Surah 102 AL-TAKAASUR-Way of life based upon foundation of personal gains at each other’s expense has been leading mankind to their own destruction by hands of each other so they should live by way of life advised by their creator and sustainer to become a proper human community in his kingdom for ensuring well being of each other with help and full support of each other to serve his purpose for which he has created them.

This surah is named AL-TAKAASUR because throughout, the Quran constantly and consistently talks about two opposing ways of life whereby people decide to live their lives in this world and the end results of living by those ways of life for mankind. One way of life is invented by some people themselves and enforced upon others which they base upon foundation of personal gains at the expense of each other whereby they compete against each other negatively to try to beat each other in having control over each other as well as over things this world has to offer human beings. In living on basis of this way of life they end up harming or destroying each other or trying to dominate each other by undermining each other. This is why the Quran draws their attention to these harmful and destructive results of their this way of life and tells them to learn sense and leave this way of life and instead adopt the way of life advised by God for them. In other surahs the Quran explains why God advised the way of life that is best possible for human beings to live by. Why God stops people from living on basis of their self invented way of life is because this idea of personal gains at the expense of each other stops people from ever becoming a proper human family in a place or a proper community in a kingdom based upon guidance of their creator and sustainer ie a human family or a proper human community that ensures well being of each other with help and full support of each other. Not only that but a way of life based upon personal gains at the expense of each other leads to all sorts of disputes, divisions, rivalries, animosities, fights and even major wars between people as individuals and as small and large groups and the end result is harm and destruction of humanity in many different ways. This is the main reason for fractures or break down in human relationships between individuals and groups and a major cause of trust deficit between people. It is a major obstacle in the way of unity of mankind therefore in the way of their peaceful existence with each other and for that reason this way of life limits their progress and prosperity to a greatest possible degree because each and every person or group tries to overrun or over take the weaker or disadvantaged person or group to use it abusively for furthering its own negative agenda. It is the way whereby people try to dominate or undermine each other as individuals and as groups so the world becomes worse and worse as time marches on instead of becoming better and better. The Quran tries to make people think as to where they are heading or where all this is going to land humanity or where the humanity is going to end up if they will continue going along this way of life. However the time will come when people will be forced by their self created situations and circumstances to get out of the hell of their own making and that is when the Quranic message will strike accord with minds of mankind and help them save themselves from total destruction by hands of each other if people do not become sensible through giving due importance to proper education and learning long before reaching this terrible end. The Quranic way of life can help humanity at any time mankind turn to it for its guidance. The Quran constantly gives hope to humanity for a better world whenever they are ready for it. It clearly states repeatedly that one day this world will become a paradise by making of human beings themselves, so there is no chance of world ending in a bad way at all as priestly classes of all religions will have us believe. As humanity wakes up to real world realities more and more there is less and less chance of people entering world wars or nuclear wars. A small number of people have been fighting for freedom from control of each other as well as for betterment of each other so world has been moving in right direction always be it at a very, very slow pace.

The main problem with people is their lack of true faith in one true God which is supposed to be based upon evidence and the reason for that is their lack of proper understanding of creation and revelation of God. It is because universal realities and human language and revelation of God in human language need to be understood properly for which very few people make any real effort. Almost each and every person needs to be spoon fed by someone else rather than making one’s own sincere effort for their proper and purposeful understanding of things. Moreover hardly anyone likes to get out of one’s comfort zone unless kicked out of it by force and then pushed to look for a new equilibrium. In fact, if people did not pick bones with each other for various personal reasons then no human society could come out of its stagnation. This is where even fights and wars between people result is good outcomes when all else fails to move people towards better end. So people must ask themselves, is there any way they can directly disprove existence of God? No, there is none. Why not? Because no human is capable of knowing all that exists no matter how hard one tries. This proves human beings are very limited when it comes to their God given capabilities. So no matter for how long people try to know .anything about God directly they cannot. Next one has to ask oneself, is there any way people could rule out possibility of existence of God? No, there is none no matter how hard people try. In that case one has to ask oneself, is there any way to prove existence God directly? No, there is none. However existence of God can be proven indirectly beyond any reasonable doubt. How is that possible? To understand this method one has to understand meanings of some words such as subject or object or evidence or proof or metaphor or simile etc etc. Word evidence has many meanings and each of them can be used in a relevant context. So we must come to know those meanings which are vitally important for us to know so that we could understand how the creation of God and the revelation of God prove existence of God beyond any reasonable doubt. Why it is essential for us to know all this? It is because we human beings have an utterly false notion that proof is only that which is a self evident object or an external or objective reality. Therefore that which is not an objective reality is merely subjective so it is only a personal opinion therefore that cannot be a proof. Here words objective means actual objects that are physical realities in the real world such as a chair or table or bed or building or car etc etc. Subjective here means an idea concept or thought or notion that exists only in mind. In short we human beings assume that an idea is just an idea or a thought and it cannot be a proof. I am going to explain a very simple point that proof is only and only an idea in the mind of a person and not an external reality but it is about an external regardless we perceive that reality with our senses or not, because a proof is merely a perfect or the best explanation whereby mind understands each and everything about something because unless mind understands something perfectly it cannot be a proof of anything at all for the mind no matter what. This is why no matter which object external to mind is there on its own, it is not and it cannot be a proof of anything at all for the mind despite being an object external to mind or outside the mind. Let me now try to explain this notion of proof by an example. Let us say there are two people who try to make thing difficult or awkward for each other about something.

