The Quran

285

Preface

آمَنَ الرَّسولُ بِما أُنزِلَ إِلَيهِ مِن رَبِّهِ وَالمُؤمِنونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لا نُفَرِّقُ بَينَ أَحَدٍ مِن رُسُلِهِ ۚ وَقالوا سَمِعنا وَأَطَعنا ۖ غُفرانَكَ رَبَّنا وَإِلَيكَ المَصيرُ

Yusuf Ali

The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in God, His angels, His books, and His Messengers¹. “We make no distinction (they say) between one and another² of His messengers.” And they say: “We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness³, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys.”

This Sūra started with the question of faith (2:3-4), showed us various aspects of faith and the denial of faith, gave us ordinances for the new people of Islam as a community, and now rounds off the argument again with a confession of faith and of its practical manifestation in conduct (“we hear and we obey”), and closes on a note of humility, so that we may confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and pray for God’s help and guidance. (Cf. 24:51).
Cf. 2:253, n. 289. It is not for us to make any distinction between one and another of God’s Messengers; we must honour them all equally, though we know that God in His wisdom sent them with different kinds of mission and gave them different degrees of rank.
When our faith and conduct are sincere, we realise how far from perfection we are, and we humbly pray to God for the forgiveness of our sins. We feel that God imposes no burden on us that we cannot bear, and with this realisation in our hearts and in the confession of our lips, we go to Him and ask for His help and guidance. (Cf. 24:51).