The Qur’an: Clear and Detailed Message?
Liaquat Ali
03/27/2002

The Qur’an has approximately 6,200 verses. If you keep the richness of the Arabic language in mind, that apparently are a lot of verses. Why is it, then, that many of the injunctions in Shariah and Fiqh rely more on hadith than the Qur’an? This question bothered me for a long time. I have found partial answers to my dilemma since I started the “Qur’an As I Understand” project (http://www.qaiu.org). The quest, however, continues…

The marginalization of the Qur’an was done quite meticulously. There were three primary approaches. First was to misinterpret the Qur’anic concepts. The second was to shift the scope of the verses. The third was the heavy use of the genuine as well as fabricated hadith.

In terms of misinterpreting the verses, concepts, such as, “tuizzu man tasha wa tuzillu man tasha” was interpreted to mean that “Allah gives honor to whoever He chooses, and gives misery to whoever He chooses”

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YUSUFALI: Say: "O Allah! Lord of Power (And Rule), Thou givest power to whom Thou pleasest, and Thou strippest off power from whom Thou pleasest: Thou enduest with honour whom Thou pleasest, and Thou bringest low whom Thou pleasest: In Thy hand is all good. Verily, over all things Thou hast power.
PICKTHAL: Say: O Allah! Owner of Sovereignty! Thou givest sovereignty unto whom Thou wilt, and Thou withdrawest sovereignty from whom Thou wilt. Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou abasest whom Thou wilt. In Thy hand is the good. Lo! Thou art Able to do all things.
SHAKIR: Say: O Allah, Master of the Kingdom! Thou givest the kingdom to whomsoever Thou pleasest and takest away the kingdom from whomsoever Thou pleasest, and Thou exaltest whom Thou pleasest and abasest whom Thou pleasest in Thine hand is the good; surety, Thou hast power over all things.

Our understanding of the same ayah is:

3:26. Say: O' Allah! The Owner of the Domain, You give power to nations according to Your Laws and You strip off power from nations according to Your Laws. You have established Rules of honor and humiliation. All good emanates from Your Hand. You have power and control over all things and events. Your Rule is the Rule of Law.

You can be the judge. If Allah is doling out honor and humiliation without any free will of humans, then what is the whole song and dance about being good human beings and following rules? Things get further complicated when the non-Qur’anic concept of “pre-destination” is injected in the articles of faith. Now, Allah is giving honor and humiliation based on your pre-destination. Why all of this?

My humble assessment is: to tell the Muslim masses that Allah has given the honor to the ruling class, and it is their pre-destination to be the ruling class. Also, Allah it is who has given whatever station in life to the others. Therefore, don’t rock the boat. The list of misinterpretations goes on and on. You can identify them by comparing QAIU with other interpretations of the Qur’an. The source of all other interpretations of the Qur’an can be traced back to Ibn Kathir, Tabari, Ibn Hisham, Buhkari, et.al. (http://www.isbny.org/shabbir/criminals/)

In terms of the scope of the ayahs, it is our understanding that as high as 60%-65% of the Qur’an is moved into the Hereafter, and as much as 30%-35% of the verses are assumed to be addressing the previous nations. That leaves us with a very small number of verses that provide any practical guidance for Muslims for this life. The verses, now referring to the Hereafter were drummed up to focus Muslims mind toward the life after death so that they leave the rich Muslim men alone to have their “Qur’anically sanctioned” fornication orgies in their harems. Interpreting “ma malakat” in present tense instead of the past tense accomplished this. I still can’t get over the fact that this particular insult to the Qur’an existed in interpretations/translations for approximately 1,000 years and no one cared (most likely dared) to fix it.

Now, when Muslim is quoted a verse from the Qur’an, there is 6 our 10 chance that he/she will hear something about Heaven/Hell, 3 out of 10 chance that he/she will hear about why Muslims are better than the previous nations, and only 1 out of 10 chance to hear something useful for this life.

Since up to 90%- 95% of the Qur’an was made irrelevant, they had to come up with the “moral” code for this life. They filled the gap with genuine as well as fabricated hadith. Please check other related articles at (http://www.isbny.org/opinion.htm). It is entirely a different discussion as to how the hadith was used for the sake of the Arab Imperialism.

Here is our understanding of a few of the verses where Allah talks about the clarity of the Message of the Qur’an.

