”. Allah (swt) will command to enter people of the Qur’an into heaven according to their ranks (how much they were devoted to Qur’an). It will be said to a believer: “Read and rise!” So they will be admitted into heaven according to how much they can read’. Even if you are a hafidh of the Qur’an, it does not necessarily mean that over there you can read the whole of the Qur’an. The ones who wasted the Qur’an will be loosing’.
In conclusion, the hadith shows the great respect the Qur’an has, which cannot be compared to any other being. The Qur’an will be a factor of how someone can be better than another person on the Day of Judgement. Prophet Muhammad (sa):
‘The respect the Qur’an has with Allah swt is like the respect a child has for his father.’
Hence, the key to please and get closer to Allah (swt) is to honour and follow the Qur’an in actions.
Imam Ja‘far Sadiq (as) said:
‘Indeed, the aziz and jabbar has sent down to you His book and He/it is truthful and good. In it is information about you, and information about people before you, and information about people who are to come after you, and information about the sky and the earth. And if someone comes and informs you about all these things you will be surprised.’
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) said:
‘If all people of the east and west were to die, I would not feel lonely as long as the Qur’an was with me.’
This hadith suggests lots of areas for discussion:
1. One should check himself regarding what provides him with comfort in this world, if it is the tranquility from reading Qur’an, then this is a very good sign. But, if one feels lonely and in need to phone someone or to play the television, or music to kill time, then this suggests a problem.
It is a problem that the main source of comfort is people not the Qur’an.
2. It is very important to understand the Qur’an. The reason that we read the Qur’an very quickly; is because we do not understand it. Otherwise, every verse should make us stop and think. similar to someone in a museum of art, who is not an artist; it may take him five minutes to complete a tour of the whole museum. However, if a person is an artist, then perhaps a piece of art might take hours to view!

•Merits of the carriers of the Qur’an.

Imam Sadiq (as) quotes from the Holy Prophet (sa):
‘Indeed the people of the Qur’an are in the highest rank among human beings, excluding prophets and messengers. So do not underestimate the rights of the people of the Qur’an. For surely with Allah, the aziz and jabbar, they have a very high position.’
Imam Sadiq (as) also said:
‘The one who memorises/preserves the Qur’an and acts upon it will be with the angels who are honoured and are very close to Allah (swt).’

• Ahl al-qur’an

In Arabic, ahl means family. family members stay togeter and always come back when they leave. Hence, ‘ahl al-qur’an’ are those whose main station and base is with the Qur’an. If they go to do something else then they finish that task and come back to the Qur’an. They live with the Qur’an, and they are acquainted with it and have a close and constant relationship with it.

• Mixing the Qur’an with one’s flesh and blood

Imam Sadiq (as) said:
‘Whoever recites the Qur’an while he/she is a young believer, the Qur’an becomes mixed in his/her flesh and blood. Allah (swt) will place this person with the angels who are honoured, and who are very close to Him. And on the Day of Judgement, the Qur’an will be a barrier [protection] for this person’.
If a person has learned something and it is stored in his memory, when he goes through the difficulties (let alone stressful situation of death and the Day of Judgement), his memory will be erased. However, the things that he learned and absorbrd, that became a fixed quality of his soul; he will not forget. If the Qur’an is just in a person’s memory, then perhaps even if he suffer a blow to the head it can be forgotten. But, if it occupies a place in a person’s flesh and blood, then it cannot separate from him. This is why it is important to absorb the Qur’an.
A hadith says that;
“when a person goes onto the sirat and says bismillah, he will proceed very quickly and pass over hell.”
But, who would remember to say bismillah unless it had become part of him.

• The Qur’an and humbleness

Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:

‘The one who is supposed to have the greatest humbleness in secret and in open is the carrier of the Qur’an. The people who are expected to have the best relationship with fasting and prayer are the carriers of the Qur’an.’
Then he (sa) called out with a high voice:
‘O carrier of the Qur’an! Be humble to it and Allah will raise you! Do not try and raise yourself by it, otherwise Allah will remove your honour.’
In other words:
1. If you are a person who has been able to get close to the Qur’an then you have to become very humble in private and in public. The Qur’an should bring khushu’(humbleness of the heart that appears in your outward body).

2. Closeness with the Qur’an should make a person more appreciative of salah and fasting.
3. It should be Allah (swt) that raises a person, and it is not for that person to seek other ways of raising himself. Prophet Muhammad (sa) stresses that we must be humble to the Qur’an, and as a result Allah (swt) will raise us.

• If learning the Qur’an is difficult;

Hadith:
“if someone has difficulty in learning the Qur’an, but continues to learn it more and more, Allah (swt) will reward that person with a double share”.
Hence, you should not be disappointed if you you cannot recite as well as others or you are struggling. It does not matter how fast or fluent one is, it matters how much effort is put in.

This difficulty could also mean that either the memory is not good, or that the person cannot concentrate, or that he has to travel long distances to come to a class or teacher.
Imam Sadiq (as):
‘It is expected of a believer that he does not die until he has learned the Qur’an, or he is teaching it.’
This means that a mu’min, before he dies, either learns the Qur’an or is in the process of learning it, or is teaching it. This would be counted as the best condition in which to meet the angel of death, who should come and find a person either learning the Qur’an or teaching it.
You should not feel that you lack anything as long as you have the Qur’an.

The Qur’an says:
وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلاَّ بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ
‘There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure.’ (15:21)
Therefore, everything in this physical world has a fixed measure. Again, the Qur’an says:
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ
‘Indeed We have created everything in a measure.’ (54:49)

• The world of closeness

knowledge is something that comes from that spiritual world, verses from the Qur’an states;
قَالَ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَأُبَلِّغُكُم مَّا أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ وَلَكِنِّي أَرَاكُمْ قَوْمًا تَجْهَلُونَ
‘He said, “The knowledge is with Allah alone. I communicate to you what I have been sent with. But I see that you are a senseless lot.”’ (46:23)

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
‘They question you concerning the Spirit. Say, “The Spirit is of the command of my Lord, and you have not been given of the knowledge except a few [of you].”’ (17:85)
Knowledge and Sustenance/rizq comes from Allah (swt). the Qur’an refers to the fact that in the case of Lady Maryam, her rizq came from Allah (swt):
فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقاً قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَـذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ إنَّ اللّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
‘Thereupon her Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance, and made her grow up in a worthy fashion, and He charged Zechariah with her care. Whenever Zechariah visited her in the sanctuary, he would find provisions with her. He said, “O Mary, from where does this come for you?” She said, “It comes from Allah. Allah provides whomever He wishes without any reckoning.”’ (3:37)
Another bounty that can be traced in this way is thawab (reward). This is a particularly beautiful point.
The Qur’an says:
مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ اللّهِ ثَوَابُ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَكَانَ اللّهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا
‘Whoever desires the reward of this world, [should know that] with Allah is the reward of this world and the Hereafter, and Allah is all-hearing, all-seeing.’ (4:134)
In another verse, Allah (swt) describes reward for those who are killed for His sake as martyrs:
وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
‘Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of Allah to be dead; rather they are living and provided for near their Lord.’ (3:169)
So, there is a part of the creation and existence, that is closer to Allah (swt)/ indallah. And all the good things we have here, such as knowledge, thawab and rizq, …etc., originate in the treasures of that world.

• Tanzil (sending down);

Tanzil is the process of sending down from the treasures of the higher world (the spiritual realm), to this world (the physical realm).
وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلاَّ بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ
‘There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure.’ (15:21)
If the unlimited knowledge were to be given to people in this world then it would be like connecting a high voltage cable to a person. Allah (swt) therefore limits down this knowledge, and simplify it to such an extent that it can come into this world, and even then we still cannot cope with it! So, He chooses those special servants of His who have the greatest capacity to recieve it, and to explain it to others.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) had a great heart and capacity, Allah (swt) said to him:
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ
Did We not open your breast for you
Nevertheless, hadiths clearly tell us that when Prophet Muhammad received wahy he became very pale, he would sweat, and people sometimes thought he was going to die. It was very difficult for him. The Qur’an says:
إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا
‘Indeed soon We shall cast on you a weighty word.’ (73:5)
When Allah (swt) describes the Qur’an as heavy, then we can conclude that it is truly heavy! So much so, that:
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
‘Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have surely seen it humbled [and] go to pieces with the fear of Allah. We draw such comparisons for mankind, so that they may reflect.’ (59:21)
It is amazing that Prophet Muhammad (sa) is stronger than a mountain! This shows the greatness of the Qur’an as well as the great capacity of Prophet Muhammad (sa).

• The meaning of inzal

Inzal in this context is not like sending something from a higher place to a lower place in the dunya, rather in the case of sending down, by Allah (swt), there is substantial change in that item, when a thing exists in a very high place of existence and in perfection, and that has so much greatness that the dunya is uncapable of containing it; then it needs to be simplified to suit the limited dunya. So, Allah (swt) makes a suitable presentation and manifestation of it in a form that suits the lower world.
Hence, inzal is when there is a very great reality that people cannot understand, but it is simplified to a more understandable form.
وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلاَّ بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ
‘There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure.’ (15:21)
when something from that world is sent down to this world; it is a matter of being there and remaining there; but having a representation and manifestation in this lower level of creation. When Allah (swt) gives; then all the changes occur here in dunya, and not there. There is no decrease or increase in that world.
Among the things of that universe, are the divine scriptures. Allah (swt) says:
وَلَمَّا جَاءهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَلَمَّا جَاءهُم مَّا عَرَفُواْ كَفَرُواْ بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّه عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ
‘And when there came to them a Book from Allah, confirming that which is with them—and earlier they would pray for victory over the pagans—so when there came to them what they recognized, they defied it. So may the curse of Allah be on the faithless!’ (2:89)
Again, Allah (swt) says:
….. قُلْ إِنَّمَا الآيَاتُ عِندَ اللّهِ وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَا إِذَا جَاءتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ
‘…. Say, “The signs are only with Allah,” and what will bring home to you that they will not believe even if they came?’ (6:109)

وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْآيَاتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ …
‘They say, “Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say, “The signs are only with Allah, ..…”’ (29:50)
These verses clearly demonstrate that the verses of the scripture are from Allah (swt), although we can reflect on them in the dunya.
وَإِنَّكَ لَتُلَقَّى الْقُرْآنَ مِن لَّدُنْ حَكِيمٍ عَلِيمٍ
‘Indeed you receive the Qur’an from One who is all-wise, all-knowing.’ (27:6)

•Lawh mahfudh / preserved tablet ; (umm al-kitab, or kitab maknun)

The Qur’an says:
بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَّجِيدٌ فِي لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ
‘Rather it is a glorious Qur’an, in a preserved tablet.’ (85:21-22)
The preserved tablet: is a level of Allah’s (swt) knowledge that contains information about all the facts, realities, and events. Everything and all knowledge is in lawh mahfudh (the final decisive information).
‘Alwahul mahwi wal ithbat’, are lower tablets known as which contain things that can change and are conditional. the Qur’an says:
يَمْحُو اللّهُ مَا يَشَاء وَيُثْبِتُ وَعِندَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ
‘Allah effaces and confirms whatever He wishes and with Him is the Mother Book.’ (13:39)
The Qur’an we have; is a representation/ an image of the Qur’an that is in lawh mahfudh.
The Qur’an is only one, and Allah (swt) has that with Him. A manifestation of that Qur’an, after simplification, has been given to Prophet Muhammad (sa). What we have on paper is after many levels of simplification. In another verse, Allah (swt) says:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
‘This is indeed a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it except the pure ones.’ (56:77-79)
Mutahharun are those whom have no impurity, and Allah (swt) has purified them thoroughly:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
‘Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification.’ (33:33)
So, in order to understand the Qur’an we should try to purify ourselves as much as possible, Otherwise, the people who really enjoy the Qur’an are the ma’sumin because they have been purified, they can touch the Qur’an, while others can access it from a distance. The difference between touching and seeing from a distance is similar to being in the midst of a freezing cold winter day and seeing a heater from a distance, which will not have any benefit! Only the people who are close to it can benefit.

• Dimensions of the Qur’an

In the following verses; Allah (swt) refers to two dimensions or faces of the Qur’an;
حم وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
‘Ha, Mim. By the Manifest Book: We have made it an Arabic Qur’an so that you may apply reason.’
and
وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
‘And indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book [and it is] surely sublime and wise.’ (43:4)
Hence, the Qur’an is with Allah (swt), in lawh mahfudh/ummul-kitab, and it is sublime and wise, while with us, Allah (swt) made it as a clear text, for us to recite and understand.
The Qur’an is with Allah (swt) and is very high (ali), and when that high reality that is very close to Allah (swt) in lawh mahfudh is represented to us in the form of a text, then that is inzal.
However, the Qur’an remains with Allah (swt); at no point does He say that it used to be with Him and is no longer. It is still there. And in that world there is no past, present, or future, and nothing departs from there.
So, the Qur’an has at the same time two faces, it exists at the same time in both worlds, here and there. But when it is with us it has a worldly appearance and when it is there it has another appearance.
Lady Maryam saw Jibra’il or the holy spirit, as a human being:
فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا
The angel, by taking the form of a human being, still remained an angel. It cannot be treated as a human being. If Jibra’il comes to us in the form of a human being we should not reduce our respect for him. The word/knowledge/wisdom of Allah (swt) comes to us in the form of a book; it is not a book, It has been made to appear that way for us to understand.
وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
The Qur’an is even higher than prophets, and angels. We have it in the form of a book and so we should not underestimate it and treat it as any other book.
In conclusion, Allah (swt), in order to guide us and help us with our upliftment has sent down the Qur’an to us, in the sense that He has made His knowledge and His wisdom available to us in this world in a form that we can try to understand. However, we still do not understand this text; it is a deep ocean, of which we can never reach the bottom, and we can never exhaust all its beautiful treasures. But at least we can try, and at least we have access to it. The real Qur’an is with Allah (swt).
When you want to go from mulk to malakut obviously you need guidance. That world is a place to which you have never been; so you definitely need guidance. The Qur’an is a book of guidance and it takes us to places we have never been. The Qur’an is in the closest position to Allah (swt) and it can take you to the closest position to Allah (swt).
Allah (swt) has made the Qur’an as a rope:
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ …..
‘Hold fast, all together, to Allah’s cord, and do not be divided [into sects].
The Qur’an is a rope that extends (habl mamdood) from heaven to earth with one side still held by Allah (swt), He has not dropped the Qur’an, He has extended the rope to us and He says hold fast to it.
How much we act upon the Qur’an and rise up; decides how close we become to Allah (swt), and the same thing is reflected in Heaven. It will be said to people ‘read and rise’. One hadith states that the number of ranks in heaven is equal to the number of verses of the Qur’an. So, in heaven it is read and rise, meaning that the amount a person was able to rise to Allah (swt) in this world will be reflected in how much he can rise in heaven.

The Qur’an is the manifestation of Allah’s wisdom, knowledge, mercy, and spiritual treatment. Some of it’s words are muhkam while others are mutashabih, some are ‘aam and some are khass, some are mutlaq and some are muqayyad, some are mujmal and some are mubayyan; all of these classifications relate to the worldly manifestation of the Qur’an in its form as a text. And indeed, after fourteen centuries we can say without hesitation that we have truly only understood a very little, and that understanding is primarily an understanding of the physical and linguistic side of the Qur’an, whereas the hidden and esoteric understanding of it requires a high degree of purity:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
‘This is indeed a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it except the pure ones.’ (56:77-79)
Great scholars, after many decades of study and after reading many commentaries, compile a book of tafsir. But, then it is amazing that after merely some years or decades there is such advancement in the science of tafsir that a new scholar will discover many things that were not touched on previously.
Many new things can be learned from this outward side of the Qur’an which is available to us for reflection and understanding.

To understand the other side, requires spiritual enhancement and purification. The deeper side is truly only for people who are purified. And when a person can see the Qur’an in that form and from that point of view, then he would not be able to forget such an experience. He would fall in love with the Qur’an and the Qur’an would be everything for him. As Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) has said:
‘If all the people in the east and west were to die, I would not feel lonely as long as the Qur’an was with me.’

• The relationship between this world and Aalam-al-indiyyat

This world (dunya, mulk, alam-e khalq) and the other world (malakut, or alam-e amr);are two different worlds, although seperated, but there is interaction between them.
There are some kinds of connections between the two worlds that we understand, such as the soul, and some connections that we do not understand such as angels.
The soul is belongs to the malakut, it is abstract in essence, but its actions are maddi/material, while
the body belongs to this material world, but they are connected strongly. Things might happen to the body that may often be reflected on the soul.
The angels are even more abstract, they are a matter of ghayb (unseen) and totally beyond our reach in this world, and we do not understand them. Though, angels play an active role in the dunya. In fact, they have lots of responsibilities and activities. Angels are like agents of Allah (swt); they do many things but we do not see them and we do not understand them.
فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا
‘By those who direct the affairs [of creatures.’ (79:5)
There is a great part of reality that we cannot understand through our own senses or reason, one of the reasons we need revelation is because of the limit in our understanding. It is only religion that can teach us these things:
كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولاً مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْلَمُونَ
‘As We sent to you an Apostle from among yourselves, who recites to you Our signs, and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and wisdom, and teaches you what you did not know.’ (2:151)
One of the jobs of the Holy Prophet is to clarify what we can know by ourselves, and also to teach us what we cannot know by ourselves.
We might understand the interaction between the body and soul, but, there are interactions that we cannot understand, such as the angels performing certain responsibilities in this world. One thing we must recognise, is that those interactions are very important for us and we must have a high regard and value for them.
The value of things in the Hereafter is different from this world, e.g. a person being famous in this world does not mean that fame is improving his situation, or raising his status in that other world. In this world, people may praise us day and night but this does not necessarily mean that we have grown and ascended in the other world.
We need to find a way to give our deeds a spiritual reality, and give it significance for that world. We need to find some catalyst or some transformers that can change these worldly things into spiritual things. The intention / Niyyah has the ability of giving our actions a new identity, a very good spiritual status or even a bad one. Sometimes, if the niyyah is bad, then it could trouble the deceased and lower his position.

• Investing in the Hereafter, The correct approach

Keeping things only in dunya, will not benefit us. Anything that remains in dunya will expire and be finished, we have to transfer them. One has to be smart and transfer as much as possible from dunya to the Hereafter. This transfer is done through intention/niyyah.
There are different levels of good intention, and the factor to improve an intention is the knowledge and understanding. The Qur’an says:
وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
‘And do not invoke another god besides Allah; there is no god except Him. Everything is to perish except His Face. All judgement belongs to Him, and to Him you will be brought back.’ (28:88)
Or, consider this verse:
مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ وَمَا عِندَ اللّهِ بَاقٍ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ
‘That which is with you will be spent but what is with Allah shall last, and We will surely pay the patients their reward by the best of what they used to do.’ (16:96)

Of course, we must make dunya a good place to live for ourselves and for others, but it should not be our main focus as it is only temporary, whereas the Hereafter is forever and permanent. And, we must always be concerned with the punishment:
… فَاذْكُرُواْ اللّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاَقٍ
وِمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار
‘… then remember Allah as you would remember your fathers, or with a more ardent remembrance. Among the people there are those who say, “Our Lord, give us in this world,” but for such there is no share in the Hereafter. And among them there are those who say, “Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.”’ (2:200-2:201)
As for ‘Wajh allah’; The wajh for everything is that side or aspect of a thing that if you pay attention to, you’ll have the maximum encounter with that thing. For human beings the maximum encounter they have with one another is when they are face-to-face, because all of the important means of communication are in the face; it is like the command centre. The eyes are especially important, they have the shortest distance to the soul. If one person looks at the other with attention but the other person does not, then they do not have the maximum level of encounter, it could be that a person is present physically, but is looking somewhere else. But with Allah (swt), He will never turn away from us, wherever we look with our full attention, He is ready to encounter with us:
وَلِلّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
‘To Allah belong the east and the west: so whichever way you turn, there is the face of Allah! Allah is indeed all-bounteous, all-knowing.’ (2:115)
This verse means that everything can be wajh allah if we approach it properly.
Imam Ali (as) says:
مَا رَأَيْتُ شيأ إلّا ورَأَيْتُ اللّه قبله ومعه وبعده
‘I have not seen anything other than I saw Allah before it, with it, and after it.’
Hence, if we are able to approach this concept properly, then everything can reflect Allah (swt), and everything can show Allah (swt), provided that we bear in mind that we should not look at these things, but rather we should look through them. If we look at them then they will blind us; but if we look through them then we will find Allah (swt). If you look at a mirror; its smooth frame, how clean and how nicely made; then the mirror has blinded you. But if you look through the mirror, then you can see what it truly wants to show you, which is the reflection.
Regarding this, Imam Ali (as) says:
مَن أَبصَرَ إِليها أَعمَتهُ ومَن أَبصَرَ بِها بَصَّرَتهُ
‘Whoever looks at it, it blinds him, and whoever looks through it, it gives him insight.’
When it comes to Allah (swt) things are very easy, because Allah’s attention and presence is everywhere, the problem really lies with us. If we adopt a proper approach to this concept and to Allah (swt) then we will be able to find Allah (swt) everywhere. However, if we do not possess the proper approach then we will not be able to find Allah (swt) not even in salah, or the mosque, or Mecca and Medina!
What makes the approach correct, is to think beyond this dunya, and to use the things in dunya as windows and gates to go through and connect to Allah (swt) and to the other world. With this kind of outlook, we can then begin to transfer things to that world as much as possible by our good intention to be closer to God.

