Spirit of Islam December 2017

41 Spirit of Islam Issue 60 December 2017 THE WORD OF GOD From The Scriptures The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 AD. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level. Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to God and so He will requite those who do evil in accordance with their deeds and will reward those left with that which is best, for those who do good. (53: 31) The universe with its extremely stable system makes manifest the fact that its Creator and Lord is extremely powerful. This suffices to make it clear that He will sooner or later seize hold of man and when He does so, there will be no escaping His grasp. As for those who refrain from committing grave sins and indecent acts, though they may commit minor offences, your Lord is unstinting in His forgiveness. (53: 32) Man has been created with human weaknesses. So, it is not required that he be as pure as the angels. Almighty God has given full guidance to man as to what he should do and what he should not. However, man may be pardoned in the case of lesser offences (lamam) , i.e. indulging in some mischief because of fleeting emotion, on the condition that he should immediately realize his lapse and, being ashamed of it, seek pardon of his Lord. He knows you when He brings you out of the earth, and when you were embryos in the wombs of your mothers; so do not make claims to be pure. He knows best who is truly righteous. Have you [Prophet] considered the man who turned away, who at first gave a little, then later held back? Has he knowledge of the unseen, so that he sees? (53: 33-35) There are many who become inclined towards the Truth, but only to a certain extent. Then the compulsions of their interests become too