Prophethood (Nubuwwah)
Tawhid Prophethood Divine Justice Imamah The Day of Resurrection Ethics and Society
Revelation 27 Purpose of Prophets 53 Miracles 11 The Qur'an 38
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Revelation
On the Only Guidance Worth Following
Why should a man follow another for guidance? The only guidance is the guidance of Allāh; that is the truth which must be followed. There is no guidance in anything else — and certainly not in your religion. And what is that religion? Just an amalgam of your desires glorified as religion.
On the Confidential Speech Between Ibrāhīm and His Lord
'When his Lord said to him': It points to the fact that the talk was a secret between Ibrāhīm and his Lord, at a level where there was no one else to listen to that confidential conversation. Had Allāh said, 'When We said to him', it would have implied that the hearers of this verse were present at that sublime station and could be addressed by Allāh. Therefore, Allāh referred to Himself in the third person, showing that at the level where He spoke with Ibrāhīm, no one else was present.
On the Prophet's Prior Knowledge of What Was Being Revealed
This Qurʾān which was gradually revealed to the Prophet is based on a sublime Reality which the minds of common people cannot comprehend and the hands of defiled imaginations cannot touch. That sublime Reality was revealed to the Prophet all at once in the month of Ramaḍān. And in this way God taught him the real goal and meaning of the Book. The verses prove without any shadow of doubt that the Messenger of God had prior knowledge of what was being revealed to him.
On Prophethood as the Perfection of Human Nature, Not Something Alien to It
Prophethood is not like a stone put beside a man; otherwise, it would not have meant any credit to the prophet — a stone does not increase the weight of the man. The fact is that prophethood is the perfection of human nature; it is a special perception hidden in human nature, but only those few individuals can be led to find it whom the Grace of God has specially chosen. Neither is the reality of prophethood something extraneous from the humanity of the prophet, nor is the bliss it brings to people anything separate from their humanity and nature.
On Prophetic Revelation as Distinct from All Human Reasoning
Prophethood is a divine condition which has the same relation to general human perception as wakefulness has to sleep. The prophet receives the knowledge by which the conflicts and differences of human life can be removed. Never has man desisted from exploiting others to his advantage; never has that exploitation failed to create a society; never has any society been free from conflict; never has that conflict been removed without social laws; and never has human wisdom been able to make such laws which could cut away all the roots of conflict.
On Abraham Asking to See God's Creative Act, Not Merely Its Effect
Abraham wanted to see how God gives life to the dead — he asked 'how Thou givest life.' He wanted to see the giving of life, in-as-much as it is an attribute of God. He did not want to see it from the other side — how the various parts of a dead body accept life after death. The trouble is that people measure the spiritual condition of the prophets with the measure of their own common spirits, and in this way fail to understand how the prophets receive divine knowledge.
On Why Demonstration Surpasses Conviction
Human imagination is bound to the senses; all its activities are confined within the circle of the things perceived by these senses. It shrinks from those things which are known through reason only, even when a man believes them to be true. The mind resists those realities even when their premises are sound. Such an imaginary distress cannot be removed except by demonstration or sensual perception. That is what is meant by the saying: Seeing has an effect which knowledge does not have.
Mary's Knowledge — Confidence Beyond Conjecture
When she became pregnant and ʿImrān died, she became absolutely sure that what she carried in her womb was the same promised son; when she delivered a daughter and became aware of her mistaken guess, she at once understood that the promise would be fulfilled through that daughter — that she would get that son from the offspring of that daughter. The confidence of the wife of ʿImrān shows that her belief was somehow based on a Divine revelation. That is why she did not lose hope even when she found her own child a female.
The Angel That Carries the Sky
The announcement of good news by Gabriel was precisely the announcement by the group of the angels under his authority. And Gabriel is one of the chiefs of the angels, one of those who are nearer to God, as the Divine Words show: 'Most surely it is the word of an honored messenger, the possessor of strength, having an honorable place with the Lord of the Throne, one to be obeyed, and faithful in trust.'
Satanic Whisper and Divine Stillness
Whispering and evil suggestions always create restlessness in soul and turmoil in heart, contrary to the remembrance of God and His speech which create gravity and tranquillity. God says: 'It is only the Satan that frightens his friends; now surely by Allah's remembrance are the hearts set at rest.' When therefore the heart of the muḥaddath is blessed with tranquillity and dignity at the time when he hears the message, it conclusively proves that the message is from God. Conversely, restlessness and anxiety would show that it was a Satanic whispering, which brings precipitation, anxiety, anguish in its wake.
Two Pathways of Divine Teaching to the Prophet
The sending down and the teaching in the words 'Allah has sent down to you the Book and Wisdom and He has taught you what you did not know' refer to two categories of knowledge: one, teaching through revelation and the sending of the faithful spirit to the Prophet; two, teaching through inspiration created in the heart and the secret divine thought without the agency of any angel.
The Immutability of Divine Law Against Human Inconstancy
The divine rules and sharī'ah cannot be abrogated merely by the people's turning away from it or by their being tired of it. Verily, the religion with God is Islam; He is not pleased with disbelief for his servant; and if Truth had followed their desires the heavens and the earth would have perished. Islam is a religion which deals with all conditions of human life and describes their laws — laws that are in conformity with each other, interlinked and mutually complementary; they are alive with spirit of monotheism. If one part ails the whole becomes sick, just like a human body.
Noah Opened the Door of Divine Legislation
Noah was the first of God's messengers to open the door of divine legislation, to bring a book and a law, to speak to people with rational arguments and to debate with them, in addition to bringing them divine revelation. He is the origin from which the religion of monotheism in the world sprang forth. Thus, all monotheists until the Day of Judgement owe him a debt of thanks.
The Qurʾān Differentiates in Portions
The verses of the Qurʾān are separated in portions and revealed verse by verse and chapter by chapter so that the people may gradually develop the capacity to absorb the root beliefs that they should believe in. This gradual descent of the teachings and rulings serves the purpose of keeping knowledge hand-in-hand with practice.
Knowledge That Cannot Be Acquired
The words, and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves, is like the mercy from Him which is unrelated to normal causes like sensation and thought such that it be something which can be acquired. What proves that is the phrase, from 'Ourselves.' Thus, it is gifted, not acquired knowledge exclusive to His friends.
