In this article , deviants tafseer have been collected from various movements , sects and philosophical schools from the past to the present in order to clarify the potential danger and corruption inherent in tafseer by unsubstantiated opinions. For examples , in the Rationalist ( Mu'tazilee) tafseers revelation was interpreted according to human logic. Hence , in this following verse , the word " Heart" was given a new meaning : " And (remember) when Ibraaheem said " My Lord , show me how You give life to the dead" Allah replied :" Do you not believe?" Ibraheem said " Yes but ( i'm asking You) in order that my heart may be at rest" (Soorah al Baqaraah (2):260) In this verse , they claimed that Ibraheem had a friend whom he referred to as his "heart" or some says his name was " heart" and thus , the true meaning of the verse was " Yes i am asking You in order that my friend may be at ease" This interpretation was considered necessary to explain away the doubt which Ibraheem felt in his heart as it seemed inconscient with prophethood, according to the Rationalists. In other hand , the Shi'a tafseers under the influence of their excessive obsession with the Prophet's descendants , interpreted the verse : " He has let the two seas flow freely and they meet" (Soorah ar - Rahmaan (55:19) They referred this as Alee ( Prophet's son in law ) and Fatimaah , the Prophet's daughter and in this following verse " Out of them come pearls and coral " (Soorah ar-Rahman (55):22) as Prophet's grandsons , al-Hasan and al-Husayn ! In another sect , called Qaadiyane sect , which appeared in India in the latter part of the 19's , claimed the this verse : " Muhammad isn't the father of any of you but he is Allah's messenger and the seal (khattam) of the Prophet's" ( Soorah al Ahzaab (33:40) In this verse , the term " Khattam" in arabic means , Ring and not Seal. Thus , this sect claimed that just as the ring beautifies the finger , the Prophet Muhammad ( aleyhi salahs wa salam) was the beautification of prophethood. Therefore , the meaning of the verse is that the Prophet was the most superior of the Prophet but not the last ! They also asserted that even if the word "khattam" were taken to mean " seal" it would be like the seal placed on an envelop sealing its contents but not limiting them. They make things even more difficults than the original meaning of verses by imagining their own interpretation of verses !!! In another interpretation, they used these verses: " They did not crucify him nor did they kill him , but it was made to seem so to them...... but Allah raised him up to Himself " , they stated that " raise him up" meant a figurative raising and : " And We raised your esteem for you" ( Soorah al Inshiraah )(94:4) concerning Prophet 'Issa ( aleyhi salam ) in order for them to prove their doctrine that 'Essa , died naturally on earth after marrying and having children and being buried in Kashmir. For Elijah Muhammad*** , the founder of the Elijah sect , interpreted the verse : " On that day when the trumpet is blown , We will assemble the criminals blue-eyed" ( Soorah Ta-Ha (20):102) As I already wrote on my previous articles about this founder of the Elijah sect , he claimed that Allah was a black man and that all black people , like him, were gods and all white people were devils. In this verse , the word "zurq" means " blue" it was refered to as the clouding of the cornea due to certain eye diseases which gives the eye a bluish-grey tinge. Hence , a more accurate translation would have been " bleary-eyed". We can see how misguided those sects are , and they are ready to misguide us too if we don't learn properly the way we should interpret Qu'ran. They only listen to their logic. These few examples of tafseers , mislead us from the correct method of tafseer.For them Qu'ran is no longer a book of guidance , but a book containing the hidden secrets of their sect , which only their leaders and the specially initiated can unlock. This is the reason why , dear readers , i encourage you on always ask for the sources of your research to not fall in their traps and to not become one of them trying to divide the perfection of Islam and the Ummah.
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In this article we will see about the differents conditions (methods) and points of how to understand the Qu'ran better.
