IntroductiontotheScienceofTafsirAyatullahJafarSubhani-XKP

Published:2013Tag(s):islamxkpsubhanijafarqurantasfircommentaryhamdmunafiqonadiyatshuraqulwahidayatullah"tafsirquran"

1ChapterForeword

IntheNameofAllah,theMostGracious,theMostMerciful

BySayyidMuhammadRizvi

Themost tangible ofmiracles left by the ProphetMuhammad (‘s) is theQur`an.Al-Qur`an is theDivinerevelation,whichdescendedupontheProphet’sblessedsoulinaspanoftwenty-twoyearsandfewmonths.

Muslims consider the Qur`an as the most important document for their faith. They have givenextremeimportancetopreserve,recite,memorize,andstudytheQur`an.

Gradually, different subjects emerged with the purpose of facilitating the process of studying theQur`an:IlmulTajwidwasdevisedtolearntheproperrecitationoftheQur`an;HifzwasinventedasanartofcommittingtheQur`antomemory;and’IlmulTafsiremergedasthescienceofexegesisoftheQur`an.Among these relevant subjects, ’UlumulQur`an floweredasa sciencedealingwith theQur`anitself:therevelationanditsreality;how,whenandwhereitwasrevealed;howittransformedfromanoraltraditiontothewrittenform;theissueofabrogation,itsmeaningandreality;itstextualintegrity and its protection from alteration; how was it complied, by whom and when. These arequestionsthatarediscussedin’UlumulQur`an;andassuch,itisthefoundationofsciencesdealingwiththeQur`an.

This brief treatise deals with an important question in Ulumul Qur`an: the rules governing theinterpretation of theQur`an. It comes from the pen ofAyatullah Shaykh Jaffar Subhani, a leadingShi’i scholar of Qum,who is well-known for his expertise in Qur`anic studies and for writing athematicexegesisoftheQur`an.

TheQur`anisindeedaguideformankind,butitstrueinterpretationdependsonconditionsthatmustbeadheredto.TheQur`anitselfsaysthatsomeofitsversesareofanallegoricalnaturewhileothersare decisive; those who intend to create confusion and mischief among the Muslims use theallegoricalverses:

ءآغتبا هنم هباشت ام نوعبتیف غیز مهبولق يف نیذلا امأف . تاهباشتم رخأو باتكلا مأ نه تامكحم تایآ هنم باتكلا كیلع لزنأ يذلا وهبابلألا اولوأ الإ ركذی امو انبر دنع نم لك هب انمآ نولوقی ملعلا يف نوخسارلاو هللا الإ هلیوأت ملعی امو . هلیوأت ءآغتباو ةنتفلا

“He (Allah) it isWho has sent down to you the Book. In it, are verses basic or fundamental (ofestablishedmeaning);theyarethefoundationoftheBook:othersareallegorical.Butthoseinwhoseheartsisaperversityfollowthepartthereofthatisallegorical,seekingdiscord,andsearchingforits

hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah and those who are firmlygroundedinknowledge.Theysay:‘WebelieveintheBook;thewholeofitisfromourLord.’AndnonewillgrasptheMessageexceptthepeopleofunderstanding.”(SuratAli-’Imran(3),Verse7)

Again,itwarnsandsaysthatifpeopledonotapproachtheQur`anwithanopenheart,thentheymaybemisguidedbysomeofitscontents:

دارأ اذام نولوقیف اورفك نیذلا امأو مهبر نم قحلا هنأ نوملعیف اونمآ نیذلا امأف . اهقوف امف ةضوعب ام الثم برضی نأ يیحتسی ال هللا نإنیقسافلا الإ هب لضی امو اریث كـ هب يدهیو اریث ــ ك هب لضی . الثم اذهب هللا

“Allahdoesnotdisdainfromtheuseofthesimilitudeofthings,lowestaswellashighest.Thosewhobelieve know that it is the truth from theirLord; but thosewho reject faith say: ‘What doesAllahmeanbythissimilitude?’ByitHecausesmanytostray,andmanyHeleadsintotherightpath;butHecausesnottostray,exceptthosewhoforsake(thepath).”(SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse26)

AyatullahSubhanihasenumeratedfourteenconditionsforthecorrectinterpretationoftheQur`anicverses. The understanding and interpretation is permissible provided it is approached with theconditions mentioned in this treatise otherwise one will be guilty of imposing one’s personalopinions on the Qur`an. An example of absurd interpretation is Rashad Khalifa’s self-styled“AuthorizedEnglishVersion”oftheQur`anthattotallyignoresthecontextinwhichtheQur`anwasrevealedaswellastheteachingsandinterpretationgivenbytheProphet(‘s)whowastherecipient,teacher,andthelivingembodimentoftheQur`an.

While commenting on verse 3 of Suratul Maidah (5) of the Qur`an (dealing with prohibition ofcertainanimalproductssuchas“themeatofpigs”)whichreads:

مت ـ يكذ ام الإ عبسلا لكأ امو ةحیطنلاو ةیدرتملاو ةذوقوملاو ةقنخنملاو هب هللا ریغل لهأ امو ریز ـ نخلا محلو مدلاو ةت ــ يملا مكیلع تمرحقسف مكلذ مالزألاب اومسقتست نأو بصنلا ىلع ـح بذ امو ..

“Forbidden toyou (for food)are:deadmeat,blood, the fleshof swineand thatonwhichhasbeeninvoked the name of other thanAllah; thatwhich has been killed by strangling, a violent blow, aheadlongfallorbybeinggoredtodeath;thatwhichhasbeen(partly)eatenbyawildanimal;unlessyouareabletoslaughterit(indueform);thatwhichissacrificedonstone(altars);(forbidden)alsoisthedivision(ofmeat)byrafflingwitharrows:thatisimpiety…”

KhalifawritesthatAllah(awj)hasonlyprohibited“themeat–lahm”ofthepigsandnot“thefat,”andso usage of lard should be permissible. Khalifa has insisted on the literal meaning of “lahm” toexclude the fat of the pig from this prohibition, and has totally disregarded the teaching of therecipient of the Qur`an, Prophet Muhammad (‘s), as accepted by Muslims for the last fourteencenturies!

RashadKhalifaseemedtoignorethefactthattheQur`anisnotabutcher ’smanualwhereallitemsarespelledoutprecisely,forexample,“leangroundbeef”withoutthefatasopposedto“regulargroundbeef”withthefat!

The Qur`an has used the term “meat/lahm” in chapter 5, verse 3 in a general sense and not as abutcher ’sjargon,anditappliestoanyediblepartofapig.

Ifhehad readverse259ofSuratulBaqarah (2),Khalifawouldhaveseen that the term“lahm”hasbeenusedintheQur`analsoinameaningthatincludesthemeatandthefattogether.DescribingHispowerofresurrection,AlmightyAllah(awj)demonstratestheresurrectionofadonkeythathaddiedforacentury:

… امحل اهوسكن مث اهزشنن فیك ماظعلا ى ــ لإ رظ ــ ناو …

“…LookatthebonesandseehowWeconstructthem,andcoverthemwithflesh(lahm)”

SurelyAlmightyAllah(awj)didnotcoverthedonkey’sboneswith“lean”fleshwithoutthefat,skin,etc!Theword“lahm”hereappliestoeverythingthatwasplacedonthebones.

IcommendShaykhSaleemBhimji for translating thisIntroduction to theTafsirof theQur`an,andstronglyrecommendittoallthosewhopursuethestudyoftheQur`anwiththeintentionoffollowingitsmessageandlivingbyit.

9thJuly2005SayyidMuhammadRizvi

2ChapterBiographyoftheAuthor

TheGoldenpagesofhistoryarerepletewithindividualswhohavesacrificedtheirlivestoplayarolein theguidanceand leadershipofhumanity.Throughout the ages,we seemany scholarswhohavededicated their lives to the path of progress and spiritual upliftment ofmankind, one such scholarwhoisalsooneofthegreatestthinkersoftheIslamicworldisAyatullahJaffarSubhani.Havingspenteverymomentofhisadultlifeinresearch,writingandteaching,itisthroughthesechannelsthathehasstruggledtolifttheculturalandspiritualstatusofhumanity.

Ayatullah Subhaniwas born on the 28th of Shawwal, in the year 1347 ah (1926 ce) in the city ofTabriz (Iran) into a scholarly and well-respected family. His father, the late Ayatullah ShaykhMuhammadHusaynSubhaniKhayabani (1299ah–1392ah),wasoneof theoutstandingscholarsofTabriz.A scholar in his own right, he spent years in the sacred city ofNajaf al-Ashraf under theguidance of ShaykhSharifatul Isfahani (d. 1339 ah) and SayyidMuhammadKazimTaba`taba`i (d.1337ah)–theauthorofal-UrwatulWuthqa.Aftercompletinghisstudies,hereturnedhometoTabrizandspentmorethanfiftyyearsteaching,writingandguidingthepeopleandwasalsoresponsibleforthetrainingandeducatingofthefutureteachersandleadersofhiscommunity.

Aftercompletinghisprimaryschooland the introductory Islamicstudies,AyatullahJaffarSubhaniwentontostudythebooksofPersianliteratureandgrammar.Followingthis,attheyoungageof14(1361 ah/1940 ce) he enrolled in the Theological Seminary of Tabriz named Talibiyyah and kepthimselfoccupiedwiththepreliminaryandsecondarylevelofstudiesofIslam.

He studied the Arabic language under the guidance of Hajj ShaykhHasan Nahwi and ShaykhAliAkbarMudarrisKhayabani - authorof thebookRayhanatulAdab (d.13731966ce).These studiestook him five years – until the year 1365 ah (1944 ce), afterwhichAyatullahSubhaniwas able tocomplete the second level of theological studies and thenproceedon to begin thehighest level ofIslamic studies (Kharij) in Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Usulul Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) andPhilosophy.Duringthisperiodofhisstudies,hebenefitedfromtheknowledgeof:

1.ThelateAyatullahal-Uzmaal-HajjSayyidMuhammadHusaynBurujerdi(d.1380ah/1959ce)2.ThelateAyatullahal-Uzmaal-HajjSayyidMuhammadHujjatKuhkamari(d.1372ah/1951ce)3.ThelateAyatullahal-Uzmaal-HajjSayyidRuhullahMusawiKhumayni(d.1409ah/1989ce)

InthefieldofPhilosophy,hestudiedthecommentaryofthebookManzumahandal-AsfarofMullahSadra and benefited from private lessons in the subject of realism under the guidance of the latefAllamahSayyidMuhammadHusaynTaba’taba’i(d.1402ah/1982ce).

Inaddition,hestudiedIlmulKalamunderthelateSayyidMuhammadBadkuba`i(d.1390ah/1969ce).

AyatullahSubhaniisoneofthosescholarswhotookupthepenandbegantowriteonIslamictopicsfromaveryyoungageandsincetheearlydays,hisentirelifehasbeenspentinthefieldsofteachingand writing. It has been noted that the first book he ever wrote, titled The Criterion of Thinking(concerningthescienceofMantiq-Logic)waswrittenwhenhewasonly17yearsold!

Attheageof18,hebeganteachingthesecondarylevelofIslamicstudies(Sutuh)andwasimpartingknowledgeinthefieldsofFiqh,UsululFiqh,Philosophy,Hadithandothersubjects.

In addition, he has written notes on the lectures of Usulul Fiqh which were delivered by the lateAyatullahal-UzmaHajjSayyidRuhullahMusawiKhumayniwhichhavebeenrecentlyprinted.

Throughallofthiswork,hehastransformedhimselfintoateacherwhogoesdeepintoasubjectandaneffectivethinkersuchthatmanyimportanttaskshavebeenimparteduponhim,including:

1.EstablishingacentrefortheteachingofIlmulKalam(ScienceofTheology)andaresearchlibraryandfacilityforthosewhoareconductingresearchintheIslamicsciences.

2.Havingwrittenonecompletetopic-wisecommentaryoftheQur`an(currentlyatfourteenvolumesandavailableinbothArabicandFarsi).

3.Preparedandtaughtonecompletecourse–printedin16volumes–inthefieldsoftheHistoryofFiqhandtheFuqaha.

4.PreparedandwrotemanualsfortheteachingofUsululFiqh,IlmulKalam,Hadith,IlmulRijalandthehistoryandinformationonthevariousreligionsoftheworldandtheirsectsanddivisions.

Inadditiontothis,hehaswrittennumerousworksinFarsi–thus,thesumtotalofbooksthathehastohiscreditiswellover200!

Thebooksofthisauthor,whichhavebeentranslatedintoEnglish,includethefollowing:

1.DoctrinesofShi'iIslam:ACompendiumofImamiBeliefsandPracticestranslatedbyRezaShah-Kazemi;2.TheIslamicMoralSystem:TafsirofSuratulHujurattranslatedbySaleemBhimji;3.TheKeystoSuccesstranslatedbytheAl-QalamTranslatorsGuild;4.TheMessage–BiographyoftheProphetMuhammadtranslatedbyIslamicSeminaryPublications;5.WahhabismtranslatedbyJalilDorrani.Wepray toAllah(awj) togrant theauthorof thiswork theblessings tobeable tocontinueon thispath.

3ChapterACorrectApproachtotheExegesisoftheQur’an

TheTwentiethCenturyof the commonera, corresponding to the fourteenth centuryof the Islamiccalendar,startedoffwithanawakeningoftheEasternworld,especiallytheMuslims.Inthiscentury,themagicalspellofcolonialismwas,toanextent,broken.Countriesthathadbeenundercolonizationemergedasindependentoratleastpartiallyindependentcountries.TheMuslimsandtheirintellectualleadersbegantocontemplateuponaseriesoffundamentalissues,andthereasonsforthesubjectionand backwardness of their societieswas studied and thereby, they sought to find reasons for theirabjectstate.

Amongsttheissuesthatdrewtheirgreaterattentionwasthepropagationoftheteachings,truths,andsciencesoftheQur`an,sinceinthepreviouscenturies,itwasonlythescholarswhowerebenefitingfromthetruthsofthisHeavenlyBookwhiletherestofthepeoplewerelimitedtothemererecitationofthescripture.Thelaypeopleexpendedallof theirenergyin thecorrectrecitationof theQur`anandinlearningtherulesofproperpronunciation,whilethebooksofexegesisoftheQur`anwrittenduringthosecenturieswereonlyofbenefittothescholars.Veryrarelycoulditbeseenthatascholarwould sit down and write a commentary of the Qur`an which would be for the guidance of thecommonpeopleinunderstandingthemeaningoftheQur`anandveryrarelycoulditbeseenthattheywouldholdclassesinwhichtheQur`anwouldbeexpoundedupon.