Prophethood and Universal Need
Revelation is a special gift that only they receive, not a universal rule. What makes a person a prophet is not a quality that must either be found in no one or in everyone.
Revelation Descends Upon the Heart
His soul came in contact with the Spirit [that is, Gabriel] and received the revelation, without the involvement of the physical senses that are means for particular [as opposed to universal] observations. In other words, he used to see and hear what was being revealed to him without using his senses of sight and hearing.
Speech Without Location
The speech, which was the speech of God, was not situated or located in the bush, nor did it in-here or exist in the bush as does the speech of a speaker among us, which exists and is located in us.
God Casts Forth the Truth
My Lord casts forth the truth; He knows the unseen. God casts forth the truth, since He knows the unseen. Nothing is hidden from Him, and nothing escapes His notice; nor can anything interfere with His will to guide people through revelation.
The Speech That Splits the Heavens
This exalts and magnifies the status of revelation, for it is the speech of the Highest and Greatest One. It is because this speech is imbued with such magnificence that the heavens themselves are about to split open as it passes through them. And because this speech is descending from the Most High, if they were to split open, it could only be from above.
God Too Exalted to Speak As Creatures Speak
It is because of God's exaltation above creation and the natural order that He is too magnificent to speak to them as they speak to one another. But it is because of this exaltation and wisdom that He speaks to them in the modes of revelation He has chosen; it is in His nature to guide every species towards felicity.
Revelation as Sustenance, Apportioned by What Is Best
True knowledge and divine teachings which have been received from revelation are sustenance too; this is because being tested by them and putting them into practice is also a kind of sustenance. God speaks to them in a way that each person benefits according to his own measure of understanding and the openness of his heart. God explains this in a similitude: He sends down water from the sky whereat the valleys are flooded to their capacity ().
The Inner Vision of the Heart
The human being experiences a kind of interior intuitive vision that is beyond what they perceive through their external senses, while imagination and thought take place through their interior faculties. This is something that all of us can experience, and we can see that this is neither something we see with our eyes, perceive with our sights, or think with our minds. Equally, we can hear, smell, taste, touch, and see that we can imagine and think, but this sight does not take place using our sights or any of our exterior or interior faculties. Rather this meta-perception takes place using the faculty that we refer to as 'the heart' (al-fuʾād).
The Prophetic Vision at the Lote Tree
The Prophet stopped at the Lote Tree a second time during his Night Journey and saw God with his heart again exactly as he had seen Him on the first occasion… What exactly it was that covered the Lote Tree has been left deliberately ambiguous… This is how he witnessed his Lord through his heart, for one witnesses God in one's heart by witnessing His signs insofar as they are His signs. This is because every sign points to its referent—it never points to itself, or else it would not be a sign by its very nature.
Revelation Not from Desire
The meaning of desire (hawā) here is the desire of the ego (hawā al-nafs) and its opinions. Now, when God says he (the Prophet) does not 'speak' out of desire, the word speak is general and it occurs in the context of a negation, which would suggest that it means to negate him speaking from desire in any capacity. However, because this verse is addressed to the idolaters, who accused him of lying about his divine message, fabricating the parts of the Qurʾan he recited to them, and inventing lies about God, the context indicates that the intended meaning is that he does not speak from his own desire or opinions when it comes to him calling them toward God, or when he recites parts of the Qurʾan to them. On the contrary, all of this is revelation sent down to him by God.
Witnessing the Greatest Signs
Note that the verse says he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord. The meaning is: 'I swear that he witnessed some of his Lord's greatest signs.' This is how he witnessed his Lord through his heart, for one witnesses God in one's heart by witnessing His signs insofar as they are His signs. As for witnessing God's essence without the mediation of His signs and piercing the divine veil, this is impossible, as evinced by the verse, but they cannot comprehend Him in their knowledge ().
The Infallibility of Revelation in All Its Stages
Therefore, the messengers are immune from error in all three stages of receiving the revelation, preserving it, and communicating it to the people. God sends His religion to the people through revelation to a messenger. The verse states that this process is secure in all its stages of transmission, until it reaches the people. Moreover, communication of the message is not just verbal, but also practical, for one's actions also convey a message. This necessitates that God's messengers are infallible, meaning that they do not commit any sin, nor neglect any religious obligation.
Purpose of Prophets
The first decree initiated the earthly life for him; the second, issued after his repentance, bestowed dignity and grace to that life by providing it with divine guidance. From then on, man's life is composed of two lives: a material, earthly life and a spiritual, heavenly one.
On the Two Differences: Natural Discord vs. Deliberate Revolt in Religion
The divine religion is based on nature and normally people cannot go astray in a natural thing. It is clear that there were two differences: first, the difference about worldly gains, which was but natural; second, the difference about matters of religion — which was based, not on nature, but on the revolt of mischief-makers. God informs us that differences and disunity in the affairs of society were removed for the first time by religion. If there are any laws which are apparently non-religious, they too are based on that first religious teaching.
On the Sinlessness of Prophets: Action Preaches as Loudly as Words
For an average man, actions speak as loudly as, if not louder than, words. If a prophet committed a sin while he forbade it to his people, it would mean that he was preaching two contradictory things: his action allowed a thing, while his words forbade it. One who reports two contradictory items cannot be said to be reporting the truth. Therefore, the ʿiṣmah of the prophet in delivering the message of God totally depends upon his ʿiṣmah from sins.
On ʿIṣmah as an Inborn Faculty, Not Mere Abstention
As the actions of a prophet are invariably according to the dictates of piety and in obedience to God, it follows that the knowledge and will from which his actions emanate are healthy ones, invariably good and virtuous. When we admit that a prophet always obeys God and never commits any sin, we accept that he possesses a spiritual quality or faculty which always keeps him on the right path and protects him from sin and mistakes. And that faculty is ʿiṣmah.
On God's Creative Guidance: Every Species Steered Toward Its Perfection
Every species in this world is progressing towards its perfection guided by the Creator who gave it the means to progress along the road to final perfection and bliss. Man is one of those species; he has been given the faculties by which he can acquire right beliefs and noble virtues and can do good acts in a good and noble society. Therefore, it is necessary that the Creator should make arrangement to bring that potential bliss into real existence — that He should guide him with His creative guidance, which is free from mistake or error.
