What the Qur'an Teaches: The Purpose of Qur’anic
Revelations
Commentary by Sayyid Qutb

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent

Blessed is He who from on high bestowed upon His servant
the standard to discern the true from the false, so that it
might be a warning to all the worlds.

He to whom belongs the dominion over the heavens and the
earth, and who begets no offspring, and has no partner in
His dominion. It is He who has created all things and
ordained them in due proportions.

(The Standard, Al-Furqan: 25: 1-2)

This opening gives a clear indication of the main theme of
the surah, namely the revelation of the Qur’an by God, and
addressing its message to all mankind in all generations,
God’s absolute oneness that admits no partners or
offspring, His sovereignty over the whole universe which
He, in His wisdom, controls and conducts its affairs. Yet
despite all this, the unbelievers continue to associate
partners with Him and the fabricators persevere in their
falsehood. Moreover, baseless arguments are put forward and
arrogant statements are made.

“Blessed is He who from on high bestowed upon His servant
the standard to discern the true from the false, so that it
might be a warning to all the worlds.” The Arabic word
translated here as “blessed” is a derivative of the word
denoting blessing but adds a further dimension of increase
and growth so as to signify continuous increase of praise
and blessings of God. God is not mentioned in the verse by
name. Rather, a relative noun is used, “He who from on high
bestowed... the standard.” This is useful in highlighting
His action of sending a message to mankind, because the
essential argument of the surah is the truth of the message
and the revelation of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an is named here “Al-Furqan”, which is also the
name of the surah. The name indicates distinction and
separation between true and false, divine guidance and
erroneous beliefs. Furthermore, the Qur’an makes clear
distinction between two different ways of life and two
epochs in human life. It outlines a clear way of life as it
is conceived in human conscience and in practice. This way
of life is distinct from anything humanity has ever known.
It ushers a new era for humanity so unlike anything it had
ever witnessed. Thus it is a criterion in this broad sense,
separating the stage of human childhood that has just ended
from the stage of maturity about to begin. The age of
physical miracles is thus ended to start that of rational
miracles. Moreover, local and provisional messages come to
an end with the revelation of the Qur’an, God’s final and
universal message to all mankind: “so that it might be a
warning to all the worlds.”

Special honor for God’s Messenger is shown at this point,
describing him as “God’s servant”. The same description is
given to him when the Prophet’s night journey is
highlighted. “Limitless in His glory is He who transported
His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque (in Makkah) to
the Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem).” (17: 1) Also in the
context of prayer and supplication, the Prophet is given
the same description: “When His servant stood up praying
Him...” (72: 19) Another instance of using this description
is the opening of Surah 18 which also speaks of the
revelation of the Qur’an: “All praise is due to God who has
bestowed the Book from on high on His servant, and has
ensured that it remains free of distortion.” (18: 1)
Describing man as God’s servant in these contexts indicates
the honorable status which makes such a position the
highest to which any human being can aspire. It also serves
as an implicit reminder that when man achieves his highest
status, he is no more than a servant of God, while the
position of majesty belongs to God alone, with absolutely
no hint or suggestion of there being anyone who bears any
resemblance to Him or is a partner with Him.

It was situations like the Prophet’s night journey to
Jerusalem and from there to heaven, or direct supplication
to God and speaking to Him, or receiving His directives and
revelations that tempted some of the followers of some
earlier messengers to weave legends speaking about a son of
God or a relationship other than that of Godhead and
servitude to Him. Hence, the Qur’an emphasizes the status
of man’s servitude to God as the highest position to which
a chosen human being can aspire.

The surah defines God’s purpose of the revelation of the
Qur’an to His servant, “so that it might be a warning to
all the world.” As a Makkan revelation, this Qur’anic
statement is important as it proves the universal character
of the Islamic message right from its early days. This is
contrary to the claims made by some non-Muslim historians
suggesting that the Islamic message had only local
aspirations at the beginning, but became more ambitious and
outward looking as it scored a number of military
victories. The truth is that this message was addressed
from the start to all mankind.

By its very nature, and the means it employed, it was
clearly a universal message aiming to take all mankind into
a new era, where a new code and style of life are
implemented. It defined its universal nature when the
Prophet was still in Makkah, facing determined and
unrelenting opposition. It sought to achieve all this
through the Qur’an, the criterion God revealed to His
messenger to serve as a warning to all worlds.

“Blessed is He who from on high bestowed upon His servant
the standard to discern the true from the false... He to
whom belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth,
and who begets no offspring, and has no partner in His
dominion. It is He who has created all things and ordained
them in due proportions.”

Once more God is not mentioned here by name, but a relative
pronoun is used instead to emphasize certain suitable
attributes of His: “He to whom belongs the dominion over
the heavens and the earth.” He has absolute dominion over
the heavens and the earth: a dominion that signify
ownership, control and ability to change and transform.

“Who begets no offspring.” Procreation is one of the
natural laws God has set in operation to ensure their
continuity, but God is Eternal and able to accomplish His
purpose, whatever that may be.

He “has no partner in His dominion.” Everything in the
heavens and the earth testifies to the unity of design,
nature, law and control.

“It is He who has created all things and ordained them in
due proportions.” He determined the size, shape, function,
time and place of everything as well as all their
interactions and harmonization.

The nature of the universe, its make up and constitution
fill us with wonder. It makes nonsense of any suggestion
that the universe came into being by chance. It
demonstrates the meticulous and detailed proportioning of
creation, which human knowledge can hardly manage to fathom
even in one area of the vast universe. With every
scientific progress made, more aspects of the harmony and
balance in the universe and its natural laws are
discovered. Consequently, we can better appreciate the
meaning of this wonderful statement: “It is He who has
created all things and ordained them in due proportions.”

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