In the āyah 2:164 that we studied last week, the Qur’ān draws our attention to the awe-inspiring wonders of the universe, call them His Signs and invites us to brood over them. These Signs of God demand that we realise the Truth, and as a result of this realisation, worship Him alone, rejecting all others who have no powers at all.
But it so happens that all human beings do not respond to these Signs of God equally. Those who respond to them in the manner they should have done, i.e. as God wants them to do, they emerge as fortunate enough to win the pleasure of God. But those who, owing to their inability to think and believe or their obstinacy or defiant attitude, fail rather miserably to realise the Truth, eventually deserve the chastisement of God.
The Qur’ān 2:165 presents these two kinds of responses in a very subtle manner: “Yet there are some who take others as equals to Allah and love them as Allah alone should be loved; but those who (truly) believe, they love Allah more than all else.”
Taking others as equals to Allah and loving them as Allah alone should be loved is polytheism. It is as if a person is in the service of a master but he does not follow the commands of his master and works according to his own desires and decisions. What will you say about such a person? What will his master do with him? Obviously, his master shall be displeased with him, will punish him and even oust him from his services. The same is the case with a person who rejects the Truth, disobeys God and lives his life as he wishes. God is powerful enough to catch hold of such a wrong-doer and punish him in the Day of Judgement.
Thus, it would be wise to give absolute priority to seeking God’s good pleasure and should hold nothing too dear to sacrifice for the sake of God. In order to pursue this goal, we should realise the attributes which belong exclusively to God. God is the Lord and Master of the entire complex of causal relationships found in the universe. He dispenses the needs and requirements of people. He delivers people from distress and affliction. He heeds complaints and responds to lamentations and prayers. He has full knowledge of all that is apparent as well as all that is hidden. These are the exclusive attributes of God. No one shares any of these attributes. We too should not share these attributes of God with others, lest we should be committing polytheism.
There are certain rights which God alone claims. God claims that His creatures should recognise Him alone as their Sovereign, prostrate themselves before Him alone, turn to Him alone for the fulfilment of their prayers, call Him alone for help and succour, place their trust is none but Him, and fear Him alone both in public and in private. We must fulfil these rights of God. This is the only way we can reap ultimate success.