LET US MEET THE REAL GOD! BY DR. MOHAMMED MOZZAM ALI

(MBBS, DCH)

TRANSLATED BY DR. MAAZ AMJAD

CONTENTS:

A) DedicationB) Preface

1) What could be the methodology of the Creator of the universe for revealing His message to mankind?

2) Is Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) claim to messengership true?3) Quran: The Book of the King of the universe4) Muhammad (peace be upon him): The messenger of the King of the

universe5) The King of the universe alone is the True God6) The Hereafter (Resurrection), Day of Judgement and the Place of

reward and punishment 7) Admonition 8) Warning

Note: The sub-headings of every chapter are listed right at the beginning of their respective chapters.

To those children of Adam,

Who

Are serious and sincere in the quest for the True God

Are trying to seek Truth with open hearts and minds

Do not allow any kind of bias and narrow-mindedness in searching for the truth and accepting it

Want to be fair with themselves

Want to do justice to the truth!

PREFACE

In the previous book “Realistic Concept of the Creator of the Universe” we have achieved satisfaction through a discussion of logical proofs regarding the existence and presence of the Creator of the universe and man. And we are also satisfied with the fact that the Creator is one and only. He alone is the Creator of the universe and mankind and that He is alone. He neither has any family nor any helpers.

He is independent from everything. He is not in need of anyone. He is free and He is the Sovereign. He is the Owner of perfect qualities. He is free from every flaw, from all limitations of life. He is the Highest Authority having power over everything. He was there when there was no universe and He will be there when the universe ends. There is no death to Him. He is free from the weaknesses of sleep and death. And we have reached to the conclusion with all the logical proofs and reasoning that only the Creator of the universe and human beings is the God of the human beings (this point is reminded in the first chapter). And certainly the qualities and attributes possessed by the Creator are the qualities and attributes of God too which is but a natural fact. What qualities and attributes do the existence of the universe, its survival and the Creator’s love for human beings demand from the Creator? Well, contemplation has led the heart and mind to a great degree of satisfaction in revealing many of the qualities, attributes and marvels, which will be mentioned in the first chapter as a reminder before taking the discussion any further.

Whatever the discussion and the outcome of it we had in the previous book are at any rate a concept which be right or wrong. We have rejected many fictional and notional gods and deities which were based on unconvincing arguments in our research. We are satisfied with only one concept owing to strong logical arguments in its favour; further research on this matter has been taken up in this book to ascertain whether this concept is just a concept or a reality too.

And a concept could become a reality only when we receive a proper introduction of the creator and a message to His slaves from Himself. It is also included in the concept that if the Creator does exist the He must have introduced Himself to His slaves in one way or the other and must not have left man in a state of ignorance because contemplation of His attributes has led to the realization and belief that it is far from His love and mercy for His slaves

and the Majesty of His Kingship and wisdom that He had not made any arrangements for His true and clear introduction of Himself to reach His slaves.

Therefore if this concept has to become a reality then the Creator must have introduced Himself to His slaves. And if He has then the concept gets completed and becomes a reality. Now we have to find out whether the Creator has introduced Himself or not. And if He has not, if there is no proof of it, if there is no information about it, then the Creator remains merely a concept, not a reality. But if the introduction sent by Him is found out and its authenticity is confirmed then that concept does not remain a concept anymore but rather becomes a reality signifying the fact that a message has come from the Creator testifying to His existence, presence and relationship with man.

If the Creator’s self-introduction is found through an authentic way then it would mean that He had indeed given His complete and clear self-introduction to His slaves so that His slaves may not go astray and hence end up wasting their precious lives. A self-introduction given by the Creator alone is true, complete, authentic, trustworthy and satisfying.

A complete and clear self-introduction of the Creator is extremely important and necessary for human life so that man’s relationship with the Creator is formed in a proper sense and spirit.

The advent of the Creator’s self-introduction puts a seal of certainty on the concept of the Creator. Hence now the concept will not remain a concept but becomes a reality. A mere concept cannot provide certainty and power of action. It is certainty that grants power to act, in loneliness and in poverty. That’s why one should not be satisfied merely by the concept but rather should search for the existence of guidance and message from the Creator. only then the purpose of the initial concept is fulfilled and the concept becomes a reality upon getting the guidance.

Now what we have to do is to find that self-introduction of the Creator and to judge and investigate the authenticity of the sources from which this self-introduction has come in order to be sure about it. And it could be an aspect of satisfaction if this investigation proves to be close to that concept and attributes of the Creator about which we are convinced by our own contemplation and logical proofs. To refresh the memory, these attributes are

mentioned in the first chapter of the previous book “Realistic Concept Of The Creator Of The universe in quite a satisfying way.

Be it the self-introduction of the Creator or His message, its search and then its verification and the verification of the means of information or message is a challenging task, a difficult expedition. An effort is made in this book to meet this challenge and to take on this expedition successfully.

This book is written for those people who are in search of the True God. that’s why it is written in a way which is free from bias and narrow-mindedness and which guides them to the truth. These different kinds of biases and close-mindedness place a veil over sight, hearing, pondering and understanding the truth.

I request those people who are sincere in their research to read authentic books. A correct characterization of the claimant to prophethood can be gained from his true followers alone who are also the right sources. That’s why serious research demands that the biography be taken from right and authentic sources so that the veracity of the claimant be proved or disproved by reading the books of orientalists. Do not fall prey to narrow-mindedness and bigotry.

Make a study of authentic books. Authentic books are those which are written by the historians; who are only interested in history. That’s why they write history as history without any manipulation and prejudice. But when someone writes with an ulterior motive, he either hides, changes or exaggerates the truth to achieve his objective.

This book has eight chapters. In the first two chapters there is a logical and historical discussion on the claim of the claimant to prophethood, his message and the Book presented by him which brings the point to the fore that the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Book presented by him the Quran are from the King of the universe. That’s why they are true and authentic. Then the Quran itself presents its own introduction, gives a complete introduction of the one who brought it, the One Who sent it and informs that in order to fulfil the purpose of this universe and man a day and a place will be determined where justice, with all its requirements, will be the true justice and there will be a comprehensive arrangement for dispensing reward and punishment. Every topic is dealt with in different chapters.

And two chapters at the end “Admonition” and “Warning” are specifically dedicated to draw serious attention towards the reality.

Dr. Mohammed Moazzam Ali

(MBBS, DCH).

WHAT COULD BE THE METHODOLOGY OF THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE FOR SENDING HIS SENDING HIS MESSAGE TO MANKIND?

AT A GLANCE

Refreshing earlier discussion and key points What could be the methodology of the Creator of the universe for

sending His message to mankind? Means of sending the message and investigation into its authenticity The proof from the claimant’s side Investigation into the audience/addressees The need and importance of investigation General points for investigation General points for investigation (Continued) The difference between true and false claimants A general investigation (Continued) A sincere effort Ideology i.e. the Message

Refreshing earlier discussion and key points:

We already had a detailed discussion on the topic of the existence of the Creator and the truths of Him being God in the light of logical proofs in our previous book ‘Realistic Concept of the Creator of the universe’. But we shall present that discussion briefly at the beginning of this book as a recap…

Nothing is made unless someone makes it. Everything has its maker. Although he is not seen like there are so many machines in a shop but their maker is not seen standing next to them. Nevertheless we never assume even for a second that these machines have come into existence on their own merely because their maker is not seen.

Then, the starting point of everything is from a life (i.e. from a living being) and not from a non-living entity. Only a life could give life to non-life, grant

existence to it, just like a machine which is a non-life. Similarly there wasn’t any universe but there was the Creator. He brought the universe into existence. And this point has also been discussed that the Creator of the universe ought to be free from all weaknesses and limitations. And that He should be pinnacle of all good qualities. He should not be in need of anyone, even His perfection should not suffer any decline. He should not fall asleep or sick or die. Sleep and death are signs of weakness and helplessness.

A weak, helpless and mortal being cannot be the Creator of universe and man.

He should not have any need for wife, children and any helper which are signs of weakness and dependency. That’s why He should be alone, Sovereign and independent of everything. That’s why none can interfere in His work and administration. Just as a country or an institution has only one king or president, this universe too has only one Master, Creator, King and Ruler.

These are some of the glimpses and memories from the previous book on the discussion of the existence and oneness of the Creator. Now let us briefly refresh the previous discussion on the truth and veracity of God. the Creator alone is the Owner of anything He created.

And the Owner alone takes care of it, protects it, develops it and fulfil its needs. That’s why the Owner alone is the Lord and Sustainer too. And it is the Owner alone who rules his property. Hence Owner alone is the Ruler. And since the Creator alone is the Owner, He alone is the Lord and Ruler too.

It emerges from the above mentioned example that the Creator of the universe and man is also their Owner and that’s why He alone is their Lord and Ruler too. That’s why man ought to praise the Creator and be thankful to Him for He gave existence to him and stand, bow and prostrate reverently before Him. He ought to beg Him, trust Him, love Him, pin hopes on Him, follow and obey His commandments for He also happens to be the Ruler. All these acts and rites of man mentioned here are called as worship and the one to whom all these acts and rites are done is called God. And that God is none but the Creator. That means he is performing all these acts and rites for his Creator. And since he is doing all these rites and rituals for the Creator, the Creator Himself is God. This tells us the Creator of human beings is also their God. And since there is only one Creator, God is one as well.

We reached at this truth in a detailed way through logical arguments in our previous book. It was a logical derivation.

We have also seen that the excellent and broad attributes that are found in the Creator are also found in God. We have realized about the presence of these attributes in the Creator through logical arguments/proofs.

Those attributes which must be present in the being who is made God:

God is He Who gave us life (the Creator), we were not in existence but He brought us into existence.

It is the right of that Great Benefactor alone that prostrations be done before Him alone and none else.

The Creator’s life alone is real, actual and first. That’s why the Creator alone is God. Therefore it lies in God’s hand alone to give and end the existence of all life. Hence He alone is worthy of worship.

How can those who are alive because of the life granted by someone else be considered God?! God is He Who is alive on His own. His life should be infinite. When there was nothing, He was there and He will be there when there won’t be anything.

The most important attribute of God is that He is Immortal. His life should infinite. He should be Ever-Living. There shouldn’t be any decline to His life.

He should live with all vigor and vitality forever. Only then human life would keep turning to the Life-Giver with full confidence and satisfaction.

God is He Who is always safe and sound and never falls sick. He should not be afflicted with any adversity or weakness. There shouldn’t be decline to His perfection.

How could one who is a victim of adversity be able to provide safety and security to others?!

God is He Who is free of all the signs of negligence to the extent of perfection. Free from drowsiness, sleep and exhaustion.

God is He Who has knowledge of everything. He has knowledge of every period of time and place. Nothing should be outside His knowledge.

God is He Whose rule extends over the heavens and the earth. Not a single corner should be left out. He should be the Ruler and the Highest Authority.

An extraordinary Being Who has been taking care of such a massive universe for every moment of time since thousands of years

encompassing everything in His grip over the distance of millions and billions of light-years for ever second should alone be God.

God is He Who is free from all weaknesses, defects and mistakes and is the aggregate of excellence and perfection.

God is the most Holy. Attributing any kind of immorality to Him cannot even be imagined.

God is the most perfect Who is free from even an iota of weakness or defect.

God is always independent. God should have such power over everything that none could dare to

stop Him if He wants to give anything to anyone and none could give anything to anyone if He wants to stop him.

God is He Who brings things and life into existence out of nothing. God is He in Whose Hand lie life and death. God is He Who established harmony between the universe and the life

found in it so that life could be sustained and continued. God is He Whose decision can neither be challenged nor prevented

from getting enforced and He is not answerable to anyone for His actions. He should be above everyone. The Sovereign.

God is He Whose span and force of life can have no limits. God should be hidden beyond the ken of human perception, Unseen so

that we could feel closer to Him at every time and place by thinking about Him and His attributes…that He is watching us at every time and place, that He is listening to us at every time and place, that He can do anything at any time and place, hence we can feel close to Him loving us, forgiving us and showing mercy to us. Based on the feeling of this closeness, we get scared of His displeasure and His punishment for disobeying Him. All these qualities are hidden in the concept of His attributes and are definitely found in Him too. But the concept of Being alone cannot have such an extraordinary impact on human life which is produced by the knowledge and concept of His attributes.

Creator alone is God and He is One and Only. That’s why God is one and only as well.

God is He Who has no family. The meaning of having family is that God too has necessities, requirements, desires and dependency which is the manifestation and proof of His weakness. And a weak being cannot be God, a weak being should not be made God.

True God is He Whose stature is not affected whether one accepts or denies Him, obeys or disobeys Him, bows or does not bow to Him.

God is neither He Who is made, produced or given birth by anyone nor there is someone like Him or equal to Him. God is He Who is free of every defect, free from the limitations of will, action and life. Getting born or to be given birth by someone is a weakness. Dying is a weakness, a defect. Getting born and then dying signifies the limitedness of life.

God is He Who is not answerable to anyone. Answerable is he who is weak, can make mistakes, can misuse his power, can commit injustice, violated rights and be oppressive. God should be free from all these defects; He should be Great and Sovereign Being.

How can one who has no part in creation and ownership be God? How could he has the right to deserve worship when he is neither the creator nor the master?

God should have the qualities of a ruler. Everything in this universe and beyond should be under His command.

God is He under Whose protection an individual should feel safe. And this is what man wants – shelter and protection.

God is He Who answers the implorations of His slave. Helps him. Guides him. Protects him from adversities. Such kind of a Being alone is worthy of worship, praise, gratitude and prostration.

God is He Who is interested in the affairs of human beings. He should not be disinterested with the daily activities and matters of man. If He has no interest in human affairs then why would human beings show any interest in worshipping Him? There is no benefit or harm in believing or disbelieving in such a God. If God doesn’t show any interest in mankind then life would become a heavy burden for human beings. Only when there is an interest shown by God hearts would get inclined and motivated to worship Him.

God is He Who takes care of man’s basic necessities in an excellent manner. If He doesn’t do this or is incapable of doing this then He is not worthy of becoming God and is not deserving of worship. It is no use to believe in such a God.

God’s relationship with man in his day to day affairs should be a close one. Man should always feel Him close. This feeling and certainty of His closeness have deep impact on human life from every aspect. Life

receives peace and stability and it goes in the right direction in every phase in full swing.

God is He Who accepts the repentance of His slave and forgives him so that life which got cumbersome because of upsetting God could get peaceful again.

God is He Who loves every human being and does not discriminate between them so that He could be everybody’s God. He should not have favourites merely due to his birth. He should dislike anyone interfering between Him and His slave. He should give opportunity to everyone to talk to Him directly (every human being enjoys a permanent and intrinsic slave-Master relationship with God).

The Great Being Whose pleasure and approval are sought is alone God. God is He Who does full and frank justice with His slaves on the Day of

Judgement (worshipping and seeking the pleasure of the one who is bereft of the sense of justice or is incapable of doing justice is useless).

He should be God Who after creating a thing shows it the way to fulfil the purpose of its creation, Who instils in its nature the purpose of its existence and the way to fulfil it. In the same way, He should also show man his way and make arrangements for him to realize it.

God is He Who gives life’s guiding principles and best instructions so that man could lead a good and peaceful life. He should also make arrangements for these teachings to reach man.

God is not He Who is neither alive nor is He the source of life. God is not He Who can die or be killed. One who cannot oneself cannot

be God. God is He Who does not do anything wasteful or for no purpose. God is He Who is aware of everything. How can one who is unaware be

God?! God should be so powerful and controlling that a single command of

His should be enough to make things happen. He should not be in need of resources or exerting Himself to make something happen. His mere will and command should be enough.

God should be free from dependency every time and in everything He does and in all aspects. Need and dependency are not only reasons of weakness but proofs too. And a weak being cannot be God. Worshipping a weak being is an insult to oneself.

Only the one who has made arrangements for the survival of the universe and life it contains is worthy of worship.

He alone is worshipped:

Who creates (the Creator) and is not created. Who is self-sustaining and is not at the mercy of anyone else. Who is free from every defect and is perfect. Who is strong and not weak. The Eternal is worshipped not the ephemeral. The fulfiller of needs is worshipped not the one who is in need. The one who sees and knows everything is worshipped not the one who

neither sees nor hears anything. Prostration is due to the One who is perfect. Man insults himself by

prostrating to someone who is imperfect.

The summary of this discussion is that through contemplation and logical reasoning, we got the concept of the presence of the Creator of the universe and human beings. We also learned that He is one and only, that He has extremely important and vast attributes and qualities. We also learned that the Creator alone is the True God.

We want to gain certainty in the concept at which we have arrived through logical reasoning for it is certainty alone which satisfies the heart, gives mental peace and the power to act. That’s why getting to know the correct and complete concept of God in an authentic way is extremely important which is also one of the most needed things in life so that by obtaining peace of mind and satisfaction of the heart man could establish a right and firm relationship with his Creator on solid grounds. Mere concept cannot provide the power to act.

In order to gain certainty we want an introduction of the Creator from the Creator Himself and a message from Him too as to what the purpose of our existence is? What our position is in this universe? What kind of relationship do we have with other human beings and other creatures living in the universe? What is right and wrong for us? And in what does profit and loss lie for us?

This concept, which we have regarding the Creation, is not just a concept but a truth. When this is the case then He certainly might have made arrangements for the information related to life, information which we need to find out. But

if there are no such arrangements made then our concept of the Creator will only be a concept and nothing else. It will not become a reality. There won’t be any use in keeping this concept in hearts and minds. If we want this quest and need of ours to be realized then we must seek out this message with total seriousness and hard work.

Let’s talk about how the Creator of the universe, if He exists, had made arrangements to fulfil this important need, how He had introduced Himself and sent His message and what methodology He might have adopted. His methodology should definitely be natural and practical, He should also make sure that He had made arrangements to send His message in a clear and unambiguous way so that there remains no doubt in it being inauthentic and difficult to understand.

When we think over the various methodologies, there are three that can be narrowed down to. We shall analyse and judge all three to ascertain which might be the most suitable and practical one adopted by the Creator. And then we shall try to find it out.

What should and could be the methodology adopted by the Creator to send His message to human beings:

Intellectually and practically, there could only be three methodologies adopted by the Creator for introducing Himself and sending His message to human beings.

1) The first methodology is that the Creator of the universe summons the human beings individually or collectively as a group to give them this important information which we have discussed above.

2) The second methodology could be that the Creator Himself could go to the human beings and give them this important information.

3) The third methodology commonly used is that a very intelligent, reasonable man of great character and high morals who had never lied, who’s called truthful and is popularly known to be trustworthy because of his honesty and trustworthiness, who had never cheated, who has deep sense of responsibility and deeps sense and certitude of accountability to the King of the universe is chosen from among the people.

The Creator must be choosing a man of such superior qualities and attributes for the prophetic mission, who is well known in the society, mixes with the

general public, takes interest in their matters and serves them as a result of which he has a place in their hearts. People love and respect him and give importance to his opinion.

Then He must be sending such a man to the people so that he convey the Creator’s message to the people around him in such a way that everything is made clear. He should make it clear by his words, make an excellent explanation and instruction of it by implementing it in his own deeds and his whole life.

In this way, the way to practice and enforce the teachings given by the Creator is revealed to the people in its practical form. Afterwards the Creator’s message will keep spreading to more people person to person out of the importance and necessity of the message. Since it is every person’s need and a need of human beings of all times and climes it should not only spread to the people around the prophet but also to the people of the whole world even to the future generations.

The Creator might certainly make arrangements to meet this need.

The first two methodologies of conveying the message is unheard of and unseen. And these two methodologies do not befit the dignity of the Creator and King of the universe. That’s why there is absolutely no possibility of the Creator using these two methodologies nor is it practical or natural.

That’s why the Creator, in the light of His total knowledge and wisdom, has employed the third methodology which is found quite frequently in human history. Great people like Jesus, Moses and Abraham were made into prophets. This methodology is natural, practical and clear. This is a very effective, satisfying and reassuring methodology of conveying the message. That’s why one man should be given guidance to convey that guidance to other people. Man understands the language of his fellow man and man can easily adopt the practical model of another man and he can appreciate the great and prominent change happening in human life while going through it. In this way the message of the Creator reaches the people in an effective and lucid way. This could not have been achieved had the Creator Himself brought the message or sent a non-human creature to the people.

Of all the human qualities described in the previous pages, the following two are the most important and foremost in recognizing the message of the Creator in its real form. Because of the following two qualities, the person

claiming prophethood becomes trustworthy and authentic. The first is his honesty and trustworthiness and the second is his unchallengeable truthfulness. Because of these two qualities he conveys the Creator’s message like a trust in its true form and value for which he is accountable and answerable to the Creator Who is All-Knowing, All-Hearing and All-Seeing.

Based on these two qualities people believe everything said by the claimant to prophethood with full confidence and satisfaction. His entire personality becomes authentic. That’s why the words and practice of the prophet become acceptable, authentic and a standard.

This is the wise methodology adopted by the Creator of the universe to introduce Himself to His slaves in a clear manner, to send His mercy to them, to inform them about their purpose of existence and their status in the universe, to tell them about the best etiquettes of life, and the best way to live their lives. It is the best, certain and highly satisfying way of introducing the most balanced, just, merciful and kind code of life to His slaves.

Means of communication and research into them being authentic:

Message comes from the Creator to His slaves and the slaves now believe in His existence. But how to believe in the claim that the message coming from the Creator is authentic or not?

Research has to be done into the man who is the receptacle of that message and claims that the message is from the Creator. If the message is truly from the Creator then the means by which that message is being communicated becomes authentic. A simultaneous verification has to be done regarding the truthfulness of the one who brought the message and the message itself.

This method of simultaneously verification of the message and the message-bearer makes the veracity of the message-bearer even clearer.

Once we are satisfied with this message-bearer person and the thing he has presented i.e. the ‘Book’ then the mystery of how the connection was established between the Creator and His messenger and how this gap was filled will get easily solved without any doubts.

If we are unable to believe this person and the message brought by him, if his authenticity is still in question then researching into how the Creator’s message reached the claimant would be an exercise in futility.

Another reason why this research is needed is because the Creator of the universe doesn’t throw a grand party to introduce His messenger to the people rather He leaves it up to the messenger himself to go out and introduce himself to the people. And the messenger begins his work in a confident and dignified way by making an announcement of his claim telling the people to believe and accept him and whatever he is presenting to them that he is a messenger of the King of the universe and has brought His message, teachings and law. He also tells that if people were to accept him and the thing he has brought i.e. the message from the Creator then they will be successful and if they do not accept then they will suffer a great and clear loss.

A chosen person becomes a messenger only when he is given a message in order to convey it to others. If the research proves the claim of the claimant that he is a messenger of the King of the universe then his message too gets verified. This implies that the message and the message-bearer go hand in hand. They corroborate and collaborate with each other. If one gets authenticated then the other gets authenticated as well. If people are satisfied with one thing then they will be satisfied with the other as well. If the message is from the Creator then the message-bearer will certainly be from the Creator too. If the claimant is a true messenger of the Creator then certainly whatever he is presenting will obviously be from the Creator too. This methodology of conveying the message is quite challenging both for the claimant and the addressees.

It is a challenging task for the messenger to introduce himself to the people as a messenger of God and convey the message to them and it is also challenging for the addressees to accept and believe him to be God’s messenger and then adopt and practice his message. It is challenging for both of them because in this methodology the Creator has not organized a grand ceremony to make the announcement that the Creator has chosen and appointed such and such person to be His messenger and that people should go and get the message of the Creator of the universe from him. Nothing of this sort of grand celestial announcement has ever happened in the long history of humankind. There is no record of such a thing in human history. It is unheard of.

When the Creator doesn’t make an announcement of the appointment of His messenger, then messenger is forced to introduce himself to the people as God’s messenger in order to fulfil his prophetic responsibility.

Therefore, he makes the claim and announcement with full conviction that he is the messenger of the Creator and whatever he is presenting is the message from the Creator of the universe and that’s why it should be accepted and practiced. And whosoever accepts and practices it will have Gardens of eternity and the one who denies will go to Hell for eternity.

The consequences of accepting or rejecting will be manifested in the eternal success or loss (i.e. Paradise and Hell) for every individual. This puts every person in a test. He will be in this conundrum of whether to accept or not. If he accepts then he has to surrender totally to the commandments and teachings of the Creator which are presented through the messenger. Which means that he has to take whatever the messenger says to take and leave whatever he says to leave. This also means that man’s freedom is over. He cannot live his life as per the desires of his self rather he has to live in the light of the instructional, merciful, kind, wise, balanced and fair teachings of the Creator which ensures that the rights of both the Creator and the created are fulfilled. As a result of which he shall enter paradise otherwise Hell.

This presents an important question to the audience of acceptance or rejection. Acceptance demands total submission and practicing and moulding one’s will and life in accordance with whatever the messenger says and does. It is to place the reins of one’s whole life in the hands of the messenger. It is to act on the instructions the messenger received from the Creator, to obey the messenger otherwise it will be disobedience of the King of the universe Himself. And it is to accept in totality the introduction of the Creator, the God presented by the messenger for it is from the Creator too which he gave about Himself in the Book brought by the messenger.

If they do not accept it then they can live their lives freely as they want without any coercion or temptation. But they have to face the bad consequences of which they are being warned. One must be prepared for this. This is a difficult and important matter.

That’s why the thing which should be confirmed and be convinced about is the truth or falsehood of the person claiming to be the messenger of God. That’s why the verification should be done seriously, cautiously and deeply for it is the issue of an individual’s great success or loss. It cannot be taken lightly. In this way the responsibility of verification is left to the audience that they may try to get satisfaction by getting the information and doing the research on their own for it is their own very serious matter.

On the other hand, it is not enough for the messenger to merely make an announcement rather he has to prove that his claim to prophethood is true so that people could believe, be convinced about it and move ahead to accept the messenger.

In view of the importance of the claim it is reiterated that people must also verify whether the claimant to prophethood is truthful or false. Otherwise they will be ruined by following the false prophet.

This is quite a sensitive matter. If he is truthful and people believe him then they are successful but he is a liar and people believe him without any investigation or verification then they are doomed.

Now let’s talk about how the claimant is supposed to prove himself and the people to verify that claim that he is a messenger from the Creator of the universe.

The Evidence Of The Claimant:

The claimant says that I’m presenting the evidence of my claim with my total existence and teachings. My life, before and after becoming a messenger, is testifying to my truth. Therefore I am a true messenger of the King of the universe and whatever I am presenting before you is His message, His teachings and His introduction in which there is no room for any doubt. In this way, myself, my life, the teachings brought by me and their consequences are the body of my evidence which are right before your eyes in broad daylight. Do your research on it with sincerity, truthfulness and true love to oneself so that there remains no bigotry, narrow-mindedness and hardheartedness.

I am a man of the people. I eat and drink with them. Transact with them. Marry among them. Laugh and cry with them. Participate in their sorrows and grief. Serve them. And faithfully convey the Creator’s message to them by going through hardships and making great sacrifices. I explain to them by my practical life. I make the lives of those who believe me better and make my explanation by presenting the good consequences of the changes in their lives as practical and clear evidences. In this way I prove the veracity of my claim by the practical consequences so that people could understand, realize, believe and save themselves from the troubles of this life and the failure of the afterlife. My selfless, painstaking efforts and sacrifices are evidences of my being the messenger of the Creator and conveying His message as well.

Another reason why the claim has elements of weight and seriousness in it is because the claimant is a man of high level morals, character, affairs and relations. And he is a popular figure. Is reputed to be a truthful and trustworthy man. Hence his claim and what he is saying cannot be ignored. He is neither an ordinary man nor is he an unknown person. That’s why paying attention to his claim is in the interest of our own well-being.

This methodology of conveying the message makes you feel that every individual is being tested for his understanding and seriousness. If the appointment of this man as a messenger was announced in a grand event then the human quality would not have emerged, there could not be any test and heads would automatically bow. This methodology of conveying the message is very testing to both the parties, the claimant and the addressees. The test for the claimant would be to introduce himself and convey the message and for the people would be to accept and believe him to be messenger of the Creator and accept and believe the message to be from the Creator.

In this difficult task itself, both the parties achieve conviction of faith, develop sincerity, and realize the importance and value of this blessing. The people have to go through many doubts and suspicions which is the prelude to certainty of belief. They have to fight their inner selves to attain the conviction of faith while the claimant has to work hard, make sacrifices and be faithful in conveying the message so that people could believe and they accept the truth. In this way the characters of both the parties grow…the one who is making the claim and those who accept it.

Important and precious things are achieved by the hard way and this is its distinctive quality only then it’s appreciated and guarded which is not the case with something which is gained easily. The nature of the quality of something gained through hard-work and difficulty is something else!

The Research Of The Audience/Addressees:

The audience or the addressees have to closely look at the two important qualities in this claimant…the first quality is his truthfulness and the second is his trustworthiness. How has he lived his daily life up to this point of time of his age? Is this claim true or not? In order to ascertain his claim it has to be looked whether his life was filled with truthfulness or not. Did the residents of the town reckon him to be a truthful person or not? Only after getting answers to these questions, hearts would proceed towards satisfaction that he is saying

the truth and that his claim is true that he is the messenger of the King of the universe. And he doesn’t make this claim at any other place but his, an environment in which he lives and the people he moves in day and night who won’t be having much difficulty in examining him. He is from among them who remains in their sight and knowledge night and day. If he were to make this claim in a foreign environment then the chances of his claim getting accepted remains slim for the people would not know whether he is a truthful person or not. His claim would create more questions than answers.

The second quality which should be in the claimant is that he should be trustworthy. Whatever instructions he receives from the Creator, he must convey them to the people word for word without any adulteration as a trust. He should not make alterations to it even in the slightest bit. Only then there won’t be any hesitation in accepting it.

The claimant is truthful as well as trustworthy testified by the society too. Now he becomes worthy of being accepted as the messenger. On the grounds of being truthful his personality gets accepted and because of being trustworthy his message becomes worthy of acceptance that this message is not his but the message and edict from the King of the universe.

Also one can trust him by examining the teachings presented by him. The merits of these teachings, their naturalness, fairness, balance, full of humanity and mercy, the presence of equality in them, the presence of self-implementing force in them, they being logical and practical make these teachings worthy of acceptance. The teachings makes it explicit that there are personal benefits and guidance to the people to lead an excellent and peaceful life.

The Importance And Necessity Of Research:

The claimant informs the people about accepting and rejecting his claim. That’s why researching into the truth or falsehood of his claim is absolutely necessary.

On the other hand there is no inaugural function for his appointment as the messenger. This is no the methodology of the Creator. So as a consequence of this there is a possibility that some self-interested person could make a false claim to being the Creator’s messenger and trouble and misguide the people and derive worldly benefits from them by trapping them in his falsehood. That’s why serious research is very important.

Therefore satisfaction has to be gained by researching on our own because far-reaching and deep impacts of acceptance and rejection are going to be produced not only in human life but also on the individual himself. That’s why it cannot be taken lightly. One has to be serious. Accepting or rejecting it is related to peace and disorder of this world and paradise and hell in the world hereafter.

General Points Of Research:

How is the statement of the claimant? And then how is his conduct and life in accordance with his statement? How are the consequences emerging in individual and social life? Are they good or bad? How was the life of the claimant before his claim? Was it good or bad? Was it virtuous or wicked? How did the use to view him, as a good man or a bad man? What position did the society use to give him, an honourable one or dishonourable one? With what labels did the society use to reckon him, good or bad?

What kind of feeling and sense does pondering the message, which he is attributing to the Creator, produce in mind and heart, that it’s a human word or Divine word? One must also ponder other aspects of his message like its language, topics, extraordinary revelations, mentioning of the truths of the universe and man, its logical arguments, its attempt to prove itself by drawing the attention to natural phenomena.

Is there any secret personal gain the claimant seeks or not? Do his love for human beings, his service and well-wishing to them give any proofs of his unselfishness? Does he say his things in a clear and straightforward way or in a deceitful and misleading way?

Does he present his entire life to the public for them to study and examine him? Does he frequent the people, eat and drink with them, marry among them and transact with them so that people could look at him closely and judge him to be either sincere in what he says or not? Is he himself practicing and deriving the benefits of what he is preaching to be true or not? Is he himself staying away from the thing he is saying to be wrong and false or not? The answer to these questions will reveal whether he is truthful or not.

More important than a miracle are his life and the teachings he presents for creating certainty of belief. Are the results of contemplating and practicing them emerging in the form of mercy and enlightenment or troubles and

darkness which the human sight can see and insight be satisfied or dissatisfied based on which it can either accept or reject it?

