General issues about content of Quran, its structure, theme and others not discussed on the main page. Please do not delete anything, but keep adding stuff!
The Quran is not a book in the traditional sense, but a collection of passages or orations. [1].
The metaphysical and ethical bases of this worship which have been prescribed by religion are called al-Hikmah, and the rituals and limits prescribed for it by religion are called al-Kitab by the Qur’an [Quran 4:113] [Quran 2:231]
The Qur’an also refers to al-Kitab as shari‘ah [Quran 45:18]. Ghamidi states that al-Hikmah has always remained the same in all revealed religions; however, the shari‘ah has remained different due to evolution and change in human civilizations and societies [Quran 5:48] [2]
Chronological order of Surahs has not been preserved in the final compilation of the Book, but Muslim belief maintains that the order of Surahs and fixing of ayahs also has Divine sanction.
Contents edit
The Qur’an itself divides the contents of Islam into two categories: al-Hikmah and al-Kitab. [Quran 2:231] [Quran 4:113][Quran 63:2] While the former refers to topics related to the philosophy of religion, the latter to those that relate to divine law (shari‘ah). [3]
It calls itself a mizan (the scale that tells good from evil) and a furqan (the distinguisher between good and evil) on this earth and a muhaymin (guardian) over other divine scriptures. [Quran 42:17][Quran 25:1][Quran 5:48] [4]
Ghamidi also states that the Quran has confirmed that the following precede it[5]:
Relationship with other scriptures edit
Shari‘ah constitutes the major portion of the Torah and the Hikmah generally constitutes the Injil (New Testament). The Psalms are hymns which glorify the Almighty and are a forerunner to the hikmah of the Injil. The Qur’an comprises both shari‘ah and hikmah giving warning to those who evade it and glad tidings to those who follow it.[Quran 5:110]
Order of verses and Surahs edit
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi states that "The greater part of the Qur’ānic intricacies and wisdom is buried in the fine arrangement and correspondence of the [sūrahs and the verses of the] Qur’ān.” [6][7]
Ibn Arabi states: "The art of linking the Qur’ānic verses in a way that the whole text appears as a well arranged single composition is certainly a great knowledge." [8]
Makhdūm Mahā‘imī’s commentary on the Holy Qur’ān primarily deals with the explanation of the interrelationship of the verses.[9]
Sheikh Walī al-Dīn Malawī states: Those who say that one may not look for interconnection between the verses of the Holy Qur’ān because they were revealed in diverse circumstances are wrong. The fact is that these verses, though revealed in response to certain diverse circumstances, have been ordered (in the present arrangement of the Book) with perfect wisdom.[10]
However, Sheikh ‘Izzuddīn al-Salām says: "The Holy Qur’ān came down piecemeal over a period of more than two decades, with different commandments issued for a variety of purposes. A book revealed in this fashion does not afford any correspondence in its components. [11]
Types of Coherence edit
Munasabah edit
Munāsabah means correspondence and interrelationship between the verses and Surahs.
Imam Suyuti states: "The first person to highlight the study of correspondence (of the verses and the sūrahs of the Holy Qur’ān) is Sheikh Abū Bakr Nishābūrī. He was a great expert in Islamic law and literature. He would assume the chair, explain the Qur’ānic verses read out to him and point out the wisdom behind the placement of a certain verse next to the others and of a certain sūrah alongside the other. He would often disparage the scholars of Baghdād for their lack of knowledge of the correspondence." [12]
Nizam edit
Farahi has used the term Nizam as a “holistic” view of the unity of the suras and is thus differentiated from Fakhr al-Din al-Razi who conceived of a sura’s unity in terms of “discrete” linear connection (that is, connecting verse I with verse 2, verse 2 with verse 3, and so on).
Farahi states:
"By nizām we mean that each sūrah is a single well-knit composition... This explains our point that the nizām is something much beyond and above the correspondence and the order of the parts" [13]
However, his contention is that there can be only one possible interpretation of the Quran since God's word must be clear - he thus denies any esoteric meanings to the text. Others maintain that the Qur'an being the pinnacle of literary profundity can have various meanings for different people, depending on their background. However, it is generally believed that the Divine intent in the scripture is clear.
Nazm edit
Islahi and Ghamidi use the term Nazm (literally, "stringing of pearls," and hence: "order," "organization") to mean the structural and thematic coherence of the entire Qur'an.
According to Ghamidi:
“The basic theme of the Qur’ān is a description of the Prophetic indhār (admonition) to his people, the Banū Ismā‘īl–more specifically the Quraysh... While indhār is done to the People of the Book (the Israelites and the Nazarites),
guidelines for the tazkiya and organization of the nascent Muslim community are also given, who are the umma that has now been given the responsibility of being witnesses of God over people (shuhadā ‘alā al-nās).” [14]
Before this, Maulana Maududi had stated that the central theme of the Qur'an is man (or an address to the human mind) [15]
References edit
- ^ Bayan-al-Quran, Dr. Israr Ahmad
- ^ Ghamidi, Javed Ahmad. Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction
- ^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Mizan
- ^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Mizan
- ^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Mizan
- ^ Suyūtī, al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, 216.
- ^ Tafsir Kabir
- ^ Suyūtī, al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, 216.
- ^ Tabsīr al-Rahmān wa Tasyīr al-Mannān
- ^ Suyūtī, al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, 217.
- ^ Suyūtī, al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, 217.
- ^ Suyūtī, al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, 216.
- ^ Farāhī, Dalā’il al-nizām, 1st ed. (A‘zamgarh: al-Dā’irah al-Hamīdiyyah, 1968), 74-5
- ^ Asif Iftikhar, “Jihād and the Establishment of Islamic Global Order: A Comparative Study of the Interpretative Approaches and Worldviews of Abū al-A‘lā Mawdūdī and Jāvēd Ahmad Ghāmidī” Unpublished, Masters Dissertation submitted to McGill University, Montreal, 2004, p. 57.
- ^ Maududi, Tafhim al-Quran