Essay revised 9^th Sharaf 153 B.E. / 7^th January 1997


The Progressive Nature of God's Revelation by Rachel Myra Butson This essay will discuss the progressive nature of God's revelation. In particular it will focus on the twin concepts of internal and external dynamism as it can be seen in the historical entity of Islám: being the next stage after Christianity in the continual advancement of the human race, and the prelude to the promised Day of God fulfilled by the Bahá'í Faith. It will look at the inherent progressive nature of the revelation vouchsafed to Muhammad; allowing it to both elevate the people to whom it was given, and be flexible enough to educate, spiritually and socially, succeeding generations of believers. Finally, it will touch on Islám's role as precursor to the spiritual revolution of the planet under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh. According to the Qur'án, religion has two basic functions that are summed up in the opening Surah.1 Its first purpose is to bring people to love and worship the one true God; secondly to teach them how to live together according to God's will. To this end God has sent innumerable Prophets, Messengers and Warners all preaching the one eternal message of tawhíd2, yet instituting different laws and principles of social organisation. The first aspect of religion, is eternal and unchangeable. It is this first aspect that all major religions have in common, and which the Prophet Muhammad3 alluded to in Surah 42:13: The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - the which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein.4 Muhammad identified Himself with previous Prophets and declared: Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we submit to Allah (in Islám)."5 The Qur'án regards these Prophets as having come from one source, bearing one eternal, unchangeable message of submission to the one true God. However it also explains that the various Prophets had a secondary mission - to bring social laws to teach humanity how to live together. This second type of religious message is altered according to the ages and conditions of the peoples. What is suitable for one society is not suitable for another; and as humanity evolved from living in families, clans, tribes, communities, city-states, various social laws were revealed by the different Prophets to facilitate humanity's social evolution. Muhammad's mission was to bring the people back to the worship of one God, and guide them in establishing an Islamic nation. Referring to this concept of progressive social laws Syed Ameer Ali has written that "each age has its own standard. What is suited for one time is not suited for the other".6 While the concepts of prayer, fasting, alms-giving, haram and halal7 have existed in all religions, the specific exhortations have changed according to the needs of the community in which they were revealed. An example of progressive revelation concerns the law of divorce. Moses permitted divorce, however Jesus repealed this law except in the case of adultery. It is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 19:8-9: Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.8 The moral laxity of Jesus' time had made the forbidding of easy divorce necessary. However with the advent of Muhammad the needs and requirements of the community were different, and so Muhammad allowed divorce; but put conditions on it. Another example regards prayer. The Qur'án says: To every People have We appointed rites which they must follow: let them not then dispute with thee on the matter, but do thou invite (them) to thy Lord: for thou art assuredly on the Right Way.9 The changing of the Qiblah10 to Makkah, the establishment of the call to prayer, ablutions, the mode and method of praying obligatory prayer five times a day, whilst being new in form, were a continuation of the age-old submission to one God. But the heart of Muhammad's revelation concerned teaching humanity to live as one nation. Previous dispensations had laid the groundwork and "[n]o religion contained greater promise of development, no faith was purer, or more in conformity with the progressive demands of humanity."11 George Townshend sums up the "outstanding features"12 of Muhammad's dispensation in nine points, including "patriotism [as a] part of the Faith … one compulsory language for all … no class distinction … unity in ritual and religious tradition … freedom of thought and reconciliation of science and religion … a juridical system with its laws and courts of justice … true and real membership [to all Muslims] … it was a theocratic state."13 Whereas Christianity was mainly concerned with salvation of the individual, Islam took salvation a step further and taught that not only does a human have a duty towards his own spiritual advancement, but that he or she has a moral duty to live together in a community following God's will. Islam was not satisfied with preaching only broad principles; it was considered essential to create a system and a discipline which should embody those principles in individual and social life. [italics added]14 Aspects of Islamic nationhood include laws regarding justice; how to have international relations; waging war when necessary; the duties of sovereigns and governments towards their subjects; individual rights; full equality of all Muslim citizens; taxes; and the various moral commandments addressed to individuals but also applied to international relations, make up the framework of the Islamic nation. The importance of the revelation