Dear brothers, this is lesson No. 10 of interpreting Surat Al An'am.
Every deed is considered La'eb if it is not for gaining the eternal happiness:
I will start with the Ayah number 32 in which Allah says:
﴾ And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. But far better is the house in the Hereafter for those who are Al-Muttaqun (pious) Will you not then understand? ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 32
]
Dear brothers, I mentioned last lecture the meaning of "La'eb" (playing) and "Lahoo" (distracting amusement), and as I said playing includes every aimless action that is purposeless in the future, and whose pleasure does not last. Also, I gave the example of making a snowman with a face and everything, but after a while it either melts down or collapses, and I gave the example of building castles of shore sand which will be washed away by seawater. Hence, playing is the aimless action whose pleasure does not last, and one will realize how insignificant it is as he moves on and leaves it behind him.
I also gave an example of a child who has a toy car, and he is happy as he moves it on the furniture and makes a sound while moving it imitating the engine sound, and if it is taken from him he will cry hard. If we take a photo of him while he is playing with this toy car and show it to him after he becomes a notable person who has a high social position, he will belittle his reaction when he was a kid. If we think about it, we will notice that the entire worldly life is mere playing.
What is the point of car racing? What is the point of camel racing? What is the point of horse racing? Unless these races are used for a noble purpose, they will be just playing. What is the point of people's cheering after a player scores a goal? What is the purpose of an expensive journey to the moon, while nations are dying of hunger all over the globe? Therefore, if we think it over, we will find out that every action, no matter how great it seems, but it is not meant for a greater cause that brings eternal happiness is mere playing.
When man believes truly in the Hereafter, all his movement in life will be for that purpose:
There are sculptures in the museums in Europe which are made by famous artists, and though they are beautiful and breathtaking for the tourists, do they serve any purpose by showcasing them? No, they do not! Whatever action that does not lead to the eternal happiness and is not used to gain the Hereafter is mere playing. The proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ But seek, with that (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world. ﴿
Dear brothers, I am obliged to clarify a relevant point. If the father goes for a picnic with his children after a long period of studying in order to enter joy to their hearts, amuse them, strengthen his ties with them and reward them, this sort of action is Hereafter oriented, and it is not playing. When you look after your appearance, when you take good care of your hygiene and when you dress nicely because you believe that you are representing this religion, then these actions are not playing, because such actions affects how the Muslim looks.
When your store is neat because you are a Muslim, this will give a good impression to others about you as a Muslim, but your store will not give such an impression if it is a mess, and if dust is everywhere and useless things are stacked up. Therefore, taking good care of your store, home, appearance and strengthening your ties with your family and children are not considered playing, but these actions are devoted for the Hereafter. Thus, when you are a true believer who believes beyond doubt in the Hereafter, all your moves and stills will be devoted to such a purpose.
Consider the following example: If a man travels abroad to acquire PHD, and he pins all his hopes on that scientific degree as it will help him get married and buy a house after he comes back to his home country, his first concern while he is abroad is to acquire the PHD, so the PHD is the purpose of his existence in that country. Accordingly, every daily move he makes and every detail in his daily life is related to that purpose. If supposedly he wants to lease a house, he will choose a house that is close to his university since his foremost concern is the PHD, so he will choose a house close to the university in order to save the time consumed in transportations.
If he wants to buy a magazine, he will choose something related to his major. If he wants to befriend a person, he will choose someone who masters the language of that country in order to learn it from him. Furthermore, if he wants to eat, he will eat something light in order to be able to study. Therefore, all his moves, stills and decisions are connected to his great purpose. Much in the same line, the believer cares a lot about all his actions and stills, because he believes in Allah and he has chosen the Hereafter (as a purpose in his life).
Your movement in life will not be right unless you know why you exist in life:
The Ayah goes as follows:
﴾ But seek, with that (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world ﴿
[ Al-Qasas, 77 ]
It is not considered playing to hold scientific and military competitions for purposes that serve the Ummah and for building a strong soldier, in addition to training and races, but holding competitions to choose the best singer is mere playing and has nothing to do with the Hereafter. When you know your destination, all your means will serve your purpose, given purposes derive their value from being noble and in that case the means will be noble as well.
