Greetings,
This topic has been raised several times in the past so I have tried to gather some information below, including the adaptation of part of a book, a Q&A and some old posts below.
Firstly, why does the Qur'an need to be explained?
Indeed, it is true that anyone who approaches the Qur'an with a pure heart, seeking the guidance of Allaah, will find it. As Allaah says,
This (Qur'an) is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and an admonition for those who ward off evil [3:138]
But this in no way implies that a person who is unaware of the numerous hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in explaining the Qur'an, and of the reasons behind the revelation of specific verses, and of the intricacies of Arabic grammar and principles of rhetoric, and of the various styles of recitation, and of the knowledge of the abrogated rulings, and of all the other topics pertaining to the sciences of the Qur'an, will benefit from the Qur'an to the same degree as someone who has knowledge of all these aspects. For example, someone well grounded in the Arabic language might be able to see a certain wisdom behind the phrasing of a verse that the average person may not. A person specialised in the above sciences will be better able to grasp the intended meanings of a verse and derive rulings from it, whereas the average layman is not qualified to derive rulings from the Qur'an.
It is a known fact that Allaah communicates with man in a way that he will be able to understand. This is the reason that every messenger has been sent in the language of his people. Despite this, tafseer (Qur'anic exegesis) is still necessary because:
- Allaah uses the most clear, eloquent and concise language, and in doing so the meaning is clear to those well-grounded in the Arabic language but not so clear to those who are not.
- The Qur'an itself does not always mention the events or references for which each particular verse was revealed, and these must be known in order for the verse to be fully and totally understood.
- Some words may have multiple meanings, and it is the job of the person that does tafseer to explain what is meant by the word.
It can be said that the purpose of tafseer is to elaborate the principles which the Qur'an came to clarify.
The Qur'an is like a treasure trapped in a glass receptacle; mankind can view and benefit from this treasure, but they are in need of tafseer, for tafseer acts like the key that unlocks the treasure so that mankind can benefit from it to the greatest possible extent.
Apart from these reasons, the Qur'an itself commands its readers to ponder over it and to reflect upon its meanings:
(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, so that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may remember [38:29]
It is the science of tafseer which is the fruit of 'pondering over its verses'.
A Q&A about this topic:
Question:
I have a question regarding the Qur’ân. Why, to fully understand the Qur’ân, must we refer to someone who is an expert at tafsîr? Why should a book that is for all humanity be so that its hard to understand?
Answered by the Fatwa Department Research Committee - chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî
The Qur’ân is accessible to everyone. Its message is clear and so are its lessons. The Qur’ân is clear in meaning. It was understandable to the people of the past as it is understandable to people today.
However, to fully understand all of what the Qur’ân is telling us in an in-depth, precise, and accurate manner, and to make sure we do not misunderstand anything (for indeed, to err is human), there is prerequisite knowledge that we need to acquire.
For instance, it is of tremendous importance for a person approaching the study of the Qur’ân to have knowledge of the Arabic language and of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Arabic language
For a person to be able to explore the meaning of the Qur’ân effectively, he would have to possess a mastery of the Arabic language. The Qur’ân is in Arabic and there is no escaping the fact that its meanings are conveyed by its words.
This is why translations can never suffice. A person cannot rely on someone else’s invariable subjective interpretation. Aside from the subjectivity of the interpreter, levels of meaning that are conveyed by the original Arabic are lost in translation, and more seriously, the words used in the language of translation will unavoidably have shades of meaning not present in the original Arabic.
When it comes to interpreting different shades of meaning, we can never apply our own arbitrary understanding to a verse. We cannot make the meanings up ourselves according to our feelings.
The Sunnah
A knowledge of the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is integral to understanding the Qur’ân. Without such knowledge, a commentator might unwittingly contradict some fundamental aspect of our religion or some teaching of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
We must realize that the verses of the Qur’ân were revealed in stages, not all at once. These verses are not arranged in chronological order according to their time of revelation. Therefore, to understand the Qur’ân, we must know the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to whom the Qur’ân was revealed. The Qur’ân and the Sunnah are intrinsically linked.
