The third article of faith in Islam is belief in the holy books of God Almighty. Before the appearance of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, strange views had arisen among the Muslims regarding this article of faith as well. The belief in the divine books, especially the Holy Quran, was rendered incomplete and imperfect due to the concepts and false interpretations introduced by the so-called religious scholars of that time.
In Islam, the Holy Quran is the perfect source of faith because it is the only holy book that has withstood the test of time. The belief in other scriptures is purely a matter of principle, as they neither exist in their true and actual condition, nor has Allah the Almighty commanded to follow their laws in this age.
We are overwhelmed with shock and surprise to view the beliefs of Muslims regarding the Holy Quran; this feeling arises because we have come to know the real truth by believing in the Promised Messiahas.
Otherwise, like very many Muslims, we would have committed the same blunders about the Holy Quran. Some people think that the Holy Quran was lifted from the world soon after the demise of the Holy Prophetsa and most of it had disappeared from the earth. According to some, the present form of the Holy Quran has been corrupted by human interventions.
Certain people strongly reject such notions and refer to them as kufr [disbelief], but on the other hand, they themselves entertain such dangerous beliefs in one way or another. For instance, they say that certain verses of the Holy Quran have been abrogated and the reason of their annulment, in their view, is that the verses which are found to be contrary to other verses are null and void. As a result of this belief, certain verses were considered contrary to others by some people and various other verses were found to be conflicting each other according to another group of people, and thus, a significant part of the Holy Quran was considered to have been abrogated.
Consequently, it not only resulted in disbelief of some parts of the Holy Quran, but another dangerous effect it created was doubt and uncertainty in the hearts and minds of people. As a result, the credibility of the book was in question because there was no way to know exactly which verses were to be considered invalid and Allah the Almighty or His messenger, Prophet Muhammadsa had also not shed light on this matter.
Another horrible misconception concerning the books of God, particularly about the Holy Quran, was that even this divine book is not free from the involvement of Satan and it is said that sometimes, Satan interferes in the revelation of God. This false assumption is centered on the following verse of the Holy Quran:
وَ مَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مِنۡ قَبۡلِکَ مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ وَّ لَا نَبِیٍّ اِلَّاۤ اِذَا تَمَنّٰۤی اَلۡقَی الشَّیۡطٰنُ فِیۡۤ اُمۡنِیَّتِہٖ
“Never sent We a Messenger or a Prophet before thee, but when he sought to attain what he aimed at, Satan put obstacles in the way of what he sought after” (Surah al-Hajj, Ch.22: V.53).
It is reasoned from this verse that Satan intervenes in the revelation of every prophet and adds parts to it which are not from Allah the Almighty. The so-called commentators of the Holy Quran did consider it enough to declare this a general rule, but they also quoted an incident of the Holy Prophetsa to assert their view. They say that the Holy Prophetsa was reciting Surah al-Najm and when he reached the following verses:
اَفَرَءَیۡتُمُ اللّٰتَ وَ الۡعُزّٰی۔ وَ مَنٰوۃَ الثَّالِثَۃَ الۡاُخۡرٰی
“Now tell me about Lat and Uzza and Manat, the third one, another goddess!” (Surah al-Najm, Ch.53: V.20-21), Satan added the words:
تلك الغرانيق العُلى، وإنشفاعتهن لَتُرتَجَى
[These idols, which have the status of beautiful women with beautiful necks, are expected to carry out intercession] and (God forbid) made the Holy Prophetsa utter these words from his mouth. It is said that when the disbelievers heard these words, they also prostrated. Some people consider this story to be extremely outrageous and intolerable and say that Satan did not make the Holy Prophetsa utter these phrases but made a voice like him and uttered those words. The doubts that arise as a result of this false concept are baselessly dismissed by
following the verse:
فَیَنۡسَخُ اللّٰہُ مَا یُلۡقِی الشَّیۡطٰنُ ثُمَّ یُحۡکِمُ اللّٰہُ اٰیٰتِہٖ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ عَلِیۡمٌ حَکِیۡمٌ
“But Allah removes the obstacles that are placed by Satan. Then Allah firmly establishes His Signs. And Allah is All Knowing, Wise” (Surah al-Hajj, Ch.22: V.53).
