Sterling Guidance of the Holy Quran
It has come to my attention that some of you don’t believe wholeheartedly in the institution of Hadith (recorded sayings of Prophet Muhammad). If this is true, you commit a grave mistake. And I certainly haven’t taught you to do so. Rather, it’s my belief that God has provided three sources of guidance for us. First is the Holy Quran10 in which the Unity of God, His glory, and His greatness are mentioned. It contains the adjudication of the disagreements between Jews and Christians. For example, the Holy Quran discusses the dispute related to the mistaken notions that Jesus was killed through crucifixion, that he became accursed, and that he wasn’t exalted like other prophets. Similarly, the Holy Quran forbids people from worshipping anyone other than God. Thus, man is instructed not to worship mortals, animals, the sun, the moon, the stars, any material item, or his own self.
So I urge you to obey God’s teachings scrupulously and to follow the Holy Quran’s guidance, never straying from them even slightly. I verily declare that the man who evades even one of the 700 directives contained in the Holy Quran, even though that one directive may be minor, shuts—with his own hands—the door of salvation upon himself. The ways of genuine and complete salvation have been shown only by the Holy Quran; all others are merely its reflections. Hence, study the Holy Quran with profound contemplation. Cherish it dearly. Love it more than you’ve loved anything else. God addressed me and said: “Every kind of goodness is present in the Holy Quran”. What God has said is so true. Alas, people give other things precedence over the Holy Quran.
But I reiterate that the Holy Quran is the comprehensive fountainhead of your success and salvation; all your religious needs are present in it. On Judgment Day, the Holy Quran will be the verifier or the falsifier, as the case may be, of your moral state; except the Holy Quran, there is no revealed book under the heavens that can provide guidance. In summary, granting you a magnificent book like the Holy Quran is God’s grand favor to you.
I affirm with conviction that had the Holy Quran been granted to the Christians, they would have been saved from their ruination; and, instead of the Torah, had the Holy Quran been granted to the Jews some of their sects wouldn’t have become deniers of Judgment Day. The Holy Quran is a blessing worth adoring; it’s a priceless treasure. Likewise, had the Holy Quran not been revealed, the entire world would have been filthy like offal—the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal! Compared to the Holy Quran, all other revealed books are insignificant. In particular, recall that when Gabriel brought the New Testament in revealed form, he appeared in the shape of a pigeon, which is a frail bird. Consequently, day by day, Christians are declining into moral feebleness, and spirituality has departed from their midst because their faith revolved around a pigeon. But when Gabriel brought the Holy Quran in revealed form, he appeared with such awe-inspiring magnificence as to fill the extent of the earth and the skies. The contrast between that puny bird and this tremendous manifestation is remarkable. Incidentally, the latter is mentioned in the Holy Quran. Furthermore, the Holy Quran is the book that can purify you in a mere week, provided that intrinsic and extrinsic designs are absent. And it can endow you with the qualities of the prophets, provided that you don’t evade its teachings.
Thus, except the Holy Quran, there is no revealed book that teaches its readers the prayer thus filled with hope:
Guide us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. (Al-Fatihah, Ch:1, Verses:5-6)
Here, man is taught to beseech God to be led onto the path of the prophets, messengers, and other righteous persons of prior eras. In keeping with this ideal, fortify your resolve and don’t reject the Holy Quran’s invitation; God wishes to give to you what he gave to those spiritual luminaries who came before you. For instance, didn’t He grant to you the land of the Israelites and the Bait-ul-Muqaddas, the holy city of Jerusalem, which are still in your possession? O you with weak resolve, do you think that your God won’t be able to make you the spiritual successors of the Israelites, even though he has already made you the physical successors of those lands? Rather, God intends to confer greater spiritual favors on you than He did on the Israelites. Moreover, even as God made you the physical successor of the lands of the Israelites, He won’t make anyone your successors till Judgment Day.
Know that God will not keep you even slightly deprived of spiritual blessings—divine revelations and other kinds of communication from Him. He will grant you in full all those blessings that He bestowed upon those who came before you.
And I swear by God and His angels that He will destroy the man who has the insolence to claim falsely that he receives divine revelations; in doing so, that man slanders God and displays egregious impertinence. So I warn you to dread the fate that follows such effrontery. Accursed are those who claim faithlessly that they behold true dreams or that they receive communication from God. Evidently, they don’t have faith in God’s existence. But God’s punishment will seize them severely, and their forlorn fate will soon overtake them.
So I urge you to take the lead in the ways of piety and love of God. Make these ideals the irreducible core of you life. Then, for whom He wishes, God will make that man a recipient of divine communication. I do caution you not to harbor the desire for receiving divine communication lest your lower desires cause it to initiate a series of diabolical communication; such revelations have brought about the downfall of many people. You should instead engross yourself in the service and worship of God. All your effort should be exerted in ensuring that you fulfill God’s directives in their entirety; yearn for advancement in faith, not with the intent of being made a recipient of divine communication, but with the goal of receiving salvation.
