Thursday 5 December 2013

Why Believe?

Qur'aanic Verses 84:19 to 84:21:

















Transliterations:

19. Latarkabunna tabaqan AAan tabaqin

20. Fama lahum la yu/minoona

21. Wa-itha quri-a AAalayhimu alqur-anu la yasjudoona


Translations:

19. You [humans] do move from stage to stage.1

20. Then how come they believe not [in a life to come]

21. And when the Qur’aan is read out to them, they prostrate not!?


Study Note:

1. Mankind is well aware of the many stages through which man passes from his conception in a womb to his grave. Then why does he not believe in the divine intimation to him of his further stages of barzakh (state of complete unconsciousness from death till his resurrection in the Hereafter) and further life in the Hereafter? This very question is posed to him in the next two Verses. The divine intimation is given to him through the Qur’aan, which he ought to believe in and prostrate (submit himself) to. But one may ask why. The answer is: there is no other source which gives us the information as to what happens after death. Our knowledge of science just tells us that we cease to exist. Science also does not tell us as to what it is that triggers life in the 3 week old fertilized ovum in mother’s womb. Science is thus absolutely helpless in giving us this vital info. So we have no alternative but to go to the divine source. And the divine info provides answers to a number of unresolved questions arising in the human mind. Why do innumerable cases of injustices apparently remain unpunished in this world? And why acts of good deeds remain unrewarded? Why do innocents suffer and why do wrong-doers apparently enjoy good life on this earth? Science has no answers to such questions; the Qur’aan has!


An extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

4 comments:

  1. Last verse in Arabic here is wrong. Please check that out. And you are correct science has only showed us the 'how' but not the 'why'. You may wish to read a book " the language of God" written by the head if genome project geneticist Francis Collins through the working of DNA he came back to believing God from atheism.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, indeed! The Verse in Arabic was wrong. I have since corrected it.Thanks!

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    2. I need to say tht the translation my have carried the meaning a long way away from the original text which is ambiguous to a great deal.

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  2. To the casual reader the Qur'aan appears ambiguous, but not to one who regularly ponders over its Verses

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