The Light of the Holy Qur'an — Page 140
T HE L IGHT OF T HE HOLY Q U R’AN—NUM BE R T WO T HE L IGHT OF T HE HOLY Q U R’AN—NUM BE R T WO 140 the Divine benevolence because they are not very discerning and because they look at tangible causes—neither does that passion develop in them which comes into being when man beholds the grandeur of [God’s] Beneficence; nor does that love stir within them which is aroused upon conceiving the great bounties of the Benefactor. They only acknowledge the rights of God Almighty as the Creator etc. in a general way, but are not cognizant of the details of Divine beneficence at all, the close scrutiny of which brings the True Benefactor before one’s eyes. This is because the dust and pollution of their focus on tangible causes bars them from beholding the full countenance of the Ultimate Cause; hence, they are deprived of the clear vision that could enable them to behold the beauty of the True Giver to the full extent. Thus, their crude cognizance is admixed with the haziness of their regard for physical causes. Moreover, because they cannot observe the favours of God well, they do not show the attentiveness that is required at the time of beholding His favours due to which the countenance of the Benefactor comes before the eyes; rather, their cognizance is simply hazy. The reason is that they do, to some extent, rely on their own efforts and their own means, and to some extent, they admit, as a formality, that God Almighty does have rights over them on account of Him being the Creator and the Provider. Since God Almighty does not burden man beyond the scope of his comprehension, as long as they remain in this state, He only requires of them to render gratitude to Him as His right. The word عَدْل [ ‘adl ] in the verse َّنِا َهّٰللا ُرُمْاَي ِلْدَعْلاِب refers to the obedience that is required by justice. However, there is a higher level of human cognition, as I have