e) Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {So from wherever you go out [for prayer, O Muhammad] turn your face toward Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, and indeed, it is the truth from your Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. And from wherever you go out [for prayer], turn your face toward Al-Masjid Al-Haraam. And wherever you [believers] may be, turn your faces toward it in order that the people will not have any argument against you, except for those of them who commit wrong; so fear them not but fear Me. And [it is] so I may complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided. Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know. So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.} [Quran 2:149-152]
Allah The Almighty is telling the believers here that one of the blessings bestowed by Allah The Almighty upon them is turning them towards their Qiblah (direction of prayer), and giving them a distinctive personality. There are many other blessings bestowed by Allah The Almighty upon them, such as:
{Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves.} This leading elite was favored by having among them the Messenger of Allah the Imaam of mentors and callers. Allah The Almighty honored them when He made the Prophet directly responsible for bringing them up, given that he was the jurisprudent of souls, the physician of the hearts and the light of minds. He was the light, the proof and the argument.
{reciting to you Our verses} implies that the essential material of building is the words of Allah The Almighty, which was accompanied by a powerful emotional charge for its being Divinely revealed for the first time as fresh and new. This is what made that generation unique throughout human history.
{and purifying you} because the mentor and instructor was the Messenger of Allah who was responsible for the process of nurturing. In terms of his high morality and precise application of the principles and laws of the Quran, he attained such a degree as described by Allah The Almighty through that unique and comprehensive attribute, which gave him superiority over all the people, when He Says (what means): {And indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [Quran 68:4] Moreover, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, described him with the greatest description a human being could give to a prophet when she said, “He was [an embodiment of] the Quran.” The Companions would hear the Quran recited by the Messenger of Allah and see the Quran walking on earth embodied in his noble morality.
{and teaching you the Book and wisdom} pertains to the third mission of the Prophet which was to teach the Companions the Book and wisdom. To make the Noble Quran more effective and influential, there was need for a Divine mentor, who would purify the souls and hearts, and teach people the Laws of Allah The Almighty through the Noble Quran and the Sunnah of the master of all the messengers . He had to explain its equivocal meanings to the Muslims, show them its precise verses, explain in detail its brief judgments, ask about its application and correct any misunderstanding. The Messenger of Allah taught and nurtured his Companions so that they would teach and nurture the people on the Divine methodology. Thus, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, learnt from the Messenger of Allah the methods of upbringing, teaching, Da‘wah (propagation) and leading the nation, through what it hears and sees, suffers and strives. In this way, the Messenger of Allah succeeded in preparing and qualifying the first generation to be completely fitting to lead mankind. After him, the Companions proceeded on carrying the Quranic and Prophetic methodology of nurturing to all parts of the world and became witnesses over people.
{and teaching you that which you did not know} what were they before the Divine Revelation and message? What did they come to be after them? They were in continuous warfare, conflict, and blind ignorance, and then, by the bounty and favor of Allah The Almighty, they came to be a great nation with a message and an objective which it sought to achieve in life, and nothing concerned it but to work seeking the pleasure of Allah The Almighty.
They also turned to worship Allah Alone, and obeyed Allah The Almighty and His Messenger . Furthermore, they moved from the tendency of individuality, selfishness and personal desires to an inclination to collective building - the building of a nation and a state, and the formation of a civilization. In this way, the nation of Muslims became worthy of the greatest medals of merit: The first is evident in the verse where Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.} [Quran 3:110]; and the other is represented in the verse where Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And thus We have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. And We did not make the Qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels. And indeed, it is difficult except for those whom Allah has guided. And never would Allah have caused you to lose your faith. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.} [Quran 2:143]
{So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.} [Quran 2:152] These gifts, favors and other good matters required them to remember and thank Allah The Almighty every morning and evening. Allah The Almighty urged the people to remember Him, so that, by the bounty of Allah The Almighty, they came to be remembered in the highest assembly of angels in the heaven after they had been lost and wasted in the desert.
{So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.} [Quran 2:152] all of those blessings and favors must be appreciated.
In this way, the noble verses raised the Companions through great events and made the Muslim a strong personality who accepted nothing other than Islam as a religion, and recognized the Jewish nature from the Noble Quran, and began to be well-acquainted with the reality of that nature until the final and complete image was formed to which they were nurtured through the Noble Quran and Prophetic nurturing. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, “Indeed, the Guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance.” If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper.} [Quran 2:120]