September 28, 2007 Friday Ramazan 15, 142
Final divine revelation
By Manzoor Ahmad
Friday feature
THERE has been a common perception among the adherents of other faiths that the
Holy Quran is merely a book of rituals for Muslims, seemingly due to some
mis-persuasions, misconceptions or misconstructions.
The Glorious Quran, the last of the four revealed books the other three
being: Zaboor (Psalms to David), Taurat (Torah to Moses) and Injil (Bible to
Jesus) is the most sacred and noble Divine revelation and that too not for
any particular period, place and people but for all times and for all humanity.
It is eternal and will never be out of date.
The Holy Quran does not simply address to the Muslims as O ye who believe!
rather at numerous places it also addresses as O ye people! i.e. to the
totality of mankind, which in unequivocal words convey the message of human
fraternity in its fullest form as well as equality in social norms,
encompassing the whole human race without any discrimination on the basis of
cast and creed, land, language and clan and colour.
The oneness of the humanity is eloquently expressed in the Holy Quran in these
words, O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female,
and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other
(49:13)
and Mankind was one single nation,
(2:213).
Nations and tribes are constituted by individuals, and individuals on one hand
constitute families and on the other human societies, interrelated and
interlinked. In the families and societies, certain people deserve some status
or place on account of their obligations or relationship, whereas others
deserve some considerations on the ground of their peculiar conditions or
circumstances.
To substantiate the above, a few verses from the Holy Quran are quoted.
Treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need;
(2:83). In another verse the divine commandment is thus:
And good to
parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours
who are strangers, the companion by your side, the way-farer (ye meet) and what
your right hands possess:
(4:36).
In both of the verses, orphans are placed just after parents and near
relatives. It vividly manifests how much significance is attached to them.
Their care is the responsibility of society, a universal norm irrespective of
any discrimination. Likewise is the case of those in need. None can deny even
today that those who are in need of some sort of genuine help deserve full
support of society.
In the above verse, the others who have been mentioned are the neighbours, both
near or strangers, the companion, the way-farer and the slaves. The neighbours
being close prove to be of help; according to ibn-Kathir they may either be
Muslims, Jews or Christians. The companions or the friends play an important
role in social life.
The divine proclamation about the way-farer reflects firstly dignity of man and
secondly motivates the humanity to come forward to help the people who may
either be travellers or strangers stranded on the way.
Then come slaves; slavery now is almost no more a problem but for very long it
had been a blot on the social fabric. They were never treated as human beings
and were deprived of all sorts of religious, moral, social and economical
rights. Not only that but they were inhumanly treated, severely penalised,
physically tortured and freely sold or purchased. It is Islam that called for
getting them enfranchised and thus elevated their social status, a radical
departure from the centuries old custom.
The Holy Quran further stresses,
And that ye be kind to parents. Whether one
or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt,
nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. (17:23). With showing
kindness, the Holy Quran also enjoins for financial help in these words,
. To
spend of your substance out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the
needy, for the way-farer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves;
(2:177).Here it will not be out of place to mention that the Holy Quran
discourages prodigality,
But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a
spendthrift. (17:26). Further it enunciates that the midway is the best way,
Make not thy hand tied to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach,
so that thou become blameworthy and destitute. (17:29).
Human society cannot claim to be fair unless there is justice. The Holy Quran
candidly urges,
And when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with
justice:
(4:58); and further,
Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses
to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether
it be (against) rich or poor:
(4:135).
To create an ambience of peace and high morality, the Holy Quran speaks out,
Whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned
(6:152); and
Speak fair to the people;
(2:83).
The sanctity of human lives can well be judged from these words of the Holy
Quran,
that if any one slew a person
it would be as if he slew the whole
people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the
whole people.
. (5:35).
The Quranic teachings permeate even the mundane sectors of human society just
to establish social order, mutual understanding and better relationship among
the individuals.
The individual persons are liable to err or forget; the Holy Quran 1400 years
ago explicitly emphasised to prepare written documents particularly for the
transactions to be matured sometime in future:
When ye deal with each other,
in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce
them in writing.
. And not only that but one capable to write is also
exhorted to write:
Let a scribe write down faithfully as between the
parties, let not the scribe refuse to write
(2:282).
In other transactions the Holy Quran pronounces,
Give measure and weight
with (full) justice;
(6:152). It further reiterated,
Give just measure
and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due;
(7:85) and again in verses 1 to 3 of Sura 83, Woe to those that deal in fraud,
those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure,
but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. It
also urges in Sura Rahman, verse 9: So establish weight with justice and fall
not short in the balance.
Briefly, numerous Quranic injunctions lay stress on various societal norms to
promote welfare and betterment of the humanity as a whole.
ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL
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