If all human minds were joined together… and became a single mind… they still could not produce a complete interpretation… of a single verse… of the Words of Allah. They would fall short… because human minds are… limited… grasping one matter… while others escape them… whereas the Word of Allah… is absolute perfection. There is no comparison between the words of human beings… and the all-encompassing Word of Allah… And so… they differed… and it was inevitable that they should differ!!! There are hundreds of interpretations… each offering the utmost that can be grasped… of the meanings of the Qur’an… and yet the Qur’an remains… as it is… pristine… untouched!!!
Just as all people stand… on the seashore… each beholding of the sea… what he beholds… while the sea… remains the sea!!! Nothing of it is diminished… and nothing is added!!!
The early scholars left nothing… of the Book of Allah… without devoting immense effort to it… Then came the later scholars… who added effort to effort… Then came the scholars of our own time… who poured into it the very essence of their minds… And still the Qur’an is the Qur’an… pristine… untouched!!!
Those who do not know cried out… What is this vast disagreement… in interpreting the Qur’an?! Yet it is not disagreement… it is inability… the inability of creation… to fully grasp… the Words of the Truth!!! And so they fell down… all of them together… weeping… for what they had come to know… of the Truth!!!
Allah… there is nothing like unto Him… and so it follows that the Word of Allah… is like no other speech!!! For the Word of Allah… is one of the attributes of Allah… and an attribute… carries the qualities of the One it describes!!! Allah… there is nothing like unto Him… and so the Word of Allah… is like no other speech!!!
“Say: ‘If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.’” (Al-Isra’ 17:88)
Reflect on the expression “the like of it”… “they could not produce the like thereof”… a pointer… to the fact that there is no speech like it!!! It is utterly impossible… for them to produce anything like it!!!
Among the Attributes of the Word of Allah
Allah… comprehends all things in mercy and knowledge… and so the Qur’an… comprehends all things in mercy and knowledge!!!
“We have neglected nothing in the Book…” (Al-An’am 6:38)
Allah… encompasses all things… and the Word of Allah… encompasses all things…
“Nay, they deny that; the knowledge whereof they could not compass and whereof the interpretation has not yet come unto them.” (Yunus 10:39)
Reflect on… “and whereof the interpretation has not yet come unto them”… and you will realize that its full interpretation… has not come to them even now… nor will it until the Day of Resurrection… All they can do is circle around it… nothing more!!! They could not encompass it… because minds are limited… while the Word of Allah is limitless!!!
Allah… is the Most Great!!! And the Word of Allah… is great!!!
“And indeed, We have bestowed upon you seven of Al-Mathani (the seven repeatedly recited Verses), (i.e. Surat Al-Fatiha) and the Grand Qur’an.” (Al-Hijr 15:87)
And just as the greatness of Allah… is like no other greatness… so too the greatness of the Qur’an… is like no other greatness!!! Allah… is the Most Glorious!!! And so the Qur’an… is glorious…
“Qaf. By the Glorious Qur’an.” (Qaf 50:1)
There is no glory like His glory, exalted is He… and likewise no glory like the glory of the Qur’an!!! Allah… is the All-Mighty!!! And so the Qur’an… is mighty!!!
“And verily, it is an honourable respected Book.” (Fussilat 41:41)
And just as all might belongs to Allah… so too all might belongs to the Word of Allah… above all other speech!!! Allah… is the Most High!!! And the Word of Allah… is exalted!!!
“And verily, it (this Qur’an) is in the Mother of the Book (i.e. Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before Us, indeed Exalted, full of Wisdom.” (Az-Zukhruf 43:4)
The Word of Allah always rises… above all speech… and nothing rises above it… Allah… is the All-Wise!!! However much wisdom the wise may speak… the Word of Allah… is the supreme wisdom… the highest wisdom of all!!!
“…while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost.” (At-Tawbah 9:40)
It is a constant law… every attribute by which Allah is described… is an attribute of the Word of Allah!!! Allah… is Light!!! And so the Word of Allah… is light!!!
“…and in the Light (this Qur’an) which We have sent down.” (At-Taghabun 64:8)
Allah… is the Giver of Life!!! And so the Word of Allah… gives life!!!
“And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad ﷺ) Ruhan (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) of Our Command…” (Ash-Shura 42:52)
And the Ruh… gives life!!! Allah… knows the secret in the heavens and the earth… and so the Qur’an… holds all the secrets… of the knowledge of the heavens and the earth… You will find this hidden in His words:
“Say: ‘It (this Qur’an) has been sent down by Him (Allah) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth…’” (Al-Furqan 25:6)
Here is a pointer… that the secret of the heavens and the earth… lies hidden in the Qur’an… Allah unveils it… to whomever He wills of His servants… in the measure He wills!!! Allah… is the Most Generous!!! And so the Qur’an… is noble!!!
