Dear Zack,
As-salamu alaykum
Thank you once again for your contributions and expertise in the knowledge you have been granted. Please do kindly keep contributing and assisting others.
I just wanted to elaborate a little more on the respected thoughts you have shared in
red italics, if I respectfully may.
1) Basically with any scripture, having an understanding of context enhances our understanding of the original intent of the text. For example, if someone picked up the Qur’an as a text, even totally unbiased, with zero understanding of the context, I doubt that person would come to the conclusions on this forum. We create context external to the text, without realising it. Instead of any random place, we place the Prophets in a particular place and era. We place the setting in Arabia in the 7th century. We place the War Verses of the Qur’an in a context etc. etc. The more context, the more clarity in understanding. You say:
"we place the Prophets in a particular place and era. We place the setting in Arabia in the 7th century. We place the War Verses of the Qur’an in a context etc. etc".
Yet the Quran provides as much context as it needs to. We know the Prophet was called Muhammad, what approximate era his ministry was active, that he was an Arab, spoke Arabic and much else. What exact date or century is not deemed relevant, yet whatever can be gleaned from the Quran is relevant. You respectfully appear to expect details of war, but there is sufficient guidance from what is being shared to derive an underlying message and an inner consistency that presents the reader with necessary wisdom. Again, there is an expectation for detail that many appear to have that the Quran seemingly deems unnecessary. It is detailed
to the point what is necessary for religious guidance. However, please kindly note that my statement
"The Quran provides its own context for the guidance it wants to impart." is not as restrictive as I understand that you may be being led to believe.
My humble writings are prolific in this area.
Please kindly note that where the Quran provides more detailed context and where it is silent, its intention is not for the reader to elicit finer details,
unless of course the Quran provides an interpretative opening. For example, when it interacts with those of the previous scriptures, it expects an understanding of Biblical scriptures. It even refers the Arabian prophet Muhammad to interact with those of the previous scriptures to verify certain details
"...ask of those who possess the Message" (16:43; 21:7-8). It speaks of entities as if it expects the audience to be familiar with them. For example,
Mikaeel is mentioned only once in the entire Quran (2:98 - hapax legomenon) and that too extremely briefly.
There are further incidents that are so brief that some expectation exists that certain portions of the audience will be familiar with the narrative. The incident with Prophet Job is another example (38:41-38:44) and there are many other examples:
“And has there come to you the ‘news’ (naba-u) of the litigants? How they climbed over the wall into the (royal) chamber?” (38:21)
“Has there come to you the ‘hadith’ (narration) of Moses?” 20.9
There is also an expectation for Arabs (not necessarily of the previous scriptures) to be familiar with certain references which the Quran expounds to the point that it deems necessary for (a) The immediate audience and (b) Proffering general guidance for mankind.
“Has there come to you the story of the hosts, of Pharaoh and (the tribe of) Thamud?" (85:17-18)
However, the Quran ratifies the previous scriptures and thus implicitly, interaction with it to extract as much a context / possible background as one deems necessary and this approach is arguably sanctioned. It even refers to it as a
'guide' (28:49). Thus the Quran can remain perfectly ‘detailed / complete’ because it is in its narratives it is sanctioning certain scriptures / sources for guidance, if a context is to be studied further.
However, the Quran does not and cannot sanction a plethora of later corpora or the writings of fallible historians penning thoughts centuries after the revelation of the Quran. This is not within the Quran’s ‘detail’ or ‘remit’.
Thus in my view, the Quran encourages a
'Quran-centric' view which allows interaction with other sources but whilst only sanctioning
'religious authority' for itself for the purposes of
religious guidance for the believers.
This in my humble view is a crucial / critical point, oft overlooked.
2) The Qur’an as a clear guidance, a proof etc. This too was revealed where its listeners had 100% context. Imagine, after they heard, and then they could ask to the Messenger, “what does that mean?” The text could be understood in the context of real life situations.And they did ask. Please kindly be in no doubt about this.
Yet, the Quran curtailed unnecessary questions. Please kindly note verses dealing with questions the audience enquired about the Spirit (17:85) or the Last Hour and see how God curtailed providing further details (79:42-79:43) to what had already been given (7:187). The primary audience didn't always have 100% context, yet knowledge was still withheld. Only what was necessary was shared.
However, the Quran also gave the explicit guidance not to delve in matters that were unclear inferring caution against eliciting finer details (18:22). Please also kindly note the guidance given to the primary audience not to ask unnecessary questions / elicit finer details in verse (5:101). The analogy with those who asked seemingly irrelevant questions before could be a reference to the people of Prophet Moses (5:102) and the incident with sacrificing a cow (2:67-71) where a seemingly straightforward general religious instruction became overtly complex because of the audience incessantly eliciting finer details.
Yet, in so many cases, this is exactly what even modern interpreters (and traditionalists) seem to expect and I fear this is the very type of expectation which gave rise to the accretion of the Ahadith corpus in the first place i.e. the need to constantly want to elicit finer details or fill in the gaps.
Regards,
Joseph
REFERENCES:[1] Is Hearsay Unquranic?https://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam/posts/363674833769650[2] DO NOT COMPLICATE RELIGION - WISDOM FROM SURAH BAQARAHhttp://quransmessage.com/articles/wisdom%20-%20baqarah%20FM3.htm[3] UNKNOWN TOWNS AND NAMES - WHY FILL IN THE GAPS?http://quransmessage.com/articles/unknown%20towns%20and%20names%20FM3.htm