24 |
THE
QUR'ANIC DOCTRINE OF SALVATION |
|
that He is the rewarder of them that seek Him. The
Qur'an has nothing to say to him who would seek to live
a good moral life, and leave the question of belief
in God and all that that implies, to the mercy and justice
of God should He, perchance, exist.
It is unnecessary to quote passages which teach the
existence of God. These are so numerous and so plain
in their teaching that we may take them for granted.
That God is, and that there is none other than He, is
the fundamental teaching of the Qur'an. In order, then,
that man may find or attain to salvation, he must first
of all believe in God. The question of the doctrine
of God does not come up for consideration here. It is
faith in God which we here consider. This saving
faith is not mere outward profession of belief in God,
even accompanied by seemingly scrupulous attention to
the duties incumbent on believers. This is seen, for
instance, in the following passage: 'Say, Make ye your
offerings, voluntarily or by constraint; it cannot be
accepted from you, because ye are a wicked people, and
nothing hindreth the acceptance of their offerings,
but that they believe not in God and His Apostle, and
perform not (the duty of prayer), but with sluggishness;
and make not offerings but with reluctance. . . . They
swear by God that they are indeed of you; yet they are
not of you, but are a people who are afraid (of you)'.1
Inward faith must lie at the foundation of all religious
actions.
We find a statement which may be taken as a fair exposition
of what according to the Qur'an is embraced within the
scope of saving faith. ' 0 true believers, believe in
God and His Apostle, and the Book which |
|
|
THE
ATTAINING OF SALVATION |
25 |
|
He hath sent down to His Apostle, and the Book which
He hath formerly sent down. And whosoever believeth
not on God, and His Angels, and His Scriptures, and
His Apostles, and the last day, he surely hath erred
in a wide mistake'.1
According to this, which is, perhaps, the most general
and most comprehensive statement to be found in the
Qur'an as to what is required of those who would be
saved, we see that there are five articles of belief
necessary to salvation. 1. God, 2. His Angels, 3. His
Books, 4. His Apostles, 5. The Last Day. Into the discussion
of the details of these articles of faith we do not
intend to enter. A point, however, which is most interesting
to note in passing, is that (predestination), the sixth
article of Faith, according to the teachings of the
orthodox Muhammadan divines finds no place in this Qur'anic
Quicunque vult and it cannot be truly claimed
to be one of the necessary articles of faith according
to the teaching of the Qur'an. That the doctrine of
predestination is taught in the Qur'an, is, of course,
certain. How it is to be systematically stated
is doubtful. But that there is in the Qur'an any demand
that it be held in any special form, or according to
any special dogmatic statement of it, as an essential
of saving faith, it is hard to believe and in our view
impossible to prove.
Saving faith, however, includes more than even hearty
inward acceptance of these five points. It includes
trust in God. That is, it is a personal attitude
towards this God, faith in whom is demanded. The believer
must have confidence in God, and be willing to commit |
|
|