Miracle or throwing a grand public function lends support to the claimant and helps in making the people in acknowledging the veracity of the messenger. But in order to be satisfied from the depths of the heart, contemplation, logical proofs, positive consequences of the teachings have enormous importance.

By investigating truth and falsehood without any bigotry reality could come to the fore in a very easy way. During this research, it is important to use ones intellect and judgment free from external and internal influences. This alone is the right way of differentiating the truth from falsehood and saving oneself from depriving oneself of the truth and getting trapped in the falsehood.

Whoever presents himself not as god but as messenger of God must be examined, his teachings must be examined which he is presenting in the name of instructions from God and it must also be examined whether he has limited himself to his divine duty of being the messenger of God or has gone beyond and claimed to be god.

General Points Of Research (Continuing):

In order to examine the veracity of the truth it is important to save oneself from a wrong concept which is that the Creator would choose an extraordinary non-human being to convey His message and that’s why people are supposed to wait for this supernatural to bring the Creator’s message to them. When a person is waiting for such a supernatural being and contrary to this if a human being were to lay claim to being the messenger then as a result of this unexpected announcement people get baffled and hence reject this person immediately or hesitate to accept him. That’s why it seems quite reasonable and natural that a human being be used to convey the message of the Creator to other human beings. A human alone could become the medium. It is not difficult for the human beings to understand, accept and emulate what a fellow human being says and does. And he should also be from the same people and place to whom he is going to address. And she should address them in the language which his own people know and understand. Only then the conveying of the message, its explanation and understanding become easy.

One who is a false claimant, starts his work from the outside because in his own place he is reputed to be a liar and a lowly person. People consider him to be a selfish, lying, cheating and corrupt person. Even if he were to start his

work from his own place, then only the selfish, world-worshipping, shallow and morally debased people support him. While the true claimant is supported by people who are of high stature morality and humanity wise. But selfish, world-worshipping and debased people morality and humanity wise oppose him from the very beginning. In the beginning, people are spectators to what’s happening. Superficial talk and deeper truths are also the criteria to judge the true and false claimants.

When the claimant makes his claim in a foreign place instead of his own place then this unnatural methodology becomes a big question mark in itself asking whether this claimant is true or false for this man is preaching in a place where he is unknown to the people hence making it difficult for them to accept what he is saying when he himself has been rejected based on him being a foreigner. There won’t be any love and respect for him. Rather there will be doubt that he could be a selfish imposter. By making false claims, by scaring us of Hell and tempting us with paradise, he might be trying to make gains for himself.

He made his claim in a foreign city or country which creates doubt whether he is even truthful or not in his claim. If he was true then why didn’t he make claim in his own place where people know him very well and he should firstly have told the people close to him about their well-being and benefit. Making the claim in a foreign place and talking about the goodness and well-being of foreigners increase the chances of him being a liar. In contrast to this, making claim in his own place where the people who know quite well and study him day and night increases the chances of him being truthful about his claim for here he cannot hide his lie. And the lies of those who do not want to accept and make false excuses comes out into the open when it collides with the true claim that these are just excuses for not wanting to accept. A true claimant alone can dare to make such an important, sensitive and challenging claim because if his lie is caught then the claimant has to face serious consequences.

During the research, man should keep in mind that he is responsible for his research, inference, conclusion, decision and then action. Only then he could have seriousness and a sense of responsibility which would be helpful in researching correctly and arriving at the correct conclusion and decision.

One of the highest merits of a true messenger is that he does demand or take any remuneration for his work from the people.

He does not take any remuneration for working hard night and day to convey the message of the Creator, which is the most valuable thing, so that people are saved from going to Hell and become worthy of going to paradise. He endeavour is unselfish.

His trustworthiness and integrity are famous in the whole town. He is considered to be a truthful person who has never lied.

The life of the messenger is beautiful because of the teachings of the Creator and he beautifies the lives of others too by those very teachings. Belief and morality wise not only he is enlightened but he enlightens his surroundings too.

He tries to convey the message in a clear way. He elaborates his message. Exhorts people to accept it. He presents his point in different ways, at different times with wisdom and sincerity but in a dignified way without any coercion. Patience and morals are his weapons. He keeps praying for people who reject him, act mischievous with him and cause him pain that they may accept him for in it lies their own good.

A true messenger is known by his teachings. The teachings of the messenger, based on their mercy, wisdom and greatness, attest to the fact that he is indeed the messenger of the Creator from whom he got these teachings. A true messenger is known by his beautiful life.

He has to convey the message of the Creator in any case or else he will be held responsible. That’s why he works untiringly whether the circumstances are favourable or unfavourable. He is neither afraid nor he rants or gets subdued. He remains ever busy in fulfilling his responsibility.

The veracity of the messenger is known by the consequences of his message. The most important consequence of his message is that he raises the human being from his beastly and satanic nature to human nature.

Recognizing the messenger is made easy by the Creator. The way to recognize him is natural. And that is that he moves among the people in a natural way so that they could look at him closely and feel his height of his humanity. His love for human beings, his social work, his sacrifice and selflessness especially for the weaker sections of society, his brotherliness, his clean dealings, pleasant relations with others and his high morals and character come to the fore like an open book or like a shining lamp for everyone to see and his entire life of

night and day also come to the fore in order to ascertain whether he is practicing what he is preaching and it becomes easier for people to look at his practical life closely as a result of which people believe in his high moral character and conduct, so that people could feel his greatness in their hearts and not find anyone like him in their society. As a consequence of which they could feel the greatness of his teachings and understand it logically. In this natural and convincing way the identification of a true messenger is made easy. Now it won’t be difficult to identify and accept the messenger or the claimant and submit to the teachings he received from the Creator. If the people were to practically reject the message, despite the message made so easy, merely based on their egos and worship of the world then it is neither the fault of the Creator nor His messenger. He alone will be responsible for misguidance and destruction who has rejected to accept the Creator and become obedient to Him.

That’s why research is important. Only through research one can sure and convinced of the messenger and the message he brought. One of the biggest merits of a true messenger is that he is more than happy to present his life to the people like an open book that he not only conveys the message through his words but also his practical life which is his heavy responsibility.

Unselfish Effort:

An unselfish and untiring effort, a hard-work of night and day, demanding investment of all your time, demanding sacrifices, making you go through hardships, making you to bear with patience the physical, mental and spiritual troubles given by the people, demanding from you to remain steadfast in your efforts out of love and fulfilling the responsibility in order to convey the Creator’s message, could only be the work of a sincere, truthful and responsible person.

Despite the accusations, name-calling, character assassination on the one hand, rejecting the temptations of money, woman and power on the second hand, and socio-economic boycott on the third hand, being steadfast in conveying the message of the Creator to His unmindful slaves with all human compassion, love and extreme sense of responsibility, a responsibility placed on his shoulders by the Creator is a clear proof of his unselfishness. Fulfilling the responsibility the obligations of messenger-ship by staying from self-interests is a true testimony of him being the true messenger of the King of the

universe and whatever he is saying and doing is true, there’s no room for any doubts and lies.

The truth of a true messenger emerges more prominently during opposition to him when he remains steadfast in his mission with full patience, love, sincerity and hard-work just as he was busy in his mission before the physical, mental and spiritual troubles caused to him by the opposition by the self-serving people.

Ideology i.e. The Message:

The truth of the message brought by the one who claims to be the messenger can be judged on two important points. He says that he is the messenger of the King of the universe. The King of the universe and mankind is the Creator of all human beings. He loves all the human beings equally. His message is the same to all the human beings. Things like air, water etc which are beneficial and right or harmful and wrong to a human being are the same for all the human beings. That’s why in order to examine the truth of his message, the fundamentals of his teachings must be checked out. It is to be seen whether every human being is given importance as a human being or not. Does this message address every human being in their capacity as human beings or addresses them by discriminating among them like rich and poor or black and white or language or time and place. If it were to discriminate among the human beings then it should only be on the basis of who has recognized the Creator and become a good person by obeying Him and implementing His teachings and laws which are easy for everyone. In the attainment of which wealth, colour, language, time and place cannot be obstacles. Its address and teachings are for common for everyone. That’s because all human beings are created by the same Creator. The natural predisposition of everyone is the same. Things which are right and wrong or beneficial and harmful are the same for everyone. All human beings are equal before the Creator. He doesn’t discriminate between the things He created on the basis of colour or race etc rather He discriminates on the basis of man’s choice – good or bad- and the his right or wrong deeds. And based on that He either loves and rewards him or gets angry and punishes him.

These principles presented by the claimant touch our hearts and satisfy our minds. The first thing which is mentioned earlier is that there’s universality in his teachings, beyond the limitations of time and place and race and class. Second important point is the human equality found in the teachings of the

claimant that all human beings are equal because all human beings are the children of the same parents and are creation of the same Creator. Based on these fundamental principles, he unites all the human beings and makes all human beings into one brotherhood. These two things eradicate all discrimination whether they are geographical, historical, racial, class, colour and economic.

Entire teachings stand on these two foundations and all these teachings are the same for everyone. That’s because the nature of all human beings is the same and all are created by the same Creator. Since the Creator is the Creator, He doesn’t discriminate between the things He Himself has created. The principles presented by the true claimant give a strong concept of the oneness of humanity. The concept of oneness of humanity is essential for an ideal society. The concept of oneness of Creator and that all humans are children of one father and mother is absolutely essential for the concept of oneness of humanity.

As a consequence of acting on the first principle of the claimant there is enough motivating and enforcing power in these teachings themselves for the implementation of the teachings and the laws presented by him. At least 90% of the teachings can be implemented in human life by the dint of its own internal power of enforcement. The reasons for this enforcing power are:

1) These instructions and laws are from the King of the universe due to which there is holiness and awe in them.

2) The laws of the Creator are according to the human nature. As a result they are right and beneficial, free from injustice and violation of rights, balanced, fair, merciful and kind. Consequently life gets peace and tranquillity.

3) The pleasure of the King of the universe is earned by obeying Him. And one gets saved from his wrath. If he disobeys Him then it he would be causing injustice to people resulting in his own punishment. The King of the universe, by linking the obedience and disobedience of His commandments with His pleasure and punishment respectively, has created the power of enforcement in them making man to obey the divine commandments on his own.

These are some of the reasons for the self-implementing force which are found in the divine commandments. For the rest of the 10% external forces like police and courts of justice are required.

CHAPTER 2

IS PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S CLAIM TO MESSENGERSHIP TRUE?...AT A GLANCE

Research into the truthfulness of Prophet Muhammad’s claim to messengership

Public testimony of being truthful and the messenger’s announcement, claim and invitation

The methodology of the announcement during the first 3 yrs of messengership

The methodology of the announcement of the messengership and its strategy

Even the opponents acknowledged his truthfulness

He expressed his messengership and presented the message of the Lord to the nearest members of his family and clan

The truth of the claim to messengership emerges more strongly as a result of rejection and opposition and the claim to messengership and its announcement become talk of the town

The methodology of mass propagation and the announcement of the messengership

The admission to the truth of the message and messengership of Muhammad (peace be upon him) from the mouths of the opponents

The hysteria of the leaders of Quraysh is admission of the truthfulness and veracity of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the message brought by him

Some of the historical examples of the positive results of the enemies’ propaganda campaign are presented down below

A pleasant revolutionary change in the lives of the believers

Love, service and good conduct towards the weaker sections of society and participating in their sorrows

The Quran speaks about the rights of parents

Lives free of bloodshed and barbarism

The methodology adopted by Muhammad (peace be upon him) to save people from this destruction

Enforcing power

The believers proclaimed Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be the true messenger by looking at his conduct towards the weak

A brief account of the persecution for the realization of the truthfulness

The extraordinariness of the Quran is a proof that it’s the word of the Creator

The word and message of the Creator presents its claim to be true with proof

Another example of the authenticity of the message

Satisfaction with Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the message brought by him

His condition during the descent of revelation on him

IS PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S CLAIM TO MESSENGERSHIP TRUE?

We had a general discussion regarding the research into the veracity and falsity of the person claiming to be messenger in the previous chapter. Now we shall research into the claim to messengership by this specified person which has presented itself as a challenge.

Research into the Veracity of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Claim to Messengership:

The challenge now is to find out who that human being is either in the recent past or in the current times through whom the Creator has sent His message and introduction to other human beings and to find out whether that person is alive and present in our times or has become a historical reality. There’s no voice now in all the human beings of the world which says that he is the messenger sent by the Creator. That’s why we need to find him in history. We

hear many such voices spread across human history claiming that they have been sent by the Creator of the universe (viz. we hear the voices of Moses, Jesus, Abraham, David, Solomon, Joseph etc making their claims on messengership). And they had conveyed the Creator’s message to their people in their own times.

The voice which we hear from the period which is the latest and closest to ours is from Mecca, the city of Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib with the same claim to messengership in the year 611 CE when Muhammad was 40 yrs old. He made the claim that he is sent by the Creator of the universe as a messenger. Now we have to examine, analyse and research into the claim to ascertain whether his claim is true or not because accepting or not accepting this claimant is the most important decision in life. It will have the greatest impact on every aspect of life either positive or negative. Either we will get the guidance or stay deprived of it. Either we will get the authentic introduction of our Creator or we will remain deprived of it. And if the claimant is a liar and is believed then life will get destroyed.

That’s why it must be researched by looking into history through authentic historical sources. The most authentic source to get information about Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his wives, close friends and companions who saw and heard from him closely, spent time with him, had been with him in various stages of his life both in good and bad times, loved and respected him truly more than themselves, recorded everything he said and did, those things too which they were commanded to do or forbidden from doing. They recorded various incidents of his life in order to transmit them to their fellow companions and the later generations. Then the true the followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him) did everything he did and advanced it to generations after generations. This is the authentic source. Relying on sources other than these which are tainted with ignorance, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, bereft of honesty and integrity will lead to confusion and deprive one from reaching the truth making the researcher return halfway resulting in the loss of his efforts. That’s why authentic sources are important which have been mentioned above. Whoever is genuine in research must refer the authentic books for information. He should be deceived by the works of those who deny Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be the messenger and have nothing but envy, malice and bigotry in their hearts for him. He should refer those books which are considered to be authentic on the life and biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Authenticity is extremely important

in the quest for an authentic messenger and authentic message or else all the endeavour would not be beneficial.

History tells us that when Muhammad (peace be upon him) had the first experience of receiving the message from the Creator of the universe, he was terrified and thought that his life might be in danger. He returned to his home and lied down. His wife Khadija placed a blanket on him and reassured him by saying that you are a good man then why would your Lord harm you? Your deeds are of high quality and you are a great man, she said further. This was the testimony of his wife who had spent 15 yrs of her life with him as his wife. Having seen him so closely she was able to reassure her husband with full confidence and conviction by saying things like you Lord would never let you down, you treat your relatives in a good way, you always say the truth, you fulfil your trust, you carry the burden of helpless people, you give money to the poor people from your earnings, you are always a great host to the people and you help them in good deeds.

The fear inducing incident tells us that the responsibility of conveying the message was placed on him suddenly. And it also tells us a man of what high personality and qualities the Lord of the universe chose attested by a very close partner of his (his own wife) who had spent a considerable amount of time with him. These high qualities are always saying the truth and being trustworthy which are absolutely essential and foremost for delivering the message.

The first experience was that of receiving the message and being made into a messenger which we have mentioned about it briefly. After this, he is instructed to convey the message. He is made to realize the seriousness of the responsibility and told how to convey the message.

We are now discussing those great historical events which introduce us to the great personality of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that based on those qualities and attributes the Creator chose him to be His messenger, gave him the responsibility to convey His message and gave him this office. First, let us take the two most important qualities which should and are found in a messenger which we have already mentioned in the previous chapter as a topic of research. The first quality is that he should be the messenger who is truthful. Who never ever lied in his entire life. Entire society testified to it. The second quality is the quality of trustworthiness that he returned to the people as it is whatever they entrusted him with.

As far as being truthful is concerned then his first wife Khadija, who lived for 15 yrs as his wife with him before his messengership, has already attested to it. No other testimony could be greater than hers. Then we have the testimonies of his uncle’s son Ali ibn Abi Talib, slave Zaid bin Al Harith and best and closest friend Abu Bakr bin Abi Qahafa, all these important and undeniable testimonies put their seal on Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) truthfulness. Then there is the public’s testimony in public when he climbed the Safa hill and said that ‘would you believe me if I were to say that there’s an army behind this hill and is marching towards you to attack you?’. They all said in unison that yes we believe you for we have never heard you lying. This was their answer which is given by the public unanimously.

This means that not only did his close relatives testified to his truthfulness but also the entire society which included all kinds of people – rich, poor, slaves, men, women, young, old, religious guides and political leaders – in short the entire city testifies to Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) truthfulness. One could assume with regards to his close relatives that they might have testified in his favour out of love for him. But if we compare their testimonies with the public’s testimony then they all say the same thing that he was a truthful man. Now there remains no doubt that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a truthful man, who never lied and always told the truth. Then certainly he might also be truthful with regards to the Creator that he in fact might be His messenger and is conveying His message to His slaves, explaining to them by words and presenting a model by his deeds so that it becomes easy for the people to follow by doing what he does.

During Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) youth, when he was 35 yrs old, Ka’ba was being renovated. When the work was done and the time to reinstate the Black Stone came then fight broke out between the tribes as to who would get the honour of lifting the stone and placing it in its place (which is a corner in the Ka’ba). So when the dispute wasn’t being solved and they couldn’t reach an agreement then an old man proposed from the crowd that his word will be taken as decisive who will be the first person in the morning to enter the mosque. All the tribes agreed. The next day the first man whom people saw to enter the Ka’ba was Muhammad (peace be upon him). And they all said with joy ‘the truthful and the trustworthy has come’. He is trustworthy. We agree with his decision. Instead of his name, they called him by his two most prominent and high qualities and with respect, reverence and joy at that. This tells us how well-accepted, prominent and revered his qualities were in the

public too. And it’s not an ordinary thing to earn such a fame and be popular with these qualities in the whole city. This also tells us that his practical life was a reflection of these qualities. And whose testimony could be greater than those people who have been watching him and tasting the sweetness of these qualities of his in their lives?! And it’s not just two or three people rather the entire society, city, people around him, people close to him, his loved ones, friends and family used to talk about him and his qualities. This is a historical truth which Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) companions and his early biographers and historians have recorded for posterity.

Not only that, his dealings and transactions with others were excellent too. The way he solved the dispute without upsetting any tribe is a prime example. All the tribes were happy and satisfied with his decision. He asked for a blanket and placed the Black Stone in it. All the leaders of the tribes lifting the blanket and brought the Stone to the place where it is to be reinstated. Then Muhammad (peace be upon him) placed it in its place.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was famous in the society for being trustworthy. People frequently used to give their wealth or treasure to him despite being opposed to him for safe keeping. They were absolutely sure of the safety of their belongings and were also sure of getting it back when in that era there was no custom of keeping a record of such transactions in writing nor anyone knew how to read and write except for a few. Muhammad (peace be upon him) too was illiterate. Nevertheless, he returned people’s belongings just the way they left it with him.

A clear proof of him being a trustworthy man and his fulfilling of the trusts is that infamous incident when his house was besieged by the enemies. They planned to kill him by striking him with their swords at the same time so that this claimant to messengership of the Creator of the universe who, through his message, wants to convert the leadership of the leaders to the slavery of the Creator, establish equality, free human beings from the slavery of other human beings and bring them in the slavery of their Creator, change people’s orientation from world-worship and self-worship to God-worship which they absolutely hate, uplift them from the depths of satanity and brutality to the heights of humanity is silenced forever. All these great things he wanted to do was not acceptable to the Quraysh. They planned that if individuals from each tribe were to kill him by attacking all at once then it will be difficult for Banu Hashim (Muhammad’s clan) to take their revenge. They laid siege to

Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) house with full determination, preparedness and will but even in such a tense and dangerous situation he handed over the belongings people had kept with him to his uncle’s son Ali ibn Abi Talib explaining to him clearly whose belonging is whose in order to deliver them to their respective owners and then he went outside his house without any harm and knowledge of the enemy solely relying on the power of the Creator. This is the extraordinary sense of fulfilling one’s trust that he left his house only after making arrangements for returning everyone’s belongings they kept in his safekeeping even during a deadly situation created by the enemies. This is the zenith of trustworthiness and unparalleled act. This is the ‘Trustworthy’ who was chosen by the Creator to convey His message of mercy to people. Certainly the Creator entrusts such a trustworthy person alone for the delivery of His message so that His message is conveyed to the people without any alterations with full accuracy. And the trustworthy person shall try with all his might in conveying the message despite all obstacles and difficulties in his path and by taking all risks just as he returned people’s belongings despite being in danger. And he shall deliver the Creator’s message as a trust to the people with patience, wisdom, steadfastness, independence, selflessness and sacrifice.

Khadija was a wealthy business woman of Mecca whose husband had died and she was looking for a virtuous, trustworthy and experienced person for her business. She hired Muhammad (peace be upon him) and sent him with her merchandise to Syria accompanied by one of her slaves. At that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a young man between 20-25 yrs of age. Her business made a huge profit and he presented all the accounts of the business transactions to this widowed woman Khadija and gave her profits to her. Next time too she requested Muhammad (peace be upon him) to conduct her business convinced of his truthfulness, integrity and trustworthiness. In those days Muhammad (peace be upon him) was himself very poor and dependent on his uncle Abu Talib that’s why he was in desperate need for money to meet his ends. But he did not cheat in the business and was famous by the name of ‘honest merchant’. Because of which Khadija sent her marriage proposal to him for she herself was a virtuous and good woman and was famous by the name of ‘Pure’. The anecdotes of his trustworthiness and integrity are conspicuous in history and his biography.

Public Testimony of Him Being Truthful, Announcement of His Messengership, Claim and Preaching:

One day Muhammad (peace be upon him) climbed up to the topmost position of mount Safa and cried ة صباحا meaning O what a terrible morning! It is a ياcustom in Arabia that when someone were to learn about a sudden early morning attack then he would climb the hill and start shouting in this way and people would run towards him as soon as they heard him. Therefore people came out of their houses as soon as they heard Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) voice. When all the people assembled, Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ‘O people! If I were to tell you that there’s a huge army behind this hill which wants to attack you then would you believe me? All of them said ‘yes. In our experience you are not the one who ever lied’. Then he said: ‘Then I warn you of God’s wrath before it arrives’. Worry about saving yourselves from it. I cannot be of any help to you against God. My relatives on the Day of Judgment will be the pious alone. Let it not be that others come with good deeds on the Judgment Day and you with the Divine wrath. At that time you would call me for help but I would be forced to turn away from you. However I have a blood relation with you in this world and here I would be kind to you’.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) addressed the people of Quraysh from Mount Safa thus: ‘God has commanded me to warn the closest loved ones of mine and you the people of Quraysh are the closest of my kin. I do not have any authority to get you something from God or grant you anything on the Day of Judgement except if you agree to ‘There is no god but God’. Then I can testify in your favour before God. And because of this testimony to the oneness of God, Arabs will become subservient to you and non-Arabs your followers.’

The message in this event for the addressees of that time and readers of today is as follows:

1) He used that method by which people were warned of any danger. Climbing up the hill and shouting ‘O what a terrible morning’ was the customary way of alerting the people of a danger. Hence by using this method Muhammad (peace be upon him) warned the people of life after death and the danger of Hell so that they may prepare to save themselves from it.

2) Giving a call from the hilltop from where both sides of the hill can be seen was actually meant to underscore a deeper reality that ‘the King of the universe has appointed me his messenger and from this position of messengership I’m looking at this life and the life hereafter and this is

the message I am giving you. It is because of being in this position of messengership that I am able to inform you about the hereafter and Hell which are beyond the grave. I am warning you of the Day of Judgement which is the Day of Accountability of this present life so that you could prepare yourselves for it when you will have to stand before the One Who knows even the hidden and Who is the True Judge.

3) Muhammad (peace be upon him) made the people, who assembled to hear what he had to say, affirm that he always spoke the truth. He asked the question ‘O people! If I were to tell you that there’s a big army behind this hill which wants to attack you then would you believe me?’ Everyone said ‘yes. In our experience you were one of those who ever told a lie.’ In other words he got them to affirm that he is a true messenger of the Creator. That is made them affirm his claim to messengership.

4) The importance of this affirmation was that the actual thing that he was about to say is the truth and nothing but the truth so that people could take it seriously give importance to the news about Hell, try to save themselves from it and not neglect it. That’s because you the people have admitted it in the open before the assembly that I never Muhammad always speak the truth. When I speak the truth then you should believe what I am saying now. The admission to the fact that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a truthful person by the whole assembly in one voice and their having no experience of hearing Muhammad (peace be upon him) say any lies is the first and most important attribute the one who is laying claim to messengership and for the public to accept him as the messenger.

5) Standing on the high position of messengership, watching both this world and the world hereafter and warning people of an imminent danger is actually wishing well for the people. In the same way, Muhammad (peace be upon him) by warning of the forthcoming accountability to the Creator and Hell, did a favour to the people so that they could prepare themselves for it before it arrives.

6) Then he also made an announcement that the Creator and God are one and the same, He is one and only and there is none worthy of worship but Him. All rites of worship are due to Him alone. Believe in this one true God alone by rejecting all false gods. You will be saved from the fire of Hell after death and successful here in this world. He will wield power in this world. This is the main and important truth of the oneness of God and this is the message that the Creator gave me to convey it to you people.

The Methodology of Announcement During the First Three Years of Messengership:

For the first three years he told only those people who were reasonable, of sound character and temperament, close, who trusted him fully, believed him to be true to the extent of certainty, and who were serious. He told them individually one to one that he is made messenger of the Creator or is chosen to be His messenger and placed the heavy responsibility of conveying this message to His slaves. In this way, he began the announcement of his messengership with caution and wisdom. He adopted this strategy in the early years of fulfilling his responsibility of messengership. The way he made the proper and most important introduction of the Creator of universe and mankind is that he declared that the Creator is free from all kinds of Shirk (shirk is an Arabic word which means ascribing associates or partners to God) and that He is one and only in His Being and attributes.

The Methodology of Announcing the Messengership and Preaching After the First Three Years:

The initial methodology he adopted for the announcement of his messengership was worship rather than words. He started to worship near the Ka’ba in a new way which bore witness to the oneness of God. Since his way of worship was different from the customary way, he was successful in getting people’s attention and this novel way of worship created questions in people’s minds from which he took advantage, answered those questions when they approached him and in this way he expressed and announced to them about his messengership, gave them the correct knowledge of the concept of the One Creator, forbade them from worshiping anyone but the Creator, informed them of the life to come after death in which they will be held accountable for

their actions in this life resulting in either heaven or hell. If they believe and accept the Creator to be one and only and worship Him alone then they will have Paradise otherwise Hell.

Since the Creator had not made a announcement of the appointment of a messenger through a grand ceremony, the messenger himself had to make this announcement in different ways at different occasions. Those who believed in the messengership of Muhammad (peace be upon him), followed and obeyed him, started to introduce and announce his messengership to their close relatives and friends. This methodology of the announcement of his messengership came into existence in a natural way and began to work silently in its own effective way. This proved to be a multifold and multidirectional approach.

One of the reasons why serious, open-minded and good-natured people believed so quickly is because the personality of Muhammad (peace be upon him) being truthful and trustworthy was extremely popular and beyond doubt. Only those people who had vested interests and whose leadership was under threat held back from believing him and started making excuses and hurling accusations at Muhammad (peace be upon him) so as to avoid his obedience. And by taking an attitude of opposition, they not only held themselves back but prevented others too from believing Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Another truth which is found in this novel way of making announcement (by worshiping at the Ka’ba in a new way) is that he himself is practicing that towards which he is inviting and which he is announcing to be true; this is a testimony to him being truthful. And he is practicing that which he says is beneficial to the people; this is a testimony to the truth of the message brought by him.

The Methodology of Announcing the Messengership and its Strategy:

This way of announcing that the Creator had made Muhammad (peace be upon him) His messenger by having a grand ceremony and hence people ought to listen to him, take his message and follow him when he explains the message through words and deeds was not adopted.

Such a grand ceremony could be done only once. It is unnatural and impractical that announcements of such kind are made in such a way or the announcer is always there to make such announcements. That’s why this kind of method was not adopted.

Whenever there is a need to introduce himself personally the messenger does that in view of fulfilling his responsibility. There is the messenger’s dignity in this way of self-introduction, humbleness and slavery of the Lord’s slave. And he introduces himself without any formalities when the need for such a thing arises. There is closeness and fairness in this kind of approach whereas in a grand ceremony there is pomp, grandeur, formality and distance from human beings which is a kind of obstacle in inviting to the truth i.e. introduction to the Creator and conveying His message.

The addressee should feel the dignity, humbleness, love, sincerity, informality, simplicity, closeness and well-wishing of the messenger in order to convey the Creator’s message. These qualities are found in personal or natural way of introduction. These are not found in the pompous nature of a ceremony. That is the reason why the Creator has chosen this natural method of announcement for His messenger and sending His message. The Creator alone knows better what other wisdom is in this way of announcing His messenger.

Even his Opponents Acknowledged his Truthfulness:

Even his staunchest opponents acknowledged his truthfulness in their heart of hearts. They knew they were lying and were in the wrong but were opposing him out of ill will, tribalism, defending the ancestral religion, and safeguarding self-interests. But because they acknowledged Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) truthfulness and their own lies, they did not have the courage to face him.

Abu Jahl, the greatest enemy of Muhammad (peace be upon him) had already admitted to the truthfulness of the Prophet many times and used to talk about the real reason of his opposition to the Prophet among his close friends. His denial of Muhammad (peace be upon him) was based on jealousy otherwise he knew that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a true messenger about which he even talked with his friend Mugheerah bin Shu’bah when even Mugheerah himself was not a Muslim. He used to say ‘There’s no messenger in our clan but they have a messenger now, otherwise we were equal in everything. They used to serve the pilgrims and provide water to them and so did we. Now the Children of Abd Manaf, with whom we are competing to determine who is more honourable, say that they have a prophet who receives revelations from the heavens. How are we supposed to compete with that?! By God we will never accept him (if they believed him then they would be lowered to him in status) nor are we going to affirm him’. This was merely stubbornness based on jealousy when on the other hand he has already said

regarding the truthfulness of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that ‘By God I know that whatever this man says is the truth but there is just one thing which holds me back’ and that is thing which we have mentioned above. On another occasion he said to one of his friends ‘By God I know that he really is the Prophet but since when have we become subservient to the Children of Abd Manaf?’

And on another occasion, Abu Jahl addressed Muhammad (peace be upon him) thus ‘We do not say that you are a liar but we deny that which you have brought’.

On the occasion of the battle of Badr, Khans asked Abu Jahl ‘there is no third person between you and me. Tell me honestly is Muhammad (peace be upon him) truthful or a liar? He replied ‘By God Muhammad (peace be upon him) is truthful, he never lies’.

He Presented The Message of Their Lord and His Messengership to his closest Relatives:

He invited his closest relatives to dinner and gave them the message of monotheism. If you accept this word then you will gain all the goodness of this world and the hereafter and will rule both the Arabs and non-Arabs. He adopted this method to announce about his messengership before his family members and by reciting their Creator’s message invited them to accept it. Since they were the leaders of Quraysh they saw their leadership slipping away from their hands. They deemed it synonymous to going against their ancestral religion, making the Arabs their enemies and opponents. Hence they refused to accept. But no one refuse the messengership of Muhammad (peace be upon him) nor his nor his message and nor called him a liar.

The truth of the claim to messengership emerges more forcefully as a result of rejection and opposition and this claim and announcement becomes the talk of the town:

Due to rejection of opposition to the truth of the claimant, his personality and truth emerges more forcefully when he shows patience and steadfastness and makes his point with that same softness, love and sincerity with which he started his mission in the beginning.

Self-serving opponents, who came to know that the claimant is a truthful person and what he presented is the truth resort to hurling different kinds of

accusations at him to the extent of oppressing him. The claimant never coerced anyone to accept him or does he have such a permission from the Creator to do such a thing nor is he responsible for making others believe in him forcibly nor he puts pressure to do such a thing nor does he take recourse to temptations. He merely explains to the people about the benefits and losses of acceptance and rejection and exhorts them to accept the truth for these benefits and losses go beyond this life into the next where there’s heaven and hell.

The claimant was only conveying the message of the Creator which he was doing it as his official duty and he was doing that by keeping moral requirements before him. Then why was this claimant being persecuted? Because of acting on the moral requirements, the human and moral attributes of the claimant were reaching ever new heights and his prophetic attributes and personality were emerging out before the public in more clear and bright way.

