إِنَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا (9) وَأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

Verily this Qur'an guides to all that is most upright, and gives the glad tidings to the Believers who do good deeds, that theirs will be a great reward; and (it announces to) those who will not believe in the Hereafter that We have prepared for them a grievous punishment. (Al-Isra' 17:9-10)

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجَا (1) قَيِّمًا لِيُنْذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِنْ لَدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا (2) مَاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا

Praise be to Allah, Who sent down to His Servant the Book, and has not allowed any deviousness in it. Unerringly straight, meant to warn (the godless) of a severe punishment from Him, and to give glad tidings to the Believers who do good works that theirs will be a goodly reward, they shall dwell in it forever. (Al-Kahf 18:1-3)

The Qur'an is the Word of Allah, revealed to Prophet Muhammad. It is the Book of Guidance, clear and straight forward guidance without any crookedness or deviation. It is meant to give good news to the Believers and to warn those who reject God and the path of right conduct.

The Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- through the angel Gabriel at different times in his Prophetic life in Makkah and Madinah. The total period of revelation is 23 years. It has 114 Surahs: some Makki and some Madani. Its language and style are very powerful and affective. It is neither poetry nor plain prose; but it has a melody and beautiful rhyming. The Qur'an was transmitted both verbally and in writing. It was preserved in the most careful manner and it is the most authentic Book of Allah.

This Qur'an has some unique characteristics. Any one who will read the Qur'an carefully will find these characteristics. Here are some main characteristics of the message of this Great Book:

I. Balanced Message:

1. Rational and Emotional - The Qur'an appeals to the mind and heart at the same time. Its message evokes emotions but it does not want anyone to forget reason and intellect.
2. Temporal and Eternal: The Qur'an emphasizes responsible behavior in this world and it emphasizes the eternal world. It does teach that the eternal world is the real world; but it does not say that in order to be a religious person one must abandon this world. It wants people to keep a balance between both of them.
3. Ideal and Practical: The message of the Qur'an is ideal but it is also very practical. The Qur'anic ideal way of life is achievable by human beings in this world. Allah does not impose any burden on any one beyond their capacity.

II. Comprehensive Message:

• Universal for all people for all times and places: The message of the Qur'an is not exclusively for any race, color or ethnic group of people. It is not limited for any particular region of the world. It is also for all times.
• Covers every aspect of life: The message of the Qur'an is not only about beliefs, worship and some morals and manners. It covers every aspect and every dimension of life. It deals with faith, devotion, ethics, laws of social order, economics and politics.
• For individuals, families and societies: The message of the Qur'an is to reform the individuals, reform the families and reform the societies. Its message is for individuals without making them individualistic. It is also for societies without making it socialistic.

III. Liberating Message:

• Liberates from the worship of any one other than Allah: The basic theme of the Qur'an is Tawhid. It is the most dignifying and most liberating principle. It says that human beings should not bow before other creatures: stones, trees, animals or other humans or their images.
• Liberates from sin and corruption: It liberates human beings from their slavery to their passions and desires. It gives them proper guidance to control their urges of lust, money and power. It liberates from greed, selfishness and materialism.
• Liberates from injustice and oppression: The message of the Qur'an is to establish justice and equity in this world. It abhors injustice to any person, even to those who may become your enemy.
• Liberates from hellfire and leads to Jannah: The objective of the Qur'an is that human beings have eternal success and salvation. It is to save human beings from hell and to lead them to Jannah.

IV. Peaceful Message:

• Peace within oneself, peace within family, peace with other members of the society: The Qur'an teaches how to relate to ones own self properly and how to relate to others in all situations. It teaches how to reconcile differences and how to solve problems in the most peaceful manner.
• Value integrated message: It message is value integrated with truthfulness, honesty, decency, courtesy, tolerance, modesty, moderation and benevolence.
• Piety: Taqwa is the sum total of all Islamic teachings. It is righteousness, piety and God-consciousness. The Qur'an wants to make individuals as Muttaqin and wants to make the societies of Taqwa. Allah says in the very beginning of the Qur'an:

الم (1) ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

Alif, Lam, Mim. This Book - without any doubt- in it is guidance for all those who (like to) be God-conscious. (Al-Baqarah 2:1-2)

By Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi

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