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 with recitation of ayah 20 of Surah Luqman:

أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً ۗ وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّـهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُّنِيرٍ

"Do you not see that Allah has disposed for you whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth and He has showered upon you His blessings, the outward and the inward? Yet among the people are those who dispute concerning Allah without any knowledge or guidance or an illuminating scripture."

In this ayah, two sorts of bounties are referred to. The outward bounties, such as health, sustenance, beauty and the like; and the inward bounties, such as faith, gnosis, certainty, good character, unseen succour, knowledge, nature, mastership, and so on. At last, after mentioning ten admonishments about Origin and Resurrection, the rules of living, and ethical and social programs, for completing them, The holy Qur’an goes to the statement of divine bounties in order to awaken the sense of gratitude in people, a thanksgiving that becomes the source of proper cognition of Allah and the motive of obedience to Allah’s command.

The address of the Sage Luqman is to all mankind, when he says: “Do you not see that Allah has disposed for you whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth and He has showered upon you His blessings, the outward and the inward?”

God Almighty’s making subservient to mankind whatever is in the heavens and in the earth, has a vast concept which encompasses both what the human beings have in their authority and use them with their own will, as well as things not in their authority but which have been created to serve mankind by the Will of God, like the sun and the moon. Indeed the bounties of nature have been made subservient to mankind by God, such as the seas and oceans, various types of underground mines, various species of animals on the ground and in the sea, and various types of plants and trees and agricultural products.

In addition to all material blessings which meet our physical needs, God Almighty by sending Prophets and divine books has provided the means for proper growth and perfection of our intellectual and spiritual needs. But unfortunately there are those deviated elements, who instead of being grateful for the so many blessings which God has showered upon them, dispute concerning God without having any intellectual and scientific reason.

From this ayah we learn that

1. The human race is the pinnacle of creation of God. Whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is on the earth, are at the service of human beings.
2. Divine blessings are both numerous and diversified, whether material or spiritual, which means there is no room for justification for man to be ungrateful or disobey God.

Now we listen to and read ayah 21 of Surah Luqman:

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّـهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا ۚ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَىٰ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ

"When they are told, ‘Follow what Allah has sent down,’ they say, ‘We will rather follow what we found our fathers following.’ What! Even if Satan be calling them to the punishment of the Blaze?"

This ayah means to say that instead of using their God-given intellect to discern truth from falsehood by obeying divine revelation and molding their life on its basis, they indulge in open disobedience by saying we follow the ways of our ancestors. This is indeed open disbelief, and in fact, here the holy Qur’an removes the cover of following the traditions of the ancestors, however delusional it might be, by making manifest the real feature of their deed, that is, following the Satan who only misleads them into the blazing Fire of Hell.

 From this ayah we learn that:

1. Insistence on false beliefs of ancestors and blind imitation of them, are the obstacles to the acceptance of truth and prevents human intellect from recognizing the facts.
2. Preservation of cultural heritage is valuable to the extent that it is in harmony with intellect and religion, otherwise it can be the factor for decline and collapse.
3. The Satan always leads human beings into the pitfalls of deviating paths.

Now we listen to and read ayahs 22, 23 and 24 of Surah Luqman:

وَمَن يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُ إِلَى اللَّـهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ ۗ وَإِلَى اللَّـهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ

وَمَن كَفَرَ فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ كُفْرُهُ ۚ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَنُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

نُمَتِّعُهُمْ قَلِيلًا ثُمَّ نَضْطَرُّهُمْ إِلَىٰ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ

"Whoever surrenders his heart to Allah and is virtuous, has certainly held fast to the firmest handle, and with Allah lies the outcome of all matters."

"As for those who are faithless, let their faithlessness not grieve you. To Us will be their return, and We will inform them about what they have done. Indeed Allah knows best what is in the breasts."

"We will provide for them for a short time, then We will shove them toward a harsh punishment."

These ayahs divide people into two groups. One group sincerely and whole-heartedly surrenders its hearts to God and is thus virtuous, while the other group is made up of the faithless, who disobey the clear commandments of God.

The first group by holding fast to the firmest handle of divine guidance has found the right path. The virtuous do good to others and a good fate awaits them. But the second group, that is of the faithless, who scorn the commandment of God and indulge in sins and unlawful pleasures, despite the benefit they derive from the bounties of God which enable them to live a life of comfort, will have a miserable end and suffer harsh punishment.

As the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), was sad at the ignorance of the disbelievers and felt aggrieved at the prospects of their terrible end. The All-Merciful Lord therefore tells the Prophet not to feel sad at these deviated elements to whom all divine bounties were available, and yet they were adamant in their evil. Thus, as a result, they would be suffering the terrible consequences of their misdeeds, since God very well knows whatever they had haboured in their hearts and will duly disclose to them.

Here it is necessary to explain what is meant by the Firmest Handle of God or “Orwat-al-Wosqa” to use the terminology of the holy Qur’an. According to the Prophet’s 8^th Infallible Heir, Imam Reza (AS), once the Prophet said: “After me there will be a dark sedition. Only those can deliver from it who take hold of the firmest handhold.”

When asked what “Orwat-al-Wosqa” or the Firmest Handle of God is, the Prophet said: “It is the mastership of “Seyyed al-Wasiyyin” (Chief of Testamentary Legatees). The companions asked: “’ Messenger of Allah! Who is this “Seyyed-al-Wasiyyin”, to which the Prophet replied: (He is)“Amir-al-Momenin” (Commander of the Faithful). They asked: “O’ Messenger of Allah! Who is “Amir-al-Mominin”? The Prophet answered: He is the Master of the Muslims and their Leader after me.”

They asked: “O’ Messenger of Allah! Who is the master of the Muslims and their Leader after you?” He answered: “He is my brother, Ali ibn Abi Taleb.”

In short, “Orwat-al Wosqa” or the Firmest Handle of God is a reference to Blessed Household or Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. It is but natural for human beings to obey God and His commandments, which means those who disregard and disobey divine revelation, without any sign of repentance, are only following the path of the Satan, and will therefore be punished as a consequence of their misdeeds.
2. Belief in God is likened to holding the Firmest Handle of God. The Firmest Handles of God are the Prophets and the Infallible Imams.

AS/ME/SS