Had we used our intelligence…  

The Quran is the final scripture, which God sent down to the descendants of Adam. Before the Quran, God gave Adam's earlier descendants the Torah to Moses, the psalms to David, The Gospel to Jesus and finally the Quran to Muhammad. These scriptures are the guidance God promised Adam when he expelled him from heaven; "...Go down there from, all of you; and when guidance comes to you from Me, those who follow My guidance have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve". Sura Al Baqarah 2.38.

The Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Archangel Gabriel and is the final scripture from God, and thus Muhammad is the final Prophet. Nevertheless, God's guidance continues and his message in the Quran is not new or much different from the previous scriptures: "Say: Anyone who opposes Gabriel should know that he revealed this scripture into your heart with God's permission, confirming previous scriptures, and providing guidance and good news for the believers." Sura Al-Baqarah 2.97.

The biggest misconception of the present day Muslims is that they believe the Prophet Muhammad was the founder of Islam, and that the previous Believers were either Jews or Christians. The Quran says otherwise "Say, We believe in God, and in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and in what was given to Moses, and Jesus, and in what was given to all the Prophets from their Lord: we make no distinction among any of them: we submit to God." Sura AI-Baqarah 2:136.

This misconception is simply due to ignorance of the present day Muslims who do not read the Quran and the very few that do, hardly understand what they read. Let us recollect the first commandment from God to Muhammad: "READ, in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clot. READ, your Lord is the most honourable. He teaches by means of the pen. He teaches man what he never knew." Sura Al-Alaq 96:1-5.

Most Muslims today are in the dark about their own faith because they do not follow God's command to read. They have varied excuses for not reading, and the most often used excuse is that they do not understand Arabic, the original medium of the Quran. On the contrary, God Says "We have sent down, an Arabic Quran, that YOU may understand" Sura Yousaf 12:2. The word "You" in this verse applies to all the people of the world, regardless of their mother tongue.

There is no excuse for any to remain ignorant on the basis of language. God says 'Among His signs in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and colours. These are signs for all the people. " Sura AI-Raum 30:22

In this day and age, with the high technological achievements, one has really no excuse not to read the Quran. If language is THE barrier, Man could not have progressed and advanced to this modern day. What the previous people had was just the pen and paper, we now have sophisticated computers. From the day God created Adam, he has taught man 'And he taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the Angels, saying, "Tell Me the names of these, if you are right. " Sura Al-Baqarah 2:31.

If language is a barrier for the present day Muslims, they are many solutions to this problem. One could learn Arabic, or the simplest solution would be to just pick up any version of the numerous translations of the Quran available in the bookstores around the world, in one's chosen language. But if one prefers to remain ignorant then, so be it. And God says... 'Among them are illiterates who do not know the scripture except through hearsay and conjecture" Sura 2:78.

The modern day Muslims are in a dilemma. Most are confused about the teachings of Islam, what with the various schools of thought (Mahzabs), the disagreements between the Sunnis and the Shiahs, and to top it all there are the contradictory "hadiths". Yet, amidst all these confusions, the modern Muslims do not want to refer to the Quran. In fact, they have abandoned and ignored it. How true this is: "The messenger will say. 'My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran. "Sura Al-Furqan 25:30.

Is it any wonder then, why the Muslims are not at par with the disbelievers in terms of worldly and material success. In fact they are far behind them busy bickering among themselves, disagreeing on concocted "religious" issues, further confusing their lives. Most terribly, is that they have deviated from the true teachings of Islam. God says: "Whatever argument they come up with, We provide you with the TRUTH, and a BETTER argument. "Sura AI-Furqan 25:33.

What most people do not realise is that the Quran holds the KEY TO SUCCESS in this world and the hereafter.

Anyone who finds this "Key" is guaranteed by God, the success he requires for his happiness in this world the hereafter. But one has to read the whole Quran from the first verse in Sura 1, to the end of Sura 114 to be able to understand God's message, the same message which all the prophets brought. A Muslim should not be lazy and resort to readings choice Surahs only, or do pick readings and end up accepting only part of the Quran: "We will also send down retribution upon the dividers (of the Quran), who accept the Quran only partially." Sura Al-Hijr 15:90-91. This is a peculiar fact of the modern Muslims. For example we find that some Muslims today read only Surah Yassin, and even then, only on certain occasions like thanksgivings and funerals. Ironically, they may not even understand any of this Sura.

