INTERPRETATION
OFi
SURAH AL-HAMD
I have been asked to say
something on the exegesis of Surah al-Hamd. The fact is that the exegesis of the Qur'an is
not a thing of which we may be able to acquit ourselves well. In every period of Islamic
history the top scholars including both the Sunnis and the Shi'ites have compiled a large
number of books on this subject. But every scholar has written his book from the angle
with which he was well conversant and has interpreted only one aspect of the Qur'an. Still
it cannot be said whether even that aspect has been covered fully.
During the past fourteen
centuries the gnostics such as Muhyuddin ibn Arabi, Abdur Razzaq Kashani, Mulla Sultan Ali
etc. have written excellent commentaries on the Qur'an and dealt well with the subject in
which they had specialized. But what they have written is not the exegesis of the Qur'an.
At the most it can be said that they have exposed some aspects of it. The same case is
with Tantawi, Jawhari, Sayyid Qutb etc. They have compiled their exegeses in a different
style, but their books are also not the exegesis of the Qur'an in every sense.
There are other interpreters of
the Qur'an who do not belong to either of the above mentioned two groups. The Majma'ul
Bayan by Shaykh Tabrasi is an excellent commentary and combines what the Sunni and Shi'ah
authorities have said.
There are so many other commentaries, but they all cover only certain aspects of the
Qur'an. The Qur'an is not a book all aspects of which may be exposed by us or by any body
else. There are some Qur'anic sciences which are beyond our comprehension. We can
understand only one angle or one form of the Qur'an. Others are to be explained by the
Imams who were the real exponents of the Holy Prophet's teachings.
For some time past there have
appeared some interpreters of the Qur'an who are totally unfit for the task. They want to
attribute their own wishes and desires to the Qur'an. Surprisingly enough even some
leftists and communists pretend to be partisans of the Qur'an and show interest in its
interpretation. In fact they do so only to promote their evil designs. Otherwise they have
nothing to do with the Qur'an; let alone its interpretation. They just want to pass their
doctrines under the name of the teachings of Islam.
That is why I say that those who
do not possess enough knowledge of Islam and the young men who are not fully conversant
with the Islamic problems, have no right to meddle in the exposition of the Qur'an. But if
they still try to misinterpret it for some ulterior motive of theirs, our youth should
ignore their interpretation and pay no attention to it. Islam does not allow anybody to
interpret the Qur'an according to his personal opinion or private judgement. Anybody who
tries to impose his own opinion on the Qur'an is either a materialist misinterpreting the
Qur'an or is one of those who give some spiritual meaning to the Qur'anic verses. Both
these groups interpret the Qur'an according to their own wishes. Therefore it is necessary
to keep away from both of them. As far as the Qur'an is concerned our hands are tied. No
body is allowed to attribute his opinion to the Qur'an and claim that the Qur'an says so.
The interpretation which I am
going to give is only a possible interpretation. When I explain any verse of the Qur'an, I
do not claim that the verse means only what I say. I do not say anything for certain. I am
hinting a possibility only.
As some gentlemen have asked me
to say something on the exegesis of the Qur'an, I have decided to speak briefly once a
week about the Surah al-Hamd. I would like to repeat once again that the interpretation
which I give is nothing more than a possibility. I do not want at all to interpret the
Qur'an according to my own opinion or wish.
It is possible that the 'bismillah'
in the beginning of each surah of the Qur'an is related to the verses following it.
Generally it is said that the bismillah is related to a verb understood (omitted).
but probably it is related to the surah following it. For example in the Surah al-Hamd it
is related to al-Hamdu lillah. In this case the whole sentence would mean that:
With the name of Allah all praises belong to Him. Now what does a name signify. It is a
mark or a sign. When man gives a name to any person or thing, that name serves as a symbol
for the recognition of that person or thing. If any person is named Zayd, people can
recognize him by that name.
Allah's Names are the Symbols of His Person
Whatever little information man
can get about the Divine Being, he can acquire it through His names. Otherwise man has no
access to His Person. Even the Holy Prophet did not have, though he was the most learned
and the noblest of all human beings. No one other than Him can know Him. Man can have
access only upto the Divine names.
