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.]

AL FATIHAH

We pray 5 times a day. During that time we recite al Fatihah 17 times. We recite the Surah during Solat then break in between the prayer times. We also recite the Surah at numerous functions and a prelude to many ibadahs. Before we recite the Qur’an we recite the Surah first. The reading preludes religious activities and daily affairs.

WHY? What’s the significance? What is the training here that we are undergoing? Have we put much thought in it and just follow `like our fore-fathers do?’ In many instances Allah s.w.t condemns this act of following without knowledge. As Muslims we are taught to think, learn and follow the Path of Learning. So whatever we inherited in form of culture, religion or values, we have to rethink and discover the value and purpose behind it.

So what is al Fatihah? We know that it is the `Ummul Kitab’; the Mother of The Kitab (Quran). What is a mother? What is its significance?.....
A mother gives birth and therefore starts a new life. A mother gives love to the children, prepares and starts them on the right path. A mother provides shelter, succor and base for them.

….Let us think of the al Fatihah in this light; the starting point daily life, the turning of the ignition key before the engine start. Let us ponder at the verses of al-Fatihah;

(1).. `Segala Puji bagi Allah, Tuhan seluruh alam’ – All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe.

..... This verse introduces us to Allah s.w.t, God of The Universe; physically and intrinsically. He is the supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Chief Administrator, the Provider, The Judge, The Punisher, The Overseer, The One Who Resides over All, The One and Only True God.

….. All praise be to Him. None is worthy of praise but Him. None is worthy of our devotion and subjugation but Him. To Him alone must all object of purpose be directed to……
(This verse remind us of our station in Life, who we are, who is our superior and to whom should be our Object of our Focus in everyday Life)

(2).. `Yang Maha Pengasih, Maha Penyayang’ – The Beneficent, The Merciful.

…. This verse explains the two attributes of Allah s.w.t for which we are to always be conscious of; Beneficent and Merciful. This starts our day with Hope and expectation of the good things to come. We are reminded to feel the Bounty and Mercy of Allah s.w.t. No matter how bad the preceding day had been for us, we are to always hope, pray, expect for Allah’s Bounty and Mercy. This should heal our heart had it gone septic in the course of daily trials. Saying it at 5 milestone daily should emphasis it and clean the wound daily before it becomes to hard to heal.(This second verse emphasis Allah’s Bounty and Mercy to His creations and set us in a proper frame of mind for daily affairs)

(3).. `Pemilik Hari Pembalasan’ – Master of the Day of Judgment.

..... After acknowledging the gracious attributes of God, we are reminded that there is a Day of Judgment and He will be there to judge us on our deeds. Here we are reminded not to take the gracious attributes of God lightly as if there are no responsibilities attached. Within the Beneficent and Merciful attributes of God, we are take responsibilities to make good use of these attributes and not to indulge in acts forbidden by Him.
(After acknowledging Allah’s Bounty and Mercy, we are reminded of the accountability of our actions)

(4).. `Hanya engkaulah kami sembah dan kepada engkaulah kami memohon pertolongan’ – Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.

..... Knowing that accountability is heavy and that we could be mislead from His Path, we seek Allah’s Help. We reaffirm our SOLE object of worship and seek His help in everything…
(After acknowledging our accountability we affirm Him as our Sole object of worship and seek His Help)

(5).. `Tunjukkilah kami Jalan Yang Lurus’ – Show us The Straight Path.

..... After affirming Him as our sole object of worship and seeking His Help, we define the help as showing us The Straight path. We WANT to be shown the Right Path. We want to be among those in the good book of God. We want to be always in His Path. We remind ourselves at 5 milestones daily of our Goal, i.e; to be on The Right Path. Thus we besiege Him to point us the way…
(Our constant prayer to God is to show us the Right Path)

(6).. `Jalan orang-orang yang engkau telah berikan Nikmat padanya dan bukan jalan mereka yang di murkai dan mereka yang sesat’ – The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

..... To end the Surah, we beseech God to show us the path of those God has favoured and seek His Help to deter us from the path of those that has earn His Anger and those who has gone astray. This is our objective in this Life; to tread the Straight Path; meaning the path of those that has earned God’s favor. We also reminded ourselves at 5 milestones daily to keep away from the Path of those that earned God’s anger and those that has gone astray.

(We beseech God to show us the path of righteousness that would earn God’s favor and keep us away from the path that would earn His Wrath)