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THE
EXTRAORDINARY
COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE
SUBJECTS
WITH
WHICH THE QURAN DEALS
This
relates to the
extraordinary
comprehensiveness of the
subjects with which the
Quran deals. Indeed,
while it deals with the
extensive topics of man
and his duties, the
universe and its
Creator, the heavens and
the earth, the world and
the Hereafter, the past
and the future, and
eternity, the Quran
explains all essential
and important matters
related to man’s
creation from a sperm,
to his whole life till
he enters the grave,
from correct manners of
eating and sleeping to
the issues of Divine
Decree and Will, from
the creation of the
universe in six days to
the functions of the
winds alluded to in such
oaths as By the
(winds) sent forth (al-Mursalat,
77.1) and By the
(winds) that scatter
(al-Dhariyat,
51.1); from God’s
intervention in man’s
heart and free will,
(pointed out in (God)
stands between man and
his heart (al-Anfal,
8.24), and But you
will not unless God
wills (al-Insan,
76.30) to His grasp of
all the heavens,
described in the
heavens shall be rolled
up in His ‘right hand’
(al-Zumar,
39.68); from the
flowers, grapes and
dates of the earth,
mentioned in We made
therein gardens of palms
and vines (Ya Sin,
36.34) to the astounding
event described in When
earth is shaken with a
mighty shaking (al-Zilzal,
99.1); and from the
state of the heaven
during the course of
creation, mentioned in Then
He comprehended in His
design the sky when it
was smoke (Fussilat,
41.11) to its splitting
open and the stars’
being scattered in
endless space; from the
construction of the
world for testing and
trial to its
destruction; from the
grave, the first station
of the other world, to
the resurrection of the
dead, the Bridge, and
eternal happiness in
Paradise; from the past
events including that
which is described in, When
your Lord took from the
children of Adam, from
their loins, their seed,
and made them testify of
themselves, (saying):
‘Am I not your Lord?’
They said, ‘Yes,
assuredly. We testify!’-lest
you should say on the
Day of Resurrection, ‘Of
this, we were unaware’
(al-A‘raf,
7.172), the creation of
Adam’s body and the
struggle between his two
sons, the Flood, the
drowning of Pharaoh’s
people, and the stories
of the Prophets, to what
will happen on the Day
of Judgment when some
faces shall be radiant,
gazing upon their Lord
(al-Qiyama,
75.22)-the Quran
explains all the
essential important
matters such as these in
a way befitting an
All-Powerful One of
Majesty, Who administers
the whole of the
universe like a palace,
opens and closes the
world and the Hereafter
like two rooms, disposes
the earth like a garden
and the heavens like a
dome adorned with lamps,
and in Whose sight the
past and future are like
day and night or two
pages, and eternity like
a point of present time.
Like
a builder describing the
two houses he has built
and listing the things
he will do, the Quran
is-if one may express
it-a list or program
written in a style which
is fit for the One Who
has built the universe
and is administering it.
Neither any trace of
artifice, pretence and
unnecessary trouble, nor
any strain of imitation
or trickery or deception
like pretending to speak
in the name of some
other is seen in it-like
daylight saying, ‘I am
from the sun’-rather,
in a style absolutely
genuine, pure, clear,
solemn, original, and
brilliant, the Quran
says: ‘I am the Word
of the Creator of the
universe’.
To
whom other than the
Maker, the Bestower of
Bounties, Who has
decorated this world
with the works of most
original and invaluable
art and filled it with
most pleasant bounties,
can the Quran of
miraculous expression
belong, which resonates
throughout the world
with cries of
acclamation and
commendation and
litanies of praise and
thanks, and which has
made the earth into a
house where God’s
Names are recited, where
God is worshipped and
His works of art are
studied in amazement;
Whose word other than
His could it be? Where,
if not the sun, can the
light illuminating the
world be coming from?
Whose light other than
the Eternal Sun can the
Quran be, which has
unveiled the meaning of
the universe and
illuminates it? Who
could dare to produce a
like of it?
It
is certainly
inconceivable that the
Artist Who has decorated
this world with the
works of His art should
not address man, who
appreciates and commends
that art.
Since
He knows and makes,
certainly He will speak.
Since He speaks, for
sure He will speak
through the Quran. How
is it possible for God,
the Lord of all
dominion, Who is not
indifferent to the
formation of a flower,
to be indifferent to a
Word which resonates
throughout His dominion?
Could He ever allow
others to appropriate
it, reducing it to
futility, to nothing?
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