The Quran, the
final book of revelation from Allah, comprises the sole complete
system of life for all mankind. This system, based on the deep
eternal laws that govern and hold the fabric of our universe
together, is not affected by the changing winds of time. It is so
comprehensive that it encompasses, in every era, all facets of human
existence, leading the charge in the quest for knowledge and wisdom.
Consequently, a book with such far-ranging capabilities must be of a
language that is equally comprehensive, deep, and capable of
conveying the most complex and abstract thought, while at the same
time maintaining clarity and precision.
Upon reflection, it
becomes evident that since Allah had chosen the Arab nation to
inherit and implement the revolutionary message of the Quran, then
even centuries before the actual revelation of the Quran, the Arabs
had a tremendous responsibility to, step by step, evolve a language
that would be capable of expressing and containing its wisdom. When
Abraham’s children were split into two branches, one branch (Bani
Israel) received continuous revelation through prophets and gained
authority throughout the land, whereas the other branch (Bani
Ishmael) was settled in the barren deserts of Arabia, where
following Ishmael, they received no more prophets or revelation, nor
any power or authority. This apparently forgotten branch, however,
bit by bit, maturing and growing in the arms of nature, grew into a
nation that would hold the honor of being the first people to
address the final message delivered by the final prophet, in their
own language.
These people held
their tongue in such high regard that they called themselves Arabs
(meaning clear in speech) and others Aajam (meaning mute). The word
Arab means clean, clear and precise. An important point, however, is
that during the centuries that Bani Israel was occupied with the
development of their civilization to the heights of their ancient
world (including the glorious reigns of David and Solomon), their
brothers, Bani Ishmael, for this entire period, either consciously
or subconsciously, were engaged and occupied with the arrangement
and development of a language that had no peer in the entire world.
In the literature of linguistic scientists, one can find a claim
that to estimate the intellectual capacity of a nation at a given
time, one should examine their language to determine how many of
their words are conceptual. Regarding the Indo-European languages,
their research was that “every thought that has passed through the
mind of India may be reduced to 121 root-concepts.” (Max Mueller)
When Sanskrit was a living language, at a time when the sun and fire
were considered deities, there were a total of 37 words for sun and
35 words for fire.
Now let us compare
that with the language of the Arabs. These desert dwellers had 80
words for honey, 200 for snake, 500 for lion, 1000 for sword, and
for a camel they had a total of 5, 744 words (Cosmic Consciousness).
These facts illustrate the depth of conceptual thought and the wide
range of expression of which the Arabic language was capable. This
was the language in which the Quran was revealed.
-
And
verily this Qur'an is a revelation from the Lord of all the
worlds.
-
The
Spirit, faithful to the trust, has descended with it
-
On thy
heart, that thou mayest be a Warner,
-
In
plain and clear Arabic tongue. (Sher Ali, 26:192-195)
This illustrates
the position of Arabic vis-à-vis the Quran. As far as the Quran
itself, it is written:
-
We have
revealed it - the Qur'an in Arabic - that you may
understand. (12:2)
-
We have
made it a Book to be oft read in clear, eloquent language
that you may understand. (43:3)
The term
“Quraanan Arabiyyan” can be interpreted as “an Arabic Quran,”
but it can also be understood as “a Quran that states itself clearly
and precisely.” This has oft been echoed throughout the Quran,
including phrases such as “Hukman Arabiyyan,” a clear
judgement in Arabic (13:37), “Quraanan Arabiyyan” (20:113,
see also 46:12, 42:7). In 39:28, the clarity of the Quran is
emphasized by the claim “ghair thee ‘iwaj,” containing no
ambiguity. This is repeated in 18:1, “wa lam yaj’al lahu ‘iwaja,”
and it contains no ambiguity or uncertainty. This point is further
elaborated in 41:3, which states that this is a book whose verses
are well-defined and able to be analyzed separately, allowing the
Quran precisely to clarify itself for those who undertake its study
with knowledge and insight.
The values espoused
in the Quran, lofty and sublime though may be, have still been
elaborated and described in a simple manner.
44:58. Verily, We
have made this (Qur'an) easy, in thy tongue, in order that they may
give heed.
This is reiterated
in other places,
54:17. And We have
indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is
there any that will receive admonition?
