The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary

by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

leave among you something which is very important and should be followed; you will not go astray if you take hold of it after I am gone, one part of it being more important than the other: God’s Book, which is a rope stretched from Heaven to earth, and my close relatives, who belong to my household. These two will not separate from one another till they come down to the pool [in the Hereafter]; so consider how you act regarding them after my departure.”

Quranic sacred history is seen more as events within the human soul rather than as just historical events in the world. All human beings possess within their being, for example, the qualities of Moses and those of Pharaoh, the beauty of Joseph and the conniving of his brothers; this sacred history is a means of teaching Muslims about their own souls as well as about good and evil and the ultimate triumph of good over evil, if one takes recourse in God, seeks His Help, and has confidence in Him throughout the trials of life, as did prophets of old.