Those who, when they are reminded of the Signs of their Lord, do not turn their backs, deaf and blind to them. (Surat al-Furqan: 73)
AL-AWWAL
The First
He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward. He has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Hadid, 57:3)
Does the universe have a beginning? This question has occupied the minds of people for centuries. People who understand that the universe must have an owner believe that it must have a beginning. However, other people do not want to accept the Creator’s existence and thus claim that the universe has no beginning. They assert that the universe has existed forever and will exist for all eternity. However, modern science proves that such an assertion is a great delusion.
Although many theses have been put forward for the universe’s existence, scientific circles have reached the following consensus: In 1929, Edwin Hubble revealed that the universe is in a state of constant expansion. Following this, scientists deduced that if we reverse the concept of time, we can think of the expanding universe as a closely pressing system, like a shrinking giant star, for instance. In this case, we conclude that a universe that shrinks according to the concept of time ultimately reaches a point of oneness. That is, the universe came into existence when a single point expanded by means of a big explosion.
Given this, we can conclude that our universe has a beginning. Since such a flawless system has a beginning, it must have a designer. This means that the One Who designed the universe is the First and the Last, for He existed before everything and will continue to exist after everything else has ceased to exist. The Owner of this eternal power is Allah, for His name “The First” indicates that He existed before all living beings, planets, galaxies, the universe, and even time itself.
WHAT DOES THE QUR'AN SAY ABOUT ORPHANS?
It is commanded in the Qur’an to be good and compassionate towards orphans, for they have no parents to look after them or to ensure their education:
So as for orphans, do not oppress them. (Surat ad-Duha: 9)
In other verses, Allah commands people to respect their rights, set aside part of their goods and income for them, and to treat them well. Furthermore, He recommends that an orphan’s assets be used justly, and that these should be returned when he or she reaches mental maturity.
Allah advises people to be careful and meticulous about an orphan’s education so that he or she can be brought up as a good person and have the good morals of the Qur’an. He encourages the believers to provide orphans with protection and material assurance:
… They will ask you about the orphans. Say: "Improvement for them is best." If you mix your affairs with theirs, they are your brothers… (Surat al-Baqara, 220)
The believers always avoid being unjust with an orphan’s property, because Allah defines the pitiless behavior of those who covet such property and benefit from it as a serious crime:
Give the orphans their property, and do not substitute bad things for good. Do not assimilate their property into your own, [for] doing that is a serious crime. (Surat an-Nisa’, 2)
As a result of these verses, the believers protect the orphans’ property carefully until they grow up and can take care of themselves, and then hand over all of their rights to them.
For further reference, please see, Quick Grasp of Faith
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JUSTICE AND TOLERANCE IN THE QUR'AN
By Harun Yahya
When we talk about justice, everybody shares essentially the same basic concepts, and these are accepted by the majority of people right away. This justice will include people from all walks of life, with no discrimination between them. It will allocate resources fairly among people, without taking their race, religion and language into consideration and will aim to create a world in which the superior is the one who is right, not the powerful.
What often distances people from justice is their rejection of it. They may concur in principle, but they reject it when it conflicts with their own interests. For due administration of justice over the world, a morality which will enable people to set aside their personal benefits for the sake of justice is needed.
This morality is the values of the Qur'an which God commands and instructs us with in the Qur'an. That is because the values of the Qur'an command an absolute justice that makes no discrimination between people, that sides only with what is true and just.
Justice that is carried out with the fear of God and with the sole intention of earning God's approval is true justice. This form of justice makes no discrimination between people. The purpose of this book is to describe the justice in the Qur'an.