The   Thirteenth clip titled "Let's make our Thursdays Quranic" was released

We start from where we left you last Friday and here is ayah 61 of Surah Naml:

أمّن جعل الْأرْض قرارًا وجعل خلالها أنْهارًا وجعل لها رواسی وجعل بیْن الْبحْریْن حاجزًا ۗ أإلـٰهٌ مّع اللّـه ۚ بلْ أکْثرهمْ لا یعْلمون

“Is He Who made the earth an abode [for you], and made rivers [flowing] through it, and set firm mountains for it, and set a barrier between the two seas… ? What! Is there a god besides Allah? Rather most of them do not know.”

In continuation of the previous ayah on the wonders of creation, which we explained to you last Friday, this ayah also elaborates on God’s handiwork in providing an excellent abode for mankind on Planet Earth where the necessary ingredients for flourishing of life are found, such as rivers of sweet waters that emanate from the majestic mountains and flow into the salty seas. God then asks the disbelievers and the polytheists, how could there be another deity besides the One and Only God, Whose Wisdom and Power is fully manifest in the orderly functioning of the universe. There are many points to be pondered in this and other ayahs. For instance, the Earth is indeed an abode of comfort and the cradle of civilizations which had emerged in different ages and different places, beside the banks of fresh flowing rivers. We cannot fully realize the comfort and the tranquility of the Earth, where the blessings of God are fully manifest, unless we contemplate upon the devastating effects of an earthquake. In view of these irrefutable facts, how come the polytheists consider lifeless idols, which are nothing but the creation of their own hands and the result of the wild imagination of their warped minds, as partners of God in the creation and administration of the world? This is because they do note ponder on realities.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The comfort and tranquility of the Earth for us the human beings is evident from what appears as lack of motion to us, while the fact is that the Earth revolves on its axis as it orbits the Sun at high speed, yet no one feels.
2. The real cause of disbelieve and polytheism is the failure to recognize the signs of God that are all evident in the world of nature and even within our own selves.
3. It is the duty of those who have become cognizant of Divine Truth, to enlighten the minds of fellow humans in order to remove ignorance and arrogant attitudes.

Now let us listen to ayah 62 of Surah Naml:

أمّن یجیب الْمضْطرّ إذا دعاه ویکْشف السّوء ویجْعلکمْ خلفاء الْأرْض ۗ أإلـٰهٌ مّع اللّـه ۚ قلیلًا مّا تذکّرون

“Is He Who answers the call of the distressed [person] when he invokes Him and removes his distress, and makes you the Earth’s successors… ? What! Is there a god besides Allah? Little is the admonition that you take.”

Like the previous ayah this ayah also poses a question by citing the parable of a person in acute distress to whom all gates are closed and whose distress is removed only when he turns to God Almighty. It then asks the doubters whether or not God has bestowed them the bounties of the earth to be enjoyed. Can the idols and whatever you worship besides God, solve your problems and grant you such blessings? Definitely not, then why don’t you learn lessons by pondering on these realities of life? Faith in the One and Only God is thus part of innate human nature. It is the pollution of polytheism and atheism which misleads man. But whenever a person is trapped with no hope from any quarter, such as on a sea journey when turbulent sea waves threaten to sink the ship, it is only the turning to God out of sincerity that comes to rescue. Yet the disbelievers deny God and are ungrateful, and commit the capital sin of considering belief in God as the result of fear, without realizing that faith in the Almighty Creator is an inherent part of human nature. In other words, while the faithful see the manifestation of God all around them, the disbelievers become cognizant of this fact only in acute dangers when fear for the loss of life pushes aside the curtains of ignorance from their minds, and make them see God as One and Only. It is like the child who is oblivious of his parents, but when dangers engulf him, he seeks refuge in the lap of his mother. Does it mean, the mother is nothing but the outcome of a child’s need for protection, out of fear?

Thus, when humans become certain that no power can help them they seek help from the Unseen but Omnipresent Power, Which is God Almighty.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. For some, the cognizance of God comes when they fear danger to life and desperately invoke the Only Power that can save them.
2. God has granted the bounties of the earth for humans to enjoy them and properly exploit them.

Now we listen to ayah 63 of Surah Naml:

أمّن یهْدیکمْ فی ظلمات الْبرّ والْبحْر ومن یرْسل الرّیاح بشْرًا بیْن یدیْ رحْمته ۗ أإلـٰهٌ مّع اللّـه ۚ تعالى اللّـه عمّا یشْرکون

“Is He Who guides you in the darkness of land and sea and Who sends the winds as harbingers of His mercy… ? What! Is there a god besides Allah? Exalted is Allah above [having] any partners they ascribe [to Him].”

In the same manner as the previous ayahs, this ayah also poses the question as to who is the ultimate guide in the darkness of the land and the sea to show you the path. Who sends the pleasant breezes, at times accompanied by rainfall, as harbingers of mercy to refresh you and cause relief for you during hot and humid weather? Aren’t the stars that guide you at night, not the creation of the One God and Only God? Then how come you ascribe partners to God, and install worthless idols as objects of worship?

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The phenomena of nature and the bounties of the earth, as well as the mysteries of the starlit sky, along with the light of the brightly shining Sun, are all testimony to the fact that the universe has been created and is governed in an orderly manner by the One and Only Creator.
2. God is the Source of life and existence, and His signs are manifest all around us, which none can deny, although He is far Glorious to be encompassed by the eyes of His creation