MAULANA INAYATULLAH ASAD SUBHANI is an Islamic scholar par excellence. He taught the Qur’ān at various institutions, including Jamiatul Falah, Bilariyaganj, Uttar Pradesh. Presently he is rendering his services as Professor in Jamia Islamiya, Shantapuram, Kerala. In this interview marking the countrywide Qur’ān Movement of Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), the Maulana expresses his views on the various aspects of understanding the Qur’ān.
How do you see the attitude of Muslim Ummah towards the Qur’ān?
Our attitude towards the Qur’ān is not concealed. This completely negligent and disappointing attitude is not new. The most painful aspect of this phenomenon is that those supposed to be Messiah of the Ummah, have fallen victim to it.
Their position as representatives of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and his sincere companions was to make this Book as the guard of their soul. They should have pondered on this Book, cured their own ills and those of the Ummah, benefitted from its bounties for their own self and for entire mankind. But alas, they did not realise their position nor did they feel any responsibility.
What are the parameters we need to guard against, which hinder the understanding of the Qur’ān?
The biggest barrier in understanding the Qur’ān is reluctance to read the Qur’ān, and ignorance about glory and utility of the Qur’ān. A majority of readers of the Qur’ān read it with the intention of seeking auspices. They came to know anyhow that this and this chapter of the Qur’ān give such and such benefit upon recitation and therefore they recite them with utmost respect.
There are few people who really want to understand the Qur’ān. And even most of them just recite, read or listen to translation and feel content about it.
However, it is difficult to find those people who are passionate about reading the Qur’ān, who find their energy and soul in the Qur’ān, who ensure to recite and understand the Qur’ān day in and day out, who feel that the Qur’ān can give them success of both worlds, who feel the Qur’ān to be the source of all types of knowledge, elevator to marvellous heights and key to all blessings. Without this affection, staunch and unshakeable faith in the glory of the Qur’ān, one cannot taste its splendid magnificence. One who wishes to have gems from the Qur’ān should make this Book the melody of his heart and nurture his soul with this Book. Unless he gets his soul soothed with the Qur’ān each sunrise, he should be restless.
The biggest barrier in understanding the Qur’ān is distance from practice on the Qur’ān and self-motivation for its practice. Those who read the Qur’ān for their academic interest alone get few initial and superficial knowledge; they can never succeed in getting the master key of knowledge, which unlocks the treasures of wisdom. Thus they are unable to enjoy the world of knowledge and wisdom in totality, which is an ultimate outcome of reading the Qur’ān.
Syed Waheeduddin has narrated, in his book, a true story of Dr. Iqbal, which states that a few persons met Allama Iqbal at his residence and queried, “Which book did you find the wisest and highest in ranks, among your study of religion, economics, politics, history and philosophy?” Dr. Iqbal went inside the house and brought a book, the Qur’ān.
This Book came for the guidance of humanity. Therefore, whoever seeks its guidance with sincerity and true spirit only would get blessed from its bounties and get benefitted. Else, people spend their ages, in reading and teaching the Qur’ān, but they cannot achieve its ultimate objective.
Whether Tajweed rules have anything to do with understanding the Qur’ān?
Tajweed and its regulations aim at no more than correct pronunciation of letters and words of the Arabic language while one read the Qur’ān. Its learning and practice shall be limited to this objective. However, if this regulation takes the shape of singing, I think it should be abstained from. This insults the sanctity of revelation of Allah’s words and spoils the prayer, too.
Whether the Qur’ān is read in prayer or elsewhere, it should be read with the sense that we are in conversation with our Lord and He is listening to the same.
If we recite verses of the Qur’ān with this sense, our recitation would become simple, filled with humbleness. It would not resemble a formality and an apparent art, which is absurd with the verses of the Qur’ān.
Understanding of the Qur’ān has nothing to do with Tajweed and its regulations. Tajweed merely deals with the apparent pronunciation of the Arabic language as a whole.
Some persons are not aware of the Arabic language but deliver Qur’ānic discourses for Dawah purposes with the help of various translations and commentaries. What precautions they should take in this regard?
Immaterial of whether they are known to the Arabic language or not, they should get benefitted from the commentaries of the Qur’ān. Nevertheless, they should always use an authentic and reliable commentary.
As for the case of Qur’ānic discourses for Dawah purpose, there shall be a specialised arrangement and comprehensive preparation. Without preparation, one should not take the chance of delivering a discourse. Whatever teachings of the Qur’ān we have to explain to others, prima facie we should make ourselves the first addressee of those teachings. Before we intend to leave an impact of any verse of the Qur’ān on others, we need to ensure that the same impact is done on our soul and body. If we cannot take an impact of our own discourse, we should never hope to influence others with our discourse.
The other physical requirement of the discourse is to memorise the summary of the verses we are to deliver discourse on, make a note of the same on paper / notebook, etc. if it is felt that we cannot keep a track of everything. And if our Arabic is not that strong, we should make a note of the entire translation to prevent any mistake in translating Qur’ānic verses.
What are the possible books that assist in understanding the Qur’ān? Can’t the people spending lots of time in reading translations and commentaries, be advised to spare some time in learning the Arabic language?
