Miscellaneous - 3

Summaries of the Quran

Question:-

How would you summarise the message of the Quran or of other Scriptures that the Quran confirms.

Answer:-

Summaries are shortened versions that select some things regarded as important and ignore others. There are, therefore, several ways of doing this:-

The most terse and concentrated is the following:-

"Verily, we are Allah's and, verily, to Him is our return." 2:156

A more elaborate one is:-

"Say: Verily, my worship and my sacrifice, and my living and my dying belong to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He has no partner. This I am commanded, and I am foremost of those who surrender (unto Him)" 6:163-164

A summary of the Quran in the Quran is the first chapter, the Fatiha, also called the Seven Oft repeated verses:-

"All Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful, The Ruler of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone we serve and Thee alone we ask for aid. Guide us in the Straight Path, the path of those whom Thou hast favoured; not of those who earn Thy wrath; nor of those who go astray." 1:1-7

Another summary within the Quran giving some details is:-

"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces towards the East or the West, but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers, and to spend of your wealth for love of Him, for your kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, for those who ask, and to ransom those in captivity; and to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the covenant (contracts) which you have made; and to be firm in patience in times of pain (poverty and deprivation), and adversity, and in periods of panic (or violence); these are the people who are true, and these are those who are Allah-fearing." 2:177

From the point of view of the individual we have:-

"Then set your purpose for religion as a man upright by nature - the nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation; that is the right religion, but most people do not know - turning to Him only, and be careful of your duty to Him and keep up prayer and be not of those who ascribe partners to Him, of those who split their religion and became schismatic, every sect rejoicing in its own tenets." 30:30-32

From a more general point of view:-

"And every man's augury (or fate) have We fastened on his own neck; and We will bring forth for him on the Day of Judgment a book offered to him wide open. (It will be said to him): Read your book (or record of deeds). Your soul suffices as reckoner against you this day. He who accepts guidance (or does right), accepts it only for his own soul: and he who errs, errs only against it; nor shall one burdened soul bear the burden of another. Nor would We punish until we had sent a Messenger (with warnings)." 17:13-15

An explanation is provided by the following:-

"And by the soul and Him Who fashioned it, and enlightened it with what is wrong and right for it! He indeed is successful who causes it to grow (or purifies it)! And he indeed is a failure who corrupts it!" 91:7-10

And:-

"O you who believe! Respond unto Allah and His Messenger when He calls you to that which quickens you; and know that Allah comes in between a man and his own heart; and that He it is unto Whom you shall be gathered." 8:24

A personal summary is:-

The purpose of existence is the Ascent (Quran 70:3 and symbolically described in 90:11-17.) It is spiritual evolution, return to Allah and Unity. Therefore, we can distinguish between three kinds of processes, actions and persons:-

(1) Those that work on the side of this constructive process.

(2) Those that work against it.

(3) Those that are indifferent, have no purpose and drift along in a futile manner accidentally sometimes in one direction, sometimes in the opposite and mostly in between.

If Category (1), process of spiritual evolution is defined as Good, then Category (2), the opposite process of degeneration and disintegration can be defined as Evil, but it exists to act as the repulsive pole and therefore has the same affect as the positive pole. The good is achieved by overcoming evil. Category (3) can be regarded as having catalytical, enabling or mediating effects that provide materials for the other two.

----------<O>----------

Understanding the Quran

Critic:-

You state:- Religion requires not a horizontal movement but an ascent. Seven levels or stages should probably be recognised in the understanding of the Quran.

Right in the middle of these, as a result of step (4), a physical document was produced. It is possible to study that document for its own sake. I am not interested in Islam but in the Quran.

Comment:-

The stages are not mutually exclusive but are dependent on others. The Quran is not the physical document only. I am speaking about understanding the Quran, not just reading it.

It cannot be understood unless it is read according to the instructions in the Quran, especially when there is selective reading and interpretation by means of extraneous standards and inappropriate motives. We see, on this very site, the lack of understanding and wrong interpretations of those who do not do so. From your remarks it is obvious that you too have not understood the Quran.

It is also a wholly futile exercise for those who do not intend to apply it.

Consider 2:121, 29:24,49, 17:82, 56:77-80

Critic:-

How is the non-believer to discern the truth of Islam beginning with the presumption that the Quran is divine? Here is a real life situation: At my university I have a Sri-Lankan Buddhist friend who is hostile to most (all?) types of God-cantered beliefs; in fact, she has a pretty anti-theistic block. I am interested in how I can convey religious "truth" to her without, of course, begging the essential question.

Comment:-

I am not speaking about non-believers. I am speaking about understanding the Quran. The Quran cannot have any relevance to non-believers and their approach to it is a negative one which is not conducive to understanding. Their opinions about the Quran have no relevance to the understanding of the Quran. If you read the Quran you will find what it says about understanding it. See Quran 29:24, 49, 2:21, and note carefully what 49:14 says.

