Overview (Verse 284)

Where Ultimate Authority Lies
 
The sūrah goes on to elaborate this point further, arousing deeper fear and consciousness of God, to whom everything belongs and who is aware of every thought, whether concealed or stated. He is sure to bring everyone to account, and He has full control over people’s ultimate destiny: “To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Whether you make known what is in your minds or conceal it, God will bring you to account for it. He will then forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills. God has power over all things.” (Verse 284)
 
One of the most distinctive features of the Qur’ānic legislative approach is that it combines purely legalistic directives with emotional and spiritual exhortations. Thus, it links the rules to be implemented in human life to their source, the Creator of all life, within a context rich with fear of, and hope in, God Almighty. Islam moulds individual hearts and souls, as well as society as a whole, to which it addresses its legislation in order to achieve perfect harmony between morality and law, piety and authority. It is a code of life designed and laid down for man by his Creator, which can never be rivalled by anything that man, with his limited knowledge, perception and life duration, can ever hope to produce or achieve. After all, human beings always differ in their views and perspectives. Why, then, does humanity try to run away from its Creator who knows best what suits His creation in every case, time or situation?
 
The modern wilderness in which humanity suffers today originated, in Europe with the breakaway from the oppression of the Church and the “God” it claimed to represent, and the shackles it put on human thought. The Church in Europe imposed steep taxes on ordinary people, levied tithes, sold indulgences for sins committed, and imposed very harsh tyranny. As people rose to challenge and discard these inhuman practices, they denounced the Church and rejected its teachings and authority. Regrettably, they did not stop there but went on to reject the “God of the Church” and His authority and to completely turn away from religion itself. That was a crucial development in human history that was to prove the cause of most of the misery and suffering seen in the world ever since.
 
The question is why should Muslims reject their religious way of life or turn away from it? Unlike the Church in Europe, Islam has been a religion largely associated with tolerance, progress and universal human well-being. The objective Islam has always worked for is to lighten the burden of human suffering and eradicate oppression, cruelty and injustice for all mankind. What reason, then, do we have to banish it from our life, imitating the West, when we have always been free from the problems that the West has had with the Church?

Overview (Verse 284)

Where Ultimate Authority Lies
 
The sūrah goes on to elaborate this point further, arousing deeper fear and consciousness of God, to whom everything belongs and who is aware of every thought, whether concealed or stated. He is sure to bring everyone to account, and He has full control over people’s ultimate destiny: “To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Whether you make known what is in your minds or conceal it, God will bring you to account for it. He will then forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills. God has power over all things.” (Verse 284)
 
One of the most distinctive features of the Qur’ānic legislative approach is that it combines purely legalistic directives with emotional and spiritual exhortations. Thus, it links the rules to be implemented in human life to their source, the Creator of all life, within a context rich with fear of, and hope in, God Almighty. Islam moulds individual hearts and souls, as well as society as a whole, to which it addresses its legislation in order to achieve perfect harmony between morality and law, piety and authority. It is a code of life designed and laid down for man by his Creator, which can never be rivalled by anything that man, with his limited knowledge, perception and life duration, can ever hope to produce or achieve. After all, human beings always differ in their views and perspectives. Why, then, does humanity try to run away from its Creator who knows best what suits His creation in every case, time or situation?
 
The modern wilderness in which humanity suffers today originated, in Europe with the breakaway from the oppression of the Church and the “God” it claimed to represent, and the shackles it put on human thought. The Church in Europe imposed steep taxes on ordinary people, levied tithes, sold indulgences for sins committed, and imposed very harsh tyranny. As people rose to challenge and discard these inhuman practices, they denounced the Church and rejected its teachings and authority. Regrettably, they did not stop there but went on to reject the “God of the Church” and His authority and to completely turn away from religion itself. That was a crucial development in human history that was to prove the cause of most of the misery and suffering seen in the world ever since.
 
The question is why should Muslims reject their religious way of life or turn away from it? Unlike the Church in Europe, Islam has been a religion largely associated with tolerance, progress and universal human well-being. The objective Islam has always worked for is to lighten the burden of human suffering and eradicate oppression, cruelty and injustice for all mankind. What reason, then, do we have to banish it from our life, imitating the West, when we have always been free from the problems that the West has had with the Church?