THE SAND DUNES【Quran commentary】Surah 46 al Ahqaf

Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan

1-2. The study of the universe reveals…

The study of the universe reveals that inherent in it are wisdom and meaningfulness. Then, how can a set of systems which is so meaningful at its beginning become meaningless at its end?

Truth, monolithic and immutable, is the greatest power of the universe. In spite of this, why is it that people reject it when it is presented before them? The reason is that in the present world people are simply informed of the Truth. In the Hereafter Truth will impose itself on them and at that time those very individuals who treated the Truth as unimportant and ignored it, will break down before it.

4-6. Knowledge is in fact of two types…

Knowledge is in fact of two types: revealed and established. The former reached man through the prophets, while the latter was established as such by means of research and experiments carried out by human beings. Neither of these two types of knowledge indicates that there is any being worthy of worship except the one and only God. When neither supports the concept of polytheism, how can a polytheistic credo be appropriate for man? One who seeks the support of any thing or any being other than God, will find himself abandoned by that thing or being in the Hereafter.

7-8. In ancient Arabia, the addressees…

In ancient Arabia, the addressees of the Quran were too preoccupied by the greatness of their forebears to give its message any proper consideration. They said that it distressed them even to hear it, because it ran counter to the religion of their august predecessors and, on this account, they rejected it. But the Quran had another aspect to it and that was its literary supremacy. Every Arabic linguistic expert has felt that it is an extraordinary work. It is true that the works of certain human beings possess extraordinary literary value, but there is a limit to the merit of a composition by an ordinary mortal. Indeed, the literary majesty of the Qur’an is inconceivably greater than any possible feat of the human mind. In order, therefore, to lessen the importance of the Quran from this angle, its detractors held that it was magic, i.e. it was a feat of magical presentation and not a sublime rendering of facts.

When opponents stoop to obduracy, any serious person would remain silent after saying, ‘The issue between you and me is now before God for His decision.’ This is not defeatism but a forward-looking strategy. If one remains silent before an obstinate person, one actually distances oneself from the dispute and that brings one’s opponent face to face with his own conscience, so that if there is any feeling of rectitude left in him, it should be aroused.

9-10. The Makkan polytheists regarded…

The Makkan polytheists regarded the Jews, whom they often met on trading expeditions, as a community of prophets and therefore very learned in religious disciplines.

When the Prophet Muhammad had become a controversial personality in Makkah, a number of these polytheists made enquiries of certain Jews about him. In the meantime a Jewish scholar told them that, according to their books, a prophet was due to appear in those parts, and that he (Muhammad) might be that very prophet. Evidently, this Jew had indirectly accepted the prophethood of Muhammad.

The events of history had already proved that God’s messengers do appear along with God’s books. It was written in ancient divine scriptures that such a messenger was due to appear among the Ishmaelites. In the life and sayings of the Prophet of God, all those signs were clearly found that signalled prophethood. In the face of such signs and portents, those who denied the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad were not doing so on any rational grounds, but simply because, by accepting one who had hitherto been an ordinary individual in their eyes as the prophet of God, they would be damaging their own high position.

Those who are more concerned with their own pride and prestige than with the Truth, will always be led in the wrong direction by their warped mindset.

11. Initially, of the people who became…

Initially, of the people who became the companions of the Prophet of God, many were old and belonged to the slave class, for example, Bilal, ‘Ammar, Shu‘ayb, Khubbab, etc. At the same time, among those who had faith in him, there were also people who belonged to respectable families, such as Abu Bakr ibn Abi Qahafa, ‘Uthaman ibn ‘Affan, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, etc. But the Prophet’s opponents used to mention only the former and not the latter. The reason is that when anyone becomes biased against a particular individual, his attitude becomes one-sided. He ignores the latter’s virtues and mentions only those aspects of him which give him the opportunity to degrade him.

Similarly, the call of the Prophet Muhammad was undoubtedly the same as that of all the previous prophets: he had come with an eternal truth. But his opponents, instead of calling it ‘a very old truth’, called it ‘a very old falsehood.’ This kind of injustice prevailed in former times and, even today, it is quite common.

12-14. One argument in favour of the…

One argument in favour of the veracity of the Quran is that the previous revealed scriptures predicted it. These predictions are still found in the Bible (Injeel) and the Torah. The Quran thus came as a realisation of earlier divine predictions, giving concrete shape to what had been foreseen many centuries before. This is a clear indication that the Quran is really a divine Book; otherwise how could it have been possible to give advance information about it hundreds and thousands of years ago?

It is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas that verse 13, broadly interpreted, means being steadfast in the discharge of duties attached to Faith. (Tafsir ibn Kathir).

Faith (iman) is a sacred pledge or vow. Time and again, moments of trial occur in the life of a man when he either keeps his pledge of Faith, or he breaks it. On such occasions, one who acts in accordance with his pledge of Faith, shows his steadfastness, while one who fails to do so, shows his lack of devotion.

Those unable to prove their steadfastness are transgressors, while those who prove to be steadfast are the ones who will be lodged in the eternal gardens of Paradise.

15-16. Human procreation takes place…

Human procreation takes place through a father and a mother who nurture their offspring through infancy to adulthood. This is, so to say, the natural system of man’s training, which ensures that he develops a keen consciousness of his duties towards human beings along with the feeling that he must acknowledge the grace of his Benefactor and discharge his duties towards Him. This feeling teaches a man two things: firstly, to honour his pledges towards other men and, secondly, to fulfill important obligations to God, the Creator and Lord.