﴾ Nor they take any step to raise the anger of disbelievers nor inflict any injury upon an enemy but is written to their credit as a deed of righteousness. ﴿
Playing is entirely the opposite, for it is purposeless, it does not last long, its effects vanish as it ends and it is belittled after a while. "Lahoo" (distracting amusement), on the other hand, is considered more harmful than playing, because playing is like things a student does during the summer vacation, and he enjoys them in his spare time, but entertainment "Lahoo" is being deviated by these matters from the important things like exams for example, so in such a case we say, it is not only playing, but also distraction since it deviates him from the purposeful goal to an insignificant one, and this is exactly the definition of Lahoo.
﴾ O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. ﴿
The main point is that you should know the purpose of your existence, lest your movement in life will be wrong. It is like the one who travels abroad, checks in a hotel and goes to sleep at his first night, but upon waking up he asks, "Where should I go?" In this case we will ask him, "Why are you here?" If you are a student, you should head to colleges and universities, if you are a merchant, you should head to factories and companies and if you are a tourist, you should head to restaurants and parks. Life is the same; unless you know why you exist in the worldly life, your actions will not be right, so ask yourself, "Why have I been created in the worldly life?"
Worshiping Allah is the reason of our existence:
Allah says:
﴾ And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). ﴿
Worshiping Allah is the reason of our existence and our movement in life is built on this fact:
﴾ Verily! As for those whom the angels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatory for them), they (angels) say (to them): "In what (condition) were you?" They reply: "We were weak and oppressed on earth." They (angels) say: "Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?" Such men will find their abode in Hell - What an evil destination! ﴿
If you are forbidden from worshiping Allah in a country, given worshiping Allah is the reason of your existence, you should leave it at once; otherwise your final destiny will be Hellfire.
Dear brothers, the problem is that man finds life easy when he travels to a western country. In addition, he is attracted to the beautiful nature, and he is pleased with meeting his needs and having everything available over there. However, the main problem is that he has no control over anything there, so when he loses his children, his loss is so big, and he ends up earning nothing. Hence, you should leave any land where you cannot worship Allah, and where the odds that your children will disobey Allah are very high. Allah says:
﴾ O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell). ﴿
You should leave the place which prevents your children from obeying Allah:
The female infant who was buried alive in Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period) will ask:
﴾ And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do) shall be questioned. For what sin she was killed? ﴿
But Allah says:
﴾ And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 191
]
This means that the girl who grows up in an immoral country where she has a boyfriend and her father is forbidden from rebuking her for that due to the laws there, is considered just like the female infant who was buried in Jahiliyyah. By Allah the only Deity, a brother came once from a western country and told me the story of a friend of his who was religious, and who asked him for a solution for his daughter. She to sat in her room upstairs with her boyfriend, but he could do nothing about it, because if he rebuked her, , he would be apprehended by the police. He said that he already did that before and he was obliged to sign a paper at the police station that he would not do that again, because it was an uncivilized manner to rebuke your daughter for having a boyfriend. That boyfriend, who was alone with her in her room, had been invited by her and if the father reacted, he would be uncivilized in the sight of law. Therefore, the place which prevents you from having obedient children to Allah should be left. Allah says:
﴾ They reply: "We were weak and oppressed on earth." ﴿
This weakness could be physical or psychological; man might be weak in front of his lusts, and thus he is weak and oppressed in that area in particular. On the other hand, he might by weak and oppressed physically by tyrants.
