who guide others by means of the truth and with it establish justice. As for those who deny Our revelations, We will lead them on, step by step, from whence they cannot tell; for although I may give them respite, My subtle scheme is mighty.” (Verses 181-183)

Humanity would not have deserved any honour had it not been for the fact that there will always be, even in the worst circumstances, that community which God calls by its Islamic term, ummah. By definition, the ummah is a community which believes in the same faith that remains its basic bond, and obeys the same leadership that supervises the implementation of that faith. It is then the community that adheres to, and implements the truth, in all situations. It is the guardian of God’s trust, the witness to His covenant with people, and it is the community to provide God’s evidence against those who go astray turning their backs on His covenant.

The description given here of this community deserves reflection. It is a community “who guide others by means of the truth and with it establish justice.” (Verse 181) This community will continue to be present at all times, even though it may at certain periods be very small in number. Its main characteristic is that those who belong to it “guide others by means of the truth”. (Verse 181) They call on people to accept the truth, and will never relinquish their task of advocating the truth. They are not happy to keep it to themselves, or to be inward looking. They try to publicize the truth they know, and guide other people to it. Thus, they have a role of leadership among those around them who have strayed away from this truth, and who have violated their covenant. They adopt a positive attitude, which is not limited to knowing the truth but goes beyond that knowledge in order to advocate the truth and guide to it.

But this is not all that they do about the truth. Their other characteristic is that they `establish justice’ with the truth. This means that they go well beyond knowing the truth and advocating it, to take positive steps to implement the truth in human life and make it the criterion for judgement in order to establish justice that cannot be based on anything other than the truth. The crux of the matter is that the truth has not been revealed only to remain a mere branch of knowledge studied by scholars, or even an admonition to point out the right path. The truth has been revealed so that people conduct their lives according to it. It should govern people’s concepts so that these are moulded in accordance with it, and it should govern people’s rites of worship so that these provide a practical image of the truth in as far as the relationship between human beings and their Lord is concerned. The truth has also been revealed in order to mould practical life so that all systems are in line with its principles and subject to the laws derived from it. It also shapes people’s habits, traditions, moral values and behaviour, as well as their philosophical doctrines, culture and all branches of knowledge, providing the criteria to evaluate all these.

When all this takes place, the truth is present in human life, and justice, which can only be based on the truth, is established. Thus, the establishment of the truth in human life is the task undertaken by this community, after having made the truth known and worked to guide other people to it.

This religion of Islam has a nature that is too plain to admit any ambiguity, and too solid to allow any equivocation. Those who stand against this faith find it exceedingly hard to force it out of its clear and solid nature. Therefore, they exert tireless efforts and mount ceaseless campaigns, utilizing all means and methods, in order to change its direction and obscure its nature. They resort to unrestrained brutality to crush the advocates of Islamic revival in any part of the world, utilizing certain regimes that they establish and support. They even utilize professional scholars to work against this faith, distorting God’s words, and making lawful what God has forbidden. These professional scholars try to make God’s law appear equivocal and they bless indecency and promiscuity, even giving them Islamic labels.

They pat on the back those who are fascinated by materialistic culture and admire its theories and systems. Their aim is to manoeuvre Islam into imitating these theories and situations and to borrow materialistic laws and methods. The Islamic faith, which provides a system to govern all aspects of life, is described by such people as a historical event that took place in the past and cannot be brought back! At the same time, they lavish praise on this past to pacify the Muslims of today. They then tell them that Islam should remain alive today in the hearts of its followers as a set of beliefs and acts of worship, not as a law or code of living. Islam and Muslims should be satisfied with their glorious past. Alternatively, they go on, Islam should be subject to evolution, so that it submits to the realities of life, endorsing everything that people wish to adopt of concepts and laws.

To consolidate the regimes they create in the world that was Islamic, they provide theories that take the form of a faith and religion to replace the old Islamic faith. They even provide for these theories a Qur’ān to be recited and studied so that it can replace the Qur’ān revealed by God. As a last resort, they try to change the nature of society in these countries, in the same way as they try to change the nature of this religion, so that Islam will not find receptive hearts to accept its guidance. They transform communities into human beings that are lost in the quagmire of pleasure, sex and lust, preoccupied with the necessities of life to ensure their survival, and unable to find these necessities without hard toil. Thus they ensure that after having worked hard for food and sex, people are unable to listen to any voice of guidance or to think of religion.

It is a ferocious fight against this faith and the community who guide others by means of its truth and try to establish justice with it. It is a fight where no qualms are shown about using any type of weapon, in which all means are used and for which all the forces, talents, media and international organizations and machinery are mobilized. Indeed, it is merely to sustain this fight and add to its fuel that we see certain regimes supported and patronized by world powers. Needless to say, such regimes would not survive for a day without such support.

Nevertheless, the clear and solid nature of this religion stands firm in this ferocious battle. The Muslim community that guards the truth despite its small number and poor equipment, continues to resist with success the brutal efforts that aim to crush and exterminate it. God will certainly accomplish His purpose.

“As for those who deny Our revelations, We will lead them on, step by step, from whence they cannot tell; for although I may give them respite, My subtle scheme is mighty.” (Verses 182-183) This is indeed the power they do not reckon with when they launch their ferocious battle against this faith and the community that follows it with conscientiousness and makes it its basic bond. Those who deny God’s revelations remain always unaware of this power, and can never think that whatever means they are given are no more than something with which to lead them on, step by step. They are only given respite for a while. They do not believe in the might of God’s subtle schemes. They support one another, and they only believe in the power they see with their eyes on earth. As a result, they forget about the Almighty, the One who commands all the power. But God’s law in respect of those who deny His revelations remains the same. He gives them free rein, and allows them time to indulge in their excesses and disobedience. But all this only leads them along the road to ruin. A subtle but mighty scheme is being prepared for them. The question is: by whom? It is by the Almighty who has all power. While they remain unaware, the great prize is prepared for the believers who guide others by means of the truth and work for the establishment of justice on its basis.

