The Assertion - The Quran 'Requires Nothing Else' for Interpretation is False

Started by Joseph Islam, April 24, 2019, 05:15:35 PM

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Joseph Islam

Direct Facebook Link:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1418160578321065&id=100003814101226


THE ASSERTION THAT 'THE QURAN REQUIRES NO OTHER SOURCE FOR INTERPRETATION' WITHOUT EXCEPTION IS FALSE

Those that claim otherwise, must answer the following two simple questions with intellectual honesty:

1. How does one then find the meanings of Quranic words / grammar constructs - syntax / semantics as the Quran is not a lexicon or dictionary?

2. How does one then understand words in the Quran that have only been used once in the entire Scripture (hapax legomenons)? Example: "Mikaeel " (2:98);  "Al-Tara'ib" (86:7); "Eid" (5:114)?

One simply cannot interact with a dictionary or lexicon and then uphold the notion that the Quran requires 'nothing else ' for interpretation without exception.


REFERENCES:

[1] TWO CRUCIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 'QURANIST' (ISM) AND 'QURAN-CENTRIC' APPROACH
https://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam/posts/542672849203180
[2] DIALOGUE BETWEEN A SUNNI AND A QURAN ALONE MUSLIM
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=2328.msg12193#msg12193

'During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act' 
George Orwell

Cihan

Selamun Aleykum Joseph.

Thank you for inviting me to the QM Forum.  I have not posted here nor any other forum before but I have read through this one many times. I will try to be both comprehensive and brief. I apologise in advance if I repeat some of the points I have already made on Facebook but I would like my opinions on this to be complete.

First of all I am against calling myself such things as Quranist, Quranite, Quran-Centric etc. This is clearly how sects are formed and I refuse to play any part in it. I have seen online, whether it be on forums or FB/Youtube comments or videos, people calling each other and themselves things like 19ers, Rashad Khalifa followers, Quranites and many other things as well as the usual Sunni/Shia labels. To make my standpoint clear I am only comfortable with calling myself a Muslim. I am trying to live my life as a Mumeen as described in the Quran and in the Quran, God clearly tells us not to fall into sects.

I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I can imagine you, over the years, have been subjected to many questions and statements that are outlandish. When I speak to people and my statement is 'Quran is the only source and it needs nothing else', I have never imagined that they would think I mean 'try to decipher it without literally anything else as if it is an unknown language'. My meaning is that I categorise it as Quran being the only source and literally everything else to be tools that are used in trying to understand said source, God willing of course.

Now if you say to me, grammatically speaking a lexicon or a dictionary is a source then I will concede but then call the Quran something else, the only authority/reference point/law/criterion and so on (of course I am not reducing the Quran into just one or all of these labels). My point is the Quran and lexicons or any other written text from whatever period, are not in the same category. The Quran stands alone.

Opinions regarding the meanings of the words/Ayats/Surahs of the Quran from individuals such as yourself I would also consider a tool. Whether it be an insight of a believer on a YouTube comment or a comprehensive and technical article such as your ones on QM, or Quran commentaries from past/present scholars. These for me are all tools in trying to understand the source which is the Quran. Other tools include the faculties God has given me in, the ability to use my intellect, the ability to deeply/critically think, use logic to ascertain the truth, research and analyse and etc. All after serious and honest scrutiny. The lexicons as well as opinions/articles/commentaries etc. i.e. the meaning of the word the lexicon claims must hold.

I have witnessed many times the Quran acting almost like a computer program or an immune system wherein it literally manifests the falsehood, if one has made a mistake in choosing the wrong meaning of the root definition. I have seen these examples with words such as Salat, the concept of the 2nd coming of Jesus, Hell being eternal just to name a few, where the people with preconceived ideas on say the supposed 2nd coming of Jesus failing gloriously at making the Quran yield to their biased and preconceived ideas and the Quran (Subhanallah) manifests the truth and demolishes the falsehood every single time without exception (whether the person that is interacting with it is dishonest or fails to see this is irrelevant). 

As far as I'm concerned our disagreement on our brief discourse on Facebook on this matter was merely a grammatical one. Unless you have had fundamental changes in opinion in these past few months I am sure we are on the same page regarding this matter from what I have gathered reading your material on QM.

I believe this response addresses both points. There are verses in the Quran which are clearly directed to only its initial audience or specifically for some of the people that lived at the time of the Prophet such as the Verses that deal with the wives of the prophet or how to act when visiting the house of the Prophet. There might be words that are used once or twice that we may never find out the meaning of. But my general stance on, God making the truth manifest as long as the effort that it deserves is made, doesn't change.

As I said my brother I am sure that our disagreement on this was a grammatical one. I hope I have made myself clear. I am looking forward to exchanging ideas and opinions on other matters, God willing.

May God guide us all to His straight path and reward all those who strive in His way.

Peace