Practices in Reading the Quran Here and Now: Chapter Qalam (Pen) – Part 13

“So leave anyone who denies this discourse to Me! We will lead them step by step, into destruction from where they do not know.” (68):44

No one should impose any ideology or belief onto others. The Speaker in the Quran makes it clear to leave the one who denies the message to the One that creates the denier. When you embrace an idea as a result of your freedom, then that is a choice. On the contrary, when you are forced to embrace an idea, then that is not your choice. Also, it is no one’s responsibility to forcefully get others to accept the message of the Quran. However, if a person does not believe in God, it is not your responsibility to convince him/her. The best you can do is to present your personal conclusions by sharing your evidence of why you believe in God.

• Do not force people because of their choice.

Even the Prophet (PBUH) never forced anyone physically to do something. As an administrational responsibility, he had to protect the rights of the people under his administration and establish the justice prevailing in the society. This matter has nothing to do with enforcing the belief system he was spreading on those who do not agree with him. The message of the Quran is plain and simple. That is, it speaks to you and I right now within our conditions. The Speaker is addressing to human beings. It is not addressing to believers only. As a result of interpreting and confirming the message, you are free then to choose to believe in it or not.

• Quran does not speak to believers only.
• Quran speaks to our human senses at any given moment because it is a live speech.
• Quran speaks to one’s attitude when s/he may be in a state of negligence, hypocrisy with his own self and/or denies the truth.

We all have a grain of unbelief in us. Similarly, we all have a grain of belief in us as well. Now, the choice is ours to nourish whichever grain we want to grow. There are some sayings of the Prophet that say that if two days of yours are the same, then you have not grown in your belief. This means that without reflection and constantly renewing our conclusions at every given opportunity, we cannot make progress in understanding our existence, on the other hand, we may lose it gradually. There is no fixed state of mind in our lives: Either progress or regress. The message of the Quran is not there for you to confirm what you already believe in. On the contrary, the message is there for you to revive and refresh your understanding of what you believe in, and improve it. This is the reason why it is important to replenish our spirits with a fresh understanding of our existence every day. Quran lets us confirm our conclusions after taking a certain attitude i.e. believing or denying.

Action itself alone brings no value to one’s existence. One’s awareness and consciousness is what matters. That is to say, action with awareness is the essence of Islam.“And I bear with them, surely My plan is firm.” (68):45

There are no accidents in creation. Everything is within a perfect order. Different seasons are created for us to experience different act of creation. Example: Winter season requires us to keep ourselves warm. That is how the order in the universe is. Winter season is not there for you to run away from it as it teaches your consciousness that there is a Being that is arranging the order that requires you to keep warm during winter time.

When you are on the right or wrong track, you cannot see the change quickly because everything happens gradually in a step by step process. Again, this is part of the order set in the universe. That is, if you drive in a certain direction, you will keep driving. However, if you realize that you have been driving in the wrong direction, now you can start shifting gears and drive in the opposite direction. This change cannot happen in the moment, it is a gradual moment by moment process.

In this verse, the Speaker is saying that everything is under its control i.e. It is the All-Planner. And, we just follow Its created order.