INTERPRETATION OF THE QUR' AN - Methodologies of the Qur'Anic Exegesis

A

I-SUYiiP mentioned on the authority of AI-Kirmanl who had compiled a book covering two volumes entitled al- 'aqii 'il-wa-al-gharii' ib.

This book is an accumulation of sayings and opinions with regard to the verses of the Qur' an which are not recognised and acknowledged by the experts of tafsir.

Neither such remarks are permissible nor could one rely on it, for these are the utterances of deviationists.

One should be very cautious of such mischievous and erroneous interpretation. In the succeeding pages some examples of this kind of exposition of al-biiJiniyyah sect are quoted in order for people to be aware of the trivialities and vanities that have uncon-sciously infiltrated into Islamic community due to blind imitation, adamant attitude, obsession and adop-tion of hawiih (desires).

Interpretation Of AI-Ba{iniyyah

1. Allah (s.w.t) says"

/fa

mlm 'ayn sin

qiif"

(42: I) in the Qur' an. The Qur' anic abbreviated let-ters were interpreted by classical Commentators as referring to the secrets whose meaning was known to Allah alone.) However, it is interpreted by

al-ba!iniyyah differently which is unacceptable and strange, rather objectionable. According to Batinites,

/:la

refers to war with 'All and Mu 'awiyah, mim stands for wilayah banI Marwan, 'ayn refers to wi/ayah al-Abbasids, sin stands for wi/ayah al-Safyaniyyin and qaf was model of Mahadi and so forth. These are distorted interpre-tations of deviationists. Such interpretations are not acknowledged by ahl-al-sunnah wa-al-jama'ah.2 There is no evidence in the ljadith

liter-ature for such interpretation.

2. The Qur' an says "Wa lakum

Ii

^al ^ql~a~l

lJayiitun ya iili al- albab" which means "(In the Law of Equality there is (saving of) life to you;

a

ye men of understanding)" (2: 179). Al-qi$Q$ is falsely interpreted as stories of the Qur' an.3 This is unacceptable and invalid both literally and techni-cally. It further exhibits utmost ignorance of a Commentator.

3. The Qur'an says, " ....Our Lord! lay not on us a bur-den greater than we have strength to bear" (2:286).

This verse was interpreted as love and affection.⁴ Further, it was said by them that the human beings do not possess power which is a false interpreta-tion.

4. The Qur' an says, "The same Who produces for you fire out of the green tree, when behold ye kindle therewith (your own fires) (36:80). Green tree has

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been interpreted as referring to Ibrahim and fire (ndr) as light (nilr) which denotes MulJammad (s.a.a.s).5 This interpretation is one among the strange meanings which does not have confirmity with the meaning of Arabic language.

Shiite Interpretation

In Shiism, there are numerous denominations and sects. Some transgressed the limits and dissipated the frontier in showing their unfathomable affection for Imam 'Ali. Some are obsessed with their doctrine, while others are found to be moderates. It also appears that there are some who had obsession with the spirit of partisanship. These people are heading towards becoming infidels. Ibn Saba', the malicious Jew, who did not embrace Islam except with an objective to trick, plot artfully and conspire against the believers, is regarded as a leader of this group. Among them some believed that the Archangel Jibra'il committed serious offence during the process of revelation. According to them, the Angel was entrusted to carry the message in order to deliver to 'An, but it unconsciously made an error and inadvertently descended upon MulJammad (s.a.a.s). This group was not only hostile but declared war with the Muslims and regarded them diametrically opposed to their 'aqidah.. They created great contro-versy over this issue till it became evident that 'An himself launched an attack on them, fought with them and evicted them from their kufr (unbelief) and

devia-tion (t;lalalah).6

As mentioned, there are moderate people who maintained a balanced approach and possessed objec-tive understanding. They neither collapsed nor fell down in the chasm of disbelief; however they differed with ahl-al-sunnah wa-al-jama 'ah in many respects.