• The freshness of the Qur’an

Imam Muhammad Baqir (as) says:
لِكلِّ شيء ربيع و ربيع القرآن شهر رمضان
‘Everything has a spring, and the spring for the Qur’an is the month of Ramadan.’
Only things that possess life can be described as having a spring, such as a tree, it has a spring in which it gains a new lease of life and freshness, nice green leaves come back to it and the land is revived. In the Qur’an, Allah (swt) compares this to resurrection. Spring is a time of refreshment, energy and things become more vital and more vibrant.
Unlike Qur’an; When we buy a book, it feels very new for the first time, after reading it few times it seems boring, and the same applies to many other things.
Imam Sadiq (as) was asked: What is with the Qur’an in that it doesn’t increase in guidance and moral lessons except it becomes even more fresh [in these aspects]?
Imam Sadiq (as) replied:
لأنّ الله تبارك وتعالى لم يجعله لزمان دون زمان ولا لناس دون ناس فهو لكل زمان جديد وعند كل قوم غضّ إلى يوم القيامة
‘It is because Allah (swt) did not make it for one particular time over another, or for one particular group of people over another. It is for every time, and for every group of people, there is a freshness in it until the Day of Judgement.’
We can draw some conclusions from this hadith:
1. The Qur’an was given to the people in the time of the advent of Islam, to us, and to all future generations.
2. Allah (swt) has meant the Qur’an to be for all generations in their own time, hence, this book is a loving book and this book visits every generation in their own time and context.
For instance, take the example of an ‘alim who lived one thousand years ago but was somehow able to speak to us, which is good but, it is very different to an ‘alim who has lived with all the generations and now speaks to us in the current time.
If the Qur’an is for all people and all times and ages, then it means that the Qur’an is alive. Now, add this concept to the idea of the freshness of the Qur’an.
In another hadith, Imam Rida (as) says:
لا يخلق من الازمنة …
‘[The Qur’an] does not become outdated with the passage of time.’
Qur’an does not become outdated, old, or worn out, and it is not affected by many tongues reciting it. This is because it has not been made for only one time and not other times; rather, it has been made to be a guide and a proof for all people, and falsehood does not come to it from any direction. When an idea or thought gets affected by time it means it is no longer as true as it used to be.
Imam Sadiq (as) was asked regarding laylat al-qadr and whether it was a one-off event or if it happens every year. He replied:
‘If laylatul-qadr is removed then the Qur’an would be removed!’
It could mean ( with all the hadiths in mind) that every year;
laylatul-qadr signals the beginning of the year for us and for the Qur’an;
For us: the affairs for the next twelve months are decided on laylat al-qadr,
For the Qur’an: Ramadan is spring for the Qur’an. Qur’an is fixed as it is, but in Laylatul Qadr it is refreshed as if it is being revealed again, its light and energy is being given to us again, so there is a sense of continuity in the revelation of the Qur’an.
Question: the Qur’an is a manifestation and the book of Allah (swt); does it shows the way Allah (swt) spoke to the people of that time and according to their condition?
Answer: No; the Qur’an is speaking today, so it is like a live picture which is updated continuously or like a mirror that reflects the current situation.
Every year Allah (swt) is again talking to us and sending light to us through the Qur’an.
If we understand new things from the Qur’an it is not because we benefit from the experience of and study of other people, like studying other sciences. No; In the Qur’an, Allah (swt) is revealing more and more to us. Allah (swt) is guiding us every year, and guiding humanity when they go through new challenges. It is a connection or a rope that is always held by Allah (swt), and this rope, depending on our situation, keeps guiding us.
Every generation should go back to the Qur’an and find the answers to their current problems, not the answers to the problems of fourteen centuries ago! they might not fit the needs of today. We should try to understand the solutions that the Qur’an is giving us right now because the Qur’an is a living book and not a dead book. Though Qur’an speakes to pure, pious and honest people, this is why we refer to the Ahl al-Bayt. However, if we purify ourselves and approach the Qur’an in a proper manner then it can guide us.

Therefore, the prophet (sa) is the warner and the guides for every people are the imams.
Another important hadith is found in Bihar al-Anwar:
لِلقرآن تأويل يجري …
‘The Qur’an has a ta’wil that is continuous.’
When Allah (swt) gives us a concept, then the case to which it can be applied, is known as its ta’wil.
The content of the Qur’an can be regarding things that have already happened and also those that will happen in the future. We should not think that if a verse of the Qur’an is revealed about a particular incident then that incident is the only thing for which that verse was revealed. No, that incident was one instance, and there will be further similar incidents to which that verse can be applied. Therefore, the Qur’an remains relevant with the passing of time, generation after generation.

• The Qur’an being alive

1. The Qur’an can be applied to new cases; so, it is alive in this sense.
2. Since Allah (swt) is guiding us through the Qur’an, generation after generation, then it is alive. Furthermore, the Qur’an is something that belongs to the other world, and if something belongs to that world which is full of life, then even if it is presented to us in a form of a text it still remains alive (remember our discussion about the angel which comes in the form of a human being, alive with knowledge and understanding).
وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
‘And indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book [and it is] surely sublime and wise.’ (43:4)
So, the Qur’an that is close to Allah (swt), in umm al-kitab has taken the form of a book, and that book has to be a living book and not a dead book. This is very important.

• The Qur’an speaks

It is mentioned in hadith that the Qur’an speaks, and it is not dead or silent. The word silent is used for what has the potential to speak but does not, e.g. a dead person is not described as silent. Similarly, blind is not used to describe what does not have the potential of sight. When it comes to the Qur’an, the Qur’an is not silent, but rather that it is speaking. Even to say it is not silent means it is alive. But we believe that it speaks. Let me mention some hadiths in this regard.
Imam Ali (as), in a hadith says:
ذلك القرآن فاستنطقوه …
‘That is the Qur’an, so ask it to speak to you.’
The term dhalika ذلك is used to point to something that is at a distance. Because the Qur’an has a very high position, it has been referred to as dhalika al-kitab.
If the Qur’an was dead then it would not make sense for Imam Ali (as) to advise us to ask the Qur’an to speak to us. The Qur’an can speak, and can help us with any problem that we may have and can offer us guidance. However, we cannot get all answers directly from the Qur’an because we are not sufficiently acquainted with the Qur’an.
Yes, the Qur’an contains immense knowledge of what happened in the past and what is yet to happen up to the Day of Judgement, and also contains judgements about things that happen between people. Qur’an gives us solutions for our problems. It addresses contemporary needs and it speaks, but we need an interpreter.
In another hadith in Nahj al-Balaghah, Imam Ali (as) says:
كتاب الله تبصرون به و تسمعون به وينطق بعضه ببعض ، ويشهد بعضه على بعض. …
‘This is the book of Allah by which you see and by which you hear. Part of it speaks on behalf of the other, and part of it gives testimony about another part.’
Imam Sadiq (as):
….ما من أمرٍ يختلف فيه إثنان إلا وله أصل في كتاب الله عز وجل ولكن لا تبلغه عقول الرجال
‘There is no issue in which two people differ, except there is a principle for it in the Qur’an. But the intellects of people cannot reach that principle.’
When we read the Qur’an, unfortunately we only see the surface and we do not get into the deeper layers of it. At times, some people read the Qur’an and claim that they do not find anything in it that is relevant to their lives. However, there are others whose hearts and minds are attuned to the Qur’an. They find Qur’anic guidance for everything that happens to them throughout the day. Hence, the same book for some people can be irrelevant, while for others it can be very meaningful; it depends on the approach of the people towards it.
Imagine that you have a radio that is only tuned to FM. It will be able to recieve a few stations. However, if it is tuned to MW then it could recieve perhaps a hundred stations, and if tuned to SW then perhaps it could recieve one thousand. Hence, depending on the sensitivity of the reception, you can receive more or less. Whereas some radios are switched off and so they do not receive anything!
Such hearts think there are no stations out there, where as in reality they are switched off and so they do not receive anything. People are all very different.

• The Qur’an as a manifestation of Allah (swt)

The word tajalli (manifestation); refers to when something becomes clear by showing itself through something else. Consider this hadith in which Imam Ali (as) says:
فتجلّى لهم سبحانه في كتابه من غير أن يكونوا يروه
‘He – glory be to Him – manifested Himself in His book, without people seeing Him.’
Imam Sadiq (as), described the condition of Prophet Muhammad (sa) at the time of receiving wahy that he had the condition of ghashyah )overwhelmed and almost unconscious(:
ذلك إذا تجلّى سبحانه له من غير أن يكون بينه و بين الله أحد
‘That [state of ghashyah was happening to Prophet Muhammad (sa)] when He – glory be to Him – manifested Himself without anyone being between him [Prophet Muhammad (sa)] and Allah.’
This hadith shows that wahy could happen without it coming through Jibra’il. To understand this better, we have to refer to the verse regarding Prophet Musa and Bani Isra’il, when they asked him to show them Allah (swt). It is a very important verse. As you know, the Bani Isra’il were very much interested in empirical knowledge, and they wanted to see and touch their Lord.
وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَآئِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْاْ عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ قَالُواْ يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَـهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ
‘We carried the Children of Israel across the sea, whereat they came upon a people cleaving to certain idols that they had. They said, “O Moses, make for us a god like the gods that they have.” He said, “You are indeed an ignorant lot.”’ (7:138)
It is like they said: ‘We are very content but give us just one idol; they have so many but we only want one!’ This is one of the things about which they used to ask Prophet Musa that he should show them Allah (swt) in a way that they can see Him with their eyes.
… فَقَدْ سَأَلُواْ مُوسَى أَكْبَرَ مِن ذَلِكَ فَقَالُواْ أَرِنَا اللّهِ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ بِظُلْمِهِمْ ….
‘The People of the Book ask you to bring down for them a Book from the sky. Certainly they asked Moses for [something] greater than that, for they said, “Show us Allah visibly,” whereat a thunderbolt seized them for their wrongdoing…’ (4:153)
Of course Prophet Musa knew this was not possible, and actually a god that can be seen is not God, and would be a very limited being. Nevertheless, he still conveyed this to Allah (swt):
وَلَمَّا جَاء مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي وَلَـكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ
فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا فَلَمَّا أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
‘When Moses arrived at Our tryst and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You!” He said, “You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain: if it abides in its place, then you will see Me.” So when his Lord disclosed Himself to the mountain, He levelled it, and Moses fell down swooning. And when he recovered, he said, “Immaculate are You! I turn to You in penitence, and I am the first of the faithful.”’ (7:143)
Now, even Prophet Musa was not able to see Allah (swt) let alone ordinary people. Allah (swt) replied with the word len لَن which signifies ‘never’. However, Allah (swt) wants to educate people and help them to understand and so he made an experiment for them and told them to look at the mountain. The mountain also did not see Allah (swt) but merely His manifestation to it made it collapse.
This verse shows that in addition to the fact that we cannot see Allah (swt), we cannot cope with the manifestation of Allah (swt).
Prophet Muhammad (sa) had such a great heart and capacity that he could cope with the manifestation of Allah (swt), he was overwhelmed but he was able to survive. The Qur’an itself says:
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
‘Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have surely seen it humbled [and] go to pieces with the fear of Allah. We draw such comparisons for mankind, so that they may reflect.’ (59:21)
Therefore, the Qur’an, the manifestation of Allah (swt), which even a mountain cannot contain and cope; was recieved by Prophet Muhammad (sa), who used to experience ghashyah and difficulty at the time. We have not had that manifestation directly, and we do not experience ghashya not because we are very strong, but rather because we are not understanding, we are just hearing. Our experience with the Qur’an is very limited and far, like a person who sees a fire from a distance, he will not feel its warmth.

• Revelation/Wahy

All the Abrahamic religions (Jews, Christians, and Muslims), agree that Allah (swt) has communicated with some individuals without any other human being involved. We have many common prophets and many common books between these religions. We now wish to delve into the nature and reality of this communication. We cannot understand the reality of wahy, but we try to get closer through some concepts.
In the Qur’an, the term used for ‘revelation’ is wahy. Furthermore, we have derivatives of that, such as awha and yuwhi, and many other derivatives. The literal meaning that the ulama give for wahy is ‘giving a message secretly and quickly’.

• Different usages of the term wahy

In the Qur’an, the term wahy has been used in different senses, but all of them refer to the same root.
At times, the Qur’an talks about prophets receiving wahy, for example Prophet Muhammad (sa), or Prophet Musa to whom the Qur’an refers to as a frequent receiver of wahy. Prophet Isa is mentioned in the same way. However, the Qur’an also refers to people who received wahy but were not prophets, for example the disciples of Jesus and the mother of Prophet Musa. The Qur’an refers to them with the term wahy, whereas they are not prophets.
The Qur’an also talks about angels receiving wahy, and even the bee:
وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ
‘And your Lord inspired the bee [saying]: “Make your home in the mountains, and on the trees and the trellises that they erect.”’ (16:68)
And also to the skies:
فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاء أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاء الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ
‘Then He set them up as seven heavens in two days, and revealed in each heaven its ordinance. We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and guarded them. That is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing.’ (41:12)
Hence, it is not only prophets who receive wahy in the literal sense, but also disciples, angels, mothers, bees, and skies; so, the recipients of wahy can be very broad.
In addition to this, we also see the Qur’an mention that the shayatin can send wahy:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الإِنسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا
وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ
‘That is how for every prophet We appointed as enemy the devils from among humans and jinn, who inspire each other with flashy words, deceptively. Had your Lord wished, they would not have done it. So leave them with what they fabricate.’ (6:112)

• Three types of wahy from Allah (swt)

1. Through natural instincts (gharizah). The guidance that Allah (swt) provides the bees with is contained in wahy and they follow this instinct and behave accordingly.
2. Inspiration (ilham):
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
‘By the soul and Him who fashioned it, and inspired it with [discernment between] its virtues and vices.’ (91:7-8)
The word ilham means ‘inspiration’, as in an idea is put into the heart and mind of someone. For example, when Allah (swt) says:
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى أُمِّ مُوسَى أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي
إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
‘We revealed to Moses’ mother, [saying], “Nurse him; then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear or grieve, for We will restore him to you and make him one of the apostles.”’ (28:7)
This does not mean that she became a prophet. It means that Allah (swt) inspired her by putting this into her mind or heart that she should cast her baby down the river. We find a similar usage of the term for the disciples of Prophet Isa.
3. Prophetic revelation, received by the prophets; and I now want to expand upon this.
When a person is chosen by Allah (swt) as a prophet or messenger; he receives wahy, and this is different from inspiration or instinct. This last category of wahy is the strongest communication that we know about. The best communication that we human beings can have is when Allah (swt) communicates to our prophets.
There is a maximum level of knowledge in the sender and the maximum capacity in the receiver, and in between these two there is no barrier. For example, the Qur’an says:
وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لِّتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَتُنذِرَ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ فَرِيقٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَفَرِيقٌ فِي السَّعِيرِ
‘Thus We revealed to you an Arabic Qur’an that you may warn [the people of] the Mother of the Towns and those around it, and warn [them] of the Day of Gathering, in which there is no doubt, [whereupon] a part [of mankind] will be in paradise and a part will be in the Blaze.’ (42:7)
Thus, when Allah (swt) says ‘We have revealed to you …’ then this refers to prophetic revelation and not inspiration.

• Receiving wahy requires qualifications

A very important point, and one that perhaps shows the difference between Shia and non-Shia Muslims, is that; we believe that a person who is able to be addressed by Allah (swt) and to receive His message, requires certain qualifications. It is not that every human being, whether pure or impure, can receive wahy. For example, in order to be taught by the greatest philosopher of the world and have access to the most subtle ideas of that philosopher and those issues that he is deeply thinking about, then perhaps only two or three people in the world can have the capacity to be able to be his students.
Now, if someone is going to be spoken to by Allah (swt) to receive communication from Him, then that person should be in the highest position of purity, Allah (swt) is the most pure and it is only the pure hearts that can fully grasp His message. He also has to be the best regarding piety, intelligence, and capacity. And one of the greatest qualities that he must possess is humbleness. It is amazing how humbleness is the key for all success.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) has said:
‘Allah (swt) has not sent any prophet or messenger unless He has completed his intellect,
and his intellect is superior to the intellect of his entire nation.’
Imam Kadhim (as) said;
‘the best of people are those who are best in aql.’
Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) said:
‘Verily, Allah found the heart of Muhammad as the best and with the greatest capacity,
and therefore He chose him for prophethood.’
The qualifications are therefore, to have the greatest intellect, to be the best in heart, a well-established quality of piety, and the greatest in capacity.
Furthermore, according to the Shia school of thought; A prophet would never be in doubt about communication to him. The receipt of wahy is of a kind that the prophets would never doubt the veracity of what has been revealed to them.
The people who believe that a prophet can doubt; have not understood the meaning of wahy.
Some orientalists have cited a story based on some books narrated by non shia muslims, it states that when Prophet Muhammad (sa) received wahy for the first time he was shocked, when he went home Lady Khadijah saw him in that shocked state and suggested to go to her cousin, Waraqa bin Nawfil, who possessed some knowledge of the previous scriptures. They went to him and he listened to Prophet Muhammad (sa) and concluded that he must have become a prophet.
This story has unfortunately spread, but it does not make sense. This person, who is supposed to be a prophet and is supposed to guide people, he himself needs to be informed by another person that he has become a prophet! This shows that they have not understood the proper meaning of wahy. Wahy is of a different nature, and is more obvious than seeing something with the eyes. When I have seen you, do I need someone to tell me that I have seen you? certainly not! I know it myself. Wahy is even more obvious than this. When they receive communication from Allah (swt), they can have no doubt about it.
If a prophet himself is in doubt about his mission and message then how can people be expected to believe in him and follow him wholeheartedly, and sacrifice their lives and possessions in the way he asks of them?!
If a prophet says to the people that they should change their lifestyles, and that they must stop the worshipping of idols, and must abandon the ill-treatment of slaves, etc., they will ask him what right he has to tell them this. If he then says: ‘Something happened to me and the cousin of my wife says this is from Allah (swt), so now you have to change your lifestyle’ then this would not be accepted by anyone.
The Qur’an speaks of revelation as a kind of vision (ru’ya) which accepts no illusion or error, and cannot be disputed. For example, after talking about the incident of mi’raj, the Qur’an says:
مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَى مَا يَرَى وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى
عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى لَقَدْ رَأَى مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى
‘The heart did not deny what it saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw?! Certainly he saw it yet another time, by the Lote Tree of the Ultimate Boundary, near which is the Garden of the Abode, when there covered the Lote Tree what covered it. The gaze did not swerve, nor did it overstep the bounds. Certainly he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.’ (53:11-18)
It is a matter of seeing, not guessing or thinking. In just these few lines you will note how many times Allah (swt) mentions ‘seeing’ with the words basar and ru’ya, because for us the best type of knowledge we have is when we see something. Therefore, Allah (swt) uses vision but it is vision of the heart, as the vision of the eye can still be mistaken, such as a mirage for example. The vision of the heart is the best and it does not allow mistakes, illusion, or confusion.
Zurarah asked Imam Sadiq (as) how Prophet Muhammad (sa) was certain that it was genuine revelation that he received and not a satanic temptation. Imam Sadiq (as) replied:
‘Verily, when Allah chooses a servant of His to become an apostle, he bestows upon that person confidence and tranquillity, so what comes to him from Allah is like what he sees with his eyes.’
Hence, there is no doubt and no kind of uncertainty.
In another hadith, Imam Sadiq (as) was asked how the apostles know they were apostles. He replied:
‘The veil was removed from them.’
Now, when there is no veil and you can see the hidden and unseen world, then you can have no doubt. Then, someone else who has a veil would not be able to help you; you will have to help them.
The knowledge that prophets have is not like the knowledge we have. Their knowledge is not subject to doubt, confusion, misunderstanding, or even forgetfulness.

