Article appeared Friday, December 10th, 2010 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation (158) yousuf mahbubul Islam, PhD

When in trouble, why do some people seek help from the Creator directly? Is it because we
realise that it is only the Creator who can get us out of trouble? In the Bible, the Creator points
out who He is:
“For thus says the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth
and made it; he has established it, (and) he created it not in vain, he formed it to be
inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.” [Isaiah 45.18, KJV] {1}

To help us understand that there is “none else”, the Creator points out how we should interact
with Him and demonstrate our understanding of this truth:
“And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you (personally), and you shall
glorify Me.” [Psalms 50.15, KJV] {2}

When in trouble, the Creator interacts with us personally and delivers us individually. Having
been relieved, the discipline is that we are to thank Him personally. The question is do we
actually make it a point to thank the Creator? Is it the Creator’s right to be glorified for getting us
out of trouble? On the other hand, how should the Creator feel if the person delivered out of
trouble feels self-sufficient and does not thank the Creator or gives credit to imagined powers
(e.g. lucky charms, stones, idols, religious leaders, ancestors, messengers who carry the
Creator’s Words)? The Creator questions the duality of such people in the subsequent verse:
“But God says to the wicked: "Why bother reciting My Decrees and pretending to obey
My Covenant?” [Psalms 50.16, NLT] {3}

The Creator calls people who refuse to thank Him wicked. When such people do call upon the
Creator, is it “pretense” or hypocrisy? If we do not obey the commandment in Psalms 50.15:
“For you refuse My Discipline and treat My Words like trash.” [Psalms 50.17 NLT] {4}

Is falling in trouble therefore a test to separate those who believe from those who pretend to
believe? The most recent Revelation, the Qur’an clarifies:
“No kind of calamity can occur except by the leave of Allah: and if anyone believes in
Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright): for Allah knows all things.” [64.11]

Verses 18 to 20 of Psalms 50 describe other characteristics of hypocrites. The Qur’an similarly

declares the nature of hypocrites who stand up in prayer:
“The hypocrites…when they stand up to prayer they stand without earnestness, to be
seen of men but little do they hold Allah in remembrance.” [4.142]

In the Qur’an, Allah, our Creator declares the fate of hypocrites as does Psalms 50.22 {5}:
“The hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the fire: no helper will you find for them.”
[4.145]

Since our sojourn on earth is an opportunity to learn and adhere to the truth, Allah provides a
way out:
“Except for those who repent, mend (their life), hold fast to Allah and purify their religion
as in Allah's sight: if so, they will be (numbered) with the believers. And soon will Allah
grant to the believers a reward of immense value. What can Allah gain by your
punishment if you are grateful and you believe? Nay, it is Allah that recognises (all good)
and knows all things (that you do).” [4.146 – 4.147]
To those who strive to understand, repent, change their ways and purify their religion as the
Creator wants, Allah promises forgiveness as:

3.109 “To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth; to Him do all
questions go back (for decision).”
Those who study Revelation and understand this truth of the Creator, demonstrate correct
belief and help others realize the truth of the Creator are the best in His Sight.
“Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good enjoining what is
right and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity.” [3.104]

3.110 “You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind enjoining what is right
forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book
had faith it would be best for them; among them are some who have faith but
most of them are perverted transgressors.”
The purpose of sending Revelation (e.g. Psalms, Torah, New Testament, Qur’an) to a group of
people is to invite them to become models for the rest of humanity. If they then study and follow
scripture as well as help others understand the truth, they evolve or develop to become the best
people among mankind. However, to those who were sent previous Revelations, Allah asks:
“To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: how can He have a son
when He has no consort? He created all things and He has full knowledge of all things.
That is Allah your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship
Him (alone): and (remember) He (alone) has Power to Dispose of all affairs.” [6.101 –
6.102]

People who directly receive Revelation from the Creator are all called “People of the Book”.
Those who are not hypocritical study Revelation as it should be studied, i.e. a Manual for
Mankind, and understand the truth, i.e. there is none else {1} than the Creator.
“Those to whom We have sent the Book (Revelation) study it as it should be studied;
they are the ones that believe therein; those who reject faith therein the loss is their
own.” [2.121]

Regardless of the number of hypocrites on earth, such believers have nothing to fear from them.

3.111 “They will do you no harm except for a trifling annoyance; if they come out
to fight you they will show you their backs and no help shall they get.”
In the next Verse, Allah addresses hypocrites among those who received Revelation as well as
those who continue to follow the ways of hypocrites.

3.112 “Shame is pitched over them (like a tent) wherever they are found except
when under a covenant (of protection) from Allah and from men; they draw on
themselves wrath from Allah and pitched over them is (the tent of) destitution.
This because they rejected the Signs of Allah and slew the prophets in defiance
of (what is) right; this is because they rebelled and transgressed beyond limits.”
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{Notes}:
{1} http://bible.cc/isaiah/45-18.htm
{2} http://bible.cc/psalms/50-15.htm
{3} http://bible.cc/psalms/50-16.htm
{4} http://bible.cc/psalms/50-17.htm
{5} http://bible.cc/psalms/50-22.htm