Salaam and welcome to another interesting edition of our weekly programme on a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an, titled “Path towards Enlightenment”.

We start from where we left you last Friday and here are ayahs 76 to 79 of Surah Naml:

إِنَّ هَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَقُصُّ عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَكْثَرَ الَّذِي هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

وَإِنَّهُ لَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقْضِي بَيْنَهُم بِحُكْمِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْعَلِيمُ

فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ الْمُبِينِ

“Indeed this Qurʾān recounts to the Children of Israel most of what they differ about;”

“And it is indeed a guidance and mercy for the faithful.”

“Indeed your Lord will decide between them by His judgement, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.”

“So put your trust in Allah, for you indeed stand on the manifest truth.”

Last week we discussed and refuted the irrational ideas of the polytheists, the atheists and other unbelievers who deny the Day of Resurrection and fail to understand the power of the Almighty Creator in restoring in their original forms the long dead, from even bones that have become dust. The ayahs that we recited to you now refer to the intransigence of the Israelites of Hijaz to accept the truth of Islam even though their ancestors had migrated to, and settled in the Arabian Peninsula, in expectation of the prophecy of the Torah on God’s raising of the Last and Greatest Prophet from the progeny of Ishmael, the firstborn son of Prophet Abraham (PuH). The ayah also means to say that centuries earlier the Israelites had differed about Prophet Jesus (PuH), with only a few believing in his mission, while the rest rejected him, despite the reference to him in the Torah. These ayahs exhort those who had strayed from the right path and become Jews, to use their God-given intellect in understanding and accepting the message of the holy Qur’an, so that all matters of dispute that had divided them into sects and creeds would be peaceably resolved. The Qur’an and Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) are indeed the best guidance and source of mercy. God Almighty is aware of everything and He is the Final Judge on the Day of Resurrection, so put your trust in Him and tread the path of manifest truth.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Among the blessings of the holy Qur’an is to resolve matters of dispute by inviting mankind towards the path of unity through presentation of rational proofs and urging all, including the People of the Book, that is, those claim to follow the prophets of the past and the previously revealed heavenly scriptures, to join the common cause of monotheism with Muslims.
2. The Almighty Creator has not left mankind stumbling in the dark, but as part of His Great Blessings, has arranged means of guidance through the raising of Prophets amongst them and revelation of heavenly scriptures, which are indeed signs of His Infinite Mercy.
3. Trust in God is the cornerstone of faith that makes one steadfast on the right path and prevents indulgence in wrongdoing.

Now we listen to ayahs 80 and 81 of Surah Naml:

إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ

وَمَا أَنتَ بِهَادِي الْعُمْيِ عَن ضَلَالَتِهِمْ ۖ إِن تُسْمِعُ إِلَّا مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا فَهُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

“Indeed you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn their backs [upon you];”

“Nor can you lead the blind out of their error. You can make only those hear who believe in Our signs and who have submitted.”

These ayahs call the disbelievers, deaf, blind and even dead, because they fail to use the faculties of mind, heart, eyes and ears, to see, listen, think, analyze, and accept the words of wisdom. This means prejudice, ignorance, and arrogance, has deprived them of reason and made them lifeless like corpses that cannot hear, see and think, even though these disbelievers breath, walk, eat and indulge in pleasures of the flesh. These ayahs are self-explanatory. The gist of their message is that only those who on hearing the message of the Prophet of Islam use their intellect to analyze it and submit to God, that is, become Muslims, have discovered the right path. In brief, if a person’s heart and mind are incapable of understanding facts and realities, it means he/she is a corpse, on whom no words of wisdom will have any affect. It is like trying to connect a burnt out lamp to the electricity circuit, and the result will be no light.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Death and life, according to the holy Qur’an, covers both material and spiritual aspects, which means that those who do not want to hear the words of truth are dead though they are apparently alive. On the other hand, those who have realized the truth and attain martyrdom by sacrificing their life for its sake, are alive and benefit from Divine Sustenance, although they are not physically present.
2. Having ears, eyes and other senses is not enough, but what is important is the use of the intellect to understand the truth, the lack of which makes the faculties of eyes, ears and other senses useless. The person who is asleep wakes up on hearing a sound, but the one who pretends to be asleep will never respond to any call.

FK/AS/SS