THE WORD OF GOD

sees that no device of his has been of any avail, he will say, ‘Alas! I should not have done what I have done! I should have adopted the way of one who surrenders to the Truth instead of the way of one who rejects the Truth.’ They say, ‘You to whom the Reminder [the Quran] has been sent down, you are surely possessed. Why do you not bring down the angels upon us, if you are truthful?’ But We send down the angels only to bring justice and then they will not be reprieved. (15: 6-8) The addressees of the Prophet Muhammad suspected him of being mad. What was the reason for this? The reason for this was his declaration that he was a representative of God; that one who accepted his word would be successful, while one who did not would remain a failure. But the addressees themselves actually perceived things to be just the opposite. They were of the view that the prevalent system had bestowed the position of leadership on them. On the contrary, the Prophet, due to his being a preacher of an unconventional religion, was a stranger and a man without a status in the prevalent system. Because of these apparent shortcomings, the addressees were emboldened to say that he (the Prophet) appeared to them to be a madman. They said, ‘God has given us all kinds of worldly glories, yet still you say that success lies with you and your supporters.’ But such thinking was caused by a difference in perception. The addressees regarded whatever was material in their possession as ‘rewards’, though all of these things were simply a means of trial, given to all and sundry on a temporary basis. They also used to say, ‘You claim that the angels of God come to you. Then why are these angels not visible to us?’ This comment too was due to a difference of point of view. An angel who comes to a prophet is the angel of revelation. He brings God’s words to the prophet. Besides this angel there are other angels of God who come to the people in order to uncover the reality to them. But they come after the process of conveying the truth to the people is over. And when they come, it is the time for judgement and not the time for calling people to the faith. It is We who have sent down the Reminder [the Quran] and We will, most surely, safeguard it. (15: 9) The Quran, revealed by God in an age steeped in tradition—many centuries before the modern, scientific age—was a controversial book which presented a challenge to the whole of humanity. It set a definite standard for mankind to observe until Doomsday. If it was to survive,