Path
Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 1–4This is a literal description of some of the horrors of Doomsday, a day which will throw people into such a state of sheer horror that the mother will forget the baby at her breast and the pregnant woman will miscarry.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 5–7Man is doubtful about the life hereafter for the simple reason that he is unable to understand how a human being who is dead and gone can come back to life.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 8–10The Arabs had adopted polytheism in the erroneous belief that it was the Truth.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 11One who discovers Faith as the whole Truth, finds his heart and mind fully enveloped by his faith.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 12–14Whenever a man, unmindful of God, strays from His right path or ignores it, the reason is that he has placed his entire reliance on something other than God.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 15–16When the Prophet Muhammad called upon the people to the Truth, those who had built their castles on untruth became his enemies.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 17In this verse six religious groups or communities have been mentioned— Muslims, Jews, Sabaeans, Christians, Zoroastrians and polytheists (pagans of Makkah).Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 18Just as there is a Law of God for human beings, so also is there a law for the rest of the universe.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 19–22Broadly speaking, all groups fall into only two categories, namely, the upholders of Truth and their opponents.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 23–24In this world where the net of deceptive words is spread out everywhere and where people far away from Truth enjoy the position of dominance, it is undoubtedly the most difficult task to discover and recognise the truth of Faith; and it is even more difficult in practice to put oneself on the path of this faith.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 25One instance of the denial of Truth is illustrated by an incident which occurred in ancient Makkah.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 26The history of Abraham dates back four thousand years.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 27–29The initial purpose in the constructing of the Kabah was to provide a centre of worship for those who were at ‘walking’ distance from that place.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 30What is permitted (halal) and what is prohibited (haram); what is sacred and what is not; which way of worship are proper and which improper—all these matters have been made absolutely clear by God through His prophets.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 31The central force in this universe is only one, and it is the Being of the one God.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 32–33The rites of worship or prayer in Islam have two aspects—the outward and the inward.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 34–35Whatever products a man avails of in this world—be they agricultural products, animal products or industrial products—they develop in him one of two different types of mentality.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 36–37Had there been no animals like camels or cattle in this world and had there been only wild beasts like tigers, bears and wolves, man would have found it very difficult to put them to use, and it would have been absolutely impossible to offer them up for ritual sacrifice on a general scale.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 38–40When servants of God opt for the path of God, they are not alone in this world.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 41The special condition for a man to be entitled to God’s help is that he should not become corrupt, even if he comes to possess power.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 42–44The people who denied Abraham and Moses were their contemporaries and not those living when this verse was revealed: by the time the Quran was revealed, all the people professed to be followers of these prophets.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 45–46Before God, people with eyes are those who look at things in order to learn a lesson or draw wisdom from them.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 47–48In this world, if an individual or a community rebels against God, God catches hold of that individual or community.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 49–51The real matter is that man is going to enter a world where it is only believers and pious people who will have eternal comfort and not those who arrogantly ignore the Truth.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 52–54It invariably happens that when one proclaims the divine Truth, whether he is a prophet or not, his opponents bring up various types of irrelevant points with a view to casting doubt on the truth of the message.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 55–57A prophet’s call is marked by the greatness of convincing arguments.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 58–59A man who is sincere in his faith, tolerates the sacrifice of anything belonging to him.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verse 60The people of faith were enjoined to adopt the ways of God who is forgiving and merciful, in that He repeatedly overlooks the excesses of the people and forgives them.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 61–62The system of this world, in its silent language, goes on teaching us a great lesson.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 63–64When a man builds up his life on the basis of Truth, he comes across different types of difficulties, such as being harassed by others at Satan’s instigation.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 65–66All the things of this earth maintain a harmonious balance.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 67–70There are two aspects of prayer—one is its spirit, i.e. its true inner aspect, and the other its outward ritual aspect.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 71–72Inevitably, the call for pure monotheism is intolerable to those who have reposed their faith in many gods rather than in the one and only God.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 73–74To clothe anybody except God with holiness is absolute stupidity, because holiness is given to a being who has inherent power, and as far as this world is concerned, there is no human being or non-human being who enjoys real power.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 75–76The scheme by which God created man and settled him on earth, necessitated His providing guidance to man and showing him which way leads to paradise and which way to hell.Chapter 22, The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj) · verses 77–78The addressees of this verse were directly the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, and indirectly all the believers in the Quran.