This serious and alarming threat was directed first of all at certain people in Makkah who denied God’s revelations, but Qur’ānic statements always go beyond the immediate occasion to have a more general import. It threatens these people because of their attitude towards the Muslim community, described here according to Islamic terminology as a nation or ummah. They are warned that they are only being given respite, and led on by a mighty scheme. This threat is followed by calling on them to use their hearts, eyes and ears, in order to spare themselves the fate of Hell. The Qur’ān also calls on them to reflect on the position of God’s Messenger who explains the truth to them and guides them to it, and to consider God’s dominion of the heavens and the earth and the indicators placed in this kingdom. It draws their attention to the fact that time passes and that their appointed hour is drawing near, while they remain unaware.

Have they not thought things over? Their companion is no madman; he is only a plain warner. Have they not considered [God’s] dominion over the heavens and the earth, and all that God has created, and [reflected] that it may well be that their own term is drawing near? In what other message after this will they, then, believe? (Verses 184- 185)

The Qur’ān shakes them and wakes them up in order to rescue their nature, minds and feelings from the pressures that weigh heavily on them. It addresses their humanity with all its systems of reception and response. It does not make an academic argument, but tries to address their whole nature: “Have they not thought things over? Their companion is no madman; he is only a plain warner.” (Verse 184)

In their propaganda campaign against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the notables of the Quraysh21 tried to deceive the public by saying that Muhammad was a madman who uttered strange words, unfamiliar to normal human beings.

Those notables of the Quraysh were fully aware that they were lying. Numerous reports suggest that they were fully aware of the truth concerning the Prophet and his message. They could not even stop themselves listening to the Qur’ān and responding to its appeal. A well-known report mentions that three of them, al- Akhnas ibn Sharīq, Abū Sufyān and Abū Jahl met one another on three consecutive nights after having sat for a long while during the night listening to the Qur’ān.22

Another well-known report describes how `Utbah ibn Rabī`ah was deeply touched when the Prophet recited to him a long passage of Sūrah 41.23 There is also a famous report describing how they held a conference as the pilgrimage season approached, to discuss what to say to pilgrims from faraway areas about the Qur’ān. Al-Walīd ibn Al- Mughīrah finally instructed them to say that the Qur’ān was the product of sorcery.24 All these reports confirm that they were not unaware of the truth of this faith. They only adopted an arrogant attitude and feared for their authority which they felt to be threatened by the declaration that there was no deity other than God and that Muhammad was His Messenger. That declaration constituted a threat to all types of human tyranny as it put an end to all human attempts to force people to submit to anyone other than God.

They manipulated the unique style of the Qur’ān and the fact that it was so different from all familiar human styles. They also made use of the common belief concerning a relationship between prophecy and madness that originates from the fact that a mad person may say incomprehensible words and utterances which someone close to him might interpret any way he likes, claiming that it was given him from another world. Those Arabs manipulated that legacy in order to deceive people alleging that what Muhammad said was the product of madness.25

The Qur’ān calls on them to consider and reflect: they had known this companion of theirs, i.e. the Prophet Muhammad, (peace be upon him), for a long time and they had never experienced any fault with him. Indeed, they themselves testified to his honesty, truthfulness and wisdom. They accepted him as an arbiter when a quarrel erupted between them over which tribe was to have the honour of putting the Black Stone back in its position. They accepted his judgement which spared them a potentially very costly battle. They trusted him with their valuables which they kept in his custody until the day when he left Makkah to migrate to Madinah. His cousin, `Alī, returned every valuable article to its owner.

The Qur’ān calls on them to consider and reflect on all this. They had known Muhammad for a very long time and were fully aware of his character. Was he a man to experience any madness? Were any of his words or actions indicative of madness? Certainly not: “Their companion is no madman; he is only a plain warner.” (Verse 184) There is certainly nothing wrong with his mind or with his speech. He speaks plainly to warn people about what is awaiting them. His statements could never be confused with those of mad people and his actions were certainly the actions of a very wise person.

And then comes this inviting question: “Have they not considered [God’s] dominion over the heavens and the earth, and all that God has created?” (Verse 185) This serves as another deeply touching call. They are invited to open their eyes and hearts to this vast kingdom with all that it contains. Reflection with open heart and mind is sufficient to revive human nature and make it receptive to the truth underlined by God’s inimitable creation and all its miraculous aspects testifying to its being the work of God, the only Creator. Reflection over anything God has created — and His creation is so greatly varied in the kingdoms of heaven and earth — is bound to leave both heart and mind in a genuine state of speechless amazement. The mind will then start to look for the origin of this creation, and the power that has made it all in such a perfect system. Why has each creature taken its present shape and not taken an alternative form from among the countless shapes which exist in nature? Why has the system of creation followed this particular route to the exclusion of all other possible ones? Why have all creatures persisted in following this particular way, without changing it over the centuries? What is the secret behind the unity that we can detect in the nature of all creation, unless it is the result of a single will that gives practical manifestation to a consistent act of creation?

A living body, indeed a single living cell is so miraculous in its existence, make-up and behaviour. Its process of transformation continues all the time, yet it preserves its existence and has the means to give birth to new generations of its kind.

