The Holy Quran with Divine Principle commentary
Fussilat praises the Quran as a revelation whose verses are clearly laid out in Arabic, challenges those who turn away from it, and contains the memorable promise that God will show humanity His signs on the horizons and within themselves until the truth becomes clear.
Ash-Shura reflects on God's transcendence and mercy, the unity of all prophetic revelations, the principle of mutual consultation among believers, and the call to unity among the divided communities of faith.
The surah's declaration that God has ordained for humanity the same religion He ordained for Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus is a cornerstone of the Divine Principle understanding of providential history. God did not send different religions to different peoples out of caprice; He sent one truth, progressively revealed, through a succession of messengers each building on the foundation of the last. The divisions between faiths are not God's will but humanity's failure to receive each new dispensation in its fullness. Ecumenism, in its deepest form, is not a modern compromise but a recognition of the original unity of all revelations.
The principle of shura — consultation among believers — resonates with Rev. Moon's vision of a world governed not by domination but by the heart of living for others. A community that consults rather than dictates, that listens before acting, is practicing in governance what true love practices in relationship: putting the other first. This is the seed of what Divine Principle calls the "world of the heart," the ultimate destination of God's providence, where every relationship is governed by the principle of giving and living for the sake of others.
Az-Zukhruf contrasts the superficial glitter of worldly wealth with the true guidance of the Quran, recounts Abraham's rejection of his father's idols, Jesus's mission and the disputes that arose after him, and the ultimate supremacy of God's truth over material show.
The surah's warning against those who mistake gold ornaments for genuine value is a warning against the materialist inversion that Divine Principle identifies as one of the chief expressions of the fallen nature. When the self becomes the center, the world becomes a collection of objects to be possessed rather than a community of beings to be loved. Wealth is not evil in itself — Solomon's splendor was a divine gift — but when it becomes the measure of worth, it displaces God from the center of value and replaces Him with the golden calf of economic power.
The portrayal of Jesus in this surah — as a servant of God who came with clear signs but was disputed after his departure — reflects the heartbreaking pattern that Divine Principle describes in detail. Jesus came as the Son of God intending to complete the full restoration: to marry, to establish a God-centered family, and through that family to transform the world. Because his own people rejected him, he was limited to spiritual salvation through the cross. The disputes among his followers after his death are the fruit of that incompletion — a divided Christianity reflecting the divided foundation on which it was built.
Ad-Dukhan describes a smoke that will fill the heavens as a sign of the Day of Judgment, recounts Pharaoh's rejection of Moses and the rescue of the Children of Israel, and contrasts the fates of the righteous and the wicked in the life to come.
The story of Moses and Pharaoh in this surah is one of the defining archetypes of providential history: the clash between the representative of God's restoration and the representative of worldly power that has seized God's people. Divine Principle describes the Exodus as a model for all subsequent liberation movements in God's providence — a pattern in which a central figure stands before worldly authority and declares, on God's behalf, "Let my people go." Every genuine liberation movement in human history carries an echo of this divine demand.
The image of smoke filling the heavens speaks to the confusion and spiritual darkness that descends upon a civilization that has lost its connection to God. Rev. Moon taught that the 20th century, with its two world wars and the rise of atheistic ideology, was precisely such a moment of divine smoke — a time when humanity was brought to the edge of self-destruction in order to be confronted with the absolute necessity of returning to God. Out of that smoke, the providence moved to the final stage of restoration, culminating in the mission he and True Mother carried.
Al-Jathiyah presents the natural world as a cascade of divine signs, rebukes those who follow only their desires and mock the idea of resurrection, and describes all nations crouching before God on the Day of Judgment to receive the record of their deeds.
The image of every nation crouching (jathiyah) before God's record is a powerful symbol of the universal accountability that Divine Principle locates at the end of history. God's providence does not judge individuals alone; it judges nations, civilizations, and ages. Each historical period will be measured against the standard of how fully it received or rejected the truth God sent in that dispensation. The nations that crouched in arrogance before God's messengers will ultimately kneel in humility before His judgment — and the record of their deeds will speak for itself.
The surah's rebuke of those who follow only their desires, saying "there is nothing but our worldly life — we die and we live, and nothing but time destroys us," diagnoses the deepest form of the fallen nature: the conviction that there is no God, no purpose, and no accountability. Rev. Moon called this "living for oneself without God" the ultimate expression of the Fall — the complete inversion of the original creation in which every being lives for the sake of others within a God-centered order. The path of restoration demands that we overcome this self-centered worldview through the practice of true love that gives without calculation.
Divine Principle Reflection
The verse "We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth" is a precise description of the two great books God has given humanity: the book of creation and the book of the self. Divine Principle approaches both with equal seriousness. The Principle of Creation is read from the natural world — in the give-and-take relationships between all beings, in the dual characteristics of every phenomenon, in the universal polarity of the universe. The Principle of the Fall is read from the inner world — from the divided conscience, the craving for love in wrong directions, the universal experience of guilt and longing for return.
The surah's description of the earth crying out as it was commanded to bring forth life reflects God's creative Heart investing itself in every dimension of existence. Rev. Moon often said that if we truly understood how much of God's love is embedded in a single flower or in the human eye, we would weep with gratitude. Creation is not a backdrop for human drama; it is God's first sermon, preached before any prophet spoke, declaring that love is the foundation of all that exists.