Translation
Say: “As for me, my Sustainer God has directed me to the Straight Path—a path that is steeped in righteousness, in the tradition of Abraham, the bearer of truth and faith, who was not a polytheist.” Say: “My prayer and my worship, my sacrifices and perseverance, my life’s pursuits, and my ever-approaching death—all are directed to God’s will, the Sustainer of the Universe! He has no partners [in creation or its sustenance]. I am commanded to this, and I am the first to accept and act accordingly (be a Muslim in its true sense, not for label only).” 358
Say: “How can I seek out a Sustainer other than God Himself, since He is the Cherisher of all things?” No soul bears but what it earns (see also 53:33–41), and no soul will be made to face the consequence of what someone else has done. At the end of your life, you return to you Cherisher God so that He can inform you on matters that you differed on (while alive). He is the One Who made you [the current generation] the successor on earth and made some of you excel over others (in matters of intelligence, leadership, wealth, spirituality, morals, ethics, kindness, freedom) so that He may ascertain your worth with respect to His gift He has given you. God is prompt in requiting (your actions as He deems appropriate), and He is ever the Forgiver, the Merciful! 359
Interpretation
358 The notion of a “Straight Path” (the shortest distance to truth and peace)—ascribed to Abraham, as the chief architect of that guidance inspired by God and the subsequent messengers from his lineage, including Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad, who continued to perfect and elaborate this guidance through succeeding generations—is itself something to take note of. It is a theme that permeates the entire Qur’an, which very strongly confirms the truth contained in the Torah and the Bible and continuously reaffirms the unity of faith in One God and the unity of guidance to serve humanity to attain the highest human potential as creatures of God endowed with knowledge, wisdom, and freedom of choice. A better understanding of God’s will and developing a keen awareness of how we define purposefulness in our existence on this planet is critically important for us individually and as a society, the lack of which is evident in our current time, when human suffering and oppression, income inequality and extreme poverty, racial tension in developed societies, corrupt government in less-developed countries, the polarization of social discourse along political lines, environmental degradation, monopolistic business practices, and so on are on the rise.
359 Central to our purpose in life on this planet is a sense of accountability to fellow human beings and a covenant with God, the Creator. God has indeed gifted us with all that we need to lead a life full of human potential. On one hand, He breathed His essence into each one of us so that we have the capacity and affinity for knowledge and wisdom and an innate desire to feel connected with and serve fellow human beings. On the other hand, God has equipped this planet earth with all that we need to survive and support our growth on two levels: (1) on a physical level, it has all the amenities and resources, such as air and water, the capacity to produce sustenance for us, vast oceans, mineral deposits, sources of energy from sun, air, water, and fuel in the ground, and so on to sustain life and its physical needs, and (2) on a spiritual level, the cycle of life and death, day and night, light and darkness, good and evil that coexist, the emergence of intelligent life in the vast universe, the diversity of life—plants, birds, flowers—provide a rich spiritual environment to sustain our souls and spirits and to connect with God, the Creator. As every generation succeeds the previous generation and excels in new ways, we need to demonstrate individually and collectively how we are using gifts from God for the betterment of humanity or be accountable for its misuse and abuse.
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REFLECTION
Commitment to truth and justice that is inspired by faith and a covenant with God, the Creator, is something each one of us in every generation has to reflect on and find our call to duty to reflect our current condition and social and global context. If each one of us is driven such that he or she has found his or her unique passion that that person finds fulfilling, then collectively we will have addressed all the needs of humanity.
ACTION
We need to create the social conditions and the human drive that comes from leadership, honest and sustained dialogues among people, respect for freedom of choice, and an unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence among people of all faiths and races.