The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 128
CH. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN the Mosque, recited to them this very verse, i. e. Muḥammad is only a Messenger; verily all Messengers have passed away before him; if then he die or be slain, will you turn back on your heels? meaning, that in the circumstances it was no wonder that the Holy Prophet also had passed away. Hearing this timely recital, 'Umar, and all others, were convinced of the death of the Holy Prophet and were overpowered with grief. Thus, the verse incidentally proves that the Prophets that lived before the Holy Prophet had all died; for if any of them had been alive, the verse could PT. 4 the Prophet is only a Messenger and the religion is God's. Elsewhere, however, the Quran clearly says: And Allah will protect thee from men (5:68). These two verses are not at variance with each other. What the Quran intends to emphasize in the verse is the fundamental truth of Islamic teachings. Muslims had seen how pure and true these teachings were. Their truth was evident and they could not have become false even if the Holy Prophet had been slain. For instance, the fundamental teaching of Islam is the Unity of God. not have been quoted as proof of the Now, this truth could not become an Holy Prophet's death. The verse also negates the idea that any Prophet has risen to heaven; for it was used to falsify 'Umar's contention to the effect that the Holy Prophet was not dead but had risen to heaven. The verse thus proves, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus too, who was one of the Prophets that had appeared before the Holy Prophet, is not physically alive in the heavens, as some present-day Muslims, following the Christian belief, erroneously think. He is certainly dead, as proved by this verse and the consensus of the Companions' opinion on the occasion of the death of the Holy Prophet. untruth if the Prophet were killed. But apart from this announcement in principle, the Prophet could not be killed, God had definitely promised to protect him. for It should also be remembered that immunity from being murdered is not given in the Quran as a criterion of a Prophet's truth. People are required to accept a Prophet in his lifetime, and, therefore, they must have proofs of his truth in his lifetime, so that, by witnessing them, they may believe in him. They cannot wait till the time of his death in order to know whether he is a true or a false claimant. Once a Prophet has furnished clear proofs of his truth in his lifetime, his claim is established and nothing can In fact, religion does not depend on undo those proofs. Only if a Prophet any personality. It belongs to God were murdered before he had been alone. That is why the Quran says able to give any proof of his truth that if the Holy Prophet dies or is could we conclude that he had proved killed, it will be no ground for a failure and was not a true claimant. Muslims to turn away from Islam; for | But such a thing has never happened. 568