Conclusion

Hence, the two important points we have covered, are:
1. To receive direct revelation requires certain qualifications.
2. When a person receives wahy from Allah (swt) it leaves no doubt or confusion, and the person feels confidence and tranquility and certainty in his heart because he is seeing realities without a veil (ghita).

The Qur’an tells us that no one should be surprised, since Allah (swt) has spoken to many people and sent many prophets before. Unfortunately, even the people of the book who were aware of many prophecies before Islam; some of them had difficulty accepting that a new revelation had come from Allah (swt). Allah (swt) says:
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ
أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا جَاء أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ
‘Certainly We have sent apostles before you. Of them are those We have recounted to you, and of them are those We have not recounted to you. An apostle may not bring any sign except by Allah’s permission. Hence when Allah’s edict comes, judgment is made with justice, and it is thence that the falsifiers become losers.’ (40:78)

• Different categories of prophets

Some of the prophets are also messengers. Every messenger/rasul is a prophet/nabi but not every prophet is a messenger. According to hadith, there were a total of 124,000 prophets (Sometimes, there were tens of prophets living at a certain time), twenty-five of the prophets are mentioned in the Qur’an. Among those 124,000 prophets, 313 were messengers. Among those 313 messengers, there were five called ulu al-azm (of great determination).
Allah (swt), out of all of humanity has selected 124,000 to be prophets, and from among them he has further selected 313 to be messengers, and then from among them, He has highlighted five! and the description He gives them is that they are ulu al-azm. This shows the significance of azm/determination.With reason and determination, you can achieve a lot, almost everything, if not in dunya then in akhirah. But, without determination you cannot succeed.
The ulu al-azm are those, regarding whom Allah (swt) says:
فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُوْلُوا الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا
إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِّن نَّهَارٍ بَلَاغٌ فَهَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
‘So be patient just as the resolute among the apostles were patient, and do not seek to hasten [the punishment] for them. The day when they see what they are promised, [it will be] as though they had remained only an hour of a day. This is a proclamation. So shall anyone be destroyed except the transgressing lot?’ (46:35)

• Divinely-revealed books

• Divinely-revealed books
Not every prophet or messenger had a book. However, Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur’an that all the prophets received revelation. Some of them just received revelation which enabled them to preach the book of the previous messenger, and to make sure that they have an authentic book. Because the books were sometimes not preserved; it was important to have an authentic understanding and presentation of it. Therefore, wahy is not always to teach a new shari’ah or a new book. The Qur’an mentions four books; the book of Ibraham (verse 87:19), the Psalms of David (4:163, 17:55), the Torah of Moses and the Injil of Isa in many verses.

• Consistency between divinely-revealed books

There is a consistency in all instances of divine revelation. It is impossible that Allah (swt) would ever speak in a way that is self-contradictory. Allah (swt) has spoken to different prophets which are all given the same message in essence. Because the sender is the same and human beings are the same; so the message has to be the same in essence. Some details might have to be different at different times, such as the depth of the message; because as we advance with time; the revelation becomes more sophisticated as humans are developing in their understanding.
It could be that in the beginning, because the message was not going to be preserved by people, Allah (swt) had not given them something for permanence. Allah (swt) gave them something, and then He had to send that again, with changes in the details. And in the end they became able to preserve the message, and to derive principles and draw the details from the principles; Allah (swt) gave them the last and final message, in which, the essence is the same but there are differences in the details, in the depth, and in addition; the message became more abstract and more theoretical.
This is why we as Muslims are required to accept all the books and all the prophets, to the extent that if a person says they do not believe in one of the prophets or in one of the books; then it means that they have no faith. The Qur’an makes this clear:
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ
لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
‘The Apostle has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and all the faithful. Each [of them] has faith in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His apostles. [They declare,] “We make no distinction between any of His apostles.” And they say, “We hear and obey. Our Lord, forgive us, and toward You is the return.”’ (2:285)

• The different ways Allah (swt) has spoken to people

Allah (swt) says:
وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِن وَرَاء حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاء إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
‘It is not [possible] for any human that Allah should speak to him except through revelation
or from behind a curtain, or send a messenger who reveals by His permission whatever
He wishes. Indeed He is all-exalted, all-wise.’ (42:51)
Allah (swt) chose different ways to communicate depending on the condition of the prophet in that particular time, the rank of the prophet in general, and the message itself; what it is and how important it is. The Qur’an mentions that no human being can be spoken to by Allah (swt) except in three ways.
1. Direct communications (Wahyan), in some ways similar to ilham but with characteristics of revelation;
a- Allah (swt) projects an idea into the heart or mind of a prophet.
The prophet will understand that message (command, prohibition, piece of truth).
b- Allah (swt) shows the prophet a Rou’ya, such as when Prophet Ibrahim saw in his dream
that he is to slaughter Isma’il.
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَى
قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاء اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ
‘When he was old enough to assist in his endeavour, he said, “My son! I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you. See what you think.” He said, “Father! Do whatever you have been commanded. If Allah wishes, you will find me to be patient.”’ (37:102)
Prophet Ibrahim (as) understood the idea, even though there was no verbal expression.
c- Sometimes it comes with verbal expression; the messenger receives words directly.

2. From behind a veil: Prophet Musa heard a voice from behind a bush or tree.
The veil is from dunya but the voice is not. (between this world and the other world there are things like gates and channels. One of the channels is that Allah (swt) speaks to a person by creating a voice which goes to his ears.)

3. Through a messenger (angel).
For Prophet Muhammad (sa) it was often Jibra’il who brought wahy (but not all prophets had the privilege of having Jibra’il coming to them). Qur’an says:

وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنذِرِينَ بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ
‘This is indeed [a Book] sent down by the Lord of all the worlds. Brought down by the
Trustworthy Spirit. Upon your heart (so that you may be one of the warners),
in a clear Arabic language.’ (26:192-195)
Furthermore, Jibra’il (as) brought revelation to Prophet Muhammad (sa) in different ways;
a. deposit the message in the spirit of the Prophet,
b. the angel would come in the form of a human being,
c. sometimes the angel would call in the ears of the prophet like the sound of a bell,
d. The first time Prophet Muhammad (sa) received revelation in the cave of Hira, he saw Jibra’il everywhere as if the whole sky was filled with Jibra’il.
These are just descriptions to give us an idea, no one truly understands wahy unless he receives wahy. what is important to understand is that the message comes clearly, because the purpose of it is to guide humanity.

• The Qur’an is immune to distortion

The Qur’an is immune to distortion and is protected from any change, alteration, or any increase or decrease. No Muslim today believes that something from the Qur’an is missing.
As far as the Shia are concerned, Ahl al-Bayt have taught us that the same Qur’an ‘between the two covers’ was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sa), and there is no doubt about it. Not a single word has been taken out or added. Allah (swt) says:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
‘Indeed We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it.’ (14:9)
… لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ
‘Falsehood cannot approach it, from before it nor from behind it,…’ (41:42)

Recently, a Qur’an was found in Birmingham, they published four pages that are available from this Qur’an.
One PhD student, for her research; asked for it to be radio calculated, and they found it to be very, very old.
They say the person who wrote this may have heard it from the Holy Prophet. And based on this, they have managed to find another Qur’an in France that seems to be written by that same person, and so now a few more parts of that Qur’an are available. It is not known who wrote this Qur’an, but the writing is in the Hijazi style, and it is dated as very early in the history of Islam.
It starts with bismillah al-rahman al-rahim for every chapter. One page has the end of Surah Maryam and the beginning of Surah Taha. Therefore, this shows that as we have been claiming, the chapters were organised in the beginning, and it did not happen at some later point. In the beginning of Surah Taha is the verse bismillah al-rahman al-rahim. The Shi’as have always had the idea that basmalah was revealed in the beginning of all surahs except Surah Tawbah. Hence, the organisation of the chapters is important, and the beginning with basmalah is very important. I think this is a good evidence for people who may not be familiar with the history of Islam and the way the Qur’an was preserved.
Of course, we do not need this proof because, the way we have received the Qur’an through tawatur leaves no chance for any change to have occurred. The memorisers, the way the Qur’an was written down, the way Prophet Muhammad (sa) trained people to write the Qur’an, the role of Imam Ali (as), etc., all of this removes any doubt. But, alhamdulillah, now there is evidence available for other people.
So, the Qur’an is immune to distortion. It is available to us exactly as it was revealed, without any change.

• The Qur’an originated from Allah’s (swt) knowledge

The Qur’an has originated from Allah’s (swt) knowledge. Allah (swt) revealed the Qur’an to the Holy Prophet bi al-haqq. Jibra’il brought it bi al-haqq, Prophet Muhammad (sa) received it bi al-haqq, and he delivered it to others bi al-haqq. In the discussion on truthfulness we discussed these issues. (see paper)

• Revelation involved actual wording

One way of differentiating between Hadith-Qudsi, Qur’an, and prophetic hadiths is this:
Al-Hadith al-qudsi; represents a kind of communication between Allah (swt) and the Holy Prophet, it came as meanings not words, Prophet Muhammad (sa) received the meaning then he expressed it in his own selection of words.
The Qur’an; both the meaning and the words are selected by Allah (swt) not by prophet Mohammed (sa).
Prophet Muhammad’s hadiths; although very beautiful, short, very concise, and very deep but, totally different from the Qur’an, and from hadith-qudsi and from Nahj al-Balaghah. Nothing can be even close to the styles of the Qur’an.
Some people say that the core message of Qur’an is from Allah (swt), and the wording and articulation is from Prophet Muhammad (sa). Therefore, there can be changes in it. They came up with this notion by borrowing it from what some people have said about the Bible. *
The Qur’anic revelation definitely involved wording. Qur’an’s meanings and words are selected and made by Allah (swt). Allah says:
بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ
‘In a clear Arabic language.’ (26:195)
The term ‘Qur’an’ itself is a very good evidence; a clear Arabic language, which is for words not ideas. To prove this:
1. ‘Qur’an’ means something that can be read, from the same root, maqru’ مقروء is something which can be read. Now, can such a term be used for a meaning without wording?
2. The word kitab كتاب, means ‘something that is written’ (maktub مكتوب).
3. the word suhuf صحف in the Qur’an ; Sahifah صحيفة refers to ‘something which has pages
رَسُولٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُّطَهَّرَةً فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ
‘An apostle from Allah reciting impeccable scriptures, wherein are upright writings.’ (98:2-3)
4. the term used in the Qur’an regarding itself is kalamullah كلام الله. Kalam means ‘word’ not ‘meaning’.
5. the term qawl قول , which means ‘speech’ not idea.
In addition to these, there are some verbs that are used in Qur’an, regarding Qur’an, for example
qara’a قرأ which means ‘to read’ ,
tilawah تلاوة which also refers to reading a text, and
tartil ترتيل which is again for reading a text.
Muslims believe that only the Qur’an with these words is the True Qur’an. Translations or changing words is not the Qur’an. The words are important, because they are selected by Allah (swt). Every single letter of these words is selected by Allah (swt), and Allah loves these words.
Allamah Tabataba’i, who is is an authority said that;
‘The general belief of Muslims concerning the revelation, based on the Qur’an, is that the text of the Qur’an is the actual speech of God transmitted to the Prophet by one of His chosen angels,or heavenly being or the Heavenly Spirit, Gabriel. He transmitted the word of God over a period of twenty-three years. He would bring the divine instructions to the Prophet who would deliver them faithfully to the people using the same words in the form of verses.’
* Unfortunately, some people say that the meaning is from Allah (swt) but, Prophet Muhammad (sa) chose how to express it using theological, conceptual, and philosophical framework to suit the culture and make sense to the people of that time. And therefore, it is not divine and can change. They want to say that the core message is from Allah (swt), and the wording and articulation is from Prophet Muhammad (sa); borrowing this notion from what some people have said about the four Gospels; which they claim are sacred because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but are based on the scientific view of that time when people had this type of specific scientific view and way of speaking. They allow for conflicts between the four Gospels, and this allows them to not accept some concepts.

Qur’an has been revealed in a clear language as a book for guidance to benefit people to find their path through the Qur’an. Allah (swt) says in several verses that He has made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember;
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
‘Certainly We have made the Qur’an simple for the sake of admonishment
So is there anyone who will be admonished?’ (54:22)

فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
‘Indeed We have made it simple in your language so that they may take admonition.’ (44:58)

Allah (swt) talks about guidance and how it is made easy:
وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ قُرآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
‘Certainly We have drawn for mankind in this Qur’an every [kind of] example so that they may take admonition. An Arabic Qur’an without any deviousness, so that they may be God-wary.’ (39:27-28)
The key term in this verse is mathal مثل. Allah (swt) says that He has deliberately made the Qur’an easy, and within the Qur’an He has deliberately used some parables أمثال, to make it even clearer. When a speaker wants to make sure his audience understands something, he will try to simply difficult issues by using parables and examples.
أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللّهُ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ قُل لاَّ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرَى لِلْعَالَمِينَ
‘They are the ones whom Allah has guided. So follow their guidance. Say,
“I do not ask you any recompense for it. It is just an admonition for all the nations.”’ (6:90)

• Types of Verses in the Quran:

1. Ayat Muhkamat/ unambiguous verses;
these verses are 100% clear and offer one meaning, called Nuss نص in usul-al-fiqh. These verse can be used as principles with which we should build a framework, and based on that, we can try to interpret ayat mutashabihat.
2. Dhahir verses;
refers to a text that is understood in a way that is most likely to mean what the speaker intended; but, it does contain another possibility. For example; my brother might mean biological brother or brother in islam or in humanity, although the later option would be khilaf-e dhahir/against the apparent/ unlikely; the apparent meaning is that he is my biological brother.
Nuss verses are different from dhahir, but both are mubayyin (clear), when we hear them we know what is meant. If the speaker intends other than what is normally understood, he will place a qarinah (context), to act as an evidence to take us to the other meaning.
3. Mujmal verses (is neither nass nor dhahir).
It is a text that might carry different possible iterpretations, none of them is strong enough to push away the other possibilities. And none of the possible meanings could be ruled out by rational people who know that language.
4. Mutashabihat verses.
These are verses that can be understood, but they need a proper methodology to be understood. They are in need of reference to unambiguous verses/muhkamat. Actually these can be different from person to person. (It could be that for one person, ayat mutashabihat are many, because he is not familiar with the Qur’anic framework. But for another person, ayat mutashabihat are very few).
What is important is that if you are faced with a verse that has different possibilities in meaning, you must not impose your own understanding on the verse. Instead, try to use other verses of the Qur’an in order to shed light on the verse, because:
القُرآن يُفَسِّرْ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضَاً
‘Some parts of the Qur’an explain other parts.’
In any case, having ayat mutashabihat does not contradict the idea that the Qur’an, as a whole, is clear, even though to understand some of the verses of the Qur’an we have to refer to other verses. It is like other books in this respect; if you do not read introduction, you might not understand the rest of the book. A person should therefore first read that introduction or the first chapter, and then he will be able to understand the rest of the book.

• The Qur’an has multiple layers of meaning.

We have previously quoted this hadith:
إنّ للقرآن ظاهراً و باطناً
‘Verily, the Qur’an has an apparent and a hidden side’
Allah (swt) has spoken to us in the Qur’an at different levels;
the apparent level/ al-dhahir; and this is the literal meaning that is the surface level, which is available to us; we hear it, we recite it, and we understand it.
the deeper level/ al-batin, an underlying layer. In some hadiths, it says even that underlying layer has other layers, and its hidden side has a [further] hidden side.
Allah (swt) means, by the same words, something at the surface and also something at a deeper level.
Sometimes, I use this example for clarification. When I am giving a lecture; I use a very common level of language so that all the people who are in the audience, can understand what I say. But, the people who have been listening to me before, or my students, understand what the general audience understand, and more, perhaps deeper, because they know the codes I use in my words that are unknown to other people. So, if the audience are of different levels, then each of them, depending on his own level, will understand something. And they are all correct.
So when Allah (swt) talks to us in the Qur’an, at the same time He is talking to Prophet Muhammad (sa), the Imams and us. What they understand is much more and far deeper from what we understand. These layers do not contradict one another. They just go deeper and deeper. It is like an addition to the meaning, and not a contradiction. For example, when Allah (swt) says:
هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
‘He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. And He has knowledge of all things.’ (57:3)
Every person who hears this verse understands it. But a philosophy student will understand it differently. And a master of philosophy and theology will understand it in a different way. Ahlul Bayt understand it in a different way. And this difference is a deeper, better, and more comprehensive meaning. But, to begin with, we must start with al-ma’na al-dhahiri (the apparent meaning).
Hence, there is always the possibility of delving further into the layers of the meaning of the Qur’an. But what is important is that we have to be loyal to al-ma’na al-dhahiri, and the literal meaning. Except for infallibles. If other people come up with an interpretation of the Qur’an; we cannot accept it unless they show us how they came up with this idea, and the methodology that they used, and the process of reasoning that they followed, how this is compatible with al-ma’na al-dhahiri, and this would be the least that they must do.

• The process of tafsir

The word tafsir means to unveil or uncover. Tafsir is to go beyond the literal meaning, to try to understand more than what people who speak the language may understand from the text, those may understand the surface, but to get to the meaning; there is a need of tafsir, especially for the deeper layers. Trying to understand al-ma’na al-dhahiri does not involve that much tafsir. It is a mater of using synonymous words from the same language.
In the past, in some of the books, they used to use the term ta’wil, which means to show how the text refers to that meaning. Tafsir is now a very established term, there is a hadith;
من فَسَّرَ القرآنَ برأيه فَليَتَبَوَّأ مقعده من النار
‘One who interprets the Qur’an according to his own opinion, has surely
secured his seat in the fire [of hell].’