“That (this) is indeed an honourable recital (the Noble Qur’an).” (Al-Waqi’ah 56:77)
And just as there is no generosity like the generosity of Allah… there is no nobility like the nobility of the Qur’an… Allah… is the First and the Last… the Manifest and the Hidden… and so the Qur’an… holds the knowledge of the first and the last… and has both an outward and an inward meaning!!! It is a law that holds without exception… every attribute by which Allah is described… is an attribute… of the Word of Allah!!!
The Divine Self-Disclosure in the Qur’an
Why?!!! Because the Qur’an… is the Word of Allah… and in the Word of Allah… all the attributes of Allah must be manifest… What does this mean?!! It means… that in His Word… Allah… has disclosed Himself to His servants… through all… His Names… and all… His Attributes… It is the Qur’an… in the sense of the complete… essential… self-disclosure… and it is the Furqan (the Criterion)… in the sense of His self-disclosure… to His servants… that is, its being sent down… to His servants…
“Blessed be He Who sent down the criterion (of right and wrong, i.e. this Qur’an) to His slave (Muhammad ﷺ) that he may be a warner to the ‘Alamin (mankind and jinns).” (Al-Furqan 25:1)
When Allah… willed to disclose Himself to His servants… He disclosed Himself to them… in His Word… And according to their readiness… to receive this disclosure… is their share… of it… That is why the share… of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ… in this disclosure… was the greatest share of all!!!
“And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad ﷺ).” (An-Nisa’ 4:113)
For he ﷺ… is the human being… whom Allah created… to be the place of the complete… divine self-disclosure!!!
“The Most Beneficent (Allah)! Has taught (you mankind) the Qur’an (by His Mercy). He created man. He taught him eloquent speech.” (Ar-Rahman 55:1–4)
Here is a pointer… that the creation of the greatest human being… the most exalted human being… Muhammad ﷺ… was ordained… so that this human being would be… the place of the complete divine self-disclosure!!! When Allah sent him… He disclosed Himself to him… through His Word… which is what is called the sending down (revelation)… and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ… received it…
“And verily, you (O Muhammad ﷺ) are receiving the Qur’an from the One, All-Wise, All-Knowing.” (An-Naml 27:6)
And he conveyed it… exactly as he received it… to all the worlds!!! Then he ﷺ… explained it…
“He taught him eloquent speech.” (Ar-Rahman 55:4)
﴿لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيۡہِمۡ ...﴾!!!
“…that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them…” (An-Nahl 16:44)
Thus the blessing was made complete… the blessing… of sending down the Word of Allah… to mankind… and the blessing of explaining… what was sent down of the Word of Allah… to mankind!!! The blessing of the divine self-disclosure… in the Qur’an… and the blessing of the traces… of that disclosure… in the heart… of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ… which is… the Bayan (the clear explanation)!!!
The Secret of the Qur’an’s Inimitability
The Qur’an is inimitable… for a very simple reason… which, if people paid attention to it… would dazzle them all with its radiance!!! The Qur’an is inimitable… because it is… the Word of Allah!!! No one can speak the like of it… unless that speaker were… a god!!! Only then could he… speak the like of… what Allah has spoken… And since… there is no god… but Allah!!! it is absolutely impossible… to bring forth another god… to speak… the like of what Allah… has spoken!!! For there is… in all existence… no god… but Allah… Whose Word the Qur’an is!!! And so it is impossible… for us to produce… the like of this Qur’an… because there is… no other… god… besides Allah… to speak… words… like the Words of Allah… which is the Qur’an!!!
And once you have found… reassurance… in this proof… come… let us look… at why people have differed… in interpreting the Qur’an… while the divine Word has remained… after all of that… pristine… untouched?!!