Based on the above
observations, it is evident that the Quran asserts that it is sent
in a clear and easily understood Arabic tongue. One might then
conclude that a native speaker of Arabic, therefore, would easily be
able to comprehend even its deepest principles. Practical experience
though, reveals that this is definitely not the case. Undoubtedly, a
grasp of the Arabic language is a prerequisite for interpreting the
Quran (no book in the world can be understood without knowing the
language it was written in), but if that was all that was required,
then native speakers of Arabic would automatically become experts of
Quranic knowledge. We will not discuss here the extent to which
Arabs understand Quranic principles (this includes not only the
general Arab populous but also the educated and the scholars). When
this is the situation with native Arabic speakers, one can only
imagine the multiplication of difficulties for non-Arabs.
This observation
raises a vital question: why is it that the Quran describes itself
as a clear, easily understood book in a clear Arabic tongue, yet
very few of those who are native Arabic speakers or have learned
Arabic seem truly to comprehend Quranic teachings? The answer is
crucially important, a firm grasp of which is of the utmost
importance in arriving at the true Quranic message.
The pre-Islamic
Arabs possessed a culture with much greater affinity for poetry than
prose, and that was the medium in which their entire linguistic
treasure was passed on from generation to generation. In contrast,
what today is called “Arabic literature” was primarily composed
during the Abbasid period, the same period during which were
compiled the various books of hadith, Quranic tafsir, history and
biography. Many volumes of Arabic literature, grammar and linguistic
science were produced and extensive Arabic lexicons were compiled.
It is quite interesting and ironic that all these works (with few
exceptions) that comprise the earliest written or prose literature
of the Arabic language were actually produced by non-Arabs.
The student of
history would be well aware that during the Abbasid period of
Islamic history, numerous foreign concepts began to permeate all
facets of life. These foreign concepts influenced and shaped society
in ways that ripened the climate for the seizure of political power
by the Abbasids. Their politics were infused with these new foreign
concepts and ideals, further helping to perpetuate them. It is only
natural that once this happened, tremendous political pressure would
then be applied to inculcate these ideals into every other facet of
society. It is precisely because of this fact that the literary
products of that time, despite their outward appearance of Arabic
form, were actually foreign/non-Arabic in their inner true nature.
This is how the Arabic language, in the earliest stages of its
systematization and study, was turned into a vehicle of non-Arabic
ideals. A more formal description and study of this phenomenon has
been excellently provided in the work of the late Ahmed Amin Misri,
“Fajr al-Islam.” In it, he claims “Undoubtedly, you will agree with
me that Persian literature had cast Arabic literature in a new
light.”
It follows that
once the meanings of Arabic words were affected in this manner, as
expected, the understanding and interpretation of the Arabic words
of the Quran were impacted as well. Since the books of Quranic
interpretation (tafsir) were compiled during this period, they too
became prey to these external influences. This is how the Arabic
words of the Quran came to take on altogether different meanings
than the ones existing at the time of its revelation. In addition to
this general external (Aajami) influence upon Arabic, there was also
another very important reason leading to this mutation of meanings.
When the first
books of Quranic exegesis were compiled in the 3rd and 4th
century A. H., one major technique used to interpret any important
verse of the Quran was to examine its so-called “sabab nuzool,”
the reason for the revelation of the verse as recorded in
narratives. These narratives would claim that some matter would come
to pass, and in answer, a verse of the Quran would then be revealed.
In this way, the stories ascribed to a Quranic verse became a more
important focus of commentary than the actual words of the Quran. As
a result, the meanings of the Arabic words in those Quranic verses
were shaped and molded to fit the narrations ascribed to it. As time
went on, newer books of tafsir would not dare depart too far from
the original and oldest books, and in this way, this style of
Quranic commentary was perpetuated through history, gaining a
semblance of credence and authority. By claiming the narrations, and
hence, the exegesis sprang from none other than the mouths of the
beloved Prophet (s) and his companions (ra), these tafseer were made
all the more irrefutable. All of this is in spite of the fact that
the majority of the involved narrations are weak or unreliable
(according to the hadith sciences), leading the occasional
frustrated scholar, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, to lament that
“narrations of war and slaughter and tafseer are totally unreliable.”
Despite these facts, these narrations continue to dominate books on
Quranic commentary and its resulting philosophy; therefore, it is
not difficult to conceive that if these untrustworthy narrations are
the basis for determining the meaning of a Quranic verse and of the
Arabic words used in that verse, this would lead to a distortion of
the true meanings of the words, thus obscuring the true meaning of
the verse from the eyes of the reader.
This point is best
explained through a specific example in the Quran.
