Interpretation of Fortress 98 (The Clear Proof)
I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
1. ((Those who do not believe, like the people of the Scripture, and those that obey other gods besides Al’lah will not release themselves (from their unbelief) until the clear Proof comes to them:))
2. ((An Envoy [ Messiah (pth).] from Al’lah reciting sanctified chapters,))
3. ((Which include supreme Books;))
4. ((Nor did the people of the Scripture disagree among themselves until the clear Proof came to them,))
5. ((Though they were enjoined only to worship Al’lah by adopting His Religion faithfully with an inclination of love towards Him, to perform communication, and to achieve purification. That is the religion of supremacy.))
6. ((Surely, those who disbelieve, like the people of the Scripture, and those that obey other gods besides Al’lah will be in the fire of Hell; they are the worst of all the creatures.))
7. ((Surely, those who believe and do good deeds are the best of all the creatures.))
8. ((The reward they receive from their Provider is the Gardens of Eternity, underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. Al’lah is well-pleased with them and they with Him. That is for him who fears his Provider.))
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In the ‘al-Zalzala’ Fortress it was revealed that people are accountable for their deeds, and therefore whoever has performed even an atom’s weight of good or evil shall see it. Then, later in this same Fortress, we saw the Envoy’s (cpth) sympathy for all creatures and his affection for all humanity.
The Prophet (cpth) hoped to guide the polytheists and the unbelievers such as, the people of the Scripture so as to raise them from their circumstances of degradation and to save them from their misery.
He wanted to help them to embrace the belief which moves a person from Hell to Paradise and from the depths of unhappiness and suffering to the heights of happiness and bliss.
This pressing desire attached itself to the Envoy Mohammad (cpth) and did not leave him due to the sympathy and tenderness he had for all God’s creatures.
However, the Almighty wanted to acquaint His Prophet with the persistence of the polytheists and the unbelievers such as, the people of the Scripture in their disbelief, as He (Glory to Him) is Omniscient of them and of what is in their hearts with regard to this life, and with what is in their spirits. Therefore He says:
1. Those who do not believe, like the people of the Scripture, and those that obey other gods besides Al’lah will not release themselves [from their unbelief] until the clear Proof comes to them:
((Those who do not believe, like the people of the Scripture)):
This is a reference to a group of the sons of Israel that confessed the unity of God and the mission of Moses (cpth), but despite this they were not in fact believers in God because they did not see His Favor and Graces; nor were they grateful for His Charity. Thus they did not respond to the Envoy (cpth) and consequently they did not appreciate him or obey him or follow his direction.
So it was to those who did not believe because of their polytheism. This refers to those who knew that God exists, Who created them and provided them with everything they need, but still obeyed another god besides Him – claiming that He had a partner in His Kingdom.
Al’lah (Glory to Him) tells His noble Envoy (cpth) that these two groups mentioned above would not desist from their disbelief and error until some type of convincing Proof appeared before them. What then does the word ((Proof)) indicate?
((Proof)) here means something that is clear and manifest; it also refers to evidence and argument.
God explained what is meant by the word ((Proof)) as mentioned in this noble Fortress when He says:
2. An Envoy [Messiah (pth: Peace is Through Him)]from Al’lah reciting sanctified chapters,
((An Envoy from Al’lah)): thus, the Proof comes in the form of an Envoy from Al’lah, but who is this Envoy?
He is our master Jesus, the son of Mary (pth) [Peace is through him ] , who was born to a mother, but who did not have a father, and who started to speak when he was still in his cradle. Later, he helped a blind man to see, healed a leper, and restored a dead man to life by the Will of Al’lah. All of these deeds constitute proof that he was in fact an Envoy of Al’lah.
However, what shall this noble Envoy recite to people?
God reveals the answer, saying he must be: ((reciting sanctified chapters;))
The word ((chapters)) here refers to the Fortresses of the Holy Qur’an, because each chapter usually contains a complete description of its topic; similarly, each Fortress of the Holy Qur’an is one unit in itself. It begins with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, and its entirety aims at establishing a single idea by providing lessons, facts, and examples.
