Qur'an

“ With spirit of Muhammed thou’lt soon exchange look.
The Qur’ān is the essence of all prophets right.
They were the whales who swam in ocean of God’s might.170
If thou canst read or not, the Qur’ān take to heart,
The saints and prophets study; they were as thou art.
Read thou it carefully; read, mark, digest its tales;
Thy soul, like bird in cage, will long to break its rails. 113
The bird shut up, imprisoned in a little cage,
That seeks not to get out, is ignorant, not sage.
The souls who’ve freed themselves from cages of the flesh,
Are worthy fellow-travellers with prophets, fresh. ”

“ The signs and tokens of the Truth shine even as the midday sun, and yet the people are wandering, aimlessly and perplexedly, in the wilderness of ignorance and folly. Notwithstanding all the verses of the Qur’án, and the recognized traditions, which are all indicative of a new Faith, a new Law, and a new Revelation, this generation still waiteth in expectation of beholding the promised One who should uphold the Law of the Muḥammadan Dispensation. ”

“ Great is the blessedness of Thy people, could they but know Thee and inhale Thy sweet savours; and woe betide them that are fast asleep.’
Happy art thou who hast turned thy face towards My countenance, inasmuch as thou hast rent the veils asunder, hast shattered the idols and recognized thine eternal Lord. The people of the Qur’án have risen up against Us without any clear proof or evidence, tormenting Us at every moment with a fresh torment. They idly imagine that tribulations can frustrate Our Purpose. ”

“ And he who bears iniquity is indeed undone.
112 And whoever does good works and he is a believer, he has no fear of injustice, nor of the withholding of his due.
113 And thus have We sent it down an Arabic Qur'an, and have distinctly set forth therein of threats that they may guard against evil, or that it may be a reminder for them.
114 Supremely exalted then is Allah, the King, the Truth. And make not haste with the Qur'an before its revelation is made complete to thee, and say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
115 And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot ”

“ It may be that this refers to the idea of which the word is the expression, and that in this the Prophet was influenced by Christian or Jewish theories which had originally a Platonic colouring, but it seems probable that he had no very clear theory as to the "mother of the book." At an early date the view arose that the Qur'an had existed, though not expressed in words, that the substance and meaning were eternal as part of the wisdom of God, though it had been put into words in time and then communicated to the Prophet, which is now the orthodox teaching on the basis of Qur. ”

“ God's messages which Muhammad delivered to men were all collected soon after his death and are preserved intact in a remarkable book called the Qur'an—a book which has lived through no less than thirteen centuries without undergoing the least alteration in a single word or even a dot! ”

“ We should acknowledge the holy and wondrous Scriptures, for failing to do this we have failed to acknowledge the truth of this blessed verse. For it is evident that whoso hath failed to acknowledge the truth of the Qur’án hath in reality failed to acknowledge the truth of the preceding Scriptures. This is but the manifest implication of the verse. Were We to expound its inner meanings and unfold its hidden mysteries, eternity would never suffice to exhaust their import, nor would the universe be capable of hearing them! God verily testifieth to the truth of Our saying! ”

“ The Báb had spoken no more than a few words in response to this request when Mullá Muḥammad rudely intervened:
'This self-appointed Qá'im of ours has at the very start of his address betrayed his ignorance of the most rudimentary rules of grammar!'
'The Qur'án itself does in no wise accord with the rules and conventions current amongst men,' said the Báb. 'The Word of God can never be subject to the limitations of His creatures. Nay, the rules and canons which men have adopted have been deduced from the text of the Word of God and are based upon it. ”

“ They must strive to obtain, from sources that are authoritative and unbiased, a sound knowledge of the history and tenets of Islám—the source and background of their Faith—and approach reverently and with a mind purged from preconceived ideas the study of the Qur’án which, apart from the sacred scriptures of the Bábí and Bahá’í Revelations, constitutes the only Book which can be regarded as an absolutely authenticated Repository of the Word of God. ”