First one is : 1) Tafseer of Qu'ran by Qu'ran Many of the verses contains the Qu'ran by Qu'ran method , questions are asked in order to catch the mind of the reader and subquently answered to increase the impact of the concept in question , like in this following verse : " By at-Taariq (The Knocker or Night Approacher" and what will make you understand what at-Taariq is ?" He then answer His question as : " It is the piercing star , ( Venus ) " ( Soorah at-Taariq (86:1-3) This kind of method vary the modes of presentation and serves at encouraging readers and listeners to relfect more. They are also called self-explanatory verses. This method of tasfeer is that Book must be relied upon to explain itself , so before looking for an explanation elsewhere it is better to follow this first step. 2) Tafseer of Qu'ran by the Sunnah In this kind of context , the Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) added clarification to various verses of the Qu'ran. Allah entrusted the job of explaining the Book to the Prophet. This trust was expressed in the Qu'ran , in Surat an-Nahl , Allah said : " We have only revealed the Book to you in order that you clarify for them the things about which they differ" Most details of Salaah , Zakkah , sawm , hajj and so on were either explained by the Prophet's statements or by practical demonstration and applications ( = also called Sunnah) So , Prophet explanation of Qu'ranic passages are referred as the tafseer of Qu'ran by Sunnah. The Sunnah was based on guidance from Allah , it thus , represents the second part of God's promise to explain the Qu'ran : " Then , verily , it is for Us to explain it" ( Soorah al Qiyaamah ) (75:19) 3) Tafseer of Qu'ran by Aathaar This method teach us about how Sahabah would use their own reasoning based on knowledge if they couldn't find tafseer of a passage in Book or the Sunnah of the Prophet. This point is also expressed as " Explanation or Sayings of the Sahabah" For that , Ibn Katheer , the greatest Qu'ran commentator of all time , said " If we were unable to find a suitable tasfeer in the Qu'ran or in the Sunnah , we go to the opinions of the Sahabah , for verily ther knew the Qu'ran better than anyone else due to their knowledge of the circumstances of its revelation. Their complete and accurate understanding of it and their righteous deeds" For example , he was questioned about the verse : " And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity and to only reveal from their adornment that which (normally) appears " ( Soorah an Noor (24:31) He replied that " it refers to the face and hands". Howewer , the Prophet explained only was was unclear to the sahaabah , and they , in turn , explained only what what unclear to the taabi'oon because the tasfeer transmitted from the Prophet and the Sahabaah did not cover all of the verses of the Qu'ran. During the era of the taabi'oon , many Christians and Jews became Muslim , as a result , some of the taabi'oon narrated tales from Jewish and Christians sources in their explanations of the Qu'ran , such narrations were known as " Israa'eeleeyaat". 4. Tafseer of Qu'ran by Language Time after times , words took on new meanings and old meanings became lost , foreign words entered into the language and vast sections of vocabulary fell into disuse. Consequently , in this period , dictionnaries appeared , written specifically to deal with the Qu'ranic Arbic vocabulary and philosophy. In case words had more than one meaning , this step created differences of opinion which could only be solved by finding supports in the Sunnah. For example , " lams " literally means " to touch " , but figuratively it means sexual intercourses. This , the later scholars were of two basic opinions concerning the following verse : " ... or you ( lamastum ) women and cannot find water , them make tayammum ( ritual purification with dust) ( Surat an Nisaa (4):43) Imam ash-Shaafi'ee and Maalik held that it rather meant " the touch of the hand" through each imam added certain speculation to it. On the other hand , Imaam Abu Haneefah , stated that it means sexual intercourse. However , the Prophet's wives reported that he kissed them before performing salaah , which indicated that touching was not intented in this verse. The 4 methods come under the general title of Tafseer Bir Riwaayah or Tafseer bil-Ma'thoor ( tasfeer based on narration) 5) Tafseer of Qu'raan by Opinion As we shall know , free interpreation based on philosophical , scientific or sectarian ideas is totally forbidden , because the Prophet reported : " Opinion based argument about the Qu'ran is kufr" He repeated it 3 times then added " What you know of it , act upon it , and what you are ignorant of , refer it to ne who knows" ( Reported by Abu Hurayrah) We can see how stern warned his companion and later generations of Muslims about interpretations of the Book based on speculation or unproven opinions. The reason to that is the Qu'ran is the foudation of Islaam , and it had to remain pure and clear. If it was given to everyone to interpret it as they wished , its value would have been totally destroyed and Islaam itself would be worn out from its nature. Thus , the only acceptable tasfeer is that which adhere to the following sequences and methods taught above. ( From 1 to 5 methods) The Qu'ran , God's final book of revelation to man represents the primary source of life of the principles which constitute of course about the way of life also known as Islaam.
