Ad-Dukhan

The total clarity of the Quran is in itself proof of its being the Book of God, and this being so, its tidings and forecasts are also definitive. There is no scope for any doubt about them. The beginning of the revelation of the Quran took place on a particular night—a night fixed for important godly decisions. The revelation of the Quran was not a simple event. It resulted from a decision regarding the dawn of a new era of history. That is why it was revealed on this specially blessed night. Primarily, the Quran was and still is a declaration of Truth. It came into existence in order to show the falsity of polytheism and the truth of the Unity of God. Most importantly, it provides man with a standard by which to distinguish between truth and falsehood. The Quran was the distinguisher among nations solely on this basis.

The subject about which these addressees of the Quran were in doubt was not the existence of God but the oneness of God. While accepting the existence of God in a traditional manner, they continued to practise the religion of their forefathers and their leaders. The Quran proved the beliefs of their forefathers to be baseless, but they were not ready to accept this position. On the one hand, they found themselves without supporting arguments while, on the other, they found it impossible to banish from their minds the image of the greatness of their forefathers and leaders. This dual dilemma had pushed them into the realm of doubt. The preacher of God appeared to them too small a person for them to accept, or to act on his advice to abandon their so-called great men. Those who do not accept the Truth through persuasion expose themselves to the danger of having to accept it under threat of punishment. They may accept it in the latter instance, but at that time their acceptance will be of no avail.

The call for Truth is, in fact, a manifestation of God’s power in the shape of reasoning. In this way, God announces Himself through human beings, while He Himself remains unseen. The divine call, therefore, becomes a trial for its addressees. The truth seekers acknowledge it and bow down before it, while those who are enamoured of appearances consider it unimportant and ignore it. But after rejecting the call to accept the Truth, man cannot avoid facing the consequences. During the lifetime of the Prophet, these ruinous consequences became apparent in this world itself, just as had happened in the case of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Where there was no immediate evidence of such divine retribution, the deniers had to face the consequences of their actions after death.

After prolonged effort on the part of Moses to bring Pharaoh’s people to the right path, by preaching the word of God, his assignment to issue the call for the Truth came to an end. At that time, Moses was instructed to leave Egypt and move out along with his people (the Children of Israel). Accordingly, Moses set out and journeyed until he reached the banks of the Red Sea. The waters parted for him and a path appeared for him to cross over. Pharaoh and his army were in hot pursuit of Moses and the Children of Israel. When Pharaoh saw a path being formed across the Sea, he thought that he could also cross it, just as Moses had done. But the path across the Sea was not simply a path in the ordinary sense. The waters had parted by the commandment of God and God’s commandment was for the deliverance of Moses and the destruction of Pharaoh. So, when Pharaoh and his army entered the Sea, the waters rushed upon them from either side of the path and rose to their former level. Pharaoh was drowned along with his army. One who receives the good things of life in this world often considers them as his personal possessions, though in reality, they do not rightly belong to him. God may give them to anybody whenever He wishes, then, taking them away from him, may give them to somebody else, just as He pleases.

In this world, the downfall of one nation and the rise of another do not happen accidentally. Neither does it mean that a cruel nation has, on account of its oppressive methods, subjugated another. All such events take place in accordance with God’s decision, for the trial of man. It is God who, at His discretion, decides upon domination for one and subjection for another. Whatever He decides, it is based on His knowledge and is not arbitrary. God makes His decisions in accordance with His knowledge, in other words, whatever happens is on the basis of what one deserves. In the light of His total knowledge, God looks at the various peoples and then decides to give dominance to those nations whom He finds deserving: those whom He finds undeserving, He dethrones and commits to subjection. In the lives of nations, there appear signs to show that whatever fate befell them was by the decision of God. If a man’s insight is keen, he will be able to catch a glimpse of the causes leading to the decisions taken by God in respect of the various nations.