: What was the purpose of those verses (Mutshabihat) if all human beings except Allah Almighty can not understand them? Secondly, Let me cite the commentary on 7-8 verses of Ale-Imran by Abdullah Yousuf
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear brother Burhan
Asslamoelekum
I received your two emails in which you have cited the 7-8 verse of Ale-Imran
marinating a position that Mutshabihat verses were revealed just for the sake
of revelation without any importance for human being save for
recitation as they can not be understood by human beings. Please don't take up the stick
of fatwa of perversity in my heart to beat me if I don't accept your illogical
position. You must answer one question: What was the purpose of those verses
(Mutshabihat) if all human beings except Allah Almighty can not understand
them?
Secondly, Let me cite the commentary on 7-8 verses of Ale-Imran by
Abdullah Yousuf in which he says:" One reading, rejected by the
majority of commentators but accepted by Mujahid and others would mark a break
at the point here marked waqfa lazim but would run the two sentences together.
In that construction would run.'No one knows its hidden meaning except God and who
are firm in knowledge. They say". In his first comments he is hopeful of
some peoples' getting some light from it as the final meaning is known to God
alone. What I follow from you answer to my question is that you are denying even the smallest possibility
of getting some light from the Mutshabihat or figurative part of the Holy Book.
Let me quote some more verses from the Holy Book in which these two words
muhkam and muthashabi have been used in
Sura Hud verse 1 "Alif Lam Ra (This is ) Book, whose verses are made
decisive, then are they made plain, from the Wise, All-Aware. and Sura
Zumar23."Allah has (from time to time) The most beautiful Message In the
form of Book, Consistent with itself, Yet repeating (its teaching in
various aspects).
Here
Abdullah Yusuf Ali has given Mutashabih a 'slightly different shade of meaning'
as suggested by context. But the same problem arises with it. Different
commentators interpret these verses differently. Now when verses of the Holy
Quran are open to so many varied interpretations by different commentators, you
still dispute the Bohra's claim that ordinary person
can not understand the meaning of its verses unless one is 'firmly grounded in
knowledge'. Mutshabihat verses were not revealed by Allah for Himself to have
knowledge about them. If so, then what was the purpose of and need
for their revelation? He revealed them
to Holy Prophet (PBUH) so that the Muslims could merely recite them. No that is
not so. It can not be so. I believe that true knowledge and understanding ofthese
verses was granted to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his family and progeny. Allah Almighty
shown the special grace for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his
holy family. The holy family who he was told by Allah to bring
for the purpose of Mubahla against the Christians of Najran. Sura Ale Imran
verse 61 " But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what come to
you of knowledge, then say: come let us call our sons and your sons,
and our women and your women, and near people, then let us
be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars".
Come what may, your original position to refute Bohra's claim that ordinary man
can not have understanding of the Holy Book is not proven through a convincing
argument. May Allah almighty guide you
and keep us on the path chosen by Him for Momineen.
fi ammanillah
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Bohra cannot understand quran
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Question: You
must answer one question: What was the purpose of those verses (Mutshabihat) if
all human beings except Allah Almighty can not understand them?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 26:
Allah is not ashamed to cite the similitude of a
gnat or of something even more insignificant than this (in His Glorious
Quran). As for those who believe, they
come to know from the same similitude that it is the Revelation from their
Lord. But those who disbelieve say:
“What does Allah mean by such similitudes?”.
Allah leads astray many and guides many to the
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, the absolute majority
of the Glorious Quran contain the ‘mohkamaat’ or clear verses which can be
understood easily….but only as a test, the All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord has
introduced some ‘Mutashabehaat’ verses in His Glorious Quran whose ‘taweel’ or true
meaning is known to none except the Lord Himself.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah
Ale-Imraan verses 7-8:
7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses
‘muhkamaat’ ( basic or fundamental
verses of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book:
others are ‘mutashabehaad’ (allegorical and ambiguous). But those in whose hearts is perversity
follow the part thereof that is ‘mutashabehaad’, seeking discord and searching
for its hidden meanings but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah; and
those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book;
the whole of it is from our Lord"; and none will grasp the Message except
men of understanding.
