The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

Guiding Light 
Selections from the Holy Qur’an 

Comments by Dr. AbdulHamid AbaSulayman 

Translation 

In the Name of Allah 
The Most Bendcent, ever Merciful 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

Have We not made 
The earth as a wide 
Expanse, 

And the mountains as pegs? 

And (have We not) created 
You in pairs, 

And made your sleep 
For rest, 

And made the night 
As a covering, 

And made the day 
As a means of subsistence? 

And (have We not) 
Built over you 
The seven firmaments, 

And placed (therein) 
A Light of Splendour? 

And do We not send down 
From the clouds water 
In abundance, 

That We may produce 
Therewith corn and vegetables, 

V i i  

Dr. ‘AbdulHamid AbuSulaymin is the Director-General of the International Institute of Islamic 
Thought and the Rector of the International Islamic University, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. 



... 
V l l l  ’ The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

4 0.. 
16. And gardens of luxurious growth? (78:6-16) (\l-l : V A )  bu!&> 6 
190. Behold! In the creation 

And the alternation 
Of the heavens and the earth, 

Of Night and Day, 
There are indeed Signs 0*<-* r , ,  
For men of understanding,-(3:190) 

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191. Men who celebrate 
The praises of God, 
Standing, sitting, 
And lying down on their sides, 
And contemplate 
The (wonders of) creation (3:191) 

19. (0 Unbelievers!) If ye prayed 
For victory and judgment, 
Now hath the judgment 
Come to you: If ye desist 
(From wrong), it will be 
Best €or you: if ye return 
(To the attack), so shall We. 
Not the least good 
Will your forces be to you 
Even if they were multiplied: 
For verily God. 
Is with those who believe! (8:19) 

49. Verily, all things 
Have W created 
In proportion and measure. (54:49) 

2. He to Whom belongs 
The dominion of the heavens 
And the earth: no son 
Has He begotten, nor has He 
A partner in His dominion 
It is He Who created 
All things, and ordered them 
In due proportions. (25:2) 

2. Who hath created, 
And further, given 
Order and proportion; 

3. Who hath ordained laws. 
And granted guidance; (87:2-3) 



16. Not for (idle) sport did We 
Create the heavens and the earth 
And all that is between! (21:16) 

73. It is He Who created 
The heavens and the earth 
In true (proportions): 
The day He saith, “Be,” 
Behold! it is. His Word 
Is the Truth. His will be 
The dominion the day 
The trumpet will be blown, 
He knoweth the Unseen 
As well as that which is 
Open. For He 
Is the Wise, well acquainted 
(With all things). (6%) 

71. If the Truth had been 
In accord with their desires, 
Truly the heavens and the earth, 
And all beings therein 
Would have been in confusion 
And corruption! Nay, We 
Have sent them their admonition, 
But they turn away 
From their admonition. (23:71) 

Guiding Light ix 

These verses make it clear that what man observes about himself and 
the universe around him is a system. This is a true observation. These verses 
also indicate the nature of systems, that they interact in a controlled, purposeful 
manner. Any disruption of that interaction would disturb and/or destroy those 
systems. This phenomena is illuminated in the Qur’Bnic concept of qadar 
(precision), $ti-& (innate nature), and Sunan (natural laws; cause and effect). 

7. By the Soul, 
And the proportion and order 
Given to it; 

8. And its enlightenment 
As to its wrong 
And its right;- 

9. Truly he succeeds 
That purifies it, 

10. And he fails 
That corrupts it! (91: 7-10) 



X The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

10. 

115. 

50. 

29. 

14. 

78. 

108. 

26. 

And shown him 
The two highways? (9O:lO) 

*Did ye then think 
rhat We had created you 
In jest, and that ye 
Would not be brought back 
To Us (for account)?” (23:115) 

But if they hearken not 
To thee, know that they 
Only follow their own lusts: 
And who is more astray 
Than one who follows his own 
Lusts, devoid of guidance 
From God? For God guides not 
People given to wrong-doing. (2850) 

Nay, the wrong-doers (merely) 
Follow their own lusts, 
Being devoid of knowledge. 
But who will guide those 
Whom God leaves astray? 
To them there will be 
No helpers. (30:29) 

He said “Give me respite 
Till the day they are 
Raised up.” (7:14) 

“Who created me, and 
It is He who guides me; (26:78) 

Say: “0 ye men! Now 
Truth hath reached you 
From your Lord! Those who receive 
Guidance, do so for the good 
Of their own souls; those 
Who stray, do so to their own loss: 
And I am not (set) over you 
To arrange your affairs.” (10:108) ( \ . A  : \ ,)*>FGjc;k@L / / -  
0 David! We did indeed 
Make thee a vicegerent1157 
On earth: so judge thou 
Between men in truth (and justice): 
Nor follow thou the lusts 
(Of thy heart), for they will 
Mislead thee from the Path 