• The mufassirin

The first mufassir of the Qur’an was Prophet Muhammad (sa) himself. Although Arabs were, at that time, in general, very good in their Arabic, and the standard of Arabic was very high, they were still in need of tafsir and tabyien (explanation).
لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُّبِينٍ
‘Allah certainly favoured the faithful when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves, to recite to them His signs and to purify them, and to teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.’ (3:164)
After the Holy Prophet, the task of tafsir of the Qur’an was given to the Ahlul Bayt. In hadith thaqalayn, Prophet Muhammad (sa) asked the ummah to refer to the Ahlul Bayt, and hold firmly to both the Qur’an and the Ahlul Bayt;
إنّي تاركٌ فيكم الثقلين ما إن تَمَسَّكم بهما لن تضلّوا بعدي: كتابَ اللَّه وعترتي أهلَ بيتي، لن يفترقا حتى يردا عليّ الحوضَ
‘…. So long as you grasp both of them, you will never be misguided … they will never be separated from each other..…’
therefore, Imam Ali (as) is the one who had the greatest knowledge of the book after Prophet Muhammad (sa). Then, after him the Ahlul Bayt (as). These days, there are perhaps one hundred titles of different tafasirs.
Amongst the Sunni mufassirs are:
1. Ibn Abbas, is very famous and respected by all Muslims. Ibn Abbas was very young at the time of Prophet Muhammad (sa), He was later a student of Imam Ali (as), and so the conclusion we draw is that he learned many things of tafsir from Imam Ali (as). Some people have tried to collect the tafasir by Ibn Abbas, from Tafsir Tabari. As you know, Tabari has a tafsir of the Qur’an, in which he quotes from Ibn Abbas. Some people put all these tafasir of Ibn Abbas together, and it became two volumes. Of course, he does not have a tafsir for every verse,
2. Mujahid, was a student of Ibn Abbas. The interpretations that are available from him have also been published in two volumes, but not every verse is explained.
3. Jami al-Bayan by Tabari: One of the oldest tafasir which is comprehensive i.e. of full Quran (30 volumes). Tabari died in 310, more than one thousand years ago.
4. Tafsir Kashshaf by Zamakhshari : important Sunni tafasir that has the Mu’tazali approach (who have a rational and intellectual approach, in contrast to Ash’arites). Zamakhshari is very well-known for his good knowledge and Arabic language skills. He is known as Jarullah Zamakhshari because he lived in Mecca, and he died in 538.
5. Al-Tafsir al-Kabir by Fakhruddin al-Razi: famous Sunni tafsir with an Ash’ari approach. One of the titles of Razi was imam al-mushakkikin (the leader of the sceptics). This is because he always used to bring doubts and ask lots of questions. He was very much against philosophy, and it is said that his questions, challenges, and objections to philosophy actually helped in the development of philosophy, because philosophers had to answer his questions and this helped develop it even further. He died in 606 and his tafsir is still available and is very well-known.
6. Al-Tafsir al-Munir by Wahba Zubayli, a contemporary tafsir published in 1991, a very detailed and comprehensive tafsir.
As for Shia tafsirs;
1. Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi, perhaps the oldest work of tafsir, which is still available and is based on hadith. It flows from the beginning to the end but not every verse is covered.
2. Furat Kufi, early fourth century, tafsir riwa’i , brings together all the hadiths about verses of the Qur’an they found that there were verses for which they could not find any hadith. But, they did not explain anything from their own opinions.
3. Al-Tibyan by Shaykh Tusi, the first comprehensive Shia tafsir which is very good, very detailed, and it is available.
4. Majma’ al-Bayan, by Tabarsi, it is before al-Mizan, it has received great attention from the scholars. Tabarsi died in 548.
5. Tafsir al-Mizan by Allamah Tabataba’i, and 6. Tafsir-e Namuneh by AA Nassir Makarim Shirazi These are contemporary and comprehensive, and flow from the beginning of the Qur’an to the end.
6. Tafsir noor al-Jami’ah,
Nowadays, we have the works of the students of Allamah Tabataba’i and Imam Khomeini, such as;
7. Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli. He started his tafsir many years ago, firstly teaching tafsir, and these lessons are
being transcribed and worked on, and published. He uses the method of tafsir tartibi, and tafsir mawdu’i.
Tafsir mawdu’i is thematic tafsir, based on a subject.
Tafsir tartibi is a tafsir that flows from Surat al-Hamd, and through the chapters of the Qur’an according to their arrangement.
8. Ayatullah Makarim, in addition to Tafsir-e Namuneh, also has a tafsir mawdu’i.
9. Ayatullah Subhani also has a tafsir mawdu’i.
There are new series coming up and some of them have already been published.

• Shia tafsirs

As for Shia tafsirs;
1. Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi, perhaps the oldest work of tafsir, which is still available and is based on hadith. It flows from the beginning to the end but not every verse is covered.
2. Furat Kufi, early fourth century, tafsir riwa’i , brings together all the hadiths about verses of the Qur’an they found that there were verses for which they could not find any hadith. But, they did not explain anything from their own opinions.
3. Al-Tibyan by Shaykh Tusi, the first comprehensive Shia tafsir which is very good, very detailed, and it is available.
4. Majma’ al-Bayan, by Tabarsi, it is before al-Mizan, it has received great attention from the scholars. Tabarsi died in 548.
5. Tafsir al-Mizan by Allamah Tabataba’i, and 6. Tafsir-e Namuneh by AA Nassir Makarim Shirazi These are contemporary and comprehensive, and flow from the beginning of the Qur’an to the end.
6. Tafsir noor al-Jami’ah,
Nowadays, we have the works of the students of Allamah Tabataba’i and Imam Khomeini, such as;
7. Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli. He started his tafsir many years ago, firstly teaching tafsir, and these lessons are
being transcribed and worked on, and published. He uses the method of tafsir tartibi, and tafsir mawdu’i.
Tafsir mawdu’i is thematic tafsir, based on a subject.
Tafsir tartibi is a tafsir that flows from Surat al-Hamd, and through the chapters of the Qur’an according to their arrangement.
8. Ayatullah Makarim, in addition to Tafsir-e Namuneh, also has a tafsir mawdu’i.
9. Ayatullah Subhani also has a tafsir mawdu’i.
There are new series coming up and some of them have already been published.

• Different methods of tafsir

Al Tafsir al Riwa’i
A very early method of tafsir was tafsir riwa’i, at which the Qur’an is interpreted through hadith only and nothing more, some do not even clarify/explain the words/terms of the Qur’an, They only quote hadith. They find different hadiths from different sources and put them under each verse.
This is still available. In the Sunni world,
Jami al-Bayan جامع البيان by Tabari,
Bahr al-Ulum بحر العلوم by Samarqandi, and
Durr al-Manthur الدر المنثور by Suyuti.
And in the Shia collection;
tafsir of Ali ibn Ibrahim, تفسير علي بن ابراهيم
al-Burhan البرهان by Sayyid Hashim Bahrani, and
Nur al-Thaqalayn نور الثقلين by Huwayzi.
the tafsir attributed to Imam Hasan al-Askari (as), التفسير المنسوب للإمام الحسن العسكري
2. Al-tafsir al Batini, or ishari or irfani
These are all related terms. Irfani means ‘mystical’, batini means ‘esoteric’ and something that goes to the deeper layers, and ishari means ‘hint’; they call it ishari is because they can understand the hints that are there, such as some very hidden and subtle points, that perhaps other people cannot understand. In this category, we have:
Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Karim تفسير القرآن الكريم Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (died in 638)/ (tafsir irfani).
Lat’aif al-Isharat لطائف الإشارات Abu al-Qasim Ibn Hawazin, (died in 465).
Kashf al-Asrar كاشف الاسرار Maybudi, (died in 520),
Bayan al-Sa’adah بيان السعادات Ghunabadi, (died in 1327).
It could be that not all of these people always used this method of interpretation. For example, Ibn Arabi is very clear in some of his tafsir, but not all. These scholars come up with ideas that we cannot understand, and we cannot imagine how it can be understandable from the Qur’an. For example, in the Qur’an there is a mention of the house of Allah (swt), and maqam ibrahim:
وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْناً وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ
أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ
‘And [remember] when We made the House a place of reward for mankind and a sanctuary, [declaring], “Take the venue of prayer from Abraham’s Station.” We charged Abraham and Ishmael [with its upkeep, saying], “Purify My House for those who go around it, [for] those who make it a retreat and [for] those who bow and prostrate.”’ (2:125)

Some of them say that bayt means ‘heart’, and maqam of Ibrahim means ruh, because ruh is in the heart, and maqam of Ibrahim is in the house. This is not something that we can establish. For sure, the Qur’an is full of mystical and spiritual ideas, but a proper arif has to be loyal to the methods of tafsir, and to the text. Otherwise, this meaning could be understood from any text, and we will have too many false claims.
3. Scientific interpretation
In the 19th. and 20th. centuries, due to the advancement of technology and sciences, some people tried to come up with a scientific interpretation of the Qur’an. They tried to explain everything according to science because they thought science was the most decisive type of knowledge. e.g. if the Qur’an talks about shaytan and shayateen, they say these are germs that can infect us. Or when Allah (swt) describes the miracle of Prophet Musa, when people were able to cross the sea; they say it was just because of the gravity of the moon and that Prophet Musa was very clever, and knew that at that particular time the gravity of the moon would take the water away. However, they cannot explain how the water was divided into two and how there was a passage. Or for example, regarding this verse:
وَرَسُولاً إِلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ
وَأُبْرِىءُ الأكْمَهَ والأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْيِـي الْمَوْتَى بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
‘And [he will be] an apostle to the Children of Israel, [and he will declare,] “I have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord: I will create for you out of clay the form of a bird, then I will breathe into it, and it will become a bird by Allah’s leave. And I heal the blind and the leper and I revive the dead by Allah’s leave. And I will tell you what you have eaten and what you have stored in your houses. There is indeed a sign in that for you, should you be faithful.”’ (3:49)

They say that; when Prophet Isa said he will restore the vision to the blind, and he can cure the person who has a skin disease; although he said he would do this, he never actually did. It was just a claim!
Whatever is possible to be explained through science, they accepted, and whatever was not possible to explain by science, they tried to avoid.
The following tafsirs are in this category:
1. Al-Jawahir fi Tafsir al-Qur’an الجواهر في تفسير القرآن by ShaykhTantawi, who died in 1359,
2. Al-Manar المنار by Shaykh Muhammad Abduh, died in 1323 (while in the middle of surat al-Nissa).
Rashid Rida, continued it. Rashid Rida managed to reach the end of Surah Yusuf.
3. Al-Qur’an Huwa al-Huda wa al-Furqan القرآن هو الهدى و الفرقان Sir Ahmad Khan al-Hindi, died in 1315.
They lived in a time in which people were very impressed by science and technology, and perhaps they tried to attract people, and youths, by saying that the Qur’an had mentioned these scientific ideas a long time ago.
4. Tafsir al-Qur’an bi al-Qur’an
This is the main method of tafsir, even the Qur’an suggests it, and it is the method of Ahlul Bayt.
Allamah Tabataba’i actually developed this method and articulated it very well. In the begining of his book of tafsir, he explains this method. This is the idea briefly;
Allah (swt) has sent the Qur’an for guidance:
وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَى هَـؤُلاء
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
‘The day We raise in every nation a witness against them from among themselves, We shall bring you as a witness against these. We have sent down the Book to you as a clarification of all things and as a guidance and mercy and good news for the Muslims.’ (16:89)
Allah (swt) says that the Qur’an explains everything that we need for guidance. Furthermore, Qur’an is kitab mubin (clear book), and noor mubin (clear light). Therefore, how is it possible that this book does not explain itself? If it explains everything, then first and foremost it should at least explain itself! We have a hadith that says:
القرآن يفسّر بعضه بعضاَ
‘Some parts of the Qur’an explain other parts.’
Also,
القرآن يشهد بعضه على بعض
‘Some parts of the Qur’an testify to other parts.’
Allamah Tabataba’i says that if we familiarise ourselves with the Qur’an, and if we have comprehensive knowledge of the Qur’an; then we find that there are lots of cross-references; one verse gives us a key to understand another verse. And this is what he has tried to do in al-Mizan; in addition to clarifing the words and mentioning hadiths. Sometimes, he also delved into different types of discussions.
Alama Tabataba’i said we should not impose our ideas on the Qur’an, as the Qur’an explains itself. A person who has a question, and is looking for an answer, will understand. What is important is that we can bring our questions from any discipline to the Qur’an, but we must take only the questions to the Qur’an, and not the answers. We must allow the Qur’an to give us the answers.
Otherwise, if we want to take an answer and find support from the Qur’an, then we may misunderstand.
Some people, such as some Akhbaris, claim that we cannot understand the Qur’an and they quote the hadith which says:
إنّما يعرف القرآن من خوطب به
‘The only ones who know the Qur’an, are the people addressed by the Qur’an.’
Ulama explain that these hadiths refer to the batin (deeper layers) of the Qur’an. The Qur’an itself tells us that we should be able to understand it, and we have many hadiths about understanding the Qur’an. Ahlul Bayt gave their answers based on the Qur’an (not its deeper layers). This means that the person asking the question can understand this answer from the Qur’an. Imam Sadiq (as) when he gave an answer; used to tell people that they should ask him for the Qur’anic reference, as it is very important that one can argue from the Qur’an.
Therefore, in order that we understand the Qur’an; it is important that we should:
– familiarise ourselves with the Qur’an and learn all the skills needed,
– have a good grasp of sarf and nahw and balaghah,
– have a good grasp of usul al-fiqh to have a methodology to understand and interpret the text,
– know some kalam; be familiar with theological & philosophical issues,
Thereafter, spend some time to have some familiarity with the Qur’an.
When you are able to remember what the Qur’an says in other places about the same subject, then inshallah you can start understanding tafsir.
But even if you reach this point, you must do a few things:
1. Always check what you think you understand with hadith, this might give you a different interpretation, you cannot ignore hadith. Hadith can be the beginning and can pave the way for you.
2. No mufassir should feel that he does not need to consult the books of other mufassirin. Knowing Arabic does not guarantee correct understanding. Allamah Tabataba’i, with all the knowledge that he had; referred to what other mufassirin, both Sunni and Shia. He studied them. He did not close all other books and just focus on the verse by himself. He checked what they had understood, what their arguments were, and what the advantages and disadvantages of their understanding were.
One should exhaust himself in understanding what is available, then either choose one of those opinions, or if Allah inspires him a new understanding then alhamdulillah. But with arrogance or pride, and a claim that they did not understand; one would not be able to understand properly.
3. the question of taqwa also comes to the front, and the issue of spiritual purity:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُون لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
‘This is indeed a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it save the purified ones.’ (56:77-79)
Piety is very important and plays a big role. Muslims or non-Muslims who seek the truth; if they refer to the Qur’an, they would benefit, and can see the light of the Qur’an. This verse, in Surat al-Baqarah, requires reflection:
ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
‘This is the Book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance to the God-wary.’ (2:2)
Who are these muttaqin? If we say muttaqin are the people who observe Islamic law, and who observe fasting, salah, and suchlike, and who avoid haram, and adhere to laws of fiqh, then the question is: these people seem to be guided already.
So who are the people who can benefit from the guidance of the Qur’an?
1. The first level of muttaqin (Muslims, non muslims, non-religious people) is to have scientific piety/taqwa i.e. they search for the truth and are open to the truth, and want to understand. If someone is humble and open to the truth and actually struggles in finding the truth, he can benefit from the Qur’an.
2. Those who do perform the wajibat, they are muttaqin, as they purify their intentions, and for them there is extra guidance that they can get from the Qur’an.
Piety is very important. The more pious a person is, the more he can understand the Qur’an.

In the Qur’an, we find that Allah (swt) says that He is light.
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ
يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ نُّورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ
يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاء وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp—the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star—lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not touch it. Light upon light. Allah guides to His Light whomever He wishes. Allah draws parables for mankind, and Allah has knowledge of all things.’ (24:35)
From the first sentence
‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.’ اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
we can conclude that:
1. Allah is light,
2. Skies and earth (which include all things that are created by Allah (swt)) have light.
3. The light of all that the sky and earth include, is a reflection of the light of Allah (swt).
Allah (swt) is the light of the skies and the earth; He is the source and everything else is reflecting from Him. And the difference between them is not because of the difference in the source, because the source is one. Their differences are due to the difference they have in capacity; some objects can reflect more light and some can reflect less. The source is one, and if there are differences then it is because of their own limitations. For example, if different containers are placed under a waterfall, then they will be filled water in different amounts. Some of them will have more and some will have less. The waterfall has plenty to give, and more than what they can contain, but the capacity of what they can contain is different and is limited. Similarly, the creatures of Allah (swt), based on the capacities they possess; have different amounts of light. Nothing in this world is absolutely dark because absolute darkness does not exist. This is because everything is created by Allah (swt) and is a sign of Allah (swt), and therefore should have a reflection of His light.
The following sentences;
parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ
the lamp is in a glass, الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ
A mishkat; is a niche, a space in a thick wall open to both sides of the wall, something they used to have in the past, where they used to put a lamp/ misbah, and people on both sides of the wall could benefit from it. And zujajah is the glass which is used to cover this area (the mishkat) for protection. Allah (swt) says this glass is different;
the glass as it were a glittering star الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ
The glass around the lamp is like a shining star. (A shining star has so much light that despite the huge distance of space between us and that star, we can still see it. This is the example of the glass.)
lit from a blessed olive tree, يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ
There is a relationship between the olive tree and light. An olive tree normally grows in places with lots of sunshine. The best olive oil is produced when the olive tree is exposed to maximum sunshine, as if the olive tree is absorbing the light and the light is saved in its oil.
This is why Allah (swt) says:
neither eastern nor western, لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ
It is not leaning towards any side. A tree can have maximum exposure when it grows straight, not leanning towards the east or west, so that both sides have equal amounts of sunshine, and the top of the tree will receive sun the whole day.
Now, when you have such a blessed olive tree then you have very pure oil. In this world, even the best olive oil does not have light, if you switch off the light, you will not be able to find it!
But here, the example is different:
whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not touch it. يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ
This oil is so much invested with light that even before igniting, it shines and illuminates. How about if the lantern is ignited!
Light upon light. نُّورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ
The only reason why some people may not be able to see this light is because it is too much for them, because it is too bright and they are not prepared for it.
Allah guides to His Light whomever He wishes. يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاء
Allah draws parables for mankind, وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ
and Allah has knowledge of all things. وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

The will of Allah (swt) is not arbitrary. It is based on the performance of people, and is based on their will and determination.
This light is not the light that is Allah (swt) Himself. It is the light which is a reflection His light.
Two more verses in the Qur’an mention the light of Allah (swt).
يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِؤُواْ نُورَ اللّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللّهُ إِلاَّ أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
‘They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah is intent on perfecting His light though the faithless should be averse.’ (9:32)
A similar verse is the following with slight differences:
يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِؤُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
‘They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah shall perfect His light though the faithless should be averse.’ (61:8)
Verse 35, Surah Noor; refers light to Allah (swt) Himself, while these two verses refer to the light of guidance, that is available at different levels. Those who are opposed to light and who want darkness for themselves and for others; think they are able to extinguish this light. Those who are in darkness cannot extinguish His light, and Allah (swt) will make His light even greater..
In the first verse of Surat al-An’am, Allah (swt) says:
الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِم يَعْدِلُونَ
‘All praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made the darknesses and the light. Yet the faithless equate [others] with their Lord.’ (6:1)
Interestingly, the word Noor is used in single form, because there is only one light and it comes from Allah (swt). while dhulumat/darknesses appears in plural form; because darkness can be of different types and of different natures, to be away from Allah (swt) can be of many different forms causing different darknesses.
Similarly haqq/rightousness can only be one, it is like the direct route; the shortest distance between two points. And this is why religion is only one, because it is to face Allah (swt) and move towards Him. There are lots of ways and options to be evil and misguided, and so dhulumat is plural but noor is singular.
Qur’an says that Allah (swt) created skies and earth but does not say that He created darkness. He uses the word ja’ala because darkness is not created, it is simply the lack of light.
So, in this verse, there are wo ways of describing the creation;
first, Allah (swt) ‘created the skies and the earth’ and
second, He (swt) ‘made the darknesses and the light.’
There is no absolute darkness. Darkness is always relative. And, having light depends upon one’s contact with Allah (swt) To lack light can be due to different reasons, for example how much a person has turned away form Allah (swt), and for what reason; perhaps due to kufr or bad akhlaq…etc. There are different ways of not being perfect, whereas the way to perfection is one.

• Everything Allah (swt) created has light.

Everything that Allah (swt) created has a fixed portion of light.
Regarding angels; the Qur’an says: وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُوم at the point of creation (as per our imagination) an angel has been given some light, and that light is there, it will not increase, nor decrease. The light of Jibra’il, the light of Mika’il, and the light of Israfil, is fixed. It is not the case that one of them can work harder to become better than the other. Their position is fixed.
As for human beings and jinns; they have been given free will and choice. So, their light is not fixed. It increases or decreases, and there some condition for that.
– Every human being is born or every human soul is created with some level of light. This light is not the same for all people; not all children are born with the same level of light. The light of a child or an unborn child can vary, depending on many factors. The piety of parents is a very important factor. But what is important is that every child has a great amount of light, even if the parents are bad people and mischief-makers. The child is given the capital of light that he can utilise later, and we have all been given enough light to find our way towards Allah (swt). We can add to it or we may lose part of it.
– We should not consider that this addition and loss of light happens once we become adults and that actions only count once a person becomes an adult. That is only true from a legal point of view, i.e. whether an action is legally considered a sin or not. But, if a child does good things then his or her light will increase; and if a child does bad things and keeps company with bad people, then the light will decrease, though he is not responsible for it.
– There is no issue of justice that Allah (swt) has given some people more and some less. If the giver is wise, then there must be a reason for this difference. This world is a place where there is interactions, if parents are pious and they avoid all sorts of bad actions (haram), then this will have an impact on the child. Hence, it is not arbitrary, and it is not a question of justice.
– Also, based on what one has been given, the expectations are also different;
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا مَا آتَاهَا
Allah (swt) does not judge you based on what you have done, but based on what you have done with what you have been given.
We cannot say that an alim who has written one book is not as close to Allah (swt) as an alim who has written ten books. It could be that the second one could have written fifty or more books, but did not. We cannot know, and we leave it for Allah (swt) to judge.
Every person has been given a capital of light and he or she can add to it or can lose part of it.
Therefore, when it comes to human beings and jinns, the Qur’an, in addition to the general idea of light at creation; talks about the light of guidance, the light of faith, the light of righteous deeds, the light of dhikr, the light of prophets, and the light of divine books.

