THE
QURAN AND CONCEPT OF REVELATION
Fariduddin Ahmad
In the
fifth and sixth centuries the civilized world stood on
the verge of chaos. The old emotional cultures that had given some sanity to
the civilization and the sense of unity to man were crumbling down. Nothing was
available adequate enough to take their place. It seemed that civilization that
had covered a journey of thousands of years to its present state was on the
verge of disintegration. The mankind was returning to those conditions of
barbarism where every tribe and sect was against the next. Law and
order was unknown.
The sanctions
created by Christianity were working division and destruction instead of
unity and order. Moral
and religious corruption was
found among the Christians and Jews who for ages have established themselves
in Arabian Peninsula. The scattered branches of Christian churches in Asia and Africa
were at variance with each other and were engaged in perpetual controversies.
People were committed to various ideologies. Relics and carved images were
objects of the most fervid worship with each tribe having its own idol-god.
They used to say that their ideology be accepted without reason, in order to
attain some sort of salvation. The age of Jahiliyah had become a global
phenomenon.
Idol
worshipping, nature worship, superstition
and mythological characters were
common in a polytheistic culture among the Arabs. Different religious
communities were confining the field of virtue
and goodness to their places of
worship and seats of learning.
Yet despite of
so many diversities and ethical differences the human mind had reached to the
level where it was thinking of transcendence of divinity and monotheism instead
of a multitude of gods. Having passed through various stages of developments,
imaginations and conjectures it had attained a certain amount of maturity to
question as to who is the creative being. '
The mind was
being coerced repeatedly towards the conception of a comprehensive idea about
divinity that was guiding them towards a conclusion that there was a God who
is superior to all gods. Man's mind was no longer ready to contemplate that
life and
throbbing of the heart and the creatures surrounding him can be
produced out of a lifeless power. If the power is itself lifeless how can it
grant life to matter?
The learned and
people of intelligence were confused about many other problems that the
civilization, develop to that time, had brought along with ensuing
benefits and comforts. These problems were of two types.
The first were intricacies of life viz. "what am I", "from where
the human being come", "what is the nature of human life",
"the purpose and end of human life". The other were of
nature like the immediate personal needs, relations among the communities,
tribes and nations.
Apparently the
problems were such that these could be solved by taking guidance from science,
religion and philosophy. But the physical sciences and the
philosophy itself, in their nascent stage of development, were not capable
enough to give sure and accurate answer to these and many other
questions. These were themselves not free from errors. Their solution models
were doubtful, incomprehensive and in particular where humanity was concerned.
With their limited scope and character whatever was being offered was just an
approximation or partial truth which the Holy Quran later called as conjectures
in the following verse:
"And they
have no knowledge thereof. They follow nothing but a guess and lo! a guess can
never take the place of truth." (53: 28)
Thus if science
and philosophy having failed in guiding the humanity in solving the problems
then the only way left was the way of religion which could be the pace setter
of values that give the society a direction. However the claim of religion to
answer questions about the existence of human individual and other related
problems depend on the "Sources of knowledge". Among the various
religions of the world, it is only Islam that gives a massage of hope and
provides a convincing guidance to arrive through a sure knowledge about the
ultimate facts of life.
Islam
emphasizes the fact of revelation, which is the divine means to acquaint man
with himself, his Lord and His universe and a way to regulate his life
and teach him how to deal with his fellow men and his
Creator. It confirms the existence of God and say that He is the Creator of
universe. Also He is all-powerful, all Knowing and Omnipotent. He possesses
the knowledge and functions of everything".
For the
faithful, the phenomenon of revelation is the clear manifestation of the continuity
of divine care. The creator could not leave man on his own whom He had created.
For this God, the merciful out of His kindness and wisdom choose certain
individuals to communicate His words to them. He prepared them with His
kindness to shoulder His mission. He provided them with spiritual readiness,
psychological perfection, mental maturity to make them able to carry the burden
of the acceptance of divine trust and spread the divine will on the earth.
