Um Abdullah M.
27th July 2007, 06:13 PM
assalamu alaykum
I recieved this by email , and I wasn't really sure what he was trying to say, was he saying that one can interpret the Quran on his own if one follows his below techniques on Quran interpretation ??
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Reasons for Misinterpretation of the Qur'an
Lack of Expertise in Qur'anic Interpretation Techniques *
By Harun Yahya
Turkish Muslim Thinker
The Qur'an is a miraculous book that contains all of the essential information humankind needs. This is due to the endless divine wisdom present in it. A finite number of verses contains infinite knowledge that has been placed in these verses with superior wisdom.
The verses contain meanings that may be apparent, hidden, interwoven, or overlapping. They also produce countless other meanings when they interact with other verses. There are times when a single verse can take a whole book to explain. That is why, in order to be able to interpret the Qur'an correctly and take in all of its contents, one must be capable of grasping it in its entirety and must also be skilled in all the required interpretation techniques.
One significant technique consists of analyzing a verse according to its context in the Qur'an. The meaning of a Qur'anic verse can often be explained according to the theme around it. The way a verse begins and those verses that follow it help to clarify its meaning.
This is the reason why many of the verses can be misinterpreted if they are taken out and translated only in terms of the words they consist of and without any regard to their entire context.
Such misinterpretation of the Qur'anic verses throughout history, whether due to ignorance or perverted intent, has resulted in
misunderstanding of the Qur'an, and certain groups with ulterior motives have even slandered the holy book.
Another important method is to interpret the words that make up the verses by taking their context in that particular verse into consideration. Much Qur'anic vocabulary has especially intended meanings. The meaning of one Qur'anic word often derives from the way it is used in another part of the Qur'an. Time and again a word can have more than one meaning. So the meaning of such a word is to be deduced from the manner in which it is used in a different section of the Qur'an. Just looking the word up in a dictionary and applying the first meaning we come across can result in an extremely inaccurate interpretation. And sometimes the interpretation that results can even be the opposite of the true meaning. One can see from this that the Qur'an is self-explanatory. The explanation of one verse can sometimes be hidden in the meaning of another verse or verses.
Another important rule in the interpretation of the Qur'an is to fully grasp its essence. In order to do that, one has to see it as a whole. Furthermore, it should be explained in the light of the many verses that reflect the infinite mercy, compassion, and justice of God.
Since the Qur'an is a divine book, it is quite unlike any other book and should never be compared to them. The Qur'an has a unique style. One has to grasp the overall style along with its underlying essence to do justice to the explanations, particularly when reading the "intricate" (mutashabih) verses. It is important to adopt a wider perspective and cover the intensely spiritual aspects of the Qur'an to be able to properly understand the various facts revealed by God.
________________________________________
* Excerpted with kind permission and with some modifications from the author's website.
I recieved this by email , and I wasn't really sure what he was trying to say, was he saying that one can interpret the Quran on his own if one follows his below techniques on Quran interpretation ??
-----------------------------------------
Reasons for Misinterpretation of the Qur'an
Lack of Expertise in Qur'anic Interpretation Techniques *
By Harun Yahya
Turkish Muslim Thinker
The Qur'an is a miraculous book that contains all of the essential information humankind needs. This is due to the endless divine wisdom present in it. A finite number of verses contains infinite knowledge that has been placed in these verses with superior wisdom.
The verses contain meanings that may be apparent, hidden, interwoven, or overlapping. They also produce countless other meanings when they interact with other verses. There are times when a single verse can take a whole book to explain. That is why, in order to be able to interpret the Qur'an correctly and take in all of its contents, one must be capable of grasping it in its entirety and must also be skilled in all the required interpretation techniques.
One significant technique consists of analyzing a verse according to its context in the Qur'an. The meaning of a Qur'anic verse can often be explained according to the theme around it. The way a verse begins and those verses that follow it help to clarify its meaning.
This is the reason why many of the verses can be misinterpreted if they are taken out and translated only in terms of the words they consist of and without any regard to their entire context.
Such misinterpretation of the Qur'anic verses throughout history, whether due to ignorance or perverted intent, has resulted in
misunderstanding of the Qur'an, and certain groups with ulterior motives have even slandered the holy book.
Another important method is to interpret the words that make up the verses by taking their context in that particular verse into consideration. Much Qur'anic vocabulary has especially intended meanings. The meaning of one Qur'anic word often derives from the way it is used in another part of the Qur'an. Time and again a word can have more than one meaning. So the meaning of such a word is to be deduced from the manner in which it is used in a different section of the Qur'an. Just looking the word up in a dictionary and applying the first meaning we come across can result in an extremely inaccurate interpretation. And sometimes the interpretation that results can even be the opposite of the true meaning. One can see from this that the Qur'an is self-explanatory. The explanation of one verse can sometimes be hidden in the meaning of another verse or verses.
Another important rule in the interpretation of the Qur'an is to fully grasp its essence. In order to do that, one has to see it as a whole. Furthermore, it should be explained in the light of the many verses that reflect the infinite mercy, compassion, and justice of God.
Since the Qur'an is a divine book, it is quite unlike any other book and should never be compared to them. The Qur'an has a unique style. One has to grasp the overall style along with its underlying essence to do justice to the explanations, particularly when reading the "intricate" (mutashabih) verses. It is important to adopt a wider perspective and cover the intensely spiritual aspects of the Qur'an to be able to properly understand the various facts revealed by God.
________________________________________
* Excerpted with kind permission and with some modifications from the author's website.