Mail Box Letter Relevant to this Topic
 Letter 13: Why Will Quran Mislead You

There have been many tragedies with Islam since its advent leading upto modern times; Muslims are terrorists, Islam preaches intolerance, the divide in Ummah the day the Prophet (SAW) demised, and in Iqbal's words  (translated), the killing of Imam Hussain (AS), grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), under the slogan of Takbeer (Allah is the greatest).

But you and I as individuals, do not control the propaganda against Islam and Muslims which western media controls, nor did we conduct a suicide blast anywhere, we were not there in Kerbala to fight for (or against God Forbid) Imam Hussain (AS), nor were we parties to the great divide in the Muslim Ummah and the civil wars to follow when all of this happened. So it might not be very significant to discuss these matters, as you and i are not responsible for these tragedies. .

But you and I, as individuals, have a great role to play, in one of the biggest tragedies that Islam had to undergo, and a chain reaction of that tragedy has such a significant domino effect that it has harmed Islam and continues to do so in ways we may not be able to fully comprehend, the Tragedy, that the Quran is not for me but only for experts and scholars (+ molvis) to understand / the Quran is too complicated for me to understand / the Quran is in arabic and therefore i can not clearly comprehend it till i learn arabic / the Quran's translation has many versions so I can never know the truth. To the extent of this tragedy, we have created enough confusion and false accusations that shias believe in an incomplete or a different version or copy of the Quran.

If Quran is the word of Allah himself, which it is, then the first revelation to the greatest creation of all time, Prophet (SAW), by the creator himself, through his own words, was a commandment, an emphasis to read (the Quran).

Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is Most Honorable,
Quran [96:13]

Isn't  it unfortunate, that we read novels, newspaper, social media websites every day, yet we have found so many authentic excuses not to read the Quran? Ofcourse we are more concerned about what our favorite actress wore to an awards show, rather what the creator himself had revealed for all of mankind to come.

Quran is important because it is an act of worship, and brings sawab (reward). But the importance of the book is more deep rooted than we think. You and I have opinions about everything in life, from what we see, to what we believe in. All of these opinions are based on our criteria of right and wrong which varies from people to people. Mostly the criteria of our judgement is shaded by our nurturing, our society and how it dilutes our view and manipulates our opinions. The Question is a very basic one. How can you and I, have an opinion on anything in our life, right vs wrong, if we do not know what to base that opinion against?

Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; with it the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judged (matters) for those who were Jews, and the masters of Divine knowledge and the doctors, because they were required to guard (part) of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereof; therefore fear not the people and fear Me, and do not take a small price for My communications; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers.
Quran [5:44]

Surely We have revealed the Book to you with the truth that you may judge
between people by means of that which Allah has taught you; and be not an advocate on behalf of the treacherous.
Quran [4:105]

The Quran is called the Furqan or criterion (between good and evil). We all are opinionated in our lives. We need to realize that all of our views, and faith itself, is merely our opinion and judgment. How can we expect to judge or have an opinion about any matter in our life we are clueless as to what is the control, the baseline, the fundamentals?

How can we judge by what Allah has revealed, if we do not know what Allah has revealed?

The other important matter surrounding Quran is that it is revealed for all men to come till all times exist. Are you not one of them?

And you do not ask them for a reward for this; it is nothing but a reminder for all mankind.
Quran [12:104]

The Quran is not only for the arabs or those who understand arabic, or the learned, or the scholars, it is for all of mankind. Therefore Quran has stood the test of time in terms of its scientific validity and therefore Quran has been made easy and clear for a layman like you and me, to comprehend, because how can we judge according to the Quran without comprehending it? It has been made clear;

Allah thus makes clear to you His communications that you may understand
Quran [2:242]

It is a miracle of the Quran, that it speaks to you what you deserve to understand.

Do not expect the Quran to guide you. It is not a guide for you. The suicide bomber justifies himself through the Quran (without reading and comprehending it in totality). We fight in different sects, all evidencing their approach to their contradictory sects through the same Quran. Quran is meant for a guide, only for those protect themselves and abstain.

This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).
Quran [2:2]

Why do we rely on others to understand what the Quran says without putting in our effort to read what was revealed to our Prophet (SAW) on his blessed and pure heart? What some one else has understood may not necessarily be the same what you may understand. The Quran will give you your unique message, based on your intellect and piety.

A person may choose to eat poison and commit suicide under a situation of extreme stress. That option may seem logical and practical to such a person under that circumstance. Would you also choose the same option in that scenario blindly? Ofcourse not. You will argue that killing yourself is not a logical solution to a problem, yet there are people who find it a logical solution and consume poison. If some one is jumping out of the window, will you do the same? As long as you have your senses and intellect intact, you will not till you investigate all options yourself.

