In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Yet some people argue about God without having any knowledge, and follow every rebellious devil.
It is decreed for whoever entrusts himself to any (such devil) that he will lead him astray and guide him toward the suffering of the blazing flame.
Mankind! If you are in doubt as to the resurrection, remember that We have created you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete and yet incomplete, so that We might make things clear to you. We cause to rest in the (mothers’) wombs whatever We please for an appointed term, and then We bring you forth as infants, that you may grow up and attain your prime. Some of you die young, and some live on to abject old age when all that they once knew they know no more.
(The Pilgrimage, Al-Hajj: 22: 3-5)
We commented last week on the jolting start of the Surah, which paints a very vivid scene of the horror of the Day of Judgment. It is a scene that leaves hearts in tremor. "Mankind! Have fear of your Lord. The violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be awesome indeed. On the day when it comes, every suckling mother will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will cast her burden; and it will seem to you that all mankind are drunk, although they are not drunk. But severe indeed will be God’s punishment."
Despite this horror, we are told that some people go as far as disputing about God, having no fear of Him: "Yet some people argue about God without having any knowledge, and follow every rebellious devil. It is decreed for whoever entrusts himself to any (such devil) that he will lead him astray and guide him toward the suffering of the blazing flame."
Whether the dispute is about God’s existence, oneness, power, knowledge or any of His attributes sounds extremely singular. How can anyone realize the extent of that horror which awaits all people, and from which the only escape is through piety and earning God’s pleasure, and continue to dispute about God? How can anyone with a mind to think and a heart to feel indulge in anything other than to try to avoid this violent convulsion that threatens all with its horror?
Had it been a dispute based on true knowledge, something might be said for it, but it is a dispute without any knowledge.
It is immersed in arrogance that seeks no firm evidence, and error that is the result of following Satan’s bidding. Such type of people dispute about God "and follow every rebellious devil," who boasts about turning away from the truth. Hence, "it is decreed for whoever entrusts himself to any (such devil) that he will lead him astray and guide him toward the suffering of the blazing flame." It is inevitable that such devils will lead their followers away from the truth in order to land them eventually in Hell. The Surah sarcastically calls this "guidance", which can only be the guidance of one who leads to destruction and inevitable doom.
Or is it that people are in doubt about the resurrection, or about the violent convulsion that signals the arrival of the Day of Judgment? If they are doubtful about returning to life, then they should reflect on how life is initiated. They should look at themselves, and at the Earth around them. Numerous are the indications that tell them that the whole thing is very close to them, but they are the ones that do not pay much attention to the significance of the indicators within themselves and on Earth, nor appreciate what these indicators.
"Mankind! If you are in doubt as to the resurrection, remember that We have created you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete and yet incomplete, so that We might make things clear to you. We cause to rest in the (mothers’) wombs whatever We please for an appointed term, and then We bring you forth as infants, that you may grow up and attain your prime. Some of you die young, and some live on to abject old age when all that they once knew they know no more."
Resurrection is a return to a life that has been in existence. Thus, by human standards, it is easier than the origination of life in the first place, although, by God’s standards, the notion of easier or more difficult does not arise.
To Him, initiating something out of nothing and restoring a life that had gone are the same. Both are the result of His will: "When He wills a thing to be, He only says to it, ‘Be’ — and it is." (36: 82). But the Qur’an addresses people in their own standards, rational thinking and understanding. It directs their hearts to reflect on what they see in their life happening every moment. If only they would reflect on it carefully, they would realize that it is miraculous. But to appreciate it as such, they need to look at it with an open heart and a reflective mind. Alas! They rarely ever do so.
Let them ask themselves: What are these people? What are they made of? Where have they come from? What were they before they took this shape and form? And what stages have they gone through?
"We have created you out of dust." Man is a son of the earth. He has originated, taken form and lived out of its dust. Not a single element does man have in his constitution but has its parallel in the elements present in his mother earth.
The only exception is that gentle secret God placed in him when He breathed of His soul in man, thus bringing about the great difference between man and the elements constituting dust. The fact remains, however, that man is closely related to dust in his constitution and his food. All tangible elements in man are from the dust of the earth.
Nevertheless, the gap is great between dust and man. The basic atoms that are present in dust are far removed from this highly complex creation that acts on his own behest and responds to others. The human creature is influenced by different factors in his surrounding and influences others.
His feet are placed on earth, but his soul and heart can fly to Heaven. His mind floats to realms beyond that of the physical world that includes the dust from which he was first created.
It is a great divide separating the first status and the last. It points to the power that can bring about the resurrection, having brought about the initial creation.
We will speak about the different stags of the creation of man next week, God willing.