The Holy Quran has furnished many sterling commandments for you, and one of them is that you should abstain wholly from shirk (associating gods with God), because the man who associates gods with God will remain deprived of the source of salvation. So don’t tell untruths, because falsification is a type of shirk.
Holy Quran Contrasted with New Testament
Unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that it’s permissible to gaze at women, except that you shouldn’t look at them lustfully. Instead, the Holy Quran teaches you to avoid glancing at women altogether, regardless of whether your gaze is motivated by pure intentions or by lust; all such occasions are potential sources of moral wavering. So, in the presence of any woman—with the exception of those women who are your mehram: your wife, mother, daughter, sister, paternal aunts and maternal aunts, brother’s daughters and sister’s daughters, mothers who have suckled you, foster-sisters, mother of your wife, step-daughters who are in your guardianship (born) of your wife, and the wives of your sons who are of your own loins—your eyes should remain downcast. You shouldn’t even become aware of her face, except to the extent that you perceive, with obscure vision only, that someone is in front of you.
And unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that you can drink alcohol, stopping short of intoxication. Rather, the Holy Quran teaches you to shun alcohol; if you don’t, you will not find God’s way. Neither will God communicate with you nor purify you of your sins. The Holy Quran also teaches that alcohol is the devil’s invention, so you should beware this vice.
Again, unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that you should merely avoid venting unprovoked anger at your brother. Instead, it teaches that not only should you restrain your anger, you ought to act according to the Quranic precept to “… exhort one another to mercy”(Al-Balad, Ch:90, Verse:17), and that you exhort others to do the same. In addition to acting mercifully, you should encourage all your friends to do the same.
Unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach you to patiently overlook all impious acts of your wife and not divorce her, except in the case that she fornicates. Rather, the Holy Quran teaches you that “Unclean things are for unclean ones and unclean ones are for unclean things, and good things are for good ones and good ones are for good things…”(Al-Nur, Ch:24, Verse:26). Thus, it’s the Holy Quran’s principle that the impure cannot dwell alongside the pure. So, though your wife may not yet have committed fornication, you can divorce her if she keeps her eyes on other men lustfully and embraces them illicitly in bodily intimacy; if she is veering toward intimacy with another man—though she has not committed fornication yet—and shows him her nakedness; and if she transgresses and is guilty of shirk, disgusted by the Holy God in Whom you believe. In summary, if your wife grows unfaithful in these ways, it’s no longer permissible for you to dwell with her because she has ceased to be a part of your body. Rather, she’s like a fetid, putrefying organ that deserves to be severed from your body lest it contaminate and sully the remainder of your body, thereby causing your death.
And unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that you should avoid taking any sworn oath. Rather, the Holy Quran only forbids you from making absurd sworn statements, because taking sworn oaths is sometimes necessary in arriving at a decision. God doesn’t wish for a source of arriving at decisions —taking sworn oaths—to become futile. Otherwise, it ruins the inherent wisdom. It’s only natural that when an individual doesn’t take a sworn oath in connection with a disputed matter, godly testimony becomes necessary for arriving at a decision; and taking sworn oaths is equivalent to godly testimony.
Once again, unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that the oppressor should never be resisted:
And the recompense of evil is punishment like it; but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with Allah…. (Al-Shura, Ch:42, Verse:40).
Instead, the Holy Quran teaches you that the recompense of wrongdoing is an equal amount of wrongdoing. But God will be pleased with the person, and will reward him accordingly, who acts compassionately—pardoning the other’s sin, thereby opening the way to moral reformation, and not to an evil end. From the Holy Quran’s perspective, then, neither is retaliation required in every situation nor forgiveness the commendable approach under all circumstances. One should, instead, act appropriately in light of the prevailing circumstances. So one’s conduct ought to be prudently retaliatory or forgiving according to the situation, rather than being motivated by the exigencies of compulsion.
And unlike the New Testament, the Holy Quran does not teach that you should love your enemies. Rather, the Holy Quran teaches that your lower desires shouldn’t compel you to make someone your enemy. In particular, you should harbor compassion for everyone. But the enemy of God, of Prophet Muhammad, and of the Holy Quran must be your enemy. You must nevertheless invite even such enemies to the way of God. Don’t keep them deprived of your prayers. Be antagonistic to their evil ways, not their persons. And seek their reformation. In this context, God says:
Surely Allah enjoins justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred…. (Al-Nahl, Ch:16, Verse:90)
And God commands you to do good even to those who haven’t done any good to you. Moreover, you should act compassionately to all of God’s creation as if you were their close relative, much like a kind mother’s compassion toward her children. In contrast, an aspect of conceit is latent in a man’s action of obliging someone with a favor; occasionally, that man may even boast tiresomely of the favors conferred. But he who does good to others unselfishly—like the kind mother deals mercifully with her children—can never be guilty of dwelling on how he has obliged others. To sum up, the ultimate stage of doing good deeds is the one that’s motivated by the altruistic sentiments akin to the instinctive benevolence of the kind-hearted mother.
