Qur'an and Sunnah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mus'haf | |
| Qur'an reading | |
| Qur'an translations | |
| Origin and development | |
| Tafsir | |
| Qur'an and Sunnah | |
| Views on the Qur'an | |
This box: view • talk • edit</div>
| |
Qur'an and Sunnah is an often quoted Islamic term regarding the sources of Islam.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Muslims hold that Islam is derived from two sources: one being infallible and containing compressed information — the Qur'an — and another being a detailed explanation of the everyday application of the principles established in the Qur'an: The Sunnah, or the living example of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
[edit] The Revelation of the Quran
The Prophet Muhammad used to retreat annually to a cave at the top of a mountain near Mecca during the Month of Ramadan where he meditated in seclusion. [citation needed]
In 610 AD he was visited in the cave during his sleep by the archangel Gabriel with a paper in his hand. Gabriel demanded, "read". Muhammad responded, "I don't read". Gabriel choked Muhammad for an instant then repeated his demand and Muhammad repeated his response. Gabriel choked Muhammad again for an instant and repeated his demand. Fearing to be choked for a third time, Muhammad asked, "Read what?" Gabriel responded, "Read in the name of your Lord who created... [Qur'an 96 :1]"
Muhammad woke up frightened wondering about the nature of his vision. He returned home and told his wife, Khadidjah, about his experience and his fears. She calmed him down and assured him that his good character and devotion to God made this vision a good omen.
Khadidjah told her cousin Waraqa about Muhammad's experience. Waraqa had converted to Christianity, translated some of the New Testament to Arabic, and had been actively calling Arabs to Christianity.
Waraqa assured Khadidjah that Muhammad was the Prophet that people in the Middle East had been anticipating, and asked her to tell Muhammad to persevere. Waraqa died shortly after this prediction and missed the resumption of the revelations and the beginning of Muhammad's mission.
The revelations continued until Muhammad's death in 632 AD. To preserve the Qur'an, Muhammad's successor to lead the Muslim Nation, Abu Bakr, initiated an effort to carefully evaluate all reliable oral and written accounts of the revelations and record them in one book. This effort was repeated by 'Othman, the third successor to Muhammad, who ruled the Muslim Nation from 644 to 656 AD. The two copies were identical. Several copies were made and sent to the various Muslim provinces for use as standards to compare with future editions. The copies in Saudi Arabia and Egypt are still in use as standards today.
The Qur'an has 114 chapters. The first chapter is the Opener which has 8 paragraphs called in Arabic Ayat which means signs, guidelines, or clues to guide Muslims along the spiritual path. They are not commandments or sentences to be taken literally although some refer to specific historical events or simple issues.
The remaining 113 chapters are not arranged chronologically - they are not about commandments or stories. Generally speaking, earlier chapters are longer than later chapters. Segments of stories of earlier prophets are found throughout the text but they presume knowledge of the whole story from other sources.
The Arabs, who had the most developed language and poetry in the world at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, were stunned to hear the Qur'an from an unlettered man. One poet declared, after hearing a few Ayat that "these words are not from this world" and embraced Islam on the spot.
Studies of the Clues in the Qur'an led Muslim scholars to develop The Scientific Method and carefully study the physical world. This resulted in impressive advances in the sciences and arts which put the Muslims at the top of the civilized world for 8 centuries. Latin translations of their books started the Renaissance several centuries later when the grip of the Catholic Church on Europe weakened.
The Qur'an anticipated many modern scientific discoveries which were beyond human imagination 14 centuries ago. This separates the Qur'an from other religious texts which were limited to the knowledge of the people at the time that the text was completed. The Qur'an is the only book of revelations that exists today in its original language and form. Therefore it is the only text available today that is restricted to the word of God.{fact}
The knowledge in the Qur'an was beyond Muhammad's knowledge and beyond the knowledge contained in the Bible. Therefore, the Qur'an could not have been written by Muhammad.
The Qur'an criticized Muhammad when he demanded that prisoners of war teach illiterate Muslims how to read and write as a condition of their release. He was reminded that a prophet should not go to extremes and desire this world while God desires the afterlife [8:67].
He was criticized again when he turned away from a blind man to call one of Mecca's distinguished men to Islam. He was also asked not to dislike people who did not believe.
Muhammad wept after receiving these verses. This is another proof that Muhammad did not write the Qur'an to impress people and claim Prophecy. He honestly delivered the Word of God.
The Qur'an presents the divine principles as signs, clues or guides (Ayat) to help Muslim people succeed in this world and in the hereafter. Islam has no clergy or religious hierarchy charged with "official" or "exclusive" interpretation of the divine principles. This leaves detailed interpretation and application of the principles to individual Muslims who are free to choose and, therefore, must accept responsibility for their choices.
