Testimony of the Holy Quran — Page 61
H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 61 there are places where there is a clear context indicating that the address is specific. Such places are exceptions. Accordingly, in the above-mentioned verse, a particular group of the apostles asked for a meal and they alone were addressed. So this evidence is enough that only that group was addressed that asked the question. But to say that there are numerous such examples in the Holy Quran is a complete lie and deception. The word minkum has been used around eighty-two times in the Holy Quran and there are nearly 600 examples of address in other forms, but all the addresses in which commandments are given have a general application. If the Quranic commandments were meant exclusively for the Companions ra , the Holy Quran would have become redun - dant upon their death. In fact, the verse at issue, which is about Khilafat, really resembles the following verse: 1 ُمُهَل ىٰرْشُبْلا يِف ِةوٰيَحْلا اَيْنُّدلا Were these glad tidings exclusively for the Companions ra , or might someone else, too, partake of them? The critic insists that whosoever departs from the ‘true interpretation,’ i. e. makes a broad application of the Quranic commandments meant for their direct addressees, must support his departure with some categorical argument. This proves that the critic is not only totally unaware of the style of the Holy Quran, but also that of all Divine Books. The trouble is that hasty people are quite ready to object before thoroughly investigating the matter. Had the critic 1. For them are glad tidings in the present life ( S u rah Y u nus, 10:65). [Publisher]