And who believe in that which is revealed to you, and that which was revealed before you, and have certain belief in the hereafter. (Wa alladhīna yu’minūna bi‑mā unzila ilayka wa mā unzila min qablika wa bi’l-ākhirati hum yūqinūn.)
Consider this: The Qur’an has let its composition flow. That is to say, in most verses similar to this one, it has not specified any aspect of the phrases and sentences by placing a sign in them. This is for a subtle reason, and this reason is the source of its conciseness (al‑ījāz), which in turn is the source of its miraculousness. The reason is this:
Eloquence consists of speaking in conformity with the demands of any situation. The Qur’an addresses people belonging to different classes in different centuries. So taking all these classes and centuries into consideration so that all those different types of people may receive their share, it makes omissions (ḥadhf) in many places in order to make general what it says and apportion it out, and speaks in absolute terms so as to make it comprehensive and distribute it. Moreover it leaves the composition free in many places to multiply its facets and to increase the possibilities agreeable to eloquence and acceptable to the sciences of Arabic. Thus all minds receive the Qur’an’s effusions to the extent they can appreciate them. Consider this carefully!
Now the positioning of this verse in relation to the previous one:
Here it is being specific after being general, to proclaim over the heads of witnesses the distinction of those People of the Book who believe, and to silence those of them who hold back from it, and to take those like ‘Abdullah ibn Salam by the hand so as to encourage others to follow his example.
Moreover, it states unequivocally that there are two sorts of Godfearing people muttaqīn, thus stating openly that the Qur’an’s guidance embraces all peoples, and inferring that Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was sent as Messenger to all nations without exception.
Also, by elucidating the pillars of belief contained in the shell of who believe in the Unseen (yu’minūna bi’l‑ghayb), it supplies details after its previous succinct statements, for it makes explicit mention of the revealed books and resurrection of the dead, and implicit reference to the prophets and angels.
The Qur’an did not opt for conciseness by saying something like and the believers in the Qur’an (al‑mu’minūna bi’l-Qur’ān); rather, in order to stud the meaning with subtleties and decorate its appendices with fine points, it preferred And who believe in that which is revealed to you (wa alladhīna yu’minūna bi‑mā unzila ilayka).
1. For in who (alladhīna) is a sign that the attribute of belief is what is intended, and that a person’s other attributes are dependent on it and concealed beneath it.
2. In the use of the imperfect tense for (they) believe (yu’minūna) instead of the believers (al‑mu’minūn) [the active participle] which infers [something] being fixed and unchanging, is an indication that belief is constantly renewed on the repeated coming of revelation.
3. Then with the vagueness of what (mā), it indicates that abbreviated belief is sufficient, and that belief includes exoteric revelation [like the Qur’an] and esoteric revelation like Hadiths.
4. Concerning revealed (unzila), in regard to its matter (mādda) it indicates that belief in the Qur’an is belief in its revelation by Allah the Most High. Likewise, it means belief in Allah is belief in Allah’s existence, and belief in the hereafter is belief in the coming of the hereafter.
5. The use of the perfect tense although the revelation had not yet been completed, is an indication that its completion was as certain as that which had been revealed. Moreover, (they) believe (yu’minūna) being in the imperfect tense infers the future, thus compensating for the deficiency inferred by the use of the perfect. Because the Qur’an was revealed in this way [that is, by degrees], you see in its styles that the past very often swallows the future and the imperfect tense dons the attire of the perfect. The eloquence of this is a very subtle:
If a person hears something referred to in the past although it has not yet occurred, it arouses his mind and he is alerted to the fact that he is not alone, but behind him are row upon row at various distances, as though the centuries and their peoples are sitting in tiers rising up behind him. This makes him aware that the address and call directed towards him is being heard by all of them according to its volume.
And in the use of to you (ilayka) rather than on you (‘alayka) is a sign that the divine messengership was a duty with which the Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was charged, that he undertook voluntarily. Also, [on the one hand] it indicates his loftiness since Gabriel served him by presenting [the Qur’an] to him, for on (‘alā) hints of compulsion and that the means of revelation was higher. While [on the other] the use of the second person to you rather than [the third person] ‘to Muhammad’ implies that Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was only an addressee and that the speech is Allah’s Word.
