بسم
الله الرحمن
الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
How
to Understand Quraan
by Irshad Mahmood - Director, Siraat-al-Mustaqeem Dawah Centre
Quraan
is the
Book of Guidance
Quraan is full of Wisdom (Al_Quraan_036.002)
Quraan is really very easy to understand, since Allah said so, (Ref. Al_Quraan_054:017, 022, 032, 040)
But to understand Hadeeth you really need Quraan
Quraan
is Free from any
Error or Contradictions and is Fully Protected by Allah
But Hadeeth is not Free from any Error or Contradictions and is Not Protected by Allah
We MUST
believe on
Those Authentic
Hadeeths, which don’t contradict Quraan
Allah
is
One <--->
Quraan is One <--->
Siraat_ul_Mustaqeem is One
One Ummah <--->
One Islaam <--->
One Voice <--->
One Worshipping Method
General Excuses and
its Possible Answers on Understanding the Quraan:
People can give many of excuses on Understanding the Quraan. While answering some of their excuses, let us keep the following verses in our mind.
Verses from the Quraan:
Seek Refuge with Allah when Reciting the Quraan:
So when you recite the Quraan, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan, (Al_Quraan_016.098)
Quraan is Easy to Understand and has Many Examples:
And certainly We made the Quraan easy to learn (understand and remember). Does any of you wish to learn? (Al_Quraan_054.017, 022, 032, 40)
A revelation from the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Allah. A Book of which the verses are made simple, an Arabic Quraan for a people who know. A herald of good news and a warner, but most of them turn aside so they hear not. (Al_Quraan_041.002-004)
And certainly We have set forth to men in this Quraan similitudes (examples) of every sort that they may mind (take heed). An Arabic Quraan without any crookedness, that they may guard (against evil). (Al_Quraan_039.027-028)
Listen with Full Attention, when the Quraan is being Read:
And when the Quraan is recited, then listen to it and remain silent, that mercy may be shown to you. (Al_Quraan_007.204)
Recite the Quraan in Slow measure and Ponder on it:
Or a little more; and recite the Quraan in slow (from cover to cover by pondering on it). (Al_Quraan_073.004)
Muslims Behavior on Listening or Reciting the Quraan:
Say! Believe in it or believe not; surely those who are given the knowledge before it fall down on their faces, making obeisance when it is recited to them. And they say: Glory be to our Lord! most surely the promise of our Lord was to be fulfilled. And they fall down on their faces weeping, and it adds to their humility. (Al_Quraan_017.107-109)
Munafiqs Behavior on Listening or Reciting the Quraan:
Do they not then reflect on the Quraan? Nay, on the hearts there are locks. (Al_Quraan_047.024)
He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. but none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding. Our Lord! make not our hearts to deviate after Thou hast guided us aright, and grant us from Thee mercy; surely Thou art the most liberal Giver. (Al_Quraan_003.007-008)
Muslims Emaan Must Increase on Reciting the Quraan BUT Not the Munafiqs Emaan:
And whenever a chapter is revealed, there are some of them who say: Which of you has it strengthened in faith? Then as for those who believe, it strengthens them in faith and they rejoice. And as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it adds uncleanness to their uncleanness and they die while they are unbelievers. (Al_Quraan_009.124-125)
Blindly Believing on Scholars is Shirk, You must verify them from the Quraan:
They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only Allah. (Al_Quraan_009.031)
Let us see what Rasool Allah (Peace-Be-Upon-Him) will be saying about us on the Day of Judgment, since we LEFT the Quraan:
Then the Messenger will say: "O my Lord! Truly my people took this Quraan for just foolish nonsense." (Al_Quraan_025.030)
We must be very careful about our beliefs and we must come towards the Quraan. Every single Ayaat of the Quraan is Really Authentic and Free from Contradictions or Errors:
… We have Revealed the Book to you explaining EVERYTHING (Not Missing any thing, what we really need to understand and follow Deen), and a Guidance and Mercy and Good News for those who submit. (Al_Quraan_016.089)
None
argue concerning the revelations (Ayaat)
of Allah BUT
those who Disbelieve... (Al_Quraan_040.004)
If
Quraan cannot convince you nothing will, open your heart towards Allah,
because to him will you return and if you haven't gone through the
manual (the Quraan) he has sent you and understood it properly, for
sure Allah will not like it.