In an atmosphere filled with propaganda, people are incapable of logically judging who’s speaking the truth and who’s not; whether the claimant is right or the leaders of the nation. But people can easily judge moral behaviour because human conscience cries from the inside as to who’s right and who’s wrong, who’s truthful and who’s a liar. Then those people from among the public who have no vested interests, are not scared of the rich and the powerful, identify the claimant to be truthful and proceed to stand by him with full confidence. In this way, the claim and the claimant come out into the open with full force in this pulling and hauling. In this way the word about the claim to messengership spreads far and wide.

The opponents themselves make Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) claim to messengership a talk of the town and they do it by doing carrying out negative propaganda about it out of fear and panic which then creates curiosity in the public making them come in droves to meet this man from faraway places and they meet with Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is the natural way of making announcement of messengership and conveying the Creator’s message.

The Method of General Propagation, Announcement of the Messengership and Conveying the Message:

After conveying God’s message to his own family, clan and tribe, Muhammad (peace be upon him) began his general preaching in the people of Mecca and other Arab tribes which lasted for 10 yrs. He used to meet with people who came to Mecca for business, Hajj (Greater Pilgrimage) and Umrah (Smaller pilgrimage), visiting openly and in private. During Hajj, he used to meet with everyone, the elite and the common people by going to their residences and in the carnivals introduce himself as the messenger of the Creator and recite whatever portions of Quran, which is the Creator’s message to His slaves, was revealed up until that time. He used to answer the questions and clear the doubts from the Quran itself. He used to recite the Quran to the people in every situation and at every place and exhort them to be obedient to their Creator and Master.

He spared no expense in conveying the truth whether people accepted it or not, listened to him calmly or quarrelled with him, be rude to him and the opponents from the Quraysh created obstacles in his way.

He used to go the camps of each and every tribe and tell them ‘say there is no god but God and be successful’. And by virtue of this word, you will become the rulers of Arabia and the non-Arabs will become your followers and when you were to believe then you will become kings in paradise’. And it happened that when he asked people to say ‘there is no god but God and be successful’, they harmed him and tortured him, some spitted on him, some threw garbage on him, and some swore at him. But he used to continue conveying the message to them day or night, secretly or openly. His addressees included the powerful and the weak, freeman and slave, rich and poor, in short people from all walks of life. He preached secretly so that others could not distract the one to whom the message is being explained and hence end up depriving him of a very precious and beneficial thing. The reason for preaching secretly in the first 3 yrs of the announcement of his messengership and giving them the message of monotheism was to collect those human jewels who could be acquired easily and could also prove to be helpful in conveying the message.

In this approach of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in delivering the message to the public was his claim to messengership, the message of monotheism and the results in the hereafter of either accepting or rejecting it. To stop the people from listening to his message, the Quraysh who were his archenemy started the defamation campaign that he was a magician, a soothsayer, and is suffering from mental illness in order to discredit him. But no one dared to call

him a liar nor did anyone dared to attack his character. His character was unblemished and truth was his all time occupation. Word of truth and integrity were his distinguishing features.

Admission To The Truth of The Message And The Messenger From The Mouths Of His Adversaries:

The adversaries felt the power of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) extraordinary personality and the immense influence of the Quran. That’s why they tried repeatedly to talk to him and convince him one way or the other to compromise in the matter of religion. Therefore they sent Utbah bin Rabi’ah to talk to Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was sitting in the precincts of the Harem (The Ka’ba) on the other side. He presented few things to Muhammad (peace be upon him). He said ‘we will make the richest man of Mecca or be made a king of Mecca or if you are possessed by a Jinn then we will make arrangements for your treatment or if you are looking for a woman then we shall get you married to the most beautiful woman of Mecca, provided you stop what you are doing which is insulting to our gods and forefathers and which has divided families and clans. When he finished, Muhammad (peace be upon him) recited to him the message, the word of the Creator of the universe and as per the command of the revelation, prostrated to the Creator the universe and mankind then raised his head and said this is my answer to you and others. My job is to recite and convey the message and word of the Creator to His slaves and this is what I do.’

Utbah bin Rabi’ah got up from there and returned to the assembly of his friends, the leaders of the Quraysh who were in the precincts of the Ka’bah as well. They asked him ‘what have you heard?’ He said ‘By God I heard a speech which I had never heard before in my life. By God it is neither poetry, magic nor soothsaying. O people of the Quraysh, listen to me and leave this man to his own devices. I think this speech will show its true potential. Suppose if Arabs were to dominate him then you will be saved from laying hands on your own brother and he will be dealt by others. But if he were to dominate the Arabs then his kingdom will be your kingdom and his honour will be your honour. The moment they heard these words from Utbah they exclaimed ‘O father of Waleed it looks like his sorcery worked on you too!’

Muhammad (peace be upon him) recited verses from Surah Fussilat. We are presenting here the translation of verse 13:

But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] 'Aad and Thamud”.

When Muhammad (peace be upon him) came to this verse, Utbah inadvertently placed his hand on Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) mouth and by invoking kinship asked him not to say such a thing. The reason which he gave to the people behind this action of his is that ‘you people know very well that when Muhammad (peace be upon him) says something then it is not a lie. That’s why I got scared of the wrath’.

The words Utbah bib Rabi’ah uttered before the leaders of Quraysh after listening to the Quran bear witness to the fact that the Quran is not a human speech and nor Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a poet, soothsayer or sorcerer. So if you do not want to believe him and the message brought by him then leave him alone. That would be the right thing to do.

Placing hand on Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) mouth and telling the friends that whatever comes out from Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) mouth turns out to be true, is testimony to the fact that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was indeed a truthful person, a fact which was being expressed in words and deeds of his adversaries. And this truth is being confessed and to admitted in the assembly of the adversaries. By reciting the word of the Creator Muhammad (peace be upon him) rejected it clearly that there won’t be any compromise with the word and message of the Creator. Inadvertently admitting, from the heart, to the truth of the word revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) leaves no other option than to believe in Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be the messenger of the Creator and Quran to be His Book and then submit to this guide. This is the true love to oneself. And one’s true happiness lies in this very decision. But if they do not believe then it is intentional denial and stubbornness for which there is no cure.

Many leaders of the Quraysh together made offers to Muhammad (peace be upon him) like the one made by Utbah bin Rabi’ah, tried to bribe him, pressure him, insulted him, but he made the announcement of him being the messenger of the Creator in very clear words and the announcement of the Book being sent by the Creator. He said I have been told by my Creator to be a warner (warning of the consequences of not believing) and a bringer of glad-tidings (giving good news of the consequences of believing). Therefore I have conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and advised you as well. If you were

to accept what I have brought to you then it would be the most fortunate thing for you both in this world and the hereafter. But if you were to reject it then I am to be patient about it until God decides the matter between you and me.

Muhammad (peace be upon) claimed and announced his being made messenger in different ways at different occasions. This claim and announcement is important so that people could verify his truthfulness and accept the truth. We was offered the world and yet the true messenger stood firmly on his position and mission. Rather he declared his claim openly of him being appointed the messenger of God, of receiving God’s Book, of being made a warner and a bringer of glad-tidings.

When they saw that these offers and bribes failed to work on him and contrary to all their expectations he rejected the offers and stood firmly on his position and mission, they plotted in a different way. They schemed to influence him and his mission by offering compromise. Therefore they said ‘one year you will worship our gods Laat and Uzza and the next year we will worship your God’. On this, Muhammad (peace be upon him) recited Surah Al Kafiroon making it clear to them once and for all that there won’t be any compromise in religion.

The messenger neither backs down, nor blabs nor makes any compromises with his mission and responsibility. When the leaders of Quraysh approached Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) uncle Abu Talib who was his greatest backer, and pressured him to talk to his nephew to stop from what he is doing, Abu Talib asked for Muhammad (peace be upon him) and told him ‘my nephew, your people came to me and told me to stop you from what you are doing. You should leave some room for you and me to live and do not burden me with something that which neither I nor you could bear. Therefore desist from saying things to your people that upsets them.’

Muhammad (peace be upon him) replied ‘my dear uncle, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, even then I am not going to stop until God either makes me successful or kills me in this path.’ This is testimony to Muhammad (peace be upon him) being truthful that a true messenger isn’t scared of dire situations, problems and difficulties. The words spoken by Muhammad (peace be upon him) to his uncle show his firm resolve for his mission.

A true claimant will try to convey the message of the Creator no matter what the situation is. A does good even to his enemies in a wise way. This incident is a witness that when a delegation of the leaders of Quraysh approached Abu Talib and said that they wanted to talk about justice which was that they won’t object to Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) God provided he doesn’t object to our gods Muhammad (peace be upon him) said ‘I call them to such a word that if they were to accept it then they would become rulers of Arabia and the non-Arabs would become their followers’. Abu Jahl immediately said ‘this is such a profitable deal. I swear by your father we are ready to say not one such word but ten’. Muhammad (peace be upon him) said ‘say there is no god but God’. At this they all got enraged and dispersed with hatred. And while they were leaving they said ‘walk away, and remain constant to your gods! For this is truly a thing designed (against you)!’ (Quran, 38:6).

A true messenger is engrossed in his responsibility. The thought of being accountable to his mission is always on his mind. He takes advantage of every situation to fulfil his mission even when the situation is rough he makes his way to do his duty with patience, wisdom and calmness. He neither gets scared nor walks away from his duty. He creates opportunities from circumstances. He possesses sharp insight. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was right in saying that declaring ‘there is no god but God’ places the whole world under ones feet.

There is truth of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) message and falsehood of the Quraysh in the panic shown by their leaders:

In the first Hajj, after the public announcement of his claim to messengership, the leaders of the Quraysh got worried that if Muhammad (peace be upon him) were to go to every camp of every tribe and recite his mesmerizing word to them then they might get influenced by him and his message would reach to all the Arabs. So that’s why in order to stop him they would go to each and every camp before Muhammad (peace be upon him) and spread lies and scare them so that they may not listen to Muhammad (peace be upon him). At this moment, Waleed bin Mugheerah drew the attention of the assembly to the point that if they were say different things about Muhammad (peace be upon him) they might lose people’s trust. That’s why we should all agree on saying one thing about him instead of different things. Some of them said ‘we will say that he is a soothsayer’. Waleed said ‘no, by God he’s not a soothsayer. We

have seen soothsayers. The Quran has no relation whatsoever to the things that they say. Some of them said ‘let’s say he is crazy’. Waleed said ‘he is not crazy either. We have seen crazy mad people. It is not hidden from anyone the way they say and do stupid things. Who would believe that the words being recited by Muhammad (peace be upon him) are the words of a mad man or such wise words are being said in the fit of madness?’ Then the others said ‘okay let’s say that he is a poet’. Waleed said he is not a poet either. We are well acquainted with all kinds of poets. We cannot apply any definition of poetry on Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) word. People then said ‘let’s call him a sorcerer then’. Waleed said he is not a sorcerer either. We know sorcerers and the methods they use for their sorcery. This too isn’t applicable to Muhammad (peace be upon him). Waleed said ‘whatever you’re going to tell the people remember that they will take it to be incorrect accusations. By God, there’s quite sweetness in his word. Its roots are quite strong and its branches are very fruit-giving. This made Abu Jahl angry. Your people won’t be convinced unless you come up with something regarding Muhammad (peace be upon him). Waleed said ‘let me come up with something then’. After thinking for quite a while he said ‘the closest thing that could be said about him would be that he is a sorcerer. He is reciting words that is separating a man from his father, brother, wife, children and the entire clan’. Everyone agreed with Waleed’s proposition. Then as per the plan, during Hajj, many delegations of Quraysh spread across the camps to do what they agreed upon.

It’s clear from the words of Waleed bin Mugheera and the conversation he had with the leaders of Quraysh that he was convinced that words coming out of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) mouth are divine. But to protect his leadership he lied and said it is a human word. This is how self-interest, selfishness and world-worship fights with man’s conscience and makes him say lies against truth. During the conversation with the leaders of the Quraysh, Waleed bin Mugheera rejected their claim that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a sorcerer but accepts this lie and advices them to use the word ‘sorcerer’ for propaganda.

This historical incident tells us that in private meetings and conversations man speaks the truth and says that which is right because he wants to make correct assessments about events and personalities so that he could make a proper study and analysis of them in order to reach the right outcomes and solutions for his own interests and goals. This private meeting of the leaders of the

Quraysh was bringing out truth and falsehood in a very clear way. Whatever was being said in the meeting was true and the entire assembly was agreeing with it. It was not an ordinary meeting. This meeting was the meeting of city’s leaders and elders. And whatever was said outside the meeting, was being said and was agreed upon to say regarding Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a lie and was being said to serve vested interests which was also recorded for posterity and history has put its seal on it too. The truth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran was fought with lies. Muhammad (peace be upon him) wasn’t someone not from Mecca that it would create doubt about him being a true messenger or need any kind of research. The faith in his truthfulness and integrity was so strong that the leaders of the Quraysh had to conduct many meetings and many propositions were made to cover the truth. But in their own understanding those propositions weren’t strong enough to convince the public. So instead of giving evidences against Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) they resorted to cheap propaganda tactics like lies, allegations and character assassination so that people may stay away from him and do not dare to listen to what he was reciting.

These meetings and their diabolical scheming are proofs of the fact how scared they were of the influence of the truth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran. The truth of him being the messenger and the Quran being from God is hidden in their fear.

Because of this false propaganda, the word about Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran spread in Mecca and the surrounding towns. This too is a natural way of bringing the messenger and the message into the open before the public.

In this way, the divine message kept reaching the people and logical and good-natured people began to accept it and propagate it to their own clans and tribes. Reasonable, logical and good-natured people are the cream of any society. They don’t accept anything just like that but rather make their own investigations into the veracity of the claim. These are the people who identify the truth even in a confusing atmosphere. And these are the people who later on guide the people in the right direction. Therefore they work extraordinarily in their spheres of influence in conveying the message and introducing the messenger. The people who initially do not cooperate with them out of deception from the false propaganda or fear of the power of the liars, starts

moving to the camp of the truth as soon as the power of the liars wanes something which their consciences have been demanding.

The Creator of the universe has not conducted a grand ceremony nor has He adopted such kind of method for the announcement of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) messengership but those rejected him despite realizing that he indeed was a messenger of God merely for the sake of their worldly interests were trying to stop others from listening to him by using cheap tactics of false propaganda, creating doubts in people’s minds, and defaming the messenger. They used their men, means and media for this purpose. But these very men were also proving to be helpful to a certain extent in conveying Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) message. There certainly was some delay in people’s acceptance of the truth because of false propaganda but its most important consequence was that the messenger gained main and important people of the society who pushed his message forward. This is the strategy of the Creator in announcing conveying His message and messenger to the people. This is a natural, continuous and permanent arrangement made by the Creator for the announcement and introduction of His message and messenger. This arrangement is here to stay till the end of this world.

People from various regions and tribes were inclined towards Muhammad (peace be upon him) out of curiosity produced by this propaganda campaign. And in this way, Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) name and message reached the tribes living outside Mecca. This is the fact which is mentioned in Surah Al Sharh ذكرك لك رفعنا meaning that why do you get disheartened وO Muhammad? We have raised your voice by your enemies themselves.

Some of the examples of the positive results which came about as a result of the enemy’s propaganda:

Tufail bin Umar Doosey: He was a great leader and one of the noblemen of the tribe of Doos. In the beginning he got influenced by the propaganda but then came back to his sense, realized who he was and went to Mecca to meet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He realized the truth and the reality and embraced Islam. Went back home and preached to his parents, members of his household and then his tribe. Because of him 80 households accepted Islam.

Abuzar Ghifari: He was from the tribe of Banu Ghaifar who was famous for highway robberies. He left this occupation 3 yrs before embracing Islam. When he heard the false propaganda about Muhammad he sent his brother Anees to Mecca to get information about this man who says that he is a prophet (messenger from the Creator of the universe). Abuzar came to Muhammad (peace be upon him) after getting all the information about him. He heard his recitation and became a Muslim then and there. Then Muhammad (peace be upon him) told him to go to his people and keeping informing them about Islam until he receives information about Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) situation.

Amr bin Abasa Sulaimi: He was from the tribe of Banu Sulaim. He too became a Muslim after hearing about Muhammad (peace be upon him) after the public announcement. He met with Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the market of Okaz and embraced the faith there itself because he had hearing from people that there is a man in Mecca who tells these news from the heavens and other things. He said ‘I asked Muhammad (peace be upon him) what instructions have you been sent with?’ Muhammad (peace be upon him) replied ‘that you regard God as the only god without associating any partners with Him’

Dhamaad Al Azdi: He was from the Azedshanwa and exorcism was his occupation. When he came to Mecca, the hooligans told him that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has gone crazy. He told them ‘show me where he is? May be God could cure him by me’. When he Muhammad (peace be upon him) and listened to his recitation he said ‘I have never heard such a recitation. I have heard the soothsayers, the poets and the sorcerers but never this. This goes deep into the depths of the oceans’. He then embraced Islam and pledge allegiance to Muhammad (peace be upon him) on his and his people’s behalf.

The truth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a messenger of God and the message brought by him is expressed clearly by pleasant revolutionary changes seen in the lives of those who believed in him. By believing in Muhammad (peace be upon him), accepting his message and acting on it, immediate and revolutionary changes occurred in their lives which the human nature liked.

Examples of some of the great changes occurred in the lives of the believers:

A) Burying newly born or small girls alive:

Such ignorant and inhuman things used to happen in Arab society that it makes the hair stand on end just to even think about it. It makes tears roll down our cheeks. There were three reasons for which parents used to kill their children.

1) Killing the girls for the reason that none should become their son-in-law which was considered to be shameful or because the girls might not get captured by the enemy in tribal wars.

2) They used to consider children a burden because of the lack of economic resources.

3) They used to kill their children as sacrificial offering to their gods.

Because of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his teachings they repented from doing this dastardly act. They realized it to be a sin and got scared of the Day of Judgement. In the past they did not regard it to be a sin. After embracing the faith, they raised their children with love and affection for the earning God’s pleasure and gave them good education too. Girls not only got saved from getting killed but they got respect, love and equality in society.

Those teachings are…

The Creator has said in His Book ‘and when the girl-child buried alive shall be asked for what crime was she killed?’ (Quran 81:8-9)

‘Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Surely killing them is a heinous sin’ (Quran 17:31)

Some of the sayings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) are being mentioned here:

Ibn Abbas narrates that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whoever has a girl and he does not bury her alive nor regard her insignificant and lowly nor prefers his son over then God will make him enter Paradise’.

Ayyub bin Musa narrates on the authority of his father and grandfather ibn Sa’d that the messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘There is no gift better than good education a father could give to his children’.

B) Slavery:

In those days slaves were of three kinds. Prisoners of war. Making a freeman slave by capturing him or selling him. Those who have been slaves since generations.

At the time of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) the society was filled with all these kinds of slaves and the socio-economic system was being run with the help of these slaves.

Consequently, people used to make these slaves work extremely hard and oppress them. Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) teachings made not making slaves work unfairly hard, desisting from oppressing them and the act of freeing them to be worship and the way to enter Paradise and gain the Creator’s pleasure. He made people pay attention to the slaves who want to buy their freedoms with small amount of money, and encouraged the masters to facilitate their freedom either by reducing the amount of money voluntarily or freeing them totally without taking any money whatsoever as a means to please the Creator and earn great rewards from Him. Because of this teaching the believers in Muhammad (peace be upon him) started to buy slaves from others just to free them. Hundreds of such slaves were freed if not thousands. Freeing man from the slavery to another was made a great worship in the teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and a promise of reward from God Himself. Within few years, the concept and custom of enslaving human beings began to end. This is one of the greatest favours by Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his teachings on humankind.

The Quran says:

‘And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed’ (24:33)

That is they want offer you something for their emancipation from you be it in the form of money or service.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) exhorted people to treat slaves nicely and free them. Some of his teachings in this regard are mentioned down below:

Abuzar Ghifari narrates that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘(These slaves) are your brothers. God has placed them under your custody. So

if God were to place any such brother in your custody then he should feed him what he himself eats and clothe him whatever he wears and he ought not to force him to do something which is more than he is capable of doing and is heavy for him. And if he were to give him a task which is more than his strength then the master should help him in carrying it out.

Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘whoever frees a Muslim slave, God will free every organ of his body from the Hell fire as he has freed every organ of the slave. God will even free his private part from Hell fire just as he freed the slave’.

With regards to the treatment with maids, he said:

Abu Musa Al Ash’ari narrates that the messenger of God said: ‘whoever has a maid, raised her in a good way and then married her by freeing her will get double reward.

In this way the maid is being freed and getting honour as well.

The height of humanity to which Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) teachings elevated the society from morality wise, the excellent results that were produced and the revolutionary changes that occurred in lives bear witness to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran being truth.

Only two aspects have given as examples with respect to the changes brought about by Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) teachings.

Being nice to the weaker sections of society, loving and serving them and participating in their sorrow:

Muhammad (peace be upon him) embraced the weak, oppressed and neglected sections of human society. The teachings of the Creator gave them equality by virtue of them being human beings. All human beings are equal in the sight of the Creator. And He loves every human being. That’s why whoever behaves nicely with his fellow humans especially the weak, the Creator loves him more. Therefore in His Book, the Creator has mentioned what kind people He loves:

‘And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive. (Saying) "We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks” (76:8-9)

‘Who give the rightful share of their wealth, to the beggar and the poor. Those who firmly believe in the Day of Recompense. Those who fear the punishment of their Lord’. (70:24-27).

‘So do not treat the orphan with harshness, nor repulse the beggar, and proclaim the bounty of your Lord’ (93:9,10,11)

‘And in their wealth there was a rightful share for him who would ask and for the destitute’ (51:19)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) drew the believers attention towards supporting and taking care of the orphans, sharing food with them, being nice to them and saving oneself from being rude to them. Abu Hurayra narrates that the messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘The best household of the Muslims is that in which there is found an orphan and he is treated nicely. And the worst household of the Muslims is that in which is an orphan but is treated badly’.

He drew attention towards the rights of the poor, the needy, feeding, clothing, sheltering, visiting them and making arrangements for their medical treatment. Abu Sa’eed narrates that the messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘A believer who feeds any hungry believer, God will feed him the food of heaven on the Day of Judgement. And a believer who provides water to a thirsty believer, God will provide him a pure and sealed drink on the Day of Judgement. And a believer who clothes an unclothed believer, God will clothe him with the clothes of heaven on the Day of Judgment’.

Since the Creator loves every human being, he linked the protection and fulfilling of their rights with His pleasure to earn which man will fulfils the rights of fellow man in whichever capacity he is related to him. Some of the rights as mentioned in the Quran and the hadith will be mentioned here. By fulfilling those rights, a person becomes a good and pleasant person and the environment becomes peaceful and pleasant. By acting on these teachings the standard of society is elevated morally and socially.

The Quran Mentions The Rights Of Parents:

‘Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of

honour. And be humble with them out of mercy, and pray, “My Lord! Be merciful to them as they raised me when I was small.’ (17:23-24)

‘And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveller, and do not spend wastefully.’ (17:26)

‘Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess.’ (4:36)

‘gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves’ (2:177)

When the believers learned that the Creator of human beings loves all human beings and that all human beings are equal in His sight for He doesn’t discriminate the humans He Himself created then as a result of this knowledge a feeling developed in the believers of the Creator that they too ought to love and respect every human being, participate in his grief, help and serve him for the sake of the Creator to which they will return one day. Then they also had the teachings of the Creator and the practical model of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Consequently they became better and more likeable human beings.

Lives Free Of Bloodshed And Barbarism:

Ignorance and barbarism was to such an extent that tribal wars used to break out at little things and disagreements for not years but generations.

Colour and race, language and country, Arab and non-Arab, white and black, differences like these created so much close-mindedness, bigotry and hate that they didn’t even tolerate one another and trivial matters led to long running wars. The thing which has destroyed human being the most is these very differences and are found naturally in human beings.

The Way Adopted By Muhammad (Peace be upon him) To Save Human Beings From This Destruction:

Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his teachings address and respect human beings as human beings. And by giving the truth that all human beings are created by the one same Creator and are children of same parents Adam

and Eve, he erased these divisions based on these differences and made humanity into one big family.

Misconception and hubris regarding man’s superiority was struck away by reminding him the fact that Adam was made from clay.

‘And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud.’ (Quran 15:26)

Then the Creator made a system for the continuation of human race through the lowly sperm. Which means that every human being is born out of a lowly sperm in the same way; then how could there be any superiority and inferiority between human beings?!

The Quran says:

‘We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm’ (76:2)

The Creator makes it clear in His Book that who among human beings is more honourable to Him?

‘O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Indeed the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)’ (49:13)

The person who is more obedient to the Creator out of the fear of His displeasure and is more cautious of being disobedient to Him out of the fear of His punishment is the most favourite in the sight of the Creator. To be or not to be a good human is his own choice and his own act. Man’s own choice decides whether he will be good or bad. That’s why this itself is the standard not something over which man has no choice.

The Creator gave the best and excellent way to reach the greatest heights of humanity by making taqwa (righteousness) the criterion and linking it to His pleasure. The reader can understand to what great heights of humanity the people who believed Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be the messenger and acted on the teachings brought by him reached which is recorded in history. The rest of the differences are for mutual introduction not for fighting.

The Power of Enforcement:

One of the major merits of the teachings and message brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) is that it gives the power of enforcement from the inside to follow those teachings by giving the knowledge and certainty that the Creator watches everything a man does. He sees how man’s deeds are? Good or bad? Is he being obedient or disobedient? He even sees man’s intentions; whether his deeds are for earning the Creator’s pleasure or people’s pleasure? Is he doing them out of the Creator’s fear or the society’s fear? Another factor which gives the power to act is the Day of Judgement where man has to render his accounts to his Creator. This belief makes one act rightly with right intentions. What high calibre people this message and this messenger has produced which is shown by the historical records! To what great heights of humanity these people were elevated! The results produced by believing in the messenger, his message and follow his teachings are proofs of the messenger’s truthfulness.

Believers Declared Muhammad (peace be upon him) To Be the True Messenger Based on Their Being Victims of Oppression:

The believers were being oppressed by those who did not believe or did not want to believe for their worldly or selfish interests or out of love for their ancestral religion or based on their desire to stay in power.

This oppression was being watched by the whole society and was feeling that this is pure oppression. They saw that innocents were being oppressed whose only crime was that they left the religion which had the concept of polytheism in it and embraced a religion which was teaching them monotheism. In a monotheistic creed, all divine qualities, attributes and powers are centred in one Being. Hence that one Being alone has the right to be worshiped and obeyed. To that Being alone prostrations are due. He alone deserves to get our hopes pinned on Him. He alone deserves to be trusted and prayed to and loved.

This is every person’s liberty that he can adopt any religion which he thinks is good or beneficial to him. Preventing anyone from exercising their personal liberty is oppression and hurting them physically, economically, socially and politically is a greater oppression.

This clear and firm stand on the monotheistic creed and the unreasonable oppression by the polytheists made very clear to the serious and reasonable people of society that monotheistic religion elevated human beings and takes them to the zenith of humanity. But other divine concepts do not have this quality while there are some which push human beings to fall from their humanity to the lowest depths of oppression and barbarism.

The clean lives of the people who believed in the messenger and the message brought by him, the unnecessary oppression towards them, and then their patience and steadfastness make the truth about the messenger and his teachings explicit as the daylight.

This is how the messenger and his teachings are introduced which is seen not just by man’s sight but insight as well. Tolerating such a severe oppression, sticking to the message brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him), standing firmly on their path and even giving lives for its sake are proofs of the truth of the message brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) that the message and the messenger are authentic i.e. they are from the Creator of the universe. This patience and steadfastness in the face of such a severe oppression serve as proofs for the truth of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) messengership and his message of ‘there is no god but God’. Even the adversaries knew that the messenger and his message are true and that this message is from the Creator, that’s why people are attracted to it and accepting it. These adversaries neither had any logical proofs to disprove the message and his message nor had they any morality so that they could at least fight morally. That’s why they chose the path of oppression and barbarity to bring the people back to their old ancestral religion by turning them against the message and the messenger and preventing new people from accepting his message. History presents us chilling accounts of the kind of horrors they inflicted on the believers. Few glimpses are being presented here just to give an idea that despite all these deadly atrocities the believers held on to their faith which itself is a declaration and a proof of the truthfulness of the messenger.

A Brief Saga of the Atrocities to Feel the Truth:

Bilal:

Bilal bin Rabah was a slave and an Abyssinian (modern day Ethiopia). Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) call seemed to him the call of his own heart

that the Creator, Master, Sovereign and Lord should only be one. That’s why he kept on saying ‘one and only’ ‘one and only’ when he was tormented by the enemy due to his rejection of all the idols. In the scorching heat of the afternoon, he was made to lay down on Mecca’s hot sand and then a heavy rock was placed on his chest. Some another day, a rope would be tied around his neck and then he would be handed over to the city’s goons. They would drag him across all the valleys of Mecca, then force him to lay on his face in the blistering sand of Mecca and then a rock would be placed on his back. But he remains steadfast on his faith constantly saying ‘one and only’ one and only’.

Ammar:

Ammar bin Yasser’s parents and uncle died out of unbearable torture. But they did not leave the faith in which they believed. Truth being true has come out into the open. Ammar was branded by hot embers and was tortured by plunging him into the water.

Khabbab:

Khabbab bin Al Arat was Iraqi and was forcibly made a slave. He was a blacksmith. He used to make swords. When he embraced Islam he was economically harassed by not giving him any work and then he was made to lay down on hot cinders on his back, rocks were placed on his chest so that he could not move until the fat gets melted from his back and puts out the fire.

Some people used to starve their sons, flog them and when they used to get tired of flogging they used to take rest and then used to resume their flogging. Some used to hit their daughters on their heads with sticks until the sticks get broken.

The same treatment was meted out to the maids too who embraced the faith.

This baseless and senseless oppression was waking up the inherent natural disposition of reasonable and good-natured people and they used to realize and accept the truth. Some used to express it while some used to hide it. In this way, the naked dance of oppressors and the steadfastness of the oppressed kept announcing the truth and inviting the people to it. The people who saw and embraced the truth even in such an environment of oppression were real jewels who testified to the truth.

This is a constant announcement of the truth of the messenger and his message being sent from the King of the universe which could be achieved by decorating a stage. This too is an attention drawing way of announcing the appointment of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the messenger.

The Extraordinariness of the Quran is Indicative of its being from the Creator:

Heart testifies to the truth being the truth and not just the heart but his action testifies too. And this heart and action are not of any ordinary and unbiased person but that of the enemy of the truth which he rejects it to be the truth by his tongue. History records such a kind of incident where not the heart and action of one but three persons bear witness to the truth of the Book brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) the while their tongues do not get tired by denying and opposing him. Human nature gets drawn to the truth automatically although man’s self denies for its own interests; the same truth which comes in the way of its senseless and unjust desires, the same truth which informs them of resurrection, accountability and justice and the punishment of Hell. History unveils the hidden truth.

During the initial days of the claim to messengership and its announcement, one night the staunch enemies of Islam Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan and Akhnas bin Shurayq come out of their homes to listen to the Quran being recited by Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his night prayer. The effect and sweetness of the Quran was such that it drag them out of their homes. All three of them were unaware of each other’s presence. They saw each other only when it was morning, rebuked each other and vowed not to do it again because if people were to know about it then it would raise questions. This happened again the next morning. They vowed again not to do it. This happened again the third. They did what they vowed not to do. They couldn’t prevent themselves from enjoying the sweetness of this divine word.

This informs us that what Muhammad (peace be upon him) was reciting was something really extraordinary just as Muhammad (peace be upon him) claimed that it was the word and message of the Creator of the universe for all human beings, it’s not a human word. This was the reason why his enemies would persecute him in the morning and listen in the night to the word recited by him. Not one but three of the enemies of the messenger were going out to listen to the Quran in secret. And when their secret gets revealed they vow not to do it again but the attraction of the divine word was so strong that they just

could not resist it and go not twice but thrice to listen to it again unaware of each other’s presence. At the revelation of their secret they get scared that if the public were to know about what they are doing they will think that it’s something good that they are secretly listening and are preventing others from listening to it. This would destroy all their opposition and propaganda. And people would quickly start accepting Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) divine message. Because if they were to start listening to the Quran then its sweetness, its eloquence, the topics it has and human being whose wellbeing is its main topic will touch their hearts.

The message itself contains the proof of the truth of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) message just as the proof of the truth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is found in his own life in the capacity of being truthful and trustworthy. Let’s ponder the truth and authenticity found in the message although the entire message itself is a proof.