Moreover, in meaning, the direct address of the vocative confirms and illustrates the meaning of that which is sent down or revealed (al‑nuzūl), and this is the Revelation (al‑waḥy), and the Revelation is the Qur’an, which is a divine address [to the Prophet] the character of which is to permeate all these [points]. And this reveals his share of this characteristic. Thus, it becomes clear by reason of its encompassing all these subtle points, that this passage is of the utmost conciseness.
And that which was revealed before you (wa mā unzila min qablika) Consider this:
The purpose of descriptions like these is to arouse eagerness, and this implies [certain new] injunctions: “Believe in such‑and-such and make no distinction [between the prophets].” The phrase’s positioning and its ties [with what precedes it] comprise four subtle points:
Firstly: The argument from what is adduced to the evidence. It is like this:
“O men! If you believe in the Qur’an, believe also in the previous scriptures, for the Qur’an confirms their veracity and testifies to them.”
Secondly: The argument from the evidence to what is adduced, like this:
“O People of the Book! If you believe in the past prophets and scriptures, you should also believe in the Qur’an and Muhammad (UWBP), for the scriptures gave the good news of his coming. Moreover, confirmation of them, and their revelation and evidences of the messengers’ prophet‑ hoods are found in reality and in spirit more perfectly in the Qur’an and more clearly in Muhammad (UWBP). Thus, according to this excellent reasoning, the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is His Messenger.
Thirdly: In this is a sign that the outcome (al‑ma’āl) of the Qur’an, that is, Islam, which emerged from it in the Era of Bliss, is like a tree whose origin is fastened in the depths of the past. Its spreading roots are fed from the water‑sources of that time yielding life and strength. And with its trunk in the skies of the future, its spreading branches are laden with fruit.
That is to say, Islam embraces the past and the future.
Fourthly: In this is a sign that it is urging the People of the Book to believe [in Islam], for it is making it appear familiar to them, and easy. It is as though [the Qur’an] is saying:
‘O People of the Book! You should not experience any difficulty in entering this [new] way, for you are not casting away your outer shell altogether, but only completing your beliefs and building on the fundamentals you already possess.’ For the Qur’an does not bring any new fundamentals or principal beliefs; it modifies and perfects existent ones; and it combines in itself the virtues of all the previous books and the essentials of all the previous laws. It only establishes new ordinances in secondary matters, which are subject to change due to differences in time and place. For just as with the change of seasons, food and dress and many other things are changed; so too the stages of a person’s life warrant changes in the manner of their education and upbringing.
Similarly, as necessitated by wisdom and need, religious ordinances concerning secondary matters change in accordance with the stages of mankind’s development. For very many of these are beneficial at one time yet harmful at another, and very many medicines were efficacious in mankind’s infancy yet ceased being remedies in its youth. This is the reason the Qur’an abrogated some of its secondary pronouncements. That is, it decreed that their time had finished and that the turn had come for other decrees.
[The words] before you (min qablika) [also indicate] a number of subtle points: Consider this: There is no word of revelation that is disdainful of its place, or is not content with it, or thinks that another place would be better. No, there is no word of revelation but it is like an embossed pearl, held firmly in its setting by the bonds of the relationships between it and its brothers.
If you wish, study before you; you will see how the subtleties fly out from every side of the verse and alight on this unique phrase. The verse of which before you is a part deals with the question of prophethood and the five aims it comprises. The phrase has absorbed these aims and been coloured by them. Signifying five subtle points, it exudes the five aims, which are reflected from these relationships. The aims included [in prophethood] are these:
Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is a prophet;
he is the most perfect of the prophets;
he is the Seal of the Prophets;
he was sent to all peoples;
his Shari‘a abrogated all preceding ones and contains their virtues.
The Manner the First Aim Is Reflected in the Phrase: [The words] before you (min qablika) are used only when ways are united and the road is one, as though the phrase is suggesting that by comparison all the proofs of the previous prophets and of the veracity of their scriptures form a decisive proof of the prophethood of Muhammad (UWBP) and the revelation of his Book. For all the causes and reasons confirming their prophethoods, prove his prophethood more explicitly and more powerfully. It is as though all their miracles form a single miracle proving his veracity.