ItcanbesaidthatponderingandthinkingupontheversesoftheQur`anwassomethinglimitedtothescholars,whiletherestofthepeoplewereonlytobenefitfromtherecitationoftheQur`an!

Inadditiontothisframeofthoughtbeingverydetrimentalwhichissomethingthatthescholarsfoundoutlater,thisbeliefwentdirectlyagainsttheclearversesoftheQur`anastheQur`anhasinvitedallofhumanitytothinkandponderdeeplyonitsversesandtotakeitastheirradiantlamp(givingoffDivineCelestiallight)andasthebestguideandleaderoftheAllah-conscious(thosewithTaqwa).

TheQur`anintroducesitselfasa“Reminder”( ةركذت )andawaythroughwhichwecanbeinformed(ofpreviousnations,scripturesandeventsthathavetranspired).Inaddition,weseethatthosewhorefrainfrom hearing the Qur`an and pondering upon the meaning of its verses have been severelyreprimanded,astheNobleQur`ansays:

ةروسق نم ترف ? ةرفن ـتـ سم رمح مهنأ كـ ? نی ـ ضرعم ةركذتلا نع مه ـــ ل امف

“WhatisthematterwiththemthattheyevadetheReminderasiftheywereterrifieddonkeysfleeingfromalion?”[1]

The verses of the Qur`an which call upon those with consciousness of Allah (Taqwa), scholars,thinkersandintellectualstolistenandtocontemplateupontheconceptspresentedinthisBookarein

suchagreatnumberthatweshallrefrainfromquotingthemortranslatingthemorevengivingtheirchapterandversenumbers(inthisshorttreatise).Rather,weshallonlypresentonesuchverse,sufficeourselveswithit,andthengoontoanotherdiscussion:

ركدم نم لهف ركذلل نآرقلا انرسی دقلو

“AndWehave indeedmade theQur`aneasy tounderstand for remembrance, then is thereany thatwillreceiveadmonition?”[2]

This verse and other such verses of the Qur`an tell us that understanding and making use of theQur`anisnotlimitedtoaselectorspecificgroupofpeople!

InSummary:Sideliningthemassesofpeople(fromtheQur`an)andpreventingthemfrombenefitingfrom the verses of the Qur`an which was done in the previous centuries, is something that goesdirectlyagainstthewordsofthisHeavenlyBook!

Due to the aforesaid, one of the greatest changes seen at the beginning of the fourteenth Islamiccentury is theopeningupof thegatheringsof thecommentaryof theQur`an toeveryonewith themassesofpeoplebecomingacquaintedwiththisHeavenlyBook.Inthisregards,commentariesaimedat enlightening thegeneralpublichavebeenwritten in thevarious Islamiccountries (Egypt,Syria,Iraq,PakistanandIran)andgatheringsareheld–allwiththepurposeofacquaintingthepeoplewiththeQur`an.

Atthispoint,itisnecessaryforustoexhibitthecorrectwayandmethodofpursuingacommentaryoftheQur`ansothatthosewhohaveanardentdesiretounderstandthemeaningsandteachingsoftheQur`anmaybeabletomakethebestuseofthisBook.

ThecommentaryoftheQur`an,inthetruemeaningandwayinwhichthecommentatorstrugglestounderstandthemeaningsof theversesof theQur`an–andnotmerelyinwhichtheysimplyfollowthosewhohavecomebeforetheminexplainingtheversesoftheQur`an,mustbecarriedoutthroughemployingaseriesofrules,realizingvariousconditions,andfollowingcertainissueswhichwillbealludedtointhefollowingpages.

Notes:

[1]SuratulMuddathir(74),Verses49to51[2]SuratulQamar(54),Verse17

4ChapterAnAwarenessoftheRulesofArabicGrammar

The first prerequisite in the exegesis of theQur`an is that the commentatormust have a completeknowledge of the rules of Arabic grammar so that under the shadow of this comprehensiveknowledge,heisabletoclearlydifferentiatethe‘thesubjectofaverb’( لعافلأ )fromthe‘theobjectofaverb’( لوعفم ـ لأ );the‘adverb’( فرظلأ )fromthe‘qualifiedverb’( فورظملأ );the‘denotativeofstate’( لحلأ )fromthe‘subjectofstate’( لاحلا وذ );andthe‘coupled’( فوطعم ـ لأ )fromthe‘antecedent’( هیلع فوطعم ـ لأ ).

HoweveritisnotonlyinunderstandingtheQur`anforwhichthissortofakeyisneeded.Rather,inorder to benefit from a book in any language, a personmust possess knowledge of the rules ofgrammarofthatparticularlanguage.HowmanytimeshasitbeenseenthatwithoutknowingtherulesofArabicgrammar,manyerrorsintheunderstandingofthemeaningofaverseoftheQur`antakeform.

Thisfirstconditionissoclearthatthereisnoneedtogofurtherinthediscussionofthispoint.

HoweverweshouldmentionthatbeingawareoftherulesofArabicgrammardoesnotmeanthatapersonmustbeaspecialistintherulesofthesciencesof:derivation,declensionofwordsandsyntaxof sentences, since it is not necessary to be an expert in these fields to be a commentator of theQur`an.Rather, it is sufficient thatapersonhasageneralunderstandingof these sciences, throughwhichhewouldbe able tounderstandandpoint out thevariousdifferences (in thewords).Suchaformofunderstanding(oftherulesofArabicgrammar)canbeattainedbygoingthroughanentirecourseinthefieldsofthescienceofderivation(ofthewords)andthescienceofsyntaxofsentences.

5ChapterAnAwarenessoftheMeaningoftheWordsintheQur`an

Knowledge of the meaning of the individual words of the Qur`an is one of the fundamentalprerequisites for the commentary of the Qur`an, since understanding compounded word is onlypossibleaftercomprehendingitsoriginalcomponents.

At this point, it is imperative to note that wemust never rely upon the commonmeaning that weperceiveofaword,whichisinourminds,andexplaintheverseaccordingtothatinterpretation.Howoftenhaveweseenthatwiththepassingoftime,themeaningofawordcompletelychangesandthecommondefinition (ofaparticularword)whichwaswellknownduring the timeof the revelationmaylaterundergoachange.Therefore,wemustgoforthandstudytherootmeaningofthewordandseektoacquireitsoriginaldenotation,andonlythencanweproceedtoexplainaverseoftheQur`an.

For example thewords ى“ ـــ صع ” and “ ىو ــــــ ,”غ in the common understanding of todaymeans ‘hesinned’ and ‘he deviated’, whereas the original meaning of these two words (during the time ofrevelationoftheQur`an)wasdifferentfromthemeaningsthatwecommonlyperceivetoday.Weobserveagroupofpeoplewhoprovethefallibilityoftheprophetsbythefollowingverse:ىوغف ـه بر مدآ ى ــــ صع و

“ThusdidAdamdistancehimselffromhisLord,andperformanactionwhichhadnobenefittoit.”[3]Theyassumethatthewords“ى ـــ صع ”and“ ىو ــــــ timetheduringdidtheyastodaysamethemean”غof the revelation. However if the original meaning of these two words was searched out, peoplewould definitely see that they have different (original)meanings thanwhat is in theminds of thepeopletoday,whichhavebeenderivedfromtheoriginalmeaningofthesetwowords.However,theoriginalmeaningofthesetwowordswasneverassociatedwiththetechnicalmeaningofsinning!The best book available which is able to guide us in finding the original meaning of the wordscontainedintheQur`anistheworkal-Maqayis,writtenbyAhmadb.Farisb.Zakariyya(d.395ah).ThisworkhasbeenprintedinsixvolumesinEgyptandtheauthor ’sentireendeavorincompilingthisworkwastobringforththeoriginalmeaningofthewordsoftheQur`anandtomakethemavailabletous.Thenheshowstoushowthemeaningsofthewordshavechangedwiththepassingoftimeandhave appeared in the form of an independent meaning (with a loose affiliation to the originalmeaning),inadditiontopossessingitsownoriginalmeaning.Today,inthevariousArabicdictionaries,weseethattherearesomewordswhichhavetenmeaningstothemandapersonmayactuallythinkthataparticularwordhasactuallybeenformedtomeanalltenthingsandactuallyhastenmeaningstoit!However,whenapersonreferstotheworkal-Maqayis,itwouldthenbemadecleartohimthatthewordheisstudyingdoesnothavemorethanonemeaningassociatedwithitandallothermeaningsaresimplydifferentfacetsoftheoriginalmeaning,which,duetothepassageftime,havebeenattributedtothatwordandtakenasindependentmeanings.Inadditiontothebookal-Maqayis,thetruecommentatoroftheQur`anmustalsorefertobookssuchas,al-MufradatfiGharibal-Qur`an,writtenbyAbulQasimHusaynb.Muhammad,popularlyknownasRaghibal-Isfahani(d.502ah)andthework,an-NihayahfiGharibal-HadithwalAthar,writtenby

Majdad-DinAbulSaf’datMubarakb.MuhammadJazri,betterknownasIbneAthir(d.606ah)ifhewantstobeabletodifferentiatethevariousmeaningsofthewordsintheQur`an.ThislastbookmentionedhasbeenprintedinEgyptinsixvolumesandeventhoughthisworklooksatthewordscontainedin theahadith,howeverweareable touse thisworkin thecommentaryof theQur`anaswell.In addition, theworkMajma’ al-Bahrain, written by Turayhi al-Najafi (d. 1086 ah) is also a verybeneficialworkonthecommentaryofthewords(containedintheQur`an).Notes:[3]SuratTaha(20),Verse121

6ChapterExegesisoftheQur`anthroughtheQur`an

Withcompleteclarity,theQur`anintroducesitselfastheexplainerofallthings,whenitstates:

ءيش لكل انای تـبـ باتكلا كیلع ان ــ لزن و

“AndWehavesentdownTheBook(Qur`an)uponyou(Muhammad)asaclarifierofallthings.”[4]

If the Qur`an is an explainer of all things, then naturally it stands to reason that it would be anexplainerofitselfaswell.Therefore,ifthereissomeambiguityinoneverseoftheQur`an-anditsambiguitywasforapurpose–wecanresolveitsambiguitybyreferringtootherverseswhichwererevealedinregardstothatsameissue.

Atthispoint,wepresentanexampleofthisconcept.

In Suratul Shu’ara (26), verse 173, Allah (awj) states the following in regards to the nation of(prophet)Lut(‘a):

نیرذن ـ ملا رطم ءآسف ارطم مهیلع انرطمأ و

“AndWeraineddownuponthemarain,andevilwastherainonthosewarned.”

Thisversegivesusaglimpseofthesendingdownofsomething,howeveritisnotclearwhatsortofprecipitationthiswas–wasitaspatterofwaterorwasitarainingdownofstones?Thereforetoclearthisissueup,anotherverseoftheQur`an,whichremovestheambiguityoftheversequotedabove,isreferredtoinwhichwearetold:

… لیجس نم ةراجح مهیلع انرطمأ …و

“…andWeraineddownuponthemstonesmadefrombakedclay…”[5]

Theword“ ةراجح ”(stones)istheword,whichclearsuptheambiguityinthefirstverse.

Inorderforustotrulycomprehendthisthirdpoint,wepresentanotherexample.

InoneinstanceintheQur`an,wereadthefollowing:

رومألا عجرت هللا ـى لإو رمألا يضقو ةكئالملاو مامغلا نم للظ يف هللا مهی ـ تأی نأ الإ نورظنی له

“Will theywaituntilAllahcomes to themincanopiesofclouds,withAngels (inHis train)and the

questionis(thus)settled?ButtoAllahdoallaffairsgoback(fordecision).”[6]

The apparent readingof this verse showsus that it is not free of ambiguity, since the coming andgoingof anobject are characteristics for aphysical entity andweknow that the sacredessenceofAllah(awj)isfreefrombeingaphysicalbody.Thus,wemustseektoremovethevagueness,whichiscontainedinthisversethroughsomeothermeans.

OnesuchwayistocarefullyreviewothersimilarversesoftheQur`anwhichrepeatthesameorclosetothesamewordingsasthisverse.

Such a similar verse is in Suratul Nahl (16), verse 33, which contains approximately the samewording.Thisotherverseclearlyshowsusthatthemeaningofthe‘comingoftheLord’asactuallyreferringtothecomingof‘thecommandments’ofAllah(awj)forthepunishmentandretributionand(also)theordersandprohibitionsfromHim:

نوملظی مهسفنأ اوناك نكلو هللا مهملظ امو مهلبق نم نیذلا لعف كلذك كبر رمأ يتأی وأ ةكئالملا مهیتأت نأ الإ نورظ ــ نی له

“DotheywaituntiltheAngelscometothem,ortherecomestheCommandofyourLord(fortheirdoom)? So did those who went before them (also wait). But Allah wronged them not, no, theywrongedtheirownsouls!”

Withcompleteexplicitness,thisverseremovesanyambiguitypresentinthefirstverse,andbyaddingtheword“ رمأ ”(theCommandofAllah(awj))thetruesubjectoftheverb‘come’,ismadeclear.

This formofexplanation(tafsirofoneQur`anicversebyanotherverse) isacertainandunfailingmethod, and is the tradition of the Imams of the Shifa and is something which even until now isemployedbytheeruditecommentatoroftheQur`an.

The commentary of theQur`an by the great teacher, Aqa [SayyidMuhammadHusayn] Tabataba’ientitled, al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur`an, has been written following this particular method ofcommentary.

Of course this issue is something different than the issue of ‘looking at the harmonywhich existsbetweentheversesoftheQur`an’,whichweshallcoverindetaillateroninthisdiscussion.

Atthisstage,thegoalismerelytopresentthesynopticviewofaversethroughemployinganotherverse.Howeverat thenext level,ourgoal is somethingdifferentand thusat that stage, inorder toreachtoourowndeductionofunderstandingaverse,wemustnotkeepotherversesoftheQur`anoutof our attention [and only look at one versewithout paying attention to other verses on the sametopic].

It is incorrect to assume that if a verse’s apparent meaning is devoid of any ambiguity, one caninterpretitwithouttakingintoregardthoseversesofthesameissueandthenattributethatmeaningtoAllah(awj)!

