Foreword
In the Name of
Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
By
Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
The most tangible of miracles left by the Prophet Muhammad (‘s) is the
Qur`an. Al-Qur`an is the Divine revelation, which descended upon the Prophet’s blessed
soul in a span of twenty-two years and few months.
Muslims consider the Qur`an as the most important document for their
faith. They have given extreme importance to preserve, recite, memorize, and
study the Qur`an.
Gradually, different subjects emerged with the purpose of facilitating
the process of studying the Qur`an: Ilmul
Tajwid was devised to learn the proper recitation of the Qur`an; Hifz
was invented as an art of committing the Qur`an to memory; and ’Ilmul Tafsir emerged as the science of
exegesis of the Qur`an. Among these relevant subjects, ’Ulumul Qur`an flowered as a science dealing with the Qur`an
itself: the revelation and its reality; how, when and where it was revealed;
how it transformed from an oral tradition to the written form; the issue of
abrogation, its meaning and reality; its textual integrity and its protection
from alteration; how was it complied, by whom and when. These are questions
that are discussed in ’Ulumul Qur`an;
and as such, it is the foundation of sciences dealing with the Qur`an.
This brief treatise deals with an important question in Ulumul Qur`an: the rules governing the
interpretation of the Qur`an. It comes from the pen of Ayatullah Shaykh Jaffar
Subhani, a leading Shi’i scholar of Qum, who is well-known for his expertise in
Qur`anic studies and for writing a thematic exegesis of the Qur`an.
The Qur`an is indeed a guide for mankind, but its true interpretation
depends on conditions that must be adhered to. The Qur`an itself says that some
of its verses are of an allegorical nature while others are decisive; those who
intend to create confusion and mischief among the Muslims use the allegorical
verses:
{
هُوَ
الَّذِي
أَنْزَلَ
عَلَيْكَ
الْكِتَابَ
مِنْهُ
آيَاتٌ
مُحْكَمَاتٌ
هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ
وَأُخَرُ
مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ.
فَأَمَّا
الَّذِينَ
فِي
قُلُوبِهِمْ
زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ
مَا
تَشَابَهَ
مِنْهُ ابْتِغَآءَ
الْفِتْنَةِ
وَابْتِغَآءَ
تَأْوِيلِهِ.
وَمَا
يَعْلَمُ
تَأْوِيلَهُ
إِلاَّ
اللٌّهُ
وَالرَّاسِخُونَ
فِي
الْعِلْمِ
يَقُولُونَ
آمَنَّا بِهِ
كُلٌّ مِنْ
عِنْدِ
رَبِّنَا
وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ
إِلاَّ
أُوْلُوا
الأَلْبَابِ }
“He (Allah) it is Who has sent down
to you the Book. In it, are verses basic or fundamental (of established
meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But
those in whose hearts is a perversity follow the part thereof that is
allegorical, 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. They say: ‘We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our
Lord.’ And none will grasp the Message except the people of understanding. ” (Surat Ali-’Imran (3), Verse 7)
Again, it warns and says that if people do not approach the Qur`an with
an open heart, then they may be misguided by some of its contents:
{
إِنَّ
اللٌّهَ لاَ
يَسْتَحْيِي
أَنْ يَضْرِبَ
مَثَلاً مَا
بَعُوضَةً
فَمَا
فَوْقَهَا.
فَأَمَّا
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا
فَيَعْلَمُونَ
أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ
مِنْ
رَبِّهِمْ
وَأَمَّا
الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا
فَيَقُولُونَ
مَاذَا
أَرَادَ
اللٌّهُ
بِهٌذَا
مَثَلاً.
يُضِلُّ بِهِ
كَــثِيرًا
وَيَهْدِي
بِهِ
كَـثِيرًا
وَمَا يُضِلُّ
بِهِ إِلاَّ
الْفَاسِقِينَ
}
“Allah does not disdain from the use
of the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know
that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who reject faith say: ‘What
does Allah mean by this similitude?’ By it He causes many to stray, and many He
leads into the right path; but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake
(the path).” (Suratul Baqarah (2), Verse 26)
Ayatullah Subhani has enumerated fourteen conditions for the correct
interpretation of the Qur`anic verses. The understanding and interpretation is
permissible provided it is approached with the conditions mentioned in this
treatise otherwise one will be guilty of imposing one’s personal opinions on
the Qur`an.
