38 / 54
35
Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015
APPLICATION OF THE QURAN
Purposeful Guidance
S
CHOLARS have expressed a range of opinions on what they think is
the key to understanding the Quran. Some believe that one must
know 15 different disciplines in order to understand the Quran.
Some contend that for this purpose, the most important thing is to
know the occasions of revelation of different verses. Others think that
the best way to understand the Quran is through the Quran itself. Yet
others think the most crucial thing to know in this regard is the order
of the Quranic verses and chapters. According to them, knowledge of
the connection between the verses of the Quran is the master-key to
understanding the Quran.
The fact, however, is that all these claims are only partially correct.
There are two levels of Quranic comprehension—the first is the Quran,
and the second is the applied Quran. The first level in understanding the
Quran is to know how those who lived at the time when the Quran was
being revealed understood it. The second level is to try to understand
what its applied meaning is in the context of the changed conditions
of today.
These conditions for understanding the Quran can be helpful only at
the first level of understanding. But, for the second level of Quranic
comprehension—the understanding of its applied meaning in the
contemporary context—these conditions are wholly insufficient. The
only benefit of understanding the Quran at the basic level is that the
Quran becomes an understandable book in the historical sense. But as
far as the present age is concerned, the current generation will not gain
any guidance from it. They may accept the Quran only as a matter of
belief, but it will not be possible for them to make the Quran as a living
guide, although the actual significance of the Quran is its guidance
meant for all times and for all people.
Consider, in this regard, Chapter Joseph
(Surah Yusuf)
the twelfth chapter
in the Quran. God has referred to the story of Joseph recounted in
this chapter as the ‘best story’. This indicates that this chapter narrates
something exceptional.
Quranic commentaries written in Arabic and other languages, feature
considerable discussion about this chapter. But there is no clear
guidance from any commentary on why the story of Prophet Joseph
is the ‘best story’. Reason demands that if this story is the ‘best story’,