SPIRIT OF ISLAM FEBRUARY 2018

41 Spirit of Islam Issue 62 February 2018 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 Those who bear the Throne, and those who are around it, glorify their Lord with His praise, and believe in Him. They ask forgiveness for those who believe, saying, ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge. Forgive those who turn to You and follow Your path. Save them from the punishment of Hell and admit them, Lord, to the Eternal Garden You have promised to them, together with their righteous ancestors, spouses, and offspring: You alone are the Almighty; the All Wise. Protect them from all evil deeds: those You protect from [the punishment for] evil deeds will receive Your mercy— that is the supreme success. (40: 7-9) The subjects of God who set themselves the task of preaching the pure and unadulterated Truth are always harassed. They are made to feel lowly and small and treated as such wherever they may be. But, at the very time when this treatment is being meted out to them, the heavens and the earth are bearing testimony to their righteousness. The angels who have been charged with managing the affairs of the universe, will look forward to their ultimate glorious reward. Those who were looked down upon by the ignorant in this ephemeral world will be raised to such an exalted position that the angels nearest to God will pray for them. Those who deny the truth will be told, ‘God’s abhorrence of you is greater than your hatred of yourselves. You were called to the faith but you denied it.’ They will say, ‘Our Lord! Twice You have made us die, and twice You have given us life! Now we have confessed our sins: is there any way out [of this]?’ [They will be told], ‘This is because when God alone was invoked you denied the truth, yet when others