It’s
important to note that if the Qur’an had been revealed all at once, people
would ask, “Why was it sent down all at once and not in stages?”
The ultimate answer to such questions lies
with God, the All-Wise and All-Knowing. Our decisions are based on a very
limited viewpoint, as we are limited creatures. The Divine decree, on the other
hand, considers everything – our moral and spiritual well-being, worldly
happiness, and both the present and future – and weaves the whole into a single
pattern that is coherent with grace and wisdom. Thus, the benefit we derive
from the Divine commandments is immeasurable, and the blessing that flows from
obeying them is beyond our imagination. And so it is with the method that God
chose to reveal the Qur’an.
The Revelation began when it was time for
humanity to reach maturity. The Prophet’s mission and that of his community was
to become the most complete, progressive, and dynamic exemplars for humanity,
and to achieve such a level of advancement that they would be the masters and
guides for all subsequent people. But these reformers first had to be reformed.
Their qualities and characters had been conditioned by the surrounding
non-Islamic environment, where their ancestors had been living for centuries.
Islam was to turn their good qualities into qualities of unsurpassed excellence
and to purge their bad qualities and habits in such a way that they would never
reappear.
If the Qur’an had been revealed all at
once, how would they have reacted to its prohibitions and commandments?
Certainly they would have been unable to understand, let alone accept and apply
them in the ideal manner. This lack of gradualism would have been
self-defeating, as proven by history. Wherever Islam was taken, it spread
gradually but steadily, and so became firmly established. We see people all
around us who cannot free themselves from their bad habits and addictions. If
you confined such people, even if you convinced them to abandon their habits
for their own benefit, they would not be happy with you. On the contrary, they
would feel angry, bored, and irritated. They would complain and try to escape
from your program of reform so that they could revert to their habits as soon
as possible. All the arguments and documented evidence put forth by specialists
and experts would not persuade them to change. Even those who are cured
occasionally suffer a relapse. Indeed, some of those who campaign against
harmful habits, such as smoking and consuming alcohol, still indulge in them!
Remember that the Qur’an came to change not
one or two habits; it came to change everything – ways of living and dying,
marrying, buying and selling, settling disputes, and how to perceive one’s
relation with the Creator, and more. Given the scope of the change envisioned,
we can begin to grasp why it was revealed in stages. The gradual revelation of
the Qur’an prepared the people to accept and then live the virtues, excellent
manners, and lofty aspirations it demanded. That so much was achieved in only
23 years is a miracle. As Said Nursi said, “I wonder if the scholars of today
were to go to the Arabian peninsula, could they accomplish in 100 years even
one percent of what the Prophet accomplished in one year?” Current campaigns to
eradicate a peripheral vice, such as smoking, employ famous scholars,
individuals, institutions, and the whole network of mass media, yet they still
result in overall failure. If 20 fewer people die on the road per year after a
campaign against alcohol, it is considered a great success. What the Prophet accomplished,
at God’s bidding, over 23 years far surpasses what all of humanity has managed
to achieve since that time.The Qur’an was revealed in stages so that
its audience could understand, internalize, and apply its prohibitions,
commands, and reforms. Revelation came when the need for guidance arose,
without discouraging or grinding down morale, warning and condemnation preceded
prohibition and appeal and exhortation preceded command.
For
instance, alcohol and other intoxicating drinks were prohibited in three or
four stages; female infanticide in two stages; uniting warring tribes and
building up a close-knit society based on brotherhood, thus raising the
collective consciousness, in several stages. These difficult reforms were not
gestured at or expressed in slogans, they were actually achieved. Today, we
design our projects according to past experience and future possibilities.
Taking possible social and economic fluctuations into account, we make our
plans flexible in order to leave room for any necessary modifications. Just
like a young tree, the early Muslims grew slowly, adapting gradually to new
conditions and thus developing naturally. Every day new people were coming into
Islam. New Muslims had to learn many things, they had to reach an Islamic consciousness,
train themselves to act upon Islam, and thus become members of a society rather
than separate individuals or mutually hostile clans. Their characters,
personalities, and their whole lives, were reshaped and reordered in accordance
with Islamic precepts and the Qur’anic guidance. Such was the magnitude of
their spiritual, moral, intellectual, and even physical regeneration. This
transformation was achieved through a balanced synthesis of worldly life and
spiritual advancement, and it happened gradually, slowly yet continuously, and
harmoniously
Fethullah Gulen is an influential Turkish
Muslim intellectual who inspired a series of social activities, including a
transnational education and business network, interfaith dialogue forums, and
multicultural encounters.
By Fethullah Gulen
Turkish Muslim Intellectual
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