Surah Fatir, Ayah 31

The Qur'an is The true Book of Allah

وَالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ

And what We have revealed to you -- O Muhلammad, of the Book, i.e., the Qur a0n,

هُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ

(it is the (very) truth confirming that which was (revealed) before it.) means, of the previous books. It confirms them just as they bore witness to the coming of the Qur'an and that it would be sent down from the Lord of the worlds.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِعِبَادِهِ لَخَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ

(Verily, Allah is indeed All-Aware and All-Seer of His servants.) means, He is All-Aware of them and knows who deserves to receive the blessing which He may give to him and not to others. the Prophets and the Messengers are favored above the rest of mankind, and some of the Prophets were given more than others and given higher status than others. The position given to Muhammad is higher than that of all the others, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all.

Commentary

Mentioned earlier, in verse 28, there was a quality of true ` Ulama' who acknowledge Allah. This quality related to the heart. It was to have Allah's awe in the heart. In the first of the present verses (29), some those qualities of the same blessed people, the awliya' or men of Allah, are mentioned that find expression through outward parts of the body. Out of these, the first quality is the tilawah (recitation) of the Qur'an. This denotes the people who recite the Book of Allah constantly. The use of the aorist tense (mudari) in: یَتلُونَ (yatluna: they recite) releases a hint in this direction. Then, there are other elders who have taken: یَتلُونَ (yatluna) at this place in its literal sense, that is, they follow the Qur'an in deed. But, the first Tafsir is weightier, even though, it also stands determined from the context that recitation can be trustworthy only when it brings forth actions in accordance with the Qur'an. But, the word: تِلَاوَت (tilawah or recitation) used here appears in its recognized sense. Similarly, Mutarrif Ibn ` Abdullah Ibn Shikhkhir (رح) said: ھَذِہٖ آیَۃُ القُرَّاِء (This verse is for al-qurra' ), the phoneticians of the Qur'an, who make the recitation of the Qur'an their special activity of life.

The man of knowledge is one who experiences a deep realization of God (ma‘rifah) and one who attains this state, makes the Book of God, a guide in his thinking processes; he becomes a pious subject of God. Moreover, he becomes so kind to his fellow human beings that he sets apart a share from his hard-earned income for them. He gathers the courage to devote himself body and soul to God’s tasks and is content with the knowledge that he will be rewarded in the Hereafter. One of the proofs of the Quran being true is that it tallies exactly with forecasts made in the previous divine scriptures. If a man is serious and sincere, this very fact will be enough to make him have faith in Quran.