But how can one be satisfied with this answer because if satan can interfere in divine revelation, then what proof is there that this very verse is also not satanic? And Satan, in order to satisfy the Holy Prophetsa, said that whatever is spoken by Satan is erased, so that Satan’s word may also be considered as the word of Allah. Some people have devalued the Holy Quran to such an extent that its clear and explicit teachings have been undermined on the basis of ahadith and in the name of following the sunnah, they have made the word of Allah subject to the thoughts of some selfish and morally corrupt human beings.
From their perspective, even if the Holy Quran openly rejects a matter, if it is mentioned in the weakest of ahadith, it will take precedence over divine revelation.
Certain people consider the Holy Quran to be a collection of thoughts of the Holy Prophetsa and denied that it was the divine word of God. Apparently, they consider it to be the revelation of Allah, but at the same time, they say that the ideas which occurred in the heart of the Holy Prophetsa were produced by God, so they should also be called the words of Allah, otherwise its original wording is attributed to the Holy Prophetsa.
People with a specific mindset declared that the Holy Quran cannot be translated. This resulted in depriving the masses from comprehending the true meaning of God’s revelation and resulted in the spread of atheism. Some say that the Holy Quran is full of taqdim and takhir, i.e. most of the times, words of the Holy Quran do not give meanings when read in the order in which they are recorded and cannot be understood unless taqdim and takhir is taken into account.
Certain people think that the Holy Quran is an abstruse and ambiguous book. It provides hints about some important matters, but it does not present firmly grounded arguments to prove any issue. Some have treated the word of God in such a way that all the stories and tales of the world that are rejected by common sense and are repulsive to human nature have been collected and attributed to the Holy Quran. They may be contrary to the clear teachings of the Holy Quran, but they have been added in the commentaries as the stories of Israelites. Their so-called commentators do not hesitate to attribute these fictitious tales to the saints and holy men of God.
Certain people deny that there is coherence in the Holy Quran. According to them, there is no particular order or arrangement in the events and accounts described in the Holy Quran. One of the greatest erroneous concepts spread about the revelation of Allah the Almighty is that God no longer speaks to human beings as He used to do in the past. According to them, an attribute of God Almighty has been suspended. He sees, hears, but does not speak.
Hence, many tried their best to ruin the beauty of Holy Quran and hide its true colours from people’s eyes. Unfortunately, all these efforts were carried to serve the Holy Quran, although the result of these efforts was that the world began to hate the teachings of the Holy Quran and its fascinating impact was removed from the hearts.
Allah the Almighty sent the Promised Messiahas in this age to remove all these misunderstandings and prove with arguments that the Holy Quran is the last guiding book of God Almighty. It is free from any kind of naskh [abrogation]. Everything in the Holy Quran is worthy of being followed by the Muslims and there is no part of it that is contrary to the other. He who disagrees with this is himself ignorant and attributes his lack of knowledge to the Holy Quran. There has been no change in the Holy Quran and every single word of it is the same as revealed to the Holy Prophetsa. Not only that, but no change can be made in it, neither by changing its subjects, nor by adding any new text within it, nor by reducing any part of it.
The Promised Messiahas states:
“We have complete confidence in the fact that the Holy Quran is the last divine book and that not an iota or dot can be added or detracted from its laws, limits, commandments and orders. Now there is no revelation or inspiration from Allah that can modify, change or abrogate any command of the Holy Quran.” (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, p. 170)
The Promised Messiahas emphasised that Allah the Almighty Himself is the Protector of the Holy Quran and He has created certain spiritual and physical means to protect it. Thus, human interventions cannot affect it at all. To say that any part of it has been taken from the world is to blame Allah the Almighty. Believing that the Holy Quran was changed by any human or Satan renders it doubtful and forever distrustful.
Moreover, if that was the case, it would be necessary for a prophet and a new divine law to be sent to guide the world, so that humanity would not be deprived of the true commandments of God Almighty.
The Promised Messiahas also proved that the Holy Quran and in fact, every revelation of God is free from satanic interference. He presented his personal experiences about divine blessings of Allah the Almighty and explained that if Satan cannot interfere in the revelations of a servant of the Holy Prophetsa, then it is impossible for him to intervene or change the revelations delivered to the chief of all the prophets, Muhammadsa.