﴾ Such men will find their abode in Hell. ﴿
It is out of reasoning to start from the end (death):
The most important thing in religion is to know why you are in the worldly life, what the truth about the universe is, what the truth about the worldly life is what the reality of man is, where man came from, where man should be heading and why he exists in life. Wondering about these matters reflects the believer's prudence, because he will be able to get the answer of the reason and the purpose of his existence in life. Moreover, he can cope with the most serious event in his life which is death and he will be able to prepare for it:
﴾ And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. But far better is the house in the Hereafter for those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2). Will you not then understand? ﴿
There are so many books out there, some of them are books of stories of Arab beacons, and it is really amusing to read these stories, but most importantly is to get the morals of these stories and to know that the powerful heroes in these stories are dead now, and so are the weak, the clever, the simple-minded, the handsome, the ugly and every person mentioned in these stories is now under the ground,
Even the people in this gathering will be under the ground 100 years from now either in Shaik Mohyee Adden cemetery or Bab As-Sagheer cemetery, and no one will exist. These cemeteries have tombstones and when we open a grave to burry a person we find a skull and few bones left from the previous dead, isn't that right? This is a fact, and death is a fact, so what have we prepared for this inevitable hour? Starting from the end (from the hour of your death) and preparing for it) reflects your rationality.
﴾ And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. But far better is the house in the Hereafter for those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious). Will you not then understand? ﴿
There is a big difference between the worldly life and the Hereafter:
Let me ask you this: If you are asked to choose between driving a very luxurious car for 15 minutes and owning a motorcycle for the rest of your life, what would you choose? I think you will choose the motorcycle, because you will own it, whereas driving the luxurious car is temporary, but if you are asked to ride the motorcycle or to drive the car for 15 minutes, you will choose driving the car. If you are asked to choose between riding this motorcycle for 15 minutes and owning the luxurious car for the rest of your life, will you even blink an eye before accepting the offer? Absolutely not! This is the likeness of the worldly life and the Hereafter. Allah says:
﴾ And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present (life of this world). ﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. ﴿
Is there anything more obvious than this Ayah?
﴾ Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. ﴿
(( I have prepared for My righteous servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived, and recite if you want, "No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." [As-Sajdah, 17] ))
[ At-Tabarani by Sahl bin Sa'd ]
In Paradise there will be no diseases, no hardship, no assassinations, no burdens, no poverty, no worries and no threats, unlike the worldly life which is full of diseases and endless hardship.
﴾ There they will have all that they desire, and We have more (for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic ). ﴿
(( I have prepared for My righteous servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived. ))
[ Agreed upon by Abi Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him ]
Proofs from Quran and Sunnah about the vanity of life compared to eternity:
The Hereafter is an everlasting life by Allah's Will. Can you comprehend eternity? If you write down the largest number you can think of, it is still zero compared with eternity. Even if you were able to live for 5 billion years, which might be possible because anything is possible and only Allah is Absolute due to the fact that His Existence is inevitable and the existence of anything else is probable. Thus, this long lifetime is only zero if it is compared with the Hereafter.
Those, who studied mathematics, know it is a rule of thumb that whatever number (even if it is as big as putting zeros next to number 1 from the earth till we reach the sun having only one millimeter between every two zeros, given the distance between the earth and the sun is 156 million kilometers) we put in the numerator of a fraction and then we put infinity in the denominator of it, the result will be zero. Hence:
﴾ How many of gardens and springs do they [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people] left* And green crops (fields etc.) and goodly places, ﴿
(( If this world had the value of a mosquito's wing in the Sight of Allah, no disbeliever would have had a drink of water from it ))
[ At-Tirmizi by Sahl bin Sa'd ]
﴾ And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. But far better is the house in the Hereafter for those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious). Will you not then understand? ﴿
This world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you:
Every noble brother of you might be the one mentioned in this Hadith:
(( It might be that a greasy curly-haired dusty person, if he will ask Allah something, Allah will answer him immediately. ))
[ At-Tirmizi by Anas Ibn Malik ]
(( A person came to the Prophet PBUH, so the Prophet said to him, ""Let me welcome the one whom Jibrael told me about his coming.'' The man asked, "Did Jibreal tell you about me?" The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said to him, "Yes, brother he did. You are a low profile person on earth but a beacon in Allah's Sight" ))