Reading the Quran not only guides the reader in his daily life, but with the guidance of God Almighty he will be able to recognise the TRUTH from falsehood around him. He will also be much aware of Satan, mans biggest foe, who is still at large doing what he has vowed to do: 'He said, "My Lord, since it is your will that I go astray, I will entice them on earth, and will mislead them ALL..." Sura Al-Hijr 15:39. It is difficult to tell someone he is doing the wrong thing if he has not read the Quran, and especially when he has been doing it all his life, following his parents and forefathers. The Quran says: "'Then when they are told, "Follow only God's commandments, "They say, "We follow what we found our parents doing': What if their parents lacked the understanding and guidance?" Sura Al Baqarah 2:170, Also Sura AI Zukhruf 43:23.

The only way for Muslims to progress and be successful is to read the Quran, understand it, and follow the teachings of God. It is not difficult, as God confirms: "We have made the Quran easy to understand and remember, is there anyone who wishes to learn?" Sura 54:17,22,32,40. (God has repeated it four times in this surah!) What other excuses do they have after this? They have only themselves to blame for their pitfalls and failures. The Muslims today must change: "God does not change the condition of any people, unless they change themselves... " Sura Al Ra'd 13:11.

The Quran is the only checking instrument for the Muslims, and the only way to success is to be on the right path. Just like when one is on a journey, having a road map and reading it will ensure one is on the right road to reach one's destination. How would one know that one is on the right path, unless, one is reading the Quran?

One classic example: Muslims today believe, if one recites the Shahadah, and performs the obligatory salat prayers, it is enough to ensure him a place in heaven. This is a fallacy. God says: "Therefore, woe to those who observe the salat prayers. While heedless of their salat. The y only show off'. Sura Al-Maa'noon 107:4-6.

Most Muslims today blindly follow their religion, they are very gullible and swallow everything they hear, especially if it is from the mouths of the so-called Ulemas. God says: "Do not accept anything that you yourself cannot ascertain. You are given the hearing the eyes, and the mind, in order to examine and verify" Sura Bani Israa'el 17:36.

It is their own fault that the Muslims today are in such a predicament. Most of them find it very difficult to perform their religious duties like the salat prayer, and even the simple task of reading the Quran becomes cumbersome. The do's and don'ts invented by their religious leaders is the main reason why a would-be reader shuns the Quran.

The invented laws for instance, stipulate that you must make ablutions, or bathe before touching the book. These invented laws do not spare the women folk, they are not permitted to touch, much less to read, if they are menstruating. In the Quran, the menstruating women are only prohibited from sexual intercourse, Sura AI-Baqarah 2:222; and given an interim or three menstruation period in divorce cases, Sura AI-Baqarah 2:228, while ablution or bathing is mandatory only for salat.

These ridiculous teachings are the works of the hypocrites as mentioned in the Quran: 'He has revealed to you in the scripture that if you hear the revelations of God being rejected and ridiculed, you shall not sit with them, unless they change the subject. Otherwise, you will he guilty as they are. God will gather the hypocrites together with the disbelievers in hell" Sura Al-Nisa 4:140.

It is not God's wish to inconvenience His servants...."God wishes convenience for you, rather than hardship; He wishes to enable you to fulfil your duty... " Sura Al-Baqarah 2:185. See also Sura Al-Hajj 22.78.

God knows that humans are weak: "God wishes to make things easier for you, since the human being is weak by nature " Sura Al-Nisa 4:28.

Reading the Quran will free oneself from the shackles of the devil and one will soon realise how simple it is to be a true Muslim. The invented laws of the hypocrites, steered by Satan, has prevented the Muslims from performing their rightful duties and may eventually lead them to hell. The hypocrites have lied just about everything in the Quran, and that is the reason they have invented the restrictions so as to make it difficult and thus, prevent the Muslims to check and refute their false teachings.

Just ask any Muslim on the street a simple question about the Quran: "How many verses are there in the Quran?" Many will readily answer: "6,666, of course!" And if you ask him how did he know this, he will say: ...er..well...this was taught in school". Well, for those who are not sure, it is easy. Take a Quran, pick up the calculator and start counting! You will have the answer, and you will also know that the hypocrites have lied!!

So what? The number of verses may seem too trivial to mention, but the point is,
if the hypocrites can lie about such a small, non-issue, what about bigger and more serious matters of Divine Laws? The Muslims are on dangerous grounds. If we do wrong, we are not talking about being sent to Alcatraz or the Bangkok Hilton, we are talking about HELL! Imagine on resurrection day, people wake up to find they have been duped? By then: "They will say, "Our Lord we obeyed our masters and elders, and they misguided us" Sura AI- Ahzaab 33:67.

The Quran is the final scripture for all mankind, reading and implementing it is the only form of salvation.. "Which way will you go? This is a message for all the people" Sura 81:26-27. It is the only way for a servant to be at Peace with his Creator. And that is truly, the greatest eternal peace and happiness! "…THE TRUTH has come, and falsehood has vanished, surely, falsehood is destined to vanish. " Sura 17:81.