Talim-ul-Quran — Page 190
As the falsity of Christian doctrines is sought to be established in this Chapter it rightly opens with the hint that as Christianity had become corrupt and degenerate, it could not prove a bar to the introduction of a new and better Dispensation. On the contrary, Christianity itself constituted a strong testimony to the need for the introduction of a new Law. Consequently, the Divine attributes the Living, the. Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining have been placed in the very beginning of this. Surah to repudiate the Christian basic doctrines. The other connection between the two. Sūrah, viz. , that of the concluding portion of Al-Baqarah with the opening words of this Surah is apparent from the fact that Al-Baqarah had concluded with a prayer from national regeneration and reformation of Muslims and the triumph of Islām over its enemies, and the Divine attributes - the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining have been placed in the beginning of the present Surah to assure Muslims that God will certainly come to their aid because He being the Living, the Self-Subsisting and. All-Sustaining, His power knows no weakening or diminution. . Subject-Matter. The Surah, like the preceding one, opens with the abbreviated latter, Alif Lām. Mim, (I am Allāh, the All-Knowing), which are intended to draw attention to the. Divine attributes of knowledge; and, mention of the attributes, the Living, the. Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining is meant to point out that in this Sūrah the Divine attribute of knowledge has been substantiated by God's attributes, the Living, the. Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining, i. e. , the fact that God is Living, Self-Subsisting and. All-Sustaining constitutes proof of His being All-Knowing, because death and decay are the result of lack of knowledge. The Surah proceeds to say that, as Jews and. Christians have strayed away from the right path, Divine punishment will overtake them, and their being the followers of Torah and the Gospels will not save them from. God's punishment, because these Books have been abrogated and, therefore, are unable to satisfy human needs and requirements. After this it tells Muslims to banish all doubt or misgiving from their minds that, in view of the numerical superiority of Jews and. Christians and the preponderance of the material means at their disposal, they would not prevail against the latter, because God has already granted them predominance over their more powerful enemies, the Quraish and other infidel tribes of Arabia. The same Phenomenon will be replaced now. Moreover, national victories do not result solely from the preponderance of material means but primarily and very largely from the superiority of national morals. And final victory will come to Muslims because, though they lack material means, they are in possession of ample moral and spiritual means and because also they follow a true religion. . Next, the Surah proceeds to disabuse the minds of the enemies of Islām of the fondly-held illusion that their national usage and customs are superior to those of. Muslims. Further, they are told that by holding wrong beliefs and restoring to evil practices they appear to ignore the law of cause and effect which cannot be flouted with impunity. The Surah then develops the subject that the path to progress and prosperity for Muslims does not lie in imitating other peoples' ways and manners but 190