Read the Quran
- Whatever is in the heavens and on the earth glorifies God, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the Mighty, the Wise.
- It is He who has raised among the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves who recites His revelations to them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, for they had formerly been clearly misguided—
- and to others also, from among them, who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise One.
- That is God’s grace; He bestows it on whom He pleases; for God is limitless in His grace.
- Those who were charged with bearing the Torah, but did not do so are like an ass carrying a load of books. How unfortunate are those who belie the sign of God. God does not guide the wrongdoers.
- Say, ‘You who are Jews, if you claim that you are favoured by God out of all people, then long for death, if you are truthful.’
- They will never wish for it, because of what their hands have sent forward. God has full knowledge of evil-doers.
- So say, ‘The death you run away from will certainly meet you, and thereafter you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will declare to you what you have done.’
- Believers! When the call to prayer is made on the day of congregation, hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.
- When the prayer is ended, disperse in the land and seek to obtain [something] of God’s bounty; and remember God much, so that you may prosper.
- Yet when they see some merchandise or entertainment, they break away to go to it and leave you standing. Say, ‘That which God has in store is far better than any merchandise or entertainment.’ God is the most munificent Giver.
62:1-4
To send the prophets for the guidance of human beings is the expression of the same attributes of God at the level of humanity as those expressed in relation to material things at the level of the universe. The task of the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets was twofold—first, to convey the message of God to the people and, second, to awaken the consciousness of the people, so that they might understand godly matters and connect them with their real life. In future also, the work relating to dawah (the call for Truth) and reform will be twofold, i.e. the teaching of the Quran and intellectual and spiritual development.
62:5-8
When a book of God is given to a community, it is given for the purpose of its being followed. But a community which does not become the bearer of the book in that sense is like a donkey on which academic books are loaded without its being aware of what they are. The Jews did not follow the teachings of their religion, but they had made it a sign of pride for themselves. But this sort of pride is not going to be of any use to anybody. Such pride is always false pride, and the proof of this is that no proud person is ready to make sacrifices for the religion which he had made a matter of pride. However, when death overtakes such people, they will come to know that the pride on which they were living in the world will bring them nothing but dishonour in the Hereafter.
62:9-11
In this world man is pulled in two different directions, firstly, by the force of economic considerations, and secondly, by the demands of religion. Each of these two considerations is ineluctable. But the divide between the two should be such that economic activities should be subordinate to the call of religion. A man is permitted to strive for economic betterment within legitimate limits. But it is essential that whatever economic success he achieves should be considered as a gift from God. Furthermore, in the course of earning his livelihood he should constantly go on remembering God. Similarly, whenever he is called upon to carry out some religious task, he should be ready to respond immediately, leaving aside all other work. Once in Madinah, during the sermon of the Friday prayers, some people left the mosque and went to the market. These verses were revealed in that connection. These injunctions are directly in connection with the Friday prayers but, indirectly, they apply to every religious task. Whenever people have been called upon and are assembled for some special religious purpose, it will be highly inappropriate to leave the place without the permission of the Imam (leader of the gathering).
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