The preceding Quranic verse applies not only to God’s creation, but to God as well; being evenhanded to God is to be mindful of His blessings and to obey Him; doing a favor to God has the connotations of harboring profound faith in His existence as if you actually behold Him; and adopting the attitude of “… doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred…. (Al-Nahl, Ch:16, Verse:90)” toward God implies that one ought to worship God neither because of the allure of Heaven nor the fear of Hell. Instead, even if it’s supposed that there is neither Heaven nor Hell, it ought to make no difference whatsoever in one’s love of and obedience to God!
And it’s stated in the New Testament that you should seek blessings for those who curse you. But the Holy Quran teaches that your actions shouldn’t be based on your ego’s impulses. You should instead peer inside your soul—which is the pasture where God’s gleaming manifestations alight—and inquire about the verdict on dealing with the man who curses you. So if God gives you the understanding that that man is worthy of mercy, and that he is not accursed in the heavens, then you shouldn’t curse him either lest you displease God. But if your conscience does not excuse that man, and you’re given the understanding that he is accursed in the heavens, then you should not seek blessings for that person. After all, no prophet has ever sought blessings for the devil, and no prophet has ever exempted the devil from loathsome disgrace. On the other hand, be wary lest you curse someone hastily, because many instances of casting suspicions and maledictions can potentially revert back on one’s own self. Therefore, act prudently. Investigate and analyze the situation fully prior to taking a particular course of action. And seek assistance from God—because you don’t possess the knowledge of certainty in such affairs—lest you adjudge the fair-minded man as the oppressor or regard the oppressor as the upright man. In fact, you’ll displease God in this way, and all your good deeds will be squandered.
Similarly, it’s stated in the New Testament that you should not do good deeds to make others aware of such deeds. But the Holy Quran teaches that you shouldn’t conceal all your good deeds from the public. You should instead do some of your good deeds discreetly when the circumstances suggest this course of action as prudent and beneficial for your soul. And you should do some of your good work openly when you sense that doing so would benefit others; you will thereby receive two rewards—in addition to the intrinsic benefit derived from the virtuous deed itself, those with weak resolve who probably wouldn’t have had the boldness otherwise to do good deeds will now follow your precedent and feel emboldened to do good work themselves. Indeed, God has said:
… and spend out of what We have given them, secretly and openly…. (Al-Fatir, Ch:35, Verse:29)
Thus, by instructing man to be charitable, both covertly and overtly, God Himself has explained the wisdom of this commandment: In addition to exhorting people to good through your words, motivate them with your actions because sermonizing isn’t always the most effective method—in fact, a worthy example is often preferable to the verbal exhortation.
Then it’s stated in the New Testament that you should repair to your quarters when you wish to beseech God. But the Holy Quran teaches that you shouldn’t perform all your prayers in solitude. Rather, you should pray to God in the company of your fellow men so that if the supplication of one of you is accepted, it may serve to strengthen everyone’s faith. And the motivation of all to beseech God will be increased.
Al-Fatihah and Lord’s Prayer Contrasted
Similarly, the New Testament [Lord’s Prayer, trans.] teaches that God should be beseeched in this way:
This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew, 6:9-13)
But the Holy Quran asserts that it is untrue that Earth is devoid of God’s glorification. Instead, God is being praised on Earth, and not in the heavens alone. Thus, God has said that “… And there is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His praise” (Bani Israil, Ch:17, Verse:44) and also that “Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah…” (Al-Jumu’ah, Ch:62, Verse:2). Indeed, the mountains are loftily engrossed in God’s remembrance; and the rivers are immersed in God’s reflection; the trees too are absorbed in God’s meditation in their own sheltering ways. So the man who is not engrossed humbly in God’s remembrance is being humbled by the divine administration of justice by way of afflictions and entrapment in various sorts of worldly snares. And just as it’s stated in the Holy Quran that the angels are engaged in glorifying God with flawless devotion, so too is it stated therein that the minutiae of Earth praise God ceaselessly—everything obeys God, and not even a leaf can fall to the earth without His permission. Likewise, no medicine can cure without His permission; and no diet can prove suitable without it either.
Everything kneels at God’s threshold in a state of meekness and devotion, rapt in obeying Him. In fact, every iota of earth and mountains, each drop of water in rivers and oceans, every particle of shrubbery and trees, and each atom of the animal kingdom and of the human race recognizes God intrinsically. They obey Him and are immersed in His remembrance. This is why God has said:
Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah…. (Al-Jumu’ah, Ch:62, Verse:1)
Just as everything in the heavens is praising and glorifying God, so too is everything on Earth praising and glorifying God. So is Earth devoid of His praise and glory? Such words cannot escape from the lips of an aarif (one who has been blessed with profound discernment and understanding of God). Rather, when we consider, for example, Earth in its entirety, its elements are either in a state of obeying the commandments of the revealed divine law or in a state of receiving divine administration according to the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar; and some elements are subject to both states simultaneously. Be they clouds or wind or earth or fire, they’re all obeying God industriously and glorifying Him. And if man disobeys the divine laws, he becomes blameworthy and consequently goes into the state of receiving divine administration. To sum up, everything lies within the perimeters of these two states of divine governance; like a harness, every man wears around his neck the inescapable harness of the governance of one divine law or the other.
