ORNAMENTS OF GOLD【Quran commentary】Surah 43 az Zukhruf

Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan

1-4. The Original Book, or the Mother of Book…

The Original Book, or the Mother of Book (ummul kitab), refers to the preserved tablet (lawh mahfuz), which is with God. On this tablet, God Almighty has an imprint of the true religion, which He requires human beings to follow. This true religion, revealed to numerous prophets in various languages, was revealed to the Last of the Prophets in Arabic. Today, it is only this Arabic Quran which represents the true religion of God. It is now the responsibility of the bearers of the Quran to have it translated into every language and make it available to all the nations of the world, so that this religion may be understood by all other people, as it was understood by the Arabs.

These sublime scriptures, being full of wisdom, are in themselves proof of their being the Book of God. The language of the Quran and its contents do justice to the Majesty of God with the utmost exactitude. Had the Quran been couched in the words of human beings, it would not have possessed the extraordinary glory which it possesses till today.

5-8. Today there are countless people in the…

Today there are countless people in the world who speak of previous prophets with reverence. In view of this, it appears very strange that these very prophets (including the Prophet Muhammad) were ridiculed and mocked by their contemporaries.

The reason for this is not that the people of those days were savage and the people of today are civilized. It is simply due to a difference in the times. Today, after the lapse of centuries, every prophet is surrounded by an aura of historical glory. So, every superficial admirer of appearances recognises the prophet. But, to his contemporaries, the prophet appeared to be an ordinary person. At that time, in order to discover and recognise the reality of the prophetic position of a prophet, a deep insight was required to discover the reality and, undoubtedly, such insight has always been very rare in this world.

However badly a preacher’s addressees may treat him, he unilaterally exercises patience and carries on the work of his mission, until the day comes when God’s will is made manifest on what future course he should take.

9-12. In every period, the majority of people…

In every period, the majority of people have admitted, that the Creator and Lord of the Universe is God, and that it is He who has provided them with the wherewithal for the sustenance of life. To bring the Universe into existence and to make every provision for life on the earth are such gigantic tasks that it is impossible to attribute their undertaking to anyone except the one and only God.

This assertion calls for man to devote his attention to God above all; his life should be a God-oriented life. But man sets himself other goals; he places entities other than God at the centre of his attention.

Almighty God has revealed the realities through His prophets. In addition to that, He has created the world in such a way that it has become the practical illustration, or analogy of hidden realities. For instance, it is a fact that human beings will be resurrected after death?a fact shown at the level of vegetation again and again. It is seen by man every year that the land becomes dry and dead. Then there are rains and the land is again covered with lush greenery. This phenomenon points to the fact that man will be brought to life again after death.

Another special feature of the present world is that it is most wonderfully favourable to human existence. Everything here has been created in such a way that it can be used by man for his own purposes as he wishes. This blessing demands that a feeling of gratitude should develop in man. Whenever he happens to use anything in God’s world, he should spontaneously bow his head before God and words of acknowledgement and prayer should fall from his lips.

13-19. One way of ascribing partners to God…

One way of ascribing partners to God is to assume that He can have offspring, for example, holding angels to be the daughters of God, or Christ to be the son of God, or subscribing to the theory of the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud) or monism which interprets all things of the universe to be part and parcel of God. All such beliefs are baseless suppositions or flights of imagination, which are not borne out by reasoning.

Here, certain of the gender characteristics of women have been dealt with under two headings – one is that by nature she is given to self-adornment and the other is that at times of dispute she is unable to vindicate herself. These weaknesses in a woman are facts, and that is why in Islam the distribution of work is such that the responsibility for outside work lies with the men and that of inside work with the women.

20-25. A man may do whatever he wants in…

A man may do whatever he wants in this world, because he has ample opportunities to do so. For this reason, people harbour the misunderstanding that whatever they do must be right. They argue that, had they been wrong, they would not have achieved success by adopting the course that they did. Arguments of this kind are generally advanced by those who belong to the well-to-do class.

But this is a serious misunderstanding. In this world, indulgence in any kind of behaviour may make headway because of the freedom given to human beings during their period of trial. But in the world of the Hereafter, the testing period will be over and, therefore, this opportunity will no longer exist for anybody there.

