Welcome to our weekly programme "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the Revealed Word of God Almighty, the holy Qur’an. We start from where we left you last Friday and here are ayahs 171 to 173 of Surah Saaffaat:

 “Certainly Our decree has gone beforehand in favour of Our servants, the prophets;”

“That they will indeed receive [Allah’s] help,”

“And indeed Our hosts will be the victors.”

Last week we said God sent prophets and heavenly books for every nation to guide mankind so that no one will have an excuse to indulge in polytheism and atheism, or to blame the Almighty Creator for neglecting them. There are many hypocrites who claim to have religion, but in practice they do not accept the truth and oppose religion.

The ayahs that we recited to you now mean to say the believers do not have doubts about their beliefs, since God has promised the true believers, especially the Prophets, of divine help to ensure the victory of the righteous over the disbelievers and hypocrites. The true believers are the troops of Allah and the army of Allah is always victorious in all scenes.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. God’s promise is always true and falsehood will be defeated.
2. The ultimate victory of truth will ensure the bright future of mankind.
3. Although true believers are few, they have the help of God.

Now we listen to or read ayahs 174 to 179 of the same Surah:

“So leave them alone for a while,”

“And watch them; soon they will see [the truth of the matter].”

“Do they seek to hasten Our punishment?”

“But when it descends in their courtyard it will be a dismal dawn for those who had been warned.”

“And watch them; soon they will see.”

These ayahs indicate that at first the disbelievers ought to be warned, followed by sterner admonition, and finally ultimatum of divine punishment. It is obvious that these ayahs provide consolation to the believers and to Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) who are aggrieved at the obstinacy and wickedness of the disbelievers. The wording of the holy Qur’an to leave such erring persons alone for a while, is actually an expressive and stern warning to them to make them rectify their wrong deeds and seek the truth of the matter, rather than seek Divine Punishment, since the wrath of the All-Merciful Lord descends after having provided the sinners and disbelievers ample opportunities to repent and reform.

The length of this time of respite is not known, but it is bound to end, and the end will be terrible for the evildoers, even if they think they are safe within their own homes. The pagan Arabs used to ridicule the Prophet and tell him that if he really has communion with God, he should invoke divine curse upon them. God the All-Wise cautions against bringing upon themselves such a severe punishment. The repetition “watch them; soon they will see” is to emphasize the divine decision to keep under observation the deniers of truth and their claims. It means they will meet the painful results of their evil deeds, while the believers are surely victorious.

From these ayahs we will learn that

1. In order to guide the stubborn people, sometimes it is necessary to leave them alone for a while so that they might contemplate and return to the right way.
2. It is not a joke to mock at and ridicule the believers, or in wishing the hastening of divine wrath.
3. The rejecters of religion will taste the bitter fruits of a terrible end in order to serve as a lesson for the coming generations, while the true believers are the ultimate victors. 

Now we will listen to or read ayahs 179 to 182 of Surah Saaffaat:

 “Clear is your Lord, the Lord of Might, of whatever they allege [concerning Him].”

“Peace be to the prophets!”

“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.”

These last three ayahs of Surah Saaffaat could be called the gist of the message of this surah on the Infinite Power of the One and Only Creator, the futility of the allegations of the disbelievers in attributing absurd things to Him, and the peace guaranteed to the Prophets by God to Whom all praise belongs and Who as the Originator of the entire universe is aware of all things. In other words, the world of creation is the manifestation of the Lordship of Allah. The Sovereignty of Allah is the basis of His Praise, while the attributes that the polytheists ascribe to Him, do not agree with His Glory, because as Creator, Owner and Manager of the whole world of existence, God is far above the imaginations and needs of human beings. Thus, it is nothing but gross ignorance of the polytheists and their refusal to make proper use of the God-given intellect that makes them imagine angels as females and the daughters of Allah, or their worshipping of pieces of stone and wood, as deities. Therefore the Surah ends with praise of the sincere servants of Allah and the emphasis on His Glory and Might which nullify all these imaginary objects of worship.

According to the sayings of the Prophet of Islam and his Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt, whoever desires the rewards of afterlife, their last word in any gathering they attend ought to be the ayah: “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.”

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. There is no doubt whatsoever of the terrible fate and lasting punishment of the unbelievers.
2. All praise belongs to God, and He has guaranteed blessings and dignity for His sincere servants.
3. Only the Almighty Creator is the Master of the whole universe, and is the Source of all perfections and beauties.

That was the end of Surah Saaffaat.

AS/ME