Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 47
Al-Anbiy a ’ 47 S u rah and the lesson is driven home that the enemies not only of this or that Prophet but those of all Messengers of God—from Adam to Jesus and then to the Holy Prophet Mu h ammad—were punished for their wicked deeds and the righteous rewarded for their good actions. If man had inherited sin and if he could not shed it, then there was no sense or justification in punishing the sinners and rewarding the righteous. So the dogma of inherited sin is a baseless invention. Subject-Matter The S u rah opens with a warning to disbelievers that Divine punishment is fast approaching, but they are deluding themselves into a false sense of security. There never came in the world a Divine Messenger who was not jeered and scoffed at. But out of sympathy with and solicitude for the spiritual well-being of their peoples the Prophets of God invited them to accept Truth and be saved. If sin formed a part of man’s heritage, then of what avail was this invitation? The S u rah then proceeds to state some objections of disbelievers which are effectively answered. After this, disbelievers are asked to consider, what new burden the Qur’ a n imposes upon them that they should be bent upon rejecting its Message. The primary object of that Message is to exalt and raise them to moral eminence. As it is God’s own revealed Word, its rejectors will not escape punishment. The S u rah then asks disbelievers whether they have ever given the idea serious consideration that an All-Knowing and Wise God could not have created the universe without a great and grim purpose, and that those who stand in the way of its fulfilment are bound to fail. Next, the S u rah deals with the all- important subject of Divine Unity which forms the basic and fundamental belief of all religions. When one uniform law pervades and governs the whole universe, it says, how can the polytheists justify Shirk (belief in the plurality of gods)? Belief in the plurality of gods implies disagreement on the part of these gods in regard to the management and control of the universe. And as evidently there exists perfect order in it, there should be only One Creator and One Controller of the whole universe. And why God should have a son, for a son is needed only when the father is likely to fall a victim to decay or death or when he cannot perform his work single-handed and unassisted. But all such notions about God are blasphemous and unfounded. After this the S u rah points to another Divine law, viz. that whenever darkness enshrouds the entire face of the earth and the world suffers from a dearth of righteous men, God opens the gates of His mercy upon mankind and heavenly water, in the form of Divine revelation, descends upon earth and gives new life to a world steeped in sin and iniquity. The phenomenon of the alternation of light and darkness in the spiritual realm corresponds to a similar phenomenon in the physical world where day and night follow each other. Then the S u rah drives home the argument that it is foolish on the part of disbelievers to reject the Holy Prophet on the plea that he is but an ordinary mortal. It is not the status and the position of the bearer of the Qur’ a nic Message so much that matters. What really matters