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Understand Islam without understanding Quran

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

Dear Burhan:


Salaam Alaikum.


I have read majority of all the questions and answers on  your forum with great interest and understanding, many of which have been well elaborated, sensibly explained  and 'perhaps' accurately translated towards the very words of Allah as set forth in the Holy Quran. May All- Mighty Allah give you wisdom, strength, justice, knowledge and your quest to succeed in your endeavours.  No doubt there are thousands of questions still to be answered to hundreds and thousands of individuals,  having absolutely no knowledge of the Al-Quran, weak in their own and other languages, illiteratcy, embedded in  their own wordly circumstances and many trying hard to
seek the truth by simply accepting, changing and  adhering to the beliefs that one says over the other. In other words, many do not even know WHAT the TRUTH really  is. Having said this, it is a very sensitive yet a complex issue. I have literally spoken to many of my  close relatives and friends about this, your forums and  your web-site, but majority of them challenge me and  think that either myself or others like yourself (pardon  me) have gone crazy. What to do to in such situations?

 

Listen to you, obey the Quran (having on knowledge and  understanding of), read various translations (who knows that they are accurate), blindly trust just anyone,  follow the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah, Mohammed  (AS)(extemely contradictory and with what understanding  and justifications), blindly trust and believe the  translated authentic narrations, various translated  hadiths, various translated  Quranic versions, one well known scholar says this and the other well known scholar  says that, or WHAT....?).

 One can easily become  confused, astray and can even get mentally distorted by simply thinking about it. In order to understand the  entire Quranic translations in any language, do I put my  blind faith as to its accuracy by any translator or  perhaps I need to study the Arabic Language itself to  understand the Quran in its purest form (which may take  months or even years without any outcome; 2 of my middle eastern close friends having thorough knowledge of the  Arabic language, had no resolution).


WHAT THEN, WHAT'S NEXT and WHAT DO I REALLY DO NOW...?. 

I need your sincere, humble and truthful response, 

BEFORE I CLOSE ALL MY DOORS ON YOU AND CARRY-ON AS A  FAITHFULL DAWOODI BOHRA. (PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE ME ANY

QURANIC VERSES OR THEIR TRANSLATIONS BECAUSE NEITHER  I  CAN UNDERSTAND ARABIC NOR I CAN VERIFY AND CONFIRM THE

ACCURACY AND TRUTH ABOUT VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS).


Thank you and God Bless.

 

Answer:

 

Understand Islam without understanding Quran

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,  no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

My beloved brother in Islam,  we will try to comply with your instruction and not quote you any aayah from the Glorious Quran in this answer;  but will try to use logic and reason in answering your queries.

 

Your Questions:  What to do to in such situations?  Listen to you, obey the Quran (having on knowledge and  understanding of), read various translations (who knows  that they are accurate), blindly trust just anyone,  follow the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah, Mohammed (AS)(extemely contradictory and with what understanding  and justifications), blindly trust and believe the  translated authentic narrations, various translated  hadiths, various translated Quranic versions, one well  known scholar says this and the other well known scholar  says that, or WHAT....?). One can easily become  confused, astray and can even get mentally distorted by  simply thinking about it.

Brother,  the issues that you are faced with today,  are indeed the issues faced by many amongst mankind,  and even amongst some believers!   Our humble and simple answer to all your issues are:  believe unconditionally ONLY in what Allah and His Messenger (saws) say?..for everything that everyone else says,  confirm it with the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.    If what they say matches the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah,  accept it;  and if what they say goes against the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah,  be assured that it cannot be the Truth.   

 

For Truth is what Allah and His Messenger (saws) have said!    Everything else is open to challenge.

 

There are many unscrupulous people,  who have no knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah themselves;  and in their ignorance,  they try to distance  mankind away from the guidance revealed by Allah Subhanah.   They are the foremost is creating doubts in the Guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws);   they say that the Quran has many meanings;  they say that the Quran will misguide you if you try to read it;  they say that the Quran can never be translated;  they say that the Quran is not a Book that should be understood by fools like you and me;  they say that the Quran can only be understood by a few ?chosen? holy men;   they say anything and everything to keep people away from the guidance and teachings of Allah and His Messenger (saws)!

 

But Allah Subhanah Himself says that the Quran is easy,  direct,  plain,  and a Perfect Guidance to all of mankind!    (We would have liked to give you evidence from the Quran for what Allah has said;  but in complying with your instructions,  we will abstain from giving any aayahs of the Quran in this article).