Example: A person, who does not know FRENCH at all, but he knows English and after reading a French Newspaper, he declares that he had read all the French News Paper, Will you accept his reading or not. No body accepts his reading of the French Newspaper. Why then, do we still believe that, without understanding the Quraan we have done our part? Yes reciting without understanding is only one part of it, BUT with understanding of the Quraan there could be Miracles and you may get at least double award than those whose mother tongue is Arabic.
We must understand the Quraan in order to ponder over its verses, for this is one of the things that separates us from non-believers.
Excuse - 1: Brain is not capable of doing Extra Work to Learn the Quraan:
BRAIN's CAPABILITY: We have around 1 trillion cells in our brain and we hardly use around 5% of it. Learning to understand the Quraan could be the part of this 5%. Those whose mother tongue is URDU, might already know around 60% of Arabic words, since Arabic is the base language of Urdu, so they might need just little more effort to understand the Quraan. Also learning a second language is much easier than learning your own mother tongue.
Brains work with associations, each of these cells make links with other. Audio-Visual as well as meaning, emotions and smells etc. also makes connections.
Excuse - 2: I am Non-Arabs:
One who has learned a language other than his mother tongue has no excuse to not learn Arabic. Also those who are educated have no excuse as well. If you can study other languages or technology etc., you can also learn Arabic.
Excuse - 3: Tragedy:
Every other book is read and understood, BUT the Quraan is left behind.
Excuse - 4: Busy:
I am very busy, although I have a lot of time for every thing BUT I don't have time to understand the Quraan. Treating the Understand the Quraan as the last and least priority. We Many excuses to avoid learning the Quraan BUT we have time for party and we have time for every other thing, except learning the Quraan.
Do we ever claim that Engineering or other professional courses will be in our Mother Tongue; otherwise I will not learn it, and then why are we treating this with the Quraan and why aren't we starting to learn the Quraan? We invest our full effort including money to understand English to understand Technologies, so why not we spend some effort to Learn Arabic to understand the Quraan.
Muhammad (Peace-Be-Upon-Him) regularly used to spent 4 hours in the night (half of the night as in Surah Muzammil) reciting the Quraan.
We don't spend 10% (25 minutes) of that time even during the day.
Allah has only sent us one book to learn and understand, not like schools where there are lots of books which changes every year.
Excuse - 5: Slow Learning:
What will you do to your kid if he says "I am still learning", since in the beginning of the year he don't understand. And what will be your response if it is the same answer that "I am still learning", at the end of year.
People take
pride in associating themselves with big institutes and rich or famous
people (like
Alas! Parents ask kids about their school studies, homework, and exams; however they do not ask if their kids understand the Quraan.
Are we
eager to recite the Quraan, like Sahabaas used to recite?
EMERGENCY: Daily Salaat is Not Complete Without Understanding of the Quraan:
It is an EMERGENCY. As well as common sense, our daily Salaat may not be accepted completely if we don't understand the Quraan. Yes according to Fiqh it is acceptable, I fully agree.
When an Imaam is reciting, it is Allah whose message is coming to us, and we are listening Allah's word of Guidance from Imaam.
Each Salaat in which you do not understand the Quraan is a reminder for you to learn the Quraan IMMIDIATELY.
If you can find a book of 600 pages, which has secret of converting metal into the gold, you will surely go for finding that secret in that book and will not miss any single line or statement.
Here is the book Al_Quraan of around 600 pages, which has secret of our infinite future.
Infinite future is associated with this book the Al_Quraan.
Salaat has three main parts.
