THE BOOK

OF REVELATIONS
Selections from the Holy Qur°än
with interpretations by Muhammad Asad,
Yusuf Ali, and others

Selected and prepared by

Kabir Helminski

THE BOOK FOUNDATION

BRISTOL, ENGLAND AND WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA
THE BOOK FOUNDATION
www.thebook.org

Copyright © 2005 Kabir Helminski.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information stor-
age and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Special thanks to Talal and Nadia Zahid for their support.

Publication Design & Cover Art by Threshold Productions and Ahmed Moustafa.

Closely based on Muåammad Asad’s The Message of the Qur°än,

including translations by Kabir Helminski,
and from The Light of Dawn by Camille Helminski
Research and Editing by Subhana Ansari

First Book Foundation edition published 2005.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Book of Revelations: Selections from the Holy Qur°än
with interpretations by Muhammad Asad, Yusuf Ali, and others
Selected and prepared by Kabir Helminski.
Bristol, England & Watsonville, California: The Book Foundation, 2005.

ISBN 1-904510-12-4
BP 130.4 H
1. Islam. 2. Qur’an 3. Quranic Interpretation
I. Kabir Helminski II. The Book Foundation
 Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................... xiii

The Opening:................................................................................ 3
Seven Often-Repeated Verses........................................................ 3
Guidance for the God-Conscious................................................... 5
Their Hearts and Hearing Are Sealed ............................................. 8
The Bond with God .....................................................................10
God’s Representative on Earth......................................................12
What is Needed for Salvation........................................................15
Essential Submission......................................................................19
Freedom of Religion ....................................................................21
Wherever You Turn . . . ..............................................................22
The Reciprocity of Remembrance................................................24
Signs for the Intelligent .................................................................26
Virtue...........................................................................................27
Fasting ..........................................................................................29
Divine Relationship......................................................................32
Defensive Warfare ........................................................................33
Preserve the Regularity of Prayer ..................................................35
The Throne Verse ........................................................................36
No Coercion in Faith ...................................................................39
Out of the Darkness and into the Light .........................................41
Wisdom is the Greatest Wealth .....................................................43
Making No Distinction among His Messengers .............................46
Let Not Our Hearts Swerve from the Truth..................................48
The Essential Religion is Submission.............................................51
Christ, the Word ..........................................................................54
Hold Fast to the Rope of God ......................................................56
Travel Through the World ...........................................................59
Facing Mortality ...........................................................................61

v
Free Will or Pre-Destination? .......................................................63
The Prophet’s Gentleness..............................................................65
Trials ............................................................................................68
Sustaining Remembrance..............................................................69
Patience........................................................................................71
What God Wants for Us ...............................................................73
Recompense.................................................................................75
A Beautiful Friendship ..................................................................76
Courtesy to People of Other Faiths ...............................................78
God’s Evidence and Promise.........................................................79
Bear Witness to the Truth.............................................................80
Killing ..........................................................................................81
Cultural Pluralism .........................................................................82
Ignorance .....................................................................................86
Moderation in Pleasures ................................................................87
Intoxicants and Gambling .............................................................89
Signs of Nature .............................................................................92
God is Subtle ................................................................................97
Respect for Other Beliefs..............................................................99
Waste .........................................................................................101
Beauty in Worship......................................................................102
The Effects of Sin .......................................................................106
Stringency and Mercy .................................................................107
The Heedless ..............................................................................108
From a Single Soul .....................................................................110
When Satan Stirs You Up, Remember .......................................113
Don’t Be Unaware .....................................................................115
Tremble with Awe .....................................................................117
Inner Calm, Strengthened Heart .................................................118
That Which Will Give You Life .................................................120
Discernment ...............................................................................122
Inner Change..............................................................................124

vi
The Closeness of the Faithful ......................................................125
The Religion of Truth................................................................127
Mutual Support of the Faithful....................................................128
God Has Purchased.....................................................................130
No Refuge from God but in Him...............................................131
Nothing is Accidental .................................................................135
Human Delusions .......................................................................136
Friendship with God...................................................................138
Worship Repels Evil...................................................................140
Stories of the Messengers ............................................................141
The Commanding Self................................................................142
The Need for Real Change ........................................................144
Prayer and Ultimate Reality........................................................146
Those Endowed with Insight ......................................................147
The Tranquility of Remembrance...............................................150
A Book for All Mankind.............................................................151
The Parable of a Good Word......................................................154
God Always Grants a Part of Our Prayers....................................157
God’s Storehouses.......................................................................159
Human Haughtiness....................................................................162
Nature Prostrates Before God .....................................................164
The Inspiration of the Bees .........................................................165
Fair Treatment of Dependents, Employees, and Servants .............167
Justice.........................................................................................169
Value the Bond with God...........................................................171
The Culmination of Revelation ..................................................172
The Gentle Invitation .................................................................173
Restraint in Retaliation...............................................................175
Misguided Prayers.......................................................................177
Personal Responsibility ...............................................................178
The Wings of Humility ..............................................................179
Eight Moral Injunctions ..............................................................181

