Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Is there anything in the QURAN that is in Parables? Is it as clear as the naked eye in its meaning?  Is Ta’aweel same as Parables?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Is there anything in the Quran that is in Parables?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever 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.

The fact is that Parables are widely used by the All-Wise, Allah, in His Message for the guidance for mankind, The Al-Quran.  Parables are not only used in the Quran, but Parables were also widely used in the other Books of Allah revealed before Prophet Mohamed (saws), like the Bible and the Torah.   Parables in the Quran are given by the All-Wise to simplify and make us understand the message of the Holy Quran.

For example, the parable of the spider’s web is used to make us understand the concept of ‘Shirk’ (associating or invoking others besides Allah), in The Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah Ankabut (The Spider) verses 41-43:The Parable of those who have taken protectors other than Allah, is the Parable of a spider, which makes itself a dwelling (web).   And the weakest of all dwellings is the web of a spider.  Would that these people had knowledge!   Allah surely knows whomever they invoke apart from Him, are non-entities.  He Alone is the All-Mighty, All-Wise.  And these Parables we have given only for the people to understand (the concept of Shirk!)

After giving several historical events of the people and their punishments in the aayahs preceeding the above ayaah, Allah gives the Parable of the spider and its web, to make us understand the concept of invoking other protectors besides Allah, or ‘Shirk”.   When Allah’s punishment came to pass on these people, those who used to invoke other protectors besides Allah, all their protectors and beliefs proved to be baseless.  No god, no god-incarnate, no saint, no spirit, no angel, no martyr, no one, whom they used to invoke, came to their rescue!   The reality of the toy-houses of expectations that they had built on their faith, their powerless leaders and their imaginary deities, apart from the real Lord and Master of the Universe, was no more than the cobweb of the spider.  Just as a cobweb cannot stand even the slightest interference by the hand of man, so had the toy-houses of their expectations collapsed in its first clash with the scheme of Allah.  It was nothing but ignorance, that they were involved in the web of false beliefs and self-proclaimed protectors.  Had they recognized the Oneness of Allah, they would never have built their system on life on baseless props and promises.  The fact is that none other than the All-Mighty, All-Powerful, Allah, is the Owner of Power and Authority, and His Support and Protection is the only support which is reliable. 

There are several other Parables used in the Quran by Allah to make us understand the fundamental reality of the concepts.  These Parables are extremely clear in their meanings if one reads the preceding paragraphs, because all Parables are linked in context to the stories it explains.  Allah in His Divine Wisdom uses Parables to make sure we really understand the matter.  And whenever Allah gives a Parable in the Quran, he always calls it a Parable, so that it cannot be taken into any other meaning.

Ta-aweel and Parables are two different things.   Ta’aweel means the absolute truth of the matter, whereas Parables are similitudes  used so that we can understand the concept and reality of the story.  The word Ta’aweel is widely used in our community for things which is something beyond the comprehension of fools like us.... and this is the absolute wrong connotation of the word ‘Ta’aweel’.   The context that our leaders use the ‘Ta’aweel’ in their ‘Ta’aweel na bayaans’, is absolutely different and far astray from the context of the word ‘Ta’aweel’, as used in the Quran!

To give you an example, Allah uses the word ‘Ta’aweel’ in the Holy Quran in Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 7:It is Allah, Who sent down this Quran to you.  (There are two kinds of verses in the Book.)   In it are verses Basic or Fundamental (of established meanings which can be easily understood), and they are the essence or foundation of the Book.  And the other verses are Allegorical or Ambiguous.   Those in whose hearts is perversity will always go for the Allegorical or Ambiguous verses, seeking discord and trying to search for their hidden meanings.  None, except Allah, knows their real meanings (Ta’aweel)!  In contrast to them, those who are firmly grounded in knowledge, say: “We believe in them all, because all of them are from our Lord.

What a fantastic verse the above aayah (or miracle) of the Holy Quran is!   After reading this, there should be no doubt in our minds that the people who do “Ta’weel nu bayan” and claim to know the ‘Ta’aweel’ of the Allegorical verses of the Quran are nothing,  but LIARS!!!   Allah Himself says in the Holy Quran,  that NONE,  EXCEPT ALLAH KNOWS THEIR REAL MEANINGS (TA’AWEEL)!!!!!   When Allah Himself says NONE, who else can claim that he knows the ‘Ta’aweel’ of these allegorical verses of the Quran!!   If one indeed claims to know ‘Ta’aweel’ of these Allegorical verses, then he is going directly against the commandment and statement of Allah, The All Knowing, that He Alone knows the “Ta’aweel’  and NO-ONE else!!!  

Another thing to note here is that in these ‘Ta’weel na bayans’, you will always see these people trying to interpret the Allegorical verses of the Holy Quran arbitrarily, and fit the names of their Personalities in them!   Just read the above aayah again and see what Allah says,: “Those in whose hearts is perversity (or disease) will ALWAYS go for the Allegorical verses,  seeking discord and trying to search for their hidden meanings!.”  

These people use these Allegorical verses to suit their own needs and always try to interpret them arbitrarily, and thus misguide us from the clear, basic and fundamental teaching, and guidance of the Holy Quran.   Allah Himself says in the above aayah that the verses that are Basic or Fundamental, are the essence or foundation of the Book.  These are the verses which have simple established meanings, and everybody can understand them!  YES, EVEN FOOLS LIKE YOU AND ME!!!!  These Basic verses make up the majority of the Holy Quran, and there can be no double meanings to their verses, as Allah Himself says that these verses are of established meanings!        

