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Qur'an is
addressed to all humanity
“The Qur'an
is addressed to all humanity, without distinction of race, region or
time. Furthermore, it seeks to guide man in all walks of life -
spiritual, temporal, individual and collective. It contains directions
for the conduct of the head of a State, as well as a simple commoner, of
the rich as well as of the poor, for peace as well as for war, for
spiritual culture as for commerce and material well-being. The Qur'an
seeks primarily to develop the personality of the individual - every
being will be personally responsible to his Creator. With this purpose,
the Qur'an not only gives commands, but also tries to convince. It
appeals to man's reason as it relates stories, parables and metaphors.
It describes the attributes of God, Who is one, Creator of all, Knower,
Powerful, capable of resuscitating us after death and taking account of
our worldly behaviour, Just, Merciful, etc. It contains also the mode of
praising God, of pointing out which are the best prayers,
what the duties of man are with regard to God, to his
fellow-beings and to his own self. This last because we do
not belong to ourselves but to God, who has deposited our
self with us. The Qur'an speaks of the best rules relating
to social life, commerce, marriage, inheritance, penal law,
international law, and so on. But the Qur'an is not a book
in the ordinary sense - it is a collection of the Words of
God, were revealed, during the course of twenty-three years,
to His messenger sent among human beings. The Qur'an employs
graphically the word "king" for God, and "slave" for man.
When a king desires to communicate a message to His slave,
He sends a messenger, and gives His instructions to his
envoy. Therefore, there are certain things understood and
implied; there are repetitions, and even changes of the
forms of expression. Thus God speaks sometimes in the first
person and sometimes in the third. He says "I" as well as
"We" and "He", but never "They". It is a collection of
revelations sent occasion by occasion (and this fact must be
recalled to the beginner) and one should therefore read it
again and again in order to be able to grasp the meaning
better. It has directions for every person, every place and
for all time.”
Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah
http://muslim-canada.org/ch2hamid.html
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