Adh-Dhariyat

A picture of the natural system of rainfall has been depicted in these verses. First strong winds blow. Then, they make the clouds drift. Thereafter, the clouds shower beneficial rain on one group, while they wreak destruction on another group in the shape of floods. These events indicate that in this world of God, the Law of the ‘distribution of blessings’ is prevalent. Here some receive less and some more, some are granted boons, while others are deprived of them. This is a hint which shows how, in the world to come after death, human beings are going to fare. There, this principle of the ‘distribution of blessings’ will be applicable in a perfect manner, with perfect justice; everybody will receive only that to which he is entitled and will receive nothing that he did not deserve. There are countless stars in the sky. All of them are revolving in their respective orbits. This wonderful system indicates a deep, inherent meaningfulness. Those who exercise their mental powers will find a lesson in it. But for those who do not, it will be a meaningless charade.

To have a clear understanding of things of importance, seriousness and sincerity are essential. Those who are not serious pay no attention to reasons and justifications. So they are unable to understand the matter at hand. They ridicule it and try to show that it is not worthy of serious consideration. It is not possible to convince such people in any way. They will accept the truth only when their wrong approach brings down upon them overwhelming punishment, from which there will be no escape. Serious people behave quite differently from this, for their seriousness makes them cautious. And they have no trace of arrogance in them. The extreme intensity of their feelings makes them spend sleepless nights: their time is spent in remembering God. They do not consider their wealth the result of their hard work, but take it as a gift from God. That is why they think that others have as much right to a share in it as they themselves.

Almighty God has created this known world in such a manner that it has become the indicator of the coming unknown world. The material incidents taking shape in this world and the feelings latent in man give information, albeit indirectly about the events that will directly confront man after his death. Among these signs is the capacity to speak. It has been mentioned in a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, that whatever one receives in the Hereafter will be his own deeds which will be returned to him (‘Indeed, these are your deeds that are returned to you’). In other words, the world of the Hereafter is the double or duplicate of the present world. The capacity of a man to speak is the partial manifestation of this possibility. If a man’s voice is recorded on a tape and if this tape is then played, a voice like the original one may be heard, i.e. the voice of the tape is the double or duplicate of the original. In this way, the phenomenon of voice demonstrates to us on a partial level that event which is going to occur in the Hereafter on a full-scale level.

Literally ‘It is certain like your talking’. It implies that when one’s voice can be reproduced, it should be possible to reproduce one’s existence. Perfect reproduction of a part of a man’s existence may be experienced in this world. It can be imagined from this that reproduction of the whole existence of man is possible.

In these verses that scene has been described in which angels came to Abraham in order to give him the good news of his having children in his old age. Abraham was born in ancient Iraq. For a long time he preached to his people about the Unity of God and the Hereafter. But, except for his wife and nephew, Lot, nobody was ready to accept his word, until he reached old age. Now, in order to ensure the continuance of his mission, the second alternative was that he should have children who should be properly brought up by him. There is a blood relationship between father and son, which is a powerful factor in keeping a son attached to his father and make him like-minded whatever the conditions. Almighty God granted Abraham two sons in his old age. One was Isaac (Ishaq), through whom the preaching of the Unity of God continued among the Children of Israel. The second was Ishmael (Isma‘il), through whom a race was brought into being which was to support the Last of the Prophets in fulfilling his historic mission.