2017 07 The Light July 2017

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