Salaam and welcome to another episode of our weekly series titled “Path towards Enlightenment” which is an endeavour to make you and us familiar with an easy and fluent explanation of God’s Final Scripture to all mankind, the holy Qur’an that was revealed to the Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

As you know, last week we started explanation of “Surah Qamar” which was revealed in Mecca and deals mainly with the punishment of disbelievers of the past generations, as a warning to the pagans of Mecca and also to the disbelievers of all times – with the refrain “is there anyone who will be admonished?” running throughout the Surah. The miserable fate of the disbelievers on the Day of Judgement is contrasted to the everlasting bliss the believers will enjoy in paradise. An interesting feature of this Surah is that all 55 of its Ayahs end with the letter R.

We continue from where we left you last week and here are Ayahs 9, 10, 11, and 12, which read:

“The people of Noah belied before them. So they belied Our servant and said, ‘A crazy man,’ and he was ostracized.

“Thereat he revoked his Lord, “I have been overcome, so help me.’

“Then We opened the gates of the sky with pouring water;

“And We made the earth burst forth with springs, and the water met for a preordained purpose.”

If you might recall, in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of this Surah last Friday, we said events of the Day of Resurrection are extremely horrible for the faithless and the sinners; unimaginable consequences indeed, since Resurrection is physical and all mankind will be brought to life in their original shape for the Final Judgement, which they denied.

The Ayahs that we recited to you now point to the rebellious people for whose guidance God chose Prophet Noah but the disbelievers tried to belie him to the extent that he was called crazy, ostracized and even threatened with death. Finally, despaired of guiding them and having sealed his argumentation with them, he invoked God Almighty for help, as a consequence of which the torment of tempest encompassed them in such a manner as if the gates of the sky were opened to let down pouring water.

According to exegetes of the Holy Qur’an, the sinful nation which had been afflicted with famine for some years, expected rains as a relief, but since they had neither given up their evil ways nor repented in spite of the long respite given to them by the All-Merciful Lord, the downpour was devastating. As Ayah 12 means to say the heavy rain from above was met with torrents of water gushing forth from the ground, and the two intermingled with each other to create a huge flood that was preordained and engulfed almost the entire earth to destroy the disbelievers.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. It is the habit of disbelievers to call Prophets and Saints crazy men in a bid to tarnish their image among people.
2. The Power of God prevails over all and everything and things, which means the intransigent disbelievers and sinners have no way of escape.
3. Rain is the symbol of God’s mercy, but could turn into the means of Divine punishment for those refusing to repent and rectify their wicked ways.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 13, 14, 15, and 16 of the same Surah:

“And We carried him on a vessel made of planks and nails,

“Which sailed (over the flood waters) in Our sight, as a reward for him who was repudiated.

“Certainly We have left it as a sign; so is there anyone who will be admonished?

“So how were My punishment and My warnings?

Before striking the intransigent disbelievers and sinners with punishment, God had ordered Prophet Noah to build a huge Ark for accommodating the believers along with a pair of every animal species in order to save them from extinction, but this also drew taunts and laughter from the deniers of truth. It is worthy of note that the Qur’anic expression employed herein is meaningful and significant, since it reflects that in such a harsh tempest encompassing everything, God made some pieces of wood and some nails as means of refuge and rescue for Noah and his followers, which is proof of Divine Omnipotence.

Ayah 14 is indicative of God’s special Favour to Noah for his tireless efforts, saying that the Ark cleaved waves asunder before Our Eyes and under Our Supervision.

Ayahs 15 and 16 refer to the remains of Noah’s Ark as a lesson for the coming generations so that they may be reminded of the great deluge that destroyed the disbelievers and saved the believers, as an admonishment to beware of Divine punishment and wrath, as consequences of mankind’s evil acts.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. If God destroys the intransigent disbelieves He also saves the true believers from the mouth of catastrophes, as was the case of Noah and his followers who were rescued by the Ark made of wooden planks and nails.
2. The ungrateful and the deniers of truth are punished both in this world and the Hereafter.
3. Noah’s Ark remains as a sign of admonishment for the future generations.

Here we present Ayah 17 of Surah Qamar:

“Certainly We have made the Qur’an simple for the sake of admonishment. So is there anyone who will be admonished?”

This Ayah says God Almighty has made the Holy Qur’an easy to understand so that anyone may easily comprehend the words and expressions therein to discover the path toward prosperity and salvation. The Heavenly Scripture helps the seekers of truth to learn the accounts of the Prophets of the past and the fate that befell the nations that were immersed in sins and disbelief.

It means to say: Is there anyone who remembers God Almighty and receives admonition? It is worthy of note that flawless eloquence of the Holy Qur’an and the timeless wisdom of its words are guidance for the Godwary.

This Ayah teaches us the following points:

1. The Qur’an, though flawlessly eloquent, is not complicated but easy to understand.
2. The timeless beauty and wisdom of this final Heavenly Scripture remains unmatched to this day and thus the eternal miracle of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny)

In conclusion of this week’s episode, we invite you to listen to Ayahs 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 of Surah Qamar:

“(The people of) Aad belied (their Prophet); so how were My punishment and My warnings?

“Indeed We unleashed upon them an icy gale on an incessantly ill-fated day;

“Knocking down people as if they were trunks of uprooted palm trees;

“So how were My punishment and My warnings?!

“Certainly We have made the Qur’an simple for the sake of admonishment; so is there anyone who will be admonished?”

The Ayahs refer to the terrible fate that befell the nation of Aad in southern Arabia for whose guidance Prophet Houd was chosen, but was belied by the disbelievers and sinners, who made themselves deserving of Divine Wrath, which struck them in the form of an incessant icy gale. This robust and strong people who used to hew mountains to build homes were helpless in the face of God’s punishment for their denial of truth. The gale plucked down people like the uprooted trunks of trees and scattered them hither and thither. It was so harsh that their limbs were severed and scattered into the air. It may also connote that the terrible gale lifted them and pounded them on the earth head down, breaking their necks and severing their heads.

Ayah 21 is warning people of the severity of Divine punishment for those who tread the path of denial of truth, arrogance, vanity, sinfulness, and rebellion. Ayah 22 reminds that God has made the Holy Qur’an facile to comprehend and derive guidance thereof. It means to say: Is there anyone who remembers God Almighty and receives admonition? Is there anyone listening to the Divine Call and Warnings?

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. God raised Prophets to invite people towards truth and salvation, but the obstinate disbelievers and sinners brought punishment upon themselves.
2. Wind, like water and other forces of nature, is the creation of God Almighty and thus under His control, as both a sign of Divine mercy or Wrath.
3. The Holy Qur’an is not a book of history, but relates selective accounts of the past nations in order to wake up human conscience to discover the truth.

RM/AS/SS