vii
The Hidden Glorification ...........................................................184
The High Standard of Human Speech.........................................186
Invoke God ................................................................................187
All that Glitters ...........................................................................189
Inshä°alläh!..................................................................................190
If the Seas Were Ink . . . .............................................................191
Endow with Love.......................................................................192
Increase My Knowing.................................................................193
The Tempting Lie ......................................................................195
The Origin of Life and the Universe ...........................................197
Permission to Fight .....................................................................199
Strive Hard .................................................................................201
The Unity of Prophets ................................................................203
The Light of the Heavens and the Earth......................................206
Undistracted Remembrance........................................................211
The Praise of Nature...................................................................213
The Blessing of Discernment.......................................................214
Walk in Humility upon the Earth ...............................................215
A Sound Heart ...........................................................................216
Turn Aside from Idle Talk ..........................................................217
Everything is Perishing except His Face ......................................218
Travel.........................................................................................219
The Spider..................................................................................220
Remembrance is the Greatest......................................................223
Self-Destructiveness ....................................................................224
Life and Death ............................................................................225
He Created for You Mates..........................................................227
Variations in Your Languages and Colors ....................................229
The Essence of the Most Sublime ...............................................232
The Primordial Religion.............................................................234
Illusory Time..............................................................................237
For Our Own Good ...................................................................238

viii
Goodness Toward Parents...........................................................240
Be Modest in Your Bearing ........................................................242
The Most Trustworthy Hand-Hold ............................................244
The Excellence of God’s Creation...............................................245
Straight Speaking ........................................................................248
The Covenant of Trust ...............................................................250
Spend on Others.........................................................................254
A Prophet Asks for No Reward ..................................................255
Spiritually We Bear Only Our Own Burden ...............................257
The Blind and the Seeing............................................................258
Pairs of Opposites .......................................................................260
The Companions of the Garden..................................................261
The Book of Blessings ................................................................265
Our Servant Job..........................................................................266
A Book Consistent Within Itself .................................................268
One Master or Many? .................................................................271
This Present Life.........................................................................272
Call on Me .................................................................................273
We Will Show Them Our Signs .................................................274
The Clear Path ...........................................................................277
Be Steadfast without Arguments..................................................279
Love Your Fellow Human Beings...............................................280
Due Measure ..............................................................................281
With God Is the Enduring Good ................................................283
We Have Made the Qur°än a Light.............................................286
Pairs ...........................................................................................288
Lost in the Pursuit of Pleasures ....................................................289
The Way ....................................................................................290
Spend Freely in the Way of God.................................................292
Tranquility .................................................................................295
The Pledge .................................................................................296
The Religion of Truth................................................................299

ix
Unity Among People of Faith .....................................................302
Nearness .....................................................................................306
A Watcher Ever-Present .............................................................309
Conscious Mind .........................................................................311
Signs for Inner Certainty.............................................................314
Polarities.....................................................................................318
Created for Worship ...................................................................321
Nothing Goes to Waste ..............................................................322
With Our Sight ..........................................................................323
His Eye Did Not Waver .............................................................325
Vast in Forgiveness .....................................................................328
We Have Nothing Unless We Strive...........................................331
The Moon is Split.......................................................................335
The Easy Remembrance .............................................................337
Articulate Thought and Speech ...................................................338
Everything is Perishing except His Face ......................................342
Have You Ever Considered? .......................................................344
From Darkness into Light ...........................................................347
Selfless Action.............................................................................348
Humble Remembrance ..............................................................350
Conscious Equanimity ................................................................352
The Witness of All Intrigues .......................................................356
Make Room for One Another....................................................358
God’s People ..............................................................................360
Helpers and Refugees .................................................................362
To Forget Our Own Souls..........................................................363
The Most Beautiful Names .........................................................366
Abraham’s Prayer........................................................................370
The Declaration of Faith .............................................................372
Vain Talk ...................................................................................373
Jesus, the Messenger....................................................................374
God Will Perfect His Light .........................................................376

