RationalWiki:Annotated Qur'an/Lukman

Annotated Qur'an
Sura 45: Lukman
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Qur'an 45:1 Ha, Meem.	Qur'an 45:1 Notes The inclusion of these Arabic letters might seem random, but every letter in this perfect book is there for a reason. Nobody alive knows the reason with any degree of certainty, but such a reason exists.

Qur'an 45:2 The revelation of the Book is from God, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.	Qur'an 45:2 Notes A truly perfect book would not need to repeatedly mention that it was authored by God to this degree.

Qur'an 45:3 In the heavens and the earth are proofs for the believers.	Qur'an 45:3 Notes Those who already believe can find validation for their beliefs. Anything is a sign of God if you believe in such a God as instructed by this book.

Qur'an 45:4 And in your own creation, and in the creatures He scattered, are signs for people of firm faith.	Qur'an 45:4 Notes You looked at the sky. Now look at the trees and animals.

Qur'an 45:5 And in the alternation of night and day, and in the sustenance God sends down from the sky, with which He revives the earth after its death, and in the circulation of the winds, are marvels for people who reason.	Qur'an 45:5 Notes These mundane natural phenomena do little to demonstrate that the author of this book is responsible for causing them. How are readers to know that God, the author of this book, is the same one who brings sustenance from the sky?

Qur'an 45:6 These are God’s Verses which We recite to you in truth. In which message, after God and His revelations, will they believe?	Qur'an 45:6 Notes Just as in this English translation, Allah switches from the third person to the royal "We" in the original Arabic. To answer the question, however, Allah is the one who determines who does or does not believe. Several other verses from several other chapters make this clear.

Qur'an 45:7 Woe to every sinful liar.	Qur'an 45:7 Notes Labeling people as sinful liars just for disagreeing with a specific prophet in a specific period of time is yet another common theme in this book.

Qur'an 45:8 Who hears God's revelations being recited to him, yet he persists arrogantly, as though he did not hear them. Announce to him a painful punishment.	Qur'an 45:8 Notes Arrogance is not *the* reason why people hearing this message would not immediately accept the claim that the all-powerful sovereign of the universe sent this message, especially when the actual reason, as stated repeatedly in this book, is Allah deliberately withholding guidance from them and setting them astray.

Qur'an 45:9 And when he learns something of Our revelations, he takes them in mockery. For such there is a shameful punishment.	Qur'an 45:9 Notes God sent such a mockable message knowing how ridiculous it sounds to most people.

Qur'an 45:10 Beyond them lies Hell. What they have earned will not benefit them at all, nor will those they adopted as lords instead of God. They will have a terrible punishment.	Qur'an 45:10 Notes They will be punished for being thrown there by God. That makes totally normal sense.

Qur'an 45:11 This is guidance. Those who blaspheme their Lord’s revelations will have a punishment of agonizing pain.	Qur'an 45:11 Notes Evidence is still missing here.

Qur'an 45:12 It is God who placed the sea at your service, so that ships may run through it by His command, and that you may seek of His bounty, and that you may give thanks.	Qur'an 45:12 Notes Evidence is still missing here. Why should we believe that a conscious entity placed these seas and made them the way they are with any intention? Rather, people saw the sea and built boats specifically for the pre-existing seas instead of the seas being made for the boats.

Qur'an 45:13 And He placed at your service whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth—all is from Him. In that are signs for a people who think.	Qur'an 45:13 Notes People who think often think of several explanations far more logical and far less reductive than God, though these explanations are only *sometimes* incompatible with the God hypothesis.

Qur'an 45:14 Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not hope for the Days of God. He will fully recompense people for whatever they have earned.	Qur'an 45:14 Notes Does this mean that all sinners and disbelievers will be forgiven and actually *not* go to Hell?

Qur'an 45:15 Whoever does a good deed, it is for his soul; and whoever commits evil, it is against it; then to your Lord you will be returned.	Qur'an 45:15 Notes Clearly define good and evil. Ambiguity is not a hallmark of a clear message.

Qur'an 45:16 We gave the Children of Israel the Book, and wisdom, and prophecy; and We provided them with the good things; and We gave them advantage over all other people.	Qur'an 45:16 Notes God plays favorites clearly.

Qur'an 45:17 And We gave them precise rulings. They fell into dispute only after knowledge came to them, out of mutual rivalry. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding the things they differed about.	Qur'an 45:17 Notes Really? They *only* started disagreeing about important things *after* they got Allah's perfect truth? Did Allah know that this divisive truth would do that?

Qur'an 45:18 Then We set you upon a pathway of faith, so follow it, and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know.	Qur'an 45:18 Notes Allah set this pathway of faith to look just like any other cult of the time with the same proof even.

Qur'an 45:19 They will not help you against God in any way. The wrongdoers are allies of one another, while God is the Protector of the righteous.	Qur'an 45:19 Notes The fact that any of God's creations would be, in any way, against God is a major point against God.

