ABOLITION AND COMPLETION OF DIVINE MESSAGES

"Say: We believe in God and that which has been sent down to us, and that which was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit."

Holy Qur'an 92:136)

All the divine messages converge at one point and move toward one target which is to save humanity and make people true servants of God. This can be done through the sublime principles of faith and legislative systems represented by the laws, morals, orders, creeds, and the form of worship brought forth by the prophets and invited to by the messengers throughout human history.

Humanity was prepared by the prophets' ideologically, spiritually and behaviorally to be ready to receive the next message brought by the successor prophet.

The process of perfecting man moved along the path of the prophets. It took its final form in the message of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, peace be with him and his progeny. His message was the last one and his method was that of raising humanity to the highest point possible in faith and civilization.

"...this day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion,..." Holy Qur'an (5:3)

"Truly the religion with God is Islam..." Holy Qur'an (3:19)

 

"Whoever chooses a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him; and in the Hereafter he shall be of the losers." Holy Qur'an (3:85)

The divine message of Islam achieved the process of development and perfection in its general legislative and cultural forms through two key principles:

1. Abrogation

This is Islam abrogated a former divine law and replaced it with a better one. The Most High says:

"...and it is not in an apostle to bring a sign except by God's permission; for every term there is an appointment. God makes to pass away and establishes what He pleases, and with Him is the basis of the Book." Holy Qur'an (13:38-39)

As the laws and messages were subject to abrogation and replacement by substitutes, as they achieved their mission during a limited period of time, the laws of Islam itself were subject to the principle of gradual perfection in developing its characteristics and instructions, and replacing the means, styles and teachings with better ones. The Qur'an expresses this phenomenon of the perfection of Islamic law thus: "If We abrogate any sign or cause it to be forgotten, We bring a better or the like of it. Do you not know that God is powerful over everything?" Holy Qur'an (2:106)

2. Expansion of Divine Laws

This is the second method of perfecting divine laws. Every message revealed to humanity via the prophets, in any phase of its life, was more wide-horizoned, more general in its order, more accommodating to man's activities, more able to tackle life's varied problems and initiate a newer, more dynamic formula for living than the antecedent message.

Generality and expansion in the divine laws persisted and reached its pinnacle in the message of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an speaks of this: "And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what God has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if God had pleased He would have made you a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to God is your return, of all, so He will let you know that in which you differed." Holy Qur'an (5:48)