As the Quran indicates it is not you who gives understanding or converts, but Allah. It is for you, as for the Messenger, only to convey the message. Allah guides whom He wills.

In case you did not know, what people believe, accept or understand depends upon their assumptions, framework of references in which experiences are interpreted, motives and efforts and these depend on inherent pre-dispositions, experiences, knowledge, education, training, cultural conditioning and abilities. You cannot make a person understand something if they do not want to look at it, do not have the foundations upon which the ideas are built, do not have the capacity for it, do not make the necessary efforts, have entrenched prejudices or have fears of, or vested interests in something contrary.

When some people discuss the Quran, there is an assumption, usually unconscious, that reality is created by concepts and verbal arguments. They are not really believers in Allah, but may accept or reject the concept. The fact is that experience is prior to verbal descriptions. When discussing the Quran it much more important to know how they experience the Quran. It was after all an experience before it appears as a book of words. The verbal description is superficial and may not correspond to experiences or produce any. But Reality is prior to experience and experiences can be restricted or even distorted forms of it unless the experience is induced by Real interaction.

As for your Buddhist friend, I doubt whether she understands her own scripture:-

The Buddha is reported to have said:-

"There is, O Bhikkhus, an Unborn, a Not-become, a Not-made, a Not-compounded. If there were not, O Bhikkhus, this Unborn, Not-become, Not-made, Not-compounded, there could not be any escape from what is born, become, made and compounded."

It is not difficult to see that this unborn, not-made, not-compounded is the same as Allah.

He also said:-

"Within our mind there is Buddha, and that Buddha within is the real Buddha. If Buddha is not to be sought within our mind where shall we find the real Buddha. Doubt not that a Buddha is within your mind, apart from which nothing exists....Avert thy face from the world's deception; mistrust thy senses, they are false. But within the body, the shrine of thy sensation, seek in the impersonal for the 'Eternal Man', and having sought him out, look inward; thou art Buddha."

It is not difficult to see that this refers to the same thing as the Spirit of Allah in man as per Quran 32:9

Unfortunately, people tend to have fixations on the form of words so that they cannot understand their meaning and significance.

----------<O>----------

Belief in Prophets

A Muslim:-

The Quran states:-

"Those who deny Allah and His apostles, and (those who) wish to separate Allah from His apostles, saying: We believe in some but reject others: And (those who) wish to take a course midway,- they are in truth unbelievers; and we have prepared for unbelievers a humiliating punishment." 4:150-151

What on earth did you find in these verses which indicates that they apply only to Muslims? Are you saying Jews, Christians and others are free to deny Allah and His apostles? Seriously, you must be joking?

Comment:-

You misunderstand.

The verse tells us not to separate the Messengers from Allah or make a distinction between them. It does not say who they are.

This verse is in the Quran which is accepted by Muslims. It is not a scripture for others. Those who followed the previous religions had Messengers that did not include Muhammad (saw). Each nation is judged by the teachings of their Prophet.

"To every people was sent a Messenger; and when their Messenger comes to them (on the Day of Judgment), it will be judged between them fairly, and they will not be wronged." 10:48

The verse 2:62 does not say that belief in Prophets is required for salvation. But that belief in Allah and the Day of Judgement and Good deeds are required. The implication is that it is the message of the Prophets that is important - the message makes them Messengers - the same message as that of all prophets. Therefore, we also read:-

"Say: O people of the scriptures, ye have naught of guidance till ye observe the Torah and the Gospels and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord. That which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) from thy Lord is certain to increase the rebelliousness and disbelief of many of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk. Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does right, there shall no fear come upon them nor shall they grieve." 5:68-69

See also 3:64, 3:113-114, 22:76

People of previous religions are invited to note that Muhammad (saw) is also a Prophet bringing them the same message as their prophets.

The Quran tells us that there are righteous among the Jews and Christians. Do you think that the righteous shall be condemned seeing that the Quran insists that people will be judged according to their deeds? It is not for you to judge others. I wonder why you are keen that other people should be condemned. You will be judged by your own deeds and not by what others do.

"He who accepts guidance (or does right), accepts it only for his own soul: and he who errs, errs only against it; nor shall one burdened soul bear the burden of another. Nor would We punish until we had sent a Messenger (with warnings)." 17:15

In so far as religion was completed with the advent of Muhammad (saw), it is probable that those who accept and follow the religion of Muhammad (saw) are better off than those who follow the past incomplete versions.

But note that the Prophet explained the completion of religion as follows:- It is like a house built of bricks and he, Muhammad (saw), laid the last brick. He did not lay all the bricks but confirmed their validity.

----------<O>----------

Contents