The Guiding Light — Page 126
S u rah al-Baqarah Chapter 2, Verses 1-8 126 perfect Book is, therefore, based on fact, and is appropriately made in the beginning of the text. The second meaning of اﻟکﺘﺎب ذ ﻟﻚ ( z a likal-kit a b ) this is the Book is that the prayer, Guide us in the right path , contained in Al-F a ti h ah meets with acceptance in this verse. Man prayed for guidance and guidance has come. “This is the Book which was promised to you”. The full meaning of اﻟکﺘﺎب ذﻟ ﻚ ( zalikal-kit a b ) this is a perfect Book becomes clear when we read it together with the ensuing words َ ۡﻻ َ ر َ ۚﻳ ِ ﺐ ۡﻓ ِﻴ ُ ً ﻫ ﺪ ِ ی َۡﻟِّﻠْﻤُﺘَّﻘ ني ( l a raiba f i he hudal-lil- muttaq i n ) i. e. this is a perfect Book; there is nothing of doubt in it; it is a guidance for the righteous. To a new message the first natural reaction is that of fear lest it should lead one into error or evil; the second reaction is the hope that the message may prove beneficial. Both these reactions-- the first negative and the second positive—have thus been satisfied in this verse. The Qur’ a n is a perfect Book, because on the one hand there is nothing in the Qur’an to cause uneasiness or to create doubt or despair, and on the other, there is everything in it which can be a guidance for the God-fearing. Elsewhere in the Qur’ a n we read, Aye! it is in the word of God (more literally, the