How to Read the Quran - Book Report/Review Example

The Qur’an is an important book both of history and religion. It is regarded as the final word of Allah as he speaks to His people through Muhammad. Tarif Khalidi, in his introduction of his translated version of the book writes that “Muslim piety regards the Qur’an as supremely eloquent, supremely wise, and immune from all error or falsehood” (8). The Qur’an, as it stands, is defined as complete and encompassing without need of any addition or revision. There is nothing that needs to be supplemented to it as a holy book because everything that man should do and understand about God was already relayed to the last Prophet. Thus, it becomes now a matter of interpretation left to man to comprehend the words that came directly from Allah. This is where the varied interpretations exist, diverse in appreciation and plural in application according to different cultures. For the most part, those who are not acquainted with this sacred text regard the religion as constrictive and backwards, especially in its treatment of women and its rules on punishment. Yet there are still many who have broken away from the conservative and literal application of the Qur’an. The modern awareness for the Qur’an in how it came into being as well as in how it should be read remains to be evolving and a critical point in Islamic culture. The Qur’an came from the Arab word qar’a which literally means ‘recitations’ or what it translates as ‘to be read aloud.’ For the believers, these are the revelations of God to Muhammad through Gabriel, the angel who is named in the Quran as Jibril. During his life, Muhammad preached these revelations to the people but none were written about him until sometime after his death. In fact, the book about his life was written a century after his death. The most comprehensive account that relate to Muhammad’s life came from a Medina scholar by the name of Ibn Ishaq in the book Sirat Rasul Allah or Biography of the Messenger of God. Ibn Ishaq was also known to be the first to write an autobiography. This work was thereafter edited by Ibn Hisham in the 9th century who wrote that Muhammad was orphaned at an early age by both his mother and father and was raised by an uncle, Abu Talib. He then married a wealthy widow in Khadijah who was a great supporter in his preachings and became the first to accept Islam. A major part of his existence was his travels to Mecca to meditate and in one of these instances Jibril came to him in the cave of Hira and the first revelation came into being (Siddiqui 10). This became the basis of Ramadam which is the holy month of fasting and from then on Muhammad received revelations which he related to his followers by word of mouth. They would then either memorize it or write it on crude objects so long as they could to preserve his words. At the time of Muhammad’s death in 632 C.E., these words were disseminated by the people but there was yet to be a Qur’an which compiles everything. The caliph Uthman b. Affan commissioned Zayd b. Thabit to collate his words into written text within 20 years from Muhammad’s death. The Uthmanic codex or Uthmanic mushaf was born which became the template for all subsequent printing of the Qur’an. This was declared official and closed to all alterations. This version originally has no vowels consistent with Arabic text and was sent to different areas with copies of other versions ordered to be destroyed. Nevertheless, other versions remained and the Uthmanic mushaf adopted both vowels and consonants toward its most applicable reading. This became the basis for copies that are being read today as the official Qur’an which remained substantially unchanged (Siddiqui 12-13). The Qur’anic scholarship and its commentaries can be traced not only to Islamic but to non-Islamic traditions as well, including diversities in both pre-Modern and Modern beliefs. This has been regarded as the most dangerous albeit commendable endeavor which includes the practice of exegesis or tafsir. Many Muslim groups engage in tafsir to strengthen their own ideologies that commit to ideas of justice according to Allah, free will, God’s divinity, and other philosophical and theological questions that pervade man. By way of tradition, the Qur’an is read alongside commentaries that interpret the verses for the reader. The exegesis of the Qur’an is one of the strictest that many define its understanding only according to its sub-disciplines that include among them, “asbab al-nuzul (historical context), al-nasikh wa’l mansukh (harmony of laws), gharib al-Qur’an (linguistic obscurities), qira’at (variant readings), i’rab (grammar), isti’arat (metaphors), bada’i’ (rhetorical excellences), and i’jaz (divinely ordained inimitability)” (Khalidi 9). These sub-disciplines of exegesis put weight on the authority that any commentary facilitates and concurrently divides scholars on various issues that consensus is next to impossible. Unlike the bible which is by storytelling and comparatively easier to understand, the Qur’an is not chronological in its presentation. Its uses narrative excerpts to get