Thanksgiving
Qur’aanic Verse 16.78:
Transliteration:
78. WaAllahu akhrajakum min butooni ommahatikum la taAAlamoona shay-an wajaAAala lakumu alssamAAa waal-absara waal-af-idata laAAallakum tashkuroona
Translation:
78. And it is Allah Who brought you out from the wombs of your mothers. You did not know anything, and He gave you hearing and sight and intellect that you may be grateful.17
Study Note:
17. When a woman delivers a baby normally, we tend to forget about the wonderful process that Allah sets in motion, within the body of the mother, to get the baby out into the open world. The mother just bears the process, and it is Allah Who brings out the child. As a new-born infant, it knows nothing, but while the foetus of the child was still in the mother’s womb, Allah had meticulously so fashioned it that it is now able to hear and see things. And by the time the child grows into a full-fledged man/woman, he/she acquires considerable knowledge through his/her mind gradually assimilating the things heard and seen during the intervening period. But is he/she grateful to Allah for giving him/her the faculties that enabled this acquisition?
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The above is extracted from yet-to-be-published Qur’aanic Studies - Volume XXVIII. It will be published, in due course, inshaAllah on the website INVITATION TO SALVATION, in continuation of Volumes I to XXVII already published and freely available thereon.
Mohammad Shafi
Author of ‘ISLAM & INTEREST‘
January 12th, 2010 at 10:57 am
From Study notes: And by the time the child grows into a full-fledged man/woman, he/she acquires considerable knowledge through his/her mind gradually assimilating the things heard and seen during the intervening period. But is he/she grateful to Allah for giving him/her the faculties that enabled this acquisition?
It is Allah who gave us Ears, eyes and intellect and in other verse Allah Says
[17:36] You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.
The understanding of a human changes with age. At what stage he or she is responsible for his eyesight, hearing and the brain ?
What is the age of responsibility?
If a child dies at the age of 12, without even hearing about God, does this child go to Heaven or Hell? What if the child is 15 years old, or 21, or 25? At what age will the human being be held responsible for his or her beliefs?
This question has puzzled researchers of all religions for a long time.
Is there any answer in the quran ?
[46:15] We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him arduously, gave birth to him arduously, and took intimate care of him for thirty months. When he reaches maturity, and reaches the age of forty, he should say, “My Lord, direct me to appreciate the blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do the righteous works that please You. Let my children be righteous as well. I have repented to You; I am a submitter.”
[35:37] They will scream therein, “Our Lord, if you get us out of here, we will work righteousness, instead of the works we used to do.” Did we not give you a life-long chance, with continuous reminders for those who would take heed? Did you not receive the warner? Therefore, taste (the consequences). The transgressors will have no one to help them.
God reminds us in the Quran that He gave those who are punished in Hell, a life long chance before committing them to Hell. What is a life long chance, 12, 15, 20 …..years ??!!!
The Quran mentions that a human being reaches full maturity at age forty (Quran 46:15). This is a very unusual statement. Even today most people accept that full maturity is reached at puberty and laws usually put it between 18 to 21. However, the Quran is scientifically correct where even modern laws are inaccurate. If we analyze the statement based on psychological tests conducted by scientisits, what we find is that the “overall quantity of stored knowledge in the mind of an individual reaches a peak at age thirty-nine and after that it gradually declines.” Arthur C. Guyton, in his standard textbook on physiology, Physiology of the Human Body( 6th ed, pg.207), states this. (Guyton’s book is used as a standard text in at many pre-medical schools around the world.)
It is known historically that prophet Muhamed was officially sent as a prophet and a messenger of God at the age of 40.
When Moses reached the age of maturity, Moses was given wisdom and
knowledge due to his righteousness( 28:14)
[28:14] When he reached maturity and strength, we endowed him with wisdom and knowledge. We thus reward the righteous.
[28:15] Once he entered the city unexpectedly, without being recognized by the people. He found two men fighting; one was (a Hebrew) from his people, and the other was (an Egyptian) from his enemies. The one from his people called on him for help against his enemy. Moses punched him, killing him. He said, “This is the work of the devil; he is a real enemy, and a profound misleader.”
See the similar statements in Bible
[Acts 7:23] “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to
visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.
[Acts 7:24] And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the
oppressed man and avenged him by striking the Egyptian.
Your first reaction to this piece of information is objection: “What if the person was really bad, evil, and an atheist, will he go to Heaven if he died before the age of 40?” This is because you are mean, while God is the Most Merciful. Our tendency is to “put them all in Hell.” People who objected strongly to this Divine mercy cannot come up with a cut-off age of responsibility. They ask questions like, “What if the person was really wicked?” The answer is, “Does God know that this person was wicked?” “Yes.”
“Does God know that this person does not deserve to go to Heaven?” “Yes.”
“Therefore, this person will not die before the age of 40.” As simple as that.
God is the only one who terminates our lives on this earth. He knows exactly who deserves to go Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell.
Now let us look at the next verse 46:16
[46:16] It is from these that we accept the righteous works, and overlook their sins. They have deserved Paradise. This is the truthful promise that is promised to them.
“These” in 46:16 refer to the people fulfilling the criteria in verse 15. Therefore if we want God to accept our righteous works and overlook our sins, then by the age of forty we need to become responsible and aware of the need to do righteous work and ask God’s forgiveness. Indirectly, the verse also says we have until the age of 40 to repent, reform, and work righteousness. This does not mean that we cannot be righteous at a younger age. Our souls are continuously growing, and if one starts being righteous at a young age, then that soul is much more grown than someone who start being righteous at the age of 40. Besides, none of us know when our time is up. If we wait till forty, we may keep putting righteousness off due to worldly distractions until it is too late.
Again Remember [17:36] You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.
Allah only know the correct meanings