59. In the light of the foregoing discussion and commentary, it is quite
evident that this statement comes from the Jews. Since the Prophet (peace be
on him) had asserted that he was a Prophet and that a Book had been revealed
to him, the unbelieving Quraysh and other polytheists of Arabia naturally used
to approach the Jews and the Christians - who believed in the Prophets and in
the Scriptures - and tried to solicit a candid answer from them as to whether
God's words had indeed been revealed to Muhammad (peace be on him). Whatever
answer they gave was then disseminated on all sides by the active opponents
of the Prophet (peace be on him) in order to create revulsion against Islam.
This is the reason for mentioning, and then refuting, this statement by the
Jews, which had been used by the opposition as an argument against Islam.
One might wonder how a Jew, who believes in the Torah as a revealed Book of
God, could say that God had revealed nothing to anyone. At times blind obstinacy
and bigotry cause people to resort to arguments which strike at the roots of
their own belief. These people were bent upon denying the prophethood of Muhammad
(peace be on him), and this fanaticism had come to dominate them so much that
they went so far as to deny the very institution of prophethood.
To say that peopte have not formed any proper estimate of God means that they
have erred grossly in assessing His wisdom and power. Whoever says that God
did not reveal knowledge of Reality and the code for man's guidance has fallen
into one of two errors. Either he considers it impossible for man to become
the recipient of God's revelation, and this constitutes a gross misjudgement
of God's power, or he thinks that even though God has equipped man with intelligence
and with the power to act as he chooses, He has nevertheless made no arrangement
for his guidance, but has left him in this world altogether unguided and thus
conferred upon him the right to behave in any way he likes. This is obviously
a misjudgement of God's wisdom.
60. The revelation of the Torah to Moses (peace be on him) is adduced by way of evidence since the Jews, to whom this response is addressed, believed that it had been revealed. It is obvious that their recognition of the Torah as the Book revealed to Moses negated their standpoint that God had never revealed anything to any human being. Their belief in the Torah at least proved that revelation to man is possible, and had actually taken place.
61. The point argued above was that God's word can be, and in the past has
been, revealed to human beings. The next point is that the message of Muhammad
(peace be on him) is indeed the revealed word of God. In order to establish
this, four things are adduced as evidence: First, that this Book is overflowing
with God's grace and beneficence. In other words, it contains the best possible
principles for the well-being and salvation of mankind. It lays down the true
doctrines of belief. It urges man to righteous conduct and inspires him to moral
excellence. It contains guidance as to how one may live a life of purity. And
above all, it is free from any trace of the ignorance, egocentricity, narrow-mindedness,
iniquity, obscenity and other corruptions with which the Jews and the Christians
had overlaid their revealed Scriptures. Second, this Book does not propound
any guidance which is essentially divergent from that previously revealed; rather
it confirms and supports it. Third, the purpose of the revelation of this Book
is the same as that of the revelation of Scriptures in the past, viz., to shake
people out of their heedlessness and warn them of the evil consequences of their
corruption. Fourth, that the call of this Book did not attract those who merely
worshipped worldly advantages and were slaves of their animal desires. On the
contrary, it attracted those whose vision goes beyond the narrow limits of worldly
life. Moreover, the revolution wrought in the lives of people under the influence
of this Book has rendered them conspicuously distinct from others in respect
of piety and godliness.
A Book with such characteristics and with such a wholesome impact on human beings
can only be from God.