With the passage of time, either the state related to the mindfulness of God and remembrance of Him or the state of forgetfulness of God and unawareness of Him prevails on Earth, respectively, as the moral state of humanity gravitates in the direction of blamelessness or blameworthiness. But this ebb and tide—this waning and resurgence—take place in accordance with divine wisdom and prudence, and not of their own accord. Indeed, events take place in complete accord with God’s intent. In summary, the cyclical nature of the prevalence of these states—either morality and rectitude, or immorality and decadence—is firmly in effect. And it is in effect just as surely as the unalterable series of night and day, in full accordance with God’s laws and by His permission, and not of its own accord. Every element of Earth listens attentively to His voice and glorifies Him in adoration. Yet the New Testament says that Earth is devoid of His praise and glory! The explanation for this is suggestively mentioned in the next part of that New Testament prayer (Lord’s Prayer): that God’s kingdom has yet to be established on Earth. And since God’s kingdom hasn’t yet been established, and not because of any other reason, therefore God’s will has not been implemented on Earth as it is in the heavens. Thus goes the assertion
But the teachings of the Holy Quran are diametrically opposed to that assertion; the Holy Quran informs us that no evildoer—thief, murderer, fornicator, unbeliever, transgressor, felon, or evildoer—can perpetrate any wickedness on Earth until he is given authority from the heavens. So how can it be said that God’s kingdom isn’t already established on Earth? Is there a counter-example on whose basis it could be asserted that the enforcement of God’s commandments is being hindered? Glory be to God, nothing impedes the enforcement of His commandments!
Divine Law of Qazaa-wa-qadar
The fact is that God Himself has created two sets of laws: One is applicable to the angels in the heavens, and the other to humans on Earth. And God hasn’t granted the angels any autonomy in His kingdom of the heavens. Instead, the angels’ nature has been imbued deeply with the quality of obedience; they simply cannot disobey God, and they are wholly impervious to forgetfulness11. But human nature has been imbued with the autonomy to obey or disobey God’s commandments. And since God Himself has empowered man with this autonomy, it can’t be asserted that the existence of a transgressing man serves to prove that God’s kingdom isn’t established on Earth. Rather, the dictates of God’s kingdom prevail on Earth.
Indeed, there exist only two sets of laws: One is applicable to the angels in the heavens, and the other to humans on Earth. Accordingly, as the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar applies to the heavens, angels are incapable of committing misdeeds; and, as this divine law applies to Earth, humans have been invested with the authorization from the heavens to perpetrate wickedness (qazaa-wa-qadar refers to the doctrine of predestination and God’s absolute decree of good and evil; in particular, qazaa refers to the ordering of a thing to come to pass, while qadar signifies the creating of things subject to certain laws). But when man practices the principle of seeking God’s protection (istighfaar) through prayers and of seeking strength from Him, God can remove man’s moral failing.
And man can henceforth remain protected from succumbing to the evil tendency to commit sins, just as God’s prophets—each one of them sinless, pious, and righteous—were always protected from committing misdeeds by way of their seeking God’s protection (istighfaar). If man has already committed a sin, he too can benefit from the principle of istighfaar so as to be saved from the resulting wrathful punishment; remember that the arrival of light dispels darkness. But those hardened criminals who don’t repent and adopt the principle of istighfaar continue receiving punishment for their sins. The plague is an example of an affliction that has descended on Earth as punishment. Transgressors continue to get annihilated by it. So how can it be said that God’s kingdom isn’t already established on Earth?
Don’t be bewildered by the fact that people continue to commit wicked deeds unabatedly, despite the reality that God’s kingdom has already been established on Earth—the fact is that the perpetration of crimes falls under the governance of the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar. Thus, even though evildoers sidestep divine law, they’re nonetheless always within the sphere circumscribed by the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar. So it would be inaccurate to assert that hardened criminals don’t wear the harness of the governance of divine law. All sorts of misdeeds are committed in British India: Robbers, murderers, fornicators, embezzlers, bribers, and other types of evildoers dwell in this realm. Yet it cannot be claimed that British rule isn’t in effect in this land. Indeed, British dominion rules the land of India but the rulers deliberately decided against imposing such harsh laws upon its subjects as would’ve made their lives intolerable. Otherwise, if it had wanted to, the Government could have easily locked up all the felons in drab prisons, thereby preventing them from committing further offenses. Alternatively, the Government could have implemented a policy of deterrence by enforcing brutal punishments for criminals, thereby eradicating crime from society.
