For Those Who Think: Surah Maryam , 19...Successive Generations

Recitation by qari Mua'yyid al Mazen from verse 41 onwards,

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"Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sendeth down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and (in) the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth: are signs (of Allah's Sovereignty) for people who have sense. "

[ 2 : 164, translation by Pickthal ]

THE SURAH THEN PROCEEDS to list the names of prophets, to whom the favors of God had been granted. These men are the true leaders of humankind and worthy role models for the rest of humanity. Those who had lived amongst the prophets of God and had been taught directly by them were undoubtedly influenced by them on personal, psychological as well as mental levels. Those generations would certainly occupy much more revered status in the history of humankind. No wonder that Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said: " The best generation is my generation, followed by their successors and their successors, and so on..." As generations succeed one another, faith in God and adherence to His message become progressively diluted, and people people become more vulnerable to deviating from His true path. The surah alludes to this fact by saying: " Now there hath succeeded them a later generation whom have ruined worship and have followed lusts. But they will meet deception " (59).

In Islam, solah is a form of worship which represents a direct link between man and God. It lifts man's spiritual awareness, cleanses his soul, and gives him necessary immunity against evil and temptation. Abandoning this vital means of communication with God opens the doors for Satan to creep in and sow his insidious seeds of corruption. Corrupt and depraved behavior in humankind inevitably leads to a gross distortion in man's understanding of the meaning and purpose of of God's message to him. In al-A'raf, verse 169, God says: " And a generation hath succeeded them[ Israelites ]who inherited the scriptures. They grasp the goods of this low life (as the price of evil-doing) and say: It will be forgiven us. And if there came to them (again) the offer of the like, they would accept it (and would sin again). Hath not the covenant of the Scripture been taken on their behalf that they should not speak aught concerning Allah save the truth? And they have studied that which is therein. And the abode of the Hereafter is better, for those who ward off (evil). Have ye then no sense? "(al-A'raf : 169)

The tendency to settle for short term rewards, accepting the here-and -now and expecting one's misdemeanors to be forgiven, is a feature of fraudulent religious thought, whose upholders are doomed: "Save him who shall repent and believe and do right. Such will enter the Garden, and they will not be wronged one iota "(60)

The degeneration of religious belief became even more pronounced in later human generations such that there have been, and still are, communities in the world today whose people do not recognize God or believe in a life after death. The Qur'an cites these communities, saying:

And man saith: When I am dead, shall I forsooth be brought forth alive? (66) Doth not man remember that We created him before, when he was naught? (67) And, by thy Lord, verily We shall assemble them and the devils, then We shall bring them, crouching, around hell. (68)Then We shall pluck out from every sect whichever of them was most stubborn in rebellion to the Beneficent. (69)

All those who have not believed in God and have refused to acknowledge His sovereignty and guidance will, on the Day of Judgement find themselves helpless before God and their fate will be entirely in His hand. " And surely We are best aware of those most worthy to be burned therein "(70)

Those words are addressed to those who deny the life Hereafter. In contrast, those who have believed in God will never have to suffer the torment of hell in any sense or degree, and of these, some of the most devout will not even be questioned at all, as a reward for their sincerity and devotion. "We shall rescue those who kept from evil, and leave the evil-doers crouching there. "(72)

" A Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an "

Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali