In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Excerpts from Quráanic Studies - A Modern Tafsir:
8. Wamina
alnnasi man yaqoolu amanna biAllahi wabialyawmi
al-akhiri wama hum bimu/mineena
8. And among
mankind there are some who say, "We believe in Allah and in the Last
Day." And yet they believe not! 10
10. Alas! An overwhelming majority of the
so called believers in today's world, I am afraid, fall in the category of
people described in this Verse, and in the few Verses that follow this Verse.
They declare themselves as Muslims (believers), but their deeds betray the
hollowness of their belief. Their attitude towards observance of divine
commands regarding praying, fasting etc. is, at best, indifferent. And the
general conduct of their worldly affairs does not reflect any concern at all
that they would have to account for these before the Lord in the Hereafter.
They delude themselves under the deception that this worldly life is the be-all
and end-all of their existence! Allah Almighty describes their mental attitude
as a disease, which He worsens if they continue indulging in their falsehoods.
Such a mental attitude inculcates in them a tendency to grab what
they can, by hook or by crook, here and now! And then the Satan steps in and
lures them to the temptations of this world. While in the grips of such a
temptation, if they are told not to indulge in any mischief, they protest and
say that they are only trying to improve their conditions!
And when someone points out to them that they are not so strict in
following the tenets of Islam as some other Muslims are even at the expense of
material or business interests, they say - at least, to themselves - that
they are not fools like the others!
On the other hand, if social compulsions make them go through,
albeit reluctantly, some religious duties like performing prayers etc., when
they meet with their own ilk they dismiss their religious acts as mere
delusion.
Allah
Almighty compares them to blinded people unable to see the light around them -
the light of the Qur'aan, which they hardly ever read with a view to get any
guidance therefrom. Like people caught in a rainstorm putting their fingers
into their ears to shut out the thunderbolts, they are ever afraid of death,
which could put an abrupt end to their illusory life on this earth! It is only
because of Allah's grace and mercy that they are able to carry on with whatever
lives they could enjoy on this earth. Allah could, if He so willed, deprive
them of the little earthly enjoyment too! Allah can indeed do - or undo -
whatever He wills!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Mohammad Shafi
Friday, the 16th of December, 2016.
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