The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 42
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH become an exemplar of the teaching contained in the message. Elsewhere God says, Allah knows best where to place His message (6:125), which is a clear proof of the fact that a Prophet is not merely the bearer of a message, but is selected by God for a higher purpose, i. e. to become a model for his followers; otherwise, anybody can be sent as a bearer of a message and the question of special selection does not arise. The words, and that which was revealed before thee, illustrate a special characteristic of Islam, i. e. it not only recognizes the truth of all previous Prophets but makes it obligatory upon its followers to believe in the Divine origin of the teachings they brought with them (see also 13:8; 35:25). But it must be remembered that Islam is a complete and final teaching which has superseded all previous teachings. Belief in them, therefore, is only in the sense of reverence for them and not in the sense that a Muslim should act upon them. That is why in the verse under comment God mentions the earlier Scriptures after the Quran and not before it, as the chronological order required, so that the attention of the believers may be drawn to the fact that belief in the previous books is based on the Quran and is not independent of it. According to the Quran (35:25), Prophets have appeared among all peoples and all nations and we are commanded to believe in all previous revelations, and thus an effective step has been taken to promote peace and harmony among the followers of different religions. The verse applies 42 PT. 1 to no particular Book. Any earlier Book which claims Divine origin and has been accepted for a long time and by a large section of mankind to be the Word of God falls within the meaning of this verse. The word (what is yet to come) means either "the message or revelation which is to follow" or "the Last Abode", i. e. the next life. Of these two meanings the first is more applicable here; for it fits in with the other two parts of the verse which speak of God's revelations. In this connection it is also noteworthy that while the word td has been used in reference to the past and present revelations, the word has been used in reference to the future ones. This is because to relates to something definite and determined, and as the future revelation was not yet definite and determined at the time when the verse was revealed, so the word was used for it. The subject of the latter part of this verse, referred to in the words, what is yet to come, finds further exposition in 62:3, 4 where the Quran speaks of two advents of the Holy Prophet. His first advent took place among the Arabs in the 7th century of the Christian era when the Quran was revealed to him; and his second advent was to take place in the latter days of the world in the person of one of his followers who was to come in his spirit and power. This prophecy found its fulfilment in the person of Aḥmad, the Promised Messiah and Founder of the Aḥmadiyya Movement in Islam, in whose advent have been fulfilled also the prophecies of other Prophets