Richard Dunbar
06/26/2019
Paper # 2
Ever since the very first message the prophet Muhammed received, Muslims have made every attempt to garner the blessings of the Qur’an in a plethora of different ways. The very first and I suppose the most important way to try and gain the blessing from the Quran would be to study its text and attempt to understand why man was put on earth, to begin with. It is through studying the text of the Qur’an we can discern Allah’s love, his peace, and compassion. I believe Surah 55 is trying to teach us without following the path Allah has set for us the only destination we can truly find is the path to damnation. I will examine this text in the Qur’an to see what mysteries and insights we are able to be unlocked.
Surah 55 ar-Rahman (The Compassionate) appears to define and characterize the blessings of Allah and suggests gratitude should be realized by all these blessings being bestowed upon us. This Surah focuses on the most benevolent, compassionate characteristics of Allah. Which is why it is titled ar-Rahman which translates to the compassionate. No one knows who recorded this book in the Qur’an, however, the author appears to have captured the words of the prophet Muhammed as Allah shined these words of wisdom down upon him. From a literary perspective, this chapter has a poetic structure that uses literary techniques to stress the importance of following the directions given in the Qur’an. I believe the repetitive text, juxtaposition and rhetorical questions asked in this Surah are aimed at drawing the reader’s attention to the rules and laws it wants to continually reinforce and emphasize the consequences for disobedience and the rewards for obedience. This seems to be the reason this text speaks about the disbelievers having arrogant ways and their denial of what the Muslim culture calls the one true God will lead them to Hell. The contrast of this the true believer and good practicing Muslim shall be met with the reward of the two gardens.
The narrative begins with the idea of creation when Allah created man, he gave man the ability to think for himself, the ability to use judgment to detect right from wrong. He gave man the ability to make choices, not merely based upon instinct, but based on sound spiritual and moral value. This is how we as human beings were separated from all other things that came into existence. This one minuscule thing, this ability to judge and be judged set us apart from all others and gave man the inherent responsibility to learn the Surahs of the Qur’an and apply the lessons taught within its pages. After all, it is said to memorize the Qur’an raises the status of the believer.
One by one, man bore witness to the miracles of creation Surah 55:5 states “The sun and the moon move according to plan. And the stars and the trees prostrate themselves. And the sky, He raised; and He setup the balance. So do not transgress in the balance. But maintain the weights w...
