Torture within Quranist Viewpoint (15): Preaching by Bringing News of Bliss or Torment
Published in October 16, 2017
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
God has sent messengers/prophets with Scriptures to guide people to save themselves from entering into the torment of Hell and to urge them to strive to earn the bliss of Paradise. This is why the Quran contains preaching through warning against Hell and bringing glad tidings of Paradise. This means to preach/warn someone against Hell as his/her deserve because of certain deeds. Such preaching to living persons aims to urge them to repent. This warning against Hell means also that when one repents, one is given hope to enter into the bliss of Paradise. This is asserted in the Quran; God addresses the living people and NOT the dead ones. Thus, preaching by warning against Hell and bringing good news of Paradise is a mercy from God to all humanity. Let us provide more details in the points below.
Firstly: bringing glad tidings and warning as the mission of all messengers/prophets:
1- The mission of all messengers/prophets is mentioned in this verse: "We sent the messengers only as bearers of good news and as warners. Those who believe and reform have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve." (6:48). Thus, those who repent and reform within the monotheistic belief will never feel afraid or grieved on the Last Day. God says in the Quran: "We send the messengers only as deliverers of good news and warners. Those who disbelieve argue with false argument, in order to defeat the truth thereby. They take My Verses, and the warnings, for a joke." (18:56); the second part of this verse describes the stance of all disbelievers in all eras as they ridicule the Books/Scriptures of the Lord God.
2- Prophet Muhammad was no exception to this rule about the same mission of all prophets/messengers: "We sent you only as a herald of good news and a warner." (25:56); "We sent you as a witness, and a bearer of good news, and a warner." (48:8); "O prophet! We have sent you as a witness, and a bearer of good news, and a warner. And a caller towards God by His leave, and an illuminating beacon." (33:45-46).
Secondly: good news and warning within the Quran:
1- The Quran, God's Word, is a Clear Book of warning and good news, within Clear Verses; i.e., within only quoting/reciting these Quranic verses to others, they are understood by people who seek guidance. God has said the following directly to Muhammad about the usage of the Quran: "We made it easy in your tongue, in order to deliver good news to the righteous, and to warn with it a hostile people." (19:97). Muhammad's mission is to warn and bring good news within the Quranic Truth: "With the truth We sent it down, and with the truth it descended. We sent you only as a bearer of good news and a warner." (17:105).
2- Muhammad was a mortal who died after fulfilling a certain lifetime in the 7th century A.D., and after his death, the Quran remains intact and preserved till the end of days by the Power of the Omnipotent Lord. Thus, the Quran continues to be the source of mercy to the humankind, as this mercy is the reason behind sending Muhammad as a prophet of God to deliver the Quranic message: "We did not send you except as mercy to the humankind." (21:107). In addition, this Quran is the Criterion to warn the humankind as well till the end of days: "Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His servant, to be a warning to humanity." (25:1). Thus, the Quran was used by Muhammad to warn and to bring glad tidings, and the Quran goes on after his death, and real monotheistic preachers follow the footsteps of Muhammad in preaching the Quranic Truth to warn people and bring good news as well.
3- The Quran describes itself as the source of glad tidings: "On the Day when We raise in every community a witness against them, from among them, and bring you as a witness against these. We have revealed to you the Book, as an explanation of all things, and guidance, and mercy and good news for those who submit." (16:89). We read here in 16:89 descriptions of the Quranic message, and in these verses, we know that the Quran is also a warning for those who do not believe in the Last Day and bringer of good news for monotheists, within detailed verses of God: "This Quran guides to what is most upright; and it gives good news to the believers who do good deeds, that they will have a great reward. And those who do not believe in the Hereafter-We have prepared for them a painful torment." (17:9-10); "Praise be to God, who revealed the Book to His servant, and allowed in it no distortion. Valuable-to warn of severe punishment from Himself; and to deliver good news to the believers who do righteous deeds, that they will have an excellent reward. In which they will abide forever. And to warn those who say, "God has begotten a son."" (18:1-4); "...And this is a confirming Book, in the Arabic tongue, to warn those who do wrong-and good news for the doers of good." (46:12); "A revelation from the Dominant Lord, the Most Merciful. A Book whose Verses are detailed, a Quran in Arabic for people who know. Bringing good news, and giving warnings. But most of them turn away, so they do not listen." (41:2-4).
4- Thus, the Quran is the message that must be preached by monotheistic, devout preachers, who follow the steps of Muhammad, in all eras till the end of days.
Thirdly: the Quranic command for preachers to warn and bring glad tidings:
1- Since Almighty God preserves the Quranic text intact, it is the responsibility of Quran-believing monotheistic preachers to preach the Quran to warn and bring good news to people. By the way, God never addresses 'groups' of preachers; there is no clergymen in Islam. God addresses the individual believer to make him/her preach, like the command addressing Muhammad as person. Thus, Quranist preachers who warn and bring good news only through the Quran follow the footsteps of Muhammad in calling for the belief in the Quran only; this goes on in all eras by those few who follow the Quranic insights truly, as Quranic verses are the ONLY things preached by Muhammad during his ministry: "Say, "This is my way; I invite to God, based on clear knowledge-I and whoever follows me. Glory be to God; and I am not of the polytheists."" (12:108).