"Allah
chooseth from the angels messengers
and (also) from mankind. Lo! Allah is hearing, seeing. (22 : 75)
Preceding the
revelation of the Holy Quran, God had sent a large number of prophets and
messengers from time to time throughout the history to remind all people
to be grateful to God. He sent His warners to every community on the earth to
warn them to submit to God and to obey God's spiritual laws. About this God
declares in the Holy Quran:
“And verily we
have raised in every nation a messenger (proclaiming): serve Allah and shun
false gods........” (16:36)
Thus by sending
messengers for man's guidance God left no room for man to make excuses that he
has not received any divine guidance.
Before the
advent of Muhammad (ﷺ)
all had abandoned the principles of their religion to indulge in never
ending wrangling and upon dogmas of secondary importance. The Arabian people
were unable to see that they had lost sight of the most essential point of
religious doctrine, the true worship of God. In the history of the world the time has arrived
for the appearance of a deliverer.
In 571 AD was
born in Makkah, in Arabia, our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the son of Abdullah,
the most exalted among men, who of all men exercised the greatest influence
upon the human race. Soon Arabia was flooded with new light whose rays were
beamed everywhere.
The Quran was
revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) who was unlettered. He
was simple and ordinary looking. His sole teacher was God
and no one else:
"............
Allah revealeth unto thee (O! Muhammad) the book and
the wisdom and teacheth thee that which thou knewest not, Allah's Grace
unto thee is immense." (4: 113)
The Holy Quran
is based on literal inspirations in the form of prophetic revelation (Wahi)
and is not the result of Prophet's own intellectual or spiritual awakening. In
it is God Who addresses human being including the Prophet himself.
The Holy Quran
emerged in Arabia and though it claimed to be the message of God for the entire
humanity, very naturally its immediate encounter was with Arabs who possessed
a philosophy, a system of religious rituals, an ethical outlook along with
Ka'bah in Makkah still enjoying the status of Arabia's central holy place under
the control of descendents of Abraham. Arabs had been known for their habitual
contradiction of any thing they heard, either in verses or prose. Quran was a
challenge to them yet because of their inability to produce any thing of like
they could not dispute the Quran. Thus the Quran's challenge to Arabs remained
unanswered despite their allegations that the miraculous nature of the Quran
had been inherent in certain unseen and hidden power.
The Quran
descended upon the "heart" of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) not metaphorically but
literally. In fact, in the form of language in which it was subsequently
transcribed by the scribes. It was undoubtedly the source of knowledge for
human civilization and the break through that man has made in science and
general knowledge. Arabs and all those opposing the Prophet could not answer
even the smallest challenge by the Quran nor could produce anything like Quran.
The Quran mentioned most of the accounts found in previous scriptures telling
us about events as if it witnessed them. These accounts came precisely as they
were found in Torah and Gospel sent down to Prophet Jesus. It considers Jews,
Christians and Muslims to be "people of Book". It honours all of the
prophets and messengers of the "Old and
New Testaments". Neither Christians nor Jews were able to belie
it. They have to concede that every word of that book is the word of God which
was communicated to Muhammad (ﷺ) through the process of revelation:
"Say (unto
them O! Muhammad); He Who knoweth the secret of the heaven and the earth hath
revealed it............" (25:6)
Quran is the
source of governing and legislating the life of all the humanity. It is the
fountainhead of concepts, beliefs, morals and good conduct. It is also the
criterion used to measure everything large
and small in the human life.
Quran emphasizes that (i) it is the word of right and the word that expresses
the law of existence as it was created by Allah, (ii) it is source of Shariah
and law. It is the guide and leader, the spring of thought and awareness that
built the social life and culture of Muslims.
The Quran deals
with life, death the planets and plantation. It urges man to explore the
secrets of nature, to search for truth and to think deeply in all matters. It
can always be interpreted in the light of modern sciences. Science can not
disown the verses of the Holy Quran nor could they cast any doubt on their
meanings. This is due to the fact that Quranic verses, style and meanings are
so flexible that they can reconcile themselves with various explanations of all
times.
As for the
Muslims it keeps them on the correct path and preserves the principles of right
and justice from being distorted or falsified.
Post a Comment