The Denial of Divine Revelation
Dr. Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari is among the intellectuals who have posited challenging perspectives regarding religion, which have been the subject of considerable debate and scrutiny over the past two decades. One of his fundamental views is the denial of the divine revelation (descent) of heavenly religions, including Islam, by God the Almighty. In his article titled “Āyā khudāvand dīn nāzil karda ast?” (Has God Revealed a Religion?), first published on July 28, 2014, he explicitly declared that the religion of Islam, or any other religion, was not sent down by God. By advancing this claim, the enduring structure of a fixed and immutable divine religion is treated as a mere obstacle to be removed, thereby leaving the religion vulnerable to the intrusion of all secular matters and human constructs.
In this article, Shabestari writes: “In the Islamic world, such proposals [i.e., the recognition of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights] have always been met with the question: If the religion of Islam does not contain fixed and eternal systems, then why was this religion revealed by God? God’s religion is not subject to addition or subtraction. How can jurists be permitted to declare adherence to contemporary human rights as a requisite of living as a Muslim? The religion of Islam came from God, whereas contemporary human rights are a ‘construct’ of twentieth-century human beings; how can a human construct be added to the heavenly message of the religion of Islam?! This highly important question rests on a famous, yet incorrect, premise. That premise is that the religion of Islam was revealed by God, and whatever comes from God is not subject to reform or revision. The author of these lines wishes to know: Where did this widely cited premise—which has caused numerous problems and predicaments in Islamic countries both in the past and present—originate, and how much validity does it possess?”
The Meaning of “Religion” (Dīn) in the Quran
This premise is not only absent from the Holy Quran, but what is derived from the Quran actually contradicts it. To clarify this point, I will examine the meaning of the word “religion” (dīn) in the Quran. According to the enumeration provided by Muhammad Fuad Abdul Baqi in the book al-Muʿjam al-mufahras li-alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-karīm (The Indexed Dictionary of Quranic Words), the word “dīn” (religion) appears in 90 verses of the Quran. In these verses, the following expressions of religion are utilized: “the religion of truth” (as opposed to false religion), “the Day of Religion” (the Day of Judgment), “the religion that belongs entirely to God,” “the religion with which God is pleased,” “the religion that God has chosen,” “there is no compulsion in religion,” “the religion accepted by God,” “the religion of God,” “defaming the religion,” “religion must be solely for God,” “religious brotherhood,” “assisting others in matters of religion,” “the upright religion,” “deep understanding (tafaqquh) in religion,” “the religion of human nature (fiṭrah),” “the religion of submission to God,” “the King’s religion,” “God has placed no hardship in religion,” “establishing religion,” “fighting for religion,” “legislating religion,” “God’s recommendation to religion,” “denying religion,” “denying the Day of Religion,” “the most pleasing religion,” “turning others away from religion,” “following religion,” “extremism in religion,” “perfecting religion,” “mocking religion,” “altering religion,” “the religion of the polytheists and the religion of Muhammad (PBUH),” “apostasy from religion,” “being deceived in religion,” and “making a mockery of one’s religion.”
Alongside these expressions, some of which appear more than once in the Quran, in 8 verses, humans are asked to purify their religion for God (“purifying the religion for Him” – mukhliṣīn la-hu al-dīn).
The word “religion” in the Quran points to that enduring reality in the human world that has always been identifiable and consequential under the name of religion, rather than to a reality descending from the unseen realm to mankind. This reality is a method and path that human beings have constructed in their relationship with the One, Peerless God, or in relation to deities, committing themselves to it in belief and practice. However, the fact that it is a human construct has no bearing on it being illusory or false. Science, philosophy, and art are also human constructs; yet they are neither illusory nor false, but rather real and valuable. What the Speaker of the Quran demands of His audience is to purify the existing religion among humans for God, not to accept a religion newly revealed by God.
