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yā-ʾayyuhā n-nāsu qad jāʾatkum mawʿiẓatun min rabbikum wa-shifāʾun li-mā fī ṣ-ṣudūri wa-hudan wa-raḥmatun li-l-muʾminīna
O mankind! There has certainly come to you an advice from your Lord, and a cure for what is in the breasts, and a guidance and mercy for the faithful.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Yunus – Verse 57
57. “O mankind! There hath come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in your hearts, and a guidance and a mercy for the believers.”
The Arabic term /mau‘izah/ (preaching) means to restrain intermingled with warning and awakening. The Arabic phrase /šifa’-is-Sudur/ refers to the purification of spirit and heart from spiritual evils. The spiritual defects are more grievous than the diseases of the body. The Qur’an’s advantage lies in this very healing the spiritual diseases. The verse says:
“O mankind! There hath come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in your hearts...”
The verse seems to allude to the four kinds of stages that shape education and development, that is:
1. The preaching stage against visible acts.
2. The purification stage for purging the soul from ethical and social evils.
3. The self-guiding stage towards those objectives which signify worldly happiness and the happiness and prosperity in the Hereafter.
4. The stage of receiving divine blessings which is forgiveness and Paradise. In the meantime, the Qur’an is wholly preaching on a general level, however, only those groups that seek will be covered by the divine blessings.
The verse says:
“…and a guidance and a mercy for the believers.”
Finally, the cure for all pains must be sought after in the school of the Qur’an; not from the schools of the East and West.
“…and a healing for what is in your hearts...”
This is the reason why, Allah’s Prophet (S) in a tradition states:
“When afflictions, like a dark and terrible night, invade you, seek refuge in the Qur’an.” It is simultaneously full of preaching as well as being a remedy, a source of illumination and blessing all at the same time.”