• The divine books are light

hallA (swt) made it very clear that all His divine books light, they have light and they give light.
فَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كُذِّبَ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِكَ جَآؤُوا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالزُّبُرِ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُنِيرِ
‘But if they deny you, then before you [other] apostles have been denied, who came with manifest signs, holy writs, and an illuminating scripture.’ (3:184)
And:
وَإِن يُكَذِّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ جَاءتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَبِالزُّبُرِ وَبِالْكِتَابِ الْمُنِيرِ
‘If they impugn you, those before them have impugned [likewise]: their apostles brought them manifest proofs, [holy] writs, and illuminating scriptures.’ (35:25)

It is interesting that in these verses, the verse mentions kitab munir in singular form, and not kutub munirah in a plural form. Whereas the other parts of the verse, such as rusul, ja’uw, bayyinat, and zubur are all plural, but when it comes to mentioning the book, it is singular. this is because the true book is one, and Tawrat, Injil, and Qur’an are images or representations of that single book. Consider this verse:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلاَ هُدًي وَلاَ كِتَابٍ مُنِيرٍ
‘Among the people are those who dispute concerning Allah without any knowledge or guidance, or an enlightening Book.’ (22:8)
And:
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُّنِيرٍ
‘Do you not see that Allah has disposed for you whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth and He has showered upon you His blessings, the outward and the inward? Yet among the people are those who dispute concerning Allah without any knowledge or guidance or an illuminating scripture.’ (31:20)
All of these verses give the same idea, that the book is munir and gives light.
Regarding Tawrat, the Qur’an says:
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالأَحْبَارُ
بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُواْ مِن كِتَابِ اللّهِ وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاء فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ النَّاسَ وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ
‘We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light. The prophets, who had submitted, judged by it for the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the scribes, as they were charged to preserve the Book of Allah and were witnesses to it. So do not fear the people, but fear Me, and do not sell My signs for a paltry gain. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the faithless.’ (5:44)
And:
وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِذْ قَالُواْ مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِّن شَيْءٍ قُلْ مَنْ أَنزَلَ الْكِتَابَ الَّذِي جَاء بِهِ مُوسَى
نُورًا وَهُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ تَجْعَلُونَهُ قَرَاطِيسَ تُبْدُونَهَا وَتُخْفُونَ كَثِيرًا وَعُلِّمْتُم مَّا لَمْ تَعْلَمُواْ أَنتُمْ وَلاَ آبَاؤُكُمْ
قُلِ اللّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ
‘They did not regard Allah with the regard due to Him when they said, “Allah has not sent down anything to any human.” Say, “Who had sent down the Book that was brought by Moses as a light and guidance for the people, which You make into parchments that you display, while you conceal much of it, and [by means of which] you were taught what you did not know, [neither] you nor your fathers?” Say, “Allah!” Then leave them to play around in their impious gossip.’ (6:91)
The exact arrangement of the words in these two verses is different. In the first verse it states ‘guidance and light’ and in the second verse it says ‘light and guidance’. These refer to Tawrat and Injil.
In another verse, we read:

وَقَفَّيْنَا عَلَى آثَارِهِم بِعَيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ
وَمُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةً لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
‘And We followed them with Jesus son of Mary, to confirm that which was before him of the Torah, and We gave him the Evangel containing guidance and light, confirming what was before it of the Torah, and as guidance and advice for the Godwary.’ (5:46)

• The Qur’an as light

Now we come to the Qur’an. The Qur’an is light, and in several verses it is introduced as such:
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالأَغْلاَلَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ النُّورَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
‘Those who follow the Apostle, the uninstructed prophet, whose mention they find written with them in the Torah and the Evangel, who bids them to do what is right and forbids them from what is wrong, makes lawful to them all the good things and forbids them from all vicious things, and relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that were upon them—those who believe in him, honour him, and help him and follow the light that has been sent down with him, they are the felicitous.’ (7:157)
This light that the verse mentions, is the Qur’an. Interestingly, the verse does not say unzila ilayhi (sent to him) but rather unzila ma’ahu (sent with him). This is very important, this light has been sent with him shows that there is a very close relationship of the Qur’an with the Holy Prophet, It is not that the Qur’an is light and the Holy Prophet is dark, and then the light of the Qur’an came to him. No; the Prophet is light and light has come to light!
Qur’an is light and everyone loves light. No one likes to be in darkness. This is especially important in education. If we use the language of light to encourage the children to do good things, and darkness to stay away from evil things, then perhaps this is better than the language of heaven and fire; especially fire because for young children it is too harsh. In fact, part of hell is darkness.
In another verse, Allah (swt) states:
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا كُنتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ
قَدْ جَاءكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ
‘O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying for you much of what you used to hide of the Book, and excusing many [an offence of yours]. Certainly there has come to you a light from Allah, and a manifest Book.’ (5:15)
Allah (swt) addresses the people of the book and mentions that light and a clear book has come to them from Him. Something that wants to guide people must be understandable, because it has to clarify and shed light on other things. If it is itself light, then it can shed light on other things.
In this verse, Allah (swt) addresses all humanity:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءكُم بُرْهَانٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ نُورًا مُّبِينًا
‘O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying for you much of what you used to hide of the Book, and excusing many [an offence of yours]. Certainly there has come to you a light from Allah, and a manifest Book.’ (5:15)
A question arises: is it possible to have noor that is not mubin?
Answer: sometimes we human beings have difficulty in understanding or even noticing some types of light. Either we do not understand or do not notice whether there are angels in this room. There might be a lot of angels, but we do not notice any difference. Similarly, the light of iman of a mu’min cannot be seen by people unless it is very strong. However, special people such as ‘ulama’ are able to see it, they even notice which of their students has prayed fajr and which has not! Sometimes light is not understandable.
However, the Qur’an is a light which is meant to be understood by us, and so it is kitab mubin or noor mubin. And in this context, light refers to it being clear. A person just needs to open his heart and let the Qur’an reach it. The Qur’an knows how to go into the heart, but we must open our hearts to it.
Consider these verses:
فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالنُّورِ الَّذِي أَنزَلْنَا وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
‘So have faith in Allah and His Apostle and the light which We have sent down, and Allah is well aware of what you do.’ (64:8)
وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِن
جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَّهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ نَّشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِنَا وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
‘Thus have We revealed to you the Spirit of Our dispensation. You did not know what the Book is, nor what is faith; but We made it a light that We may guide by its means whomever We wish of Our servants. And indeed you guide to a straight path.’ (42:52)

• The light of the Qur’an refers to the light of guidance.

Allah (swt) is light and He has created this world by giving different portions of light. i.e. everything that is created acts as a mirror to reflect a portion of the absolute and perfect light which is Allah (swt). For most of the creation, the amount of light is fixed, except for human beings and jinns who have a freedom of choice, and for them it is possible for the light to increase or decrease.
Allah (swt) sent prophets in order to take people from darkness to light. He also sent all the divine scriptures (kitab munir) to guide us and show us how to gain more light.
Allah (swt) says;
الَر كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ
‘Alif, Lam, Ra. [This is] a Book We have sent down to you that you may bring mankind out from darkness into light, by the command of their Lord, to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable.’ (14:1)
A similar verses regarding Prophet Musa (as):
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَى بِآيَاتِنَا أَنْ أَخْرِجْ قَوْمَكَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَذَكِّرْهُمْ بِأَيَّامِ اللّهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ
‘Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs: “Bring your people out from darkness into light and remind them of Allah’s [holy] days. There are indeed signs in that for every patient and grateful [servant].”’ (14:5)
This guidance is not only just for showing someone the right path; but to actually take people all the way to light. It is something very fundamental, and it requires generative permission from Allah (swt), This can be described as achieving the objective (isal ila al-matlub), which is different from just showing the path (ira’at al-tareeq), it is actually taking people there.
When a person is moving towards the source of light and towards the absolute light, then this is the sirat al-mustaqim. Consider the verse:
يَهْدِي بِهِ اللّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلاَمِ وَيُخْرِجُهُم مِّنِ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
‘With it Allah guides those who follow [the course of] His pleasure to the ways of peace, and brings them out from darkness into light by His will, and guides them to a straight path’ (5:16)
It is not enough to say that people must obey Allah (swt); rather they should know how to obey Him in all the different scenarios of life. The Qur’an has come to us in order to show us the ways of peace. This verse shows that the message of the Qur’an and the message of Islam is peace.

Subul; is plural (of sabeel), is the name for those different areas of life in which we feel moved towards light. Interestingly, when the Qur’an wants to give one general title to those subul; He says subul al-salam (paths of peace). The Qur’an aims to show us how to achieve peace and tranquillity in every area of life, in all of our roles in life, both for ourselves and for other people. Sabil is how to worship Allah (swt), how to serve the truth in the different areas of life.
Allah (swt) says:
أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
وَأَنْ اعْبُدُونِي هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
‘Did I not exhort you, O children of Adam, saying, “Do not worship Satan. He is indeed your manifest enemy. Worship Me. That is a straight path”? (36:60-61)
If we try to gain the pleasure of Allah (swt) and if we try to follow his instructions, then we will gain guidance towards these ways of peace.
Allah (swt) says:
هُوَ الَّذِي يُنَزِّلُ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُمْ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
‘It is He who sends down manifest signs to His servant that He may bring you out of darkness into light, and indeed Allah is most kind and merciful to you.’ (57:9)
“Raheem” signifies the rahmah of Allah (swt) which He holds for mu’mineen, and for good people.
The raheemiyyah mercy takes the mu’mineen from darkness to light with the help of the Qur’an, bringing them to light (‘isal ila al-matlub’).
The rahmaniyyah mercy helps everyone with guidance (‘ira’at al-tareeq’).
The Qur’an states:
هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
‘It is He who blesses you, and so do His angels, that He may bring you out from darkness into light, and He is most merciful to the faithful.’ (33:43)
There is a salutation from Allah (swt), and this means sending us a package of rahmah, which is light. When Allah (swt) sends salutations, He gives us a package of rahmah in the form of light. Sometimes rahmah could be the food, the water, the knowledge, His forgiveness,…etc, In this verse, it is the bestowal of light.
In another passage, Allah (swt) says:
…. فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَا أُوْلِي الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَدْ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكُمْ ذِكْرًا رَّسُولًا يَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ مُبَيِّنَاتٍ
لِّيُخْرِجَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَمَن يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ وَيَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا قَدْ أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ لَهُ رِزْقًا
‘Allah has prepared for them a severe punishment. So be wary of Allah, O you who possess intellect and have faith! Allah has already sent down to you a reminder. An apostle reciting to you the manifest signs of Allah that He may bring out those who have faith and do righteous deeds from darkness into light. And whoever has faith in Allah and does righteous deeds, He shall admit him into gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever. Allah has certainly granted him an excellent provision.’ (65:10-11)
According to some hadith, dhikran refers to Prophet Muhammad (sa), and in this case dhikr and rasul will mean the same thing. There is a hadith that allows the verse to be understood in this way. there is a close relationship between the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (sa). You will also recall our discussion regarding the phrase unzila ma’a as opposed to unzila ilayh.
So, the meaning is: ‘Allah has sent down to you a reminder, and rasul.’ Or: ‘Allah has sent down to you a reminder, which is rasul (a messenger).’ This is a very important concept that is frequently mentioned in the Qur’an, i.e. that Allah (swt) and His prophets take people from darkness to Allah (swt), if they are faithful and if they do righteous deeds. In this structure, Allah (swt) is at the top, because:
اللّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُون
‘Allah is the Guardian of the faithful: He brings them out of darkness into light. As for the faithless, their patrons are the Rebels, who drive them out of light into darkness. They shall be the inmates of the Fire, and they shall remain in it [forever].’ (2:257)
And under Allah (swt) are the messengers and the books, all of whom have come to give light to people. Hence, all of this is to help us in our journey towards perfection, towards truth, and towards haqq. And among the prophets, Prophet Muhammed (sa) is mentioned in a specific way that he is light.
Therefore, although Allah (swt) says that Prophet Musa was asked to take people from darkness to light, and that Tawrat has light, and Injil has light, but regarding Prophet Muhammed (sa) in particular, he is light. Of course this does not mean that others are not light, but it means that this is emphasised, and that it is very clear. The Qur’an says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا
‘O Prophet! Indeed We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of good news and as a warner.
And as a summoner to Allah by His permission, and as a radiant lamp.’ (33:45-46)
Prophet Muhammad (sa) is da’iyan ilallah – he calls people towards Allah (swt) – and this is what we all have to do. The difference is that we call people towards Allah (swt) in a general way, but Prophet Muhammad (sa) would call people towards Allah (swt) bi idhnihi (with His permission).
Allah (swt) describes the Holy Prophet as siraj munir (a light that is shining and illuminating). At times, it could be that there is a siraj, but for whatever reason, it does not ignite and does not illuminate. Perhaps there is a lamp that is switched off. From this type of lamp there is no benefit. However, the siraj that is Prophet Muhammad (sa) is munir; it is shining, and it is functioning. Hence, we have kitab munir and also siraj munir.
Therefore, Qur’an is a clear light that comes from Allah (swt), the light of heavens and earth, given to Prophet (sa) who is the radiant lamp; to take us from darkness to light.
So, Our responses should be to:

1. Believe in Qur’an /Iman bil-qur’an.

The Qur’an mentions:
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
والَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ
‘Who believe in the Unseen, and maintain the prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. And who believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, and are certain of the Hereafter.’ (2:3-4)
This is a description of the people who are muttaqin (pious). They believe in the hidden world and in the hidden realities, they have faith in the unseen, they establish prayer, they give charity, they believe in what has been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sa) and what was revealed before him, and they believe in the Hereafter.
أُوْلَـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
‘Those follow their Lord’s guidance, and it is they who are the felicitous.’ (2:5)
As you can see, one of the characteristics of muttaqin and those who are guided is: ‘they believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you.’ So, to believe in the Qur’an is the main thing. In another verse, Allah (swt) says:
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ
‘The Apostle has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and all the faithful. Each [of them] has faith in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His apostles. [They declare,] “We make no distinction between any of His apostles.”’ (2:285)
If ‘iman’ (having faith) was something that was easily achieved, then the Qur’an would not have said:‘The Apostle has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord. In fact, iman in the Qur’an is so important that Allah (swt) even praises the Holy Prophet for having this faith in the Qur’an. It is faith of a very high level.
To believe in something depends on what the purpose and the function of that thing is. For example, If there is a medicine prescribed to you, and you say that you believe in this prescription; then what does it mean? Does it mean that you believe that this prescription that is in your hand is real and is not an illusion? Or, does it mean that you believe this prescription will serve the purpose and the function for which it is intended, and therefore you are going to use it wholeheartedly and benefit from it?
If you believe in a person or something; then this does not mean that you believe that he/it exists.
Belief regarding the Qur’an means that we believe that this is what is to be followed and that it must be implemented as the way for our life.
The Holy Prophet has said:
ما آمن بالقرآن من إستحلّ محارمه
‘One who regards the Qur’ans prohibitions as permissible, has not believed in it.’
To believe in the Qur’an means to follow the guidance given by the Qur’an. If your life is not based on the Qur’an then you do not believe in the Qur’an.

Carry the Qur’an. The Qur’an says:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
‘The example of those who were charged with the Torah, then failed to carry it, is that of an ass carrying books. Evil is the example of the people who deny Allah’s signs and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot,’ (62:5)
The example of this is of a donkey that carries some books. this is true about the people who failed to carry Injil and the Qur’an not only for the people of the Tawrat.
Animals or even things like say a car, to carry something has only one meaning: they physically carry it or they do not. There is no way of saying they carried and yet did not carry.
For human beings, there are different levels of carrying the book. If you carry the Qur’an, it does not mean that you have benefitted from the light of the Qur’an. It is just physical carrying. Even if you believe in the Qur’an in the sense that you are a Muslim, and you believe it is a revelation from Allah (swt), but you do not take it to your heart, then this is not carrying. The Qur’an talks about those who were believers in the Tawrat, who carried the Tawrat, but the Qur’an still describes them as those who did not truly carry it.
Therefore, a person may be a Muslim who carries the Qur’an physically, or even believes in the Qur’an on a superficial level, and yet he may still be classed as a person who has not truly carried the Qur’an.
To truly carry the Qur’an is a very high position. Imam Sadiq (as) quotes the Holy Prophet stated:
حملة القرآن عرفاء الجنّة
‘The carriers of the Qur’an are the famous ones of heaven.’
The term urafa عرفاء means they have some kind of high status, senior or respected members.
In another hadith from Prophet Muhammad (sa), we read:
‘Indeed, from among the ways to honour the glory of Allah is to honour the white-haired person [elderly], and a carrier of the Qur’an, and a just leader.’
There is also a very famous hadith in which Prophet Muhammad (sa) says:
أشراف أمّتي حملة القرآن و أصحاب الليل
‘The most honourable ones of my nation are the carriers of the Qur’an, and the companions of the night [prayer].’
Imam Baqir (as) quotes the Holy Prophet hadith:
يَا مَعَاشِرَ قُرَّاءِ الْقُرْآنِ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فِيمَا حَمَّلَكُمْ مِنْ كِتَابِهِ، فَإِنِّي مَسْئُولٌ وَ إِنَّكُمْ مَسْئُولُونَ،
إِنِّي مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ تَبْلِيغِ الرِّسَالَةِ، وَ أَمَّا أَنْتُمْ فَتُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا حُمِّلْتُمْ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَ سُنَّتِي” 1.
‘O reciters of the Qur’an, be wary of Allah with respect to what He has loaded you of His book, for surely you will be questioned; indeed, I will be questioned about delivering the message, and you will be questioned about what you have been loaded with of the book of Allah, and my sunnah.’
As you can see, the concept of carrying is very important, and it does not just refer to the physical carrying of the Qur’an or just believing in the Qur’an. But, to try to understand it, and to try to derive knowledge from it, to reflect on the Qur’an. Our role is not simply believing in it, respecting it, kissing it, and keeping it in the pocket. This is not acceptable.
Then there is a second group, who are higher in their rank but are still not carriers of the Qur’an. These people, in addition to believing in the book, respecting the book, carrying the book, kissing the book, etc., they also try to understand it. They make their minds busy with the Qur’an, they try to understand Qur’anic sciences, they try to understand tafsir, they try to learn Arabic, and they really want to learn the Qur’an. Unfortunately, these are people who still do not follow the Qur’an. They have learned some of the Qur’anic teachings, their minds are full of verses of the Qur’an and Qur’anic ideas, they could even be huffadh, and they could even be good reciters, they could even be good mufassirin, but they are still not classed as carriers of the Qur’an!

