The Legislative System of the Quran

Anyone who studies history will be aware of the extent of ignorance of people be‌
fore Islam, and the low level to which their knowledge and morality had sunk.١٨
Barbarism prevailed among them; raiding and aggression were interminable; the people were inclined toward plunder and were ever ready to rush into searing wars and conflicts. The Arabians had their large share of mythology and uncivilized con‌ duct. No religion united them, and no system bound them together. Inherited cus‌ toms determined their lifestyle. Idolaters constituted the majority of the population in Arabia. Every clan and tribe had gods whom they worshiped and took as interces‌ sors with God. Swearing by the idols (an$ab) and divining arrows (azlam) prevailed among them [cf. Q. ٥:٣, ٩٠], as well as games of chance. ١٩ Games of chance were indeed a source of boasting. Among their other customs was the marrying of widows to their foster sons. An even more abominable custom was the wa d-the burying alive of their infant girls.٢٠
These are some Arabian customs in the Age of Ignorance (jahiliyya). When the light of Mui:Jammad emerged, and the sun of Islam rose in Mekka, they received enlightenment from the Quranic truths and acquired good morality. Hence, they substituted faith in divine oneness for idolatry, knowledge for ignorance, virtues for vices, brotherhood and harmony for dissension and disagreement. Consequently, they became a community with strong bonds, which stretched the wings of its might over the world and raised the standards of civilization in the regions of the earth. Accord‌ ing to Mui:Jammad Farid Wajdi, Dourri, one of the old French ministers, has com‌ mented as follows:

After the emergence of him [the Prophet], who united the Arab tribes into one nation with one aim, a great nation emerged, whose possessions stretched from the Tagus River in Spain to the Ganges in India, raising the beacons of civilization in all regions of the world. These were the days, in the Middle Ages, when Europe was swathed in the darkness of the ignorance of its peoples.

He then adds:

Of all the peoples of the Middle Ages, they [the Muslims] monopolized the sciences, and it was because of them that the clouds of barbarism in Europe were dispelled, after they had gathered for centuries as a result of the breakdown of order following the barbaric invasions.

Indeed, all this resulted from the teachings of the Book of God, which excels all heavenly books. This is because the Quranic legislative system and its teachings conform with manifest truths and sound reasoning. The Quran follows the path of justice and avoids excess and neglect. Thus, one observes that in the Opening Chap‌ ter ("Sarat al-Fata:Ja"), the Quran prays to God, in the words of mankind, for guid‌ ance to the straight path: "Guide us to the straight path" (Q. I :٦).
This sentence, though brief and concise in words, has a broad and far-reaching signification. We shall, God willing, explain this when we comment on this noble verse later.