1> Praising to Allah
2> Asking from Allah
3> Reminders from the Quraan
It is Important to pay attention in Salaat, BUT hard to maintain focus if we do not understand the Quraan.
Translation of the Quraan is a Bridge to Understand the Quraan:
The Quraan cannot be translated completely, BUT the message can be translated. You may loose beauty and emotions during translation. e.g. from a Urdu Poem, which was written after a fall of an empire that poor became rich and rich became poor and its translation into English, the whole message is transmitted, BUT the emotions etc, cannot as mentioned below.
In Urdu
KAESE KAESE AESE WAESE HOGAE
AESE WAESE KAESE KAESE HOGAE
English
Translation
RICH BECAME POOR
POOR BECAME RICH
or
LORD(King) BECAME POOR
POOR BECAME LORD(King)
Original text of the Quraan is Arabic, and we must learn Arabic.
There may be extra rewards for learning Arabic for those whose mother tongue is not Arabic.
Quraan is Very Easy to Learn, since Allah has said so:
And certainly We made the Quraan easy to learn (understand and remember). Does any of you wish to learn? (Al_Quraan_054.017, 022, 032, 40)
There are many Interactive Arabic Learning Program is available, below is just few of them:
1> Arabic School: Interactive Multimedia Arabic Teacher -for beginners (very good and worth its cost)
2> Before You Know it. http://www.byki.com
3> Understand the Quraan, the Easy Way. Please find below websight for very good video lectures for beginers.
http://www.understandquran.com
1> Create your user for free to download
2> Login
3> Click on the Course at the top menu
4> Click on the left menu Video Lect (English)
5> Download all the files
You will need to download the Sample Video Lectures in English files on your machine by right clicking on the file choosing 'save target as' option.
File Name |
Description |
Lecture on introduction of this course |
|
Lecture on why to understandquran part 1 |
|
Lecture on why to understandquran part 2 |
|
Lecture on why to understandquran part 3 |
|
Session covering Surah Al-Fatiha (part 1) |
|
Session covering Surah Al-Fatiha (part 2) |
|
Session covering Surah Feel |
|
Session covering Surah Quraish |
|
Session covering Surah Ma'oon |
None
argue concerning the revelations (Ayaat)
of Allah but those who disbelieve... (Al_Quraan_040.004)
And we
have indeed made the Quraan easy to understand and remember, then is there
any that will
remember (or receive admonition)? (Al_Quraan_054.017)
(Since
Allah has said that Quraan is really easy to understand and
remember, we
must have
to believe it)
In
the Quraan
Allah has told us that “…
This day have I perfected your Religion for you and completed My FAVOR
unto you, and have chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAAM”.
(Al_Quraan_005.003)
If
anything is completed,
does it NEED
any Additions
or Subtractions
or Alterations?
The absolute
answer
to this is
only and only
NO.
Therefore any Hadeeth contradicting the
Quraan, we are not supposed to accept and those are NOT
Authentic Hadeeth. Since
Rasool Allah (Peace-Be-Upon-Him) already warned about the spreading of
Hadeeth and
how to
verify them.
So We all must
have to follow that and a single proof should be enough for this that
there are
some Poor Hadeeth and we need to test all of them according to the
Quraan. The
Quraan
is the real Authentic
Source, FREE
from and ERROR
or CONTRADICTION.
Ali (RA) narrated, Prophet Muhammad
(Peace-Be-Upon-Him) said,
there
is NO DOUBT
that, there will be
Hadeeths coming after me, claiming that I have said those. So you MUST test each and every
Hadeeth from the QURAAN. If it is really
according to the QURAAN only then accept it otherwise
reject it.
(Sanan
Dar Qatni, Vol-2, Book – Imrani Abee Musa, Matba Farooqi
– 513)
Duaa for Scholars
and Students:
After all we are human being and may be wrong on some point, so we need to make a very special Duaa:
O
Allah! Guide us and help us. If I am wrong, O Allah! Correct me. If
others are
wrong, O Allah correct them. If we all are wrong, O Allah correct all
of us. AMEEN.
