Chapter I
Examples of Parts That are Bereft of Respect to God, Islam and the Qur'an
In the Books Allegedly Written by Mawlana Rumi

You who believe! Wine and gambling, stone altars and divining arrows are filth from the handiwork of satan. Avoid them completely so that hopefully you will be successful. (Qur'an, 5:90)

They will ask you about alcoholic drinks and gambling. Say, 'There is great wrong in both of them and also certain benefits for mankind. But the wrong in them is greater than the benefit.' They will ask you what they should give away. Say, 'Whatever is surplus to your needs.' In this way God makes the Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will reflect. (Qur'an, 2:219)

Satan wants to stir up enmity and hatred between you by means of wine and gambling, and to debar you from remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not then give them up? (Qur'an, 5:91)

(Say,) 'Anyone who is the enemy of God and of His angels, and of His Messengers and of Gabriel and Michael, should know that God is the enemy of the unbelievers.' (Qur'an, 2:98)

God obliterates usury but makes charity grow in value! God does not love any persistently ungrateful wrongdoer. (Qur'an, 2:276)

That is because God is the Protector of those who believe and because those who disbelieve have no protector. (Qur'an, 47:11)

But as for those who disbelieve and die while they are unbelievers, the curse of God is upon them and that of the angels and all mankind. They will be under it for ever. The punishment will not be lightened for them. They will be granted no reprieve. (Qur'an, 2:161-162)

... As for any of you who revert from their religion and die unbelievers, their actions will come to nothing in this world and the hereafter. They are the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Qur'an, 2:217)

Such people are the true unbelievers. We have prepared a humiliating punishment for the unbelievers. (Qur'an, 4:151)

Then on the Day of Rising He will disgrace them, and say, 'Where are My partner gods for whose sake you became so hostile?' Those given knowledge will say, 'Today there is disgrace and evil for the unbelievers.' (Qur'an, 16:27)

God has cursed the unbelievers and prepared a Searing Blaze for them. (A Searing Blaze) where they will remain timelessly, for ever and ever, not finding any protector or any helper. (Qur'an, 33:64-65)

We have made ready for the unbelievers shackles and chains and a Searing Blaze. (Qur'an, 76:4)

Do those who take the unbelievers as protectors, rather than the believers, hope to find power and strength with them? Power and strength belong entirely to God. (Qur'an, 4:139)

The believers should not take unbelievers as friends rather than believers. Anyone who does that has nothing to do with God at all–unless it is because you guard yourselves against them, taking security. God advises you to be afraid of Him. God is the final destination. (Qur'an, 3:28)

You who believe! Do not take the unbelievers as friends rather than the believers. Do you want to give God clear proof against you? (Qur'an, 4:144)

Do not obey the unbelievers and hypocrites and disregard their abuse of you. Put your trust in God. God suffices as a Protector. (Qur'an, 33:48)

So do not obey the unbelievers but use this (the Qur'an) to struggle against them with all your might. (Qur'an, 25:52)

The revelation of the Book, without any doubt of it, is from the Lord of the worlds. (Qur'an, 32:2)

The revelation of the Book is from God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (Qur'an, 40:2)

We have sent down the Book to you with truth. So worship God, making your religion sincerely His. (Qur'an, 39:2)

Mankind! Admonition has come to you from your Lord and also healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers. (Qur'an, 10:57)

We send down in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss. (Qur'an, 17:82)

Certainly it is guidance and a mercy for the believers. (Qur'an, 27:77)

On that Day We will raise up among every community a witness against them from amongst themselves, and bring you as a witness against them. We have sent down the Book to you making all things clear and as guidance and mercy and good news for the Muslims. (Qur'an, 16:89)

Falsehood cannot reach it (the Qur'an) from before it or behind it–it is a revelation from One Who is All-Wise, Praiseworthy. (Qur'an, 41:42)

It is We Who have sent down the Reminder and We Who will preserve it. (Qur'an, 15:9)

It is nothing but Revelation revealed,

taught him by one immensely strong,

possessing power and splendour. He stood there stationary–

there on the highest horizon.

Then he drew near and hung suspended.

