21.

Sura Anbiyaa, (or The Prophets)

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Every minute the mankind is nearing towards the Day of accountability

of their deeds. In each age, when the Message of God is renewed, the very
people who should have known it better and welcomed it, either receive it with
amused self-superiority, or with careless indifference, which later turns’ to
active hostility. With their hearts pre-occupied, the wrong-doers say to their
confederates as: why the go to a witchcraft individual? Say to them (O
Muhammad) that your Lord knows every word spoken in the heavens and on
earth; – He is the One Who hears and knows all the things. The charges
against the Prophet were the same as hurled on the earlier apostles and the
prophets; – a man possessed; magician; mere dreamer of confused dreams;
clever forger; poet saying things beautifully; supernatural individual; a man
like themselves!; etc. etc. except that he was a Messenger of God, sent for
their guidance, and receives inspirations from Him. Previous apostles were
also men as others and finally died as all humans. In the end God fulfilled His
promise to them – saved them and others Whom He pleased and destroyed the
rest. God has revealed for you (O Men!) a Book (Qur-an) which is a Message
for their admonition.

How many populations God destroyed because of their wickedness and

set other people on their places? God gave them good things in life, but they
remained as wrong doers. When they saw His punishment coming, they tried
to flee from it; lamenting their evil activities. Their did not cease, till they
were made as reaped corn, extinct. If such an idea as that of play or pastime
had been possible with regard to God, and if He had wished really to indulge
in pastime, He would have done it with creatures of Light nearest to Him, not
with lowly material creation that we see around us. Truth is always triumphant
against the Falsehood. Those are the wretched people who ascribe partners
with Him. To Him alone belongs all the things in the heavens and on earth.
Even those who are in His presence, are pround or feel weary of His service.
They celebrate His praises day and night without ever flag or intermit. The
different kinds of false gods whom people raise from their imagination; – can
they raise a dead man alive? Have they any convincing proof for their
godship? Had their been other gods, besides Him, their would have been
confusion manifest in the universe. But Glory to God, the Lord of the Throne;
is above all what they – the Unbelievers – attribute to Him. He cannot be
questioned for His acts; but they will be subjected to the accountability of their
acts in the Hereafter. Every apostle sent to the people, had the inspiration that
there is no god but He alone; therefore worship and serve Him alone. Those
who say that God, Most Gracious, has begotten a son; and that the superstition
the angels were daughters of God – all such superstitions are derogatory to the
glory of God. The prophets and the angels are no more than the servants of the
Lord: they are raised in honour, and therefore they deserve our highest respect,
but not our worship. What they say was by His Command. If anyone say that
he was a god besides Him, such will be dragged into the inferno of Hell as
their final eternal abode in the Hereafter. Now the attention is drawn towards
God’s Creation, its unity of design and benevolence: Do not the Unbelievers
see that the heavens and the earth were joined together before God separated
them? God made every living thing from water. Will they not believe that? On
the earth Lord set mountains, made passages through them; and made it to
maintain the stability of the earth. And heavens canopy, well secured from
falling down. Yet the Unbelievers reject the Signs of their Lord! It is He Who
created the night and the day, the sun, the moon and all the celestial bodies
who are revolving in their courses as designed by their Lord. Every soul has to
taste the death; and there is no question of permanent life on earth. While on
the probation on the earth, everybody’s virtue and faith are to be tasted. When
the Unbelievers see you (O Muhammad), they ridicule you and have a
contempt for you and blaspheme for your Lord. Haste is in the very bone and
marrow of man. If he is granted respite for his own sake, for a further chance
to him for repentance, he says impatiently and incredulously: Bring on the
Punishment quickly. They would have never said that had they realized their
future! The terrible Fire will cover them from all the sides. It may come to
them all of a sudden; and no power could then avert it or even give them a
little respite. Before you (O Muhammad) other prophets were also mocked by
their people. But what they are mocking at present will be in a position to
mock them in due time.

God is most Gracious: If, in spite of His great mercy, you are so
rebellious and depraved as to invite His Wrath, who is there who can save
you? His Wrath can descend on you at any time, by night or by day. Or have
their gods that can come to their aid? God gave the Unbelievers (Quraish) and
their fathers, good things of this life until life grew long for them and the land
reduced (of their control). Can they then be the victors? Say (O Muhammad to
mankind): I warn you only by the Inspiration. But the deaf cannot hear your
call until the Wrath of your Lord strikes them. It is them, they will realize their
wrong deeds. On the Day of Judgement, scales will be set. Not the smallest
action, word, thought or motive, but must come into the account of God. There
shall be no unjust with any soul. And enough is God to take account. Verily,
God gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion (of right and wrong) and a light and
a Reminder for those who keep away from evil, fear their Lord in secret and
dread the Hour (of doom). Here is a man and a Book, greater than Moses and
his Book. Are you going to reject him and it?
 Verily, God gave Abraham his proper course and well aware of him.
He said to his father and the people: What are these images to which you pay
devotion? The answer he got was that they saw their elders the same. Abraham
then told them that they and their fathers were in plain error. They then told
him to bring to them the truth else they would consider it as a joke. Abraham
then told them: Your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, He Who
created them (from nothing); and I am a witness to this truth. When the people
went away, Abraham broke all the idols to pieces, except the biggest one. The
people when returned back, saw their gods in pieces; and were extremely
furious. They summoned Abraham for questioning. Abraham then said: This
must had been done by the biggest of your god; – ask him. They then said:
You know well that these idols do not speak! Abraham then said: You worship
those things which can neither be of any good to you nor can harm you; – why
then you worship these besides God – Have you no sense? They, on the
national level, decided to burn alive Abraham in an inferno. So Abraham was
thrown in the fire. God ordered it, “O Fire! Be thou cool, and (a means of)
safety for Abraham!” so the idolaters decided to banish him from their lands.
God delivered Abraham (and his nephew) Lut to the land which He had
blessed for all peoples. Abraham was also bestowed with a son, Isaac and as
an additional gift (a grandson), Jacob. Lord made all of them righteous and
leaders, and were sent inspirations to guide people, do good deeds, to establish
regular prayers, practice regular charity; and to constantly serve their Lord. To
Lut also Lord gave Judgement and Knowledge. Further, Lut was saved from
the people who practiced abominations, evil and were rebellious. Lut was a
righteous person and was admitted to His Mercy.