The knowledge of the Divine names
has several grades. Some of them we can comprehend. Others can be grasped only by the Holy
Prophet and some of his chosen followers.
The Whole World is A Name of Allah
The whole world is a name of
Allah, because the name of a thing is its sign or symbol and as all the things existing
are the signs of Allah, it may be said that the whole world is His name. At the most it
can be said that very few people fully understand how the existing things are the signs of
Allah. Most people know only this much that nothing can come into existence automatically.
Nothing, the existence of which
is only possible, can come into existence automatically.
It is intellectually clear and
every body knows it intuitively that anything the existence and non-existence of which is
equally possible, cannot come into existence automatically and that there must be an
external force to bring it into existence.
The first cause of bringing into existence all possibly existing things must be an eternal
and self-existing being. If it is supposed that the imaginary upper space, and it must be
imaginary because it is a nonentity, has always existed, then it possibly can neither
automatically turn into anything nor anything can come into existence in it automatically.
The assertion of some people that in the beginning the whole world was an infinite vacuum
(Anything being infinite is questionable in itself) in which subsequently appeared a sort
of steam from which everything has originated, does not stand to reason, for without an
external cause no new thing can appear nor can one thing change into another thing. For
example, water does not freeze nor does it boil without an external cause. If its
temperature remains constant and does not go below 0° nor above 100° it will always
remain water. In short, the existence of an external cause is essential for every change.
Similarly nothing the existence of which is only possible can come into existence without
an external cause. These facts are self-evident truths.
All Existing Things are A Sign of Allah
This much can be easily
understood by all that all existing things are a sign and a name of Allah. We can say that
the whole world is Allah's name. But the case of this name is different from that of the
names given to the ordinary things. For example if we want to indicate a lamp, or a motor
car to someone, we mention its name. The same thing we do in the case of man or Zayd. But
evidently that is not possible in the case of the Being possessing infinite sublime
qualities.
Anything Which is Finite is A Possibly Existing
Thing
If an existing thing is finite,
it is a possibly existing thing. As Allah's existence is infinite, He should evidently
possess all sublime qualities, for if he lacked even one quality, He would become finite
and as such possibly existing. The difference between a possibly existing being and an
essentially existing being is that the latter is infinite and absolute in every respect.
If all the sublime qualities of the essentially existing being were not infinite, that
being would not be the essentially existing being and the source of all existence. All the
things caused by this source of existence are endowed with the qualities possessed by the
essentially existing Being, but on a smaller scale and in varying degrees. What is endowed
with these qualities to the utmost possible degree is called the Grand Name or al-ism
al-a'zam.
What is the Grand Name?
The Grand Name is that name or
sign that is somewhat endowed with all the Divine qualities to the greatest possible
degree. As compared to other existing things it possesses the Divine qualities most
perfectly, though no existing thing lacks them completely, for everything has been endowed
with them according to its nature and capacity. Even those material things which appear to
us to be totally devoid of all knowledge and power are not really so and possess some
degree of percept ion and knowledge.
All Existing Things Glorify Allah
As we are veiled, we cannot
perceive it. but it is a fact that the sublime qualities are reflected even in the things
lower than man and animals. At the most these qualities are reflected in them according to
the capacity of their existence. Even the lowest creations possess the quality of
perception. The Qur'an says: There is not a thing that does not praise Him, but you do
not understand their praise. (Surah Bani Isra'il, 17:44)
As we are veiled and do not
understand the praise of all existing things, the ancient scholars did not know that the
imperfect beings also possessed perception. That is why they took this praise to mean the
praise indicated by the creation of all things, but in fact this verse has nothing to do
with that kind of praise, which is quite a different matter as we already know. According
to a tradition once the people heard the pebbles in the Holy Prophet's hand praising
Allah. They could understand the praise of the pebbles, but this praise was such that the
human ears were quite unfamiliar with it. It was in the pebbles' own language, not in any
human language. Hence, it is clear that the pebbles possess perception, although of course
according to their existential capacity. Man who considers himself to be the source of all
kinds of perception, thinks that other things are devoid of it, but that is not a fact,
although it is true that man has a higher degree of it. Being veiled, we are unaware of
the perception of other things and their praising Allah, and think that there is no such
thing.
