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Question: The Qur’an dwells too much on Divine Unity, the Hereafter, and
God’s Judgment of humanity, both explicitly and allusively. What is the Divine reason
for this?
Answer: Consider this: The Qur’an was revealed to remove all doubt about
the Divine control of Earth’s changes, upheavals, and revolutions and in the universe’s
life, and to break the most obstinate resistance to confirming it. It also was revealed
to instruct humanity, who shouldered the Greatest Trust and Earth’s rule according
to Divine laws, in the mightiest and most important aspects of its duties concerning
eternal happiness or doom. If the Qur’an called attention to such matters even millions
of times, it still would not be a waste of time or words, and they would be read
and studied in the Qur’an millions of times without causing any boredom.
From Surat al‑Buruj:
Those who believe and do righteous deeds, theirs will be Gardens underneath which
rivers flow. (85:11)
This verse teaches that death, which always stands before us, is something that
saves us, our world, and our beloveds from eternal execution, for it causes them
to gain a magnificent, eternal life. Even if this verse were repeated billions of
times, and if as much importance were attached to it as to the whole of existence,
it still would not be excessive enough to devalue it. In teaching countless, invaluable
matters of this sort and trying to prove and establish in people’s minds the awesome
revolutions that will destroy and change the universe, the Qur’an constantly draws
attention to those matters both explicitly or allusively. Since they are bounties
like bread, air, light, and medicine, which we always need and that require renewal
and refreshment, their reiterations are a Qur’anic grace.
Consider the following:
For example, the Qur’an reiterates severely, angrily and emphatically such threatening
verses as: As for those who do not believe, for them is fire of Hell (35:36),
and For wrongdoers is painful chastisement (14:22). As discussed in the
Risale‑i Nur, humanity’s unbelief is such a strong violation of the rights
of most creatures that it angers Earth and infuriates the elements. Thus they smite
unbelievers with floods.
As explicitly stated in: When they are flung therein (in Hell) they hear its
roaring as it boils up, as if it would burst with rage (67:7‑8), Hell is so
furious with unbelievers that it seems almost to burst with rage. If, in the face
of such a comprehensive crime and a boundless aggression, and not from the perspective
of physical insignificance but of the greatness of the unbeliever’s wrongdoing and
the awesomeness of unbelief, and in order to show the importance of His subjects’
rights as well as unbelief’s infinite ugliness and the deniers’ iniquity, the Sovereign
of the Universe has repeated in His Decree most angrily and severely such crimes
and their punishments even billions of times, it still would not be a defect. That
countless people have read these words every day for 1,400 years most eagerly and
without boredom or lack of need demonstrates that it is not a defect.
Every day, for each person a world disappears and the door of a new world is
opened. So, by repeating There is no god but God·1,000 times out of need
and with longing to illuminate each of our transient worlds, we make each repetition
a lamp for each changing scene. The Qur’an has various reasons for reiterating the
Eternal Sovereign’s threats and punishments, among them to break people’s obduracy
and free them from their rebellious carnal selves. Thus it seeks to prevent them
from darkening the changing scenes and ever‑recruited worlds, disfiguring their
images reflected in the mirror of their lives, and turning against them those fleeting
scenes that probably will testify for them in the Hereafter. Even Satan does not
consider the Qur’an’s severe and forceful repetition of its threats as out of place.
It demonstrates that the torments of Hell are pure justice for those who do not
heed them.
Consider the repetition of stories of the Prophets, particularly that of
Moses:
Such stories contain many instances of wisdom and benefit. The Qur’an shows the
Prophethood of all previous Prophets as an evidence of Muhammad’s Messengership.
This means that from the viewpoint of truth, no one can deny his Messengership unless
one denies all other Prophets. Also, since not everyone can recite the whole Qur’an
at any time, it includes those stories, together with the essentials of belief,
in almost all the long and medium‑length suras, thus making each one
like a small Qur’an. Eloquence requires this, and it is done to show that Muhammad
is the most important phenomenon of humanity and the mightiest matter of the universe.
The Qur’an gives the very highest position to the person of Muhammad and holds
that he is God’s Messenger, one of the two pillars of the affirmation of belief
(which contains four essentials of belief) equal to the pillar There is no god
but God. As the Risale‑i Nur shows by means of it many proofs and signs,
Muhammad’s Messengership is the universe’s greatest reality, his person is the most
noble creature, and his universal collective personality and sacred rank (the Muhammadan
Truth) is the brightest sun of both worlds. The Risale‑i Nur·also discusses
the signs and evidences of his worthiness to occupy this extraordinary position.
One of those thousands of evidences and signs is this:
According to the rule “the cause is like the doer,” an amount of reward equal
to the number of good deeds that his community has ever done or will do will be
added to the Prophet’s account. Since he illuminated all of the universe’s realities
with the light he brought, everything that exists is indebted to him and he incessantly
receives the prayers and blessings of all creatures. Furthermore, together with
innumerable spirits, countless righteous members of his community have invoked God’s
peace and blessings on him for centuries, asking God to give him their spiritual
reward and the merit of their prayers.
His record of good deeds also contains countless lights from his followers’ recitation
of the Qur’an, each letter of which brings as many as 10, 100, or 1,000 rewards.
Knowing beforehand that the collective personality of that being (the Muhammadan
Truth) would be like a blessed, elaborate tree of Paradise in the future, the Knower
of the Unseen attached greatest importance to him in His Qur’an. In His Decree,
he introduced the need for obeying him and of being honored with his intercession
by following his way as the most important matters for humanity.
Thus, since the truths reiterated in the Qur’an have such a great value, anyone
with a sound nature will testify that its repetitions contain a powerful and extensive
miracle of meaning.
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