The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page cccxxxi
GENERAL INTRODUCTION after victory is achieved. In the same way a person who is struggling sincerely to attain salvation has no power to postpone death till his struggle ends in victory. If such a person dies in the middle of this struggle, he becomes deserving of the grace and mercy of God and not of His wrath and punishment. No nation has ever condemned its warriors for being killed before victory was achieved. Every soldier who sincerely strives for victory is honoured. The same is the case with a person who strives to overcome Satan and, in spite of ups and downs, continues to sustain the struggle steadfastly and with courage till the end so that God's kingdom may be established. According to the Quran such a person is certainly deserving of salvation. His weakness is not a blemish but an ornament, for he was not thereby deterred from joining the ranks of those fighting on the side of God and did not hesitate to sacrifice himself in the struggle. The Quran describes the stages of spiritual evolution and explains their number and details. For instance, it explains the kinds and degrees of purity, chastity, charity, truthfulness, mercy, kind treatment, etc. Thus, it enables a man to plan in accordance with his moral and spiritual development. By thus placing the immediate objective within a man's reach it encourages him to set out on the path of progress, and by setting out before him a series of ever- higher objectives it incites him to greater effort at each stage. It thus carries man forward on the path of progress step by step and stage by stage. The Quran sheds light on man's intellectual evolution also and explains how it is carried out and teaches that divine wisdom in judging of a man's actions takes into account his intellectual development. He who was fortunate enough to be nurtured in a favourable environment and for whom the path of virtue was made easy may be judged by a standard different from that applied to a person whose intellectual development was inferior to the former and whose environment was not so favourable. Allowance would be made for the latter in respect of the handicaps against which he had to struggle. The Quran explains what faith is; how it may be acquired, and how it may be known. It explains the need of the Law of Shari'ah and its philosophy. It teaches that God's Law is based upon wisdom and is designed to help man forward on the path of progress. God's commandments are not devised as a burden or a penalty for His servants but each of them is designed as an aid and a prop to man in his progress and to help to improve his social environment. The Quran does not support the doctrine of the compulsory imposition of commandments and penalties. It teaches that God condemns no person without taking into full account every circumstance that might excuse or palliate his conduct. It also teaches that no man may be condemned unless he has had due warning in advance. CCCV