((Sanctified)) refers to the nobility of these chapters, because all that they contain is good and right.
They are purified of any defect, and therefore applying them leads people to achieve spiritual purification.
You can see that the phrase ((reciting sanctified chapters)) also refers to the present return of our master Jesus (cpth), because the use of the word ((reciting)) [6] indicates that these chapters were already known before the return of our master Jesus (pth), having been revealed to the Envoy Mohammad (cpth) in his time.
Our master Jesus (pth) will recite to people the purified chapters which were brought by our master Mohammad Ibn Abdul-lah (cpth), and which included all the other Books. God says:
3. Which include supreme Books;
This Verse tells us that the Holy Qur’an contains the Torah, the Gospel and all of the other Godly Books. As these books helped to establish righteousness and its superiority and dominion over that which is wrong – and is thus destined to be defeated – we can therefore see that they are indeed Supreme Books.
The Almighty Al’lah revealed the time when those unbelieving people shall desist from their disbelief and polytheism, and told us that the noble Envoy Jesus (pth) shall recite purified chapters, such as those from the Supreme Books which will lead us to the right path and happiness. Having done so, He wanted to show us that that which is right is unified and unchangeable, and that the true religion is to obey Al’lah, alone, and to follow His Orders. If humanity were to do so, then they would undoubtedly be one nation.
With regard to the sons of Israel, when our master Jesus (pth) came to them – along with his miracles – they were divided and parted. A party of them pretended that they were followers of our master Moses (pth), but in fact they drifted far from Al’lah and shunned the path of righteousness and guidance, as they did not believe in God’s Envoy, the Messiah (pth).
In the other party were the disciples who responded to him (pth). After Jesus and his mother migrated to a cave on a high mountain with a spring [7 nearby according to the Command of Al’lah, so as to make a glorious return at the time of Armageddon, those disciples – may God be well pleased with them – continued to follow him (pth) and helped him, so that all the Romans came to believe at their hands. God says: ((It happened that some of Israelites believed while others did not. We aided the believers against their enemies and they were elevated over them)) [8]
Therefore God says in this Fortress:
4. Nor did the people of the Scripture disagree among themselves until the clear Proof came to them,
After that, God revealed that partiality to one creed over another or to one religion over another is inadmissible, because all the Envoys are leaders of the truth, and the truth is one, and all people have been ordered to be in a single line – worshipping and obeying one God. God says:
5. Though they were enjoined only to worship Al’lah by adopting His Religion faithfully with an inclination of love towards Him, to perform communication, and to achieve purification. That is the religion of supremacy.
((Though they were enjoined only to worship Al’lah by adopting His religion faithfully with an inclination of love towards Him)): so Al’lah alone (Glory to Him) is the Maker of religion as He is the Great Omniscient Creator; He alone is the Legislator for humanity and the Source of legislation.
It is He Who gives guidance to His followers and He Who illuminates the straight path, and submission should only be to Him, because His religion is the religion of justice to which people of virtue and perfection surrender and submit.
Humanity, then, is enjoined to learn this religion from its Provider and to follow it faithfully.
The Almighty clarified another quality which people should possess concerning their obedience to their Provider, which is to be inclined towards Him with love. They must obey Him faithfully so that they perform deeds motivated only by the Satisfaction of God, while thinking of their Provider with love. They should always feel passion and longing for Him.
What is the way that leads to this exalted state in which people should live?
To answer this, God says: ((to perform communication)). Therefore, such devotion and sublime disposition are not accomplished except by performing communication – that is, by having a continuous link with God and keeping one’s spirit close to His Presence.
Through such closeness, the spirit rises high and towers up to the Source of Sublimity, Loftiness and Perfection until it derives portions of these qualities.