On the Final Verses as a Mirror of the Chapter's Prologue
These are the last verses of this chapter. They summarize the details given in it and recapitulate its main objective. The epilogue is a mirror of the prologue. They are afraid lest they may transgress the limit by forgetfulness or mistake, or fall short in their duties of divine worship; they are worried lest a sinful act puts them in disgrace, as happened with the people of the Book before them. The chapter aimed to show that it was an integral part of the worship of God to believe in all that He sent to His creatures through His apostles, without making any difference between those apostles.
The Witness Who Can Say Nothing
This wonderful reply contains the essence of servitude and shows outstanding manner; it is a mirror of Jesus' attitude and behavior towards his Lord; it shows how he looked at himself in relation to his Creator. He says that he looked at himself just as a servant of his Lord, who had nothing to do other than obeying the Lord; he does not proceed except when directed to, and does not stop unless told to. And so far as his relationship with his people is concerned he shall be the witness for their deeds, and that is that; it is none of his business what God does with them and about them — whether He forgives them or chastises them.
Islām as Root, Not Branch
The religion of God is one — and that is Islam, the submission to God. It is one, progressing towards perfection, with passage of time and in keeping with mankind's progress — as humanity advances to perfection. Judaism and Christianity are two branches of the perfection of Islam — the root religion. The prophets were the builders of that structure, each of them had a hand in it, laying down the foundation and raising such a lofty edifice. Islam is the root of Judaism and Christianity; but it is neither Judaism nor Christianity. The root is not attributed to its branches; it is the branch that should be related to the root.
The Covenant That Binds All Prophets
The covenant was made with the prophets and their people together. A later coming prophet would help a preceding messenger by affirming his truth, and a preceding prophet would foretell the coming of a later messenger and enjoin his ummah to believe in him, affirm his truth and help him in his cause. This covenant thus implies and affirms the Oneness of Divine Religion.
The Religion Belongs to God Alone
Muḥammad is but a messenger of God, like other messengers sent earlier by Him; his task is to convey the message of His Lord; he has no authority in the affairs; all the affairs are in the hand of God, and the religion is His religion; it will continue with God's authority — because God is to preserve it. Why should then your belief depend on Muḥammad's life? Will you go back to misguidance after finding the guidance?
Islām Cannot Be Judged by Muslim Failures
Islam is a composite unit of spiritual knowledge, moral teachings and practical laws — all of which are interrelated. If one part is damaged or tampered with, the whole is damaged, and its effects are changed. It is not unlike the medical compounds and mixtures which require, for their health-restoring effects, their proper ingredients and a proper place to prepare them. If some ingredients are spoiled or adulterated … it will not bring the desired effect; rather it may produce opposite result.
The Prophet's Marriages and True Motives
Just look at a man with a passion for women who is infatuated with carnal desire — you will find him attracted to their adornment, spending his time in pursuit of beauty, infatuated with coquetry and flirtation. But these peculiarities were diametrically opposite of the Prophet's character. He married widows after virgins, old-aged women after young girls. Then he offered his wives a choice that he should give them a provision and allow them to depart gracefully if they desired this world and its adornment. This is not the attitude of a man who is enamoured of women's love and infatuated with carnal desire.
Obedience of the Prophet Is Obedience of God
No one should imagine that it was only God's obedience that was required, while the Messenger was merely one of the human beings, who was obeyed only for people's good; and if such a result could be achieved without his obedience then there was no harm in going ahead independently. Therefore, God has made it clear that the obligation to obey the Prophet is all-encompassing and unconditional; it is nothing but God's obedience because it is by His permission. Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah.
True Belief Requires Total Submission
True belief means total submission from the depth of one's heart as well as in appearance. How is it possible for true believers not to submit to the Prophet's order in appearance — turning aside from him and going against him — or in their inner self by feeling straitness in their hearts when that judgment goes against their wishes? If any one feels annoyed with the Prophet's judgment, he is in fact annoyed with God's judgment, because it is God who has made his obedience compulsory and given him authority to enforce his decisions.
The Prophet's Role Is Conveyance Alone
Your only distinction, bestowed by Us, is that you are Our Messenger; you are responsible for conveying Our message to them; and your prestige is of the Divine Messengership. You do not have any other status, nor do you have any power in these affairs. Consequently, you are not responsible for any good luck or misfortune coming to them. You could not bring evil to the people nor can you keep any good away from them.
To Reject One Messenger Is to Reject God
The only way to God is to believe in Him and all His messengers together. A messenger in his capacity of messengership has no authority over his own self or on his mission; everything is done under Divine guidance. To believe in him is to believe in God and to reject him is to reject God. How can one be called a messenger if believing or disbelieving in him is unrelated to belief or disbelief in God?
Religion as an Integrated Whole
Religion is a composite entity of beliefs and rules, every part of which is intertwined with all other parts; if a part is spoiled all other parts are adversely affected, especially if the spoiled part was related to the basics. A person prays but not for the sake of God, spends in charities but not to seek the pleasure of God — such people cannot get benefit of what has remained in their hands because it is altered and rotten; and what they had neglected of the religion would not be of any help to them in the hereafter.
Many Lanes, One Highway of Guidance
God has created many lanes in one highway; all walk on the same route related to God which He has named in His Book 'the straight path.' God has shown that He has laid down many lanes but all lead the walkers to the same destination without differentiating between walkers of one lane from those of the others. It is unlike the ungodly ways where each way leads to a different destination.
God's Law Calibrated to Human Capacity
He has appointed various sets of law for various people in different times, so that He might try them thoroughly; it is because abilities of times differ with changing eras, and two things which differ in strength and weakness cannot be perfected with one factor with one style.
Why God Gave Different Laws to Different Nations
God had bestowed on mankind different types of capabilities and potentialities in different times and eras; also the divine laws, whose enforcement among them was essential in order to complete their lives' felicity, were sent for man's test which varies according to the variance in the examinees' abilities. All these factors together had caused difference in various laws. That is why God has said that this difference of laws has happened because He has wished to test and examine you in what He has bestowed on you of His favors.
