As you know, mankind has always needed divine guidance, and humans should not be denied divine guidance at any phase in time.

If the last divine religion would have been for a particular time and/or location, it would have denied other humans and generations from religion, which would have been in contrast with the philosophy behind prophet hood. So, the last divine religion should be able to carry out its mission for guidance of mankind, and meet human needs at any phase in time. Today, we continue to discuss the ability of sacred religion of Islam in meeting human needs; how it matches with temporal conditions; and the reasons behind immortality and eternity of this divine religion throughout the course of history.

One can speak of the last divine prophet when the last divine religion is comprehensive, all-encompassing, and eternal. This is because mankind faces many ups and downs throughout the course of history, and religion should have the means to fulfill man’s spiritual needs within this turbulent path. In previous weeks, we mentioned a number of reasons behind the eternity and freshness of the sacred religion of Islam. We continue this discussion today.

As it was pointed out last week, the Islamic lawmaking system is such that it can match historical and social developments and different temporal and spatial conditions, while maintaining its stability and sustainability at the same time. It was also said that although temporal conditions constantly change; all of the realities and facts governing the world of nature and mankind do not go through changes. In fact, in this ever-changing world, there are a series of fixed and sustainable facts which never become obsolete.

The prominent thinker and exegete of Holy Quran, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, has noted: “The laws that are based on mankind’s innate nature  and an insight which is founded on gaining an understanding of mankind can administer the current world and future communities in the best possible manner. However, there are issues which are constantly changing as the result of temporal and spatial conditions, such as economic, cultural, political, and social circumstances. The rules related to these topics of importance in Islam can be changed and developed via Ijtehad, and scientific research, while the governing values and principles are maintained.”

So, one of the factors that lead to compatibility of Islam with temporal needs, is the mechanisms which have been taken into consideration in Islamic rules and regulations.

The exegete of Holy Quran, Allameh Mohammad Hussein Tabatabai, notes: “Islam meets the changing needs of mankind in any time and/or location; without making any changes in this divine religion’s fixed rules and regulations. There is no prohibition in Islam in setting and implementing new laws, which are beneficial for the progress of social life, and match the interests of this divine religion and Muslims. This feature of Islam makes it possible for this divine religion to meet the needs of mankind and community, with due regard to temporal conditions, and amid life changes.

One of the reasons behind the eternity of divine religion of Islam is its solid bond with wisdom and prudence, to an extent that along with Holy Quran, and the tradition of Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny), wisdom has also been taken into consideration as one of the sources of interpretation of Islamic rulings. In fact, wisdom in Islam, and the compatibility of this divine religion with logic, is some of the factors that have led to durability and sustainability of Islam throughout the course of history.

The other point of importance is Islam’s outlook toward phenomena. The open-minded and multilateral view of Islam; this divine religion’s focus on all of the aspects of mankind’s life; and consideration of all realms, within which mankind needs divine guidance, have all contributed to durability and immortality of this sacred religion.

The compatibility of divine religion of Islam with man’s innate nature is considered as one of the reasons behind immortality of this divine religion. Humans maintain the same innate nature, irrespective of their apparent ethnical, racial, and environmental differences. The same and unchangeable innate nature of humans has been their common asset throughout history.

Islamic laws have focused on man’s innate nature, and have been founded on the creation of mankind and the physical and spiritual traits of humans. The focus of Islam on man’s innate nature and the compatibility of Islamic laws with human nature is one of the main reasons behind the eternity of this divine religion.

In the contemporary era, we are witness to daily scientific achievements of mankind. Under these conditions, many of the schools of thoughts and religions have fallen behind the human civilization. However, this is not the case in regard to sacred religion of Islam. In fact, Islam is the pioneer of human civilization, and encourages man to acquire knowledge, develop, and progress. Thus, Islam accompanies mankind in his quest to acquire knowledge.

Undoubtedly, man has faced many changes and developments throughout his life. Meanwhile, the natural needs of mankind; phenomena resulting from the contemporary life; woes such as war, violence, terrorism, and insecurity; social abnormalities such as poverty, corruption, and inequality; and in general, whatever positive or negative which contemporary man has to deal with; have all and all been addressed by the divine religion of Islam.  This is because Islam is the only religion which maintains the innate capacity to match temporal conditions. This is the secret behind eternity of Islam.

The famed and celebrated English author and playwright, George Bernard Shaw, notes that he has always respected Islam due to its never-ending freshness. He believes that Islam is the only religion which matches different and changing temporal conditions throughout centuries. He also strongly believes that the divine religion of Islam will be warmly embraced by Europe’s future generations.

The issue of guidance of mankind after the Prophet of Islam will be studied in the discussion on Imamate, next week.

MR/ME