Carriers of the Qur’an

Are those that have taken the Qur’an and carried the Qur’an with their body, mind, and heart. They are completely at the service of the Qur’an. If you are a person who just takes a torch; then this is not enough; if you switch on the torch and you benefit from the light of the torch and you show other people this light, this is also not enough! The carriers of the Qur’an are people who have been acting according to the Qur’an, and now the light of the Qur’an is coming from them, from their tongues, their actions, and their behaviour. The Qur’an is reflected in them. Such people, their eyes carry the Qur’an, their tongues, hands, ears, etc. The Qur’an has penetrated into all aspects of their being, whether it is body or soul. This is the level of carrying the Qur’an that we need to possess.
The carriers of the Qur’an do not throw the Qur’an behind; they hold it and they protect it. They try to protect it and they are 100% at the service of the Qur’an, fully dedicated to the Qur’an and let nothing else come next to it. You must view yourself as a servant of Allah (swt) and of His word.
In this way, carriers of the Qur’an have only one concern and task, and that is to carry what they have been entrusted with. Carrying the Qur’an is a full-time job. It does not necessarily mean such a person is teaching the Qur’an all the time, but it means that he or she is always at the service of the Qur’an.
So, you can understand why it is so important that Prophet Muhammad (sa) says:
أشراف أمّتي حملة القرآن و أصحاب الليل and حملة القرآن عرفاء الجنّة

3. Respecting the Qur’an.

The Qur’an has to be treated with a very high degree of respect (Hurmah and tawqeer), and this respect has different aspects.
1. we should want to learn from it.
2. we should want to teach it to others.
3. we should follow it.
We must try to do everything we can for it to become known and recognised and respected by everyone, so that everyone can benefit from it.
The Holy Prophet has said:
من وقّر القرآن فقد وقّر الله و من لم يوقّر القرآن فقد إستخفّ بحرمة القرآن
‘Whosoever respects the Qur’an, has respected Allah. And whoever does not respect the Qur’an, has surely taken the sanctity of the Qur’an lightly.’
To respect Allah (swt), then respect the Qur’an, and show your service for the Qur’an. And to please Alah (swt), we should either do good to other creatures of Allah (swt), or for the Qur’an which is the word of Allah (swt). If you do not show respect to the book then it means you have no respect for the author. If you ask someone whom he respect the most, probably he will say my father. Your respect for your parents is very high. The next hadiths regarding the amount of respect that Allah (swt) has for the Qur’an are shocking;
‘The respect Allah has for the Qur’an is like the respect a child has for his parent.’
‘The honour that Allah (swt) has for the Qur’an is like the honour of a child for his father.’
One of the greatest examples of respect is the respect we have for our parents. In Islam, we have to be very respectful to them, even if they have wronged us, and even if they have been unjust to us; we still have to be very respectful to them.
We should give the Qur’an priority, and we should treat the Qur’an with maximum love and respect. The respect we should have for the Qur’an means that anything related to the Qur’an, any service related to the Qur’an, and any activities related to the Qur’an have to be given priority.
In our community, the priority should be to learn the Qur’an, to teach the Qur’an, to act upon the Qur’an, to honour the teachers of the Qur’an and the reciters of the Qur’an. The Qur’an must not become marginal, or forgotten.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
ثَلَاثَةٌ يَشْكُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ : مَسْجِدٌ خَرَابٌ لَا يُصَلِّي فِيهِ أَهْلُهُ .وَ عَالِمٌ بَيْنَ جُهَّالٍ
وَ مُصْحَفٌ مُعَلَّقٌ قَدْ وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ الْغُبَارُ لَا يُقْرَأُ فِيهِ
‘Three things will complain to Allah (swt): a ruined mosque, a scholar in the midst of ignorant ones, and a Qur’an that is left hanging, gathering dust, which is not read.’
A mosque that is kharab i.e. when people do not pray in it. Quran states:
إنما يعمر مساجد الله من آمن بالله واليوم الآخر وأقام الصلاة وآتى الزكاة ولم يخش إلا الله
فعسى أولئك أن يكونوا من المهتدين
‘The only people who can repair the mosques of Allah are those that believe in Allah…’
It is not the builders or painters that can repair mosques. It is the mu’mineen who come to offer salah. A hospital only functions when there are doctors and nurses, otherwise it is a very large building with lots of equipment but no treatment is possible. So, if you have a very large and luxurious mosque but there are no mu’mineen inside, then this mosque is kharab, not in order.
An ‘alim surrounded by ignorant people who do not learn from him and then act upon his advice. One of the things that makes an alim suffer, is when people do not appreciate him, and his time is wasted and not used properly.
A Qur’an that is left aside, gathering dust, not being read. People do not have interest in it, they do not want to learn and benefit from it, and this kind of Qur’an will complain.

Conclusion

The Qur’an has to be treated with a very high degree of respect, and this respect has different aspects;
First; is that we should want to learn from it.
Second; is that we should want to teach it to others.
Third; is that we should follow it.
We must try to do everything we can for it to become known and recognised and respected by everyone, so that everyone can benefit from it.

Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
من قرا القرآن فرأى أن من خلق الله اعطى افضل مما اعطى فقد صغَّر ما عظَّم الله وعظَّم ما صغَّر الله
‘It does not befit a carrier of the Qur’an to think someone else has been given greater than what he has been given. Even if he possessed the whole world, it is not like possessing the Qur’an.’
If you are a person who really understands the gift of the Qur’an, and whose experience with the Qur’an is not just carrying the Qur’an physically but carrying it with your heart, then you should not think that anyone has been given something greater than what you have. Otherwise, you have not understood the greatness of the Qur’an.

• Learning and teaching the Qur’an

Hadiths state that the position of learning the Qur’an cannot be regarded as equal to any other position. Furthermore, the teacher who teaches the Qur’an cannot be regarded as equal to any other teacher. Anything dedicated to the Qur’an is regarded as being much higher than similar things.
A companions of Imam Kadhim (as) said that he heard from Imam Kadhim (as), quoting from his fathers, and finally from Prophet Muhammad (sa) that before his demise, Prophet Muhammad (sa) spoke to the ansar (the people of Medina):
ان رسول صلى الله عليه وآله قال للأنصار أيام وفاته فيما أوصى به إليهم كتاب الله وأهل بيتي
فان الكتاب هو القرآن وفيه الحجة والنور والبرهان كلام الله غض جديد طرى شاهد وحكم عادل….
‘Among the things the Holy Prophet advised them was the book of Allah (swt) and his household. Then he said: “The book of Allah (swt) is the Qur’an and in it there is hujjah, there is light, and there is a clear demonstration of the truth; the word of Allah (swt), the Qur’an, is always fresh, and it is a witness, and it is a just judge…..”’
We can check ourselves against the Qur’an and see whether we comply with the standards of the Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) says:
فضل القرآن على سائر الكلام كفضل الله على خلقه
‘The position of the Qur’an with respect to other books [words, scriptures, and all the other texts] is like the position of Allah (swt) with respect to His creation.’
The value of the Qur’an is very clear in this hadith. The amount that Allah (swt) is higher than His creation; the word of Allah (swt) is higher than other words.
Such a deep ocean of meanings is something you need to learn. It is not something that you can take for granted, and that you assume you know and understand. You have to learn this, and you have to seek this knowledge.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
ينبغي للمؤمن أن لا يموت حتّى يتعلّم القرآن أو يكون في تعليمه
‘When a mu’min’s death comes he should either be a learner of the Qur’an or a teacher of the Qur’an.’
Either we are increasing our own knowledge of the Qur’an or we are increasing other people’s knowledge of the Qur’an. Our life must be at the service of the Qur’an. If there is no one to teach it; then everyone will be considered guilty. because it is wajib kifa’i; i.e. if not enough number take care of it; then all the people will be held responsible.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
إنّ هذا القرآن مأدبة الله
The Qur’an is the banquet of Allah

This hadith explains that the Qur’an is like a meal coming from Allah (swt). The way to benefit from it is to learn it. Ma’adh ibn Jabal asked prophet (sa) for something that they can benefit from.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) answered:
إن أردتم عيش السعداء وموت الشهداء، والنجاة يوم الحسرة، والظل يوم الحرور، والهدى يوم الضلالة، فادرسوا القرآن،
فإنه كلام الرحمان، وحرز من الشيطان ورجحان في الميزان”
‘If you desire the life of happy people, and the death of martyrs, salvation on the Day of Resurrection, and a shade on the Day of Judgement when it is very hot, and guidance, then learn the Qur’an. This is the word of Allah (swt) and a protection from Shaytan, and it will put weight on your scale.’
The Qur’an states:
فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ
‘As for him whose deeds weigh heavy in the scales, he will have a pleasing life. But as for him whose deeds weigh light in the scales, his home will be the Abyss.’ (101:6-9)
Hence, if we want to have something weighty in our scales, we must learn the Qur’an.
Abdullah ibn Abbas, quotes from Prophet Muhammad (sa):

ما من مؤمن ذكر ولا أنثى حر ولا مملوك إلا ولله عز وجل عليه حق أن يتعلم من القرآن ويتفقه في دينه
‘There is no believer, man or woman, free person or slave, except that Allah has a right over that person that there is no believer, man or woman, free person or slave, except that Allah (swt) has a right over that person which has to be observed. That he must learn the Qur’an and be deeply informed of it.’

The right of Allah (swt) is necessary and obligatory, and has to be observed. It is not sufficient to say that we know how to recite the Qur’an. This is not enough. We must have a deep understanding of it.
Abu Dharr went to Prophet Muhammad (sa) and said: ‘O Rasulullah, I have a worry that I may learn the Qur’an but then not act upon it. So isn’t it better that I don’t learn it?’
Prophet Muhammad (sa) replied:
لا يعذب الله قلباً أسكنه القرآن
‘Allah will not punish a heart in which He has put the Qur’an.’
This means that if you really learn the Qur’an, then do not worry. The problem is that we do not allow the Qur’an to enter our heart, otherwise, if out of love and honesty we go to learn the Qur’an, we will be safe.
Prophet Muhammad also (sa) said:
خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علّمه
‘The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.’

These are the best of the ummah. The teacher of the Qur’an follows the example of Allah (swt), and the Holy Prophet is the best learner of the Qur’an:
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ
‘The All-beneficent, has taught the Qur’an.’ (55:1-2)

Ibn Abbas narrates that Prophet Muhammad (sa) has said:

معلم القرآن و متعلمه يستغفر له كل شيء
‘For the learner of the Qur’an and its teacher, everything asks for forgiveness [from Allah (swt)].’
Note how the hadith says everything and not everyone, asks for forgiveness. If a person obeys Allah (swt), then the whole world appreciate this. And if a person disobeys, then the whole world is angry and upset.
Asbagh ibn Nabata, narrates from Imam Ali (as):
إن الله ليهم بعذاب أهل الأرض جميعا إذ عملوا بالمعاصي فإذا نظر إلى الشيب
ناقلي أقدامهم إلى الصلوات والولدان يتعلمون القرآن رحمهم ، فأخّر ذلك عنهم
‘Allah (swt) when He looks at the crimes and sins taking place by the people, then He would find them to deserve punishment. But there are some people; because of whom, Allah (swt) will not punish all the people on the earth. When He looks at all the people with white hair, with difficulty going for salah to the mosque, and young children going to learn the Qur’an, then Allah (swt) will delay the punishment.’

The old people who go for salah and the young children who go to learn the Qur’an, are bringing mercy and safety for the rest of the people.

• Looking at the Qur’an.

This is one way of benefitting from the Qur’an, and reciting the Qur’an is another stage. It could be that a person is unable to read it, so just looking at the Qur’an is important. Even if a person knows the passage or chapter by heart, it is still better that he looks at the mus’haf (the book) and reads the Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
النظر في المصحف حتى من غير قراءة عبادة
‘Looking at the Qur’an, even without reading, is ibadah.’
Just looking at the Qur’an shows your love and respect for it, and this will benefit us.
Imam Zayn al-Abidn (as) has said:
آيات القرآن خزائن
‘The verses of the Qur’an are treasures.’
The Qur’an is such that once it is opened, we should look at its treasures. We must not underestimate the pleasure and the blessing of being able to look at the Qur’an and its treasures, though not the translation but, the original words that Allah (swt) revealed. Unless the translation is placed under the Arabic lines, as it is done in Farsi and Urdu.
From Kanzul A’mal, Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
‘One who continuously looks at the mushaf, will benefit from his sight as long as he is in dunya.’
This means that this person’s sight will be blessed, and he will truly benefit from it. people might not benefit from what they have. They have eyes and are not blind, but might not benefit from their sight for good things; they do not read anything good or learn anything good.

• Reading the Qur’an.

Allah (swt) very clearly says:
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَى مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَى وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ …
‘Indeed your Lord knows that you stand vigil nearly two thirds of the night—or [at times] a half or a third of it—along with a group of those who are with you. Allah (swt) measures the night and the day. He knows that you cannot calculate it [exactly], and so He was lenient toward you. So recite as much of the Qur’an as is feasible. He knows that some of you will be sick, while others will travel in the land seeking Allah (swt)’s grace, and yet others will fight in the way of Allah (swt). So recite as much of it as is feasible .…’ (73:20)
We must read as much as we can. Imam Sadiq (as) said:
من قرء القرآن في المصحف مُتِّعَ ببصره و خفف عن والديه و إن كانا كافرين
‘One who reads the Qur’an from the mushaf will benefit from his vision, and the Judgement will be made easier for his parents even if they were kafir.’
also;
قراءة القرآن في المصحف تُخَفِّف العذاب عن الوالدين و لو كانا كافرين
‘Reading the Qur’an from the mushaf reduces the punishment for the parents, even if they are kafir.’ Kafir is someone who is against Islam. So, if such a person has a child who recites the Qur’an, Allah (swt), because of that child, will reduce the punishment.
A hafidh (person who memorised Qur’an) asked Imam Sadiq (as): whether it is better to read it by heart or to look at the text?’ Imam said to him:
بل إقرأه وانظر في المصحف
‘Read it and look at the mushaf.’

It is important to look at the mushaf. Sometimes, if people do not look at the Qur’an and read it only based on their memory, then after sometimes they might read mistakenly.
Then Imam Sadiq (as) added:
‘Do you not know that looking at the mushaf is worship?!’

Abi Basir asked Imam Sadiq (as) about reading Qur’an without wudu. is it a problem?’
Imam replied:
لا بأس و لا يمسّ الكتاب
‘There is no problem, but he should not touch the book.’

• Reciting the Qur’an at home

Although we should try to read it wherever possible, but part of the recitation should be done at home, because the light of the Qur’an will affect our household.
In al-Kafi, Prophet Muhammad (sa) says:
نوروا بيوتكم بتلاوة القرآن و لا تتخذواها قبوراً
‘Illuminate your houses with the recitation of the Qur’an and do not make them graveyards, as the Jews and Christians, who worshipped in their synagogues and churches and not in their homes … the house in which the Qur’an is recited will shine for the inhabitants of the skies as stars shine for the people of the earth.’
This means that we should not make our homes empty of life i.e. the Qur’an brings life, and if we do not read the Qur’an at home, then our homes become like graveyards.
Imam Ali (as):
البيت الذي يقرأ فيه القرآن، ويذكر الله عز وجل فيه تكثر بركته، وتحضره الملائكة، وتهجره الشياطين، ويضيء لأهل السماء كما يضيء الكوكب لأهل الأرض. وإن البيت الذي لا يقرأ فيه القرآن، ولا يذكر الله عز وجل فيه، تقل بركته، وتهجره الملائكة، وتحضره الشياطين “.
‘A house in which Qur’an is recited and Allah is remembered, the blessing in that house is increased, angels come to it, and shayatin go away from it. It will shine for the inhabitants of heaven just as stars shine for the people of the earth. But the house in which the Qur’an is not recited and in which Allah is not remembered, its blessing is less, angels will go away from it, and shayatin will come to it.’
When the Qur’an is recited in a house; it leads to more openness, more blessings and bounties for the people of that home. They will be in a better situation. Angels in the sky would see lights coming from the places where Qur’an is recited.
This applies even to the physical house. If ever you have the opportunity to buy a house from a mu’min, then this is better. When mu’min people have been praying in a house, that house is blessed. Angels and shayatin do not come together. Where there are angels, shayatin flee. And when angels go away, shayatin arrive. It is up to us to invite angels or shayatin.

2. Facing qiblah; this is an important etiquette that has to be observed whenever possible. At times it might not be possible such as if one is commuting and want to recite the Qur’an, but is unable to observe qibla, then it is more important to recite facing any direction.
3. Sitting respectfully; this is no ordinary book. One should sit respectfully, and either hold the Qur’an with his hands or on a stand. One should never put Quran on floor, or put things on top of Quran not even translation or duaa book.
4. Reciting in a measured pace; not in a very fast pace, nor very slowly. Imam Sadiq (as) quoted Imam Ali (as), about the verse:
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا
‘Or add to it, and recite the Qur’an in a measured tone.’ (73:4)
who said that it means بيِّنه تبياناً ,‘Read it in a way that it is clear. And do not read it quickly like a poem, and do not pace too many gaps in between like sand which are scattered around. But soften your heart which may have become hard with it. And let it not be the concern of any of you to just finish the surah.’
It must be read in a way that the letters and words are distinct. What is important is that it should soften the heart which has become hard. The concern must not be just to finish the surah, or to see how many pages are left. The quantity should not be the main focus, to the extent that perhaps one do not enjoy the reading and you just want to finish. It should be read and enjoyed. One should also reflect on some verses. Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
قفوا عند عجائبه …
‘When there is mention of some wonders you have to pause and think, and move your heart by it; and your concern must not be reaching the end of the surah.’
Also;
أعربوا القرآن
‘Read the Qur’an with correct recitation.’
and;
حفظ الوقوف و أداء الحروف
‘Read with a speed that allows you to observe the wuquf and pronounce each letter.’

5. Make your recitation beautiful; a beautiful voice adds to the beauty of Quran. If the Qur’an is recited with a beautiful voice then it shines more, and is more attractive. Imam Sadiq (as) quotes Prophet Muhammad (sa) as saying:
حسّنوا القرآن بأصواتكم …
‘Try to decorate the Qur’an with your voices, for a beautiful voice adds to the beauty of the Qur’an.’
and also:
لكل شيء حلية و حلية القرآن الصوت الحسن
‘For everything there is a decoration, and the decoration of the Qur’an is a beautiful voice.’
6. Adopt a moderate tone;
The Qur’an should be recited with a moderate tone; neither too loud like shouting nor too low, preferably in the way that you can just hear yourself. This is similar to salah, in which you should be able to hear yourself.
7. A condition of huzn (a positive sadness,seriousness);
If you are not serious, then you will not learn. Imam Ali (as) in khutbat al-muttaqin, when he talks about the muttaqin, he says:
أَمَّا اللَّيْلَ فَصَافُّونَ أَقْدَامَهُمْ، تَالِينَ لاِجْزَاءِ الْقُرْآنِ يُرَتِّلُونَهَا تَرْتِيلاً،
يُحَزِّنُونَ بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ، وَيَسْتَثِيرُونَ بِهِ دَوَاءَ دَائِهِمْ
‘During the night they are upstanding on their feet reading portions of the Qur’an and reciting it in a well-measured way, creating through it grief for themselves and seeking by it the cure for their ailments.’
8. Reacting to the verses;
When there is the order of sajdah, wajib or mustahabb, then you must do so.
Imam Ali (as) continues;
فَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِآيَة فِيهَا تَشْوِيقٌ رَكَنُوا إِلَيْهَا طَمَعاً، وَتَطَلَّعَتْ نُفُوسُهُمْ إِلَيْهَا شَوْقاً، وَظَنُّوا أنَّهَا نُصْبَ أَعْيُنِهِمْ،
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِآيَة فِيهَا تَخْوِيفٌ أَصْغَوْا إِلَيْهَا مَسَامِعَ قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ زَفِيرَ جَهَنَّمَ وَشَهِيقَهَا فِي أُصُولِ آذَانِهِمْ،
فَهُمْ حَانُونَ عَلَى أَوْسَاطِهِمْ، مُفْتَرِشُونَ لِجَبَاهِهِمْ وَأَكُفِّهِمْ، وَأَطْرَافِ أَقْدَامِهِمْ، يَطْلُبُونَ إِلَى اللهِ فِي فَكَاكِ رِقَابِهِمْ
‘If they come across a verse creating eagerness (for Paradise) they pursue it avidly, and their spirits turn towards it eagerly, and they feel as if it is in front of them. And when they come across a verse which contains fear (of Hell) they bend the ears of their hearts towards it, and feel as though the sound of Hell and its cries are reaching their ears.’
The muttaqin, when they come across verses of rahmah and maghfirah (forgiveness), or encouragement then they wholeheartedly listen to them and they have expectations that Allah (swt) will give them this, and they request this from Him. But if they come across frightening verses or punishment, then they take it very seriously as if it is going to happen to them and ask Allah (swt) to save them and forgive them.
9. Isti’adhah (seeking refuge الإستعاذة);
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
Before recitation Qur’an ask Allah (swt) to give you refuge against Shaytan
then we should start reciting with bismillah, and it is also recommended in some books to end with the phrase sadaqallah al-aliyy al-adhim wa ballagha rasulahu al-karim.
And there are also some other du’as, e.g. to say: ‘O Allah please benefit us with the Qur’an’,
10. The amount of recitation; the Qur’an says:
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَى مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ
فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَى وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ
وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا
وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
‘Indeed your Lord knows that you stand vigil nearly two thirds of the night—or [at times] a half or a third of it—along with a group of those who are with you. Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you cannot calculate it [exactly], and so He was lenient toward you. So recite as much of the Qur’an as is feasible. He knows that some of you will be sick, while others will travel in the land seeking Allah’s grace, and yet others will fight in the way of Allah. So recite as much of it as is feasible, and maintain the prayer and pay the zakat and lend Allah a good loan. Whatever good you send ahead for your souls you will find it with Allah [in a form] that is better and greater with respect to reward. And plead to Allah for forgiveness; indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.’ (73:20)
Imam Sadiq (as) says:
القرآن عهد الله إلى خلقه …
‘The Qur’an is the covenant of Allah to His creatures. Therefore, it befits a Muslim
man or woman should look at this covenant and read from it every day [at least] fifty verses.’