“ Whoever brings good, he shall have better than it, and whoever brings evil, those who do evil shall not be rewarded (for) aught except what they did.
028.085 Y: Verily He Who ordained the Qur'an for thee, will bring thee back to the Place of Return. Say: "My Lord knows best who it is that brings true guidance, and who is in manifest error."
P: Lo! He Who hath given thee the Qur'an for a law will surely bring thee home again. Say: My Lord is Best Aware of him who bringeth guidance and him who is in error manifest. ”

“ Besides these, the Qur′ân is divided into sixty equal portions, called a‘hzâb (sing. ‘hizb) , each subdivided into four equal parts; another division is that into thirty ′agzâ′ (sing. guz′) or ‘sections,’ so that the whole may be read through during the month of Ramadhân: these are again subdivided into rukû′h (sing. rak′hah) , ‘acts of bowing.’ By these, rather than by chapter and verse (Sûrah and ′Âyah) , the Muslims themselves quote the Book. ”

“ Lo! thy Lord knoweth how thou keepest vigil sometimes nearly two-thirds of the night, or (sometimes) half or a third thereof, as do a party of those with thee. Allah measureth the night and the day. He knoweth that ye count it not, and turneth unto you in mercy. Recite, then, of the Qur'an that which is easy for you. He knoweth that there are sick folk among you, while others travel in the land in search of Allah's bounty, and others (still) are fighting for the cause of Allah. ”

“ It is the end of all philosophy to know this first Cause, which is God, because as He is the cause of all, all can be understood and explained by understanding and knowing Him. That the first Cause is single and one and the cause of all agrees with the teaching of the Qur'an, and al-Farabi freely uses Qur'anic phraseology in perfect good faith, supposing that the Aristotelian doctrine corroborates the doctrine of the Qur'an. ”

“ THE MIRACLE OF THE QUR'AN
Nevertheless there was one miracle, the only one placed to Mohammad's credit, and which was the cause of great anxiety among the Quraish idolaters: the miracle of the "Ayates," a word generally rendered by "Verses," but really meaning: "miraculous signs" of the Qur'an. ”

“ There was an intense concentration on the Day of Judgment and on the perils of the sinner, a teaching which is perceived in the Qur'an even by the most casual reader: but all this was not altogether congenial to the Arab, although he in poetry certainly inclined towards a tone of sadness. The inevitable result of this teaching was asceticism in the puritanical sense, or, perhaps we should say, a tone of severity in religion. ”

“ In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Qur'an,- and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing,- We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record.
P: And thou (Muhammad) art not occupied with any business and thou recitest not a Lecture from this (Scripture) , and ye (mankind) perform no act, but We are Witness of you when ye are engaged therein. ”

“ At the time of the revelation of the Qur’án He asserted His transcendent power through the advent of Muḥammad, and on the occasion of the revelation of the Bayán He demonstrated His sovereign might through the appearance of the Point of the Bayán, and when He Whom God shall make manifest will shine forth, it will be through Him that He will vindicate the truth of His Faith, as He pleaseth, with whatsoever He pleaseth and for whatsoever He pleaseth. He is with all things, yet nothing is with Him. He is not within a thing nor above it nor beside it. ”

“ Let them, at all times, fix their gaze upon the essentials of His Cause, lest when He, Who is the Quintessence of truth, the inmost Reality of all things, the Source of all light, is made manifest, they cling unto certain passages of the Book, and inflict upon Him that which was inflicted in the Dispensation of the Qur’án. ”

“ He maintained that the task of philosophy was one approved and commended by religion, for the Qur'an shows that God commands men to search for the truth. It is only the prejudice of the unenlightened which fears freedom of thought, because for those whose knowledge is imperfect the truths of philosophy seem to be contrary to religion. ”

