By Babatunde Jose
Which of Allah’s favors can we deny? This is the question asked 31 times out of 78 ayats in Surah Ar-Rahman the 55th chapter of the Qur’an. It is classified as a Meccan Surah and titled “The Most Merciful”.
This Surah lists many blessings and favors that Allah has bestowed for us. It is the only chapter (Surah) in the Noble Qur’an that begins with one of the ninety-nine names of Allah. It is also the only one in which Allah directly addresses Jinn, sentient beings created from fire.
No doubt we take a lot of Allah’s favors for granted: We sleep at night and wake up in the morning as if it is by our might or as of right: Yet it is a favor from God.
Those who slept and never woke up did not offend the Lord, neither did those who woke up in the emergency ward of the hospital. Some slept and woke up paralyzed from stroke.
All in a night’s sleep. God work in miraculous ways; not only is He merciful, He is also benevolent.
Surah Ar-Rahman consists of five distinct areas that exemplify Allah’s Mercy, i.e., design and balance, wonders in creation, the end of the world, Hell and Paradise.
Great focus is given to the glory of Allah’s design of the living and the non-living and the wonders of the universe.
The parts of the chapter that examine the end of the world and hell are brief but nonetheless convey a clear and strong message.
Man was made of sounding clay, dry and brittle like pottery. The Jinn was made from a clear flame of fire. Yet each has capacities and possibilities which only Allah’s Grace bestows on them. How can they deny Allah’s favors? The knowledge of things instilled upon man, and the skill of communication endowed to him: “Bayan” or intelligent speech; power of expression; capacity to clearly understand the relations of things and to explain them.
In the great astronomical universe, there are exact mathematical laws, which bear witness to Allah’s wisdom and to His favors to His creatures; for we all profit by the heat and light, the seasons, and the numerous changes in the tides and the atmosphere, on which the constitution of our globe and the maintenance of life depend.
The exact mathematical laws in Allah’s creation have made possible Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin latest space mission;10 minutes and 17 seconds with a maximum velocity of 2,235 mph.
The rocket returned and landed on the exact spot in the desert. If this is not mathematical exactitude, then it is miraculous. Allah laid down the possibilities.
The “balance of justice” in this Surah relates to “the Balance” which men may act justly to each other and observe due balance in all their actions, following the golden mean and not transgressing due bounds in anything.
But the Balance is also connected figuratively with the heavens above in that: Justice is a heavenly virtue; and the heavens themselves are sustained by mathematical balance.
To be taken both literally and figuratively, a man should be honest and straight in every daily matter and he should be straight, just, and honest, in all the highest dealings, not only with other people, but with himself and in his obedience to Allah’s Law.
Not many do either the one or the other when they have an opportunity of deceit. Justice is the central virtue, and the avoidance of both excess and defect in conduct keeps the human world balanced just as the heavenly world is kept balanced by mathematical order.
Man’s failure to keep the balance in his dealings with fellow man has been the cause of our predicament in this world.
How can Allah’s favors be counted? Look at the earth alone.
Life and the conditions here are mutually balanced for Allah’s creatures. The vegetable world produces fruit of various kinds and grain of various kinds for human food.
The grain harvest also yields with it fodder for animals. The plants not only supply food but sweet-smelling herbs and flowers.
Allah’s design on earth, and the synchronization of the cycles of the sun and moon and the movements of the stars create perfect order in the universe for all his creatures to follow and abide by it.
Various wonders of the world also exemplify the Glory of Allah. Such wonders include the locations of the sunrise and sunset, the natural separation between salt water and fresh water, and the production of pearl and coral.
There is great emphasis on Allah’s ownership over all these phenomena. Quran 55:24 reminds us that even manmade devices like ships essentially belong to the Almighty Allah.
See Quran 25:53 where it is explained how the two bodies of water, salt and sweet, meet, yet keep separate, as if there was a barrier or partition between them.
This is also one of the favors of Allah. Seawater is a sanitizing agent, while fresh water is sweet and palatable to drink. Between them is a barrier which they do not transgress.
Pearls are produced by the oyster and coral by the polyp, a minute marine creature, which, working in millions, has by its secretions produced the reefs, islands, and banks in and on both sides of the Red Sea and in other parts of the world.
The pearl has a translucent luster, usually white, but sometimes pink or black. Coral is usually opaque, red, or pink, but often white, and is seen in beautiful branching or cup-like shapes.
Both are used as gems. Mineral gems, such as agate and cornelian, are found in riverbeds. Pearl oysters are also found in some rivers.
Following the descriptions of Allah’s creation are images of the Last Day, in which everything on earth will come to an end; all that remains will be the Face of the Lord. Quran 55:29 and 33 demonstrate jinn and man’s complete dependence on Allah and their failure without Him. 55:35 and 37 hold vivid depictions of the turmoil and awe of the end of the world. Quran 55:39 states that the sins of jinn and men will be made so clear that they will not need to be questioned.
The most magnificent works of man-such as they are – are but fleeting. Wonders of Science and Art, the splendors of human glory or intellect, will all pass away.
The most magnificent objects in outer Nature – the mountains and valleys, the sun and moon, the Constellation, and the stars – will also pass away in their appointed time. But the only one that will endure forever is the “Face” of Allah. Allahu Akbar !!!
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.
Babatunde Jose
