Questions
Cont’d from page 1
In 2:245 and 57:11, God asks: Who would like to loan God a
loan of righteousness, to have it multiplied for him manifold, and
end up with a generous recompense? This is very amazing when
we take the time to think about it. God is the One who gives us
our righteousness (47:17 & 74:56), yet He’s offering us
the opportunity to lend to Him something that was always His to
begin with, AND He will reward us for it! Who wouldn’t want
to take advantage of a deal like that?
God asks: Have you seen the one whose god is his own ego? Will
you be his advocate? Do you think that most of them hear, or understand?
They are just like animals; no, they are far worse. (25:43-4)
This is God’s reminder of how important it is for us to kill
our egos.
He goes on in 45:23 to give us more to reflect upon. Have you
noted the one whose god is his ego? Consequently, God sends him
astray, despite his knowledge, seals his hearing and his mind, and
places a veil on his eyes. Who then can guide him, after such a
decision by God? Would you not take heed? This final question
is perhaps the most important: Would you not take heed?
In Sura 56, God asks a series of questions that bear looking at.
56:58-59: Have you noted the semen that you produce? Did you
create it, or did we? In God’s system, humans produce
the semen which allows for the creation of new life. But do we have
any control over how that semen is produced, how much, how active?
It all comes from God.
56:63-64: Have you noted the crops you reap? Did you grow them,
or did we? God allows us to plant seeds and work the soil and
water the crops and reap the harvest. But do we really have any
control over whether the plants grow strong or die? It’s a
miracle |
and a gift from God that we stick a
little dried up seed into the ground and from that grows a tree
bearing delicious fruit for us to enjoy.
56:68-69: Have you noted the water you drink? Did you send
it down from the clouds, or did we? Part of our ability to
grow the plants comes from the water that God sends down. We can’t
make water from nothing. We can seed the clouds and sometimes produce
rain, but if there are no clouds, we can’t create them. God
drives the winds which bring the clouds which produce the rain.
Without that water all living things on earth would die. Yet we
turn on a faucet and take for granted that water will come out—cold
when we want it, hot when we want it. We need to remember to appreciate
the true source of that water.
56:71-72: Have you noted the fire you ignite? Did you initiate
its tree, or did we? When we want a fire for warmth or light,
we can just strike a match and start that fire burning. But isn’t
it amazing that the green tree becomes the fuel for that fire, but
not until it dies and dries up. Without the tree and its cycle of
life, we would have nothing to burn.
Finally, the very important questions in verses 56:81-82: Are
you disregarding this narration? Do you make it your business that
you disbelieve? How important it is to carefully consider all
the things God has put into the Quran and study and learn from them.
Why do they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks
on their minds? (47:24) We made the Quran easy to learn.
Does any of you wish to learn? (54:17)
Many of the questions God poses are negative, such as 61:2
O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? and 71:13
Why should you not strive to reverence God? and 6:21 Who
is more evil than one who lies about God, or rejects His revelations?
This is a common way to make someone think about a topic, to present
it in |
the negative. It clearly shows the wisdom
of the positive. And if the student is too dense to understand the
difference, the teacher will frequently pose increasingly negative
questions, perhaps finally throwing up his hands and asking, “Why
can’t you see? Are you crazy?” In His own way, God does
this too. In 74:49 God asks: Why are they so averse to this
reminder? Ending many verses, God asks: Do you not understand?
And finally, because we seem so hopelessly wrapped up in idol worship
and our own opinions, God challenges: What is wrong with your
logic? Do you have another book to uphold? In it, do you find anything
you want? (68:36-38)
In many cases God asks a question and then provides the answer.
Again, this is a valuable teaching tool for students to learn from.
In 83:8 God asks: Do you know what Sijjeen is? followed
in verse 9 with A numerically structured book. 86:2 asks:
Do you know what Al-Taareq is? with the answer in the next
verse: The bright star. In 104:5 we read: Do you know
what the Devastator is? and the answer is in verse 6: God’s
blazing Hellfire. These are terms or phrases that we would
not be able to understand without God’s clarification. More
important for our consideration is 7:99: Have they taken God’s
plans for granted? None takes God’s plans for granted except
the losers. We need to ask ourselves whether we’re sincere
in our worship and our appreciation or if we’re just giving
lip service to submission. Then God leaves no room for doubt about
the correct answer.
Sura 27, starting with verse 60, has a series of verses that begin
with the question: Who is the One…? When I read these
verses I always comment on how beautiful they are and how much I
enjoy reading them. It’s also important to reflect on the
questions. Is it another god with God?
Cont’d on page 3
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