The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 214
principles of Christianity had to be proved false and unfounded. This had been done in Surah Maryam; and by shedding light on the incidents attending Jesus' birth and his claims he was shown in that Surah to be in no way different from and superior to other messengers of God. In chapter Țā Hā, the Christian doctrine that Law was a curse, was fully and completely repudiated and rebutted while in Surah Al-Anbiya' the same subject was treated in a different manner, and the doctrine of original sin was shown to be quite untenable. It was made clear that if man suffered from the legacy of original sin and being devoid of free will he could not get rid of it, then the very object of the advent of Divine Messengers was defeated and the disbelievers should not have been punished and man should not have been regarded as accountable for his actions and deeds. In the present Sūrah, however, we are told that if Jesus was a perfect specimen of righteousness and he had attained the highest stage of spiritual development (and the old Shari'ah had ceased to function and to be valid any more), then there was no need of a new Shari'ah (Law) and a new Messenger. But the fact that the Holy Prophet had claimed to be a Divine Messenger and to have brought a new Law, in itself constitutes a challenge to this baseless Christian belief. The claim of the Holy Prophet rests on five quite sound hypotheses, viz. (1) that his enemies like those of the former prophets will meet defeat and destruction; (2) that his teachings are indispensable for mankind and are based on truth and wisdom; (3) that his followers will prosper both materially and spiritually; (4) that he will be blessed with divine boons and blessings in an unusual measure; and (5) that all false faiths and religious systems including Christianity will suffer defeat at his hands. Summary of the Subject Matter The disbelievers are threatened with Divine punishment because they have rejected the Holy Prophet and have opposed and persecuted him. The Prophet has sound and solid arguments to establish the truth of his claim. Mere empty assertions cannot stand before these weighty arguments. Heavenly signs also uphold the Prophet's cause and in the face of Divine support his enemies cannot expect to succeed against him. The teachings of the Holy Prophet are a blessing for mankind and they are designed to bring about peace, harmony and goodwill in the world, while the teachings of his opponents are entirely devoid of all these qualities, on the contrary they only tend to create disharmony and discord. Therefore the two teachings cannot be equal. The Holy Prophet's advent has fulfilled the second part of Abraham's prayer. His failure means the non-fulfilment of that prayer which is impossible. 2128