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1907 The great Day of Reckoning would be one on which all values would be changed. Wealth, as understood in this world,
would no longer count. Should we not therefore use any wealth we have in this life, to give here and receive there?
Bai inlcudes all bargaining,-barter, purchase and sale, etc. In this world, where wealth has some value, let us spend it
and get for ourselves "treasures in heaven." In the next life each man will stand on his merits and personal
responsibility. One man cannot help another. Let us here help each other to become true and righteous, so that our
personal account may be favourable there. (14.31)
14:32 - It is Allah Who hath created the heavens and the earth and sendeth down rain from the
skies and with it bringeth out fruits wherewith to feed you; it is He Who hath made the ships
subject to you that they may sail through the sea by His command; and the rivers (also) hath
He made subject to you. 1908
1908 We must realise that behind all our strength, skill, and intelligence there is the power and goodness of Allah, Who
gave us all these things. Man can understand and control the forces of nature so as to bring them to his own service:
he can only do so, because (1) he has got these gifts from Allah, and (2) Allah has fixed definite laws in nature, of
which he can take advantage by Allah's command and permission. He has been made Vicegerent on earth (ii. 30);
Allah commanded the highest creatures to bow down to Adam (ii. 34). Man, by Allah's command, can use rain to
produce food for himself; make ships to sail the seas; use rivers as highways, and cut canals for traffic and irrigation.
Not only this, but even the heavenly bodies can (by Allah's command) contribute to his needs (see next verse). (14.32)
15:20 - And We have provided therein means of subsistence for you and for those for whose
sustenance ye are not responsible. 1957
1957 See last note. 'We provide sustenance of every kind, physical, mental, spiritual, etc., for you (i.e. for mankind). But We
do more. We provide for everyone of Our creatures. And there are those of which mankind is not even cognisant. We
provide for them also. There are those who may at first sight appear hostile to man, or whom man may consider
hostile, such as wild and noxious animals. They are Our creatures, and We provide for them also, as they are Our
creatures. But there is due order and balance in the economy of Our universal Plan.' (15.20)
16:56 - And they (even assign to things they do not know a portion out of that which we have
bestowed for their sustenance! By Allah ye shall certainly be called to account for your false
inventions. 20802081
2080 Idols and fictitious gods are certainly things of which they have no knowledge, idols being lifeless things of whose life
or doings no knowledge is possible, and fictitious gods being but figments of their imagination. (16.56)
2081 Cf. vi. 136-140, 142-144, and v. 103. The Pagans, in assigning and dedicating some of their children, or some of their
cattle, or some of the produce of their fields, to their false gods as sharers with the true Supreme God, made
themselves doubly ridiculous; first, because every good thing that they valued was given to them by Allah, and how
could they patronisingly assign to Him a share of His own gifts?-and secondly, because they brought in other gods as
sharers, who had no existence whatever! Besides, the cattle and produce was given for their physical sustenance and
the children for their social and spiritual sustenance, and how can they, poor creatures, give sustenance to Allah?
(16.56)
16:71 - Allah has bestowed His gifts of sustenance more freely on some of you than on others;
those more favored are not going to throw back their gifts to those whom their right hands
possess so as to be equal in that respect. Will they then deny the favors of Allah? 2102
2102 Even in the little differences in gifts, which men enjoy from Allah, men with superior gifts are not going to abandon
them so as to be equal with men of inferior gifts, whom, perhaps, they hold in subjection. They will never deny their
own superiority. How then (as the argument is pursued in the two following verses), can they ignore the immense
difference between the Creator and created things, and make the latter, in their thoughts, partners with Allah? (16.71)
16:72 - And Allah has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature. And made for you
out of them sons and daughters and grandchildren and provided for you sustenance of the
best: will they then believe in vain things and be ungrateful for Allah's favors? 21032104
2103 Of your nature: or of yourselves. Cf. iv. 1 and n. 504, Self, or Personality, or Soul, all imply a bundle of attributes,
capacities, predilections, and dispositions, which we may sum up in the word Nafs, or nature. Woman was made to be
(1) a mate or companion for man; (2) except for sex, of the same nature as man, and therefore, with the same moral
and religious rights and duties; and (3) she is not to be considered a source of all evil or sin, as the Christian monks
characterised her but rather as a blessing, one of the favours (Ni'mat) of Allah. (16.72)
2104 Hafadat: collective plural, grandchildren, and descendants. The root hafada also implies obedient service and
ministration. Just as the sons (first mentioned) should be a source of strength, so daughters and grandchildren should
serve and contribute to the happiness of fathers and grandparents, and are to be looked upon as further blessings.
(16.72)
16:73 - And worship others than Allah such as have no power of providing them for sustenance
with anything in heavens or earth and cannot possibly have such power? 2105
2105 "Sustenance" (rizq) in all this passage (xvi. 65-74), as elsewhere, implies all that is necessary for man's life and
growth, physical, mental, moral, and spiritual. Milk, fruit, and honey are examples of physical gifts, with a metaphorical
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