x
Remember God Often ...............................................................380
He Has Created with Truth ........................................................384
A Way of Emergence..................................................................390
No Undue Burden .....................................................................392
We Breathed Our Spirit into Mary .............................................393
A Flawless Universe ....................................................................395
The Sublime Standard of Character.............................................398
Gardens of Bliss ..........................................................................401
Laying-Bare the Truth ................................................................405
Truly the Word of an Honored Messenger..................................406
Created Restless..........................................................................410
The One Who Loves to Forgive .................................................413
Rising by Night..........................................................................416
Lend to God a Beautiful Loan .....................................................419
Purify Your Heart.......................................................................420
Muhamamad’s Frown .................................................................423
Give Full Measure ......................................................................427
The Rust of the Heart ................................................................429
Hope within Painful Toil............................................................430
Gradual Unfoldment...................................................................432
Guardian of the Soul...................................................................435
Glorify the Name of Your Sustainer............................................437
Tests...........................................................................................442
O Tranquil Soul .........................................................................445
Consider the Sun ........................................................................447
The Path to Bliss.........................................................................451
Expansion...................................................................................455
The Best of Proportions..............................................................460
The First Revelation...................................................................468
Bow Down ................................................................................473
The Night of Power ...................................................................474
Accumulation .............................................................................476

xi
Everyone Is in Loss, Except . . . ..................................................483
Hypocritical Worshippers............................................................487
The Source of Abundance ..........................................................490
You Who Deny the Truth..........................................................493
Help at the End ..........................................................................495
The Eternal Originator ...............................................................498
The Mischief within Creation.....................................................500
Inner Whisperings.......................................................................502
References Cited by Muhammad Asad........................................504
Bibliography ...............................................................................506

xii
 Introduction
This is a sourcebook of Quranic selections and accompanying interpreta-
tions. These selections were made, above all, to highlight the fundamental
spiritual principles contained in the Qur’an. If you are new to the Qur’an,
we hope that this book will provide a balanced view of the Heart of the
Qur’an. If you are already a student of the Qur’an, we hope that these
selections will perhaps awaken a new appreciation for the universal spiri-
tual wisdom of the Book.
The interpretations are not meant to be the final word, but rather a
point of entry to the universe of meaning offered to us by Revelation.
The reader will encounter a variety of viewpoints and understandings and
will be encouraged to deepen his or her understanding by reflecting upon
the material offered here. In some cases the interpretations offer back-
ground information that establish a context for the ayäh. In other cases
one might be opened to a direct soul encounter with the words them-
selves.
The translations we offer remain close to the widely respected trans-
lations of Muhammad Asad, and, to a lesser extent, Yusuf Ali. Where
substantive changes have been made from the accepted translations of Ali
and Asad, they are in the direction of even greater faithfulness to the root
meanings of the words, rather than toward freer interpretation. In other
words, we have tried to take as few liberties with the text as possible. We
have also made minor changes in the direction of a more contemporary
idiom, yet one that is dignified and sacred without being ponderous or

xiii
archaic.
The selections are followed by one or more interpretations, with the
name of the interpreter in parentheses at the end of the selection. The
bibliography at the back gives more details about each author and the
publications.
Any selection from the Qur’an will inevitably be somewhat subjec-
tive and, perhaps, arbitrary. Nevertheless, it is also true that certain pas-
sages have become often-quoted favorites. We apologize if some of your
favorites may seem to be missing. We have done our best to include se-
lections that touch upon the major spiritual themes of the Qur’an. May
people profit from these pages and may Allah be pleased with our efforts.

~Kabir Helminski

xiv
The Selections
2
 The Opening:
Seven Often-Repeated Verses

In the Name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate, Most Merciful.

All praise is God’s,
the Sustainer of all worlds,
the Infinitely Compassionate and Most Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship
and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path;
the path of those who have received Your favor,
not the path of those who have earned Your wrath,
nor of those who have gone astray.

[Sürah al-Fätiåah 1:1-7, complete]

This sürah is also called Fätiåat al-Kitäb (“The Opening of the Divine
Writ”), Umm al-Kitäb (“The Essence of the Divine Writ”), Sürat al-Åamd
(“The Sürah of Praise”), Asäs al-Qur°än (“The Foundation of the Qur°än),
and is known by several other names as well. It is mentioned elsewhere in
the Qur°än as As-Sabª al-Mathänï (“The Seven Oft-Repeated [Verses]”)
because it is repeated several times in the course of each of the five daily
prayers. According to Bukhärï, the designation Umm al-Kitäb was given to
it by the Prophet himself, and this in view of the fact that it contains, in a
condensed form, all the fundamental principles laid down in the Qur°än:
the principle of God’s oneness and uniqueness, of His being the originator