Moreover, it knows its function and manages to keep it up in its successive generations. Who can reflect on the existence of a single cell and make a statement that this universe is run without God, or that God has partners to do the job with Him? Who can be rationally at ease when he makes such a statement? How can he make his nature and conscience agree with it?

The very fact that life continues through marriage and procreation is a testimony to the elaborate scheme of creation made by God, the only Creator. This should be reflected upon by every thinking human being. If it was not for God, who would guarantee that life would always enjoy the proper ratio of males and females, generation after generation, to ensure the continuity of marriage and procreation?

How is it that there never comes a time when life produces only the male or the female variety? Should this ever happen, then procreation would come to an end. It is important to ask: who maintains the right balance in every generation?

Yet balance is clearly visible throughout God’s dominion of the heavens and the earth, not merely in this single life phenomenon. We recognize it in the make-up of the atom, just as we see it in the constitution of the galaxy. Proper balance is also noticeable between living things and inanimate objects as well. Should this balance be tilted by a fraction one way or the other, this whole universe would instantly collapse. Who maintains this fine balance in the heavens and the earth?

The Arabs who were the first to be addressed by the Qur’ān did not have the knowledge to realize the extent of this balance and coherence in the heavens and the earth and in all God’s creation. But human nature itself responds to the universe in an unspoken language that it certainly feels in its depth. It is sufficient that a human being should reflect over what he sees in the universe, with an open eye and a receptive mind in order to receive its guidance and inspiration.

When they received these signals, human beings recognized by their nature that God had created them. They were never unaware of this fact, but they were drawn to error in identifying their true Lord, until they were provided with guidance through God’s messages. However, the neo-atheists, who advocate so-called `scientific socialism’, are nonentities who have corrupted their nature. Indeed, they deny their own nature and reject its consistent pointers. When one of them, an astronaut, went into space and beheld that dazzling scene of the earth looking as a ball suspended in mid-air, he cried out naturally, “Who holds it in position like that?” But when he returned to earth and remembered the tyranny of the Communist state, he said that he did not find God over there.26 He simply suppressed the discourse of his nature as he reflected on an aspect of the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.

God who addresses man with the Qur’ān is the One who has created man and knows his nature. He concludes this invitation to reflect and consider with a reminder of death that may come suddenly taking them unawares: “Have they not considered [God’s] dominion over the heavens and the earth, and all that God has created, and [reflected] that it may well be that their own term is drawing near?” (Verse 185) Can they tell that their term is not fast drawing to a close? Why do they prefer to remain heedless of God’s reminders when they cannot fathom what God has kept hidden and when they cannot break loose from His will?

This last touch on the unknown end that may come suddenly shakes the human heart violently, so that it may wake up, think and reflect. God, who has revealed the Qur’ān and created man, knows that this emphasis is bound to re-awaken every heart and open every mind. Yet some people may still choose to deliberately deny the truth: “In what other message after this will they, then, believe?” (Verse 185) This message is the final one, and there will not be any following message to soften the hearts of those who choose to disbelieve.

We note how a single verse uses several ways and means to show us that when the Qur’ān addresses human nature, it does not leave any aspect of it untouched. It does not present a cold, logical argument, nor does it ignore the human intellect either. Indeed, it ensures that the mind is awakened just as the Qur’ān puts its message to the whole human being. When the human mind has been reawakened, it is invited to think, consider and reflect as life begins to send messages to it. This must remain the method of those who advocate faith. Human beings remain in their human status. They have not evolved into a different species. The Qur’ān remains the eternal work of God. God’s address to man remains the same, even though human knowledge may have developed and greatly increased.

Now, the sūrah takes a short pause to restate God’s law that is concerned with guidance and error. God has willed to provide guidance to everyone who seeks it and works for it. On the other hand, anyone who turns away from guidance and closes his mind and heart to the pointers to faith will be left alone to go astray. This law is restated here in connection with the situation of those people who were the first to be addressed by the Qur’ān. As we have seen, the Qur’ān makes use of a single case or a particular example in order to state a consistent law.

“Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide; and He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Those who go astray do so because they choose not to consider and reflect. When people turn their minds away from the signs placed by God in the universe, they will be left to go astray. They will have none to guide them after that: “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide.” (Verse 186) And whoever is so left alone in accordance with God’s law that we have explained will continue with his arrogance and will, therefore, be left to stumble along blindly. There is no injustice in that. Those people have chosen to keep their eyes and hearts shut, and not to reflect on the miraculous aspects of creation and the secrets of the universe. They have decided not to listen to the testimony of everything that God has created. Wherever one looks in the universe, one is bound to find a sign or a telling message pointing one in the right direction. Whatever man looks at, either within himself, or in the world around him, he is bound to recognize God’s hand and His inimitable way of creation. If he chooses to remain blind to all this, he is left in his blindness. If he chooses to adopt an attitude of arrogance and to ignore the truth, he is left to his own devices, until he finally lands himself in ruin: “He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186)

Some of those arrogant, misguided and blind people who prefer not to see what is around them, questioned the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the final Hour, the timing of which God has chosen not to reveal. They are the same as the one who does not see what is under his feet but wants to see what lies beyond the horizon. Hence, their questioning: “They ask you about the Last Hour: ‘When will it come to pass?’ Say:

‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time. It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly’.

