وَقَالَتِ ٱلۡيَهُودُ وَٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰ نَحۡنُ أَبۡنَـٰٓؤُاْ ٱللَّهِ وَأَحِبَّـٰٓؤُهُۥۚ قُلۡ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُم بِذُنُوبِكُمۖ بَلۡ أَنتُم بَشَرٞ مِّمَّنۡ خَلَقَۚ يَغۡفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَلِلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَاۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ
But the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of Allah and His beloved." Say, "Then why does He punish you for your sins?" Rather, you are human beings from among those He has created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and to Him is the [final] destination
A community which is blessed with the Book and a prophet, and proves that it accepts them, receives many blessings from God—special help and victory over opponents; domination on the earth; God’s pardon and the promise of paradise, etc. In the case of the earlier generations of a community, this is a reward for their actions; they surrendered their existence to God, therefore, God blessed them with His bounties. However, in the case of later generations, the position changes. Now the whole matter assumes a national or communal character. Whereas the earlier people enjoyed the blessings of God by virtue of their performance, the later generations assume that they are entitled to the same blessings—whatever their actions—simply because they belong to a certain community or race. Then they start believing that they are the specially favoured people of God, and whatever they do, they will definitely receive the bounties of God. With a view to removing this misunderstanding on the part of the people of the Book, God has specifically ordained that the rewards meant for them will start right here in this world. Such people can see in the present world itself how their God is going to deal with them in the future world. If, in this world, they are enjoying supremacy over their enemies, then it means that they are the favourite group of God, and if their enemies prevail over them, then it means that the reverse is true. If a group which is in possession of the Book is repeatedly vanquished and remains downtrodden in this world, in spite of being large in number, it should never entertain the hope of enjoying a high position and honours in the Hereafter.
ستاروں کا غروب ایک علامتی لفظ ہے جس کے ذریعہ ستاروں کی گردش کے محکم نظام کی طرف اشارہ کیا گیا۔ مادی دنیا میں ستاروں کا نظام ایک بے خطا نظام ہے، یہ اس بات کا قرینہ ہے کہ وحی و نبوت کی صورت میں خدا نے جو روحانی نظام قائم کیا ہے وہ بھی ایک بے خطا نظام ہو۔
فرشتہ اور وحی کی صورت میں رسول کا تجربہ حقیقی تجربہ ہے۔ ا س کے ثبوت کے لیے قرآن کا بیان کافی ہے۔ قرآن کا معجزانہ کلام قرآن کو خدا کی کتاب ثابت کرتا ہے۔ اور جس کتاب کا خدا کی کتاب ہونا ثابت ہوجائے اس کا ہر بیان خود قرآن کے زور پر مستند تسلیم کیا جائے گا۔