Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
We’ve just reached our “Ten-day mark”- completing 20 pages of Qur’an. Feels good, right?
COMMENTS:
- Although Verse 120 is directed towards Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him, it also discusses uncompromising attitudes amongst us when, no matter what you do, you cannot truly please people of a different ideology except by relinquishing your own AND adopting theirs.
After commanding the Messenger to state that the gifted Guidance of God IS the True Guidance, the latter part of the verse sends a cautionary note to all those who follow errant ways AFTER knowledge has come to them.
- Such verses (as 120) are very interesting, in that they provide confirmation that the Qur’an is not authored by the Messenger delivering it. Anyone can identify the ‘voice’ of God speaking – dutifully received by His Messenger and then transmitted to the world. In later verses we’ll see this again, as God clarifies, encourages and warns, and His Messenger delivers.
- In Verse 122 God calls directly upon Bani Isra’eel for the third and final time in this Chapter, The Heifer . The two previous calls were in HQ: 2: 40, 47, while the only later call is in HQ: 20:80).
- Verse 124 makes it known that ancestors, no matter how esteemed they might be, are of no bearing upon a person’s worth in the sight of God. This is a response to those who think they are of higher status because of their DNA, and therefore consider themselves, in effect ‘Chosen’ by God to be leaders (‘Imam’).
It is NOT so: Each person builds their own worth by their Faith and Deeds.
- Verses 125-129 discuss the history of The House built to worship God; its builders were Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael, peace upon them both, commanded to ‘purify My house’ for worshippers who would circumambulate it, meditate by it, and bow down or prostrate to God (read Asad’s commentary note 102).
The supplications they made whilst raising the foundations, and then upon completion of the task, are absolutely beautiful. They teach us that no matter how unselfish the work we might be doing -or how pure and wonderful it is -we must always ask God to accept it, for we do have our failings and limits. Indeed, nothing we accomplish is worthy –on its own- of being presented to Him. What makes any accomplishment worthy is the intention behind it. Muslims traditionally call a deed which is not for personal benefit, ‘li wajhil-Lah,’ meaning for God’s sake, indicating that the deed seeks no earthly reward; it only seeks God.
Verse 129 shows Abraham’s compassion for his descendants as he asks God to send them a Messenger ‘from amongst themselves’ to convey His Message. The Qur’an lets it be known that the advent of Prophet Muhammad IS A DIRECT ANSWER TO THE PRAYER OF ABRAHAM.
- Verses 130-134 begin with a question directed to all who believe in Prophet Abraham, that how could someone, unless weak of mind, abandon his creed? Then the Qur’an tells us that Abraham himself obeyed his Lord, submitting in pure reverence, ‘aslama’ unto the Sustainer of the worlds. He also enjoined upon his children ‘not to die except as ‘Muslimoon’ (a concept we shall discuss at a later time, when we differentiate between ‘Islam; Muslim,’ and ‘Iman; Mu’min’).
Then, we are actually given a glimpse of his grandson Jacob’s deathbed; his grandson who was dying as a Muslim. Jacob, the son of Isaac, had gathered his children to give them his parting will, formulating it as a question:
“Whom will you worship after I am gone?”
Of all the priorities we can think of now, on our deathbed there will be no other than our children’s well-being. And at that final point in our lives we realize that there is nothing of true worth to bequeath them, except a reminder to keep their focus on their own EVER-LASTING wellbeing, which can only be attained along the path towards their Creator. A path upon which we, at that point, would have already taken the final step…
Enough said…
Our reading for tomorrow is from verse 135-145.
Peace unto all!