One of the important issues in studying the holy Qur’an is the all-engulfing teachings of this Book. In a general look these teachings can be divided in moral, cultural, social, political, economic and military sections.

As the ideological issues shape the foundation of intellectual and practical principles, one of the most important sections of the holy Qur’an is the ideological and religious section.

In view of this, the beginning of creation and the resurrection have been the common call of all divine messengers and the belief in the One and Only God has been stressed in the holy Qur’an more than anything else.

As it is clear the divine messengers had the mission of calling the human community toward the One and Only God. Ayah 25 of surah Anbiya reads, “We did not send any apostle before you but We revealed to him that ‘There is no god except Me; so worship Me.”

The belief in the oneness of God is not limited to theoretic aspect but it should be put into practice and engulf every aspect of our life. God commands his Prophet in ayah 162 of surah An’am, “Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are all for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.”

The basis of believing in monotheism includes the belief in worship, actions, ruling, ownership, lordship, and every other aspect. Such a comprehensive belief makes one responsive. Furthermore, we should know that death is not the end of everything but it is the start of a new life where we must be accountable for what we have done in the transient life of this world. To remove every doubt on the day of resurrection, God says in ayah 87 of surah Nisa’, “Allah – there is no god except Him – will surely gather you on the Day of Resurrection, in which there is no doubt; and who is more truthful in speech than Allah?”

The belief in the beginning and the end shows the reality that human being and the world have not been created in vain but there is a lofty goal for their creation. The belief in the Day of Judgment becomes more important if we know that our minutest deed will be reckoned in the divine court of justice. The greatest executive guarantee for the divine rules is the belief in God and the Judgment Day. When a person believes that God is seeing every single act of his and he will be accountable for whatever he has done in the world, such a person will be careful about his deeds.

Another important teaching in the Qur’an is the respect for moral values. Human being has an exterior and an interior. Moral virtues shape his interior and personality. God describes his Prophet in ayah 4 of surah Qalam, “And indeed you possess a great character.”

Of course, moral values and virtues should be internalized in human character rather than outward showoff and fake behavior.

Truthfulness, trustworthiness, fulfilling one’s promise and covenant, forgiveness, cooperation, bidding what is good and forbidding what is evil, endeavour for preservation of unity and solidarity, doing good deeds are some of the moral values that have been highlighted in the holy Qur’an.

Another point which has been emphasized in the Qur’an is the issue of education. Here it suffices to mention the fact that the mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) starts with reading. The first ayahs which were revealed to the Messenger of Mercy read, “Read in the name of your Lord who created; created man from a clinging mass. Read and your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know.”

As you see the words “read” and “teaching” have been repeated here. This shows the importance of reading and education.      

RM/SS