The Word And Message Of The Creator Presents Its Claim To Be True With Proof:

1) Embryological Growth In A Mother’s Womb:

Let’s see what the message brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) has to say about it.

‘And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators. Then indeed, after that you are to die. Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected.’ (Quran 23: 12-16).

The message brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) says that initially man was created from clay. Then he was made to go through a system. There are stages in this system found in the womb. This is an information which nobody knew when Muhammad (peace be upon him) revealed it. The science of human embryology hasn’t developed yet in at that time. There weren’t even any instruments at that time to make such a study. To talk about the embryological development of a child in a mother’s womb in

such a detailed stage by stage description when Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an illiterate is an impossible thing. This tells us that the information about the embryological development of child is from the One Who created that child in the first place. Since this information is from the Creator then surely whatever Muhammad (peace be upon him) is saying must also be from the Creator. This means that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is presenting the message of the Creator. This also means that everything said by Muhammad (peace be upon him) which he attributes its revelation to the Creator is divine and authentic.

Another Example Of The Message Being Authentic:

2) The Presence And Separation of Two Kinds of Water In The Sea:

Let’s get another proof of the authenticity of the message given by Muhammad (peace be upon him) from his message itself i.e. the Quran. And that is there is salt and sweet water side by side right in the middle of the sea but they do not mix rather the sweet water stays pure and preserved and travellers could drink use it for themselves too. This is mentioned and revealed in the message presented by Muhammad (peace be upon him) while Muhammad (peace be upon him) never undertook a voyage in his life nor Arabs of that time were aware of this fact. There certainly the source of this knowledge could only be the Creator of the universe, the Knower of the open and the hidden. Therefore the message which is being presented by Muhammad (peace be upon him) is not his but that of the Creator and the King of the universe.

The message of the Creator brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentions this truth thus:

‘And it is He who has released [simultaneously] the two seas, one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition’ (Quran 25:53)

And at another place…

‘He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]. Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?’ (Quran 55:19-21)

Satisfaction With The Message Brought By Muhammad (peace be upon him):

This long discussion which we had so far has convinced us that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a true and authentic messenger and the message brought by him is true and authentic as well i.e. the message and the messenger are both from the Creator and King of the universe. After being satisfied with the fact that every word presented by Muhammad (peace be upon him) referencing the Creator is authentic and divine now let us know the answer to the question as to what was that link between the Creator and His messenger in revealing His message to him? It could easily be found out in an authentic way if we were to read the Creator’s message which is present in Book form among us and with which we are satisfied too i.e. the Quran. The Creator himself says in the Quran what way He chose to reveal His message to Muhammad (peace be upon him).

‘Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed, Taught to him by one intense in strength - One of soundness. And he rose to [his] true form. While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon. Then he approached and descended And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer. And he revealed to His Servant what he revealed. The heart did not lie [about] what it saw. So will you dispute with him over what he saw?’ (Quran 2-13).

The messenger does not speak on his behalf, he receives revelation. Only after getting the knowledge from the revelation does he speak. And that’s why he speaks the truth. He is not its author. Even by reading the Book it becomes clear that it is not human Book. Because there’s a world of difference between a human and a divine book. And Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself says that this Book Quran is not his but the Creator’s.

It says in the Quran…

‘And We sent not before you, [O Muhammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message if you do not know’ (21:7)

At another place it speaks about sending the Book through revelation thus:

‘And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed [Our message]. So ask the people of the message if you do not know. [We sent them] with clear proofs and written ordinances. And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought’ (16:43-44).

There is but only one standard divine way of revealing the divine message. Just as a king sends his orders to a governor of a province by his servants in the same way the Creator uses an angel to send His message to His chosen human. And then obligates him to convey the message to other humans. This is His wise and natural way.

The status of the angels and the chosen human is no more than this. They are not partners in divinity that man could pray to them and petition to them.

‘Allah chooses from the angels messengers and from the people. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing’ (Quran 22:75)

The angel merely conveys God’s message to the chosen human who is appointment as the messenger by God and sent to the people. The messenger, by his words and practical example delivers and explains God’s message to the people.

The methodology adopted by God Almighty to convey His message to His slaves is that He reveals His message to His chosen men through revelation brought by His chosen angel.

‘Thus has He revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and to those before you - Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 42:3)

‘And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur'an that you may warn the Mother of Cities [Makkah] and those around it and warn of the Day of Assembly, about which there is no doubt. A party will be in Paradise and a party in the Blaze. (Quran 42:7)

The above mentioned verses tell us that the same methodology of conveying the ultimate truths was adopted by the Creator which He had previously used for His other messengers and prophets i.e. Revelation. These verses also tell us that all human beings are won’t be believing to the messengers. Some will believe and they shall enter Paradise and some will

not and they shall enter Hell. So those who aren’t believing ought to pause a little and think about the consequences.

The Prophet introduces himself through the Holy Quran that he is merely a human just like any other but the only difference is that he receives revelation. And the revelation has clearly explained that the Creator and God one and the same.

‘Say (O Prophet), "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone” (Quran 18:110)

Messengers are humans too, it’s just that they receive revelation i.e. they are given a responsibility.

God Almighty does not speak to His slaves directly rather He adopts another methodology of conveying the truth and there’s wisdom behind it. There are three different methods of conveying the truth mentioned by God Almighty in His Holy Book which are as follows:

‘And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise’ (Quran 42:51)

The way of corresponding with the slaves is through the messenger and the way of corresponding with the messenger is through revelation because the messenger is human too and the Creator, Master and King of the universe speaks to him through revelation or from behind a screen.

The Condition Of The Messenger At The Time Of The Revelation:

The condition at the first revelation was naturally that of fear which history tells us that when Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw Gabriel, the angel of revelation and who recited to him the words of the King of the universe and commanded Muhammad (peace be upon him) to recite which was the first revelation and most certainly those first words are recorded in the first five verses of Surah Al Alaq in the Quran.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) came to his home frightened from the cave of Hira where the first revelation came and where he was the angel for

the first time. He asked his wife Khadija to cover him up with a blanket for he is scared for his life. It was but a natural reaction for Muhammad (peace be upon him) neither knew what revelation was nor had he seen any angel before.

Then during the time of revelation in the initial period when Archangel Gabriel used to bring revelations, Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to recite it quickly lest he forgets it. Over this Muhammad (peace be upon him) was assured that making him memorize the revelation and explaining it to him was God’s responsibility. All Muhammad (peace be upon him) had to do was to listen to it carefully. This incident too is recorded in the Quran which tells us that the Quran was being revealed from the King of the universe.

‘Move not your tongue with it, [O Muhammad], to hasten with recitation of the Qur'an. Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation. So when We have recited it [through Gabriel], then follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification [to you]’ (Quran 75:16-19)

‘We will make you recite, [O Muhammad], and you will not forget’ (Quran 87:6)

History mentions the external signs at the time of Quran’s revelation which the people saw too. For example Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) face used to sweat profusely upon receiving the revelation even during extremely cold winters. When Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to receive revelation while he was on a camel then the camel used to sit down because of the weight of the revelation.

Another important incident which is recorded in the Quran and which is also clear proof that it is a divine revelation is that whenever the King of the universe sends and stops His revelation whenever He wants. When the message comes then the messenger can only deliver that very same message and when it doesn’t come then he becomes helpless. This incident is as follows…

The leaders of the Quraysh, in order to test whether the word spoken by Muhammad (peace be upon him) are really from the Creator or not, asked him questions about three historical events unknown to the people of Mecca. They were unaware of its history. These incidents are mentioned in

the books of Jews and Christians. Muhammad (peace be upon him) promised to answer them the next day that when God’s revelation comes to him he would answer their question. But for a few days, revelation didn’t come. Muhammad (peace be upon him) got worried and restless. And the enemies of Islam started to taunt him. Then after sometime, the revelation came and detailed answers were given to those three questions, answers which contained guidance in them and not just story-telling. In that same rervelation Muhamaad (peace be upon him) was advised to say ‘insha Allah’ (God-willing) whenever you make a promise that it would happen only when God wills it otherwise man is just helpless.

Perhaps to emphasize this point, revelation might not have come immediately.

The King of the universe advised in this way:

‘And never say of anything, "Indeed, I will do that tomorrow” Except [when adding], "If Allah wills." And remember your Lord when you forget [it] and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is nearer than this to right conduct." (Quran 18:23, 24)

The detail discussion that we have had in this chapter has proved without any doubt to the extent of certainty that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the chosen messenger of the King of the universe and the Book he presented is from the King of the universe. Now these two are the authentic sources for true knowledge which we must trust to the extent of certainty.

CHAPTER 3

BOOK OF THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE: QURAN…AT A GLANCE

The Book Gives Its Own Introduction

The Quran’s Claim That It Is God’s Book…Arguments And Proofs

Quran Gives The Introduction Of Its Author

God Himself Gives His Introduction Through His Book

The King Of The Universe Gives The Introduction Of His Book Through His Book

Quran’s Introduction From The Owner Of The Book With His Divine Attributes

Quran’s Comprehensive Introduction By The Owner Of The Quran…Knowledge And Wisdom Are Its Specialities

Quran Is Not Any Man’s Book But God’s Book

The Owner Of The Book Is God…Worship Is Purely For God Alone

The Quality Of The Quran…Admonition And Guidance

The Book And The Messenger Both Are From God

Quran And The Messenger Are The Way For The Conveyance Of Divine Message

Quran And The Messenger

The Messenger And The Book Have Brought Something Important

This Book Is For Everyone

Quran Is The Book Of The Creator Of The Universe To All Human Beings

Human Being Itself Is The Main Subject Of The Quran

Quran And The Hadith

The Special Qualities Of The Quran

Quran Introduces Man To God

The Creator Guides Human Beings By His Book

Quran Is The Criterion

Purpose Of Quran’s Revelation

Introduction To The Quran

Quran Is The Book That Guides In A Clear And Generally Intelligible Way

The Quality Of Lord’s Message Is That It Admonishes In A Clear And Easy Way

Advice Is Given In A Language Which Is Understood By The People

Whose Word Is Right?

Quran Is Safe From All Kinds Of Alterations

It Is Important For The Divine Book To Reach The People Accurately

Trust And Confidence

The Quran Is Preserved

The Preservation Of The Quran Is Extremely Important

The Latest Edition Of The Heavenly Book

The Quran Attests To Other Heavenly Books

The Quran Is The Word Of The Creator And Attests To The Previous Editions

The Quran Is The Word Of The Creator And Attests To The Previous Editions

Uniformity With The Teachings Of Other Religions

Quran, A Gift

Using Intellect To Find The Straight Path

The Challenge Of The Quran

The Effects Of Denying The Quran Are Far-Reaching

Quran, Worthy Of Reverence, Trust And Practice

Guidance And Mercy Are Gained If The Book Is Read With The Intention Of Finding Guidance

An Extraordinary Book

Book Of The King Of The Universe: Quran

Quran’s Own Introduction:

The Book Gives Its own Introduction:

In our previous chapter, we have reached, in the light of logical arguments and historical proofs, at the point that the Book presented by Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the claim that this is the Book of the Creator of the universe sent for man’s guidance and in which the Creator Himself has given His introduction, is the truth and we are convinced about it. Now for

guidance and more convincing let’s turn to the Book itself. The Book gives a more detail introduction.

The Book gives its own introduction. Any person who meets a stranger introduces himself and gives the reason for the meeting and then says more things later on. This is a common and natural way. This is the way adopted by this Book too which presents itself to be from the Creator of the universe. Since man doesn’t know whose is this Book (the Quran), who its author is (the author’s name isn’t written on it) that’s why the Book introduces itself that it is the Book of the King of the universe, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. And it also makes clear that the man who has brought this Book is a messenger of God who conveys God’s message to the rest of the people through this very Book and explains this Book to them by his words and practice.

Therefore this Quran gives its own introduction, the introduction of the one who brought it and the One who revealed it and explains in clear terms the instruction that it has brought to the human beings.

‘The revelation of the Qur'an is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book, [O Muhammad], in truth. So worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion. Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion’ (Quran 39:1,2,3)

Three things are mentioned in the verse above. One is that it is the Book of God Who is All-Knowing and All-Powerful and the one who brought this Book is His messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him). And the purpose of sending this Book down is that people could make worship God alone.

Quran’s Claim That It’s A Book From God…Arguments And Proofs:

I am the Book of the King of the universe and my addressee is man. I am interested in the well-being of man. I want to make man a good person. I have already made him into a good person. Look it up in history without bigotry. How man and the entire society of Arabia were involved in bloodshed and shamelessness! How corrupted the society was! How cruel the people were to innocent girls and helpless women! How I took man and the society out from the depths of this degradation to the heights of humanity! I have the same ability and quality even today. There is no change or alteration in my teachings. Enforce them in your practical life by pondering it, I will give you the same sweet fruits.

Different people in different countries made and enforced principles, laws and constitution but none were able to produce a man like the way I did nor could they produce an excellent, peaceful, human-friendly society the way I produced as can be seen in history. It means my teachings. Principles and laws are the best, unique and unparalleled. It’s a proof of the fact that the teachings, principles and laws presented by me are precisely in accordance with nature which are given by the maker of nature. That’s why these teachings have produced, are producing and will produce excellent human beings and they have the ability to produce such men because they haven’t gone any change nor human nature has undergone any change.

Since man has not accepted my challenge of presenting principles, laws and teachings like mine and thereby produce excellent men and society and since he hasn’t responded to my challenege nor is he responding to it not has he any power to respond hence I declare that I am the truth i.e. I am the Book of the King of the universe. The laws presented by me are the laws of the King of the universe. They are the laws of man’s Master. And these principles and laws contain internal power of enforcement as well once they are accepted which proves the fact that I am the Book of the Creator of the universe who is the God of the universe. Whatever I am saying is from God and God himself has introduced me in very clear words. You can read about it in detail in the chapter ‘The Creator of the universe Himself is God’.

I, Quran makes sense of the goodness and the wickedness found in human nature more sensitive and enlightened to the extent of minute details. And I enlighten the hearts by explaining the goodness and the wickedness in a clear unambiguous way.

Therefore it’s my specialty and marvel that I uplift man to the pinnacle of humanity through this very sensitivity and teachings.

3) Introduction To The Author Of The Book

Quran Gives The Introduction Of Its Author:

To refresh the truths of life and the universe, to remind them, the Creator of the universe has once again sent a Book through His slave so that people could save themselves from wrongdoing after the reminding.

The smart thing to do is that people ought to worship the Being Who is the Creator, Master and Ruler of the universe and everything; the One Who knows everything and knows all the secrets too. God introduces Himself through His Book the Quran and also informs about the purpose of sending it so that people could better their lives by respecting it, showing interest and confidence in it, and by taking it seriously.

‘But only as a reminder for those who fear [ Allah ] - A revelation from He who created the earth and highest heavens, The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil. And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden. Allah - there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names’ (Quran 20:3-8)

God Introduces Himself Through His Book:

The Creator alone knows best about Himself and He alone could introduce Himself in right, best and easy way. And He has done that through His Book, the Quran.

‘And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful’ (Quran 2:163)

Only two things are said in the introduction in a totally clear way with full force and importance – one is His oneness and the other is His mercy.

4) Introduction To The BookThe King Of The Universe Gives The Introduction Of The Book Through His Book:

‘This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of God’ (Quran 2:2)In the beginning of the Book itself, the Owner of the Book God Almighty, introduces His Book that it is My Book and none should be in doubt regarding it to be My Book. Check it out for yourself by contemplation and research. And since this Book is Mine, therefore there shouldn’t be any doubt about it. Every word is 100% true. Nothing is incorrect or against truth. Every word is true because none of it is based on conjecture or guess. Every word is based on knowledge that certainly the Creator knows everything which is known or unknown to man. The

purpose of sending this Book as has been mentioned in the verse is to guide man covering all aspects of his life from cradle to the grave so that he could lead a best, peaceful, balanced and purposeful life. Guidance is open for every human being but the first condition to derive guidance from this Book is that there should be a sincere motive to seek guidance, when right and wrong comes before him he should have the motivation to shun and avoid the wrong and adopt the right, he should accept and practice whatever the Quran says. Such a person will find the right way to lead his life. This is what guidance is. Quran’s Introduction By The Owner Of The Book With His Divine Attributes: God who is the King of the universe declares in His Book the Quran that this is His Book. Hence it should neither be taken lightly nor should one be inattentive of it. Besides introducing this Book to be from God, the Creator of the universe, He has also mentioned some of His charming divine attributes from which we get a balanced concept of God. These attributes are so charming that human nature gets drawn to God Who actually is the real God. Nevertheless, if man were to descent to egoism and ignorance and insists on injustice and violation of rights even after getting to know his Merciful, Noble and Oft-Forgiving God then he should himself for a severe punishment. Remember that God’s declaration and promise come true. Therefore, the Owner of the Book declares in the Quran…

‘The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment, owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the destination’ (Quran 40:2-3)

It’s not like whether you accept or don’t it’s the same. No. You have to return to Him for reward or punishment.

Quran’s Comprehensive Introduction By The Owner Of The Quran…Knowledge And Wisdom Are Its Specialities:The quality of the Book which comes from the Creator is that it’s filled with knowledge and wisdom. There is no room for errors in it. It contains

no unnecessary information. It is not harmful to the slave in any manner. It’s pure mercy. Therefore God introduces His Book thus…

‘These are the verses of the wise Book’ (Quran 10:1)

5) Quran Is Not Any Man’s Book But God’s Book:Although humankind got this Book from Muhammad (peace be upon him) but it’s not his Book but God’s and it is He alone Who is capable of sending such a Book. There are wise reasons for sending this Book and this Book is filled with wisdom. ‘The revelation of the Book is from God, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 45:2)

The distinguishing feature of this Book is that it’s from the Creator, Who is All-Powerful and All-Wise.

Wisdom means benefits, lots of benefits; in fact multidimensional benefit. Wisdom contains fairness and balance.

The Owner Of The Book Is God…Worship Is Purely For God Alone:A person gifting a book to someone does not mean that he is its author. In the same way, Muhammad (peace be upon) gifted this Book to his human brotherhood, it does not mean that he is its author. And he himself says that he is not its author rather the Creator, Master and Ruler of mankind is its Author and Owner. And even in the Book too its Author has emphasized that it’s His Book which He has sent for the guidance of mankind through His true and trusted messenger. Furthermore, the King of the universe warned human beings in their capacities as His slaves, in a very strong way, to make worship exclusively for Him.

‘The revelation of the Qur'an is from God, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book, [O Muhammad], in truth. So worship God, [being] sincere to Him in religion. Unquestionably, for God is the pure religion’ (Quran 39:1-3)

The Quran Is The Creator’s Word, Not Human’s:

Quran is not a human word nor is it the word of the one who is presenting it. Rather it is the word of the creator of the universe and humankind. Hence no man can produce a word like the Quran. Therefore the Quran challenges that if it’s not a divine word then produce a word like it.

‘Or do they say [about the Prophet], "He invented it?" Say, "Then bring forth a surah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides God, if you should be truthful." (Quran 10:38)

To say that it’s the Book of the messenger is an accusation against him while he himself says that it’s the Book of God, that it’s a Book of the King of the universe. Therefore, undoubtedly the Quran is God’s word not Muhammad’s (peace be upon him).

The Quality Of The Quran…Admonition And Guidance:Quran introduces itself that to what Great Being it belongs to even though it is being presented before the world through a man. It also speaks about the purpose of its coming, what message it has, what mercy it has for human beings, how it tells the difference between the right and the wrong and how it saves human beings from the fire of Hell. It tells us about the reality of this life and guides humanity.

‘[This is] the revelation of the Book about which there is no doubt from the Lord of the worlds. Or do they say, "He invented it"? Rather, it is the truth from your Lord, [O Muhammad], that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you [so] perhaps they will be guided’ (Quran 32:2-3)

By the verses mentioned above, the Quran clears itself of the accusation against the one who brought it. God Almighty Himself has cleared away the misunderstandings that arose, arise and are created through this announcement of His. The Book itself says whose Book it is. It says that it’s the Book of the Lord of all the worlds even though it is being sent through a man. It tells us about the purpose of its coming which is a shocking revelation that there is going to be another life after this life where man will stand accountable for his actions.

6) God’s Book And God’s Messenger:Both, The Book And The Messenger Are From God:When the Book is from God the obviously the one who has brought it is an authentic messenger of God as well. Hence the Book and the messenger, both are true. Both of them convey God’s message. The messenger explains the Book of God in detail and through his practical example to make it easy for people. God Almighty certifies the practical example of His messenger in His Book.

‘There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of God an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often’ (Quran 32:21)

In the following verse, God says regarding the Book and the messenger thus:

‘These are the verses of the Book; and what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, but most of the people do not believe’ (Quran 13:1)

The Quran And The Messenger Are Means of Conveying The Divine Message: There could only three ways for the Creator’s message to reach His slaves. The Creator could either call every human being to Himself and deliver His message or He could go to every human being individually and deliver to them His message. Both these two ways are not befitting His Majesty. The third way looks reasonable and appropriate from the point of view of arrangements. And that is that arrangements be made to convey the message to a capable, responsible, truthful and trustworthy person so that he could deliver it to other people. And not only should he convey the message but explain it to them in detail and clear manner too. And he should also present the teachings through his own practical life example so that practicing these teachings and following the life example of the messenger becomes easier. Therefore, God Almighty clearly says what the purpose is of sending the Quran and the messenger?

‘[This is] a Book revealed to you, [O Muhammad] - so let there not be in your breast distress therefrom - that you may warn thereby and as a reminder to the believers’ (Quran 7:2)

This verse tells us that the Lord has used two means of sending His message to His slaves: Book and Messenger.

Therefore whoever wants to know about the teachings of the King of the universe should study Quran and the words and actions of God’s messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Quran And The Messenger:The messenger belongs to the One Who has sent the Book. If you were to carefully consider the Quran then the truthful man who has brought it will seem truthful to you. And if you were to carefully consider the man (the messenger) then the Book will seem truthful to you. It proves that the Book and the messenger certify each other with all the evidences.

The Book says that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is God’s messenger and Muhammad (peace be upon him) says that the Quran is God’s Book. And both of them are saying the truth. It convinces us that both of them are from God.

‘By the wise Qur'an. Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers, On a straight path. [This is] a revelation of the Exalted in Might, the Merciful, That you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware’ (Quran 36:2-6)

By the wise Quran which means that if you were to ponder it you will realize that the one who brought it is a true messenger and the Book is God’s Book. Warn them i.e. warn through the Quran. Because of not warning them they are oblivious to the truth.

The Messenger And The Book Have Brought Something Important:The Creator of the human beings has sent an important thing through His messengers in the form of a Book to the whole humanity and that

thing is light and guidance for the whole life. There should not be any doubt regarding the Book, the Quran and the one who brought it, the messenger for they both are from our Creator as His mercy and favour. To protect the people from falling into doubt, He sent His messenger and His Book with internal and external signs. Internal signs are found in the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the teachings of the Quran and the external signs are these teachings, when adopted, made a gentleman out of a brute, elevated him to the heights of humanity from the depths of barbarity and satanity, laid the foundations of a society filled with humanity and established a just, balanced, merciful, and noble system of governance. Even though God’s Book the Quran and His messenger have introduced themselves to human beings that they are God’s Book and God’s messenger, God has also placed such evident signs in His Book and Messenger that a man of upright nature and clean intellect will find no reason to doubt them. Only a world worshipping man with vested interests denies the Messenger and the Quran by rejecting these signs as a result of forcibly suppressing his natural predisposition and conscience. He does that in order to escape from the teachings of Quran and the Messenger and fulfil his desires in illicit ways by oppressing the people and violating their rights. He wants to keep himself away from the fear and certainty of resurrection, divine justice and Hell so that these things won’t stand in his way of looting the world.

God says:‘We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice’ (Quran 57:25)

God’s teachings are based on justice. That’s why acting upon them and enforcing them creates balance and justice in human life and human society.

7) Man Is The Main Subject Of The QuranThis Book Is For Everyone:

‘These are the verses of the clear Book’ (Quran 26:2)

Every fundamental teaching of the Quran can be easily and thoroughly understood and practiced by every man of every kind of ability. It is not made ambiguous to understand and difficult to practice for common people otherwise it would kill the purpose of sending the Book. This is a clear Book, an open Book and it should be clear and conspicuous.

Quran, The Book Of The Creator For All Human Beings:Since the Creator of the universe is also the Creator of all human beings, He has sent the Book for the benefit and guidance of all mankind and not for a specific people, tribe or nation. And how people have become victims of heedlessness and misguidance because of not knowing how the Great the Author and Owner of this Book is. Listen to what the Creator Himself says:

‘Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner - He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and who has not taken a son and has not had a partner in dominion and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination. But they have taken besides Him gods which create nothing, while they are created, and possess not for themselves any harm or benefit and possess not [power to cause] death or life or resurrection’ (Quran 25:1-3)

‘It is not except a reminder to the worlds. For whoever wills among you to take a right course’ (Quran 81:27-28)

Man Himself Is The Main Subject Matter Of The Quran:Quran is a Book which introduces man to his true self so that he could recognize himself in the true sense and lead a right and realistic life. Quran clear tells him what his purpose of existence is, what his position is in the universe, in what things do his beginning and end, profit and loss, success and failure lie, what conduct in life is right for him, how his interpersonal relationships and his relationship with the world and things contained in the universe should be, and many other things that are related to human life. The Creator of man and the universe gives

such an introduction of man in the Quran that he could recognize his true self.

‘We have certainly sent down to you a Book in which is your mention. Then will you not reason?’ (Quran 21:10)

God Almighty says in this verse how He has fulfilled man’s most important need in life i.e. guidance for his life, by sending the Book called the Quran.

Man ought to be happy for getting this guiding Book and be grateful to God, his Creator and Master.

Quran And Guidance: The Master has made every arrangement to show right way to his slaves and make them understand it as well. He has placed signs in the horizons and within the people’s selves at every moment and truth and reality have been explained in the Quran in every way.

‘And We have certainly presented for the people in this Qur'an from every [kind of] example - that they might remember’ (Quran 39:27)

There are examples in the Quran for people of every temperament, ability and profession to present the point and the message in a clear and heart-touching way.

The Speciality Of The Quran:Quran’s speciality is that it is pure guidance. Whoever reads it with open-mindedness, the intention for guidance and uses his intellect will not get anything but a great blessing; he will not lose his way.

‘This [Qur'an] is guidance’ (Quran 45:11)

Quran Introduces Man To God: If man were to contemplate with clearing his mind of all prejudices then he will realize that this Quran guides man to His Creator, Master and God, introduces him to His Maker and puts his life on the favourite path

of the Almighty. Therefore the Quran presents a statement of its own Author about itself thus:

‘And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and it guides to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy’ (Quran 34:6)

Always the people of knowledge are chosen for testimony and certification and not ignorant, shallow, narrow-minded, selfish and bigoted people. In short, the Quran introduces God’s slaves to God. People who seriously ponder it will not only realize it but become convinced too.

The Creator Guides Man Through His Book:The Creator and the King of the universe alone is worthy of all praise for by revealing His Book the Quran to His messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) He told us about the truth and the reality and warned us of accepting and rejecting it. He also warned us of the wrong thoughts and ideologies found in the world.

‘[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward. In which they will remain forever. And to warn those who say, "God has taken a son." They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie’ (Quran 18:1-5)

Quran Is The Criterion:One of the most important reasons for revealing the Quran is that it is a criterion. It is a criterion to judge truth and falsehood. It is a criterion for justice on the Day of Judgement or a criterion to judge the results as to who became successful and who unsuccessful. The decision will be made as per this Book as to who believed in it and who didn’t.

‘It is Allah who has sent down the Book in truth and [also] the balance. And what will make you perceive? Perhaps the Hour is near. Those who do not believe in it are impatient for it, but those who believe are fearful of it and know that it is the truth. Unquestionably, those who dispute concerning the Hour are in extreme error. Allah is Subtle with His servants; He gives provisions to whom He wills. And He is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might’ (Quran 42:17-19)

The Purpose Of The Revelation Of The Quran:The One who sent the Book Himself tells us through had He sent the Book and for what purpose? And He introduces Himself as to Who He is so that people could understand the importance of the Book.

‘[This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord - to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy - Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And woe to the disbelievers from a severe punishment’ (Quran 14:1-2)

Introduction To The Quran:God Almighty introduces His Book as to how much beneficial and precious it is to man…

‘The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful’ (2:185)

It is made clear for what purpose it has come down. It has come for guidance so that man could get the right path in life. It came to point out what truth is and what falsehood is.

8) Book Of Advice And Message Is Always Clear:

Quran Is The Book That Guides In An Easy To Understand And Clear Way:There’s mercy in the thing that comes from the Most Merciful. This Book, the Quran is pure mercy for human beings. And the Book that comes for human guidance as mercy ought to be totally easy and clear. A Guide-Book presents its point in a very easy, generally intelligible and clear and conspicuous way. Nevertheless, only those people could derive benefit from it who are reasonable, gain knowledge by using their intellect and understand the points through logical arguments and arrive at the correct result. People who are unreasonable and stubborn cannot derive guidance even from the Book of Guidance. Because there are prerequisites for taking guidance from any Book which must be found in an individual. One of the most important prerequisites is open-mindedness. Along with that this Book also makes a clear announcement that if this Book is followed by believing it to be the Book of God then outstanding results come out of it and life becomes successful. And if not believed in then man has to be bad consequences of his denial.

God introduces His Book of Guidance…

‘[This is] the revelation of the Book about which there is no doubt from the Lord of the worlds. Or do they say, "He invented it"? Rather, it is the truth from your Lord, [O Muhammad], that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you [so] perhaps they will be guided. It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days; then He established Himself above the Throne. You have not besides Him any protector or any intercessor; so will you not be reminded?’ (Quran 32:2-4)

The Specialty Of Lord’s Message Is That It Is Clear, Easy And Admonishing:The message that comes from the Lord is absolutely clear and easy to understand. The purpose of its revelation is also explained clearly. It admonishes too so that whatever will happen after death and on what basis are brought in the open. And admonition is made in order to protect one from losing precious things or getting trapped in troubles

otherwise there would be regret. Admonition is done with the intention of well-wishing and love as a mercy. God Almighty wants to caution His slaves through His Book.

‘By the clear Book, Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind]’ (Quran 44:2-3)

Admonition Is Done In The Language Understood By The People: Admonition is done in the language which can be easily understood so that what is being said could touch the heart and the purpose of revealing the Book is fulfilled.

‘And indeed, We have eased the Qur'an in your tongue that they might be reminded’ (Quran 44:58)

Whose Point Is Right?:His point is right who knows, who has the knowledge.

‘For them therein is whatever they wish, [while] abiding eternally. It is ever upon your Lord a promise [worthy to be] requested’ (Quran 25:6)

If the guidance comes from someone who has knowledge then it creates certainty and confidence. And indeed the Creator explains things in commonly intelligible manner to the people, presents examples to people of every taste, level of understanding and field for example from history, physiology, geology, astronomy, embryology, botany, zoology, marine science etc. so that whoever has whichever kind of knowledge and experience could relate to the point being made and understand the reality. And Quran is the only Book in the world which contains all kinds of examples for people who have all kinds of understanding and knowledge even for someone who is not literate. As a result understanding God’s message becomes easy.

9) A Preserved Book: Quran Is Safe From All Adulterations:

No kind of alteration or change has happened in the Quran which is the divine word. The messenger has delivered the Book in its original condition to the slaves of God. He did not alter with as per someone’s wishes. None has this right. We can judge from the divine commandment mentioned in the verse below that the divine Book which we have in our midst is 100% Divine Book.

‘And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge’ (Quran 18:27)

How in the world the messenger could dare to alter the Book when he is admonished in such a way?! It can be inferred from it confidently that this Book of the Creator reached the people in its original form.

It Is Important For The Divine Book To Reach The People Accurately: Delivering the divine word to people in its full accuracy is such a heavy responsibility of the messenger that people treading the straight path or going astray is dependent on the Book being preserved and delivered to them in its original form.

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "It is not for me to change it on my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day." (Quran 10:15)

It means that no alteration has been made with this Book the Quran. It’s delivered verbatim to the people as a trust to the people with totally integrity on the messenger’s part.

Trust And Confidence: Man must have full trust and confidence in the Quran because whatever has been said in it is based on knowledge and wisdom and has been preserved for posterity.

‘And indeed, [O Muhammad], you receive the Qur'an from one Wise and Knowing’ (Quran 27:6) The Quran Is Preserved:

The Quran has been preserved so that the coming generations could benefit and derive guidance from it.

