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).

For the past few weeks, we have been explaining “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 41 and 42:

“Certainly the warnings came to Pharaoh’s clan,

“Who denied all of Our signs; so We seized them with the seizing of One [who is] All-Mighty, Omnipotent.”

If you remember, in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of Surah Qamar last Friday, we dwelt on the terrible fate of the homosexual people of Sodom, Gomorrah and other cities for whose guidance God Almighty had sent Prophet Lot, but except for a few the majority indulged in the unnaturally abominable habit of sodomy – or ‘gay’ to use the modern western term. We said a nation of disbelievers that is immersed in cardinal sins will eventually be struck by Divine Wrath after God has given ample respite for repentance and sealed His argumentation, since none can stand against the Will of the Almighty Creator which prevails over all and everything. We also said the Holy Qur’an is not a book of history, but it gives an accurate narration of selective events of the past in order to wake up human conscience to help discover the truth. 

The Ayahs that we recited to you now refer to the destruction brought upon himself and his arrogant followers by Egypt’s tyrannical Pharaoh who claimed to be God and had enslaved the monotheist Israelites, despite the admonishment of Prophet Moses (AS) to release them by showing astounding miracles.

Ayah 42 pertains to the denial of manifest truth by Pharaoh and his arrogant clan who considered Divine Signs as lies, magic, or coincidence. God Almighty is saying that He seized them by His Might so that it may be known to all that the groundless claims of might and grandeur by tyrants are nothing against Divine Omnipotence and Glory. Even small beings like locusts, frogs, and a kind of insect called ‘qumal’ vanquished the sinful Egyptians rendering them helpless and led to their destruction through drowning.

These Ayahs teach us that:

1. Obedience to unjust rulers and tyrants means complicity in their crimes.
2. Miracles are meant to awaken people and seal the argumentation so that sinners may not have any excuse in the face of Divine Wrath.
3. Power, Might, and Glory belong to the All-Merciful Creator before whom nothing can stand.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 43, 44, 45, and 46 of the same Surah:

“Are you faithless better than those, or do you have some immunity in the scriptures?

“Do they say, ‘We are a confederate league’?

“The league will soon be routed and turn its back (to flee).

“Rather the Hour is their tryst; and the Hour will be most calamitous and bitter.”

After recounting the terrible fate of some of the powerful nations of the past for their sins, these Ayahs address the polytheist Arabs of Mecca and mean to ask them: Are you disbelievers better than those of the past, or your disobedience, animosity, and disbelief are less than theirs? Is there any difference between you and the peoples of Pharaoh, Thamoud, Aad, and Sodom? Is there immunity for you against Divine Wrath in the heavenly revealed Scriptures?

Ayahs 44 and 45 refute the claim of the pagan Arabs that they were a great league of confederates who wreak vengeance upon enemies and vanquish them, by predicting that soon you will be defeated and flee from the battlefields – as was the case in battles like Badr when the seemingly mighty hordes of pagan Arabs were put to flight by a few hundred lightly armed Muslims.

Ayah 46 means to say that more terrible than the defeat on the battlefields shall be the fate of the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection when more horrible and bitterer punishments await them.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. Arrogance, vanity, and egotism lead to a person’s destruction.
2. Whatever we possess, including wealth and power, is given by God in Whose Infinite Might we should trust, rather than being self-conceited.
3. It is a Divine Promise to annihilate oppression and injustice.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 47, 48, 49, and 50 of Surah Qamar:

“Indeed the guilty are in error and madness.

“The day when they are dragged into the Fire on their faces, [it will be said to them] ‘Taste the touch of hell!’

“Indeed We have created everything in a measure,

“And Our command is but a single [word], like the twinkling of an eye.”

These Ayahs depict the fate of the disbelievers and intransigent sinners who turn away from the path of virtue by choosing the path of vices and thus bring about their own destruction. On the Day of Judgement such people will be dragged into the eternal Inferno and it shall be said unto them: Taste the heat and hardship of Hell, which you denied and belittled.

Ayah 49 means to say that the torment inflicted upon the sinners is consistent with their evil deeds and not greater, since God Almighty has created everything in its due measure. In other words, Divine Acts are well-measured, wise, and fast, and as Ayah 50 says God’s Commandment is but One and it is done as fast as the twinkling of an eye. Whatever the Almighty Creator Wills, He merely says "Be" and it will come into being.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. We ought to be always conscious of and in constant awe of our beloved Creator, whose commandments should be obeyed and to whom we should be thankful for His infinite blessings.
2. The fate of those who die in the state of disbelief and sins is terrible.
3. God has created everything in proper measure on the basis of justice; hence reward and punishment are meted out with exact measure.

In conclusion of this week’s episode of Path towards Enlightenment, we present you Ayahs 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55, which also mark the end of Surah Qamar:

“And certainly We have destroyed your likes, so is there anyone who will be admonished?

“And everything they have done is in the books,

“And everything big and small is committed to writing.

“Indeed the Godwary will be amid gardens and streams;

“In the abode of truthfulness with an Omnipotent King.”

Ayah 51 refers to the Divine Principle of the destruction of the evil nations, so as to serve as a warning to the coming generations, who ought to take admonishments in order to abstain from sins by following the path of virtue.

The next two Ayahs are a reference to the fundamental principle that the deeds committed by the past generations were not effaced following their death but whatever was done by them, whether big or small, has been preserved in the records of their deeds; likewise the deeds of all people, including the present and the future generations will be recorded and preserved for the Day of Reckoning. Everything is registered and on the Day of Judgement the system of reward and punishment will be put into effect with full exactness.

Ayahs 54 and 55 which mark conclusion of Surah Qamar refer to the lofty position of the righteous in the eternal bliss of Paradise. Firstly, mention is made of the material bounties like vast gardens and rivers in Paradise and secondly, mention is made of their great spiritual reward, namely presence at the Threshold of Proximity to the Omnipotent Lord.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. The Divine system of reward and punishment is absolutely just and all people will be judged with fairness.
2. Although God knows everything and He is the Judge on the Day of Judgment, our small and big deeds are registered exactly by angels and presented to us on the Day of Resurrection so that none can deny anything.
3. The rewards of the inhabitants of Paradise are not limited to physical and material pleasures, and they will enjoy such spiritual bounties as proximity to the Prophets. As a matter of fact, spiritual pleasures are not describable or understandable for mankind.

On this note we come to the end of the explanation of Surah Qamar, and next Friday, God willing, we will start Surah Ar-Rahmān. Goodbye.

RM/AS/SS