THE WORD OF GOD

From The Scriptures

The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 AD. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level. Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

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We gave Scriptures, wisdom and prophethood to the Children of Israel, and provided them with good things and favoured them over all other people. We gave them clear arguments in matters [of religion]. It was only after knowledge came to them that they differed among themselves out of mutual rivalry. On the Day of Resurrection your Lord will judge between them regarding their differences. Then We set you on a clear path [of religion]: so follow it, and do not yield to the desires of those who have no knowledge.

They can be of no avail to you against God. The wrongdoers are friends of one another, while the friend of the righteous is God.

This [Book] brings enlightenment and guidance to mankind, and is a blessing for those who have firm faith. (45: 16-20)

According to verse 16, God exalted the Children of Israel over the peoples of the world. This parallels what was said of the people (ummah) of the Prophet Muhammad, i.e. ‘You are the best ummah (nation)’ (3: 110). To make a group the bearer of the Book of God is in fact making it responsible for conveying the message to other nations.

In principle, the Children of Israel were commanded to convey the message to the whole world, as is now the case with the Muslims. But the Children of Israel, by introducing deviations into their Book, lost this status forever.

There is always uniformity in the authentic teachings of religion. But additions to them by scholars create differences and undue complexities. Then every scholar makes additions according to his taste. Thereafter every scholar and his followers set about proving their additions to be correct and others’ additions to be incorrect. In this way, religious sects start forming and finally a stage is reached when one religion becomes divided into several religions.

Do those who commit evil deeds imagine that We shall deal with them in the same way as We deal with those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds, that they will be alike in their living and their dying? How badly they judge!

God has created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose, so that every soul may be rewarded for whatever it has earned, and no one will be wronged.

[Prophet], consider the one who has taken his own desire as a deity, whom God allows to stray in the face of knowledge, sealing his ears and heart and covering his eyes—who can guide such a person after God [has abandoned him]? Will you not take heed? (45: 21-23)

When the Children of Israel distorted their revealed religion, God thereupon revealed the Quran through the Prophet Muhammad. Since no other prophet was to appear after him, God caused the Quran to be preserved and kept safe by special arrangements, so that it should never again happen that the religion of God be lost in the labyrinth of human additions.

One who thinks that it is all the same whether a man leads a virtuous life or a life of evil—since either way he ultimately has to die and perish—is nurturing an extremely erroneous idea. This way of thinking runs counter to the consciousness of justice which is found in the very nature of every man right from his birth. Moreover, this is denying the meaningfulness of the universe, which is immanent in it to the ultimate degree. The fact is that man’s inherent nature and the vast universe around him both completely nullify the concept by which life is treated as being so purposeless as not to lead to any significant outcome.

To make desire one’s deity means giving it the supreme position in one’s life. One who thinks and acts under the influence of desire has, in effect, made himself a slave to it. Man’s mind is perfectly capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. But, when he mindlessly follows his desires, he closes the door to reason. Then when he encounters arguments in support of the Truth, he fails to feel their weight. In reply to every statement, he presents false arguments and rejects it. Such behaviour ultimately impairs his mental powers.