8 The Last Word Taboo gre 7742 poe (7:176) 0 2 Ste weld yondill anal... “So relate the story: perchance they may reflect.” The Story of FALL and of ESCAPE Ota tee eae ote ec cee serene a ag Billsa Sl SLAIN SUSI Cals om poposcalss . Cana 9:59) Obst ‘But after them there followed a posterity who lost the way of life based ‘on the divine guidance and followed baser sentiments : But they will soon face destruction.” 8 Cre pS SLSR TOU SALE Y BOs sess FENN, geeks. (19:60-62) 0 Cssiz es wb 2p arlod gM GSS ped “EXCEPT those who return to the right path and believe in the divine guidance and act accordingly, for these will enter the Garden of bliss (a We of peace and plenty in this world and tn the hereafter) and will not be wronged in the least: Gardens of eternity which Rahman has promised to those who lead thetr lives in accordance with His taws. These blessings are Yet in a potential form, but will manifest themselves in due course of ttme, for His promise ts ever sure of fulfilment. No purposeless activities, no vain discourses shall be heard in that society but only salutations of peace: and there shall be constant provision of sustenance.” Not only « promise of peace and plenty but also of inheritance of power honour ‘and dignity—The Last Word 185 (19:63) ° Cs Serlghet dys Hh a Such ts the Garden which We gave as an inheritance 0 those of our servants who are afraid of the consequences of going the wrong way. Coote peace Ve eee Bera tL aoe Sg eo Lalilglas 2 Kiel seal en sul aibtines (24:58) gh Gh GEIS 25) “Allah has promised to those among you who belteve and whose deeds are consistent with the divine laws that He will of surety, grant them in the land, inheritance fof power) as He granted tt to those before them." Such have been the terrible undercurrents to which Islam has been subjected to since soon after its inception. They have changed the very face. not only of the Muslim society but also of the Islam itself. The basic concepts of the Quran have been replaced gradually, by manmade ideas. Today we follow an Islam given to us by Pirs, Fairs and Mautvis, but we seldom find Islam prescribed by the Quran and put into practice by Muhammad“and his companions. The Quran provides guidance to humanity as a whole. Where Muslims are specifically addressed the Quran addresses with the words {onal erdtilyb"O believers!” otherwise it addresses the whole of mankind as ov LAL "O Mankind!” In order to prove the truth of its fundamental principles, the Quran repeatedly brings into evidence the history of the past nations. The nations whose deeds were in harmony with the divine laws rose to the heights of their glory but when they acted against these laws, they gradually withered away, like the leaves of a tree which gets cut off from the source of its nourishment, until they were completely blown away by the winds of time, The periodic rise and fall of a particular nation has also been subjected to the same formula, whether such a nation acted on or against the divine fundamental laws consciously or unconsciously. The Muslim nation itself experienced such vicissitudes in Its life. The first phase of Its life witnessed a period of manifest growth, development and expansion; when it possessed a cohesive and well- balanced social structure, based on the guidance of the Quran and when within a short ‘span of its lifetime , the relationship between man and man was linked with the relationship between man and God. How that link got broken in the subsequent period ‘comprises the main theme of this book which has already been described. ‘The holy Quran lays stress on yet another point; that prosperity is a trial. To those. who act in the right direction, prosperity teaches sympathy and goodness. But those who act in the wrong direction become puffed up with prosperity. They go deeper and deeper into sin until they suddenly get plunged into despair: we hpeete sm, ed eee a ace eecs asa ame 294 oun % Bree ae GOES A SIS EL GEIS ci ogde CHU SSE OE (6:44) oO Spades sa aS "But when they forgot the message they had recelved, We opened to them the gates of186 Conspiractes against the Quran all (good) things, until in the midst of thetr enjoyment of our gifts, on a sudden, We called them to account, when lo! they were plunged into despair.” ‘There have been so many instances of the practical manifestations of the above- said law In the Muslim history. For instance, when during the reign of Abbasid Caliphate, the Quranic social order was changed into Kingship, the Muslims were still a prosperous nation and they became puffed up with thelr material resources. Their rebellion against the message of the Quran continued giving them respite until the wrath of God descended on them in the form of Changez and Halako. When Halaka Khan entered into Baghdad and began a general slaughter of the Muslims, they cried in utter despair inside their houses and mosques, "O God! save us from misery, bloodshed and humiliation.” Allah's law of requital, on the other hand, responded: basen o> (6:45) OGM SAUTE GSU shai eas *Of the wrong doers the last remnant shall be cut off; praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and the Sustainer of the world.” So the Muslims on earth were chopped up into pieces, on the one hand; and on the other hand, hymns of praise of the sustainer of the universe were being surig in the heavens, because the wrong-doers were being ellminated from the surface of the earth. Allah's punishment of the wrong-doers 1s a measure of justice to protect the truth. Muslims magnificently ruled Spain for centuries together. So much was the awe of Abdur Rahman Awwal, the great Muslim ruler of Spain, that his very name sent down shivers in the spine of Christendom. But when they deviated from the path shown by the Quran, this great Muslim rule was washed off from the surface of the earth, like pleces of straw, by the furious current of the forces of Ferdinand (Christian monarch, 1452-1516). Muslims were slaughtered one by one on the soil of Spain which became flooded with their blood. They shrieked and prayed before Allah Almighty but prayers were rejected and once again the atmosphere was filled with the hymns of praise for Allah : Fae we Le geo epee, pee ° CSA ITE SSG es ‘Today there is no trace of Muslims in Spain. When the great Moghal Emperors of India rebelled against the Quran, they were punished by the forces of Nadir Shah Durrant and again by the British who came from 7000 miles to crush them. The world witnessed the wrath of Allah when the rulers of this once mighty Moghal empire were put into chains and driven away like cattle to Rangoon. Again, alter the dismemberment of the Ottoman Caliphate, the Arablan world was divided into small kingdoms. President Nasir of Egypt acted against the Quran and tried to assume the championship of the Arab world by presenting Arab nationalism in place of Mustim nationhood or unity of Ummat; wrath of Allah Almighty came in the form of Israel invasion, loss of a vast Arab territoty, humiliation and despair.