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# The Stages of Human Life in the Qur’an
## The Second Stage: Testimony (Shahādah)
It first points to the unity of humanity by nature upon the path of worshipping and affirming the oneness of God:
**“Mankind was one community.”**
At this stage—the first stage—people worshipped God Almighty, obeyed Him, and affirmed His oneness according to their natural disposition (fiṭrah).
> **“Mankind was one community; then Allah sent the prophets as bearers of good tidings and warners, and sent down with them the Book in truth to judge between people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed concerning it except those who were given it after clear proofs had come to them, out of mutual transgression.”**
> (Al‑Baqarah 2:213)
Four realities are manifested in this noble verse:
### 1. The Original Unity of Humanity
The verse first refers to the unity of humanity by nature on the path of worshipping and affirming the oneness of God:
**“Mankind was one community.”**
At that stage—the initial stage—people worshipped God, obeyed Him, and affirmed His oneness according to their innate nature.
### 2. Humanity’s Deviation from the Natural Disposition
The verse then indicates that people later deviated from the requirements of their natural disposition (fiṭrah), and اختلاف (disagreement and division) emerged among them. Their fiṭrah weakened and became corrupted. This marked the end of the period in which fiṭrah alone governed and directed human life.
Thus, a new guiding factor had to enter human life alongside fiṭrah to guide people to God.
The cause of the weakening and corruption of fiṭrah and humanity’s deviation from it was **disagreement**, as expressed in the verse:
**“to judge between people concerning that in which they differed.”**
This disagreement arose because people had previously lived simple and primitive lives. When their lives became more complex, their relationships expanded, and new elements appeared in their social life, **injustice (ẓulm)** emerged among them, and some began to transgress against others.
Injustice is a social phenomenon with causes, effects, and consequences.
– Its **cause** is **desire (hawā)**. Without unchecked desire, injustice would not appear in human life.
– Its **effect** is **arrogance and domination (istikbār)**, because injustice inevitably leads to the emergence of an arrogant class in society that violates the rights of others and transgresses the limits set by God.
The outcome of **injustice, desire, and arrogance** is **corruption (fasād)** in both the individual and society.
This deviation from the path of fiṭrah appeared in two main forms:
1. Replacing the sovereignty of God with the sovereignty of **ṭāghūt** (false authorities or tyrannical powers), resulting from the influence of tyrannical forces in society.
2. Deviating from the path of justice and truth toward injustice and transgression, due to the influence of human desires.
Thus, disagreement arose concerning the **innate covenant** that existed between God and humanity. After corruption weakened the natural disposition, fiṭrah alone was no longer sufficient to guide human beings and bind them to the worship of God. This, in our view, explains the disagreement mentioned in the noble verse.
Regarding this stage—when fiṭrah dominated human life—and what followed afterward in terms of disagreement, God says:
> **“And mankind was not but one community; then they differed. And if not for a word that had preceded from your Lord, the matter would have been judged between them concerning that over which they differ.”**
> (Yūnus 10:19)
The “word that had preceded” refers to God’s statement:
> **“And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and provision for a time.”**
> (Al‑Baqarah 2:36)
### 3. The Sending of the Prophets
When disagreement—with all its causes and consequences—entered human life and corrupted the purity of fiṭrah, God sent the prophets as bearers of glad tidings and warners.
The mission of these prophets was to support, revive, and awaken the natural disposition after disagreement had weakened and corrupted it.
These prophets are the **“witnesses” (shuhadāʾ)**, and this stage of human life marks the beginning of the stage of **testimony (shahādah)**.
God says:
> **“So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and bring you [O Muhammad] as a witness over these?”**
> (An‑Nisāʾ 4:41)
> **“I did not say to them except what You commanded me—that they worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord—and I was a witness over them while I was among them; but when You took me, You were the Observer over them, and You are Witness over all things.”**
> (Al‑Māʾidah 5:117)
> **“And the Day We raise from every nation a witness against them from among themselves, and We bring you as a witness over these. And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification of all things, guidance, mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims.”**
> (An‑Naḥl 16:89)
> **“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses over it.”**
> (Al‑Māʾidah 5:44)
> **“And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, and the record will be set, and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and judgment will be passed between them in truth, and they will not be wronged.”**
> (Az‑Zumar 39:69)
We will, God willing, later discuss **testimony (shahādah)**, its meaning, the mission of the witnesses, and their responsibilities in this world and the Hereafter. For now, it is enough to note that the mission of these witnesses in worldly life aims at three objectives:
– **Reminding (tadhkīr)**
– **Teaching (taʿlīm)**
– **Supervising human conduct**
The role of **reminding** is to awaken and revive the natural disposition when it becomes dormant. This is different from the task of **teaching**. The Qur’an assigns both responsibilities to the prophets.
The prophets are therefore both **teachers and reminders**.
God says regarding reminding:
> **“So remind; you are only a reminder.”**
> (Al‑Ghāshiyah 88:21)
Regarding teaching, He says:
> **“And He teaches you the Book and wisdom and teaches you what you did not know.”**
> (Al‑Baqarah 2:151)
> **“Teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they were previously in clear misguidance.”**
> (Al‑Jumuʿah 62:2)
Reminding relates to calling people to God, while teaching concerns what God teaches humanity from the wisdom and laws of His religion.
The third mission is **monitoring people’s conduct**, which is manifested in **enjoining good and forbidding evil**.
Thus, the mission of the prophets can be summarized in three words:
– Calling to God
– Enjoining good
– Forbidding evil
All of which are accompanied by the knowledge that the prophets bring from God.
## The Covenant and Testimony
The **covenant (mīthāq)** and **testimony (shahādah)** complement one another.
– The **covenant** represents humanity’s connection with God through the natural disposition (fiṭrah).
– **Testimony** strengthens and supports this connection through the sending of prophets and witnesses.
The mission of these witnesses is to awaken the natural disposition and restore its connection with God.
### 4. Disagreement After the Sending of the Prophets
God says:
> **“And none differed concerning it except those who were given it after clear proofs had come to them, out of mutual transgression.”**
> (Al‑Baqarah 2:213)
This disagreement is different from the first disagreement mentioned earlier in the verse:
> **“to judge between people concerning that in which they differed.”**
Thus, the verse refers to **two kinds of disagreement**:
1. **The first:** deviation from the natural disposition (fiṭrah).
2. **The second:** disagreement concerning the call of the prophets and deviation from their message.
The first occurred **before** the mission of the messengers, while the second occurred **after** the sending of the messengers, particularly among the scholars of the People of the Book.
God says:
> **“And they did not divide until after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual transgression.”**
> (Ash‑Shūrā 42:14)
> **“And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual transgression. And whoever disbelieves in the signs of Allah—then indeed Allah is swift in account.”**
> (Āl ʿImrān 3:19)
This second type of disagreement—mentioned in the noble verse—is one of the complex problems in the civilizational history of humanity, and discussing it in detail lies beyond the scope of the present discussion.