”Rabbi
Zidnee Aailmaa”. (O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge). Ref:
Al_Quraan_020.114
AMEEN.
”Rabbishrah
Lee Sadree Wayassir Lee Amree Wahlul AAuqdatan Min
Lisanee
Yafqahoo Qawlee”. (O my Lord! expand my breast; And ease my
task for me; And
loose the knot from my tongue; So they may understand what I say). Ref:
Al_Quraan_020.025 – 028)
AMEEN.
”Rabbana
Hab Lana Min Azwajina Wathurriyyatina Qurrata aAAyunin WajjAAalna
Lilmuttaqeena
imamaan”. (O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our
offspring the joy of our
eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous). Ref:
Al_Quraan_025.074.
AMEEN.
Is Quraan Difficult to Understand?
And We have indeed made the Quraan easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition? (Al_Quraan_054.017, 022, 032, 040)
Quraan is [MUBEEN] Clear and Makes things Clear:
A. L. R. These are the Ayats of Revelation, -
of a Quraan that makes things
clear.
(Al_Quraan_015.001)
We have not instructed the (Prophet) in Poetry, nor is it meet for him:
this is no less than a Message and a Quraan making things
clear:
(Al_Quraan_036.069)
These are verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
(Al_Quraan_026.002)
These are verses of the A, -a book that makes (things) clear.
(Al_Quraan_027.001)
These are Verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
(Al_Quraan_028.002)
By the Book that makes things clear.
(Al_Quraan_043.002)
By the Book that makes things clear.
(Al_Quraan_044.002)
TIPS to Understand the
Quraan:
…
Recite the Quraan
in slow, measured rhythmic
tones.
(Al_Quraan_073.004).
(So
don’t rush to finish it, instead take your time to understand
each and every Ayaat.)
Before
giving the reference of any Ayaat, you MUST understand some
of the verses before and after that
Ayaat. You need to understand the THEME and
the TOPIC on which Allah
wants us to understand.
What is the TOPIC on which the
talk going on?
When
Allah says “Hell
(NAAR)”, means “REALLY
HELL and not the GRAVE”.
BUT it could be the
interpretation, which might have been twisted.
When
Allah says “EASY”,
means “REALLY
EASY”. BUT it could
be the interpretation, which might have been
twisted.
When
Allah says, “CLEAR”,
means “CRISTAL
CLEAR”. BUT it could
be the interpretation, which might have been
twisted.
When
Allah says “ANYONE”,
means “MUSLIMS
also included”. BUT it could
be the interpretation, which might have been
twisted.
When
Allah says “AFTER”,
means “NEVER
EVER BEFORE and nor
IN-BETWEEN”.
BUT it
could be the interpretation, which might have been twisted.
When
Allah says you will get the
Reward TODAY
on the Day on
Judgment,
means “TODAY and not
YESTERDAY in the GRAVE”. BUT it
could be the
interpretation, which might have been twisted.
When
Allah says “WILL
BE”, means “WILL
BE in the FUTURE not WAS in the
PAST”. BUT it could
be
the interpretation, which might have been twisted.
PURPOSE
to send the Quraan was to WARN
the human kind from the Day of Judgment and the Punishment in the HELL
and NOT in the
GRAVE. This is the
Natural Process to be crumbled bones in the Grave, NOT a punishment.
The main
arguments of the disbelievers were that after the bones getting
crumbled in the
Grave, we will have SECOND LIFE to get
the punishment. Please Re-Read the whole Quraan again and try to
understand. I
will strongly recommend to re-read followings specially:
Al_Quraan_002.001
– 029
Al_Quraan_050.001
– 045
Al_Quraan_056.001
– 096
Al_Quraan_075.001
– 040
The
Basic concept mentioned all over the Quraan regarding
punishment is the Punishment in the HELL after
the Day of Judgment and NOT before in the
Grave.
