AS-SIRAAT AL-MUSTAQEEM

Contents

Relationship of the Qurâ€™an with Mankind

<ol> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#1">Basic Message of the Qur’an</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#2">Unity of God</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#3">Worship and Service to God</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#4">Prophets Teaching Guidance</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#5">Completion of Past Revelations of God</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#6">Guidance to Spiritual Path</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#7">Movement for Social Change</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#8">Accountability of the Deeds</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#9">The Guidance</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#10">The Audience of the Qur’an</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#11">The Introduction to the Overall Message of the Qur’an – the Fatiha (the Opening)</a></li> <li><a href="content_detail.php?id=3#12">The Qur’an Encapsulated</a></li> </ol> All the Muslims in the world use the Qur’an in its original form and language as the lateral and unaltered word of Allah (swt) (God), preserved for all kind to come. The Qur’an provides a direct relationship from its source Allah (swt) (God) to its audience (humanity). As such, Muslims have a deep reference for the Qur’an. In fact, in traditional understandings of Islam, if you express doubt as Qur’an is word of Allah (swt) (God), then you have uttered word‘s of disbelief. The actual word Qur’an comes from the route word Qur’an, which mean “to read” or “to recite” or “proclaim”. The word Qur’an, therefore, means “recitation”. Interestingly, the very first word reveal to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was “Iqra” meaning “Read or Recite” (first revelation: 5 verses of Surah: Al-Alaq 96).  This emphasise the importance in understanding the nature of the Qur’an as an old tradition that is understood and preserved as majestic voice of Allah (swt) through the human voice of recitation. Qur’an also comes the route word meaning “city” which denotes civilisation. The Qur’an is the foundational book for Islamic civilisation, as is the Bible for the Western civilisation or the Torah is for the Hebrew people. <a id="1" name="1"></a>Basic message of the Qur’an <ul> <li>Unity of the Allah (swt) (God);</li> <li>Worship and service to Allah (swt) (God);</li> <li>Prophets teaching guide;</li> <li>Completion of past revelations;</li> <li>Guidance to spiritual path;</li> <li>Movement for social change;Accountability of deeds; and</li> <li>The guidance.</li> </ul> <a id="12" name="2"></a>Unity of (Allah (swt) (God) The Qur’an’s message concentrates around the teachings of Allah (swt) God in its unity as One, known as Tawheed in Arabic. This concept says that the Allah (swt) (God) is the creator of all beings and the universe, the Sustainers of each living creature and that He has power over all things. <a id="13" name="3"></a>Worship and service to Allah (swt) (God) The Qur’an teaches that all creations on earth and in universe submit to Allah (swt) (God) in worship by following His laws. So, the sun and the moon, the plants and the trees, and the animals bow down in praise of God for sustaining them with His mercy and compassion (24: 41).         In all His creations, humans play a unique role.  Allah (swt) (God) chose humans over all His creations, as his representatives on earth. Human beings, then, must nurture civilisation into God, conscious by establishing society in God’s laws, Known as Shari’ah in Arabic (Sharia). <a id="14" name="4"></a>Prophet’s Teaching and Guidance God sent prophets, throughout history and to every community on earth, who told mankind the ways of spiritual, morals and ethical excellence (16: 36). Muslims show their reverence for these Prophets by saying, “Peace Be Upon Him” after mentioning anyone of them by name. From time to time, the God also sent down His revealed Books, such as The Psalms and the Torah, to reach human beings, the difference between the right and wrong, and the application of divine laws on them. <a id="15" name="5"></a>Completion of Past revelations of  Allah (swt) (God)  Completion of past revelations; the message of God’s Oneness, and the belief system it entails, remained the same with each Prophet, but the laws of Allah (swt) (God) changed for each community and time period, ending in the Qur’anic revelation and Prophet-hood of Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophets, who preach this message, and their subsequent followers, are all known in the Qur’an as Muslims, those who submit willingly to Allah (swt’s) (God) will (22: 78). The Qur’an does not preach a new message or even introduce a religion. Instead the concept of Islam as submission to the will of Allah (swt) has existed from day one and was taught to the Prophet Adam as the first man on earth. The message was introduced in different time periods to each community on earth, specific to the conditions of those peoples and the relevance of their time. Allah (swt) (God) chose the Qur’an revelation as the final message that completes the teaching of all previous revelations, brought in ideology and law. As the final message, the Qur’an provides guidance for all mankind and not just Muslims. <a id="16" name="6"></a>Guidance to spiritual path Submitting to Allah (swt) (God) creates peace and harmony within an individual and then spreads to the society. In submission to Allah (swt) (God), people are free from servitude to other people and to their own lower desires (9: 31). Through service to the Divine, people can reach heights of spiritual and moral success. <a id="17" name="7"></a>Movement for Social Change The Qur’an places heavy emphasis on using Divine revelation for establishing justice in all forms and struggling against injustice in all its form. As the centre of this teaching is the concept of Jihad which means to struggle in the path of Allah (swt), brought inwardly and outwardly, for the good against evils. The Qur’an gives warning against the mistreatment of the poor, orphans, widows, and all those who are oppressed in society (5: 8). In fact, almost every story of past prophets focuses on the theme of establishing justice and fighting against the evil forces. In today’s world you will note that