Title: Why a New Revelation? Question: Can you tell me from the Qur'an the criteria for coming of new revelation? Was it necessary to renew the lost belief in Oneness of ALLAH or just social laws were needed to change or both? Answer: It is clear from the Qur'an that God initiated guidance to man through revelation primarily for the purpose of showing him the way to everlasting success and saving himself from eternal punishment. This purpose is mentioned in the reference to the incident of the creation of Adam in the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah . The Qur'an says: When My guidance is revealed to you, those that follow My guidance shall neither have fear [of the future] nor regrets [of the past]. But those that deny and reject Our revelations shall be the inmates of the Fire and there they shall abide forever. ( Al-Baqarah 2: 38 - 39) As far as the revelation of the Qur'an is concerned, the Qur'an itself has termed it as the completion of God's favor of showing mankind the path of success. The Qur'an says: This day have I perfected your religion for you and have completed my favor upon you and have liked for you Islam as your religion. ( Al-Maaidah 5: 3) In my opinion, there are primarily two reasons for a new revelation in the shape of the Qur'an, after the previous books had already been revealed. Firstly, the guidance given in the previous revelations could not remain secured from adulteration as well as wastage and, therefore, a new guidance, which was clear of all adulteration, was required. Secondly, the previous revelations included some temporary laws that were given only for the man of the respective periods (considering the mental, social, cultural, psychological development and evolution of man, in general). The Qur'an was revealed at a time when the humankind had reached a stage in its evolution where permanent laws could be given to man. One may ask if God could secure the Qur'an from any adulterations, why did He not secure the previous scriptures from such adulterations. In my opinion, it was because of the simple reason that the earlier revelations were meant to serve a temporary purpose therefore there was no need for any special or extra-ordinary arrangement of safeguarding them from any adulterations. The Qur'an, on the other hand, was meant to be a permanent guidance and to serve as the criterion for right and wrong till the end of time, and was, therefore, secured from all adulterations, deletions and additions. This is also, precisely, the reason why God sealed the institute of prophethood after the Prophet (pbuh). In the presence of the Qur'an, man, no longer is without any clear guidance to the path of success and eternal salvation. Thus, there is no need for sending any prophets and revealing any new messages upon them, as God's guidance has already been perfected through the Qur'an. 6 th July 2000