What The Qur'an Teaches: The Division Of Mankind
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim JournalsArab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever
Merciful SO We have revealed to you a discourse in the
Arabic tongue in order that you may warn the Mother
City and all who dwell around it; that you may
forewarn them of the Day of the Gathering, of which
there is no doubt, when some shall be in paradise and
some in the blazing fire. Had God so willed, He could
have made them all one single community, but He admits
to His grace whoever He will, whereas the wrongdoers
will have no one to protect them and no one to support
them. Have they chosen protectors other than Him? God
alone is the Protector of all; He is the One who gives
life to the dead; and He has power over all things.
(Consultation, Al-Shoora: 42: 7-9)
THE Qur'an was revealed in Arabic to warn the Mother
City, i.e. Makkah, and its surrounding area. When the
Arabian Peninsula moved out of ignorance into Islam
and became totally Muslim, it carried the banner of
Islam, moving with it to the East and to the West.
These Muslims presented Islam and the human system
based on it to the world, since, by nature, this
message is addressed to all humanity. They were the
best and most suitable people to advocate it, stemming
as it did from the most suitable place for its birth
and growth.
It was by God's design that the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) lived until Arabia, with all its
population, embraced Islam. The land chosen to be the
cradle of Islam now permanently adopted the full
colors of the new faith. Likewise, the language to
express it and deliver it to the world was clearly
chosen. Arabic had by that time achieved full maturity
so as to be most suitable for delivering God's message
to all corners of the world. Had Arabic been a
deficient or immature language, it would not have been
able to embody the message in the first place, or to
deliver it to people outside Arabia. In short, the
language, the people and the environment were all the
best suited for this great universal event. Thus,
wherever we look in our attempt to understand God's
purpose, wisdom and choice, we find a long list of
positive factors converging together to provide the
new message with the conditions most suited for its
welcome. This confirms God's statement: "God knows
best whom to entrust with His message." (6: 124)
"So We have revealed to you a discourse in the Arabic
tongue in order that you may warn the Mother City and
all who dwell around it; that you may forewarn them of
the Day of the Gathering, of which there is no doubt,
when some shall be in paradise and some in the blazing
fire." The hardest, most fundamental and often
repeated warning in the Qur'an is that concerning the
Day of Gathering, when God will gather together all
creatures from all generations and places, prior to
dividing them into two groups according to what they
did during their life on earth, the place where people
choose what to do: "some shall be in paradise and some
in the blazing fire."
"Had God so willed, He could have made them all one
single community, but He admits to His grace whoever
He will, whereas the wrongdoers will have no one to
protect them and no one to support them." God could,
if He wished, create people in a different form so as
to make their behavior and actions uniform. Had He
done so, their end would have been the same and they
would all go either to heaven or to hell. However, in
His limitless glory, God created man for a purpose,
assigning to him the task of building human life on
earth. In order for this task to be accomplished He
made it necessary for man to have special qualities
distinguishing him from both angels and devils, as
also from all types of creation with a nature of
singular direction. In this respect, then, He gave man
qualities and abilities which make some people lean
toward guidance, light and good action, while others
lean toward error, darkness and evil action. Each
group follows one of these two susceptibilities
inherent in human nature, leading them to the end
determined for the type of action they choose: "some
shall be in paradise and some in the blazing fire."
Thus God will "admit to His grace whoever He will,
whereas the wrongdoers will have no one to protect
them and no one to support them." His decisions are
based on His knowledge of the conditions of both
parties and whether they follow guidance and thus
deserve His grace or go astray and thus deserve His
punishment.
It has already been mentioned that some people take
protectors for themselves other than God. Now, the
surah makes it clear that "the wrongdoers will have no
one to protect them and no one to support them." The
fact is that their alleged protectors do not exist.
Again, the surah disapprovingly asks: "Have they
chosen protectors other than Him?" It follows this
rhetorical question with a statement making it clear
that God is the only protector who is able to do
everything. His power is clearly seen in the fact that
He brings the dead back to life. This is indeed the
action which shows His unique power at its most
splendid: "God alone is the Protector of all; He is
the One who gives life to the dead." His power is then
stated to be total and to extend over all beings, with
no limits whatsoever: "He has power over all things."
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