They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it. Say: Knowledge of it rests with God alone, though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187)

The call to believe in the hereafter and its related concept of punishment and reward came as a complete surprise to the idolatrous Arabs. Although this concept is fundamental to Abraham’s faith, the grandfather of those idolatrous people, and also to the faith of their noble father, Ishmael, their links with the faith of submission to God preached by Abraham and Ishmael were completely severed. The concept of the hereafter had been erased from their minds and they received it again with total amazement and complete surprise. They wondered at the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) because he told them about life after death, resurrection, reckoning, punishment and reward. This is stated clearly in the Qur’ān: “The unbelievers would say: ‘Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall be in a new act of creation? Does he attribute his own lying inventions to God, or is he a mad man?’ Truly, those who deny the life to come are doomed, for they have gone far astray.” (34: 7-8)

God knows that no community may be able to assume the leadership of mankind and bear testimony against them, as is the task of the Muslim community, unless the concept of the hereafter is clear in their minds, deeply entrenched in their consciences. To think of life as only this limited period confined to this world will not raise such a community to assume such a task.

To believe in the hereafter provides broadness of concept and vision as well as a wider perspective. It also opens up life to make it go beyond this limited world. This is necessary for the formation of the human self so that it is fit to assume its great role. It is also necessary to enable human beings to control their desires and narrow ambitions. Moreover, it gives human beings the sense of broadness they need to overcome the feeling of despair when they encounter short-term adverse results, or when they have to make painful sacrifices. If believers were to despair, they would not be able to continue with the propagation of the truth and all its goodness, or to lead mankind to all that is good. All such qualities are necessary to fulfil man’s great task.

Believing in the hereafter is the dividing line between the broadness and narrowness of vision and perspective. Their broadness is natural to man, while their narrowness results from concentrating only on the physical and the carnal. Adopting an animal perspective can never be suitable for assuming the leadership of humanity, or the fulfilment of God’s trust given to man as the creature God has placed in charge of the earth.

For all this, strong emphasis has been laid on believing in the hereafter in all divine religions. This is brought to its climax in Islam which gives such belief in the hereafter its greatest clarity, broadness and depth. This is what makes the sense of the hereafter much stronger among the Muslim community than its sense of this world in which we actually live. That is indeed what makes the Muslim community fit to lead mankind and to make its leadership characterized by wisdom and right guidance.

At this point in the sūrah we look at the scene of the unbelievers’ surprise, wonder and incredulousness towards the concept of the hereafter. This is all seen in their questioning that is given in overtones of ridicule and derision: “They ask you about the Last Hour: `When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187)

That Hour is part of a store of knowledge that God has kept to Himself and revealed to no creature. But the unbelievers questioned the Prophet about it either to test his knowledge, or to express their surprise and amusement, or to portray their contempt and derision. They ask about the time when it will take place: “When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187)

But the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a human being who never made any claim to know anything that lies beyond the reach of human perception. He is instructed to leave that to the Lord, and to tell people that its knowledge is part of the attributes of Godhead. As a human being, he does not make any claim to anything that goes beyond the limits of humanity. He knows only what his Lord has vouchsafed to him of divine revelations.

“Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time.’” (Verse 187) God, who alone knows the Hour and its timing, will not reveal it until its appointed time. No one else can say anything about it with any degree of certitude.

Their attentions are turned away from asking about its time to consider its nature and to reflect on its seriousness. It is certainly a matter of great importance, and its burden is heavy indeed. Its weight is felt in the heavens and the earth. Besides, it comes suddenly when people who do not pay attention to it are still unaware of its approach: “It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly.” (Verse 187) Therefore, it is only wise to be prepared for it before it comes suddenly, when no precaution will be of use. Preparations and precautions must be taken well in advance, when time is ample and people still expect to live longer. No one knows when it will exactly arrive. Therefore, everyone should prepare for it now, without losing a moment or an hour, because it may come at any time.

The sūrah wonders at those who question the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the Hour. They do not understand the nature of the divine message or the Messenger, and they do not know the nature of Godhead, and the attribute of humility the Prophet adopts towards his Lord. “They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it.” (Verse 187) They always ask about it, as if you are required to disclose its time. But God’s Messenger does not ask his Lord about something when he is aware that God has chosen to keep it to Himself: “Say:

‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone.’” (Verse 187) He has chosen to keep that information to Himself and not to reveal it to any of His creatures, “though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187)

But this does not apply to knowledge of the Hour only. It applies to everything in the realm which lies beyond the reach of human perception. It is God alone who knows all that there is in that realm. He does not give knowledge of any of it, except to someone He chooses, at the time and in the measure He determines. Hence, people do not have the ability to cause themselves any benefit or harm. They may do something which they hope to be beneficial to them, but they soon discover its consequences to be very harmful. Or they may take an initiative to remove some harm but they do not reckon with its adverse results. Or they may do something reluctantly, because they are forced to do it, and then discover it to be very beneficial for them. Alternatively, they may approach something with enthusiasm, only to discover that it results in their own suffering: “It may well be that you hate a thing although it is good for you, and love a thing although it is bad for you.” (2: 216)

This is summed up by an Arab poet who says: “Would that someone shows me my destination before I start my journey! How could that be when one has to complete a journey to get to one’s destination.”27 This is the human position in relation to what lies beyond human perception. Human beings may achieve great progress, but when it comes to what God has chosen to keep away from them, they will remain confined to the limitation of their human knowledge. In his great position of honour and his closeness to his Lord, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is commanded to declare to mankind that when it comes to the realm that lies beyond our perception, he is only a human being who can cause himself neither benefit nor harm. This is because he is not given that knowledge, nor is he one to know the destination before starting the journey, or the consequences of actions before they take place. Hence, he cannot choose his actions on the basis of their consequences, because these are withheld from him. He has to choose his actions, and then the result takes place as God has determined: “Say: ‘It is not within my power to bring benefit to, or avert evil from, myself, except as God may please. Had I possessed knowledge of what lies beyond the reach of human perception, I would have availed myself of much that is good and no evil would have ever touched me. I am no more than one who gives warning, and a herald of good news to people who believe.’” (Verse 188)

With this declaration, the monotheistic faith of Islam is completely and absolutely purged of every trace of idolatry of whatever shape or form. God has His ‘unique attributes in which no human being has any share, not even Muhammad, God’s chosen and beloved Messenger (peace be upon him). Human power and knowledge stop at the point of ghayb, which is the Islamic term for what lies beyond the reach of human perception. Within the limitations of humanity, God’s Messenger himself stands, and his role is well-defined: “I am no more than one who gives warning, and a herald of good news to people who believe.” (Verse 188)

God’s Messenger is indeed a warner and a bearer of good news to all mankind.

