Surah Al-Jathiyah, Ayah 25

The Conviction of the Disbelievers, Their Argument and the Refutation of it

Allah mentions here the creed of Ad-Dahriyyah and the Arab idolators who embraced their creed, denying Resurrection,

وَقَالُواْ مَا هِىَ إِلاَّ حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا

(And they say: "There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live....") They say that there is only this life, some people die while others are born to life, without Resurrection or Judgement. This was the creed of Arab idolators who used to deny Resurrection, in addition to, the creed of the atheist philosophers among them who denied the creation and Resurrection. This was also the statement of atheist philosophers who deny the Creator and think that the world will return to its original form once every thirty--six thousand years, when everything will restart its life--cycle again! They claim that this cycle was repeated for infinity, thus contradicting the sound reason and the divine revelation. They said,

وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ‌ "...and nothing destroys us except time...(45:24) " The word dahr means ` time from the beginning of the world to its end'. It also refers to ` a very long period of time'. The atheists alleged that their life and death have nothing to do with Divine will and command. They happen under natural causes. Death is a process which they say they experience when their human limbs, organs and abilities diminish on account of constant use and, with the passage of time, the matter becomes dissolved and is destroyed; and that this is the be-all and end-all of human existence, there being no life hereafter. Likewise, life has nothing to do with Divine will and command. Life too, like death, happens under movement of material causes.

To make desire one’s deity means giving it the supreme position in one’s life. One who thinks and acts under the influence of desire has, in effect, made himself a slave to it. Man’s mind is perfectly capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. But, when he mindlessly follows his desires, he closes the door to reason. Then when he encounters arguments in support of the Truth, he fails to feel their weight. In reply to every statement, he presents false arguments and rejects it. Such behaviour ultimately impairs his mental powers. His ears hear the words, but fail to grasp their meaning. His eyes look at the Truth, but fail to learn a lesson from it. The message of truth reaches his heart, but fails to warm it. God has made man’s power of reasoning the entrance gate for guidance. But if a man enslaved by his desires shuts off his mind, how can guidance enter?