of Islam can be considered in light of Muhammad's role as "Seal of the Prophets".15 All previous dispensations had prophesied a time of universal peace - the kingdom of God on earth; preceded by a period known in Christianity and Islam as the Day of Judgement. However Muhammad announced that he was to be the last Prophet of the Adamic era.16 Consequently, in the Qur'án and hadith the most comprehensive account of the apocalypse and its conclusion is given. Muhammad said: "This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion." 17 However the notion of Islam as a "perfected" religion does not mean that its internal structure was static. Syed Ameer Ali says: No one had a keener perception than [Muhammad] of the necessities of this world of progress with its ever-changing social and moral phenomena, nor of the likelihood that the revelations vouchsafed to him might not meet all possible contingencies.18 He then relates a tradition in which Muhammad declared: Ye are in an age … in which, if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will be ruined. After this a time will come when he who shall observe one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.19 God sends Prophets with different laws to suit the age in which he appears and the revelations themselves are progressive in nature. Every religion has a matrix from which it appears. For Abraham, it was the matrix of paganism; for Jesus - Judaism; and for Muhammad - the Jahiliyyah.20 Consequently, each Prophet had to deal with the ignorance and depravity of his own people as well as laying the foundations for the spiritual enlightenment of future generations. This often meant allowing current practices to prevail (albeit somewhat curtailed) whilst sowing the seeds for future abolishment. Two examples of this type of internal progressiveness include slavery and polygamy. Slavery has existed in some form or another for most of human existence. At the time of Muhammad, slavery was rampant and the rights and conditions of the slaves themselves were almost non-existent. Syed Ammer Ali makes the point: The evil was intertwined with the inmost relations of the people among whom Muhammad flourished. Its extinction was only to be achieved by the continued agency of wise and humane laws … A contrary policy would have produced an utter collapse of the infant commonwealth.21 The people of the Jahiliyyah were not spiritually ready for the total abolishment of the institution, and so Muhammad permitted the practice to continue, but made sure that the spirit of slavery laws would ensure its eventual extinction. Time and time again he exhorted the believers to practice kindness and charity towards their slaves; declared that the freeing of slaves was a meritous act and that they should be allowed to buy their freedom. "[Muhammad] himself looked upon the custom as temporary in its nature, and held that its extinction was sure to be achieved by the progress of ideas and change of circumstances."22 Whilst the Islamic world has not been totally true to the spirit of Muhammad's teachings, it is interested to note that in non-Islamic communities, the practice of slavery has existed in unregulated form right up to the present century. The other example of progressive revelation mentioned previously concerned polygamy. Again, Muhammad allowed the practice to continue, but in a severely limited form. The Qur'án says: And if you fear that you will not be just in dealing with the orphans, then marry of other women as may be agreeable to you, two, or three, or four; and if you fear you will not be able to do justice, then marry only one or marry what your right hand possess. Thus it is more likely that you will not do injustice.23 Later in the Surah Muhammad says: "…you cannot keep perfect balance between wives, however much you may desire it."24 The very fact that Muhammad imposes the condition of justice between wives means that in reality monogamy is prescribed. Some have argued that the justice concerns material upkeep only, however the Arabic word has a much deeper meaning that includes emotional justice. 25 Muhammad's specific role in teaching the concept of nationhood was the final preparation of humanity for the coming Day of God - a time prophesied in previous dispensations, as well as in Islám, of glorious world peace. In the Qur'án we are given a glimpse of the spiritual resurrection of humanity into one unified body of believers. It says: "Allah will bring us together"26 "Our Lord! Thou art He that will gather mankind together against a Day about which there is no doubt; for Allah never fails in His promise."27 In referring to the revolutionising character of this dispensation, the Qur'án decribes: "One day the earth will be changed to a different earth, and so will be the heavens, and (men) will be marshalled forth, before Allah, the One, the Irresistible…"28 "And the Earth will shine with the Light of its Lord"29 However before this earth-transforming Message could be given to humanity, it needed to learn the art of nation building.30 As the Qur'án testifies, the magnitude of the Day of God is such that it constitutes an entirely new chapter in human history; Muhammad was the last Prophet to herald this Kingdom of God on earth. In volume 4, book 56, number 735 of Sahih Bukhari the following hadith is related as a description of Muhammad's station: Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "My similitude in comparison with the other prophets before me, is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its