LOGICAL ENCOUNTER WITH ALL (VERSE NO. 53 - 57)

      The first verse here, may teach us the good method of speaking to each other and in particular to our opposers:ِ

      ``Tell my servants to say that which is the best....''

      The commandment here bids us to speak fair and politely to all mankind. Devil always tried to create discord and enmity among us. Our tongue is the most capable means of kindling the fire of hatred and hostility among men. A false or unkind word, or a lie may easily destruct a firm building of friendship and brotherhood. On the other hand politeness costs nothing and may gain everything. There is a Persian proverb that says:ِ ``The red tongue will give the green head to the wind.'' William Shakespeare has in his King Lear:ِ

      ``Mend your speech a little, lest it may mar your fortune.''

      The next verse (NO.54) implies that Muslims should not think that they are the only people of God who will have salvation, and the other people are all doomed:ِ

      ``Allah knows you the best. He will have Mercy on you if He will, and shall punish you if He will.''

      God will never make a mistake, and knows best what to do, and what to leave. If He has been Graceful to some one that you consider him not to deserve that Gift, or has He punished some one, some how, that you think him to be guiltless; you must blame your own knowledge, and not God's righteous plan, which is above all human wisdom.

      The next verse (NO.55) elevates the word upper, that, not only your Lord knows you the best, but also those who are in the heavens; such as the angels, and prophets, and saints, and those who have remained down on the low earth, are well known to Him. So if He has excelled some of the apostles over some other or has given titles of position to some of them such as ABRAHAM, the friend of God, or MOSES the Interlocutor to whom God spoke on mount Sinai, or Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit of God, or Mohammad the Beloved of God, we should not set up false standards for judgement. Their merits, and titles are granted to them according to the needs of the world, and the time, in which they lived. In the life time of Moses, sorcery was very advanced and he was given the miracle of the duality of stick / snake.

      When Jesus Christ came, the Medical Profession had progressed a lot, and in the advent of Mohammad the Messenger of God, literature had come on top among the Arabs.

      An example of the gifts given to the apostles is said here to be, ZOBUR, or PSALMS granted to David. Among the Divine Books the Psalms have their own speciality and distinguishing marks of song and music, which is intended to be sung for the worship of Allah and celebration of his praise.

      In the Psalm NO.37, which is all about the destiny of the wicked and of the good, there is an important promise, that there shall be a good time coming, in which the wicked will disappear, like grass that dries up, and that, those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. The Lord takes care for those who obey Him, and the land will be theirs for ever.

THE PSALMS

      (The book of ``PSALMS'', which is also called, ``PSALTERS'' is the hymn book and prayer book of the Bible. The present form is different from the original that was sent down to David, because the scholars and doctors of the Bible have all confessed that the present book of Psalms has been composed by different authors over a long period of time. These hymns and prayers have been collected and used by people of Israel in their worship, and eventually this collection was included in the scriptures.

      With regard to the origin and authorship, modern researches have determind only that the book was compiled in the period after the exile, from the writings of many different authors, covering a long span of history.

      These religious songs of adoration, are of many kinds: there are hymns of praise and worship of God; prayers for help, protection, and salvation; pleas for forgiveness, songs of thanks giving for God's blessing, and petitions for the punishment of enemies. These prayers are both personal and national. Some of them portray the most intimate feeling of one person, while others represent the needs and feelings of all the people of God.

      The Psalms were used by Jesus Christ, quoted by the writers of the New Testament, and became the treasured book of worship of the Christian church from its beginning, and the second only to the Pentateuch, in the estimation of Jews.

      They are all together 150 Psalms grouped into five collections.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE)