THE WORD OF GOD

existence. Who else except the one God is capable of bringing about such a big event? When the Creator and Organizer of all these things is the One God, then how could it be reasonable for people to worship any entity other than Him? It is a peculiar historical experience that those who accord a position of greatness to things other than God are intractable when it comes to re-assigning that greatness to God, even though the call for this may be made by a prophet in person. The reason for this is people find it easy to continue with previously accepted notions; whereas accepting a new prophet would mean putting one’s faith in something different. For the individual to acquire this type of ‘iman’ (faith), he must activate his own thinking powers; he should discover the Truth through his own insight. Undoubtedly, this has always been the most difficult task for a man to perform. O Men! The promise of God is true. Let not the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Deceiver deceive you about God. Surely Satan is your enemy: so, treat him as an enemy: he calls on his followers only so that they should become inmates of the burning Fire. Those who are bent on denying the truth will have a severe punishment, while those who believe and do good deeds will have forgiveness and a great reward. (35: 5-7) On the face of it, the facts of life (and Hereafter), though conveyed to us by God through His prophets, appear to be figments of human imagination, because they are not immediately encountered. Conversely, the things of the present world appear to be real, because man encounters them today itself. Sudden death, the upheaval of earthquakes and other such incidents shake a man’s composure. These, in fact, remind one of Doomsday, before its actual occurrence. But Satan immediately diverts the attention of the people by saying that these events have natural causes and are not a result of divine intervention. That day is bound to come when a distinction will be drawn between the true and the false; righteous people will be rewarded for their virtue and wrongdoers will be punished for their evil deeds. Is he whose evil deeds are made alluring to him so that he looks upon them as good, [equal to the man who is rightly guided]? God leaves to stray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. Do not destroy yourself with grief for them. God has full knowledge of all their actions. (35: 8)