But the believers alone benefit by the warnings he conveys and the good news he brings. They are the ones to understand and appreciate his message, and they realize what it is all about. Moreover, they are the elite of all mankind. After all, from among all mankind, they are the ones to follow God’s Messenger.

A statement does not impart its true significance except to an open heart and a receptive mind. The Qur’ān does not open its treasures or give its secrets except to true believers. Some of the Prophet’s companions used to say that they had faith before they were given the Qur’ān. It is that faith which enabled them to grasp the meaning of the Qur’ān so fully and understand its meanings and objectives so comprehensively. Thus they were able to scale the unscaleable in the shortest imaginable period of time.

That unique generation of the Prophet’s companions found the Qur’ān so charming, enlightening and decisive to a degree that can only be appreciated by people who attain to the same standard of faith. It is true that the Qur’ān directed their souls to faith, but it was faith that opened for them in the Qur’ān treasures that could have never been opened through any other means. They lived by the Qur’ān and for the Qur’ān. Hence, they became a unique generation the like of which history has never witnessed again in the same standard and in the shape of a whole, large community. However, throughout history, there have been individuals who follow in the footsteps of that uniquely great generation. They dedicated themselves for a very long period to the Qur’ān alone. Its clear spring remained untainted by any human ideas. In addition to the Qur’ān, there was only the guidance provided by God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and that guidance drew on the same lines as the Qur’ān. Hence, that generation could easily make its remarkable achievements.

Any community of people who aspire to make similar achievements should follow in the footsteps of that generation. They should conduct their lives on the basis of the Qur’ān and live for it over a long period of time, freeing their hearts and minds from any other human ideas. Only in this way can they begin to be like that generation.

The sūrah then begins a new drive to re-emphasize the question of God’s oneness.

It starts first with a story which describes the initial deviation within the human mind from believing in God’s oneness to associating partners with Him. This story serves as a model for the deviation of the Arab idolaters from the faith of their first father, the Prophet Abraham. They are then put face to face with their own practices and the deities they associate with God. That all this is false and ludicrous is instantly apparent. Then God’s Messenger is directed to challenge those pagan Arabs and the deities they worship, declaring at the same time, that, for his part, he believes in God alone, his patron and protector.

It is He who has created you all from a single soul, and out of it brought into being its mate, so that he might incline with love towards her. When he has consorted with her, she conceives a light burden, which she carries with ease. Then, when she grows heavy, they both appeal to God, their Lord: “Grant us a goodly child and we will be truly grateful.’ Yet when He has granted them a goodly child, they associate with Him partners, particularly in respect of what He has granted them. Exalted is God above anything people may associate with Him as partners. Do they associate with Him those that can create nothing, while they themselves have been created, and neither can they give them any support nor can they even help themselves. If you call them to guidance they will not follow you. It is all the same whether you call them or keep silent. Those whom you invoke beside God are God’s servants, just like you. Invoke them, then, and let them answer you, if what you claim is true. Have they, perchance, feet on which they could walk, or hands with which to grasp things, or eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear? Say: Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.

Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves. If you pray to them for guidance, they will not hear you. You may see them looking at you but they do not see. (Verses 189-198)

This whole drive explains that once people start to adopt deviant ideas and move away from believing in, and worshipping God alone, their foolishness and deviation will know no limit, and they can no longer think and reflect properly. We see how deviation that starts on a small scale takes people far away from the truth of the right path.

It is He who has created you all from a single soul, and out of it brought into being its mate, so that he might incline with love towards her. When he has consorted with her, she conceives a light burden, which she carries with ease. Then, when she grows heavy, they both appeal to God, their Lord: “Grant us a goodly child and we will be truly grateful.” (Verse 189)

It is the pure nature with which all human beings are born. By nature, they turn to God, acknowledging that He is their only Lord, in situations of fear and hope alike.

The example given here for human nature begins with the origin of creation and the make-up of couples and families: “It is He who has created you all from a single soul, and out of it brought into being its mate, so that he might incline with love towards her.” (Verse 189)

It is thus a single soul and a single nature, although it has different functions for the male and the female. These differences also serve as a means to make a man incline with love towards his wife and find comfort with her. This is the Islamic outlook on the nature of man and the role of marriage. It is a complete, integrated and honest outlook stated by this religion over fourteen centuries ago when other religions that had deviated from the right path used to consider the woman as the root of human misery. She was looked on as a curse, an impurity and a tool for seduction that man should guard against as much as he could. Pagan beliefs continue even today to consider the woman as little more than an article at home, or, at best, a servant who is not to be given any status at all.

