Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 218
218 MALFŪZĀT - ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF URDU VOLUME 8 Four Causes for the Holy Quran Everything has four causes. God Almighty has mentioned these 'ilal-e-arbaa [four causes] here as well, and those four causes are the 'illat-e-faili [efficient or the moving cause], illat-e-șūrī [for- mal cause], 'illat-e-mādī [material cause], and illat-e-ghai [the ultimate cause]. Here mention is made [by Almighty Allah] of the four causes for the Holy Quran. 'Illat-e-fāʻilī [efficient or the moving] cause for this Book is اله ]Alif, Lam, Mim], and the meaning of in my view is أَنَا اللهُ أَعْلَمُ ]An Allahu alamu]; that is, 'I am Allah, the One who possesses more knowledge than anyone. Moreover, the illat-e- mādī [material cause] is ذلِكَ الْكِتَبُ ]dhalikal-kitābu]; that is, this Book has come from God, who has more knowledge than any- one. Furthermore, 'illat-e-șūrī [formal cause] is لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ]la raiba fihi]; that is, the beauty and excellence of this Book is that there is no doubt or suspicion in it of any kind whatsoever. Whatever it says is firmly established, and whatever claim it makes is supported by reason and manifestly evident. And illat-e-ghai ]the ultimate cause] for this Book is هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ] hudal-lil mutta- qin-a guidance for the righteous]; that is, the purpose and aim for the revelation of this Book is that it guides the righteous. Attributes of the Righteous After describing these four causes, Allah the Exalted has described the general characteristics of the righteous, as to who those righteous people are, who attain guidance: الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلوةَ وَ مِمَّا رَزَقْتُهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَ مَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ 10 1. Surah al-Baqarah, 2:4-5 [Publisher]