Let us say, they disagree over existence of an object which is standing right in front of their eyes eg a tree. One says to the other, look I can see a tree standing right in front of us. The other says, No, I don’t see any tree in front of us? How can the one who claims there is a tree, prove to the other that there is actually a tree in front of them? If the object external to mind was a proof in itself as highly educated people foolishly believe then how could the other person disagree? Can you see where I am taking you through this example? This means even if God was standing right in front of us we could not take it as a proof of existence of God unless we had an explanation to go with it whereby mind could accept it is truly God who is standing in front of us. So the ultimate outcome of this explanation is, an object is just an object and not a proof in itself. Mind needs an explanation which could prove it to the mind by appealing to mind. This is why the best possible explanation about existence of something or an event that takes place is the real proof and that it is only and only in the mind of a person that convinces a person. Now that person who is convinced of a truth can try and learn how to convince others by learning an explanation which could also convince others of other people and this is how one person can explain things to others for their understanding. This is why the creation of God is just an object and nothing more and on its own it is not a proof of anything at all. The revelation of God however is the proof because it is an explanation of the creation of God as well as about purpose of God for its creation. Not only that but it is the only or the best explanation possible. Now one may say, but God does not or cannot reveal any message to mankind. The question is, why God cannot send his message for people when he can create this universe and all that which is in the universe? Now all we human beings need to do is scrutinise the alleged God revealed message and if it proves to be from God then there remains no doubt that God does exist. How can people prove to themselves and each other the alleged God sent message is actually sent by God for them? Because the message has to explain things to people which people can never know for sure all by themselves no matter what. For example, Only and only God sent message can tell people what was the purpose for which God has created all the creation including human beings. Moreover only and only God could tell people how they can fulfil the purpose for which God has created people. The Quran contains this like information therefore it also contains the challenge for humanity to bring a message like it if they can. People even today cannot think at that level so how could they write a book like the Quran around 1500 years back in time? Many such like points are explained in this work about the message in the Quran here and there. This is why to falsify or disprove the Quran is impossible for humanity as a whole. The main reason is, people only write books from their own points of views. The Quran does not contain such information in it instead it puts forth its own purpose of revelation and gives all essential information in relation to that regardless what any particular person has in his or her mind. In short the Quran does not follow ideas of people but wants people to follow ideas in the Quran, this is why it claims to be the IMAAM or leader or guide.