8 "Our Lord!" (they say) "let not our hearts deviate
now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us Mercy from Thy Own Presence; for
Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure.
The Lord All-Wise has provided a simple litmus test to
determine and differentiate those who wish to unconditionally submit themselves
to His every Guidance, and those whose intention is to seek and create ‘fitnah’
and discord amongst the Ummah.
If one wishes to recognize the people whose intention is
to create ‘fitnah’ in the Ummah, then their absolutely single biggest sign is
that these people will always base their beliefs and fantastic claims on the
‘mutashabehaat’ or allegorical verses of the Quran, constantly searching and
explaining the ‘taweel’ or ‘true meanings’ of these allegorical verses….When
one encounters such a people whose evidence for their false beliefs are based
on the ‘mutashabehaat’ verses, know with absolute conviction that these are the
people who have a perversity in their hearts….and because of their constant
seeking of discord, the Lord has increased their perversity all the more!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 8-18:
8 Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and
the Last Day" but they do not (really) believe.
9 Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only
deceive themselves and realize (it) not!
10 In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease and grievous is the penalty they (incur) because they are false (to
themselves).
11 When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth"
they say: "Why! We only want to make peace!"
12 Of a surety they are the ones who make
mischief but they realize (it) not.
13 When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe"
they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?" nay of a surety
they are the fools buy they do not know.
14 When they meet those who believe they say: "We believe"
but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with
you, we (were) only jesting."
15 Allah will throw back their mockery on them and give them rope in
their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (to and fro).
16 These are they who have bartered guidance for error: but their
traffic is profitless and they have lost true direction.
17 Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it
lighted all around him Allah took away their light and left them in utter
darkness so they could not see.
18 Deaf! Dumb! And blind (are they)! They
will not return (to the Straight Path).
Those who are constantly seeking ‘fitnah’ and discord, and
are always in the ‘taweel’ mode have a set of self-invented beliefs, and their
constant efforts and energy is spent in trying to fix and assign a word or term
of the Quran as a justification of their beliefs!
On the other hand the true believers completely align
their beliefs to the guidance of the Holy Quran.
A few simple examples of how exactly those who are
constantly in search of the ‘taweel’ try to assign the Quran to their
self-invented beliefs:
Example-1: Surah 2 Baqarah verse
1: ‘Alif Laam Meem’
They claim that the ‘taweel’ of this verse is that ‘Alif’
is the first alphabet of the term ‘Allah’; ‘Meem’ is the first alphabet of the
term ‘Mohamed’; and ‘Laam’ is the middle alphabet of the term ‘Ali’….thus they
try to prove that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) is encompassed between none other than
Allah and His Messenger (saws)!!!
Example-2: Surah 20 Taa-Haa verse
1: ‘Taa Haa’
They try to explain that the ‘taweel of this verse is that
‘Ta’ refers to Prophet Mohamed (saws), and ‘Haa’ refers to Hadrat Ali (r.a.)!
Example-3: Surah 36 Yaa Seen verse
1: ‘Yaa Seen’
They try to explain that the ‘taweel’ of this verse is
that ‘Yaa Seen’ refers to Hadrat Ali (r.a.) and his descendants.
Example-4: Surah 37 Saafaat verse 130: "Peace and salutation to
such as Il-Yaa Seen!"
They try to explain that the ‘taweel’ of this verse is
that Allah sends his peace and salutations to ‘Ale-Yaa Seen’ or the descendants
of the noble companion Hadrat Ali (r.a.).
But if one simply reads the preceding verses of the same Surah from 123
onwards, one would easily understand that by ‘Il-Yaa Seen’ the Lord has mentioned of His Noble Prophet Ilyaas (a.s.) and not
‘Ale-Yaa Seen’!
