2017 07 The Light July 2017
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<strong>July</strong> <strong>2017</strong> <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Light</strong> 8<br />
and find themselves naturally drawn to such spiritual<br />
luminaries. We also find with the assignment<br />
by Almighty Allah of such Revivers of Faith the<br />
trials and tribulations which the Holy Prophet and<br />
his companions had to face, resurfacing once again<br />
as a ‘faith building’ test for the believers. This is<br />
how Almighty Allah in His Wisdom strengthens<br />
the believers. <strong>The</strong> Holy Quran makes it quite clear:<br />
from today are owing to those pioneer Muslim<br />
scholars. <strong>The</strong> question we sadly ask is, ‘Where are<br />
the scholars of such calibre today?’ Nay most<br />
scholars today engage in tedious religious debates<br />
often of a petty and shallow nature with each one<br />
trying to outdo the other, while the West are already<br />
on the way to the next galaxy in search of<br />
knowledge.<br />
Do men think that they will be left alone on<br />
saying, We believe, and will not be tried? And indeed,<br />
We tried those before them, so Allah will certainly<br />
know those who are true and He will know<br />
the liars. – 29:2,3<br />
Here the generations of Believers that will<br />
come after the era of the Holy Prophet (s) and the<br />
rightly guided Khalifas, are addressed. <strong>The</strong>ir firmness<br />
under trial will be tested like those before<br />
them. Like those before them there will be those<br />
who will be firm under these trials and those who<br />
will fall by the wayside.<br />
<strong>The</strong> command ‘Iqra’ - ‘Read’ must have baffled<br />
the Arabs who were not a nation known for its<br />
literary prowess like<br />
the ancient Greeks<br />
for example. In fact,<br />
they are referred to in<br />
the Holy Quran as an<br />
ummi people, meaning<br />
they were not literary<br />
well-endowed.<br />
So, this commandment, to seek true knowledge, is<br />
for all times even in an advanced age like today.<br />
History, however, bears out that when this command<br />
was transmitted to the people by the Holy<br />
Prophet (s) those Arabs who had abandoned all<br />
forms of idolatry and adopted Islam as their faith,<br />
became the torch-bearers of learning and<br />
knowledge which lasted for many centuries, because<br />
they were moved into action by these commands.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lesson in this is that it is not enough<br />
merely to make lengthy duas and recite lengthy surahs<br />
these nights; nay one should also resolve to<br />
carry into action what we are called upon to do<br />
here in these verses revealed to the Holy Prophet<br />
(s) on the night of Laylatul Qadr, to gain the true<br />
benefits of the guidance provided by the Holy<br />
Quran. Much of the sciences which we benefit<br />
I Shall Love All Mankind.<br />
By Almighty Allah granting true knowledge to<br />
humankind is meant His attribute - Raheem, i.e.<br />
His Mercy that comes in the form of the endless<br />
benefits humanity derives by putting to good use<br />
their human faculties and the embellishments their<br />
Lord has provided them with through His Rahma<br />
i.e. His Beneficence which knows no boundaries.<br />
He gives it to whom He pleases whether you are a<br />
Believer in Him or not. That is why the Quran says,<br />
‘Thy Lord is Most Generous’ after the command to<br />
‘Read’. This means that true knowledge is NOT a<br />
hand-out; rather, it is a reward that comes with hard<br />
labour.<br />
<strong>The</strong> mention of the ‘pen’ in seventh century<br />
Arabia leaves<br />
much to ponder<br />
about. Who would<br />
have thought, then,<br />
that there would<br />
come a time when<br />
the might of the<br />
pen would be far<br />
superior to the<br />
might of the sword in the defence of Islam? <strong>The</strong><br />
great general in the army of Muhammad (s) in this<br />
age, Hazrat Mirza Sahib, declared a Jihad bil<br />
Qalam i.e. a Jihad with the pen in his defence of<br />
Islam and not a Jihad with the sword or guns and<br />
bullets. Though he was condemned for this peaceful,<br />
yet most effective stance he took at the time,<br />
today everyone agrees that the pen is indeed mightier<br />
than the sword. <strong>The</strong> ‘qalam’ or pen, however,<br />
has a deeper significance in the verse; it is symbolic<br />
of knowledge of all the perceivable sciences<br />
not just that pertaining to religion. Nevertheless,<br />
although we have seen how advanced technology<br />
has raised the material standards of civilization —<br />
we have internet; cell phones; televisions etc — we<br />
can also destroy ourselves intellectually and physically,<br />
if we do not heed the moral code laid down<br />
for us to follow by our Rabb (Creator) in His Book,<br />
Who would have thought, then,<br />
that there would come a time<br />
when the might of the pen would<br />
be far superior to the might of<br />
the sword in the defence of Islam?