To understand the Qur’ān, it is fundamental that people who have an opportunity should not only learn the Arabic language but also seek excellence and competency. Without these skills one cannot reach heights in understanding the Qur’ān.
Here, one clarification is essential! What exactly means by understanding the Qur’ān? Understanding the Qur’ān is neither word to word translation of the Qur’ān nor memorising the explanation of a given verse of the Qur’ān from various sources.
Understanding the Qur’ān means making a personality as per the teachings of the Qur’ān in totality. His tastes, his lifestyle, his attitude, his behaviour should adopt the colour of the Qur’ān. His thoughts shall be aligned with the Qur’ān, his actions shall reflect the Qur’ān, his heart shall get synchronised with the Qur’ān, his soul shall carry the melody of the Qur’ān, the splendour of his life shall be the Qur’ān, and the focus of all his desires shall be the Qur’ān.
It is obviously understood that all the above cannot be the outcome of just reading a book alone. This is a likely result of love for Allah, love for His message, love for His messenger and love for His deen. And these are the results of purity of heart, soul and deeds.
In order to achieve the above results, it is mandatory to maximise prayers (prayers being offered with sincerity and complete attention), abstain from disobedience of Allah in day-to-day life, prefer godliness and humble attitude in every instance of life, habituate with recitation and reading of the Qur’ān on daily basis and keep supplicating to Allah seeking understanding of the Qur’ān.
It is difficult to point at one book, when it comes to understanding of the Qur’ān. This is because the majority of the books on the subject have been written addressing one or more subjects of the Qur’ān. I do not know any book with understanding of the Qur’ān as a specific subject.
In the present scenario, which aspect of the Qur’ān could be the most important tool, which can be employed for Dawah purpose?
The most important marvel of the Qur’ān is that it is meant for all ages, all countries, all nations and its entire people, rich and poor, literate and illiterate. It has the potential to become the heartbeat of everyone, interesting for everyone who reads it with sincerity.
This feature is the very specialty of the Qur’ān, which is not applicable to any other book of the world. And that’s the reason that this feature is imminent from Dawah and organisational perspective. This book could be given to anyone and best results can be expected out of its reading.
If the Muslims of India would have not carried out any politically significant activity and if they would have merely conveyed the translations of this book to each house and if they would have supported its teachings with their deeds, then without a doubt, our country would have been entirely different from what it is today. We also would have been in a much better position than what we are today.
Is Qur’ānic jurisprudence limited only to regular Islamic scholars or is it the responsibility of entire Ummah?
Practising the Qur’ān is not the responsibility of Islamic scholars alone, but is the responsibility of entire Ummah. Similarly, responsibility of understanding the Qur’ān does not lie with Islamic scholars alone, but is mandatory on Ummah overall. Every Muslim must know what Allah, his Creator, has revealed, what message has been sent to him, what has been instructed to him and what he has been asked to abstain from.
Each one from among the group organised by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), was a scholar of this Book. The Qur’ān was their source of energy. Allah said in the Qur’ān that every Muslim is more than ten polytheists, the reason being that polytheists wander in the darkness of polytheism and hence do not possess any understanding of the Qur’ān.
What kind of Muslim is he, who has no curiosity to know what his merciful Lord, Allah has revealed in His Book, who has no sincerity to read the loving message of his graceful Lord and lead his life in accordance with its teachings?
The Muslim who has no passion of reading, understanding and practising the message of his Lord, should be ashamed of facing his Lord. He should have to be concerned about his faith and belief.
Which commentary you feel is best suitable for students and youth of Ummah, which could enable them to understand the Qur’ān in the best way?
Students and youth should read those commentaries of the Qur’ān, which focus on Dawah, Islamic organisation and self-training perspectives. This reading should be individual as well as in the form of group discussion.
Towards Understanding the Qur’ān by Syed Abul Aala Maudoodi, In the Shade of Qur’ān by Syed Qutb and Tadabbur al Qur’ān by Ameen Ahsan Islahi can be categorically considered for study. However, one needs to bypass unnecessary discussions in these commentaries, too. The reader should always focus on his objectives and whenever he feels like deviating from the main objectives, he should proceed further leaving the unnecessary discussions behind.
What is your message to the students and youth of Ummah?
I dream that our students and youth safeguard their adolescence, energies, talents and skills from being destroyed in useless activities. They should spend their lives in the shade of the Qur’ān, such that their talents and skills could nurture, flourish and get utilised for the constructive reasons of humanity. That is how they would prove to be an asset of Ummah and would ultimately succeed in this world and hereafter.
One of the many miracles of the Qur’ān is that it protects talents and skills from being destroyed. It turns carbon to diamond, raw material to finished product. It imparts new horizons and hopes to the disappointed ones and blesses them with the courage to face the toughest challenges of life.
Our students and youth shall also take caution that no education could provide permanent success and become a blessing, neglecting the teachings of the Qur’ān. The root cause of all the problems, with which Ummah is struggling now, is none other than our negligence towards the Qur’ān. We tried to take a long haul in the progressive world by brushing aside the teachings of the Qur’ān, the current situation being the outcome of such hypocrisy. Consequently, the Ummah is now highly disappointed. And the only way out of this crisis is to adopt the way it kept neglecting.