By this link: Clarify for us the true connection between the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. I asked: What do you mean? They replied: Islamic groups and sects have differed greatly over their stance towards the Sunnah and over the nature of the link between the Qurʾān and Sunnah. What is your position on that? I replied: I will first present all the positions, from past to present, concerning the Sunnah of the leader and master of the prophets and messengers, the beloved of the Lord of the worlds, peace be upon him. I will then comment on them in a…
View More The Nexus between Qurʾān and SunnahCategory: Qur’an
Surat al-Kahf
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi This surah was revealed in Makkah at a time when the hostility of the Quraysh, and their fear and hatred of Islam and of the Prophet, were at their height. They adopted every measure to stop the Prophet from preaching and the people from listening to him; soon they would plot to kill him: there are hints in the surah that the command to emigrate to Madinah is imminent. At the root of the Quraysh’s fear was that they would lose their prestige as the guardians of the Ka`bah. They depended heavily on the pilgrimage…
View More Surat al-KahfHow to benefit from the Qur’an
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Today I will be talking about different aspects of how we, as believers, can get from the Qur’an the benefit that, by the grace of God, it offers to us. That benefit is guidance. The guidance of the Qur’an is, for Muslims, not just a matter of knowing the list of concrete, particular things we are supposed to and doing them, and avoiding those that are on a list of things to avoid. Rather, this is a guidance that can permeate our whole being, our whole life, give the whole of it direction and meaning…
View More How to benefit from the Qur’anInformal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-Qiyamah
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The theme of this surah is the raising of the deadfor the Judgement. Its two opening verses forcefully negate the unbelievers’ denial that there is an afterlife. In these notesI reflect ontwo matters: (1) the needand benefit of belief in the hereafter; and (2) the meaning and consequences of the unbelievers’ denial of the afterlife. Thereafter, against the background of these reflections, I set out a summary of the argument of Surat al-Qiyamah. (1) The need and benefit of belief in the Last Day In several places in the Qur’an, God says that those who…
View More Informal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-QiyamahSurat al-Insan/al-Dahr
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi This surah can be paired with the one before it. Al-Qiyamah ended with a brief account of the lowly first stages of a human life, from which one can hardly imagine that there could emerge so complex a creature as a human being capable of knowing right from wrong and therefore self-accusing. Surat al-Insan begins with mention of those first stages of a human life and the forceful affirmation that in the whole of time (al-dahr) there is not any period (however small) in which a human being is to be considered unworthy of mention,…
View More Surat al-Insan/al-DahrIbrahim’s Supplication(s) in the Qur’an
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The first element is an appeal to Allah for provision and security. In the fuller version, this appeal is combined with an appeal to be protected from worshipping false gods. The reason is in condition of extreme insecurity human beings resort to any means that will help them. So if they think that some lesser gods/powers or some saints can provide their needs, and their need is desperate, they will pray both to this god and to this saint as well as praying to Allah. In Surat al-Baqarah God makes it explicit that those who…
View More Ibrahim’s Supplication(s) in the Qur’anPrinting translations of the Qur’an without the original Arabic text
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Though the Qur’an was sent down in Arabic, its message is universal. This is very clearly stated in the Qur’an itself: ‘Say: O humankind! I am God’s Messenger to you all.’(al-A‘raf, 7:158 ) ‘We have not sent you save as a bringer of good news (hope) and as a warner to all humankind; but most people do not know.”(Saba’, 34:28) ‘Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it.It is nothing but a reminder to all the world.’(An‘am, 6:90) The Prophet, upon him be peace, was made aware of this, and he informed…
View More Printing translations of the Qur’an without the original Arabic textA Crystal Clear Book: An Examination of the Qurʾān as a Book with Perfect Clarity
By this link: Tell us about the Book of our Lord. I replied: It is the Book which God the Exalted revealed onto our Prophet Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him, devoid of all aberration, which brings mankind from darkness into light; a self-consistent Book which repeats its contents in manifold forms from which shiver the skins of those that hold their Lord in awe; and then their skins and their hearts soften for God’s remembrance. It is the guidance of God through which He guides those whom He wills, and the one who is led astray has no…
View More A Crystal Clear Book: An Examination of the Qurʾān as a Book with Perfect ClarityRead in the Name of Thy Lord who Created: A Look at the True Meaning of the First Revelation
By this link: Explain the statement of God—”Read in the name of your Lord who created!”— and remove the shrouds of confusion from us, since it is the very first revelation of the Qurʾān upon the Prophet and it is not clear to us what was the reason for this command to read. We have reviewed the various views of interpreters, but that exercise has only pushed us into foolishness and stupidity and increased the muddling of the truth and even more confusion. I replied: This is from those matters of the Qurʾān that people have been mistaken about in…
View More Read in the Name of Thy Lord who Created: A Look at the True Meaning of the First RevelationA Book Free of Aberration: An Examination of the Qurʾān as a Straightforward Book Free of All Aberration and Crookedness
By this link: You have mentioned in a previous article your particular care to ponder over the Book of God in the blessed month of Ramadan. Can you enlighten us on any new meaning that your reflections have lead you to understand? I replied: There are a number of meanings from God’s Book that I was inspired to in this month. They asked: Tell us about the most noble of them in your eyes. I replied: It is God’s description of His Book that it is free of aberration, when He says: “Praise be to God Who has revealed to…
View More A Book Free of Aberration: An Examination of the Qurʾān as a Straightforward Book Free of All Aberration and Crookedness