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Lesson Two
HONORING ALLAH'S WORD
We have just looked at evidence from both the Quran and from
history proving that the , and have been neither
corrupted nor abrogated. It is thus clear why people of Allah
have always held these Scriptures as the foundation for their
faith. Yet, this leads us to another matter of equal importance
- how should Allah's eternal and unchanging Word be honored?
It is the universal consensus of Allah's people that Scripture
deserves and requires the highest honor and respect. Yet, throughout
the ages, different people and groups have given different answers
as to exactly how that honor should be given.
It is generally agreed that one respects the Word by observing
bodily cleanliness when handling that Word. Thus, many believe
that one should never touch Allah's Word unless washing of purification
has been performed first. It is also generally agreed that Holy
Scripture should never touch the feet or be placed in a position
lower or on the same level with the feet. Further, to show respect,
it is stored wrapped in cloth and frequently kissed on taking
out and on replacing.
Yet, are these practices the primary or most important means
of respecting and honoring Allah's Word? Similarly, is to neglect
these practices the greatest dishonor we can show Scripture?
In fact, as we shall see, the greatest respect one can show Scripture
is to use it for the purpose for which Allah originally gave
it. Conversely, to reject that purpose is the ultimate and greatest
dishonor imaginable. It is the dishonor compared to which all
other customs and practices of honor or dishonor pale into insignificance.
Before looking more closely at this matter, let us consider a
fictitious story.
In a certain land there once lived a very poor man. Without
land, profession or trade, he suffered greatly from poverty.
His plight, however, was noticed by a very rich and kind landowner
who lived in the nearby village. The landowner's heart being
touched, he determined to save the man from his pitiful state.
He summoned the man to his house, presented him with a gift of
one hundred thousand dollars and said, "I have seen your
poverty and your suffering, and I have determined to save you.
Take this money; buy food and clothing. Use it wisely and it
will both save you and bring me much happiness and a good name."
How did the poor man respond? He was overjoyed! Thanking the
man profusely, he took the money and, wrapping it carefully in
a cloth, he left for his home. Arriving home, the man carefully
made a small box of wood for storing the money. He wrapped the
money up in his best cloth, placed it in the box and closed the
lid. He then placed it on a shelf high up in his little room.
Each day he carefully took the box down, unwrapped the money
and lovingly counted it. Then, just as carefully, he would replace
it on the high shelf.
The man, however, never spent a penny of his treasure. As
a result, he continued growing weaker and weaker with each passing
day. Finally, he was too weak to even take down his treasure.
Shortly thereafter he died.
Now, what is your opinion of the poor man? Was there ever
a bigger fool? True, he recognized and valued the treasure given
to him. He was grateful to the kind landowner for his generosity.
Yet, in his foolishness, he did not use the treasure for the
purpose for which it had been actually given. As a result, it
did him no good - he still died of starvation. Further, while
outwardly showing great respect and honor to the gift presented
to him, he actually dishonored and disgraced both the gift and
the giver. Had he used it for its real purpose, he would have
been saved and the kind man's fame and renown greatly spread.
Instead, he starved to death and the rich man became a laughing
stock for attempting to help such a fool.
The above is only a story. Unfortunately, it has all too many
similarities with real life and our treatment of the Scriptures,
Allah's treasure entrusted to us. In the story the merciful landowner
is much like Allah. In his mercy the landowner sought to save
the poor man by giving him a gift of great value. In much the
same way, Allah the merciful and almighty has given us a gift
of far greater value - His eternal Word. Sadly, how like the
poor fool we often are! We give Allah's gift great external honor.
Yet, we do not use if for the real purpose for which it was given.
As a result, we actually dishonor both Allah and His Word and
ultimately destroy ourselves.
It is thus extremely important that we discover Allah's primary
purpose in giving us His Word. Unless we discover that purpose,
we will never be able to truly honor Allah's Word or receive
the great benefits from it that Allah desires. To that end, let
us look briefly at what the various Scriptures of the various
prophets have to say about the purpose of Allah's Word.
In the given to the Prophet it is recorded:
Hear, O Israel: Allah our God, Allah is one. Love Allah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all our strength. These commandments that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk
about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on
your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Deuteronomy 6:5-8
At the time of 's death, the following Scripture was given
to his successor, the prophet Joshua, as an encouragement and
inspiration:
Do not let this Book of the depart from your mouth: meditate
on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8
Many years later these words were given to the prophet :
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according
to your Word. I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might
not sin against you. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light
to my path.