Yes there are some
exceptional cases including, a person is being killed on the way of
Allah, and
Allah already told us about them that don’t say them that
they are dead, BUT
they are alive and we don’t have capacity to understand that.
For reference
please see Al_Quraan_002.154.
Please
don’t impose exceptional cases over General Rules of
Quraan.
Basic Questions Raised by Non-Muslims regarding the Day of Judgment:
This
is the NATURAL
Process to be crumbled bones in the Grave, NOT a punishment.
Allah knows the best.
(Now) they are saying:
Shall we really be restored to
our first state (to get punishment
in the hell, NOT before in the
Grave). (Al_Quraan_079.010)
Even
after we are crumbled bones? (Al_Quraan_079.011)
They
say: Then that would be a vain proceeding. (Al_Quraan_079.012)
Surely
it will need but one shout, (Al_Quraan_079.013)
And
lo! They will be awakened. (Al_Quraan_079.014)
Remember
Allah is the Greatest BUT not Rasool Allah
(Peace-Be-Upon-Him). After
all,
Rasool Allah (Peace-Be-Upon-Him) is human being and
created by Allah.
Be
Care
full when discussing the Ayaat of Quraan, and be HONEST to Allah, otherwise it
might put you into the
category of Liar to
Quraan,
which is
Extremely Dangerous SHIRK.
By Denying the Ayaat of
Quraan,
may cause you to fall in the category of
looking for other Religion, so Be Care Full:
O ye who believe! Whoso of
you becomes a renegade from his religion, (know that in
his stead) Allah
will bring a people whom He loves and who
love Him, humble
toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of
Allah and
fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah, which
He gives
unto whom He will. Allah is All Embracing, All Knowing. [Al_Quraan_005.054]
Trying to Change the Ayaat of
Quraan by Denying it, may cause you into the category of Liar to
Quraan. Even Rasool Allah
(Peace-Be-Upon-Him) did NOT had Authority
to change any of the Ayaat of Quraan, so Be
Care Full:
But when our Clear Signs are rehearsed unto them, those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, say: bring us reading other than this, or change this, say: it is NOT for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow Naught but what is revealed unto me (as is): if I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the Penalty of a great day (to come). Say: If Allah had to willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would he have made it known to you. A whole lifetime before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand? (Al_Quraan_010.015 – 016)
And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord: none can change his words, and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than him. (Al_Quraan_018.027)
Let
us not be
like those
who listen but actually listen not and read
but actually read not. In reality, they don’t want to
understand. Allah has
already named them as Blind, Deaf and Dumb (Al_Quraan_002.018). May
Allah
protect us from all kinds of Blindness, Deafness and Dumbness, AMEEN.
Advise
to the Scholars, Writers, and Speakers etc.:
…
Recite the Quraan
in slow, measured rhythmic
tones.
(Al_Quraan_073.004).
(So
don’t rush to finish it, instead take your time to understand
each and every Ayaat.)
Be
careful in
trying to explain the Ayaat of Quraan. Don't try to mislead the people by
doing wrong
translations or give wrong
concepts against the
Quraan. This is
not a joke. We are all
learning from each other and
are students of the Quraan.
Don't
use abuse
words for others like IGNORANT etc., and you
must respect others. You must learn How to do Effective
Communication.
When
Allah says,
"it is easy to understand", don't force the people to believe
that it is difficult.
When
Allah says
"AFTER", don't force the people to accept it as
before.
When
Allah says
"ON the Day of Resurrection", don't force the people to accept it
as before.
When
Allah says "ON the Day of
Judgment", don't force the people to accept it as
Grave, etc.
When
Allah says
"Paradise (in Arabic
“JANNAH”)", don't force the people to accept it
as Grave, etc.
When
Allah says
"Hell (in Arabic “NAAR”)", don't force the people that it as Grave,
etc.
Also
don't apply
any exceptional rules over general rules, for example the
people who are killed on the way of Allah during the war are not dead, BUT not the general
public.
You
must know
"How to Understand
the Quraan".