Strange that we are not willing to consume poison if someone else does, yet we are willing to accept the understanding of another person on the Quran because we are lethargic and not interested to develop our own, by reading the Quran.

What would you think of a person (pagan, infidel) who ignored the words of Allah when it was being revealed to the Prophet (SAW)? How different are you today if you ignore the words of Allah yourself and take the understanding and interpretation of another person for granted to be the words of Allah?

Following Tafseers to better understand the Quran is not discouraged. Referring to different translators to better understand the same verse of the Quran is not discouraged. Referring to a more learned scholar to better comprehend the meaning of some verse of the Quran is not discouraged. But all of these happen if you read the Quran yourself first, that is the first step.

Show me a verse in the Quran that has conflicting (poles apart) meanings or translations, and I will show you from the Quran verses that you never realized existed.

It shall be unfair to this article, to mention the Quran without mentioning of the Ahlulbayt (AS), for if there is a book, there must be a book keeper, a teacher of the book, an expert on the subject matter, a custodian of the book.

For if the book was to be left for interpretations, confusions, conflicts, or without a guardian, what purpose did it serve for the revelations to be booked?

If a book is the same book for all the students, but only the best understand the fundamentals of the book and champion the books true letter and spirit, then these best have an elevated intellect to absorb what the book offers to them.

If the Quran is understood (like a book) based on the intellectual maturity and piety of a person, then who were closer to the Prophet (SAW) in their relation, privacy, wisdom, inheritance, intellectual excellence and peak of eloquence and peity than the Ahlulbayt (AS) of Prophet (SAW) themselves?

No wonder the Prophet (SAW) did not leave behind the Book alone, without mentioning the Ahlulbayt (AS).

Yazid b. Hayyan reported, I went along with Husain b. Sabra and 'Umar b. Muslim to Zaid b. Arqam and, as we sat by his side, Husain said to him: Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind me. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that. He then said: One day Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. He (Husain) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren't his wives the members of his family? Thereupon he said: His wives are the members of his family (but here) the members of his family are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: 'Ali and the offspring of 'Ali, 'Aqil and the offspring of 'Aqil and the offspring of Ja'far and the offspring of 'Abbas. Husain said: These are those for whom the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. Zaid said: Yes.
Sahih Muslim Book 031, Number 5920

No wonder Imam Ali (AS) was termed as the Gateway of Knowledge (to which Prophet (SAW) was the city himself) by the Prophet (SAW) himself.

As the Sahaba and Hafiz of the Qur’an Ibn Masud himself testified:

"The Holy Quran has outward and inward meanings, and Ali Ibn Abi Talib has the knowledge of both."
 Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1, p65

Imam Ali (as): “Ask me about the Book of Allah, because there is no Ayah but that I know whether it was revealed at night or in daytime, on the plain or in the mountain”
History of the Khailfa’s who took the right way by Jalaladeen Suyuti, pg 194

No wonder Imam Ali (AS) said that when he desires to speak to Allah, he prays salat, and when he desires Allah to speak with him, he recites the Quran. 

As an employee or subordinate working in a company, you always desire to be in direct communication and under command of the top executive, why then do you want someone to intervene between you and God by not reciting the Quran yourself?

Remember, as long as there is a difference amongst two conflicting parties on a matter, and both claim to have adjudged according to the Quran, then know that either one of them, or both have them, have not judged according to the Quran, because in Quran there is no discrepancy and as an outcome of the true understanding of the Quran, the judgment shall always remain consistent. Whether adjudged by 1 person or 100, if the opinion is from the Quran it shall remain the same.

(All) people are a single nation; so Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news
and as warners, and He revealed with them the Book with truth, that it might judge
between people in that in which they differed; and none but the very people who were given it differed about it after clear arguments had come to them, revolting among
themselves; so Allah has guided by His will those who believe to the truth about which
they differed and Allah guides whom He pleases to the right path.
Quran [2:213]

Who better than to vouch for the true understanding of the Quran, than those left by the Prophet (SAW) himself, his Ahlulbayt (AS)? Who better to refer to if there indeed arises a conflict after the Prophet (SAW)? Who better to judge as per the Quran than the Ahlulbayt (AS)?

Hence the SDOL.org Tagline of our logo (adopted 14 years ago); 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.

The tragedy did not start when you and i refused to read the Quran and refused to refer our problems and confusions to the Quran and the Ahlulbayt (AS). The tragedy started when people like you and me refused to read the Quran and refused to refer their problems and confusions to the Quran and Ahlulbayt (AS). The tragedy started when both, the (copies of) Quran (during battle of siffin to force advancing Imam Ali (AS) to arbitration), and the severed heads of the Ahlulbayt (AS) (at Kerbala), were raised on spears, by Muslims.