(( Seek exaltedness in the Sight of Allah. ))
[ Ibn Abi Ad-Dunya in Makarem Al-Akhlaq, by Abi Hurairah ]
The worldly life is defined as Lahoo and La'eb, and in another Ayah it is defined as adornment:
﴾ Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. ﴿
The worldly life is but mutual boasting among people, rivalry of wealth and children, adornment, La'eb and Lahoo. Allah says:
﴾ And the life of this world is nothing but, ﴿
When Allah says "nothing but", it means that life is exclusively as Allah describes and nothing else. The Prophet PBUH said:
﴾ The more you take from this worldly life, the more concerns you will have. ﴿
[ At-Tabarani by Abi Hurairah ]
(( Whoever takes from this mundane life more than what suffices him, he unintentionally takes what causes his destruction. ))
[ Al-Bazzar by Anas and Ibn Habban said it is Da'eef Hadith ]
Allah the Almighty soothes the Prophet in Ayah No. 33:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ We know indeed the grief which their words cause you (O Muhammad PBUH): it is not you that they deny, but it is the Verses (the Qur'an) of Allah that the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) deny. ﴿
The Prophet PBUH is the Messenger of Allah, the Master of mankind and the most endeared person to the Haqq (the Judge, i.e. Allah), and because he is so perfect and merciful to people (he is considered the most merciful to people among mankind), he was deeply hurt when he was accused of lying. As a result, Allah soothed him by saying:
﴾ It is not you that they deny, but it is the Verses (the Qur'an) of Allah that the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) deny. ﴿
Man owns the free will, so if he believes in Haqq (the truth) and follows it, he will gain the worldly life and the Hereafter, but if he denies Haqq and turns away from it, he will lose them both. The signs, which indicate the Greatness of Allah, are the path towards having a solid faith in Allah, and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ But it is the Verses (the Qur'an) of Allah that the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) deny. ﴿
The signs mean hints, and the signs in the universe indicate the Greatness of Allah, but there are other signs which are the Divine Actions that also indicate His Greatness, and the last kind of signs are the Quranic Ayat which are Allah's Words, and they indicate His Greatness as well.
﴾ Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad PBUH), but with patience they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, and none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. Surely there has reached you the information (news) about the Messengers (before you). ﴿
Allah is addressing Muhammad PBUH and asking him not to be saddened, because accusing the Messengers of Allah, peace be upon them, of lying by people is the common denominator between them. Life is like a great university where the hardworking students pass with flying colors, while the lazy ones fail, and this means that the results are in harmony with the introductions. This is the gist of life, given the free will is the subject of people's exam.
Allah has given man the constituents of the Divine Assignment, among which are the great universe which is full of signs that indicate Allah's Greatness, the reasoning which is the means to know Allah, the Fitrah (an inborn natural predisposition which cannot change, and which exists at birth in all human beings. It is inclined towards right action and submission to Allah, the One Deity) which leads to Allah, the lusts which motivate man in life, the free will which evaluates man's deeds and Shari'ah (the Islamic laws) which are the clear course towards Allah.
The battle between the truth and falsehood is decreed by Allah:
Dear brothers, when man is a true believer, and when he excels in the worldly life because of his faith, only then he will fulfill the purpose of his existence. The people to whom the Prophets, peace be upon them, were sent by Allah divided into two groups: A group which followed the Prophets and believed in them, and a group which accused them of lying and denied their Message.
Therefore, the main issue is that the destiny (Paradise) of those who believe is different from the one (Hellfire) of those who deny, and such a difference manifests justice in this world. Allah is saying to Muhammad PBUH: Do not be in pain or saddened if your people accused you of lying, for all the Prophets, peace be upon them, before you suffered the same thing:
﴾ Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad PBUH), but with patience they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, and none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. Surely there has reached you the information (news) about the Messengers (before you). ﴿
We should believe that the battle between the truth and falsehood is an everlasting one, and this is but Allah's Decree. Had Allah put all Kuffar (disbelievers) in one continent and the believers in another one without any communications between the two, there would have been no Paradise (as a reward). Also, had Kuffar been in a very far land when the Prophet PBUH was assigned to Allah's Mission and when the Quran was revealed to him, he would have only believers around him who would have melt in love towards him, and there would have been no Badr Battle, Uhud Battle, Khandaq Battle, hypocrisy or enemies and there would have been no Paradise (as a reward for the believers).
