• Scriptures Were Revealed To The Previous Apostles,

• The Disbelievers,

• The Truth About The Personality Of Jesus.

An-Nisa Verses 163 – 171

إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَعِيسَىٰ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَارُونَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَآتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا

“Verily, We have revealed unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) as We did reveal unto Noah and the Apostles after him; We did reveal unto Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah, and Aaron, and Solomon, and gave We to David the Psalms1.” (4:163)

وَرُسُلًا قَدْ قَصَصْنَاهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَرُسُلًا لَمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا

“And apostles We have (already) mentioned unto thee before and Apostles We mentioned not unto thee; and God spake unto Moses, directly discoursing.” (4:164)

رُسُلًا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا

“(We sent) apostles as givers of glad tidings and warners, that there may not remain any argument2for people against God, after (the coming of) these apostles, And God is Mighty, Wise.” (4:165)

لَٰكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكَ أَنْزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا

“But God (Himself) beareth Witness, that what He hath sent down unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!), sent He that down, with His knowledge; and the Angels (too) bear witness; and sufficient is God for a Witness3.” (4:166)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَدْ ضَلُّوا ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا

“Verily those who disbelieve and obstruct (people) from God’s way, indeed have they strayed off, far away (from the Right Path).” (4:167)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَمُوا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقًا

“Verily, those who disbelieve and act unjustly, it is not for God to pardon them, nor is it that He will guide them to a way.” (4:168)

إِلَّا طَرِيقَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا

“Except4the way to Hell, to abide therein for ever! And this, for God is easy.” (4:169)

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمُ الرَّسُولُ بِالْحَقِّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَآمِنُوا خَيْرًا لَكُمْ وَإِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

“O’ mankind! Verily, the Apostle (Muhammad) hath come unto you with truth from your Lord; Believe (then) (in him), it is good for you; and if ye disbelieve, then, God’s is whatever in the Heavens and the Earth; and God is All-Knowing, All-Wise5.” (4:170)

يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِنْهُ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ انْتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَكُمْ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا

“O’ People of the Book! overstep not in your religion, and say not upon God except the Truth; Verily, Verily, the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit (Proceeding) from Him; Believe therefore in God, and His apostles, and say not (that there are) Three (gods) Desist! It is good for you; Verily, Verily, God! (there is) Only One6God7! Far be it from His (Absolute)-Purity that there be for Him a son; His is whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is in the Earth; God is sufficient as a Protector.” (4:171)

Commentary

Verse 163

It is to be noted that how Islam through the Holy Qur’an establishes the truthfulness of one and all the apostles of God along with the Holy Prophet Muhammad. When the Holy Book of the Christian Church seems to hold brief exclusively on behalf of Jesus and decries the other apostles of God like Noah (Gen. 9/19-21). Abraham, David, (II Samuel, 11/2, Lot etc.) The Holy Qur’an establishes their truthfulness as the infallible divines who had the communion with God through revelations.

It is Islam and Islam alone in the world and no other faith that recognises the holiness of all the apostles of God and demands, as a cardinal article of the faith to believe in all the apostles of God who appeared in various times in the various places among various people8.

The order in which the prophets are named in this Verse is ridiculed by Gieger and other critics of Islam. And certainly, it looks very irregular. But a closer reflection on the main features of the lives of these prophets will change the ridicule into an admiration. Just consider:

1. Abraham. Preacher, persecuted by Nimrod.

2. Ishmael. Left helpless on the plains of Arabia.

3. Isaac, Jacob and the tribes. Patriarchs having comparative peace ana security

4. Jesus. Seeking to storm Jerusalem. Eventually escaped death at the hands of the Jews.

5. Job. Suffered great tribulations, losing his all and then regained more than what he had lost.

6. Jonah. The Divine punishment came on his people, but was stayed. Himself was swallowed by a Fish and came out alive.

7. Aaron. Fighting his people to victory.

8. Solomon. Full of Sovereignty.

Now consider the Apostolic career of the Holy Prophet:

1. First, much persecuted by his people, and saved through the succour of his uncle Abu Talib the father of Ali.

2. Then quite helpless after the death of Abu Talib.

3. Gradually got a strong position after the conversion of Hamza and the conversion of the Abyssinian King Najashi. This was sufficient at least to keep the Meccans within bounds, and the Prophet enjoyed a patriarchal position in spite of the enemies.