4:34. Men are in
charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel
the other… (Pickthall)
Here, the word
“qawwaamoon” is taken to mean “in charge of,” even though according
to the language, the meaning is “those who provide the daily bread.”
This latter meaning implies that there is a division of labor
between men and women, and men are duty-bound to earn a means of
living for the family. So how did the meaning shift from provider to
dominator or ruler?
An glance at one of
the most highly authoritative books of tafseer, written by
Ibn-Kathir, will shed light on exactly how this transformation of
meaning took place. In his tafseer of the above verse, Ibn Kathir
relates various accounts connected to the revelation of this verse.
Ibn Abbas claimed that “qawwamoon” refers to the fact that
women should obey men… Hasal al-Basri relates a story in which a
woman came complaining to the Prophet that her husband had struck
her. Just as the Prophet was about to pronounce that her husband
should be punished, the above Quranic verse was revealed, and then
the Prophet said that there would be no punishment for her husband…
In another narration, a man and his wife came before the Prophet.
The woman complained to the Prophet that her husband had struck her
and there was still a mark on her face. Just as the Prophet began to
say that the husband should not have done so, the above verse was
revealed. Upon this, the Prophet claimed “I willed something but
Allah willed something else.”
…There is a hadith in which the Prophet is reported to have
said “Don’t beat Allah’s slave women (referring to women in
general).” Thereafter Umar (ra) came to him and said “Oh Prophet!
Having heard your command, the women have become bold towards their
husbands.” Upon hearing this, the Prophet allowed the beating of
women. When the men began beating their wives, many complaints arose
from the women to the Prophet. The Prophet then said “Many women
have appealed to me complaining of their husbands’ abuse. Those men
are not the best of you.” … Ishat ibn Qays relates “I was once a
guest of Umar (ra). It happened that an argument broke out between
him and his wife, and he hit her. He then said to me ‘Ishat,
remember three things I will tell you that I learned from the
Prophet. Do not ask a man why he beats his wife, do not go to sleep
until you have prayed the Witr prayer, and I have forgotten the
third (i.e. the narrator could not recall the third) … In one
narration, the Prophet is reported to have said “If I could have
ordered that any person bow to another person, I would have ordered
the women to bow to their husbands because of the tremendous weight
of right the husband has upon her.”
So as one can see,
traditional Quranic commentary made on the basis of narration and
tradition changed the meaning of the word “qawwamoon” to mean ruler
or dominator, perhaps even something beyond that. This
interpretation is not unique to Ibn Kathir but is repeated in other
works as well, such as Zamakhshari’s al-Kashshaaf, in which he
equates “qawwamoon” with “musaytireen” (dominators or overlords). In
tafsir Jalaalayn, the synonym “mutasalliteen” is used, in other
words those who control, command and rule women. With such a
predominance of this interpretation, not surprisingly, this meaning
of “qawwamoon” eventually worked its way into books of language,
eventually pervading the literature of the Islamic world and the
education of Islamic scholars and the masses. In this way, Arabic
speakers and Arabs alike lost touch with the true message of the
Quran.
These facts lead us
towards a very important question, that:
-If the Arabic language was tainted in the Abbasid period by
non-Arabs and,
-If all the Arabic works (tafsir, history, lexicons, or
literature) that we possess today were produced in that era (usually
by non-Arabs), plus the fact that the books of tafsir used
unreliable narrations to fortify the incorrect usage and meaning of
Arabic words,
-Then how can there be any possibility of recovering the true
meaning of Arabic words, as understood at the time of the revelation
of the Quran?
1.
If this happened
in any other language (or to any other book), there is no doubt that
the above difficulties would be insurmountable; however, certain
elements of the Arabic language (and the Quran) allow a solution to
this challenging problem. Firstly, as was mentioned above, the
entirety of the Arabic language was contained within the works of
poetry prevalent in pre-Islamic Arabia. Poets had a special status
in that society, as their poetry was often used to extol the virtues
of a tribe as well as to degrade and humiliate enemy tribes. As
such, these poems were a heritage of a tribe and were taught even to
its children.
