45. Al-Jathiya (Crouching) |
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Maududi's Introduction |
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It is derived from the sentence wa tartt kullu ummat- in jathiyat-un
of verse 28, implying thereby that it is the Surah in which the word
jathiyah has occurred.
The period of the revelation of this Surah also has not been mentioned
in any authentic tradition, but its subject matter clearly shows that
it was revealed consecutively after Surah Ad Dukhan. The close
resemblance between the contents of the two Surahs makes them look like
the twin Surahs.
It answers the doubts and objections of the disbelievers of Makkah
about Tauhid and the Hereafter and warns them for their attitude that
they had adopted against the message of the Qur'an.
The discourse
begins with the arguments for Tauhid. In this connection, reference
has been made to the count- less Signs that are found in the world,
from man's own body to the earth and heavens, and it is pointed out
that everywhere around him man finds things which testify to
Tauhid which he refuses to acknowledge. If man sees carefully the
variety of animals, the day and night, the rainfall and the vegetation
thereby, the winds and his own creation, and ponders over them
intelligently, without prejudice, he will find these Signs
sufficiently convincing of the truth that this universe is not Godless,
nor under the control of many gods, but it has been created by One God,
and He alone is its Controller and Ruler. However, the case of the
person who is determined not to acknowledge and wants to remain
involved in doubts and suspicions is different. He cannot be blessed
with the faith and conviction from anywhere in the world.
A little
below, in the beginning of the second section, it has been reiterated
that the things man is exploiting in the world, and the countless
forces and agencies that are serving his interests in the universe,
did not come into being just accidentally, nor have they been provided
by the gods and goddesses, but it is One God alone, Who has supplied
and subjected these to him from Himself. If only a person uses his
mind properly and rightly, his own intellect will proclaim that God
alone is man's real Benefactor and He alone deserves that man should
pay obeisance to Him.
After this, the disbelievers of Makkah have been
taken to task and reproved for their stubbornness, arrogance, mockery
and insistence on disbelief with which they were resisting the
invitation of the Qur'an they have been warned that this Qur'an has
brought the same blessing which had been granted to the children of
Israel before, by virtue of which they became distinguished above all
the people of the world. Then, when they failed to recognize the true
worth of this blessing and disputed their religion and lost it, this
blessing now has been sent to them. This is such a code of guidance
which shows the clear highway of Religion to man. The people who would
turn it down by their own folly, would only prepare for their own doom,
and only such people would become worthy of God's succour and mercy
who would adopt obedience to it and lead a life of piety and
righteousness.
In this connection, the followers of the Prophet (Allah's peace be upon him)
have been instructed that they should forbear and pardon the absurd
and foolish behavior towards them of the people fearless of God, for
if they showed patience God Himself would deal with their opponents
and would reward them for their fortitude.
Then, there is a criticism
of the erroneous ideas that the disbelievers hold about the Hereafter.
They said that life was only this worldly life there was no life
hereafter. Man dies in the course of time just as a watch stops
functioning suddenly. The body is not survived by any soul, which
might be seized and then breathed again into the human body some time
in the future. In this regard, they challenged the Prophet (Allah's peace be
upon him),
saying: "If you lay a claim to this, then raise our dead forefathers
back to life." In answer to this, Allah has given the following
arguments:
After giving these arguments Allah says most emphatically: "Just as you did not become living of your own accord, but became living by Our power, so you do not die of your own accord, but die when We send death on you. And a time is certainly coming when you will all be gathered together. If you do not believe in this because of your ignorance and folly today, you may not; when the time arrives, you will see for yourself that you are present before your God and your whole book of conduct is ready accurately, which bears evidence against each of your misdeeds. Then you will come to know how dearly has your denial of the Hereafter and your mockery of it cost you." |
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