Withthatsaid,thedifferencebetweenthesetwoformsofcommentaryoftheQur`anshouldbecleartothereader.

Notes:

[4]SuratulNahl(16),Verse89[5]SuratulHijr(15),Verse74[6]SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse210

7ChapterExaminingtheOccasionofRevelationoftheVerses

TheNobleQur`anwasrevealedoverthespanoftwenty-threeyears,followingachainofquestionsandanswers[fromthepeople]orwithvariouseventsandincidentstakingplace.

Havingknowledgeofthehistoryofrevelationoftheversesoffersusaclearerunderstandingofthemeaningofeachverse.However, thisdoesnotmeanthatwithoutknowingthehistoryofrevelationweareunabletogoforthandexplaintheQur`an.Rather,sincetheversesoftheQur`anareasourceofguidance,clearproofs,andthedistinguisherbetweenrightandwrong,justaswearetoldthat:

… ناقرفلاو ىدهلا نم تان يـ ـ بو سانلل ىده …

“…(thisQur`anisa)guidetomankind,andalsoclear(Signs)forguidanceandjudgement(betweenrightandwrong)…”[7]

and:

… انیبم ارون مكیلإ انلز ـ نأو …

“…andWehavesentdowntoyouthemanifestlight(theNobleQur`an)…”[8]

thus naturally, this is exactly what has been meant and even without referring to the history ofrevelationoftheverses,weareabletoclearlyunderstandtheirmeaning.

However, with shifting our attention to the history of revelation of the verses, theirmeaningwillbecomeclearerandevenmoremanifest.

Atthispoint,wepresentanexamplethatproveswhatwehavejuststated.

ItismentionedinSuratulTawbah(9)that:

بات مث هیلإ الإ هللا نم أجلم ال نأ اونظو مهسفنأ مهیلع تقاضو تبحر امب ضرألا مهیلع تقاض اذإ ىت حـ اوفلخ نیذلا ةثالثلا ىلعومیحرلا باوتلا وه هللا نإ اوبوتیل مهیلع

“(He -Allah - turned inmercy also) to the threewhowere left behind; (they felt guilty) to suchadegree that the Earth seemed constrained to them for all its spaciousness, and their souls seemedstraitenedtothem,andtheyperceivedthatthereisnofleeingfromAllah(andnorefuge),buttoHim.ThenHeturnedtothemthattheymightrepent,forAllahisOft-Returning,theMostMerciful.”[9]

Thereisnodoubtthatthemeaningoftheverseisclear,howeverapersonwoulddefinitelyhave,in

regardstothe(deeper)meaningofthisverse,thedesiretoknowthefollowingthings:

1.Whoarethethreepeoplereferredtointhisverse?2.Whyweretheyleftbehind?3.HowdidtheEarthbecomeconstrainedforthem?4.Howdidtheirchestsbecomestraitenedinregardstothelifeofthisworldandhowdidtheirsoulsfacepressure?5.HowdidtheyrealizethatotherthanAllah(awj),thereisnoothersourceofrefuge?6.What is themeaning of the ability or opportunity given byAllah (awj) to humans (Tawfiq) inrelationtothesepeople?

Theanswerstoeachofthesequestionscaneasilybeachievedbyreferringtothehistoryofrevelationofthisverse.

Atthisstage,itwouldnotbeoutofplacetoremindourselvesofthefollowingpointwhichisthatanynarration which details the history of revelation of a particular verse of the Qur`an can notautomaticallybeaccepted.Rather,inregardstothetrustworthinessofatraditionwhichcontainsthehistory of revelation (of a verse), there must be somemeasurements in place through which, thecorrectandincorrectnarrationscanbeweighed.ThisisespeciallytruewhenitcomestothehistoryofrevelationoftheversesoftheQur`anwhichrelatethestoriesofthepreviousprophetsandthepastgenerations of people as in this area of review, precautionmust not be neglected asmany of thenarrationswhichdiscussthehistoryofrevelation(ofthesetypesofinstances)havebeenrelatedfromunknownandunfamiliarsourcesandasweknow,wecannever(blindly)accepthistoricalnarrationsfromsuchsources.

Unfortunately,manyofthecommentariesoftheQur`andonottakethispointintoconsiderationandtherefore,somecommentatorshavegoneforthtorelateanynarrationwhichaccountsthehistoryofrevelation–evenfrompeoplewhoarenottrustworthyorreliable!

Notes:

[7]SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse185[8]SuratulNisa(4),Verse174[9]SuratulTawbah(9),Verse118

8ChapterExaminingtheAuthenticAhadith

SomeoftheversesoftheQur`anpertaintoIslamiclawandjurisprudence.TheytalkabouttheactsanddeedsofthoseobligatedtoobservetheIslamiclawsandexplaintheirrulings.

Thenumberofsuchverses in theQur`anarenot fewandsomescholarsenumeratesuchversesasbeingaround fivehundred!Although theactualnumberof suchverses is fewer than this,howeverbenefitingfromthem,withoutreferringtotherelevantauthenticIslamictraditionsisincorrect.Thisisbecauseamajorityof theseareeithergeneralguidelineswhoseconditionsand restrictionshavebeenmentioned in the traditionsof theNobleProphet (‘s)andhis InfallibleSuccessors (‘a)orareuniversallawswhoseexceptionswerelaterexplainedbythesunnahoftheNobleProphet(‘s).Itgoeswithoutsayingthatestablishingalawbytheabsolutenessoftheabsoluteformortheuniversalityoftheuniversalwithoutreferringtothelimitationsandexceptionsisincorrect.

Inorderforthisissuetobeclearinthemindsofthereaders,wepresentthefollowingexamples.

1. There are issues in theNobleQur`an, forwhich there can be found no explanation save in theIslamicahadithandtheconductoftheearlyMuslims.Forexample,theQur`anhasmadesalat,sawm,zakat,khums,andhajjobligatory,whileithasgivennodetailsaboutthem.Thus,wehavenochoicebut to seek the details of these general acts from the Islamic ahadith and the conduct of the earlyMuslims.Hencewithout referring to these sources, anyotherkindof commentaryandexplanationabout them would be equal to aspiring for the impossible. In explaining such verses, the methodadoptedbyalltheMuslimsoftheworldfromtheearlydaysofIslamuntiltodayhasbeenthesame[i.e.referringtotherelevantauthenticahadithandthewayoflifeoftheMuslims].

2.IntheNobleQur`antherearegeneralandabsolutelawswhoseexceptionsandlimitationsappearonlyinthesunnahoftheProphet(‘s)andthetraditionsoftheInfallibleImams(‘a).

Thiscustomofnot incorporatingnotesalongside laws isnot restricted to theQur`an.Rather,evenlegislativebodiesof theworldfollowthesamemethod:overaperiodof timein implementingthelaws of a country, points of enlightenment and exceptions are incorporated into the laws. ThedifferencehoweverbetweentheQur`anandmanmadelawsisthatwhereasthereasoninseparatingthepointsofenlightenmentfromtheoriginallawinthecaseofthelatteristhelimitationofhumanawarenesswhichrequiresannotations,exceptionsandadditionsovertime.IntheDivinelegalsystem,suchlimitationdoesnotarise,andallthedetailsofalaw-whetherthosewhicharetobeoutdatedoradded in the future - are clear for a LawMaker like Allah (awj). Nevertheless sometimes socialinterestsnecessitatethatthespecificsofthelawsbeexpoundedgradually,andnotallatoneplace.

Forexample,theQur`anhasprohibitedthetakingofinterestandhasstated:

… اوبرلا مرح …و

“AndHe(Allah)hasprohibitedinterest.”[10]

However,intheahadith,weobservethatinsomecircumstances,interestispermissible.Forexample:interest between a father and son or a husband and wife, and the benefits of such exceptions arecompletelyclear,forintheseexamples,duetotheuniformityofthekittyandthecloserelationshipofbothparties,interestdoesnotbearanoppressivecolorandhasthusbeendesignatedaslawful.

AccordingtotheverseoftheQur`anwhichreads:

اوهت ـ ناف هنع مكاهن امو هوذخف لوسرلا مكاتآ امو

“…whatever the Prophet gives to you, take it; andwhatever he forbids you from, stay away fromit…”[11]

weMuslimsmustadoptall thecommandmentswhichhavecomefromtheMessengerofAllah(‘s)anddistanceourselvesfromallthethingswhichhehasforbiddenusfromdoing.

Thus,ifacommentatoroftheQur`anwantstoexplainsuchversesoftheQur`an–whosenumberisnotsmall–andwastorelysolelyontheversesoftheQur`an,andwastoabstainfromreferringtotheahadith, thenhewouldhaveactedagainst theverseof theQur`anquotedaboveand inessence,wouldhaveneglectedthisverseoftheQur`an!

TheneedtoexplainandelucidatesomeoftheversesoftheQur`anwhichdealwiththepracticallawsof Islam (whether thegeneral import of theirmeanings such as salat, zakat, etc. or exceptions andlimitations,i.e.thepointsofenlightenmentandexceptionsinlaw)bywayofthesunnahandahadith,led theFuqaha (Jurisprudents) to expound suchverses separately, andwrite books that specificallyconcernsuchkindofverses.Thebestworksandexegesesofthisnatureontheayatal-ahkamareofal-Jassas,Fadilal-Miqdad,MuhaqqiqArdibiliandal-Jazairi.

In order for the esteemed reader to develop a greater understanding of this kind of exegesis, wepresenttwootherexamples:

3.TheQur`anunconditionallypermitsanyformof transactionandrespectsall formsofcontracts,promisesandpactsandconsidersitmandatorytoactaccordingtothem.However,thesunnahoftheProphet (‘s) and the ahadith – which are respected by all Muslims – proclaim some kinds oftransactions as incorrect. For example, the buying and selling of instruments of gambling andintoxicantliquids,salesintransactionsofmunabadhah[12]andthelike,ofwhich,alltheirdetailshavebeenmentionedintheahadith.

Therefore,expoundingtheverseoftheQur`anwhichreads:

… عی ــ بلا هللا لحأو …

“…AndAllahhasmadebusinesstransactionspermissible…”[13]

withoutreferringtothesetraditionswouldbeincorrectandbaseless.

Likewiseisthecasewiththeversethatreads:

… دوقعلاب اوفوأ

“…Betruthfultoallofyourpromises.”[14]

Without referring to theahadithwhichproclaimsomeconditions andpacts as futile and invalid, itwouldbeincorrecttoexplaintheverse.

Forexamplethephraseoftheahadithwhichstates:

الالح مرحو امارح لحأ اطرش الإ .

“(Respect all conditions) except a condition whichmakes a forbidden act lawful and a lawful actimpermissible.”

nolongerallowsustoadheretotheabsolutemeaningoftheverse.

The issuewhichhas justbeenmentioned isa tangible realitywhicheveryexegeteof theQur`an isable toappreciate fromupclose. Inaddition, it satisfieseveryrealisticpersonaswell.Besides, theQur`anclearlybearswitnessthatitrequirestheexpositionoftheNobleProphet(‘s),whoapartfromreadingittothepeople,isalsoobligedtoexpounditsmeanings.

Atthispoint,webringforthsomeexamplesfromtheQur`an,butwillnotgointodetailinexplainingthem:

1.Thefirstexampleisseeninthefollowingverse:

نوركفتی مهلعلو مهیلإ لزن ام سانلل نیبتل ركذلا كیلإ انلز ـ نأو

“AndWehavesentdowntoyou(Muhammad)TheRemindersothatyoumayexplaintomankindthatwhichhasbeensenttothemsothatperhapstheymayponderandthinkuponit.”[15]

ThisversecanonlyimplywhatwearetryingtoestablishwhenweunderstandthattheProphet’s(‘s)dutyhasbeenexpoundedbythewords“ نیبتل ”(sothatyoumayexpound)whichisdifferentfromthephrase“ أرقتل ”(sothatyoumayrecite).

InotherwordstheProphet(‘s)wascommissionedtoundertaketworesponsibilities:

a.RecitationoftheversesoftheQur`an;

b.ExplainingtheversesoftheQur`anandelucidatingitsmeanings.ItshouldbeknownthatthisverseanditslikesdonotpertaintoalltheversesoftheQur`an,butverseswhosemeaninganddetailsareimpossibletoknowwithoutanexpositionfromtheNobleProphet(‘s)andhissuccessors.ExamplesofthesearetheambiguousversesofIslamiclaworversesthatrequireenlightenmentandexceptions.

2.Thesecondexampleisseeninthefollowingverse:

هنایب انیلع نإ مث ? هنأرق عبتاف هانأرق اذإف ? هنأرقو هعمج انیلع نإ ? هب لجعتل ـك ناسل هب كرح ـــ الت

“Donotmoveyourtongue(Muhammad)tomakehastewithit(therecitationoftheQur`an).SurelyuponUsliestheresponsibilityofcollectingitandtherecitingofit(theQur`an).Therefore,whenWehaverecitedit,followitsrecitation.AgainonUs(devolves)theexplainingofit(theQur`an).”[16]

InthisverseoftheQur`an,weseethatAllah(awj)hastakenthreeresponsibilitiesuponHimself:

a.RecitationoftheQur`an;b.CollectionoftheversesoftheQur`an;c.ExplanationofthemeaningoftheversesoftheQur`an.ItgoeswithoutsayingthatexpoundingthemeaningoftheQur`antotheProphet(‘s)isonlypossiblethroughDivineRevelation(Wahi)whereasthepeopleareneverdirectlyaddressedbyDivineRevelation.TheDivineRevelationontheProphet(‘s)iseitherdepictedintheQur`anorthesunnahoftheNobleProphet(‘s).

Therefore, inexplaining themeaningsof theversesof theQur`an,onemust refer tobothof thesesources (theQur`anand theahadithof theProphet (‘s)andhis successors (‘a))andwemustneversufficewithjustoneofthem.

Inotherwords:Inthisverse,Allah(awj)prohibitstheProphet(‘s)fromhastyrecitation;thereafterHetakestheresponsibilityfromtheProphet(‘s)fortheactsofcollectingandrecitingtheversesandorderstheProphet(‘s)tofollowtheAngelinrecitation.FinallyHe(also)takestheresponsibilityofexpoundingandelucidatingthecontents,asthefollowingphraseoftheverseclearlyreveals:

هنایب انیلع مث

“AgainonUs(devolves)theexplainingofit(theQur`an).”

