The Holy Quran Invokes Reason to Instill Faith

The sacred month of Ramadan brings with it the very reminder that the Almighty blessed this month with a special gift to humans – the Holy Quran. The Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad PBUH in a span of 23 years. The first revelation happened on the night of the 21^st of Ramadan. For Muslims, it is a miracle of the Almighty that has been preserved as is by the will of Allah (God). For those who have not read and understood the book, it poses lots of questions based on preconceived prejudices. Very often its verses are hand-picked to misinterpret and belittle the wisdom it offers. Certainly, that is not how any book can be read and understood. The ones who explore it with an open mind and heart find its treasures unending.

Not many know that the Holy Quran establishes the veracity of The Bible, The Torah, and many other scriptures (that have been lost over time) as Divine messages. The Quran states that time and again the Creator has sent Messengers and Scriptures to guide the human race, so that they know the purpose of life and follow the principles of righteous living. Humans, on the other hand, tempted by greed and arrogance have transgressed and openly defied the Messengers and the messages they delivered. Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), was deserted and thrown in fire by his own people and his father when he brought the message of the Creator to his race. Prophet Nuh (Noah) was mocked and laughed by the rich and mighty of his society. He eventually left them and set sail with a handful of his followers during the Great Flood, which wiped out an arrogant civilization from the face of Earth. Prophet Musa (Moses) stood against the tyranny and might of the Pharaoh. Prophet Isa (Jesus) had to face the connivance and plotting of the Pharisees, while spreading the message of the Oneness of the Creator and His Mercy to humankind.

The powerful have misinterpreted and made changes in the earlier scriptures to suit their interests and have often openly defied the preaching and practices of the Messengers of their time. Eventually, societies and civilization were wiped out and new set of people were reinstated to make the powerful realize that eternal glory only belongs to the Creator.

The Quran is revealed as the final message and a reminder by the Almighty to warn the human race of the inevitable consequences, if it does not reign its transgression and creates disharmony, chaos, and imbalance in the natural world for its thirst and greed of power. The Quran puts before its readers how the various human civilizations reached their pinnacle; how the glory of human achievement filled them with pride and arrogance, defying the very existence of the Divine and His decree; and how each one was perished by a natural disaster, starkly revealing the limitation of human achievements and pride. Chapter 6 (Surah Al- An'am), verse 6 of the Holy Book translates as –

“Have they not considered how many generations We destroyed before them? We had established them on earth more firmly than We established you, and We sent the clouds pouring down abundant rain on them, and We made rivers flow beneath them. But We destroyed them for their sins, and established other civilizations after them.”

If you are born in a Muslim household it is easy to be introduced to the Holy Quran but it still requires serious intent to understand its worth. Often, Muslims read its verses without understanding their meaning. Even the recitation brings in relief, solace, and assurance of a connection with the Creator. But, above all, the Quran establishes its purpose as a book of guidance and its treasure opens for us only when we understand it.

The marvel of the Quran lies in its simple yet profound approach. Many verses of the book evoke the readers to think about the otherwise mundane acts of Nature and draw attention to the intricate message of the Creator hidden in these occurrences. Be it the subtle transition of the night and day, the way stars and planets operate in the cosmos, the ingenuity of a honey bee, the birds’ ability to fly, the origin of human life from a drop of fluid (forming a zygote) or how the bare winters give way to spring blossoms with a few showers of rainwater descending from the clouds. The harmony and perfection of the natural world poses the very question to a thinking brain – who is the Creator of it all. How come everything in nature is synced harmoniously? In chapter 67 (Surah Al-Mulk) of the Quran, the Creator asks mankind if it finds any imperfection in the making of the sky. In the human world true perfection is unattainable, which leads to the acknowledgement of a greater force behind the impeccable universe.

The Quran, introduces the thinking humans to the Creator, who is all encompassing of the knowledge we know and the mysteries we don’t. And so goes the translation of chapter 6, verse 59 (Surah Al- An’am) –

“And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darkness of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.”

Long back, early astronomers used to think that our Earth is the center of the universe and all the stars that we see are circling around us. It took hundreds of years to debunk the theory and now we know that our solar system is almost at the outer precincts of the Milky Way galaxy, which in turn is no more than a speck among the billions and billions of galaxies making the Universe. The day we understand that there is a limit to our logical capacity, the arrogance of ignorance will give way to the gratefulness and appreciation of the Divine.

One cannot stop revering the eloquence of the verses that evoke the thinking mind to open up to reason – the greatest faculty of human existence, to understand and acknowledge the relationship between the creation and the Creator. The Quran states ((chapter 23, verse 110) that no creation was made in jest without a purpose.

“Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us?”

Certainly, humans are the best among His creations, and so there is a lot to think about. If we truly believe in the excellence of human reason, then surely there is a purpose to our life greater than we realize.