BACKGROUND
In the previous article, Ayah 4 of Surah Al-Baqarah was discussed. According to it, a believer must have faith in the earlier scriptures. Despite many interpolations and changes in them, they still have exaltedness and can at least be considered equivalent to Ahadith. However, both certainly have certain discrepancies and inconsistencies. This article is in continuation of the previous article. Here the wisdom behind asking people to believe in the earlier scriptures is discussed. The extent to which those scriptures should be believed in, keeping interpolations in consideration, is also elaborated. In the explanation of Ayah 4, the concept of “Hereafter/Aakhirah” (which is also one of the articles of faith) and definition of “Faith or Yaqeen” is presented to widen the perspective. In the explanation of Ayah 5 of Surah Baqarah, the concept of “Falah or success” is dealt with, and its difference with “Nijat” is elaborated.
USE OF EARLIER SCRIPTURES: CHALLENGE, OFFER, AND DAWAH TO THE PEOPLE OF BOOK
The previous scriptures can be used in the following areas:
- To put certain offers in front of the People of the Book. To clarify various matters and issues to them from the Book revealed to their community.
- To perform “Dawah” to other people.
Thus, in many places, the Quran has challenged the People of Book to bring their scriptures and provide proof if they are truthful in their religious claims and ideas. This instruction is evident in the following Ayah:
Quran has advised the believers to do the same if the People of the Book misattribute something to their books. Muslims need to believe in the previous scriptures because these scriptures may be used to formulate effective dialogue with the People of the Book. It is quite natural that believers will only be in a position to ask People of the Book to produce their books if Muslims know about it. Only then will they be aware that the non-believer’s claim is false and not based on the Holy Book.
In Quran 3:64, believers are asked to call the people of the Book to the term and beliefs that are common and similar between them:
This instruction is beneficial for believers and the People of Book as it facilitates an agreement over these common grounds. It will be easy to accept them and act upon them together. The differences, of course, should be discussed later when amicable relations are formed. However, this will be easier after uniting through the worship of one God.
In the Ayah above, the Quran highlights one common thing that is present in all scriptures: the belief in the Oneness of God. Islam urges and invites people to unite to worship a single God and dissuades people to associate any partners with him. Now, without studying their Book, we can’t ask them to worship one God because Quran has informed us that they won’t believe you.
Let’s understand this with an example relating to the Christian community.
Trinity is a Christian concept according to which God is one, yet he is also three. The three Gods that they believe to be one are-
- Father: The true God believed to be the Father of Jesus
- Son: Jesus christ
- The Holy Spirit: Mystery still surrounds this entity
They believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit existed individually since the beginning and will sustain themselves till eternity. No being has created them. Moreover, they are Almighty and All-Powerful, and they are not three but one.
They give various analogies to support this concept yet haven’t been able to explain it satisfactorily. One of these analogies relates to the rays of the sun. They say as the sun is one but have many different rays, similar is the concept of Trinity where God is three, yet all three are the same. What they fail to understand is that these rays are from the same source, but in reality, they are different rays. Moreover, solely they are not the sun, nor do they represent the sun. Due to such weak explanations, even Christians raise many questions to scholars about the Trinity. Practically, it is impossible to prove that there are three Gods, yet these are not three but one. Mere mathematics nullifies this concept. In mathematics, the answer is either right or wrong. No compromise is possible when it comes to mathematic formulas or principles. That’s why 1+1+1 will always equal 3 and not 1. When Christian scholars fail to prove the concept of the Trinity, they attempt to conclude the argument by saying that this is a mystery. Believing in Trinity is a matter of faith, so place your trust in it as it is. There is no need to understand it.
If anyone goes to a Christian and asks them to believe in one God without having any knowledge of the Bible, the Christian would say, “We don’t believe in Unitarianism; rather, we believe in the concept of Trinity, which is present in our Book”. He would also think or even utter that Muslims are liars and the Quran is false, while Muslims will accuse the Christians of lying because the Quran states that the Injeel speaks of monotheism). The loop of such accusations will never end in this way unless the Christian sees proof from their scriptures. Their scripture emphasizes the belief of Tauheed. However, you will only be able to prove these points if you have studied their books.
Thus, in Quran 3:64, there is an indirect instruction for believers to have adequate understanding and knowledge of the earlier scriptures. After all, this knowledge may be used to build compelling arguments to convince the People of the Book. Moreover, they will be valuable to bring them to the common ground. Mere vague claims of Muslims with any understanding will never be sufficient.