﴾ But if it had been Allah's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. ﴿
You should believe that due to Allah's Will of Allah there is a battle between the truth and falsehood. The enemies play a key role, for they push you to seek religious knowledge when they deny your religion. An author might say that the religion is a myth, and that it is the opium of nations for example, and another liar might say that the Quran is Muhammad's words PBUH, in such cases you must know that Allah allow those people to say what they say in order to motivate believers to strengthen their faith, so what will happen in the end? The fierce enemies of the religion will spend their wealth in deviating people from the Path of Allah, but eventually they will be overcome by Allah.
﴾ And so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed. ﴿
The oppressing power helped us disbelieve in it and believe in Allah:
We hand it to the enemies of the religion that they are the reason of our religious awakening. The world now took Islam as an enemy, and a war is declared against it and against Muslims. However, this fierce attack is to the advantage of Muslims, because it has unified them, it has been a wakeup call and it has motivated them to adhere to their religion. There is goodness that will come from this attack against Islam, and the very obvious example is what happened after the events of 9/11.
The United States was the destination of all people in the globe before that date, and every person longed to visit this country or to have the green card which everyone considered as the gate of heaven. Needless to say, this powerful country put forth great valuable concepts which touch every conscience in the globe like freedom and the like. As a result, people longed to be part of this very powerful party, and they even found it a suitable substitute for the religion since it manifested civilization and prosperity, but after 9/11 America showed her ugly face to the world and she appeared to everyone as an oppressive power and nothing else. Thus, Islam came back as the giant of goodness in the eyes of people. In other words, we may thank this tyrant power, because it helped us disbelieve in it, and lest we do, our path towards Allah will be blocked:
﴾ Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. ﴿
Hence, Allah soothed the Prophet by saying to him:
﴾ Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad PBUH), but with patience they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, ﴿
Allah will never abandon us, and He showed us how this tyrant power can be at any minute the subject of Allah's Wrath, and that happened when two earth plaques collided and the resulted earthquake was as powerful as one million atomic bombs.
Purpose of mentioning all the accusations of Kuffar against the Prophet PBUH in Quran:
Dear brothers, the Kuffar and the polytheists said that Muhammad PBUH was insane, a sorcerer, a swindler or a poet, but do you know the wisdom behind mentioning their accusations in the Quran that will be recited till the Day of Judgment? One will ask, that if someone badmouthed another person, will it be out of wisdom to mention repeatedly his bad words and spread them among people? Much in the same line, one might ask what the wisdom behind mentioning all the accusations of the Kuffar against the Prophet PBUH in the Quran which will be recited till the Day of Resurrection?
The wisdom is: O Du'aat (callers to Allah) if you are hurt by your enemies, you should take the Prophet PBUH as a good example, for he walked on his feet to Ta'ef, but he was mocked, accused of lying and was hit by stones till his feel bled. Hence, every Dai'yah should be tolerant in his Da'wah (Calling people to Allah) when he is tortured or hurt by his enemies as long as all accounts will be settled on the Day of Judgment.
﴾ Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad PBUH), but with patience they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, ﴿
Where are the Kuffar who fought the Prophet PBUH? Where are the most powerful people of Quraish and where are its leaders now? They are in the dumpster of history. The Prophet PBUH was weak in the early days of his Da'wah, and when he passed by Ammar bin Yaser while he was suffering the Kuffar's torture, all the Prophet PBUH could do was saying to him:
(( "Patience, O family of Yasser, you destiny will be paradise ))
[ Al-Harith and AlBaghawi in Masnad Uthman and Ibn Mandah ]
He was weak. Had the Prophet PBUH at that time been powerful, all people in the Arab Peninsula would have entered Islam in one second out of their fear of his power, because the way of powerful people is to give orders to people and the latter will obey them promptly, but Allah decreed that the Prophet PBUH would be weak so that believing in him would be highly valued and rewarded:
﴾ Say: "It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path."﴿
Allah also said:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself. ﴿
Allah made the Prophet PBUH weak so that believing in him will be highly valued:
﴾ Till Our Help reached them, ﴿
It is rather thousand times impossible that Allah will abandon the believers, but all they have to do is just to be patient.
