Part 46

trust in All ah, Illy Lo rd and your Lord! There is no t 11 mo vin g

(li ving) c rea ture bu t He ha s gra sp o f its fo re loc k. Ve ri ly, my

Lord is 011 the Strai g ht Path (the trllt h)." ) (Saara" Hood II :56)

That is, I pu t my fait h and trust in All ah and [ am supported by

Hi m and confi dcnt ofl-li s Protec tion, whic h does not mi sguid e

those who seek it and ha ve trust in it. So I do not care abollt any

c reature besidcs Him and I do not put my trust in anyone but

Him , and I do not worship anyo ne besides hi m.

Thi s alo ne is a decisive proof th atl-lood :'M.' was the slave o f

A ll ah and His Messenge r; the peopl e were ig norant and astray

in their worship o f o th er than Allah because th ey were un abl e

to infl ict any harm o n him and this proves the truthfulness of

what he bro ug ht to th cm and th e fa lsity o f wh at they foll owed

and the immorality o f the ir be li cfs. It is prec isely thi s evidence

wh ich Noah ~ cited be fo re him in His Words, ( And recite

to them the news of Noah , when he sa id 10 hi s peopl e, "0 my

people, if my stay (w ith you) and my rem indi ng (you) o f the

Ayat of All ah is hard on you, then I put my trust in Allah . So

dev ise yo ur pl ot, yo u and your part ners, and let not your pl ot

be in doubt for you. Then pass your sentence 0 11 me and g ive

me 11 0 respite." ) (Soorah YOOIIIIS 10: 7 1) He, Most Hi gh, says,

( And th e chiefs o f his people, who d isbelieved and den ied the

Mee ting in the Herea fter, and to whom We had given the lu xuries

an d comforts of th is life, said, " He is no more than a hum an

being li ke you , he eats ofl hat whieh you eat and drinks o f what

YOll drink . If you we re to obey a human bei ng like yourse lves,

th en verily, yo u indeed would be lose rs. Does he promi se you

that when you have d ied and have become dust and bones, you

shall come out alive (resurrected)?" ) (Soorall AI-MII'milloon

23:33-35) Th ey thought that th e idea th at Allah would send

a Messe nger was far-fetched and this spec ious argument was

offe red by many ignorant di sbelieve rs in the past and present,

as Allah, Most Hi gh, says, ( Is it wonder for mankind that We

ha ve sent Ou r Inspirat ion to a man fro m among th emselves

(i.c. Prophet M u ham m ad ~) (saying) : " Wa rn mank ind (or lhe

comi ng tonnent in Hel l}.") (Sooml! YOo/IUS 10:2). This is why

Hood ~ sa id to his peop le, ( " Do you wonder tha t there has

comc to you a Reminder from your Lord throu gh a man rrom

amongst you, that he may wa rn you, so tha t you may fea r All ah

and that you may receive (I-li s) Mercy?" ) (SoO/'all AI-A 'raj

7:63). That is, it is not surpris ing, because All ah, Most Hi gh

knows better regarding the se lecti on of H is Messengers.

He, Most Hi gh, says, ( Docs he prom ise you that when you

have died and ha ve bqcolll c dust and bones, you sha ll come

out alive (resurrected)? Far, very far is that which you arc

pro mised. Th ere is nothin g but our life o r this worl d! We die

and we li ve! And we arc not going to be resurrectcd! li e is

212 The S,o". o/"Hood ""-'-

onl y :I ma n who has i n vent~ d a lie agai nst Allah. but we arc

no t go in g to bclic,"c in hi m: ' , (SoOl'oll AI-Mit 'millooll 23:35-

38). They ex pressed th eir belief that the prom ised Resurrecti on

is far in the future and they rejected th e idea that the ir bodies

could be resurrec ted afler they had become dust and bones.

They said, " Far, fa r away is th is promise. ( "Therc is nothing

but our life of this world! We die and we live! And wc arc no t

going to be resurrcf.:tcd!" (SoOl'oil AI-Ml{ 'minoon 23:37) That

is, a people die and anot her people are born. This was the belief

of the Dahriyyall , ( I) as some of th e ignorant people among the

zOlladiqah (2) say, "The wombs deli ver and th e ea rth swallows."