, Psalm 119:11,105
After 's death, his son, the prophet , was given
these verses extolling the benefits of Allah's Word:
(Allah's Word is for) attaining wisdom and discipline, for
understanding words of insight, for acquiring a disciplined and
prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair, for giving
prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young.
Proverbs 1:2-4
In the we find the following statement:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of Allah may be equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Now, what have we seen in the above passages? It is a testimony
to the universal and unchanging nature of Allah's Word that each
passage, though revealed over a period of thousands of years
to many different prophets in different places agrees totally
and completely in its testimony. In addition, we find that the
Quran agrees with the testimony of the preceding passages:
And when Allah laid a charge on those who had received al-Kitab (He said): Ye are to expound it to mankind and not
to hide it. But they flung it behind their backs and bought thereby
a little gain.
Sura 3:187
Lo, we did reveal the , wherein is guidance and a light.
And We caused Isa, son of , to follow in their footsteps,
confirming that which was revealed before him, and We bestowed
on him the wherein is guidance and light, confirming that
which was revealed before it in the - a guidance and an
admonition unto those who ward off evil.
Sura 5:44,46
It is thus very clearly taught that Scripture was given as
a gracious act of Allah. Mankind, the descendants of Adam, had
followed their forefather Adam in sin and rebellion against Allah.
They rejected a life of peace and happiness in submission to
Allah, preferring to live in futility and strife following their
own perverted and disobedient desires.
Allah the merciful, however, did not desert them to their
own just rewards. Instead, He sent His Word to convict mankind
of their sin and to reveal to them the true path. Scripture was
sent to instruct and guide, to teach and direct. Allah's purpose
was that mankind should live in humble obedience to His Word.
By reading, diligent study and careful obedience to its teaching,
man might live under true Islam - in submission to Allah and
at peace with other men.
Now what do the passages we have just seen have to say about
respecting Allah's Word? If, as is clear, Allah's Word was given
as a guide and light for disobedient men, then the greatest dishonor
one can show is to refuse to read, study and obey that Word.
Without such understanding and obedience, all our external honor
is of no value. External honor without the true honor of the
heart is hypocrisy and hateful to Allah. Let us look at an actual
historical example of such empty and hypocritical honor.
The Jews are a people with a long and intimate relationship
with Allah. To them were sent the greatest prophets, men such
as , and . And to them was given the Scriptures
such as the and the . Some had great regard for Allah's
Word. They eagerly read and studied it, and diligently sought
to apply its teaching to their own lives.
Gradually, however, many lost their desire to understand and
obey Allah's Word and to please Allah. Instead, their concern
shifted to fulfilling their own lusts and desires. Their main
goal was to become wealthy, important and respected by other
men. Yet, while they had no desire to obey Allah or His Word,
these Jews still wanted to be known and respected as religious
people and people of Allah.
They were able to achieve their goal by some very simple acts
of hypocrisy. For example, we looked above at a passage from
the where stress was put on teaching and obeying Scripture.
Scripture is to be always in one's thoughts and conversation
as if it were bound to one's hands and forehead. To show to others
their religiousness, many Jews began to literally bind Scripture
onto their forehead and arms. They made leather pouches and put
small parchments inscribed with Scripture passages into them.
They then tied the packets to their foreheads and arms for all
to see.
Many Jews, therefore, stopped reading, studying and obeying
Allah's Word and instead their emphasis shifted to an external
honoring of Allah's Word. They wanted an honoring which other
men could see and duly appreciate. Similarly, they loved to be
seen at religious meetings, to discuss and debate technicalities
of their Jewish Hadith (Talmud), and to carry Allah's Word around for
all to see. But they had no desire to actually open Scripture,
read it and obey it. Their hollow and empty respect for Allah's
Word fooled many men, but it failed to fool Allah. Allah understood
their hearts. The outward show of honoring Allah's Word while
actually having no interest in reading and obeying it was more
abhorrent to Allah than the pagan's honest unconcern for Scripture.
Allah pronounced His judgment on those hypocritical Jews through
the Prophet :
Allah says: "These people come near to me with their
mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught
by men. Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans
from Allah."
29:13,15
Allah condemns the hypocrisy of the Jews in similar words
through the prophet as follows:
My people come to you as they usually do, and sit before you
to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.
With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are
greedy for unjust gain.