The Way in Which the Second Aim, the perfection of Muhammad’s (UWBP) prophethood, is reflected in the phrase before you:
In view of the facts that it is the custom for the king to appear before the people at the end of a ceremony,
and in accordance with the law of human progress a later teacher is better than an earlier one,
and generally those who come later are more proficient than those who preceded them,
Muhammad (Upon whom be peace) was the Sovereign of the Prophets, and the best and most perfect of them, just as the Qur’an is more comprehensive and universal than their scriptures.
The Way the Phrase "Before You" Absorbs the Third Aim, which is Muhammad’s being the Seal of the Prophets: In accordance with the rule, “if one is multiplied it goes to infinity, stopping nowhere; but if a multiplicity of things are united, they acquire stability and come to a halt,” and as is inferred by the opposite idea, before you hints that “there will be no prophets after you,” and that Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is the Seal of the Prophets.
The Way the Phrase "Before You" Is Coloured by the Fourth Aim, the universality of his mission: It expresses this meaning: “You are their successor and they are all your predecessors.” Hence, according to the rule, “the successor shoulders the duties of his predecessor and takes his seat,” all of them were your predecessors and you are their deputy and the Messenger to all peoples. Yes indeed, it could only be thus!
For the innate disposition of things demands it and wisdom requires it. Before the Era of Bliss all the nations of the world of humanity were extremely distant from one another and hostile to each other, both physically and emotionally, and by instinct and upbringing. A single sort of education was insufficient for them and all could not be drawn to a single cause. Then, when humanity was awakened in the Era of Bliss and subsequently, and people felt a desire to come together due to the exchange of ideas and swapping of characters, and the intermingling of peoples, and some of them investigating the conditions of others, and time was churned up by the many means of communication and transportation; – then the globe of the earth became like a single country, or a province, or a town, and the people of the world came together; and then a single mission, a single prophethood was sufficient for all of them.
The Way the Phrase Intimates the Fifth Aim: Since the from (min) of before you (min qablika) infers a beginning, it infers ‘to’ (ilā), which indicates the end. That is, “prophethood came to an end with your coming, for your Shari‘a is sufficient.” This infers that his Shari‘a abrogated all previous ones, signalling their end, and through its sufficiency, included them all.
The evidence that from the point of view of eloquence this phrase has absorbed these subtle points is that the five aims resemble a river flowing beneath these verses; one of them gushes out completely in one verse, then another flows forth in another, and another is manifested entirely in a torrent in yet another. Even the least trickle on the surface indicates that the veins of this phrase touch it. Moreover, the above meanings sprout forth in many different verses.
And have certain belief in the hereafter (wa bi’l‑ākhirati hum yūqinūn) Consider this:
This phrase refers to the fourth of the four well‑known aims of the Qur’an: the resurrection of the dead. I have deduced ten proofs of it from the Qur’an’s composition and have set them out in another book. It will be useful to summarize them here. They are as follows:
The resurrection of the dead is a reality, for there is perfect, intentional order in the universe.
There is total wisdom in creation.
There is nothing futile in the world.
There is no waste in creation (al‑fiṭra).
This testimony is vouched for by the inductive reasoning of all the sciences, each of which is a faithful witness to the order in its field of study.
Also, there being repeated resurrections in most things, such as the days and the years and so on [testifies to the resurrection of the dead].
Man’s innate disposition also points to it.
It is indicated too by his infinite hopes and desires.
The All‑Wise Maker’s mercy also alludes to the resurrection,
while the truthful tongue of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) states it explicitly.
And the Inimitable Qur’an testifies to it with such verses as Seeing that He has created you in successive stages, and Nor is your Sustainer ever unjust to His servants. These ten genuine proofs are keys to eternal happpiness and to the doors of Paradise.