Examining the Claim: Two Primary Perspectives
The claim denying the divine revelation of religion can be examined from two perspectives:
1. From the Perspective of Reason:
Theologians, philosophers, and mystics have presented numerous arguments in the discussions of “general prophethood” (Nubuwwah ‘Ammah) and “revelation” (Wahy), the core of which emphasizes the necessity of sending a religion through revelation as a program for eternal salvation. Thus, based on rational proofs, it is established that God, in accordance with His attributes of perfection, must have inevitably revealed the path of human salvation to mankind in the form of religion.
Given Mr. Shabestari’s focus on Quranic verses and due to space constraints, we will bypass an in-depth exploration of this topic. Those who wish to study further may refer to the aforementioned theological discussions.
2. From the Perspective of the Quran:
Several verses of the Holy Quran indicate that God must intervene in guiding humans toward true salvation; otherwise, human beings would be excused for failing to attain ultimate perfection and happiness. Conversely, numerous verses indicate that the act of guiding humans has indeed been undertaken by God. Therefore, contrary to Mr. Shabestari’s claim, based on the Holy Quran: a) God must guide humans by sending a religion, and b) God has executed this by sending down religions through the prophets.
The First Category of Verses:
- Surah An-Nisa, Verse 165: “[We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will not have any argument against Allah after the messengers. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.” According to this verse, God sent His prophets to humanity to deliver glad tidings and warnings, ensuring that people would have no valid argument against God following this dispatch. The meaning is that the prophets, by fulfilling their divine mission—which is delivering the divine message to the people—establish conclusive proof (Hujjah) against mankind. That is, once the path of guidance is presented, if someone fails to follow it and consequently suffers eternal punishment, it is due to their own incorrect choices and actions. However, if God had not shown the path of guidance, people would not be culpable for their inability to achieve salvation, because the cause of their lack of salvation would be their ignorance of the path, a knowledge God would have withheld.
- Surah Al-Isra, Verse 15: “Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.” According to the latter part of this verse, God only punishes people if He has sent His messengers to them. Therefore, otherworldly retribution is contingent upon the dispatch of divine emissaries to establish conclusive proof by presenting the path of salvation.
The Second Category of Verses:
Numerous Quranic verses explicitly reveal God’s role in the legislation (Tashri’) of religion:
A) Surah Ash-Shura, Verse 13: “He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein.” This verse explicitly speaks of the legislation of religion by God for humanity, which was revealed to the Arch-Prophets (Ulu al-‘Azm).
B) Surah Al-Hajj, Verse 78: “And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty…” According to this segment of the verse, God has not placed hardship (Haraj) in the religion. Thus, the institution of religion has been carried out by God; however, God has included certain elements in the religion and excluded others. If the formulation and dispatch of religion were not actualized by God, negating the institution of hardship in religion by God would be meaningless.
C) Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verse 3: “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” In this verse as well, God Almighty attributes the perfection of the Islamic religion to Himself. If religion were a human-made phenomenon and not revealed by God, it would make no sense for God to attribute its completion to Himself.
D) Surah Al-Fath, Verse 28; Surah As-Saff, Verse 9; and Surah At-Tawbah, Verse 33: “It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion.” According to these three verses, God is the One who sent His messenger with guidance and the true religion to make the true religion prevail over all religions. Furthermore, in these verses, God acknowledges the existence of various religions but emphasizes that the true religion is one, which God Himself dispatched with His messenger to triumph over other religions.
E) Verses such as Surah An-Nur, Verse 2: “The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse – lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion of Allah,” and Surah An-Nasr, Verse 2: “And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes.” These verses speak explicitly of the “religion of God.” If God had not revealed a religion and religion was solely the creation of men, the expression “religion of God” would be rendered meaningless.
In conclusion, in addition to the verses referenced by Mr. Shabestari, there are numerous other verses that unequivocally demonstrate the sending of religion, the legislation of religion, the absence of hardship in religion, and the dispatching of prophets. Consequently, multiple verses of the Holy Quran, either explicitly or by logical necessity, denote the divine revelation of religion. From the Quranic perspective, God has legislated a true religion and delivered it to humanity through His messengers. This true religion, which God has declared His satisfaction with, encompasses the belief in monotheism, the afterlife, and prophethood, as well as the regulations necessary for attaining salvation.