Love of God and the Following of His Prophet Are One
When they shall reach that stage, then the words of God shall be truly applicable to them: 'Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you.' It also clearly proves that following the Prophet and being loved by God are concomitants and inseparable; whoever follows the Prophet, God loves him; and God does not love anyone unless he is a follower of His Prophet.
Jesus's Manner of Denying Ascribed Attributes
Had Jesus said 'I did not say it', it would have implied that although such talk was possible but he did not do it; but when he refuted its cause and said 'It did not befit me that I should say what I had no right to say', it refuted the basis of such talk — this refutation of such a right also more intensely refutes what depends on it. If a servant says 'I am rather unable to do it', it would refute the deed by refuting its cause; it would be rejection of its basic possibility, let alone its actual occurrence.
The Prophets' Perpetual Remembrance of God
The prophets — who are rightly guided by the guidance of God — do not follow desire at all. Their psychological feelings and inner inclinations — desire or anger, love or hate, happiness or sorrow for what is related to appearances of life — all this occurs in the way of God; they do not intend from these except God, Great is His Majesty! There are two ways which are trodden: a way in which truth is followed, and another in which desire is followed. Or you may say: the way of God's remembrance, and the way of forgetting Him.
The Unchanging Call of the Prophets
The innate human nature's call to human felicity is not limited to any specific time or circumstance. The innate religious call is also free from any discrepancy within its parts, meaning that no part of the pure religion opposes or contradicts another part of it. This is because all parts of religion are nurtured from the same breast of monotheism (tawḥīd), and this gives religion the best balance.
One Path, One Reality
The path to which the prophets guide may differ in wideness and narrowness of their apparent laws, as per the capacity of different nations. Nonetheless, they are all unanimous over a single reality which is innately embedded in human nature: God's oneness and the necessity of serving Him alone. Those guided to this straight path are under God's security from the dangers of the journey and the slips of the way.
The Mark of True Guidance
We can verify whether one is blessed with God's guidance if the person is on the path of the noble prophets of God, and if the person's path is composed of a consistent set of components which all revolve around monotheism and bear the mark of servitude and taqwā. On the other hand there are paths that differentiate between God's messengers by accepting some and rejecting others, or differentiate between God's laws by taking some and leaving out others. God is by no means pleased with such paths.
The Messenger's Triple Claim
Noah tells them three things about himself: first, his job as a messenger was to communicate the many messages of his Lord to them; second, he told them about his good-will for them, admonishing them by giving good news to encourage obedience and warning them to prevent arrogant rejection; third, he added that he knows from God what they know not — referring to the events of the Day of Resurrection, the rewards and punishments that await the people, and how obedience leads to God's satisfaction while disobedience results in His dissatisfaction. The three sentences serve the same purpose and build on one another.
The Prophetic Mission Is Rooted in the Good of All Humanity
Whether promises or threats, glad tidings or warnings, the confirmation of treaties or the repudiation of them, even the rules of warfare — all of these exist for one purpose, and that is to turn people aside from the path of error and ignorance, lead them to the path of guidance and good sense, save them from the misery of idolatry, and help them attain the felicity of monotheism. Therefore, it is of the highest importance for the faithful to use every means at their disposal to guide those who are astray and to keep the truth alive, no matter how small or trivial, for the truth is the truth, no matter how small.
The Prophet Sees with the Sight of God
The Prophet sees with the sight of God Almighty such that, in relation to him, others are like the blind compared to the one who sees. This is the rationale for why they must follow him, just as the blind follows the seeing, and this gives him the authority to call them to follow him.
A Prophet Claims Only His Message
He does not claim any of these things: I do not claim to possess the treasuries of God, nor do I claim to know the Unseen, nor do I claim to be an angel. In sum, I do not claim any of the merits or advantages which you expect from me and which you deny me for lacking. I only claim that I have clear proof from my Lord that confirms my message and grants me mercy from Him.
Divine Servanthood Withholds Its Demands
Noah was not only a prophet, but one of the resolute, who knew God, recognized his Lord's position, and was fully aware of his role as a divine servant. In keeping with prophetic decorum, he did not explicitly ask for his son's salvation, but instead, presented his words as an inquiry into the truth of the matter.
The Prophet Flees to God from His Own Slips
In light of Noah's realization that had God's intervention not prevented him, he would have asked about something of which he had no knowledge and thereby would have fallen into ignorance, he expressed gratitude to God. He sought refuge in God's forgiveness and mercy from asking such a loss-incurring question.
The Forbearing One Pleads Even for the Guilty
It was because of his forbearance that he was not eager to bring down punishment on the wrongdoers, because he hoped that they might still be guided and change their ways. He was also deeply distressed by people's misguidance and their impending punishment, and he constantly turned to God for their salvation.
The Necessity of Prophethood
Although humans are naturally equipped with an inclination that reminds them of the right beliefs and good actions, they are also inclined towards social life, which often calls them to follow their desires, commit injustices, and deviate. The mere natural reminder isn't sufficient to lead them to a just and rightful path in beliefs and actions.
Graceful Forbearance Is the Prophet's Way
These four principles — avoiding the longing for worldly pleasures they possess, abstaining from sorrow over their disbelief and mockery, extending kindness and humility towards believers, and affirming that he is a clear warner — collectively constitute the graceful forbearance befitting the Prophet. If any one of these elements were missing, the overall integrity would be compromised.
The Prophet's Role Is Invitation, Not Compulsion
It is not the role of a messenger of God to force people to faith and obedience, but rather his sole duty is to clearly and plainly convey the message, and to warn and give glad tidings for them to make up their own minds.
Wisdom, Advice, and Disputation in Their Proper Place
Wisdom refers to an argument producing indisputable and unequivocal truth without leaving any room for ambiguity. Instruction is an exposition that softens and appeals to the heart, including elements beneficial for the listener. Disputation is using an argument to dissuade the opponent from their insistence and dispute, not necessarily with the intention of revealing the truth but to challenge their position or argument.
The Upright Religion and the Nature of Mankind
This religion conforms to the primary nature of mankind and the creation and means that God has given them accordingly so that they may achieve the goal that has been planned for them and the felicity that has been prepared for them.