There are Many Things that We do not
Know There are many things about
which man thinks that they do not exist, but in fact they do, though we may be unaware of
them. Every day new discoveries are being made. Formerly it was believed that the plants
were inanimate objects, but now it is said that they have a hearing system. If you put the
tissues of a tree in hot water and pass a voice through them, there will be a reaction and
you will hear some voices in response.
We do not know how far this
report is correct. ,But it is certain that this world is full of voices and sounds. The
whole world is living and is a name of Allah. You yourselves are a name of Allah. Your
tongues and your hands are names of Allah.
All Movements are the Names of Allah
The praise you make of Allah is
His name. When you go to the mosque after washing your feet, you go with the name of
Allah. You cannot part with the name of Allah because you yourselves are His name. The
beat of pulse, the throbbing of heart and the blowing of wind are all names of Allah.
Perhaps that is what is meant by the names of Allah in this verse. There are many other
verses in which the phrase: "With the name of Allah" has been used. As we have
said, everything is the name of Allah, and the name has passed away in the named. We think
that we have an independent existence, but that is not a fact. If that Being, who has
brought everything into existence by means of His will and the reflection of the light of
His glory withdrew His light for a moment all the existing things would be annihilated
immediately and return to their pre-existing state. Allah has created the whole world by
the light of His glory which is the true nature of existence and the name of Allah. The
Qur'an says: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. Everything is
illuminated by His light. Everything has appeared by dint of His light. This appearance
itself is a reflection of His light. Man's appearance is also a light. Therefore man
himself is a light. Animals are also a light of Allah's glory. The existence of the
heavens and the earth is a light from Allah. This light has so passed away in Allah that
the Qur'an has said: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.
It has not said that the heavens
and the earth are illuminated by the light of Allah. The reason is that the heavens and
the earth are a nonentity. Nothing in our world has an independent existence of its own.
In other words there is nothing here that is self-existing. In fact there is no existent
other than Allah. That is why the Qur'an says: With the name of Allah all praise
belongs to Allah. 'With the name of Allah say: He is 'Allah the One'. Perhaps the Qur'an
does not ask you to utter the words: 'With the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the
Merciful.' It actually mentions a fact. By asking you to say so ..with the name of
Allah, it means that your saying so is also a name of Allah. The Qur'an has said:
'Whatever there is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him.' It has not said whoever
there is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him. That means that everything whether
animate or inanimate praises and "glorifies Allah, for all are a reflection of the
light of His glory and it is His glory that causes all movements.
Everything in the World is A Manifestation of His
Glory
The cause of all that occurs in
the world is the manifestation of Allah's glory. Everything is from Him and everything
returns to Him. No creature has anything of its own. If any body claims to have anything
of his own, he virtually wants to complete with the source of Divine light, while as a
matter of fact even his life is not of his own. The eyes you have are not your own. The
light of Divine manifestation has brought them into being. The praise of Allah that we or
other people express, is a Divine name, or it is because of a Divine name. That is why the
Qur'an says: With the name of Allah and praise belongs to Allah.
The Word Allah is a Comprehensive Manifestation
of Divine Glory
It is a manifestation that
includes all manifestations. Allah's names, Rahman (the Compassionate) and Rahim
(the Merciful) are the manifestations of this manifestation.
Because of his mercy and
benevolence Allah has bestowed existence in the existing things. This is itself is a show
of mercy and kindness. Even the existence conferred on the harmful and obnoxious things is
a show of His fevour, which is common to all existing things. It is the manifestation of
the glory of His name, Allah, which is a true manifestation of His glory in every sense.
Allah is a station. It is a
comprehensive name, which is itself a manifestation of Divine glory in every sense.
Otherwise the Divine Being has no name apart from His Essence or Person. Allah His names
including Allah, Rahman, and Rahim are only the manifestations of his glory.
In the 'bismillah' His names Rahman and Rahim have been added to His
comprehensive name Allah, because they signify His self-sustaining attributes of mercy,
favour and compassion. His attributes of retribution, anger etc. are subservient to these
attributes. The praise of any kind of excellence is actually the praise of Allah. When a
man eats something and says how delicious it is, he praises Allah unconsciously. When a
man says about another man that he is a very fine man or that he is a great scholar or
philosopher, he praises Allah because a philosopher or a scholar has nothing of his own.
