In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Beneficent
People of the Scriptures, Our messenger has come to you to make clear to you much of what you have been concealing of the Scriptures, and to overlook much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book, through which Allah guides those who seek His pleasure along the paths of peace. By His grace, He leads them out of darkness into light and guides them along a straight way.
(The Repast: Al-Maidah : 5: 16-17)
People who received earlier revelations from Allah, particularly the Jews and Christians, found it rather hard to accept that a prophet, who did not belong to them, called on them to submit themselves to Allah. The verses above confirm that this messenger Muhammad (Pbuh) has been sent to them by Allah and has been assigned the role of opening things up to them so that they may see things in their reality. They are told that this messenger brings out into the open what they have conspired to suppress of the basic truth of the scriptures given to them. This applies, to both Christians and Jews. The Christians suppressed the very basic and fundamental principle of faith, namely, the concept of the Oneness of Allah, and the Jews have suppressed many divine rulings such as the punishment of adulterers with stoning and the total prohibition of usury. Both Christians and Jews also suppressed the news of the future mission of the unlettered prophet “whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel in their hands.” He overlooks much of what they had distorted or suppressed as it is not included in his revelations. Allah has abrogated many of the rulings of earlier scriptures and divine codes as these had fulfilled their purpose in the particular community to which the message has been revealed. They had no longer any role to play in human society.
Now the final, compr-ehensive and everlasting message has been revealed and become well-established as a demonstration of the perfection of the grace Allah has bestowed on man, choosing Islam as the faith acceptable to him. No abrogation or modification can be introduced into this message.
The nature of what the last messenger has been given, and the role it is destined to play in human life and its practical effect are then explained: “There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book.” Perhaps nothing expresses the nature of the Our’an and the divine message of Islam more accurately and comprehensively than stating that it is “a light.” In his heart of hearts, in everything in his life, in his evaluation of things, events and people, a believer realises, as soon as he accepts the truth of faith that he has a light that makes everything clear to him. Everything brightens up in front of him. No longer is he confused about anything, no longer does he suffer any hesitation before taking a serious decision, no longer is he travelling an unmarked road and no longer is he uncertain of his direction. His ultimate goal is clear. His way towards it is straight and he is certain of his footsteps. Two qualities describe the message which has been given to the noble messenger: “A light and a clear book.”
It has been Allah’s pleasure to choose Islam as a religion for mankind. Anyone who follows what Allah has been pleased to choose for him and accepts it with pleasure’ will be guided by Allah “along the paths of peace.” How true and accurate this description is. What this faith imparts to life as a whole is peace, in the widest sense of the term. It ‘is peace within the individual, the community and the whole world. It is peace with one’s conscience, mind and body. It is peace within the home and family, society and the community and with humanity at large. It is peace with life, the universe and with their Creator, Allah. Mankind has never known or experienced this sort of peace except through following this faith and implementing its laws and systems.
It is a true fact that Allah guides with this religion which he has chosen anyone, who seeks his pleasure by following it “along the paths of peace” in all the aforementioned aspects of life. No one can appreciate how profound a blessing this is except a person who has experienced what life is like along the path of war in ignorant societies, old and modern, or one who has experienced the turmoil of worry and restlessness which is generated within man’s conscience by deviant and ignorant faiths or by ignorant laws and systems. Those who were the first to be addressed by these Qur’anic revelations realised, as a result of their past experience in ignorant societies, the true meaning of this peace which brought happiness into their personal lives. We badly need to understand this basic truth. We see ignorance all around us playing havoc with man’s life, as it continues to cause war ,to flare up within human conscience and human society, generation after generation. No one needs to understand this true wisdom more than us since we have lived under this peace for a period of our history, only to leave it for a life of war which crushes our spirits, morals, behavior and society. We suffer the clutches of ignorance and endure the unabating war it wages against us, when Islam and the peace it imparts to mankind is within our reach. We only need to accept for ourselves what Allah has chosen for us to enjoy this blessed peace. What a raw deal we accept for ourselves when we barter good for evil, truth for error and peace for war.
We can save mankind from the tribulations of ignorance and the war it wages on man in all shapes and forms. But we cannot do that until we save ourselves by turning back to what Allah has chosen for us and seek His pleasure by following it in order to be included among those whom Allah guides along the paths of peace and “leads them out of darkness into light” by His grace. Everything under ignorance is darkness. There is the darkness of superstition and ill-conceived beliefs, the darkness of unrestrained desire and caprice, the darkness of worry and confusion, the darkness of confused values and mistaken judgments and standards. Light on the other hand, is the sort of clarity and brightness which lights up man’s conscience, his mind and his whole life. He “guides them along a straight way.” It is in line with human nature and with the universe as well as the laws which govern the existence of man and the universe. It leads straight to Allah and allows no confusion of issues or blurring of fact or error of direction.
It is Allah, the Creator of man and nature, the universe and its laws who has devised this system for man and this religion for the believers. It is only natural, therefore, that this system should show them the straight way which no other system can map out for them. Allah always tells the truth.
He is in no need of anyone, nor is it of any benefit to Him that people follow His guidance nor of any consequence to Him that they should sink into error. It is only because He is most gracious that He has given them this faith which is the straight way. To claim that Jesus Christ is Allah is blatant blasphemy. To say that the Jews and the Christians are Allah’s beloved sons is false fabrication. Both claims are pressed by people of the Scriptures who have suppressed the clear essence of the concept of Oneness of Allah. The last messenger, Muhammad (Pbuh) has been sent to put it back in its clearest form, so that those who have strayed away from it may turn back.