The Qur'an: Essential Teachings. Abdur Raheem Kidwai
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Название: The Qur'an: Essential Teachings

Автор: Abdur Raheem Kidwai

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Религия: прочее

Серия:

isbn: 9780860376606

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ the consequences of which will be long lasting. The perception of this important truth can help man shun sin and pursue the way shown by Allah. Worldly pursuits should not make him oblivious of this truth. The mass of first-hand evidence will decide man’s fate on the Day of Judgement. For Allah, being the best of judges, will not treat anyone unfairly. The divine scheme of things is error-free and unbiased.

      The most valuable element of this Qur’ānic passage is its elucidation of one of the major articles of faith in Islam – the Afterlife – in simple, easy-to-understand language and with the help of an appealing parable. Furthermore, the passage is remarkable for pressing home the following important points.

      image Good deeds tinged with true faith alone ensure man’s deliverance in the Afterlife.

      image Sinners who do not have any good deed to their credit will realise their loss only when it is too late. It will aggravate their agony.

      image Divine dispensation is transparently clear and fair. It is premised on the principle of equal opportunity. Each one of us has the opportunity and resources to perform good deeds in this life, which guarantee rewards in the Next Life. Those who throw away this opportunity will regret it for ever.

      image Life and the Afterlife are not some unfathomable mysteries. The former culminates in the latter. Life is thus a continuum; death is the line of demarcation between the two. Death does not represent the total end. Rather, man’s deeds in this life will determine his reward or punishment in the Next Life. Life is temporary whereas the Afterlife is eternal. Life should not, however, be taken as some illusion. Notwithstanding its ephemeral nature, this life is part of the ultimate reality and has its lasting impact on man’s fate in the Afterlife.

      image The truth of the Afterlife and divine reckoning dawns on the unbeliever when it is too late. Man should therefore, grasp well the message of Islam contained in the Qur’ān and emulate the Prophet Muḥammad’s role model. This alone can ensure his eternal happiness.

      image Man should be ever-conscious of the Afterlife, especially his accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgement for each and every one of his deeds. This realisation being the essence of true faith should permeate man’s mind and soul.

       Related Qur’ānic passages for self-study

      image Āl ‘Imrān 3:10 and 14

      image al-An‘ām 6:94

      image Yūnus 10:24 and 44

      image al-Naḥl 16:94

      image al-Isrā’ 17:71-72

      image Maryam 19:76 and 79-80

      image Yā Sīn 36:12

      image al-Zumar 39:21 and 69

      image al-Shūrā 42:22

      image al-Ṭūr 52:9-16

      image al-Ḥadīd 57:20

      image al-Naba’ 78:17-20

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       The Qur’ān

      And if you (O mankind) are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a sūrah like it and call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful.

       But if you cannot, and certainly you cannot [produce it], then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones. Hellfire is prepared for the unbelievers.

      (al-Baqarah 2:23-24)

      APART from stressing that the Qur’ān is a unique and inimitable Book, this passage defines the important concepts of the Scripture, Revelation and its bearer, Allah’s Messenger. Such clarification was necessary as the Qur’ān was being revealed at a time when people held hazy notions about these. Most of the earlier religious communities did not possess any Scripture. For them, oral tradition served as their guidance. Some fallacious views however had crept into the beliefs of followers of even major world faiths who had been favoured with the Scriptures, especially as regards their source status. For example, the Jewish holy Book is reckoned as Scripture by Christians. Known popularly as the Old Testament, it forms part of the Bible. As opposed to this instance of the appropriation of one faith community’s Scripture by another, there is yet another example at the other end of the scale. The Theravada Buddhist Scripture, the Tiptaka is taken only as a preparatory text by Mahayana Buddhists. For Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita is, no doubt, an important religious text yet it is not part of their Scripture, the Vedas. Besides Scripture, there have been serious misconceptions about the nature of divine revelation and its human recipient and the relationship between the two. On this count, the example of the Bible is most instructive. The Bible, though widely regarded as Scripture, took hundreds of years of compilation to receive this designation. No one can say with certainty which part of the Bible represents the exact Word of God and which is the product of its human scribes. More regrettably, for Christians, Christ has more meaning than the Bible.

      In the above quoted passage, the Qur’ān presents a clear and cogent account of Scripture, divine revelation alone being its origin and content and the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as its recipient being the one who faithfully transmitted it to mankind without having any role in its composition. The Qur’ān represents wholly the Word of God in its purity. In stating these articles of faith, the Qur’ān dispels all the prevalent misconceptions about Scripture which is the very basis of a faith community. More significantly, the Qur’ān declares that it is a miracle which is unique and inimitable. Also, it clarifies the relationship between the Word of God, the Qur’ān and its bearer the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who is essentially God’s servant. It leaves no room for confusion.

      The passage is equally remarkable for the statements it declares, though initially directed at its immediate addressees, yet addressed to the СКАЧАТЬ