‘Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian’ (Quran 15:9)

It Is Extremely Important For The Quran To Stay Preserved: Based on being the final edition of divine guidance, teachings and constitution, the Quran has been preserved that no kind of any alteration be made to it so that the process of guidance even for the last human being goes on smoothly. Even the messenger, who brought the divine message, has nay right to change it as per people’s wishes or one’s own will. His job and responsibility is only to convey God’s message. Whether people accept it or reject it, it’s their choice; no coercion at all. Guidance is man’s basic need. It’s important that this need is taken care even of the last man on earth.

9) Latest Edition Of The Heavenly Book: God has sent Books and messengers in every age and place for man’s guidance for example messengers like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and Jesus and Books like the Torah and the Gospel. Now the latest edition of these Books is the Quran, about which God mentions in the Quran…

‘And We have already sent messengers before you and assigned to them wives and descendants. And it was not for a messenger to come with a sign except by permission of Allah . For every term is a decree. Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book’ (Quran 13:38-39)

Quran Confirms Other Heavenly Books: A speciality of the latest and final edition of the divine Book i.e. the Quran is that it confirms the previous editions of the divine Book and abrogates them with recognition. It doesn’t deny that they aren’t the Books of the Creator or the source of those Books were different. No, the source of all Divine Books is the same. They were from the same

God with the same basic message which was: The God from which we have come is One and Only. Nobody is His equal. He has no partners. He alone is God. All human beings have to return to Him one day and have to their accounts to Him. Therefore God says:

‘And that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], of the Book is the truth, confirming what was before it. Indeed, Allah, of His servants, is Acquainted and Seeing’ (Quran 35:31)

Quran Is The Word Of The Creator And Confirms Previous Editions: There is no doubt in Quran being the Divine Word. Ponder the Quran, its history, the man who presented it and the practical results of its teachings, you will gain certainty. And the Quran confirms the previous editions which are now abrogated that they were all from the Creator. it also confirms the messengers who brought them that they were all God’s chosen people and messengers. Therefore God makes it clear:

‘And it was not [possible] for this Qur'an to be produced by other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] Scripture, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds’ (Quran 10:37)

Uniformity With The Teachings Of Other Religions: When different editions of the book are released by the author from time to time then they contain the same basic points and they have uniformity in many things. Some might change a little while some are replaced altogether. Some people assume that just like the circumambulation of the Ka’ba there are similar rituals in other religions where people circumambulate their idols. Ka’ba is made of stone, Muslims prostrate in its direction and akin to that some people prostrate before their idols. Similar to the Ihram other people wear such a kind of dress as per their religion whenever they visit their holy place.

The Books coming from the Creator in various periods of time say the same thing and there is uniformity in other things too but there are

differences as well. Basic need and guidance has been the same for people of every age and will remain the same too. That’s why there is no difference in the basic guidance. There are various reasons for the differences found even in the basic guidance of the old and the latest editions. In the olden days then people did not know how to read and write, the message was spread by the word of mouth. When education came, very few people were equipped with it. Hence important things got lost or some things were got deleted or added or those people who had the religious leadership in their hands changed and the texts for vested interests or the later generations ran their imagination wild and made further changes to it to the extent that even the basic things got changed. In this way the older editions didn’t stay in their original form. Had they been on their original form then it would not be difficult to believe in the Quran.

10) Quran, A Guidance And A Mercy: Quran is a gift. It’s a gift and a favour from the Creator for His slaves.

‘The Most Merciful, Taught the Qur'an’ (Quran 55:1-2)

Using Intellect To Find The Right Way: Those who read this Book by using their intellect shall take lessons and guidance from it.

‘[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded’ (Quran 38:29)

This verse also mentions the point that the Book and the messenger are from God. To get benefits from these two sources of guidance it is imperative that one uses his intellect by guarding it from bigotry, narrow-mindedness and selfishness.

The Challenge Of The Quran:The deniers of Quran do not take up Quran’s challenge by taking help from their gods and do not produce a chapter like it. Then it means that Quran is the word of the Creator of man and not man’s. And this

Book clearly tells that none is worthy of worship other than the Creator of man.

‘And if they do not respond to you - then know that the Qur'an was revealed with the knowledge of Allah and that there is no deity except Him. Then, would you [not] be Muslims?’ (Quran 11:14)

Denial Of The Quran Has Far-Reaching Effects: The bad consequences of denying the Divine Book reach far and wide. It’s not just a matter of acceptance and rejection and therefore there won’t be any consequences. Rather its impact goes from this world to the next. If the Divine Book is accepted as true then everything it says must be taken as truth and hence practiced. As a consequence life will be good and the life in the hereafter will be good as well.

‘Say, "Have you considered: if the Qur'an is from Allah and you disbelieved in it, who would be more astray than one who is in extreme dissension?" (Quran 41:52)

If man were to ponder himself and the universe with the help of the Quran then he would be convinced of Quran being the truth. God tells us to ponder and not to accept anything blindly.

‘We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all things, a Witness? (Quran 41:53)

Quran, Worthy Of Reverence, Trust And Practice:The thing which comes from the Lord of the worlds is worthy of reverence, trust, acceptance and practice and Quran is from the Lord of the worlds.

‘[It is] a revelation from the Lord of the worlds’ (Quran 56:80)

What ungratefulness and disrespect it is that a gift, a great blessing is being given by the Creator of the universe, in the form of the Quran, with all the love and mercy and it is being rejected!

‘Then is it to this statement that you are indifferent. And make [the thanks for] your provision that you deny [the Provider]? (Quran 56:81-82)

Instead of grabbing the blessing sent down by your own Creator, you reject it. What ungratefulness and deprivation!

If The Book Is Read With The Intention Of Getting Guidance Then Guidance And Mercy Will Be Found:Quran is a Book filled with wisdom and knowledge as a result man gets guidance and divine mercy if he has the intention and will of deriving right benefit from it. That’s why it is not enough for a thing to be good and beneficial in itself there also has to be right intention and will to make it useful along with the required efforts.

‘These are verses of the wise Book, As guidance and mercy for the doers of good’ (Quran 31:2-3)

Anything said on the basis of knowledge earns our trust and confidence and such a thing has guidance in it.

Things said out of love stir the emotions of gratefulness in our hearts and the addressee takes it for there’s benefit in it.

Wise words definitely have justice and balance in them which give excellent results in practical life.

Extraordinary Book: As quran is revealed by the All-Knowing and the All-Wise it is filled with knowledge and wisdom. That’s why nothing in it could be proven to be wrong nor could it be disproved by using other knowledge and latest discoveries. Rather faith in it increases by believing in what it said thousands of years ago.

‘Indeed, those who disbelieve in the message after it has come to them... And indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it

from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy’ (Quran 41:41-42)

CHAPTER 4

The Messenger Of The King Of The Universe: Muhammad (Peace be upon him)

At A Glance

A General Introduction To The Messenger Of The CreatorIn His Book The King Of The Universe Is Testifying And Declaring That Muhammad (peace be upon him) Is His Messenger

God Sent Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) As A Mercy To All The Worlds

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Is Being Reassured That God Has Indeed Made Him The Messenger

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Is A True Messenger And Whatever He Is Presenting Is True

Divine Ways Of Conveying The Message To His Messenger

The Status Of A Miracle

Divine Way Of Conveying The Message To Common People

Muhammad (peace be upon him) Is Just A Messenger Whose Job Is To Convey The Message

Messenger Is Human

Messenger Is Human

Messenger With A Message

Speciality, Status And Limitations Of The Messenger

God Elucidates The Purpose Of Sending His Messenger

Messenger Brings Mercy And Merciful Commandments

The Creator Makes Arrangements For The Conveyance Of His Message In A Clear Way

Messenger Betters The Lives Of The Believers

Messenger’s Life Is The Model, Standard, Example And Authentic

Messenger’s Word Is Authentic That Is Why He Should Be Obeyed

Authenticity Of The Messenger

Speciality Of The Messenger: He Does Not Take Remuneration

The Messenger Does Not Invite To Worship Him

The Messenger Does Not Have The Power To Cause Profit And Loss To Human Beings

The Messenger’s Job Is Not To Grant Guidance Nor Can He Grant

The Messenger’s Job Is Only To Warn, Not To Enforce

How Is The Messenger’s Responsibility

The Messenger’s Job Is To Clearly Tell The Consequences Of Acceptance And Rejection By Conveying The Message

The Messenger Always Calls Towards Goodness

Arrangements For Guidance Have Been Made For Every People, Time And Place

Guidance Is One The Most Important Needs Of The Children Of Adam Which Must Reach Even To The Last Man On Earth

The Speciality Of The Messenger: The Last Prophet

The Messenger Of The King Of The Universe: Muhammad (peace be upon him)

The Book of the King of the universe introduces the Messenger of the King of the universe.

A General Introduction of the Messenger of the Creator of the universe:The messenger has this great task and challenge before him to introduce himself to all and sundry making them convinced that he is the messenger of the Creator. He also has to introduce the Creator to the people with full accuracy amidst all those wrong and confusing concepts that are found in the society in such a way that people get convinced. Then he must also introduce the message that he has brought from the Creator in a way which convinces the people to believe and accept it for their own benefit.

He has to do these three tasks all by himself. He has to start his work by declaring this claim of his to be the Creator’s messenger, then he has to prove it by his words and deeds and practice what he preaches. And then he has to prove that what he has brought is not his word but the word of the Lord of the universe revealed for the people. The messenger has this three dimensional tasks before him. But their speciality is they work regularly in a positive way introducing, supporting and cooperating with each other so that people are convinced of all three of them, accept them for their guidance and build their lives on right direction by making them the foundation of their lives.

Divine guidance is for every human being and it is every human being’s right to know about his Creator, his true Benefactor, Who gave him life and submit his supplications to Him for the fulfilment of his needs. Reaching to Him should be made easy for every human being in order to earn His pleasure.

As has been mentioned in the previous pages that the Creator makes arrangements for conveying His message in a clear way so that the purpose of sending the message is fulfilled. This arrangement as has been discussed earlier is sending the message to a truthful, trustworthy and wise man who then explains it to the people in a clear way by his words and deeds so that there remains no confusion in people’s minds and understanding and practicing it becomes easy. For human beings, the example of one person alone is worthy of acceptance, understanding and emulation. Other lives could be judged according to this criterion and earn rewards.

Life lived according to the life of the messenger of the Creator alone is acceptable to the Creator that’s because the messenger is His representative who is appointed for that very purpose.

A man’s claim that he is the messenger of the Creator puts people to another test. The first test is to find and believe in the Creator Who is hidden from them. On top on that the Creator uses man as His messenger to send His message to people but does not make an announcement that He has appointed so and so person to be His messenger. Rather man introduces himself to the people to be the messenger of the Creator. It could be a false claim. But it has been left to man to ascertain whether he is really from the Creator or not. It is rather more of a test than just verifying the truth of the one who laid claim to messengership. That’s why a lot of attention and research are required.

The first test itself was quite daunting which was to recognize, accept and believe in the Creator. Now the second test is to recognize, accept, believe, obey and follow this man for he is the messenger sent by the Creator. First he and the message brought by him are to be believed in and then he must be obeyed and followed or else it would amount to disobedience to the Creator. This is quite a hard task. If he is not the messenger then it would be believing in the imposter and then obeying him on top of that.

Quran informs us about the way the messenger speaks by pointing out how clear and concise his speech is without any convolutions, deceit and vested interests. He presents his life telling people to look what kind of a man he is, a man from his own people, who mingles

with them, is always visible to them be it day or night, who has spent a long amount of time in their midst. These people themselves testify and constantly discuss how truthful and trustworthy this person is. If he is right then this person himself is saying that God is his and theirs Creator, Mater, Ruler and Sustainer Who has sent him as His messenger. And these people themselves declare him to be a trustworthy person then they should rest assured that whatever the message of the Lord he has received he will deliver it to them in its perfect original and accurate form without making alterations of any kind whatsoever and believe in his glad-tidings of Paradise and God’s Pleasure for obeying him and fear his warnings of God’s wrath and Hell for disbelieving and disobeying him.

It becomes quite evident by looking at a man who has lived among the people for a great amount of time so verify whether what he is saying is a truth or a lie. Similarly it becomes evident too by listening to the word presented by him to determine whether it’s true or false and whether it’s a divine speech or a human speech and whether what’s being said is right or wrong, beneficial or harmful, selfless or selfish, whether there’s congruence or contradiction between words and actions, is there harmony or disharmony between the teachings of the Quran and his life, is there’s goodness in the Quranic teachings then is he the first to practice them or not and what are the practical consequences seen in the lives of those who are practicing these teachings?

The King of the universe is bearing witness and announcing in His Book that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger:

The Creator addresses the Messenger and says to him that I bear witness that you are My Messenger. The One who has sent Himself is testifying so that the Messenger could discharge his responsibility with full confidence unconcerned with people’s rejection of him and his message. There’s warning in this testimony of the Creator for the deniers and they are being cautioned about the consequences of rejecting His Messenger. But there is no coercion. Everyone is free and responsible for his decision. The Messenger is God’s man, obeying him is like obeying God. He addressed Muhammad (peace be upon him) in His Book thus:

‘He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed God; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian’ (Quran 4:80)

God sent the Messenger (peace be upon him) as a mercy to all the worlds:

All acts of God are full of mercy and vast without the limitations of time and place. Therefore God’s sending of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as His Messenger was a mercy too, for all the human beings and the human beings of all times and climes. When the messenger came, he uplifted the people from the depths of monstrosity and satanity to the heights of humanity. He too them out of oppression, barbarity, injustice, violation of rights, shamelessness and corruption and led them to love, respect, a culture of shame and modesty and a system of justice which resulted in a peaceful life. Those teachings are available today as well which could grant humanity to human beings and thereby a clean, pure and peaceful life. That’s why God Almighty gave the glad-tidings of the advent of this very Prophet in His Holy Book:

‘And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds’ (Quran 21:107)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) is being reassured that God has indeed made him the messenger:

Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a Messenger of God is mentioned is a beautiful and wise way in the Quran along with supporting evidences taken from the addressees themselves (from the heavenly Books of Torah and the Gospel which are with them):

‘So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters’ (Quran 10:94)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a true Messenger and whatever he is presenting is true too:

The Messenger does not speak of his own inclination, he gets revelation. God Almighty informs us in the Quran through whom does He send His revelation to His Messenger and how he takes it without any corruption:

‘Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed, Taught to him by one intense in strength - One of soundness. And he rose to [his] true form While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon. Then he approached and descended. And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer. And he revealed to His Servant what he revealed. The heart did not lie [about] what it saw. So will you dispute with him over what he saw?’ (Quran 53:2-12)

‘O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger to make clear to you [the religion] after a period [of suspension] of messengers, lest you say, "There came not to us any bringer of good tidings or a warner." But there has come to you a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And Allah is over all things competent’ (Quran 5:19)

For years people in Mecca were unaware of monotheism, the Last Day and prophethood. For Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself, prophethood was a strange thing. The anxiety and fear for his life which the prophet used to have in the early days are indicative of this very point. Therefore there is no question of him deceiving the people by claiming prophethood on his own. It would have been true had he been born in Jewish tribes. They were aware of the truth of prophethood.

The Quran tells Muhammad (peace be upon him) to tell the people about his status:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." (Quran 7:158)

The Divine ways of conveying the message to His Messenger:

God Almighty does not speak directly with His slaves. He rather uses different a method for conveying His message. There’s wisdom behind it. God mentions three different methods of conveying His message in His Book:

‘And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise’ (Quran 42:51)

‘Allah chooses from the angels messengers and from the people. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing’ (Quran 22:75)

The angel conveys God’s message to His chosen man whom God has sent to the people as His Messenger so he could explain to them God’s message by his words and deeds.

‘Thus has He revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and to those before you - Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 42:3)

‘And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur'an that you may warn the Mother of Cities [Makkah] and those around it and warn of the Day of Assembly, about which there is no doubt. A party will be in Paradise and a party in the Blaze’ (Quran 42:7)

The above mentioned verses tell us that God used the same method of conveying His message to Muhammad (peace be upon him) which He had used for the messengers before him i.e. the method of revelation. These verses also inform us that not all will accept the message. Some will accept and shall go to Paradise and some will not and hence go to Hell. That’s why those who aren’t accepting ought to pause for a moment and think about the consequences of their decision.

A Miracle:

People demand for a miracle but more important, precious and belief-inducing thing than a miracle is the Quran and the teachings presented by him. Contemplating them and the results accrued from practicing them are coming out in the open in human lives as mercy

and light which the human sight can see and human insight can feel. This itself is a miracle and the real thing is satisfaction with the teachings.

If the teachings and its impact on human life are satisfying and convincing then automatically the Book (Quran) and the one who brought it will seem satisfying and convincing too.

The Quran mentions another way God addressed His Prophet thus:

‘And when you, [O Muhammad], do not bring them a miracle, they say, "Why have you not contrived it?" Say, "I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This [Qur'an] is enlightenment from your Lord and guidance and mercy for a people who believe." (Quran 7:203)

The Divine Way of conveying message to the common people:

The Creator Himself doesn’t come down to give His message to common people nor does He send any supernatural being rather He chooses a man amongst men and sends him to them along with the responsibility of explaining it to them in a clear way by his words and actions and demonstrate to them its practical implementation in life so that it becomes easy for the people to believe and practice it and they could move forward to accept it and act on with the belief of it being in total consonance with human nature. This cannot be achieved if the Creator were to come down and deliver the message to them directly or even if He were to send a supernatural being for this purpose. Therefore a man named Muhammad (peace be upon him) was chosen for messengership.

‘And that which she was worshipping other than Allah had averted her [from submission to Him]. Indeed, she was from a disbelieving people." She was told, "Enter the palace." But when she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her shins [to wade through]. He said, "Indeed, it is a palace [whose floor is] made smooth with glass." She said, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds." (Quran 27:43-44)

By doing away with unrealistic, unnatural and impractical methods, He made natural and practical methods explicit.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) is just a messenger whose job is only to convey the message:

The messenger’s job is to convey the divine message to His slaves. People demand for unnatural signs, presenting such signs is neither the messenger’s responsibility nor does he have any power to do so. Actually these are all excuses to not believe. That’s because the life of the messenger, his morals, his selfless love for the people, his sincerity, and the message itself which he is presenting bear witness to him being a true messenger and the message to be a true message.

God Almighty is telling His messenger to tell them clearly what your position really is:

‘Say, "Exalted is my Lord! Was I ever but a human messenger?" (Quran 17:93)

By bringing in God as His Witness, the messenger is saying that my job is only to convey My Master’s message to His slaves. And I am a slave too and hence I cannot fulfil your demands.

The Messenger is just a human:

The Messenger should definitely be human. A human life alone could be an example for another human being not the life of an angel or some kind of a supernatural creature. God replies to man’s unnatural demands in His Book:

‘And what prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them except that they said, "Has Allah sent a human messenger?" Say, "If there were upon the earth angels walking securely, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel [as a] messenger." (Quran 17:94-95)

The Messenger is merely a human being:

The messenger introduces himself through the Holy Quran that he is merely a human being like any other human being. The only difference is he receives revelation from God and the revelation has clearly said that the Creator and God are one and the same.

‘Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (Quran 18:110)

The Prophet is a human being, the only difference is he gets revelation i.e. he is given a responsibility. Man always waits for message from the Creator and this point always lingers in his imaginative mind that a message ought to be delivered to all human beings through a supernatural being. And when the Creator does send His message through His messenger then some people get astonished regarding it and they therefore end up denying it. God Almighty describes the psychology of the deniers thus:

‘Have the people been amazed that We revealed [revelation] to a man from among them, [saying], "Warn mankind and give good tidings to those who believe that they will have a [firm] precedence of honor with their Lord"? [But] the disbelievers say, "Indeed, this is an obvious magician" (Quran 10:2)

God almighty says in His Book that He sent His messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) for the guidance of all human beings and He also says that the messenger’s job is to convey and explain this Guide-Book to the people, exhort them to accept it and then practically demonstrate it to them. So that they could get guided through it. But making people walk the straight path through coercion is not his responsibility.

Whatever path a person chooses for himself, he shall be responsible for it and shall bear its consequences too:

‘Indeed, We sent down to you the Book for the people in truth. So whoever is guided - it is for [the benefit of] his soul; and whoever goes astray only goes astray to its detriment. And you are not a manager over them’ (Quran 39:41)

The Messenger Accompanying The Message:

Sending a messenger along with the message i.e. the Book has its own wisdom and mercy behind it. In this way, the messenger could explain the message clearly to the people and also be able to practically demonstrate it for them so that it becomes easy for the common people to understand and act on it. So that they could learn how to implement the teachings. Therefore the King of the universe says:

‘On that night is made distinct every precise matter - [Every] matter [proceeding] from Us. Indeed, We were to send [a messenger] As mercy from your Lord. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing’ (Quran 44:4-6)

The advent of the messenger is a mercy for the people for he brought the message of mercy from the Lord.

The Speciality, Status And Limitations of the Messenger:

The status of the Messenger is nothing more than conveying the divine message to the rest of the human beings. He explains the message clearly and demonstrates it practically so that the message is delivered in a clear manner in every aspect, noting remains ambiguous. With regards to the unseen, the messenger too is just as helpless and unaware as any other human being (for instance the knowledge of the Hour).

In His Book, God Almighty tells His Messenger to tell the people about his status:

‘Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner." (Quran 46:9)

The messenger answers many questions that are related to the Unseen like resurrection, life after death, accountability before the Lord, heaven and hell etc. And along with that he makes clear regarding his position and status that by virtue of being a human

being he too doesn’t know anything but whatever he is saying now is based on the secrets that are being revealed to him from on high by the Creator through a trusted creature called Gabriel who is an angel who delivers the Creator’s word to the messenger verbatim.

The Creator Makes Clear The Purpose of Sending His Messenger:

The Creator of the universe and mankind declares in His Book regarding the purpose of sending His Messenger:

‘O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah great bounty’ (Quran 33:45-47)

Indeed the life of the Messenger is beautiful. He beautifies the lives of other people too. He himself is enlightened faith wise and morality wise and enlightens his surroundings too. Entire existence of the Messenger with his words and deeds is like a shining lamp to testify to One God.

The Messenger brings is mercy, relief and divine commandments:

It is the demand of the Creator’s mercy that He sends His Messenger by giving him clear commandments so that He could release man out of the traditions which man has created by himself because of his ignorance, conjectures and superstitions and hence made his life narrow and a problematic to the vastness of His mercy. The messenger brings the message of mercy from God, conveys the message in a clear way and shows the people how to be balanced in life.

‘Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported

him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful’ (Quran 7:157)

The Creator has made arrangements for conveying His message and commandments in a clear way:

The Creator has made arrangements for conveying His message and commandments in a very clear way. He certainly has sent a Book and appointed a messenger for its explanation and practical demonstration.

‘And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember’ (Quran 2:221)

The Creator’s messenger not just conveys the message in its original form but lives his life in accordance with it so that it could be a model for people, explains to the people in a very clear manner and beautifies their lives in accordance with it as well.

‘Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error’ (Quran 3:164)

The Messenger Beautifies the Lives of The Believers:

Apart from reciting and explaining God’s message of mercy, the messenger beautifies the lives of the believers i.e. reforms and gives right orientation to their beliefs, thoughts, morals, dealings, relationships, family, social and economic lives. And he does that through the Book of God and in the light of the Book of God. Therefore God sheds light on His messenger’s practical life and his struggle thus:

‘It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error’ (Quran 62:2)

The Messenger’s Life is a standard, model and an example:

‘There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often’ (Quran 33:21)

Since we only have to emulate the messenger, following becomes easy. There won’t be any mental problem or confusion. There is no need to search for the way to act in order to act on the commandment. There is no chance of getting misguided. The model is trustworthy. It’s a standard, exemplary and authentic model for God has made the messenger’s practical model and practical life authentic. God shall accept his life who shall follow this practical model.

Man obeys His God only when he fears Him and the best model and way to obey God is to obey His Messenger. That’s why this is the one point which every Messenger has said with full force as has been recorded by the Quran:

‘So fear Allah and obey me’ (Quran 26:126)

The main purpose of the Creator sending a messenger is that the whole life of the messenger could become an excellent model for the people so that people could use it for their benefit. But they can benefit from it only when they believe in God and the Last Day. Obedience to the messenger is essential to earn God’s pleasure and success in the hereafter. And to be obedient to the messenger, there should be trust and confidence in him.

The Messenger’s word is authentic and that’s why he should be obeyed:

Since the messenger says as per the Creator’s order and says that in which there’s guidance for the people hence he should be obeyed. This exactly is the purpose of sending a messenger. Therefore God Almighty talks about the purpose of sending the messenger thus:

‘And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by permission of Allah’ (Quran 4:64)

It’s not enough to just accept what the messenger says but obey him too. Only then the purpose is fulfilled and guidance is earned.

The authenticity of the Messenger:

The Creator of the universe chooses such a man for sending His message who is trustworthy and honest and conveys the message as it is. Therefore God Almighty makes it clear in His Book that the word of His prophet is trustworthy, authentic, from God, without any alterations for the messenger too is accountable to God for his responsibility. Hence man could take the messenger’s heart with full confidence and trust.

‘It is not [attributable] to any prophet that he would act unfaithfully [in regard to war booty]. And whoever betrays, [taking unlawfully], will come with what he took on the Day of Resurrection. Then will every soul be [fully] compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged’ (Quran 3:161)

The second aspect is related to the common people of this Ummah (community) and the addressees of the messenger and that is that whatever they do either by accepting such an authentic messenger or rejecting him, they shall be repaid accordingly. This is a noteworthy point.

The Special Quality of the messenger: He doesn’t take remuneration

The Messenger does not take any remuneration of any kind for the kind of relentless hard work the he does, the kind of hardships he goes through and the kind of sacrifices he makes in order to convey an extremely important and precious thing to us i.e. the divine guidance which takes our lives in this world and the hereafter to the shores of success. It is a responsibility placed on his shoulders by God and he expects his forgiveness and reward from God alone. Because hearts are touched by selfless hard work consequently accepting the message of guidance.

Therefore God Almighty clear explains the position, status and attitude of His messenger in the Quran that ‘in what a dignified way My Messenger works’. He toils with full love, sincerity and

compassion so that people could save themselves from Hell by accepting the truth. But he never takes his remuneration from them.

‘Say, "I do not ask of you for it any payment - only that whoever wills might take to his Lord a way." (Quran 25:57)

My only remuneration is that you make me happy by embracing the way of the Lord.

The Prophet never seeks any remuneration for his job because he is showing them the way to paradise, saving them from Hell-fire and introducing them to their Lord.

‘And I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds’ (Quran 26:109)

The messenger does not call people to worship him:

God Almighty expresses in a very clear and forceful way that the messenger invites people to the worship of God alone. He most certainly does not invite people to worship him.

‘It is not for a human [prophet] that Allah should give him the Scripture and authority and prophethood and then he would say to the people, "Be servants to me rather than Allah," but [instead, he would say], "Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied." Nor could he order you to take the angels and prophets as lords. Would he order you to disbelief after you had been Muslims?’ (Quran 3:79-80)

The Messenger does not have the power to cause profit or loss to human beings:

Although the messenger is a venerable human being sent by the Creator who has brought His message, he has no power to cause profit or loss to anyone not even himself. And none could save even the Prophet from God’s grip nor could grant refuge to him except for God. God makes His prophet say this truth in His Book thus:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "I only invoke my Lord and do not associate with Him anyone." Say, "Indeed, I do not possess for you [the power of] harm or right direction." Say, "Indeed, there will never protect me from Allah anyone [if I should disobey], nor will I find in other than Him a refuge. But [I have for you] only notification from Allah, and His messages." And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger - then indeed, for him is the fire of Hell; they will abide therein forever’ (Quran 72:20-23)

A glimpse of monotheism can be seen in these words of the prophet that the power to cause profit and loss is only in God’s hand, none can escape His grip and the only refuge is God. He then mentioned his responsibility and informed about the consequences of accepting and not accepting God’s message.

The Messenger’s responsibility is neither giving guidance nor can he do that: The prophet’s responsibility is only to convey the message. It is not his responsibility to make people follow the right way nor could he do that; he could only try. Only God can make one follow the right way and He does this favour to only those who want to follow. Then these people take benefit from the guidance brought by the messenger. God is relieving the prophet from some of his burden by explaining this reality to him.

‘Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided’ (Quran 28:56)

The messenger’s job is only to warn, not to force someone to follow the right path:

The messenger’s job is only to warn human beings of the good and the bad consequences of accepting or rejecting Him, obeying or not obeying Him. That’s it. By addressing the messenger directly:

‘But you are only a warner. And Allah is Disposer of all things’ (Quran 11:12)

God clarifies the qualities, position, merits and responsibilities of His messenger for the prophet and the addressees too:

‘Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner’ (Quran 48:8)

The Limits of the Messenger’s Responsibility:

The messenger’s responsibility is no more than conveying God’s command to His slaves in a clear manner. He is a medium for conveying God’s message which is brought to him in the form of revelation by an angel. So God Almighty is telling His Messenger too through His Book that his job is only to convey God’s message. His job is not to convince the deniers. On the other hand it has been made clear in this point that God’s messenger shall not impose His message on the people. He shall only tell the consequences of acceptance and rejection. Man should not take the words of Creator the universe lightly. God said:

‘And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification." (Quran 24:54)

The Messenger’s job is only to convey the message and inform about the consequences of accepting and rejecting it:

The messenger’s job is not to make others accept his message by force. This kills the freedom of choice. The messenger’s job is only to convey the truth to the people and make himself an embodiment of the message. And to give good news to those who accept and warn those who reject. God Almighty clearly says in the Quran what the extent of the messenger’s responsibility is:

‘And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner’ (Quran 17:105)

This tells us that Islam ought to be conveyed to the people through preaching, exhortation, love, and sincerity and well-wishing. Those who not want peaceful ways, create obstacles in the way causing wars and then try to defame Islam and Muslims that Islam has spread through the sword. They should know that Islam’s nature makes a

person bow from the inside by appealing to his natural predisposition, mind and heart and does not make the necks bow through sword.

The Messenger Always calls towards goodness:

The Creator of mankind and His messenger always command and invite people to the thing in which lies their goodness which takes man to the zenith of humanity.

‘O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered’ (Quran 8:24)

Arrangement for guidance of every nation has been made in every age and place:

Since prophets have come to every nation from that very same Creator, their message was the same too because the nature of all human beings is the same and the basic moral requirements of everyone are the same too. And the Creator of everyone loves everyone equally and gives them the same excellent guidance. This is the demand of His love, mercy and justice.

‘You, [O Muhammad], are not but a warner. Indeed, We have sent you with the truth as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner’ (Quran 35:23-24)

The Creator has made arrangements for the guidance of people through past prophets as well in every age and place.

‘And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them, and Allah sends astray [thereby] whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 14:5)

The above mentioned verses inform us that prophets were sent with signs. There are no direct and open signs of someone being made a

prophet like for example a stage is being set and an angel is making the announcement that a certain person has been chose by God to be His Messenger. Rather the signs of being appointed by God, made a prophet by God are found in his life and teachings or in the occurrence of an extraordinary or supernatural events in his life. But the most important sign is his extremely natural and heart touching words, teachings and practical life. His extraordinary character, morals, teachings and the revolution in the lives of those who believe in him and follow his teachings are the signs of him being a messenger.

Guidance is an important need of the Children of Adam which must reach even the last human being:

Human beings will be in need of guidance as long as they live on earth. The way the Creator made arrangements for their guidance is that He preserved the exemplary life of His messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) and His Book of guidance the Quran posterity till the Day of Resurrection. Therefore God Almighty talks about the wisdom of conveying His guidance thus:

‘And We have not sent you except for the whole mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know’ (Quran 34:28)

The right, natural and acceptable thing to do in order to present a practical model of divine teachings for the guidance of mankind was the sending of a man with guidelines so that his model becomes acceptable and acquires the status of a standard and certificate.