3
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

and fosterer of the universe, the fount of all life-giving grace, the One to
whom man is ultimately responsible, the only power that can really guide
and help; the call to righteous action in the life of this world (guide us the
straight way); the principle of life after death and of the organic conse-
quences of man’s actions and behavior (expressed in the term Day of
Judgment); the principle of guidance through God’s message-bearers (evi-
dent in the reference to those upon whom God has bestowed His blessings)
and, flowing from it, the principle of the continuity of all true religions
(implied in the allusion to people who have lived—and erred—in the
past); and, finally, the need for voluntary self-surrender to the will of the
Supreme Being and, thus, for worshipping Him alone. It is for this reason
that this sürah has been formulated as a prayer, to be constantly repeated
and reflected upon by the believer.
“The Opening” was one of the earliest revelations bestowed upon
the Prophet. Some authorities (for instance, ªAlï ibn Abï Öälib) were even
of the opinion that it was the very first revelation; but this view is contra-
dicted by authentic Traditions quoted by both Bukhärï and Muslim,
which unmistakably show that the first five verses of Sürah 96 (Sürah al-
ªAlaq, “The Germ Cell”) constituted the beginning of revelation. It is
probable, however, that whereas the earlier revelation consisted of only a
few verses each, “The Opening” was the first sürah revealed to the
Prophet in its entirety at one time: and this would explain the view held
by ªAlï. (Asad, p. 1)

4
 Guidance for the God-Conscious

Alif. Läm. Mïm.1

This Divine Writ—let there be no doubt about it—
is meant to be a guidance for all the God-conscious,
who believe in the existence
of that which is beyond the reach of human perception,
and are constant in prayer,
and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance;
and who believe in that which has been bestowed
from on high upon you, O Prophet,
as well as in that which was bestowed before your time:
for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come!
It is they who follow the guidance which comes from their Sustainer;
and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state!

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:1-5]

The second sürah starts with a declaration of the purpose underlying the
revelation of the Qur°än as a whole: namely, man’s guidance in all his
spiritual and worldly affairs.
A guidance for all the God-conscious: the conventional translation of

1
The mystical letters: Preceding about a quarter of the Qur°änic sürahs are combinations
of letters sometimes referred to as “openings” (fawatih).They are always pronounced indi-
vidually. Though various theories as to their meaning exist, their true meaning rests in the
Mysterion. As Abü Bakr, close companion of the Prophet and the first of the Caliphs to
guide his community after his passing, said, “In every Divine Book there is mystery—and
the mystery of the Qur°än is indicated in the openings of some of the sürahs.”

5
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

muttaqï as “God-fearing” does not adequately render the positive content

of this expression, namely the awareness of His all-presence and the desire
to mold one’s existence in the light of this awareness. The interpretation
adopted by some translators, one who guards himself against evil or one who is
careful of his duty, does not give more than one particular aspect of the
concept of “God-consciousness.”
Beyond the reach of human perception: al-ghayb (commonly, and errone-
ously, translated as “the Unseen”) is used in the Qur°än to denote all
those sectors or phases of reality which lie beyond the range of human
(sense) perception and cannot, therefore, be proved or disproved by sci-
entific observation or even adequately comprised within the accepted
categories of speculative thought. These include, for instance, the exis-
tence of God and of a definite purpose underlying the universe, life after
death, the real nature of time, the existence of spiritual forces and their
inter-action, and so forth. Only a person who is convinced that the ulti-
mate reality comprises far more than our observable environment can attain
to belief in God and, thus, to a belief that life has meaning and purpose.
By pointing out that it is a guidance for those who believe in the existence of
that which is beyond human perception, the Qur°än says, in effect, that it
will—of necessity—remain a closed book to all whose minds cannot ac-
cept this fundamental premise.
And spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance: provi-
sion of sustenance applies to all that may be of benefit to man, whether it
be concrete (like food, property, offspring, etc.), or abstract (like knowl-
edge, piety, etc.) The “spending on others” is mentioned here in one
breath with God-consciousness and prayer because it is precisely in such
selfless acts that true piety comes to its full fruition. It should be borne in
mind that the verb anfaqa (literally, “he spent”) is always used in the
Qur°än to denote spending freely on, or as a gift to, others, whatever the
motive may be.
That which was bestowed before your time: this is a reference to one of
the fundamental doctrines of the Qur°än, the doctrine of the historical

6
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

continuity of divine revelation. Life—so the Qur°än teaches us—is not a

series of unconnected jumps but a continuous, organic process: and this
law applies also to the life of the mind, of which man’s religious experi-
ence (in its cumulative sense) is a part. Thus, the religion of the Qur°än
can be properly understood only against the background of the great
monotheistic faiths which preceded it, and which, according to Muslim
belief, culminate and achieve their final formulation in the faith of Islam.
(Asad, pp. 3-4)

7
 Their Hearts and Hearing Are Sealed

Behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth—

it is all one to them whether you warn them or do not warn them:
they will not believe.
God has sealed their hearts and their hearing,
and over their eyes is a veil;
and awesome suffering awaits them.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:6-7]

