The Quran is Not For Muslims Alone

The very first verse in Quran reads: {All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds (that exist)} (1:2 (Asad), and the very last chapter opens with this line: {Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of Mankind,} (114:1 (Ali) and there is a whole lot in between.

God chose to address the entire mankind, and rightfully so. Quran is for the whole humanity and not just Muslims exclusively.

Hold your breath, I cannot pack the next 1200 words in one single sentence, or utter it in one single breath, but I promise you a better understanding by the end of this essay.

First of all, God is not the God of Muslims and no where He claims that in Quran. He is creator of the universe(s), which is within and beyond our imagination. Quran is a book of guidance to preserve the cohesiveness within and what surrounds us; people and the environment.

Darwin is right about survival of the fittest. Nothing in the universe will survive if it goes off balance and is not intact. Thank God everything is created in balance and harmony (55: 7-13) with billions of other elements interconnected and interdependent on each other to function cohesively.

In fact, the entire creation can be broadly classified into Matter and Life. Planets, stars, seasons and plants are programmed to function obediently (55:5-6) with precision, whereas humans were not put on an auto-pilot, they were instead given a free will to manage and maintain their own balance, and of course there was the guidance for everyone.

Read: 9 Astonishing Facts in the Quran that will Surprise You

God says (49:13) that He has created us into many tribes, communities, nations and by extension faiths, ideas, shapes, and colors — and all of us can trace back our origins to a singular couple referred to as Adam and Eve.

Given that diversity, we are bound to have conflicts and compete for the resources. So, he adds, the best ones among you are those who will take the time to know each other, He knows that knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of different points of view.

God does not miss a beat in communicating with His creation, and tells us not to compel others to be like you (2:256) let it come from their hearts for common goodness, and let others be others and you be you (109:6).

Indeed, when you respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge to live in harmony. By the way, this is my definition of Pluralism.

Had He willed, He could have made us all into a single community or created all of us precisely alike (5:48), but He chose to create each one of us to be unique with our own thumb print, eye print, DNA, taste buds, belief buds, races, nations and ethnicities.

God loves us all, and n0 one is deprived of His love; He has reached out to every human through a peace maker, messenger, prophet, reformer, a wise man or simply a good friend that brings sense to living.

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