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In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
We have seen (in the post entitled 'The Pious') how Allah Almighty shows us, through Verses 1 to 5 of the 2nd Chapter of the Qur'aan, upon whom He has bestowed His rewards. Remember the believers' oft-repeated prayer (refer Verse 7 of the Qur'aanic Chapter 1) for Allah to show them that Path.
We have also seen (in the post entitled 'Suppressors of Truth') how He shows us, through Verses 6 & 7 of the same Chapter 2, the characteristics & the subsequent fate of those upon whom His Wrath has fallen.
And now, in this post, let us see how Allah Almighty shows us the characteristics of those who have gone astray.
Chapter 2, Verse 8 (Verse 2:8):
Translation: And among mankind there are those who say, "We do believe in Allah and in the Last Day!" And, yet they believe not!
Verse 2:9
Translation:- They are trying to deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive none but themselves but perceive it not!
Verse 2:10
Translation:- In their minds is a disease, and Allah has increased the disease for them. And for them, a painful punishment as they have been lying!
Verse 2:11
Translation:- And when they are told, “Make no mischief on the earth,” they say, “We are but trying to improve things.”
Verse 2:12
Translation:- Nay! In fact, they are the ones who make mischief, but they perceive it not!
Verse 2:13
Translation:- And when they are told, “Believe like those who believe,” they say, “Shall we believe as the fools did?” Nay! In fact, they are the ones who are the fools, but they know not!
Verse 2:14
Translation:- And when they meet those who believe, they say, “We believe,” and when they are closeted with their own satanic folk, they say, “We surely are with you! We have been but mocking.”
Verse 2:15
Translation:- Allah mocks at them and leaves them to lose their way committing their excesses.
Verse 2:16
Translation:- Those are the people who bartered away right guidance for straying away there from. But their barter deal benefited them not, and they failed to become guided!
Verse 2:17
Translation:- Their situation is as the situation in which someone kindled a fire. But when it lighted up its environs, Allah snatched away their light and left them, in manifold darkness, unable to see!
Verse 2:18
Translation:- Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not!
Verse 2:19
Translation:- Or their situation is as in a rainstorm from the sky, that is accompanied by manifold darkness and thunder and lightning! They thrust their fingers in their ears to keep out the thunderbolts, fearing death. And Allah encompasses the suppressors of Truth!
Verse 2:20
Translation:- The lightning almost snatches their sights away! Whenever it flashes for them, they move forward in its light, and, when darkness falls on them, they stop. And, had Allah so willed, He could indeed have taken away their hearing and their sights. Allah certainly has power over everything!
Commentary:- Alas! An overwhelming majority of the so-called believers in today's world, I am afraid, fall in the category of people described in the Verses above. They declare themselves as Muslims (believers), but their deeds betray the hollowness of their belief. Their attitude towards observance of divine commands regarding praying, fasting etc. is, at best, indifferent. And the general conduct of their worldly affairs does not reflect any concern at all that they would have to account for these, before their Lord, in the Hereafter. They delude themselves under the deception that this worldly life is the be-all and end-all of their existence! Allah Almighty describes their mental attitude as a disease, which He worsens if they continue indulging in their falsehoods. Such a mental attitude inculcates in them a tendency to grab what they can, by hook or by crook, here and now! And then the Satan steps in and lures them to the temptations of this world. While in the grips of such a temptation, if they are told not to indulge in any mischief, they protest and say that they are only trying to improve their conditions! And when someone points out to them that they are not so strict in following the tenets of Islam as some other Muslims are even at the expense of material or business interests, they say - at least, to themselves - that they are not fools like the others! On the other hand, if social compulsions make them go through, albeit reluctantly, some religious duties like performing prayers etc., when they meet with their own ilk, they dismiss their religious acts as mere delusion. Allah Almighty compares them to blinded people unable to see the light around them - the light of the Qur'aan, which they hardly ever read with a view to get any guidance there from. Like people caught in a rainstorm putting their fingers into their ears to shut out the thunderbolts, they are ever afraid of death, which could put an abrupt end to their illusory life on this earth! It is only because of Allah's grace and mercy that they can carry on with whatever lives they could enjoy on this earth. Allah could, if He so willed, deprive them of the little earthly enjoyment too! Allah can indeed do - or undo - whatever He wills.
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