The Message of Islam — Page 12
12 Human intellect, which for some centuries had been almost fro- zen into inactivity, experienced a sudden release and upsurge, and the world experienced an astounding revolution, material, moral, and spiritual. This was no freak occurrence, no sudden flare-up followed by an even more sudden collapse. It was a phenomenon characterized by strength, beneficence, and endurance. It fulfilled to a pre-eminent degree the needs and yearnings of the human body, intellect, and soul. It changed the course of human his- tory. It flung wide open the gates of knowledge and progress in all directions. Its impact continues to be felt today through many and diverse channels. The Quran describes itself as a light and as a clear Book: ْدَق ْمُكَءٓاَج َنِّم ِهّٰللا ٌرْوُن َّو ٌبٰتِك ٌنْيِبُّمْۙيِدْهَّي ِهِب ُهّٰللا ِنَم َعَبَّتا ٗهَناَوْضِر َلُبُس ِمٰلَّسلا َو ْمُهُجِرْخُي َنِّم ِتٰمُلُّظلا ىَلِا ِرْوُّنلا ٖهِنْذِاِب َو ْمِهْيِدْهَي ىٰلِا ٍطاَرِص ٍمْيِقَتْسُّم… …There has come to you indeed from Allah a light and as a clear Book, whereby does Allah guide those who seek His pleasure along the paths of peace, and leads them out of every kind of darkness into the light by His will, and guides them along the right path. ( Surah al-Maa’idah, 5:16–17) On the other hand, the Quran itself discouraged the tendency to seek regulation of everything by Divine command, pointing out that such a regulation would become restrictive and burdensome. (see Surah al-Maa’idah, 5:102) One of many characteristics of the Quran which marks it as the Word of God is that to arrive at the comprehension of its deeper meaning and significance, the seeker must, in addition to a