Main passages of the Qu'ran contain : - Advices and guidance formed as laws, parables , stories and arguments. By nature , depth of understanding of Qu'ran's meanings ( comprehension ) vary from person to person depending on natural and difference of intelligence. During the time fo Sahaabah , variation already existed due to 7 dialects revelations sent to them. What we must know is that Allah placed generalities in the Qu'ran some of which He later explained , while others were only explained to the Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him). Allah had chosen him as its vehicle of Qu'ran understanding , it was thus Prophet's job to explain the Book to his followers by his actions as well as his statements. Allah clearly said in the Qu'ran : " We have revealed the Qu'ran to you ( O Muhammad) so that you may explain to people what has been revealed to them " (Soorah an Nahl (16:44) ) The Prophet ( alayhi salat wa salam ) didn't invent speech or talk under passion but by divine revelation. Consequently , the sahaabah all turned to the Prophet whenever possible during his lifetime for the tasfeer ( explanation , interpretation and understanding) of the Noble Qu'ran. To take an example , Ibn Mas'ood related that when the following verse was revealed of the companion became distressed , because the general linguistic meaning of thulm coevers any kind of wrong : " Those who believe and do not obscure their faith with transgression ( thulm ) , for them there is security and they are rightly guided " ( Soorah al An'aam) (6:32) The Prophet replied " It is not as you all think. It is no more than what Luqmaan said to his son ' Verily , shirk is the greatest form of thulm" ( Sahih Muslim vol.1 p.72 no.226) Thus the Prophet clarified for them that the meaning of thulm was not intented in the first verse , rather it was used to refer to shirk. From this , the Prophet explained the Qu'ran by the Qu'ran ( first step in the divinely ordained method of understanding and interpretation ) After the Prophet's death , the sahaabah turned to those who were more gifted in understanding of the Qu'ran and who have been able to spend more time with the Prophet. Let's learn some terms. Tafseer and Ta'weel By early generation , the both terms were considered synonyms but for some scholars they have a different meaning. Tafseer come from the arabic verb " Fassara" to explain or to expose. For Qu'ranic sciences , Tafseer is defined as a branch of knowledge by which Qu'ran is understood ( meaning explained and its point of law and wisdom derived ) (Derived = obtain something from a specified source) Whereas Ta'weel comes from the arabic verb " awwala " which literally means interpretation. Nevertheless , the word Ta'weel has differents meaning depending on its concept. 1. In the context of command , ta'weel means execution or implementation 2. For news or informations , Ta'weel refers to its occurence as in the verse : " Verily , We have brought them a book of knowledge and explained it in detail , a guide and a mercy for the Believers.Are they only waiting for the occurence ( ta'weelahu ) of what is in the Book?" ( Soorah al A'raaf (7):52-3 ) Allah ridicules those who do not accept revelation by asking them if they foolishly awaiting the occurence of the final hours and its signs ( Judgment , Paradise and Hellfire , when it will be too late) 3. To finish , in the context of recorded speech ta'weel refers to interpretation or explanation. Therefore , Scholars of Tafseer used the both words interchangeably ( which can be replaced ) They defined Ta'weel as a shifting of an expression from its obvious meaning ( interpretation of a passage by other than its original meaning) For example , scholars of this period under Mu'tazilee ( Rationalist) influence explained the word hand in the following verse " Allah's hand is above their hands " ( Soorah al Fat-h (48):10) They interpreted it as being Allah's help and support for the simple reason that Allah could not possibly have a hand as He doesn't look like His creation.( humankind) This Ta'weel was based on the false premise (= previous statement or proposition from which is inferred or follows as a conclusion) that the attribution of a hand to Allah automatically implied Him in human form. As I wrote in the previous chapter , Qu'ran writting and recitation forms have been preserved without any change for over 1400 years. Also didn't only preserved the Qu'ran but He also safeguarded its original meaning. If it wouldn't be guarded , deviant would have turned the Book into jumble of symbols , riddles leading to multiplicity of interpretation. Firstly , Sahaabah were taught to seek their understanding from the Qu'ran itself , secondly from explanation and application of Prophet and finally from their own intimate understanding of Qu'ran's language (reasoning) At the time , the new reverted to Islam would depend of the Book then turned to the Sahaabah to explain them ( what they learnt from the Prophet) This is why the Scholars stressed the great responsability of conveying the original meanings of the Qu'ran to the next generation of Muslims as they received them. To conclude this interesting article , the process of gathering and record of various narrations of Tafseer was made by the 3rd generation from the tabi'oon In the next article we will learn the conditions for making correct tafseer in sha Allah ! :D This is necessary to know at which point in time the various laws were revealed in order to apply them properly . We will see the 3 most important reasons of the distinction.
