A few questions on interpreting the Quran, the Old Testament, and more.

[Mungling]

Hello, peace and blessings upon you.

I understand that Islam is extremely decentralized. With this in mind how would the average Muslim sort through the process of interpreting the Quran? I understand that there is a great deal of commentary (Tafsir?) that has been written on the Quran to assist in it's interpretation. With that said, there are probably a dozen or more ways to interpret any one verse. Are there Muslim communities within sects that would subscribe to certain commentaries (sects within sects), or do Muslims sort through scripture through the grace of God.

Secondly, the Quran often makes reference to prophets of the Old Testament. In the course of reading the Quran I have noticed that from a Christian perspective the accounts of the lives of the Prophets seem incomplete. Would Muslims view the extra detail in the Old Testament as a symptom of their corruption, or do Muslims have expanded details of lives of the Prophets in sacred tradition (I don't know the word for an Islamic equivalent... or even if there is an Islamic equivalent).

Finally, regarding the letters at the beginning of certain books of the Quran (I am sorry, but I do not know their proper title either). I understand that there is no commonly accepted explanation for their presence or significance, but if anyone had some easily accessible resources that might propose theories regarding their existence. I have to admit I am very much intrigued...

Sorry for the wall of text, and many thanks for any who take the time to read and respond.

[al yunan]

I understand that Islam is extremely decentralized. With this in mind how would the average Muslim sort through the process of interpreting the Quran? I understand that there is a great deal of commentary (Tafsir?) that has been written on the Quran to assist in it's interpretation. With that said, there are probably a dozen or more ways to interpret any one verse. Are there Muslim communities within sects that would subscribe to certain commentaries (sects within sects), or do Muslims sort through scripture through the grace of God.

Salam brother,

For any Muslim to do a Tafsir would require one to have from 17-19 types of knowledge, most of us rely on classic texts and there is definitely no grace of God involved just science.
As all Islamic knowledge is interlinked it's hard for any one to fabricate or alter even the smallest detail.
Plus there is the safe guard of memorises for Quran, Ahadith and even famous works.
As for sects the closest would be in comparison to hard liners and more liberal approach.
To be honest though we do have also some goofy small groups but to eclectic to do any harm.

Secondly, the Quran often makes reference to prophets of the Old Testament. In the course of reading the Quran I have noticed that from a Christian perspective the accounts of the lives of the Prophets seem incomplete. Would Muslims view the extra detail in the Old Testament as a symptom of their corruption, or do Muslims have expanded details of lives of the Prophets in sacred tradition (I don't know the word for an Islamic equivalent... or even if there is an Islamic equivalent).

The prophets a.s (peace be upon them all) mentioned in the Quran may be similar by name but in the Quran their reputations are untarnished plus some are only Kings in the Bible whereas in the Quran they are prophets.
For those as you say incomplete stories there are Traditions that complete most of them.
There are also scholastic books detailing their lives.
The prophet s.a.w's traditions or sayings are called Ahadith and his actions Sunnah.

Finally, regarding the letters at the beginning of certain books of the Quran (I am sorry, but I do not know their proper title either). I understand that there is no commonly accepted explanation for their presence or significance, but if anyone had some easily accessible resources that might propose theories regarding their existence. I have to admit I am very much intrigued...

Those letters are not common knowledge and unlike other religions in Islam some knowledge has to be earned and some has to be gifted so basically knowledge is not a right but a privilege as we also don't have ordained clergy but rather teachers.
The Ottomans called Mosques Jami which would infer a place of learning as that is a Mosque's primary function.
To us Muslims the learning never ends.

Masalam

[Mungling]

Salam brother,

For any Muslim to do a Tafsir would require one to have from 17-19 types of knowledge, most of us rely on classic texts and there is definitely no grace of God involved just science.
As all Islamic knowledge is interlinked it's hard for any one to fabricate or alter even the smallest detail.
Plus there is the safe guard of memorises for Quran, Ahadith and even famous works.
As for sects the closest would be in comparison to hard liners and more liberal approach.
To be honest though we do have also some goofy small groups but to eclectic to do any harm.