They firmly believe on the precedence of 'An over all other Companions of the Messenger (s.a.a.s). To them, 'Ali was remarkable, superior and deserving than the rest of the Companions. They also claimed that 'An was the only legitimate and appropriate candi-date for khilafah for he belonged to ahl-al-bayt, and three other orthodox and rightly guided caliphs have deprived 'An of his right to assume khilafah.7

Numerous accusations have been levelled against the orthodox caliphs. They were regarded as plunder-ers and exploitplunder-ers. There are people who, amidst this crisis, silently perferred 'AlI and took oath of alle-giance without criticising the three khulafa'. Some were displeased and hurled plenty of vilifications on the two caliphs Abii Bakr and 'Umar. (May Allah (s.w.t) forgive us for mentioning that). They expressed and accused the two as deviationists, inspite of the fact that they were honoured by Allah (s.w.t) in many vers-es and made them the special Companions of the Messenger (s.a.a.s).8

Allah (s.w.t) says, "Truly ye are in a doctrine dis-cordant, through which are deluded (away from the

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Truth) such as would be deluded" (51 :8-9).

Some Shiite scholars, while interpreting the above verse 8, in the chapter 51, expressed that whoever was honest, straigtforward and loyal to wilayah 'All, he would enter Paradise and whoever was not in agree-ment with wilayah 'All, he would enter Fire.9 That is why, People have differences with wilayah 'All and his family. As for the verse nine in the same chapter, it is interpreted that the pronoun of this verse, (hu) refers to 'All and hence it is said that whoever is deluded away from wi/ayah 'All, he would be deluded away from the Paradise. 10

Allah (s.w.t) says, "concerning what are they dis-puting? Concerning the Great News about which they cannot agree" (78: 1-3).

The above verse is generally understood to be either the message of Resurrection or the Hereafter,but questions of its meaning were raised from various schools of thought among the Jews, Christians and other communities. Al nab' al-a~fm (the Great News) may also be translated as Great Message or Message of supreme. In that case, it would refer to the Qur' an or the Message of Revelation or the Message of the Prophet, about which there was great contention in those days.11

Some Shiite scholars interpreted this statement of the Qur'an differently. They propounded that 'All bin

Abu ralib was reported to have said to his Companions: "By Allah (s.w.t), I am the Great News on which all nations differed with their tongue. By Allah (s.w.t), what is for Allah (s.w.t), News greater than me. And No, By Allah (s.w.t) there is no sign greather than me".12

This interpretation is strange and of course false too. It is absolutely contrary to riwayah (transmis-sion). However, such interpretations are projected as interpretation based on dirayah or ra 'y (opinion) or isharah (indication). But, to the Commentators of ahl al-sunnah wa-al-jama 'ah, such interpretations are absolutely blameworthy, peculiar, strange and erro-neous. It is also contradictory to the external and lexi-cal meaning.

In the opening of Surah Maryam, Allah (s.w.t) says, kaj ha ya 'ayn ~ad. These are mysterious alpha-bets comprehended to be referring to mysterious thing whose meaning is known to Allah (s.w.t) alone.13 However, there are other interpretations too.

It has been interpreted that these alphabets are from Unseen news or messages. Allah (s.w.t) informed them to his servant Zakariyyah (s.a.a.s) and then clearly elaborated it to His Messenger Mul:tammad (s.a.a.s). It has also been reported that Prophet Zakariyyah prayed to his Lord to educate him with five names. Allah (s.w.t) sent down Jibra'Il and educated him. When Prophet Zakariyyah heard the names of

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Mul)ammad (s.a.a.s), 'All, Eitimah, I:Iasan, it worried him and he was in a state of distress and his sorrow became obvious. When the name I:Iusayn was men-tioned, tears came out of his eyes and he was suffocat-ed and finally he realizsuffocat-ed he had difficulty in respira-tion. He said one day, "My Lord, it did not dilapidate and deteriorate me when you mentioned four of them and I consoled myself with these names and cleared myself from my worries. When You mentioned the name of I:Iusayn, my eyes became full of tears .... Then Allah (s.w.t) informed him this story". He said: kaj, ha, ya,_'ayn, ~ad. Kaf is interpreted as Karbalah, ha refers to annihilation, ya refers to Yazid (who has been regarded by some as tyrannical and unjust), 'ayn refers to his thirst and ~I)adrefers to his perseverence. When Prophet Zakariyyah (s.a.a.s) heard this, he did not come out of the Mosque for three days and the People were forbidden entry into the Mosque. 14

The above interpretation was invented by Shiites.

Nevertheless, it is viewed as extreme which distorts the original meaning and its significance.

