Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 353
353 There are clear indications in the Quran that mankind’s repudiation in practice of the Unity, Majesty, and Power of God would convert the very bounties bestowed by God upon man for the purpose of the enrichment of human life into the instruments of man’s ruin and destruction. The Prophet has warned graphically against the trials and tribulations of our present age. When asked about the remedy for such sufferings, he said that it could be found in the opening and concluding verses of the eighteenth chapter of the Quran. The opening verses of that chapter read as follows: “All praise belongs to Allah Who has sent down the Book to His servant and has not put therein any deviation, He has made it a guardian, that it may give warning of a grievous chastisement from Him, and that it may give those who believe and act righteously the glad tidings that they shall have a good reward wherein they shall abide for ever; and that it may warn those who say: Allah has taken unto Himself a son. They have no knowledge concerning it, nor had their fathers. Grievous is the assertion that they make; they only utter a falsehood. So haply thou wilt grieve thyself to death for sorrow after them if they believe not in this discourse. Verily, We have made all that is on the earth as an adornment for it, that We may try them as to which of them is best in conduct, and We shall make all that is thereon a barren waste” (18:2 ⎯ 9).