Sole Authoritative Source
Qur’aanic Verse 16.89:
Transliteration:
89. Wayawma nabAAathu fee kulli ommatin shaheedan AAalayhim min anfusihim waji/na bika shaheedan AAala haola-i wanazzalna AAalayka alkitaba tibyanan likulli shay-in wahudan warahmatan wabushra lilmuslimeena
Translation:
89. And One Day We will raise in every people a witness against them from among themselves, and bring you as a witness against these. And We have revealed to you the Book explaining everything19 clearly, and as a guidance, mercy and good news for those who submit. 20
Study Notes:
19. What does ‘everything’ mean here? It obviously does not mean, for example, any recipe for cooking a delicious food item. It means general principles for conduct of human life. As regards the recipe, in the example taken, Allah has obviously left it and such other things to be learnt through experiences of earlier people and personal innovations and inspirations. The divine Hand is inherent here too when a man innovates or invents a new thing. But the characteristics of discovery, innovation and invention are common to all human beings, whether one is a believer or not. Human beings are however given the choice of recognizing or denying the existence of One Supreme Creator of the entire Universe and everything therein. And the Kind Creator has provided innumerable and unending signs for mankind to make the right choice of recognizing His existence. Not only that, but He has sent Prophets and Messengers with divinely authored Books for their guidance for making the right choice and conducting life accordingly. ‘Everything’ in the Verse implies everything for this purpose of making the right choice and conducting life accordingly. On the exercise of this choice depends Man’s fate in the Hereafter. And the stake is extremely high! And Allah could have left mankind to its fate by just providing the tell-tale numerous signs in the Universe, but He is Kind and extremely Merciful to His human creatures. HE has given them, in addition, the divine Book of Guidance, the Qur’aan, as a token of Mercy from Him. Therein He has moreover given the enticement of Paradise to mankind to help them make the right choice.
20. The unequivocal divine statement here that the Qur’aan gives clear explanation of everything makes the Book the sole authoritative source and basis for Islam, the Allah-chosen way of life for entire mankind. The equal (and in some quarters even greater) importance given to the man-influenced and error-prone ahaadeeth is the cause of the downfall of Muslims. Allah Ta’ala has obviously withdrawn His Hand of Mercy from them.
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The above is extracted from yet-to-be-published Qur’aanic Studies - Volume XXVIII. It will be published, in due course, inshaAllah on the website INVITATION TO SALVATION, in continuation of Volumes I to XXVII already published and freely available thereon.
Mohammad Shafi
Author of ‘ISLAM & INTEREST‘
January 19th, 2010 at 5:36 am
The true Muslims - those that adamantly cling to the Sunnah - will have the reward of fifty Companions. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the verse, “O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow right guidance, no harm can come to you from those who err” (al-Maidah 105), he said, “Nay indeed, order good and forbid evil until you see stinginess being obeyed, and desires being followed, and this world preferred [over the next], and each person being deluded by his own opinions. Then take care of yourself and leave the common people. For indeed, after you there will be days of patience, where patience will be like holding on to glowing embers. Whoever is able to do this will have the reward of fifty people that do like him.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them?” He replied, “The reward of fifty of you” [Recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud with a weak chain but it has supporting evidence. Al-Albani calls it sahih. See al-Sahiha, #957]. This reward is due to his strangeness among the people.
Mohammad Shafi responds:
True Muslims are those that adamantly cling to the Qur’aan - those that do not consider ahaadeeth to be as sacrosanct as the Qur’aanic Verses.