Example-5: Surah 2 Baqarah verse 2: ‘Dhaalekal kitaab…..’ (That Book…..)
They try to explain that the reason the Lord said ‘that
Book’ and not ‘this Book’ in His Glorious Quran, because in reality the Lord is
talking about the supposedly ‘speaking Book’ which they claim is Hadrat Ali
(r.a.)!!!
I can go on and on giving you examples of how these
unscrupulous people who have their own agendas try to search and explain their
fantastic understanding of the ‘taweel’ of each verse of the Quran. Such is the perversity in their hearts, that
even the ‘muhkamaat’ verses of the Quran are transformed into
‘mutashabehaat’….and for them, the whole Quran is thus allegorical and
ambigious….which gives rise to their other self-proclaimed belief…that the
Glorious Quran can never be understood by its reader, and if one truly wishes
to understand the real meaning or ‘taweel’ of the Quran, they must learn it
from their appointed and chosen ‘holy men’ who are supposedly well versed in
the knowledge of the ‘taweel’ of each and every verse of the Quran!!!
Your Question:
Secondly, Let me cite the commentary on 7-8 verses of Ale-Imran by
Abdullah Yousuf in which he says:" One reading, rejected by the
majority of commentators but accepted by
Mujahid and others would mark a break at the point here marked waqfa lazim but
would run the
two sentences together. In that construction would run.'No one knows its hidden
meaning except God and who are firm in knowledge. They say".
In his first comments he is hopeful of some peoples' getting some light from it
as the final meaning is known to God alone. What I follow from you answer to my
question is that you are denying even
the smallest possibility of getting some light from the Mutshabihat or
figurative part of the Holy Book.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah
Ale-Imraan verses 7-8:
7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses
‘muhkamaat’ ( basic or fundamental
verses of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book:
others are ‘mutashabehaad’ (allegorical and ambiguous). But those in whose hearts is perversity
follow the part thereof that is ‘mutashabehaad’, seeking discord and searching
for its hidden meanings but no one knows its hidden meanings except
Allah; and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We
believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord"; and none will
grasp the Message except men of understanding.
8 "Our Lord!" (they say) "let not our hearts deviate
now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us Mercy from Thy Own Presence; for
Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure.
Just for arguments sake, lets see how the words read and
the meaning changes if the ‘waqfa’ in the sentence is not honored:
….but no one knows its hidden meanings (taweel) except Allah and those who are firmly grounded
in knowledge. (They) say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our
Lord"; and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
Immediately after the term ‘rasekhoona fil ilme’ is the
term ‘ya-qooloona…’; and any person who has even a slight
knowledge of the Arabic grammar will declare that the term ‘ya-qoloona….’ would
mean ‘They say…’; and in the context of the discourse, it would
be grammatically incorrect to start the sentence with ‘ya-qooloona….’ without
specifying who exactly are the ‘they’!
If the ‘waqfa’ is not honored, and as is claimed that only
Allah the ‘rasekhoona fil ilm’ both know the ‘taweel’ of the ‘mutashabehaat’
verses….then who should we suppose are the ‘they’ or people who
say: “We believe in the
Book; the whole of it is from our Lord" and the subsequent
supplication in verse 8: "Our Lord!" (they
say) "let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us….” ????
The only types of people that
are mentioned in the above discourse are those who have a perversity in their
hearts, and those who are ‘rase khoona fil ilm’ (people firmly grounded in
knowledge). Thus if the ‘waqfa’ is not
honored, then the question arises which one of the two groups say these words….“We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord" and "Our Lord!" (they say) "let not our hearts
deviate now after Thou hast guided us….” ????
