The Call of the Quran
In his last sermon, the Prophet Muhammad also urged his followers to convey the message of the Quran ‘even if only a single verse’. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3461)
Therefore, the greatest need of the hour is to acquaint all people with God’s message in a language and style which is understandable to them, as the Prophet—and through him all the believers—is enjoined in the Quran: ‘O Messenger, proclaim all that is revealed to you from your Lord.
What is the message of the Quran? The message of the Quran is to make man aware of the creation plan of God. That is, to tell man why God created this world; what the purpose is of settling man on earth; what is required from man in his pre-death life span, and what he is going to confront after death. Man is born as an eternal creature. When God created man as such, He divided his life span into two periods, the pre-death period, which is a time of trial, and the post-death period, which is the time for receiving the rewards or punishment merited by one’s actions during one’s lifetime. These actions will take the form of eternal paradise or eternal hell. The purpose of the Quran is to make man aware of this reality. This is the theme of this divine Book, which serves to guide man throughout his entire journey right from this life to the next in the Hereafter.
It would not be wrong to say that man is a seeker by birth. These questions lurk in everyone’s mind: Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? What is the reality of life and death? What is the secret of man’s success and failure? etc. According to the Quran, the answer to these questions is that the present world is the testing ground and whatever man has been endowed with in his pre-death period is all a part of the test. The Hereafter is the place where the result of the test will be taken into account by the Almighty and whatever man receives in the life after death, by way of reward or punishment, will be commensurate with his deeds in this world. The secret of man’s success in this life is to understand God’s creation plan and map out his life accordingly.
Thus we must strive to perform this task in all sincerity till the Last Day; therein lies our success both in this world and in the world to come.
