MUSLIM PERSONAL
LAW
-- AN EXPOSITION
BY ATHAR HUSAIN
Published by the All India
Personal Law Bpard,
Camp Office, Nawatu Ulama,
Lucknow, India
Part I
Other Miracles of the Quran
The first and foremost miracle of the Quran is Islam.
It is the last message of God to mankind and the most sound, perfect and
comprehensive guidance for all times taking care of every need of man,
establishing relationship of man with his Creator with an intellectual
and spiritual basis, [thus] preparing him for the eternal life beyond.
It provides a celestial code of conduct for earthly life, [and] which [has]
produced the finest moral and ethical results both individually and collectively
which has never been produced otherwise. All the problems and difficulties
that have arisen before mankind, or [that] will arise [at] the end of the
world, have been resolved by mere indications. It provides eternal answers
to perennial questions. It lays down such principles and formulae which
can form the basis of the finest society in every age and clime, and organises
life in the most perfect manner free from all faults and blemishes which
are bound to result from man-made laws and conjectures. As it is universal,
it is above national or local peculiarities and interests, as it is eternal
[and] it is free from alteration and recension and as it is perfect --
it needs no corrigendum [an error in a printed work discovered after printing
and shown with its correction on a separate sheet ] or appendices. God
says
"This day have I completed for you your religion,
and thus have filled up the measure of My favour on you and have been pleased
to assign for you Islam as your religion." (Q. 5 : 3)
On its promulgation all discussions and disputes which had
taxed the minds of thinkers. philosophers and the sociologists for thousands
of years passed into insignificance. So many baffling economic and political
problems do not arise in its climate. The conclusions drawn by thinkers
of the world after thousands of years of discussions, confabulations and
experimentation were indicated by the Quran fourteen hundred years back
through the tongue of a person who could not even read or write. This code
of guidance which is called Islam is the blessing of God conferred on mankind.
Says the Quran:
"It is He who hath sent to the folk unacquainted
with the scriptures (revealed before) an apostle from amongst them to rehearse
the Revelations to them and purify them (their lives) and afford them a
knowledge of the Book (the Quran) and the purpose underlying it ; for they
were aforetime certainty in manifest error." (Q.62:2)
The exposition of this miracle of the Quran and the
underlying purpose is, in fact, [the] full exposition of Islam which requires
volumes for any adequate discussion. To assess what has been said in the
fold of beliefs and their perfection in the field of ethics and social
living, and their comprehensiveness and wisdom, requires great thinking
but to fathom all the secrets and niceties. [The] beauty and grandeur of
the Quran is beyond man's capability. The Quran claims:
"Should all the trees on the earth turn into
pens and should each ocean (turn into ink) with seven oceans added to it,
the words of God (as written down with them) shall never be exhausted ;
for God truly is Mighty, Wise." (Q. 31 : 26)
Science and Esoteric Knowledge
Another miracle of the Quran is the limitless scope and
profundity of the sciences, knowledge, realities, truths, and secrets contained
therein, each of which is an eternal miracle by itself. As the knowledge
of man will increase and the veils before his eyes will be lifted up,
he will its more and more are the grandeur of the Quran. Man's mental
capacity is limited and the dimensions of the Quran are limitless.
The marvel of the Qur'an is many-dimensional and one of the aspects is
the eternal character and fidelity of its truths drawn from the infinite
knowledge of God and imparted in His book. There is no question of any
doubt, hesitation or change, so characteristic of human knowledge. As the
Quran is fully preserved in its pristine purity, no change could or can
take place in the permanency and finality of its truths.
As the Quran is eternal and final from the beginning to
the end, there is no room in it for changing views and concepts of man
[such] as the outcome of his research and experimentation. Howsoever the
arts and knowledge of man may advance, whatever theories may be formulated
in the branches of physics and astronomy, the earth may be taken as centre
of the universe or it may be the sun, the earth may be found to be flat,
round or oval, the planets may or may not be inhabited, it will not have
the least effect on the truths of the Quran. It is not like Bible, recorded
by men, which could not escape the intrusions of men and which treats earth
as flat and [is] six thousand years old and the centre of the universe
and all other celestial bodies as subordinate to it and advances arguments
against sphericity. With such contentions, clash between religious and
advancing science was bound to take place and it shook Europe and lead
to the downfall of religion.
No such clash ever took place in Islam nor will it ever
happen. Man's views and theories will clash, some may gain the upper hand
or both the clashing views may be proved to be false, but there can be
no conflict with the truths contained in the preserved Book and any view
or theory advanced against its truth is bound to fail.
Another miracle of the Quran is the limitless scope and
profundity of the sciences, knowledge, realities, truths, and secrets contained
therein, each of which is an eternal miracle by itself. As the knowledge
of man will increase and the veils before his eyes will be lifted up, he
will realise more and more the grandeur of the Quran. Man's mental capacity
is limited, and the dimensions of the Quran are limitless. The marvel of
the Quran is many-dimensional and one of the aspects is the eternal character
and finality of its truths drawn from the infinite knowledge of God imparted
is His book. There is no question of any doubt, hesitation or change, so
characteristic of human knowledge. As the Quran is fully preserved in its
pristine purity, no change could or can take place in the permanency and
finality of its truths.
As the Quran is eternal and final from the beginning to
the end, there is no room in it for changing use and concepts of man as
the outcome of his research and experimentation. Howsoever the arts and
knowledge of man may advance, whatever series may be formulated in the
branches of physics and astronomy, the earth may be taken asthe center
of the universe or it may be the sun, the earth may be found to be flat,
round or oval, the planets may or may not be inhabited, it will not have
the least effect on the truth of the Qur'an. It is not like [the] Bible,
recorded by men, which could not escape the intrusion of man and which
treats earth as flat and 6000 years old and the center of the universe
and all other celestial bodies as subordinate to it and advances arguments
against sphericity. With such contentions, clashes between religious
and advancing sciences was bound to take place and it shook Europe and
lead to the downfall of religion.
No such clash ever took place in Islam nor will
it ever happen. Man's views and theories will clash, some may gain the
upper hand or both the clashing views may be proved to be false but there
can be no conflict with the truths contained in the preserved Book and
any view or very advanced against its truth is bound to fail.
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