The reality is that an ever-growing number of people in British India are resorting to all sorts of vices: Drinking is rampant, the numbers of immoral and dissolute women is swelling, robberies and murders are committed, etc. These multitudes of offenses take place not because British rule is absent from the land, but because the Government’s leniency has emboldened many in the populace to act in this manner. The Government could conceivably make its criminal code of law sterner to check the swelling tide of people who commit these vices.
But keep in mind that the British kingdom is merely a human enterprise and, as such, is trifling when compared to the divine kingdom. So if a human enterprise has such sweeping authority, one can only surmise about the powers of the divine kingdom.
Moreover, if God’s law were to become grim this moment—if every fornicator is struck by lightning, every thief afflicted by some disease that wastes away his hands, every transgressing denier of God’s religion perishes because of the plague, etc.—the entire world will transform into an unsullied expanse of righteousness and piety, even before a week has elapsed. To sum up, God’s kingdom is already established on Earth unquestionably, but the leniency of the divine law provides sufficient freedom to felons whereby they don’t taste swift retribution.
This is not to say that they can continually evade chastisement! Hence, thousands of lives are lost through a variety of unforeseen events: Earthquakes reduce dwellings to mere rubble, killing scores of inhabitants; lightning-strikes result in loss of life; sinking ships often take their passengers down to their watery graves; railroad accidents sometimes cause massive casualties; storms demolish human settlements; now and again, houses collapse, burying the dwellers underneath the masonry; at times, victims of venomous snake-bites die; attacks by wild animals sometimes prove fatal; and plagues wreak havoc on human settlements. Admittedly, this is a wholly incomplete list—there are thousands of other ways in which lives are lost, and God has instituted these forms of punishment to chastise criminals. So the assertion that God’s kingdom isn’t already established on Earth is groundless.
Establishment of God’s Kingdom
The reality is that the kingdom of God is already established on Earth; every criminal wears the manacles of retribution upon his wrists and the shackles of justice around his legs. And these handcuffs and shackles don’t wield their effect immediately because, in His wisdom, God has given man sufficient freedom whereby he doesn’t receive swift retribution. But if he isn’t contrite and does not repent, the manacles and shackles of retribution eventually serve to hurl him into unending hell. The sinner abides therein, in a state in which he neither lives nor dies. Thus, there are essentially two governing laws:
- The first law applies to angels. In particular, they’ve been created solely for the purpose of obedience, and this is their unique characteristic. They cannot sin. But neither can they advance along the avenues of spiritual progress.
- The second law applies to man. Thus, human nature has been imbued with the capability to sin as well as do good deeds and thereby make spiritual progress.
Both laws are innate to the respective species, and are unchangeable—angels cannot become humans and humans cannot turn into angels. In summary, these laws are immutable, eternal, and rigid. That’s why the law of the heavens (applicable to angels) cannot come into the world, and the law of the world (applicable to humans) cannot be relevant to the angels. For example, man can be rid of his sins if he’s remorseful, repents, and practices the principle of seeking God’s protection (istighfaar) through prayers. In fact, he can greatly surpass the angels in godliness, because the elements of autonomy and moral advancement are simply not inherent in the angels’ nature. So man’s sins are forgiven through his repentance. And God in His divine wisdom has permitted in certain individuals a residual tendency toward sinfulness whereby they commit sins. But they subsequently realize their moral weaknesses; they too attain salvation through repentance. This is the law that God has decreed for mortals and it’s in harmony with their nature. Forgetfulness is a special characteristic of humans, but not of angels. So how could the law decreed by God for angels possibly be imposed on humans?
It is wrong to ascribe weakness to God. Only the consequences of the law decreed for mortals are discernible in the world. God-forbid, is He so feeble that His kingdom, Power, and Glory are confined to the heavens alone? Or, God-forbid, does the world have some other god who has unjustly seized the world to promote his own dominion? And it’s not right for the Christians to emphasize that God’s kingdom is limited to the heavens and that it hasn’t yet arrived in the world. The Christians concede that the heavens are immaterial; that is, all outer space is vacuous. So it’s evident that if the heavens—where they claim Jesus’ kingdom is established—are of no consequence, and if the world is still awaiting the establishment of his kingdom, then, apparently, Jesus’ dominion is wholly empty.
In contrast, we are witnessing God’s kingdom in the world with our own eyes. We glean this fact from observations such as the following: We age continually in accordance with God’s law; our circumstances change ceaselessly; we experience hundreds of pleasures and sorrows; thousands of humans pass away from the world, and thousands arrive into the world, in accordance with God’s commands; prayers are answered by God; divine signs manifest themselves; and innumerable species of plants, flowers, and fruits germinate from the earth in accordance with God’s law. Do all such phenomena take place independently of the dictates of God’s kingdom? The answer has to be in the negative.
In contrast to these worldly events, the celestial bodies in the heavens mechanically follow their orderly paths in precisely-fixed patterns. In particular—when compared with the ever-changing events that we observe in the world—a consideration of these heavenly phenomena doesn’t enable one to discern or identify the God Who is Capable of causing change. But the world is the setting for thousands of human revolutions, changes, and upheavals. Hence, each day, countless people die and countless people are born. And the work of an Omnipotent Creator can be perceived in myriad ways. So can the assertion still be made that God’s kingdom isn’t already established in the world? Once again, the answer has to be in the negative.