An Explanation of the First Proof:
If the universe did not result in everlasting happiness, the order in it, which its Maker has laid down with the greatest skill and precision, leaving minds in amazement, would be a flimsy, deceptive form, and all non‑material matters and connections, and relationships and links in the order would go for nothing. The order is order only because it leads to eternal happiness. That is, the fine points and non-material aspects of the order only sprout in the next world. Otherwise, all those non-material aspects would be extinguished, all the bonds be broken, all the relationships severed, and the order would cease to be. But the power inherent in the order declares in resounding voice that it would not let it be broken and dissolved.
Second Proof:
The faultless wisdom [in the universe], which is the exemplification of pre‑eternal providence (al‑‘ināyat al-azaliyya) and consists of following uses and instances of wisdom in all the realms (lit. species – naw‘) of beings, indeed in every part of each – as is testified to by the sciences, gives the glad tidings of eternal happiness. We would otherwise have to deny these purposes and benefits the certainty of which compels us to acknowledge them. For then the benefits would not be benefits, and the wisdom would not be wisdom, and the uses would not be useful. And this is pure sophistry.
The Third Proof
which expounds the Second: Science testifies also that the Maker chooses the shortest path in everything, and the closest side, and the lightest and most beautiful form. This indicates the absence of futility. And this suggests that the Maker is truly serious. And this could only be with the coming of eternal happiness. Otherwise existence would descend to the level of absolute non‑existence and everything would be transformed into pure futility. Glory be unto to You! You did not create this in vain!
The Fourth Proof
which elucidates the Third: The sciences show that there is no waste in creation. If your mind is incapable of perceiving the instances of wisdom in the macrocosm, that is, the world, scrutinize the microcosm, which is man, for the science of anatomy has described and proved them.
In the human body are approximately six hundred bones each of which has a particular function. And there are six thousand veins and arteries for the circulation of the blood, each with its own use. And there are twenty‑four thousand pores and ducts in the cells. And in each cell function the five powers of attraction, repulsion, holding (mumsika), forming (muṣawwira), and reproduction, which all have their own purposes.
If the microcosm is thus, would the macrocosm be defective in comparison? If there is this absence of waste in the body, which has no importance compared with its essence (lubb), is it conceivable that the spirit (jawhar al‑rūḥ) would be neglected, or that spiritual matters (al‑ma‘nawiyāt) and hopes and ideas, which are the works of the spirit, would be wasted? If it were not for eternal happiness, all spiritual matters would shrivel up and be wasted. For God’s sake, is it reasonably possible that you should have a jewel worth the world and look after its shell and case, not even letting it become dusty, then take it and smash it to smithereens and destroy all trace of it? Absolutely not! You only look after the case for what it contains.
Furthermore, if a person’s sound constitution and healthy members and faculties give you to understand that he will continue to live and develop, do not the constant reality permeating the spirit of the universe, and the total force indicating the continued existence of its order, and the perfection causing the evolution (takammul) of its overall system all show you that eternal happiness will arrive through the door of bodily resurrection, because it is only resurrection that saves the order from disturbance and is the means of its evolution, and for the unfolding of that perpetual force?
Fifth Proof, and Surmise, Which Indicates Intention:
The existence of repeated resurrections in most of the realms of beings points to the supreme resurrection. If you like, this can be illustrated with an example: take a look at your weekly clock. It contains various cogs and flywheels that turn and work the hands. One of them counts the seconds; it is a forerunner, giving news of the motion of the minute hand. This paves the way for and announces the motion of the hour hand, and it results in and proclaims the motion of the hand that counts the days of the week. The preceding one completing its circuit indicates that its sister following it will complete its circuit.
Similarly, Allah the Most High, be He exalted, has a vast clock the machinery of which are the heavenly spheres; its hands count the days, and the years, and the life of mankind, and term of the world. They are the equivalent of the seconds, minutes, hours, and days of your clock. The morning comes after every night, and the summer comes after every spring – resulting from the motion of that clock – which is a concealed sign and subtle hint that the morning of the spring of the resurrection will come, breaking forth from the vast clock of the universe.
If You Were to Ask: Things are not resurrected identically in the repeated resurrections in the universe, so how does this show that they will be restored to life identically at the supreme resurrection?
