The Universality of Divine Providence
Wa ‘immin ‘ummatin ‘illaa khalaa fiihaa
naziir.
“There is no nation but has had its Warner.” (Surah al Fatir; 35: 25)
All nations received revelation. There is an important
question which relates to the person of God and man and that which subsists
between man and man; in other words; which nations have been the recipients of
revelation and on what principles were they selected by God to receive His
revelation? Without the solution of this question, the reform which the Promised
Messiah had attempted in relation to other questions relating to the being of
God, would not have been complete. With regard to this question he pointed out
that, as God is the Lord of the whole universe, his guidance could not be
confined to any particular nation. As he is the Lord of all mankind and has equipped
all of them with thinking minds, he could not deprive any nation of His
guidance. As I have recited in the beginning of my sermon: “There is no nation but has had its Warner”. (Fatir; 35: 25)
God has sent His messengers among all nations and in
all ages, and as the sun lights up the whole world, the light of revelations
has ever lit up the darkest corners of the earth. If today we cannot discover
the light of revelation among a particular people, it does not mean that no
prophets have appeared among them, but the truth is that these peoples have
allowed their national traditions and faith to die out.
In pursuance of this
doctrine this testified to the truth of Krishna, Ram and Buddha, the prophets
of India, and all the other prophets, messengers and reformers of Almighty God,
and the rejection of their claims is, in a sense, amounting to a denial of the
universal providence of God.
Why accept some and reject some? Why not accept
all as of divine source? This is a doctrine which was not to be found among the
teachings of any sect or religion, and, as a matter of fact, the majority of
people believe that revelation had been confined to the founders of their
respective religions, and even those who believed that revelation had been
vouchsafed to people of other religions did so, more as a sort of personal
tribute to the founders of those religions on account of the services rendered
by them to the cause of humanity than as a result of the acceptance of the
doctrine of the universal providence of God.
The Enduring Light of Muhammad
But the Promised Messiah demonstrated from the Quran
that not only were those men the righteous servants of God whose services to
humanity are recorded in history, but that the attributes and the words of God
alike bore witness to the fact that every nation, whether its traditions have
been preserved or not, has had its prophet, and that to receive guidance
through prophets was the right of humanity which God would never ignore. The
extent to which this doctrine has opened to all nations the doors of the Love
of God, has placed the internal relation of mankind on a basis of concord and
amity, and has secured the founders and righteous men of all religions against
insult and abuse.