SPIRIT OF ISLAM MARCH 2O18

43 Spirit of Islam Issue 63 March 2018 THE WORD OF GOD From The Scriptures The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 AD. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level. Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan We gave Scriptures, wisdom and prophethood to the Children of Israel, and provided them with good things and favoured them over all other people. We gave them clear arguments in matters [of religion]. It was only after knowledge came to them that they differed among themselves out of mutual rivalry. On the Day of Resurrection your Lord will judge between them regarding their differences. Then We set you on a clear path [of religion]: so follow it, and do not yield to the desires of those who have no knowledge. They can be of no avail to you against God. The wrongdoers are friends of one another, while the friend of the righteous is God. This [Book] brings enlightenment and guidance to mankind, and is a blessing for those who have firm faith. (45: 16-20) According to verse 16, God exalted the Children of Israel over the peoples of the world. This parallels what was said of the people ( ummah ) of the Prophet Muhammad, i.e. ‘You are the best ummah (nation)’ (3: 110) . To make a group the bearer of the Book of God is in fact making it responsible for conveying the message to other nations. In principle, the Children of Israel were commanded to convey the message to the whole world, as is now the case with the Muslims. But the Children of Israel, by introducing deviations into their Book, lost this status forever. There is always uniformity in the authentic teachings of religion. But additions to them by scholars create differences and undue complexities. Then every scholar makes additions according to his taste. Thereafter every scholar and his followers set about proving