4. His mission gets successful at Medina, and he clearly shows warlike designs. The Meccans got alarmed and seek to kill him.

5. He escapes but loses everything he had; but gradually gets more than he has lost.

6. Divine punishment hovers on the heads of the Meccans, but is stayed, only troubles of all kinds befall them and meanwhile the Prophet leads his men in fighting like Aaron.

7. At a time there comes a state like Jonah being swallowed by the fish (the battle of Confederates) but he comes out Unscathed without anything of fighting.

8. The end is complete sovereignty over all Arabia.

Moses and David might be expected in this list of names, but since they stand in a special relation to the Holy Prophet, the former singing his praises throughout the Psalms, and the latter being his like, they are spoken of separately at the close of this and the next Verse.

Thus, the Verse means not merely that the Prophet was inspired as those before him-a thing hardly needed a revelation to tell him, but it has a deeper meaning. The character of his apostleship passed through all the phases that had characterised all these Apostles.

Verse 164

This Verse gives room to believe in the truthfulness of the apostles who have not been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. A Muslim has been enjoined to believe in a Lakh and Twenty-four Thousand apostles of God whereas the names of all the apostles are not given in the Holy Qur’an. By this Verse, one has to believe that the great sages and the divines, the founders of the great Religious Orders in the world which preached only goodness in life and prohibited evil, must have been the apostles of God sent in those places.

It has been clearly declared by the Holy Qur’an that every people or nation in every part of the world had a Warner, i.e., an apostle from God9.

All these apostles had been prophesying the advent in the end, of the Last one of the Apostles of God. Every ancient scripture contained the tidings or the prophecy of the advent of the Holy Prophet vide Acts 3/21-22, John 16/7-14, John 14/26, Deut. 18/15 and 18 and 19.

‘Taklima’, i.e., speaking i.e., through ‘Wahi’, i.e., revelation or through the medium of voice and never any discourse face to face, for God’s taking any shape or form will be His own limiting of His Unlimited Self which is an impossibility.

Refers to the distinctive aspects by which the prophets were classed out from the rest of the mankind, i.e., revelation in its general sense, and then gives two examples of the specific forms of the revelation, i.e., the supplicative form of revelation given to David which corresponds to the state of his mind in his way towards the Absolute.

The discursive form of the revelation given to Moses. This indicates that what is necessary in the apostolic order is revelation which means the knowledge, not through any experimental means (i.e., not by any external senses directly or indirectly and the power of reasoning). This includes the instinct in the animals and the intuition based on the unempherical endowment. This has been applied to the animals (like the bee) who work through instinct and even the human beings in some of the activities. The term ‘Wahi’ has also been used to indicate the revelation received from the satanic agencies Refer to Verses 6:112, 6:122. The apostolic or the prophetic revelation is distinguished from the general sense of the term by its being received from beyond the realm of the dimensional world within the satanic reach, which begins from the angelic spheres up to the immediate communion with the Absolute, in various ways and forms known only to the prophets.

The word ‘Kama’ proves the similarity of the revelation to the Holy Prophet with that of the

other prophets and to mean that he had the experience of all the specific forms and the manners of the state of the revelations which each of the prophets had, besides the loftiest state of ‘Adna’ and ‘Au Adna’, i.e., the Nearest rather the Nearest still, with which he is distinguished from the rest of the other prophets10 as ‘Roomi’ puts it:

Persian:

Naame Ahmad Naame jumla anbiyast

The holy name Ahmad (the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad) includes all the names of the prophets of God

Chunke sad aamad nawad ham nizde maast.

Since the cent per cent has come, the lesser than that is automatically with us.

I.e., The Holy Prophet Muhammad is the sum of the summit of all apostolic order, the completion of whose mission has not left any room for any argument or the excuse of mankind against God after him with whom the apostolic order concludes. (A.P.)