You Would Be Told: A human individual is like a species of other creatures. For the light of thought affords such breadth and expansion to man’s hopes and his spirit that they encompass the past, present, and future. If he were to swallow the past and the future together with the present, it would not satisfy his hopes. For the light of thought renders his nature lofty, his value general, his view universal, his perfection unlimited, his pleasures continuous, and his sufferings constant. As for the members of other species, their natures are particular, their value individual, their views limited, their perfections restricted, their pleasures instantaneous, and their suffering fleeting. So why should the existence of a sort of resurrection in the [other] species not point to a general resurrection of the human individual?
The Sixth Proof, Which Is Allusive:
This is the unlimited nature of man’s potentialities.
Man’s unbounded conceptions and thoughts are born of his infinite hopes.
These arise from his unrestricted desires,
which in turn arise from his unlimited abilities.
These are concealed in his boundless potentialities, planted in the substance of his spirit, which Allah the Most High has ennobled.
All of these point testifying to eternal happiness beyond the bodily resurrection of the dead, fixing their gaze on it from afar. Reflect on this!
The Seventh Proof
conveying the good news that the mercy of the Most Merciful and Compassionate One tells of the coming of the supreme mercy, by which I mean eternal felicity. For it is through eternal felicity that mercy becomes mercy and bounty becomes bounty;
and the universe is delivered from the lamentations and general mourning arising from eternal separation, which transforms bounty into an affliction. If the spirit of bounty, that is, eternal felicity, were not to come, all bounties would be transformed into misfortunes, and it would necessitate obstinate denial of the mercy that is self‑evidently testified to by the whole universe.
O Habib and Shafiq, both lovers! Consider the finest works of divine mercy: affection, compassion, and love. Then consult your consciences, but after supposing them to be subject to eternal separation and unending parting; how they appeal for help! How your imaginations cry out, and your spirits are tormented at the transformation of affection and kindnesss, the most beautiful and exquisite sorts of mercy and bounty, into a terrible calamity and affliction.
Is it at all possible that such necessary mercy would assist eternal separation in assaulting affection and kindness?
No!
That mercy is such that it would set eternal separation to attack unending parting, and beset unending parting with eternal separation, and annihilate both of them!
The Eighth Proof, Which Is Explicit:
This is the veracious, verified tongue of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace). His word flung open the doors of eternal felicity. The consensus of all the prophets from Adam to their Seal (UWBP) concerning this truth, forms a decisive proof of it. There must be such a truth, since they were in agreement concerning it.
Ninth Proof:
This is the miraculous Qur’an’s announcement of eternal felicity. The seven aspects of its miraculousness have been confirmed for thirteen centuries furnishing proof of what it claims. For it discloses bodily resurrection with its message and is the key to it.
The Tenth Proof:
This consists of thousands of proofs supplied by numerous verses.
For example, the verse, Seeing that He has created you in successive stages indicates a parabolic analogy (qiyās tamthīlī);
and Nor is your Sustainer ever unjust to His servants points to a proof of justice. Indeed, in most of its verses the Qur’an has opened up windows looking onto the resurrection of the dead.
The Parablic Analogy (Al‑Qiyās Al-Tamthīlī) in the First Verse Above Is as Follows:
Consider the human body, how it passes from stage to stage, from sperm to a blood‑clot, and from that to an embryo, and from that to flesh and bone, and from that to a new creation. Each of these stages has such particular laws, such determined order, such regular development that it reveals transparently an intention, will, and choice.
Next study its continued existence, for the body renews its clothes every year, and this occurs through dissolution and reassembling. That is to say, the cells are broken down and repaired with a subtle substance prepared by their Maker in accordance with a particular law, and distributed in appropriate amounts to all the organs.
Now study the stages of the subtle matter that bears the members’ sustenance, how it is spread to all the parts of the body in a way that astonishes the mind, and how it is apportioned according to a specific law of division appropriately to the needs of the members.
This is after it has been distilled by passing in accordance with a fixed order and specific rules and extraordinary process through the body’s four filters, and being cooked in its four kitchens, and undergoing four wondrous transformations;
and the sustenance having been obtained according to a regular law, and particular system, and specific rule from substances dispersed through the world of the elements.