It obviously cannot be those who have a perversity in
their hearts who would make this declaration and supplication….and if indeed
the ones who make this declaration and supplication are the people firmly
grounded in knowledge….then any person who has even a basic knowledge of Arabic
grammar would have to say that t is absolutely imperative that the ‘waqfa’ is
honored and thus the verse would read:
…..but no one knows
its hidden meanings except Allah; and those who are firmly
grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book….”
Secondly brother, whenever the Arabic term ‘Illalaah’
(except Allah) is used in conjunction with Allah or any of His Noble
Attributes…..it would be absolutely incorrect to insert any other person, or
group, or thing in association with Allah Subhanah…for that would be a form of
manifest shirk!
For example: When one says : ‘Laa illaha ‘illalaah’’
(there is no ‘ilaah’ except Allah), it would be blasphemous to add anything
after ‘illalaah’….for that would be a form and manifestation of shirk.
Similarly, when the Lord Himself Declares in the verse ‘…..no one knows its ‘taaweel’ illalaah’; it would be
absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable to remove the ‘waqfa’ and suppose
that the verse reads…. ‘no ones knows its ‘taweel’
illalaah and the ‘rasekhoona fil ilme’’
Your Question: What
I follow from you answer to my question is that
you are denying even the smallest possibility of getting some light from
the Mutshabihat or figurative part of the Holy Book.
Dear and beloved
brother in Islam, when the Lord Most High has Himself made it clear that none
knows the ‘taweel’ except Him…..it does not behove and befit one who sincerely
fears Allah and the Last Day to associate someone with Allah Subhanah regarding
His Knowledge of the ‘taweel’!
Your Question:
Different commentators interpret these verses differently. Now when verses of
the Holy Quran are open to so many varied interpretations by different
commentators, you still dispute the Bohra's claim that ordinary person can not
understand the meaning of its verses unless one is 'firmly grounded in knowledge'.
Beloved brother in Islam, now we arrive at the actual crux
of the matter!!!!....that is the claim of some self-appointed ‘holy men’ of a
sect whose claim of their superiority to the ordinary person is their absolute
baseless claim that: ‘ordinary person can not understand the meaning of its
verses unless one is 'firmly grounded in knowledge'.
Obviously these same unscrupulous and self-appointed ‘holy
men’ claim that they are the ones who are ‘firmly grounded in knowledge’…thus
they alone can understand the Quran!
That is their blasphemous claim! Now lets see what our Lord Creator and the
Creator and Sustainer of the Worlds claims regarding His Glorious Book of
Guidance:
Ramadan is the month
in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind
and consists of clear Teachings which show the
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 89:
We have sent down to
you this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a guidance, blessing and good news to those who have
surrendered themselves entirely.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verse 97:
We have made this Quran easy, and sent
it down in your tongue so that you should give good news to the pious and warn
the stubborn people.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 1-3:
All praise is for
Allah Alone, Who has sent down this Book
to His Servant (Mohamed (saws), and assigned
nothing crooked to it. This Book
says everything directly, so
that he may warn the people of the severe chastisement of Allah and give good
news to the believers, who do righteous
deeds, that they will have an excellent
reward.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 99:
We have sent down to
you Revelations that clearly expound the Truth, and none but the
disobedient reject them.
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, now you decide who has
a bigger right that their claim be accepted as the Truth: some self-proclaimed
‘holy men’ or Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds????? Those supposedly ‘holy men’ who say that the
Quran cannot be understood by any except themselves….or the Lord Most High Who
Declares that:
Your Statement: Come
what may, your original position to refute Bohra's claim that ordinary man can
not have understanding of the Holy Book is not proven through
Dear and Beloved Brother in
Islam, the Glorious Quran is a Book of Guidance, a Syllabus,
and a Manual revealed by our Merciful Creator for the guidance of
mankind. We cannot be guided aright
without it! Thus it becomes our
responsibility to understand this Message from our Creator, whom we have
accepted as our Lord and Master, so that we may fulfill our duties and
responsibilities according to His Commands and Teachings.
For one who does not speak
Arabic as his first language, he is left with four choices:
1.