EVIDENCE OF UNITARIANISM (ONENESS OF GOD) FROM BIBLE
If we study the Bible, we can effectively prove that the concept of the Oneness of God is present in the Bible.
According to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 20, Jesus uttered the above words in response to the question asked by a Jewish scholar regarding the greatest commandment. The next verse further affirms the concept of God being supreme and one.
[Note: The word “verse” typically refers to lines of poetry. Christain started using this word for the sentences in the Bible (they even change the name of the Bible in different translations). Muslims copied Christians and stared, translating Ayah as verse. This word should be avoided for the translation of the word “Ayah” because the Quran is not a work of poetry as clearly mentioned in the Quran 69:41:
Instead of the word “versed”, we should use the word “Ayah” in Quranic translations]
EVIDENCE OF JESUS NOT BEING GOD’S EQUAL BUT HIS MESSENGER AND SLAVE
The concept of the Trinity, where the Christians make Jesus equivalent to God, is nowhere found in the Bible. This fact is quite evident from the Book of John 14:28:
This verse clarifies the matter and refutes the idea that Jesus is God’s equal.
It should be noted that the words ‘Father’, ‘Son’ and ‘Children of God’ are all symbolic or allegorical. The Children of Israel referred to the pious and good people as the ‘Children of God’. So all the righteous people are the Children of God, and God is metaphorically their Father who they wholeheartedly follow. On the other hand, all the evil people were referred to as the Children of Satan. If a misguided person repented and became righteous, he would also be referred to as a Child of God.
When people started using the word Father and Son in its literal meaning, a problem arose. Misconceptions grew, and divisions occurred. Therefore, the Quran stopped the use of these terms to clear doubts in the minds of people. However, in Ahadith, we do find the usage of these terms. This fact becomes even more clear from the following verse of the Book of John:
Jesus uttered these words at the time of the crucifixion. This verse indicates that ‘Father’ refers to God in allegoric terminology. Moreover, the verse also emphasizes that He is the Father of all the righteous people. God deliberately put these words in the mouth of Jesus because he knew that the people would distort His Word and its meaning in later times.
In the above verse, Jesus spoke the words, “My God and Your God”. This sentence also proves that Jesus was not God because God cannot have a God. There is simply no God of God. Thus, these verses and many others nullify the concept of Trinity. In fact, this concept is not found in any of the four Gospels.
John 17:3 further highlights that there is only one true God, and he sent Jesus to the World. The literal translation of the word Rasool (Messenger) is “the one who is sent”. Since the Christians only present the translation of the Bible without the original text, they might have a word similar to Rasool in their original text, which is translated as, “whom thou hast sent”.
The above verse again emphasizes the fact that Jesus is not greater than the God who sent him.
Thus, the above verses from the Bible can be used as strong evidence to prove the unity of God, to refute Trinity, and to prove that Jesus is the Messenger of God.
USE OF PREVIOUS SCRIPTURES BY PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)
Even Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used previous scriptures to strengthen dialogue. According to a Hadith, some Jews approached Prophet PBUH. They asked him for guidance regarding the judgment of an adulterous couple. The Prophet asked them about the rulings mentioned in the Torah for this crime. Later, the Jews brought the Torah and read the guidelines regarding the punishment of adultery on the Prophet’s request. Abdul bin Salam, who was a Jewish scholar, informed the Prophet that they had not read the passage correctly. Therefore, the Prophet urged them to read the guidelines truthfully. The punishment mentioned in the Torah was stoning, which is even present to date. The Prophet informed them that they have the law with them, so there was no need to inquire about this issue. At this instance, the following Ayah was revealed:
Because of the revelation of this Ayah, the Prophet asked the Jews to bring the Torah. He used his speech to establish this Ayah of the Quran. As discussed in the previous article, the Quran expects the People of the Book to establish their books; otherwise, they are considered baseless.