In contrast with the frequently occurring term al-käfirün (“those who

deny the truth”), the use of the past tense in alladhïna kafarü indicates con-
scious intent, and is therefore appropriately rendered as those who are bent
on denying the truth. This interpretation is supported by many commenta-
tors, especially Zamakhsharï (who, in his commentary on the verse, uses
the expression those who have deliberately resolved upon their kufr). Elsewhere
in the Qur°än such people are spoken of as having Hearts with which they
fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which
they fail to hear [7:179]. [For an explanation of the terms kufr (“denial of
the truth”) and käfir (“one who denies the truth”).
Over their eyes is a veil: this is a reference to the natural law instituted
by God, whereby a person who persistently adheres to false beliefs and
refuses to listen to the voice of truth gradually loses the ability to perceive
the truth, “so that finally, as it were, a seal is set upon his heart” (Räghib).
Since it is God Who has instituted all laws of nature—which, in their ag-
gregate, are called sunnat Alläh (“the way of God”)—this “sealing” is at-
tributed to Him: but it is obviously a consequence of man’s free choice

8
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

and not an act of “predestination.” Similarly, the suffering which, in the

life to come, is in store for those who during their life in this world have
willfully remained deaf and blind to the truth, is a natural consequence of
their free choice—just as happiness in the life to come is the natural con-
sequence of man’s endeavor to attain to righteousness and inner illumina-
tion. It is in this sense that the Qur°anic references to God’s “reward” and
“punishment” must be understood. (Asad, pp. 4-5)

9
 The Bond with God

In this way2 does He cause many a one to go astray,

just as He guides many a one aright:
but none does He cause thereby to go astray except the iniquitous,
who break their bond with God
after it has been established [in their nature],
and cut asunder what God has bidden to be joined,
and spread corruption on earth:
these shall be the losers.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:26-27]

The bond with God (conventionally translated as God’s covenant) apparently

refers here to man’s moral obligation to use his inborn gifts—intellectual
as well as physical—in the way intended for them by God. The “estab-
lishment” of this bond arises from the faculty of reason which, if properly
used, must lead man to a realization of his own weakness and dependence
on a causative power and, thus, to a gradual cognition of God’s will with
reference to his own behavior. This interpretation of the bond with God
seems to be indicated by the fact that there is no mention of any specific
“covenant” in either the preceding or the subsequent verses of the passage
under consideration. The deliberate omission of any explanatory reference
in this connection suggests that the expression bond with God stands for

2
The preceding äyäts say: Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or
something even less than that. Now, as for those who have attained to faith, they know it is the truth
from their Sustainer—whereas those who are bent on denying the truth say, “What could God mean
by this parable?”

10
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

something that is rooted in the human situation as such, and can, there-
fore, be perceived instinctively as well as through conscious experience:
namely, that innate relationship with God which makes Him: closer to man
than his jugular vein [50:16]. For an explanation of the subsequent refer-
ence to what God has bidden to be joined, see 13:21. (Asad, pp. 7-8)

11
 God’s Representative on Earth

He it is Who created for you all that is upon the earth; then He turned toward the
heaven and made seven firmaments,
and He has perfect knowledge of all things.
And behold! Your Sustainer said to the angels:
“I am about to establish upon earth a representative, a khalïfah.”
They said: “Will You place on it
one who will spread corruption thereon and shed blood—
whereas it is we who proclaim Your limitless glory
and praise You and hallow Your name?”
God answered: “Truly, I know that which you do not know.”
And He imparted to Adam the names of all things;
then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said:
“Declare to Me the names of these,
if what you say is true.”
They replied: “Limitless are You in Your glory!
No knowledge have we save that which
You have imparted to us.
Truly, You alone are all-knowing, truly wise.”
Said He: “O Adam, convey to them the names of these.”
And as soon as Adam had conveyed to them their names,
God said: “Did I not say to you, ‘Truly, I alone know
the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth,
and know all that you bring into the open
and all that you would conceal?’”

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:29-33]

12
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

The term khalïfah—translated here as “representative”—has also the

meaning of “one who shall inherit.” It is derived from the verb khalafa,
“he succeeded [another].” The accent is on God’s having caused man to
inherit the earth by endowing him with specific faculties and abilities. Its
use elsewhere in the Qur°än implies the grant to humanity of the ability
to discern between right and wrong, truth and falsehood.
And He imparted to Adam the names of all things: literally, all the names.
The term ism (“name”) implies, according to all philologists, an expres-
sion “conveying the knowledge [of a thing] . . . applied to denote a sub-
stance or an accident or an attribute, for the purpose of distinction”: in
philosophical terminology, a “concept.” From this it may legitimately be
inferred that the “knowledge of all the names” denotes here man’s faculty
of logical definition and, thus, of conceptual thinking. That by “Adam”
the whole human race is meant here becomes obvious from the preceding
reference, by the angels, to such as will spread corruption on earth and will shed
blood, as well as from 7:11. (Asad, pp. 8-9)

