Proceedings of the Prayer Meeting — Page 11
The Sermon 11 Hence, for the perfection of high morals, God Almighty has alluded to parents and spiritual guides in the expression Rabbin-Naas so that out of gratitude for this reflective and man- ifest design, one may be moved to express gratitude to the True Sustainer and Guide. The key to unravelling this mystery is that this noble surah begins with stating Rabbin-Naas rather than beginning with Ilaahin-Naas. Since the spiritual guide instructs in accordance with the will of God Almighty as well as with His providence and guidance, he too is included herein. The second verse is Malikin- Naas ; meaning, seek refuge with Allah who is your King. This is one more point of guidance aimed at acquainting people with the principles of the civilized world and making them cultured. In reality, Almighty Allah alone is the King. However, there is an indication in this that there do exist kings by way of reflection and this is the very reason why it also contains reference to fulfilling the rights of the reigning king of the time. There is no qualification here whatsoever—be the king an infi- del, a pagan, or a monotheist— rather, it is a general reference regardless of whatever religion the king be; religion and belief are dealt elsewhere. Wherever God speaks of a benefactor in the Holy Quran, He imposes no such condition that he be a Muslim, a monotheist, or a follower of a particular sect; rather, the bene- factor is spoken of in general terms to whatever religion he may belong. God Almighty strictly admonishes us in His own Holy Word to be good to the one who is good, as the following verse makes very clear: