“Most blessed is He Who sent down this Criterion on His servant, to be a warner to all mankind.”
(Al-Qur’ān – 25:1)
This one single ayat of the Qur’ān tells us, in brief though, at least something about Allah, His Last Book the Qur’ān, His Last Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and the Divine message to man.
The very first word used in the Arabic text, tabāraka, is hard to translate even in one sentence, let alone in one word. It denotes greatness, eminence and a high state of permanence. In the present context this word is used in respect of Allah to stress not one but several ideas. It means that Allah is Bounteous and Omnipresent. He has, therefore, bestowed the great blessing of the Furqān (criterion) upon His servant Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), and thereby devised an arrangement to warn all mankind. It also means that Allah is Most Exalted and Most Glorious since the dominion of the heavens and the earth belong to Him.
The word Furqān used for the Qur’ān means to separate between two objects, most probably between the Truth and falsehood. It also emphasises that the Qur’ān is such an exceedingly potent means of separating between two things that it might be considered separation par excellence.
The Blessed Messenger has been presented here as a warner to alert people and draw their attention to the dire consequences of their negligence of the Truth and their becoming enmeshed in error, and thus the Qur’ān is warning.