Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | UNIVERSAL FAITHThose who depart from it, choosing to turn away from Abraham’s faith in God’sabsolute oneness, renege on their commitments to God and, as such, cannot be theheirs to the divine faith.The Qur’ān further establishes that Islam, in the sense of submission to God alone,was the first and the last divine message to mankind. It was the religion of Abrahamand of Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Hebrew tribes who came after him, and washanded down to Moses and Jesus until it was eventually inherited by the Muslims.All true and faithful followers of those and other prophets and messengers belong tothe same nation and share in all the merits and rewards of following the religion ofIslam in its wider, universal version. All those who reject the religion of Abraham orrenege on any of their covenants with God forfeit their claim to those privileges andrewards.Thus we can see how Jewish and Christian claims to an exclusive possession ofGod’s true religion, by virtue of lineage to Abraham, are totally groundless. They lostthat right the moment they deviated from the true faith based on total submission toGod alone. For the same reason, the idolater Arabs of the Quraysh forfeited theirclaim to the exclusive custodianship of the Ka`bah. Likewise, the Jewish argumentfor opposing the designation of the Ka`bah as the qiblah for the Muslims falls apart,because the Ka`bah was the original qiblah of their forefather Abraham, and thereforeit was theirs also.Following this brief introduction, let us now take a closer look at the account ofAbraham, his covenant with God, and its significance in the history of the religion ofIslam.Abraham’s CovenantWhen his Lord tested Abraham with certain commandments and he fulfilled them, Hesaid, I have appointed you a leader of mankind.’ Abraham asked, And what of mydescendants?’ God said, ‘My covenant does not apply to the wrongdoers.’ (Verse 124)The Prophet is here reminded of how God had imparted certain commandmentsand obligations to Abraham in order to test his faith, loyalty and resolve. Elsewherein the Qur’ān, he is described as “Abraham, who was faithful to his trust.” (53: 37) This isa recognition by God of Abraham’s faithful and complete fulfilment of thoseobligations, according him a very high rank in God’s estimation. Hence, God’spromise: “I have appointed you a leader of mankind” Thus, Abraham becomes the leaderto be followed, the one who shows people the way to all goodness.Being human, Abraham is immediately prompted to wish for that blessing andprivilege to be extended to his offspring. What Abraham expressed was a natural131