Qur'an 45:20 This is an illumination for mankind, and guidance, and mercy for people who believe with certainty.

Qur'an 45:20 Notes Religious leaders say that about their holy scriptures and messages. What makes your assertion any different than any other assertion? A perfectly enlightening book would let the evidence speak for itself and not need to constantly remind the reader that they are reading a holy book. Most readers of this specific book already believe that, so the constant reminders are redundant.

Qur'an 45:21 Do those who perpetrate the evil deeds assume that We will regard them as equal to those who believe and do righteous deeds, whether in their life or their death? Evil is their judgment!	Qur'an 45:21 Notes The one who judges disbelievers as anything less than believers is the truly evil one, especially if the evil judgment leads to an evil hell for anybody.

Qur'an 45:22 God created the heavens and the earth with justice, so that every soul will be repaid for what it has earned. And they will not be wronged.	Qur'an 45:22 Notes So many people were wronged when their creator specifically made them to be sinful liars and end up in hell forever.

Qur'an 45:23 Have you considered him who has taken his desire for his god? God has knowingly led him astray, and has sealed his hearing and his heart, and has placed a veil over his vision. Who will guide him after God? Will you not reflect?	Qur'an 45:23 Notes God says this immediately after saying that he does not wrong anyone. Knowingly leading your own creations astray, sealing their hearing and hearts, placing a veil over their vision, and dooming them to hell before they even exist are all apparently *not* considered "wronging" them in any way.

Qur'an 45:24 And they say, “There is nothing but this our present life; we die and we live, and nothing destroys us except time.” But they have no knowledge of that; they are only guessing.	Qur'an 45:24 Notes Anyone who believe in this religion is also guessing. God chose to withhold evidence of the hereafter except to a select few. The faithful would not have faith if they weren't just guessing and going with that guess.

Qur'an 45:25 When Our clarifying Verses are recited to them, their only argument is to say, “Bring back our ancestors, if you are truthful.”	Qur'an 45:25 Notes People had way better retorts to these "clarifying" verses. Also, how clarifying can these verses be if the verses immediately before this seem to contradict themselves or make God look like the pinnacle of evil.

Qur'an 45:26 Say, “God gives you life, then He makes you die; then He gathers you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. But most people do not know.”	Qur'an 45:26 Notes Why is this specific verse prefaced with the "Say" and not others? What is the significance of that? Also, this book claims to be non-contradictory: "...about which there is no doubt. But most people do not know."

Qur'an 45:27 To God belongs the kingship of the heavens and the earth. On the Day when the Hour takes place, on that Day the falsifiers will lose.	Qur'an 45:27 Notes People are supposed to take that on faith to avoid infinite torture from God.

Qur'an 45:28 You will see every community on its knees; every community will be called to its Book: “Today you are being repaid for what you used to do.	Qur'an 45:28 Notes

Qur'an 45:29 This Book of Ours speaks about you in truth. We have been transcribing what you have been doing.”	Qur'an 45:29 Notes Which parts? They cannot all be true at once.

Qur'an 45:30 As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is the clear triumph.	Qur'an 45:30 Notes What are righteous deeds? Does the book speak truthfully in answering that question>

Qur'an 45:31 But as for those who disbelieved: “Were My revelations not recited to you? But you turned arrogant, and were guilty people.”	Qur'an 45:31 Notes These revelations were recited in a way that, to many people, were unconvincing and indistinguishable from the other false religions of the time. Skepticism is not arrogance.

Qur'an 45:32 And when it was said, “The promise of God is true, and of the Hour there is no doubt,” you said, “We do not know what the Hour is; we think it is only speculation; we are not convinced.”	Qur'an 45:32 Notes That is a completely valid response. Someone makes a ridiculous claim and specifies that this claim is true without doubt. Naturally, people would be skeptical.

Qur'an 45:33 The evils of what they did will become evident to them, and the very thing they ridiculed will haunt them.	Qur'an 45:33 Notes They are only considered evil because some divine despot said so. This threat is ultimately meaningless.

Qur'an 45:34 And it will be said, “Today We forget you, as you forgot the encounter of this Day of yours. Your abode is the Fire, and there are no saviors for you.	Qur'an 45:34 Notes Only a loving and merciful god could behave in this manner.

Qur'an 45:35 That is because you took God’s revelations for a joke, and the worldly life lured you.” So today they will not be brought out of it, and they will not be allowed to repent.	Qur'an 45:35 Notes The worldly life is demonstrated to exist. God's revelations were made to look like a twisted joke to way too many people listening to them, especially the parts where Allah claims to deliberately misguide them.

Qur'an 45:36 Praise belongs to God; Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, Lord of humanity.	Qur'an 45:36 Notes Does the being who misguides people and endlessly tortures them for it deserve the praise?

Qur'an 45:37 To Him belongs all supremacy in the heavens and the earth. He is the Majestic, the Wise.	Qur'an 45:37 Notes His majesty and wisdom ultimately come down to the power to reward and punish people on a whim and nothing more.