at moral points. The holy book mentions other prophets such Moses, Noah, Abraham and Jesus but only in passing. It is difficult to read as a regular book as Carl Ernst bluntly puts it (93). Ernst also writes that authorities of the Qur’an suggest reading first the short suras which can be found at the end and that hearing it instead of reading may give a different experience since this is how it was supposed to be transmitted (95). As Siddiqui points out, the suras are disjointed which could only lead the reader to feel frustrated when looking to a cohesive reference to other prophets. Nonetheless, “The Qur’an does not only talk about God but is the sign of the existence of God” (Siddiqui 23). Since the Qur’an is final and regarded as the direct words of God, its interpretations can be subject of many discourses. The first revelation is a source of varying points of view all on its own. In The Blood Clot, Sura 96 of the Qur’an, “Recite, in the name of your Lord!/ He Who created!/He created man from a blood clot” (424). In these verses, Muhammad, an illiterate, was made to recite by the angel Gabriel. Unable to read, he refuses to obey the command three times before he submitted to the will of God and only was then he able to realize that he can read through God. This is the Muslim tradition of understanding this part of the holy book. Some interpret his stumbling to mean as a test to ensure that the words are really that of Allah since he will not be able to produce it on his own. These are viewed as messages that descended to him independent of his own volition (Khalidi 13). These are moments that defined Muhammad as the prophet who was worthy to be the vessel of God’s message to His people. From this moment, the revelations came to Muhammad in unworldly phenomenons that were in parts throughout his life as opposed to one event (Siddiqui 11). This interpretation was expounded by a modern scholar, Ibrahim Ozdemir, who states that the direction of reading to the Prophet “means a completely new way of looking at the world” (Siddiqui 18). Rather than the conventional understanding of what it meant, modern interpretations illumine that this powerful sura entails more than a literal interpretation of a man who cannot read. Consideration must also be taken from the hadiths as a source of information. God and man are intertwined that all of man’s actions must be in reverence to the Supreme Being. This implies that His power and knowledge is so vast that He was able to create humankind through just a blood clot. Therefore, man has to live by His words in reference to the afterlife where our place is determined in accordance to one’s life on earth. It is in His mercy that He relayed His words on earth to be followed. Undoubtedly, the exegesis of the Qur’an has been the source of dissonance as how it translates to the modern world. The primacy of tradition in Islam is the most important aspect of its identity. The Qur’an remains to be recited in Arab even by Muslims who do not speak the language. A translation from this language is open to lapses and many insist against it. Nevertheless, many commentaries are written in languages other than Arabic. This is among the causes of many misconceptions that it is a fundamentalist religion. Commentaries are vast and they are also varied contrary to popular belief of a unified Islam especially among Western perceptions. Those of the Tabari are conflicting and consist of huge compilations, while Shi’i writers are essentially sectarian such as modern Iranian scholar Allama Tabataba’I, and Sufis generally have mystical commentaries (Ernst 103). Ernst further remarks on Osama Bin Laden, made famous by the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11. Bin Laden, not unknown to many practiced on interpreting the Qur’an and cited it in some of his recording. But this was not exegesis but rather propaganda to serve his personal agenda. He employed words from the Qur’an in such a way that it justified the Al Qaeda’s acts. Suffice it to say that this is political rather than religious. “His self-taught interpretation of the Qur’an, moreover, systematically takes verses out of context and ignores contrary views in traditional religious scholarship, grimly seeking to impose a predetermined conclusion in favor of unlimited warfare against non-Muslims” (101). The misunderstanding of the Qur’an is not an unusual concept that conflicts Muslims across the globe. A Muslim’s construal of the Qur’an as containing words of mercy by God together with justice is juxtaposed as archaic against concepts of democracy and modernism that many have become defensive of the notions of inequalities tagged with the religion. A deeper appreciation of the Qur’an is integral in shattering these views and grasping that religious tradition prevails over its words as practices. “The Qur’an was revealed in a historical context. The awareness of changing contexts is fundamental to understanding the eternal value and relevance of scriptural texts” (Siddiqui 7). This is the challenge that modern scholars of the ancient text aim to address. Fasting during Ramadan is