In every age, the religion of the prophets was opposed and most of all by ancestral religion. Ancestors assume the status of the ‘great’ ones in the estimation of nations. As compared to them, the prophet of their own days appears lowly in stature. It therefore becomes impossible for them to renounce the religion of their great men in favour of that of a lesser mortal. But it is on account of their denial of these ‘small’ men that these nations have had to face horrendous punishments.

26-30. Abraham’s proclamation of the Unity…

Abraham’s proclamation of the Unity of God as mentioned here was made by him during the last days of his mission. This was not simply a string of words: it was the sum and substance of a great history. When he attained the age of awareness, he discovered that the only Being worth worshipping by man was God. Except for Him, all other gods were false and without foundation. He built up his life solely on the basis of this belief and preached it among his family members and the people of his community. In complete disregard of personal or other considerations, he was steadfast in this belief for a very long time, so much so that his being a believer in the one God came to define his identity. After a lifetime spent in this way, when he left his native place and repeated the above-mentioned words, they naturally left a permanent impression. His words were such that people used to remember them whenever his name was mentioned.

This strong tradition laid down by Abraham should have served as a milestone for the coming generations. But absorption in worldly interests made them neglectful of it and they became so careless and forgetful of it that in a later period, when one of God’s messengers came to remind them of this past lesson, they rejected him.

31-35. When the Prophet Muhammad appe…

When the Prophet Muhammad appeared in Makkah, he seemed to the people to be an ordinary man. They opined that had God wanted to send His representative to them for their guidance, He would have selected some great renowned personality from the central townships of Arabia such as Makkah or Taif. But, this showed a narrowness in their outlook. Man is able to look simply at the present, while far-sightedness was required to understand the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad. Since the people did not possess such an outlook, they failed to understand the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad.

The reason for the Prophet Muhammad being thought of as a small man was that people did not see any material pomp and show surrounding him. But these material things have no importance in the eyes of God. The fact is, these things are so unimportant in the eyes of God that, if He wishes, He may bless people with heaps of gold and silver. But God did not do this, as people’s attention would have been diverted to riches and they would not have been able to proceed to find the truth.

36-39. Man’s turning away from good advice…

Man’s turning away from good advice means his rejection of reality. Divine reality comes before him with undeniable, reasoned arguments. However, in order to protect his interests, he ignores it.

One who does so makes false statements against it in order to justify his stand. This is when Satan has the opportunity to get the better of him and turn his mind in the wrong direction. Keeping the man busy with false justifications, Satan goes on assuring him that he is on the right path. The spell of deceit is broken only when the man meets his death and is produced before God for the final reckoning.

In this world, man is wont to readily make friends with anyone who supports his falsehood, but in the Hereafter, he will curse all such companions. He will then want them to stay so far away from him that he should be able neither to see their faces nor hear their voices.

40-45. Let a man close his eyes and he will…

Let a man close his eyes and he will see nothing. Let him close his ears and he will hear nothing. Let him close his mind and he will understand nothing. It is futile to offer guidance or advice to such a person, especially if the reason he has suspended his thinking processes is that he wants to tread the path of his desires, for desire draws a veil over the mind which the truth cannot penetrate. Nevertheless, the preacher of the Truth has to continue the work of his mission at all events, irrespective of the attitude of his audience, until the last stage of the completion of arguments is reached.

Though the preacher of Truth is a human being, Truth per se is the concern of God. After denying the preacher of Truth, a man thinks that he has saved himself from being affected by the Truth, but at that very moment he comes within God’s striking distance. If a man came to know of this secret, he would tremble before ignoring the preacher of Truth, because he would realise that ignoring him amounted to ignoring the Truth itself and ignoring the Truth amounted to ignoring God Himself.

46-50. Moses presented the message of the…

Moses presented the message of the unity of God to Pharaoh and showed him the miracles of the rod and the shining palm of his hand. On seeing this, Pharaoh and his courtiers started making a mockery of him. The reason for this was that they did not see Moses in the context of his mission but in the shape of a personality. They saw that to all appearances he was, as compared to themselves, a person of no account. Similarly, they thought that the miracles were simply feats of magic and that such magical feats could be performed by any other magician.

