GOD'S PRESCRIPTION FOR GUIDANCE: AL-QURAN

 

Al-Quran:

God’s Prescription For

Guidance And All

Human Ailments

(M. Javed Naseem)

O mankind! There has come to you a direction

from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases)

in your hearts; and for those who believe,

a guidance and a Mercy.”

(al-Quran 10:57)

The Holy Quran is the Word of God – the last one in the series of books/scriptures revealed to mankind for guidance and spiritual benefits. Allah sent those revelations from time to time through different Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind how to live on this planet earth with peace and prosperity. If there’s a doubt in your mind about the benefits of the revelations of Allah, the Almighty, He reassures you in the Holy Quran at many places:

“We send down in the Quran that which is a

healing and a mercy to those who believe.

To the unjust, it causes nothing

but loss after loss.”

(al-Quran 17:82)

In the Holy Quran, we’ll find the stories of previous nations who rejected the message of Allah, deviated from the right path and rebelled against the Laws of Allah. They were wiped off the land as if they never existed. The nations of Aad, Thamud, Noah, Nimrod, Lot, Shuaib, Pharaoh, etc., they all became part of the history and a lesson for the mankind. Allah the Most Merciful is full of compassion and mercy for us. He sees us going astray and disobeying His commands, still He does not punish us. He keeps giving us more time to repent and revert to the right path. And if the respite from Allah is not taken seriously after repeated warnings, Allah finally strikes and punishes the rebels who refuse to take heed. Allah says:

“We destroyed the generations before you

when they did wrong; and their messengers

(from Allah) came unto them with clear proofs

(of His Sovereignty), but they would not

believe. Thus do we reward the guilty folk.”

(al-Quran 10:13)

But did the mankind really learn any lesson from the history? Today, we are in the same situation once again, or even worse. Allah has extended the leash, giving us plenty of time to repent and change our ways, but nothing is improving. On the contrary, the only change that we see, is the change for the worse – ‘Haram’ is spreading. We are falling for temptations and lusts showing no concern or worry about the consequences of our evil ways. We are chasing an illusion. We have ignored all warnings and have arrogantly defied the Commands of Allah. The righteous few, the friends of Allah, have already received the signals of the coming punishment which is at our doorsteps. Now, it is just a matter of weeks or months. Wake up, people! It is coming! Can we still not see it?

Then we must be blind, deaf and dumb! Prepare yourself for a rude awakening!

“Already have We urged unto Hell many of the

Jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they

understand not, and having eyes wherewith they

see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not.

These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse!

These are the neglectful.”

(al-Quran 7:179)

We have made our choices. We have sown the seeds of injustice and corruption; the seeds of evil and transgression; and now is the time to harvest. We shall reap what we have sown; that is the law of nature. If that happened to the nations of the old, it can happen to us too. We are NO exception! We have seen the warning signs – the fires, floods, storms and hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes. But we didn’t budge. The door of repentance is still open. There is very little time left but there’s still a chance. It might be the last chance!

Satan was cursed because of his arrogance and was destined to Hell. We are guilty of the same crime. We are following the Devil and are not worried about the consequences. We don’t fear Allah’s wrath. Allah had warned us not to follow the Devil as he was an open enemy to us.

“Did I not charge you, O you sons of Adam,

that you should not serve the Shaitan?

Surely he is your open enemy.”

(al-Quran 36:60)

It is a pity that we don’t listen to Allah but listen and follow the Devil. Allah is the Truth and the Devil is a lie – full of deception. Allah wants us to go to Heaven but Devil leads us to Hell; and we accompany Devil willingly. Are we not concerned about the terrible consequences of disobedience to Allah?

“Most of them We found not men (true)

to their covenant; but most of them

We found rebellious and disobedient.”

(al-Quran 7:102)

Disobedience merits punishment. Rebellion against Allah cannot go unpunished. O Ummah! Look at the history of mankind! So many nations had come and gone before us. The evil-doing folks were always punished after warnings. They were, as a matter of fact, replaced by other nations.

“Have they not seen how many generations

We destroyed before them, which indeed

returned not unto them?”

(al-Quran 36:31)

If we continue on the path of evil and injustice, it is not very difficult to predict the results. We are fortunate that the wrath of Allah did not hit us, in full swing, yet. We had only small scale warnings. Feel the urgency, please! Now is the time to revert. Let us repent and ask Allah for His mercy and forgiveness! We might still be saved from the bigger disaster. Here is Allah’s prescription for our salvation and prosperity:

“O you who believe! Bow down and prostate

yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do

good, that haply you may prosper. ………..

So establish worship, pay the poor-due, and

hold fast to Allah. He is your Protecting Friend;

a blessed Patron and a blessed Helper…”

(al-Quran 22:77-78)

Allah’s help and guidance is there for us but it comes to those only who seek it and strive for it. A mother does not feed her baby unless the baby cries. Here is a recipe to seek Allah’s help:

“O you who believe! Seek help with patient

perseverance and prayer; for Allah is

with those who patiently persevere.”

(al-Quran 2:153)

Patient perseverance means steadfastness (Istiqamat). It is the basic requisite of Islam. You believe in Allah, obey His commands, His messengers, and keep doing the right things; then ask for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. He will surely bless you; but He will also test your faith, your honesty, your sincerity, i.e., your steadfastness. If you stay the course, of course with His help, you will be blessed. It is hard but worth trying. This is God’s prescription and it always works without fail!

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