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

They say, ‘What kind of a messenger is this who eats food and walks about in the market-places? Why has no angel been sent down with him to warn us?’ Or a treasure should have been sent down to him, or he should have had a garden from which to eat.’ The wrongdoers say, ‘You are surely following a man who is bewitched.’ Observe what kind of things they attribute to you. They have surely gone astray and cannot find the right way again. (The Quran, 25: 7-9)

Every preacher giving the call for Truth has had to face the same experience, as that of a prophet. While his contemporaries looked down upon him with contempt, the people of succeeding ages venerated the preacher like a god. This is so because during his lifetime, a prophet lives the life of an ordinary human being and his contemporaries therefore fail to appreciate the wisdom he propagates. They see him cast in an overly idealized form, wearing the halo conferred by legend, and therefore, feel obliged to pay homage to him and glorify him in an exaggerated manner.

The minds of succeeding generations develop such deep-seated notions about the extraordinary greatness of the prophet, that nobody is held superior to or even at par with him. A living prophet, however, is treated scornfully by the majority of his contemporaries. The few who develop a reasoned understanding of his message are also ‘advised’ to disassociate themselves from one who is “possessed”. Having no rational arguments, the unrelenting contemporaries of a prophet, resort to unfair vilification of his image so as to curb the preaching of his message.

Blessed is He who, if He please, can give you better things than that; gardens watered by flowing streams, and palaces too. They deny the Hour. For those who deny that Hour, We have prepared a blazing fire. When it sees them from afar, they will hear its raging and roaring. When they are thrown into a narrow space, chained together, they will plead for death. But they will be told, ‘Do not call today for one death, call for many deaths!’ Say, ‘Which is better, this or the Paradise of immortality which the righteous have been promised? It is their recompense and their destination.’ Abiding there forever, they shall find in it all that they desire. This is a binding promise which your Lord has made. (The Quran, 25:10-16)

The opponents of Truth frequently make the character of the preacher of Truth their target. In order to prove him untrustworthy, they indulge in all sorts of slander. Thus they give the impression that they would have accepted what the preacher had to say, had he been up to their standard. But this is not correct. Their real problem is not that they do not find the preacher of truth trustworthy. Their real problem is that they have no fear of the reckoning of Judgement Day. Therefore, they go on casting aspersions in an irresponsible manner.

The matter of Truth and untruth is important because they will be examined on this basis in the life Hereafter. Those who are fearless about being censured in the Hereafter are consequently not serious about Truth or untruth. And when a man is not serious about something, he does not realize its importance, though numerous arguments may be advanced in its support. The meaningless utterances of such people will cease only when the terrible roar of Doomsday snatches away their words.