The talk to Moses was in the real form of speech and not in the manner to mean, face to face, presenting God in any physical form or any limited manifestation. Qur’an does not mention any exact number of the apostles the world had from God. The number given in the religious books indicates only the hugeness. All that the Qur’an asserts here and elsewhere that no human habitation has been left without a heavenly guide and all these apostles have come from a particular lineage already given. (A.P.)

Verse 166

Bearing testimony-the convincing force of the Book-representing God’s knowledge, is so great that a student of the Qur’an will realise, as says Ali Ibn Abi Talib:

‘God has manifested for creation his Book along with all the angelic forces.’ (Nahj al-Balagha). (A.P.)

Verse 171

In this Verse Jesus has been referred to as the Word or the prophecy from God fulfilled or the Spirit of God. Jesus has been called the ‘Ruh’ because he was conceived by his mother the Virgin Mary through the Spirit which was conveyed to her by the Divine Will through the Angel Gabriel. If the virgin birth of Jesus, i.e., having been without a father is to qualify him to be the son of God, what have the Christians to say at the verdict of their own Holy Book. Luke 3/38 which says Adam was the son of God. And God can raise children from stones.

Luke 3/38 “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”

The doctrine of the Christian Trinity is plainly refuted. Besides, the doctrine of Trinity is a peculiar logic. How can three different things be three and at the same time be one?

Islam strongly refutes every such multiplicity in Godhead. Islam established the Unity of God in its perfect meaning and does not tolerate anything else besides the Oneness of God. Even the Divine attributes are not to be believed to be separate from the One entity of God. Every divine quality or attribute is God Himself. Denial of the attributes, as other than God, is the perfection of the Unity of God.

As already defined Islam means belief in the Absolute Sovereignty of God, i.e., in the Realms, of Creation as well as Legislation- to believe and accept in every part and particle in the order of creation as well as legislation, the status and the function assigned to it by God’s will and decree. To give any part or particle in either creation or legislation any status or order more than its divine assignment is ‘Ghulo’ or lessening it from God’s given status or order is ‘Taqseer’ which is a shortcoming or the overstepping the limits. For instance, to consider any compulsory legislation of God or the Prophet as optional or abrogated is ‘Taqseer’ and vice versa is ‘Ghulo’. To be absorbed totally in the temporal life neglecting the life hereafter is ‘Taqseer’ and vice versa is ‘Ghulo.’ To give any finite being, the status of the infinite in any respect whatsoever is ‘Ghulo’ and to deny the finite one the status divinely assigned to him is ‘Taqseer.’

The status given by the Christian Church as one of the Three in the Trinity is ‘Ghulo’’ and likewise to consider any finite being as the incarnate or the embodiment of the Absolute, as believed as the Avatars in the Hindu and the Buddhist creeds. This applies to the Nusairies also who are alleged to hold Ali as God. And to deny apostleship to Jesus and his infallibility (as done by the Jews) is ‘Taqseer’.

The same is the case with those who denied Ali Ibn Abi Talib the status God has given to him, as next only to the Holy Prophet, in all the qualifications of excellence and infallibility, Imamat and Wilayat. On the other hand, overstepping about the ordinary ones among the people by considering them as the infallible stars of guidance, is also ‘Ghulo’ (A.P.)

• 1. ‘Zuboor’. Refer to Verses 6:114, 6:124, 53:9.
• 2. Arabic ‘Hujjat’ - Plea, Excuse.
• 3. Refer to Verse 4:175.
• 4. Not that God will guide them to Hell but their reactions to His guidance, will itself take them to it.
• 5. Refer to Verse 5:17.
• 6. The Unity of God in its essence and action as presented by the Qur’an is so absolute that it leaves no room for any conception of having anyone else in the godhead but only Him and everything conceivable is His and is held by Him as His slave ‘Mamlook’. (AP)
• 7. All Prophets including Jesus taught only the Unity of God and none taught Trinity-Trinity is only a later innovation. ‘Hear O’ Israel! The Lord Our God is One Lord’ Deut 6/4 See also: 15, 42/8, 44/6, 8 James 2/9 John 20/19 Tim 2/5 Tim 17 Etc.
• 8. Refer to Verses 4:152; 2:136; 2:285; 4:136; 3:84.
• 9. Refer to Verses 10:47; 16:36; 35:24.
• 10. Refer to Verse 53:9.