And he said to them, with regard to that co ncerning whic h

he had warned them, "00 you build high p;lI aces on every

high place, wh ile you do not li \ e in them? And do yo u get fo r

yourselves mClsal1i ' (flnc bui ldings) as if YOli wi ll live therei n

ror clcr?" (SoO/'ah Ash-SIII/'art!' 26: 128, 129) Th at is, do you

build in every elevated place great and magn ificent buildings,

such as palaces and the like, buildin g them fo r fri volous

reaso ns, tho ugh yo u have no need of them? This was beca use

they used to li ve in tents, as Allah, Most Hi gh, says, ( Did YOll

(0. Mulmmmad.) not sec (thi nk) how your Lord dealt with' Ad

(peop le) of Iram, with lofty Jloles. the li ke of which wcre not

created in the land'! And (with) Thamood (people), who cui

(hewcd) out rocks in the va lley (to make dwell ings)'! ) (SoO/'all

AI-Fajr 89:6-9) So •Ad ofl ra l11 were the fi rst ' Ad who used to

li ve under huge poles, which supported th ei r tents.

He, Most Hi gh, says, { "A nd do you gel fer yourselves

(I) Dah,.iyyah: The bcl iefth:1I there is nOlhi ng save Ihis abooe in which one

person passes away only 10 be replaccd by another, and there is no Resur-

rection or Judgment. This was the "iew of the pagrlll Arabs who rejected

(2) Zlll/lItiiqah: (sing. =illlleeq) Atheists, freethinkers.

Tlte Slot:\, (4 ' 1I(}f)d ~ 213

, (SoO/'ah Ash-S/w 'ara' 26: 129) It was said that

masani' means palaces. It was sa id that it means pigeon towers.

Il is also sa id that ilm eans water sou rces,

"As if you will li ve th crein for ever." r (Soorah Ash-

Shu 'ora' 26: 129) Th at is, it is your hope that you wi ll abide

in this earthly abode for a lo ng time, { "A nd whe n YO ll se ize ,

se i/c yo u as tyrant s? So fea r All ah, kecp your dUl y to I li m,

and obey me. A nd keep your dut y to !-l im. fea r !-l im Who has

aided you wilh all (good thi ngs) Ihal you know, l ie has aided

you wil h ca ttl c and child ren and gardens and springs, Veril y, I

fea r for you thc puni shment o f a G real Da y," ) (SoO/'all Ash-

Shll 'ara' 26: 130135).

Among the things they said to him was, ( " Have you comc to

us Ih al wc shou ld worship Allah Al one <lnd f'orsak e Ihal whic h

our Hlt hc rs lIsed to worship , So bring LIS that wherew ilh you

have threate ned us if you arc of the truthfuL" ' (Soorah A/-

A 'raf7:70) ThaI is, have you come 10 us (to ask us) to worship

All ah , Alone, and to oppose our fathers and our forefathers

and that which they fo ll owed? I f you are truthful regarding

wha l you have brought, then bring us the punishment th at you

promise, because we do not be lieve in you, we will not fo ll ow

you a nd we do not beli eve you. As they said, " It is the same to

us whcth er you prcac h or be not o f those who preac h. Thi s is no

1110rc tha n the ra ise tal es and relig ion o fl il e allcic nts, and we arc

nol go ing 10 be puni shed." , (Soorah Ash-SIIII 'ara '26: 136-138)

The word in Verse 137 has been reci ted as k/w/q and k/I/{/lIq,

According to th e formcr recitation, the mcanin g would be:

What you have brought to us is no more than fabri ca ti on from

you; and you ha ve take n it from the books of the ancients, Th is

was how it was exp lained by more than one of the Companions

~ and the Tabi '0011. And accordi ng to the second rec itation, the

meaning would be: This religion which we are following is no

more than the relig ion of our fathers and our grandfathers and

we will not change and we will continue to hold fas t to it.

Both recitat ions are suited to their wo rds, ( "and we are not

going to be puni shed." ) (Saarail Asil-Slw 'ara' 26: 138)

He, Most Hi gh, says, ( (Hood) sa id, "Pun ishment an d Wrath

have already fall en on you fcom your Lord. Dispute you wit h

me over names which you have named - YOll and your fa thers,

with no authority fro m Allah? Then wait, I am with you among

those who wail." ) (SoO/'ail AI-A 'raJ7:71) That is, you have

deserved because of these word s ignom iny and Anger from

Allah; do you reject worship of Allah, Alone, without partners,

in favo r of the worship o f idols, wh ich you have carved out

and called "gods" of your own accord and agreed upon - you

and your forefathers - and All ah has revea led no authority for

th em? That is, He has sent down no ev idence for your beliefs.

If you refu se to accept the tnuh and insist on falsehood, it is