﴿ وَهَٰذَا كِتَٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ مُبَارَكٌۭ مُّصَدِّقُ ٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنذِرَ أُمَّ ٱلْقُرَىٰ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ ۖ وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ﴾

“And this, too, is a divine writ which We have bestowed from on high - blessed, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations] -and [this] in order that thou mayest warn the foremost of all cities and all who dwell around it. And those who believe in the life to come do believe in this [warning]; and it is they who are ever-mindful of their prayers.”

This brazen disregard for the truth developed in the Jews because they had disintegrated God’s Book page by page. They used to call attention to certain teachings of God, while there were others which they deliberately omitted to mention. For example, they used repeatedly to listen to and recite all verses relating to rewards, while omitting those verses which mentioned the deeds which merited rewards. They used to make special mention of those verses from which they could draw support for the petty details of their politics, while ignoring the verses in which instructions were given about quiet reformation. They used to elaborate upon those verses which gave them the opportunity to display their verbal hair-splitting talents, while cursorily passing over verses in which the eternal realities of religion were set forth. Frequent public airings were given to such verses as gave an indication of their superiority, while verses in which their responsibilities were mentioned used to be neglected. In those who disintegrate God’s Book ‘page by page’ in this way, a tendency to insolent bravado naturally develops. They indulge in frivolous and trivial discussions, then bicker, and make contradictory statements. One cannot expect real co-operation from them. If people do not do justice to God’s Book, how can they be just while dealing with human beings? The call of religion is actually a call to awaken people. The caller, however perfect he may be, can be effective and make an impact on the listener’s heart only when the listener has a fearing heart in his breast and considers the Hereafter a matter of the utmost gravity. If these elementary qualities are not found in the listener, then the giver of the call cannot offer him any benefit.