We believe that a true and comprehensive
understanding of Islam would not be possible without careful recognition of the
Prophetic Tradition and the Prophet's Household. And Allah is the Source of Strength.
Read In The Name Of The Lord: Pairs
" As tried to capture in the article Read In The Name Of The Lord, one of the greatest tragedies of our Ummah has been the notion that Quran is not for me as I cannot understand it, hence it has given rise to a chain reaction of blind following those who claim to have the knowledge of the book leading us where we as an Ummah have distorted moral compass, lack of ethics and lack of unity on any single socio-political issue.
Not only is the Quran, a guide (ONLY) for those who guard themselves against evil (Quran Surah 2 Ayah 2), the Quran is for all mankind (Quran Surah 12 Ayah 104) hence for all times.
If the Quran does not stand the test of time, then the Quran does not remain the Quran.
It is but natural that our understanding of this world and life evolves and changes each passing moment and second, because that is the sign of life (only the dead remain static or decay). If what we knew 10 months ago is the same what we know now, means our life went wrong somewhere.
The fact that every new person will understand the Quran in a unique way, and with every passing time that we read the Quran, a new meaning will come out. Every person not reading the Quran gave up his atom's worth of contribution to the scheme of things.
How can the Quranic interpretation (which did not come directly from the Prophet (SAW) or his learned aid) of 1400 years ago not be obsolete today? Our understanding of the way the universe works, life works, is changing, scientific evidence is evolving every passing moment.
Infact, science is challenging scientific concepts of decades ago as well and this constructive cycle the very reason humans are progressing.
Let me give you an example to excite your interest in the Quran and to correlate this evolution of thought which will help us better appreciate the message of the Quran.
The Quran states at various places that Allah created all things in pairs.
[Quran Surah 36 Ayah 36] Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of their kind and of what they do not know.
Many historians and scholars of old attributed this to the gender pair of all creation (for example male and female), some to the opposite pair of all creation (for example day and night).
The following is not about right or wrong but about a new understanding of the pairing.
Quarks are the elementary particles and the fundamental constituent of matter. To simplify, everything is created of Quarks. We understand molecules, which are made of atoms, which are in return made of protons/neutrons, which are made of Quarks. The funny thing is, that Quarks exist in pairs. But it gets more interesting when you understand that alot of energy is required to separate and divide a single pair of Quark. Once you reach that energy threshold to pull away the pair of Quark into two individual single Quarks, you have introduced so much energy into the system that by the time you have done enough work to pull the Quarks apart, you have enough energy to spawn a new pair of quark. To simplify, if you separate a pair of quark into two individual quarks, you will get 02 pair of quarks (they cannot exist in singularity).
Does this mean something to you as a muslim? As a physicist? As a believer? It gives a perspective to the word of Allah what people a few decades ago could neither understand nor appreciate.
A two way communication is very important for the success of any relationship, to speak and to be heard. Imam Ali (AS) said that when he wants to speak to Allah, he performs Salaat and when he wants Allah to speak with him, he recites the Quran.
Why do you want to give away the opportunity to see what Allah speaks with you? With your level of piety, understanding, acumen, knowledge, experience, all of which are unique to an individual, you will get a unique understanding of some parts of the Quran, which will help take the universality of the Quran forward. "
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