The New Testament has not furnished any arguments to support the claim that God’s kingdom hasn’t yet been established in the world. On the other hand, the following conjecture might perhaps have some merit wherefore it can be examined as a possible argument by the Christians in support of their aforementioned claim: Jesus spent an entire night in the garden, praying to God for his rescue. Jesus’ prayers were accepted, followed by the alleged inability of God to rescue him from the tribulation. The Christians claim that God’s inability to save Jesus proves that the kingdom of God has not yet been established in the world.
But I feel compelled to inform the Christians that I’ve personally been beset by tribulations worse than those of Jesus, and that God subsequently saved me from those trials. So I acknowledge the fact firmly that God’s kingdom is indeed already established in the world. For example, consider the lawsuit that was filed by Priest Henry Martin Clark in the legal court of Mr. Douglas. The character of that lawsuit against me was grimmer than the charge that the Jews had filed against Jesus in the court of Pontius Pilate—whereas the charge against Jesus was based merely on a religious difference, the fabricated charge against me was that of committing a premeditated murder. But since God is the King of the world, just as God is the King of the heavens, He informed me about the impending lawsuit against me even before the time of that tribulation had arrived. God also informed me that He would exonerate me. And I publicized this divine news among hundreds of people. I was subsequently exonerated by the court of Mr. Douglas, exactly as God had informed me by way of a revelation. So it was God’s kingdom that saved me in that lawsuit filed through the united effort of Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. Similarly, I’ve observed God’s kingdom in the world on scores of other occasions. I was compelled to unhesitatingly embrace the wisdom of the Quranic verse:
… His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth…. (Al-Zumar, Ch:39, Verse:44)
I was also compelled to acknowledge wholeheartedly the providence of these words:
His command, when he intends anything, is to say to it, Be, and it is. (Ya Sin, Ch:36, Verse:82)
And the sagacity of this verse:
And Allah has full control over His affairs, but most people know not. (Yusuf, Ch:12, Verse:21)
To sum up, the prayer taught by the New Testament (Lord’s Prayer) serves to make people despair of God’s mercy. It certainly causes Christians to become unmindful of God’s attributes that He is the Rabb of the worlds (Lord of the worlds, or the Nourisher to perfection, including both the physical and spiritual aspects of man); that He grants spiritual blessings to His servants; and that He dispenses justice accordingly as divine reward or retribution.
Perfect Attributes of God
Finally, the prayer taught by the New Testament (Lord’s Prayer) portrays Him as, God-forbid, incapable of assisting man in the world until that time when His kingdom arrives in the world. In contrast, the prayer (Al-Fatihah) that God has taught Muslims through the Holy Quran presents the principle that God is not deficient in any way whatsoever in His absolute sovereignty over the world. Indeed, the implications and consequences of His divine attributes are fully operational and pervasive in the world’s affairs. For example, the following: the divine attribute that He is the Rabb (Lord) of the worlds; that He is al-Rahman (literally means Beneficent and denotes the greatest possible preponderance of mercy); that He is al-Rahim (literally means Merciful and is expressive of a constant repetition and manifestation of mercy); that He dispenses justice accordingly as divine reward or retribution; that He is Omnipotent and assists His devout servants; and that He can destroy transgressors with His wrath. And the prayer that God has taught Muslims through the Holy Quran is this:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. The Beneficent, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Requital. Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help. Guide us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not those upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray. (Al-Fatihah, Ch:1, Verses:1-7)
Thus, we’re taught that God alone is deserving of all praise. That is, His kingdom is untainted by any fault or deficiency. All His attributes are perfect and faultless—they have been complete eternally, and will remain complete eternally—and there’s absolutely no need left to anticipate any changes in His attributes because they are already perfect. Similarly, all elements of the kingdom of God are vital, and nothing futile. He nurtures all universes. He acts mercifully to people when they do good deeds. Moreover, He acts mercifully even when they are not worthy of receiving rewards. And God administers reward or punishment, as the case may be, at the appointed time for the dispensation of justice. Him alone do we serve and His assistance alone do we seek. So we beseech Him to guide us on the path whereby we may receive all kinds of blessings. We entreat Him to steer us away from the path of ignorance and waywardness.
The substance and spirit of Al-Fatihah are diametrically opposite to those of the Lord’s Prayer in the New Testament. More specifically, the New Testament denies that God’s kingdom is presently established in the world. According to the New Testament, none of the following divine attributes are applicable to the world: the divine attribute that He is the Nourisher to perfection; that He is Beneficent; that He is Merciful; and that He dispenses justice accordingly as divine reward or retribution. This follows logically from the New Testament’s denial of the fact that God’s kingdom is already established in the world. But we learn from Al-Fatihah that God’s kingdom is indeed already established in the world. That’s why all essential aspects of regality are explained in Al-Fatihah. Clearly, a king should possess certain essential qualities:
- First, a king should have the ability to govern the subjects of his realm in a nurturing manner. Accordingly, Al-Fatihah furnishes the divine attribute Rabb (Lord) of the worlds to prove that God indeed possesses this quality.
