According to Verse 41:53 can it be interprited that everyone before his death will know that Quran is Truth?'as the Verse says We will show them that Quran is Truth.Brother Bilal Philips interprited this way in his book'True religion of God'.But the Verse 17:15 says where Message is not reached there will not be punishment.This means that there will be places where Message has not reached.Also Verse 9:6 says'Verily those who disbelieve AMONG people of the book and musrikeen'which means there will be people among them who are not disbelievers.What is their fate?Hope you will clarify the above Verses and give correct interpritation whether everyone will know Quran is Truth and fate of Verse 9:6.Thank you.Was Salaam.

Basically, the way we see it, none of the verses you referred to are interpreted correctly. The key to understanding these verses is to first understand and appreciate the role of Messengers in manifesting the truth for their direct addressees (Itmam Al-Hujjah):

Verse 41:53:

We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?

According to our understanding this verse refers to the function of Rusul (messengers) who, by the law of God, are sent to make the truth manifest easily recognisable for their addressees. This is the very reason that those who out of arrogance did not accept the manifest truth brought by the messengers of God had faced punishment on the in this life. Please read some of the posts on the difference between Rasool and Nabi and the meaning of Itmam Al-Hujjah for further explanation, for instance: Some Clarifications Regarding the Position & the Mission of a Rasu'l

Accordingly, the verse is only referring the direct addressees of the Prophet (pbuh).

Verse 17:15 is very much in line with the above, it simply says that unbelievers will not be punished unless a Rasool is sent to them to make the truth manifest for them:

Whoever goes aright, for his own soul does he go aright; and whoever goes astray, to its detriment only does he go astray: nor can the bearer of a burden bear the burden of another, nor do We chastise until We raise a messenger.

Verse 9:6 does not refer to what you wrote, perhaps it was verse 98:6 that you referred to. The verse 98:6 and the one after it read:

Those among the People of the Book and the Idolaters who have denied shall, indeed, dwell in the fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures. Those who embraced faith and did righteous deeds, they, indeed, are the best of creatures. Their reward with Allah is the Gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow. They will abide there forever. Allah is well pleased with them and they with Him. This is the reward for him who feared the Lord.

Inline with the above discussion, the above verses refer to the destiny of people who are the direct addressees of the Messenger (pbuh). These verses clearly divide the direct addressees of the Messengers (pbuh) into two broad categories:

• Those who were People of the Book or idolaters and did NOT accept the message of Tawheed despite its becoming manifest to them (for understanding the meaning of Kafir and Kufr in the Qur'an please refer to this question: What constitutes Kufr?)

• Those (from among People of the Book or idolaters or others) who accepted the message of Tawheed as brought to them by the Messenger (pbuh).

The whole logic is therefore very clear:

1. Those to whom a Rasool of God is directly sent will ultimately recognise the truth.

2. Those who recognise the truth and still reject it will be punished.

3. Those who have not been among the direct addressees of a Rasool have not necessarily recognised the truth and if this is the case (i.e. they really have not recognised the truth) then by the grace of God, they are not to be punished (in this world or the hereafter).

In need of your prayers.

Abdullah Rahim
June 26, 2006