2:5. You can see how easy and simple it is to reach the right conclusions by using the power of reasoning. Those who approach the Book with an open mind are the ones who achieve Guidance from their Sustainer and walk on the right track. To them belongs the ultimate success. But, those who approach the Qur’an without clearing their minds of pre-conceived dogmas and notions will not be able to touch the essence of this Book; because that frame of mind defies all reason and logic.

2:99. Only those who choose to evade the Truth deny such clear Verses that We have revealed upon you.

2:209. There will be attempts at beclouding the Profound Message of the Qur’an, as happened in the case of earlier scriptures. Certain manmade books would be created and promoted as if they were equivalent, or worse, superseding the Scripture. If you falter or backslide after these Clear Verses have been conveyed to you, you will fall into a great error. You are required to confront these sinister attempts with the Wisdom provided in this Book.

2:210. The opponents of the Clear Verses will make up weird stories, such as, Allah would descend from one heaven to the other heaven and then into dark dense clouds, accompanied by winged angels. And then He would decree all matters. No! All matters of guidance, obedience and disobedience and their respective results have been expounded in this Book. Allah is Omnipresent. Therefore there is no question of Him moving up and down. All actions, and their logical reactions, meet His Law of Requital.

2:219. Remember, yours will be an ideal, virtuous Society. People ask the Messenger concerning alcohol, intoxicants, gambling, and easy money. Tell them that there is great loss for men and women in these things and a little momentary gain. Their damage far outweighs their benefit. They would drag down individual and collective potentials of people. They also ask the Messenger what and how much they should spend. Tell them, "All that is beyond your needs", must be spent for the betterment of humanity. See, how clearly Allah presents His Verses to you so that you may reflect and easily understand the Wisdom behind each Command.

2:221. Family is the most significant unit of any good society. Uniformity of the basic Ideology between husband and wife is of paramount importance to ensure a wholesome family life. Therefore, believing men and believing women must not marry those who choose gods besides the One True God. It is obvious that such people derive their value system from sources other than Allah. So, even if such men and women seem attractive, marrying believing men and believing women, who toil in labor and might not seem as attractive, is better for you. Clash of basic value systems creates a fiery atmosphere in the family and it carries on to the Lasting Abode. These are Clear Commands from Allah; for all humanity to ponder.

2:230. If a man divorces his wife on a third different time in during their marital life, it shall be unlawful for him to remarry her. They have already signed the marital contract three times. It may so happen that the woman marries another man, and those two don't get along, and the husband divorces her. In that case, the first husband can remarry her. All parties must observe the Laws of Allah. These Laws have been made clear so that people can exercise knowledge and make no crookedness in the Straight Path.

2: 242. This is how Allah makes His Commandments clear for you. Now, it is up to you to use your intellect. Intellect, that is not used, withers away.

5:75. Messiah, the son of Mary, was nothing but a Messenger, like other Messengers before him, who all passed on. And, his mother was a truthful lady. Both of them were human beings who had to eat food like all other mortals. See how clearly We explain Our verses and yet they keep deviating! They assign divinity to a human being saying that he is living in the heaven and would revisit the world!

5: 92. You shall obey Allah and the Divine System, the Messenger has established. If you turn away, it will be to your own disadvantage. The duty of Our Messenger is to convey the message clearly.

6: 105. We use TASREEF, the Big Picture, by presenting Our Verses from various angles, so that men and women understand that Allah has taught the Messenger in the most beautiful manner, and so that the Message is made clear to those who wish to learn.

10:59. This Book makes life easy and simple for you. It clearly defines things and actions, that are lawful, and those that are unlawful, for you. Allah has not permitted anyone to invent a lie against Him and make changes in His Decisions.

11:57. You have the option to accept or reject His Message that I have clearly conveyed to you. If you turn away, you shall decline and fall. Then, He will bring another nation in your place. Your disobedience cannot harm Him at all. My Lord is He who Guards all things in the Universe.”

13:2. They should think that it is Allah who raised heavens upon heavens, skies over skies, heights over heights without visible pillars. He assumed Supreme Control of the entire Universe. He put countless suns, planets, stars, and moons to work. Each of them runs to an appointed term. He keeps Order in the Universe. Allah of such Great Authority sends His Revelation to you in clear detail. Just as the celestial bodies are running their course, men and women, too are following His Laws in the physical life.

14:4. We never sent a Messenger who did not speak the language of his people; so that he presented the Message clearly. There are Laws for straying and Guidance. Arrogance and blind following misguide people. Exercising reason helps them tread the Right Path. These Laws are designed by the Almighty, Wise.