- Second, motivated solely by regal mercy and not in return for any services, a king should be the chief benefactor of the realm’s subjects, and thus be able to provide them the essential amenities of life. So Al-Fatihah furnishes the divine attribute al-Rahman (Beneficent) to demonstrate that God indeed embodies this attribute.
- Third, it befits a king that he should be able to assist the realm’s subjects in their undertakings that they themselves are unable to fulfill through their own efforts. Al-Fatihah furnishes the divine attribute al-Rahim (Merciful) to substantiate the fact that God indeed possesses this characteristic.
- Fourth, it is a king’s hallmark that he ought to be able to dispense justice accordingly as reward or retribution whereby the kingdom’s affairs continue to run normally. Accordingly, Al-Fatihah furnishes the divine attribute Malik (Master; of the Day of Requital) to verify that God indeed possesses this quality.
In summary, Al-Fatihah presents all the essential qualities of kingship, and this proves the existence of God’s kingdom in the world. The evidence of divine attributes pervades the world: the manifestation associated with God’s attributes that He is the Lord of the worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful; the assistance that God provides to mortals; and the punishment that He dispenses to sinners. Hence, the world brims with the work of God’s kingdom, and not even a single particle is exempt from His rule: Every kind of reward is in God’s control; and every kind of mercy too is in His control.
God is the Lord of the Worlds
According to the New Testament, God’s kingdom has not yet arrived in the world. And it teaches Christians to pray to God that God’s kingdom should indeed one day arrive in the world. In other words, their god is not yet the sovereign of the world. So what can one hope from such a god? Do listen and understand—this piece of wisdom is of singular insight—that every iota of the world is under God’s Omnipotent governance just as every atom of the heavens lies within the sphere of God’s kingdom; and just as the heavens are resplendent with God’s manifestation, so too does the world gleam with His light. Moreover, man’s belief in God’s manifestation in the heavens is based on faith, because ordinary humans have neither ascended to the heavens nor witnessed God’s resplendence therein. But each man can witness with his own eyes the work of God’s kingdom in the world. For example, regardless of man’s wealth or power, the day inevitably arrives when he is overtaken by death, much as he wishes to escape it. Thus, witness the True Sovereign’s manifestation in the world whereby, when His directive arrives, no man can delay his death even for a second. And there is no doctor or physician who can cure man when he’s been afflicted by a terminal illness. I invite you to reflect on man’s powerlessness in denying God’s directives that are discharged in accordance with the dictates of His kingdom. So the assertion by the Christians that God’s kingdom hasn’t yet been established in the world, and that it will arrive at some future time, is unsupported.
In this the current era, God’s directive to unleash the plague has presently shaken the world so that it may serve as a divine sign for the Promised Messiah whom He has appointed—and there is none who can dispel the plague except by His permission. So the assertion by the Christians is unevidenced. Isn’t it true that every evildoer spends his life as a prisoner and wishes to evade death eternally? But the directives of God’s kingdom clutch the evildoer in their claws eventually, and slay him. So the assertion by the Christians is baseless. Countless individuals die instantaneously every day, in accordance with God’s directive. And countless individuals are born every day, in accordance with God’s will. Millions rise from poverty to affluence while millions of others plummet from affluence to destitution. So the assertion by the Christians is unjustified. Only angels dwell in the heavens, but both angels and humans inhabit the world. And angels are God’s workers and the servants of His kingdom; God has designated them as the guardians and assistants of humans; and they obey God unswervingly, continuing to send their reports to Him. So the assertion by the Christians is baseless.
Indeed, God can be best identified through a consideration of His earthly kingdom, because every man feels that the reality of the heavens is unobservable and mysterious. Furthermore, nearly all Christians and their philosophers are nowadays unconvinced of the very existence of the heavens. And, of course, the New Testament’s presentation of God’s kingdom is entirely based on the heavens! Now, earth is an entity that lies right beneath our feet. Thousands of occurrences take place upon it in accordance with the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar. And one can discern the fact that all these event—changes, upheavals, accidents, fatalities, and so on—must be taking place in accordance with the directives of a Creator. So the assertion that the kingdom of God isn’t already established in the world is groundless.
In this day and age, when Christians themselves have vigorously rejected the heavens, such teachings are highly inappropriate. After all, they admit on the one hand that God’s kingdom hasn’t yet been established in the world, and on the other hand Christian researchers have collectively acknowledged, on the basis of their latest investigations, that there’s no reality to the supposed existence of the heavens. So the outcome of this appears to be that evidently their god is sovereign of neither the heavens nor the world—Christians have rejected the reality of the heavens while the New Testament’s teachings have declared that God’s kingdom doesn’t exist in the world. In other words, the Christians are articulating the view that their god has been bereft of the sovereignty of both the heavens and the world.
