In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Before your time, We never sent (as Our messengers) any but men whom We inspired. Hence, ask the followers of earlier revelations if you do not know this.
Neither did We give them bodies that could dispense with food, nor were they immortal. In the end, We fulfilled Our promise to them, and We saved them and all whom We willed (to save), and We destroyed those who transgressed beyond bounds. We have now revealed for you a book bringing you respect. Will you not, then, use your reason?
How many a community that persisted in evildoing have We dashed into fragments, and raised another people in their stead. And as soon as they began to feel Our might they took to their heels and fled. (The Prophets: 21: 7-12)
We commented last week on the suggestions of different unbelievers that a messenger of God should be an angel, rather than human, or one who is above the needs of human beings. We pointed out that such a messenger would provide no example for people to follow, as he would not share their feelings and experience. We may add today that such a suggestion betrays ignorance of the honor God has bestowed on mankind as He chose His messengers from among them, providing them with contact with the Supreme Society of heaven and receive instructions and revelations from Him.
For all these reasons, God, in His infinite wisdom, determined to select His messengers from among human beings, subjecting them to all that a human being experiences from the moment of birth to the moment of death, including emotions, reactions, hopes, pains, eating food, marriage, etc. It is God’s wisdom that had determined that the final and most perfect messenger who delivers God’s final and everlasting message should be the one who provides the most perfect example of human life on earth; a life full of motivation, experience, action and emotion.
Such has been God’s law in selecting His messengers, and his law in saving them with their followers when He destroyed the wrongdoers who rejected the truth embodied in their messages: "In the end, We fulfilled Our promise to them, and We saved them and all whom We willed (to save), and We destroyed those who transgressed beyond bounds."
This is, then, a law set in operation, like that of sending God’s messengers. He promised them to save them along with those who truly believe in them and give credence to their faith by action. He fulfilled His promise to them and destroyed those who were oppressors, transgressing all the bounds He has set.
God threatens the pagan Arabs who were subjecting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to their oppression, denying his message and persecuting him and his followers that they are subject to this law for their transgression. He also makes it clear to them that it is an aspect of the grace He bestows on them that He has not sent them any physical miracle, because that would spell their doom if they were to continue to reject the truth as the communities of old times did. Instead, He sent them a book which imparts honor to them, since it is in their own language. This book sets their life on the right footing and makes of them a community entitled to lead mankind and be respected by them. Moreover, this book invites thinking people to reflect on it and elevate themselves by implementing it: "We have now revealed for you a book bringing you respect. Will you not, then, use your reason?"
The miracle of the Qur’an is open to all generations. Thus, it is unlike the physical miracles given to one generation on which they have their effect. And to the Arabs it has brought respect, honor and glory when they preached its message to all people, east and west. Prior to the Qur’an, the Arabs had no mention in humanity’s records. They had nothing to give to humanity so as to ensure that they are remembered. But as long as they upheld their book, they were honored by the rest of mankind. Indeed, they assumed the leadership of humanity over many centuries, bringing happiness to themselves and to the rest of mankind. Then when they abandoned it, humanity left them aside, and they lost their position of respect. They were then at the tail end of humanity, suffering aggression from different quarters, after they had been enjoying security while other people suffered.
When the Arabs present their book to the world, they are known by it and they are given the honor they deserve, because humanity will know that they have what is of benefit to it. But when they present themselves as mere Arabs, then such questions are asked as: who are Arabs? And what is the value of their ancestry when they do not have their book? Mankind has never accorded the Arabs any position of respect except when they showed themselves to be advocates of a faith which they implement and conduct their affairs according to its teachings. By contrast, their being merely Arabs has no value in human history and no entry in civilization’s lexicon. They are known only by being the standard bearers of Islamic civilization, values and ideals. In history, this certainly has a great value.
It is to this fact that the Qur’an refers when it says to the Arab idolaters who rejected every idea it put to them and denied its truth: "We have now revealed for you a book bringing you respect. Will you not, then, use your reason?"
It was an act of divine grace that God revealed the Qur’an to them, rather than giving them the miracle they demanded. Had such a miracle been sent to them and had they continued to deny the truth, a calamity like those that destroyed earlier unbelievers would have brought about their doom. At this point the Surah portrays a scene of total destruction and annihilation: "How many a community that persisted in evildoing have We dashed into fragments, and raised another people in their stead. And as soon as they began to feel Our might they took to their heels and fled. "Do not run away. Return to all your comforts and to your dwellings, so that you might be called to account." They said: "Woe betide us! We were indeed wrongdoers!" And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become like a field mown down, still and silent as ashes."
The Arabic term rendered here as "dashed into fragments" carries strong connotations of a strike that splits into pieces. Moreover, its sound adds further shades of utter destruction. Those communities persisted in their evil and they suddenly met a fate that left no trace of them. "And (We) raised another people in their stead." We note also that the Arabic text uses the word "towns" with the verb "dashed into fragments" but uses "people" when it speaks of raising a new community, because it is the people who build the new civilization. In this way, the destruction is given a more powerful effect, which is in line with the distinctive characteristics of the Qur’anic style.
We will continue our commentary next week, God willing.