The Prophets' Sole Wish
Prophets stand aloof of any such miserliness. Their sole wish is nothing but the well-being and felicity of all people.
Whoever Follows God's Guidance Does Not Stray
God's guidance is what He has called to through the tongues of His Prophets and which conforms to the innate human nature (fiṭra). It consists of a set of beliefs and deeds which Man's instinct and disposition call him to in accordance with the systems put at his disposal. Obviously everything's happiness is what its disposition dictates along with what it has been equipped with. There is no happiness beyond that.
The Foundation of All Messengerships
The foundation of messengership is to call the people to know God and abide by instructions that would take them closer to reward and would distance them from punishment. The prophets were unanimous on that despite their differences in some branches of religious law that varied with time and age.
Mankind's Right Upon God
Mankind has a right on God that He should reveal a book to them and send forth a messenger to them. It is for this reason that God instructed His Prophet to demand of them a book other than these two, a book which would supposedly be a better guide than these two so that he may follow it.
Religion Is Innate to Human Nature
Religion is nothing other than a way of living and a path which a person follows to attain happiness in their life. There is no goal for a human being who follows it other than happiness. All manner of creatures have been guided to their happiness, which varies according to their innate nature, but each has been given what it needs to reach this goal.
One Human Nature, One Happiness
The human beings who dwell in this stage of existence all belong to a single species; there is no difference in what harms and benefits them with regards to this form of existence composed of a spirit and a body. Therefore, happiness is one and the same for all human beings qua human beings, and misery is one and the same too.
Hearts Devoted to God Follow the Prophet
Those who look forward to Allah and the Last Day: These are those whose hearts are devoted to God and believe in Him, and whose hearts long for the Last Day and so act righteously and remember God abundantly; such a person never forgets his Lord and so always follows the Prophet in his deeds and behavior.
The Peace Sent upon Noah
In Sūrah Yā Sīn, it was mentioned that a benediction of peace (salām) was sent upon Noah by God. This is a singular honor for Noah; this form of peace is not found on anyone else in the Qur'an. Thus do We recompense the virtuous.
Judgment in Truth
The caliph of God on earth must conduct himself in a godly manner, intending and doing what God intends, decrees, and destines. He must judge and rule as God has decreed (and God adjudges rightly!), and must tread the path of God, not transgress it.
Every Species Has a Path Back to God
Insofar as all things return to God, every species has a path it must traverse in order to reach Him, and He must guide it and lead it towards its ultimate purpose. God says: With God rests guidance to the straight path (). This means speaking to each species in a way that accords with its essence (dhāt). In the case of human beings, this is the kind of speaking known as revelation and sending messengers.
Five Names and the Necessity of Revelation
Revelation conveys the Divine Religion which contains the guidance necessary for mankind to attain felicity in their lives in this world and Hereafter; no one can prevent God from sending revelation because He is Mighty (ʿazīz), meaning that nothing can forestall His will; He cannot ignore His servants' need for guidance because He is Wise (ḥakīm), meaning perfect in action, and an action is only perfect if it brings about its desired outcome.
Healthy Human Nature Responds to the Religion
The teachings of the religion chime with human nature and anyone who has a living heart will respond positively to them. God says: Only those accept who listen; and [as to] the dead, God will raise them (). And the soul and Him Who fashioned it, then inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it ().
Divine Guidance as the Completion of Proof
Once this is established, it is evident that divine precedent involves guiding humanity towards the fulfillment of their lives by revealing the path to achieve it. Human beings share with all other material beings the aspect of attaining formative completion and following an existential conduct toward their ultimate existential perfection under the divine guidance that directs them to their intended goal. What sets humans apart is their capacity to achieve completion through divine legislation, realized through the human soul's development via its voluntary acts, through the qualities and attributes it adopts, and through the dispositions and states it experiences in this worldly life.
Two Forms of Guidance
Intuitive guidance through one's fiṭrah is universal, without any exception. It is found equally in all humans without exception, since it is an inseparable property of their creation. Verbal and external guidance consists of the religious call through prophets, dispatching messengers, revealing scriptures, and legislating divine laws. Human history has always been supported by God's direction through the religious call that was brought by the prophets and messengers. This form of guidance confirms and reinforces God's intuitive guidance.
Guidance Belongs to God Alone
God shall certainly guide the people. He has made it an obligation upon Himself through the dictate of His wisdom. He has created people to serve Him, as He says: I have not created the humans and the jinn except to serve Me (). He made the goal of their creation to serve Him, and made this the straight path toward Himself. He has taken it upon Himself to make the path clear and to guide the people to it—where guidance means showing them the way, whether they follow it or not: It is upon Allah to show the right direction, and some [paths] go astray ().
Miracles
Now, when we find a decisive speech, based on comprehensive knowledge, and free from all types of discrepancy, we will have to admit that it is not the work of a mortal man. The Qurʾān is based on established realities that do not change, that are never altered. And, therefore, the Qurʾān itself is safe from change, alteration and discrepancy.
It is a challenge which human beings and jinn can never meet. This challenge has been offered to demonstrate the miracle of the Qurʾān — to show that it is a Book sent down by God, there is no doubt in it; that it has been revealed as an ever-lasting miracle that will remain alive till the end of the world.
Is it within human power to build such character, based on foundation of reality, which may honestly be compared with the Qurʾānic teaching in purity and excellence? Can human beings legislate perfect laws covering all human activities without blundering into discrepancies, with the spirit of monotheism permeating every order? Can such astonishing comprehensiveness come from an untaught man?
On Will-Power as the True Source of Extraordinary Events
It appears from close investigation that these feats spring from the will-power of the doer, and from his unshakable confidence in the effectiveness of his work. The will-power emanates from the confidence, which in its turn arises from the knowledge. It is the firm knowledge and strong conviction of the doer that determines whether an extraordinary event may appear.
Jesus: Raised with Body and Soul
The one about whom the claims of murder and crucifixion were made—Jesus, with his body—was the one whom God raised to Him and saved from their conspiracy. Jesus was raised up with his body and soul together. It was not that he had died and then his soul was raised to God, because the context of the verse does not agree with such a hypothesis; the adverb 'rather' would be meaningless if it were to show that his soul was raised up after death, because such raising up could happen even after his murder or natural death.
