Quran Pocket Guide

the other hand, there are some who do not acknowledge the truth. They say whatever they want and act however they like without any restriction. Human reason does not accept that both types of people will meet the same end. Worship of God The existence of the universe is in itself evidence of the existence of its Creator. Similarly, its functioning in a very meaningful and systematic way is evidence of the fact that a Watcher is constantly watching it. If a man gives this deep thought, he will find the Creator’s design immanent in this universe. In this situation, those who worship other gods other than the one God are doing something which has no value in this present universe. Since the Creator and Nourisher is one, worshipping Him alone can benefit a man. Worshipping someone or something else is like calling upon a deity who has no existence at all. The World and the Hereafter The life of this world is a test. Here, everyone is provided with the resources necessary for the test. Now, one who is Hereafter-loving will use the resources of this world in building the Hereafter. As a result, he will get his reward in the Hereafter. On the contrary, one who is world-loving will act to derive advantage from the present world. Such a man can receive the fruits of his labour in the present world but, in the life of the hereafter, he will be a totally deprived person. A Meaningful End One who thinks that doing good and bad is equal, just as one day is like another and that both the one who does good as well as the one who does evil will have to die and be obliterated is senseless in his thinking. Such thinking is against that just consciousness which existed in human nature since birth. Such thinking, moreover, denies that meaningfulness of the universe which exists in its system in perfect form. The fact is that the inner nature of man and the vast eternal universe both prove it to be totally wrong that life could have been conceived as a purposeless thing with no meaningful end. Comfort and Discomfort In this world, man is faced with two types of situations – losing and gaining. Both these situations are meant as tests. They are meant to test how a man reacts in a particular situation. The man who, when blessed with something, becomes arrogant and, when deprived of some favour, falls a prey to negative feelings, has failed in the test. Another type of man is the one who, when he has received a favour from God, thanks Him and when deprived of something, bows down to Him, accepting his powerlessness. It is the latter type of man who is called here mutma’innah, or soul at peace. The status of nafs mutma’innah is accorded to those who ponder over the signs of God in the universe; who can take lessons from the events of history; who provide proof of the fact that, when there is a clash between truth and his own self, he will ignore his own self and accept the truth; who once having accepted the truth, will never forsake it, even if as a result his life becomes desolate. The Success of Humanity God’s religion has always been the same. The religion God revealed in the Quran is also the religion of the earlier prophets. The true religion of God was revealed to all the prophets. This being so, human success depends on the fact that a man, by purifying himself, makes himself God’s desired servant. This is a task of self-building, and only those can be successful in this world who, avoiding the transitory interests of the present world, make the next world the objects of their preference.