Adam is man, and man is the secret of God’s Self-knowledge, “the

secret of the heavens and the earth.” Whatever is to be found in the
heavens and the earth, the names of all things which are also the Names
of God, are all to be found in man. By the matter of our physical bodies
we are mineral. By our unconscious physiological processes we are vege-
table. By our ability to move and sexually reproduce and respond to the
world around us we are animal. By our ability to reason and choose, we
are human. By our ability to conceive of invisible, celestial realities, we
are angelic. And by our ability—necessarily limited—to conceive of the
reality and nature of God, we participate—indirectly, and as it were by
analogy—in God’s Divinity, though we do so not by our own exertions,
but by His free gift.
Have you ever noticed how characters like those which belong to

13
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

entire animal species, in the case of man seem to belong to single indi-
viduals? We all know people we would describe as peacocks, or lions, or
snakes, or foxes, or gazelles. In our separate individuality we may be
“dominated” by specific Names of God, something which is fairly easy to
see in the case of the great leader, the great craftsman, the great athlete,
the great physician, the great poet. But in our intrinsic humanity, we are
all of these things. Everything in God is reflected, in one way or another,
in the human state. And because this is true, by God’s generosity, man
can potentially know the seeds or prototypes of things; his art, his science,
his philosophy, and his spiritual realization are clear proofs of this. The
angels in this verse are the intrinsic prototypes or Names of all created
things, all things in the heavens and the earth; and since all things are signs
of God, these Names are both the names of created beings, and the
Names of God which form and animate those beings. The angels are
symbols or representatives of these Names, but they don’t know these
Names; only Adam, only humanity, can tell the angels their own names.
It is this knowledge which gives man his central and sovereign posi-
tion in the created order—a power which, when appropriated by the ego,
makes man capable of destroying the earth. According to verse 29 of this
sürah, He it is Who created for you all that is upon the earth. We know that
without earth there would be no man; but the deeper truth is: without
man there would be no earth. (Upton)

14
 What is Needed for Salvation

Those who have attained to faith,

and those who follow the Jewish Scriptures
and the Christians and the Sabians,
and who believe in God and the last day and who do good works
shall have their reward with their Sustainer;
on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:62]

There seems to be a human tendency in almost every religion to claim

some exclusive salvation for its adherents. Clearly, many Jews and Chris-
tians have made this claim. Many Muslims, including well-known com-
mentators on the Qur°än, have also expressed this belief despite the fact
that there are numerous places in the Qur°än that make spiritual attain-
ment independent of professed beliefs or ethnic origin, and dependent on
mindfulness of God (taqwä) and moral action (çalihät).
Muåammad Asad writes about All who believe in God and the last day
and who do good works shall have their reward with their Sustainer: on them shall
be no fear nor shall they grieve: “The above passage—which recurs in the
Qur°än several times—lays down a fundamental doctrine of Islam. With a
breadth of vision unparalleled in any other religious faith, the idea of ‘sal-
vation’ is here made conditional upon three elements only: belief in God,
belief in the Day of Judgment, and righteous action in life. The statement
of this doctrine at this juncture—that is in the midst of an appeal to the
Children of Israel—is warranted by the false Jewish belief that their de-
scent from Abraham entitles them to be regarded as ‘God’s chosen peo-

15
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

ple.’” (Asad, p. 14)

Yusuf Ali writes in a similar vein: “On them shall be no fear nor shall
they grieve. Compare 2:38, where the same phrase occurs. And it recurs
again and again afterwards. In Sürah al-Baqarah (the second sürah) it occurs
in verses 38, 62, 112, 262, 274, and 277. The point of the verse is that
Islam does not teach an exclusive doctrine, and is not meant exclusively
for one people. The Jews claimed this for themselves, and the Christians
in their own origin were a sect of the Jews. Even the modern organized
Christian churches, though they have been, consciously or unconsciously,
influenced by the time-spirit, including the historical fact of Islam, yet
cling to the idea of vicarious atonement, which means that all who do not
believe in it or who lived previously to the death of Christ are at a disad-
vantage spiritually before the Throne of God. The attitude of Islam is en-
tirely different. Islam existed before the preaching of Muåammad on this
earth; the Qur°än expressly calls Abraham a Muslim (3:67). Its teaching
(submission to God’s will) has been and will be the teaching of religion
for all time and for all peoples.” (A. Yusuf Ali, pp. 33-34)
According to Mahmoud Ayoub: “Commentators have differed con-
cerning the intent of this verse and the reason for its revelation. The verse
is one of many general statements in the Qur°än in which faith is raised
above any religious or ethnic identity. Commentators have, however,
sought to limit its universal application in several ways. Four main ap-
proaches may be distinguished. The first was to declare the verse abro-
gated and therefore inapplicable. The second was to limit the application
of the verse by assigning the reason for its revelation to a specific group of
people. The third approach has been to limit the verse to a strictly legalis-
tic interpretation, and the fourth has been to accept the universality of the
verse until the coming of Islam, but thereafter to limit its applicability
only to those who hold the faith of Islam.” (Ayoub, p. 110)
The weakness of the argument for abrogation is that while God may
abrogate a legal ruling, it would seem absurd for God to abrogate a spiri-
tual principle, which would amount to redefining the nature of what is

