Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 49
49 Chapter 22 Al- H ajj 5 . (Revealed partly before and partly after Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context According to scholarly opinion a part of the S u rah was revealed before the Hijrah and a part after it. D a hha k, however, holds that the whole of it was revealed after the Hijrah. In S u rah Al-Anbiy a ’ it was stated that Divine punishment continues to dog the footsteps of disbelievers because they reject the truth. In its last verse the Holy Prophet was enjoined to invoke Divine punishment upon disbelievers because of their persistently hostile attitude. The opening verse of the present S u rah constitutes an answer to his prayer. This is the immediate connection of the S u rah with Al-Anbiy a ’. But there exists a broader connection and deeper relationship between the subject-matter of some preceding Chapters and this S u rah. The subject which began in S u rah Maryam and was later developed and elaborated in S u rahs Ta H a and Al-Anbiy a ’ is brought to completion in the present S u rah. In S u rah Maryam the basic principles of the Christian Faith were explained and effectively refuted, as without their refutation there could have been no justification for a new Message. The Holy Prophet had claimed to have brought a new Message and a new Law for the whole of mankind. If Christianity could be shown to have existed in the world in its pristine purity and if there was extant in the world a Faith which claimed to be true, practical and practicable, then the need of a new Faith could not arise. So the basic principles of Christianity had to be proved to be false and unfounded. This was done in S u rah Maryam whereby shedding light on the incidents attending his birth Jesus was shown to have been in no way different from, or superior to, other Messengers of God. In S u rah Ta H a , the Christian doctrine that Law is a curse was fully and completely repudiated, while in S u rah Al-Anbiy a ’ the same subject was treated in a different manner, and the doctrine of original sin was shown to be quite untenable. It was made clear that if man suffered from the legacy of original sin and being devoid of free will he could not get rid of it, then the very object of the advent of Divine Messengers was defeated and man could not have been regarded as accountable for his actions and deeds. In the present S u rah , however, we are told that if Jesus had attained the highest stage of spiritual perfection, then there was no need of a new Shar i ‘ah (Law) and a new Messenger. But the fact that the Holy Prophet had claimed to be a new Messenger and to have brought a new Law, in itself constitutes a challenge to this Christian belief. Subject-Matter The subject-matter of the S u rah is split into five main parts: (1) The