Now the explanation of words. In any human language words have multiple meanings and the same is the case with English language. For example, word evidence means a testimony or statement or an explanation by a witness about existence of something or an event or happening etc as to what happened or how it happened etc etc. Say, a person sees a car accident and explains the event as he witnessed or saw it in his own words in a court of law if need be or makes a statement of facts about the accident or the event. The other meaning of word evidence is that which is obvious or visible or sensible or detectable by human beings by their own senses etc. In this case we call something self evident or that which is an external or objective reality in the real world ie an object or a real thing such as a chair or table or a tree etc etc. So there we have two separate uses of word evidence. One in form of an explanation or a statement or a testimony and the other as an object ie an evidence in form of a piece of evidence ie an object. Likewise word proof is also used in sense of a piece of evidence ie as a statement or testimony or an explanation by someone that has been scrutinised thoroughly for faults or flaws beyond any reasonable doubt therefore it is also called the best possible explanation of the situation. In other words this explanation is free of all holes therefore it proves to be the best explanation and that is why it is called a proof which cannot be doubted on basis of any proper reason or reasoning. Just as a waterproof coat is called raincoat because it does not have any holes in it to let rainwater come through likewise the explanation is free of any flaws or faults or holes which could disprove it or falsify it therefore it cannot be doubted. The other use of word proof is in sense of a piece of evidence as an object or a real thing in the real world just like a chair or car or building etc etc. All this explanation proves beyond a shadow of doubt that an object is just an object and an explanation is just an explanation and that an object cannot be a proof on its own and that only and only a flawless or faultless explanation is the real proof of truth or falsehood about existence or nonexistence of something or of an event that has occurred or has taken place or has happened or has not taken place or happened or occurred. Since a proof is the only or the best explanation of an object or the event, this should help us human beings to decide beyond a shadow of doubt if God exists or he does not exist. This explanation should make absolutely clear for all philosophers, scientists and mullahs as to where they have gone wrong in their arguments with each other about existence of God when examining the creation of God and the revelation of God. So don’t ask for proof or evidence if you do not know what a proof or evidence actually is, instead first learn what a proof or an evidence is and how it proves a claim one way or the other ie positively or negatively.

While I am at it let me also try and explain meanings of metaphorical or figurative or symbolic speech or metaphorical or figurative or symbolic use of words as well as uses of words like object or subject or simile etc. As I have been explaining things about human language here and there in this work on the Quran one has to pay special attention to main uses of words in a speech. Word object has various meanings eg in a sentence we use a noun as a subject or as an object ie the subject is a doer of something and the object is to which something is done by the doer. Word object also means a goal or target or destination or mission or purpose or focus or focal point or an end or intention or aim etc etc. Likewise another use of word object is as an article or item or a thing or a real world reality or a fact or body or a concrete object like a chair or table or glass or jug etc etc. Another sense of use of word object is, when one objects to an objectionable thing said or done by someone else eg as lawyers raise objections against each other’s questioning in a court of law. Word subject likewise has various meanings or uses in a sentence. Just as explained that it means a doer in a sentence it also means a school subject eg maths or languages or sciences or arts etc etc. Subject matter or issue under focus or discussion. That which is subjected to something or that which is only in the mind as an idea or thought and not an objective reality external to mind. This is why things are called subjective or objective realities ideas or items. Metaphorical use of words does not mean they do not apply to real world realities at all because they do. It means to exemplify or explain something by using a similarity that is common between two different things eg one says the table is as good as the chair for seating something upon it. Human language no matter how it is used, it is still about explanation of things that are abstracts ideas or mental concepts or concrete objects. All these are real in their own ways and cannot be dismissed. The idea that literal meanings apply to real objects and metaphorical meanings only apply to ideas is not true. Sometimes our grammatical definitions do not hold true so we need to keep on revisiting them till we get them right. It is because human mind only understands ideas and things through explanations about them and there is no other way at all to understand anything at all regardless it is merely a concept or a real object. This is why one cannot dismiss the creation of God and the revelation of God in form of the Quran as circular reasoning. So long as something is explained perfectly beyond any reasonable doubt and the mind understands it, it cannot be denied or dismissed just because it is an explanation. All this was absolutely necessary for me to explain for people to help understand things regarding the Quran as to how it is the proof from God for mankind which can be relied upon one hundred percent. It is because people are not reasonably certain or sure about existence and guidance of God that is why they do not make proper efforts for studying the creation and the revelation of God for their proper understanding so that they could live by them. This is the root cause due to which people mistreat each other and live only and only for themselves at each other’s expense instead of taking care of each other fully to the maximum possible for them according to their God given abilities and needed things. God has created people and told them to complement each other as a family ie help each other fully to get through life for accomplishing God given mission. This is why people need to fit in with each other the way it suits all of them the best and use God given things for that end properly. Tall and short people can work together, weak and strong people can work together and likewise clever and dumb people can work together to compensate for each other’s lacks or shortcomings for benefiting each other. This is what they are supposed to do according to God sent message but instead they treat each other as enemies and try their worst to make each other go through hell and then blame God for all their own foolishness and stupidity. They instead of complementing each other try to take undue advantages of each other and that way make lives of each other a living hell. People are not created to live in this world a confused life and to die in that state of mind as I have explained already elsewhere in this work, God has created humanity for his purpose which is explained in the Quran and that purpose can be fulfilled by humanity only and only by following deen of Islam because it is the right way of life for humanity for fulfilling the purpose for which God has created it. This is how the Quran needs to be interpreted by humanity to benefit from it fully. This is why just like other surahs this surah also tells people not to waste their lives away by competing against each other negatively ie it tells people, don’t live for personal gains at each other’s expense instead live for ensuring well being of each other according to the rule of law of God or the way of life advised by God. This will turn this world for human beings into a living paradise the while it lasts for them till their new beginning. So following the Quranic way of life is only and only a win, win situation for humanity and living by any other way of life is a lose, lose situation for humanity.