place!' So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets."31 In this hadith we can see the concept of progressive revelation in the building of God's house. Each Prophet brought a measure of revelation appropriate to the needs of the people. With the coming of Muhammad, this house was finally built - the end of the Adamic era. However, as Kamran Hakim points out in "Six meanings associated with the terms 'Seal of the Prophets' & 'Seal of the Messengers'"32 this analogy can be extended to say that with the coming of the Day of God, a new city began to be built. Rather than limiting God to a specific period of 6000 years of revelation, a concept the Qur'án denies33, God is shown to be the Author of continuing guidance to humanity. With the coming of Bahá'u'lláh, this new universal step in human spiritual evolution begins. I will end with a final quote from the Qur'án: Say, `We have adopted the religion of Allah; and who is better than Allah in teaching religion, and him alone do we worship.'34 This article reposted with permission from WebPage created by Rachel Myra Butson Date last revised: 1997/08/18 http://www.netlink.com.au/~maryam email: maryam@netlink.com.au

1 The Opening (Al-Fátíha)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
Show us the straight way,
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.
(Qur'án Surah 1 - A.Yusuf Ali translation http://www.orst.edu/groups/msa/quran/index.html)
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2 This is the Arabic word for the concept of unity and oneness of God.
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3 Orthodox Islam maintains that it was actually God, through the medium of the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet, who was the author of the Qur'án: for the purposes of this essay, however, I shall simply refer to Muhammad as the speaker of the text of the Qur'án without referring to its divine origin.
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4 Qur'án 42:13
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5 Qur'án 2:136
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6 Ali, Syed Ameer. The Spirit of Islám: A History of the Evolution and Ideals of Islám: With a Life of the Prophet. Reprinted and revised. (London: Christophers, 1955) p240.
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7 These are Arabic terms for that which is forbidden and allowed.
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8 The Bible. Matthew 19:8-9 (King James version)
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9 Qur'án 22:67
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10 Direction in which the believers must face whilst praying. In previous dispensations it was Jerusalem, however Muhammad changed this to Makkah.
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11 The Spirit of Islám. p183.
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12 Townshend, George. Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. Reprinted and revised. (Oxford: George Ronald, 1985) p34.
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13 ibid.
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14 Hakim, Khalifa Abdul. Islámic Ideology: The Fundamental Beliefs and Principles of Islám and their Application to Practical life. Third edition. (Lahore: The Institute of Islamic Culture, 1961) pxi.
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15 Qur'án 33:41
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16 The period of time beginning with the Prophet Adam and culminating in the Day of Judgement.
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17 Qur'án 5:4
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18 The Spirit of Islám. p182-3.
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19 ibid p183.
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20 Age of ignorance
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21 The Spirit of Islám. p262.
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22 ibid. p265.
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23 Qur'án 4:4
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24 Qur'án 4:130
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25 Some scholars have pointed to the fact that Muhammad Himself had over four wives to argue either a sinful nature on the part of Muhammad (according to some Christian apologists) or that polygamy is sunnah (according to some Islamic apologists). However a closer inspection of the marriages of Muhammad after the death of His first wife Khadija show that rather than being the lustful excesses of a sinful man, or the normal practice of a Muslim; they were political or charitable arrangements that the leader of the infant Muslim community had to undertake.
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26 Qur'án 42:15
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27 Qur'án 3:9
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28 Qur'án 14:48
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29 Qur'án 39:69
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30 For a greater exposition of this concept, refer to Chapter 5 of Christ and Bahá'u'lláh.
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31 Sahih Bukhari 4:56:735
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32 Prophecy Fulfilled
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33 See Qur'án 5:64 for an understanding of the continuing nature of God's revelation
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34 Qur'án 2:139
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