This always happens in the case of preachers of the Truth. People reject the call of Truth by simply looking at the personality of the preacher of Truth. They ignore the signs of God, considering them likewise to be nothing out of the ordinary.

When Pharaoh and his companions rejected Moses, God Almighty inflicted many admonitory punishments on them, so that they might turn back to the right path. Mention is made of these in chapter seven (verses 133-135). All these punishments were sent down, and also came to an end, in answer to Moses’ prayers. This was one more reason why they should have felt inclined to return to the right path, but they did not do so. The fact is that those who do not reform themselves on the strength of reasoning are not affected by warnings until the irrevocable punishment of the Hereafter finally engulfs them.

51-56. The rejecters of Truth have always…

The rejecters of Truth have always done so after looking at the ordinary position of the preacher of Truth. Pharaoh enjoyed a prominent position in Egypt. He was the ruler of the country. The canals flowing out of the River Nile did so at his behest. He was surrounded by all the paraphernalia of pomp and glory. As compared to this, Moses was to all appearances an ordinary person. Pharaoh so mislead his people by highlighting this difference, that they joined him in rejecting Moses.

Apparently, on the basis of this reasoning, Pharaoh’s community supported him. But the real reason for this was the weakness of Pharaoh’s community rather than the strength of his arguments. At that time, supporting Moses meant the destruction of a well-settled life; and there are very few people who have the courage to take the side of Truth when it means sacrificing their well laid plans. Ultimately, the punishment of God afflicted Pharaoh as a result of his denial of Truth and his community was not spared either.

57-62. In this world it is possible for a man…

In this world it is possible for a man to derive a perverse meaning from every statement. For instance, the Messenger of God once said: ‘Whoever is worshipped other than God has no good in him.’ On hearing this, his opponents pointed out that the Christians worshipped Jesus Christ. Did it mean that Jesus Christ had no good in him? Obviously, this was only irrelevant hair-splitting, because the saying of the Prophet of God was in relation to the worshippers and not the objects of their worship. Even if it is presumed that it was in relation to the latter, it obviously meant those beings who, while unworthy of worship, acquiesced in their being deified. If a man does not take a saying in its right sense, it is possible for him to clothe it in a perverse meaning, howsoever right and proper it may be. The personality of Jesus Christ in a way resembled that of an angel. In view of this, many people made him an object of worship. But, the Messiah’s angel-like persona was an example of God’s creative powers and not an example of the Messiah’s personal powers. The fact is that creation of this kind is not at all difficult for God. If He so wished, He might convert the entire population of the earth into angels. Even so, the angels would still just be angels; they would not become gods and worthy of worship.

Jesus Christ was blessed with the miraculous power to bring a dead man back to life. He used to bring earthen statues to life by blowing his breath into them. This was in fact a sign of God which was displayed in order to demonstrate the possibility of life after death. But the people did not learn a lesson from this; on the contrary, they treated Jesus as superhuman and started worshipping him. The signs of God appear before us in different ways. If they are treated as such, they are a tremendous source of guidance. But if they are considered something other than divine portents, they may become the cause of man’s going astray.

Satan has eternally striven to prevent man from learning a lesson from the signs of God. It is at this point that man’s fate will be decided on the basis of whether Satan has succeeded in overcoming man or vice-versa.

63-65. Here ‘wisdom’ means the spirit of…

Here ‘wisdom’ means the spirit of religion and ‘straight path’ means the upholding of the virtues that are mentioned in the verse, namely, fear and worship of God, prayer to Him and obedience to the Prophet. This is the real religion. What the Jews did at a later stage was to lose the spirit of religion and indulge in hair-splitting over the basic principles of religion.

Due to these totally contrived additions, differing sects developed among them. One sect laid stress on one controversial issue, another laid stress elsewhere. In this way, with them, one religion turned into several religions. Jesus Christ was sent to the Jews to tell them that the really important aspect of religion was its spirit and not form; and also to inform them that they would achieve salvation on following the true religion sent by God and not that religion which they had themselves devised.

