The Quran

۞ شَرَعَ لَكُم مِنَ الدّينِ ما وَصّىٰ بِهِ نوحًا وَالَّذي أَوحَينا إِلَيكَ وَما وَصَّينا بِهِ إِبراهيمَ وَموسىٰ وَعيسىٰ ۖ أَن أَقيمُوا الدّينَ وَلا تَتَفَرَّقوا فيهِ ۚ كَبُرَ عَلَى المُشرِكينَ ما تَدعوهُم إِلَيهِ ۚ اللَّهُ يَجتَبي إِلَيهِ مَن يَشاءُ وَيَهدي إِلَيهِ مَن يُنيبُ

Ali Unal

Of the Religion (that He made for humankind and revealed through His Messengers throughout history), He has laid down for you as way of life what He willed to Noah, and that which We reveal to you, and what We willed to Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, (commanding): “Establish the Religion, and do not divide into opposing groups concerning it.”¹ What you call people to is hard and distressful for those who associate partners with God. God chooses whom He wills and brings them together (in faith and in obedience) to Himself, and He guides to Himself whoever turns to Him in devotion.

This verse has many implications, such as the following:
- The religion God has made and appointed for humankind during history is one and the same. It has the same essentials of faith, worship, conduct, and morality.
- Among the Prophets, God chose some as Messengers; and among the Messengers, He chose five as being of a particular degree: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, upon them all be peace and blessings. He established for each principles of conduct in life, in addition to the pillars of faith, worship, and morality. These principles, which form a way of life (Law), are the same in essence, though there are some differences among them in secondary matters, as we can understand from verse 5: 48 (see that verse and the corresponding note 11). When the Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, came, his Law encompassed all the previous Laws with certain changes (in regard to how the Islamic Law treated the previous ones, see 2: 106, note 95).
- In Islamic terminology, the Law is Sharī’ah, and it is used for the practical aspect of the Religion.
- The verse uses the word, will, for the Laws ordained for Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, upon them be all be peace, but it uses the verb, reveal, for the Last Messenger, upon him be peace. Will implies strong advice and giving special importance to certain things. So concerning the way of life willed to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, upon them all be peace, some matters had special importance according to the time and conditions particular to each. However, the use of reveal for the way of life enjoined on the Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, implies that all aspects of it – including those which exist in the Qur’ān and those established by the Sunnah of the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings – were revealed by God and are of universal importance.
- The verse first mentions Prophet Noah, upon him be peace, and continues to talk about the Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and then the other great Messengers. This is because Prophet Noah, upon him be peace, is the first Messenger to whom a comprehensive Law to govern life was willed, and the Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is the greatest of all; and the way of life revealed to him is universal and inclusive of all the previous ones. We see a similar order in 33: 7: And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad); and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary, We took from them a solemn covenant. This verse first mentions all the Prophets, particularly mentioning the five greatest among them, beginning with the last one, due to his being the greatest among them and also because God’s Religion gained universality with him.
- Preserving and obeying the Law is indispensable for establishing the Religion and preserving it from distortions, changes, and corruptions. The Law has the same meaning for the Religion as the skin has for the human body. The main reason why the Religion lost its originality and purity after the Prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, upon them all be peace, is that people either ignored or neglected the Law, or changed it, or disobeyed it. Negligence of, or disobedience to, the Law is also one of the basic reasons for the internal divisions among the communities of the Messengers after them, and for the deviations witnessed concerning the essentials of faith.