He was two bow-lengths away or even closer.

Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.

His heart did not lie about what he saw.

What! Do you dispute with him about what he saw? (Qur'an, 53:4-12)

Truly it is revelation sent down by the Lord of all the worlds. The Faithful Spirit brought it down to your heart so you would be one of the Warners. (Qur'an, 26:192-194)

He is the Raiser of ranks, the Possessor of the Throne, He sends the Spirit by His command to whichever of His servants He wills so that he may warn mankind about the Day of Meeting. (Qur'an, 40:15)

Say: 'Unbelievers!

I do not worship what you worship

and you do not worship what I worship.

Nor will I worship what you worship

nor will you worship what I worship.

You have your religion and I have my religion.' (Qur'an, 109:1-6)

If you do not do that–and you will not do it–then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, made ready for the unbelievers. (Qur'an, 2:24)

But as for those who disbelieve and die while they are unbelievers, the curse of God is upon them and that of the angels and all mankind. They will be under it for ever. The punishment will not be lightened for them. They will be granted no reprieve. (Qur'an, 2:161-162)

As for those who disbelieve and die while they are unbelievers, the whole earth filled with gold would not be accepted from any of them if they were to offer it as a ransom. They will have a painful punishment. They will have no helpers. (Qur'an, 3:91)

Say, 'Obey God and the Messenger.' Then if they turn away, God does not love the unbelievers. (Qur'an, 3:32)

God has promised the men and women of the hypocrites and unbelievers the Fire of Hell, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. It will suffice them. God has cursed them. They will have everlasting punishment. (Qur'an, 9:68)

So that He can repay with His bounty those who believed and did right actions. He certainly does not love the unbelievers. (Qur'an, 30:45)

God has cursed the unbelievers and prepared a Searing Blaze for them. (Qur'an, 33:64)

It is He Who made you His successors on the earth. So whoever disbelieves, his disbelief is against himself. In God's Sight, the unbelief of the unbelievers only increases their loathsomeness; the unbelief of the unbelievers only increases their loss. (Qur'an, 35:39)

Yet they worship instead of God what can neither help nor harm them. The unbeliever is ever, against his Lord, an assistant (to satan). (Qur'an, 25:55)

That is because God is the Protector of those who believe and because those who disbelieve have no protector. (Qur'an, 47:11)

We know that some of you will deny it. It is a cause of great distress to those who are unbelievers. And it is undeniably the Truth of Certainty. Glorify then the name of your Lord, the Magnificent. (Qur'an, 69:49-52)

Noah said, 'My Lord! Do not leave a single one of the unbelievers on earth! If You leave any they will misguide Your servants and spawn nothing but more dissolute unbelievers.' (Qur'an, 71:26-27)

We guided him on the Way, whether he is thankful or unthankful. We have made ready for the unbelievers shackles and chains and a Searing Blaze. (Qur'an, 76:3-4)

So today those who believe are laughing at the unbelievers, on couches, gazing in wonder. Have the unbelievers been rewarded for what they did? (Qur'an, 83:34-36)

Nun By the Pen and what they write down! By the blessing of your Lord, you are not mad. You will have a wage which never-fails. Indeed you are truly vast in character. So you will see and they will see which of you is mad. Your Lord knows best who is misguided from His Way and He knows best those who are guided. (Qur'an, 68:1-7)

You have an excellent model in the Messenger of God, for all who put their hope in God and the Last Day and remember God much. (Qur'an, 33:21)

For this We sent a Messenger to you from among you to recite Our Signs to you and purify you and teach you the Book and Wisdom and teach you things you did not know before. (Qur'an, 2:151)

God showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Qur'an, 3:164)

It is He Who raised up among the unlettered people a Messenger from them to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Qur'an, 62:2)

By the star when it descends, your companion is not misguided or misled; nor does he speak from whim. It is nothing but Revelation revealed, taught him by one immensely strong, (Qur'an, 53:1-5)

When Our Clear Signs are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say, 'Bring a Qur'an other than this one or change it.' Say: 'It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I follow nothing except what is revealed to me. I fear, were I to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a Dreadful Day.' Say: 'Had God so wished, I would not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I lived among you for many years before it came. Will you not use your intellect?' (Qur'an, 10:15-16)