Whatever there is, it is a manifestation of Allah's glory. The man who understands this
fact, he and his intellect are also a manifestations of Allah's glory.
No Praise is of Anyone Else's Praise
Whenever we praise anybody, we
say that he has such and such good qualities. As every thing belongs to Allah, the
commendation of any merit of any person or a thing virtually amounts to praising Allah.
We, being veiled, do not realize this truth and think that we are praising Zayd or Amr,
the sunshine or the moonlight. When veil is lifted we will come to know that all praises
belong to none but Allah and that everything we praise is nothing but a manifestation of
Allah's glory.
The Qur'an says: Allah is the
light of the heavens and the earth. In other words, every excellence and every sublime
quality, wherever it may be, is attributable to Allah. He is the cause of the whole world
and the whole world is a manifestation of His glory. The things we do, are not actually
done by us. Addressing the Holy Prophet Allah said in the Qur'an: You did not throw
(the pebbles), when you threw (them), but Allah threw (them). (Surah al-Anfal, 8:17)
Consider the words: 'You threw' and 'You did not throw' Both of these phrases are a
manifestation of 'but Allah threw'.
There is another verse that says:
Those who swear allegiance to you, swear allegiance only to Allah. (Surah al-Fath,
48:10) Being veiled as we are, we do not understand the truth these verses imply. As a
matter of fact we all are under a veil except the Holy Prophet who was educated direct by
Allah and the Holy Imams of the Holy Prophet's Progeny who received training from him.
So there is a possibility that
the preposition 'bi' and the noun 'ism' in 'bismillah' may be related
to 'al-Hamdu', meaning, 'With the name of Allah all praises belong to Him.' It is a
manifestation of the glory of Allah that draws every praise to it and does not allow any
praise to be a praise of anyone other than Allah, for howsoever you may try, you will not
find anyone existing other than Him. Therefore whatever praise you express, it will be a
praise of Allah. It may be noted that praise is always made of positive qualities. The
defects and faults being negative qualities, do not actually exist. Everything that exists
has two aspects. It is positive aspect that is praised and it is always free from defects
and faults.
There exists only one excellence
and one beauty and that is the excellence and beauty of Allah. We should try to understand
this truth. Once we are convinced of this fact, everything else will be easy. As a matter
of fact it is easy to acknowledge something verbally, but it is difficult to persuade
oneself to believe even a rational thing firmly.
To Believe Something Intellectually is One
Thing and to be Convinced of it is Another
To be convinced of the truth of a
thing is different from believing it intellectually because of the existence of some
scientific arguments to prove it. The impeccability of the Prophets was due to their firm
conviction. A man who is fully convinced of a truth, cannot act contrary to his
convinction. If you were sure that somebody was standing near you with a drawn sword in
his hand and that he would kill you if you uttered a single word against him, you would
never say anything against him because your first concern was to save your life. In other
words, as far as this matter was concerned, you were so to say infallible. A man who was
convinced that if he slandered anybody behind his back, his backbiting would assume the
shape of a dreadful animal with a long tongue stretching from the slanderer to the
slandered and this animal would be crushing him, he would never indulge in backbiting
anybody. If a man was sure that "slandering is the food of the dogs of hell" and
the slanderer would be ceaselessly devoured by them, he would never stoop to this vice. We
occasionally indulge in backbiting only because we are not fully sure of the consequences
of this bad habit.
Man's Deeds Will Assume a Concrete Shape
If man was convinced that
whatever deeds he performed would be embodied in the hereafter, the good deeds assuming a
good shape and the bad one a bad shape, and that he would have to give an account of all
that he did, he would not commit a bad deed even unconsciously. We need not go into the
details of this affair. It is enough to say that everything will be reckoned. If a person
slandered anyone else, he would be accountable for doing that. If anybody harassed or
injured the faithful, he would go to Hell. The good men would get Paradise. One must be
fully convinced and sure of this procedure. It is not enough to read the law in the books
or to understand it rationally. Knowing and understanding are quite different from
heart-felt conviction. By heart I mean the real heart, not an organ of the body.