Prose, when
transmitted orally, is difficult to protect from gradual alterations
as the narrators pass the message onwards adding their own
understanding and/or wording. This is because the form is not
considered important in prose, only the meaning. Poetry, however, is
quite different since the form and meaning are both integrated in
the work. Thus, whenever poetry is learned and memorized, it is
always transmitted forward with its form intact. This is how and why
pre-Islamic Arabic poetry was preserved until the time of the
Abbasids, when it was finally compiled into writing. Undoubtedly
though, numerous apocryphal works of poetry were also created during
the Abbasid period and were mixed in with genuine pre-Islamic
poetry; however, this should not impede our purpose since that
poetry must have used exactly the same language (both form and
vocabulary) as true pre-Islamic poetry, otherwise the counterfeits
would be immediately discovered. Thus, pre-Islamic Arabic poetry was
eventually preserved in the various books of Arabic literature, the
analysis of which allows deduction of the pre-Islamic usage of
Arabic words. The way in which Arabic words were used in that poetry
is largely how the Quran uses it (and would have been how the Arabs
at the time of the Quran’s revelation would have understood it).
Pre-Islamic poetry,
in addition to being preserved in books of Arabic literature, are
also documented in the various Arabic lexicons. These works make use
of pre-Islamic poetry in an attempt to systematically derive the
original meanings of the words. These lexical works are of great
value in understanding the Quran the way it would have been
understood at the time of its revelation.
2.
Above is a description of how to arrive at the true pre-Islamic
meaning of Arabic words using external literary sources; however,
the Arabic language also has a tremendously useful internal
characteristic that both protects the meanings of words from
external forces of change as well as aids one in determining the
true meaning of a particular word. Arabic words are all constituted
from a single root. The essence of the meaning is contained within
the root and regardless of how its appearance may change according
to the rules of grammar, its derivatives will always be inextricably
bound to the essence of that root (It is this very characteristic
that allows Arabic to continue to create new words through time as
the need arises. For this, one need only find the appropriate root
meaning and consider its various grammatical derivations; there
would be no concept for which an appropriate word could not be
generated.) To take this concept a step further, not only are words
based on a fundamental root meaning, but even within root meanings,
it is known that if certain letters appear in that root (such as HA
and BA) then that group of roots will have related meanings, or if
the root contains another two letters (such as SAAD and RA) then
another group of related roots will result. Such a high degree of
hierarchical and derivational vocabulary results in an unparalleled
level of protection from the adulteration of the language. If,
through the winding passage of time, a word changes in meaning or
usage, it will be immediately discovered against the backdrop of its
relatives within which are preserved the changed word’s original
meaning. This is how one can analyze the various words of the Quran
to arrive at the meanings that would have been prevalent among the
pre-Islamic Arab society at the time of its revelation.
3.
The third
element that helps us to rediscover Arabic is actually a result of
the very simple and plain lives of the pre-Islamic Arabs. They lived
with an expansive sky above their heads decorated by the sun, moon,
and the twinkling of the stars, a vast desert before them with
never-ending dunes, the landscape occasionally punctuated by
mountains, streams of water with lush growth of greenery serving as
oases of life in the barren desert, providing its dwellers with date
palms and occasionally grapevines and pomegranate trees. Near these
oases, one might find the tents of these desert dwellers, serving to
house their meager few precious possessions, of which the most
prized are their weapons, swords, arrows, bows, spears, shields, and
daggers. With their few camels, horses, cattle and goats grazing in
the sparse meadows nearby, this simple life comprised the entire
sphere of existence for those simple desert dwelling Arabs of that
forgotten time. This atmosphere is what served as the basis for the
development of their entire language; in other words, their
vocabulary evolved from the simple concrete and perceptible things
around which their whole lives were based, and this is why the words
used to describe them are comprehended and even visualized easily.
Confusion and ambiguity in meaning usually arise in relation to the
abstract, immaterial or philosophical, which are of little use in
the harsh conditions of the desert. Indeed, it is the pure and
simple language of the desert Bedouins that is considered the purest
Arabic tongue.
The
way in which the fundamental meaning of a root can be brought to
light by the practical use of the word by desert Arabs is best
illustrated by an example.
2:153. … God is
with those who are patient.
SABR, commonly translated as patience, is usually applied to a
situation from which an individual cannot escape, leading to
desperation and helplessness. When there is no hope of actively
affecting the situation, the advice given is “have patience,” to the
extent that even someone suffering great injustice at the hands of
another, when he can do nothing to improve the situation, calms his
inner struggle through the mantra of “patience.” In other words,
this interpretation of “sabr” carries a connotation of passivity.
The root meaning of SABR, however, is constantly and continuously to
struggle towards a goal or purpose, to stand steadfastly. This root
meaning is derived based on its usage by the desert Arabs in their
daily lives. In other words, a connotation of activity.
