Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
[3:2]
GOD – there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being!
This second aya begins just as Ayatul-Kursi began. Remember we spoke about that sisterhood between Suratul-Baqara and this one. Here we see that theme clearly.
Oh yes it’s about to get good! So the Christian delegation from Nejran came and questioned the messenger, as you read below. If you didn’t read it you might want to take a look. No sooner does this sura begin than Allah affirms the truth about Himself and debunks all falsehood. Who is He? Allah. What are His attributes? He is living; He needs nothing, and He produces and maintains all.
[3:3]
Step by step has He bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, setting forth the truth which confirms whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations]: for it is He who has bestowed from on high the Torah and the Gospel.
Then Allah affirms the Qur’an as His book. نزّل ا nazzala is the word Allah uses to tell us how He revealed it. Nazzala means to come down in stages. We know that the Qur’an was revealed slowly over a span of 23 years. And أنزل anzala is the word Allah uses to tell us how He revealed the previous scriptures. Anzala means to come at one time, because the previous scriptures came as a whole. They weren’t revealed in portions. Not only did Allah reveal the Qur’an, but He also revealed the books of Moses and Jesus. So why would anyone believe in only some of what has come from Him although He has claimed them all?
[3:4]
aforetime, as a guidance unto mankind, and it is He who has bestowed [upon man] the standard by which to discern the true from the false. Behold, as for those who are bent on denying God’s messages – grievous suffering awaits them: for God is almighty, an avenger of evil.
In the past the Injeel (book revealed to Jesus pbuh) and the Torah (book revealed to Moses pbuh) were a means of guidance for their people. And with those books Allah sent clear proofs in the form of miracles. Remember the Prophet S is speaking to the delegation of Christians who have come and Allah is responding to them through the Qur’an. So it is Allah who told them then, and is telling us now: “whoever disbelieves in My signs will have a severe punishment.” Allah is powerful and the owner of retribution. So those who say that God will not punish them for their deeds or their disbelief should perhaps rethink their position.
[3:5]
Verily, nothing on earth or in the heavens is hidden from God.
[3:6]
He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills. There is no deity save Him, the Almighty, the Truly Wise.
What’s left to say? Allah is clear. He makes us, shapes us, fashions us, feeds us, clothes us, cures our illnesses, and still gives us the choice to believe in Him or to disbelieve, 2:256. And this is why it is so important to memorize Qur’an instead of just reading it through. Memorizing Qur’an gives us a holistic view of the ayaat and chapters. Only when we have it memorized can we contemplate the verses that have a particular phrase in them all at the same time. Or jump between meanings and ayaat and suras as we seek a better grip on Allah’s words.
It is getting deep. I can just see it in my mind. I can just see the look of buhita (utter speechlessness) on their faces. Is it so hard to move from Christianity to Islam? My mother did, and my father. My in-laws did. Perhaps the struggle can be equated somewhat to the embarrassment a child feels when they do something wrong and everyone knows about it. The child, to hide his shame, might deny the misdeed or try to change the facts so that he doesn’t feel so badly about it. But regardless of his attempts at concealment his actions were already made plain and clear to all who have eyes. He is the only one deceived by his cover-up, 2:9.
The difference, however, is that children grow up and can laugh at all the silly things they did as children. As adults we can either change and move on to something better, or die and return to God in whatever condition and state we die upon. I pray Allah give us all good deaths and grants us ease in death, and to die while He loves us. I pray He gives us ease in changing our character as we learn what He loves.
Ameen