Leave the guidance of the
Quran, and make our own laws, or follow our own whims and conjecture.
2.
To recite the Quran in
Arabic, without understanding a word of
it.
3.
To learn the Arabic language, so
that we can understand the Message of our Creator.
4.
To read the available
translations, and get an understanding
of the Message.
Choice 1: Leave the guidance of the Quran, and make our own laws or follow our own whims
and conjecture.
This is precisely what has
happened to the Ummah of Islam. Because
they do not speak or understand Arabic,
they have left the Quran high on their book-shelves, and started making their own laws and follow
the current wave of un-Godly regulations.
And without the guidance of the Holy Quran, this person just roams in deep darkness, rather than follow the light and guidance of
the Quran.
Choice 2: To recite the Quran in Arabic, without understanding a word of it.
This person believes in the
Quran as the Book of Allah, and recites
it day and night in Arabic. He
will, Insha Allah, get his reward from Allah, but obviously, he will not receive any guidance to lead his
life in this world. These kind of people
then follow blindly anyone who wears the Islamic garb and claims to be a
scholar or a holy man, believing that
that person is guiding from the Quran.
But he does not have the means to double check and satisfy himself, that indeed this scholar is guiding from the
Quran or not. If the scholar or holy
man is indeed a true believer and fears Allah,
then this person will receive some guidance. But,
Allah forbid, if the scholar or
holy man is one who is more interested in this worldly life rather than the
hereafter, he will be mis-guided in
Islam, and will have no excuse in the
Court of Allah. And Allah is our
witness, there are enough of these
unscrupulous holy men around today, who take advantage of these poor
souls.
These unscrupulous
self-proclaimed holy men, then create an
environment, whereby they look and act
very religious, but their actions and teachings
are far away from the true guidance of the Quran. But because,
the poor follower does not understand a word from the Quran, he blindly follows them, thinking this is his road to salvation. The first advice and commandment of these
holy men is to proclaim, that if they
want to understand Islam, they must
follow their created sect alone. They
must not try to understand the Quran on their own or from any other
source, as they will, then, be
mis-guided. They make fancy promises of
intercession to their followers on the Day of Judgment in the Court of
Allah! Once they are successful in
doing that, they invariably take you
towards the invocation, and sometimes
worship of themselves and their dead
ancestors in the graves. They create
fancy and miraculous stories regarding their ancestors and relate them again
and again in their sermons, and in
time, rather than giving sermons from
the Quran, their sermons are nothing
but stories and miracles of their own self-made leaders! They then invent and create several rites,
rituals and customs in the name of Islam,
so that the follower is deeply engrossed, and feels he is living an Islamic life
through these rituals; whereas most of
these rituals have absolutely no basis from the Quran or Sunnah.
Allah has promised in the Quran
to throw both, the unscrupulous holy
men, who invent these sects, and their followers, into the fire of Hell!
Choice 3: To learn the Arabic language, so that we can understand the
Message of our Creator.
Yes, this would absolutely be the best
option, but how many of us have the
conviction to take this step. May Allah
bless those people who took this step, and May Allah increase them in their
knowledge of the Truth.
Choice 4: To read the available translations, and get an understanding of the Message.
Many scholars, who Allah blessed to learn Arabic and another
language/s fluently, and blessed them to
understand the Quran, have taken the
effort to document a translation of the Holy Quran for the people who do not
understand Arabic. The translation of
any literature from one language to another might loose its fluency and its
rhythm, but the meaning remains the same.
One would receive guidance only
if one leaves all his inborn beliefs and prejudice behind him, and assigns and
aligns himself completely with the Guidance of the Glorious Quran.
But if one were to try to hang
on to his past beliefs, and change and alter and manipulate the verses of the
Quran in their feeble effort to justify their false beliefs….obviously such a
person would receive no guidance from this Glorious Book of Guidance!
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His
Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led
astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