The original purpose of the meeting of a human couple is to provide love, comfort, and a settled happy life, which provides an ideal setting for the rearing of young children. It is in such a happy and loving environment that a new human generation is prepared to take over the task of promoting and adding to human civilization. The meeting of a human couple is not meant only to satisfy a fleeting desire or give a temporary pleasure. Nor is it made the basis of a quarrel, or a stage for a conflict between rules and specializations, or for a duplication of such rules and specializations. Ignorant communities, past and contemporary, have often fallen into such traps.

The story then begins, right at the first stage: “When he has consorted with her, she conceives a light burden, which she carries with ease.” (Verse 189) The Qur’ān employs a highly refined expression, particularly in the Arabic text, when it describes the initial relationship between a married couple, “When he has consorted with her.” It selects such fine expressions to provide, and to impart refinement to the meeting itself so that it is not felt as merely physical. This gives human beings an impression that their approach to their physical desire has a human element that distinguishes it from the rough and physical form of animals. Conception is described as “light” in its initial stage, when a mother carries it with ease, practically unnoticed.

The second stage is then described: “Then, when she grows heavy, they both appeal to God, their Lord: ‘Grant us a goodly child and we will be truly grateful.’” (Verse 189) Now that the pregnancy is ascertained, it gives great hopes to the parents-to-be. They now pin their hopes that the newborn will be healthy, pretty, cute, etc., bringing into reality all that parents wish to have in their children when they are still in the embryonic stage. With such hopes, pure human nature is awakened, and it turns to God acknowledging that He is the only Lord, and appealing to Him to bestow His grace. This they do because they truly feel that God is indeed the only source of strength, blessings and grace in the whole universe. Hence, they make their heartfelt appeal “to God, their Lord: ‘Grant Us a goodly child and we will be truly grateful.’” (Verse 189)

“Yet when He has granted them a goodly child, they associate with Him partners, particularly in respect of what He has granted them. Exalted is God above anything people may associate with Him as partners.” (Verse 190) Some reports mentioned in commentaries on the Qur’ān suggest that this is a true story that occurred to Adam and Eve, whose children used to be deformed when born. Satan came to them and persuaded Eve to call the child she was carrying `Abd al-Ĥārith, when al-Ĥārith was the name of Satan himself. He told her that she would then ensure that her child would be healthy and would survive. She did so, persuading Adam to agree with her. Needless to say, this report can only have an Israelite origin. Distorted Jewish and Christian concepts blame Eve for all human error. This is contrary to the correct Islamic concept.

We have no need for such Israelite reports to interpret this Qur’ānic statement.

The Qur’ānic account describes the stages of deviation in human beings. The idolaters at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and prior to his time, used to pledge their children to serve their deities or be servants in temples and houses of worship. They did so in order to gain favour with God. Although at the beginning they used to turn to God alone, they then deflected from the summit of believing in God’s oneness and fell into the depths of abject idolatry. In their error, they used to pledge their children to such idols and deities, hoping that by doing so their children would have a healthy life and would be protected against dangers. It is the same as some people do today when they make pledges to saints dedicating to them certain parts of their children’s bodies. Some people may keep a boy’s hair to grow, pledging that his first hair cut will be undertaken at the tomb or shrine of a saint, or they keep the boy uncircumcised until his circumcision is undertaken at such a tomb or shrine. Yet these people acknowledge that God is one, but follow this acknowledgement with such idolatrous practices. Human beings remain the same.

“Exalted is God above anything people may associate with Him as partners.” (Verse 190)

Rejected is all the idolatry they believe and practise.

Today we see various aspects of idolatry practised by people who claim to believe in God’s oneness and say that they submit to Him. These practices provide an example of the stages of paganism depicted in the Qur’ānic verses. Today, people glorify certain gods which they may call, `the nation’, or `the motherland’, or `the people’, or a host of other names. These are no more than unshaped idols similar to the stupid forms of idols the pagans of old had. They are deities assigned a share of God’s creation and to which children are pledged in the same way as they were pledged to the old idols. Sacrifices are offered to these deities on a wide scale in the same way as sacrifices used to be offered in temples.

People acknowledge God as their Lord; it is true. But they then abandon His commandments and His laws while they consider the orders and requirements of their own idols and deities as sacred. For the implementation of the latter, God’s laws are contravened, and even totally disregarded. If such practices of later day jāhiliyyah are not to be considered as paganism, then what does constitute paganism? How are deities adopted? And how are they given a portion of people’s children? Indeed, ancient paganism used to be even more polite with God. It used to acknowledge certain deities to which offerings of children, crops, fruits and sacrifices were made only as a means for them to draw closer to God. Today’s jāhiliyyah considers the orders of its deities as having greater priority than what God commands. Indeed, it abandons His commandments altogether.

We deceive ourselves when we limit paganism to the stupid old form of having idols and statues, treating them as deities, and to the practices of worship which people used to offer to those deities, appealing to them for support. It is only the shape and form of deities and paganism that has changed, and practices of worship that have become more sophisticated, offered under different headings. The essence of paganism remains the same behind all these. We must not lose sight of this fact.

God — limitless is He in His glory — issues a clear commandment that human beings should observe chastity, dress modestly and lead a virtuous life. But the `motherland’ or `productivity’ requires women to go out revealing their beauty, all made up, and to work as hostesses in hotels in a way that is not much different from that of the geisha girls in pagan Japan. Which deity’s orders are those people following? Are they abiding by God’s commandments? Or by those of their false deities? God — most exalted is He — commands that people should come together with the bond of faith forming the basis of their community. But `nationalism’ or `the motherland’ orders that religion be totally disregarded and replaced by ties of race and nation. Do people then follow God’s orders or those of the partners they associate with Him? Similarly, God orders that His law should be implemented, but a single human being, or a group of people reject this and claim that human beings have the authority to legislate and whatever laws they enact must be implemented.