Here,whatistheactualmeaningoftheexpositionthatAllah(awj)takesresponsibilityof?Weshouldnotconjecturethatitreferstotheexpositionofdefiningthewordsoftheverses,forthishasalreadybeenmentionedpreviouslyinthephrase:

هنأرقو هعمج انیلع نإ

“SurelyuponUsistheresponsibilityofcollectingitandtherecitingofit(theQur`an).”

Hence,thereisnoneedforrepetitionofthesame.Certainly,itreferstotheexpositionofthoseversesthat require exposition fromAllah (awj), andHisMessenger (‘s) and his true successors E, afterhavingreceivedthesamethroughRevelation(Wahi)whichtheythenhandovertothenation.

ItshouldbeknownhoweverthattheaimisnotthateveryverseoftheNobleQur`anneedsexpositionsothatsomeoneshouldsaythatthefollowingversetooneedsexposition:

ریدق ءيش لك ى ــ لع هللا نإ

“SurelyAllahhaspoweroverallthings.”

Rather, thepurpose is that inorder tobegenerallyacquaintedwith themeaningof theQur`an,weneedanexpositionof theRevelation.Howeverat themoment,ourdiscussiondoesnotconcern thequantitativedimensionofsuchnecessity.

Obviously,justaswehadmentionedinregardstoreferringtotheoccasionoftherevelationoftheverses,onemustnotundertaketoexplaintheQur`anwithanyreportorhadith.Rather,eachtraditionmustbecarefullyreviewedfromthepointofviewofitschainofnarratorsandcontents,and(only)afterascertaining that it containsall thenecessaryconditionsof reliability, canoneseekassistancefromit.

Notes:

[10]SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse275[11]SuratulHashr(59),Verse7[12]Thefollowingisanexampleofamunabadhahtransaction:Thebuyeragreeswiththeseller:(innabadhtahuilayya,faqadishtaraytuhubikdha(Ifyouthrowthecommoditytome,itmeansthatIhavealreadyboughtitforsuchandsuchamount.)(al-’Allamahal-Hilli,Tahriral-Ahkam,v.2,p.256).WemustrealizethataccordingtosomeexpertsinIslamiclaw,notallkindsoftransactionswhichtakenplace in this form are invalid. There are some specific extensions, which come under the validtransactions.(Ed.)[13]SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse275[14]SuratulMa`idah(5),Verse1[15]SuratulNahl(16),Verse44[16]SuratulQiyamat(75),Verses16to19

9ChapterAConsiderationoftheHarmonybetweenalltheVersesoftheQur’an

AConsiderationoftheHarmonybetweenalltheVersesoftheQur`an[17]

Whathasbeenmentioned so farmakesup theprimary foundationofQur`anicexegesis.However,oneoftheimportantconditionsforthecorrectnessoftafsiranditsstrengthisthatthecommentatormustnotconsidereachverseofaparticularsurahasbeingseparatefromtheotherversesofthesamesurahaswellastheversesofallotherchaptersoftheQur`an.Thecommentatormustrealizethatalltheverseshaveeitherasinglegoalbehindthem,ormultiplegoals,allofwhichcanbesummarizedinoneextensivegoal.

The greatest stumbling block in the commentary of the Qur`an lies in this stage meaning that aperson,duetohismereknowledgeoftherulesofArabicgrammar,goesforthtoofferacommentaryofaverseof theQur`an,neglectingother similarverses revealedabout thesame issue. Itwas thisveryblunderinexegesisthatresultedintheformationofdifferentIslamicsectsandideologies,andevery creed and founder of a new sect, in order to establish his ideology, brought proof andtestimonyfromtheQur`an!

WhodoesnotknowthatallofthedifferentschoolsofIslamicthought,whethertheMujabbirah[18],the Muftazilah[19], the Mushabbihah[20], the Mujassimah[21], the Murjifah[22], or the otherproponentsofideologiesandsectsbasedtheirtheoreticalbeliefsuponvariousversesoftheQur`anandconsideredthemselvestobeamongthefollowersoftheQur`an!Thisiswhile,saveforone,allothercreedsarefalseandaredistancedfromtheguidanceoftheQur`an.

Whenwesearchfortherootcauseoftheemergenceofthesesects,weobservethatthereason,oratleastoneofthereasonsforthemcomingaboutisthateachsectattacheditselftoaspecificverseandwas negligent of the other verses that spoke of the same subject which could have served as anexpositiontofirsttheverse.

ThereisnodoubtthattheQur`ancontainsnumerousverses,whichiftakenandstudiedontheirown,maymake one reach various (incorrect) conclusions such as that of the beliefs of: predestination,free-will, likeningAllah(awj) toHiscreations, tanzih[23],belief inAllah(awj)havingabody,etc.However, one can never state that all of these contrary and opposite beliefs and ideologies stemdirectly from the Divine Revelation (wahi) and that all of these make up the actual goals andobjectiveswhichtheQur`anhasputforward,sincetheQur`anclearlystatesthat:

اریثك افالت ـ خا هیف اودجول هللا ریغ دنع نم ناك ولو

“Andhadthis(Qur`an)comefromanyotherthanAllahthensurelyyouwouldhavefoundnumerous

discrepancieswithinit.”[24]

This confusion can also be cleared up if we do not forget the unity and harmony which existsamongsttheversesoftheQur`an.

Inaddition,wemustkeepinmindthattheQur`anhasbeendescribedaspossessingthefollowingtwocharacteristics:

a.Verseswhicharesimilartooneanother;b.Oftenrepeated–fromthepointofviewoftheircontent(notnecessarilyrepeatedverbatim).

ThisisclearlyseeninaverseoftheQur`aninwhichitisstated:

يناث مـ اهباشت مـ اباتك ثیدحلا نسحأ لزن هللاأ

“AllahhasrevealedthebestofdiscoursesintheformofaBook,consistentwithitself,(yet)repeating(itsteachingsinvariousaspects).”[25]

Naturally,onethingmayresemblesomethingelseandwhereasitispossiblethattheymaydifferinsome regards and aspects, howeverwithout doubt theywould also have points of conformity andcommonalityamongstthemanditisforthisreasonthattheyarereferredtoasbeingsimilartooneanother.Therefore, inexplainingoneverseoftheQur`an,onemustrefer toallof theotherverseswhichhavebeen revealed in thesameregard.At thispoint, from thecollectionofall theverses,afinal opinion would be concluded, and this is how one should carry on the entire process ofcommentaryoftheQur`an.

ItisatthispointthatthenecessitytosearchforanotherformofcommentaryoftheQur`anwhichisknownas the‘thematicexegesis’of theQur`anbecomesobvious.Themethodologyused insuchacommentaryoftheQur`anisthatalloftheversesonaparticularthemeare–asmuchasishumanlypossible–gatheredtogether,andthenatthatpoint,onekeepsinmindthecontextofeachverseandcomparesoneversetoanother.Fromthisoverallreview,oneoutcomeisextracted.

Theother formofexegesisof theQur`an,meaning theexplanationof theversesof theQur`an insequential order – chapter by chapter – is nodoubt beneficial andveryvaluable, even for a selectgroup of people and there is no other method of commentary of the Qur`an which would be asfruitful.Unfortunatelyhowever,theonlywaytoremovethecurtainswhichmaycloudoverthetruegoalsandaimsoftheversesoftheQur`anisthroughthethematicexegesisoftheQur`an,asthisisthetruesoulandessenceofseeingtheharmonyinversesoftheQur`an.Inaddition,thisisthesamepathwhich has been taken by the author of this (present) work in compiling,Manshur-e-Jawid-e-Qur`an - “The Everlasting Charter of the Qur`an”[26] and the work, Mafahimul Qur`an - “TheUnderstandingsoftheQur`an”[27].Ofcourseitgoeswithoutsayingthattheseworksofoursarenotfree from flawsanddefects, and thosewhoshall come in the futurewill completeandperfect thisformofexegesisoftheQur`an,Godwilling.

Notes:

[17]Itshouldbenotedthat‘referringtotheharmonyinthesumofversesoftheQur`an’issomething

other than the commentary of one verse (of theQur`an) through employing another verse (of theQur`an) which was mentioned in the third condition given above for which, the difference isextremelyclear.

[18]Thisschoolof thoughtbelieves thatmanhasnofreedomand ismerelya tool in thehandsofAllah(awj).(Tr.)

[19]TheybelievethatmanistotallyfreeandAllah(awj)exercisesnopoweroverhisaction.(Tr.)

[20]Theanthropomorphists[Gr.,=havinghumanform].ThistermreferstothosewhobelievedintheDivinehavingahumanformorhavinghumancharacteristics.(Tr.)

[21]Corporealists.(Tr.)

[22]Theywereof theviewthat faithandbeliefaresufficient forsalvationandgooddeedsarenotnecessary.(Tr.)

[23] Tanzih or ‘Deanthropomorphism’ literally refers to the belief of, “ridding of philosophy orreligionofanthropomorphicbeliefsanddoctrines.”However,thisbeliefbecomesmisleadingwhenonedisregardseveryperfecttraitthatthehumanbeingpossessesandbelievesthatAllah(awj)isfreefromtheperfectattributes.Thisisincorrect,forAllah(awj)possessesalloftheperfectattributesbutin the infinite and absolute form.Thus, for example,we cannot say thatAllah (awj) hasnomercybecausemanhasmercy,butratherthat‘Allahhasmercy,butintheAbsolutesense.’Hismercy,unlikehumanmercy,doesnotfollowthestateofpity,whichis“astateofchange”.[Tr.]

[24]SuratulNisa(4),Verse82

[25]SuratulZumur(39),Verse23

[26]ThethematicexegesisoftheQur`anwritteninFarsi.Fourteenvolumeshavebeenpublishedtodate.

[27]ThethematicexegesisoftheQur`anwrittenin‘Arabic.Sevenvolumeshavebeenpublishedtodate.Thisworkcanbereadinitsentiretyat

10ChapterExaminingtheContextoftheVersesoftheQur`an

Payingattentiontothecontextoftheverses,thatiswhichcomesbeforeandafteraparticularverse(whichwewish to comment upon) is in someways, a branch of the sixth prerequisite of tafsir –considerationoftheharmonythatexistsinalltheversesoftheQur`an.

Forexample,weknowthattheQur`anspeaksaboutvariousissuesandbringsforthnumerousversesinregardstoaspecifictopic.Insuchaninstance,referringtoonlyoneverseandneglectingtheotherverseswouldnotresultinanythingbutinexactitudeanddistancingoneselffromthetruegoalofthisNobleBook.

HoweveritisnotonlytheQur`anwhich,intryingtocomprehenditssentences,mustbeunderstoodandexplainedbyseeingeverythingwhichcomesbeforeandafteraparticularverse.Rather,inordertoexplain thewordsofanywiseperson, thismethod (which is currentlybeingdiscussed)mustbeemployed.

Inorderforthisdiscussiontobeclearintheminds,wepresentthefollowingexamples:

InSuratulAraf(7),verse35,Allah(awj)says:

نونزحی مه الو مهیلع فوخ الف حلصأو ىق ــ تا نمف يتایآ مكیلع نوصقی مكنم لسر مكنیتأی امإ مدآ ين ــ ب ای

“O children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from among yourselves, relating Mycommunicationstoyou,thenwhoevershallguard(againstevil)andactaright,theyshallhavenofearnorshalltheygrieve.”[28]

Inexplaining thisverseof theQur`an, ifweabstain fromreferring to thatwhichcamebeforeandafteritandsimplytaketheverseonitsown,thenitsmeaningwouldbethattheQur`anhaskeptthedooropenforotherprophetstocomeaftertheNobleProphetMuhammad(‘s)andhasnotshutthedoorofprophethood.HoweverweknowthatinanotherverseoftheQur`an,itisstatedthatProphetMuhammad(‘s) is thefinalandsealofall theprophets (andnoneshallcomeafterhim) justasweread:

امیلع ءيش لكب هللا ناكو نی يـ ـبـ نلا متاخو هللا لوسر نكلو مكلاجر نم دحأ ابأ دمحم ناك ام

“Muhammadisnotthefatherofanyofyourmen,butheistheMessengerofAllahandthelast(andseal)oftheprophets,andAllahiscognizantofallthings.”[29]

The rootof these twooppositeconclusions is that in thecommentaryof the firstversementioned,therewasnoattentionpaidtothecontextoftheverseanditwasreviewedwithoutkeepinginmindthe

commentaryoftheversesthatcamebeforeorafter it.However, ifonesimplyreferstotheQur`anitself, theywouldhave seen that this verse is onlyone sectionof a collectionof twenty-sixverses(verseseleventothirty-six)ofSuratulAraf(7)whichelucidateuponaneventthat tookplaceat thebeginningofthecreationofhumanity.Thus,weseethattheseversesareinregardstothetimeperiodofthecreationofAdam(‘a),hisbeingremovedfromParadiseandbeingorderedtoliveontheEarthalongwithhiswifeandchildren.

Insuchaninstanceintime(whenthiswashappening),Allah(awj)addressedthesonsofAdam(‘a)and told them, “O’ children ofAdam! If a prophet comes to you, thenwhosoever of you displaysconsciousness(Taqwa)ofAllahandchoosesthepathofrighteousnessshallhavenofearorgrief!”

There isnodoubt that afterAdam(‘a) settleddownonEarth, countlessprophetscame fromAllah(awj)toguidemankindandalloftheirmissionswereoneandthesame:

نونزحی مه الو مهیلع فوخ الف حلصأو ـى قتا نمف

“…then whoever shall guard (against evil) and act aright, they shall have no fear nor shall theygrieve.”

Suchanaddress(byAllah(awj))whichtookshapeatthebeginningofcreationdoesnotpreventusfromacceptingthefactthatourProphet(Muhammad(‘s))isthefinalprophetanditisthroughhimthatthedoorofPropethood,whichupuntilthepointintime(ofhimcoming)hadbeenopenforsomanyyears,wasshuttohumanityforvariousreasons.

Thus in summary: In this instance, the Qur`an is addressing a specific period and is relating anincident to us. However this does not mean that this is something that would take shape after therevelationofthisversethatisbeingreportedabout(thatanotherprophetwouldcome).

Thisrealityonlybecomesapparentwhenweknowthatthecollectionoftwenty-sixverses(verses11to36)oftheQur`aninSuratulAraf(7)aredirectlyaddressingthe(actual)childrenofAdam(‘a)asisseen when they are directly spoken to three times by the phrase, “O’ Children of Adam!” ( ينب ایمدآ )ascanbeseenintheversesbelow:

اساب لـ مكیلع ان ـ لزنأ دق مدآ ين بـ …ای

“O’ChildrenofAdam!Surelywehavesentdowntoyouclothing…”[30]

مكیوبأ جرخأ امك ناطی ـ شلا مكن نـ ــ تفی ال مدآ ين بـ …ای

“O’ChildrenofAdam!DonotletSatantestyouasHeoustedyourparents…”[31]

مكنم لسر مكنیتأی امإ مدآ ين بـ …ای

“O’ChildrenofAdam!IftherecometoyouMessengersfromamongyourselves…”[32]

In another instance in which the Qur`an speaks about the beginning of creation, we see the samewordingsbeingused,suchasinthefollowingexample:

ناطیشلا اودبعت ال نأ مدآ ين ـ بای مكیلإ دهعأ ملأ …

“DidInottakeacovenantfromyou,OchildrenofAdamthatyoushouldnotserveSatan?”[33]

Thisformofaddressing(byAllah(awj))isrelatedtotheperiodofthebeginningofcreationandisinaccordancewiththatoccasionandisnotinreferencetothetimeoftheNobleProphetofIslam(‘s).

Withthisexplanation,itbecomesclearthattheaddressintheverseunderreviewisamongthefirstDivineaddressesatthetimeofthebeginningofcreation.Thus,thereisnosubstanceinrelatingthemto the issue of the finality of prophethood and the source of this error in judgment is due to notpayingattentiontothecontextoftheverses.

AConsiderationoftheContextoftheVersesandtheSuccessivelyNarratedAhadith

Eventhoughreferringto thatwhichcomesbeforeandafteraparticularverse(inunderstandingitstruemeaning)isoneofthekeysforacorrectandaccurateexegesisoftheQur`an,unfortunately,thecontextoftheverseiseffectualonlywhentheverseunderreviewisnotproventobeindependentoftheverseswhichcamebeforeandafterit.Whenitisproventobeindependentoftheversesaroundit,thenwecannotrefertothecontextoftheversesinordertoexplainandcommentuponit.

A study of the verses of theQur`an confirms the fact that sometimes (andwe stress on thewordsometimes)before theQur`anfinishesspeakingaboutaparticular topic, itmaybringanewthemeinto the discussion. Thenwhen it finisheswith that topic, itwould revert to the original theme ofdiscussionandthisisoneofspecialtiesoftheQur`an.Thisisthesamethingthatismoreorless,seeninthewordsofeloquentandarticulatespeakersaswell.

Of course, our purpose in stating this is not to say that in the Qur`an, within the confines of aparticulardiscussion,anothertopicisbroughtupwhichhasabsolutelynorelevanceorbearingtotheoriginaldiscussion.Technicallyspeaking,wedonotwishtostatethatoneversethatisbuiltuponaspecificthemeandissueismixedinwithotherversesthatarerelatedtoothertopicsandthemesandintrudes or interrupts the flow of verses. Rather, ourmeaning here is that at the same time that itsafeguardstheperspectiveoftheverses,beforeconcludingatopicwithintheinitialdiscussion,anewtopicisalsointroducedandthefirsttopicisthencompletedinthe(remaining)verses.

ExamplesofthisIssue

InSuratulBaqarah(2)inverses221to240,theQur`anbringsforthissuesrelatedtohusband,wife,children, the issuesofdivorceand thedeathof thehusband.Theentirecollectionofversesof thissectioniscompletelyinunityandharmonywithoneanother.

However,afterverse237,inverses238and239weseethattheissueofprotectingthesalat,especiallythe‘middle’salathasbeenmentionedandtheperformanceofthesalatinthestateofjihadhasalsobeenbrought up.After this,we see that the verses then revert to the initial topic (ofmarriage andfamily life). Thus, what is the suitability for these two verses to come up in the middle of thediscussiononfamilyissues?Atpresent,thisisnotourdiscussionhoweverthisissomethingthatweareabletoperceivebyreviewingtheseverses.

Nevertheless,atthispoint,inorderforthisissuetobeunderstandableforthereaders,webringforththeseversesoftheQur`an:

نأو حاكنلا ةدقع هدی بـ يذلا وفعی وأ نوفعی نأ الإ مت ـ ضرف ام فصنف ةضیرف نهل مت ـ ضرف دقو نهوسمت نأ لبق نم نهومت ـ قلط نإوهللا اوموقو ىطسولا ةالصلاو تاولصلا ىلع اوظفاح ? ریص ــ ب نولمعت امب هللا نإ مكن ـ يب لضفلا اوسن تـ الو ىوقتلل بر ــ قأ اوفعت

اجاوزأ نورذیو مكنم نوفوتی نیذلاو ? نوملعت اونوكت مل ام مكملع امك هللا اوركذاف مت ـنـ مأ اذإف انابكر وأ الاجرف مت خـفـ نإف ? نیت ـ ناقمیكح زیزع هللاو فورعم نم نهسف ـ نأ يف نلعف ام يف مكیلع حان ــ ج الف نجرخ نإف جارخإ ریغ لوحلا ىلإ اعات مـ مهجاوزألةیصو

“Andifyoudivorce them(women)beforeyouhavetouchedthem(hadsexualrelationswith them)and you have appointed for them a portion (dowry), then (pay to them) half of what you haveappointed,unlesstheyrelinquishorheshouldrelinquishinwhosehandisthemarriagetie;anditisnearertorighteousnessthatyoushouldrelinquish;anddonotneglectthegivingoffreegiftsbetweenyourselves;surelyAllahseeswhatyoudo.Attendconstantlytoprayersandtothemiddleprayerandstand up truly obedient toAllah. But if you are in danger, then (say your prayers) on foot or onhorseback; andwhenyouare secure, then rememberAllah asHehas taughtyouwhatyoudidnotknow.Andthoseofyouwhodieandleavewivesbehind,(make)abequestinfavourofyourwivesofmaintenanceforayearwithoutturning(them)out,theniftheythemselvesgoaway,thereisnoblameonyouforwhattheydooflawfuldeedsbythemselves,andAllahisMighty,Wise.”[34]

As can be seen in these verses, the first and last past of this section are in regards to the issue ofmarriage and relationswhile the verses in themiddle are in regards to protecting the salat –withspecialemphasisonthemiddlesalatandthesalatatthetimeoffear(suchaswarorfromanenemy,etc.).

Therefore, whenever clear and unambiguous proofs such as a successively narrated hadith(mutawatir) or a hadith which accompanies hints that necessitate knowledge of the content of thetraditioncontradictthecontextoftheverses,thenwemustactaccordingtotheconclusionwhichwehavereachedfromtheahadith.Thus,insuchaninstance,wemustnotregardthecontextoftheversesoftheQur`an,butratherfocusourattentiononthecorrectahadith.

Wepresentthefollowingtwoexamplestofurtherelucidatethisissue:

a.InSuratulAhzab(33),fromverses28to35,theQur`andiscussesthewivesoftheNobleProphetofIslam(‘s).Howeverinverse33,weseethefollowingsentence:

اریهطت مكرهطیو تیبلا لهأ سجرلا مكنع بهذیل هللا دیری امنإ

“SurelyAllahwishestoremoveallformsofimpurityfromyou,AhlulBayt,andtopurifyyouwithathoroughpurification.”[35]

ThecontextoftheversesbeforeandafterwouldtellusthatthisverseisrelateddirectlytothewivesoftheNobleProphetofIslam(‘s).However,thesuccessivelynarratedahadithwhichhavecometousfrombothsides(theShi’aandtheAhlusSunnah)tellusthatthisversewasrevealedinregardstoaspecificgroupofpeoplewhohavebeenbeautifiedwith theadornmentof infallibility.Thus in thisinstance,theundeniableahadithtakeprecedenceoverthecontextofthisverse.

Otherthanthis,thereisevenclearproofintheverseitselftoprovethatthispartoftheverseisnotinregardstothewivesoftheProphetofIslam(‘s).Thesetwoproofsarethemasculinepronounusedintheword“ مكنع ”and“ مكرهطی ”whichannouncetousthatthereisnorelationshipbetweenthispartoftheverseandthatwhichhascomebeforeitinregardstothewivesoftheProphetMuhammad(‘s).[36]

Then,whyhasthepurityandinfallibilityoftheAhlulBayt(‘a)beenmentionedwithinthediscussionconcerningthewivesoftheProphetofIslam(‘s)?Thisisnotpartofourdiscussionhereandthusweleaveitatthat.

b.InSuratulMa`idah(5),fromverses1to5,theQur`anspeaksinaparticularwayaboutmeatandotherissuesregardingfood.Howeverinthemiddleofthethirdverse,weread:

انید مالسإلا مكل تیضرو يتمعن مكیلع تممتأو مكنید مكل تلمكأ مویلأ

“Onthisday,IhaveperfectedyourreligionforyouandhavecompletedMybountiesuponyouandhavebeenpleasedtochooseIslamasyourreligion.”[37]

TheruleofreviewingthecontextoftheversesoftheQur`an,commandsustoacceptthatthepartoftheversequotedaboveisinregardstothedaywhenvariousthingswereforbiddenforconsumptionsuchas theanimalwhichhasdiedon itsown,blood, thefleshofswineandother things.Thus, themeaningof‘thisday’( مویلأ )asmentionedinthispartoftheverseisthedaywhenthesethingsweremade prohibited for human consumption. However the clear and unambiguous proofs and thesuccessively narrated ahadith state that this part of the verse was not revealed in regards to theprohibitionofvarious typesofmeat.Rather,weare told that thispartof theversewas revealed inregards to theDayofGhadir[18thofDhulHijjah]– thedaywhenthefaithandteachingsofIslamwere perfected and completed through the designation of the leader of the community [after theProphetofIslam(‘s)-thatbeingImam’Alib.AbiTalib(‘a).]

Thus, the commentator of theQur`anwho is seeking to display the realities (of theQur`an)mustrefrainfromexplainingtheverseaccordingtothecontextofthatwhichhascomebeforeandafteritandmustinsteadrefertothedefiniteahadithinthisregard.

Inthisissue,therearemanymoreexampleswhichwecanbringtoactasproofsforourstatements,howeverinordertokeepthisdiscussionbrief,weshallnotmentionthemhere.

Notes:

[28]The‘Arabicword,‘ امإ ’mentionedinthisversewasoriginallytwowords–‘ نإ ’and‘ ام ’howeversincetheareaofpronunciationofthesetwowordsisverysimilarinthe‘Arabiclanguage,theletter‘wordthereality,In.’م‘letterthewithmergedwas’ن‘ امإ ’isactuallyinthemeaningofa‘condition’andthus,themeaningofthisversebecomes,“SurelyIFmessengerscometoyou…”

[29]SuratulAhzab(33),Verse40[30]SuratulA’raf(7),Verse26[31]Ibid.,Verse27[32]Ibid.,Verse35[33]SuratYasin(36),Verse60

[34]SuratulBaqarah(2),Verse237to240[35]SuratulAhzab(33),Verse33[36]Inourwork,MafahimulQur`an,vol.5,andTheThirdPath,wehavediscussedthisverseingreatdetailandhaveproven, throughusing theundeniableproofs that themeaningofAhlulBayt (‘a) isreservedforaspecificgroupofpeoplewhowereclearly identifiedby theNobleProphetof Islam(‘s).[37]SuratulMa`idah(5),Verse3

11ChapterAwarenessoftheVariousViewpointsandOpinions

Being fully awareof thevariousviewpoints andopinionsofMuslimcommentatorson theQur`anwho have spent their entire lives engrossed in the Qur`an, and who can rightfully be called the‘teachers of the science of theQur`an’ is another foundation necessary in the commentary of thisNobleBook.

There is no doubt that from the first day of revelation of theQur`an, due to the awareness of thepeopleabout theoccasionsof revelationand theprevalentcircumstancesduringrevelation,agreatdeal of the understandings of the verseswere clear to them and in understanding the goals of theQur`an,theywerenotinneedofseekingouttheviewpointsandopinions(ofothers).However,duetothegapintime(betweentheeraoftheProphet(‘s)-therevelationoftheQur`anandourtime),andsincethosepointsofthehistoryofrevelationarenolongerwithus,wemustseekassistancethroughthethoughtsandviewpointswhichwouldassistusinunderstandingtheissuesinregardstothehistoryofrevelation.WemustnevergoforthtoexplaintheversesoftheQur`anwithoutthisinplacesincethethoughtsandreflectionsofagroupofpeoplearealwaysatahigherlevelthanthethoughtsandreflectionsofan individual.Asweknowthere isapossibilityofan individualfalling intoerror inthoughtmoresothanwhenwereflectandreviewthethoughtsofagroupofpeople.

Ofcourse,whatwehave justmentionedhere issomethingother than the issueofmakingourownthoughtsandreflectionstheslaveofwhatothersthinkandgivingupthefreedomofthought(ontheversesoftheQur`an).Rather,thepurposehereisthatingoingforthinthecommentaryofaverseoftheQur`an,weshouldnotbenegligentoftheopinionsofothercommentators,norshouldweignorewhatothershavesaid,sinceitisverywellpossiblethatbyreferringtowhatothershavestated,itmayactually assist us in choosing an opinion and outcome ormay also help us deflecting an error ofjudgement.

At this point, another issue must be mentioned which is that at what time in the course of theexplanationoftheversesoftheQur`anmustacommentatorrefertotheotheropinionsconcerningaparticularverseof theQur`an?Musthefirst reviewandstudy thevariousopinions in regards toaparticularverseandthenwhenhehasbecomeawareofthevariousopinions,putsforthhisstrugglesand endeavors to separate the truth from falsehood? Or, would he first struggle to bring forth acommentaryofhisownandthenafterthis,whenheisreadytointroducehisopinions,hewouldthenrefertothebeliefsandthoughtsofotherpeople(tocomparehisworkto)?

ForthenoviceinthefieldofcommentaryoftheQur`an,thefirstpathisthemostbeneficialtotake,whilethepersonwhoisawell-readresearchermaychoosethesecondpath.

Manytimesitcanbeseenthatbecomingacquaintedwiththeopinionsandviewpointsofothersmayactuallypreventapersonfromgoingforthtoconducthisownindependentresearchandinvestigation

(thuslimitingtheworkoftheexpert).

12ChapterDistancingOneselffromanyFormofPrejudgment

Going forth to study the verses of theQur`anwith preconceived notions is one of the greatest ofdilemmas in the exegesis of the Qur`an. The person who, with prefabricated beliefs looks at theQur`an and feels that his goal is to search for proofs to back up his own predetermined thoughtsthroughtheQur`anwillneverbecomeawareofthetrueobjectivesoftheQur`anandwillnotbeabletoreachhisoutcome.

ThecommentatoroftheQur`anmustlooktowardsthisBookwithcompleteobjectivityandwithnosortofpreconceivednotionssothathemaybeabletoarriveatthetrueobjectivesoftheQur`an.

Anysortofpreconceivedideasactasamajorveilbetweenthecommentatorandthe(true)objectivesoftheQur`anandwillleadthecommentatortohavingtheQur`ansubmittohisbeliefsratherthanhesubmittingtotheQur`an.InsteadofbeingastudentoftheQur`an,hewouldtrytobecometheteacheroftheQur`an(imposinghisbeliefsonthetextoftheQur`an)!

The narrators of hadith fromwithin theMuslimworld are in complete agreement that the NobleProphet(‘s)hasstatedthat:

رانلا نم هدعقم ءوبتیلف هیأرب نآرقلا رسف نم .

“WhosoeverinterpretstheQur`anaccordingtohisownopinionmusttakeforhimselfaplaceinthehellfire.”

Themeaningof‘interpretingtheQur`anaccordingtoone’sownopinion’canbenothingotherthanthatwhichwehavejustmentioned.

The interpretation of one verse of the Qur`an with the assistance of another verse, like when anallegoricalversesoftheQur`anisinterpretedbyusingoneofthedecisiveversesoftheQur`an,isnot in the leastproblematic.Sucha formof interpretation isnot consideredas commentaryof theQur`an according to one’s own opinion. Rather, this is elucidating upon the Qur`an throughemployingtheQur`anitselfwhichissomethingwhichwehavealreadyspokenaboutinoneofourpreviousdiscussions.

What is not permissible is thatwithout relying upon other verses of theQur`an and the definitiveahadith,duetoaperson’spreviouslyformedopinionsandideas,hegoesforthtoexplaintheversesoftheQur`anwithhisowngoalsinmind!Itgoeswithoutsayingthatifapersondidnothavesuchpreconceivednotions (to implant into theQur`an) thenhewouldnever thinkabout interpreting theQur`aninsuchafashion.

Inthecourseofhistory,weseegroupsofpeople,referredtoastheBatiniyyah[thosewhoclaimedtobe researching into the inward content of the verses of theQur`an] and otherswho claimed to be’Urafa` (mystics), andasof recent,othermisguidedgroups -evenwithinourownera -whohaveplayedaroundwiththeversesoftheQur`anwhohavesoughttoexplainTheBookaccordingtotheirown wishes. Not only are these people themselves misguided, rather, they are also the source ofmisguidingothers!

At this point, we bring forth the following simple example and leave the detailed examples andillustrationsforanothertime.

Thereareaseriesofverses(19-22)inSuratulRahman(55)whichread:

ناجرملاو ؤلؤللا امهنم جرخی ? نابذكت امكبر ءالآ يأبف ? نایغب اليـ خزر ــ ب امهن بـيـ ? نایقتلی نیرحبلا جر ــ م

“Hehasmadethetwoseastoflowfreely(sothat)theymeettogether.Betweenthemisabarrierthattheycannotpass.Whichthenof thebountiesofyourLordwillyoudeny?Therecomesforthfromthempearls,andcoral.”

Intheseverses,thefollowingtopicsarecovered:

1.Therearetwobodiesofwaterwhichmeettogether.2.Betweenthesetwobodiesofwater,thereisabarrierpresentwhichdoesnotpermitthewaterstomixwithoneanother.3.Fromthesetwobodiesofwater,therearejewelssuchaspearlsandcoral,whichareextracted.

Whatisthemeaningofthesetwoseasorbodiesofwaterfromwhichpearlsandcoralareextracted?What is the meaning of the two different types of water which meet together somewhere in this,world;however,aswearetold,thewaterofoneseanevermixeswiththewateroftheothersea?Isthedifferenceinthetwotypesofwateranaturalone-suchasonebeingsweetanddelicioustastingwater,whiletheotheroneissaltyandbitter;orisonebodyofwaterclear,transparent(clean)waterwhiletheotherisdark,murkyanddirty?Wheredothesetwobodiesofwaterexistintheworldtodayandwherecantheybefound?Atpresent,ourdiscussionisnottheactuallocationofthesebodiesofwater. However, whenMuhy ad-Din al-Arabi (d. 1240 ad), who was absorbed in the teachings ofmysticism(’Irfan)andphilosophy,wentforthtocommentontheseverses,hedidsowithamindsoengrossedinphilosophyandmysticismthathewrote:

“Themeaningofthe‘bitterbodyofwater ’arethecorporealandphysicalissues(relatedtothehumanbeing)whereas themeaningof the ‘sweet andpleasantbodyofwater ’ is thehuman spirit; bothofthesemeet in the existence of the human being, and the barrier and separator between them is the‘animalsoul’,whichalthoughdoesnotreachtothelevelofthehumanspiritintermsofpurityandrefinement, is higher andbetter than thephysical body in termsofdarkness andmurkiness.At thesame time neither of the two dimensions transcend their boundary: neither does the spirit bestowimmaterialitytothebody,nordoesthebodymakethespiritdescendandplaceitamongthematerialentities.”[38]

This example should give us a good understanding ofwhat ‘exegesis of theQur`an according toone’sownpersonalopinion’isandhowsuchapreconceivednotionandbelief(inaparticularscience

ordiscipline)canhaveaneffecton theactualcommentaryof theQur`anwhichapersonwishes toexpress.

Notes:

[38]TafsirofIbne‘Arabi,vol.2pg.280.ThisisjustoneexampleofexegesisoftheQur`anaccordingtoone’sownpersonalopinionandthebookofTafsirofIbne‘Arabi,justashisworkFususulHikmisfull of such examples ofTafsir of theQur`an according to his ownpersonalwhims and opinionswhich is both – from the viewpoint of the intellect and also the Islamic jurisprudence – notpermissible.

13ChapterAwarenessofthePhilosophicalandScientificTheories

Havinganawarenessof thephilosophical and scientific theories is avaluable source for themindwhichwouldpermittheintellecttoexpandandwouldleadtovaluableinterpretationsoftheQur`an.By this wemean that although onemust keep away from any form of explanation of the Qur`anaccordingtoone’sownpersonalopinionandmustnotseektointerprettheQur`aninordertojustifyand validate one’s preconceived beliefs and thoughts, however at the same time, possessing anawarenessofthethoughtsandtheoriesofthegreatphilosophersofIslaminregardstomonotheism(Tawhid),thecharacteristicsandactionsofAllah(awj)andotherissuesinrelationtothebeginningof creation and resurrection, in addition to having knowledge and understanding of the physicalpropertiesandmakeupoftheworldandofmankind,willallleadonetohavingabetterinsight.Intheend, this awareness and knowledge would actually allow a person to gain more benefit from theQur`an.

Today,humanityhasmadegreatprogressinattainingknowledgeoftheEarth,universe,andanimalkingdom. Humankind has arrived at new horizons of understanding in regards to the sciences ofpsychologyandsociology.Althoughitiscorrecttoassertthatnotalloftheknowledgethathasbeengainedupuntil todayiscompletelycorrect,howeverhavingabetterunderstandingof thescientificbreakthroughsanddiscoveriescanleadaperson’sphilosophicalandscientificawarenesstobecomestronger.This acts as a source of blossomingof themindof the commentator of theQur`an, andgrantshimaspecialability throughwhichhewouldbeable tomakeuseof theQur`anin themostcompleteway.

Wenarratethefollowingexampleinthisregardtobetterunderstandthispoint.

ThesixversesmentionedinthebeginningofSuratulHadid(57)arethemostclearproofsandwordswhichwe have in our possession to better understand this point. In this example of ours,we shallrefertoandquoteonlytwoversesalongwiththeirtranslation:

شرعلا ىلع ىوت ـ سا مث مایأ ةتس يف ضرألاو تاوامسلا قلخ يذلا وه ? میلع ءي ــ ش لكب ـو هو ـن طابلاو رهاظلاو ـر خآلاو لوألا وهریصب نولمعت امب هللاو مت ـ نك ام نیأ مكعم وهو اهی فـ جرعی امو ءآمسلا نم لزنی امو اهنم جرخی امو ضرألا يف جلی ام ملعی

“HeistheFirstandtheLastandtheApparentandtheHiddenandHehasknowledgeofallthings.HeitisWhocreatedtheHeavensandtheEarthinsixdays;thensettledontheThrone.HeknowsthatwhichgoesdeepdownintotheEarthandthatwhichcomesforthoutofit,andthatwhichcomesdownfromtheskyandthatwhichgoesupintoit,andHeiswithyouwhereveryouare.AndAllahseeswhatyoudo.”[39]

ThephilosophicalandtheologicalpointsmentionedinthesetwoversesoftheQur`an(andindeedintheotherfourverseswhichfollow)aresogreatthatImam’Alib.Husaynas-Sajjad(‘a)hasstatedthe

followinginregardstotheseverses:

نامزلا رخآ يف نیقمعتملل تلزن .

“(These verses and indeed this chapter of theQur`an)were revealed for those peoplewhowouldcomeattheendoftimewhowouldgoforthindeepthinkingandpondering.”

There is not a single personwho could objectively state that withmere knowledge of theArabiclanguage,hewouldbeabletoelucidateupontheseversesoftheQur`an.Whenwe(forexample)goforthtotranslatetheseversesintoFarsi,wewouldstillremaininastateofambiguityanduncertaintyinregardstotheactualpurportoftheseverses.

However,theknowledgewhichwehavegainedthroughwhattheresearchersofIslamhavestatedinregardstotheencompassingnatureofanentityandthescienceofthebeginningofcreation,actasatool which permits the blossoming of the mind, which in turn leads us to having a betterunderstandingofthesubstanceoftheseversesoftheQur`an.

Is itpossible forapersonwhohasneverstudiedanythingandneverseena teacher to reach to thedepthsofthesentencewhichreads:

مت ـ نك امن ـ يأ مكعم وهو { “And He is with you wherever you maybe.

Can anyone who does not possess deeply grounded knowledge in the teachings of the Divineunderstandtherealityofthepartoftheversethatreads:

ـن طابلاو رهاظلاو رخآلاو لوألا وه

“He(Allah)istheFirstandtheLast,theApparentandtheHidden…”

Wemustrepeatthispointthat:OurpurposeinstatingthisissueisnotthatwegoforthandinterprettheQur`anthroughtheuseofGreekorIslamicphilosophyorthroughemployingthenewsciencesandthatwecomparetheQur`anwiththesefallibletheories.Ifthiswasthecase,thensurelythiswouldbenothingotherthancommentaryoftheQur`anthroughourownopinionwhichis,asweknowandaswaspreviouslymentioned,prohibitedboth throughemploying the logicalunderstandingandtheIslamic legislations!Rather, our aim here is that this form of awareness and knowledge (of othersciencesandtheories)wouldactuallygiveourintellectthepowerandstrengthtobetterunderstandtheverses of the Qur`an with a much more careful precision and in which we would be in a betterpositiontoappreciatetheaimsandgoalsintendedbythisHeavenlyBook.

Today,thediscussionsofthepsychologistsandsociologistsinregardstomankindandthestudiesofthescholarsofthenaturalsciencesinregardstotheEarthandUniversehaveopenedupnewhorizonsin understanding the Qur`an and have given people in this day and age, the power to look at theQur`aninanewlight.

Atthispoint,thegreatnesscontainedinthewordsoftheeighthImam,’Alib.Musaal-Rida(‘a)aremademanifest.Once,apersonaskedtheImam(‘a)thefollowingquestion:

؟ ةضاضغ الإ سردلاو رشنلا دنع دادزی ال نآرقلا لاب ام

“WhydoesthepublicationandstudyoftheQur ’an,increaseitsfreshnessandnewness?”

TheImam(‘a)replied:

موی ـى لإ ضغ موق لك دنع و ، دیدج نامز لك يف وهف ، سان نود سانل وال ، نامز نود نامزل هلعجی مل ـى لاعت و كرابت هللا نألةمایقلا .

“ThisisbecauseAllah,theBlessedandtheHigh,didnotmakeit(theQur`an)foraparticulartimeperiodnor for a specific groupof people.Therefore it is new for every timeand fresh for everynationuntiltheDayofResurrection.”[40]

PerhapsitisduetothisveryreasonthatIbneAbbashassaid:

نامزلا هرسفی نآرقلأ .

“TimeinterpretstheQur ’an.”

Themeaningof time is thedifferent thoughtsandsciences thatappear in thehumansociety,whichbestowanewvisionto theexegeteof theQur ’an,asaresultofwhichhederivessuchinformationfromtheQur ’anthatthemindsofhispredecessorsnevercontained.

Notes:

[39]SuratulHadid(57),Verses3&4[40]TafsirulBurhan,vol.1,pg.28

14ChapterUnderstandingoftheEarlyHistoryofIslam

The meaning of the ‘early history of Islam’ are those events which took place after the officialappointmentoftheProphetMuhammad(‘s)–specificallythatwhichoccurredafterthemigrationtoMadinahasa [significant]portionof theversesof theQur`anwere revealedafter thisevent.Thus,amongst all of these events, having knowledge of the history of the battles and expeditionswhichwerecarriedoutisveryeffectiveinofferingcommentaryonsomeoftheversesoftheQur`an.

TherearenumerousversesinregardstoeventssuchastheBattlesofBadr,Uhud,Ahzab;theeventofBaniMustalaq;thepeacetreatyofHudaybiyyah;thevictoryoverthecityofMakkah(FathulMakkah),the tribe of Bani Nadhir and the Jewish nation. Thus, having a comprehensive knowledge of thehistoryoftheseeventswhichhavebeendiscussedintheQur`anintheirownparticularwayalsoactsas a clear source for understanding the verses of the Qur`an which are related to the battles,expeditionsandothereventsandthisissueisoneofthosewhichisclearandunderstandableforallcommentatorsoftheQur`an.

Inthisregard,onemustrefertotheauthenticandtruehistoricalaccounts,whichhavebeenwrittenbytheimpartialandnonalignedhistorians.Throughemployingasystematicandmethodicalprocess,thecorrecthistoricalaccountsmustbeseparatedfromtheunauthenticreports.

Ofcourse,within thebooksofhistoryandbiography, thereareunfounded reports andnarrationswhicharenotinlinewithourIslamicbeliefs,noraretheycongruentwiththeversesoftheQur`an.Thus for the researcherwhopossessesawarenessof theprinciplesofhistory,hewouldbeable todifferentiatebetweenthetruthandfalsehood(inthesehistoricalreports).

Inthisregard,wecanrecommendthefollowingbooks:as-SirahofIbneHisham,MurujulDhahabofal-Masudi,ImtiaulAsmaofal-Maqriziandal-KamilbyIbneAthir.However, itmustbeunderstoodthatwecannotaccepttheentirecontentofthesebooks.Ratherascanbeseen,someofthemcontainissueswhichhaveabsolutelynofoundationandgoagainstboththeintellectandthenarratedproofs!

Forexample:Inal-KamilbyIbneAthir,whenherelatestheincidentofZaidandhiswife,Zainab,hementionssomethingwhichnooneotherthananopenandawareenemy[ofIslamandtheProphet(‘s)]wouldclaimtohaveoccurred.[41]

In addition, in regards to the attack of the army [fromYemen on theKabah] and their destructionthroughthesmallbirdswhichweresenttodestroythem(byAllah(awj)),thingsarementionedwhichgodirectlyagainsttheversesoftheQur`an![42]

Thework,as-SirahofIbneHisham,isthebestbookwhichhasbeenwritteninregardstothelifeoftheNobleProphetof Islam (‘s). Inactuality, thisbook is a summaryof thework, as-Sirahof Ibne

Ishaq,whichisunfortunatelynolongeravailable.Ifhowever,theMuslimscholarsareabletofindacopyofthisbookinanyofthelibrariesoftheworldandaftermakingminorcorrectionsandsomeadditionalresearch(onthesourcesreferredtointhebook)arethenabletohavethisworkprinted,then itwould not be inconceivable that this bookwould open up a new horizon on the life of theProphet(‘s)foruswhichtheSirahofIbneHishamhasnotbeenabletoaccomplish!ItshouldbekeptinmindthatIbneIshaqwasaShi’a,whiletheonewhosummarizedhiswork,meaningIbneHisham,wasaSunni,andthus,invariousissues,therewasadifferenceofopinionbetweenthem.

12.FamiliaritywiththeStoriesandtheHistoryoftheLivesofPreviousProphetsAgreatportionoftheversesoftheQur`anareinrelationtothehistoryofthepreviousprophets

andwe are given a brief insight into the lives of some of these greatmen and the ways of theirstruggleswiththeoppressorsandtyrantsoftheirtime.

Havingknowledgeofthehistoryofthelifeofpreviousnationssuchas’AdandThamud,orhavingknowledgeofthesatanicpowersoftheoppressorssuchasthoseinBabil[presentdayfIraq]andthePharaohsofEgypt,maketheverseswhichspeakofthestrugglesofthevariousprophetssuchasHud(‘a),Salih(‘a),Ibrahim(‘a)andMusa(‘a)cleartous.

InformationonthelivesoftheprophetsoftheChildrenofIsrael(BaniIsra’il),especiallyofprophetsDawud(‘a)andSulayman(‘a)helpusunderstandmanyoftheversesoftheQur`an.InreferringtotheversesoftheQur`aninregardstothesetwoindividuals,thetruthfulnessinourwords(inregardstothesetwoprophets)wouldbemadecleartoeveryone.

Ofcourseinthissection,wemustnotgiveupourprudenceandcaution(inconductingresearch)andmustrecognizethecorrectandauthenticreportsfromtheincorrectandunauthenticones,especiallywhen it comes to the prophets sent to the Children of Israel and the forged traditions known as“Isra’ili”narrations,whicharelargeinnumberandcanneverbereliedupon.

13.KnowledgeoftheHistoricalEnvironmentinwhichtheQur`anwasRevealedTheQur`anwasrevealedinanenvironmentinwhichthepeoplewereaccustomedtoaparticularstyleof lifeand thus, theversesof theQur`anwhichweresentdownweresuitable toandalluded to thelifestyle,traditionsandcustomsofthosepeople.Inaddition,theversesalsowentforthtocommentonthesepeopleandtheir(negative)characteristics!

Thus, it is necessary for the commentator of theQur`an to be awareof the lifestyle of the ’Arabsbefore Islam and even those contemporary to the revelation of theQur`an so that they are able toclearlyunderstandtheversesoftheQur`aninrelationtoaparticulartheme.

Forexample, theQur`anspeaksaboutvarious issuesand topics suchasAzlam[43] (animalswhichhavebeenslaughteredasasacrificetothevariousfalsegodsandidols),andthevariousidolssuchasWadda,Suwaf,Yaghuth,YafuqaandNasra[44].Inaddition,theQur`analsospeaksaboutissuessuchasthemoralsandethicaltraitsofthe’Arabsandtheirrepulsiveactssuchasthekillingoftheirfemaleinfants[45].TheversesoftheQur`analsospeakabouttherelationshipwhichtheArabshadwiththeorphansof thesocietyand tensofother topics inrelation to the lifeof theArabsbeforeIslamandduringthetimeoftheProphet(‘s).Thus,theabilitytocompletelyreviewandexplaintheversesoftheQur`aninregardstotheseissuescanonlybeperformedbythepersonwhohasafullunderstandingofthecompletewayoflifeofthisgroupofpeoplesincetheQur`anwasrevealedintheenvironment

andsurroundingsofthesepeople.

Sometimes, theQur`anpresents thetruthstousintheformofaparable[suchastheparableof thefalsehoodbeingequatedwithseeingamirageinthedesert].Howevertheonlypersonwhoisabletounderstand the reality of the parable (of amirage) is onewho has an understanding of life in thedesertorlivesinadryandaridlandwithlittletonoagriculture.For example, when Allah (awj) mentions the parable of the truth and falsehood as being like amirage,whichoneseesandHe(awj)says:} ءا ـــ م نأمظلا هبسحی ةعیقب بارسك مهلامعأ اورفك نیذلاو {

“And(asfor)thosewhodisbelieve,theirdeedsarelikeamirageinthedesert,whichthethirstymandeemstobewater.”[46]

Thepersonwholivesinthedesertorwhohasknowledgeofthelifeofsuchpeoplewouldbeabletobetterunderstandtheactualityofthisparablewhereasthepersonwholivesnearthebanksofariveror in a very grassy, lush areawould not, in the beginning stages, be able to fully understand theactualityofthissimilitude.

Notes:[41] al-Kamil by Ibne Athir, vol. 2, pg. 121[42]Ibid., vol. 1, pg. 263[43]SuratulMaidah (5),Verses 3 and 90[44]SuratNuh (71),Verse 23[45]SuratulTakwir (81),Verse 8[46]SuratulNur (24),Verse39

15ChapterKnowingtheVersesoftheQur`anwhichare“Makki”and“Madani”

Inregardstothetimeoftheirrevelation,theversesoftheQur`anaredividedintotwocategories–theyareeitherverseswhichwererevealedbeforethemigration(toMadinah),orthosewhichwererevealedafterthemigration(toMadinah).Thefirstgroupofversesareknownas‘Makki’whilethesecondgrouparereferredtoas‘Madani.’[47]

TheMakkiverseshavetheirownparticularstyletothemandtheMadaniversesalsohavetheirownstyle.

Theverseswhicharereferredtoas‘Makki’wererevealedatatimeinwhichtheMuslimslivedthelifeofasmall“unknown”groupwhodidnothavethepowertostandupandstruggleagainstthosewhoopposedthem.Theconditionoftheirlivesdidnotpermitthemtogoforthtoelucidateuponthepractical lawsof IslamsuchasSalat,Sawm,Zakat,KhumsandJihad.Therefore, amajorityof theversesof theMakkiperiodwere in regards to thepolytheistsandamajorityof theseversesof theQur`anwereinregardstoelucidatingonthebeliefsandloftytheologicalissuesofthefaithofIslam.

However, the conditionswhich existed inMadinahwere of another form and after seeing that theenvironment was friendly to them, the Muslims emerged as a powerful force. Consequently, theexplanationofthepracticallawsofIslamwasentirelypossible.Itisforthisreasonthattheversesinrelation to thepractical lawsof Islamsuchas thoseofSalat,Sawm,Zakat,Khumsand JihadwererevealedinthecityofMadinah.

BeingawareofthesetwotypesofverseswilldefinitelyhelpapersonreachthegoaloftheversesoftheQur`an.

ThescholarwhoisnotabletocorrectlydifferentiatewhichverseisMakkiandwhichisMadani,maysay,inregardstotheversewhichreads:

ى… ــ برقلا يف ةدوملا الإ ارجأ هیلع مكلئسأ ال لق

“…Say (O’Muhammad): I ask you (Muslims) no reward for my work except love for my closefamilymembers.”[48]

thatitwasnotrevealedinregardstothefamilyoftheProphet(‘s)sincetheSurahwhichthisversecomesfromisaMakkichapterandwasrevealedinthecityofMakkah.Thus,fortheProphet(‘s)toaskforsuchathing(loveforhisclosefamilymembers)atthattimeperiod(whenhehadnofamilymembers) isnothingbuthimmerelyexpressinganeloquent statement fullofpleasantries (withnowaytoactuallyimplementit).

However,ifwelookatthebookswritteninregardstotherecognitionoftheMakkiversesfromtheMadaniverses,itwouldbecleartosuchacommentatorthatsimplybecauseachapteroftheQur`anisknown to be aMakki chapter does notmean that all of the verses of that Surahwere revealed inMakkah!ItispossiblethatMakkiversesmaybefoundinchaptersoftheQur`anwhichareknownasMadaniandviceversa.

Morethanthis,thecommentatorsoftheQur`anwhohaveconsideredSuratulShura(whichiswherethe verse quoted above has been taken from) to be revealed in Makkah have mentioned thatspecificallythisverse(underdiscussion)andafewotherversesofthisSurahareMadani.[49]

Whathasbeenmentionedupuntilthispointarefourteenfundamentalpillarsofacorrectmethodofcommentary of the Qur`an, some of which have a particular priority associated with them. Eventhoughwe are able to group someof themwith others in the discussion, such as the eleventh andtwelfth points which were ‘knowledge of the history of Islam’ and ‘knowledge of the previousprophetssentandtheirstories’,whichcouldtechnicallybecoveredundertheheadingof‘knowledgeof thehistoryof revelationof theversesof theQur`an’,however inorder tomake thisdiscussionclearandunambiguous,wedecidedtorevieweachoftheseseparately.

Notes:

[47]Thecommonandwell-knownterminologieswhichareusedinthecommentaryoftheversesoftheQur`anare‘Makki’and‘Madani’,justashasbeenstated.However,theseversesareknownwithother words and terminologies which those who are specialists in the field of Tafsir are wellacquaintedwith.

[48]SuratulShura`(42),Verse23

[49] We are able to discern which surahs were revealed in Makkah and which were revealed inMadinahbykeepingthefollowingtwopointsinmind:

1.Thetraditions(ahadith)whichmentiontoustheplaceofrevelationofaspecificsurah.

2.PonderingoverthecontentsoftheversesofthesurahasthisactionusuallyactsasachainofeventsandtellsusifthesurahwasrevealedinMakkahorMadinah.

Seeing as how the cities ofMakkah andMadinahwere two completely different environments,weunderstandthateachwasgovernedbyitsownwaysofthought,andthusthereligionofIslamwasputfacetofacewithissuesanddifficultieswhichwerespecifictothatparticulararea.Thus,afterweareacquaintedwith thewayof thinkingand theparticular issuesofanarea (MakkahorMadinah),andhavestudiedthecontentsofasurah,wearethenabletounderstandwherethesurahortheversesofthesurahwererevealed.

For instance, theenvironmentofMakkahwaspollutedwithpolytheismandidolworship.TheJewsandChristianshadnotpermeated into thiscityand thus, thosewhohad truefaith(iman)wereverysmallinnumber.Theissueofjihadwasnotbroughtupinthisenvironmentandinduringthistime,theProphet(‘s)hadfrequentdealingsandrelationswiththeidolworshippers.Thepointofdifference

of the Prophet (‘s)with the polytheists (ofMakkah)was concerning tawhid (theOneness ofAllah(awj))andtheconceptofbeingbroughtbacktolifeontheDayofJudgmentafterthephysicaldeathinthisworld.

It is for this reason that the verseswhose axis rotates around the discussion of issues such as theorigin (of life),ResurrectionDay, reproaching polytheism and speaking about the outcome of thepreviousgenerationswhichwere inflictedwith theangerandpunishmentofAllah(awj)due tonotfollowingHiscommandmentsandtheirappointedMessengersweremostoftenrevealedinMakkah.

However the environment inMadinahwas an atmosphereof faith, virtue andpiety. Itwas a centerwheretheAhlulKitab-especiallytheJews–hadinfluencedandpermeatedinto.Itwasanatmosphereofyoungmen,heroes,championsandbraveindividualswhoreadilyacceptedtheteachingsofIslam.Inaddition,itwasalsoanenvironmentwheretheMuslimshadlittleneedtodiscussthefoundationalbeliefs(Usulad-Din)ofthereligion,andthusitwastimeforthemtobecomeacquaintedwithaseriesof other issues including their practical responsibilities, ethical and societal guidelines and theperformanceofdevotionalactssuchassalat,sawm(fasting),zakatandotherissues.ItisbecauseofthisfactthattheversesinrelationtotheTawratandInjilandthebeliefsoftheAhlulKitab(JewsandChristians) and the explanation of the altercations, battles andwars of theMuslimswith theAhlulKitabandthepolytheistswererevealedinMadinah.

Also, the verseswhich speak of the principles of etiquette and the commandments of the religionincluding theobligatory (wajib)andrecommended(mustahab)actswereall revealed inMadinah–meaningafterthemigration(hijrah)oftheProphet(‘s)fromMakkahtoMadinah.

Giventhat themoodinMadinahwasoneofinteractionbetweentheProphet(‘s)andtheAnsar(thelocal peopleofMadinahwhowelcomed theProphet (‘s) andhis followers to their city) andothergroupsthatslowlyacceptedtheteachingsofIslam,thislimitedtimeframedidnotpermittheProphet(‘s)todiscussissuessuchascondemningtheidolsandidolworshippers(whileinMadinah–astheyhadalreadybeencoveredwhileinMakkah).

Conversely, the atmosphere in Makkah was not conducive to discussing ethical issues, since thepeople ofMakkah still held doubts concerning the principles of Islam (origin of life andDay ofResurrection), did not attest to the propheticmission of the Prophet of Islam (‘s) and had not yetdevelopedfaithinhisuniversalmessage.[Takenfrom,TheIslamicMoralSystem:ACommentaryofSuratal-HujuratbyAyatullahJa’farSuhanitranslatedbySaleemBhimji]

16ChapterQuestionOnthePhrase“ClearArabic”

Upuntil thispoint, theconditionsandfundamentalpillarsuponwhichacorrectcommentaryof theQur`anlieuponhavebeenmadeclear.Howeverinrelationtothis,aquestionisraisedwhichwemustanswer:WhatisthemeaningofthephrasementionedintheQur`anof“ نیبم يبرع ”orthattheQur`anhasbeenpresentedin“ClearArabic”?

IfthecommentaryoftheQur`anrequiressuchaseriesofpreparatorystepsashavebeenmentioned,thenwhyhastheQur`anreferredtoitselfwiththefollowingdescription:

نیبم يبرع ناسل اذه و

“Andthis(theQur`an)isinaclear,understandable,Arabic.”[50]

Inanotherinstance,weread:

نیبم يبرع ناسلب ? نیرذنملا ن ــ م نوكتل كبلق ىلع ? نیمألا حورلا هب لز نـ

“TheTrustworthySpirit (Jibra`il)hasbrought this (theQur`an) toyour (Muhammad)heart so thatyoumaybeamongstthewarners,inaclear,understandable,Arabic.”[51]

IsthemeaningofthesetwoversesandmanyothersimilarversesanythingotherthanthefactthattheonlythingneededtoexplaintheQur`anisanawarenessoftheArabiclanguageandnothingelse?

Answer

SeeingashowthepolytheisticArabsfeltpowerlessinregardstothechallengesbeingofferedintheQur`an, theywere incessantlyplunged intodeep thoughtabout theoriginof thisBook.Thus in theendtheyhadtostate that,“MuhammadlearnedtheQur`anfromtwoRomanslavesnamedJabrandYasarandotherslikethem”[52],andthisiswhathasbeenalludedtoinaverseoftheQur`anwhereitstates:

نیبم يبرع ناس ــ ل اذهو يمجعأ هی ـ لإ نودحلی يذلا ناسل ـر شب هملعی امنإ نولوقی مهنأ ملعن دقلو

“And certainly We indeed know that they say, “It is a mortal human being who teaches him(Muhammad).”Thetongue(language)ofhim,theywickedlypointto,isnotablyforeign,whilethisisArabic,pureandclear.”[53]

Theoriginalmeaningoftheword“ مجع ”issomethingthatisvagueorambiguousandthusapersonwould be called an “ يمجعأ ” (one who is a non-Arab) whosemode of expression was defective –

whetherhewasanAraboranon-Arab.SeeingashowtheArabdidnothaveanawarenessofotherthanhisownlanguage,thenon-ArabreferredtoothersasAjamaswellsincetheydidnotproperlyunderstandArabicorwerenotabletospeaktheArabiclanguageinacorrectmanner.

KeepinginmindthehistoryofrevelationofthisverseoftheQur`anwhichsomecommentatorshavementioned, thepurposeof thisverse is to ask thequestion that: Is it logical tobringupapointofcontentionthat,“IsitrighttoclaimthattheProphet(‘s)hadlearnttheQur`anfromsuchindividuals(non-ArabsorthosewhowerenoteloquentintheArabiclanguage),whereasweseethattheQur`anis replete with eloquence, expressiveness, allure and attraction and has a certain sweetness andharmonytoit!?

Whenwelookatthespeechofthesetwoindividuals(thetwoRomansmentionedabove),weseethatthey definitely lacked these qualities since they were Romans and were individuals who had noawareness of theArabic language. Even ifwe assume that they knew the generalworkings of theArabiclanguage,howeverstill,weknowthattheycouldnotspeakthelanguagewellandtheirwordsandthoughtswerenotfreefromerrorsanddistortion.”

Therefore, the truemeaningof theverseunder review is that theQur`an is anaccurate speech, aneloquentcommunicationand is free fromall formsoferroranddistortion (in the languageused).Duetothis,wearenotabletoaccepttheinfluenceofthesetwoindividualsorotherssuchasthem.

However itmust be noted that by theQur`anbeing an eloquent and expressivework, or awritingwhich is free from errors and distortions does not mean that the prerequisites which have beenexplained in this book are not needed. Thus, there is no incongruity between requiring suchprerequisitesasmentionedinthisworkandtheQur`anbeingaworkof“plainandclearArabic”.

Todayinallcountriesoftheworld,weseevarioustechnicalbooksonthemodeofteachingorbooksof higher learningwhichhave beenwritten in very smooth and fluid stylewhich are far removedfromanysortofcomplexity.Unfortunatelythough,allofthesebooks,oratleastagoodmajorityofthem,arestillinneedofateacherorinstructor(inordertounderstandthem).

Inclearertermswecanstatethat:IftheQur`aniswritteninaclearArabicprose,thenthemeaningofthis is that thewaythat theQur`anspeaks isnot thewaythat thosewhodonotknowArabicwouldspeak–meaningthattheywouldgatherafewwords,mixthemtogethererroneouslyandinaccuratelyandthenthinkthattheyarespeakingArabic.Rather,itisaBookwhichiscompletelyinlinewiththerulesof theArabic languageand is far fromall formsofdistortionanderror in its languageandcomplicationofspeaking.

ThisrealityismadeclearerwhenweseethatthroughouttheArabianPeninsuladuringtheerawhentheQur`anwasbeingrevealed, therewerepriestswhoconsidered themselvesas interpretersof thewords of the Jinn andSpirits. In their ownbeliefs and statements, theyused to say: “Where as thewordsofthesecreatures(theJinnandSpirits)wereinArabic,itwassuchaninarticulateandconfusedspeechthatwiththeexceptionofalimitedgroupofpeople,nooneelsecouldunderstandwhattheyweresaying.Intheirspeaking,moreoftenthannot,theywouldmakeuseofunfamiliarandforeignwords.”

At thispoint,webringforthanexamplefromthewordsofoneof thesepriests,namedSutih,who

claimedtobeaninterpreterofthewordsoftheJinnandwholivedduringthetimeoftheProphetofIslam(‘s).Fromthisnarration,itisclearhowandwhytheQur`anisknownasaBookwhichhasbeenwrittenin“clearandmanifestArabic”.

Whatwequotebelowisjustonelinefromoneofthesepriestswhoofferedareplytoanambassadorwho had travelled from Iran, looking for answers in regards to various inexplicable signswhichwereseenonthenightofthebirthoftheMessengerofAllah,Muhammad(‘s)[54]:

، ناذبؤملا ایؤرو ، ناویإلا ساجترال ، ناساس كلم كثعب حیرضلا ـى لإ ـى فوأ دقو ، حیطس ـى لإ لبقأ ، حیشم لمج ـى لع حیسملا دبعابارع الیخ دوقت ، اباعص البإ ىأر .

“Abdal-Masih[55],mountedonaseriousandswiftcamel[56],hascometoSatih[57],whohasalreadyapproached his death[58]; The Sassanian king sent you due to the tremor of the chamber and thedream of the ruler of magians, who saw [in his dream] an obstinate camel leading an Arab[59]horse…”

Just as can be seen in this sentence, expressing himself in the formof rhyme, through employingshort sentences and making use of unintelligent words, his thoughts are actually the basis forconfusionandbewilderment!

HoweverweseethatthestyleoftheQur`anisacompletelydifferentform,anditsstyleofpoetryisaclearandexpressivemode.Inaddition, theArabicusedin theQur`aniseloquentandarticulate.Aswell,possessingsuchaformofperfection(initslanguageandmodeofexpressionasisthecaseoftheQur`an)doesnotpreventusfromacceptingthefactthatfromthepointofviewofitscontents,itissuchafathomlessoceanofknowledgethatitisnotpossibletodiveintothedepthsofunderstandingitwithouta teacher.Theconditions(whichwerepreviouslymentioned) that ruleover theexegesisofthe Qur`an must be in place and observed in order to correctly benefit from the contents of thisDivinework.

Today,allof thebookswritten inrelation tophysics,chemistryorevenmathematicsare, fromthepointofviewoftheirlanguage,writtencorrectlyandwithgreateloquenceandevenhavepicturesanddiagramsinthem,howeverinordertounderstandandmakeuseofthesebooks,oneisinneedofateacher!

Therulesrelatedtothecourtsystemhavebeenpennedinthemosteloquentofstyles,arefarremovedfromanysortoferrorsanddistortionsintheirlanguage,containnoobscuritywhatsoeverandhavebeen written without any sort of complications. However still, not a single person would permithimself to,without possessing the specific qualifications (to understand suchworks),make use oftheseworks!

TheQur`antellsus:Ispeakwithcompleteclarity–IdonotspeaklikethosewhohavenoknowledgeoftherulesoftheArabiclanguagewhosewordsarefulloferrorsanddistortions(inlanguage),nordoIspeaklikethosepriestswhoconversewiththeJinnsandSpirits(whotoodonotpossessacorrectunderstandingoftherulesofArabic)andwhomakeuseofunintelligiblesentencesandwords…

Thusinsummary:Versessuchastheonebelowandotherswhichstate:

ركدم نم لهف ركذلل نآرقلا انرسی دقلو

“AndWehave indeedmade theQur`aneasy tounderstand for remembrance, then is thereany thatwillreceiveadmonition?”[60]

areintheQur`anasaresponsetotwogroupsofpeople:

1. The first group are those people who, due to the fact they are not fluent in Arabic, wouldthemselvesspeakArabicinanincorrectmannerandfulloferrors;

2.Thesecondgroupisthosepeoplewhohaveahabitofspeakingininexpressiveandcontortedwaysandhaveboundthemselvestospeakinginproseandshortsentences.Inplaceofpayingattentiontothemeaningofwhattheywanttosay,theyinsteadplacetheemphasisonthewordstheyuse(andthemethodofspeaking).

However themethod of theQur`an is something other than is seen in these two forms of speech.Nonetheless, this sophistication in speech does notmean that a person can ignore the need to paycareful attention to the depth of thewords being spoken, referring to other verses of theQur`an,referring to the history of revelation of the verse and the reliable ahadith and other issues inunderstandingthemessageoftheQur`an.

Principally, the person who reaches at a conclusion from the verse quoted above and other suchversesthatacommentatoroftheQur`anisnotinneedofreferringtoanythingelse(otherthantheQur`an),hasnotfollowedthethirdandsixthconditionsfromthefourteenconditionswhichwehavediscussed in detail nor has he paid any attention to them.Through drawing a conclusion from theversequotedabove,theyhaveneglectedanotherversewhichpresentsAllah(awj)andtheProphet(‘s)asthecommentatorsandelucidatorsoftheQur`an[61]andotherswhichclearlystatethatthetaskofcommentingonandexplainingtheQur`anisthesoleresponsibilityofAllah(awj).[62]

Closure

Atthispoint,webringourdiscussiontoacloseandendourdiscoursebyquotingthewordsoftheCommander of the Faithful, Ali b. Abi Talib (‘a). In one particular event, the Commander of theFaithfulAlib.AbiTalib(‘a)sentIbneAbbastowardstheKhawarij(agroupofindividualswhohadinfact,leftthefaithofIslamduetotheirdeviantbeliefs)todebatewiththem,howeverofferedhimthefollowingadvice:

اصیحم اهنع اودجی نل مهنإف ةن ـ سلاب مهججاح نكل …و نولوقی و لوقت هوجو وذ لامح نآرقلا نإف نآرقلاب مهمصاخت .ال

“(O’IbneAbbas!)Inyourdebatesanddiscussionswiththem(theKhawarij),neverresorttoreplyingtothemwiththeQur`an,sincesurelytheQur`ancontainsverseswhichhavevariousprobabilitiesandpossibilitiestothem(intheirmeaningandunderstanding).Youshallspeaktothem(withtheQur`an),andtheyshallreplytoyou(withtheQur`an)andthus,yourdiscussionwiththemwillbeprolonged.Rather,debatethemusingthesunnahsincesurelyinthatthereisthestraightforwardandunequivocalreplyandtheywillfindnowaytomisrepresentthetruth.”[63]

This very valuable sentence clearly tells us that there are some verses of the Qur`an which have

variouspossibilitiesintheirmeaninganditisnotpossibletospecifyonemeaningtoaversewithoutfirst going through the introductory steps (of understanding the verse). By merely possessingknowledge of the rules of theArabic language, the section of ambiguitieswill never be removed.Thus,theonlywaytheambiguitiesareremovedisthroughthefourteenwaysmentionedinthiswork.

This hadith also relates to us the fact that all of the verses of the Qur`an are not straightforwardproofs(whichcanbepickedupandusedwithoutdiscretion)andthusindeterminingthetruemeaningwherethereismultiplepossibilitiesofaparticularverse,wemustrefertootherwaysandmeans.!

JaffarSubhaniWritingcompletedonthe27thofMuharramal-Haram,1404ah[2ndNovember,1983ce]Notes:

[50]SuratulNahl(16),Verse103[51]SuratulShu’ara(26),Verse193to195[52]Tafsiral-Kashaf,vol.2,pg.318[53]SuratulNahl(16),Verse103[54]FaridWajidEncyclopediaundertheworld ننهك[55]‘Abdal-MasihisthenameoftheambassadorwhotraveledfromIran.(Ed.)[56] The adjectivemashih denotes both seriousness and swiftness. It sometimesmeans “cautious”.(Ed.)[57]HereSatihisthenameoftheaddresseeof‘Abdal-Masih.Thecontextofthespeechindicatesthathewas very ill.Theword satih literally signifies “spreadout”; and is also used to denote awatervessel.(Ed.)[58]Notethat theword¤arihdoesnotmean“death”butrathera tomb,shrine, trenchoranoblongexcavationinthemiddleofagrave.However,thecontextoftheexpressionimpliesdeath.(Ed.)[59]SeeLisanal-’Arabundertherootword(‘a-r-b).[60]SuratulQamar(54),Verse17[61]SuratulNahl(16),Verse78[62]SuratulQiyamat(75),Verse19[63]NahjulBalagha,Letter77

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