• Esoteric etiquettes. (adab-e batini/ the inward or internal etiquettes)

This Involves something about our heart and mind, it is an area that requires more work, especially when it comes to the method of reflection.
One of the things we should have in your mind when we read the Qur’an is that this is the word of God (kalamullah). The greatness of Allah (swt) and the greatness of the word of Allah (swt) should always be in our mind so that we do not loose enthusiasm. Humans tend to loose interest after repeating an action a number of times. However, the ones who do actions with knowledge and for the sake of knowledge, will become even more interested. We can train ourselves to be against this boredom tendency, like the students of Allamah Tabataba’i or Imam Khomeini, who wish to attend their lectures for hundred years. But, if it is a matter of fashion or emotions, then it becomes boring after a short while.
Unfortunately, because of this tendency in us, we underestimate the value of the Qur’an. Imagine if the Qur’an – God forbid – was missing, (like many other of the divine scriptures that are not available); then we are told that archaeologists found one page of the Qur’an in a cave, then we will all be struggling and trying our utmost either to go there, or to at least get hold of a video or picture of that page. Why? Because it is the word of Allah (swt). People usually do this kind of thing for the words of human beings. such as, say there is a work of Aristotle which is discovered, people may die for it. How much work has been done on the works of Shakespeare? Perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of research and papers have been written on it.
However, because we are born into a faith in which alhamdulillah we have the Holy Qur’an in every house, we do not appreciate it! We need to train ourselves in order to appreciate it, because if we leave it to our disposition and tendency, then we will not value it. Therefore;
1. Train and remind yourself that this is the word of Allah (swt)
This is what Allah (swt) revealed even to one and only one out of 124,000 prophets who where the elite of the whole creation. He revealed it for the people who lived at that time and for those who come after them. In fact, even the prophets who lived before our Holy Prophet were not able to receive it. Prophet Musa did not receive it, nor did Prophet Isa, let alone ordinary people. Recall some of the things we said about Qur’an being in lawh mahfudh:
وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
‘And indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book [and it is] surely sublime and wise.’ (43:4)

2. Purity of the heart;
In same way that purity of the body and clothes are needed, the purity of the heart is required.
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
‘This is indeed a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it except the pure ones.’ (56:77-79)
To read the Qur’an; the purity of intention and purity in all areas of life is very important. Only if one’s heart is pure then he will be able to encounter the Qur’an. This is something that needs constant struggle.
3. Humbleness of the body and the heart/ Khudu and khushu ;
Khudu’ is humbleness that appears on your body, khushu is humbleness of the heart. ‘Heart’ in this context, is the part of nafs responsible for your faith, intention, and traits of character. There must be humbleness of body and heart when we read the Qur’an, because when a person is faced with something as great as the word of Allah (swt), then nothing is more natural than humbleness. When you stand before great personalities, you become humble. Even when you stand before great oceans and mountains or you see the stars at night, you feel humble. The Qur’an is greater than any of these things, and so we should be very humble before it.

4. Tadabbur (deep reflection);
This has different aspects; in order to reflect, you have to engage your mind and heart together.
Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا
‘Do they not contemplate the Qur’an, or are there locks on the hearts’ (47:24)
When there is a beautiful flower with nice fragrant is it possible that a normal person with good eyes sight and nose, does not want to look at it, or smell it? So, ask yourself: how can I engage my heart and mind when I reflect on the Qur’an?

There are methods of reading and comprehension that will certainly benefit us in all texts, including the Qur’an. However, we must bear in mind that there are certain aspects of the Qur’an that are special. Hence, we need to work even harder when it comes to the Qur’an.
People pursue research in order to understand the text of philosophers. Many people have done their PhD on Kant and Hegel, because they assume these men were men of thinking, and in their every sentence they have some idea that we can understand and benefit from.

• The Qur’an is very special

When it comes to the book of Allah (swt) the matter is completely different; not only every sentence, but every word and every letter is significant! Although the Arabic language is a powerful and very capable language, but what makes the Qur’an very special is not just the Arabic text, but it is the selection of the words by Allah (swt). As I have explained before, sometimes the same food can vary in taste because of the ingredients; but sometimes, the ingredients are the same but it is the art of the cook that makes it taste different. Allah (swt) has used the same words that Arabic people use, but what makes the Qur’an very special is not its Arabic, it is the selection of the words and the combination of the words. The combination is very important. For example, if there is a safe that you wish to unlock, it is not just important that you use the digits themselves, but rather the combination of digits is very important.
The way these words are combined by Allah (swt) is very special, and this can unlock the heart and the mind, provided we open ourselves to the Qur’an. Surely purity guarantee’s better understanding, it could be that even a very bad person can understand something from the Qur’an, because the Qur’an is a book of guidance and it wants to change people, but if you want to understand the depths of the Qur’an, then you have to be pure:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُون لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
‘This is indeed a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it save the purified ones’.
Therefore, in order to touch the Qur’an; which is the hidden book, or to touch the hidden book in which there is the Qur’an; you have to be purified. And the closer you get to that level of being purified the more chance you have of not only touching the meanings of the words, but also the reality of the Qur’an. If you can touch the reality of the Qur’an then you will be in the best position!

• Isti’athah إستعاذة

For people who lack this purity, and are not mukhlas and mutahhar, there is isti’athah, which means ‘to seek refuge with Allah (swt) from Shaytan’.
The Qur’an states:
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
‘When you recite the Qur’an, seek the protection of Allah against the outcast Satan. Indeed he does not have any authority over those who have faith and put their trust in their Lord.’ (16:98-99)
We must always be careful with regards to Shaytan, and we must always ask Allah (swt) for His protection and refuge:
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ
‘Say, “I seek the protection of the Lord of the daybreak.”’ (113:1)
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ
‘Say, “I seek the protection of the Lord of humans.”’ (114:1)
Shaytan has a special plans against those who recite the Qur’an and anyone who wants to go to the source of light/noor. If you want to go to a bad place or do a bad deed then shaytan will not waste his time and make plans, but if you want to do a good deed then he will work hard and plan to stop you. When you watch a movie, you do not lose concentration because Shaytan does not waste his time in bringing distractions to you; but when you are praying, you lose concentration due to his distractions.
However, one must not think that Shaytan is more powerful and nothing can be done against him.
إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
‘Indeed he does not have any authority over those who have faith and put their trust in their Lord.’ (16:99)
Allah (swt) says that Shaytan has no control (no authority, no dominance) on those who have faith and trust their Lord. It is the choice of people themselves and their behaviour that they listen to him.
قَالَ رَبِّ بِمَآ أَغْوَيْتَنِي لأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ إِلاَّ عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ
‘He said, “My Lord! As You have consigned me to perversity, I will surely glamorize [evil] for them on the earth, and I will surely pervert them, all except Your exclusive servants among them.”’ (15:39-40)
Therefore, if you listen to Shaytan then Shaytan will take control. Isti’adhah is not perhaps a permanent solution, because the permanent solution is to become purified. But it can help if it is done properly, sayying ‘ a’udhu billah ’ should be a real request, it should be seeking refuge from Allah (swt) with understanding.

Conclusion

• Some additional points
1. Deep silence.
not ‘silence’ but ‘deep silence’ because sometimes we may be verbally silent and do not say any words, but we are still talking. Sometimes there are people who are listening and at the same time they are not listening; they are just internally speaking and reviewing what they want to say. In their heart and mind they are speaking even though their mouth is closed.
When we want to read the Qur’an we have to have deep silence, because we believe that the Qur’an is not a silent text, it is a text which speaks. If we want to allow the Qur’an to speak, then we should be silent. If a person wants to speak all the time, this will not allow the Qur’an to talk to him. If a person is merely verbally silent but then he allows his thoughts to run wild, then his ideas are his actual words. The Qur’an does not have a chance in such a situation.
Deep silence is very important, and also difficult. It is an art to master silence. There are many things about silence that we have to observe;
Sometimes, we do not speak, and our heart speaks.
Sometimes even our heart does not speak but, we do not empty ourselves to let the other person speak to us. When we speak to someone; we should empty ourselves from any prejudice, and any presuppositions.
The way our minds work is that we try to get only what is new, and we do not spend energy for analysing everything said. Therefore, when you speak to me, then because I have a history with you, based on that history; I try to pay attention to only that, which I think might be new. Therefore, to some people we only pay 5% of attention and to others 10%!
So, we tend to make judgements in advance, and this results in us thinking that no matter what the other person will say, we already know and understand.
Silence is not easy, especially when it comes to emptying yourself. We must allow people to speak and give them our full attention without any prejudice or presupposition. Every person has the right to be listened to every word he say from the beginning to the end. Unfortunately, we do not do this; we only scan part of what people say.
When it comes to the Qur’an, we have to strech our capacity. Even normal openness is not enough; we have to expand ourselves to a great extent so that we can get as much as possible from it. Silence is very important.

2. Concentration.
With silence comes concentration. This is also rather difficult. Sometimes when we read we just make sure that we understand every word, but we do not make sure we understand the whole idea. If there is a word that we do not know then it makes us stop, but if all the words are familiar to us then we do not stop. For example, if we read Du’a Kumayl then because the words are familiar to us we do not think about it.
We have to train ourselves to read with focus and concentration, and not let our minds jump.
As a suggestion; While reading the Qur’an, we stop after reading one or two lines at a time; to review what we have understood and whether we have grasped the idea or not. If we have been reading carefully and with concentration; we should be able to recall and understand at least 60% to 70% of what we have read. If not, then we should go back and make sure we concentrate fully. If we train ourselves in this way, then after some time, it will become a habit.

3. use one or more translations of the Qur’an.
We should try to use more than one translation, because each translation may have something that another one has not offered. Or, there is a misunderstanding that can be cross-checked. using at least two translations is important, so that by comparison, the mind becomes sensitive to the terms and words. One of the things that helps our understanding is to make comparisons. If you look at a picture then you can understand it to some extent, but if there is a similar picture next to it then it helps to compare, and we understand the first picture even more.
even if you have a very good knowledge of Arabic, I still advise you to try and read the translations or interpretations in Arabic, so that your mind becomes sharper. From tafsir, we can better understand the Qur’an and our mind will also start to pick up on the more subtle points. We can then refer back to the text and understand it better.

4. Make a prayer when reading the Qur’an.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
إذا مررت بآية فيها ذكر الجنّة فسأل الله الجنة وإذا مررت بآية فيها ذكر النار فتعوذ بالله من النار
‘When you come across a verse in which there is a mention of heaven, you should ask Allah for heaven. And if you come across a verse in which there is mention of the fire, then seeking refuge in Allah from the fire.’
Imam Sadiq (as) says we should make a du’a that is inspired by the verse. And because the Qur’an refers to everything that we need, if we have this approach to the entire Qur’an, then it means we will have asked Allah (swt) for everything that we need.
Hence, we should take every verse very seriously, and apply it to ourselves. We must be very alert and keep thinking about hell and heaven, and about good opportunities and threats or problems. if we come across a verse about good and righteous people (saliheen), then we should ask Allah (swt) to place us in their category. if we hear Allah’s (swt) praise for someone’s patience or truthfulness, then we should ask Allah (swt) to give us that same quality, and of course we should work hard to gain that quality.
And if there is a mention of bad people, We should ask ourselves why they were cursed, it could be that we are doing the same thing and have the same problems, either now or in the future. If we are not careful now, then it could develop. We must therefore ask Allah (swt) for His help.
We must reflect and be careful. If there is a verse about istighfar (asking forgiveness) then we should immediately ask for forgiveness and perform tawbah. That verse should motivate us to compensate for any bad we have done. When you want to increase rizq then reading the verse in the Qur’an that is about rizq can help you in increasing your rizq.
The Qur’an is a book and a manual, and it contains medicine and cure for our illnesses. When a doctor gives us a prescription, it is not the medicine, it is just a reference to the medicine. The Qur’an is not just a prescription; it is itself a medicine and a cure. Allah (swt) has put in the Qur’an not only a reference to tell us the solution, but it is the solution as well. But, our knowledge is very limited.
This verse in the Qur’an is very moving:
وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى بَل لِّلّهِ الأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا أَفَلَمْ يَيْأَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَن لَّوْ يَشَاء اللّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ تُصِيبُهُم بِمَا صَنَعُواْ قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِّن دَارِهِمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
‘If only it were a Qur’an whereby the mountains could be moved, or the earth could be toured, or the dead could be spoken to . . . . Rather all dispensation belongs to Allah. Have not the faithful yet realised that had Allah wished He would have guided mankind all together? The faithless will continue to be visited by catastrophes because of their doings or they will land near their habitations—until Allah’s promise comes to pass. Indeed Allah does not break His promise.’ (13:31)
the verse is actually saying: ‘This is that Qur’an; that can move mountains, and by which the earth can be toured, and the dead can be spoken to.’ Qata’ al-ardh; means that a person can move on land very quickly, and can be here one minute, and in Mecca in the next minute.
Unfortunately, we are not able to do these things because we are too unsophisticated and lacking in our understanding, otherwise with this Qur’an miracles can happen. There were people who would recite bismillah al-rahman al-rahim and then walk on water! People could recite Surat al-Hamd and give shifa to others. We cannot do this because we tend to just read the words, without having touched the haqiqah/reality. We have not reached the reality of even Surat al-Hamd.

In any case, with spiritual matters it is very clear that the Qur’an is the light, and not the address for the location of the light. It is the light and it is a cure for problems and illnesses. So, when we come across the verses of the Qur’an that talk about istighfar and tawbah, we should stop and try to do some examination of ourselves, and ask: what are my sins? What are my problems? What are my bad habits? And then, at that very moment, we should do tawbah and try to make decisions to change ourselves.
5. Read the Qur’an as if Allah (swt) is speaking to you.
We should try to read the Qur’an as if Allah (swt) is speaking to us. It makes a big difference that we read a text of an author whom we know. Imagine that your mother has written something for you, and she knew, for example, you were travelling. Or if your mother was dying – may Allah (swt) grant long lives to all the mothers – and she wrote something for you that you were going to read after her death. When you read it after her death, you will understand it in a much different way than a person whose mother has not written it. If someone else reads it, then it would not affect them that much. When you read it you can even imagine her voice and tone, and it will bring back many other memories. So, the personal encounter with this letter would be very intense that it could make you unable to stop crying. You would not want this letter to be lost or separated from you. You would want to keep the letter with you, look at it, and thereby always imagine your mother.
We should try and have this experience with the Qur’an. We should try and imagine as if it is our Lord speaking to us. It could be that we feel Allah (swt) closer to us than the Qur’an, because Allah (swt) has established a very close relationship in us and in our fitrah. We just have to remind ourselves of this intimacy.

Imam Zayn al-Abideen (as) said:

‘If all the people in the east and west were to die, I would not feel lonely as long as
the Qur’an was with me.’
because Qur’an connects the Imam to Allah (swt), he would not feel lonely. And when he would recite maliki yawm ad-din (outside salah); he would repeat it until the point where was almost unconscious.
When Ahlul-bayt would recite إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ; they would repeat this verse imagining that they were in Allah’s (swt) presence, and as if they are talking to Him. They had this kind of intimate relationship with Allah (swt) through the Qur’an. This is something that we can also learn, and it is not a position that is restricted only to them.

• Going beyond the text

The reason ahlul-bayt were so attached to the Qur’an, and how they enjoyed it to such an extent, in my understanding, was that they were able to go beyond the text.
If you develope the idea that Allah (swt) is speaking to you, Somehow the text disappears. The text connects you and then it disappears. For example, when you are speaking over the phone to someone who is very important to you, gradually your attention is focussed on the other person, the phone and line and anything in between becomes insignificant, although they are all involved.The only time you bother again is when the line is not good. Or, for example when you are using your glasses, you do not think about the glasses every time you read. The glasses become insignificant.
When we read the Qur’an, we should reach the point that even the text becomes something either very marginal, or even something that disappears. We should feel that Allah (swt) is speaking to us. The same applies to when we pray. When we pray, again we should be able to go beyond what we say and we should think about Allah (swt) Himself. Unfortunately, many times we are just stuck with the terms and with the words and with actions, even if we have presence of heart, and this is not enough.

• Learning from the Qur’anic viewpoint

Another thing which I found very relevant to share with you; is that whenever we read a text like the Qur’an, normally we approach the text with the thought: ‘Allah (swt) is speaking to me, Allah (swt) is teaching me, showing me, guiding me and I should follow this. This is my Lord, my master, my guide, and He is speaking to me.’ In this process, I remain as I am. This can sometimes be very limiting. I can be Mr. so-and-so, who is born to such-and-such family, a citizen of a particular country, an adherent of a particular madhhab, etc. With so many affiliations and attachments, we become very limited. There are so many types of links and relationships that confine us.
What we should try to achieve is to learn from the Qur’an, how Allah (swt) Himself is, and how He looks at things. We must try and obtain a Godly outlook. Perhaps with some examples we can clarify this.
Say you have a principal, that gives some instructions. As a student, you will read and say to yourself: ‘As a student, I want to find out what he expects from me and how I can improve’. In this process, you will remain a student who tries to be a good student. You will not reach the point that you look at all things that relate to the school and the other students as a whole; in the way that the principle looks at. There is a big difference between these two scenarios. You can be a good student or you can become the second in command to the principal.
Another example; as a child, you can see what your father or mother wants from you and you try to be a good child. Or in addition, if you can understand the way your parents look at the family, and at your brothers and sisters; and you come to understand their concerns; then you will understand that there is a way that you can be a good child of the family, or you can even become second in command after your parents.
Now, which one is preferable? Would we rather want to stay as a good servant, or do we want to become Allah’s (swt) representative? A representative (khalifah) is one who is able to look at things in the way that the main person – Allah (swt) – Himself looks at things.
Imagine you are in an office and there are different departments, and you are a staff member working in the finance department. If you try to be a very good worker only in the finance department, this will not enable you to become the second in command to the general manager. He will just keep you where you are, and he will see you as a good person in that limited capacity. With that outlook, you will only think about your responsibilities in that department and you try to be very good in that, but you do not know and you do not care about the other departments, and the general interests of the company. Even if you want to do so, you will not be able to, because you kept yourself in that limiting place .
At times, we have concerns for lslam and Muslims and how they are being treated, but when we look at the things from the way that Allah (swt) looks at the things, then perhaps we will understand that Allah (swt) has other people who believe in Him and worship Him, and it could be that He prefers some of them to others. It could be that He has love for animals and plants. So, if we look at things the way Allah (swt) looks at them, then we will be very different in our outlook. If we want to understand Allah (swt) then we have to refer to the Qur’an.
Imam Ali (as) says:
فتجلّى لهم سبحانه في كتابه من غير أن يكونوا يروه
‘He – glory be to Him – manifested Himself in His book, without people seeing Him.’

For example, He has shown people the way He knows everything, and the way He forgives, as well as His power. We can understand Him through the Qur’an, and then – if we really understand Allah (swt) – we would be able to look at things as Allah (swt) looks at things.

تخلّقوا بأخلاق الله
‘Acquire the traits that resemble Allah.’
The best way to do this is through the Qur’an, because nothing like the Qur’an can describe Allah’s (swt) akhlaq; how Allah looks at things, how He judges, how He loves or dislikes, etc. this is a great spiritual exercise if we can manage to rise to that level that we look at things the way Allah (swt) looks at them.

