THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures

The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.

Translated from Arabic and commentary by
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

How many a town rebelled against the commands of its Lord and His messengers and We called them sternly to account and punished them severely, so they tasted the evil consequences of their conduct and the result of their conduct was ruin. God has prepared a severe punishment for them. So, fear God, O men of understanding, who have believed. God has sent down to you a Reminder and a messenger who conveys to you God’s clear messages, so that he might lead those, who believe and do good deeds, out of darkness into light. God will admit those who believe in Him and do good deeds into Gardens with rivers flowing through them, where they will remain forever. God has indeed made excellent provision for them. (The Quran, 65: 8-11)

‘So, fear God, O men of understanding.’ This statement indicates that the fountainhead of piety (taqwa) is the mind. Only by using his wisdom and consciousness does a man achieve that status which is called (taqwa) in the Islamic law.

God sent His messenger ‘so that he might lead those, who have attained to faith and do good deeds, out of darkness into light.’ This statement at this juncture relates to family laws. In ancient times, superstition prevailed throughout the world. Different types of superstitious beliefs had caused the relations between man and woman to rest on an unnatural basis. The Quran banished these superstitions, and re- established the relations between men and women on a natural basis. Despite this, there are people who do not adopt the way of reform, and who can, therefore, expect nothing but loss on God’s earth.

It is God who created the seven heavens and the same number of earths. His commandment descends among them, so that you may know that God has power over all things; and that He encompasses all things with His knowledge. (The Quran, 65: 12)

‘It is God who created the seven heavens and the same number of earths’. This statement may refer to seven earths, but astronomy has not been able to discover this number. According to human knowledge (till the date of this writing) the present earth is an exception in this whole universe. Therefore, God knows the real meaning of this verse.

‘So that you may know that God has power over all things’. This indicates that what God truly requires of man is ‘knowledge’ i.e. the consciousness of God’s Being. This vast system of the universe has been brought into being in order to make man recognize the Creator through it and have a deep and inner realization of God’s immense Power.