The Quran: Guidance and Legislation
The following article is from the On Demand Course: Is the Quran True Revelation? by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and Shaykh Ali Hani. This is the third in a series.
فَمَا تُعَدُّ وَلاَ تُحْصَى عَجَائِبُهَا
وَلاَ تُسَامُ عَلَى الإِكْثَارِ بِالسَّأَمِSuch that their wonders are countless and beyond any bounds,
And never found to be tiresome in great quantity.
What the Quran contains of guidance is beyond the guidance, teachings and legislation of any legal and moral system past or present in its comprehensiveness, justice, and virtue. Furthermore, the promises of the coming of The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the Torah and the Gospel also show how the Quran is not produced by man and is revelation from Allah.
Roman law developed for well over a thousand years and its influence spread beyond Roman lands. Many other preceding civilizations influenced Roman law, particularly the Greek philosophers such as Plato and others.
Over thirteen centuries many philosophers developed this law code till it reached its pinnacle. Were we to compare Roman law and the law and guidance of the Quran there is no point of comparison between the two in terms of greatness.
Equality
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
“O mankind: Verily We created you of a single male and female, and but made you peoples and major tribes to know and appreciate your own kindred ties with each other: Verily the greatest of you all in the sight of Allah is the most godfearing of you. Verily Allah is all-knowing, all-aware.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 49:13]
And further:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍۢ وَٰحِدَةٍۢ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًۭا كَثِيرًۭا وَنِسَآءًۭ ۚ
“O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, and created of it its mate, and spread far and wide from them a multitude of men and women.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 4:1]
Here we see the affirmation of both equality of treatment and origin. You are all created from one soul. The basis of virtue is not your background, ethnicity, or wealth. Rather it is a moral criterion which is the degree of Taqwa. In Roman law, we don’t see this equality (neither of origin nor of treatment).
The Romans would punish a slave far more than they would punish a free man. Whereas Islam came with a whole system of equal treatment of slaves. In fact, if a slave committed the same crime they would be punished less than a free person.
Parents
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوۤا۟ إِلَّاۤ إِیَّاهُ وَبِٱلۡوَ ٰلِدَیۡنِ إِحۡسَـٰنًاۚ
“And your Lord has decreed that you are to worship none but Him. And to treat parents with grace and kindness.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 17:23]
What does the Quran call to concerning both parents? What is the meaning of “and with your parents have excellence”? This baa’ indicates that we are ever excellent towards our parents. That remaining ever excellent towards parents is not just only at some times or when visiting them. It is to continually maintain excellence even after their life such as by visiting the friends of our parents out of dutifulness to our parents.
إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّۢ
Which means: “If one of them reach old age in your care, or both of them; Never say ‘Faugh!’ to them.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 17:23]
If the parents need you where should the parents be? With you. They should not be in an old-aged home as is prevalent. Consider where the civilization that we are surrounded by is at practically when it comes to the treatment of parents. The guidance the Quran has come with is that we have excellence with them not only in their lifetime but after their life as well.
Children
That people force their children out of their homes when they are not ready to move out and or able to work is quite prevalent. Governments take taxes from the parents, then, they take charge of the child and say: “We will raise your children, not you.” These are ways of breaking families apart. Islam has come to join people together and to keep families together with all its wise teachings whereas the devilish society separates.
Inheritance
Notice how civilizations deprive women of inheritance, giving people unequal shares or leaving it to people’s whims. Whereas Islam comes with a fair, balanced, clear and just apportionment of inheritance.
Race
Reflect on the teachings of Islam regarding racism and we talk about our master Bilal, the muadhhin of The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and we say he is our master (sayyiduna) and we see him as being far greater than us.
Capitalism and Socialism
Then you see the balance of Islam’s teaching between the excess of capitalism and the unreality of socialism. You see in capitalism, what are the rights of the poor? Whereas Allah tells us:
وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّۭ مَّعْلُومٌۭ
لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ
Which means: “And who has made in their wealth a specific known share to give
To the asker of alms, and to him deprived because he will not ask.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 70:24-25]
Whereas socialism came and took people’s wealth wrongfully. The Islamic system preserves the right of the individual to own property. One cannot usurp their wealth. Also, the poor have a right to the wealth of the rich. This is so that wealth does not only circulate among the rich. This is of course connected to the prohibition of riba (usury) and the rules related to zakah which is on your wealth.
كَیۡ لَا یَكُونَ دُولَةَۢ بَیۡنَ ٱلۡأَغۡنِیَاۤءِ مِنكُمۡۚ
“In order that it may not merely make its rounds between the wealthy of you.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 59:7]
The Torah and the Gospel
There are many promises of the coming of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) contained in the Torah and the Gospel. The Jews and the Christians hid many of them. In different historical version of the Bible, there are different portents of the coming of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). They have been excised or deliberately mistranslated to cover over the fact. Allah says:
وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَمُبَشِّرًۢا بِرَسُولٍۢ يَأْتِى مِنۢ بَعْدِى ٱسْمُهُۥٓ أَحْمَدُ ۖ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ قَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَا سِحْرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
“And remind them when Jesus son of Mary said, ‘O children of Israel: Verily I am the messenger of Allah to you, confirming all that came before me of the Torah; And giving glad tidings of a momentous messenger to come but after me whose name shall be Ahmad.’ So when the latter came to them with surpassing clear proofs, they said, ‘This is open bewitchery!’” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 61:6]
He also says:
ٱلَّذِینَ یَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِیَّ ٱلۡأُمِّیَّ ٱلَّذِی یَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكۡتُوبًا عِندَهُمۡ فِی ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَٱلۡإِنجِیلِ
“Those who shall faithfully follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet whom they find described with them in the Torah and Gospel.” [Keller, The Quran Beheld 7:157]
The Quran confirms the truth mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel. The Bible states how revelation begins with the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the sending of Jibril:
“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.” [Isiah 29:12 KJV]
The fact that Arab copies don’t even mention this proves deliberate changes made to the Bible. Likewise:
“If you give it to someone who can’t read and ask him to read it to you, he will answer that he doesn’t know how.” [Isiah 29:12]
And in the Torah there is the specific mention by name of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Muhammadim means the praised one, i.e., Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Before the coming of the Prophet there was no one named Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Likewise, Makkah is mentioned.
Conclusion
The guidance and legislation as well as the confirmation of the promises in the Torah and the Gospel demonstrate that the Quran is true revelation from Allah.
In the next article we’ll focus on uncovering unknown matters and scientific realities mentioned in the Quran.