All the laws and systems in these stages show transparently a driving force, an intention, and wisdom. How could it not be thus? If you study an atom from the caravan of the subtle matter [known as sustenance], for example one concealed in the element of the air which finally becomes part of the pupil of Habib’s eye, you will see that its path has been determined in the air, as though charged and commanded to proceed to the place appointed for it.
And if you consider it with a scientific eye, you will be certain that it is not in motion through blind chance and aimless coincidence, for whatever level it enters upon it conforms to its particular order, and whatever stage it rises to it knows its specific laws, and to what level it travels to it is driven with a wondrous, orderly motion. It passes through all these stages till it reaches its destination. And it never deviates even an iota from its intended goal.
In Short: Whoever ponders over the first creation will cease to have any doubts concerning the second. Indeed, the Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said: “How strange the person who sees the first creation yet denies the second!”
For the soldiers of a regiment to gather together at the sound of the bugle after having dispersed to rest, emerging from every nook and cranny, and to form ranks under their flag, is far easier than calling them up the first time and taking them under discipline and arms.
Similarly, it is easier for particles that are closely acquainted having been intermingled in a single body to regather at sound of Israfil’s trumpet, and for them all to come from every side in response to their Creator’s command; this is easier and reasonably more possible than their original creation and composition.
For in relation to divine power, the greatest thing is equal to the smallest.
It seems that at the resurrection, the original parts of the body will be restored to it, as well as those that were discarded. This is alluded to by the vast bodies of the resurrected, and the fact that it is disapproved of (makrūh) to cut the hair or nails when canonically unclean, and that it is Sunna to bury them. But according to investigations, [a few cells from] the coccyx (‘ajb al‑dhanab) will be sufficient as a seed and substance for the body’s re‑formation.
Now for the Proof Indicated by the Verse,Nor Is Your Sustainer Ever Unjust to His Servants:
We very often see tyrannical, sinful, and cruel men living in the greatest luxury, passing their lives in affluence and ease. Then we see that poor, oppressed, righteous men of good character live lives of great hardship, degraded and oppressed. Then death comes and makes them equal and this appears to be the ultimate tyranny. Whereas divine justice and wisdom, which are testified to by all the universe, are exempt from such tyranny. There must therefore be a final gathering at which the former will receive his punishment and the latter his reward, so that divine justice may be fully manifested.
You can compare other verses of the Qur’an with these two. The positioning of the parts of the phrase: and have certain belief in the hereafter (wa bi’l‑ākhirati hum yūqinūn)
The [conjunction] and (wāw): After the general statements of the previous phrases, [the purpose of] this is to denote the specificity [of this one] with its explicit mention of this pillar of belief, for [this pillar] is one of the two pivots on which the revealed scriptures turn.
The precedence of in the hereafter (bi’l‑ākhira) denotes restriction, and this suggests that because [some of] the People of the Book say: The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days, and [others of them] deny bodily pleasures, the hereafter will be metaphorical for them and only in name; what they will experience will not be the true hereafter.
The use of the definite article al is to express its known nature. That is, it indicates that [the hereafter] is well known by reason of its constant mention by the revealed scriptures. Its being well known is also a hint that it is true, and a sign that in consequence of the proofs based on the nature of things mentioned above it is a fact almost visible to the mind. Its being well known is therefore a sign that it is a reality.
And the use of the term the hereafter (al‑ākhira), that is, making it an adjective qualifying creation (al‑nā‘ita li’l-nasha’), is to direct attention towards the first creation, so that the mind will grasp the possibility of the second.
Have certain belief in (yūqinūn) is used instead of they believe (yu’minūn), although belief is certain affirmation, in order to intentionally point the finger at the objective so to dispel any doubts. For the resurrection of the dead is a thronging mass of doubts [and complete certainty (yaqīn) concerning it is more important than affirmation (taṣdīq) of it]. Also this definite statement blocks up the path of such excuses of the People of the Book as “We’re believers anyway, so let those who don’t believe, believe.”