Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | JEWISH EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE ISLAMbefore them: their hearts are all alike. We have made the signs very clear for those with firmconviction.” (Verses 116-118)Indeed, the totally misguided notion of “God the Father” was not restricted to theChristians who take Jesus to be the son of God; for some Jews also believed that Ezrawas a son of God, while the Arab idolaters believed that the angels were God’sdaughters. The sūrah condemns these three groups, all fiercely antagonistic towardsIslam in Arabia at the time, without going into details of their beliefs.It is interesting to note here that those groups compare very closely with the threegroups that are opposed to Islam today, as represented by world Zionism, thecrusading Churches and international Communism, the last being even more hostileto Islam than the Arab idolaters ever were.By grouping all three camps together, the Qur’ān equates the absurd Jewish andChristian beliefs with those of idolatry, and it implicitly refutes their claims toexclusive righteousness and salvation by putting forward the correct version ofunitarian belief: “Limitless is He in His Glory. His is all that is in the heavens and on earth;all things are obedient to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. When Hewills something to be, He need only say, ‘Be’, and it is.” (Verses 116-117)Here we come to the pure and clear Islamic concept of the nature of God and Hisrelationship with His creation, and how creatures come into being. This is theclearest and noblest understanding of all these facts.The universe was created directly by God through an act of His free, absolute andomnipotent will, expressed in the simple word “Be”. The mere intention of God tocreate anything would bring it instantaneously into existence in the form chosen forit, without the need for intermediaries of any kind. As to how this actually happens,this remains one of life’s most profound mysteries. In fact, the human mind is notequipped to fathom the secret of life. Such understanding is not necessary for thefulfilment of man’s role, which is to build human life on earth.God has given man numerous skills, talents and resources that have enabled himto discover and unravel a great many of the natural laws that govern the worldaround him. But, much as man has been able to learn about the world and exploitthat knowledge for his own progress and advancement, other aspects have been keptaway from him, as these have no impact on man’s role on earth.Philosophers and thinkers throughout human existence have attempted to unravelthe secrets of creation, and a number of theories of life and the universe have beenadvanced, including some absurd and ridiculous notions. Man’s failure in this areahas been due to the fact that human science and philosophy have ventured into arealm of thought for which man does not possess the necessary intellectual andanalytical tools. They have merely been groping in the dark, adrift in uncharted121