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:

Two points i observed in the following reply sent by you.

1. The words ‘Imam in Mubeen’ are used by Allah Subhanah in The Holy Quran in Chapter 36 Surah Yaa-Seen verse 12: We shall certainly One Day raise the dead to life. We are recording all the deeds they have done, and also that which they have left behind. We have preserved everything in an ‘imaam in mubeen’. In the context of the above aayah and the preceeding aayahs of the Holy Quran, it is evident that these words ‘imaam in mubeen’ mean ‘an open Book’.

2. The scholars are of the opinion that this ‘Open Book’ is either the Holy Quran, or the Book of Records which is with Allah, which He has called ‘Lauh al Mahfoodh’ in the Quran. The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that the ‘open Book’ referred in the above aayah is the ‘Lauh al Mahfoodh’. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

I have faith and belief that Allah subhano has sent Quran w/o contradictions.  But i find contradictions in your statements.  In no.(1) u state that "it is evident that these words ‘imaam in mubeen’ mean ‘an open Book’ whereas in arabic Imam means, as far as i can recall, a guide and mubeen means clear/lucid(as we all know).  In no.(2) there are confusions whether the Open Book is Quran or Book of Records.  Though the majority of scholars are of the latter opinion, and then in the consecutive statement u say that "Allah knows best", that means the majority of the scholars can be wrong as well.  Who knows, the minority may be right and the majority ignores them not giving due consideration?

By the way, there are paish imams in masjids as well as known by many scholars.  But i hardly find them referred to as the paish book or something.   So the meaning of "imam" to comprehend as a "Book" is not in my scope.  I may be wrong, but then again, i may be right.

Also, i do agree that Allah knows best as it would be foolish not to believe that.  Thus the true sense of Quran He would be knowing and not us.  Aaaahhhh, so that means we cannot take proper guidance from Quran as we do not know what's in it.  But my dear friend, Quran is sent down for us to seek guidance from it and its not for Allah to seek guidance, but He has guided us through the Quran.  And if we cannot understand Quran rightly what Allah wants us to understand from it, then this means that as Allah said in Quran "This day We completed Islam and completed our blessings on you" would stand void  The ayat means that Islam is a complete religion.  But the blessings, what are they?  If there are so many confusions in Quran, then how can the religion be complete w/o appointing somebody for us from whom we can take guidance from. Quran is for us to take guidance from, since its a complete code of life.  If we go on majority of the votes, that means that sources of imparting the Quranic knowledge is different and can be wrong.  Thus in the times of Adam (A.S) and Nooh (A.S) and all the other messengers, people used to refer to one source of knowledge, the prophet of their time.  Even at the time of Rasool Allah (SAW), what he said was final verdict of the Quran.  Just as the source(Quran) is one, the resource should also be one and not a jamaat where decisions are taken unanimously.  That's why in Arab countries u'll observe that its a Kingship and not democracy. The kingship goes on and on, signifying that the silsila goes on and on.  Wasn't Rasool Allah from the Arabs? 

Comments on this most wellcome to shed light on the above matter.

Wassalam

(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:

Quran must be understood from one source

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.

Ref: The meaning of the words ‘Imaam im Mubeen”.

Brother, as with any language, it depends where and in what context are the particular words used. To illustrate a simple example, take the English word ‘drop’ and see how it can be used; but each time the meaning of the word depends on the context of the sentence, whereby one who understands the language understands exactly what is meant by the word’s usage.

I will drop the rubbish in the garbage can.

I will drop off the passenger at Waterloo Station.

Not a drop of blood will fall on the ground.

If you don’t tighten the belt, the trouser will drop.

The Dow Jones might drop at least 100 points tomorrow.

The rain water will drop through this hole in the ceiling.

The dew will drop through the roof.

Etc.

Although the word used is exactly the same, the way it is used in a sentence or context, gives the reader a good understanding of the topic and subject. The meaning of the sentence do not change!

Similarly so in the Arabic language. And in Surah Yaa-Seen, the words ‘imaam im mubeen’ means an open Book, and anyone who understands the Arabic language will confirm that.

The words ‘imaam im mubeen’ have also been used by Allah also in Chapter 15, Surah Hijr verse 79 after describing how He took vengeance on two communities and destroyed them completely.

