In the Qur'an, Allah explains everything in the most perfect, wise, and concise manner. This is a manifestation of Allah's Mercy to His servants. In the Qur'an, He informs us of the basic tenets of true faith, many issues related to life in this world and the next, the ideal morality for people of faith, and many other issues that guide humanity. Allah introduces Himself to us through the Qur'an, explains that He created everything from nothing, that He is exalted above anything, that He sees and hears secrets and what is even more concealed, and that He knows everything. The Qur'an gives a detailed account of why and how man was created, the type of life that earns Allah's good pleasure, the forms of worship, a description of moral excellence, ways to remain mentally and physically healthy, and how to deal with problems, emergencies, and various people in society. It also contains signs of scientific facts, knowledge related to daily life, social problems, the Day of Judgment, Paradise and Hell, and many other issues. In other words, the Qur'an provides all of the basic knowledge that people may need at any time. As we read:
And thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an and have diversified thererin the warnings that perhaps they will avoid (sin) or it would cause them remembrance.
In the Qur'an, Allah informs all people that they must comply unconditionally with His judgments, take Him as their sole friend and guardian, and make earning His good pleasure and Paradise their only goal in life. For those who live in compliance with the Qur'an, the Qur'an is the sole criterion and our Prophet's path is the only path worth following. The Qur'an informs us that true Muslims of all eras have abandoned their society's fallacious religion and turned to Allah and His commands. For instance, the Qur'an relates how the Companions of the Cave, a group of young believers, were condemned and threatened with death because they rejected their forefathers' religion and sought refuge in a cave (Surat alKahf: 13-16). Prophet Yusuf's turning to Allah is an example of this:
For I have left the religion of a people who clearly have no faith in Allah and are unbelievers in the Hereafter. I hold fast to the creed of my forebears Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya'qub. We do not associate anything with Allah.
In the spiritual sense, abandoning society's fallacious religion means to separate oneself entirely from that religion's adherents. In other words, it means that a person has been entirely purified of his or her former form of worship, belief, value judgments, manner of reasoning, moral codes, customs and traditions, modes of behavior and lifestyle that conflict with the Qur'an, although their society still adheres to such things, and has embraced Allah's revelation as the basic point of reference.
Also, our Prophet said that it is the unique source to which all people should refer. We find some of his admonitions in the following prophetic traditions: The Qur'an is a strong rope of Allah, meaning that it is a reliable means of linking with Allah and a firm charter of guidance. It is the straight path. The Qur'an is the clear truth that keeps thoughts from straying. (Tirmidhi)
The Messenger of Allah said: "These hearts become rusty, just as iron becomes rusty when water gets into it." Someone asked: "O Messenger of Allah, how can these be cleared?" He said: "A great deal of remembrance of death and recitation of the Qur'an." (Bayhaqi; Manzoor No'mani, Ma'ariful Hadith [Pakistan], 85.)
Rejoice, for verily this Qur'an – one part of it is in the hands of Allah and the other part is in your hands. Therefore, hold on to it, for you will never be destroyed nor go astray after it! (Musnad Ahmad).
