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For man, the enormity of darkness
is more overwhelming than the profundity of dazzling sunlight. All day
long, he enjoys the sunlight but little does he deliberate over the source
and meaning of the rays of light. The days of affluence and comfort, however
long they may be, scarcely have an impact upon his attitude and emotions.
As the night falls, darkness vanquishes his faculties and he yearns for
some safe haven to hide therein. As the adversities befall him, he yells
and complains; and all he can see and feel is pain and anguish. So much
so that other wretched people who have hitherto been somehow hidden from
his eyesight suddenly come to his view. ‘Oh God. Why this world? Are you
not the Merciful? Are you not the all Powerful and the Almighty? Why this
misery? Why this bloodshed?’ The positive aspect of the world remains ignored
and the negative comes to surface. The blessings are neglected and the
miseries counted. This is man. The blessed creature!
The angels quickly translated the word ‘authority’ into harm and bloodshed. There is nothing disputing the fact that authority does bring about persecution, disorder and anarchy in that the person vested with it will ultimately be given the potential to abuse it since, without such potential, there can be no question of authority. The reservations of the angels were not unfounded: what they expressed could well be envisaged in the perspective of ‘authority’. But this was not it. All they saw was harm and bloodshed. The only picture of man that dangled before their eyes was disfigured and mutilated. The Lord is far from creating anything meaningless. He responded to their reservations:
This seems to be a simple reply, no doubt.
But the profound meaning it implies is as deep as the depth of the unfathomable
ocean. Man and the angels are the creation and Allah is the Creator. Add
the fact that the Lord is the Wise and the Merciful — attributes which
cannot be elaborated properly in human language at least vis-à-vis
their true intensity and extent. Therefore know you O man your status.
Know you O party of angels your rank. Never question the divine decrees
after you have professed faith in the Lord with all His attributes. You
know not! Always submit to what the Almighty decides for you. You know
not! It is indeed a world of knowledge to know that you know not.
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1. Based on Ghamidi’s interpretation of the Qur’anic verse (2:29). |