Welcome to our weekly programme "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an. We start from where we left you last Friday and here are ayahs 84 and 85 of Surah Saad:

"He (God Almighty) said, ‘The truth is that —and I speak the truth—"

"I will surely fill hell with you and all of those who follow you."

Last Friday we said that Satan the outcast on being granted reprieve till what God Almighty calls a “Known Time” and not until the Day of Resurrection, swore to mislead mankind, but admitted his inability to tempt the exclusive servants of the Exalted Creator – such as Prophets, Imams, and pious persons. God did not grant the Satan absolute power over human beings to force them to do his bidding, which means those who go astray do so because of their own weak will and faith that make them followers of the deceitful path shown by the devil, when they could have used self-control and the power of resistance to keep the Satan away, as the pious persons do.

The ayahs that we recited to you now mean to say in response to the Satan’s threats that the statements of God the All-Wise are nothing but the ultimate truth which neither the Satan nor any devilish power can belie. In other words, whatever was said from the beginning of this Surah up to here, and the cause for which the Prophets strove, a part of whose life story has been mentioned in this Surah, is all manifest truth. The words about the Hereafter, the punishment of the disobedient ones, and the rewards for the people of Paradise, which have been referred to in this Surah, are all true.

The end of the Surah is true as well, and Allah speaks the truth. Likewise, God speaks the truth when He says He will fill Hell with Satan and his followers.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. God is the Ultimate Truth and his Words are true, which means every form of righteousness is from the Almighty Creator.
2. On the Day of Resurrection, each group is raised along with its leader; which means good people are gathered with the leaders of truth, while the evil ones are gathered with their evil leaders.

Now we listen to or read ayahs 86 to 88 of Surah Saad:

"Say (O Prophet to mankind), ‘I do not ask you any reward for it, and I am no impostor."

"It is just a reminder for all the nations;"

"And you will surely learn its tidings in due time.

These last three ayahs of Surah Saad emphasize some important points regarding the purpose of the revelation of the holy Qur’an and the universal mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). As is clear by these ayahs, contrary to the imposters who misled by Satan claim prophesy with the aim of pursuing material motives, the Prophets of God declare that they neither seek any benefits from the people or the ruling powers, nor is their intention to attain spirituality in the eyes of the masses. Their mission is divine, and whatever they do is for the sake of God and for the guidance of the human societies, even if this results in their being persecuted and martyred.

The Prophet is commanded to inform mankind that the holy Qur’an, the final heavenly scripture for the entire human race, is a reminder of the manifest truth to all nations. The peerless personality of the Prophet is so perfect that even the enemies cannot even find the least fault, and hence whatever is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an is also the manifest truth, which will eventually become clear as time passes – or in other words, as human knowledge increases and civilizations achieve scientific development and progress. In short, the purpose of the Prophets and their scriptures is to enlighten mankind and bring them out of darkness, which means, those who spurn these clear signs of guidance, are actually depriving themselves of God’s Mercy by following the temptations of the devil.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Those who are engaged in propagating religion must have no material expectations from people and this is a prerequisite for their success in conveying the message of the truth.
2. Religion should be explained to the people in a simple and clear manner.
3. The mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the message of the holy Qur’an is universal and transnational, and does not belong to any particular race or geographical group, or for that matter for the Arabs who lived in the time of the Prophet of Islam.
4. The Holy Qur'an arouses and awakens the consciousness of humans.
5. The veracity of the holy Qur'an and the teachings of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) will eventually become universal, even some if people do not accept these precious teachings.

We have completed Surah Saad. We hope that in next week we will start explanation of Surah Zomar.

AS/ME