A part of a cloud, if it stays in exactly the same spot for 24 hours
without apparently shifting, is called AS-SABEER. AL-ASBIRAH is the
word used to describe camels or goats that leave during the day to
graze, and later return retracing their footsteps exactly, without a
single one of them going astray or being left behind (Taj). These
concrete examples allow one to visualize how the Arabs understood
SABR to mean steadfastness, persistence and perseverance, to firmly
adhere to a principle or way, commitment to an action. It is this
unshakable resolution towards a way or principle that was considered
SABR by the Arabs.
Moving on, if passengers or goods created an uneven balance on a
boat such that it begins to be unstable, the boatman would place a
heavy rock in order to balance the load. This rock would be called
AS-SABOORAH. (Taj) Therefore, the second characteristic of SABR is
that if one’s footsteps begin to waver from the path, it is SABR
that provides the support upon which balance is regained, keeping
the footsteps firmly on the chosen path. Because this kind of
steadfastness leads to success and accomplishment, AS-SABRAH is used
to describe a pile of grain that is unmeasured (Muheet).
In the face of the forces of change through time, the aforementioned
features of Arabic greatly facilitate arriving at the true, original
meanings of words; however, while the above form a fundamental basis
for the meanings that is inescapable, there is yet another level of
depth to attaining the full and true meaning of a book like the
Quran. The reason for this is that this book is an outline for the
eternal values of life, unchanging and all-encompassing upon whose
truths our entire belief is based. It is, therefore, necessary that
its understanding be complete and without doubt, something that can
be difficult to attain if relying purely on the language as
mentioned above.
Language (or
linguistic science) is the product of human efforts, and thus, is
inherently open to mistakes and external influences. In addition,
there are certain words that the Quran uses as a form of
terminology. These terms represent very important core Quranic
principles and concepts cannot be adequately elucidated by pure
language alone. For example, SALAT, ZAKAT, TAQWA, IMAN, ISLAM, KUFR,
FISQ, etc. These terms are a comprehensive condensation of
fundamental Quranic concepts that contain depth beyond (but linked
to) their linguistic understanding. By carefully studying the whole
Quran, linguistic ambiguities can be eliminated and the full extent
of the terminological meanings can be brought to light.
As far as how this is achieved in practice, one must bear in mind
that the Quran is written in such a way that if a topic is mentioned
in one place, it often will be further alluded to in another place
in such a way that the former is clarified. The Quran refers to this
as “tasreef-ul-ayaat.” This means that a topic is brought back in
several verses in such a way that the complete meaning of the
concept emerges.
Hence, whether for an Arabic word or for specific Quranic
terminology, the true meaning may be found by bringing all the
pertinent Quranic verses together within which the word is found.
Based on what has been discussed above, it is evident that to
determine the meaning of a word:
1. One must first identify and study the root meaning and
characteristics, keeping in mind that despite however much the
appearance of the word changes, it generally carries within it the
essence of the root.
2.
The word must be
viewed in terms of how the simple desert Arabs employed it in their
daily lives. By taking those concrete examples, one can often deduce
how those folk conceptualized the word. It should be kept in mind
that until the concept behind a word is discovered, one cannot truly
understand the meaning of the word. The modern science of semantics
has shed tremendous light on this area. This particular branch of
linguistics is of great value in attaining the deepest possible
understanding of a word.
3.
All the passages
of the Quran containing the word should be investigated to determine
the various shades of meaning attached to it. By doing this, one can
develop an understanding of the Quranic concept for that word.
4.
Most importantly,
one must keep in mind the overall teaching of the Quran. It should
always be borne in mind that the Quran’s vocabulary and terminology
should not be contrary to its basic teachings because the Quran also
declares that it contains no contradictions (e.g, that if multiple
meanings are possible linguistically, ones that lead to
contradictions should be avoided. This does not imply that meanings
of words should be changed in order to avoid contradictions, thus
making it a self-fulfilling claim.). This is only truly possible
when one frees his or her mind of all external biases and
concentrates on deriving the meaning of the Quran in its own light.
Allah has declared that the Quran is a guiding light (Nur), and
light has no need for external sources to make itself manifest.
Using the aforementioned techniques, the true meaning of the Quran’s
words and passages can be understood.
(excerpt taken
from the introduction of "Lugat'ul
Quran" by G.A. Parwez)