Testimony of the Holy Quran — Page 58
T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 58 obligated to follow the injunctions concerning prayers, fasting, etc. And clearly, only a heretic, and not any God-fearing person, can utter such words. If someone were to think that the verse, 1 َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا , has general application—that is, its true purpose was to apply to all people and not just a specific people—then why was the word ْ مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] added here? And what indeed was the need for this addition? It would have be enough to say this much that: رض كما أ وعد الل ّٰ الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصلحت ليستخلفنهم في ال استخلف الذين من قبلهم. [Allah has promised to those who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them]. The answer to this question is that this promise was made against the backdrop of the believers and righteous people who had passed away before this ummah. In other words, this verse explains that God Almighty, before you, made those people Khulaf a ’ in the earth who were righteous and pious and whose faith was accompanied by righteous deeds. Therefore, O Muslims! God promises that from among you, too, He will make such peo - ple Khulaf a ’ as would possess these same qualities and whose faith would be accompanied by righteous deeds. Hence, the word min - kum is not added unnecessarily; rather, it is employed to refer to the righteous and pious people of Islam. The words ‘believers’ and ‘righteous’ apply equally to the believers and the righteous ones of the previous ummahs and of this ummah; thus, if there was no 1. Allah has promised to those who believe ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:56). [Publisher]