The Mind Boggles

April 25, 2009, 7:04 pm by dc-agape.

Surāh 83 – Al-Taţfīf: Default in Duty

I will start each post on the Qur’an with a link to M Mohammad Ali’s translation of the Qur’an with his commentaries. 

This surāh is extremely long compared to the others I have read.  But surprisingly it does not cover many more topics.  The opening is about calling people to account, not just in business, but in social and spiritual responsibility.  The next section is about the records kept of every human that has ever (and will have) lived, both the good and the bad.  Even though two separate words are used to describe these books, the books themselves hold the exact same information.  The Prophet ends this section with proof that religion has not changed in six centuries.  The same argument is used today as was used in the Prophet’s time.

M Yusuf starts the commentaries on the opening verses by generalizing the meaning of the concept of “measure from men”.  Oddly, it is not the sinner that shortchanges others when the generalization is taken into account.  For is it not the religious that what their particular mythology to receive the highest respect?  And is it not the exact same religious people that want no other religion to be accepted as equal?  Who is doing the short-changing? 

When the opening is seen in this light the section about the two different “books” makes complete sense.  Both types of books will record every action, but which one will be the Sijjīn and which will be the ‘illyyūn?  This surāh assumes that it will be the faithful of Allāh.  But as with Pascal’s Wager, who can be certain that it will be any one particular form of Islam (at least a total of 72), Christianity (over 40,000), Judaism (at least 5), or Atheism (1 or ∞, depending on definition)?  Just because this religion believes they are the “Truth” does not guarantee that it is true.  And to use a phrase directly from the Qur’an:

83:13 When Our messages are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore!

Which yore shall we pick?  Why is your yore better than my yore?  Because of some Holy Text written centuries ago, that makes it more True?  The question that needs to be asked is simple: which religion fits the facts of existence?  Do the good followers of one religion have a better life?  Do the disbelievers of one particular religion get punished here on earth more often?  The fact is simple: no religion is treated differently here on earth.  No one gets special supernatural treatment.  We all suffer from bad weather, bad choices, and bad accidents.  We all enjoy the outcome of good weather, good choices, and good events (accidents?).  So, if a Day of Judgment occurs (and that’s a big IF), whose spirituality will be the sijjīn and which will be the ‘illyyūn?

The final topic of this surāh is about how the “tables will be reversed”.  But which tables will be reversed?  It is clear from verse 13 above that even in the Prophet’s day there were differences of religion, and those individual religions scoffed at each other.  This is the one thing in religion has not changed in all these years.  Each one still laughs and makes fun of the others.  Yet not a single one knows that on this mythical Day of Judgment that it will be their religion that is proved right.  Hence, that is why the Atheist finds all this brouhaha so intriguing.  Each religion is so certain they are right, but have no data to back up the argument, and still they kill one another over such a question.  It boggles the mind!

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