The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page cccxxxvi
GENERAL INTRODUCTION The Quran does clearly ascribe miracles to the Holy Prophet and makes mention of some of them. Only, it refrains from ascribing to him such stupidities as the bringing back to physical life of persons that were truly dead or arresting the sun and the moon in their course or causing rivers to stand still or moving mountains. Accounts of occurrences like these are but fables which serve only to amuse little babies in their cradles. The Quran does not ascribe occurrences like these either to the Holy Prophet or to any other Prophet. On the other hand the Quran furnishes explanations of passages which occur in some of the older scriptures the literal construction of which has led people to believe that occurrences like those referred to above did actually take place. The Quran points out that such language was used only in a metaphorical sense and is not susceptible of literal construction. Worship of God The Quran deals in detail with the subject of the worship of God. It divides all worship into four categories: (1) Worship the object of which is to strengthen man's relationship with God and to increase his love for Him. (2) Worship which is designed to improve man's physical condition and to incite him to make sacrifices for the sake of God. (3) Worship which is prescribed for the purpose of promoting concord and unity among men and to create attachment to a centre. (4) Worship the object of which is to bring about equitable economic adjustments within the community. The Quran prescribes different kinds of worship under each of these categories. It teaches that worship does not merely mean that man should concentrate upon and offer homage to God but also consists in paying attention to one's fellow beings. It further emphasizes that worship is not merely individual but is also collective. A man's duty in respect of worship does not end with presenting himself before God; he must also prepare his brethren to appear before God. For this reason all the ordinances of the Quran relating to worship have a collective as well as an individual aspect. Under the first category the Quran has prescribed the five daily services. The Islamic prayer service is very different from those prescribed in other religions. It has both an individual and a collective part and is entirely devoid of all show and ceremonial. The Quran has dispensed with the necessity of consecrated buildings like churches and temples and all formalities in the matter of the worship of God. It teaches that every portion of the earth's surface is fit to be used for the worship of God. The Holy Prophet had this in mind when he said: "The whole earth has been fashioned into a mosque for me" (Bukhārī). This saying of his has multifarious significance, one meaning CCCX