Perfection of Meanings, Not Merely Words
The challenge in the verse does not only concern the eloquence and rhetorical power of the Qurʾān alone. The context of this verse and other verses that discuss this challenge to the disbelievers show that it is based on the Qurʾān's attributes of perfection and beauty, which comprehensively encompasses divine teachings; the fundamentals of religious laws, whether these pertain to the rules of worship, civil, political, economic and judicial laws, noble morals, or good manners; stories of prophets and past nations; knowledge of the Unseen and prophecies of the future; the descriptions of angels, jinn, heaven, earth, wisdom, exhortation; promises of divine reward and warnings of divine retribution; accounts of the Origin and the Return; the strength of its arguments; the eloquence of its speech; its enlightenment; and its guidance, without any part differing from another.
The Qurʾān's Flood Verse Astonishes the Intellect
This verse stands at a unique confluence of the miraculous eloquence of the Qurʾān that astonishes the mind and amazes the intellect, even by the standards of the Qurʾān, all of whose verses are miracles in their eloquence. However, as scholars have admitted, their efforts to plumb its depths have merely been like scooping a handful of water from an ocean or picking up a pebble from a mountain.
Reliance on God Renders All Plots Powerless
Hūd has publicly repudiated their idols and issued the challenge, 'Now try out your stratagems against me, together, without granting me any respite,' and then continued to live amongst them, safe and secure, unharmed and beyond their ability to harm. This constitutes a miraculous sign and a manifest proof that he is God's messenger to them.
The Greatness That Encompasses Men
He heard what His servant said, and He saw that his inner state and condition called for being distinguished [from others] with the honor of being taken on a nocturnal journey and seeing some of His greatest signs.
The Shift into Grandeur
The reason for this shift is to indicate that the night journey and what happened there — showing the signs to the Prophet — issued from the courtyard of grandeur and greatness, and the position of might and power. This was an act of God's greatest authority, where He manifested Himself to him through His greatest signs.
The Inimitability of the Qurʾan
If the words uttered by the Prophet were the words of a human being, like any other kind of speech, then they would resemble other kinds of speech, and it would have been possible for the deniers to produce a discourse similar to it. Therefore, if they are truthful when they claim that he was the author of the Qurʾan, they should be able to produce a similar discourse. However, it is, in fact, divine speech, as is evident from its miraculous inimitability, which means that no human being can produce anything equal to it. Therefore, the only possible conclusion is that the Qurʾan is the speech of God.
The Qur'an
God has revealed the Qurʾān as guidance, and has made it a light and an explanation of everything. Why should a light seek brightness from others' light? Why should guidance be led by others' guidance? Why should 'an explanation of everything' be explained by others' words?
Truth and reality is a non-divisible entity. Truth cannot refute another truth; reality cannot oppose another reality. There shall be total union and unison between truths — one truth will lead to the other, one reality will guide to the other; thus, one part of the Qurʾān confirms the others, one sentence testifies for the others.
On the Verse 'There Is Life for You in Retaliation'
The verse has fewer letters, and is easy to pronounce. 'The retaliation', with the definite article, is a proper noun, while 'life' is a common noun — it shows that the resulting good is greater and more widespread than the retaliation itself. There is an exhortation in this sentence, as it points to a life reserved for the people, which they are oblivious of; it behoves them to take hold of it as it really belongs to them. The opening words 'for you' make it clear to the men of understanding that the law-giver only desires to protect their interest.
On the Qurʾān as a Sublime Reality Beyond Its Words
The common meaning gives the picture of a thing which can be divided and sectionalized … but the reality of the Book is a single, non-gradual thing which was sent down all at once, and not in pieces. The verse says that this Qurʾān which was gradually revealed is based on a sublime Reality which the minds of common people cannot comprehend and the hands of defiled imaginations cannot touch.
On the Qurʾān's Hidden Foundation in the 'Source of the Book'
There is a Book which makes manifest the truth, which was later made into an Arabic Qurʾān; and it was clothed in recited words and Arabic language so that people might understand; but in reality it is in the Source of the Book with God — elevated, so that minds do not reach it, full of wisdom without any division. The Manifest Book is the foundation of this Qurʾān, and this Qurʾān is like a clothing to that Reality.
On Bribery as a Bucket Lowered into the Well of Power
Idlāʾ literally means to send the bucket down into the well for drawing water. Its metaphorical use in this verse implies offering money to the authorities to induce them to give judgement in favor of the bribe-giver. It is a very nice allegory. The desired judgement is the water in the depth of the well; the bribe is the bucket which is sent down to bring the desired result.
On the Qurʾān's Prophecy About Interest Being Fulfilled
God had warned mankind that if interest becomes widespread, the world will fall in disorder. It is one of the prophecies of the Qurʾān which has been fulfilled in these days. When the Qurʾān was revealed, interest was a foetus; now it has been born from the womb of western economy and is growing by leaps and bounds.
The Perversity That Poisons a Book
Look at the innovations and wrong sectarian beliefs; study the never-ending schisms that have been shattering the Muslim community since the moment the Prophet left this world; and you will see that most of them have resulted from following the ambiguous verses and from interpreting them in a way not approved by God. Every sect proves its beliefs from the Qur'anic verses — a party finds in it evidence that God is a body; a group proves from it that man has no free will … all this is a result of following the ambiguous verses without returning them to the relevant decisive ones.
Interpretation — Reality Behind the Veil of Words
Interpretation is not the meaning of a verse; it is some real fact found outside the imagination. When we say that this verse has an al-taʾwīl, we mean that the verse describes a real fact or a real happening, which in its turn points to another reality — and that is its al-taʾwīl, or final interpretation. It is a reality that is too sublime for words; God has dressed them with words so as to bring them a bit nearer to our minds; in this respect they are like proverbs that are used to create a picture in the mind.
The Qurʾān Hidden Within the Qurʾān
There is something beyond this Qur'an which is read and understood by us. And that something has the same relation with this Qur'an as the spirit has with the body, or as the significance of a proverb has with that proverb. It is that spirit of this Qur'an which is called by God as the confirmed Book. That spirit of the Qur'an is not made of words or words' meanings.
