Welcome to our weekly program “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.

The 30^th ayah of Surah ar-Roum in Holy Qur’an:

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا ۚ فِطْرَتَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّـهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“So set your heart on the religion as of people of pure and upright faith, the origination of Allah according to which He originated mankind. There is no altering Allah’s creation; that is the upright religion, but most people do not know.”

As you might recall from the previous episodes of this weekly programme, the ayahs of this Surah have been referring to the various signs in the world of creation of the Majesty and Power of the One and Only God, His Omnipotence, and His Wisdom in fashioning the universe and governing it in the most orderly manner – facts which the polytheists and the atheists cannot deny. The ayah that we recited to you now, in addition to directing our attention to the order of nature and focusing our observances on the innate nature of mankind, guides us towards belief in monotheism, in view of the fact that our nature itself is oriented towards attestation of the existence of the Sole Creator. God calls on all those who profess belief in monotheism, to wholeheartedly seek the righteous path and distance themselves from any deviation from the straight and unwavering path. The ayah emphasizes that the pure religion which is free from any polytheism is the religion decreed by Allah for all human beings in accordance with their nature, which He has created and which is permanent and unchangeable, though many people do not pay attention to this fact. It was God Almighty Who in various eras of history and through various prophets in different places, revealed codes of guidance for human societies, but unfortunately, no sooner had a prophet departed from the world, some of his so-called followers made innovations and distorted religion, thus veering off the right track. Therefore, God Almighty entrusted His Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), with the most upright universal creed for the guidance of all humanity, in every era and in every geographical place, ensuring that pure and pristine Islam never deviates from its original course, since the innate nature of mankind does not change with the passage of time. In other words, all human beings, in any location or period of time, maintain the same innate nature, and thus need the same religion for prosperity in life and salvation in afterlife. Many people neglect this fact. Instead of paying attention to the pure and pristine teachings of Islam, as taught by the Prophet and the Infallible Imams of his Household, they seek other religions which are full of shortcomings and contradictions, or they take to creeds that have been derailed from the righteous path and do not lead to the destination which God has chosen for man.
From this ayah, we learn that:

1. The innate nature of mankind has been created by God with inclination toward the righteous path, and thus it resents falsehood.
2. Religion, as a general rule, and in all dimensions, is something natural; and it must be so, because monotheistic studies tell us that there should be an agreement between the system of genesis and divine religion. Whatever is found in religion has certainly a root in nature, and whatever is in creation and man’s ego is a complement for the religious laws.
3. The development and growth of mankind is in coordination with the divine order because both of them maintain the same origin and are not in contrast with each other.

Now, let’s listen to the 31^st and 32^nd ayahs of Surah ar-Roum:

مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا ۖ كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ

“Turning to Him in penitence, and be wary of Him, and maintain the prayer, and do not be among the polytheists;

“– Of those who split up their religion and become sects: each faction exulting in what it possessed.”

In the previous ayah, we said that although religion and remembrance of God is based on the innate nature of mankind; it might be neglected and forgotten by those of weak faith. Thus, this ayah means to say that whenever you neglected or derailed from the straight path; repent and return to God, which is tantamount to returning to your own innate nature. Then, this ayah provides a number of guidelines for maintenance and protection of religion. One of them is observance of piety and avoidance of sins. And the other one is building a firm and constant bond with God within the framework of observance of the obligatory ritual prayers and other acts of worship, such as supplication, turning to God, being in awe of Him, and by establishing the obligatory prayer. If these two principles are complied with, people will not succumb to satanic temptations, whether polytheism or atheism. The next ayah goes on to refer to one of the consequences of disbelief and deviation from the right path, and notes that polytheism leads to divisions within the human community. One of the symptoms of polytheism is separation in belief, because having different objects of worship is the cause of having different methods which is the origin of separations and deviations, since polytheism is always accompanied by carnal desire, and its sequels are bigotry, pride, individualism, and selfishness. Thus, if all human beings were to base their views and actions on monotheism, no differences of opinion or paradoxes will surface in the community. In other words, union and unity is impossible save under the shade of monotheism.

From these ayahs, we learn:

1. The innate inclination of mankind toward religion bears fruit if he prays to God, repents, and maintains his piety.
2. Monotheism leads to unity and solidarity of members of the human community, while polytheism leads to divisions, sectarianism, and discord in society.
3. Sensuality never lets man see the feature of truth in its real form and find a correct judgment free from love and wrath.

Now, let’s listen to 33^rd and 34^th ayahs of Surat ar-Roum in Holy Qur’an:

وَإِذَا مَسَّ النَّاسَ ضُرٌّ دَعَوْا رَبَّهُم مُّنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَذَاقَهُم مِّنْهُ رَحْمَةً إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُم بِرَبِّهِمْ يُشْرِكُونَ

لِيَكْفُرُوا بِمَا آتَيْنَاهُمْ ۚ فَتَمَتَّعُوا فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ

“When distress befalls people, they supplicate their Lord, turning to Him in penitence. Then, when He lets them taste His mercy, behold, a part of them ascribe partners to their Lord,

"Being ungrateful toward what We have given them. So let them enjoy. Soon they will know!”

This ayah refers to the fact that there are some people who call on Allah only at the time of afflictions and difficulties, but a true believer ought to call upon Allah at all times. Unfortunately, no sooner God has showered His mercy to deliver them from hardships, the people who are weak of faith, wrong themselves by forgetting divine favours and indulging in all sorts of deviations and sins, including polytheism. If this sense of ungratefulness lingers in one’s life, the polytheists will face its dire consequences in the future. In the next ayah, though the polytheists are addressed as ungrateful, the ayah has a vast concept and it encompasses all those who forget Allah and His favours, at the time of affluence of bounties and are only busy enjoying them and neglect the Actual Endower of the bounties. Their enjoyment is, however, temporary, and they will not be able to escape its consequences.

From these ayahs, we learn:

1. People of weak faith, and even atheists, turn to God in hardships and woes, as if, there are no problems in life, there is no need of God.
2. It is in the innate nature of mankind to turn to God and it is only the ingrates, who on being relieved of their difficulties, forget divine favours, and again turn to sins, negligence, thanklessness, polytheism and atheism.

AS/MG/SS