‘And We sent not before you, [O Muhammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message if you do not know. And We did not make the prophets forms not eating food, nor were they immortal [on earth]’ (Quran 21:7-8)

A man who is claiming that he is the messenger of the Creator of the universe and the Book that he has brought is from the Creator ought not to be taken lightly because if he really turns out to be the messenger of the Creator of the universe then believing in him would carry us to the shores of success otherwise it would lead us to

perdition. In support of his claim he presents his life as a proof that whether his life is in accordance with the teachings of this Book or not which he is presenting for the welfare of mankind by saying that this is God’s Book. And the Book itself is also saying to ascertain whether it really is from God or not by reading it for oneself. Therefore God Almighty is drawing man’s attention to read and reflect over the Book:

‘Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction’ (Quran 4:82)

100 % correct guidance lies in knowing and recognizing the messenger sent by the Creator and then submitting to his guidance and obeying him with full confidence. This messenger can be easily found by if he were to search him without any preconceived notions.

The Special Quality of the messenger: He’s the Last Prophet

The process of sending messengers has been ended. Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last prophet. Now only his message has to be believed in and practiced. Now, this is the only way to salvation. God Almighty says in the last and final edition of His Book, the Quran:

‘Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing’ (Quran 33:40)

Since Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last messenger, he is the final guide for all human beings till the end of this world the declaration of which the Sender of this messenger makes thus:

‘It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error - And [to] others of them who have not yet joined them. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 62:2-3)

CHAPTER 5

THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE IS THE TRUE GOD…AT A GLANCE

Introductory words

The name of the Creator of the universe is ‘Allah’

The qualities of the true God

Six Prime Criteria to be God

In order to keep the right of being God this Being must be The Ever Living The Self-Subsisting

One more important quality to be God

God is the Highest Authority – This is the sixth quality of a true God

The Authority Figure alone has the right to be worshiped

The perfect power of God

Allah alone is the Superior

The law of nature is full of mercy

God is He Who guides man in his life

Introduction to Allah and His creation

The creation is His and the kingdom is His too

Oneness of God

Oneness: Always one God for every human being for every period of time

Introduction to Allah, the Creator of the universe

Monotheism and Polytheism

To guide, to show the right way is an important attribute of God

True God compared to weak, fake gods

The necessary attributes to be God

Human nature and the voice of conscience

Lord

The powerlessness of fake gods

True God is free of weaknesses

The Creator and Master alone is God to His creation and property

Master and Ruler alone is God

The King of the universe alone is the true God One whose knowledge encompasses everything is alone worthy of worship

The unique qualities of Allah

Life and death are purely in Allah’s hand

Closeness to the slave and being aware of his intention

Creation of man

Introduction to Allah through His godly attributes

Expressing love and closeness to His slaves through His attributes of being Ever-Forgiving and Most Merciful

Attributes for being God

This is the Book of the Creator of the universe

God is He who is praised by everything

Is polytheism consistent with the Creator of the universe

Contradictory truths

A strange human act to make fake gods!

Recognizing God through His attributes

Polytheism is a great injustice!

King Of The Universe Alone Is God

Introductory words:

The name of the Creator of the universe is ‘Allah’

The Creator of the universe gave us His name as ‘Allah’ in His Book the Quran as we have seen in many of the verses and we shall see it in the coming pages as well. That’s why we shall address Him by the name which He gave us and not those names which the people gave Him and call Him by. This is not only wrong but a morally depraved thing to do since we ourselves do not deem it reasonable if someone were to call us by some other name. Also, would we respond to him who calls us a different name or an altered name?!

Similarly, the Creator and God whose name is ‘Allah’ should be called by this name. When He is called by His given name then His whole personality is addressed with His full existence, qualities and power and He turns to the slave with full mercy. And since the Creator of the universe Himself is the true God and since His name is ‘Allah’ it behoves that the true God be called ‘Allah’ as well.

The Quran tells us the name of the true God thus:

‘Your god is only Allah, except for whom there is no deity. He has encompassed all things in knowledge." (Quran 20:98)

And at another place:

‘He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful’ (Quran 59:22)

The qualities of the true God:

Those qualities which we are looking for in God are found in His Book which is named the Quran and this Book claims that it is the Book of the Creator of the universe. And we have satisfaction with its truthfulness in the second chapter through discussion.

In my previous book ‘Realistic Concept of The Creator of the universe’ we have established that those criteria at which we arrived after a thorough contemplation and logical arguments are found only in the Quran and are found with reasoning.

Those qualities of God which we have discussed in my previous book have been presented in the first chapter of this book as a reminder.

The Creator and God of mankind has introduced Himself in His Book the Quran. Let’s see what a vast, easy to understand and pleasant introduction He has given about Himself in His Book.

Six Prime Criteria To Be God:

These six criteria contain many other qualities in them:

1) In order to keep the right of being God this Being must be the Creator of the universe and mankind:

The first criterion to be God is that He should be the Creator of the universe and mankind. One who creates is alone God. The Quran says:

‘It is He who forms you in the wombs however He wills. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 3:6)

The One Who gave existence is alone worthy of worship. Regarding creation, the Quran further says:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "Have you considered that which you invoke besides Allah ? Show me what they have created of the earth; or did they have partnership in [creation of] the heavens? Bring me a scripture [revealed] before this or a [remaining] trace of knowledge, if you should be truthful." And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware. And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship’ (Quran 46:4-6)

Does the quality of creating, which is essentially in order to have the right to be God, found in beings other than Allah whom the people have taken as gods for themselves or think that they are worthy of being considered God or have the right to be God?! The Quran asks how come powerless and weak beings have the right to be made God:

‘But they have taken besides Him gods which create nothing, while they are created, and possess not for themselves any harm or benefit and possess not [power to cause] death or life or resurrection’ (Quran 25:3)

The one which is created cannot be God!

How can a created thing be God which neither hears (the prayer) nor has the power to cause profit and loss? He ought to be God who creates, guides (an important quality of God and an important need of man), nourishes, heals and forgives mistakes.

The Quran clarifies this truth is a wise way:

‘And recite to them the news of Abraham, When he said to his father and his people, "What do you worship?" They said, "We worship idols and remain to them devoted." He said, "Do they hear you when you supplicate? Or do they benefit you, or do they harm?" They said, "But we found our fathers doing thus." He said, "Then do you see what you

have been worshipping, You and your ancient forefathers? Indeed, they are enemies to me, except the Lord of the worlds, Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me. And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink. And when I am ill, it is He who cures me And who will cause me to die and then bring me to life And who I aspire that He will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense." (Quran 26:69-82)

2) In order to keep the right of being God this Being must be The Ever Living The Self-Subsisting:

God is He Who is alive and existing on His own. There wasn’t anything but He was there and there won’t be anything and He will be there. The life of the Creator i.e. is His own, not given by anyone else. He neither has any origin nor end i.e. He is beyond human comprehension. He is beyond the stretch of human imagination. He was neither born nor will He die to limit His lifespan. Rather His life is limitless that’s because there is no death to Him. He exists on His own. That’s why He Al-Hayy and Al Qayyum i.e. the Ever-Living, the Self-Existing. There was no universe but He was there. There is universe and He is there too. And there won’t be universe but He will be there.

And this life of God which has been in existence since day one gives existence to other lives. And these other lives will survive as long as the first life wants. That’s why the first life will be called Al-Hayy (the Life-Giving) and Al Qayyum (the Life-Sustaining) and that is Allah Who is the Creator of universe and mankind.

The Quran sheds light on this truth thus:

‘Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting by Whom all subsist, there is no God but He’ (Quran 2:255)

Therefore the one who has been alive from eternity, will live till eternity, gives life and sustains it is alone God for the life which got its existence from Him. The Creator alone is the God of His creation and worshipping Him is His first right. And how can he be God who has no role in creation?!

How can those be God who survive on the life given by someone else?! They are helpless, weak and powerless. They can neither help

themselves nor others. God is He Who is lives and sustains by Himself and that God is Allah.

The life of creatures is given by Allah. It has a fixed time limit (death). It has a beginning and an end. Then how could they be god?!

A firm and deep relationship gets established between the first life which is known as the Self-Subsisting, which makes arrangements for the survival of life and the other life (the creature) as its Greatest Benefactor, Guardian and Sustainer. As a result the creature prays to Him, asks Him for his needs, calls Him out for help, accepts the commandment of His Greatest Benefactor and obeys Him. Since Allah is The Self-Subsisting One, He alone is God.

He alone sustains life. He neither sleeps nor yawns. He is aware of the affairs of Hi slaves at every moment, shows interest in their matters and hears them. He alone is God. The One Who can sustain Himself and sustain the life He Himself gave to others. That’s why He alone is God to the life He brought into existence, and it is Allah alone Who gives and sustains life. Hence He alone is God. How come those be considered God who neither have their own original life, nor can they sustain themselves or others?! Since original life is Allah’s alone and He sustains His life on His own strength, He alone is the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the True God. This tells us that God is the Creator not the created.

A Little Clarification:

When man thinks with his limited imagination, knowledge, experiences and thoughts, he gets baffled and ends up denying Allah due to this bafflement. He questions in his bewilderment how could Allah come into existence on His own?! The reason for this bewilderment and denial is that man puts the Creator in the place of the created and then starts making assumptions about His power, knowledge and wisdom thinking that those are like his. Then he accepts a weak argument which is far from the intellect and understanding which is that the universe and everything in it have comes into existence on their own.

He denies the Creator and considers this denial to be a correct usage of his intellect. Then uses the word ‘nature’ for many answers and tries to give explanations. Nature is nothing more than a concept and a

diversion. It’s just an expression of his helplessness. Also the word nature gives the concept of a lifeless thing while knowledge and will, power and strength, planning and implementation are found in a life alone. Rather these qualities bear witness to the existence of one powerful life. Only a life could give life to another and our own life bears witness to the existence of one great life. Even though our senses and comprehension are limited, Allah has given us an intellect which has the potential to reach Him, recognize Him and solve this mystery of the existence of life and the universe, provided it is used correctly.

3) One more important quality to be God:

One more important quality to be God is that He should not die and this quality is an intrinsic component of being the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting. He neither dies nor gets annihilated. He is living since eternity and will live till eternity. And He rules the whole universe. The Quran sheds light on this quality thus:

‘And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die, and exalt [ Allah ] with His praise. And sufficient is He to be, with the sins of His servants, Acquainted - He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne - the Most Merciful, so ask about Him one well informed’ (Quran 25:58-59)

Allah is alive i.e. He is alive with all the qualities of life. And these qualities are in perfection without any decline.

The Quran tells us as to who the true God is and who isn’t and why…

‘And those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created. They are, [in fact], dead, not alive, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected. Your god is one God. But those who do not believe in the Hereafter - their hearts are disapproving, and they are arrogant’ (Quran 16:20-22)

This tells us that except for Allah everything and everyone is created and the created is not worshipped, the created is not God. They don’t have the right to be God. It is weak and perishable. And the weak and the perishable are not worshipped.

4) God is the Highest Authority – This is the fourth quality of the True God:

He should be the Creator, Master, Ruler and God Who is not answerable to anyone rather everyone else is answerable to Him. Answerable are those who are weak, can make mistakes, can misuse power, can oppress, can violate rights and can do injustice. The Creator is free from all these defects and is the Highest Authority. That is the Holy Being of Allah the Most High.

The above mentioned quality is a specific quality of the Creator, the God which the Quran mentions thus:

‘He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned. Or have they taken gods besides Him? Say, [O Muhammad], "Produce your proof. This [Qur'an] is the message for those with me and the message of those before me." But most of them do not know the truth, so they are turning away’ (Quran 21:23-24)

God is the Supreme and He is Allah.

The Quran says: ‘And Allah rules; there is no adjuster of His decision. And He is swift in account’ (Quran 13:41)

5) The Authority Figure alone has the right to be worshiped:

He alone is God Who has the authority and tight grip over everything in the heavens and the earth. Controlling and maintaining them is not a problem for Him. Such a powerful and authoritative being alone is worthy of worship and that being’s name is Allah.

‘His rule extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great’ (Quran 2:255)

Not to suffer from tiredness and sleepiness from administering such a vast universe for every second since thousands of years testifies to the power, greatness and divinity of the Creator. His rule extends over everything living and non-living. Nothing escapes His grip even for a second.

None other than God has such a capability and quality to rule with such excellence. When there is none like Him and logic dictates there is none then the One who does have such qualities is the True God and He is Allah.

6) The perfect power of God:

God is He who has extraordinary power and strength. Therefore the Quran introduces Allah thus:

‘to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient to Him, Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is’ (Quran 2:116-117)

God is not in need of exerting efforts for anything. His single command is enough. That’s why He alone is the Creator, Ruler and King. Anything will come into existence and be done if He only wills it. Most certainly a Being like this, a powerful being like this is the True God of human beings. And this Being is called Allah. Allah is the God of all human beings from first to last. He it is who created the heavens and the earth and every life which is found in between. That’s why He alone is the True God.

7) Allah alone is the Superior:The One who created and is administering, sustaining and growing life…the name of that Creator, Administrator and Organizer is Allah. That’s why Allah alone is God. The Quran expresses this truth thus:

‘That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Grand. Do you not see that Allah has sent down rain from the sky and the earth becomes green? Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth. And indeed, Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy’ (Quran 22:62-64)

8) The law of nature is full of mercy:

He should be God who is not dependent on anyone and who is entirely and purely praise…His Being is praise, every quality and action of His is praiseworthy.

He made laws for everything in order to keep the universe under control. As they describe them as Newtonian Laws. They are not Newtonian Laws but they are the laws made by the Creator of the universe which were just discovered by Newton. This is the Creator’s mercy to the human beings that He gives knowledge to them. The Quran itself presents before man truths for reflection:

‘Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you whatever is on the earth and the ships which run through the sea by His command? And He restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission. Indeed Allah, to the people, is Kind and Merciful’ (Quran 22:65)

The One Whose to whom belongs all the acts of life’s arrangements, favors, who has affixed laws and regulations for everything by discovering which man creates ease for himself and derives benefits from them…He is none other than Allah, worthy of thanks and obedience. He is the One who gave rules, regulations and laws for our lives – laws for our bodies and morals as well – and morals are extremely important for human beings.

9) God is He who guides man in his life:

Does man has 100 % of all the knowledge regarding the laws of nature, laws operating in the universe, human nature, its merits and demerits, needs, wants and psychology? Is it possible for man to make correct, perfect, balanced and fair laws for which vast knowledge is needed which he does not have? Then He alone could make laws Who created man and the universe in the first place, who is aware of the laws operating in them and who established harmony between the laws of universe and laws of life, who is totally aware of the ins and outs of human nature. He is totally free of bias against any human being or class of human beings. Rather all human beings are equal in His eyes. Only then could He give a fair, balanced, merciful and kind social constitution for life. In short the One who is free from all defects and is all goodness, extraordinarily powerful, wise and knowledgeable can alone guide human life and give laws to human beings filled with all goodness in

which lies no doubt that these laws are absolutely correct, trustworthy and practical.

There is guidance in Allah’s Book the Quran to lead a good life that is because this is Allah’s Book Who is the Creator, Master, Ruler and Lord of the whole universe and mankind, whose knowledge encompasses everything and He is All-Wise. In this one verse Allah The Most High has introduced Himself and His Book and described its qualities as well emphasizing that the point that this Book should not be taken lightly or be thought of as coming from an ordinary being rather it has come from an All-Wise Being. That’s why it contains pure goodness. The Quran lays bare its greatness thus:

‘The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 46:2)

The One who created is naturally its owner too and owner is also the one who rules His things. And certainly He alone would be worthy of worship and obedience for His creation. Hence He alone has the right and the authority over His creation to give it guiding laws.

Since the Creator of the universe has named Himself Allah, Allah alone is the Owner, Lord (Nourisher, Sustainer and Developer) and King of His universe and creation. And He alone guides His creation towards their purpose of existence which He embeds in their nature. Take honeybee as an example which is engrossed full day in fulfilling the purpose of its existence. Therefore Allah has guided human being through His Book the Quran towards his purpose of existence and the way to fulfil that purpose so that man could lead a successful life. He placed heavy responsibility on His chosen man Muhammad (peace be upon him) so explain to the people His Book the Quran through his words and by presenting a practical model through his actions that Allah alone is the True God despite the opposition of the deniers.

Therefore Allah the Most High expresses the truth in His Book that He alone is the Creator and Owner of the universe and everything the universe contains, He rules over everything and He is the One Who has sent down the Quran to man for his guidance through a messenger so that Allah could be worshipped and obeyed:

‘Ta, Ha. We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed But only as a reminder for those who fear [ Allah ] - A revelation from He who created the earth and highest heavens, The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil. And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden. Allah - there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names’ (Quran 20:1-8)

10) Introduction to Allah and His creation:

How is the Being Who is worthy of prostration and obedience? The Quran introduces thus:

‘And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die, and exalt [ Allah ] with His praise. And sufficient is He to be, with the sins of His servants, Acquainted - He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne - the Most Merciful, so ask about Him one well informed’ (Quran 25:58-59)

11) The Creation is His and the Kingdom is His too:

It is told that Allah, the Most High is Ever-Living. He is the One Who created the universe in six days and is now ruling it. He is not tired and asleep after creating it. He takes full interest in the administration of the universe and human affairs. He forgives man’s mistakes. Allah, the Most High has also introduced Himself as the Most Merciful that He rules the universe with total mercy. All the best qualities and attributes are found in Him in their highest forms with total balance which cannot be understood or even felt by man.

The messenger does say anything of his own accord. The responsibility of conveying the message is placed on him. He fulfils it. He is a man like any other man. His job is to convey the message from the Master of the human beings to the human beings. The revelation has made it clear that the Creator and God and One and the same. Therefore Quran, which is divine revelation says:

‘Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (Quran 18:110)

12) Oneness of God:

If there are more than one Creator, Master and Ruler then the administration of the universe would be ruined which is most certainly an unnatural thing and an unrealistic thought. Certainly there is one head for any institution. The Quran sheds light on this truth:

‘Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe’ (Quran 21:22)

The concept of more divine beings is a wrong concept, far from logic.

13) Oneness: Always One God for every human being for every period of time:

The specialty of oneness is that there has been and will be only one True God for every human being of all times and climes.

Truth is always the same, it does not change according to time and place. All the human beings who have been sent as Messengers of Allah in every period of time and in every place have said the same thing that Allah alone is the one true God of all the human beings and He alone should be worshipped.

‘And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me." (Quran 21:25)

The One Who has created the entire universe knows better if there’s any other God besides Him Who ought to be worshipped and obeyed and prayed to. The Creator warns the rest of His slaves through His chosen slave about the truth. This is not only His responsibility but also His love and limitless mercy for them. The Quran says:

‘He sends down the angels, with the inspiration of His command, upon whom He wills of His servants, [telling them], "Warn that there is no deity except Me; so fear Me." (Quran 16:2)

There is none before, behind and beside Allah. This is also mentioned in Surah Ikhlas that He neither begets nor is He begotten. He has no wife either. In the verse it is being said that everything is His property, be it living or non-living. All of them have come into existence by His command. All of them are created. How can He have children?! Children are produced out of womb but Allah says clearly that He has no children nor is He the child of someone. And He says it clearly that there is no being like Him which has the qualities and attributes like His. Therefore Allah, the Most High is saying in His Book what the nature of things in the universe is and how they came into existence.

‘They say, " Allah has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient to Him, Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is’ (Quran 2:116-117)

He is the originator i.e. there was nothing and He originated life and the universe.

14) Introduction to Allah, the Creator of the universe:

By introducing Allah, the Most High, the Creator of the universe, the Quran says that He has no family. He is alone. Since He is Ever-Living and Self-Subsisting, He has no need for children. He neither gets old nor falls sick. He is free from all defects which are the reason for dependency. Since He is free of all weaknesses, He is not in need of anyone and hence He is Independent. Since He is independent, He is alone. He has no associates, neither in His Being (like He has no wife and children) nor in His attributes (there is none who can hear, see, love, show mercy and forgive like Him) nor in His rights (there is none who could be worshipped, obeyed, trusted like Him). That’s why none be prayed to nor prostrated other than Him. There is none like Him in the universe whose example can be given. There is no one whose being, power, love, kindness, forgiveness, hearing, seeing, knowledge (even of intentions) freedom and authority is like His. His decision is the final decision. None can challenge His decision. And He is not answerable to anyone.

Everything but Allah is a creation. How can the created be compared with the Creator? That’s why He is unique in His Being, qualities, attributes, specialities and power.

The Quran presents a whole surah to present a great truth. He describes a great point in a comprehensive yet succinct way thus:

‘Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent." (Quran 112:1-4)

This description by the Quran informs us that Allah, the Most High is independent of everything, everyone and every help. He does not need anyone or anything in any way. Such an independent Being is free from need, weaknesses, helplessness, unique in His Being and attributes, worthy of worship and being God and He is Allah as the Quran has introduced.

15) Monotheism and Polytheism:

It has been discussed in the previous pages that truth is only one and comes in only one form while falsehood comes in many forms. During the discussion it has also been proven logically that the biggest truth of this universe is the Maker of the universe, the giver of existence to man and the sustainer of his survival is only one. All concepts and thoughts other than this are wrong, lies and false. There’s no truth to them. There’s no logical proof to back them. They are just thoughts rather emotional thoughts.

This life is not without purpose that you just ate, drank, enjoyed, did whatever you liked and then died. Rather it’s a purposeful life to test who paid attention to the call of conscience, accepted the truth, acted on it and who didn’t. It creates a huge difference when one leads a life based on truth, by accepting Allah and when one leads a life based on falsehood by rejecting Him. One life gets filled with purity, goodness and humanity and the other gets filled with impurity, injustice, violation of rights and corruption. A good life should be rewarded and a bad life should get punished. This is what the human nature and conscience demands for which a whole different world and a whole new life are made wherein reward and punishment are given in the form of Paradise

and Hell after accountability. The person who believes in the life after this current life and a world after this current world believes in One Allah and avoids contaminating divinity with polytheism. Polytheism is the special quality of the deniers of monotheism. They keep doing bad deeds and have the false belief that they can go scot free through the intercession of other minor deities.

The Quran does not give the right of Godhood to the created but to the Creator alone Who is One and He is Allah.

‘And those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created. They are, [in fact], dead, not alive, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected. Your god is one God. But those who do not believe in the Hereafter - their hearts are disapproving, and they are arrogant’ (Quran 16:20-22)

By putting questions, Allah the Most High shakes man to reflect seriously, he shall realize and believe what the truth is. He is not asking to believe blindly but to correctly use the inherent qualities of intellect and conscience which man uses day and night for his daily affairs; man shall reach the right conclusion and shall realize his mistake, misunderstanding.

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "Have you considered that which you invoke besides Allah ? Show me what they have created of the earth; or did they have partnership in [creation of] the heavens? Bring me a scripture [revealed] before this or a [remaining] trace of knowledge, if you should be truthful." And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware. And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship’ (Quran 46:4-6)

16) To guide and show the right way is an important attribute of God:

God is He, who after creating everything shows it the way to fulfil its purpose of creation. He instils this point in its nature. In the same way, in order to guide man, He sent His chosen people with Book and guidance in every age and place. Therefore the Quran clarifies this attribute of

Allah through the story of Moses and Pharaoh that when Pharaoh asked who is your Lord O Moses?

‘(Moses) said, "Our Lord is He who gave each thing its form and then guided [it]." (Quran 20:50)

17) True God compared to weak, fake gods:

The state of helplessness and weakness of the gods about whom man thinks that they would do big and great things for him is so pathetic that they have no power and authority even over a fly. The Quran explains this point in an easy and heart touching manner thus:

‘O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued. They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might’ (Quran 22:73-74)

This tells us that the One Who creates is God Who has extraordinary authority and power. One Who has power and strength is alone Honourable and none has these but Allah, the Creator and Sovereign of the universe. Since the powerful and honourable one is God that Being is Allah. One who is bereft of this realization and belief and is making God out of other beings deeming them to be powerful, ought to pause here for a bit and think would the truth changes if he has this thought?

Why would something be worthy of worship which does not create but is instead created nor does it hear, see and be of any help?

The Quran tries to shake human intellect thus:

‘And mention in the Book [the story of] Abraham. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. [Mention] when he said to his father, "O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see and will not benefit you at all?’ (Quran 19:41-42)

This is the limit of man’s irrationality and foolishness.

18) The necessary attributes to be God:

The Quran describes the attributes necessary for a being to be God. These attributes (which are logical and natural) are demanded by the human intellect and nature too. The Quran describes them so that man could reflect over what his own intellect and nature says about them. Do not the intellect and nature of every man demand these attributes to be seen in God? He wants to see these attributes in the Being Whom he wants to worship. The Quran explains these attributes in various places:

‘But they have taken besides Him gods which create nothing, while they are created, and possess not for themselves any harm or benefit and possess not [power to cause] death or life or resurrection’ (Quran 25:3)

Is it reasonable to make helpless beings God and would such a god be of any help? Can they hear the prayers and answer them? Can they protect and guide?

‘Indeed, the vengeance of your Lord is severe. Indeed, it is He who originates [creation] and repeats. And He is the Forgiving, the Affectionate, Honorable Owner of the Throne, Effecter of what He intends’ (Quran 85:12-16)

The grip is indeed very severe. Those who keep moving ahead in evils and vices and do not pay attention to admonition will get severely gripped by Allah the Most High and they just cannot escape.

‘Originates’ signifies that this life is a life for actions and deeds to test whether man leads a right life or a wrong life. ‘Repeats’ signifies another life. The reason why man will be given another life is to account for the deeds and actions he did in his first life and then reward or punish him accordingly. And this definitely will happen. But before this happens, Allah the Most High is exhorting the slave by reminding him of His favours, to shun the life of disobedience and wrongdoing; it will be good for him.

By saying ‘He is the Forgiving’ he created hope that if someone were to eschew his sins and repent then he can enter God’s mercy.

By saying ‘the Affectionate’ he told us that He has no animosity towards His creation thereby tormenting them for no reason. Rather He has great love for the creature He created and punishes only when he does not desist from insurrection.

By saying ‘Owner of the throne’ He made man realize that He alone is the King of the kingdom called the universe and anyone who rebels against Him cannot escape His grip.

By saying ‘Honourable’ He warned man of his pettiness that he should not have an attitude of insolence towards such a Great and Loving Being.

And the last attribute He mentioned is that ‘Effector of what He intends’ i.e. none has the power in the whole universe to prevent and resist what Allah intends to do.

19) Human nature and the voice of conscience:

Human nature declares some things to be right and some other things to be wrong. The Quran, by posing questions, makes the human nature itself bring those right and wrong to the fore and tells the truth is embedded in the depths of your own nature and conscience which is being testified by your own tongues even though your ego does not accept it out of some personal objectives and interests. Allah the Most High poses questions to human nature and conscience thus:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?" They will say, "To Allah ." Say, "Then will you not remember?" Say, "Who is Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Great Throne?" They will say, "[They belong] to Allah ." Say, "Then will you not fear Him?" Say, "In whose hand is the realm of all things - and He protects while none can protect against Him - if you should know?" They will say, "[All belongs] to Allah ." Say, "Then how are you deluded?" Rather, We have brought them the truth, and indeed they are liars. Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him]. [He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, so high is He above what they associate [with Him]’ (Quran 23:84-92)

Human nature and conscience have been giving the same reply to the above-mentioned questions which Allah the Most High has mentioned in His Book the Quran. That’s because human nature and conscience have been, are and will be the same in every age. That’s why good things were good and right in the past too and bad things were bad, wrong false in the past too. And even today in this day and age, those things remain the same to the human nature. And human nature used to like and respect the good and right thing in the past too just as it does today. And it used to dislike and disrespect the bad and wrong thing in the past too just as it does today. This tells us that neither the human nature has changed nor the truth. This is what the Quran is talking about. If the human conscience is alive then it testifies to these truths but if man, by going against his conscience, doesn’t accept them out of selfish desires, self-interests, national, racial or class biases and seeks support from many excuses, twisted questions, incorrect interpretations or the ways and customs of his ancestors in order to not believe these truths then it is nothing but deceiving oneself.

All the attributes mentioned above must be found in God along with many other attributes which have been mentioned in the Quran at various places. All these qualities and attributes are found in Allah, the Most High and none else as the human conscience of every age says and no other being could claim that it has all these divine attributes in it nor has anyone accepted this challenge of the Quran.

20) Lord:

The doer of all the things that are necessary for the survival of human race, as mentioned in the verses below, is human beings Lord and Lord alone is God and that God’s name is Allah.

‘And it is He who has made the night for you as clothing and sleep [a means for] rest and has made the day a resurrection. And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy, and We send down from the sky pure waterThat We may bring to life thereby a dead land and give it as drink to those We created of numerous livestock and men’ (Quran 25:47-49)

‘And it is He who has created from water a human being and made him [a relative by] lineage and marriage. And ever is your Lord competent [concerning creation]’ (Quran 25:54)

Except for the Creator, everything is created be it living or non-living. The created is powerless. It can neither sustain itself nor give life to another. It can neither hear prayers not be able to answer them.

The Quran clarifies this truth thus:

‘Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allah are servants like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful’ (Quran 7:194)

Those who are being called upon are merely slaves just like you are. Just as you cannot help yourself, in the same way they’re weak and helpless too by virtue of being slaves just like you. Then how can they help you?!

Lord is that God Who answers the call of his slave had possesses the power to cause him profit or loss. The Quran places the historical truth of the events of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) to explain the point thus:

‘Did they not see that it could not return to them any speech and that it did not possess for them any harm or benefit?’ (Quran 20:89)

In the time of Moses (peace be upon him), people made God out of a golden calf statue made out of jewellery.

21) The powerlessness of fake gods:

Look how weak these fake gods are which are called upon instead of the One True God. The Quran exposes their real nature thus:

‘ To Him [alone] is the supplication of truth. And those they call upon besides Him do not respond to them with a thing, except as one who stretches his hands toward water [from afar, calling it] to reach his mouth, but it will not reach it [thus]. And the supplication of the disbelievers is not but in error [i.e. futility]’ (Quran 13:14)

When the real God is not called upon then how can they get the answer?!

22) True God is free of weaknesses:

God is He Who is aware of the conditions of His slaves, takes interest in their affairs every moment, hears them, and does not stay oblivious to their conditions and situations.

He neither sleeps nor yawns which are the signs of tiredness and unawareness of the conditions of the slaves. Then how can He be God? Why would He listen to their prayers, fulfil their needs, help them, come to their rescue, reward and punish them with justice and be able to meet the demands of justice?

Sleep suggests that the Creator gets tired from the responsibilities of administration and needs rest and recovery. This is a weakness which doesn’t sit well with round the clock administration of the universe. A being with such weaknesses cannot be the Creator, Ruler and God. The Quran clarifies the truth regarding Allah, the Most High that He is free from all these weaknesses which prevent Him from being God.

‘Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep’ (Quran 2:255)

Sleep is a form of death from which Allah is free. One who cannot sustain oneself by getting overtaken by sleep how can He sustain the universe?

23) The Creator and Master alone is God to His creation and property:

Most certainly the One Who is the Master of the heavens and the earth and everything in between and is sustaining them, Who is All-Powerful, All-Knowing and All-Wise is alone God to His property and creation and that Being is Allah. The Quran presents this natural point thus:

‘Then, to Allah belongs [all] praise - Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the worlds. And to Him belongs [all] grandeur within the

heavens and the earth, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 45:36-37)

The Quran questions as to whether there is any being equal to Allah never mind superior to Him? Then Who is worthy of worship?

‘Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them - so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?" (Quran 19:65)

He is the Lord i.e. the One Who looks after, protects and fulfils the needs. That’s why He should be listened and served. There is none great like Him who ought to be worshipped and served instead of Allah.

24) The Master and Ruler alone is God:

The Law and order of only One Ruler operates in the universe and man is part of this universe. Hence man should follow the commandments of this One Ruler only. He alone is God to man. The one who gave the blessings is God. The One Who owns is God to the one which is owned. In the times of troubles, when no creature could save, no plan works out, that unseen God alone can save. Such a powerful Benefactor alone is God. Therefore the Quran points to this natural point:

‘And Allah has said, "Do not take for yourselves two deities. He is but one God, so fear only Me." And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him is [due] worship constantly. Then is it other than Allah that you fear? And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah . Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help’ (Quran 16:51-53)

The direction towards which human nature takes man involuntarily is the truth.

‘But if they turn away, [O Muhammad], say, "Sufficient for me is Allah ; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne." (Quran 9:129)

25) One whose knowledge encompasses everything is alone worthy of worship:

The One who has knowledge can alone rule properly and he alone is worthy of obedience for His rule is based on knowledge and wisdom because of which there is mercy in it. Therefore He alone ought to be Lord and God.