• How to reflect on the Qur’an

1. To acquire familiarity with the language of the Qur’an.
There is nothing like knowing Arabic, the same language that Allah (swt) has used. if we familiarise ourselves with the Qur’anic Arabic, then we will be able to directly listen to the words of Allah (swt). Unfortunately, we miss many things in translation which is useful for a superficial understanding, but no translation is able to give an accurate reflection of the Arabic. If we want to go to the deeper layers of meaning, then the translation is not sufficient. To delve deeper, there are so many subtle points in the Qur’an that even synonyms are not totally accurate and appropriate. Also, there are many differences between translations. I have seen, at times, the same translator use one equivalent for one term, and in another place another equivalent. Yes, if you write something for yourself in English then of course you can do that and you can choose any word you like. But when you are dealing with a text like the Qur’an, you cannot just use any synonym and then have the liberty of using another synonym in another place. You have to find out which of these synonyms is the best match, and then to keep on using that.
So, you have to be able to understand Arabic so well that you can analyse sentences, find out the structure, find which words are to be used, and what is the role of each word in that sentence. There are around one hundred different roles for each word in a sentence in Arabic. There are about one hundred choices we have when we want to form a sentence. We have to be well-acquainted with sarf and nahw.
In nahw, we come to understand these hundred choices, and we call them awamil, have different roles. We have to be so well-informed and well-acquainted with the rules of Nahw that when we are in the process of analysing the text we know the role of the words and the structure of the sentence.
As for morphology; either the word is jamid or mushtaqq/derived. If it is a derivative then there are hundreds of different possibilities of deriving a word from one root. And if it is jamid, then it is not derived from any other thing, and so it is easier to understand and identify.
Balaghah (rhetoric) is another thing to learn. It is a very important skill; the art of conveying a meaning in the most suitable form, to know which words to use and in which combinations, where to place emphasis and where not to. These subtle points can make an immense amount of difference. A sentence may be grammatically correct, but balaghah will judge whether it was right for a particular context or not.

2. To understand the linguistic rules in usul al-fiqh.
That will tell you how to establish what is actually meant by the speaker or the writer. And when it comes to mutashabihat, in addition to knowing the linguistic rules, you have to also be familiar with the Qur’an and Allah (swt), because depending on who has written this, you can understand better. If you are familiar with the speaker, you can come to know what he means in such cases. Those who are commentators, because they know the personality of the speaker, his background and his history, and the way he speaks, they can to determine what he has meant in a speech.
The Qur’an contains different types of verses:
• ’Aam and Khass verses (general and specific), in this regard, sometimes there is a general rule, but there are also some exceptions.
• Mutlaq and muqayyad verses (absolute and confined). If you do not know these things then you cannot understand what is meant.
• Muhkam and mutashabih verses. Mutashabih comes from the term shabih, which refers to a text that can be interpreted in different ways. All of these possibilities are acceptable from a sarf, nahw, and balaghah point of view. It is not the case that one of them has a mistake in the text. No; they merely have different interpretations, and none of these different interpretations is strong enough to overpower other interpretations. It is not dhahir, because dhahir has an interpretation that may be disregarded.
• Nuss and dhahir verses; Nuss refers to those verses that are 100% clear, but dhahir verses is where there is a possibility of another interpretation, but the other interpretation is disregarded by common sense, and it is very less likely.
Allah (swt) Himself refers to the fact that there are muhkam and mutashabih verses:
هُوَ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ في قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ
فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاء الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاء تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ
كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الألْبَابِ
‘It is He who has sent down to you the Book. Parts of it are definitive verses, which are
the mother of the Book, while others are metaphorical. As for those in whose hearts is deviance,
they pursue what is metaphorical in it, courting temptation and courting its interpretation.
But no one knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge;
they say, “We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.” And none takes admonition
except those who possess intellect.’ (3:7)

The only people who know how to understand and interpret mutashabihat properly are those who know the muhkamat. In this way, step-by-step and gradually, the mutashabihat reduce and the muhkamat increase. Indeed, it is a relative issue from person to person. For some people, it may be that 50-60% of the Qur’an is mutashabih, whereas for others it is only 10%, and for some perhaps it is 1%. It is relative.

3. To put Qur’anic verses which relate to the same subject together, because:
القرآن يفسّر بعضه بعضاَ
‘Some parts of the Qur’an explain other parts.’
And:
القرآن يشهد بعضه على بعض
‘Some parts of the Qur’an testify to other parts.’

So, for example, if you wish to understand when the Qur’an was revealed, you have to bring all the verses of the Qur’an that speak of this, together. For example;

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
‘Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Ordainment.’ (97:1)
And:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ ….

‘The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to mankind,
with manifest proofs of guidance and the Criterion..…’ (2:185)

Therefore, by bringing these two together, we can conclude that laylat al-qadr occurs in the month of Ramadan. Also, from the following verse we can conclude that it is a blessed night:
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ
‘Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night, and indeed We have been warning [mankind].’
Or, for example the verses:
اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ
‘Guide us on the straight path. The path of those whom You have blessed
such as have not incurred Your wrath, nor are astray.’ (1:6-7)
We may ask: who are ‘those whom You have blessed’? To answer this we can bring the following verse:
وَمَن يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ
وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقًا
‘Whoever obeys Allah and the Apostle—they are with those whom Allah has blessed,
including the prophets and the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous,
and excellent companions are they!’ (4:69)

Hence, all the terms of the Qur’an are used in a way whereby they provide a network of notions. If you are familiar with this notion and this network, then whenever you have a problem, then in the light of other verses, you can understand and reach a solution.
One of the reasons why Allamah Tabataba’i was so successful in al-Mizan was due to his familiarity with the Qur’an. He applied tafsir qur’an bi al-qur’an, but had he not possessed a great familiarity with the Qur’an he would not have been able to do this.
4. To discover, different systems that are in the Qur’an.
Say, for example, you understood the concept of sirat al-mustaqim; this is only one piece of a puzzle. Broader than this is to try to understand what is the Qur’anic system of education, or the Qur’anic system of economics, or of politics, or of social welfare…etc. The Qur’an has something to offer regarding all the different areas of life.
At the same time as being very familiar with the Qur’an, you have to also be very familiar with the actual subject, because if you are not; then you will not be able to understand the Qur’an’s coverage of it. Someone who has never thought about education and has no experience in education will not be able to understand the Qur’anic model of education.
So, familiarity with the Qur’an is important, so that the very subtle points can be noticed, as these will only be discovered by someone who is very careful and very insightful. At times, one verse may look irrelevant, because the verses are not labelled clearly as to what they are about. It could be a verse regarding Prophet Ibrahim and Namrud, or Prophet Musa and Khidr. Imam Khomeini says that in the conversation between Prophet Musa and Prophet Khidr, there are twenty etiquettes that one can learn. But not everyone can understand this. If someone is not thinking about this then he will not be able to discover it. Someone who has spent his life in this manner can discover it.

Therefore, we should not be satisfied unless we reach this point that at least for our own personal life we know what Qur’an teaches, as a package. I should know what the Qur’anic package is for my business, and for my family relations, and for my community. No one should be satisfied unless he can understand this much from the Qur’an. And if you are an ‘alim, then you have to go even further, and you have to find answers from the Qur’an for humanity, with all the new issues that come up. We have to always go back to the Qur’an and find a solution. Allah (swt) is not going to send any new revelation, so whatever we need for our guidance is in the Qur’an.
Who will discover this? Will someone from Mars come for this? No; it is you and I who must do this.
We have to qualify ourselves and work hard. We should not be satisfied with little understanding and little knowledge.

we should be able to understand every verse correctly by knowing each word as it is; for this we are
in need of the subject of sarf, and
2. by knowing the way the word has occurred in the sentence; for this we need the subjects of nahw
and balaghah.
3. And to know what is actually finally meant in the verse; we need to also know other verses of the Qur’an so that we may understand whether the verse under consideration has been modified by another verse; e.g. whether it is,
general or specific (amm or khass),
absolute or conditional (mutlaq or muqayyad),
abrogating or abrogated. ناسخ أو منسوخ
We concluded, that in order to understand these things it is necessary to have knowledge of the whole of the Qur’an so that we can know whether Allah (swt) intends this sentence or verse to be understood as His final word on the matter, or whether other verses have modified it.

• To discover different systems that are in the Qur’an (cont.)

After making sure we understand the ultimate meaning that Allah (swt) wants to convey to us in a particular verse; the next step is, to put the meanings and messages we get from different verses together, and to come up with a system.
This is the basic methodology of tafsir mawdu’i /Thematic tafsir.
In this method, there is a tafsir of words and sentences, but it is not enough just to be able to interpret each word, verse, or paragraph. We have to have an acquaintance with the entire Qur’an so that if something that is related to the same topic is mentioned in any of the chapters; we should be able to bring these verses together and shed a complete light on the subject, in order to give a comprehensive understanding of the topic. For example, in order to understand the Qur’anic system of education, we need to learn some of its areas. We must address some questions, such as:
– Whom should we ask to teach us?
– What are the requirements of teachers?
– What are the etiquettes of learning?
– How should we try to put into practice what we learn?
– How can we grasp what we have learned and develop certainty?
These are issues we must discover from the Qur’an so that we can then come up with a Qur’anic system of education. And people who want to do this must not only be very familiar with the Qur’an, but they must be people involved with these topics.

• Approach the Qur’an with questions in mind

One of the very beautiful points that helps us in understanding the Qur’an is that we must go to the Qur’an with questions in mind. However, a person must not impose his or her ideas on the Qur’an, and also they should not approach the Qur’an with an empty mind. There is an important distinction between these two. Sometimes, we may have questions, and for the sake of understanding the truth we go to the Qur’an; this is very good. But sometimes, in addition to having questions, we have already made up our mind and we have come up with ready-made answers; then we go to the Qur’an and we want to find some back up for our own preconceived answers. This is not good. We have to be open and ready to learn from it.
Consider this example to clarify the idea, if I invite you to to my house for a meal, and I want to prepare a banquet for you, then how should you come? If you bring your own food, it will not be respectful to me, unless there is a fomality between us ,or we agreed that this is acceptable. In addition to not bringing your own food, I would also appreciate it if you come without having eaten already. If, on the way to my home, you have stopped for some food and drinks, then you would arrive at my home with your stomach already full and you cannot eat from the food that I have prepared.

• Etiquettes of attending the banquet of Allah (swt)

So, when we go to the Qur’an which is ma’dubat allah (banquet of Allah (swt)) as per the hadith, then we must not take along with us some sandwiches and snacks. We must go there in a state where we are hungry for the truth. We must not be people who say: ‘I have a PhD, or MA, and I have learned from so-and-so.’ We have no problem with such qualified people, and a person is free to learn from whomsoever they wish, but when we go to the Qur’an we must not bring all of this stuff with us. We must go with thirst and with a true search for the truth. We must not make our minds full. This is the difference; we must not take with us our own ideas, rather we must be thirsty and hungry.
How do we become hungry and thirsty for knowledge? It is through questions. Questions are like keys to open your appetite.
Our ulama very much love to be questioned. Of course, this has its etiquette and manners. But to have questions is very important. A person who does not have questions is very unlikely to become a great scholar. A person who does not have questions would not become a very good teacher or speaker. A good teacher is one who, before he goes to his class, can anticipate all the questions that may come to the minds of his students depending on their age and level.
So, if I am teaching aqa’id to young children or to teachers, or to scholars, then in all these cases I have to be able to anticipate all the questions that may come to their mind. Hence, I myself have to first deal with these questions, prepare answers for them, and then go to the class. However, if no questions come to my mind then I cannot be well prepared. If you write a book on a topic then you have to be able to guess and anticipate what questions people who have read this topic may have, and you have to try and address them. And such questions and anticipation can only be discerned by a person who is thinking all the time, and is thoughtful.
Allah (swt) says:
وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
‘As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways, and Allah is indeed with the virtuous.’ (29:69)
If a person studies and thinks, and then goes to the Qur’an with an open mind and with purity of heart, then there is no chance that the Qur’an will not teach him. Even a non-Muslim, with a search for truth and moral commitment, can go to the Qur’an and will benefit from it. The Qur’an helps people to come to iman, and it also helps those with iman to go to even higher levels. Everyone can benefit from the Qur’an if they have the right approach. Hence, it is very important to have good questions.

• Esoteric meanings of the Qur’an ( hidden/ batin/ inward/ internal meaning)

As we quoted in the past:
إنّ للقرآن ظهراً و بطناً و لبطنه بطن
‘Verily, the Qur’an has an apparent and a hidden side. And its hidden has a [further] hidden side.’
Even the underlying side has an even deeper underlying layers, and the hadiths mention up to seventy such layers. ‘seventy could mean many’. This stage is a stage that is very much based on a spiritual connection to the Qur’an, and it requires great purity of the heart and great connection to the Qur’an. In this way we can become inspired to understand things that other people do not understand.
The foremost special people and hearts that have this connection and level of benefit from the Qur’an are the ma’sumin, i.e. Prophet Muhammad (sa) and the Ahl al-Bayt, and we can learn from their commentaries on the Qur’an. Also, the pious ulama may understand things that other people cannot understand.
But, we have to be careful. Sometimes, people come up with some ideas and they say these are isharat, hidden hints, that they have understood and that others cannot understand. We cannot accept their understandings and conclusions unless they can show us how they reached these understandings from the Qur’an. Even if they are a mujtahid, if they have an idea that is batini, esoteric, or mystical, then it would only be acceptable to us if we have our own way of verifying it.
We do not follow anyone’s ideas about the Qur’an blindly, unless that person is ma’sum, or unless there is a way to verify how their idea has been understood from the Qur’an. We must enquire about their methodology, and at the very least, their interpretation must be compatible with the literal meaning of the Qur’an. I say the least because; among different interpretations that are compatible with the literal meaning, some may need extra evidence. It is possible that ten people give ten different batini interpretations of a verse, and all are compatible with the literal meaning, but there is no evidence to fill the gap from the literal meaning to the esoteric meaning. Therefore,
If the interpretation is not compatible with the literal meaning; then we rejact it.
If it is compatible with the literal meaning; then still it is not enough to accept it. We seek some additional proof/hujjah and extra evidence/dalil. We have to be very careful about this issue.

• The Akhbari movement

A hadith states:
إنّما يعرف القرآن من خوطب به
‘The only ones who know the Qur’an, are the people addressed by the Qur’an.’
The Akhbari movement is a movement about which you should know more, and I suggest we have one session about this. This is not something only to do with history, but even today some people are trying to spread an Akhbari approach, which, with all due respect to some ulama of this approach, is a very harmful approach.
Some people with an Akhbari approach refer to these types of hadiths and say that based on these hadiths our understanding of the Qur’an is not valid, and we can only refer to ma’sumin. They claim that we cannot benefit from the Qur’an by ourselves unless it is Nuss and dhahir of the Qur’an. Furthermore, they say that the dhahir of the Qur’an is not hujjah. Whereas we say that the dhahir is hujjah if you follow the linguistic rules, and the batin is for ‘men khutiba bihi’ (those addressed by the Qur’an) as per this hadith and other such hadiths. This esoteric meaning is to be taken from Prophet Muhammad (sa), and the Ahl al-Bayt who are trained by Prophet Muhammad (sa). But, Akhbaris say that even the dhahir cannot be understood by us, and we must refer to the hadiths to understand it.
In our view, as we have said before; we believe that it is possible for everyone to benefit from the Qur’an, and we have tafsir al-qur’an bi al-qur’an and suchlike.
Allamah Tabataba’i, in his introduction to al-Mizan, and also in his book Qur’an in Islam, says that when Allah (swt) says that the Qur’an is kitab mubin (clear book), or tibyanan li kulli shay (an explanation for everything), then how could it be that it could be something we cannot understand and ambiguous?! Something that guides us must be – in itself – clear.

Therefore, we do not accept that we cannot understand the Qur’an and that we should only refer to the hadith to understand it. But, what we do say, is that for the esoteric meanings we refer to hadith, but for the exoteric and literal meanings we can try our best, and of course we will check the hadith provided that there are hadiths on the same verse, or on the same topic. However, it is not true that without hadith we are unable to understand the Qur’an at all.
Even Shaykh Ansari has a very good argument in his book Fara’id al-Usul, in which he says that if we look at the hadiths themselves we will realise that the Ahl al-Bayt did not ask their Shi’as not to reflect on the Qur’an; it was quite the opposite. For example, we have many hadiths which say that if ever any narrations are heard from the Ahl al-Bayt, they must be checked against the Qur’an, and if they do not comply with the Qur’an then they are to be thrown against the wall. Hence, if we were not able to understand the Qur’an then how could we check the hadiths against it?!
Imam Sadiq (as) argues in favour of the Shi’as from the Qur’an, and tells them to ask him about the Qur’an’s references of what he teaches them so that they are able to discuss the same with other people. For example, regarding the debate about why we perform the wiping on the head as part of wudu, and we further claim that a wiping on even a part of the head is sufficient, and the entire head is not required; Imam Sadiq (as) explains that this wiping of a part of the head is understood from the Qur’an due to the position of the letter ب, because the verse states bi ru’usikum برؤسكم, and one of the meanings of ب is to touch or attach (ilsaq). Therefore, we can conclude that the wiping should touch the head and does not need to completely cover the head. Hence, Imam Sadiq (as) was training the Shi’as in the method of defending their beliefs and practices, from the Qur’an.
Similar is the discussion that continued amongst some of the schools of thought regarding the punishment of a thief who is convicted after all the evidence and conditions are met. The punishment of such a person is for his ‘hand’ to be cut off. There was a debate amongst different schools of thought and their fuqaha (scholars) about the extent of ‘hand’. Some said that the whole hand must be cut, others said it must be cut up to the elbow, and others said up to the wrist. One of our Imams – I think Imam Jawad (as) – said that only the fingers should be cut, because:
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
‘The places of worship belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah.’ (72:18)
In other words, masjid, which literally means ‘place of sajdah’, is for Allah (swt), and the hand is a place of sajdah because it is used to prostrate. If the fingers are cut then at least the palm remains and thus sajdah can be performed.
This is a way to argue from the Qur’an, and there are many such cases.

• Qualifications of an exegete of the Qur’an

At the end of this session, I wish to mention some of the qualifications that any exegete of the Qur’an should possess. I do not intend to discourage you when I tell you that understanding and interpreting the Qur’an is not easy. I just want to make it clear that you should please qualify yourselves more, so that you can better understand and appreciate the Qur’an. I want to encourage you to reach the higher levels of knowledge. If you can be an alim then do not be satisfied to be a learner, and if you can be a learner then is better than someone who does not learn, but if you can be an alim then you must try your best to be one.
In any case, there are a few qualifications needed for someone to be able to interpret the Qur’an:
1. Deep practical knowledge of Arabic.
It is not sufficient to pass some exams of sarf and nahw. Indeed, sometimes you may pass the exams, and you know better than anyone that you did not learn anything! And if you learned something then it remains with you for just two to three days! You have to learn to such an extent that even after many years when you read the Qur’an you can understand all the sarfi, nahwi, and balaghi points about it. It is like a mechanic; a mechanic should know all the tools so well that when he is under the car and has no light and no way to check, he is able to say: ‘Give me so-and-so tool.’ Or, when a surgeon is performing surgery, he will not ask the nurse to bring him all the cutting tools so that he can choose one. No; he will know them so well that he will declare which one he wants without looking at it.
Hence, a person’s knowledge of Arabic, including sarf (morphology), nahw (syntax), and balaghah (rhetoric), should be very deep and practical. If you read tens of books on swimming and you cannot swim then it is not very beneficial. If you read tens of books on cooking and you cannot make food, then there is not much benefit to that reading. So when you study sarf and nahw, you should be able to analyse the verses of the Qur’an and the sentences of the hadith, and find out what structure it has, and the role of a word in the sentence, etc.
Again, let me say that this is not to stop you doing whatever you are already doing, which is appreciated, but I want you to improve. So, by listening to me, do not make your current 10% become zero! Do not lose hope and do not stop coming to Hawza because you feel you are not learning properly – this is not right. You have to improve and not stop this little amount, because even if you cannot reach 50% then 10% is better than nothing. But the problem is that it is just better than nothing! I hope your knowledge will be better than many other things! Even a 1% improvement is appreciated.