Evil Forces - II
Holy Qur'an Chapter 114
 
We wish and pray for all our viewers a blissful and prosperous life, with dignified provisions and all good things in this world. May the peace and blessings of GOD Almighty be on all of us! May the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe shower HIS bounties on all HIS creatures on this earth! With these noble sentiments in our heart we greet all our viewers with the customary Salaam:
Asalamoalekum wa rehmatullahi wa Barakatohu
 
Let us now study the chapter 114 that happens to be the last chapter of the Holy Qur’an, the last Revelation from the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe that contains Divine guidance for us, for the whole mankind. We should mould our public and private life, all our social and commercial dealings and our day-to-day family affairs by emulating the excellent examples set by Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s). If we want to achieve eternal success, if we wish to attain salvation, if we want to win the favor of our Lord on the Day of Judgment, we need to discover the knowledge and wisdom and the eternal truth that is evident in every Verse of the Book of our Lord, the Lord who is the Wisest, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent and the Omnipresent, the Self Sufficient. HE is unique unto Himself; HE has no equal; HE needs no partner, HE is unmatched, HIS power is absolute. HIS bounties are limitless. HIS Supremacy is unchallengeable.
 
We pray to our Lord, who is ever watchful, to protect us from the mischief of our evil instincts, from ignorance, arrogance, envy, jealousy and all other devilish tendencies. Amen!
 
We believe that any one who seeks refuge with the Lord; no power on this earth can do any harm to him. And the one, who invokes the wrath of GOD ALMIGHTY, is certainly bound to doom.
 
 
 
 
It is just impossible to translate or transliterate the Glorious words of GOD Almighty in our earthly language, which has many limitations. Here is only an attempt to be close to the contents and spirit of the original verses and to search out the way in the light of GOD Almighty’s commandments that guarantees success of both the worlds.
 
“Say: I seek refuge with the Sustainer of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the GOD of mankind, from the evil of the whispering, elusive tempter - who whispers in the hearts of mankind - from all (temptation to evil by) invisible forces as well as mankind.”
 
This is the last chapter of the Last Scripture revealed by the Lord of the Universe, which is full of words of wisdom and prophecy. Its implications are timeless, and contain guidance not for a particular group or community, but for all human beings on this earth as The LORD is the Lone Creator and Sustainer of all living and non-living beings.
 
When GOD Almighty created Adam, the first man, He regarded him as the best of HIS creation. He then bestowed upon him all HIS blessings, especially knowledge and wisdom, and commanded all other creations to be subservient to man. GOD Almighty appointed Adam and his off-springs as the vicegerents on this Earth and placed all other creatures like the sun, moon, air and water in his services. The human intellect can count some of the creatures under his service while most of them remain unknown to us.
 
But all through this process, one of the creatures refused to go down to man. He disputed the supremacy of man over him. Defying GOD Almighty’s command, he argued that he considered man inferior to himself. Then he threw a challenge before our LORD, that he will try his best to deviate the man from right path, and get him punished and humiliated by GOD ALMIGHTY.
 
And so this sworn enemy is out to spoil our sport. In His Book, GOD Almighty has given clear warnings to us, to be aware of the devil that is working over time, to downgrade the best creature of GOD Almighty to the worst of all.
 
In verse 35/6 GOD Almighty says:
 
 
“Behold, Shaitan is a challenging foe unto you: so take him as a foe……”
 
We cannot see this hostile creature. But it also inhabits this world. He has turned antagonist to man since the day man was created. Is this arch-enemy stronger than us? How can we face this foe? How can we combat with his evil designs? Can we emerge victorious in his war of retribution? When we peruse the last Chapter from Book of Allah with these queries, we feel our self prepared to face this sly enemy with renewed vigor and energy.
 

If we pray for the help of our Lord, if we seek His shelter whose writ runs large over the entire Universe, the Satan cannot do any harm to us. For, every creature, living or non-living, is bound by HIS command, be it earth or sky, sun or moon, man or woman, visible or invisible beings. A leaf of a tree cannot fall but by HIS will. A drop of rain cannot fall but by HIS leave. Any creature cannot do any thing without HIS leave. HIS power is absolute. HIS strength, unimaginable. If this Omnipotent GOD Almighty provides us security, no power of earth, space and heaven can do any harm to us.
 
In this world, we are always surrounded by inimical forces. A hurricane, a cyclone, a flood, an earthquake or a blast leaves behind a trail of death and destruction. The Nature, if turned hostile, may cause a total annihilation of human life. In spite of so much development in the field of science and technology, in spite of all our modern weaponry and military buildups, we always prove to be very weak and feeble in facing any Fury of the Nature. Once it strikes, it soon turns the thriving metropolis into a vast graveyard of multitudes.
 
