From One to One Hundred Fourteen

From One to One Hundred Fourteen I want them to feed Me—it is God who is the great Sustainer, the Mighty One, the Invincible. (51: 56-58) According to the commentators of the Quran, here worship (ibadat) means marefat. What is marefat? Marefat means realization of God through contemplation. When one realizes God, he falls into a great sense of awe, and hamd is only an expression of this kind of deep feeling towards the Lord of the Universe. From One to One Hundred Fourteen Q uran is a divine book. It was revealed to Muhammad, the Prophet, in first quarter of the seventh century. Its language is Arabic. There are in all one hundred and fourteen chapters in the Quran. The Quran is a book with a difference. The Quran deals with almost all the issues related to mankind. Its language is very simple. Its clarity is par excellence. The first two verses of the first chapter are like this: All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Universe, the Beneficent, the Merciful. (1:1-2) These two verses represent the gist of the Quranic message. It means that man should acknowledge God as the Creator, as the Sustainer, and as compassionate to all His Creatures. This is the beginning of divine knowledge. This determines the right way of life for man in this world. The last two verses of the last chapter are like this: (I seek divine refuge from) Who whispers into the hearts of people,—among jinn and among men. (114:5-6)