Tazkirul Quran, Qur’an 6:17–19

Translation

(17) If God should let any harm touch you, no one could remove it except He; while if He should let some good touch you, know that He has the power to do all that He wills. (18) He reigns Supreme over His servants; and He is the All Wise, the All Aware. (19) Ask them, ‘What carries the most weight as a witness?’ Tell them it is God. He is a witness between you and me. Say, ‘This Quran has been revealed to me so that through it I may warn you and whoever it reaches. Do you really bear witness that there are other deities beside God?’ Say, ‘I do not bear witness to this.’ Say, ‘He is only one God, and I disown whatever you associate with Him.’

Commentary

(a) The different parts of the vast universe spread out before us are so interconnected that for an event to occur, the coordination of the whole universe is necessary. This being so, no human being is capable of causing any event to occur, because no human being is in control of the universe. Here, even a small event takes place only when countless universal factors combine to set it in motion, and God alone is the controller of these factors. Amidst these universal factors, man is only the possessor of a will. The fact is that in this world whether one receives blessings or afflictions, both conditions come about by the direct orders of God. In view of this, it is utter foolishness for a man to think that he can save one or destroy another. It is also quite meaningless for a man to fear or build his hopes on anybody except God. (a) In the on-going struggle between the proponents, on the one hand of Truth and on the other of falsehood, the only decisive factor is the Book of God. There is nobody who knows the full facts or has any real authority except God. So God, the only Being who is capable of settling this dispute, has given an arbiter to the people in the form of the Quran. Now, man has only one course open to him. If he is not aware of the veracity of the Quran, he should investigate and satisfy himself that it is the Book of God. When he comes to know that it is really the Book of God, he should necessarily be satisfied with whatever is advocated therein. One who is not in agreement with the decision of the Quran runs the risk of being forced to accept its verdict in the Hereafter after much degradation and punishment.

The Quran has been revealed so that, before the arrival of the time of Judgement, people may be made aware of what awaits them. The Prophet Muhammad performed this task during his prophethood and the same work has to be continued by his followers (ummah) till Doomsday. The Quran tells us in advance how God is going to treat people in the eternal world of the Hereafter. Those who are assigned the task of delivering this message to the people will be free of the responsibility once they have fully conveyed the message; but those to whom it is delivered will be free in the eyes of God only when they have accepted it and reformed themselves accordingly. The missionary’s responsibility ends with his

‘preaching’, while that of the addressee ends only on his ‘fulfilling his religious obligations’.