The stories and personalities in the Qur'an are not limited to specific events in the past. They refer to events and personalities that are relevant to the reader's life. The only specific personal references in the Qur'an are to Jesus who was referred to as "Jesus, son of Mary"; and Mary who was referred to as "Mary, daughter of 'Imran". The miracle of the virgin birth was limited to the historic Jesus and Mary.
The Prophet Muhammad did not give a complete and detailed interpretation of the Qur'an. When queried about certain passages related to the universe we live in or the unseen world, he often gave a brief interpretation or declined to answer. This discouraged casting the words in stone and limiting the Qur'an to the concepts of the period.
The Qur'an has infinite meanings and will continue to dazzle future generations. If all the trees on earth were pens and more than the oceans were ink, that would not be enough to record the Word of God [31:27,18:109].
Readers of the English translation of the Qur'an are at a disadvantage. Available English translations attempt to represent each Arabic word with one English word. [citation needed]
The translations frequently use archaic English and fail to convey the elegant and beautiful Arabic verses. Indeed, the translations often convey ridiculous and offensive meanings.
Sincere readers of these translations should not despair since the relevant Clues will penetrate the distortions and deliver the promise of the Qur'an. The readers should focus on the general meaning and not on the individual words and sentences.
Readers who expect a certain structure similar to that of books written by people about the word of God such as the Old and New Testaments, will be frustrated by the absence of complete stories, the unexpected changes in topic and voice within the same paragraph, and the apparent repetition or contradiction.
These issues have been critically analyzed by Muslim and non-Muslim Arabian linguistic scholars since the revelations began. These scholars had centuries of impressive poetic and literary heritage under their belt. The analysis overwhelmed all of them and they ended up declaring the Qur'an a miraculous new form of Arabic. The non-Muslim scholars often embraced Islam at the end of such analysis. All attempts to duplicate the linguistic style of the Qur'an from 610 AD to the present have failed.
However, the Qur'an did not come to the world to intimidate the scholars. The Qur'an came with knowledge, guidance, sermon, vision, healing, good tidings, and mercy for the world [7:203, 7:52, 10:57, 12:111, 16:64, 16:89, 27:77, 28:43, 31:3, 45:20].
The Qur'an came to detail and explain everything and to settle differences of opinions [12:111, 16:64, 16:89]
The proper way to approach the Qur'an is to keep the above aspects in mind and read it as a book of divine clues, signs or guidelines to guide the reader along the spiritual path.
The reader should not attempt to understand all the divine Clues. Many of the Clues, thought by readers 14 centuries ago to be elegant literary structures, turned out to be references to actual scientific description of aspects of our universe. Some of the Clues puzzling the reader today will have a specific meaning to a Sufi master or a future scientist.
By contemplating relevant Clues, the sincere reader will receive knowledge, guidance, healing, and mercy.
The Qur'an should be read many times. As sincere readers turn to God and apply the relevant Clues from the Qur'an to their lives, more Clues will open up to them to guide them along the spiritual path. This process continues until the words lose their common meaning and point only to relevant spiritual issues leading closer and closer to God.
Al-Ghazali, the famous Sufi and Sunni scholar, compared this process to handling oysters - their outside surface is uninteresting, but if you open one, then you are immediately rewarded by the beautiful mother of pearl and the edible morsel for spiritual and physical gratification. If you continue opening oysters, you are more likely to find a pearl. If you continue collecting pearls, you are more likely to find a black pearl.
Muslims always considered the Qur'an a miracle. The Qur'an is a living miracle that can be verified today by anyone and does not depend on accepting ancient accounts of miracles without question.
In other words, following the Qur'an and Sunnah is not a Sunni-specific doctrine; it is followed by both Shi'a and Sunnis.
Reference: http://home.att.net/~a.f.aly/quran.htm
[edit] Views
All Muslims believe the Qur'an is infallible, but they differ on how apply the Sunnah in order to interpret the Qur'an.
[edit] Sunni view
Sunni view that all Sahaba are righteous and can be trusted in their transmission of the Sunnah.
[edit] Shi'a view
Shi'a divide the Sahaba into groups <ref>A Shi'ite View of the Companions from Al-Islam.org.</ref> and only trust some those who did not oppose the Ahl al-Bayt. Shi'a are known to criticize Umar, the second Sunni Caliph, as having admitted that he does not view it necessary to follow Muhammads Sunnah, and cite the hadith of the pen and paper as evidence.
[edit] Qur'an only view
Qur'an aloners do not attach any importance in following the Sunnah and view the Qur'an to suffice.
[edit] See also
[edit] Rerefences
<references/>