Which orders then should people follow: those of God or those of their false deities?

All these are but examples of what takes place today the whole world over. These examples show the true nature of the prevailing paganism and the nature of the idols that are worshipped in place of the old idols and statues in the old pagan days. We must never allow changing shapes and practices to blind us to the true nature of idolatry and jāhiliyyah.

The Qur’ān argues with those who advocated the earlier form of naive paganism and clear ignorance. It addresses their minds so that they can abandon unbecoming naivety and wake up to the truth. It comments on that form of jāhiliyyah and how paganism creeps into human beings by saying: “Do they associate with Him those that can create nothing, while they themselves have been created, and neither can they give them any support nor can they even help themselves.” (Verses 191-192)

It is only the Creator who deserves to be worshipped. The partners they associate with God can create nothing. Indeed, they themselves are created. How can they be raised to the status of deities? How come they assign to those deities a portion of themselves and their children? Power and authority are amongst the most essential attributes of Godhead. The One who can support His servants and protect them with His power is the One who deserves to be worshipped. All their alleged deities are powerless and without authority. How can they give them support when they cannot even help themselves? How are they to be treated as partners with God?

Hence, humanity today stands in the same old position and needs to be addressed by the Qur’ān anew. It needs someone to rescue it from its new jāhiliyyah, and present Islam to it; someone to take it from darkness into light and to save its hearts and minds from the new paganism and idolatry. This religion saved it the first time and it can certainly save it from the new folly into which it has sunk.

The way this Qur’ānic verse is phrased suggests that it also serves as a strong reproach to them for having adopted human deities: “Do they associate with Him those that can create nothing, while they themselves have been created, and neither can they give them any support nor can they even help themselves.” (Verses 191-192)

The Arabic text uses the plural form that refers only to a group which includes human beings. This suggests that there are some human beings who are considered or treated as gods. It has never been suggested that, in their pagan days, the Arabs used to have human deities whom they treated as gods or to whom they offered worship. They only gave them the position of deities in the sense that they accepted the social laws they had enacted for them and accepted their arbitration in their own quarrels, which meant that they gave them the status of Godhead. The Qur’ān refers to all this as associating partners with God. It equates it with idolatry that offers worship to statues and idols. Indeed, Islam treats both forms of paganism in the same way, just as the Qur’ān considers those who accepted the laws and verdicts given to them by rabbis and priests as polytheists, associating partners with God.

They definitely did not believe that those rabbis and priests were gods or deities, and they did not offer any act of worship to them. Nevertheless, all such attitudes deviate from the concept of God’s oneness, which is the cornerstone of the divine faith. That concept takes its clearest form in the declaration that “there is no deity other than God.” This endorses what we have already stated, that the new forms of jāhiliyyah are just as idolatrous as its old form.

The reference in the Qur’ān to deviation from the truth starting within the human soul as represented in the story of a married couple and the birth of their baby, applies to every form of polytheism and idolatry. It is intended to alert those who are to be addressed by the Qur’ān to the absolute folly of their idolatry that leads them to believe in those deities, which can neither create anything nor support their worshippers. They are indeed created; and they are powerless, unable to help themselves. This is their state whether they are human beings or of any other type.

None of them can create or provide help. Now the sūrah changes the mode of relating a story in order to adopt a style that fits a direct confrontation with the pagan Arabs, but it continues the previous address.

If you call them to guidance they will not follow you. It is all the same whether you call them or keep silent. Those whom you invoke beside God are God’s servants, just like you. Invoke them, then, and let them answer you, if what you claim is true. Have they, perchance, feet on which they could walk, or hands with which to grasp things, or eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear? (Verses 193-195)

Arab paganism was, as we have already explained, too foolish by the standards of any stage of the human intellect. Hence, the Qur’ān tries to alert the Arabs’ minds to their folly as they ascribed divinity to such deities. Those idols did not have feet with which to walk, hands with which to grasp, eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear. Yet they themselves had these senses. How could they then worship statues made of stone that could not even do the things they themselves could do?

Sometimes they considered these idols as symbols of the angels or of their own forefathers. Yet these were creatures like themselves who could not create anything or give support to anyone, because they themselves are created and cannot help themselves.

There was this apparent element of applying double standards in the beliefs of the pagan Arabs, vacillating between the physical idols and what they symbolized. We assume that this is the reason for the frequent change in the Qur’ānic address as it refers sometimes to these idols using the animate pronoun to point to the symbols behind them, and at others using the pronoun for inanimate objects to denote that the idols themselves are lifeless. Yet the whole concept of idolatry is apparently false by the pure standards of the simple human mind. Hence, the Qur’ān alerts our minds to the need to steer away from this unbecoming lack of awareness.

At the end of this argument, God directs His Messenger to challenge them together with all their powerless deities, and to declare his clear faith, acknowledging the patronage of God alone: “Say: ‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous. Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves. If you pray to them for guidance, they will not hear you. You may see them looking at you but they do not see.” (Verses 195-198)

This is the type of challenge, which an advocate of the true faith would throw to jāhiliyyah. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said it exactly as his Lord directed him, and put the challenge to all his contemporary idolaters and their alleged deities:

“Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite.” (Verse 195)

He invites them to muster all their scheming powers, and those of their deities, and to strike against him without waiting for a moment. As he threw out this challenge, he was fully confident, reassured that God would protect him against all their scheming: “My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.” (Verse 196) He thus declares what sort of support He relies on. He simply trusts to God who has revealed the Book. By this revelation, God has indicated His will that His Messenger should confront people with the truth embodied in that Book, and that He has willed that this truth will triumph over all falsehood. He has also willed to protect his righteous servants who convey His message believing in its truthfulness.