‘ Your god is only Allah, except for whom there is no deity. He has encompassed all things in knowledge." (Quran 20:98)

26) Unique qualities of Allah:

The Quran mentions the unique qualities of Allah:

‘His is the dominion of the heavens and earth. He gives life and causes death, and He is over all things competent’ (Quran 57:3)

He is the First i.e. there was nothing, there was no universe but He was there. Allah, the Lord of the Throne was there and that’s why He is the First. And then He created the universe and everything it contains.

He is the Last i.e. there won’t be anything, everything will be ended but Allah, the Ever-Living, and the Self-Subsisting will be there. He is also the Evident i.e. He is evident everywhere through His creation and He makes us feel that everything around us is His power and act. At every moment, His existence can be felt – in His power, mercy, fulfilling of the needs of the creation, answering of the prayers, getting done the things that cannot be done, maintaining the regular functioning of the universe, human system and its proper functioning. He can be felt in the harmony found in the specificities and laws of the heavens and the earth for the survival and growth of human and other lives. His interference in everything, His rule and laws indicate towards Allah, expresses His existence and makes us realize His presence. That’s why He is evident more than anything. The sun is the most evident and obvious but it gets out of sight but the existence of Allah is felt day and night in everything at every place and for all the time in various forms and capacities. Despite all this, if man does not realize and believe in His Creator, Master, Sustainer, Ruler, Administrator and Organizer whose name is Allah then it is his own tragedy for which he alone is responsible.

But Allah is also the Hidden. He is the most hidden of all. No eye can see Him nor has any eye seen Him. Only His power and mercy can be felt in everything and for every moment.

He has knowledge of everything. Does He not know Who created? Since the beginning, creation and the coming out into existence out of nothing of this universe is an act of Allah, He obviously knows everything. Man’s knowledge is given by the Creator which He has spread across the universe. Man gets it through his efforts and God’s favour and then uses it. Man’s knowledge is limited and a lot of it gets buried along with him. Allah’s knowledge is unlimited and does not end because He has to manage the whole universe, sustain and grow life with full wisdom and mercy for which the foremost thing is knowledge.

Therefore the One Who is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Hidden and Who has knowledge of everything is alone God.

Life And Death are purely In Allah’s Hand:

Allah is the Creator of universe and life. He certainly has the right to end what He created and give death to the life He made. If it is thought that there is some other being too who could give death then it means that Allah is helpless that He is not able to sustain or protect the life He gave. The Quran clarifies this misconception:

‘His is the dominion of the heavens and earth. He gives life and causes death, and He is over all things competent’ (Quran 57:2)

How could any being make a move in His kingdom without Allah’s permission and will and then do that which is related to life and death? When should a life be given death and in which way is decided by Allah alone. A person plans to kill someone but the success or failure of that plan depends on the will and decision of Allah whether He wants to kill him or keep him alive. The final decision of Allah alone gets implemented. But the one who tries kill will stand responsible for his wrong deed and shall get the punishment. Similarly someone is getting drowned and some other person tries to save him. The success and failure of his effort depends on Allah’s will and decision. In this way the final decision rests with Allah but that person shall be rewarded for his humanity and goodness.

Therefore saving or not saving life is in Allah’s hand and nobody else. He alone has power over everything in His kingdom.

The Quran presents this truth in a different way that man tries by himself but it depends on Allah’s will whether to fail it or make it successful otherwise it would mean that anyone can do anything as per his own wishes in His Kingdom. But man will get recompensed for his efforts which will either be good or bad whether he was successful or not in the world.

The Quran clarifies the truth:

‘His is the dominion of the heavens and earth. And to Allah are returned [all] matters’ (Quran 57:5)

Allah alone has the final authority.

29) Closeness to the slave and being aware of his intention: Allah the Most High is aware of the conditions of His slaves at every moment. He listens to them, fulfils their needs, helps them in their virtuous deeds, the record of their lives is in His sight. He even knows the secrets buried in their hearts and the intentions too. He is absolutely keen and thorough. The Quran describes Allah’s closeness to His slaves thus:

‘He is with you wherever you are. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing’ (Quran 57:4)

The Quran further says:

‘He causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night, and he is Knowing of that within the breasts’ (Quran 57:8)

His awareness with everything for every moment is crucial to manage the universe and life. Such a Being alone is God Who is so close and acquainted with human beings and their conditions and needs. These qualities and attributes are found in Allah the Most High and that’s why Allah is God.

30) Creation of Man:

Allah created man out of clay and then set a system for the continuation of his race because of which human beings are born. The Quran sheds light on this reality that Allah is man’s Creator and that’s why He alone is the True God. The One Who creates, brings in to existence out of nothing and does such a great favour is alone God. That’s why Allah is the True God.

The Quran paints the picture of the beginning of man’s creation thus:

‘And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a human being out of clay from an altered black mud. And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration." (Quran 15:28-29)

The Quran mentions about the methodology of continuing the process of creation and the stages of human development thus:

‘Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful’ (Quran 76:2-3)

The one who creates also owns it and rules it and that Being is Allah.

‘Recite in the name of your Lord who created - Created man from a clinging substance’ (Quran 96:1-2)

The Quran mentions the details of man’s creation thus:

‘O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We

send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind’ (Quran 22:5)

He created a living entity like man from a non-living stuff like clay then why would it be difficult for Allah to recreate him? Why is impossible for Him after all He creates out of clay. And at another place He said that He created man out of clay then why would it be difficult for Him to create him out of that same clay?

‘And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators. Then indeed, after that you are to die. Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected’ (Quran 23:12-16)

Creator is also the Greatest Benefactor. One who did the greatest favour deserves to be worshipped. By describing the various stages of the creation of man in a scientific way, the Quran says that it is Allah’s power Who is the Creator of universe too. The Quran gave the knowledge of human creation and development hundreds of years before scientific research and information.

Since Allah is the Author and owner of this Book, He informed how He created man in the beginning and then placed a process of his birth. The particles of human body are in harmony with the particles of clay. That’s because man is made from clay. And for his strength, man uses the same particles found in clay like Calcium, Potassium, Iron and Zinc.

The Quran opens more aspects of human creation so that man could know how wisely and mercifully Allah the most High has created him.

‘He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate’ (Quran 39:6). In the same verse He continues ‘He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?’ (Quran 39:6)

The meaning of Lord is the One Who nourishes, looks after and nurtures. He is your Lord when you were inside and outside your mother’s wombs. He has made arrangements for your life. He has made provisions to nurture you from your mother’s milk to the universe. That’s why the Lord alone is God Who is worshipped and obeyed and that Lord is Allah.

It is His mercy and wisdom that He created the human being in pairs of male and female for their comfort and survival of their race. He does whatever He wants. That’s why He is the King of the universe and since Allah alone is the Creator and King, He alone is the God. Making anyone God other than Allah is nothing but deceiving oneself.

31) Introduction to Allah with His godly attributes:

Man worships someone only out of the favours he has done to him. He worships someone out of necessity and to save himself from problems. All these things are related to Allah that’s why He alone is worthy of worship. Worshipping anyone other than Him is wrong. And doing something based on a lie is self-deception. It can have bad consequences. His majesty and favour is that He created a living human being out of a non-living thing like clay and nurtured and protected him with such grace that He made him go through all the embryological stages and brought him into the world. And then He continues to provide him nutrition and subsistence.

He rules over everything. And everything obeys its command unquestionably. And command itself is enough to initiate the process or bring something into existence and this is what Kingship is.

Allah the Most High introduces Himself to His slaves in an excellent manner. He introduces his power, love, mercy and forgiveness to His slaves so that they believe in Him as their Lord, Sovereign and God by realizing it from up close, become obedient to Him and turn to Him and keep it going.

‘ And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. It is Allah who made for you the night that you may rest therein and the day giving sight. Indeed, Allah is full of bounty to the people, but most of the people are not grateful. That is Allah, your Lord, Creator of all things;

there is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded? Thus were those [before you] deluded who were rejecting the signs of Allah. It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things. That is Allah, your Lord; then blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds. He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him, so call upon Him, [being] sincere to Him in religion. [All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Say, [O Muhammad], "Indeed, I have been forbidden to worship those you call upon besides Allah once the clear proofs have come to me from my Lord, and I have been commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds." It is He who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot; then He brings you out as a child; then [He develops you] that you reach your [time of] maturity, then [further] that you become elders. And among you is he who is taken in death before [that], so that you reach a specified term; and perhaps you will use reason. He it is who gives life and causes death; and when He decrees a matter, He but says to it, "Be," and it is’ (Quran 40:60-68)

Allah, the Most High is informing us through these verses that He alone is the Lord of mankind and the universe. That’s why there’s harmony between the universe and human life for the Lord of both of them is the same. He is the Lord of all the worlds for He alone is the Creator of all the worlds. That’s why Allah the Most High says to pray Him alone, He alone is the Lord of the worlds and He alone listens to the prayers and answers them.

Since Allah is the Creator and has set a system for man’s birth as has been discussed in the previously mentioned verses - and people are free to contemplate whether it’s in accordance with the reality or not – and since it is in His hands to administer the whole system of life and death then what has deceived you that you make other others into God, that you pray to them? Are those helpless and choice less beings in any position to help you when Allah’s power is so overwhelming that He merely says “Be” and the thing comes into existence? If you do not pray to Allah then you alone will suffer. And then He is the Ever-Living One, He alone is worthy of becoming God. Allah the Most High is the Lord and God of the worlds based on His creative power. And based on His creative power alone He loves, shows mercy listens to the prayers, forgives and punishes. Based on His creative power, He is the King and the decision of the Supreme Authority is final and that is Allah Who is

the King of the universe. Since He is Ever-Living and His is the creation that’s why He alone is God. There is no God but He. That’s why none can be included in worshipping Him and soliciting His aid.

32) Expressing love and closeness to His slaves through His attributes of being Ever-Forgiving and Most Merciful:

The Creator and God ought to be Most Forgiving when the slave turns to His Creator and asks for forgiveness. It is one of the great qualities and attributes of Allah, the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful to forgive upon the slave’s repentance and his plead for pardon. It is an expression of His love to His slaves as the Quran says:‘Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped. And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive’ (Quran 39:53-55)

Despite the coming out of the right thing and despite realizing your wrong behaviour if you still do not seek Allah’s forgiveness and do not change your wrong behaviour with the right one then fear the day when His wrath could befall you suddenly. He forgives generously upon rectification but punishes too upon not changing.

33) Attributes to be God:

Knowledge of everything and for every moment is needed to be God, knowledge of that which is before man and that which is hidden from him. But for God everything is evident and present. If past, present and future are all in His sight at once, only then can He take steps for man which would be beneficial to him, listen and answer to his prayers, could make useful decisions for His slaves which are based on knowledge and filled with mercy and wisdom. The whole universe is in His sight, everything is in His knowledge and nothing is out of His sight. The limitations of past, present and future have no meaning for God; to Him every period of time is present which is right at His disposal.

Therefore Allah the Most High clearly explains to His slaves through His Book that these godly attributes are not found in any other being but Him. That’s why He alone is worthy of worship.

‘He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful’ (Quran 59:22)

Allah the Most High further mentions about being full of the godly attributes in a comprehensive way that all those qualities that are essential to be God are found in Allah alone in their perfection and not in any other being. That’s why He alone is worthy of becoming God. He alone has the right to be declared God.

Allah, the Most High is introducing Himself in the capacity of God in a beautiful and comprehensive way:

‘He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 59:23-24)

The explanation of the verses is that being King is enough to make man bow then being Holy i.e. pure, free from every defect increases His greatness and majesty. He is a King Whose grip is extremely firm on everything (Al Aziz) but is ruling in such a way that there are great dividends for man in His every commandment and step (Al Hakim). And He is pure peace and grants peace and security from calamities and misfortunes. He is so powerful that He implements His decision with force. He is free from all weaknesses and mistakes (free from polytheism). He is acquainted with all the stages of creation kick starts the process. He is God to all of His creation. And every creature is remembering, glorifying and praising Allah in its own language. He is perfect. The existence of everything is bearing witness to Allah’s power, wisdom and holiness.

The Book whose name is the Quran which claims and proves that it is the Book of the Creator and challenges to disprove it, tells us that those

godly attributes which we were looking for with heightened curiosity and desire and knowing of which is man’s fundamental need, as to what Book or personality would guide us to the Being in Whom these attributes are found, a Being Whom we want to know, believe and establish relationship with so that we could get help and guidance from Him and lean against, is none other than the Creator of the universe and His name is Allah. That’s why Allah alone is God in whom are found all the godly qualities and attributes which are mentioned in the verses above.

This is the Book of the Creator of the universe:

In the verses below, Allah the Most High introduces this Book the Quran that this is His Book. And then further says from another perspective:

‘The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment, owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the destination’ (Quran 40:2-3)

In these verses Allah is making His slaves realize His love, closeness and forgiveness for them. And He is informing that He has sent this Book for their guidance based on love and mercy. And since He has direct knowledge of everything, there’s no room for any mistake. The slaves can derive the most benefit and save themselves from destruction by embracing His guidance with full confidence and peace of mind. It doesn’t matter if he had been denying this blessing, now they have a chance to get forgiveness otherwise they are going to have to face serious torment for their wrongdoings which they had been doing by going astray. And they ought to remember that they all have to return to Allah alone.

On the basis of the qualities of closeness, love, mercy, forgiveness, and satisfying guidance through the Book, Allah the Most High is the True God of all human beings.

34) A God Who is being praised by everything:

God is He Who is being praised and whose greatness is being proclaimed by everything in the universe. Everything is created/creature for the One

Who created and the created certainly praises, glorifies, remembers and proclaims the greatness of its Creator. in this way, it worships its Creator whether its living or non-living for us in any case it is creation of Allah and He understands the language and praising of His creation as He has mentioned in His Holy Book:

‘Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is exalting Allah, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Exalted in Might, the Wise’ (Quran 62:1)

Everything is remembering Him in its own language. The perfect existence of everyone is testifying to Allah’s power, wisdom and holiness.

35) Is polytheism consistent with the Creator of the universe?

Due to polytheism, the Creator of the universe ceases to be worthy of praise and worship. That’s because polytheism fills the Creator with weaknesses and defects. Then how come a weak and defective being be worthy of praise and worship? Rather the Being Who is perfect in every sense of the word, free from all kinds of dependency and unique is worthy of prostration and that Being is Allah. Allah the Most High points to those ways of polytheism to which most of the fall prey.

‘And say, "Praise to Allah, who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness; and glorify Him with [great] glorification." (Quran 17:111)

36) Contradictory Truths:

Do contradictory points cannot be right. If one is right then the other is wrong.

‘Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, " Allah . And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error." (Quran 34:24)

There is a world of difference between True God (monotheism) and fake and imaginary gods (polytheism), rather there is a contradiction. That’s why both of them cannot be right or wrong. Certainly one is right and

the other is wrong. Therefore those who believe in one viewpoint are guided and others are misguided. Who is guided (i.e. on the right path) and who is misguided (on the wrong path) is decided by the first step they take on their respective paths – one has recognized, accepted and bowed to His True God and the other has denied Him.

37) A strange human act to make false deities into God:

People create imaginary deities, give them names and make them partners of the Creator of the universe in His Kingship while there is absolutely no certificate of them being God from the Creator that they ought to be included in worship as well. There is a clear declaration from the Creator of the universe that there is no God but He.

Therefore the Quran clearly declares:

‘You worship not besides Him except [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. Legislation is not but for Allah . He has commanded that you worship not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know’ (Quran 12:40)

38) Recognizing the God through His attributes:

Those beings whom people have taken as God neither own the heavens and the earth not anything in between. Neither do they have any partnership in them in any way nor are they helpers of the True Owner in any way. The Quran unveils this truth thus:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allah ." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant’ (Quran 34:22)

The question is do other beings have these qualities (to listen to the prayers, help out and pull out from troubles)? If there aren’t any then how can they be God? But these qualities are found in Allah that’s why He alone is the True God. That’s why none is answering this question or taking up this challenege!

39) Polytheism is a great injustice:Practicing polytheism suggests that the power and strength of the True God are being divided up. His knowledge and authority are being distributed among other fake deities or other creatures are being made God i.e. the right of the actual God is being given to others or others are being partners in His rights.

One who can violate the right of the Creator and Master by committing polytheism, he can most certainly violate the rights of the slaves and be unjust to them.

That’s why the most unjust, oppressive and corrupt are those people who associate others in Allah’s rights and authority by committing polytheism.

The One Who gave us physical bodies, placed life in it because of which we can walk, talk, see and think with our brains, the One Who gave us heart which beats and man lives and then made arrangements to provide us sustenance and fulfils the needs of our lives through the sun, air, sea and land so that life could be sustained, the One Who has done all these favours is certainly most deserving of prostration, prayers and obedience. In fact He alone has the right to be worshipped, obeyed, prayed to, trusted and have our hopes pinned on Him. The one who has no role in creation and doing favors has no right to be worshipped.

‘O mankind, remember the favor of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?’ (Quran 35:3)

Someone else’s right is being to somebody else which is not only a huge injustice and oppression but also a crime, disloyalty, ungratefulness and treachery. If this not self-deception then what is?! That they believe the Creator and Provider is Allah but make other beings God and hence worship and obey them!

CHAPTER 6

THE HEREAFTER(RESURRECTION, DAY OF JUDGEMENT, REWARD AND PUNISHMENT)

AT A GLANCE

Introductory words

This world is a test centre and the Hereafter is the result centre

Nature demands it

The world is a test centre and the Day of Recompense is a requirement of the test

Resurrection

Amazement at rebirth

The coming of the Hereafter is Certain

Man’s coming back to life

The hereafter is certain and easy

Is getting resurrected to life possible?

Resurrection is a certainty

Getting back to life after death is a certainty

Is the denial of hereafter based on knowledge?

The Doomsday will come suddenly, no respite will be given

We have to present ourselves before the Creator for accountability

Reward or punishment over a deed is incumbent

Reward and punishment for a deed is compulsory

Recompense with justice

The picture of the Last Day is painted in such a way that it will happen Fulfilment of the promise

The portrait of Paradise and Hell

THE HEREAFTER(RESURRECTION, DAY OF JUDGEMENT, REWARD AND PUNISHMENT)

Introductory Words:

The pleasure of life lies in getting resurrected to life after death and does not end at death. To die, leaves a depressing effect on human emotions and psychology. As a result, life does not get any vitality and vigor. Life cannot be enjoyed.

There ought to be a reward for every job, task, deed, efforts and endeavours. A man does a thing only when gets something in return for it and enjoys doing it as a result. Otherwise he would stay away from doing it considering it to be a waste of time. It means that human nature demands there should be a reward or profit for doing anything, pleasure or peace should be attached to it. In this way life which is the name of a collection of deeds, becomes a unit that’s because man itself is a unit. Every deed is his deed and hence he should get the fruits of his deeds. There ought to be another life for this reward or return after the end of this life i.e. after death in which he should be rewarded for his precious life and definitely a deed gets rewarded or gets its result only when it is done. In the same way, this life is a collection of moments. This collection of moments should get its reward or result only at its end.

Man’s thinking is so strange. He thinks that he does not do anything for no reason then how come his Creator would do things for no reason?! In order for this life to be meaningful, the results of the actions done in this life should get revealed in the next life in another world. This other life and other world is called the Hereafter where there ought to be an

announcement of the results of the deeds with justice and reward or punishment accordingly. Therefore if the hereafter does not happen then it would make the creation of this universe pointless.

Monotheism i.e. the belief in the Creator, Master, Ruler and God of the universe and mankind itself demands the advent of the hereafter as a mercy. Since the hereafter is hidden far away from our sight and insight and to prepare for it with the belief that its life is an ever-lasting life in order to save oneself from Hell and enter Paradise…all this happens out of the intention and sentiments of earning and pleasing the Creator and the fear of His justice. For a real preparation for this reality, it is necessary that it should be mentioned again and again in different ways from different angles. Keeping man’s natural weakness of forgetfulness into account, this truth has been mentioned again and again with the full force of logic and certainty. Quran has all these qualities in it.

If we take a brain and physically examine it, we see that it is just a mass of tissues but what amazing things it thinks, invents and retains words and events. And then reproduces it whenever it wants. Just think what an amazing organ the Creator had made and invested it with talents. In the same way, He placed a quality in the earth that it retains everything and reveals it and testifies to it in the hereafter i.e. it retains the things and then vomits them. This is a quality which the Creator has placed in the earth. Therefore the Quran expresses the truth that:

‘When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake And the earth discharges its burdens And man says, "What is [wrong] with it?" - That Day, it will report its news Because your Lord has commanded it. That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds. So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it’ (Quran 99:1-8)

To sum up:

1) The fulfilment of the purpose of the creation of the universe dictates that there should be the hereafter.

2) The fulfilment of the purpose of creation of man dictates that the hereafter should be inevitable.

3) The voices of human nature and conscience strongly demand that there should be a day of judgement and recompense.

4) The justice and mercy of the Creator demands that there should be a place and day of judgement where justice is served in fullness and reward and punishment are given accordingly.

The Quran says:

This world is test-centre and the hereafter is the result-centre.

Ponder this information of the Quran…

‘Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent - [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving’ (Quran 67:1-2)

‘And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination’ (Quran 67:6)

‘Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and great reward’ (Quran 67:12)

‘Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful. Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blaze. Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur’ (Quran 76:2-5)

‘Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed. And indeed, We will make that which is upon it [into] a barren ground’ (Quran 18:7-8)

Just as a certain amount of time is given in an examination hall to write the paper and the student is given the freedom to write in whichever way he wants to write the test; he can write answers or wrong answers nor write nothing at all. After a while the results come out. Those who wrote the right answers will be successful, get the prize, treated with

honour and they will be happy. And those who wrote the wrong answers or wrote whatever they wanted to will be unsuccessful, feel embarrassed and humiliated and people who talk about them and look at them will be their humiliation.

If there are no results at the enter of the test then it would mean that the results of those who wrote the right answers and those who wrote the wrong answers are the same. Nobody got anything, neither success nor failure, neither honour nor humiliation then what’s the point of building a test-centre, preparing the test and then finally putting to test?! It was just an exercise in futility! No man of reason and conscience would like such a useless thing rather he would be mad at it and criticize it. This creates depression, anger and an oddness in his temperament and if he could then he might smash the examiner’s head. If conducting the test is intended then it should be done with results.

There are good things and bad things in the world which the human nature considers them to be good and bad and good things are happening and bad things are happening which the human nature likes and dislikes. On the one hand there are people serving humanity and there are those who are oppressing and violating the rights of human beings over which the human nature demands justice and demands that the doers of good be rewarded and the doers of evil be punished. But we don’t see justice served in this life and in this world. It feels like both of them are being treated equally. If this is the case then this world and this life is meaningless. And it raises the question that why did the Creator of this world and mankind do it that He placed both good and bad things in the world and gave man the ability to recognize the good and the bad and then gave him the freedom to follow the right thing or the wrong thing? Only one purpose emerges from it – that He wants to test every human being to see who does the good deeds and who does the bad deeds in this world and in the lifespan allotted to him.

If this is true then the result of this test will not be shown in this life like the way results are declared for a school test which are released after sometime at the end of the test. Likewise, the results of the test of life should be declared in separate place when all the people have given their tests in this world and they should get their report cards accordingly which he will either flash it to the people or hide it out of humiliation. Since the reward and punishment are not seen in this world being given with justice and on the other hand people seem to be constantly moving doing something at every moment which gives the

impression that this life is life of test. Man is giving the test at every moment in every situation and at every place through his actions be they right or wrong, good or bad. The consequences of his actions do not seem to be declared anytime soon in this world. That’s why this world and this life is not for results but test. Then certainly in order for this world and this life to be purposeful there should be another world and another life where the consequences of the actions and the results of this test are declared i.e. a Day of Judgement or Recompense. There should be another and place for reward and punishment. That Day of Judgement and life of recompense is termed the Hereafter.

When there will be reward and punishment, a separate world and life for the results only then the current life would make any sense and become purposeful otherwise it would be meaningless. And it would be a huge accusation against the Maker of this world and life that He does things for no reason. The Creator of the universe and mankind mentions the truth, the truth that this life is not without any purpose rather it is for a test the results of which will be declared in the next life after this life in the form of reward and punishment, in the Quran in a very clear way.

The nature of this world is of a test-centre and the nature of the other world is of result-centre which is what the human mind and human nature the need for which is demanded by human mind and nature too.

Recognizing and believing in his Creator is man’s biggest test. There’s no test bigger than this. If man fails in this test then he has failed in everything. That’s why the real reward and award and attached with this big test.

The reason why the Creator is hidden from human sight is precisely to test man and to facilitate him in this regard. Allah the Most High mentions the purpose of this test in a clear way in His Book the Quran:

‘Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful’ (Quran 76:2-3)

‘[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving’ (Quran 67:2)

In order to pass the test, man can easily reach at the truth by contemplating the signs of the Creator of the universe. Therefore the Creator of the universe points to His power and favours in His Book the

Quran so that man might realize the Creator of the universe and thus recognize and accept Him.

‘Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers. And in the creation of yourselves and what He disperses of moving creatures are signs for people who are certain [in faith]. And [in] the alternation of night and day and [in] what Allah sends down from the sky of provision and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and [in His] directing of the winds are signs for a people who reason. These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you in truth. Then in what statement after Allah and His verses will they believe?’ (Quran 45:3-6)

‘It is Allah who subjected to you the sea so that ships may sail upon it by His command and that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful. And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth - all from Him. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought’ (Quran 45:12-13)

To make man pass the test, he was equipped with conscience so that it could make man stay on the right track by pricking him in the inside. And to make conscience more sensitive, He sent down His Book the Quran which is also known as Al Furqan (The Criterion). This criterion differentiates the truth from falsehood, right from wrong and cautions by reminding man about accountability before God after death that he may stay away from evils and pass the test for which He said in Surah Al Insan that He has shown man the way and gave him the freedom to choose whichever he wants to go. Since man is being tested in this world, there should be another world for the announcement of the results and the granting of reward and punishment according to the results which is demanded by the test. That’s why another world and another life are necessary.

The World is test-centre and the day of recompense is demanded by the test:

The world is a test-centre and the coming of the Hour can be inferred from through conceptualization of the Day of Recompense and Paradise and Hell can be inferred from the demands of declaring the results of the test.

The meaning of testing as mentioned in Surah Al Mulk verse 2 is that there is a period of testing and that is the life in this world. Death is the end of that period of testing. The day of result comes after the test which is the Day of Accountability when all human beings will be

resurrected to be told their results. And award will be given in accordance with the result which is Paradise or punishment which is Hell. The period of happiness and peace will certainly be longer than the period of the test just as in the world the life after the test and earning a degree is longer.

Best deeds or best performance in the test will be by those who accepted the One taking conducting the test, followed His instructions and answered in accordance with the course. Those who don’t do as instructed will perform badly. To pass the test, the conductor of the test sent His Book and messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) so that the messenger may show how to practice the Book so that others could easily follow him and do the way he did. Following the practice of the messenger guarantees success. That’s because his practice was exactly in accordance with the Quran, the guidance of Allah the Most High. He did not deviate even a bit. The only Book that can help in passing the test, the Quran, is right before us and the life of the messenger is right before us like an open book. Therefore man could copy the life of the messenger for everything he does and for every moment.

Resurrection:

There should indeed be resurrection so that people could become good persons by recognizing their Master and obeying Him. They should be rewarded too. And those should be punished who do bad things by disobeying and rebelling against Him.

Allah the Most High makes His prophet to say in the Quran:

‘by my Lord, it will surely come’ (Quran 34:3)

The Day of Resurrection is related to the Unseen and the One Who has the knowledge of the Unseen and the Resurrection (Allah the Most High) Himself informs that it will surely come. And why will it come? He answers it in the following verses:

‘That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure - for them will be a painful punishment of foul nature’ (Quran 34:4-5)

When man himself differentiates between right thing and wrong thing, between good person and bad person and decides to reward the good

and punish the wrong then wouldn’t Allah Who gave this faculty to man differentiate the good from the bad and reward them accordingly? Certainly He will end this world of actions and establish a new world of recompense for this very justice.

If there are no consequences of the good and bad actions done in this world then it would be a huge accusation against Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful that He does useless things. when He has placed this faculty of distinguishing right and wrong in man and man is living as per this faculty but there were to be no results or consequences and recompense for these actions then man falls into serious depression and gets overwhelmed with anger asking why did He even give this faculty in the first place?! He could have made us animals – insensitive, grazing here and there, a life without any principles and laws without any accountability and consequences for actions.

When good and evil are found in the world, when there are good and bad people in the world, when God has placed the faculty of discerning virtue from vice, then good people should get rewarded and bad people punished. This is what human faculty of sense and conscience demand. And this demand has been met. Therefore Allah the Most High informs the human conscience through the Quran recited by the prophet about resurrection to life after death. Allah has reassured about fulfilling this demand of man…

‘Say, " Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know." (Quran 45:26)

Note: Believing in the hereafter is as essential as believing in monotheism. The meaning of hereafter is Allah’s attribute of justice. He will do pure justice on the Day of Judgement. Justice is one of the most important attributes of Allah believing which is extremely important. Without hereafter, the concept and creed of monotheism remains imperfect which implies belief in Allah only for worldly purpose as claimed by some of the nations that they too have the concept and creed of monotheism.

Many things are included in the concept of the hereafter. First, the destruction of this current world and the simultaneous death of then human beings at Allah’s command. Then the coming into existence of another world at the command of Allah the Glorious on a totally different paradigm commensurate with accountability, justice and the

eternal reward and punishment. And all the human beings who have been taking birth till the end of the world will come to life again at Allah’s command and will get presented before Allah to give the accounts of their past lives. And decision will be made with justice and people will sent to either heaven or hell as per the decision.

Surprise at rebirth:

Those people are surprised at the concept of rebirth who have no realization of the Creator’s power. But those who realize it, they firmly believe that it will happen and should happen. And it’s not difficult for Him to recreate mankind when He has already created them the first time. Such believers express their surprise at the thinking of those people who believe then won’t be brought back to life again.

‘And if you are astonished, [O Muhammad] - then astonishing is their saying, "When we are dust, will we indeed be [brought] into a new creation?" Those are the ones who have disbelieved in their Lord, and those will have shackles upon their necks, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally’ (Quran 13:5)

He denied His Lord, he denied His perfect power.

The hereafter is an essential and important thing to fulfil the purpose of life. But man thinks that it is impossible. The reason is that man thinks by taking his power, strength, abilities and knowledge into account but does not take the Creator’s power and knowledge into account. The idea of how easy it is for Allah to bring a whole new world and life into existence can be had from the following verse:

‘And to Allah belongs the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth. And the command for the Hour is not but as a glance of the eye or even nearer. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent’ (Quran 16:77)

The Arrival of the Hereafter is Certain:

‘Do they not see that Allah, who created the heavens and earth and did not fail in their creation, is able to give life to the dead? Yes. Indeed, He is over all things competent’ (Quran 46:33)

Man’s coming back to life:

The Creator knows what to put on what to get the thing done like if rain is poured on dry land then the land will come to life and starts giving produce.

Similarly the All-Knowing the All-Powerful Creator knows how to retrieve those bones of man which have been decomposed, scattered somewhere or found in the bellies of germs and then recreate a walking and talking man. The Quran shows us a glimpse of Allah’s power…

‘And it is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds, and We drive them to a dead land and give life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness. Thus is the resurrection’ (Quran 35:9)

Things that are hard, troublesome and depressing for man are matters of the Creator’s single command that a lifeless land comes to life. This is His power and man’s coming back to life is not beyond Him.

Just as man gets hopeless and depressed by a lifeless land that it’s never going to produce in the same way he gets hopeless and depressed by man’s coming back to life from the dead and thinks it’s an impossibility. But by a little shower that same lifeless land came back to life and started producing. In the same way Allah the Most High has His own ways to bring back man to life after his death and it is a small matter for Him just as giving life to a dead land. His power is extraordinary. Everything is easy for Him to do which is difficult and impossible for man.

The hereafter is certain and easy:

Man is absolutely helpless. He cannot stay alive when his Creator decides to kill him. And he is so helpless that when his Creator decides to bring him back to life then he has no choice but to come back to life. This tells us about two things – man’s helplessness and the Creator’s power. Helpless to such an extent that when the Creator orders him to die then he has to die and when He orders him to come back alive then he has to come back alive. The Creator of the universe comments on man’s surprise at getting resurrected back to life:

‘When we have died and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected? And our forefathers [as well]?" Say, "Yes, and you will be [rendered] contemptible." It will be only one shout, and at once they will be observing They will say, "O woe to us! This is the Day of Recompense." [They will be told], "This is the Day of Judgement which you used to deny." (Quran 37:16-21)

Just as a sleeping man sits up frighteningly when someone rudely wakes him up, in the same way Allah’s single scold is enough to make a man come back to life again.

