Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 210
210 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI—THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION believing in the Prophet. Rather, what is meant is that salvation cannot be achieved without believing in Allah, the One without any associate, and in the Last Day. 1* And complete belief in Allah is possible only when one believes in His Prophets, inasmuch as they are the expression of His attributes and the existence of something is not proved until its attributes are manifested. Therefore, the cognizance of the Exalted Maker stays deficient without the knowledge of the attributes of the Exalted Maker. Take for example the attributes of Allah that He speaks, hears, knows the unseen, and has power to show mercy and to inflict punishment. How can these attributes be believed without knowing them through a Messenger? And if these attributes are not substanti- ated through observation, the very existence of God Almighty is not substantiated and in this case what would be the meaning of believing in Him? And a person who believes in God must believe in His attrib- utes also, and such belief will force him to believe in the Prophets. For instance, how can it be understood that God sends down His Word and speaks, without the specimen of God's Word; and it is only the Prophets who present this Word along with its proof. It must also be understood that the Holy Quran comprises two types of verses. One type is muḥkamāt [categorical] and explicit, for instance the verse: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ 1. Divine practice in the Holy Quran is that at places there are details and at places, it employs synopsis. And it is necessary for the reader to interpret synoptic verses in such a way that they do not become opposed to the de- tailed verses. For instance, God Almighty has clearly declared that shirk [as- sociation of partners with God] shall not be forgiven. But the Quranic verse [Surely Allah forgives all sins, (Surah az-Zumar, 39:54)] appears to contradict the verse that says shirk shall not be forgiven. Therefore, it would be heresy to interpret this verse in a sense which is contrary to cate- gorical and decisive verses. (Author)