Jesus told them that the real religion was based on the fear of God, and that they should become worshippers of the one and only God and follow the example of the Prophet in everyday affairs. Beyond this, whatever innumerable problems they had created by their futile discussions and hair-splitting arguments were their own self-made additions. They were advised to give up all these additions and be steadfast in their adherence to the real religion. All these exhortations made by Jesus exist in the Bible even today.

66-73. Man is not free. At all events, he has…

Man is not free. At all events, he has to humbly accept reality. If he does not defer to the reasoning of the preacher of Truth, he shall have to submit to godly power. But godly power comes into play only at the time of the Final Judgement. Therefore, doing obeisance only at that time and not before will be of no avail to anybody.

In this world, when a man adopts any course which is opposed to the Truth, he finds many friends to support him. Man becomes bolder and bolder on the strength of such friendship. But all these friends will abandon him on the Day of Judgement. On that Day, only that friendship will last which has been established on the basis of the fear of God.

A life which is dedicated to the Truth is fraught with dangers. But in the Hereafter, it will be permanently relieved of every type of fear or trouble. Only those who firmly believe in this godly assurance will remain steadfastly on the path of Truth in this world. In the life Hereafter, God will bestow on them much more than they lost in this world for His sake.

74-79. Hope always alleviates feelings of…

Hope always alleviates feelings of distress. Man’s afflictions are many, but if, as he undergoes them, he entertains the hope that his troubles will some day come to an end, that very thought infuses him with the courage to bear with things. But the scourge of Hell will be so grievous that there will be no hope of relief from it. The appeal made by the people in Hell to the angels will be an expression of their helplessness; otherwise anyone making such an appeal must know that God’s decision was final and that it could not be evaded.

The descent of anybody into Hell will be entirely as a consequence of his own shortcomings. God gave man a high degree of understanding and opened up for him the paths of Truth. But man knowingly and deliberately ignored the Truth. His arrogance so increased that he became bent upon the elimination of the preacher of Truth. In view of this, how could he escape being subjected to eternal punishment?

81-83. This statement indicates that the…

This statement indicates that the belief declared by the Prophet was considered by him to be the absolute Truth. His stand was not on the ground of national tradition or group prejudice but on that of sound reasoning. He was the preacher of that Faith: all facts corroborated its truth. It can be imagined from this that what is vital to the caller to the truth is consciousness of reality and not the blind following of national tradition.

The vast creative system of God, which is spread out in the shape of heaven and earth, indicates that its Lord is the one and only God. The extensiveness of the system of the universe rules out the possibility of there being more than one God.

84-85. Heaven and earth are continuously…

Heaven and earth are continuously at work in perfect harmony. Perfect unity of wisdom and unity of knowledge are found in them. This proves that there is only one God Who is alone running the systems of both heaven and earth.

The universe introduces us to God’s unlimited power and at the same time His unlimited mercy. These facts call for man to fear God most of all, and at the same time, entertain the greatest hopes of Him. Those who prove to have this consciousness and this character in this world are the only individuals upon whom – when they reach God – He will shower His infinite Mercy.

86-89. In the Hereafter, on the Day of Judg…

In the Hereafter, on the Day of Judgement, human beings will stand in the divine court to be judged. Some will have accepted and supported the divine message conveyed to them, while others, having rejected it, will have stood in opposition to it. Whatever their condition, and knowing full well that God is omniscient, they will ask their erstwhile contemporaries to bear witness in their favour. All to no avail. The prophets and the preachers, on the other hand will be there – just as if in a court of law – to bear witness to matters of which they have first-hand knowledge, having personally observed and experienced them. It will not be their role to intercede for or condemn their fellow men. They will simply be required to present the facts.

On the Day of Judgement, nobody will have any power to recommend or intervene on behalf of any guilty person in order to change the Divine Judgement which had to be made on the basis of the facts. God is too High and Great for anybody to venture to do this before Him.

The task relating to the call for the Truth consists purely of giving advice and guidance. Even at the last stage, when the preacher is convinced that his hearers are going to reject his words outright, he prays to God for the people. Tolerating their torture, he remains their well-wisher.

 
SMOKE【Quran commentary】Surah 44 ad-Dukhan