If we disobey Allah and accept the oppression we will be doomed:
The Almighty Allah says:
﴾ But if you remain patient and become Al-Muttaqun (the pious), not the least harm will their cunning do to you. ﴿
Disobeying Allah will lead man to being oppressed, but obeying Allah and being patient will lead him to victory:
﴾ And none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. ﴿
This is a Divine Law:
﴾ Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth, (i.e. Day of Resurrection), ﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ If their aversion (from you, O Muhammad PBUH and from that with which you have been sent) is hard on you, (and you cannot be patient from their harm to you), then if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the sky, so that you may bring them a sign (and you cannot do it, so be patient). And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, so be not you one of those who are Al-Jahilun (the ignorant). ﴿
Faith comes from inside man and faith does not need any proofs:
There is a delicate point, and I ask Allah to help me clarify it rightly:
﴾ If their aversion (from you, O Muhammad PBUH and from that with which you have been sent) is hard on you, (and you cannot be patient from their harm to you), then if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the sky, so that you may bring them a sign (and you cannot do it, so be patient). And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, so be not you one of those who are Al-Jahilun (the ignorant). ﴿
Everything will lead man to faith if he wants to since "The water indicates the brook. The tracks indicate the direction of the journey, while the dung indicates a camel…" On the other hand when man refuses to believe in Allah, he will not be able to find Him even if he is working in NASA and watching galaxies every day, and even if he is working with microscopes and watching the cells. This means that when man refuses to believe, he will not do so even if he sees miracles till the end of days, whereas the one who intends to believe in Allah will be led to Him through this universe without any need to miracles. Therefore, faith comes from within man not from observing miracles. The Prophet PBUH strived hard to lead people to Allah's Path, because of his mercy to them and keenness on guiding them. Allah says:
﴾ If their aversion (from you, O Muhammad PBUH and from that with which you have been sent) is hard on you, (and you cannot be patient from their harm to you), then if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the sky, so that you may bring them a sign (and you cannot do it, so be patient). And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance. ﴿
Had Allah willed, He would have made all people believe in Him. If the dean of a university wills that all the students of medicine pass the exams, and so he prints all the answers and gives all the students straight A's, and all the student has to do is just write down his name and he will pass, but what is the value of this success? It is worthless in the eyes of the university president, the administration staff, people and even the students. Much in the same line, the compulsory guidance is easy (if Allah had willed it), but it does not bring any happiness (to people).
Allah has made believing in Him willingly since faith is the price for Paradise:
Allah decreed for mankind to come to Him obedient willingly:
﴾ And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, ﴿
Allah decreed for the relation between Him and you to be based on love, free will and personal initiation. If Allah willed, all mankind would have been believers, but Allah wants our faith to be out of our free will, because the reward for it will be Paradise which is as wide as the heavens and the earth. The Prophet PBUH and due to his keenness on his people strived to guide them to Allah's path, and Allah said to him:
﴾ Then if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the sky, so that you may bring them a sign (and you cannot do it, so be patient). And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, so be not you one of those who are Al-Jahilun (the ignorant). ﴿
These are the Divine Laws. Hence, when you intend to believe, you will not need a miracle, but rather the existing universe is enough for you. On the other hand when you insist on disbelieving, you will not believe even if you see earthquakes like the substantial one in Asia (tsunami) and other endless signs like the drowning of the Titanic and the explosion of Challenger (the space shuttle).
By the way, the most expensive and advanced camera is useless without a film in it, whereas a less advanced one will be useful with a film in it. Therefore, seeking the truth what counts, so if you seek the truth, everything in the universe will lead you to Allah, but if you choose to ignore the truth, you will not believe even if you work in scientific institutions and universities using telescopes and microscopes:
﴾ And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, ﴿
Guidance is actually a decision you make, and when you make it, everything will lead you to Allah, but when you do not make it, you will not believe even if you were able to look through a tunnel which starts from one side of the earth and ends in the opposite side of it, or even if you were given a ladder by which you can climb to heaven.