But our Glorious God doesn’t mention merely the heavens or the world in Al-Fatihah. Instead, God informs us of the reality that He is the Rabb (Lord) of the worlds12, which signifies that God is the Creator and Nourisher of all creation—extending to include the remotest regions of the celestial universe, as well as including physical and spiritual life—and that He ceaselessly manages the nurturance of His creation. Thus, God provides appropriate nurturance to His creation. His tradition of beneficence, mercy, and nurturing, as well as reward and punishment, encompasses every atom of the universe, both physically and spiritually. Likewise, the divine law of qazaa-wa-qadar encompasses the universe in its entirety (qazaa-wa-qadar refers to the doctrine of predestination and God’s absolute decree of good and evil; in particular, qazaa refers to the ordering of a thing to come to pass, while qadar signifies the creating of things subject to certain laws). And keep in mind that the phrase “Master of the Day of Requital” in Al-Fatihah doesn’t signify that justice will be dispensed only on Judgment Day. Rather, it is stated clearly and repeatedly in the Holy Quran that Judgment Day is the paramount time for God’s dispensation of justice. In addition, though, divine dispensation of justice begins right here in the world, as pointed out in the following verse:
O you who believe, if you keep your duty to Allah, He will grant you a distinction and do away with your evils and protect you. And Allah is the Lord of mighty grace. (Al-Anfal, Ch:8, Verse:29)
God’s Absolute Sovereignty
Noteworthy too is the observation that the New Testament teaches its followers to beseech God for the daily bread: “Give us today our daily bread”. But one has to wonder if their god—whose kingdom hasn’t yet arrived in the world— will actually be able to fulfill their request. After all, proceeding along their line of reasoning, all crops in the fields grow of their own accord, and all fruits ripen by themselves, with the help, of course, of the rains that fall without design. So how can their god have any authority to give anyone their daily bread? Accordingly, they should beseech their god for the daily bread only when his kingdom arrives in the world. After all, he evidently cannot intervene in the affairs of the world; he will be able to give them their daily bread only when he gains sovereignty over worldly wares. Therefore, imploring him at this time is pointless.
Likewise, it is taught in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Alas, this request isn’t appropriate either, because their god—whose kingdom hasn’t arrived in the world yet—hasn’t given them anything to eat thus far. So the matter of their indebtedness to their god is irrelevant; there is no need exists to get their debts forgiven by a god who is detached from the world. Neither should he be feared, because his kingdom hasn’t yet been established in the world. And the whip of his governance cannot inspire any awe either, because it’s impossible for him to punish anyone. More specifically, their god—unlike God—would have been unable to destroy the disobedient nation of Moses; or shower down cascades of pebbles on Lot’s nation; or decimate transgressors by sending earthquakes, lightning, or other calamitous visitations into the world. After all, the kingdom of their god hasn’t yet been established in the world. Because the god of the Christians is just as weak as the son of that god, and because the god of the Christians is just as powerless and aloof as the son of that god, it’s futile to beseech him for help. In other words, it is pointless to implore him to “Forgive us our debts…” because he hasn’t indebted anyone. After all, his kingdom has not yet been established in the world.
Moreover, because his kingdom hasn’t yet been established in the world—according to their own admission—therefore the world’s development and growth couldn’t be taking place as a result of his commands. And earthly things are not under his sovereignty because of the same assertion; they’re autonomous. Likewise, since he is not the ruler and king of the world, the amenities of the world couldn’t have been made available by his royal decree. As such, he has neither the authority nor the right to punish anyone. In summary, it is absurd to worship such a god. And, while dwelling in the world, it’s imprudent to expect any assistance from such a god. After all, his kingdom hasn’t been established in the world yet.
On the other hand, the Quranic chapter Al-Fatihah teaches us that God has complete sovereignty over the world at all times, just as He has complete sovereignty over the entire universe. God’s perfect attributes of absolute sovereignty are mentioned at the very outset of Al-Fatihah with such clarity as is unrivaled in any revealed book: God is Beneficent, Merciful, and Master of the Day of Requital. Following the mention of these attributes in Al-Fatihah, the spirit and substance of the prayer taught therein is wholly different from the Lord’s Prayer of the New Testament; the prayer taught in Al-Fatihah doesn’t consist merely of imploring God for the daily bread. Instead, man is taught to pray for the fulfillment of a human yearning that’s been placed in his nature since eternity. And that prayer is this: “Guide us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors”. Through these words, man is taught to beseech God Who is the Possessor of all perfect attributes and Whose blessings provide nurturance to every element of the universe; Whose qualities of beneficence, mercy, and of dispensing justice, accordingly as reward or retribution, impart welfare and benefit to every element of the universe. Man is taught to implore God that He should make him the inheritor of the righteous people who lived in earlier eras; that God should grant him every blessing that was granted to those who came before them; and that God should spare him the fate of being left deprived of God’s assistance lest he goes astray. Amen.
Ark of Noah 