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THE GLORIOUS QUR'AN
It is human instinct to praise
and submit to a superior power.
In ancient times, men worshipped
the sun, the stars etc. As time
progressed, man wanted to
explore and understand as to who
was his Creator
and Sustainer. The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Whoever understand
himself understand his Creator.”
Hence it is important to have “Self-Knowledge”.
When a faithful Muslim probes
about himself, he realizes that
he is a precious creation of
Allah and not only yet another
creation having some basic needs
only. He has not only a material
body but also a soul and spirit. If we truly understand what a precious being we are, our indescribable
potentials, and the heights to
which we can rise, then we will
not allow ourselves to be
shackled by sins.
Imam Ali (a.s.) said in Nahjul Balagha: “Whoever views
himself with respect, views his
desires with disdain. Keep
yourself above every low thing
even though it may take you to
your desires, because what you
will receive in return is
nowhere near the worth that
which you have to give of
yourself. Do not let anything
enslave you, for Allah created
you free.”
The tragedy of modern times is
that we pay very little
attention to our souls and
spirits, which acts develop our
soul and which one rusts our
souls.
Every action and every word
spoken has consequences for our
spiritual well-being.
Hence, a sinful act has the
roots in the spirit and
adversely affects the soul.
The Glorious Qur’an is the word
of Allah, revealed to the Noble
Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) during 23
years for the benefit and
guidance of humanity. It is a
unique book which gives
principles and guidelines for
individual as well as social
needs and development of the
society.
The Glorious Qur’an is the
authentic Divine word of Allah;
its teachings are genuinely
original and are exactly the
same as revealed to the Noble
Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.). For the
understanding of the Glorious
Qur’an, it is necessary to have
the knowledge of the Arabic
language, history of Islam, and
the Traditions of the Noble
Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.). It
is important to remember that we
should try to understand the
Glorious Qur’an by Qur’an
itself; its Ayahs explain and
corroborate themselves. The specific mode and style of the Glorious Qur’an may be noticed from the
distinction noted between “Ayat-ul-Muhkamat”
(the firm verses) and “Ayat-ul-Mutashabihat”
(the ambiguous verses). The
Ambiguous verses are to be
studied and pondered with the
help of the firm verses.
A question arises whether the
Glorious Qur’an can be studied
and understood?
There were some scholars who
asserted that only the Prophets
and Imams can understand the
Glorious Qur’an. The ordinary
human beings can only read and
recite it.
This group was called “Akhbaris”. They
regarded Hadees as the only
permissible source of fiqh or
Islamic Jurisprudence. Besides
the Akhbaris, there were other
groups who also thought that the
Glorious Qur’an is inaccessible
to the ordinary human intellect.
They thought the real meaning of
the verses is the same as the
literal meaning. Ash’arites are
among them. This approach leads
to the personification of God
and His physical characteristics
like human beings. Opposing this
group, another group came into
existence that used the Glorious
Qur’an to fulfill their selfish
ends. The champions of this movement in the history of Islam consist of two
groups; the first group is the
Isma’ilis (also known as Batinis-secret
sect) and the other is the
Sufis. As an example, the famous event in the Glorious Qur’an when Prophet Ibrahim sacrificed his
son Prophet Isma’il and he was
saved by a sheep, the Sufis
interpret this incident as :
Ibrahim represents here as
intellect and reason (Aql), and
Isma’il represents the self (nafs).
In numerous verses, the Glorious
Qur’an challenges and encourages
mankind to think and ponder over
its contents like “What,
do they not ponder the Qur’an?
Or is it that there are locks
upon their hearts?” (47:24). What
is required is a just, honest,
unbiased, truthful and balanced
interpretation free of all
traces of selfish interests.
Sources used:
Man and Universe by Ayatullah
Murtaza Mutahhari
Understanding the Uniqueness of
Qur’an by Ayatullah Murtaza
Mutahhari
Self Knowledge by Mohammad Ali
Shomali |
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