THE WORD OF GOD

THE WORD OF GOD From The Scriptures The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 CE. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level. Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan In the name of God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him, for how can you know that he might seek to purify himself, or take heed and derive benefit from [Our] warning? As for him who was indifferent, you eagerly attended to him—though you are not to be blamed if he would not purify himself—but as for one who comes to you, eagerly and in awe of God you pay him no heed. Indeed, this [Quran] is an admonition. Let him who will, pay heed to it. It is set down on honoured pages, exalted and purified by the hands of noble and virtuous scribes. Woe to man! How ungrateful he is! Of what [stuff] has He created him? Out of a drop of sperm! He creates and proportions him, He makes his path easy for him. (80: 1-20) The Prophet Muhammad was once preaching to the chiefs of the Quraysh in Makkah, when a blind man, ‘Abdullah ibn Umm alMaktum, arrived at the gathering and said, ‘O, Prophet of God ! Please teach me something of what God has taught you.’ The arrival of a blind person at this juncture displeased the Prophet. These verses were revealed on that occasion. In these verses the apparent addressee is the Prophet Muhammad, but in the eyes of God, those prominent people who have turned away from religion have no value. Before God, the valued person is the one who is imbued with the God-fearing spirit, though apparently he may be a ‘blind’ person. Then He causes him to die and be buried. Then when He pleases, He will bring him back to life. Yet man declines to do His bidding. Let man reflect on the food he eats. We let the rain pour down in torrents and then We cleaved the earth asunder. We make the grain grow out of it, and grape vines and vegetables, and olive trees and date palms