AbdulHam-d A b i S u l a y e  Guiding Light 

Of God: for those who 
Wander astray from the path 
Of God, is a Penalty Grievous, 
For that they forget 
The Day of Account. (38:26) 

203. If thou bring them not 
A revelation, they say: 
“Why hast thou not 
Got it together?” 
Say: “I but follow 
What is revealed to me 
From my Lord: 
This is (nothing but) 
Lights from your Lord, 
And Guidance, and Mercy, 
For any who have Faith.” (7203) 

2 .  He Who created Death 
And Life, that He 
May try which of you 
Is best in deed: 
And He is the Exalted 
In Might, Oft-Forgiving; -(67:2) 

7. That which is on earth 
We have made but as 
A glittering show for the earth, 
In order that We may test 
Them-as to which of them 
Are best in conduct. (18:7) 

27. Not without purpose did We 
Create heaven and earth 
And all between! That 
Were the thought of Unbelievers! 
But woe to the Unbelievers 
Because of the Fire (of Hell)! 

28. Shall We treat those 
Who believe and work deeds 
Of righteousness, the same 
As those who do mischief 
On earth? Shall We treat 
Those who guard against evil, 
The same as those who 
Turn aside from the right? (3827-28) 

xi 



xii 

45. 

97. 

40. 

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 

Say, "I do but warn you 
According to revelation": 
But the deaf will not hear 
The call, (even) when 
They are warned! (21:45) 

Whoever works righteousness, 
Man or woman, and has Faith, 
Verily, to him will We give 
A new Life, a life. 
That is good and pure, and We 
Will bestow on such their reward 
According to the best 
Of their actions. (16-97) 

Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

Those who pervent 
The Truth in Our Signs 
Are not hidden from Us. 
Which is better?-he that 
Is cast into the Fire, 
or he that comes safe through, 
On the Day of Judgment 
Do what ye will: 
Verily He seeth (clearly) 
All that ye do. (41:40) 

Here, the human being, as the rest of the universe, is treated as a system, 
and, as a human system, has a purpose to fulfill in his or her given lifespan 
in the world. The human system, too, like all other systems, has limits and 
required controls and constraints which must be maintained to avoid nullifying 
its meaning and purpose. 

The Qur'Zin makes it clear that mankind, unlike animals or other physical 
systems in the world, needs to understand and to embmce the goals and purpose 
of creation and existence in personal life and in the world in order to develop 
realization of limits, rules, and controls necessary for fulfilling the meaning 
of the human system of life. 

The Qur'Gn tells us that these goals, with their limits, rules, and controls, 
are revealed and given to man by Allah (SWT), the Creator, by and through 
His Guidance (hudii) and are discovered in part by man through the 
development of human knowledge and enlightenment. Mankind will be utterly 
lost, therefore, if it acts only according to subjective desires (hzwii) or 
speculation. 

137. Many were the Ways of Life 
That have passed away 
Before you: travel through 



AbdulHamid AbiSulaymin 

43. 

14. 

6. 

The earth, and see what was 
The end of those 
Who rejected Truth (337) 

So hold thou fast 
To the Revelation sent down 
To thee: verily thou 
Art on a Straight Way. (43:43) 

(It will be said to him:) 
"Read thine (own) record: 
Sufficient is thy soul 
This day to make out 
An account against thee," (1714) 

And those to whom 
Knowledge has come see 
That the (Revelation) sent down 
To thee from thy Lord- 
That is the Truth, 
And that it guides 
To the path of the Exalted 
(In Might), Worthy 
Of all praise. (34:6) 

Guiding Light xiii 

The benefits accrued to mankind by following the right path and thereby 
gaining from revealed knowledge to be able to fulfill the purpose of life while 
realizing the limits of existence are obvious from these verses (iiyiit). On 
the other hand, disregard of the true guidance of Allah (SWT), the Creator, 
misleads man to the grave sin of arrogance (istikbiir), the final end of which 
is an ultimately self-destructive and utterly wrong plan of action (makr a1 
suyyi3. The Islamic vision of mankind, of human nature, purpose and existence, 
of the limits of his abilities and knowledge and of his need for global direction 
in this life, is capable of keeping pace with the contemporary world and 
its civilizational crisis which affects both the West and Muslims. 