2- The verses we have quoted in the above points are NOT confined to Muhammad and his era: "What is the matter with them that they do not believe? And when the Quran is read to them, they do not bow down? In fact, those who disbelieve are in denial. But God knows what they hide inside. So inform them of a painful torment. Except those who believe and do good deeds; they will have an undiminished reward." (84:20-25). The Quranic verses address all people in all eras, especially the Muhammadans in our modern era now. In fact, the Muhammadans who deify/sanctify the printed copies of the Quran never believe in the content of the Quranic text. The proof: the suffering and persecution inflicted by the Muhammadans on Quranists. In fact, there is no personal quarrel or trouble between the Quranists and the Muhammadans; they will leave Quranists be and never hate them if Quranists stop preaching the Quran only as the Sole Criterion to judge notions, deeds, 'holy' items, gods/deities, and mausoleums of the polytheistic Muhammadans. Indeed, the Muhammadans hate the Quranic message in which they claim to believe; they never bow down in belief/obedience when they read/hear the Quran, rather, they argue against the Clear Quranic verses and debate to refute them as they deny and disbelieve in them. This is why the Muhammadans must be warned by the Quran against torment of Hell so that they may repent. Thus, Quranists declare that the notions and deeds of the Muhammadans as ones of polytheism and against Islam, as Quranists desire that they may repent. The Quranist call is to show how wrong the Muhammadans are and to urge them to correct and reform themselves to avoid torment of Hell that will be inevitably inflicted on them by God if they die without repentance and without return to real monotheism. "So devote yourself to the upright religion, before there comes from God a Day that cannot be averted. On that Day, they will be shocked." (30:43); "Respond to your Lord before there comes from God a Day that cannot be turned back. You will have no refuge on that Day, and no possibility of denial." (42:47).
3- There are warners, outside the circle of prophets, who voluntarily warn others and preach to them while seeking only to gratify our Lord God. Quranists seek to be among these warners who will also be witnesses against their era and people on the Last Day. This is done when these warners have in their record of deeds that they have preached, warned, and brought good news in hope to remind people so that they may be saved from the torment of Hell. When the people are stubborn and reject the Quranic verses, and die as such, they get what they deserve in the Hereafter. On the Last Day, the collective record of the deeds of a given nation/society will be shown, and records of deeds of individuals will stem from it. The record of deeds of preachers of the (Quranic) Truth should contain their suffering and persecution inflicted on them, while misguided ones will have their rejection of the Truth and their preaching against it in their records of deeds. "You will see every community on its knees; every community will be called to its Book: "Today you are being repaid for what you used to do. This Book of Ours speaks about you in truth. We have been transcribing what you have been doing."" (45:28-29); "And the earth will shine with the Light of its Lord; and the Book will be put in place; and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought in; and Judgment will be passed among them equitably, and they will not be wronged. And every soul will be fully compensated for what it had done. He is well aware of what they do." (39:69-70).
Fourthly: the Quranic command to preachers of the Truth during their lifetimes to face and refute clergymen in their era:
1- On the Last Day, preachers of the Truth will bear witness against clergymen who ascribed lies and falsehoods (i.e., the narratives called hadiths) to God and His messengers, who earned ill-gotten money through their earthly, man-made, fabricated religions and had full power and authority on earth to repel people away from God's Path (i.e., the Quran), as if they were immortal or invincible: "Who does greater wrong than he who fabricates lies about God? These will be presented before their Lord, and the witnesses will say, "These are they who lied about their Lord." Indeed, the curse of God is upon the unjust ones. Those who hinder others from the path of God, and seek to make it crooked; and regarding the Hereafter, they are in denial. These will not escape on earth, and they have no protectors besides God. The punishment will be doubled for them. They have failed to hear, and they have failed to see. Those are the ones who lost their souls, and what they had invented has strayed away from them. Without a doubt, in the Hereafter, they will be the biggest losers." (11:18-22).
2- If readers of this article desire to be among those witnesses on the Last Day, their records of deeds must be filled with deeds that qualify them to be elevated to this status. This is available for everyone who seek to follow the Path leading to God. After all, God has predetermined a certain duration for one's lifetime and the timing/location of one's death; no one can end one's life before this timing; if the life of preachers of the Truth ended in being murdered, this is the greatest victory, as their souls will enter into the bliss of the Barsakh to enjoy the bounties of God until the Day of Resurrection. When preachers of the Quranic Truth face tyrants and clergymen, their good reputation as callers for reform and higher values will live on within the next generations who will remember them, whereas the tyrants and clergymen will be thrown into the dustbin of history. The Word of Truth will remain alive after the death of Quranist preachers and their endeavors will never be in vain; the candles they illuminate will dispel some darkness and enlightened the minds of some people who seek to save themselves on the Last Day. The Good Word will remain and words of falsehoods that glitter shall vanish: "Do you not see how God presents a parable? A good word is like a good tree-its root is firm, and its branches are in the sky." (14:24); "And the parable of a bad word is that of a bad tree-it is uprooted from the ground; it has no stability." (14:26). "...Thus God exemplifies truth and falsehood. As for the froth, it is swept away, but what benefits the people remains in the ground..." (13:17).
