The Role of Qur’an in the Transformation of Human Society

There is no denying the fact that at one time in human history Muslims were the leaders in human values.They were the torchbearers of knowledge when other civilizations lived in darkness. They developed the physical aspect of human civilization by establishing libraries, hospitals and centres of higher learning. Today, however, Muslims are in a state of moral and intellectual decline. This paper argues that the primary cause behind the advancement of the early Islamic society and the subsequent decline of later Muslims are primarily due to the way the Qur’an has been dealt with. While the early Muslims read the Qur’an, understood it and acted upon its injunctions; today the majority of the Muslims read the Qur’an ritually, gaining no insight or knowledge from it. The paper addresses two questions: Why the Qur’an quickly transformed and improved the early Islamic community and not the present one? Why Muslims have lost their supremacy in knowledge and morality?