THE QURANIC CONCEPT OF HISTORY

THE QURANIC CONCEPT OF HISTORY Creation Plan of God No just estimate have they made of God, such as is due to Him. But on the Day of Resurrection the whole earth will lie within His grasp, while heaven will be folded up in His right hand; Glory be to Him! Exalted is He above all that they associate with Him. ( THE QURAN 39: 67) T HIS is one of the most important pronouncements of the Quran. A tradition recorded in the Sahih Bukhari further elaborates it as: God will hold the earth in His hand and will roll up the heavens in His right hand and then will say: “I am the King, where are the kings of the earth?” These two quotations make it clear that God is the Supreme Omnipotent Being, the One and only God. Human beings have failed to grasp this truth. Not making a true estimation of God implies moreover, an underestimation of Gods’ creation plan. This has led to the adoption of a self-styled plan for daily living by many people, instead of adhering to God’s scheme of things. We learn from the Quran and Hadith that in human history it is God, the Lord of the universe, who is at the helm of affairs. It is true that when God created this world, He gave it an environment of freedom, but this was only so that the world might be used as a testing ground for mankind. With everyone having the liberty to do as he pleased, it would become clear as to who had made proper use of his freedom and who had misused it. This situation is to continue until Doomsday, so that the actions of every individual, both good and bad, may be accurately recorded and then each human being will find the place in God’s court which befits his actions on earth. God will appear on the day of Judgement and declare that what was required in reality was to live one’s life in accordance with His creation plan, rather than that self-styled rulers should establish their own will on earth. It should be borne in mind in this instance that neither the Quranic verse nor the quotation from the Hadith is to be taken in any political sense. When God created this world, He gave it an environment of freedom, but this was only so that the world might be used as a testing ground for mankind.