3- All tyrants must be told about their fate in Hell in case of non-repentance. Tyrants who are stubborn and maintain tyranny, injustices, and corruption confiscate freedom of expression and chase away preacher of reform, who are silences by character assassination (through slanders, rumors, and false accusations) or by being murdered or forced to exile. Those tyrants follow the footsteps of the disobedient ones among the Israelites mentioned in this verse: "As for those who disbelieve in God's verses, and kill the prophets unjustly, and kill those who advocate justice among the people-bring them news of a painful torment." (3:21). The divine command here is to declare in public their fate in Hell if they never repent before they die.
4- Likewise, hypocrites must be warned and reminded of their torment in Hell if they die without proper repentance. In fact, hypocrites are media stars of every era and they surround the tyrannical rulers. In fact, hypocrites control media, culture, and the religious and political life within the countries ruled by tyrants and they sing praises of tyrannical rulers and dance in processions of tyrants and do the same for the successors of dead tyrants! God says in the Quran: "Inform the hypocrites that they will have a painful torment." (4:138).
5- The worst type of hypocrites are clergymen of all types; God commands Quran-believing people to inform these hypocrites about their torment in Hell in case they do not repent and reform before they die. The Quran tackles the features of those hypocritical clergymen, as we show in the points below.
5/1: Those hypocrites spread falsehoods and lies in the form of hadiths/narratives that distract people away from the Quran and repel people away from God's Path, and when these clergymen are reminded with the Quranic verses by others, they arrogantly move away as if they never heard anything, though they know about God's Quranic verses: "Among the people is he who trades in distracting tales; intending, without proper knowledge, to lead away from God's Way, and to make a mockery of it. These will have a humiliating torment. And when Our Verses are recited to him, he turns away in pride, as though he did not hear them, as though there is deafness in his ears. So inform him of a painful torment." (31:6-7). God commands us here to inform the hypocrites and inveterate liars about their torment in Hell, as they mislead people (like Moses' Pharaoh who assumed he guided people) while claiming they provide guidance for them. When such hypocrites are faced with such preaching and informed about their painful torment in Hell, their sorcery and charlatanism will vanish.
5/2: In our era, those hypocritical clergymen of the Muhammadans hate the Quran and disbelieve in it; they do their best to argue against the fact that the Quran is the Only Discourse in which Muslims must believe. "These are God's Verses which We recite to you in Truth. In which discourse, after God and His verses, will they believe? Woe to every sinful liar. Who hears God's verses being recited to him, yet he persists arrogantly, as though he did not hear them. Announce to him a painful torment." (45:6-8). Again, this is a divine command to us to bring them news of their painful torment in Hell.
5/3: When a courageous Quranist preacher would face anyone of the clergymen of the Muhammadans (e.g., Al-Tayyib the head of Al-Azhar, Al-Qaradawy of the terrorist MB, grand mufti of the KSA, Al-Houthi, Khomeini, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Al-Sistani, and Shiite Ayatollahs) to tell outspokenly him to fear God in piety or else face the torment of Hell for eternity, this or that clergyman will move away in arrogance: "Among the people is he whose speech about the worldly life impresses you, and he calls God to witness what is in his heart, while he is the most hostile of adversaries. When he gains power, he strives to spread corruption on earth, destroying properties and lives. God does not like corruption. And when he is told, "Beware of God," his pride leads him to more sin. Hell is enough for him-a dreadful abode." (2:204-206). This bold Quranist preacher give up their souls for God's sake when they vociferously utter the Word of Truth while facing the religious Taghut/tyranny and inveterate liars: "And among the people is he who sells their souls seeking God's approval. God is kind towards the servants. " (2:207).
5/4: Nations have the legitimate right to know the source of wealth of famous clergymen of the Muhammadans in Egypt, the KSA, the UAE, Qatar, Iraq, and Iran, among other countries, such as the wealth of the Egyptian Christian Orthodox Coptic pope, of the Catholic pope, of head of Al-Azhar, of Al-Qaradawy, of the Saudi grand mufti, of Shiite high-rank sheikhs, of Khomeini, and of Al-Houthi. All clergymen eat and earn ill-gotten money by deceiving people with falsehoods and repelling them away from monotheism and God's Way: "O you who believe! Many of the rabbis and priests consume people's wealth illicitly, and hinder from God's path. Those who hoard gold and silver, and do not spend them in God's cause, inform them of a painful torment." (9:34). We are commanded here directly to inform clergymen (in public) of their fate in Hell where they will be tormented forever. When Quranists warn these hypocrites/ignoramuses in public, the fake holiness of these clergymen will vanish and so will their misleading and deceiving others by falsehoods and lies. Surely, many people will get to know the Quranic Truth this way, as the falsehoods are thus refuted and exposed.