“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided.”
Allah, the Exalted, reminded the people of the book of the great favor He bestowed on their ancestors and by extension, to them also in the form of the Torah. The scripture included the laws and regulations which Allah, the Exalted, chose for the children of Israel. These laws would ensure justice and peace would spread within society when they were implemented correctly. Man made laws will always be biased and favor one group of people over others whereas divine law is free of this and all other possible defects which hinders a society from achieving justice and peace. One only needs to turn the pages of history and observe the societies which implemented divine law correctly and the peace and justice they enjoyed as a consequence. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 53:
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion…”
The Torah was also a criterion meaning, when one learned and acted on its teachings they were granted the ability to distinguish between what was beneficial to them and what was harmful, between real success and failure and between the path of peace and the path of anxiety in both worlds.
When both elements were combined, meaning, correctly applying the law and using the teachings of the Torah to differentiate between a life of peace and a life of misery, one would obtain right guidance. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 53:
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided.”
Allah, the Exalted, reminded the people of the book living in Medina the importance of adhering to the correct and unaltered teachings of the Torah that they still possessed. This included recognising and accepting the truthfulness of Islam when they encountered it. Chapter 6 Al An’am, verse 20:
“Those to whom We have given the Scripture recognize it[the Holy Quran] as they recognize their [own] sons…”
And chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 146:
“Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him [Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him] as they know their own sons…”
But the vast majority of the people of the book rejected Islam and failed to uphold the unaltered teachings of the Torah out of love for fulfilling their desires. They knew living by its law and obtaining the criterion would only guide them to using the blessing they had been granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted. But as this challenged their desires they changed the law and refused to obtain the criterion.
Muslims must avoid behaving in this manner by ignoring the laws and regulations of the Holy Quran and failing to obtain the criterion one can obtain through learning and acting on it. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 185:
“The month of Ramaḍān [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’ān, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion…”
If a society ignores the laws and regulations of the Holy Quran injustice will spread throughout it, as Allah, the Exalted, alone is free from bias and has full knowledge of what is best for a society. If a muslim fails to learn and act on the Holy Quran they will not obtain the criterion and as a result they will not be able to distinguish good from bad, success from failure and the path of peace from the path of anxiety. As a result, they will make choices based on their own desires, the whims of others, social media, fashion and culture which will encourage them to misuse the blessings they have been granted. This will lead to a dark life in both worlds. Chapter 20 Taha, verses 124-126:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e., raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” He will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?” [Allāh] will say, “Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten.””
Whereas, the society which implements the laws and regulations of the Holy Quran will obtain peace and justice whereby the rights of all people are fulfilled and all forms of misguided social barriers which cause disunity within society would be removed. And the one who learns and acts on the Holy Quran will obtain the ability to distinguish between good and bad, peace and success so that they are guided to using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 53:
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided.”
This leads to peace of mind and body in both worlds. Chapter 16 An Nahl, verse 97:
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 53:
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided.”
Generally speaking, this verse also makes it clear that worldly knowledge is not enough to rightly guide one in this world. Even though some worldly knowledge is useful as it aids one to correctly obtain their lawful provision, none the less, one cannot apply their worldly knowledge to other aspects of their life, such as their personal, social and family aspects of life, and obtain right guidance. No matter how much worldly knowledge one possesses it will not grant them the ability to deduce the laws and regulations society must live by, as their opinions and choices will always be influenced by some sort of bias and due to a lack of complete understanding of society and human nature, they will not be able to choose the best rules and regulations. In addition, one’s worldly knowledge will not grant them the criterion which allows them to differentiate between real success and failure and the path of peace from the path of stress. Only the One who knows all things, Allah, the Exalted, and controls the spiritual heart of people, the abode of peace of mind, is aware of this knowledge and it must therefore be sought from Him through the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
In addition, verse 53 also makes it clear that right guidance is not possible to achieve without adhering strictly to the divine knowledge found within the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Muslims must therefore avoid all acts and customary practices not rooted in these two sources of guidance, even if they are considered good deeds. The truth is that the more one acts on other things, even if they are considered good deeds, the less they will learn and act on the two sources of guidance. And as indicated in verse 53, the one who behaves in this manner will not be rightly guided. This is the reason the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has warned in a Hadith found in Sunan Abu Dawud, number 4606, that any matter which is not rooted in the two sources of guidance will be rejected.
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 53:
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided.”
This verse also makes it clear that right guidance is only obtained through learning and acting on divine knowledge. Verbally claiming faith in Islam is therefore not good enough to obtain right guidance until it is supported by actions. Just like a map is not useful until it is practically acted on, neither is the divine knowledge found within the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as guidance clearly indicates a practical journey not just a verbal declaration of belief.
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