This objection becomes all the more telling after the advent...

This objection becomes all the more telling after the advent of Islam which counts unity as one of the pillars of its shari 'ah and the basis of its laws. (2) The sending of the apostles and the giving to them of the clear signs was done for the specific purpose of creating faith in peoples' hearts. Belief and faith is a spiritual characteristic, which cannot be created by force and coercion. Then what the use of fighting once the prophets and the apostles had been sent.

We have explained this objection together with its reply in the commentary of the verses of fighting. In this verse, Allah gives the following reply: The fighting among the followers of the apostles occurred because the said followers differed among themselves. Had they not differed, there would not have been any fighting among them. The cause of the fighting was, therefore, their difference.

It is true that if Allah so wished, there would not have occurred any difference; and thus there would not have been any fighting. Alternatively, He could have disconnected the cause, that is, the difference, from its effect, that is, fighting; so that even if there was difference, there would not have occurred any fighting.

But Allah does what He wishes; and He has decreed that the effect will follow its cause; also, that the people will have freedom of choice, and that there will not be any compulsion for them to follow a certain course. And that is why they differed, and were not prevented from it, and that is why the said difference caused the fighting.

**COMMENTARY ** QUR'AN: These apostles, We have made some of them to excel the others: It demonstrates the greatness of the apostles and the grandeur of their status. That is why the demonstrative pronoun "tilka" (those) has been used, which is meant to point to a distant object. The verse shows the excellence given by Allah to some of them over others - some of them have been given more excellence than the others.

But all of them are great, as the apostleship in itself is an excellence, which all of them share. There is a difference among the apostles, of their grades and ranks; and there is a difference among their followers, as the verse describes.