Quranic Islam
by Ahmet Tasgetiren

The term Qur’anic Islam describes the major principles of a deen specified in the Qur’an. There are two principles that a person must be obliged two if he says he is tied to this specified framework.
1.Believing that the Qur’an is a set standard.
2.Believing that what is in the Qur’an is a setstandard.

The first principle, accepting the Qur’an as the founding standard means to see the Qur’an as a major source of inquiry. Saying, "in the Qur’an it commands this" to settle arguments. As it describes itself in the Qur’an, it is the holy script that separates good from evil.

If we ask why we see the Qur’an as being so, it is because it was sent from Allah (SWT). We believe that Allah(SWT) sent us the best knowledge, and the best standard to go by. If he sent us a book, it is because we needed it. It is because in this adventure called life, He believed we should live it according to this book. If any other being other than Allah (SWT) had given us a book and said go by this, we could critique it and discuss its possible faults. We would search for a Holy script to compare it with and to check its accuracy. The Prophethood of the Prophet only gains certainty with the book. The truth of the prophet’s words is supported by Allah (SWT). The claim of prophethood without it being supported in Allah’s book is nothing but a fake prophethood. The standard put forth in the Qur’an is different from any put forth by man because it is absolute.

Man should not forget this principle belief in his relationship with the Qur’an. It states so in the Qur’an. When man opens up the contents of the Qur’an and starts walking towards the type of world it constructs, he must always use it as a guide to find the true path and never to show hesitation. In other words, the second principle, loyalty.

We come to the second principle we named at the beginning. That is to see the Qur’an as a book with a content that concerns man directly, and that it is composed of values that are true without a dispute, instead of seeing it as an abstract magical object that blesses everything it touches.

In reality deen is principles for man to follow that were sent down by Allah (SWT). The Qur’an is the composition of the principles of the last deen Allah (SWT) sent down to man. Islam is the name of the religion Allah picked out for man and that He explained in the Qur’an. In the Qur’an it tells us only if we live the deen of Islam will we gain the religious identity that would please Allah (SWT).

If the Islam of the Qur’an is going to define us and is going to shape our identity, the thing that must be done is to look at what the Qur’an is telling us, in other words, what kind of message is Allah (SWT) sending us.

If we write down the realities one more time, they would go as follows:

One, the Qur’an brings us messages.

Two, these messages should be accepted by man as being the most righteous messages, and the only knowledge that is capable of providing eternal happiness.

Three, the messages sent by Allah (SWT) are standards for us to construct our life.

Four, these messages should be accepted as the most righteous messages, and the only knowledge that is capable of providing eternal happiness, and most importantly they must be fulfilled.

If all of these are true, an important duty falls upon the shoulder of man and that is to look at the values sent down for man and to construct the kind of world it specifies.

It is impossible to say you have really benefited from the Qur’an unless it is referred to in your daily life, unless it is considered a founding script that must be followed, and unless every bit of knowledge it contains is considered light that illuminates every square foot of space.

Maybe this Qur’an is not a Qur’an that sits on shelves and is only seen as a symbol of respect.

Maybe this Qur’an is not just a Qur’an that is read by people with good voices in a very beautiful way.

Maybe this is a Qur’an that is different from the one just read to the deceased.

Maybe it is not made up of pages that are memorized, but do not have any meaning to the one that memorized it.

This is not a Qur’an that the content is just set aside to be forgotten and the holiness of it is emphasized and is turned into just a sacred memory.

The Qur’an is a book of life. It is a collection of holy values that should be read syllable by syllable, should be learned, and should be used to shape the world. The holiness of it should not be a description that limits the relationship of people with it; instead, it should show the certainty of the values. What is wanted from us is not to rub our faces against its pages and cry, but to carry its letters, its sentences, and its pages into our lives. He wants us not to read it to the dead but to the living, especially for ourselves.

What it means to start on the road from the Qur’an is to construct the world and our life for Allah (SWT) according to Allah’s standards.

If man just learns the ayah "Iyyake na’budu wa iyyaka nasteiyn" and tries to construct the world according to that, he will feel the need to question his whole life over again.

So, man should open himself to the content of the Qur’an and re-establish his life.

The Qur’an states very general principle; it falls upon man to fill them up. However, to say that there is a very wide field left for interpretation, and to empty out the content of the Qur’an and to construct a life according to your own fancy is not being sincere. The ones that think they can fool Allah, that they can find places He can not see, are the ones who in their hearts do not really believe the Qur’an as setting restrictions on us; the are fakes who are trying to use tricks to exploit people. The summary of the whole message of the Qur’an is probably the tawid belief. In other words, accepting the almighty power of Allah, accepting that He created all, accepting that he is the one that gives us blessings, in other words, accepting that in every breath we take in every bite we eat, there is His will in it, accepting that He is the one that sets down laws, accepting that in the end He will be the one that judges even the most powerful ones on this earth. It also knows that everything that is not part of His commands are deviations. You can not go anywhere in the sea of the Qur'an if you set Allah aside, if you pretend to not see his commands, and if you disregard his authority. The Qur’an will through you out like a carcass. You can not empty out the Qur’an of its content; you will be the one who will be left empty and lifeless.

Taking the Qur’an and leaving out the Prophet is also not a way out. A person like this can not find himself a place in the Qur’an. You can not gain the spirituality of the Qur’an by pretending the non- existence of his model personality. If we love Allah (SWT), we must follow the Apostle so we can gain the love of Allah. So the Qur’an takes us to the classroom of the Apostle and leaves us there as his students. As the Turkish saying goes it will say, "The muscle is yours the bones our mine." We will all learn Islam in that classroom and gain meat on our bones.

If we start out on our path with the Qur’an in hand, we will go to Allah and the Apostle to settle all of our disputes, and we will show submission to any decision that comes from these two sources without putting our nefs up front.

If we start out on our path with the Qur’an in hand, we will not fall into the trap of thinking that the relationship between Allah and us is only a relationship of our individual worship to him and that everything else in our life is not His concern. We will know that our life, our wealth, our family, our possessions, our country, in other words, everything of ours can be reflection of our being a servant to him. We will know that we belong to Allah and that everything will return to Him.

Islam is a disciple that is composed around the Qur’an. Any time we feel we our straying from our path, anytime we think we have done wrong, we run into its borders. We will embrace it and find new life in it. It will help heal our wounds and re-new our belief.

All of these are only possible if you embrace the Quran with ikhlas and sincerity. The ones who use the Qur’an for worldly benefits will be the losing ones. The ones that believe the term Qur’anic Islam is a way out of Islam are at a loss. To find shelter in the Qur’an is to find shelter in Allah and to submit to Him. It is to see the world the way Allah intended us to see it; it is to utilize it the way he wanted us to utilize it. The sincerity test in this is to see how much of the Qur’an is in our lives. We are obligated to do this frequently maybe even every minute.