How are we to understand the Qur’an? كيف نفهم القرآن؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.

 As to what follows:

 In response to your question, we say, and with Allah Almighty lies all success:

 Know, may Allah bless you, that Allah Almighty has blessed His slaves by sending down this Book and preserving it. He Almighty said:

 “Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Qur’an, and indeed, We will guard it.” [Al-Hijr 15:9]

 Similarly, He, the Exalted, has pledged to make it clear to us:

“Then it is upon Us is to make it clear [to you].” [Al-Qiyamah 75:19]

Making the Book of Allah Almighty clear and explaining it is the job of the Messenger (peace be upon him), for Allah Almighty said addressing His Prophet (peace be upon him):

“And We revealed to you the message, that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them, and that they may give thought.” [Al-Nahl 16:44]

 So if we want to understand the words of Allah, the Exalted, and their interpretation, then the most correct way of interpreting the Qur’an and understanding it is: to interpret the Qur’an with the Qur’an. That is because many reports and legislations, both knowledge-based and action-based, Allah has mentioned them briefly in one place in His Book and explained them in detail in another place.

If interpreting the Qur’an with the Qur’an proves impossible, we search in the Sunnah. Allah Almighty said:

“And We revealed to you the message, that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them, and that they may give thought.” [Al-Nahl 16:44]

This proves that the job of the Messenger (peace be upon him) is to make the Book clear, and as such the Sunnah makes the Book clear and interprets it. So it is obligatory to rely on it to understand the words of Allah Almighty and their interpretation, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of people concerning the intent of Allah Almighty. He Almighty said:

 “Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is nothing but a revelation revealed.” [Al-Najm 53:2-4]

 And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “By Allah, I hope that I am the most fearful of you with respect to Allah and the most knowledgeable of you in how I have taqwa.” [Muslim]

If we do not find an interpretation and clarification of the words of Allah Almighty in the Qur’an or Sunnah, then we refer to the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in interpreting the Book of Allah. That is because they are the most eloquent of people in speech and the greatest of them in Iman, and as such they are the most knowledgeable of people concerning the words of Allah Almighty. Also, because they witnessed the revelation, observed it and received its clarification from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), both knowledge-wise and action-wise. That is why among them were those who would swear by Allah that if they found anyone more knowledgeable of the Book of Allah Almighty than themselves whom they could reach, they would have approached them. So that proves the depth of their knowledge of the Book of Allah Almighty and their understanding of it.

If we do not find an interpretation of the words of Allah Almighty from the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), then we search in the statements of the Successors (Tabi`un) who took from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), for they were deeper than us in knowledge and they took from those who took from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Moreover, they were without a doubt more knowledgeable of the language and its meanings than us, and the Qur’an was revealed in the plain Arabic language. So the more knowledge a person has of the Arabic language, the more understanding and knowledge he has of the words of Allah Almighty.

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after mentioning the aforementioned levels in somewhat of detail, “As for interpreting the Qur’an with mere opinion, then it is prohibited.” [Tafsir Ibn Kathir 1/10]

 Based on this, no one who has knowledge of the Book of Allah and Sunnah of His Messenger, would doubt that what many scientific researchers do with the Noble Qur’an and Prophetic Sunnah is a transgression and crime against the words of Allah Almighty. That is because a meaning of a verse from the Book of Allah or a hadith from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) may occur to many of them, such that coincides with some of what they have an interest for of medical or natural sciences. So they begin with a good intention and say, “This Qur’an has brought this theory or this fact.” Then they insert it under the scientific miracles of the Qur’an and Prophetic Sunnah. If only this researcher referred to those specialized from among the People of Knowledge when it occurred to him what occurred to him, and then presented his understanding to them and discussed it over with them, so that he could be upon clarity. However, often times these individuals are hasty, and thus displace words from their proper places or give them meanings that they do not support, without referring to the People of Knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah.