The religious scriptures are normally revered and read all over the world - but very few really strive to understand the wisdom contained therein. Like all religious scriptures, Qur'ān too was reveled for people with understanding to ponder over its verses and derive lessons for their benefit and to find the Divine Wisdom contained therein.
Allah says in the 29the verse of Sürah Ṣād " ص " -The Letter Ṣād:
كِتٰبٌ اَنۡزَلۡنٰهُ اِلَيۡكَ مُبٰرَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوۡۤا اٰيٰتِهٖ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ اُولُوا الۡاَلۡبَابِ
"This is the Blessed Book that We have revealed to you, (O Muhammad), that people with understanding may reflect over its verses and those with understanding derive a lesson."
The Quran has been called a blessed Book in the sense that it is highly useful for man. It gives him the best guidance to improve and reform his life. By following it he has only to gain and nothing to lose.
Revelation is not a mere chance or haphazard thing. It is a real blessing-among the greatest that Allah has bestowed on man. By meditation on it in an earnest spirit man may learn of himself, and his relation to nature around him and to Allah the Author of all. Men of understanding may, by its help, resolve all genuine doubts that there may be in their minds, and learn the true lessons of spiritual life.
The dilemma of the Muslims of late has been to recite the Qur'ān and then wrap it and place it in the highest shelf of the house. While many read its translation or those who know Arabic automatically understand its meaning, very few strive to understand the Divine Wisdom contained in it and benefit from it. In fact Qur'ān should be read just like we read any text book and prepare for the examination. We pay extra care while reading our text book so as not to lose marks when the exam comes. And when we do not understand a subject, we read it over again and again and even consult those who better understand the subject, so as not to fail.
If we are so careful and particular about our exams, why aren't we concerned about the far bigger exam, or should I say mother of all exams that will confront us in the Hereafter? To be prepared for that exam, we need to ponder over each word of the Qur'ān and try to find the hidden Divine Wisdom. Unless we do that, we shall never be able to find the true guidance that Qur'ān contains. Like difficult subjects, there are many verses that are hard to understand and when confronted with such verses, we leave them and move on for we do not fear the exam for which this Qur'ān is set to prepare us for. So read it again and again and try to relate it to the reference to the context. And if still you do not understand, ask a scholar to make things easier for you.
The knowledge in interpretation of the Quran is limitless, and each commentator can find out some points about a verse, and there are still many points that have not been known. And it is one of the miraculous aspects of the Quran; that every individual may understand its points based on his/her conditions of time and place. That is why in Quranic interpretations there is always space for growth in understanding the meanings. Hence, do not stick to one interpretation and try to read and listen to different commentaries. Then you can compare them to each other, and at some points, with the help of Allah, you might find some new points about specific verses. [1]
Allah tells us to refer to people of wisdom and knowledge and ask them our questions if we cannot reach the answers by ourselves. With regards to Quranic questions, reading or listening to different interpretations of the Quran can be a great help. Different Qur'ān interpreters have discovered different points about the meanings of Quranic verses.
For better understanding the Quran, one must read it without any bias or prejudice for Allah tells us that the Quran is a book of guidance (2:2) and asks those who read it not to read their desires into it (3:7).
Those who come to the Qur’an looking to affirm their beliefs that Islam promotes violence will take fragments of verses out of context and leave with that impression. Those who come to the Quran to look for proof that it is OK to do drugs will take one verse and not look at the Quran holistically.
But those who come to the Quran free from bias and with open hearts and minds, they will find guidance. In the beginning of every chapter of the Quran, save one, you will find mercy. You will find that justice is fundamental (4:135). And you will find that peace is the cornerstone of the Qur’an. You will find tolerance is a necessity (2:256). You will find that equality is a given (4:2). And in all this and more you will find guidance in the Quran.
We at Islam: My Ultimate Decision have embarked upon an effort to offer exegesis / tafsir of each chapter of Qur'ān, verse by verse, by four to five eminent Muslim scholars and exegetes so that our readers can better understand each verse easily. Please refer to our reference page: 114 Chapters (Surahs) of Holy Quran for better understanding of Divine Wisdom.
May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an
You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an
You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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1 comments:
Jazak Allah khair Jalal, very useful blog to understand Quran in depth.
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