Man often knows and understands a
truth, but not being firmly convinced of it, does not act according to what a belief in it
requires. He acts only when he gets fully and firmly convinced. It is this firm conviction
that is called faith. Simply knowing a Prophet is of no use. What is beneficial is having
faith in him. It is not enough to prove the existence of Allah. What is necessary is to
believe in Him and to obey His commandments whole-heartedly. With the true faith,
everything becomes easy.
If a man was convinced that there
was a Being who was the source of this world, that man was accountable and that his death
would not be his end but would only mean his shifting to a more perfect stage, he would
surely be saved from all errors and slips. The question is how can he be convinced? I have
already described one aspect of the verse saying: 'With the name of Allah all praises
belong to Allah'. I once again emphasize that what I say is only a possibility, not a
definite interpretation of the Qur'an. Anyhow, it appears that a man fully convinced that
all praises belonged to Allah, could never have any polytheistic ideas in his mind, for
whomsoever anybody - praises, he actually praises some manifestation of Allah's glory.
Anybody who composes or intends
to compose an ode in honour of the Holy Prophet or Imam Ali, that ode of his is for Allah
because the Holy Prophet and the Imam are not but a great manifestation of Allah, and
therefore their eulogy is the eulogy of Allah and His manifestation. A man who is
convinced that all praises are due to Allah, would never indulge in bragging, boasting and
self-praise. In fact man is self-conceited because he does not know himself. 'He who knows
himself, knows Allah.'
A man knows Allah only when he is
firmly convinced that he himself has no significance and that everything belongs to Allah
only.
In fact, we neither know
ourselves nor Allah. We have faith neither in ourselves nor in Him. We are neither sure
that we are nothing nor that everything is Allah's. So long as we are not certain of these
things, all arguments to prove the existence of Allah are of little use, and all that we
do is based on egoism. All claims to leadership and chieftaincy are the result of
self-conceit and personal vanity.
Self-Conceit is the Cause of All Troubles
Most of the troubles man faces
are the result of his vanity and empty pride. Man loves himself and desires to be admired
by others. But that is his mistake. He does not realize that he himself is nothing and
that he is the property of another Being. Man's self-conceit and love of power are the
cause of most of his troubles, sins and vices, which ruin him and drag him to Hell.
Because of his selfishness man wants to control everything and becomes the enemy of others
whom he rightly or wrongly considers to be a hindrance in his way. He knows no limits in
this respect and that is the cause of all troubles, misfortunes and calamities.
All Praises Belong to Allah
It appears that the Book of Allah
begins with the question that includes all questions. When Allah says: 'All praises belong
to Allah', we feel that so many questions have appeared before our eyes.
The Qur'an does not say that some
praises belong to Allah. That means that if somebody says to another person: 'I know that
Allah is Almighty and Omnipotent, but still I am praising you, not Allah', even then his
praise would go to Allah, because all praises are Allah's praises.
The Qur'an says: 'All praises
belong to Allah'. This means that all kinds of praises in all conditions belong to
Him. This short verse resolves many problems. This verse is enough to cleanse man's heart
from the impurity of all kinds of polytheism provided he is fully convinced of its truth.
He who said that he had never committed any sort of polytheism, said so because he had
intuitively discovered this truth and grasped it mentally. This state of conviction cannot
be secured by any argument. I do not mean that argument is of no use. It is also required.
But it is only a means of understanding the question of Allah's monotheism according to
one's intellectual capacity. To believe in it is the next step.
Philosophical Reasoning is not much Effective
Philosophy is a means not an end.
Philosophical arguments help in understanding the problems, but they do not lead to a firm
faith, which is a matter of intuition and taste. Even faith has several grades.
I hope that we will not be
contented with reading and understanding the Qur'an, but will have a firm faith in every
word of it, because it is the Divine Book that reforms man and wants to turn him into a
being created by Allah from His 'Ism A'zam' (grand name). Allah has gifted man with
all kinds of faculties but many of his potential capabilities are dormant. The Qur'an
wants to raise man from this lower position to the high position worthy of him. The Qur'an
has come for this very purpose. Allah the Prophets have come to help man in getting out of
the depths of selfishness and seeing the Divine light so that he may forget everything
other than Allah.
May Allah bestow this favour on
us also!
References:
LIGHT WITHIN ME
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