There are many other creatures on this earth, physically more powerful than us. If they all decide to turn aggressive, we cannot survive. But they do not, as we are internally protected by the One and the Only Super Power, the Almighty GOD. We cannot survive even for a moment if our Lord decides to withdraw His security.
 
Thus our Lord declares in HIS Book in verse 6/61:
 
 
“And HE Alone holds sway over HIS servants. And HE sends forth heavenly forces to watch over you until, when death approaches any of you, OUR angels cease his soul: and they do not make any error.”
 
Verily, if such a Powerful Protector provides us shelter, we need no escort, no bodyguards, no commandos, and no security officers. Once we are under His security, no evil force, whether seen or unseen, can do any harm to us. For, the One Who has granted us asylum is the Supreme Commander of all forces. No troop, good or bad, can defy His command because He is their Master. He is their Sustainer. They are living under His Domain and He is constantly supplying them all that they need. They all stand in need of HIS infinite resources.
 
HE declares in HIS Book in verse 55/29:
 
 
“Every creature of the heavens and earth depends for all his need on The One and The Only GOD. All the time, HE supplies them in wondrous ways.”
 
HIS power is never-ending, HIS authority is unlimited. HE is the fountainhead of all Mercy and Bounties. HIS kindness pervades the whole Universe. HE is the Originator of all, Protector of all. HE is the Ultimate, the Eternal, the Everlasting. All praises are due to HIM. HE deserves all attributes, all superlatives. HE deserves all our admiration, our adoration, our adulation. HE is the Exalted One. HE is beyond comparison.
 
 
HE is the Supreme Ruler. HE is the Real Emperor; HE is the King of all kings. HE grants a momentary kingdom to any of HIS Creature on a piece of land, only to test his fidelity to HIS Absolute Authority. And HE takes away the kingdom when HE wants. No one can question HIS Authority. We are all answerable to HIM. HE is answerable to none.
 
In verse 3/26 GOD Almighty says:
 
 
“Say: O ALLAH, Lord of all dominion! YOU do grant dominion unto whom YOU will, and take away dominion from whom YOU will; and YOU do exalt whom YOU will, and abase whom YOU will. In YOUR hand is all good. Verily, YOU have the power to will anything.”
 
In the next verse of chapter 114 HE says:
 
 
“The GOD of mankind”
 

HE is the GOD Almighty and HE is the One and the Only One. HE is the GOD Almighty of human beings, HE is the GOD Almighty of angels. HE is the GOD Almighty of the whole universe. HE causes creation and HE creates, out of nothing. HE brings every thing into existence from non-existence. And so it is HE who brings human beings into existence from nowhere. HE not only brings them to life, but also provides all their needs. Then HE gives them Death. And HE will once again resurrect them and take into account, every action and every moment of their life. HE will then pay them for what they had done in their earthly life. As HE states in verse 102/8:
 
“And on that Ultimate day, you will surely be called to account for the boon of life!”
 
HE is the Master of the Day of Judgment. HE is the Creator of every atom that is found in the Universe. All HIS creatures are under HIS full control. HE can destroy them as and when HE wants. No one can even imagine the extent of HIS Might. So if an ordinary creature like us finds refuge with the LORD, can any one cast an evil eye on us? Can any jinn or human play mischief on us?
 
GOD Almighty has not given to the evil forces any authority over man, whom HE placed superior to all other creations. The evil forces can only tempt or instigate him, can cause anger, can induce to commit a sin, but they cannot compel us to commit a crime. Is not the Creator of the Universe strong enough to protect us from all such evil forces, all our adversaries and their nefarious designs?
 
What a good man he would be who is free from superstitions, hallucination, fantasies, illusions, phantasm and all such unscientific, irrational and illogical nonsense. He is indeed a brave person, a real hero who is not afraid of any power on this earth except his Creator. He would lead a sober, sensible, reasonable and dignified life who relies solely on his Rabb. He would discard all the nonsense beliefs and rituals. He would be a man of reason, analyzing the authenticity of every event, every concept, and every scientific data in the light of the Final Revelation from his Lord. He would reject all baseless and fanciful ideas. The Book of our Lord demands such a sublime human character, a man who can face any challenge in the world with his knowledge, wisdom, sagacity, and intellect and turn the adverse situation into his favor. He would have the knack of converting the negatives into positives. He would have the courage to change every odd into even. But before facing any opponent, he would seek always the refuge of his Lord in order to emerge victorious against all the odds, all the evils, all the falsehood, all the myths, all the darkness.