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The Qur'an's Addressees
“Another point that has to be inferred from the
Qur'anic text during its analytical study, is to
determine the identity of those who are addressed by
it. There are certain expressions like "guidance
for the God fearing," "guidance and good
tiding for the believers," "to admonish and
caution him who is alive," which often recur in
the Qur'an. Here the question may arise: Of what need
is guidance for those who are already guided, the
pious and the righteous? Moreover, we see that the
Qur'an describes itself in these words:
It
is but a reminder unto all beings, and you shall
surely know its tiding, after a while. (38:87-88)
Then,
is this book meant for all the people of the world, or
is it for the believers alone? In another verse
addressing the Prophet, God the Most Exalted, says:
We
have not sent thee, save as a mercy unto all beings.
(21:107)
A
more detailed explanation of this matter would be
undertaken during the course of later discussion
regarding the historical aspect of the Qur'an. Here it
is just sufficient to mention that the Qur'an is
addressed to all the people of the world. It does not
single out any particular nation or group. Everyone
who accepts the invitation of the Qur'an is assured of
spiritual salvation. However, the verses which mention
the Qur'an as the book of guidance for the believers
and the God-fearing (mu'minun and muttaqun), clearly
specify the kind of people who will be attracted
towards it and others who will turn away from it. The
Qur'an never names any particular nation or tribe as
being its devotees. It does not take sides with a
specially chosen people. Unlike other religions, the
Qur'an never associates itself with the interests of
any specific class. It does not say, for example, that
it has come to safeguard the interests of the workers
or the peasants. The Qur'an repeatedly emphasizes the
point that its purpose is to establish justice.
Speaking about the prophets, it says:
And
We sent down with them the Book and the Balance so
that men might uphold justice ... (57:25)
The
Qur'an advocates justice for all mankind, not merely
for this or that class, tribe or nation. It does not,
for example, like Nazism and other such cults, stir up
the passions of prejudice to attract people.
Similarly, it does not, like certain schools of
thought like Marxism, base its appeal upon the human
weakness of interest-seeking and enslave-ment to
material motivations to incite people; because the
Qur'an believes in the essential primariness of the
rational consciousness of man and his intrinsic
conscience. It believes that it is on the basis of its
moral potentialities and its truth-conscious human
nature that mankind is placed firmly on the path of
progress and evolution. This is the reason why its
message is not limited to the working or farming class
or exclusively to the oppressed and deprived. The
Qur'an addresses both the oppressors as well as the
oppressed, and calls them to follow the right path.
Prophet Moses (A) delivers the message of God to both
Bani Israel and Pharaoh, and asks them to believe in
the Lord and to move in His path. Prophet Muhammad (S)
extends his invitation both to the chieftains of
Quraysh and to ordinary persons like Abu Dharr and 'Ammar.
The Qur'an cites numerous examples of an individual's
revolt against his own self and his voluntary return
from the path of deviation to the straight one. But,
at the same time, the Qur'an is aware of the point
that the restoration and repentance of those immersed
in a life of luxury and opulence is comparatively more
difficult than that of those familiar with the
hardships of life: the oppressed and the deprived, who
are, as a matter of fact, naturally more inclined
towards justice; whereas the rich and wealthy, at the
very first step, have to forgo their personal and
class interests and abandon their wishes and
aspirations.
The Qur'an declares that its followers are those who
have a clear and pure conscience. They are drawn to it
solely by the love of justice and truth, which is
ingrained in the nature of all human beings — not
under the urge for material interests and worldly
desires and allurements.”
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