QUR'ANIC VERSES OF MUHKAMAT AND MUTASHABIHAT

AL IMRAN Verse 007

YUSUFALI: He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

PICKTHAL: He it is Who hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations - they are the substance of the Book - and others (which are) allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking (to cause) dissension by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah. And those who are of sound instruction say: We believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed.

SHAKIR: He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. but none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding.

The majority Qur'an verses are clear and readily understood. That is the essence of the verse. Hence, the fear of reading from the Qur'an and directly reading the translation for fear of misguidance is very difficult to swallow. Allah instruct us to read the Qur'an for within it is Guidance to Men of understanding. So how come this fear?

The question arises as to the reason behind the revelation of any particular verses, the Asbabun Nuzul. However we must understand that it as a matter of faith that al Qur'an is a Book of Guidance till the Day of Qiamah. As such eventhough there is a historical account as to the reason behind the revealation of many verses, the guidance therein is UNIVERSAL; aplicable through out the ages, till Yaumul Qiamah.

Reading direct from the Qur'an is so much different from reading commentaries. Commentaries are human interfaced to the Kalaamullah; Words of Allah, ie The Qur'an. The more the human interfacing there is, the less we get to the vibrancy of the original text. Reading it in the flow of Quranic text, words by words eventhough the grammar is alien from the translated language's grammar, is very fulfilling and the feeling of nearness and intimacy to Allah is there. There is currently in the market such a book called Syaamil al Quran. I am reading this as a matter of routine now.

Those of perversity prefers to delve in the mutasyabihat; the allegorical verses as opposed to the muhkamat; the clear and fundamental verses that deal with matters in a matter of factly. We dont have to seek and seek and try to find takwil that support certain stand of which we feel comfortable with. So when Allah says the Disbelievers are dwellers of Jahannam and they abide forever, it means exactly that. We dont have to takwil that in the bountless `Rahman and Rahim' attributes of Allah, He would in the end forgive them. The verse is clear, a muhkamat, no more ifs and buts.

Extract from Milestone by Syed Qutb;

The spring from which the Companions of the Prophet - peace be on him-drank was the Qur'an; only the Qur'an, as the Hadith of the Prophet and his teachings were offspring of this fountainhead. When someone asked the Mother of the Faithful, Aisha-may God be please- with her,-about the character of the Prophet-peace be on him,-she answered, "His character was the Qur'an" [Al-Nisaa]

The Holy Qur'an was the only source from which they quenched their thirst, and this was the only mold in which they formed their lives. This was the only guidance for them, not because there was no civilization or culture or science or books or schools. Indeed, there was Roman culture, its civilization, its books and its laws, which even today are considered to be the foundation of European culture. There was the heritage of Greek culture- its logic, its philosophy and its arts, which are still a source of inspiration for Western thought. There was the Persian civilization, its art, its poetry and its legends, and its religion and system of government. There were many other civilizations, near or far, such as the Indian and Chinese cultures, and so on. The Roman and Persian cultures were established to the north and to the south of the Arabian peninsula, while the Jews and Christians were settled in the heart of Arabia.

Thus we believe that this generation did not place sole reliance on the Book of God for the understanding of their religion because of any ignorance of civilization and culture, but it was all according to a well thought out plan and method. An example of this purpose is found in the displeasure expressed by the Messenger of God - peace be on him -when 'Umar-may God be pleased with him-brought some pages from the Torah. The Messenger of God-peace be on him-said, "By God, if even Moses had been alive among you today, he would have no recourse except to follow me" [Reported by al-Hafidh Abu Yala from Himad, from al-Shubi, from Jabir.]