Adoption of the right methodology and approach to revealed knowledge 
never has occurred for the contemporary Muslim mind and way of life because 
the bulk of the Sunnah (traditions) and MuZmuliit (social interaction) were 
not shaped in an atmosphere conducive to abstraction, theory, and creative 
approaches to problem solving. This happened when Muslims failed to observe 
the role of hql (reason) and human acquired knowledge, thus distancing 
themselves from life, reality, and the universe. This way they failed to integrate 
the knowledge available from the innate nature of humankind which is hql, 
the knowledge available from w&y (revelation), and the knowledge available 
from observing a1 kawn (the universe) which might have prepared them to 
be successful in producing a viable contemporary social and material system. 



xiv The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

As for the Western mind and civilization, the crisis is of a different nature. 
The Western mind has no easy access to the knowledge of revelation (waby) 
because the historical confrontation between Muslims and Europe compounded 
the rejection of Islam and its revealed knowledge and contributed to a distorted 
view of what they considered revealed knowledge both from the Old and 
the New Testaments of the Bible. The Western mind cannot confidently accept 
the Bible’s revelations without confusion and contradictions, and the role of 
the chuxch creates even mote menkal barriers for the Western mind. The uet 
result is either total ignorance of revealed knowledge (secularism), or total 
denial (atheism). 

The after-effect of secularism and atheism, in both cases, leaves the human 
being with no purpose in life except maintaining a perishable existence and 
pursuing subjective material pleasures. This vision and attitude of the Western 
mind tends to create contradictions and portrays man as a system free of 
meaningful purpose, limitations, rules, or controls. This type of mind considers 
everything relative and argues the right of the individual to decide for himself 
or herself what limitations and controls exist, if any. This mind is unable 
to judge any set of behavior as rash or wrong since the only consideration 
is whether the involved parties endorse a given pattern or act. 

The end result of this Western frame of mind is the dilemma of reality 
versus human limitations; the need for purpose, rules and controls, and the 
need for human freedom of choice and determination. Such a dilemma is 
one of the relationship between the macro and the micro aspects of the human 
system of life. The macro aspeci is the total dimension of life and existence. 
The major source of human knowledge of this macro aspect is revelation 
which is given to mankind by the Creator who possesses total knowledge 
of the material world ( s h M )  and total knowledge of the dimensions beyond 
the material world (ghayb). The human mind is not capable of and was not 
designed to be knowledgeable about all these dimensions except in a limited 
way through revelation. 

Mankind needs to be certain of the purposes of life, the limits of the 
human role in the world’s system, and the basic and ultimate rules and controls 
of life and the world as they appear in revelation. With this kind of macro 
knowledge (waby), the concept of freedom of human choice is meaningful. 
Man can thus make choices, determine individual destiny, and, with a clear 
conscience, accept reward or punishment. 

The Western mind cannot overcome this reality (as understood through 
acceptance of revelation) versus human limitations dilemma nor can it overcome 
the rising social and intellectual crisis which it faces today. This is because 
of the loss of credibility of Biblical revelation, because of the role of established 
religions and institutions, and the vagueness of the notion of natural law due 
to the lack of access to a credible source of macro knowledge. 



‘AbdulHamid AbtXhdayrn5n Guiding Light xv 

The West’s attempt to contain this dilemma by developing a higher 
“authority” such as charters of human rights, vis-a-vis the concept of freedom 
and the right of individuals and majorities to decide for themselves according 
to their desires and wishes, is certain to fail. These devised “higher authorities” 
of human and constitutional rights are superficial and contradictory. The right 
macro Divine comprehensive knowledge which sets objectives and lays out 
a basic and higher sense of purpose, setting rules and controls for the human 
system, is the only viable way to allow human society and civilization to 
stand squarely on its two feet: namely, macro Divine knowledge of revelation, 
and the micro human knowledge of man’s mind and faculty of reasoning. 

Only a truly open-minded comparative study of the three Abrahamic 
faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), can prepare the Western mind to 
understand, appreciate and benefit from Islam and common truths in the three 
revealed religions. The Qur’gn, as an authentic source of revelation in the 
realm of Abrahamic MIS, and the Sunnah are measuring tools of interpmtation 
of the other two religions- Judaism and Christianity. 

The Muslim mind, for its part in building a global civilization, must 
develop an Islamic civilizational methodology which gives contemporary 
understanding, real meaning, and relevance of revelation to the challenges 
of contemporary human life. This civilizational approach completely departs 
from the descriptive and literal approach of the last few centuries which still 
enslaves, in varying degrees, the Muslim mind. 

When revealed macro knowledge is integrated with human micro 
knowledge, man will enjoy, in real terms, enormous material resources which 
can then be directed to the common interest, serving peace and security rather 
than contributing to worries, tensions, wars and tendencies toward destruction. 
Finally, the Muslim social scientist is the only social scientist who can recogniZe 
and embrace these two sides of knowledge successfully and develop vitally 
needed methodology, vision and knowledge necessary for the collective human 
good.