 

The Quran will always be in its original form,  in the ?fusha? Arabic language.   The people who speak Arabic as their first language,  do not need a translation to understand the clear message of the Quran.   No translation,  in any language,  ever claims that this is the Original Quran.   The intention of the translator is only to make available,  the ?meaning? of the Quran to its readers,  so that they can derive the guidance of the Divine Message.

 

Today we are left with four choices regarding the Quran,  if Arabic is not our first language:

1.      Leave the guidance of the Quran,  and make our own laws,  or follow our own whims and conjecture.

2.      To recite the Quran in Arabic,  without understanding a word of it.

3.      To learn the Arabic language, so that we can understand the Message of our Creator.

4.      To read the available translations,  and get an understanding of the Message.

 

Choice 1: Leave the guidance of the Quran,  and make our own laws or follow our own whims and conjecture.

This is precisely what has happened to the Ummah of Islam.   Because they do not speak or understand Arabic,  they have left the Quran high on their book-shelves,  and started making their own laws and follow the current wave of un-Godly regulations.   And without the guidance of the Holy Quran,  this person just roams in deep darkness,  rather than follow the light and guidance of the Quran.

 

Choice 2: To recite the Quran in Arabic,  without understanding a word of it.

This person believes in the Quran as the Book of Allah,  and recites it day and night in Arabic.   He will,  Insha Allah,  get his reward from Allah,  but obviously,  he will not receive any guidance to lead his life in this world.  These kind of people then follow blindly anyone who wears the Islamic garb and claims to be a scholar or a holy man,  believing that that person is guiding from the Quran.   But he does not have the means to double check and satisfy himself,  that indeed this scholar is guiding from the Quran or not.   If the scholar or holy man is indeed a true believer and fears Allah,  then this person will receive some guidance.   But,  Allah forbid,  if the scholar or holy man is one who is more interested in this worldly life rather than the hereafter,  he will be mis-guided in Islam,  and will have no excuse in the Court of Allah.   And Allah is our witness,  there are enough of these unscrupulous holy men around today, who take advantage of these poor souls. 

These unscrupulous self-proclaimed holy men,  then create an environment,  whereby they look and act very religious,  but their actions and teachings are far away from the true guidance of the Quran.   But because,  the poor follower does not understand a word from the Quran,  he blindly follows them,  thinking this is his road to salvation.   The first advice and commandment of these holy men is to proclaim,  that if they want to understand Islam,  they must follow their created sect alone.   They must not try to understand the Quran on their own or from any other source,  as they will, then, be mis-guided.   They make fancy promises of intercession to their followers on the Day of Judgment in the Court of Allah!   Once they are successful in doing that,  they invariably take you towards the invocation,  and sometimes worship of themselves and  their dead ancestors in the graves.  They create fancy and miraculous stories regarding their ancestors and relate them again and again in their sermons,  and in time,  rather than giving sermons from the Quran,   their sermons are nothing but stories and miracles of their own self-made leaders!  They then invent and create several rites, rituals and customs in the name of Islam,  so that the follower is deeply engrossed,  and feels he is living an Islamic life through these rituals;   whereas most of these rituals have absolutely no basis from the Quran or Sunnah. 

 

Allah has promised in the Quran to throw both,  the unscrupulous holy men,  who invent these sects,  and their followers,  into the fire of Hell!  (We would really like to have given you evidence from the Quran for what Allah says,  but in compliance with your instructions,  we will abstain from doing so in this answer).

 

Choice 3: To learn the Arabic language, so that we can understand the Message of our Creator.

Yes,  this would absolutely be the best option,  but how many of us have the conviction to take this step.  May Allah bless those people who took this step,  and May Allah increase them in their knowledge of the Truth.

 

Choice 4: To read the available translations,  and get an understanding of the Message.

Many scholars,  who Allah blessed to learn Arabic and another language/s fluently,  and blessed them to understand the Quran,  have taken the effort to document a translation of the Holy Quran for the people who do not understand Arabic.  The translation of any literature from one language to another might loose its fluency and its rhythm,  but the meaning remains the same.  This literature and scripture of the Al Quran,  are the very words of Allah Subhanah,  which is a guidance to the whole of mankind until the end of time.  Yes,  it is impossible to replicate its fluency and/or its rhythm,  but,  for someone to deliberately change, or misquote, or mis-represent, the meanings of the Quran would really require a lot of courage if He knows and believes in Allah and the Last Day!!  And then to believe that every person who ever translated the Holy Quran into another language has deliberately mis-quoted, and mis-represented, and changed the meaning,  is a little too far fetched for even a normal intelligent person! 