Advise
to the Readers, listeners etc.:
…
Recite the Quraan
in slow, measured rhythmic
tones.
(Al_Quraan_073.004).
(So
don’t rush to finish it, instead take your time to understand
each and every Ayaat.)
Great
Thanks to our Scholars
(Ulemaa), who have worked
extremely hard to keep Islaam ALIVE and to keep us Muslims by providing
Beautiful knowledge of Islaam. BUT Scholars are NOT Allah and they might do mistakes.
You MUST always check in
the Quraan and don't
BLINDLY trust on
Scholars, Writers, and Speakers etc. They are human being and may have
made
mistakes. Otherwise you may fall into the category of making the
scholars your God. Be
careful. Check the topic
in the Quraan, what Allah is
saying about, check the TRUE meaning of it. If you
find
any error in Scholars,
Writers, Speakers etc., you must acknowledge them by telling the Scholars,
Writers, Speakers etc., otherwise the misleading may
go on and on and also
you might be put into the category of supporters
to them who have done
wrong translation and Allah
may punish you as well. So, don’t sit
quietly and rise up to correct any
misconception, it is also a Great Jihaad and you will get
a Great
Reward for it, Inshaa
Allah.
You
must also know "How to
Understand the Quraan".
The Demands of Quraan:
The
Quraan makes five
demands of every Muslim. Put in a simple language,
these demands are as follows:
A Muslim is
required:
1> to believe in the
Quraan;
2> to read it;
3> to understand it;
4> to act upon its
teachings; and
5> to convey its
message and teachings to others.
…
Recite the Quraan
in slow, measured rhythmic
tones.
(Al_Quraan_073.004).
(So
don’t rush to finish it, instead take your time to understand
each and every Ayaat.)
Possible Cure to our Misconception
in
Understanding the Quraan:
First: You need to keep all your
previous understanding a side.
Second: Your Believe should be
like Quraan is word of Allah, it is the only Authentic Book in the
world and it
is not comparable to any. In Quraan you will find Questions and Answers
to many
things. It is Great like Sky.
Third: Hadith is written over 200
years after Rasool Allah (Peace-Be-Upon-Him) and it may contain Errors.
It is like
Earth.
Last: Rest of the thoughts are
buried in the Earth.
In Simple
Words:::::>>>>>
Number 1
is Quraan
Number 2
is Hadith
We must
believe on
Those Authentic Hadeeth which don’t contradict Quraan.
Number
3 is
The Rest
Generally I found peoples believe the other way.
Which is wrong:::>>>
Number 1 is Imaam of the Masjid (Maulaana, Mufti)
Number 2 is Hadith
Number 3 is Quraan
We need to find where we went wrong and we need
to
correct ourselves.
In the beginning of Surat Al_Baqara, Allah
said::::>>>
Quraan is Book of Guidance:
This
is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto
those
who ward off (evil). [Al_Quraan_002.002]
(To get Guidance you must have to read
it
with understanding)
Who can get Guidance from it:
Who
believe in the unseen, and
establish worship, and spend of that
We have bestowed upon them;
[Al_Quraan_002.003]
And
who believe in that
which is revealed unto thee
(Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and
are
certain of the Hereafter.
[Al_Quraan_002.004]
These
depend on guidance from
their
Lord. These are the successful.
[Al_Quraan_002.005]
Reciting Quraan in a Group: One
person
should read and rest must listen to him:
When the Quraan is read, listen to it
with attention, and hold your peace: that
ye may
receive mercy (otherwise
may be not). [Al_Quraan_007.204]
(To get real Mercy of Allah, you must
have
to listen carefully when the Quraan
is read in a Group otherwise you may not get
the real MERCY from
Allah. Reciting Quraan should never be like every
body is reading independently and no body are listening to one person,
like in Quraan
Khanee.)
…
Recite the Quraan
in slow, measured rhythmic
tones.
(Al_Quraan_073.004).
(So
don’t rush to finish it, instead take your time to understand
each and every Ayaat.)