Purity Alone Touches the Hidden Book
God has said: 'Most surely it is an honored Qur'an, in a Book that is hidden; none do touch it save the purified ones.' These verses clearly say that the purified servants of God do touch the honored Book which is hidden and protected from any change; minds cannot reach it, because that too would be a sort of change. The purity of heart, then, is the purity of the soul in knowledge and belief as well as in will.
Why the Ambiguous Verses Are Necessary
The verbal expressions of the Qur'an are like similitudes to the sublime Divine realities. Those realities have been brought down, in these verses, to the level of common minds. When pure spiritual facts are expressed in terms of body and matter, the mind may stop at those material expressions, taking them to mean natural phenomena. It will thus fail to see the reality beyond those expressions — it will take a proverb in its literal sense, not knowing that it signifies something else; and that something is often not shown by its letters.
Water, Foam, and the Logic of Truth
The Divine realities and spiritual knowledge are like the water which God sends down from the heavens. At that time it is water in the pure sense of the word, unencumbered with any other condition. Then it starts flowing in the valleys; and now it takes the shape of the watercourse. Such a verse contains a true meaning that is actually intended; but it is accompanied by another unintended meaning that hides the intended one and races to the minds before it — but soon it is overcome and removed by another truth, a decisive verse, that identifies the true meaning.
The Hatred That Cannot Be Hidden
'Vehement hatred has already appeared from out of their mouths' — it means that their enmity and hatred is very obvious from their way of talking, from slips of their tongues; it is a fine metaphor; the verse does not describe what they have kept hidden in their hearts, it just says: 'And what their breasts conceal is greater still.' This apparent vagueness indicates that the hatred hidden in their hearts is so varied and so great that it is beyond description — this vagueness puts even greater stress on the word 'greater.'
The Qurʾān as Living Teacher
The Mighty Book of God is a Book of knowledge and practice — it is not a book of theories and hypotheses, nor a mysterious tome to be accepted blindly. This Divine Book is like a teacher. The teacher puts academic principles before his students without giving them too much detail in the beginning; then he tells them to act upon it; then he checks what they have done and analyses its correct and wrong procedures; he explains to them where they have gone wrong … he praises where they have used right procedure; he promises them of reward and appreciates their diligence. He goes on training them until they reach the point of perfection and their efforts are always crowned with success.
The Qurʾān Preceded All Sociology
That is why you see that the Qur'an pays attention to histories of nations as much as it does to individuals' stories — or even more. It did so at a time when the history was only a record of achievements or failures of kings and nobles. It was long after the revelation of the Qur'an that the historians deigned to concern themselves with the histories of nations and societies. A few of them like al-Masʿūdī and Ibn Khaldūn wrote on this line to a certain extent, until the changes were lately affected in narrative history and individuals gave way to the nations.
A Book That Cannot Have Been Written by a Changing Mind
No man is free from discrepancy and difference in his work, or even in his own self. This is a common trend running throughout the world which is governed by the laws of gradual change and general advancement towards perfection. Nothing in this creation remains in one condition for two consecutive moments. A man pondering on it is bound to admit that this book was not written by someone who was subject to change and gradual development which permeate the universe. This is nothing but the speech of God, the One, the Subduer.
God Never Commands Blind Belief
God has not ordered His servants even in a single verse of His Book that they should blindly believe in Him, or in things sent by Him; or that they should tread on a path without thinking. He has often hinted to the reasons because of which He has laid down certain regulations and commandments, describing some things which could be used as arguments; as He says: 'surely prayer keeps one away from indecency and evil, and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest.'
The Precision of Divine Speech
When we speak, we base our talk on the meanings we understand, and our understanding is drawn from the social life which we have created through our human social nature. This nature usually passes a judgement in accordance with analogy — and this opens before us the door of inexactitude and inaccuracy. As for the divine speech, it must be above such shortcomings, because God encompasses all things in His knowledge; and He says about His speech: 'Most surely it is a decisive word, and it is not a jest.'
Beyond Divine Judgment: Only Ignorance
As these laws and rules are the truth revealed by God, and as other than these there is no true shariah, there is nothing besides them except the system of the days of ignorance, emanating from low desires. What do these people, who turn aside from judgement of truth, want after all? There is nothing else except the judgement of the Days of Ignorance. Do they then want that judgement, when there is no one better than God to judge for these people who claim to be believers?
The Interior Unity of the Qur'an
The Qur'an, all of it, is cognizance and reality; its exterior separates realities from one another and categorizes its parts, and its interior brings them nearer to each other, perfects them and unifies them. In short, the Qur'an in its exterior shows various realities of cognizance which are separate one from the other, yet in spite of its numerousness and separateness of its components, in its interior its ingredients are quite near to each other and its various meanings are interconnected, until it is unified and becomes one single reality pervading the whole body like spirit — and it is nothing but the reality of oneness, monotheism.
Wisdom Firmly Enthroned in the Irrefutable Book
God uses the demonstrative pronoun, 'those', which is normally used to refer to something at a distance, to signify the lofty and exalted status of the Qurʾān, for it is the word of God which has descended to the earth from Him, the Highest of the High, the Exalted One, the Lord of the Throne. The phrase, the Wise Book signifies a scripture in which wisdom firmly resides. Some have suggested that ḥakīm is actually the passive participle of the verb ḥ-k-m and signifies the meaning 'firm' (muḥkam). In this case, al-kitāb al-ḥakīm denotes a book that cannot be corrupted or discredited, or 'the Irrefutable Book.'
From Admonition to Mercy, a Single Ascent
The Qurʾān first reaches the believers while they are enveloped by heedlessness and beset by confusion, which have caused their inner selves to be filled with the darkness of doubt and scepticism, and their hearts to be afflicted with the diseases of vices and all sorts of wicked and despicable states. This being their condition, the Qurʾān delivers a beautiful admonition to them that awakens them from the slumber of heedlessness, dissuades them from their evil habits and bad deeds, and directs them instead towards goodness and happiness. After this, it sets about purifying their inner selves from the impurities of vices and negative moral attributes, and it continues to remove the afflictions of their minds and cure the diseases of their hearts one after another until they are all gone. After this, it gently guides them to true knowledge, noble morals, and righteous deeds, elevating them step by step and drawing them closer to the ranks of the ones brought near to God (al-muqarrabūn), until they finally settle among them and achieve the success reserved for those who are sincerely devoted to Him. Finally, it clothes them in the garments of mercy, settles them in the abode of honor, and grants them the joy of being in the company of prophets, truthful ones, witnesses, and the righteous — an excellent company indeed.