Another Hadith indirectly signifies the useful role of the previous scriptures. According to this Hadith (not presented here in exact words), the Prophet (PBUH) asked the companions a question. ‘Who among the creation of Allah had the strangest and the highest grade of belief in him?’ The companions replied that they must be the angels. Prophet rejected their answer and said that though their faith is highly exalted, yet it is not strange. They are close to their Lord. How could they not believe in Him? Moreover, they have no free will, so they are not permitted to be disobedient. After thinking again, companions replied that these people might be the Prophets (PBUT). Prophet (PBUH) rejected this answer and told the companions that indeed, the faith of Prophets is high, but it is not strange. After all, they receive revelation from their God. Why would they not believe him? They had to believe Him. After more deliberation, the companions stated that these people must be them, the Companions. The Prophet (PBUH) again rejected this answer and said there is nothing strange in their belief as a Prophet is present between them. The only one strange to exist during the Prophet’s time was the one who didn’t believe him. Then the Prophet himself told the correct answer about these people with a strange belief in the following words:
It means the people who will have the strangest of faith would be the people who would come after him and would re-discover certain scriptures. These people will remain disconnected from these scriptures for a long time. In those scriptures, they will find a Book (the essence of the Quran) and will believe in whatever is in them. Since these people will believe in the Quran and Islam through some ancient scriptures, that’s why their faith is the strangest.
Salman Farsi (RA) accepted Islam through a similar route. He saw prophecies of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the Gospels and then came to Islam.
Since it is foretold in this Hadith that an entire nation shall come to Islam through some previous scriptures, so it is imperative to use these scriptures for Dawah to these people. That’s why the Quran and Hadith advised us to use them.
QURAN IS THE TOUCHSTONE
As mentioned earlier, we can consider the previous scriptures to be as holy as the Book of Ahadith. But how should we deal with the interpolations made in them? Moreover, the Quran has asked us to establish these scriptures, which means we need to manifest the correct and original instructions present in these scriptures. So, how would we identify the changes and wrong things intertwined within them? Quran provides us with answers:
Quran is the touchstone through which all the previous scriptures should be verified. Allah has linked the Quran and the earlier scriptures through the relationship of verification. There does not need to be a relationship of conflict. This universalism of the Quran will bring people together. This verification doesn’t only refer to verifying the divinity of these Books. It also refers to identifying and confirming the common grounds present in them and calling people towards it. The differences can and should be discussed later. If we will closely observe these scriptures, we would find many contradictions in them while the Quran has none. So, once the People of the Book would agree upon the similarities, it would be easier for us to discuss and inform them about the differences.
According to the Quran 2:4, all the believers believe in these previous books. The believers include all the messengers as well. This is clearly mentioned in the Quran 2:285:
SUMMARY: THE STATUS AND USE OF PREVIOUS BOOKS
We believe that the Previous Scriptures were revealed to the Prophets by God.
They still contain the truth.
They also contain many interpolations.
The parts of the Previous Scriptures, which are verified by the Quran, are truthful.
In all the revealed books, Allah has protected the belief in One God (unitarianism).
Prophecies about the last Messenger are also preserved in them.
All the articles of faiths are still intact in them.
We can use scriptures to communicate to the People of the Book by developing arguments that nullify their false claims. Doing so will make Dawah effective.
We will not just believe in the preserved part of these books but will ask the People of the Book to establish the truth that is present in them.
(Note: We will only ask them to establish the articles of faith, not the Shariah as Prophets were handed different sets of laws)
This Ayah explains what it means to establish the previous books. The Book should be recited as it was intended to be recited. In other words, reading it and manifesting the truthful commands of the Book (as they cannot follow the mutually contradicting things present in the previous books, they have to choose the right directive). The people who do this are the people who will believe in the Quran.
BELIEF IN THE HEREAFTER
According to Ayah 4 of Surah Al-Baqarah, belief in the Hereafter is one of the indications of true believers.
When we thing of Hereafter, we often limit it to life after death. The word Akhirah refers to a time that comes afterward or upcoming times. The meaning of this word can also be an era that will arrive within this World. Every next moment in life is an Akhirah when we take an earlier moment as a reference point.
This explanation is not an exaggeration in the least. In fact, in the Surah Dhuha (93:4), the word Akhirah is used in the sense of “upcoming times”. All scholars have translated and explained it like this. It states that the upcoming times of the Prophet (life in Madinah) will be better than the earlier ones (life in Makkah).
So every next moment of our life is Akhirah, which unfolds according to our present deeds as mentioned in Quran 42:30:
It states that the actual cause of the troubles in our lives is our own bad decisions. We often claim that whatever befalls us happens because of Allah. However, we do not understand the depth of this statement. In reality, whatever result we receive occurs according to the laws defined by Allah. Therefore, we have to bear the consequences of our deeds, regardless of whether they are good or bad. The rewards and punishment of Akhirah await us.