The Ever-Renewing Word of Allah
Once you know… that the Qur’an… is the divine self-disclosure… to His servants… and that the divine self-disclosure… is ever new… never repeating itself…
“Every day He has a matter to bring forth.” (Ar-Rahman 55:29)
At every moment… He… discloses Himself… anew… without repetition… to whomever He wills… of His creation… And the Word of Allah… carries this blessed quality… it is forever renewed… its renewal never ceasing… No one recites a verse… from the Book of Allah… without it giving him new light… And if all of creation… stood reciting… the Book of Allah… for the whole span of their lives… the Qur’an would give them something new at every moment!!! That is why… we are commanded… to recite the Qur’an constantly…
“And recite what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad ﷺ) of the Book (the Qur’an) of your Lord…” (Al-Kahf 18:27)
For in every recitation… there is new light… and a new self-disclosure!!! Perhaps this is the secret… behind the restraint of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)… from interpreting the Qur’an… for they knew… this quality… of the Word of Allah… its constant renewal… What one understands of a verse now… he will understand anew… a moment later… Had the Book of Allah been bound… to one fixed interpretation… the Absolute would have been confined… and so they were cautious!!! Until, as time passed… and people grew distant from the lights of the Book of Allah… the need arose… for a common foundation… for understanding the Book of Allah… to which all people could turn… whenever they approached the Book of Allah… and so the sciences of interpretation began!!! And there came this immense treasury… of books of interpretation!!! They gathered people… on a shared understanding… while the vast ocean… the ocean of the constant renewal… of the Word of Allah… kept flowing… and running on!!! Whoever seeks a shared understanding… of the Noble Qur’an… has the books of interpretation before him… and whoever seeks… absolute… ever-renewing light… let him recite the Qur’an… for it is the sea of all seas… the light of all light… the flower of all flowers… So let him recite of it whatever is easy for him… for it will sustain him… and give to him… something new… always and forever!!!
The Story of This Interpretation
Choosing the Sources
Then came the problem of choosing the sources…
I found that following all the books of interpretation… was almost impossible…
because of how many there are… and how varied they are…
and so the choice… fell upon the interpretation “Ruh Al-Ma’ani”… by Imam Al-Alusi…
I chose it… because it is a comprehensive compendium… of all the classical books of interpretation that preceded it…
and so, to some extent, it can stand in for them…
and it is relatively close to our own era… which brings it nearer to the understanding of our age…
So I took Al-Alusi’s interpretation as my main source… for this interpretation…
and so the interpretation in your hands… is, in a sense, a faithful… and concise… summary… of Al-Alusi’s interpretation…
To it I added… from the books of Hadith… the Six Books… on which the Muslim nation is agreed…
- Sahih Al-Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
- Sunan Abi Dawud
- Jami’ At-Tirmidhi
- Sunan An-Nasa’i
- Sunan Ibn Majah
together with their commentaries… as well as some books of jurisprudence where needed…
And from the Sufi interpretations I chose… “Al-Fawatih Al-Ilahiyyah”… by Imam An-Nakhjawani…
Between Stepping Forward and Holding Back
Then I began to plan the work… and whenever I set my mind to it… I was met by two conflicting feelings… one pushing me forward… a deep longing… to produce a simple interpretation… suitable for everyone… and the other… holding me back… because of the difficulties involved… At times I stepped forward… at times I held back… Then Allah took me into His care… with His support… and stepping forward prevailed over holding back… But once I had resolved… my dread only grew!!! Who am I… to undertake… such a task?! What are my tools… my abilities… my understanding?! And a voice cried out… from within me: Turn back, you deluded one… for you cannot swim in the sea of all seas!? I almost listened to that voice… had Allah not made me steadfast… And when He, glorified is He, willed… that I go forward… I went forward!!!!
The Experience of Writing
And from that day my burning began!!! For what lies in your hands… of the lines of this interpretation… is only something… with which the Most Generous, glorified is He… has favoured me… By Allah… were it not for Allah… I could not have written… a single word of it… It is a gift… from Him, glorified is He… And I bear witness… after having tasted… and lived the experience… of interpreting the Book of Allah… that the Qur’an… is the Word of Allah… truly… truly… truly!!! Because of what I found in it… as I swam in its seas… of wonders… and marvels… and treasures… and radiances… and lights… and subtle pointers… and tastes… and longings… and depths… and delights…
I would find myself… melting… and melting… and melting… and then fading away… so much so that my daughter… said to me… one day… having seen me… in this state: You are not with us!!! I looked at her… and could not say anything to her!!! Yes… this work cut me off completely… from everything… and compelled me… to be wholly absorbed in it… to lose myself in it!!!
At times it weighed heavily upon me… as if I were carrying a towering mountain alone… and at times it felt light… as if I were smelling a flower in the morning!!! It taught me that its weight… came from the overwhelming majesty and power within it… and its ease… from the mercy and beauty within it!!! At one moment it would meet me… with majesty… and shatter me… and at another it would meet me… with beauty… and draw me in… and in both states… I had no will of my own… for the Qur’an is overpowering… and the Qur’an prevails…
How many days… did I spend wandering… in pursuit of a truth I longed to reach… in interpreting a single verse of the Book of Allah?! I mention this to you… reluctantly… only so that your heart may be at rest… that what lies in your hands… is a faithful summary… of the interpretation of the verses of Allah… as far as I was able! And that it is something… born of arduous efforts… made… to place in your hands… an interpretation pleasant to those who drink of it!