The Quran as a Living Guidance: Unfolding Divine Law Through Time

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 4 April, 2025 The Book in Loh-e-Mahfooz: The Master Blueprint Using the analogy of a computer program, the Book in Loh-e-Mahfooz serves as the master blueprint of the Universe, encoding the unchanging laws that govern all phenomena—both in the physical world and in human behaviour. Created by Allah before the Universe itself, it functions like an executable program, unfolding creation according to divine decree. The Quran, rooted in these same principles, is a revelation conveyed in human language—like a user manual guiding us to align our lives with our inherent design, encoded in our DNA. It provides moral and spiritual direction for success in both this world and the Hereafter. The teachings of the Quran were revealed experientially, unfolding through the Prophet’s 23-year mission, which encompassed five distinct phases: 1. Weak Minority in a Hostile Society (Meccan Period) – The Prophet and his followers endured persecution without retaliation. 2. Gaining Political Power (Post-Hijra, Legislative Phase) – After migration to Medina, legislative verses were revealed, establishing social, legal, and political frameworks. 3. Defending the Divine Order (Post-Hijra, Military Phase) – Verses on just warfare emerged in response to oppression and existential threats. 4. Judgment Phase (Post-Victory) – Following triumph over hostile forces, verses like 9:1–9:30 addressed the final legal and political resolutions. 5. Return to Peace – This phase emphasized religious tolerance, justice, plurality, alliances, and peaceful coexistence. These phases collectively address the full spectrum of human conditions. The Quran, covering them all, declares in 5:3: “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” The Quran instructs believers on conduct as a persecuted minority, as rulers implementing divine law, as defenders against oppression, as just victors, and as peacebuilders in pluralistic societies. The Finality of Prophethood The finality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was only declared once it was evident that he would complete all five phases. This was revealed in 33:40 during or after the Battle of the Trench—a critical moment when Islam faced an existential threat. Had the enemy opted for peace earlier, phases 4 and 5 might have remained incomplete, requiring another prophet to finalize divine revelation. But with complete victory, the full religion was revealed, making further prophethood unnecessary. The Quran: Contextual Revelation, Eternal Principles While the Quran’s verses address specific events and inquiries, their responses clarify eternal principles. The Quran connects with past revelations, drawing from the experiences of prophets such as Ibrahim, Musa, Dawood, Sulaiman, Isa, and Muhammad (PBUH), all of whom received guidance rooted in the same divine source—the Book in Loh-e-Mahfooz. This ensures consistency in moral principles across all revelations. Book in Loh-e-Mahfouz as a Record Additionally, the Book in Loh-e-Mahfooz records every event and every revelation. On the Day of Judgment, each nation will be resurrected alongside its prophet and judged by the revelation it received. The Evolving Understanding of the Quran The Quran contains many Mutashabihat (allegorical verses) that describe natural phenomena, human behaviour, history, and even cosmic events such as the creation, destruction, and recreation of the universe. Many of these verses remained misunderstood until recent advancements in knowledge. Even the Prophet (PBUH) could not have fully grasped all aspects of certain revelations. For example, he hesitated in addressing inheritance laws in 4:11–12, leading to the later revelation of 4:176 to resolve the issue. This problem arose because children act as residuaries, inheriting whatever remains after those with fixed shares receive theirs. However, in the absence of children, seventh-century Arabs lacked a systematic method to distribute the residual estate. The resolution is to keep redistributing what remains in the same proportion as the fixed shares until nothing is left. Mathematically, if the fixed shares add up to a/b, then each share should be multiplied by b/a to ensure full distribution. However, this proportional approach was unknown at the time, making inheritance division difficult in cases where no children were present. The later revelation of 4:176 addressed this gap by making siblings residuaries, effectively resolving the issue. Today, with a more structured mathematical understanding, we can address these inheritance cases in a way that conforms with 4:11–12 without the need for 4:176. This demonstrates that even in religious law, understanding evolves, necessitating the refinement of man-made Shariah interpretations based on flawed logic. Resolving Apparent Contradictions Verse 5:51 may appear to contradict verse 5:5, but the apparent contradiction gets resolved when we realize that 5:5 is for conditions in phase 5 and 5:51 for phase 3. (5:5) "This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book, revealed before your time,- when ye give them their due dowers, and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor secret intrigues. If anyone rejects faith, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter, he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good)." (5:51) "O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust." Both verses remain valid depending upon the circumstances. We can see the practical benefits of reading the Quran by classifying the verses according to the phase of the revelation. Since the condition of the Muslims can correspond with any of the five phases, these verses remain eternally relevant. Importantly, none of the verses in subsequent phases override any verse of phase 1, which are at all times and in every condition applicable. It is the verses in phases 3 and 4 alone that are contingent and context-driven. Since, biologically, we have not evolved since Adam or the “Cognitive Revolution”, nor would we evolve in the future, the Quran, based on our potential fixed by our DNA, requires no revision, although our understanding evolves constantly. Over the years, I have written over two hundred articles exploring the Quran, each uncovering insights that were previously inaccessible. --- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. 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