The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page ix
FOREWORD The Holy Quran is the Word of God Almighty that was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muḥammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, over a period of 23 years. Since its revelation, the inimitability of its text has been widely acclaimed and acknowledged by friend and foe alike. Its verses made such a miraculous impact that some enemies of Islam, driven by extreme frustration, resorted to calling it magic, accusing the Holy Prophetsa of being a sorcerer, and preventing their fellow non-Muslims from hearing its recitation. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before its greatest enemies became its greatest admirers, or were destroyed in the very process of seeking its destruction. Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran that He Himself would safeguard it: إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحفِظُونَ Verily We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian. (Al-Hijr 15:10) Under the close and careful guidance of the Holy Prophets, the earliest Muslims including the scribes, and those who had memorized the Book- exercised great care and precaution in its compilation, recitation, and preservation. Meticulous care was taken to ensure that the words of the Holy Prophet and the personal notes of his Companions were not intermixed with the Word of God. ra Once the text had been fully preserved and disseminated widely, the need was felt for commentaries. However, as the Word of God is replete with sublime prophecies and profound verities, the infinite magnificence of the Holy Quran can never be fully comprehended in any commentary. Nevertheless, to help readers understand the historical context and significance of the revealed verses, several commentaries were written by eminent scholars. These commentaries generally relied on the Ḥadith, Sunnah, lexicons, and historical texts. However, in this process, some went to the extent of accepting the traditions of the Jews and Christians in commenting upon some verses. In the last few centuries, some orientalists have written commentaries on the Holy Quran and have critiqued some verses based upon their own traditions and perceptions of history. The Founder of the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Community, Ḥaḍrat Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Imām Mahdīªs was commissioned to revive faith and establish the law of Islam. Accordingly, his very first book,