Salaam and 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 and here is ayah 9 of Surah Fatir.

“It is Allah Who sends the winds and they raise a cloud; then We drive it toward a dead land and with it revive the earth after its death. Likewise will be the resurrection [of the dead].”

Last Friday we discussed the status of the believers and disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection. The ayah that we now recited to you, is in response to those who doubt about Resurrection.

Thus, as a sequel to the discussions of the preceding ayahs of this Surah about guidance, misguidance, faith, and disbelief, this ayah talks briefly and clearly about Origin and Resurrections and by an interesting reasoning it proves both of them.

In the same manner that by the Will of Allah the Almighty, the movement of the cloud and winds, and the fall of rain make the dead land alive and plants shoot out of the soil, by His Will the dead come out of the ground alive. This is undeniable proof of the Infinite Power of the Almighty Creator.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The winds that move clouds from the seas and oceans to dry lands, resulting in rains of fresh water that revive the land and make it green and verdant, are the handiwork of God, as well as the other phenomena of nature, in order to jolt our conscience and make us better cognizant of the Almighty Creator.
2. The world of creation and the entire universe functions in orderly way, as decreed by God.

Now we listen to ayah 10 of Surah Fatir:

“Whoever seeks honour1 [should know that] honour entirely belongs to Allah. To Him ascends the good word, and He elevates righteous conduct; as for those who devise evil schemes, there is a severe punishment for them, and their plotting shall come to naught.”

Those who lack firm belief and are blinded by the materialist world, consider their dignity to be power and wealth, or dependence on the ruling powers. Here, the holy Qur’an says: the real dignity belongs to God the All-Glorious, and it is He Who grants dignity to His virtuous and obedient servants, whose good and righteous conduct are accepted by God and entails great and multiplied rewards. In other words, dignity and honor is acquired by believers through correct and righteous belief, coupled with good conduct and deeds. Thus, what goes up to God and elevates the status of the true believers is firm faith and righteous action, not anything else.

Towards its end, the ayah warns the disbelievers, deniers of truth and sinners, of severe punishment for their mischief and evil designs that do not grant them any real dignity, but only temporary relief before divine wrath descends upon them for their sins and devilish ways.

We learn from this ayah that:

1. To God the All-Glorious belongs all dignity and it is He who grants dignity to His righteous servants.
2. In contrast to the temporary respect and supposed dignity the misguided wielders of power earn, the honour and dignity of the believers is permanent and much greater than what the wicked tried to achieve through crooked ways.
3. There is a reciprocal relationship between faith and practice that affect each other.

Now we listen to ayah 11 of Surah Fatir:

“Allah created you from dust, then from a drop of [seminal] fluid, then He made you mates. No female conceives or delivers except with His knowledge, and no elderly person advances in years, nor is anything diminished of his life, but it is [recorded] in a Book. That is indeed easy for Allah.”

Those who deny resurrection cannot offer any reasonable proof in this regard. This ayah draws attention towards the stages of creation of a human being by the Power of God Almighty. It means to say: Don’t you realize that God Who created you from dust and the evolutionary process of male sperm and female womb, has the power to resurrect you to life in your original form, long after you have been dead and your bones turned to dust!

In continuation, the ayah points to the all-encompassing knowledge and awareness of the Almighty Creator Who knows every minute detail about His creatures, including each and every conception and childbirth, as well as the aging process of all and everybody, along with whatever that has been granted or withheld. Everything is recorded in the heavenly tablet, and this is all easy for Allah, Who will eventually raise back to life all mankind for the final judgment?

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Paying attention to the origin of human creation makes us more cognizant of God Almighty’s Infinite Power and Glory, and at the same time saves us from satanic and vain pride.
2. As science is beginning to understand, the origin of mankind is dust to which all eventually will return.

The Almighty Creator is fully aware of all and everything.

FK/AS/SS