16
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

essentially good.
Some commentators, including Tabarsi, have maintained, for in-
stance, that the above verse is abrogated by: If anyone desires a religion other
than Islam (submission to God), it will never be accepted from him [3:85]. When
one examines the context of this verse, we see that it is preceded by this
very broad statement: Do they seek for other than the religion of God, while all
creatures in the heavens and upon the earth have willingly or unwillingly submitted
(i.e., become muslim)? [3:83].
Clearly “islam” in this context is a universal and natural state of sub-
mission, not a religion as such. This is followed by the äyäts: Say: “We
believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to
Abraham, Ismäªïl, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, and in the books given to Moses,
Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord: we make no distinction between one and
another among them, and to God we submit.” [3:84].
To limit the verse to the time before the coming of the Prophet
Muåammad Σ is based on a certain story related by As-Suddï. In this
story, Salman Farsi, a close companion, was asking the Prophet whether
some of his pious friends who had died before meeting the Prophet were
in heaven or hell. The Prophet is said to have replied, “They are people
of the Fire,” which disturbed Salman very much. Later this verse was re-
vealed, supposedly correcting Muåammad’s misperception.
If we accept this story, we must accept that the Prophet spoke some-
thing that was patently false regarding an essential spiritual matter and that
he then needed to be corrected by God. Obviously this raises serious
problems since the Prophet said, “If I advise you on worldly matters and
you know better, then I may be wrong, but if I advise you on spiritual
matters, you must believe me.”
Furthermore, according to this interpretation, Muåammad is re-
ported to have said that this refers only to those who died before the ad-
vent of his prophethood. Why then did God not clearly refer to the past
in some way, such as: “Those before the coming of the Qur°än and the
Prophet Muåammad”?

17
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

This verse is a clear lesson in a very fundamental principle of

Qur°anic interpretation: Take God at His word. Look at the primary and
obvious meaning of the text. Do not allow the text to be contradicted or
obscured by commentaries, or even by purported åadïth that may contra-
dict those truths and principles that are repeatedly found in the whole of
the Qur°än. The Qur°än is guaranteed reliable. No åadïth is absolutely
guaranteed in the same way.
The åadïth collections were assembled about three centuries after the
life of Muåammad. About a million supposed åadïth were reduced by sin-
cere scholars down to some tens of thousands, using the best methodol-
ogy they could develop at the time. Scholarship of recent centuries, how-
ever, has raised questions about the reliability of even the sound åadïth
collections. While a substantial portion of the åadïth literature undoubt-
edly represents the spirit, and the exact words of Muåammad, neverthe-
less there must be admitted the possibility of inaccurate or fabricated
åadïth finding their way into the åadïth collections.
A safe and secure principle might then be to give our attention to
those åadïth that are beautiful and inspiring and that do not contradict or
modify what is explicitly said in the Qur°än, and to take the Qur°än at its
word. (Helminski)

18
 Essential Submission

Truly, one who submits his whole being3 to God,

and is in a state of virtue,
shall have their reward with their Sustainer;
these need have no fear, neither shall they grieve.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:112]

This verse follows the argument between Christians and Jews, each of
whom claims that the other will not enter Paradise. Here we have the
definitive answer to anyone who claims that nominal adherence to a be-
lief system will bring salvation. As always, the Qur°än refocuses us on
what is essential: the surrender of one’s whole self to God and the beauti-
ful state of consciousness (iåsän) that results.
Iåsän is a word that is difficult to translate. It is the third element of the
canonical definition of Islam (isläm, ïmän, iåsän) and was described by the
Prophet Muåammad in this way: “Worship (or serve) God as if you saw
Him, but even if you don’t see him, know that you are seen.” Iåsän,
which is related to the root meaning of “beauty” (åasan), implies doing
something in the most excellent and beautiful way. The Prophet once
remarked upon seeing a certain grave, which had been hastily shoveled,
that a Muslim should do everything well, and requested that the gravesite
be properly finished.
So, for those who surrender and become a muåçin, a person of excel-
lence, they shall have no fear (khawf) or grief. Surrender then leads to the
overcoming of fear, including the fear of God. What we should have in-