The prophets a.s (peace be upon them all) mentioned in the Quran may be similar by name but in the Quran their reputations are untarnished plus some are only Kings in the Bible whereas in the Quran they are prophets.
For those as you say incomplete stories there are Traditions that complete most of them.
There are also scholastic books detailing their lives.
The prophet s.a.w's traditions or sayings are called Ahadith and his actions Sunnah.



Those letters are not common knowledge and unlike other religions in Islam some knowledge has to be earned and some has to be gifted so basically knowledge is not a right but a privilege as we also don't have ordained clergy but rather teachers.
The Ottomans called Mosques Jami which would infer a place of learning as that is a Mosque's primary function.
To us Muslims the learning never ends.

Masalam

Thank you for the response, it cleared up most of my questions. I'm skeptical about the ability of Islamic teachings to be absolutely immune to personal interpretation, unless you mean to say that every Muslim agrees on every single aspect of theology. If there are disagreements than one must interpret, and if on must interpret than one is susceptible to error.

The other comment you made that piqued my curiosity was this:

Those letters are not common knowledge and unlike other religions in Islam some knowledge has to be earned and some has to be gifted so basically knowledge is not a right but a privilege

This is perplexing to me. Why wouldn't God want as many people to know as much about Himself and His word as possible? There is, for example, no aspect of Catholicism which I would be considered privileged information. Do you mean to say that certain knowledge has to internally cultivated, that one would have to draw personal conclusions based on years of study? Or rather, would this privileged information be considered divine revelation? If the former is the case, wouldn't that naturally lead to faulty interpretation and error?

One again, thank you for reply!

[Ramadhan]

Thank you for the response, it cleared up most of my questions. I'm skeptical about the ability of Islamic teachings to be absolutely immune to personal interpretation, unless you mean to say that every Muslim agrees on every single aspect of theology. If there are disagreements than one must interpret, and if on must interpret than one is susceptible to error.

the Qur'an is very clear, and anyone can understand the basics even though a translation can never do it justice. Do you have any particular questions about the Qur'an that you think people would disagree at the basic levels?

This is perplexing to me. Why wouldn't God want as many people to know as much about Himself and His word as possible? There is, for example, no aspect of Catholicism which I would be considered privileged information. Do you mean to say that certain knowledge has to internally cultivated, that one would have to draw personal conclusions based on years of study? Or rather, would this privileged information be considered divine revelation? If the former is the case, wouldn't that naturally lead to faulty interpretation and error?

Allah has made himself very clear and explained about his attributes in details in the Qur'an. You don't need any sort of privileged knowledge (QS. 2:255, QS. 112, and endless attributes thorughout the Qur'an) that anyone can understand without question.
Have you actually read the qur'an?
You were asking about the particular letters at the beginning of several qur'an surats ("chapters", and by the way, Qur'an is one book, unlike bible which consists of varying numbers of books, depending on your denominations) which are called al Muqatta'at. No one knows the meanings of these letters, but the knowledge of thee meanings of these letters or lack thereof does not in any absolute way affect our understanding of Allah SWT, and does not affect our belief and practices as a muslim in any way.

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[Mungling]

the Qur'an is very clear, and anyone can understand the basics even though a translation can never do it justice. Do you have any particular questions about the Qur'an that you think people would disagree at the basic levels?



Allah has made himself very clear and explained about his attributes in details in the Qur'an. You don't need any sort of privileged knowledge (QS. 2:255, QS. 112, and endless attributes thorughout the Qur'an) that anyone can understand without question.
Have you actually read the qur'an?
You were asking about the particular letters at the beginning of several qur'an surats ("chapters", and by the way, Qur'an is one book, unlike bible which consists of varying numbers of books, depending on your denominations) which are called al Muqatta'at. No one knows the meanings of these letters, but the knowledge of thee meanings of these letters or lack thereof does not in any absolute way affect our understanding of Allah SWT, and does not affect our belief and practices as a muslim in any way.