So call and go straight as you have been ordered to. Do not follow their whims and desires but say, 'I believe in a Book sent down by God and I am ordered to be just between you. God is our Lord and your Lord. We have our actions and you have your actions. There is no debate between us and you. God will gather us all together. He is our final destination.' (Qur'an, 42:15)

(Eber said,) 'My people! I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of Him Who brought me into being. So will you not use your intellect?' (Qur'an, 11:51)

Say: 'I do not ask you for any wage for it–only that anyone who wants to should make his way towards his Lord.' (Qur'an, 25:57)

Say: 'I do not ask you for any wage for it, nor am I a man of false pretensions.' (Qur'an, 38:86)

That is the good news which God gives to His servants who believe and do right actions. Say: 'I do not ask for any recompense for this (preaching the faith in Messengership), but (seek) love for (my) kindreds (and God's nearness).' If anyone does a good action, We will increase the good of it for him. God is Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Thankful.' (Qur'an, 42:23)

Say: 'I have not asked you for any wage–it is all for you. My wage is the responsibility of God alone. He is witness of everything.' (Qur'an, 34:47)

And put your trust in God. God suffices as a Guardian. (Qur'an, 33:3)

Is God not enough for His servant? Yet they try to scare you with others apart from Him. If God misguides someone, he has no guide. (Qur'an, 39:36)

If you do not help him, God did help him when those who disbelieved drove him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to his companion, 'Do not be despondent, God is with us.' Then God sent down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you could not see. He made the word of those who disbelieved undermost. It is the word of God which is uppermost. God is Almighty, All-Wise. (Qur'an, 9:40)

..Say: 'God is enough for me. All those who truly trust put their trust in Him.' (Qur'an, 39:38)

(Believers are) those to whom people said, 'The people have gathered against you, so fear them.' But that merely increased their faith and they said, 'God is enough for us and the Best of Guardians.' (Qur'an, 3:173)

God knows best who your enemies are. God suffices as a Protector; God suffices as a Helper. (Qur'an, 4:45)

Do not give up and do not be downhearted. You shall be uppermost if you are believers. (Qur'an, 3:139)

If they argue with you, say, 'I have submitted myself completely to God, and so have all who follow me.' Say to those given the Book and those who have no Book, 'Have you become Muslim?' If they become Muslim, they have been guided. If they turn away, you are only responsible for transmission. God sees His servants. (Qur'an, 3:20)

They say, 'Why was this Qur'an not sent down to one of the great men of the two cities?' (Qur'an, 43:31)

They say, 'We will not believe you until you make a spring gush out from the earth for us; or have a garden of dates and grapes which you make rivers come pouring through; or make the sky, as you claim, fall down on us in lumps; or bring God and the angels here as a guarantee; or possess a house built out of gleaming gold; or ascend up into heaven–and even then we will not believe in your ascent unless you bring us down a book to read!' Say: 'Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a human messenger?' (Qur'an, 17:90-93)

Say: 'I do not say to you that I possess the treasuries of God, nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I only follow what has been revealed to me.' Say: 'Are the blind the same as those who can see? So will you not reflect?' (Qur'an, 6:50)

Say: 'If all the sea was ink to write down the Words of my Lord, it would run out long before the Words of my Lord ran out,' even if We were to bring the same amount of ink again. (Qur'an, 18:109)

If We Had sent down this Qur'an onto a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, crushed to pieces out of fear of God. We make such examples for people so that hopefully they will reflect. (Qur'an, 59:21)

Do they say, 'He has invented it'? Say: 'Then produce a sura like it and call on anyone you can besides God if you are telling the truth.' (Qur'an, 10:38)

Say: 'If both men and jinn banded together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could never produce anything like it, even if they backed each other up.' We have variegated throughout this Qur'an all kinds of examples for people, but most people spurn anything but unbelief. (Qur'an, 17:88-89)