1] O mankind, due to ignorance without realising the consequences you have fallen into trap of mutual negative competition against each other whereby you try very hard to dispossess each other for more and more personal gains at each other’s expense by way of taking control of land and resources and means of production and distribution

2] so much so that you are driving each other towards your mutual destruction.

Here the Quran is telling people to wake up and see what they are doing to each other by living on basis of personal gains at each other’s expense. This is clearly a move in the wrong direction. The use of these words in this verse in their context means that people not only must never hold back themselves and each other from making progress in the proper direction but they must also never progress in the wrong direction that takes them far, far away from their God assigned goal or mission. An individual for his personal gains may do something that may derail the whole proper human community from its right path and that should not be allowed to happen by the community. This is why it is vitally important that all members of a proper human community know properly the God revealed program with certainty as well as its goals and guidelines to follow them strictly themselves and to keep an eye on each other in order to ensure all is going fine. Anything seen going wrong in the community must be taken care of straight away or as soon as humanly possible so that the problem is solved and not allowed to grow into a much bigger problem with time due to negligence of the proper human community.

3] But not for long because soon you will come face to face with results of doing all this to each other,

4] no doubt at length, you do come face to face with consequences of doing all this to each other.

5] However had you learned to live by way of life advised by One Who has sure knowledge of all things, you will have saved yourselves from all this uncertainty and mutual destruction.

6] So if you will still not bother to learn and do what is truly right the right way then you will certainly see the hell of your own making by personally experiencing it,

7] Nonetheless in due course you will come to see what is actually true and right with your own eyes,

8] it is then that you people will be asked about Our advised way of life by those who recommend it as to how good it is for humanity as a whole.

This surah is very powerful in its expression because it makes people journey through how things are going to change in this world for the betterment of mankind. If people will not follow revealed guidance of Allah through learning and teaching it properly to each other then life experiences of people with each other or their interaction will force them into educating themselves and each other the hard way. It is very true that people who fool about or show laziness suddenly get up and go when life forces them to do things because then the choice is only a blissful, dignified and secure life or a terribly painful suffering that leads to horrible death. Sensible people never wait for that situation to arrive or arise to get up and do things rather they do them because they see sense in doing so long before that time due to being interested in learning things through direct experiences and teachings by others . So any people who wish to have a best possible life in this world must learn to live by way of life advised by the Quran as deen of Islam. It is because the Quran is an imam or a leader or a guide or a teacher. After all what does a teacher do to teach things? He points minds of his pupils to certain things to think about those things and to find out things about them and make sense of them. The Quran does the sane by telling us human beings, look at this or that etc etc to study it and draw conclusions from that, No other way of life can ever give humanity such a great life in this world therefore all people must give up harmful and destructive idea of living for themselves at the expense of each other and adopt the ideology put forth by the Quran, which is living for ensuring well being of each other as a proper human community in a kingdom based upon guidance of Allah with help and full support of each other. The Quran tells people to learn sense of making proper sense of things and then see whether the Quran is word of God or not. So those who are interested in finding out answer for the question like is there is God or not therefore must educate themselves and study things to be able to answer this question for themselves. Thereafter they can help others do the same. Why we humans need to do that? It is because if we will disregard this then we will keep on harming and destroying each other by not knowing what we are here for and who has sent us here for doing what. That means living with identity crisis or instability or doubt in the mind therefore little or no peace of mind.