Al-Ithna 'Ashriyyah Interpretation

1. The Qur' an says "Thumma la yaqqii tafathahum" which means "Then let them com-plete the rites prescribed for them" (22:29). The term tafatha is referring to superfluous growth of one's body such as nails, hair etc which is not

per-mitted to be removed in a state of i/:lram. These may be removed on the tenth day when /:la}} is completed: that is the rite of completion. But it is interpreted as meeting of Imam 'AlL15

2. The Qur' an says "Yawma tarjufu al- rajifah tatba 'uha al-radifah" which means "One day everything that can be in Commotion will be in violent Commotion, followed by oft-repeated.

(Commotions)" (79:6). Al-ra}ifah is interpreted as l:Iusayn and al-radifah as his father 'AlL¹⁶

3. The Qur' an says "Innamii waliyyukum Alliihu wa rasiiluhu wa alladhlna amanli" which means

"Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Apostle and the (fellowship of) Believers" (5:55).

The fellowship of Brothers has been interpreted as the leaders of ithna 'ashriyyah. This is false and deviation. 17

4. The Qur' an says

"La

tattahidhu ilahayni ithnayni" which means "Allah (s.w.t) has said,Take not (for worship) two gods" (16:51).

The above verse is literally and absolutely clear. It expresses not to take two gods. There is no differ-ence of opinion with regard to its understanding.

But it is interpreted as not to take two Imams, for the Imam is only one. He is none other than 'All.IS

5. The Qur' an says " Mathalulladhlna kafaru bi rabbihim a 'maluhum ka ramadin ishtaddat

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bihi al-rihu" which means "The Parable of those who reject their Lord is that their works are as ashes on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day" (14: 18)19

This verse is interpreted as those who did not accept wilayah of 'All, their actions are null and void.

Their deeds are regarded as ashes which is carried away by the wind on the tempestous day.

6. The Qur'an says, " .... Yii laytanl kuntu turiiban" which means "(Would that I were

(mere) dust)"(78:40). Since Abi Turab has been the nickname of 'Ali, the word turab here in this verse has been interpreted as referring to 'Ali.²⁰

Al-Sab'iyyah Interpretation

There is a notable sect among the many sects of Shiism which proclaims and believes that 'Ali is in the cloud and interpret thunder as his voice and lightning as luster or sheen of his whip or his smile. He who hears the noise of thunder among the followers of this sect says: O! the leader of muJminun, peace be upon you.²¹

One of the conjectures is that they believe that MuJ:1ammad(s.a.a.s) will one day return to this world.

The following verse is cited as an evidence for their proposition.22 "Verily He Who ordained the Qur'an

for thee, will bring thee back to the place of Return ..." (28:85)

The Qur' an says, "Inna 'aradna al ama-nata wa i!amalaha al insanu innahu kana

;.aliimanjah'iila" which means "We did indeed offer the trust to the Heavens and earth and the mountains.

But they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof.

But Man undertook it, He was indeed unjust ('{,aium) and foolish (jahul) (33:72) .23

The terms '{,aium and jahui were interpreted as referring to Abu Bakr as unjust and foolish by the above sect.24 It is the most mischievous interpretation.

The Qur' an says: "Kamathal al shaitiini idh qala lil insani akfur" which means "Their allies deceived them), like the Evil one when he says to man deny Allah" (59:16)

Here, the term ai-shay/an has been interpreted as 'Umar.25

Interpretation Of Al-Bii!iniyyah

Ai-baJiniyyah is a sect that does not conform to the external meaning of the verses of the Qur' an. The sect claims that the Qur' anic verses have both internal and external meanings. There is a strong belief that ai-batin refers to the internal or secret aspects of the words and verses.

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Examples

The following are the examples of few verses of the Qur' an quoted to see how the Batinites have mis-chievously interpreted them whose interpretations are unacceptable and strange.

1. The Qur' an says: "Qiila alladhina la yarjiina liq'ii'ana a'ti biqur'iinin ghayri hadha aw baddilhu" which means "Those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us say, Bring us a Reading other than this or change this" (10: 15)

The term "baddilhu" has been interpreted as

"baddala 'aliyyan" which means they changed 'Ali.26

2. The Qur'an says: Innalladhina amanu thum-ma kafaru thumthum-ma athum-manu thumthum-ma kafaru thumma izdiidu kufran which means "Those who believe, then reject Faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith and go on increasing in unbelief - Allah will not forgive them, nor guide them on the way" (4: 137).

This verse has been interpreted by them as having reference to Abii Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman.

