The Guiding Light — Page 140
S u rah al-Baqarah Chapter 2, Verses 1-8 140 perfect his faith, he is told here that for its consummation he must believe in the Holy Prophet sa and through him in the previous Prophets, and must at the same time believe in ‘what is yet to come’. Thus belief in the Holy Prophet sa is the central point so far as belief in the Prophets of God is concerned, and no person can become ﻣﺘ- ( muttaq i ) a truly righteous person unless he believes in the Holy Prophet sa. From the words, that which has been revealed to thee, quite an erroneous inference is sometimes drawn to the effect that it is belief in the Qur’ a n and not belief in the Holy Prophet sa that is enjoined. This view the Qur’ a n forcefully contradicts. Besides making it clear in several places that belief in the Prophet sa is as essential as belief in the Book e. g. (2:286; 4:66; 4:137), the Qur’ a n makes the point clear in another way also. At one place we have, He it is Who has sent down to you the Book clearly explained (6:115), and at another, and in like manner, have We sent down the Book to thee (O Prophet) (29:48). The fact that God sometimes speaks of the Qur’ a n as having been sent to the people and sometimes to the Prophet sa is not without point. In fact, the difference in construction is full of meaning; for where the Qur’ a n is spoken of as having been sent to the people, the