Translation
In the name of God, the most Merciful and the Instiller of Mercy [to His creatures].
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the guidance [ayat: verses, signs] of the Book of Wisdom. How is it that you find it unbelievable that We [God] brought revelations to a human being from amongst yourselves, to caution people and to provide assurance to those who establish faith of full confidence in their pursuits [qadama-sidqin] with their Creator and Sustainer. Those who deny God, say: “This is a clear enchantment.” 456
Certainly, your Sustainer is the God [Allah] who created the universe and the earth in six stages [Ayyamin—days, periods] and assumed control to manage its affairs. No one can interfere except with His permission. This is God, your Sustainer—serve Him. How is it that you are not mindful of this? To Him you all will be gathered, a promise of truth from God. Indeed, His is the first creation and its continuous evolutions and reproductions [yabdaul khalq], so that He may justly reward those who demonstrate faith and perform good works. As for those who deny God, there will be unfulfilled quench for life [drinks of hot water] and serious negative consequences [painful chastisement] as a natural consequence of their disbelief. 457
Interpretation
456 When the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet, his opponents, especially those with power and wealth, started to question his qualification to be prophet and the certainty of his claims as prophet and the veracity of the message of the Qur’an being from God Almighty. Such denial is not unusual, as prophets before him had faced similar oppositions and doubts. Some of these people said (according to Hadith literature): “Could God not find someone to send other than an orphan from the tribe of Abu Talib?” These few verses confirm that the Qur’an is a book of wisdom directly inspired by God to benefit those who establish faith and the pursuit of human goodness with the Prophet of God. Such a consistent message is found in the Bible regarding Jesus and in the Torah regarding Moses and throughout human history, when people of faith and goodness have prevailed in the long run and will continue to do so in the future.
457 This is among many other verses in the Qur’an in which God defines Himself clearly—He is the Creator. He creates first and then lets His creations evolve and reproduce themselves according to His natural laws. He set up the arrangement of the solar system and the planet Earth to sustain life in six stages of creation and evolution, a process and an outcome that none can intervene except by His will. All of us will go back to God, as we all came from God in the first place, and God’s promise of accountability will ensure that each one of us is treated and rewarded according to what one deserves based on our individual pursuit of faith and goodness. As God repeatedly asserts throughout the Qur’an, none will be treated unjustly on the Day of Judgment after resurrection.
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REFLECTION
Faith in God, belief in prophets as guides sent by God from among ourselves, our own creation and its evolution and reproduction, the role of the planet Earth and the solar system and the larger universe to sustain our lives…our existence as caused by God and His creative process that manifests in the natural and divine laws by which He sustains life and causes our deaths…our resurrection, the finality of our return to God to Whom we belong…our accountability for our lives’ work to God—these are all fundamental aspects of faith and teachings that God imparted through human prophets to humanity and for all generations.
ACTION
In our world today, people of power and people of wealth are corrupting our lives and our institutions through greed and unjust treatment of their fellow human beings. The middle class is too busy earning a living and raising a family while trying to adhere to some semblance of faith and goodness as a luxury they cannot afford or care to, as people of power and people of wealth create and perpetuate systems of government and business enterprises that do not allow sharing the fruits of their labor equally with capital. For more than half of humanity are in a state of constant poverty and deprivation that makes their faith a fragile admission, just as their own existence on this planet. This state of affair is our own creation, though some atheists would blame God for this. As the Prophet once said: “Take care of our poor who carries the burden (literally) of the society.” Yet the powerful and the wealthy only seek more for themselves to the exclusion of the middle class and the low wage earners (poor), and the middle class is restrained by the powerful and the wealthy, through policy and financial incentives, to not speak for the poor. This is a vicious circle that needs to be broken, especially by those who have faith in God and in humanity, irrespective of whether you are poor, rich, or middle class. Unless we can come together on this sacred and shared vision of human dignity and equality, we will fail our promises to God and to our fellow human beings, with individual and collective consequences that will affect our lives on this planet and our fate on the day of final judgment from God on resurrection. A return to God is as certain as the rising of the sun next day.
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Key Arabic Terms
130. ayat (sign, narratives, verses, etc.) (10:1,6)
131. qadama-sidqin—stepping forward with truth; advancing the causes of truth and justice (10:2)
132. Ayyamin—days, period, stages of creation and evolution (10:3)
133. Innahu yabdaul khalqa summa yu’eduhu—phrases repeated in the Qur’an: He creates first and then lets them reproduce (evolve) on their own (10:4)