Understanding Islam from Quran

Understanding Quran is key to understanding Islam. In addition to Quran, there are other sources of knowledge like Hadith, etc. However, in order to get an understanding of the core principles and practices of Islam, it is sufficient if one looks at Quran alone. All other sources must be consistent with Quran – any inconsistent material from other sources should be considered invalid. Here, I am describing the approach that should be used for understanding Quran.

Note: The translations of Quran verses used here are from Abdullah Yusuf Ali (http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/)

Quran is believed by Muslims to have come directly from God. It is the most authentic source of knowledge on Islam. Quran cannot be understood with a casual reading - some focused attention is required in order to understand it. Based on verses from Quran itself I am explaining how Quran should be interpreted:

4:82 - Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.

This verse essentially says that you will not find discrepancies in Quran. Incidentally, this verse is placed very close to two verses (4:78 & 4:79) that appear to contradict each other. If someone perceives discrepancy between certain verses in Quran, then it means that s/he has misinterpreted the verses. Whenever one tries to understand Quran’s stance on a particular topic, s/he should read all related verses from different parts of Quran together. One needs to consider verses on the particular topic as well as verses on Quran’s high level principles that have a general applicability to multiple contexts.

Some people talk about the concept of abrogation – they say that if there is a conflict between two verses, the verse revealed later would abrogate the earlier one. This is an invalid concept. When Quran clearly says that there is no contradiction in it, there is no question of abrogation. The proponents of abrogation concept cite verses 2:106 and 16:101. These verses talk about replacing certain messages/signs with new ones. These verses actually refer to replacement of messages sent before Quran – messages sent through earlier messengers like Moses and Jesus. Even in case of replacing messages, verse 2:106 clearly says that the new message will be similar to or better than the previous one. This cannot be interpreted as replacing a wrong message with a right one – the previous message will continue to be true, although it is replaced.

The next important verse on understanding Quran is:

3:7 - He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

As per the above verse, there are certain verses in Quran that are allegorical. Only God knows the true meaning of the verses. People should not interpret those verses in a manner that causes discord. The above verse also says that one needs to believe that the whole of Quran is from God – no part of it can be considered as false. Now, there arises a question: what are we supposed to do with the allegorical verses that cannot be understood completely? The answer is – we don’t have to do anything. The verses in Quran can be classified into two broad categories:

(a) Verses that command people to do certain things or not do certain actions. These verses cannot be ambiguous in any way – God himself is not going to say that commands from him cannot be understood by humans. Verses in this category are the ones that define the actions and practices mandated for Muslims. It is important that these verses are understood completely.

(b) Verses that describe the characteristics of something or someone - Allah, Quran, Mohammed, Jews, Christians, God’s punishments, God’s rewards, some event of the past, and so on. Some of these verses may use metaphorical descriptions. These verses would not have any command/guideline to humans from God. In other words, knowing the true meaning of these verses would not change any belief/action/practice of a true Muslim. For example, verse 2:23 challenges anyone who doubts Quran to produce a surah similar to any of the surahs in Quran. This verse states the greatness of Quran. A true Muslim would not need any further introspection on this verse because s/he already has great esteem for Quran. But, some Muslims spend time trying to find out why surahs are unique by counting words, applying mathematical calculations, etc. In my opinion, spending time on finding out the uniqueness of surahs is an unnecessary effort - it does not benefit anyone.

Note: I have done the above categorization of verses just for the purpose of explaining the approach that needs to be used while interpreting Quran. However, Quran itself does not do any categorization.

God also gives an assurance that Quran will be protected from any corruption. The assurance is given in the following two verses.

Quran 15:9 - We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).

Quran 41:42 - No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise.

There is only a single version of Quran on earth today. So, one need not be worried about multiple versions or distortions in Quran.

Another important aspect to consider while understanding the verses is the context in which those verses were revealed. Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years and the verses were not revealed in the same order in which they are organized. The history behind certain verses may be uncertain or may not be available. In addition to that, there is no guarantee that the available historic information will be 100% accurate. God has promised to guard only Quran against distortion. One should be cognizant of this fact while looking into the history behind the Quran verses.

I short, one needs to take into consideration all of the following in order to understand any particular verse.

1. Verses adjoining the verse under considering.
2. Verses on the same topic from other parts of Quran.
3. Verses on high level principles that have applicability to the topic being considered.
4. Historic context of all the verses being looked at.

Except the 4th item (history) everything else can be got from Quran itself. It may be possible to understand Quran verses without looking at the historic context – but it requires very careful study. People who read the translation have an additional challenge due to distortions during translation.

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