The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page cccxxix
GENERAL INTRODUCTION rejects such a notion. The Quran teaches belief in a living God and puts forward as proof the fact that He will continue ever to speak to His chosen and righteous servants as He has always spoken to them. The truth of this doctrine taught by the Quran has been confirmed in this age by the appearance of the Promised Messiah, the founder of the Aḥmadiyya Movement. Once more the revelation received by him and by his true followers stands out as a challenge to all those who assert, if not by word of mouth, at least by the doctrines they preach, that God has lost His attribute of speech. The Quran teaches that divine revelation has not been confined to any particular people but that God has raised Prophets among all peoples. It explains why it was necessary to send Prophets one after the other; why a perfect Law was not revealed in the early stages of man's history. It deals at length with the subject of the Unity of God and sets out convincing proofs in support of it. It demonstrates that a plurality of gods would offend both against reason and against fact. It explains in what manner the doctrine of the Unity of God helps man in his spiritual advance. The Quran sheds a flood of light on the question of prophethood. The word "prophet" or its equivalents have been freely used in religious scriptures but not one of them explains the conception underlying prophethood. Who may be called a Prophet and who may not be so called and what are the different kinds of prophethood? The Quran alone defines a Prophet and draws a distinction between different kinds of prophethood. It explains the difference between a Prophet and a non-prophet and defines the duties of a Prophet and a Prophet's relationship to God. It also explains why Prophets are raised and what should be the relationship between them and their followers and between them and those who do not believe in them. It defines the rights of a Prophet and explains whether a Prophet stands as a barrier between God and man or is only a helper and a guide. The Quran deals in detail with the subject of angels, their functions and the purpose for which they have been created. It also explains what Satan is and in what manner the existence of such a being is of help to man. What is the relationship between man and Satan? How can a man guard himself against satanic promptings? Has Satan power to force a man to adopt a particular course of action? It points out that angels ever prompt a man to good and Satan ever prompts him to evil and that man has the option to accept or reject the good promptings of angels and equally to accept or reject the evil promptings of Satan. These two categories of beings have been created to help man towards perfection and to invest his existence with reality. In the absence of angelic and satanic promptings man would not be entitled to any reward nor would he deserve any punishment. A man's fight against satanic suggestions makes him worthy of reward and opens the way of сссііі