The same challenge should be thrown down by every advocate of God’s message who follows in the footsteps of God’s Messenger (peace be upon him). It is the same challenge everywhere and at all times: “Say: ‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.’” (Verses 195-196) An advocate of the divine faith must not rely on any earthly power, instead he must rely only on God’s power. This will enable him to rise above all earthly powers. These are certainly of no substance, no matter how strong they may appear at first sight: “Mankind, an analogy is given here; so listen to it: Those whom you invoke instead of God will never create (as much as] a fly, even though they would join all their forces for the purpose. And if a fly robs them of anything, they cannot retrieve it. Weak indeed is the seeker, and weak the sought.” (22: 73) “Those who take beings other than God for their protectors may be compared to the spider which makes for itself a house. Surely the frailest of all houses is that of the spider, if they could only understand this.” (29: 41)

An advocate of the truth relies on God. What use can other forces and masters be to him? What respect do they command, even though they may be able to cause him harm? Such harm can only be caused with God’s will, and God is his patron. It is not as though God was unable to protect him, or that God lets His servants down. Far be it from God to do so. But he permits this as a test and training to His servants, and also to lead the wrongdoers on, giving them their chance before He strikes at them with force.

Abū Bakr, the Prophet’s closest companion, was subjected to much harm. The idolaters hit him in the face with their shoes, and directed their strikes at his eyes, so that when they left him, his eyes were indistinguishable from his mouth. Despite this wicked assault, he kept repeating: “My Lord, how forbearing You are! How great is Your forbearance!” Deep at heart, he realized what lay behind this attack on him and how forbearing God is. He was certain that God was fully able to destroy his enemies and that He would never let His good servants down.

`Abdullāh ibn Mas`ūd, one of the Prophet’s companions, went close to the pagan Arabs when they were meeting in the Ka`bah and recited the Qur’ān aloud so that they could hear it. They attacked him so badly and left him unable to stand. After this attack, he said: “By God, I had no respect whatsoever for them then.” He realized that they were standing in opposition to God Himself, and he knew that whoever does this is certain to be vanquished. Hence, they could earn no respect from the advocates of God’s message.

Another of the Prophet’s companions, `Uthmān ibn Maz`ūn, felt it unbecoming for him, a believer, to be under the protection of an unbeliever, `Utbah ibn Rabī`ah, when some of his own brethren were tortured for no reason other than faith.

Therefore, he disclaimed `Utbah’s protection. Immediately, the idolaters gathered around him, causing him physical harm and badly injuring his eye. `Utbah offered him his protection again, but he said to him: “I am under the protection of one who is much more powerful than you.” `Utbah said to him: “My nephew, you could have spared your eye all this harm.” But `Uthmān replied: “No. By God, my other eye is eager to have the same treatment in the service of God’s cause.” He was absolutely certain that the protection given him by God is much more effective than that offered by human beings. He knew that his Lord would not let him down. If He allowed him to be harmed in this manner, then it was only to help him rise to such a sublime standard that enabled him to say what he did about his other eye in so far as he was eager to make that a similar sacrifice for God’s cause.

These were examples of that great generation which was brought up in line with the Qur’ānic teachings, under the guidance of Muhammad, the Prophet (peace be upon him), who fully understood his Lord’s instructions as He said to him: “Say:

‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.’” (Verses 195-196)

What happened after they had willingly tolerated all this aggression from scheming idolaters? What happened to them when they sought only the shelter of God who revealed the Book, and who is the patron of the righteous? This is well known in history. The eventual triumph and power belonged to God’s servants.

Defeat and misery were the lot of the tyrants. Those of them who eventually responded positively to Islam joined the Muslim community where they had a lower position than those who were ahead of them in accepting the faith and who endured all hardship with a great trust in God. The advocates of the divine faith, wherever they may be and in whichever generation they may live, will not achieve anything unless they have such trust in God and such firm resolve to serve His cause: “My guardian is God who has bestowed the Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.” (Verse 196)

God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was commanded to challenge the idolaters, and he did so. He was ordered to explain to them the powerlessness of their deities and the folly of believing in such deities, and he acted on his instructions: “Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves.” (Verse 197) Just as this statement applied to the primitive form of idols the Arabs used to have in their ancient ignorant days, it applies in equal measure to all deities claimed by modern states of ignorance, or jāhiliyyah.

The advocates of neo-paganism address their appeals to those who have physical power on earth, taking them as patrons instead of God. But these patrons cannot offer them any support or even help themselves when God’s will is done at its appointed time. If the primitive deities of the pagan Arabs could not hear, and their eyes were made of pearls or diamonds giving the appearance of looking without actually seeing, some of the new deities are also unable to see or hear. We need only to think of the motherland, nation, national production, machines and the inevitable process of history and the rest of the endless list of alleged deities to which new jāhiliyyah pay homage. Human beings who are given the status of Godhead in the form of the authority to enact ultimate legislation may have seeing and hearing senses, but even these do not actually hear or see. They are among those in reference to whom God says in the Qur’ān: “We have destined for Hell many of the jinn and many human beings; they have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way. They are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179)

An advocate of the divine faith normally finds himself confronting one of the numerous forms of jāhiliyyah. He must always adopt the attitude God has instructed His Messenger (peace be upon him) to adopt. He should always be ready to declare:

“Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous. Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves. If you pray to them for guidance, they will not hear you.

You may see them looking at you but they do not see.” (Verses 195-198) Indeed they are the same everywhere, and at all times.