The Promised Messiahas told the Muslims that the Holy Quran has been preserved by Allah the Almighty in its original form and ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa cannot be given precedence over it. The Holy Quran should not be called into question due to certain ahadith. In fact, the ahadith should be interpreted in light of the teachings and doctrines of the Holy Quran. If there arises a contradiction between the two, then those ahadith that may have been corrupted by a human being, intentionally or unintentionally, should be left out.
The Promised Messiahas, in response to those who say that the complete religion of Islam is known to us from ahadith, said that apart from the Holy Quran and ahadith, another thing is sunnah, i.e. the actions and practices of the Holy Prophetsa.
Scores of Muslims saw tens of millions of Muslims performing that sunnah and the next generation learned from them. This sunnah also does not contradict the Holy Quran and it should be given precedence over ahadith to find the truth. Ahadith are oral traditions and there is plenty of room for doubt about their authenticity.
The Promised Messiahas rejected the idea that the Holy Quran is a compilation of the words of the Holy Prophetsa. He explained that if God Almighty can create the whole universe without the need of physical hands, then He can surely speak to his prophets and chosen ones through spiritual means and send revelations upon them.
The Promised Messiahas also rejected this notion that the word of God should not be translated and said that unless the meaning of the Holy Quran was conveyed to people, how would they be aware of its beauties and qualities. The Promised Messiahas laid special emphasis that the Holy Quran is a complete and perfect book with unlimited knowledge and pearls of wisdom. It possesses clear and strong arguments. He said that a comprehensive book like the Holy Quran could not be found anywhere in the world.
The Promised Messiahas encouraged the Muslims to unlock the treasures of the Holy Quran by purifying themselves and referred to the following verse of the Holy Quran:
لَّا یَمَسُّہٗۤ اِلَّا الۡمُطَہَّرُوۡنَ
“None shall touch [it] except those who are purified.” (Surah al-Waqiah, Ch.56: V.80)
The Promised Messiahas presented explanations to all theological issues through the Holy Quran and refuted every objection of the opponents of Islam and proved that there is no more clear and detailed book on spiritual sciences, theology and ethics than the Holy Quran.
The Promised Messiahas also shunned the view that the Holy Quran is full of taqdim and takhir. He said that the words of the Holy Quran are so beautifully placed that they can never be removed from their assigned places. He explained this subject by interpreting different parts of the Holy Quran and proved that there is perfect order in its words, verses and surahs.
He dispelled every suspicion of those who were in doubt due to their own lack of knowledge.
The Promised Messiahas also argued that the Holy Quran is not a collection of the stories of Israelites.
He said that the mere resemblance of events does not prove that the two things are in fact one and the same. If the Holy Quran describes certain events of the past in different words, it means that it does not accept the word for word description of these happenings narrated in the old scriptures.
He also said that the Holy Quran is not a book of fiction. Many of the events it narrates are the predictions of the future or have deeper meanings.
The Promised Messiahas also refuted the idea that God does not speak and presented his own experience and observation. He said that no attribute of Allah the Almighty has been suspended. He argued that while Allah still sees and hears as before, what is the reason that he has stopped speaking now?
The Shariah [divine law] is another thing and simple revelation is another. Revelation is a means of expressing God’s love for his servant. Its closure would mean that the divine ways of showing nearness and delight have been closed.
Thus, as long as humans exist in the world and as long as righteous men sincerely strive for Allah the Almighty’s love and follow the teachings of Islam, the revelation of God will continue to shower.
Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra says:
“The Promised Messiahas came and told us that the Quran must be followed to the letter – from beginning to end, from the ‘b’ of bismillah to the ‘s’ of ‘al-nas’. The Holy Quran is a standing instruction for us all and it must be followed till the Day of Judgement.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 2, p. 97)
Hence, the Promised Messiahas cleared all the misconceptions about the third article of faith in Islam, the Holy Quran. He restored the true greatness of the Holy Quran and brought forth its light by removing the veil which Muslims had cast upon it due to their own ignorance.
Consequently, even the non-Muslim nations were amazed to see the beauties and grace of the Holy Quran.