Furthermore, they accused that these three initially believed in the Apostle, but rejected him afterwards. When they were asked to put their trust in wiliiyah 'Ali, they believed in 'Ali by taking bay'ah (oath of allegiance) then rejected after the death of the

Messenger Mu4ammad (s.a.a.s). Likewise, their kufr (unbelief) eventually increased.27

The above interpretation is totally biased and unacceptable, rather a poisonous interpretation.

3. The Qur'an says:"Inna Alliiha ya'murukum an tadhbalJu baqaratan" which means "Allah commands that ye sacrifice a heifer" (2:67)

The word baqarah has been interpreted as refer-ring to 'Ayesha, the beloved wife of the Messenger (s.a.a.s). This is a deviation of the literal meaning of the word of the Qur' an.28

Mu'tazalite Interpretation

They are a notable sect among the Muslims whose interpretation of the Qur' an exceeds proper boundary.

They prefer and postulate the meaning as applicable only to reason and intellect.

Allah (s.w.t) says, "And to Moses Allah spoke direct" (4: 164).Their interpretation, which is different from others, had absolutely disregarded the transmit-ted opinions of ancestors whom many commentators have accepted. This sect also denies the characteristics of Allah's speech (kaliim) in this verse. Their interpre-tation is seen in correspondence with their ideology.

In such circumstances, consideration is given to false,

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artificial and imitated meaning to suit their purpose.

For instance, some of them view that Moses was the one who spoke to Allah (s.w.t), and not Allah (s.w.t) who spoke to Moses. In this Qur' anic statement, the Arabic word Allah is the subject (fa 'it) and Miisa is the object (ma/ul bihi) in the eyes of grammarians and Commentators. But, the Mutazilite's proposition is that the term Allah (s.w.t) is object and Miisa is sub-ject. If the latter interpretation is accepted, then the meaning of the above verse will be diametrically oppo-site, which is not accepted and recognised by ahl al-sunnah wa-al-jama 'ah.

While others among the followers of the school of Mu'tazilites also busy themselves in the distortion of the meaning of the verses as a sign of mutual assis-tance. It is advocated that the term al-takllm is derived from al-kalm with fataJ:zafor kaf and sukn for lam. In such case, the word, al-takllm refers to "the wound"

and eventually the verse would mean that Allah (s.w.t) wounded Moses with trials, tribulations and tempta-tions of claw in his adolescence.29

Such proposition is viewed strange and alien to its original meaning.

Kharijite Interpretation

They are a denomination among the Muslims and are regarded as fanatic and extreme in approach because

their interpretation of some of the verses of the Qur' an is fanatical. They viewed or interpreted the verses of the Qur'an without well-balanced harmonious contem-plation or well established vision except frivolous and desulatory, exasperated, embittered and rashness fanaticism. Fanaticism, bigotry and ignited zeal had pushed them to demonstrate their unjust and boiled sayings to the people on the verses of the Qur' an.

They synthesize the meanings of the verses based on their confined and narrow understanding of the Qur' an and consequently their deduction projects deviation.

Some Kharijites postulated that a perpetrator of a major sin (kabii'ir) was a kiifir (infidel).30 The evidence for this proposition is from the Qur' anic statement,

" ....Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His Creatures" (3:97)

Based on this verse, conclusion is drawn that the one who leaves the obligation of ~ajj (pilgrimage) is regarded kiifir (infidel).31

Allah (s.w.t) says, " .... If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed,they are (no better than) unbelievers" (5:44). The Kharijites inter-pretation is that every perpetrator of rna'~iyah (disobe-dience or sedition) no matter what its degree, either shirk (polytheism) or ghayra shirk, he is a kiifir. This is because, he perpetrates the sin which will be judged other than what has been revealed by Allah (s.w.t).32

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Allah (s.w.t) says, "It is He who has created; and of you are some that are unbelievers, and some that are believers. And Allah sees well all that ye do" (74:2).

They inferred from the obvious meaning of this verse that there exists no licentious tresspasser (fasiq) . . According to this sect, the human beings are

cate-gorised into two categories, mu'min and kafir. In other words man is in between fman and kufr. Therefore, there is no one except a mu'min (believer) or kafir (infidel).33

Analysis of these interpretations of the verses of the Qur' an by Kharijite and its comparision with the views of ahl-al-sunnah wa al-jama 'ah reveals that there is no confirmity between them. It is observed, that the interpretations are extreme and not moderate

In document Methodologies of the Qur'Anic Exegesis (Page 68-85)