And the ruined habitations of these two communities lie upon the ‘imaam im mubeen’!

Here the words ‘imaam im mubeen’ read in context would mean the ‘open highway’, and again, anyone who understands the Arabic language will understand exactly what is meant by these words!

Your Comment: If there are so many confusions in Quran, then how can the religion be complete w/o appointing somebody for us from whom we can take guidance from. Quran is for us to take guidance from, since its a complete code of life.  If we go on majority of the votes, that means that sources of imparting the Quranic knowledge is different and can be wrong.  Thus in the times of Adam (A.S) and Nooh (A.S) and all the other messengers, people used to refer to one source of knowledge, the prophet of their time.  Even at the time of Rasool Allah (SAW), what he said was final verdict of the Quran.  Just as the source(Quran) is one, the resource should also be one and not a jamaat where decisions are taken unanimously. 

We as believers are duty bound to take our guidance from the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Yes, I absolutely agree with you, that in Islam, there has to be one source of government, whereby the muslims are united in their deeds and actions. Islam has allowed this system through the appointment of an Ameer or Khalifa amongst ourselves, and it is imperitive that this leader follow Allah and His Messenger (saws), otherwise we are not to follow him. Because we do not have this system today, we see the Muslim Ummah in a state of confusion; where each scholar or leader has formed his own sect, sub-sect or creed and got his own set of followers who follow and obey them blindly, whether the leaders and scholars guide from the Quran and Sunnah or not!

Thus to form this one source, we must ourselves have enough knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, so that we can recognize and challenge the leader if he dare does or says anything against the Quran and Sunnah. But to appoint anyone at will, and just obey and follow them blindly cannot be considered guidance. We have to obey and follow only those who obey and follow Allah and His Messenger (saws), and if for any reason we see that the leader is guiding away from the Quran and Sunnah, we should not obey him, and compel him to change his position to that of the Quran and Sunnah.

Islam was never revealed to make one particular family sacred or divine, and that they should be followed blindly whether they do deeds in accordance with the Quran or not! Our only source of guidance is the Quran and Sunnah, and we should be with those who hold these two sources close to their hearts, and propagate their implementation in our lives.

All these issues have arisen simply because the common believers do not take the time and effort to understand the clear message of the Holy Quran, which was revealed by Allah for our guidance. They are so busy in collecting the transient pleasures of this world, that they have not given the life Hereafter any importance. That created an opportunity for some unscrupulous people, who wore the garb of Islam to misguide the common people, and drove them spiritually and financially bankrupt! The common unsuspecting people, who have little or no knowledge from the Quran, then follow and obey these unscrupulous people, thinking they are guiding from the Quran, whereas the truth might be that they are guiding them to nothing but the ever lasting Fire of Hell!

There is one clear way to recognize the fraud of these unscrupulous self-made holy men: they will always propagate that the Quran is confusing and forbid their followers from understanding the clear guidance of the Glorious Quran from any other source except them! They will claim that they are the only ones who are authorized to understand and explain the Quran! As soon as any individual, or group or institution says this: BEWARE! These supposed holy-men are more interested in themselves, their glory, and YOUR money!

See how Allah warns the believers about these kind of ‘holy men’ in the Quran:

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35:O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

The self-made ‘holy men’ will propagate that you believe and follow them and their ancestors, along with Allah and His Messenger (saws)! They will constantly relate stories and ‘miracles’ of their ancestors and other Personalities, rather than relate to you the stories from the Quran! They will gather you and give you fiery and emotional speeches about their ancestors, rather than guiding you with the warnings of the Quran! They will propagate the celebration of every birthday and mourn every death day of their ancestors and their Personalities! They will collect your hard earned money in any way they can, and in return ‘honor’ you with titles and positions! They will endorse their own family members as sacred and divine! They will starve you of the True knowledge from the Quran, and fill you with stories of the History of the Muslims! They will falsely promise you the gardens of Paradise in return for your obedience and subjugation! They will even make you bow down to them in ‘sajdah’! And finally they will make you ‘abd-syedna’, instead of making you ‘abd-Allah’! So beware!

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 & well-wisher in Islam,

Burhan