An Example of Noble Character

MERCY TO THE WORLDS “Today, those who deny the truth have despaired of your religion. So do not fear them—fear Me. Today, I have completed your religion for you, and completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion.” (Quran, 5:3) In this verse, the phrase completed your religion means made your religion stable (Lisān al-‘Arab, vol. 11, p. 598; Tafsir al-Nasafi, p. 1, p. 270). In previous times, religion was repeatedly subject to alteration and distortion. Opposing forces were often successful in erasing the message of the prophets from history. But through the Prophet of Islam and his companions, such a profound revolution was brought about that the problem of religious instability was resolved forever. According to the Commentator Dahhak, this verse was revealed after the conquest of Makkah in 8 AH— approximately fourteen centuries ago according to the Hijri calendar. At the time, this verse represented a bold prophecy about the future. It declared in advance that history had now entered a new phase. The fear of human opposition to God’s religion had ended forever. The religion of God had become so firmly rooted that no opposing force would ever again be able to overcome it. 1. The present world is a place of trial. Here, all events unfold according to the natural law of cause and effect. When this context is taken into account, the interpretation of the aforementioned Quranic verse becomes clearer: it signifies that in the times to come, the course of history will move in a direction aligned with the religion of God. Future