An Elementary Study of Islam — Page 17
Mirza Tahir Ahmad 17 How does the Quran resolve this dilemma? That is the question. According to the Quran, it is a universal trend of man to gradually interpolate the divine teachings which were vouchsafed to the founders of their religion. To change the concept of Unity to that of polytheism is a manifestation of the same trend. We can definitely discover evidence of the truth of this claim by tracing the history of changes in the text, or the interpretation of the text, from the time of its first revelation. This is why the Holy Quran pointedly draws our attention to the fact that all divine books concurred in their fundamental teachings only at the time of their inception. It is not necessary to go through the laborious exercise of pursuing the history of change, because logically there can be no other conclusion than the one made by the Quran. If there is no God other than the one Supreme Being, and if the claims of all religions that their divine books originated from God are to be accepted, then there has to be unanimity among all such books, at least in the fundamentals. Having said that, one faces another important question regarding the manner in which one can ascertain the original doctrinal teachings common to all religions. One must find a logically acceptable methodology to sift the right from the wrong. The fundamental beliefs from the point of view of the Holy Quran are so attuned to human nature that they simply sink into the human hearts by the sheer force of their truth. They are as follows: # /0 & 1%2 3 4#5% 678 9 3 # :% 6 "; ? @9 # *% A% B :C D # ) * EF ;% " # ;<% @9G And they were not commanded but to serve Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience, and being upright, and to observe prayer, and pay