“ These are the verses of the Book and (of) a Qur'an that makes manifest.
2 Often will those who disbelieve wish that they were Muslims.
3 Leave them to eat and enjoy themselves, and let (false) hope beguile them, for they will soon know.
4 And never did We destroy a town but it had a decree made known.
5 No people can hasten on their doom, nor can they postpone (it) .
6 And they say: O thou to whom the Reminder is revealed, thou art indeed mad.
7 Why bringest thou not the angels to us, if thou art of the truthful?
8 We send not angels but with truth, and then they would not be respited. ”

“ Indeed, He Who hath revealed verses unto Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, hath likewise revealed verses unto ‘Alí-Muḥammad. For who else but God can reveal to a man such clear and manifest verses as overpower all the learned? Since thou hast acknowledged the revelation of Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, then there is no other way open before thee but to testify that whatever is revealed by the Primal Point hath also proceeded from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Is it not true that the Qur’án hath been sent down from God and that all men are powerless before its revelation? ”

“ Ḥusayn Khán received the Báb with overbearing insolence: 'Do you realise what a great mischief you have kindled? Are you aware what a disgrace you have become to the holy Faith of Islám and to the august person of our sovereign? Are you not the man who claims to be the author of a new revelation which annuls the sacred precepts of the Qur'án?' [5] The Báb spoke in reply these words from the Qur'án: [6]
O believers, if an ungodly man
comes to you with a tiding, make
clear, [CB] lest you afflict a people
unwittingly, and then repent of
what you have done. ”

“ PERSONAL JUDGMENT Islam encourages the exercise of personal judgment and respects difference of opinion, which, according to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, is a blessing of God. The Qur-an inculcates freedom of thought and does not countenance any compulsion, physical or moral, in matters religious. ”

“ Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations.
S: And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment.
017.105 Y: We sent down the (Qur'an) in Truth, and in Truth has it descended: and We sent thee but to give Glad Tidings and to warn (sinners) .
P: With truth have We sent it down, and with truth hath it descended. And We have sent thee as naught else save a bearer of good tidings and a warner. ”

“ A Youth, a descendant of the Prophet and a merchant by profession, has claimed that His utterance was the Voice of Divine inspiration. He has publicly asserted that, within the space of a few days, there could stream from His tongue verses of such number and excellence as would surpass in volume and beauty the Qur'án itself—a work which it took Muḥammad no less than twenty-three years to reveal. A multitude of people, both high and low, civil and ecclesiastical, among the inhabitants of Persia, have rallied round His standard and have willingly sacrificed themselves in His path. ”

“ Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph. ”

“ This parable, which serves to decide definitively the number of daily prayers, also demonstrates admirably that an excess of devotion, in the Islamic creed, is considered to be an error. "Allah desireth to make your burden light to you: for man hath been created weak." (The Qur'an, iv, 32.) Why should the Almighty be in need of the prayers of mankind? "We ask not of Thee to make provision for thyself—We will provide for Thee." (The Qur'an, xx, 132.)
Allah has sent prayer to His servants as one of His most salutary favours. ”

“ Verily they who read the book of GOD, and are constant at prayer, and give alms out of what we have bestowed on them, both in secret and openly, hope for a merchandise which shall not perish: that God may fully pay them their wages, and make them a superabundant addition of his liberality; for he is ready to forgive the faults of his servants, and to requite their endeavors. That which we have revealed unto thee of the book of the Koran is the truth, confirming the scriptures which were revealed before it: for GOD knoweth and regardeth his servants. ”

“ And when mankind shall be assembled together, they will become their enemies, and ungratefully disown their worship.
And when our clear signs are recited to them, they who believe not say of the truth when it cometh to them, "This is plain sorcery."
Will they say, "He hath devised It?" SAY: If I have devised the Koran, then not one single thing shall ye ever obtain for me from God! He best knoweth what ye utter in its regard! Witness enough is He between me and you! And He is the Gracious, the Merciful. ”