 

My dear brother,  our only invitation to you is to give  one hearing to the meaning of the Quran.   We invite you to understand the Quran in Arabic if you know the Arabic language.   We invite you to read any translation available,  in any language you want.  I assure you that the core meaning of the verse will always be the same.   I personally have read many translations,  from various authors,  from various back-grounds!!   But the beauty of the Quran is such that the basic and foundations of the meanings are always the same?. And why not?   This is a Book from our Lord and our Creator,   Who,  in His Sublime Mercy and Grace,  revealed it for our guidance.  

 

The self-made leaders,  and the self-proclaimed holy men,  always remind us never to try to understand the Quran from another source,  nor do they teach it themselves!   They don?t even have an approved translation of the Quran themselves,  so that we might derive some guidance.    We are so much away from the clear guidance of the Holy Quran,  that without realizing,  we are actually guilty of the sin,  which Allah has sworn in the Quran never to forgive!;   not once,  but probably in most major Surahs of the Holy Quran!   

 

Can you even imagine the state of these people in the court of Allah on the Day of Judgment.   Allah will ask him, ?Did you receive my message,  the Al Quran??.  The person will answer, ?Yes,  I received it.   But I could not understand Arabic so I just kept on reading it day and night, without understanding  a word of it,  hoping for Your Barakah and Blessing.   I thought that You would be angry with me and punish me if I tried to understand the Quran in any other language,  so I stayed far away from understanding it.   I believed every word of so and so ?holy men?,  who warned us not to read the translation or we would get mis-guided.?   And Allah will ask,  ?The Holy Quran was sent for the guidance of mankind;  how could it possibly mis-guide anybody who tries to get guidance from it.   Who are these ?holy men?,  and what authority did they have to stop you from understanding the Holy Quran??  

 

Brother,  you just give this scenario on the Day of Resurrection some thought,  and then decide for yourself what path is better.   Our only invitation to you is to try and understand the Holy Quran once,  and if after reading and understanding it once,  you still think that these ?holy men? are right in their arguments,  by all means,  obey and follow them.   But at least read and understand the words of Allah,  ONCE!    Allah will never mis-guide you if you are truly looking for guidance!  But if anyone insists of following his fore-fathers and his ?holy men? blindly,  without taking any guidance from the Glorious Quran,  then Allah allows such people to go astray.   All of us,  willingly or unwillingly,  have to return to Allah,  and Allah will decide between us on the Day of Judgment.   But then,  it will be too late!!   For your sake,  for your family?s sake,  for your children?s sake,  and for your progeny?s (your descendants till the Day of Judgement) sake ? read the Glorious Quran once,  and then decide for yourself.  

Is that an unreasonable offer?

 

And if we were to die in this state of ignorance of the guidance of the Quran,   we will have nobody to blame except ourselves in the Court of Allah.   We owe it to our Creator to at least give the guidance and the teachings of the  Holy Quran one hearing.  After you have done that,  then you decide yourself who is on the Right Path,  and who is astray.

 

May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

 

Your Question:   WHAT THEN, WHAT'S NEXT and WHAT DO I REALLY DO NOW...?.   I need your sincere, humble and truthful response,
BEFORE I CLOSE ALL MY DOORS ON YOU AND CARRY-ON AS A  FAITHFULL DAWOODI BOHRA.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam,  every individual will be brought forth alone,  in the Just Court of the All Mighty Lord on the Day of Judgment,  to answer for the deeds that he did in the world.    And every person will be personally responsible for the decisions he made,  and the deeds he did!    No person will be responsible for the decisions and deeds of another.   

 

The truth is brother,  I am a nobody!,  except a humble slave-servant of the Merciful Lord,  Who has honored and blessed me to be your brother and well-wisher in Islam.    You may close all your doors on me,  if you so wish;   for neither am I responsible for the deeds you do,  nor are you responsible for the deeds I do.    Allah Subhanah will Judge you,  me,  and all mankind with Justice on an Inevitable Day.

 

You may close all your doors on me,  but brother,  I beseech you in the name of the One Who Created,  don?t close the doors on Him,  His Mercy,  and His Guidance;  for it is we who are in constant need of His Mercy and His Guidance;   He is indeed Self-Sufficient,  and stands in no need of anyone whatsoever.    Glorified and Far Exalted is He above everything that they associate with Him! 

 

May Allah Subhanah guide you and us all to the Truth of Islam.

 

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.


Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan

 


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