My little knowledge about Quran
We all know know that part of rukun iman is to believe in Al-Quran. As such, in some way or another, every Muslim has the obligation to understand the Quran to the best of his/her capability.
I have found some guidelines to understand the Quran for 'layman' like us, who has little knowldege about Arabic, asbabun nuzul (background on the revelation of the Quranic verses) etc.
Before that, let's just see some important points about the Quran, extracted from 'Way To The Quran' by Khurram Murad, one of the leader of Jamaat Islami, who just passed away approx. 1-2 years ago:
1- Our lives will remain meaningless and ruined unless they are guided by the Quran, the word of God.
2- Quran, being the eternal guidance given by the Ever-living God, is as relevant for us, today, as it was 14 centuries ago, and will remain so forever.
3- We almost have a right, in some sense and measure, to receive its blessings today as its first believers did; provided, of course, that we come to it and move in it in a manner that entitle us to share its rich harvest.
4- Every Muslim has a duty to devote himself to reading, understanding and memorizing the Quran.
5- One must abandon oneself totally, in thought and deed, to whatever the Quran has to offer. Any pride, arrogance, sense of self-sufficiency, reservation or ingenuity that can mistakenly be read into it, is fatal to its understanding and would shut the door to its blessings.
6- The path of the Quran is the path of self-surrender, of practising of what it tells you,
even if one learns only one Ayah. One Ayah learnt and acted upon is better than a thousand which are explained beautifully but which do not impart any beauty to the reader's life. Obedience, after all, is the real key to understanding.
While we should not wait to be competent in Arabic or be a learned Quranic scholar before trying to understand the Quran, it is very important to observe certain guidelines & precautions, so thay we may not go wrong, or worst, astray.
Again, I extracted these guidelines from 'Way To The Quran' by Khurram Murad:
1- Remember that understanding the Quran is a vast, multi-dimensional process, comprising many types, aspects, degrees and levels. You should know them all. Understanding to nourish the heart will be of a VERY DIFFERENT order from understanding to derive legal precepts.
2- Evaluate yourself & recognize very clearly your limitations and capabilities. For example, evaluate your understanding of the Quranic framework of guidance, your grasp of Arabic, your familiarity with hadis and sirah, and your access to sources.
3- Understand your objectives precisely, and set specific goals for your study. NEVER ATTEMPT to do anything beyond what your limitations and capabilities allow.
For example, if you do not know the Arabic language, do not delve into grammatical and lexical issues. Confine yourself to direct, literal meanings. If you have no knowledge of things like tanzil (revelation), nasikh-mansukh (abrogation), and the works of the earlier jurists, YOU SHOULD NOT begin to derive your own fiqh from the Quran, or criticize and support any particular view.
4- Never take as conclusive nor start propagating any of your findings which are different from or against the general consensus of the Ummah. This is not to bar you from holding your views nor to deny that the opinion of the learned may be wrong, but to controvert or go against them you must posess an equal learning, if not more. Nor does this absolve you from theresponsibility to do what you find from the Quran to be morally right & avoid what you find to be morally wrong.
5- Whenever in doubt about your own conclusions, which you may often be in view of your limited knowldege, keep your views 'in suspension' unless you have made a full comparative study or discuseed them with a reliable, learned scholar of the Quran.
Believe the above guide should help. InsyaAllah if we adhere to these 'rules', we'll not go wrong with the Quran.
(Written on 23rd March 2001)
I have found some guidelines to understand the Quran for 'layman' like us, who has little knowldege about Arabic, asbabun nuzul (background on the revelation of the Quranic verses) etc.
Before that, let's just see some important points about the Quran, extracted from 'Way To The Quran' by Khurram Murad, one of the leader of Jamaat Islami, who just passed away approx. 1-2 years ago:
1- Our lives will remain meaningless and ruined unless they are guided by the Quran, the word of God.
2- Quran, being the eternal guidance given by the Ever-living God, is as relevant for us, today, as it was 14 centuries ago, and will remain so forever.
3- We almost have a right, in some sense and measure, to receive its blessings today as its first believers did; provided, of course, that we come to it and move in it in a manner that entitle us to share its rich harvest.
4- Every Muslim has a duty to devote himself to reading, understanding and memorizing the Quran.
5- One must abandon oneself totally, in thought and deed, to whatever the Quran has to offer. Any pride, arrogance, sense of self-sufficiency, reservation or ingenuity that can mistakenly be read into it, is fatal to its understanding and would shut the door to its blessings.
6- The path of the Quran is the path of self-surrender, of practising of what it tells you,
even if one learns only one Ayah. One Ayah learnt and acted upon is better than a thousand which are explained beautifully but which do not impart any beauty to the reader's life. Obedience, after all, is the real key to understanding.
While we should not wait to be competent in Arabic or be a learned Quranic scholar before trying to understand the Quran, it is very important to observe certain guidelines & precautions, so thay we may not go wrong, or worst, astray.
Again, I extracted these guidelines from 'Way To The Quran' by Khurram Murad:
1- Remember that understanding the Quran is a vast, multi-dimensional process, comprising many types, aspects, degrees and levels. You should know them all. Understanding to nourish the heart will be of a VERY DIFFERENT order from understanding to derive legal precepts.
2- Evaluate yourself & recognize very clearly your limitations and capabilities. For example, evaluate your understanding of the Quranic framework of guidance, your grasp of Arabic, your familiarity with hadis and sirah, and your access to sources.
3- Understand your objectives precisely, and set specific goals for your study. NEVER ATTEMPT to do anything beyond what your limitations and capabilities allow.
For example, if you do not know the Arabic language, do not delve into grammatical and lexical issues. Confine yourself to direct, literal meanings. If you have no knowledge of things like tanzil (revelation), nasikh-mansukh (abrogation), and the works of the earlier jurists, YOU SHOULD NOT begin to derive your own fiqh from the Quran, or criticize and support any particular view.
4- Never take as conclusive nor start propagating any of your findings which are different from or against the general consensus of the Ummah. This is not to bar you from holding your views nor to deny that the opinion of the learned may be wrong, but to controvert or go against them you must posess an equal learning, if not more. Nor does this absolve you from theresponsibility to do what you find from the Quran to be morally right & avoid what you find to be morally wrong.
5- Whenever in doubt about your own conclusions, which you may often be in view of your limited knowldege, keep your views 'in suspension' unless you have made a full comparative study or discuseed them with a reliable, learned scholar of the Quran.
Believe the above guide should help. InsyaAllah if we adhere to these 'rules', we'll not go wrong with the Quran.
(Written on 23rd March 2001)
posted by Mohammad at 7:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home