I have read the Qur'an, although with no where near the attention to detail I should have. With regards to the Muqatta'at, this really didn't tie into my question about interpretation with regards to scripture (although re-reading my posts I guess I can see why this might be mistaken). I was simply curious to see if anyone had resources about speculations with regards to their meaning. I was not trying to imply their understanding (or lack thereof) in any way affects the practice or belief of Islam.

I will concede your point that the Quran is very straight forward in the vast majority of its message. I suppose my real confusion stems from the fact that Catholics consider a good chunk of the Bible to be allegorical, a consequently a great deal of interpretation has to be done. Conversely (and correct me if I'm wrong), but I have recently learned that Muslims take the Quran literally. In other words if the Quran says it is so, then it is so. This would, admittedly, do away with any need to interpret.

But let's take Surah 4:34 : "Believers, do not approach your prayers when you are drunk, but wait till you can grasp the meaning of your words". Now, given the fact that other Surahs of the Quran make alcohol haram, am I right in thinking that there must be some other meaning to this particular verse than is initially apparent? Wouldn't personal interpretation be required, then, to determine the meaning?

Again, thank you for your patient and responses. I imagine this must be rather frustrating trying to explain something which probably seems rather self evident.

[Perseveranze]

I have read the Qur'an, although with no where near the attention to detail I should have. With regards to the Muqatta'at, this really didn't tie into my question about interpretation with regards to scripture (although re-reading my posts I guess I can see why this might be mistaken). I was simply curious to see if anyone had resources about speculations with regards to their meaning. I was not trying to imply their understanding (or lack thereof) in any way affects the practice or belief of Islam.

I will concede your point that the Quran is very straight forward in the vast majority of its message. I suppose my real confusion stems from the fact that Catholics consider a good chunk of the Bible to be allegorical, a consequently a great deal of interpretation has to be done. Conversely (and correct me if I'm wrong), but I have recently learned that Muslims take the Quran literally. In other words if the Quran says it is so, then it is so. This would, admittedly, do away with any need to interpret.

But let's take Surah 4:34 : "Believers, do not approach your prayers when you are drunk, but wait till you can grasp the meaning of your words". Now, given the fact that other Surahs of the Quran make alcohol haram, am I right in thinking that there must be some other meaning to this particular verse than is initially apparent? Wouldn't personal interpretation be required, then, to determine the meaning?

Again, thank you for your patient and responses. I imagine this must be rather frustrating trying to explain something which probably seems rather self evident.

Peace,

You have to remember the verses of the Quran came one at a time over a period of 23 years. We know that what Islam did was slowly (through process) forbid Alcohol until it finally said, Alcohol is forbidden.

If it suddenly said straight of the bat, "alcohol is forbidden", then people would certainly have difficulty following that, God understands we are humans afterall. So it does it through steps, as people get stronger in faith, as they are acquinted to one step at a time, and then when Alcohol is finally banned, it is so much easier to just let it go.

[Ramadhan]

But let's take Surah 4:34 : "Believers, do not approach your prayers when you are drunk, but wait till you can grasp the meaning of your words". Now, given the fact that other Surahs of the Quran make alcohol haram, am I right in thinking that there must be some other meaning to this particular verse than is initially apparent? Wouldn't personal interpretation be required, then, to determine the meaning?

The abolition of "khamr" (now mostly referrred to as alcohol, but it means "drink that make you drunk" and actually also covered all substances that has adverse effects on human consciousness, including drugs) did not happen instantly, that verse was the very first verse to be revealed that outlawed alcohol. The Qur'an does not even say alcohol is all evil, but it accurately says that there's some benefits in them, although the negative effects far outweigh the benefits. The last verse in the series command the believers to avoid alcohol altogether.

I will concede your point that the Quran is very straight forward in the vast majority of its message.

Yes, because the Qur'an is intended for all mankind for all time and needs no revision (which is already irrefutably proven), and not just for a select few who go to seminary schools. The basics and core messages of the qur'an are straightforward, and understood by all human beings. Even the stories of the past prophets (pbut) and their people are extremely consistent throughout.