To give some examples of the Basic and Fundamental verses, see the aayah of The Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Al-Maidah verse 38:As for the thief,  male or female,  cut off his or her hand: A punishment by way Of example, from Allah, For their crime:And Allah is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah An Nisa verse 93:If a man kills a believer Intentionally, his recompense Is Hell, to abide there in forever: And the wrath And the curse of Allah Are upon him, and A dreadful penalty Is prepared for him.

The above verses are Basic or Fundamental and mean exactly what they say.  Any person who understands the Arabic language, can easily understand the clear meanings of the above verses.  They have no space for any sort of ambiguity or mis-understanding.   And almost all of the Holy Quran is made up of these Basic and Fundamental verses, which can be easily understood by anybody who cares to open and read and understand the Holy Quran!  These are the verses which make up the majority of the Quran, and these the very verses which are enough to guide mankind to the true deen of Islam, and the Mercy of Allah on the Day of Judgement.

To give you an example of the Allegorical verses of the Quran, see the first aayah of the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Al Baqarah verse 1 (which we all know very well!):Alif.  Laam.  Meem.

Now these are the verses which are allegorical and these are the verses which will be pursued by those, in whose hearts, Allah says, is perversity or disease.  They write volumes on these aayahs and give them all sorts of fantastic meanings, which have no basis in the context of the message of the Holy Quran.  I heard a full ‘Ta’aweel nu bayan’ once, where the preacher was trying to interpret the above aayah ‘Alif. Laam. Meem’ by saying:”‘Alif’ is beginning letter of the word Allah.   ‘Meem’ is the beginning letter of the name Mohamed.  And ‘Laam’ is the middle letter of the name Ali.   Thus this is how Allah named Ali in the Quran to make him the vicegerent of Mohamed (saws) after him!!!!!”   This is how these preachers expand the verse in their ‘Ta’aweel nu bayan’ and give the verses fantastic meanings, which have absolutely no context with the message of the Glorious Quran!!!

To give you one more example of what the people who claim they know ‘Ta’aweel’ do, the last part of the same above aayah of the Holy Quran can be used:  Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verse 7:None, except Allah, knows their real meanings (Ta’aweel). In contrast to them, those who are firmly grounded in knowledge, say: “We believe in them all, because all of them are from our Lord.

The leaders who claim to know ‘Ta’aweel’ say that the people who are “firmly grounded in knowledge” are the leaders of the Bohra community.    They conveniently fix their own names to the aayah and proclaim themselves to be the ones who are “firmly grounded in knowledge”.   And that is the basic style of the people, who have diseases in their hearts, and thus try to fix names of their personalities to the aayahs of the Quran.   If these leaders were indeed “firmly grounded in knowledge”, they would not be going after the ‘Ta’aweel of these aayahs, fixing their own names and the names of their forefathers to these aayahs, and making us bow down in sajdah to them and to the graves of their forefathers!!!  

Allah Himself has said that “NONE, EXCEPT ALLAH KNOWS THEIR REAL MEANINGS.”  Now this verse is fundamental. When Allah says none, He, The All-Knowing means NONE!!!  NO-ONE!  ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, except Allah, knows the real meanings or ‘Ta’aweel’ of the allegorical or ambiguous verses of the Quran, like ‘Alif. Laam. Meem.’!!!

The choice is ours.   We want to read and understand the basic and fundamental verses as the Message of the All-Knowing, All-Wise, Allah, or We want to follow the people who have diseases or perversity in their hearts and always go after the allegorical verses in search of their fantastic meanings!!!   We want to follow the guidance that the Holy Quran is inviting us to, or we want to follow the personalities who claim to know the ‘Ta’aweel’!   

My beloved Brothers and Sisters, the choice is actually quite simple:  It is between the Mercy, Forgiveness, Reward of Allah, and, the eternal Torture and Punishment of the Hell Fire!!  The choice is between being guided and going astray!!!   

The catch is that the choice has to be made before one’s death!!  If we were to die following the Personalities, invoking them and their forefathers in their graves, we will have no one to blame except ourselves on the Day of Judgement!!!  On the Day of Judgment, all these personalities and their promises will be blown away like the web of the spider!!   I swear by Allah, that no one will have the power to keep their promises except The All-Mighty, Alone.   And all the promises that Allah makes to His believing slaves are mentioned in the Holy Quran in detail.   There is no Power and no Strength, except Allah, and He is the Best of Protectors!!!!

May Allah, the All Knowing, the All-Merciful, guide us to read and understand the clear teachings of the Holy Quran.   May Allah guide us to recognize who are our real friends and well wishers, and who are our real enemies.   May Allah guide us towards His Mercy and Forgiveness, and keep us far away from following the Personalities, who beckon us to the eternal torture and punishment of the Fire of Hell!!!  Ameen.

PS.  Brothers and Sisters, I urge you to make a hard copy of the above answer and show it to your ‘aamil’ or ‘bhaisaheb’ and ask him if what I am saying above is wrong and against the guidance of the Quran.   Please do write to us what is their opinion and your opinion as well.   And when they try to wriggle themselves out from answering the above question or try to give fancy meanings in the guise of ‘Taweel’, remember Allah’s words that NONE, except Allah knows the ‘Ta’aweel’ of the Allegorical verses of the Quran like ‘Alif. Laam. Meem’!

Allah Alone knows Best, and He is the Only Source of Strength.

May Allah keep you and your families and all of us in His Mercy and Protection.

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

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan