DISCOVERY, REDISCOVERY
When God made a covenant with the prophets, He said, “Here is the Book and the wisdom which I have given you. When there comes to you a messenger fulfilling that [predictions about him in their Scripture] which is with you, you must believe in him and help him. Do you then affirm this and accept the responsibility I have laid upon you in these terms?” They said, “We will affirm it.” God said, “Then bear witness, and I will bear witness with you.” (THE QURAN 3: 81)
THIS verse from the Quran indicates that faith is required at the level of discovery. The contemporaries of the prophets who believe in him are people who enter the fold of religion after discovering the truth in the message of their prophets. But in later periods, the communities (ummah) of the prophets follow religion only because they were born into it. God does not require this inherited religiosity. That is why it becomes necessary for people of later generations to discover the truth of their religion, rather than simply believing in it because they have inherited it as such from their forefathers.
People of later generations must discover the truth of their religion, rather than simply believing in it because they have inherited it as such from their forefathers.
For example, in the ancient past it was necessary for the followers of a previous prophet to make a re-discovery of truth through the contemporary prophet. Now, after the seal of prophethood, no new prophet is going to come, but the above-mentioned law will remain intact. In later periods, it will not be enough for Muslims to simply be following the religion they have received as inheritance. Members of the Muslim community will have to once again discover the truth at a conscious level. They must study, ponder and reflect so that they can rediscover the truth of God’s religion. Anything less than this will not be acceptable to God. In the age following the Prophet of Islam, other people have to discover God’s religion, while believers need to rediscover it.