First of all, the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a number of occasions explained the Qur’ân. He explained the meaning of many verses. Also, through his actions, he demonstrated how many verses of the Qur’ân could be practically applied in our lives.
Allah says: “Indeed, Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His signs and purifying them and instructing them in the Book and the Wisdom.”
Allah calls the Prophet (peace be upon him) the best example: “You have in Allah’s Messenger an excellent example of conduct for those who put their hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah often.”
Secondly, verses were revealed under different circumstances and in different contexts. Only by studying the Sunnah and the biography of our Prophet (peace be upon him) can we gain the valuable insights from the context of the revelation of different verses.
Thirdly, some verses abrogate the rulings of others. This is clearly and unambiguously stated in the Qur’ân. Allah says: “What we abrogate of the verses or cause to be forgotten, we come with what is better or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is capable of all things?”
Since the verses are not presented in the Qur’ân in chronological order, it is vital to know which verses were revealed first and which came later, so we can determine which rulings abrogate which. It is well and good to understand a verse, but if we act upon it not realizing that its ruling has been abrogated, then we are making a mistake. We can only get this information from the Sunnah.
Understanding of the Arabic language and the Sunnah are two of the many important prerequisites to an in-depth and accurate knowledge of the Qur’ân.
We also need knowledge of the views and understandings of the Companions who actually were there at the time of the revelation and those of their students among the Successors.
When we look at a good commentary of the Qur’ân, what do we find? We find discussions of the language of the verses, including the meanings of the words and the meanings of the sentences. We find statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and of His Companions. We find discussions of Islamic Law issues that the verses indicate. Therefore, reading good commentaries like that of Ibn Kathîr, and asking knowledgable scholars of Qur'anic commentary, allow us to get a deeper understanding of the Qur’ân.
And now some old posts, some of which address the issue about differing:
format_quote Originally Posted by Ansar Al-'Adl
Why must you have scholars tell you what it means?
Since it is the inherent nature of language that allows for the possibility of misinterpretations in practically any set of instructions, God sent a messenger with the scripture to explain it and demonstrate how to implement it's teachings. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh are referred to as the Sunnah, and the Qur'an and the Sunnah form the sources of legislation and guidance in Islam. Thus, for one to determine the ruling on any particular issue it entails sound knowledge of both these sources. So anyone can understand the Qur'an so long as they invest the time to acquire knowledge of these two sources. You can't just go from a superficial reading of a medical textbook to acting as a doctor and treating patients in the hospital, you need to study in medical school first. Likewise one needs to be qualified in terms of their Islamic knowledge in order to give rulings in Islamic jurisprudence. Knowledge is a prerequisite in any field. The fact that you need knowledge in no way negates the clarity of the texts you are acquiring knowledge from. They are two seperate issues.
Why do so many disagree with it?
Lack of knowledge. In this case, the problem is easily resolved by acceptance and knowledge of the teachings of the quran and sunnah. This question was also raised and discussed in the thread 'prove the quran...' and I explained there that all legitimate differences of opinion extend only to subsidiary issues of Islamic law and the main cause of any doctrinal differences amongst heretical groups or individuals would be lack of knowledge or refusal to accept those sources of knowledge as valid, for example the rejection of the teachings of the Prophet.
http://www.islamicboard.com/785983-post22.html
The clarity of the Qur'an is not negated by the fact that Muslims have differences of opinion. It should be noted that the legitimate differences only extend to lesser fiqhi rulings, as opposed to doctrinal differences or differences over laws. Differences in opinion in the latter are the result of not reading parts in context, because the Qur'an clarifies itself.
http://www.islamicboard.com/comparat...ord-god-3.html
And also see this thread:
http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/30...ing-quran.html
I hope this has helped Insha'Allaah. I am quite sure there are many other useful posts, but they wll require some time with the search facility :).
Peace.