An example of absurd interpretation is Rashad Khalifa’s self-styled “Authorized
English Version” of the Qur`an that totally ignores the context in which
the Qur`an was revealed as well as the teachings and interpretation given by
the Prophet (‘s) who was the recipient, teacher, and the living embodiment of
the Qur`an.
While commenting on verse 3 of Suratul Maidah (5) of the Qur`an (dealing
with prohibition of certain animal products such as “the meat of pigs”) which
reads:
{
حُرِّمَتْ
عَلَيْكُمُ
الْمَيْــتَةُ
وَالدَّمُ
وَلَحْمُ
الْخِنْـزِيرِ
وَمَا أُهِلَّ
لِغَيْرِ
اللٌّهِ بِهِ
وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ
وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ
وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ
وَالنَّطِيحَةُ
وَمَا أَكَلَ
السَّبُعُ
إِلاَّ مَا
ذَكَّيْـتُمْ
وَمَا
ذُبِـحَ
عَلَى
النُّصُبِ
وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُوا
بِالأَزْلاَمِ
ذٌلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ..
}
“Forbidden to you (for food) are:
dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine and that on which has been invoked the
name of other than Allah; that which has been killed by strangling, a violent
blow, a headlong fall or by being gored to death; that which has been (partly)
eaten by a wild animal; unless you are able to slaughter it (in due form); that
which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of
meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety…”
Khalifa writes that Allah (awj) has only prohibited “the meat – lahm” of
the pigs and not “the fat,” and so usage of lard should be permissible. Khalifa
has insisted on the literal meaning of “lahm” to exclude the fat of the pig
from this prohibition, and has totally disregarded the teaching of the
recipient of the Qur`an, Prophet Muhammad (‘s), as accepted by Muslims for the
last fourteen centuries!
Rashad Khalifa seemed to ignore the fact that the Qur`an is not a
butcher’s manual where all items are spelled out precisely, for example, “lean
ground beef” without the fat as opposed to “regular ground beef” with the fat!
The Qur`an has used the term “meat/lahm” in chapter 5, verse 3 in a
general sense and not as a butcher’s jargon, and it applies to any edible part
of a pig.
If he had read verse 259 of Suratul Baqarah (2), Khalifa would have seen
that the term “lahm” has been used in the Qur`an also in a meaning that
includes the meat and the fat together. Describing His power of resurrection,
Almighty Allah (awj) demonstrates the resurrection of a donkey that had died
for a century:
{
...وَانْــظُرْ
إِلــى
الْعِظَامِ
كَيْفَ نُنْشِزُهَا
ثُمَّ
نَكْسُوهَا
لَحْمًا... }
“…Look at the bones and see how We construct them,
and cover them with flesh (lahm)”
Surely Almighty Allah (awj) did not cover the donkey’s bones with “lean”
flesh without the fat, skin, etc! The word “lahm” here applies to everything
that was placed on the bones.
I commend Shaykh Saleem Bhimji for translating this Introduction to the
Tafsir of the Qur`an, and strongly recommend it to all those who pursue the
study of the Qur`an with the intention of following its message and living by
it.
9th July 2005
Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
Biography of the Author
The
Golden pages of history are replete with individuals who have sacrificed their
lives to play a role in the guidance and leadership of humanity. Throughout the
ages, we see many scholars who have dedicated their lives to the path of
progress and spiritual upliftment of mankind, one such scholar who is also one
of the greatest thinkers of the Islamic world is Ayatullah Jaffar Subhani.
Having spent every moment of his adult life in research, writing and teaching,
it is through these channels that he has struggled to lift the cultural and
spiritual status of humanity.
Ayatullah
Subhani was born on the 28th of Shawwal, in the year 1347 ah (1926 ce) in the city of Tabriz (Iran) into a scholarly and
well-respected family. His father, the late Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad Husayn
Subhani Khayabani (1299 ah–1392 ah), was one of the outstanding
scholars of Tabriz. A scholar in his own right, he spent years in the sacred
city of Najaf al-Ashraf under the guidance of Shaykh Sharifatul Isfahani (d.
