QURAN—The Preserved Book of God

exists in its original form will be a source of guidance and salvation for man. Scriptures which have been altered by man—which do not even exist in their original form—will never be able to provide man with guidance and salvation. How was it that the Quran was preserved whereas previous Scriptures were not? The only reason for this was that in this world a powerful community is required to preserve the Book of God—a community which is able to ward off every threat to the integrity of the Scriptures. The Quran was the only divine Scripture to bring about a revolution of such universal proportions that a large community gathered around it—a community that was strong enough to ensure that the Book of God was preserved in its original form. The scale of the revolution which the Quran brought about was unprecedented in human history. During the Prophet’s lifetime, Islam had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Within one hundred years of the Prophet’s death, his followers had subdued most of the inhabited world. The enemies of monotheism were—on a universal level—either obliterated or vanquished. Islam continued to dominate the world scene until eventually man entered the age of the press. Now, there was no possibility of any changes or additions being made in the Book of God. The task of the preservation of the Quran had been accomplished for all time. RISING ABOVE LOVE AND HATE IN ONE’S DEALINGS When the Prophet emigrated from Makkah, the keys of the Kaaba were with Uthman Ibn Talha. They had been in his family since ancient times. Before the emigration, the Prophet had asked Uthman for the keys, and Uthman had refused to hand them over. Furthermore, he spoke abusively to the Prophet. The Prophet bore all his rude remarks. All he said in reply was: “Uthman, perhaps you will see that one day I will have these keys in my hands. I will have the power to dispose of them as I will. “It will be a day of disgrace and woe for the Quraish when the keys of the Kaaba are handed over to one like you,” Uthman retorted. After the Conquest of Makkah, the Prophet reigned supreme. He asked for the keys of the Kaaba, and was holding them in his hand when his cousin and son-in-law, Ali Ibn Abu Talib, stood up and asked for them to be handed over to him. The Prophet did not reply to Ali and asked where Uthman Ibn Talha was. When he came forward, the Prophet said to him: “Uthman, here are your keys; this is a day of righteousness and fulfillment of promises.”