Those who learn a lesson from Nature, the great teacher, who activate their sense of moral awareness to the extent that they properly identify and appropriately fulfill their duties towards all, ranging from their parents right up to God, are the ones who will be treated as deserving of the eternal Grace of God in the Hereafter.

17-18. Children who are obedient to…

Children who are obedient to their parents are also obedient to God. Contrary to this, the behaviour of disobedient children is such that, when they grow up, they forget that their parents had to endure innumerable troubles to bring them to adulthood.

The best well-wishers of the individual are his parents. Whatever advice parents offer their children is based on absolutely selfless well-wishing. Therefore, one should give more weight to the advice of righteous parents. One who rebukes his righteous parents for their advice proves by his behaviour that he is a very hard hearted person. It is such as he who will suffer heavy losses.

19-20. The Truth appears before a man…

The Truth appears before a man, but, unwilling to relinquish worldly goals and material gain, he rejects it. This means that he sets worldly interests above the exigencies of the Hereafter; he wants to pursue the attractions of this world rather than seek the good things of the afterlife. Then, when he is required to demolish the structure of self-aggrandisement in order to accept the Truth, he prefers to reject it, so as to save his empty prestige: after all, he relishes the feeling of being a great man. At that point, in effect, he shows his preference for the enticements of this world over the blessings of the Hereafter, treating them as unworthy of consideration.

21-22. The people of ‘Ad once inhabited…

The people of ‘Ad once inhabited that area of southern Arabia which is now known as ar-Rub al-Khali. They made considerable progress, but their development pushed them into arrogance and neglectfulness. Then Almighty God made Hud, a member of that community, a prophet, and sent him to them.

Hud warned his community of God’s displeasure but, unwilling to be reformed, it received its prophet with rudeness. Ultimately, God’s wrath descended upon it and it received such a severe punishment that its glorious and lush green surroundings turned into a totally arid desert.

24-25. The people of Ad mistook the…

The people of Ad mistook the clouds of destruction for rain clouds. They understood the reality only when the raging winds entered their townships and reduced them to ruins. Man is so reckless that he does not accept the Truth even when on the brink of disaster. He accepts it only after the opportunity to repent has been taken away from him.

26-28. he worldly status enjoyed by…

The worldly status enjoyed by the Quraysh chiefs had made them arrogant. Here they have been reminded of their neighbours, the people of ‘Ad. From the point of view of civilization, they had been on a much higher plane than the Quraysh. Nonetheless, when God’s ordinance was imposed, their entire grandeur and glory were destroyed. Whatever they had considered their supports, failed to come to their rescue.

A human being is, after all, going to be greatly reduced in stature before the majesty of God. But that apart, the system of the world has been devised in such a way that in this life man has to make himself small before others. This is shown by events which are the signs of God. If, before being cut down to size in the Hereafter, a man learns a lesson from these signs, he will voluntarily make himself small in this very life. Before facing the Hereafter, he will become realistic in this world itself.

Different kinds of events demonstrate God’s signs, but man turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to them, for he is not prepared to learn any lesson from them.

29-32. In the tenth year of Muhammad’s…

In the tenth year of Muhammad’s prophethood in Makkah, the life and work of the Prophet were becoming seriously jeopardized. At that time he went from Makkah to Taif in the hope that he might find some supporters there. But the people there received him rudely. While returning, spent the night at a place called Nakhla. He was reciting the Quran while offering prayers there, when a group of Jinn heard the Quran and became believers in it. One group rejected the Quran. But, at that very moment, another group accepted it and did so with such eagerness that they became its emissaries.

33-34. The coming into existence of the…

The coming into existence of the gigantic universe consisting of the heavens and the earth and then its functioning for millions of years in perfect harmony and with total precision proves that the Creator of this universe is the possessor of immense powers. Moreover, bringing the universe into existence did not exhaust His resources. Had the work of creation been fatiguing for Him, the universe after creation would not have been found running with such great exactitude.

The immense power of God being demonstrated throughout the universe suffices for us to be certain that the resurrection of human beings and the taking stock of their deeds is not at all difficult for Him.

In the present world reality comes before a man, but he does not accept it. This is because the result of the denial of reality is not immediately obvious. In the Hereafter, the terrible consequences will be there before every man; he will then become extremely serious and will readily accept the reality which he was not prepared to accept in the present world. However, acceptance of truth at that time will be of no avail.

35. A preacher who calls for the accep…

A preacher who calls for the acceptance of Truth has always to stand on the firm ground of patience. Patience in fact consists of unilaterally ignoring the tortures inflicted by his addressees. He should continuously exhort his addressees to enter his fold, in spite of their obduracy and their adamant rejection of his plea. He should always and in all cases be their well-wisher, regardless of the unpleasant experiences he has had on their account. This unilateral patience is necessary because, without this, God’s plan for the addressees would remain unfulfilled.

All God’s messengers and prophets of every period have performed the task of giving the call of Truth in a similar manner, with patience and perseverance. In future also those who perform this task as deputies of the prophets shall have to do it on the same pattern. In the eyes of God only those will be adjudged true preachers (da‘is), who can unilaterally show the capacity for tolerance.

 
MUHAMMAD【Quran commentary】Surah 47 Muhammad