1339 ah) and Sayyid Muhammad
Kazim Taba`taba`i (d. 1337 ah) –
the author of al-Urwatul Wuthqa. After completing his studies, he returned
home to Tabriz and spent more than fifty years teaching, writing and guiding
the people and was also responsible for the training and educating of the
future teachers and leaders of his community.
After
completing his primary school and the introductory Islamic studies, Ayatullah
Jaffar Subhani went on to study the books of Persian literature and grammar.
Following this, at the young age of 14 (1361 ah/1940
ce) he enrolled in the
Theological Seminary of Tabriz named Talibiyyah
and kept himself occupied with the preliminary and secondary level of studies
of Islam.
He
studied the Arabic language under the guidance of Hajj Shaykh Hasan Nahwi and
Shaykh Ali Akbar Mudarris Khayabani - author of the book Rayhanatul Adab
(d. 1373 ah/ 1966 ce). These studies took him five years
– until the year 1365 ah (1944 ce), after which Ayatullah Subhani was
able to complete the second level of theological studies and then proceed on to
begin the highest level of Islamic studies (Kharij) in Fiqh (Jurisprudence),
Usulul Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) and Philosophy. During this period of
his studies, he benefited from the knowledge of:
1.
The late Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Burujerdi (d. 1380 ah/1959 ce)
2.
The late Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Hujjat Kuhkamari (d. 1372 ah/1951 ce)
3.
The late Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj Sayyid Ruhullah Musawi Khumayni (d. 1409 ah/1989 ce)
In
the field of Philosophy, he studied the commentary of the book Manzumah
and al-Asfar of Mullah Sadra and benefited from private lessons in the
subject of realism under the guidance of the late fAllamah Sayyid Muhammad
Husayn Taba’taba’i (d. 1402 ah/1982
ce).
In
addition, he studied Ilmul Kalam under the late Sayyid Muhammad Badkuba`i (d.
1390 ah/1969 ce).
Ayatullah
Subhani is one of those scholars who took up the pen and began to write on
Islamic topics from a very young age and since the early days, his entire life
has been spent in the fields of teaching and writing. It has been noted that
the first book he ever wrote, titled The Criterion of Thinking
(concerning the science of Mantiq - Logic) was written when he was only 17
years old!
At
the age of 18, he began teaching the secondary level of Islamic studies (Sutuh)
and was imparting knowledge in the fields of Fiqh, Usulul Fiqh, Philosophy,
Hadith and other subjects.
In
addition, he has written notes on the lectures of Usulul Fiqh which were
delivered by the late Ayatullah al-Uzma Hajj Sayyid Ruhullah Musawi Khumayni
which have been recently printed.
Through
all of this work, he has transformed himself into a teacher who goes deep into
a subject and an effective thinker such that many important tasks have been
imparted upon him, including:
1.
Establishing a centre for the teaching of Ilmul Kalam (Science of Theology) and
a research library and facility for those who are conducting research in the
Islamic sciences.
2.
Having written one complete topic-wise commentary of the Qur`an (currently at
fourteen volumes and available in both Arabic and Farsi).
3.
Prepared and taught one complete course – printed in 16 volumes – in the fields
of the History of Fiqh and the Fuqaha.
4.
Prepared and wrote manuals for the teaching of Usulul Fiqh, Ilmul Kalam,
Hadith, Ilmul Rijal and the history and information on the various religions of
the world and their sects and divisions.
In
addition to this, he has written numerous works in Farsi – thus, the sum total
of books that he has to his credit is well over 200!
The
books of this author, which have been translated into English, include the
following:
1.
Doctrines of Shi'i Islam: A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices
translated by Reza Shah-Kazemi;
2.
The Islamic Moral System: Tafsir of Suratul Hujurat translated by Saleem
Bhimji;
3.
The Keys to Success translated by the Al-Qalam Translators Guild;
4.
The Message – Biography of the Prophet Muhammad translated by Islamic
Seminary Publications;
5. Wahhabism
translated by Jalil Dorrani.
We
pray to Allah (awj) to grant the author of this work the blessings to be able to
continue on this path.