However, how can the spirit approach its Provider and obtain such a rank and such communication with the Source of perfection? God says: ((and to achieve purification.))
That is, this is achieved by virtue of the spirit’s cleanness of its defects, meanness and dirty desires.
For this reason, spending money for good purposes is called ((purification)) or ‘zakat’, as the spirit becomes reassured and confident of its charity through such deeds. This allows it to approach its Provider and gain this purity. It is good deeds such as this that entail purification for the spirit.
Purification can also be achieved by a person if they perform good deeds that enable their spirit to draw nearer to its Provider and attain purification from Him.
You may ask: how can the spirit obtain such purification? I say: if a person refrains from performing any forbidden activities and keeps their thoughts far from any infringements, and if they also discharge all of their duties towards everyone to whom they are obliged, then such a person’s spirit will please God. As a result, it will come to be colored with a stain of perfection from God, which enables the spirit to witness the Envoy (cpth) and the highness, loftiness and merits that are contained in his spirit.
When such a person’s spirit sees God’s Envoy (cpth) and his perfection, it will love him and become fond of him and then enter with him into God’s Presence. There it will witness God’s Perfection and Might, which will make it adore Him and attain a link with Him. It is this link that will cleanse the surface of the spirit and render it pure and clean and free of any defects.
That is the way of truth, and that is the legislation and the religion which one should adopt so as to be truly human. That is what all the Envoys of God have called us to follow, and what our master Jesus, son of Mary (pth) shall call us to follow upon his imminent return. God says: ((That is the religion of supremacy.))
This means that the religion that is revealed in this Verse is the religion of the Statute, which is what will solely remain to rule everything and will always remain superior over every other creed.
I say: there is an acknowledged sign in this Verse that the influence of disbelief and error will vanish, and that this right religion will rise over all the other religions at the time when our master Jesus returns. God says: ((And I shall exalt your followers above the unbelievers till the Day of Resurrection.)) [9]
The Almighty then clears the spiritual state of the far unbelievers who pretend to be followers of the Envoys, whereas in secret they are distant unbelievers. He says:
6. Surely, those who disbelieve, like the people of the Scripture, and those that obey other gods besides Al’lah will be in the fire of Hell; they are the worst of all the creatures.
You may ask: what does it mean to ((abide in the fire of Hell)) ?
I would answer by saying that, the phrase ((they will be in the fire of Hell)) is represented by the word ‘Khalideen’ in Arabic. This word and its derivatives are used in the context of a person being inclined to and resorting to something which gives a feeling of ease.
When the pains of an unbeliever grow greater on Doomsday, when their diseases and defects cause strain for them, they shall not find any shelter to turn to except for the Fire; then you will see them go there and abide within this Fire.
God says: ((And when the evildoers behold the Fire they will know it is there they shall throw themselves, and they shall not turn to any place other than this)) [10].
However, what is the source of the immaterial diseases and spiritual defects that cause strain for such people and compel them to throw themselves into the Fire?
The source is their wicked actions, and the consequences of their disobedience to God and the injuries that they caused to their fellow creatures in their worldly lives when they shunned Al’lah (Glory to Him). God says: ((They are the worst of all the creatures.))
This refers to those ungrateful unbelievers who do nothing in their lives except for things which cause evil and suffering for other people: they are the source of evil and the reason for the damage that has been done to society.
In truth, wherever the unbelievers may be found and no matter whom they deal with, they cause nothing but harm and injury. All of their actions are bad and people gain nothing from them other than damage and evil.
On the contrary, wherever the believers are, they become a source of goodness and benefit, and people profit from their charity, so that all of their actions are beneficial. God says:
7. Surely, those who believe and do good deeds are the best of all the creatures.
That is, these people are the origin and the source of benefaction.
This Verse includes all believers, starting with the time of our master Adam (pth), because anyone who believes in their Provider and adopts the way of goodness that was revealed by God through the Envoys will surely become a good human being and a charitable creature.
God then reveals the reward to be granted to those charitable