1. Fiqh ( Islamic Law ) The various laws of Islam were revealed over a period of 23 years. Some laws were revealed bit by bit and others canceled earlier laws ( = Madeenan period ). For example , alcohol was made forbidden in gradual stages. The first law concerning alcohol was simply a warning ( of its dangers) . Allah said : " And , when they ask you about Khamr ( alcohol) and Maysir (gambling) , tell them that they contain benefit for some people , but the sin is greater than the benefit" ( Soorah al Baqarah (2:219)) Then second law which was revealed warned Muslims away from Salaah when they were intoxicated ( drunk). Allah said : " Do not come to Salaah when you are intoxicated , untill you know what you are saying" ( Soorah an-Nisaa (4):43) The third law , however , was a complete prohibition of even coming near from alcohol. He said : " Verily , alcohol, gambling and sacrificial altars are filth , as a result of Shaytaan's work , so stay away from them" ( Soorah al Maa'idah (5):90) If someone was unaware of the order in which these verses were revealed , he or she would completly mistake and think that drinking alcohol is allowed as long as one doesn't get drunk and come to Salaah. Or, it might be thought that benefitting from the sale of alcohol is permitted ,right? 2. Da'wah By understanding the order in which the verses of the Qu'ran were revealed, one can learn the best method of teaching Islaam.For example , the Qu'ran taught the believers not to curse or make fun of the idols of the kuffars in order not to drive them away and that they do not curse Allah out of ignorance , this is the result of kindness and intelligence. Da'wah is a part of logical reasoning, thus , instead , they were told to reason with the disbelievers and show them logically why the worship of idols was incorrect.( This is how we should be with disbielievers of our time , trying to make them reason can lead them to Islaam in order to not scare them.) Allah said : " Are you worshipping besides Allah other gods which cannot benefit you at all nor harm you?" (Soorah al-Anbiyaa (21):66) 3. Seerah Most of the important events in the Prophet's life have been recorded in various verses of the Qu'ran. By knowing the order in which the verses were revealed , and reading by meditation it is possible to piece together a large portion of the bigraphy of the Prophet. Some point to memorize in this 3 last articles : - Putting tawheed into practice is in Salaah ( last 2 words of the Prophet's life was " Salaah Salaah") we can see the whole importance of Salaah ( prayer ) -During the Makkan period , Salaah was the only pillar revealed - Nothing cannot create something , = proof that we're here that this world had an origin - Verses coming down gradually - Madeenan verses help to understand the Seerat ( way) of Prophet , guide us in term of Daw'ah ( tawheed and salah) , teach us the Islamic rules and deal with Jews and Christians. - Major laws revealed in Madeenah ( because in Makkah , they ate pork and drank alcohol already) - Bible changed continuously ( old testament) - Saying the " Holy Qu'ran" comes to imitate the Christian with their " Holy Bible" , it is thus preferable to describe ours as " the Magnificient Qu'ran , Qu'ran al Adhim , Noble Qu'ran) - Sh'ites think that the first thing Allah created was Prophet's light , just to elevate him beyond Humanity : WRONG and BIG MISTAKE from them. As we all know , Allah created first a writting instrument ( qalam , pen) - Prayer can change the Qadr ( destiny ) , also called the 2nd writting ( angel coming in the feotus ) can be changed , but we cannot change Allah first Qadr. - We cannot claim that coming from a rigtheous ancestor make us rigtheous too and coming from a hypocrite ancestor make us automatically like them, like some people claming to come from the dinasty of Prophet Muhammad , peace be upon him) ( Son of the most hypocrite person 'Abdullah was a righteous person during Prophet time ) |
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October 2016
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