Some Distinctive Features of Islam — Page 5
5 It does not, even in passing, verify the truth of religious revelations bestowed on other lands and upon other peoples. Thus, the belief of the Jews that all Israelite Prophets were sent only to the tribes of Israel is in full conformity with the intent and message of the Bible. Jesus as had also declared that his advent was intended for the guidance of the Hebrew tribes alone, and had said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, 3 and he admonished his disciples in the words: ‘Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before swine. ’ 4 Similarly, the Hindu religion also addresses its books only to those of high birth. It is said, ‘If one of base birth should per chance hear a text of the Vedas, the King should seal his ears with molten wax and lead. And should he recite a portion of the scripture, his tongue should be severed; and should he succeed in reading the Veda, his body should be hacked to pieces. ’ 5 Even if we disregard such drastic injunctions, or offer some less severe explanation of them, the fact remains that the holy books of various faiths do not, even by impl ication, allude to the truth of the religions of other lands and peoples. The basic question that arises here is that if all these faiths were in fact true, then what was the wisdom in presenting the concept of God in such limited and restricted terms? The Holy Quran read ily furnishes a solution of this predicament. It says that even before the revelation of the Holy Quran and the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa , divine Messengers had indeed been sent to every nation and every part of the globe, but their sphere was regional and thei r assignments temporary. This is because human civilisation had not yet reached a stage of development which merited the commissioning of a universal messenger, bearing a universal message.