Or do they say, 'He has invented it?' Say, 'Then produce ten invented suras like this, and call on anyone you can besides God if you are telling the truth.' If they do not respond to you then know that it has been sent down with God's knowledge and that there is no god but Him. So will you not become Muslims? (Qur'an, 11:13-14)

Do they say, 'He has invented it'? Say: 'Then produce a sura like it and call on anyone you can besides God if you are telling the truth.' No, the fact is that they have denied something which their knowledge does not embrace and the meaning of which has not yet reached them. In the same way those before them also denied the truth. See the final fate of the wrongdoers! (Qur'an, 10:38-39)

If you have doubts about what We have sent down to Our servant, produce another sura equal to it, and call your witnesses, besides God, if you are telling the truth. If you do not do that – and you will not do it – then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, made ready for the unbelievers. (Qur'an, 2:23-24)

Among them is a group who distort the Book with their tongues so that you think it is from the Book when it is not from the Book. They say, 'It is from God,' but it is not from God. They tell a lie against God and they know it. (Qur'an, 3:78)

Or do they have partners who have laid down a religion for them for which God has not given any authority? Were it not for the prior Word of Decision, the judgement between them would already have been made. The wrongdoers will have a painful punishment. (Qur'an, 42:21)

When they are told, 'Follow what God has sent down to you,' They say, 'We are following what we found our fathers doing.' What, even though their fathers did not understand a thing and were not guided! (Qur'an, 2:170)

Similarly We never sent any warner before you to any city without the affluent among them saying, 'We found our fathers following a religion and we are simply following in their footsteps.' Say: 'What if I have come with better guidance than what you found your fathers following?'They say, 'We reject what you have been sent with.' (Qur'an, 43:23-24)

Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them? There is certainly a mercy and reminder in that for people who believe. (Qur'an, 29:51)

Who could do greater wrong than those who invent lies against God? Such people will be arrayed before their Lord and the witnesses will say, 'Those are the ones who lied against their Lord.' Yes indeed! God's curse is on the wrongdoers. (Qur'an, 11:18)

What is the matter with you? How do you reach your judgement? Will you not pay heed? Or do you have some clear authority? Bring your Book, then, if you are telling the truth! (Qur'an, 37:154-157)

What is the matter with you? On what basis do you judge? Or do you have a Book which you study, so that you may have anything in it you choose? (Qur'an, 68:36-38)

Indeed, all things We created with predestination. (Qur'an, 54:49)

Certainly there is no hidden thing in either heaven or earth which is not in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 27:75)

He directs the whole affair from heaven to earth. Then it will again ascend to Him on a Day whose length is a thousand years by the way you measure. (Qur'an, 32:5)

Everything they did is in the Books. Everything is recorded, big or small. (54:52-53)

There is no creature on the earth which is not dependent upon God for its provision. He knows where it lives and where it dies. They are all in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 11:6)

The keys of the Unseen are in His possession. No one knows them but Him. He knows everything in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it. There is no seed in the darkness of the earth, and nothing moist or dry which is not in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 6:59)

No misfortune occurs except by God's permission. Whoever believes in God–He will guide his heart. God has knowledge of all things. (Qur'an, 64:11)

Say: 'You have a promised appointment on a Day which you cannot delay or advance a single hour.' (Qur'an, 34:30)

Every nation has an appointed time. When their time comes, they cannot delay it a single hour or bring it forward. (Qur'an, 7:34)

The herbs and the trees all bow down in prostration. (Qur'an, 55:6)

Those who are in the Presence of your Lord do not consider themselves too great to worship Him. They glorify His praise and they prostrate to Him. (Qur'an, 7:206)

Everyone in heaven and earth prostrates to God willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening. (Qur'an, 13:15)

Everything in the heavens and every creature on the earth prostrates to God, as do the angels. They are not puffed up with pride. (Qur'an, 16:49)

When they are told to prostrate to the All-Merciful, they say, 'And what is the All-Merciful? Are we to prostrate to something you command us to?' And it merely makes them run away all the more. (Qur'an, 25:60)

(The servants of the All-Merciful are) those who pass the night prostrating and standing before their Lord; those who say, 'Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell, its punishment is inescapable pain. (Qur'an, 25:64-65)