Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim.
I want to endeavour to share my thoughts on the book of the Creator of the universe, the Holy Qur'an. I am not sure where this pursuit will take me exactly. As of now, some ideas are flowing through me with regards to a general direction. I will be trying to express what I see as I read the words and the meaning that hits my heart. This will be combined with the thoughts and ideas of others who have sought to understand the Qur'an. I will also share personal experiences or experiences of others that have to do with certain verses of the Qur'an. This will be a portal of reflection on this Grand Book and in no way an authoritative explanation. In reality, the only authoritative explation of this book is with Allah (swt), and Allah (swt) is the only true Authority. With that I seek refuge with Him from the accursed one and pray for His protection from anything that may hinder this endeavour towards anything outside of His pleasure. I will begin with the 25th chapter, Suratul Furqan or The Criterion.
To start with the title of the chapter itself, Al-Furqan or The Criterion is another name for the Holy Qur'an as many of us Muslims are aware of. What is the meaning of the word criterion? It is that which allows you to distinguish one thing from another. It is a kind of measuring scale and standard which makes things clear through separation. Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the Holy Qur'an comments on this word by saying, "That by which we can judge clearly between right and wrong...we can distinguish between the true and false by God's Light, especially between righteousness and sin." The question I want to pose to us is that if this Book is indeed The Criterion that distinguishes between good and evil, why is it that sometimes we question ourselves regarding what is right and wrong? Sometimes, we are not sure what is the correct moral action and what isn't. To examine it from another angle, if we want to distinguish between the truth and falsehood with regards to all the ideologies of Islam that exist today, why is the Qur'an not sufficient? I think it is safe to say that this Qur'an should clarify, within every soul, what is right and what is wrong. It should make our vision clear. All of these ideas are derived from the simple fact that this Book is Al-Furqan or The Criterion. I am not shedding doubt on the power of this Holy Book to manifest it's reality which is to serve as Al-Furqan for humanity. Instead, what I am suggesting is that perhaps we have not been able to access this Qur'an in such a manner that it is able to fulfill it's purpose within us; to be Al-Furqan within us such that truth and falsehood become clear. The Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, Allah (SWT), has called this Qur'an, Al-Furqan, The Criterion. Therefore, there can be no doubt in this reality of its ability to allow us to see clearly what is true and what is not. We, as Muslims, should strive to reach this reality so we can see with our own heart's eye how appropriately Allah(swt) has named His book, Al-Furqan.
About Me
- Ikhlas
- My interests include spirituality, poetry, politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and writing.
Monthly Wisdom
Noone who keeps his mind focused entirely upon himself can grow large, strong, and beautiful in character.
Prophet Muhammad (s)
Prophet Muhammad (s)
3 comments:
hey this is Jamison. can books interpret themselves? if multiple individuals claim to have allowed the words of God written in a holy book to permeate their own spirit by God's intervention, is it not inevitable that these individuals will still end up coming to different conclusions about contemporary moral issues? what i'm saying is, disagreements arise because books cannot speak for themselves, they must be interpreted. since even the most well intentioned people err in their interpretations, disagreements will follow.
Hi Jamison, Thanks for reading. What I was trying to do with this post was share with the Muslims the simple idea that faith in the Qur'an as the Furqan or Criterion, demands that we actually believe it to have the ability to create this clarity within our souls. Do I believe that there will not be disagreements between people? No, there will be. But if each individual realizes and has full conviction that the Qur'an is the Criterion and has the ability to make clear what is right and wrong, it will bring us closer and closer to one another on such issues. The purer the individual, the clearer the picture will become. If everyone strives towards purification, they will all begin to see the picture. Because they will all be looking at the same picture -- there will be many similarities and the gap will close. However, the fact that we are limited (are subject to defects), this will create differences. The Qur'an is a reality which can be accessed through purification. The greater the purification of two individuals, the closer they will become to this reality. This will allow for much of what they see to be the same. Each individual will have his/her own limitations (lack of purification) which will bar them from seeing the picture from an angle or angles not accessible to them as a result of their deficiencies. These are just my thoughts. What I've said deserves more contemplation but I sense I'm close to the target, if not already there.
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