the consequences of which will be long lasting. The perception of this important truth can help man shun sin and pursue the way shown by Allah. Worldly pursuits should not make him oblivious of this truth. The mass of first-hand evidence will decide man’s fate on the Day of Judgement. For Allah, being the best of judges, will not treat anyone unfairly. The divine scheme of things is error-free and unbiased.
The most valuable element of this Qur’ānic passage is its elucidation of one of the major articles of faith in Islam – the Afterlife – in simple, easy-to-understand language and with the help of an appealing parable. Furthermore, the passage is remarkable for pressing home the following important points.
Related Qur’ānic passages for self-study
5
The Qur’ān
And if you (O mankind) are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a sūrah like it and call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful.
But if you cannot, and certainly you cannot [produce it], then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones. Hellfire is prepared for the unbelievers.
(al-Baqarah 2:23-24)
APART from stressing that the Qur’ān is a unique and inimitable Book, this passage defines the important concepts of the Scripture, Revelation and its bearer, Allah’s Messenger. Such clarification was necessary as the Qur’ān was being revealed at a time when people held hazy notions about these. Most of the earlier religious communities did not possess any Scripture. For them, oral tradition served as their guidance. Some fallacious views however had crept into the beliefs of followers of even major world faiths who had been favoured with the Scriptures, especially as regards their source status. For example, the Jewish holy Book is reckoned as Scripture by Christians. Known popularly as the Old Testament, it forms part of the Bible. As opposed to this instance of the appropriation of one faith community’s Scripture by another, there is yet another example at the other end of the scale. The Theravada Buddhist Scripture, the Tiptaka is taken only as a preparatory text by Mahayana Buddhists. For Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita is, no doubt, an important religious text yet it is not part of their Scripture, the Vedas. Besides Scripture, there have been serious misconceptions about the nature of divine revelation and its human recipient and the relationship between the two. On this count, the example of the Bible is most instructive. The Bible, though widely regarded as Scripture, took hundreds of years of compilation to receive this designation. No one can say with certainty which part of the Bible represents the exact Word of God and which is the product of its human scribes. More regrettably, for Christians, Christ has more meaning than the Bible.
In the above quoted passage, the Qur’ān presents a clear and cogent account of Scripture, divine revelation alone being its origin and content and the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as its recipient being the one who faithfully transmitted it to mankind without having any role in its composition. The Qur’ān represents wholly the Word of God in its purity. In stating these articles of faith, the Qur’ān dispels all the prevalent misconceptions about Scripture which is the very basis of a faith community. More significantly, the Qur’ān declares that it is a miracle which is unique and inimitable. Also, it clarifies the relationship between the Word of God, the Qur’ān and its bearer the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who is essentially God’s servant. It leaves no room for confusion.
The passage is equally remarkable for the statements it declares, though initially directed at its immediate addressees, yet addressed to the
