Salaam, and welcome to our latest episode of “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 Muhammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

Last week we started explanation of “Surah Mulk, the number 67 in the serial order of compilation of the holy Qur’an. Revealed in Mecca, it has 30 Ayahs and opens with the sentence “Blessed is He in Whose hands is all sovereignty”, thus deriving its name from “Divine Sovereignty” or “Mulk” in Arabic. It is also called “Blessed” from the opening word “Tabarak”. This Surah challenges the disbelievers with declarations of God’s Infinite Power over them and over everything else in the world, in afterlife, and in the universe by focusing on the marvelous and orderly system of creation. It also describes the regret the disbelievers will express on the Day of Resurrection. It is highly recommended to recite Surah Mulk every night.

We start from where we left you last Friday and here are Ayahs 6, 7, and 8:

“For those who defy their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and it is an evil destination.

“When they are thrown in it, they hear it blaring, as it seethes,

“Almost exploding with rage; whenever a group is thrown in it, its keepers will ask them, ‘Did there not come to you any warner?”

If you remember, in our explanation last week of the previous Ayahs of this Surah, we said the beauteous and wonderful system of creation is perfect and orderly without the least flaws in its functioning, and the more we reflect on the wonders of nature and even upon our own physical and spiritual self, the more cognizant we become of the All-Merciful Creator. We also said that wicked creatures, whether of the species of Jinn or of mankind, who spread vices and corruption or misuse science and technology to the detriment of the world and the human race, can never succeed in their devilish designs and are warned of the punishment of the Eternal Blaze.       

The Ayahs that we recited to you now say the torment of Hell is in store for those who disbelieved in the One and Only Creator and died in the state of deviation, such as the atheists, the polytheists, the apostates, the hypocrites, the distorters of truth, and the unrepentant sinners, for whom the Eternal Blaze is the worst abode.

Ayah 7 briefly refers to the horrible torment which they suffer, saying that upon being cast into Hell, they hear the fearsome sound of the blaze while it is perpetually boiling, thereby increasing their horror.

Ayah 8 depicts the intensity of the rage of the blazing fire which seems to explode, and is indeed the focal point of Divine Wrath. Whenever a group is cast into it, the fearsome angels who are the guardians of Hell ask them: Were you not warned by the Prophets and Messengers of God of such a fate?

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. On the Day of Resurrection, after the final judgement, the disbelievers, the deviators, and the unrepentant sinners whom the All-Merciful Lord had given ample bounties and respite, will meet their deserving punishment.
2. Hellfire burns the body while the soul is further tormented by the rebuke of the guardians of the Eternal Blaze.

Now we invite you to listen to Ayahs 9, 10, and 11 of the same Surah:

“They say, “Yes, a warner did come to us, but we belied [him] and said, ‘Allah has not sent down anything; you are only in great error.’

“And they (unbelievers will) say, ‘Had we listened or applied reason, we would not have been among inmates of the Blaze.

“Thus they admit their sin; so away with the inmates of the Blaze!”

These Ayahs are the response, or more properly the admission of the inmates of Hell that they were indeed warned of the dire consequences of disbelief, deviation, distortion, hypocrisy, and sins by the Prophets to whom God had entrusted the mission for guidance of humanity, and the Imams, the Saints, the upright scholars, and the pious preachers who continued to enlighten people. They confess that they not only belied the Prophets and the Divinely-designated Imams, but persecuted and martyred them by saying that the Almighty Creator had not sent any guide. They confess that they failed to use their God-given intellect and did not heed the words of truth, the result of which is their being cast into Hell. They confess to having committed sins with gay abandon without any thought of repentance and reform, but all these feelings of remorse will not avail them for having wasted the ample opportunities given by the All-Merciful Creator to rectify their wrongs while alive and thriving on Divine bounties.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. Allah has made the truth clear through revelation of Heavenly Scriptures, the raising of Divine Guides from among ourselves, and the righteous scholars who tread their path for salvage of mankind by insisting on proper use of the gift of intellect, so there remains no excuse for denial.
2. The teachings of prophets are in full harmony with the intellect, rationality, and proper reasoning; thus we should make use of this great gift to discern truth from falsehood.
3. Rejection and belying of the manifest truth results in self-destruction as is evident by the punishment of Hell.

In conclusion of this week’s episode of “Path towards Enlightenment” here are Ayahs 12, 13, and 14 of Surah Mulk:

“Indeed for those who fear their Lord in secret there will be forgiveness and a great reward.

“(Whether we) Speak secretly or do so loudly, indeed He (the Almighty Creator) knows well what is in the breasts.

“Would He Who has created not know? And He is the All-Attentive, the All-Aware.”

Having mentioned the plight of the disbelievers and the unrepentant sinners on the Day of Judgement, these Ayahs refer to the benefits of piety, cognizance of God, refrainment from sins, and repentance for any fault or misdeed, all of which entail forgiveness and a great reward from the Almighty Creator Who is aware of everything, including the thoughts that flash across our minds.

In other words, whether we speak secretly in hushed tones or speak in a loud voice; and whether we conceal or disclose our intentions, God Almighty is All-Aware of whatever is in the hearts, since He is the Creator of the entire universe.

From these Ayahs we learn the following points:

1. Faith and true belief are correctly ascertained only when a person is always conscious of the Omnipresent Almighty, whether in a secluded place or in public.
2. The Creator is aware of all our intentions and motives, including thoughts that flash across minds; thus hypocrisy is self-destruction without any benefits.
3. Proper cognizance of the Omnipresent Creator prevents a person from sins and evil deeds.

RM/AS/SS