Paradise Lost!

Qur'aanic Verse 103:3:

Transliteration:

3. Illa allatheena amanoo waAAamiloo alssalihati watawasaw bialhaqqi watawasaw bialssabri

Translation:

3. But not those among them who believe and do good deeds, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience.¹

^{Study Note:}

1. The fundamental truth laid down in Verses 2 and 3 here is preceded, for emphasis, by the divine oath taken on Time as in Verse 1 above. Time is of critical essence for mankind. They have been allotted a fixed time on this earth to prove themselves eligible for Paradise. And they have not been given the knowledge as to the quantum of the fixed time. They do not know when that fixed time will come to an end. So they cannot afford to waste any time at their disposal. And yet most people remain blissfully unaware of the precious time ticking away. For them is Paradise Lost! Paradise Gained is only for those few who satisfy all the four criteria mentioned in this 3^rd Verse of the Chapter. It is not enough that one believes and does good deeds; one has also to spell out the truth even if it hurts one’s own self or one’s own kith and kin. One has necessarily therefore to exercise patience.

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An extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Hadeeth

Qur'aanic Verse 7:185:

Transliteration:

185. Awalam yanthuroo fee malakooti alssamawati waal-ardi wama khalaqa Allahu min shay-in waan AAasa an yakoona qadi iqtaraba ajaluhum fabi-ayyi hadeethin baAAdahu yu/minoona

Translation:

185. Do they not ponder over the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever things Allah has created, and over the likelihood of their own death being near? What hadeeth⁷⁴ would they then believe in after this?

Study Note:

74. This Arabic word has been used in the Qur’aan variously in the meanings of (i) story, (ii) discourse, (iii) speech, or (iv) the Qur’aan itself. In the context of the preceding sentence, in this very Verse, the word here could connote the broad statement as under:

The orderly behaviour of the entire universe gives enough proof of the existence of a super-intelligent Being faultlessly governing it. When that Being can so control such a gigantic thing, He can obviously do the far less complex task of managing and controlling, inter alia, every human life. It is this Being – Whom we call Allah – that is guiding mankind in the proper conduct of their lives, through this Qur’aan. Every human being should grasp this Reality before it is too late. No one knows when death would come. It may be just round the corner.

But the word hadeeth came to acquire another meaning after the completion of the revelation of the Qur’aan, and the departure of the Prophet from this world. Centuries after the death of the Prophet, his orally reported sayings, and those of his companions, came to be recorded in writing. And these recorded sayings came to be known as ahaadeeth (plural of hadeeth). Allah Almighty knows all about the future. And at the time of the revelation of this Verse, He was aware of this future meaning of the term hadeeth. He (Allah), in that sense, is disapprovingly hinting here at future generations of the Muslim Ummah believing in such man-influenced, error-prone ahaadeeth in preference to the well-explained teachings in the Qur’aan, which can also be taken as referred to by the pronoun hu in baAAdahu of the Arabic text. The Verse is thus telling us categorically that the Qur’aan is the best hadeeth; one need not go after other ahaadeeth.

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An extract from the e-book Qur'aanic Studies Manzil II

Mohammad Shafi 

The Absolute Truth

Qur'aanic Verse 69:50:

Transliteration:

50. Wa-innahu lahasratun AAala alkafireena

Translation:

50. And, indeed, it [the Qur’aan] is certainly a cause of regret for those who suppress the Truth.⁶

^{Study Note:}

6. The Qur’aan is the absolute Truth as the next Verse 51 reiterates. Every human being subconsciously knows it to be so. But his greed and prejudice and the temptations of this life come in the way of his recognizing this Truth. One who succumbs to these satanic influences will regret it when the Truth becomes crystal clear in the Hereafter.

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An extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi