THE MESSAGE OF THE QURAN

THE MESSAGE OF THE QURAN

1989 11 November 4-6 THE MESSAGE OF THE QURAN (1050) Safa and Marwa are among the symbols of God. It shall be no offence for the pilgrim or the visitor to the Sacred House to walk around them. And one who does good of his own accord should know that God is Appreciative and Knowing. Those that hide the clear proofs and the guidance We have revealed after We have proclaimed them in the Book, shall be cursed by God and shall be cursed by coursors; except those that repent and mend their ways and make known the truth. Towards them I shall relent. I am the Relenting One, the Merciful. The infidels who die unbelievers shall incur the curse of God, the angels, and all people. Under it they shall remain forever; their punishment shall not be lightened, nor shall they, be given respite (12: 158-162).

Abraham, may peace be upon him, was a native of Iraq. Acting under God’s command, he took his wife Hajira and infant son Ishmael, leaving them in the place now known as Mecca. No one lived there then, and there was no water. Thirst forced Hajira to go out in search of water. Distressed, she ran up and down between the hills of Safa and Marwa. After seven unsuccessful journeys, she returned to their dwelling. There she found a spring, now known as the spring of Zamzam, flowing from the ground. This was a symbolic event, showing us how Almighty God treats His servants. If one presses on in service of God, eventually reaching a stage where ‘there is nothing but burning sand beneath one’s feet, then God in His mercy will cause a refreshing spring to gush forth from the dryness of the desert sands. When Muslims perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, they repeat Hajira’s historic quest between these hills, thus commemorating the profound relevance of the event to everyone who struggles in the path of God.

God’s signs were displayed so clearly in the Prophet Mohammad’s words and actions, that it was not difficult to see that he was sent by God. Yet the Jewish intelligentsia denied him. They were prevented from believing by a feeling that if they accepted an Arab prophet, then their religious hegemony would come to an end. People would stop looking up to the Jews as their leaders. Old established religious traditions and the interests which come to be associated with them, (the Jews being the main beneficiaries) would be destroyed. They deemed it wise to conceal the truth, for they thought that they would lose their worldly status were they to accept it, but it would have been much wiser for them to have proclaimed it. They forgot that God’s servants are required to put truth before their worldly interests. One who becomes destitute for the Lord’s sake gains succour from the inexhaustible pastures of divine grace.

Still, the doors of God’s mercy are always open to His servants. He will always forgive one who comes to his senses and mends his erring ways, proclaiming the truth as God wishes it to be proclaimed. Only those who persevere in their disbelief until death will be deprived of His mercy.

Your God is one God. There is no god but Him. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful. In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of night and day; in the ships that sail the ocean with what is beneficial to man; in the water which God sends down from the sky and with which He revives the earth after its death, dispersing over it all manner of beasts; in the movement of the winds, and in the clouds that are driven between earth and sky: surely in these there are signs for people who understand (2: 163-164).

Mankind has only one God, and He is the only worthy focus of man’s attention. Our very existence on earth, and all the benefits we derive from the world around us, are manifestations of His unbounded grace and mercy. In return, we should become God’s devoted servants, living for Him, dying for Him, and setting all our hopes on winning His eternal favour. Man owes everything to God. If he becomes conscious of this, God will mean everything to him, as a mother means everything to her baby child.

To find our way to God, we have only to look at the universe – a magnificent display of His might spread out before us. A fathomless production-unit is at work; it too, must have been made by someone. All the various and contrasting species that exist in the world function together in absolute harmony; they must all have been created and must all be controlled by One Being, for otherwise they could not work together as one. Everything benefits the rest of the universe in some way; this shows that all things were designed according to a definite, conscious pattern. Apparently lifeless objects are invested with life and freshening by a natural process shows that death is simply temporary in this world. So it is always in this world: death is always followed by new life. Every manner of animate creative flourishes in the world, all sustained by one form of food and drink–yet another clue to God’s fathomless power. The wind encompasses man, showing him how he is entirely in the hands of his Creator. How infinite God’s mercy is: He has arranged everything in the universe to fit in with man’s needs; He looks after a person’s needs even before he is born into the world.

Signs such as these scattered throughout the universe are a grand display of the Creator; of His existence; of His oneness; of His being as assembly of all qualities of perfection. On such a vast scale does the universe make all these things plain that no one with vision should fail to see God; no one with intelligence should be unable to discover Him. But only those who give deep thought to God’s signs can fathom them. One hall to be sincere in one’s search for truth in order to find it, able to rise above self-interest when forming one’s opinions. This can only come from absorption, not in externals, but in a search for the inner reality that lies beneath the outward face of things.