3
Whole being: literally, face.

19
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

stead of fear of God is taqwä, the vigilant awareness of God’s presence and
the guarding of ourselves from our own neglectfulness (ghaflah).
Just a few verses later, the word face appears again. This time we are
reminded that we can see God’s face everywhere.
It is essential to understand the relationship between surrendering
our whole being to God, on the one hand, and being free of fear and
grief, on the other. (Helminski)

20
 Freedom of Religion

Hence, who could be more unjust than those

who bar the remembrance of God’s name
from any of His houses of worship (masäjid)
and strive for their ruin,
although they have no right to enter them save in fear?
For them, in this world, there is nothing but disgrace;
and for them, in the life to come, awesome suffering.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:114]

It is one of the fundamental principles of Islam that every religion

which has belief in God as its focal point must be accorded full respect,
however much one may disagree with its particular tenets. Thus, the
Muslims are under an obligation to honor and protect any house of wor-
ship dedicated to God, whether it be a mosque or a church or a syna-
gogue (see 22:40), and any attempt to prevent the followers of another
faith from worshipping God according to their own lights is condemned
by the Qur°än as a sacrilege. A striking illustration of this principle is
forthcoming from the Prophet’s treatment of the deputation from Chris-
tian Najrän in the year 10 A.H. They were given free access to the
Prophet’s mosque, and with his full consent celebrated their religious rites
there, although their adoration of Jesus as “the son of God” and of Mary
as “the mother of God” were fundamentally at variance with Islamic be-
liefs. (Asad, p. 24)

21
 Wherever You Turn . . .

To God belong the East and the West.

Wherever you turn, there is the face of God.
Indeed, God is infinite, all-knowing.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:115]

Here the East and the West also mean the sunrise and the sunset, so we are
given a beautiful picture of both the directions of East and West, as well
as these moments in time when we witness the splendid display of nature.
We can be reminded of God’s presence by the sunrise and sunset,
and we can be reminded that wherever we turn our gaze, there we can see
God’s “Face.” The face of a human being is that by which we can most
easily recognize that person, so here we are also being told that God’s
most recognizable feature can be seen anywhere, anytime, if we are in the
right state of openness.
Furthermore in many places in the Qur°än we are told to witness.
(In this, behold, there is indeed a reminder for everyone whose heart is wide-
awake—that is, who listens and witnesses [50:37] and O believers, be steadfast
before God, witnesses for justice [5:8]) To witness means to see for ourselves
with all the faculties that are given to us. In the same way that we say: “I
witness that there is no god but God,” we can witness God’s recognizable
signature wherever we look. This is an astounding proposition, yet we
would not be asked to witness in this way if it were not possible for us.
God is infinite and all-knowing. God’s perception and intelligence per-
meate everything. The signs of it are the lawfulness that science uncovers,
the beauty and order of nature, as well as the meaning that relates one
thing to another, as well as the sense of significance in all of this that the
human heart experiences. God is not a distant abstraction, not merely

22
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

some utterly transcendent “truth,” but something that is also here and
now before our very eyes and hearts. (Helminski)

23
 The Reciprocity of Remembrance

So remember Me, and I remember you.

[Sürah al-Baqarah 2:152]

.

The Qur°än calls upon us to remember God. But how are we to do this?
To remember something is to call it to mind, to cause it to take place in
our minds. But there is no room in our little human minds for the vast-
ness of God. Only the human spiritual Heart has room for Him, and the
Heart exists on a deeper level than the work of deliberate, constant, and
conscious Remembrance we are commanded by the Qur°än to carry out.
In verse 151 of this sürah, it is made clear that the thing which gives
us the power to remember God is the Messenger . . .who recites to you Our
revelations. So God first remembered us, in our helpless need, and then
commanded us to remember Him, thus making Remembrance synony-
mous with gratitude. But if, after His merciful act of remembering us, we
fail to remember Him, He may not remember us again.
By His own act, He implants the Remembrance of Him in our
Hearts. In the first case, the Remembrance is a response to revelation; in
the second, the Remembrance itself is the revelation; this refers, on one
level, to an “infused Remembrance,” a Remembrance of God implanted
in our Hearts by the direct action of God; to the unveiling of Divine re-
alities; to the direct knowledge of God.
Remembrance of a distant object takes work; remembrance of an
“object” so overwhelmingly present that It can have no rival is a foregone
conclusion. As God says in a åadïth qudsï (transmitted by Tirmidhï),
“What is difficult for some is easy for those for whom Alläh has made it

24
 THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS

easy.” The work of remembering God can never bring us to Him—yet if

we fail to remember Him, what can we expect? We remember Him, and
fall infinitely short of His Reality. He remembers us, and reaches us in a
heartbeat, or even sooner.

It is We Who have sent down to you the Remembrance.

[Sürah al-Åijr 15:9]

He was, in fact, already here. His Remembrance of us is our Re-

membrance of Him within us. In a certain sense, we are that Remem-
brance. (Upton)

25