33:31
Because of their hypocrisy, Allah declared His judgment:
I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength
will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become
desolate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know
that I am Allah, when I have made the land desolate because
of all the detestable things they have done. 33:28,29
The Jews' signs of devotion and respect for Allah and His
Word were empty rituals only. Their worship and devotion were
mere words memorized and repeated to impress other men. But they
had no true longing to actually know and obey Allah. Such hypocrisy
often brought great honor and respect from men, but Allah's opinion
of such is made clear in the Quran as follows:
The likeness of those who are entrusted with the of
(the Jews), yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying
books.
Sura 62:5
What a terrible pronouncement! Yet, how accurate. Such Jews
were truly like donkeys. A donkey is physically able to carry
books and Scriptures on his strong back. However, he will never
be able to understand or obey those books. So also the hypocritical
Jews condemned in Scripture. They rendered great external honor
to Allah's Word and bore it with them wherever they went. Yet,
they understood not a word of it. And they had no real desire
to understand and obey it. They carried it around and showed
it great external honor merely to gain the applause and honor
of men.
We come now to the really important point in our discussion.
It has been said that man has the ability to discern the slightest
fault in another while being blind to the most glaring wrongs
in his own life. That is all too true in our matter under study.
We are quick to see the error and hypocrisy of the Jews. Are
we as quick to see the error and hypocrisy in ourselves? How
easy for us to do the same. How easy to show an outward respect
for Allah's Word, to seem to hold it in the highest position.
We may kiss it. We may wash before touching it. We may store
it in an elevated and protected place. Such external honor is
admirable. But is it enough? The obvious answer is - NO!
The real issue centers on whether or not we go beyond this
external respect to the real respect of the heart. We spend hours
each day discussing politics, business or simply telling stories.
Do we spend five minutes reading Allah's Word in our mother tongue
in order to understand it? We like to be seen at religious meetings
and engaged in worship of Allah. Are we at all concerned to actually
understand and obey Allah's Word? In other words, do we use Scripture
for the real purpose for which it was given or do we use it only
to gain prestige and respect from men for our religiosity? This
is a question which we each need to ask ourselves in all honesty.
In man's eyes I may appear to be a devout follower of Allah.
Yet, in Allah's eyes, am I too merely a hypocritical donkey?
What should you do to avoid the same condemnation the Jew's
received? The only answer is to actually read Allah's Word for
yourself and honestly seek to understand and obey it. To do that,
you will need to read it in your own mother tongue. We would
sincerely urge you to do so. If we can be of any help to you
in this responsibility, please contact us. We would be most happy
to provide you with material to help you understand the ,
and for yourself in your own mother tongue.
QUESTIONS:
The first nine questions below are multiple choice. Simply press
the button by the statement you feel best answers the question.
Question ten asks you to put down your own ideas. Answer it truthfully
and to the best of your knowledge.
1. What is the greatest honor we can show Allah's Word?
a. Kiss it frequently.
b. Use if for the purpose for which Allah gave it.
c. Keep it wrapped up in cloth in a safe place.
2. The poor man in the story:
a. Showed no outward honor to the gift
given him.
b. Was ungrateful for the rich of the kind man.
c. Outwardly honored the gift, but actually dishonored
it by his foolish action.
3. The treasure the poor man received:
a. Saved his life because he used it well.
b. Did him no good because it was improperly used.
c. Eventually made him wealthy and famous throughout
the land.
4. The real purpose for which Allah gave Scripture was to:
a. Teach us how to live and honor Allah.
b. Recite it when sick or in danger.
c. Use it in making amulets and charms.
5. What is the greatest disrespect we can show Allah's Word?
a. Not to read, understand and obey it.
b. Not to keep it on a Scripture stand when reading
it.
c. Not to listen quietly when it is being read.
6. Because some Jews gave outward respect to the but
did not understand and obey it, they are compared in the Quran
to:
a. Foolish men unaware of their folly.
b. A donkey bearing a load of books.
c. A fruit tree without fruit.
7. Those who show outward respect to Scripture but do not
obey it:
a. Are praised in Scripture for their outward
respect.
b. Are not mentioned in Scripture.
c. Are severely condemned in Scripture as hypocrites.
8. According to Allah's Word, what is the result when a nation
shows hypocrisy towards Allah's Word?
a. The nation comes under Allah's judgment
and wrath.
b.
The nation prospers.
c. Nothing
happens.
9. According to Allah's Word, what will bring prosperity?
a. To read Allah's Word daily.
b. To meditate on Allah's Word daily.
c. To read, meditate and obey Allah's Word
each day.
10. What have you personally done or are doing to read, understand
and obey Allah's Word? What more should you be doing?
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