Quran; The path to perfection, Part 1

The following is a transcript of a bayan regarding Qurane majeed. It was transcribed by my friend hafiz Wahhaj, may Allah reward him and be pleased with him. To make it easy for the readers, he has divided it into three parts.

Quran: The Path to Perfection, Part 1

Respected elders, brothers, friends.
You’ve been listening to a variety of topics. The topic that has been allocated to me is “Quran: The Path to Perfection.”

We need to understand three things first:
1. The Quran is perfect.
2. The definition of a perfect human being? How can you define a perfect human being?
3. How can the Quran make you a perfect human being?

Part 1: Quran is perfect

The Quran begins by declaring in the opening verses of Surah al Baqarah:

• الم: “Alif Laam Meem” Allah knows best what he means by these letters.

• ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ : “This is the book”. Al Kitaabul Kaamil, The Complete Book. This book that is being revealed to you is The Complete Book. It should be classed as The Complete Book. No other book is as complete as this book, and therefore it is worthy of being called The Book.

• لَا ‌يْبَ ۛ فِيهِ: “There is no doubt, confusion, or shakk in this book whatsoever”.

• هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ: “It provides guidance for those who have the fear of God in their hearts”, who are aware of God, and who are constantly aware of the fact that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is present. Even if you don’t believe in Islam, but you have fear of God in your heart, then the Quran will guide you. This understanding and awareness [of Allah] is needed to understand this Book.

Objections
Some people may try to create doubts by saying, “We don’t believe that this is the book of God. There are some contradictions in it.”

The reason that people see contradictions in the Quran is, that they don’t look at it with a clear mind nor with an open heart. If they were to look at it with an open mind and a clear heart, they would see the clarity, the openness, and the purity of the Holy Quran.

If a person was afflicted by, for example, jaundice, his colour would turn yellow, and everything he would see would also appear to be yellow. Even extremely white clothes would appear yellow to him. Only when this codition clears away will he be able to see properly again. But the healthy person can see everything properly. In other words Allah is saying “Clear your mind and open your heart, and then read the Quran. Then you will be able see the clarity and completeness of the Quran, and you will be guided along the straight path”.

Some people object that there are abrogations in the Quran, if it was perfect it would not have those abrogations.

In preparation for this talk, I went on the internet to do some research regarding the perfection of the Quran. Many results came up and some objections about the abrogations came up as well.

They say that Allah should not abrogate anything, He should have given one order and left it at that.

However, few things should be kept in mind. Those people who make this objection try to portray it as if the whole Quran is filled with abrogations. Whereas if you study thoroughly, you will see that there maybe just half a dozen or so abrogations in the entire Quran such as the changing of Qibla, the punishment for zina, and the order of iddat for a widow etc. Otherwise all of the orders like salah, zakah, fasting, etc. remained as they were given first time.

Secondly, there is no abrogation in regards to akhbaar, the information that Allah Ta’ala gives us, because changing a khabar would constitute to a lie. Allah never lies. The ahkaam (orders) are sometimes changed. Do this for now, and then after sometime the instruction is changed.

For example, with regards to the Qiblah, Allah commanded the Muslims upon their migration to madina munawwarah that they should face towards baitul maqdis, then after 16/17 months, Allah changed the command and instructed them to face Baitullah shareef in Makkah mukarramah. Some people objected upon this change so Allah revealed that facing east or west is not what matters, it is Allah’s order which is important. We should submit ourselves to the order of Allah. So there is no harm in abrogation. There are also abrogations in the Bible and Torah. This is not a valid objection to reject the Quran.

Sometimes people try to bring up contradictions. This is only because they look at the translation and not the deeper meaning of those ayaat. If they read the tafseer, they would see that there is no contradiction in the Quran. Also they take just a small portion of one verse and create contradiction. If they were to take verses into full context. Read from before and after that verse, they would understand it fully well; Quran is self explanatory.

The mufasireen such as Imam Qurtubi, Imam Ibn Kathir, Fakhruddin Razi (ra), and recent mufasireen such as Mufti Muhammad Shafi Saheb, Maulana Idris Khandelvi Saheb, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (ra) have gone to great lengths to explain the Quran and clear any contradictions that may arise in one’s mind.

Alhamdulillah, the Quran is the perfect book. As Muslims, we believe in that. Even those that are non-Muslims testify to that.

I have a book here which is called ‘Why Islam is our only choice’ and I will quote a few paragraphs from it concerning how non-Muslims felt when they read the Quran.

“I started reading the Holy Quran and opened Suratul Kausar. Small but beautiful sentences pierced into my heart like arrows. Their melodies had a very sweet but everlasting effect in my ears. They were so magical that I repeated the verses unintentionally, and I went on reading them again and again. I felt as if I was drinking from the water of immortality. I was even ready to believe in the true teachings of the Holy Quran just by reading this small Surah. However, there were some doubts still in my mind. They were about Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (sa), the position of women in Islam, and lawful and unlawful issues, which that pious man removed in a very reasonable and philosophical manner. In fact, I had found the truth, and unknowingly I pronounced the Kalima e Tauheed. I was so happy, that I could not express my feelings in words.
–Dr. Abdur Rahman Barker

“The Quran was written [revealed] 1400 years ago. Nothing has changed since then, not even a single full stop. Yet it contains the knowledge of the present moment, science, and the future. It is just a miracle how a book [reavealed] in primitive days contains all the events of today and also events of the future which we cannot understand as yet. Islam is not just a religion, but a way of life. So this part of Islam appealed the most to me.”

– Brother Dawood. Who goes on to say that reading the Quran and hadith were the main things that attracted him towards Islam.

“As a Catholic, I had studied widely and passed the main exams in Catholic theology. The power of Jesus was obvious from the Gospels and the Bible had evidence that his life was predestined. I longed to meet him in the Heavens. There is a line from the first chapter of St. John about Jesus: ‘The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it.’ I started to wonder why my understanding of Jesus was different to what I was being taught in the churches. I never, at that time, read the Quran. Discovering the Quran was a bit like being in a big, old house and going from room to room. The rooms were small and dark, but in each room there were little, interesting things, never enough to satisfy. So I went on to the next room, and then the next room. Suddenly I opened a door and, eternity. A vast, white light that dazzled me. It is impossible to describe the power of the Holy Quran unless you have been deprived of it beforehand. This is because it is the direct word of Allah. It is obvious. But I shut my eyes because it is too much for me. I find myself opening my eyes a little bit and daring to take in something of its power. But I am only a beginner, and will never be more than that. I can only ask Allah’s Mercy and Compassion to allow me to understand according to my limitations. But one drop of it’s knowledge is worth more than all of the other books.”
– Amina (Ann) Coxton from London

These are testimonies from some people who were not yet Muslims. They read the Quran, they were attracted to Islam, and they accepted Islam.

So Alhamdulillah, the Quran is the perfect book. If you read it with an open mind, it will open up the way for you.

Hazrat Maulana Ahmed Ali Lahori (ra) used to instruct ulema to teach the Quran and have lessons and discourses of the quran. He would say the example of the Quran is like flowing water. Streams and Rivers makes their own way. Quran flows and makes its own way inside the hearts of people and you don’t need to make way for it.