RENAISSANCE SEPTEMBER 2020

Qur’ ā nic Exegesis 25 Monthly Renaissance September 2020 و ﻧﻚﻟﺘﻬۡﺪيۡۤ 7 ﻟۡﻜﺘٰﺐوﻵﻹ ﻵۡﻹﻳۡﻤﺎنوﻟٰﻜﻦۡ ﺟﻌﻠۡﻨٰﻪ ﻧﻮۡرً ﻧﻬۡﺪيۡ ﺑﻪٖ ﻣﻦۡ ﻧﺸﺂء ﻣﻦۡ ﻋﺒﺎدﻧﺎ have similarly sent the r ūḥ 64 of Our directive. You did not know what the shar ī ‘ah is 65 nor what is meant by faith 66 but We made it a light through which We show the path to whomsoever of Our the Almighty has mentioned His two attributes. Im ā m Am ī n A ḥ san I ṣ l āḥī has explained this. He writes: … By combining these two attributes, it becomes evident that so exalted is the person of God that neither does He need to converse with anyone nor does anyone have the status to converse with Him. However, besides this exaltedness and loftiness God is also wise, just and merciful; for this reason, in order to guide His creatures and to reform them He speaks to them out of His grace and for this He adopted ways which have been outlined earlier. In other words, what is implied is that people who press and demand that God should talk to them face to face are neither aware of the exaltedness and loftiness of God nor of their own meager existence. Such people will be doomed by this arrogance of theirs. (Am ī n A ḥ san I ṣ l āḥī , Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n , vol. 7, 193) 64. The reality of whatever emanates directly from God is called r ūḥ by the Qur’ ā n. This is God’s directive which at times assumes the shape of a word and at times a spirit. Verse 17 of S ū rah Ban ī Isr ā ’ ī l: ﻟﺮوۡحﻣﻦۡ ﻣۡﺮ ر}'ۡ and here the words ﻣۡﺮﻧﺎ ﻣﻦۡ point to this. The purpose is to warn the addressees that r ūḥ is from the matters of unseen; hence no one can understand its reality and nature in this world and no one should also go after trying to understand it. 65. The actual word is: ﻟْﻜﺘﺎب . In the language of the Qur’ ā n, it also refers to law and shar ī ‘ah . Here it is used precisely in this meaning. 66. At other instances, the word ﻟْﺤﻜْﻤﺔ occurs with ﻟْﻜﺘﺎب . We have clarified there that in the terminology of the Qur’ ā n ﻟْﺤﻜْﻤﺔ refers to the teachings of faith and morality brought by prophets of God. Here by using ﻵۡﻹﻳۡﻤﺎن with ﻟْﻜﺘﺎب and by using the words ذﻟﻚﻣﻤﺎ أوْﺣﻰ إﻟﻴْﻚ رﺑﻚ ﻣﻦ ﻟْﺤﻜْﻤﺔ in verse 39 of S ū rah Ban ī Isr ā ’ ī l after mentioning moral directives, the Qur’ ā n itself has clarified what it means by the word ﻟْﺤﻜْﻤﺔ . The negation of the Prophet’s knowledge regarding both these found in this verse is with regard to their details and consequences and this style of negation is found in other languages as well. This certainly does not mean that before prophethood, he did not have faith or was not broadly aware of the directives of Abraham’s religion.