Is getting resurrected to life not possible?

For a long period of time, impossible to compute, man was nothing. He had no life and existence. He was not seen anywhere. Then he was brought into existence. He was given life with all the faculties including reasoning and comprehension. If he were to remember his past when he had no life, no existence then certainly he could easily understand, realize, appreciate and believe that he can be brought to life again after his death. And it’s not a difficult thing for the Creator. He has done it before too when man had no existence. Yes, it is impossible for me to get back my own life after my death but for the One Who had given me life before. If we look at the stages of the process of development for coming into existence for the first time then we will see with wonder how the Creator something (a whole and wholesome human being) out of something else (a sperm)! It’s a great feat, a marvellous creation. So would recreating man be difficult for Him?!

Allah the Most High reminds man of his creation for him to seriously reflect:

‘Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?’ (Quran 76:1)

Can man not come into existence after going into non-existence like the way he came into existence the first time when he was not even known, when he was in non-existence? He is known now that so and so is born. And that Mr. so and so is being resurrected about which the Quran says:

‘And you have already known the first creation, so will you not remember?’ (Quran 56:62)

Resurrection Is A Certainty:

If man were to just reflect over his own creation then his doubt regarding resurrection would easily be dispelled - he was nothing, then he became a drop of sperm, then a leech-like clinging thing, then gradually he acquired the shape and form of a human being. He grew from being nothing to something. Why resurrection is even doubted when he was already created the first time then can’t he be created again? When the Creator could create him with the same specifications and faculties of His own Will then why would it be difficult for Him to

just repeat the process? Allah the Most High presents His perfect power before man with regards to his creation so that man could understand the truth and prepare for the next life which will the life of accountability, reward and punishment.

‘O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child’ (Quran 22:5)

Clay is a lifeless thing then how wonderfully He united the sperm and the ova and made it go through different stages. Could anyone even imagine that out of those stages and things He is going to produce a beautiful child equipped with amazing talents and potential? He created a life out of non-living stuff.

If you think then you will realize that getting resurrected won’t be any difficult. Is this something out of the Creator’s power?!

Resurrection Is A Certainty:

There is a person who has a broken leg or brain degeneration or a good portion of his heart is blocked or weak and yet he is alive; there’s movement in him. But every organ and part of another person’s body is in good shape but a thing called ‘soul’ has left the body as result of which the body is motionless, there is no life in it. It means that there was something else in the body which was keeping it move despite the body being broken. And when that is not in the body then even a whole and good body will become motionless. When man dies then that internal thing is saved. And when the time comes to bring him back to life then the micro particles of his body are brought together making a skeleton and then the thing that makes the body move is reintroduced in him resulting in him coming back to life. In this way, he got another life after dying. Man thinks that getting reborn is difficult or impossible. As a matter of fact it is neither difficult nor impossible. If man were to get the true concept of the Creator then his uncertainty regarding resurrection will go away. To dispel uncertainty Allah is describing that an angel takes away the real thing from the body at death because of which man dies and becomes motionless, all his life-energies will be gone.

‘And they say, "When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?" Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers. Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned." If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], "Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain." (Quran 32:10-12)

They became criminals because the denial of resurrection and accountability of this life’s actions and bounties made them rebellious. They oppressed the people and violated their rights. The meaning of ‘to your Lord you will be returned’ is that the soul is taken back. Another meaning is that they shall be presented before the Lord for accountability.

Is The Denial of the Hereafter Based on Knowledge?

Those who deny the resurrection and accountability before the Lord…do they do that based on knowledge of guesswork? The point which is being made that the Hereafter will surely come, is being said on the basis of knowledge by the One Who knows the open and the hidden, the One Who made the universe and man with a purpose and He fulfils this purpose by making man accountable for his actions and for the bounties of life, then making a decision based on his performance and then either rewarding or punishing him accordingly.

Since the point about the coming of hereafter was made by the One Who knows the open and the hidden based on knowledge then it would be fair if this news is rejected based on knowledge too. But instead of taking it on courageously and to save oneself from letting their lie known, they begin to argue unreasonably making foolish demands to bring their forefathers back to life in order to believe.

Quran, by showing the mentality and excuses of the deniers of the hereafter, tells that their denial is not based on knowledge:

‘And they say, "There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time." And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming. And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, their argument is only that they say, "Bring [back] our forefathers, if you should be truthful." (Quran 45:24-25)

The Hereafter will happen suddenly, like a blast, no respite will be given:

Those who deny the hereafter think that it is some kind of a lie or a made up think. Or they think that if they were to see its signs then they would turn to faith and obedience. It is being said in these verses that one, hereafter is going to come and two, it will come suddenly like a blast that man will find no chance to do anything. And then with the second blast, they all shall return to their Lord because the second life will be to do justice and to give reward and punishment in accordance with their faith and actions. By painting a picture of the doomsday, Allah is informing us how it’s going to happen:

‘And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?" They do not await except one blast which will seize them while they are disputing. And they will not be able [to give] any instruction, nor to their people can they return. And the Horn will be blown; and at once from the graves to their Lord they will hasten. They will say, "O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?" [The reply will be], "This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth." It will not be but one blast, and at once they are all brought present before Us. So today no soul will be wronged at all, and you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do’ (Quran 36:48-54)

To Present oneself before the Creator for Answerability:

To bring the hereafter and set the stage for people’s accountability is not at all difficult to the Creator. Everything will be done in an easy and perfect way. Allah the Most High says in His Book:

‘We will gather them and not leave behind from them anyone. And they will be presented before your Lord in rows, [and He will say], "You have certainly come to Us just as We created you the first time. But you claimed that We would never make for you an appointment." And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, "Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?" And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one’ (Quran 18:47-49)

Decision will be made in the light of the evidence.

Reward or Punishment for Action is Mandatory:

The purpose of this universe will be fulfilled only when the actions are either rewarded or punished. Otherwise this the existence of this life

and this universe looks meaningless and futile. Nay! The Quran says that every act of Allah is for a purpose:

‘And Allah created the heavens and earth in truth and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged’ (Quran 45:22)

‘In truth’ means for a purpose to know who will adopt the good and shun the evil by differentiating between the two. They shall be either rewarded or punished accordingly without any injustice. Absence of Day of Recompense is injustice to the good people that they won’t get rewards for their good actions.

The purpose of making students take the test will be fulfilled only when their results are announced.

Those who want to do bad deeds do not want the court of the True Judge to be set. That’s why they don’t believe in the hereafter. But the truth will not change because of their non-belief that’s because good and evil are different in their natures and in their consequences. Good is liked while evil is disliked rather hated. That’s why good people are liked and evil people are disliked rather hated. The demand for good people to be rewarded and evil people to be punished is found in human nature. It is unacceptable to believe that the end of both types of people will be the same. The human nature protests against this thought. The meaning of the end of both the types of people being the same is a huge accusation against the True Judge at which the True Judge, Allah the Most High says in His Book the Quran:

‘Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds - [make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge’ (Quran 45:21)

Recompense with Justice:

Leaders deceive their followers in order to stay in power by denying God and hereafter, promising their followers that they will save them if it ever were to arrive. But remember, they are lying. That’s why every individual must think about his own future and decide his future by thinking carefully. That’s because when no one could help another one out in the court of this world i.e. the leader, who schemes will also be punished and the enforcer of the scheme will get punished too.

No disputation and accusation shall work in the presence of Allah, the True Judge, the Knower of the hidden and the open as Allah has mentioned quite clearly thus:

‘And they will approach one another blaming each other. They will say, "Indeed, you used to come at us from the right." The oppressors will say, "Rather, you [yourselves] were not believers, And we had over you no authority, but you were a transgressing people. So the word of our Lord has come into effect upon us; indeed, we will taste [punishment]. And we led you to deviation; indeed, we were deviators." So indeed they, that Day, will be sharing in the punishment. Indeed, that is how We deal with the criminals’ (Quran 37:27-34)

Everyone is a criminal as per his actions. Everyone was given understanding and choice.

The hereafter is painted in such a way that looks certain:

Hereafter has been mentioned in such a way as though this event has already happened. By taking advantage of man’s psychology and nature, he was persuaded to believe in the hereafter. An eye-witness account of an even which has already happened is given with full confidence and conviction and it cannot be denied. If it is denied then it’s only because of stubbornness. That’s because one, it has already happened and two, it’s an eye-witness account. Therefore the Quran describes the resurrection and a series of events after resurrection as though these events have happened already so that man would believe in the truths of the Unseen:

‘It will be only one shout, and at once they will be observing. They will say, "O woe to us! This is the Day of Recompense." [They will be told], "This is the Day of Judgement which you used to deny." [The angels will be ordered], "Gather those who committed wrong, their kinds, and what they used to worship Other than Allah, and guide them to the path of Hellfire And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned." [They will be asked], "What is [wrong] with you? Why do you not help each other?" But they, that Day, are in surrender. And they will approach one another blaming each other. They will say, "Indeed, you used to come at us from the right." The oppressors will say, "Rather, you [yourselves] were not believers, And we had over you no authority, but you were a transgressing people. So the word of our Lord has come into effect upon us; indeed, we will taste [punishment]. And we led you to deviation; indeed, we were deviators." So indeed they, that Day, will be sharing in

the punishment. Indeed, that is how We deal with the criminals. Indeed they, when it was said to them, "There is no deity but Allah," were arrogant And were saying, "Are we to leave our gods for a mad poet?" Rather, the Prophet has come with the truth and confirmed the [previous] messengers. Indeed, you [disbelievers] will be tasters of the painful punishment, And you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do’ (Quran 37:19-39)

The truths which Allah is trying to convince us through His verses mentioned above are as under:

It is not at all difficult for Allah to resurrect which man thinks is impossible. Just a scream would be enough for it.

Now, only the news is being given about the Day of Judgment but at that time man will see with his own eyes the thing of the news. He shall move from the phase of news to the phase of certainty.

We are dead! This is the Day of Recompense for which we haven’t prepared at all. In the previous verses, without giving any answer to their nonsense (which they say only to not believe) it was said emphatically that it will happen and it is not hard for Allah at all.

Bring those oppressors (who committed injustice against God through polytheism and against the people through selfishness) and their comrades who used to help them and those deities too whom they used to worship!

The result of their past way of life is Hell The whole scene has been pictured. What the condition and in

what state of mind the leaders and the followers would be in. A false leader stays in power by saying lies. By deceiving, keeping his followers in the dark, fooling and by making false promises. And the followers – some get really fooled but most of them have worldly interests in mind which they seem to believe can be achieved by following this false leader. They see worldly advantages in denying God and associating partners with him and not in monotheism and believing in the messenger. They can enjoy a lot because of denying the hereafter. If hereafter is accepted then they have to keep many regulations in to consideration which they don’t like.

They will be partners in punishment. All of them were given intellect be they the leader or the follower. They misused it and hence arrived at the wrong place.

They cannot help one another there. That is the leaders used to make promises to their followers that if the hereafter were to come then they shall save them from it. But now they cannot help one another. Whatever punishment they shall get there according to their deeds shall be given to them with justice.

Fulfilment of the Promise:

The arrival of the Day of Judgement is a promise from Allah the Most High which will be fulfilled. Allah the Most High mentions it in His Holy Book:

‘The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it’ (Quran 21:104)

A promise is made only when there’s power to fulfil it. Keeping a promise is an important, great and revered quality. A responsible and straightforward personality is very sensitive with regards to promises.

Making anything for the first time is difficult. Making it the second time is relatively easy. And certainly He alone is the Creator Who has the ability to make it the first time and then repeat it. He also has the power to fulfil His promises and fulfils them too without a doubt.

Giving life is very easy and smooth for Allah. He creates a great personality like human from a drop. Giving a second life is on Him too not on you that you are so worked up. The Quran says:

‘And that He creates the two mates - the male and female - From a sperm-drop when it is emitted And that [incumbent] upon Him is the next creation’ (Quran 53:45-47)

Denying resurrection is casting doubt on the Creator’s power and creative power and to consider Him weak. To introduce one’s own weaknesses into the Creator and to think about Him from the perspective of one’s own weaknesses is an extremely stupid thing to do. In a wise way the Creator is drawing our attention to this thinking of man questioning whether it’s right and reasonable.

‘And the disbeliever says, "When I have died, am I going to be brought forth alive?" Does man not remember that We created him before, while he was nothing?’ (Quran 19:66-67)

Man thinks that the earth is only to settle and live and all the provisions of life are here. And is worried that the earth is getting congested with the birth of

more human beings. Nay! There are other multipurpose things here – you have to die here too, get buried here too and resurrected from here too.

‘From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time’ (Quran 20:55)

What is the other life? It is to return to the One Who created us to account for our deeds and receive reward and punishment in return. Therefore the Quran says:

‘He gives life and causes death, and to Him you will be returned’ (Quran 10:56)

The reason why resurrection won’t be difficult is because the Creator is the same Who made us the first time, gave us death and hence He will the One Who shall recreate us on the Day of Resurrection. Allah the Most High cautions the human beings in the Quran through His prophet thus:

‘Say, "Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know." (Quran 45:26)

Resurrection will not be stopped because of its denial. It will definitely come. It’s a human necessity for justice and man’s relief lies in justice. Man gets happy by receiving an award and gets relieved of the fatigue from hard work. The Creator’s attributes of mercy and justice strongly demand the afterlife. It’s also a demand made by the purposefulness of the universe and the perfectness of the Creator. Therefore the Quran says that nothing is going to happen because of denial, the Day of Judgement will come anyway and the final result of everyone’s life will be declared then.

‘Do they not see that Allah, who created the heavens and earth, is [the one] Able to create the likes of them? And He has appointed for them a term, about which there is no doubt. But the wrongdoers refuse [anything] except disbelief’ (Quran 17:99)

Those who say things on guesswork often contradict one another. But those who say things based on knowledge they are always in harmony. And they say the same thing. All the messengers who came in different eras and places have said the same thing about the hereafter and the afterlife. There is no difference or contradiction in what they say that’s because their source of knowledge is one and the same and that is Allah Who is the Creator, All-knowing, All-Wise and Judge. That’s why what the messengers say is the truth and the rest is false. Therefore the Quran warns in a nice way not to destroy oneself by following conjectures. Listen to me. Listen to the messenger. You will be saved from destruction.

‘Indeed, what you are promised is true 51:6 And indeed, the recompense is to occur. By the heaven containing pathways, Indeed, you are in differing speech. Deluded away from the Qur'an is he who is deluded. Destroyed are the falsifiers Who are within a flood [of confusion] and heedless. They ask, "When is the Day of Recompense [It is] the Day they will be tormented over the Fire [And will be told], "Taste your torment. This is that for which you were impatient." (Quran 51:5-14)

On the basis of what knowledge do people say that they are not going to be resurrected? Neither are they producing any evidence in support of their claim nor are they revealing the source from which they took got this claim? But the messenger says that there certainly will be resurrection and the source from where such a thing is being claimed with such force is none other than the Creator of the universe Who knows the hidden and the open. Would He not know Who created and planned everything? He is informing us about His plan that people ought to prepare for the eternal which will come after death in order to stay happy for ever. In His Book, Allah the Most High describes the arrival of the hereafter in an emphatic manner:

‘Those who disbelieve have claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, "Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected; then you will surely be informed of what you did. And that, for Allah, is easy." (Quran 64:7)

The arrival of the hereafter is extremely important because it’s a promise from the Creator:

‘Indeed, Allah does not fail in [His] promise’ (Quran 13:31)

It is Allah’s mercy that He brings a dead, barren land to life to provide food for His slaves. In the same way, it is mercy to bring the dead to life so that the virtuous could get their reward. Therefore Allah the Most High mentions His mercy and power:

‘It is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds and spread them in the sky however He wills, and He makes them fragments so you see the rain emerge from within them. And when He causes it to fall upon whom He wills of His servants, immediately they rejoice Although they were, before it was sent down upon them - before that, in despair. So observe the effects of the mercy of Allah - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed, that [same one] will give life to the dead, and He is over all things competent’ (Quran 30:48-50)

Portrait of Heaven and Hell:

After the pronouncement of Allah’s judgement, the condition and state of mind of those entering heaven and those entering hell are depicted in the Quran. The reason why the deniers of the hereafter, the Day of Judgement and the Day of Recompense shall definitely enter Hell is because they had not prepared for this Day and that’s because they had never believed it in the first place. Their li9ves were spent in looting and oppressing others, violating their rights and spreading corruption on earth. The Quran presents a portrait of Heaven and Hell thus:

‘Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah . That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty. [For them are] gardens of perpetual residence which they will enter. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments therein will be silk. And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative - He who has settled us in the home of duration out of His bounty. There touches us not in it any fatigue, and there touches us not in it weariness [of mind]." And for those who disbelieve will be the fire of Hell. [Death] is not decreed for them so they may die, nor will its torment be lightened for them. Thus do we recompense every ungrateful one. And they will cry out therein, "Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness - other than what we were doing!" But did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper’ (Quran 35:32-37)

CHAPTER 7

ADMONITION…AT A GLANCE

Admonition about the truth through the incident mentioned in the Quran of a believing man

Man will get angry with himself after seeing the punishment in the hereafter

Warning is being issued regarding bad consequences before the consequences happen

A glimpse of the torment after death

There will be justice and the consequence of every action will be different

Forewarning is a divine mercy

Last chance, then there won’t be any other chance

Monotheism and polytheism – both cannot be right

To shake up

Admonition

Admonition about the truth through the incident mentioned in the Quran of a believing man:

Allah the Most High loves all His slaves and He wants them to understand and accept the reality. He tries to explain the truth and reality to His slaves in different ways. Different ways, because the temperament, knowledge and the level of thinking of His slaves are different. That’s why everyone has been taken into consideration so that no person remains deprived of the truth, which is the most precious thing in the acceptance of which lies tremendous benefits to man.

A man in the royal court of the Pharaoh believed in Allah and Moses (peace be upon him) by listening to his message. Through the incident of that man’s love for his people and his fellow courtiers, the reality of this universe and life is being explained.

‘And he who believed said, "O my people, follow me, I will guide you to the way of right conduct. O my people, this worldly life is only [temporary] enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter - that is the home of [permanent] settlement. Whoever does an evil deed will not be recompensed except by the like thereof; but whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - those will enter Paradise, being given provision therein without account. And O my people, how is it that I invite you to salvation while you invite me to the Fire? You invite me to disbelieve in Allah and associate with Him that of which I have no knowledge, and I invite you to the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver. Assuredly, that to which you invite me has no [response to a] supplication in this world or in the Hereafter; and indeed, our return is to Allah, and indeed, the transgressors will be companions of the Fire. And you will remember what I [now] say to you, and I entrust my affair to Allah . Indeed, Allah is Seeing of [His] servants." (Quran 40:38-44)

It is true that the one who believes in Allah, His Messenger and the Day of Judgement wishes well for his fellow human beings with full passion, sincerity and clarity. And his well-wishing for them covers the world and the hereafter.

Man will get angry with himself after seeing the punishment in the hereafter:

The bad people, those who oppress people by denying the truth, violate their rights and the rights of Allah and His right is that none should be made associate or partner in His divinity and He alone should be obeyed and prayed to, will meet an extremely bad fate. Allah the Most High is admonishing them to come out of this bad life by informing them of the bad consequences so that man could guard himself from it. Allah will do justice anyway and justice is one of His most excellent and necessary attributes otherwise this life will be meaningless and purposeless. Therefore Allah the Most High shows us the scenes of the state of their minds in the hereafter through the Quran:

‘Indeed, those who disbelieve will be addressed, "The hatred of Allah for you was [even] greater than your hatred of yourselves [this Day in Hell] when you were invited to faith, but you refused." They will say, "Our Lord, You made us lifeless twice and gave us life twice, and we have confessed our sins. So is there to an exit any way?" [They will be told], "That is because, when Allah was called upon alone, you disbelieved; but if others were associated with Him, you believed. So the judgement is with Allah, the Most High, the Grand." It is He who shows you His signs and sends down to you from the sky, provision. But none will remember except he who turns back [in repentance]. So invoke Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, although the disbelievers dislike it’ (Quran 40:10-14)

‘O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous - [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him]’ (Quran 2:21-22)

‘How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned’ (Quran 2:28)

He is the One Who has done all these favours from the beginning to the end and there is nobody who has any role in these favours, then would it be right to worship somebody else other than Him or associate someone else with Him? Would it be right to make somebody or something else God other than Him? Is man’s attitude of denial and ungratefulness towards these favours right or wrong?

Warning is being issued regarding bad consequences before the consequences happen:

In the following verses man is being encouraged to soften his heart, think seriously and accept what is being said. But Allah the Most High does not force anyone to embrace the faith and tread the straight path. Therefore Allah the Most High, by painting the picture of the Day of Judgement in the Quran, is exhorting the disbelievers to contemplate sincerely and make a serious decision about what they want for themselves.

When justice will be served then it will be served unconditionally and nobody will be favoured or entertained or indulged. No one will come to anybody else’s rescue, no intercession will work. The future has to be decided here in this world and has to be decided by oneself.

‘[He is] the Exalted above [all] degrees, Owner of the Throne; He places the inspiration of His command upon whom He wills of His servants to warn of the Day of Meeting. The Day they come forth nothing concerning them will be concealed from Allah . To whom belongs [all] sovereignty this Day? To Allah, the One, the Prevailing. This Day every soul will be recompensed for what it earned. No injustice today! Indeed, Allah is swift in account. And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Approaching Day, when hearts are at the throats, filled [with distress]. For the wrongdoers there will be no devoted friend and no intercessor [who is] obeyed. He knows that which deceives the eyes and what the breasts conceal. And Allah judges with truth, while those they invoke besides Him judge not with anything. Indeed, Allah - He is the Hearing, the Seeing’ (Quran 40:15-20)

A glimpse of the torment after death:

A glimpse of the torment after death is shown here so that every person could think seriously about his future and believe that none will be of any help to him on that Day.

Allah the Most High describes the condition of the dwellers of Hell in His Book the Quran:

‘And [mention] when they will argue within the Fire, and the weak will say to those who had been arrogant, "Indeed, we were [only] your followers, so will you relieve us of a share of the Fire?" Those who had been arrogant will say, "Indeed, all [of us] are in it. Indeed, Allah has judged between the servants."

And those in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell, "Supplicate your Lord to lighten for us a day from the punishment." They will say, "Did there not come to you your messengers with clear proofs?" They will say, "Yes." They will reply, "Then supplicate [yourselves], but the supplication of the disbelievers is not except in error." (Quran 40:47-50)

All this happened because despite warnings from the warner they stuck with their bad behaviour.

There will be justice and the consequence of every action will be different:

Just as everything has a different price in the same way there’s a difference between the consequences of every action. Good action will have good consequences and bad action will have bad consequences. The consequences of both cannot be the same just as the price of a rock and a diamond cannot be the same. The price of paradise is good actions and the price of Hell is bad actions. There ought to be a criterion or a Day of Judgement to reveal the results of actions. Therefore Allah the Most High Who is the Most Gentle and appreciative will definitely set up a Day of Justice about which He informs in His Holy Book:

‘And not equal are the blind and the seeing, nor are those who believe and do righteous deeds and the evildoer. Little do you remember. Indeed, the Hour is coming - no doubt about it - but most of the people do not believe’ (Quran 40:58-59)

Early warning is divine mercy:

Allah the Most High has warned in His Holy Book, the open disbelievers of their terrible fate so that they come to senses. Early warning or informing well ahead of time while there still is a chance of repentance and rectification is a mercy from Allah which is after the slaves telling them that their welfare lies in accepting the truth and the reality and exhorts them to build their lives on truth. The first and biggest truth is Allah the One and Only. If this truth is accepted then man will accept all other truths. He won’t get deceived by the glitter of the world, does not live on small desires and hopes and does get engrossed in ruling the world.

In His Book, Allah the Most High expresses His mercy in the form of a warning thus:

‘Do you not consider those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah - how are they averted? Those who deny the Book and that with which We sent Our messengers - they are going to know, When the shackles are around their necks and the chains; they will be dragged In boiling water; then in the Fire

they will be filled [with flame]. Then it will be said to them, "Where is that which you used to associate [with Him in worship] Other than Allah ?" They will say, "They have departed from us; rather, we did not used to invoke previously anything." Thus does Allah put astray the disbelievers. [The angels will say], "That was because you used to exult upon the earth without right and you used to behave insolently. Enter the gates of Hell to abide eternally therein, and wretched is the residence of the arrogant." (Quran 40:69-76)

Last chance, then there won’t be any other chance:

Accepting and believing after seeing the torment or being in the throes of death is of no use. It is Allah’s declaration and norm which He mentioned in His Last Book the Quran:

‘Other than Allah ?" They will say, "They have departed from us; rather, we did not used to invoke previously anything." Thus does Allah put astray the disbelievers. [The angels will say], "That was because you used to exult upon the earth without right and you used to behave insolently’ (Quran 40:74-75)

Faith is to believe and accept the Unseen before seeing it. And all arrangements have been made in the universe, human body and daily human life, for a man to believe in the Unseen. Then a Book and a messenger have also been arranged for this purpose. A community of believers has been raised for preaching and propagation. The faculty to embrace the truth has been placed in man as well. So instead of utilizing all these arrangements to reach the truth and then believe in it if he were to believe after seeing the reality then it will not be accepted from him because after seeing there is no other choice but to accept and believe. The one who believes when there is still a chance, he does that for his own good or else he’s going to face loss. Allah is independent of people accepting or rejecting Him.

Both Monotheism and polytheism cannot be right:

Those beings whom people have taken as God for themselves neither own the heavens and the earth nor anything in them nor do they have any share in it nor are they helpers of the True God and nor do they have any powers to intercede. Therefore Allah the Most High draws our attention to these truths in Quran to which people are oblivious:

‘Say, [O Muhammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allah ." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant. And intercession does not benefit with Him except

for one whom He permits. [And those wait] until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they will say [to one another], "What has your Lord said?" They will say, "The truth." And He is the Most High, the Grand’ (Quran 34:22-23)

‘Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, " Allah . And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error." (Quran 34:24)

There is a world of difference between the True God (monotheism) and fake imaginary God (polytheism), rather there is a contradiction. Therefore both cannot be right and wrong at the same time. Surely one is right and the other is wrong. So those who accept one viewpoint are on guidance while others are misguided.

To Shake Up:

Allah’s love for human beings can be seen in His anger, warning and admonition too. Allah the Most High admonishes and warns man of Satan, his mortal enemy.

‘O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allah by the Deceiver. Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze. Those who disbelieve will have a severe punishment, and those who believe and do righteous deeds will have forgiveness and great reward’ (Quran 35:5-7)

Man’s mortal enemy Satan keeps on trying to deceive man from different angles through different schemes…like for instance that there is no Creator (Allah) and even if He is there He went to sleep after creating the universe, He has no interest in human affairs. Even if He is administering the universe He has no interest in guiding man. That’s why there is no such thing called revelation and prophethood. It’s just a lie and a deception. Or he deceives in this way that Allah is very Forgiving and Merciful hence do whatever you want. You will be forgiven or the recommendations of pious saintly people will help you out. Just hold on to them. These are all misguided thoughts and themselves a deception.

CHAPTER 8

WARNING…AT A GLANCE

The deniers of the truth shall have a bad end even in this world too

Denying the truth out of bias and selfishness

Denying the truth out of arrogance

The fate of those who oppose the truth

A warning to those who do not accept despite the signs all around them

There is no coercion in Allah’s methodology

Allah’s help is with the believers

WARNING

The deniers of the truth shall have a bad end even in this world too:

The fate of those who deny even the fundamental truths like Allah, His messenger, His Book and the Day of Judgement, is bad even in this world too. First, they face Allah’s wrath and second they suffer from restlessness, corruption and oppression due to deprivation from Allah’s guidance.

Therefore Allah the Most High warns in His Book the Quran:

‘Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those who were before them? They were greater than them in strength and in impression on the land, but Allah seized them for their sins. And they had not from Allah any protector. That was because their messengers were coming to them with clear proofs, but they disbelieved, so Allah seized them. Indeed, He is Powerful and severe in punishment’ (Quran 40:21-22)

The messenger’s job is to invite towards monotheism, give good news of Paradise to the believers and bad news of Hell to the unbelievers.

An invitation is being given to think over an extremely important issue. The consequences of believing or disbelieving this divine message are not the same rather there is a world of a difference. Belief will take you to the shores of success and disbelief to the shores of failure. Allah, the King of the universe is warning the people who are not giving importance to His Book of guidance, the Book of criterion which His messenger is delivering to them.

‘Say, ‘Have you thought: what if this Quran really is from God and you reject it?’ (Quran 46:11)

Denying the truth out of bias and selfishness:

Man denies the truth by falling prey to prejudices or denies after knowing and understanding everything because acceptance would have an impact on his selfish interests. But if he were to believe that he would have to go to Hell because of his denial of the truth then he would pause for a moment and think and make another decision.

Therefore through the Quran Allah the Most High tells His messenger to warn the people:

‘Say, "Then shall I inform you of [what is] worse than that? [It is] the Fire which Allah has promised those who disbelieve, and wretched is the destination." (Quran 22:72)

Warning and cautioning before the arrival of the punishment is a kind favour of the Lord.

Denying the truth out of arrogance:

Arrogance too prevents from accepting the truth (monotheism, prophethood and the Last Day). The causes of arrogance are wealth, power, knowledge etc. he thinks it a humiliation to accept a common man’s point, a person who has no special position in the world. The Quran describes the consequence of denial thus:

‘But as for those who disbelieved, [it will be said], "Were not Our verses recited to you, but you were arrogant and became a people of criminals?’ (Quran 45:31)

Consequences depend of actions and actions depend on faith for them to be good or bad. Good deeds are related to faith and belief and bad deeds are related to denial of monotheism and the hereafter or doubting them or having weak faith. Therefore the Quran says:

‘So as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is what is the clear attainment’ (Quran 45:30)

The Fate of those who oppose the truth:

Those who oppose the truth instead of bowing to it after it has become manifest are actually opposing Allah and consequently shall get severe punishment as the Quran describes it clearly:

‘That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. And whoever opposes Allah - then indeed, Allah is severe in penalty’ (Quran 59:4)

Those who do not accept even when the truth has reached them will suffer from severe torment in the hereafter. But those who go a step further from

denial and create obstacles in the path of truth and oppose it, they shall have severe torment both in this world and the hereafter.

A warning to those who do not accept despite the signs all around them:

So many signs have been placed in the universe, man’s life and at every nook and corner of his life so that reaching to the Creator becomes easy. In spite of the ubiquitous availability of these guiding signs if man doesn’t take advantage of them and prevents himself from reaching the Creator or falls prey to stubbornness then he alone is responsible for his bad consequences. That’s because believing and not believing are not the same. The Quran says:

‘Indeed, those who do not believe in the verses of Allah - Allah will not guide them, and for them is a painful punishment’ (Quran 16:104)

‘And the Day those who disbelieved are exposed to the Fire [it will be said], "Is this not the truth?" They will say, "Yes, by our Lord." He will say, "Then taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve." (Quran 46:34)

There is no coercion in Allah’s methodology:

It is up to the slave to accept or not the messenger, the Quran and through them Allah. There is no coercion on Allah’s part. This is not Allah’s methodology and way. A faith based on coercion is not part of Allah’s plan. It kills the purpose of the test. But Allah tries, out of His love and mercy, to make man believe in the Unseen Creator, His Book the Quran and His Messenger (peace be upon him) by appealing to his intellect and understanding and persuading to see other signs spread around him but never through coercion.

‘ If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled’ (Quran 26:4)

Allah’s help is with the believers:

Allah the Most High declares in the Quran that the best thing to do of all the things is to convey Allah’s message of mercy to His slaves and to introduce them to Allah.

Therefore Allah guides, facilitates, protects and gives all kinds of help to those believers and that group of believers who are involved in this work. Allah assures the believers in the Quran thus:

‘Indeed, We will support Our messengers and those who believe during the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses will stand - The Day their excuse will not benefit the wrongdoers, and they will have the curse, and they will have the worst home’ (Quran 40:51-52)

‘So be patient, [O Muhammad]. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth. And ask forgiveness for your sin and exalt [ Allah ] with praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning. Indeed, those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah without [any] authority having come to them - there is not within their breasts except pride, [the extent of] which they cannot reach. So seek refuge in Allah . Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Seeing’ (Quran 40:55-56)