So, Akhirah can have two types of definitions:
- A narrow definition that only includes life after death
- A broader definition that includes both upcoming times and life after death.
Wherever in the Quran, the term ‘Akhirah’ is found parallel to Duniya, it refers to life after death. On the other hand, wherever Akhirah is mentioned alone, it refers to all upcoming times in your life.
[Duniya literally means “Near” or something present now, and Akhirah means far or something to come after Duniya]
So, believing in Akhirah means having firm faith or Yaqeen that whatever we do in this World will have consequences in this life and the next. This law of nature is known as the “Law of cause and effect”.
What is Yaqeen?
Let’s understand what is Yaqeen through an example. There is an individual stuck on the first floor of a building, which has only one way out, which is the stairs. Unfortunately, these stairs also catch fire. Yaqeen is the belief or the surety that using the stairs will lead to death. Therefore, it is best to jump through the window, regardless of the damage it may inflict. In other words, Yaqeen is believing with conviction.
Similarly, if someone informs you about cross-firing on Road 1, you will not take that road. Instead, you may opt for the longer path regardless of the distance it may take. This certainty about your decision is called Yaqeen.
Refraining from putting your hand in a box that contains a scorpion also illustrates Yaqeen. You are convinced that doing this will be detrimental.
The trainee pilot jumping off the plane with the parachute with him has faith that nothing will happen to him if he follows all the instructions. He exhibits Yaqeen.
Faith is not just a verbal proclamation of something. It is the firm conviction of the heart that exists without any doubt. Moreover, Yaqeen is reflected in one’s action.
Our actions should be as per the commandments of God. Only then will we be able to enjoy favorable results in both this World and the next. Islam demands this type of firm faith or Yaqeen from us. Those who genuinely believe in the laws of God and His commandments can never go against it. And those who go against it never truly believed it.
HIDAYAH AND FALAH
Ayah 5 of Surah Al-Baqarah states that individuals who display characteristics mentioned earlier have received guidance or Hidayah. These are the truly successful people.
Receiving Hidayah or guidance doesn’t mean that someone will hold our hand and force us on the right path. Hidayah is like a map that will tell us the right track. Those who have an understanding of this map and follow it will reach the beneficial and desired destination. As there are multiple paths, an individual has little chances of choosing the right pathway if he solely relies on his guesses and assumptions. The Hidayah or guidance that Islam talks about is present in the Quran. All those who study, understand, and follow it, will be on the right path and will achieve success. Otherwise, the individuals will go astray.
The Arabic word for success in this Ayah is ‘Falah’. To understand the Quran, we must appreciate the Arabic used at the time of the Prophet. This term originates from the word “Fallah” which means the peasant. The peasants of the desert at the time of the Prophet were usually dependent on a single crop. If, in any way, their crop got destroyed, the peasant would go broke. To prevent their agricultural produce from getting annihilated, they used to keep a close eye on it and nurtured the plant. The harvest was the result of the annual hard work that was done to ensure success. This attitude is Falah. Falah is not forgiveness or a gift that can be given to anyone. It is the result of the efforts an individual puts into achieving his goals as per the laws of God.
Quran 42:30 (mentioned above) says that God pardons a lot. God can indeed forgive minor sins. However, an individual must guard himself against significant sins. Quran 48:14 says:
This Ayah doesn’t suggest that Allah makes a sinner go to heaven while placing a believer in Hell according to His wish. The Ayah states that Allah will either forgive the sins of a person or punish the person for it. However, Allah will certainly reward the one who has good deeds with his blessings. Allah clearly said in the Quran 33:62, “…you will not find any change in the law of Allah”. Only those who abide by Allah’s laws will achieve forgiveness; otherwise, the sins will not remain hidden.
Thus, Falah is the result of your own effort. It should not be confused with salvation, redemption, Mukti, or Nijaat. These concepts are beliefs of Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists. Christians believe that since Adam sinned and ate the forbidden fruit, so, the whole of humanity is born with sin. Jesus came to provide redemption and salvation from this sin by dying on the cross. Hindus believe that salvation or Mukti is freeing oneself from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Islam believes in partial redemption or Nijaat. According to Islam, Nijaat is the removal of the momentary torments of this life. To be protected from Hell can also be considered Nijaat. Islam gives us a higher goal. It is to be grateful to God, walk in his path, and put effort into achieving Falah.
Article extracted by Durdana Yasin from Video https://youtu.be/IFmPjoScFaU