Remember (O Muhammad) Noah, who called upon God for the Mercy.
Lord delivered Him and his followers from great distress; and those who
rejected His Signs and were evil doers, were drowned in a great Flood. And
remember David and Solomon, when they gave judgement about the sheep
which strayed in the field of a certain people by night. God witnessed their
judgement. To Solomon, God inspired the right understanding of the matter.
To both of them, God bestowed Judgement and Knowledge. It was the power
of God by which the hills and the birds celebrated His praises with David. God
taught him the making of coats – a defensive armour – for the benefit of the
people. The violent winds and evil spirits (Jinns) were made submissive to
Solomon’s orders. The spirits used to dive for him in the sea (for pearls) and
did other type of works for him (building contruction, etc.). In any case, the
power behind was from God, Who granted them intelligence and the faculties
by which he was able to tame more unruly forces of nature. And (remember)
Job, when he cried to his Lord, “Truly distress has seized me, but Thou art the
Most Merciful of those that are merciful”. Your Lord listened to him and
removed his distress; restored his people to him, doubled their number, – as a
Grace from God, and a symbol for commemoration, for all who serve their
Lord. And (remember) Ismail, Idris and Zul-kifl – all men of constancy and
patience – were admitted to the Mercy of God for their righteous deeds. And
remember Zun-nun, when he departed in anger and imagined as if God had no
power over him! But then, he cried from the depths of darkness, “There is no
god but Thou: Glory to Thee: I was indeed wrong!” So God listened to him
from distress: thus God delivers those who have faith. And (remember)
Zakariya, when he cried to his Lord: “O my Lord! Leave me not without
offspring, Thou art the best of inheritors.” So God listened to him; granted him
Yahya (John the Baptist); cured his wife’s bareness for him. Lo! They used to
vie one with the other in good deeds; and cried to their Lord in longing and in
fear, and were submissive to their Lord. And (remember) her who guarded her
chastity (Virgin Mary): Lord breathed into her His spirit, and made her and her
son (Jesus) a Sign for all peoples. All men and women form one united
Brotherhood. God and only God is your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve
Him and no one else. Be sure, everyone of you has to return to Him one day –
the Day of Reckoning.

Whoso does good works and is a believer, there will be no rejection of

his effort and is recorded in his favour. But when wickedness comes to such a
pass that the Wrath of God descends, those populations are destroyed with no
another chance for them: until the Gog and Magog (people) over run swifty
and swarm over every hill – this will be one of the prognostication of the
approaching the Day of Judgement; – i.e. those people will only be raised on
the Day. Then the eyes of the Unbelievers will be in the horror and will be
cursing themselves for rejecting the Day in their life times! They and their
gods will serve as a fuel for the inferno of the Hell. They wll curse their gods,
crying and yelling will go unnoticed. Not a slightest sound of the fury of the
Hell will be heard by the righteous people. They shall be greeted by the
angels; – this is your Day of which you were promised. That will be the Day
when the universe will be folded up like a scroll of parchment, for it will have
done its work. If God created all this world out of nothing; He can create an
entirely a new heaven and a new earth, on a plane of which humans can form
no conception in their present life. And He will do so as it is His promise. God
promised in the earlier Scriptures – Message to Moses and Psalms to David –
that righteous shall inherit the earth. The culmination of God’s Revelation is in
the Qur-an. It is a universal Message for people who would truly worship God.
God has sent you (O Muhammad) as a Mercy for all the people on earth (i.e.
there is no question of race or nation). Say (O Muhammad) to them: “What
has come to me by inspiration is that your God is One God: Will you therefore
bow to His Will (in Islam)?” And if they turn back, say to them: “I have
proclaimed the Message to you all alike and in truth; but I know not whether
that which you are promised is near or far. It is He Who knows what is open in
speech and what you hide (in your hearts). I know not but that it may be a trial
for you, and a grant of (worldly) livelihood (to you) for a time”. The Prophet
is asked to pray to God: O my Lord! Judge Thou in truth!” Further, indirectly
an advice is given to the Believers to say: “Our Lord Most Gracious is the One
Whose assistance should be sought against the blasphemies you utter!”