an important part of the Muslim life. Although with some exemptions, a person is expected to fast through the day ending at sunset when he can finally break bread. This is a difficult time especially during summer when sunset comes later. More recently, Muslims in the West question the practice as their daily routines are jeopardized by it. Theological answers lean towards a denial of any deviation from the ritual since this is a central tradition that cannot be bent as authorities advocate. Ironically, despite the physical constraints throughout the month, the feast is one of celebration culminating with Eid al-Fitr (Siddiqui 62). These types of question that challenges the faith and posits breaking away from tradition are not tolled by sheer intolerance but by the vicissitude of today’s life. As a consequence of life and of geographical inconsistency, it is not impossible to fathom why modernism could adversely affect centuries-old practices. Sin and the faith is another important question that stirs up conversations. A question on sin and forgiveness is also apparent in Islam. For the Murjiites, as supported by the Hanafi School, faith does not depend on acts. One cannot be called an infidel just by disobeying the practice of rituals or even by committing a grave sin. This is founded on the belief that it is in affirming that there is only one God in Allah and the promise of paradise that a person attains salvation. Faith emanates from the heart and this cannot be subservient to practices that are espoused by human beings. These works are different and the more important part of worship is in what one feels. The other side of the coin argues that rituals the purest expression of true faith that is not confined to prayer and fasting but in emulating the life of Muhammad. This can be seen through the use of the hijab in females by covering their head or by niqab which covers the entire face. This is taken precisely from the Qur’an where it is only the wives of Muhammad who wore coverings for their faces. The religion and the practices that come along with it are viewed as the most pious celebration of the tradition. By looking more Muslim, one shows the strength of his devotion to Islam (Siddiqui 65). Even among Muslims, the variations of their traditions may depend on secularization, cultural background or nationality. Their practices can range from being the most puritan by following a literal interpretation of the Qur’an, to conservative but allows for some freedom, to modern which is more in pursuit of adapting to the changes of the modern world. The word Muslim literally translates to “one who surrenders” (Siddiqui 39). In this pronouncement alone, it is not difficult to understand how Islam has come to be not only a popular world religion but a misunderstood one at that. The Qur’an is a complex text that has become the foundation of a great population of man’s understanding of divinity and his own humanity. Its wordings come in the form of law that must be obeyed to secure favor in the afterlife, a notion that is not unlike all other significant religions. “Among the verses that have the force of legal prescription or prohibition, a great many are concerned with prayer and the religious duties of alms, fasting, and pilgrimage” (Ernst 104). These virtues are admirable without any other need for understanding of historical or contextual analysis. The exegetes are important to bring a person closer to the words so that he may understand further their meaning. But regardless of how closely he interprets the Qur’an from its authoritative commentators or how far he is from its conceptualization as envisioned by scholars, so long as he is able to appreciate the essence of the words of God then it shouldn’t matter. The values espoused through faith, piety and forgiveness are transcendent that there should be no conflict on basis of traditional difference. It is in tolerance, regardless of the rituals practiced and the understanding of the holy text that peace can be found both intrinsically and externally. This is how the essence of the Qur’an is given meaning. The critical questions remain to be persistent and existent that it only goes to show the evolution of man and his religion. It is in the active pursuit of understanding God in relation to one’s life that faith is glorified. The unfairness of attributing practices of brutality to the Qur’an perpetrated by men is a disservice to its holiness. As contained in the Qur’an itself and written eloquently by Khalidi puts it, “Yes, the Qur’an explicitly recognizes the danger of a willfully perverted reading of the text, but if approached in a pious frame of mind, or what today we might call sympathy, interpretation must in theory be limitless, since God alone is its perfect interpreter” (11). Works Cited Ernst, Carl W. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. London: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. PDF. Siddiqui, Mona. How to Read the Qur’an. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. PDF. The Qur’an. Trans. Khalidi, Tarif. New York: Penguin Books Ltd., 2009. PDF Read More