B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Guidelines for Understanding the Qur`aan
Part 3 - 2
Understanding the Qur`aan
The Basic Rules of Grammar & Literature
By Ayub A. Hamid
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The Basic Rules of Grammar and Literature must be Complied with
It may sound odd that this point has to be brought up, but unfortunately, when it comes to Qur-aan, many people feel that they have an inalienable right to deduce from the Qur-aan whatever they want disregarding even the very basic, generally accepted rules applicable to any literary work. Considering that many Fitnah's are being spread in the Ummah through the strange ideas that are usually supported by twisted meanings of a verse or some verses, it would be expedient to go over the basic rules so that the reader is able to recognize a Fitnah when he sees these rules broken.
Firstly, the meaning construed must be valid considering the syntax; e.g., concord of verb, subject, object and pronouns in number and gender as well as in I'raab (the variation in the expression of the ending of a word through changes in its vowel formation). To provide an English example for this point is difficult. In case of agreement in number or gender, any example will look ridiculous. For example: "John and Jane were talking. She suddenly became quiet." There is no way that any person would even assume for a moment that 'she' refers to John. But unfortunately, I have seen examples of this kind of treatment being given to the verses of the Qur-aan.
Secondly, any word will be taken to mean its commonly understood meaning unless the context or idiom suggests a metaphorical meaning or text clearly indicates use of a rare meaning. For explaining this point simply, let us consider this example. Any one reading the sentence 'This duck is lovely' will think of duck as a waterfowl. However, if it is said, "John imports duck cloth from China", the reader will know that it is some kind of cloth. Strangely, when dealing with Holy Qur-aan, some people have an attitude that if they do not like what the Qur-aan is saying plainly, they sit down with a dictionary and try to find a meaning of the word that will forcibly give the meaning they want to get out of it.
A complementary rule is that idiomatic use of a word cannot replace the original meaning of a word; i.e., whenever the word is used in itself, it will retain its original meaning regardless of whatever meanings it imparts idiomatically or proverbially. For example, 'water' will always mean ordinary water made of H2O, but 'watered-down version of report' is clearly a metaphorical or idiomatic use and has nothing to do with H2O. It implies something like 'toned down' or 'compromised' version. However, using the argument that 'water-down' means 'thinning or toning down', no one can claim that 'He watered his plants' implies that he thinned his plants or trimmed them down. Neither can it be confused with 'He gulped the water down his throat'. Each usage here has it own clear meaning and none of the idiomatic meaning can alter the meaning of 'water' itself. If someone tries to confuse their meanings with each other, he will be looked upon as crazy. Similarly 'Merchant' will always mean a trader in goods unless it is qualified with another word such as 'merchants of death'. Similarly, fire will always mean a physical energy that burns unless it is qualified with other words such as 'fire in the belly', 'fire of jealousy', 'fire of war'. The metaphorical use of fire for jealousy, etc. cannot allow interpretation of the word 'fire' in any way other than physical fire, when there is no qualifier to give the other meaning.
Thus the use of a word in an idiom for a different meaning does not deprive the word from its original meaning. Unless it is a part of the idiomatic combination, it will always carry its original meaning. Some writers have been taking liberty with the Qur-aan to infer idiomatic or metaphorical meaning when it is absolutely unjustified.
A word will be taken to mean its original generally accepted and understood meaning unless it is qualified explicitly though an idiomatic or contextual usage to mean something differently. Proverbial, idiomatic or metaphorical meaning cannot be implied in the absence of a clear indication of that intent.
Another related principle is that a word concocted to mean something new cannot be interpreted on the basis of the original words constituting the composite word. For example, peacock is used for a bird with which most people are familiar. If it is used somewhere in a text, one is not at liberty to decompose it into 'pea' and 'cock' and then try to determine the meaning of 'peacock' by combining one of the many meanings of pea and one of the many meanings of cock, or even to go to the original Latin word from which pea was derived and try to come up with a meaning that is different from the composite word 'peacock' as it is commonly understood.
The last important principle is the consistency in the use of terminology. Any decent text will not confuse the reader with using any terminology haphazardly to convey different meanings of the same term. If a term is used for a specific meaning, it will consistently be used for that meaning unless it is redefined or clearly qualified through context or additional words (qualifiers).
These are general rules well established in civilized societies and are applicable to any and all languages. They are practiced on a continuous basis in our communications throughout our daily life. Unfortunately, when it comes to Qur-aan, some people tend to throw away all basic principles of communication and try to infer meanings from the text that are not conveyed by the text under the normal rules of communication. This usually happens when someone does not like the message of the Qur-aanic text as it is. Instead of changing their ideas to comply with the message of the Qur-aan, they try to fit the Qur-aan to their mode of thinking. For that purpose, they try to speculate on the meaning of the words and fish around to seek some meaning until they find something that can support their point of view. To give a good spin to this unhealthy attitude, we can call it 'reverse re-engineering', i.e. re-engineering the Qur-aan to fit one's ideas. This is what Allaamah Iqbal called, "khood badaltay naheen qur-aan ko badal daytay hayn." (Instead of changing their ideas to conform with the Qur-aan, they try to twist Qur-aan to conform with their thinking.)
Those who want to develop a healthy understanding of the Qur-aan, and unity among our Ummah must respect these fundamental literary principles and read the writings and translations from the writers who respect these principles.
Next: The Context is Crucial
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Copyright © 2004-2006 Ayub A. Hamid
All rights reserved
This document may be used only with this copyright notice included. Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on internet forums, and include in not-for-profit publications subject to the following conditions: (1) Material used must be produced faithfully in full, without alteration or omission; (2) The author's subject title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid.
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'Guidelines for Understanding the Qur`aan' series:
Part 1: Prologue
Part 2: Approaching the Qur`aan
Part 3-1: The Qur`aan is in the Language of the Quraish
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