The Qurʾān as Direct Connection Between God and Creation
Therefore, the Qurʾān is simultaneously an admonisher, a cure for what is in the chests, a guide to the straight path, and a provider of mercy by the leave of God, the Exalted. It admonishes, cures the chests, guides, and bestows mercy by virtue of its own essence, not because of anything external to it, as it is the direct connection between God and His creation. Thus, it is an admonition, a cure for what is in the chests, guidance, and mercy for the believers.
One Principle Elaborated into a Thousand Forms
The verses of the Qurʾān are first definitive (muḥkam) and then elaborated (fuṣṣilat). This means that, in spite of the diverse content and varying purposes, the meaning of the verses can be traced back to a single fundamental meaning and a unified original purpose that is utterly free from multiplicity or disparity. In other words, there is not a verse in the Qurʾān that aims for a particular purpose, save for the fact that it is an embodiment of this original purpose, which is its driving spirit and essential desideratum. In spite of the variance of its verses and the division of its contents, this sacred text has but a single unified purpose.
The Flowering Earth Turned to Nothing Overnight
Having mentioned the enjoyment of the worldly life in the previous verse, God now provides a parable to convey the reality of the matter to those who contemplate. This is an allegorical representation and not a direct comparison of one thing to another, even if this initially appears to be the case in His saying, akin to water which We send down. Similar examples are common in the Qurʾānic parables. Zukhruf refers to adornment and beauty. His saying, it did not flourish refers to a situation where staying in a place for an extended period does not bring any benefit.
God's Book Illuminates, Not Merely Narrates
The Qurʾān is a book of guidance that explains to people the means by which they can attain happiness and makes plain for them the manifest truth so that they will follow it and achieve success in this life and the Hereafter. Sometimes, it alludes to parts of the stories of the prophets and nations to illustrate how God deals with His servants, and to draw a lesson from the lives of those whom His grace has enveloped and who have been ennobled by His dignity.
Stories of Prophets as Living Lessons
There is certainly a moral (ʿibra) in their accounts for those who possess intellect. This is not a fabricated discourse; rather it is a confirmation of what was before it, and an elaboration of all things, and a guidance and mercy for a people who have faith.
The Qurʾān as Living and Eternal
The Reminder (that is, the Qurʾān) is living and eternal, safeguarded from death and oblivion from its origin. It's shielded from any additions that would compromise its essence as a Reminder, likewise from any reductions. It's also preserved from any alterations in its form and arrangement that would change its characteristic as a divine Reminder, elucidating the realities of His wisdom.
The Qurʾān as Healing and Mercy
Through its robust proofs and illuminating arguments, the Noble Qurʾān removes every kind of doubt and misunderstanding that one may confront in pursuit of true beliefs. Through its healing admonitions, stories, parables, lessons, promises, warnings, threats, glad tidings, laws and prescriptions, it dispels the diseases and defects of the hearts.
The Qurʾān's Words Are Divinely Sent
The actual words and letters of the Qurʾān are sent down from Him just as their meanings are sent down from Him. This is what is inferred from the apparent meaning of verses such as: Therefore when We have recited it, follow its recitation ().
The Qurʾān as Guidance and Mercy
The Qurʾān guides the believers to the truth through what it recounts for the Children of Israel. It is also a mercy for the believers since it assures their hearts and solidifies their faith.
Only the Knowledgeable Grasp the Parables
It is only those with knowledge who grasp the realities of things and do not become ensnared in appearances who attain their deepest meanings and loftiest lessons. People receive the parables struck in the Qurʾān according to their different levels of understanding; some hear them but gain nothing except the sound of the words and their most basic meanings, without penetrating to their depths.
The Book Is Suprarational at Its Native Level
The Book, at its native level of existence, is suprarational; something alien to human thought. God only made the Qur'an Arabic and clothed it in human language in order that human intellects could become acquainted with it and comprehend its meaning. And when God says so that you may, the element of possibility rests with the context or the addressee but never with the speaker.
The Qur'an Revealed Twice: General Then Elaborated
We can interpret this to mean that the Qur'an was revealed twice; once altogether on a single night in the month of Ramadan and another gradually over the course of twenty-three years, which is the duration of the Prophet's mission. However, what cannot be doubted is that the Qur'an is made up of sūrahs and verses, each of which have their own individual contexts that relate to the particular circumstances of revelation.
The Qurʾan as Absolute Certainty
It is indeed certain truth. This resonates with the previous discussion in the context of the two similar verses at the end of Sūrah al-Wāqiʿa. Both chapters are unified in their aim to depict the Day of Resurrection and are cohesive in the narrative of their respective endings, which emphasize the oath on the veracity of the Qurʾan as the harbinger of the Day of Judgment. They both conclude with the assertion that the revelations of the Qurʾan concerning the Inevitable Event are the absolute truth.
The Weight of the Qurʾan
The Qurʾan, as the word of God, is weighty in both terms: In terms of meaning, it is a divine speech that has issued from the realm of majesty and glory. It cannot be received except by a soul that is purified from every defilement, and is detached from every force and source except God. It is a mighty book with an apparent facet and an inner layer, a revealed text and an underlying reality. It is a clarification of all things.
The Qurʾan as Reminder of Primordial Nature
What is meant by 'remembrance' here is taking recourse to the directions of one's fiṭrah (primordial nature, innate disposition, pristine conscience), which is a tablet inscribed with true beliefs and righteous deeds. The expression in this verse—so let anyone who wills remember it—alludes to the fact that there is no compulsion in the religious call to take admonition. There is no benefit for the caller in this, but all the benefit accrues to the one who takes admonition. Hence, let the person choose as they wish.