Some Distinctive Features of Islam — Page 19
19 castigate another teaching, but to show that, when viewed in the light of the Quranic principles, even such drastic measures may also sometimes be justified. The Holy Quran, thus helps us in following the conflicting teachings of other faiths in a spirit of sympathy and understanding, which, too, is an exclusive feature of Islam. According to the Holy Quran, the extraction of full vengeance was decreed only to meet the specific needs of a particular period. This was necessary to give heart to the Israelites to make them stand up for their rights after they had remained victimized and enslaved for a prolonged period, and had as a result, become cowardly and developed a deep-seated complex of being an inferior people. Obviously, in such a situation, it ∗ would only have made the Israelites sink deeper into their morass and not give them the confidence and courage to break the shackles of abject bondage. This teaching, therefore, was right and proper in the situation, which then existed, and was indeed given by the All-Wise God. On the other hand when we consider the New Testament, we find that in contradiction of the previous Scripture, the Old Testament, it emphasizes forgiveness to such an extent that it totally deprives the Israelites of the right to extract any vengeance whatsoever. The real reason for this was that practising the previous teaching over a long period of time, the Israelites ha d become hardhearted and ferocious, and this could only be remedied by suspending for a certain period their right to extract vengeance. This is why Jesus admonished them: You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth', but I say to you do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone ∗ The teachings regarding forgiveness. [Publishers]