war is not against evil but rather against Islam. These social teaching make it impossible for Muslims to separate their religious life from their social responsibilities (6: 162, 164). <a id="18" name="8"></a>Accountability of the Deeds God has instructed every human being to follow the teachings of the Qur’an and then implement this in every day of their lives as a way to right path. Every single individual will be asked on the Day of Judgment (17: 13- 14). The Qur’an teaches that God is the Most Just, and that those who are punished on the day will only be punished because of what their own hands have sent forth. Those who will be granted paradise will be granted this reward based on their faith in God and righteous deeds. <a id="19" name="9"></a>The Guidance The Qur’an did say itself to the reader as a book of guidance (2: 2). For those who are conscious of their Sustainer. This means that the Qur’an is not a book of history or science or even of philosophy; although it has an element of each in it but it is meant, at its very centre, to guide human life towards the ‘straight path’ (1: 5) of worship and service to God alone.        We could think of the Qur’an as a kind of user’s manual for everyday life. Muslims must remember its teachings and guidance in every step they take throughout the day. Purpose of the Qur’an is not simply the recitation of it throughout the day but rather to serve and internalising the voice of Allah (swt) (God) that direct believers to make ethical and moral choices in every aspect of life, in personal worship, family relationships, or social interactions. Each verse of the Qur’an teaches the way to spiritual and moral success through stories of past prophets and people. It also warns mankind against the destructive part that previous generations took. <a id="110" name="10"></a>The Audience of the Qur’an The audience of the Qur’an; the Qur’an’s audience is universal, without limitation on gender, culture or religious place. It is intended to all human kinds and it verses usually carry universal teaching, warning and glad tidings such messages usually begin with ‘O Mankind or O children of Adam’. They address Muslim behaviour and ethics and often introduce a law. They also find warnings of falling into the wrong path and glad tidings for those who are steadfast and patient in faith. Such messages usually begin with “O you who believe” or “This is for those who believe”. It is also intended for the people of the book as the Qur’an gives a lot of attention to Jews and the Christians as receivers of earlier revelations. When the Qur’an addresses both religious communities, it uses the term “People of the Book”. The Qur’an uses stories of the respected Prophets that all three faiths share to remind people of the book about the universal message of submission to Allah (swt) (God) alone (Monotheism- Oneness of God). Therefore the Qur’an sometimes addresses each group separately or sometimes it highlights some of the tension that existed between the two communities for instance the Jews and the Muslims. Other group of people who are addressed are Hypocrites as the Qur’an find hypocrisy detestable and uses strong language to condemn it. Usually these verses call about what characteristics the Hypocrites have and their final abode in the Hereafter and call such people to change their ways from hypocrisy into true belief. The Qur’an also addresses rejecters of faith these are in the Qur’an ‘unbelievers’, or even verse, “infidels”. Often the word ‘infidel’ is a serious mistranslation of the Qur’anic concept of disbelief and the word used in Arabic is Kafir, which is a comprehensive term but at its core means someone who is ungrateful. From the Qur’anic stand point, the greatest ingratitude is to reject the truth of the Creator (God) after it has been made manifest. However, it would be unreasonable if someone who has never heard the message of the Qur’an, or only a misrepresentation of his teaching, has never had the opportunity to accept or reject. Therefore, rejecter of faith or denier of God’s signs and blessings are more accurate translations of this Qur’anic term. It is also intended for any other reader reading the Qur’an you can literally find yourself having a conversation with the scripture as thought provoking questions come up one after the other. In one chapter alonethe Qur’an asks 31 times, “then which of the favours of your Sustainer will you deny?” (Surah 55) after recounting the blessing that comes from Allah (swt) (God) to mankind. The Qur’an also posses questions to capture the full intention of its readers in an intimate way, such as “has He not found you an orphan and given you shelter? And found you lost on your way, and guided you? And found you in want and given you sufficiency?” (93: 6-8). <a id="111" name="11"></a>Introduction to the Overall Message of the Qur’an The Faitha (The Opening) ‘In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being, The Merciful, the Comassionate, Master of the Day of Doom, Thee only we serve; to Thee Alone we pray for succour, Guide us in the Straight path, The path of those whom Thou has blessed, not of those against who Thou are wrathful, Nor of those who are astray’. <a id="112" name="12"></a>The Qur’an Encapsulated ‘The Opening’ contains in a condensed form old fundamental principles laid down in the Qur’an: the principle of God’s Oneness and Uniqueness of His being the Originator and Fosterer of the universe, the fount of all life giving grace, the One to whom man is ultimately responsible, the only power that can really guide and help, the call to righteous action in the life of this world, the principle of guidance through God’s message bearer and, the flowing from it, the principle of continuity of all two religions, and finally, the need for voluntary self-surrender to the Will of the Supreme Being and thus, for worshipping Him Alone.’ The first Surah (chapter), the Faitha or Opening is a seven verse invocation repeated during the 5 daily prayers Muslims are required to perform every 24 hours. Sometimes called the ‘Mother of the Book’ the Faitha is seen as the quintessence of Islam. It is in frequent use as a prayer. References <ul> <li>The Qur’an 1:1-7</li> <li>Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’an in 1984, 1.</li> <li>W.M Watt, The Introduction to the Qur’an (Aden Bra, 1970), 67.</li> <li>The Qur’an – Chapter 111.</li> </ul>

Saturday 18 Jan 2025