“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i

True to his reputation, one can see the fulfillment of the many of the demands of Sayyidna Ibrahim in his prayer. One of the major appeal in the dua is to make Makkah “a place of Peace”. This has been responded beyond any doubt whatsoever. Surrounded by chaos and lawlessness, paganism, star-worship or planet-worship all over Arabia in those days, Makkah was cleared out and cleansed by the Grace of God Almighty. Makkah became a haven for peace and security and grew into a thriving city. Sayyidna and his elder son Isma’il then built the Ka‘ba and established the rites and usages of the sacred city. Thus Makkah turned into a place of pilgrimage attracting millions of followers each year. This boosted the local economy bringing in prosperity which in turn provided the Makkans with respect and prestige.The Holy Quran, has the story of “Ashab al-Fil who were destroyed for their attack on for Makkah. The Arabs in the Age of Ignorance, despite their deviations and infidelity, deeply respected the Ka’bah. Although they were very vengeful, they would not touch the enemy as long as he remained within the precincts of the Haram. The trading caravans passing from Makkah to Syria or Yemen and vice versa were never attacked.

What about the slaughter which took place in the Haram at the hands of Hajjaj bin Yusuf or the the Qarmatians (Arabic: قرامطة), an Iranian dynasty of a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili Shia Islam. They established a religious-utopian republic in 899 CE. and revolted against the Fatimid and Abbasid Caliphates. Makkah was sacked by a Qarmatian leader, Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, the Black Stone was stolen and the Zamzam Well was desecrated with corpses during the Hajj season of 930 CE. The eminent scholar, Mufti Mohammed Shafi explains in his historic Ma’aariful Quran “this was the work of those who called themselves Muslims, and not an invasion by infidels. If a man chooses to set fire to his own house, it does not falsify the general rule of the security provided to it against outsiders. Moreover, incidents like these have been very rare since the days of Sayyidna Ibrahim , and, then, we also know the dreadful fate of those who had dared to pollute “the House of Allah.” In short, Allah has, in answer to his prayer, made the city so secure”.

The third ayah in the list of target ayahs mentions the expression “our offspring”. This indicates Abraham’s progeny through his first-born son, Ishmael, who had accompanied his father in this sojourn. This is also an indirect reference to the Prophet Muhammad, who descended from the latter.

The fourth ayah in the list of target ayahs mentions the words yatlu/tilawah. It should be noted these also mean “to obey or to follow” in addition to recite. It has to be so, because reciting a religious text must also be followed by practicing what it says. Unfortunately this strong and very logical and crucial step is lost to us, most Muslims. Parroting the Holy Text alone is woefully the order of the day.

This, ie the fourth ayah, I had originally selected for the discussion today because it is referring to many angles and aspects in understanding and teaching of our deen. The ayah states or shall I say that Sayyidna Ibrahim pleaded the following with Allah for his progeny in this ayah:
1) رَبَّنا وَابعَث فيهِم رَسولًا مِنهُم   “Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves”
2) يَتلو عَلَيهِم آياتِكَ     “who will recite to them Your verses”
3) وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الكِتابَ وَالحِكمَةَ  “and teach them the Book and wisdom”
4) وَيُزَكّيهِم   “and purify them”

Obviously, the appearance of our beloved Prophet is the culmination of the first desire in the dua. It seems that the advent of the Holy Prophet was in fact God’s response to the prayer of Abraham. It may be noted that quite some time may elapse before God answers a particular prayer. The Holy Prophet was required in this famous dua to perform three functions. Firstly, to recite the verses; secondly, to teach the Book and “wisdom”; and thirdly, “to purify” the people. ( Nos, 2, 3 and 4 in my list above) The Holy Prophet fulfilled all of these remarkably in a record time. His first and momentous task was to recite, teach, explain the ayahs of our Creator and in the process award us the blessing of the Holy Book.
The terms “الكِتابَ وَالحِكمَةَ Book and wisdom” call for some explanation. Kitab literally means a book, an obvious reference to the Quran. However when juxtaposed with Hikmah, this term is often rendered as the law and shariah. The word Hikmah is usually translated in English as wisdom. However it is variously termed in Arabic: arriving at the truth, justice, exact knowledge. According to al-Raghib al-Isfahani, when the word is used in speaking of Allah, it connotes the total and perfect knowledge of all existents, and flawless creation; but when applied to someone other than Allah, it connotes a proper knowledge of the existents, and good deeds. Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan has interpreted the word as “profound truths, or subtle realities”. The noble Companions in their commentaries on this ayah have used different shades of meanings like the commentary and exegesis of the Holy Qur’an, the proper understanding of the religion, the injunctions of the Shari’ah, or such commandments of Allah which have been received through the word of the Holy Prophet. The research scholar and mentor Javed Ahmed Ghamdi illuminates the issue in his tafseer very clearly and objectively. He states “In the language of the Qur’an, while the word Al-Kitab is used to mean letter and book, it is also used in the sense of law. From the perspective of the Qur’an, it is clear that when Al-Kitab and Al-Hikmah are inflected in this way, then Al-Kitab refers to Shari’ah and Al-Hikmah refers to the issues of religion, faith and morals”. He further adds “It is clear from this that religion is in fact a combination of two things: one is law, the other is wisdom, and its purpose is to purify the individual and collective life of man. When man fully adopts this law and wisdom, he attains purification as a necessary consequence. There is no need to go anywhere else and do anything else”. Another advocate of this view are Nasr et al in their modern tafseer “The study Quran” where they state “The Book is most often taken to be the Quran, while the Wisdom is understood to be the Sunnah (the exemplary sayings and doings of the Prophet) or more generally knowledge and understanding of the religion , although the pairing of the Book and Wisdom has more universal import in the Quran”.
The renowned scholar Mufti Mohammed Shafi has a different approach and comes out with this statement in his Ma’aariful Quran “But the truth of the matter is that in spite of the apparent variety of expressions used, the substance of all these statements is the same – namely, the Way (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet and the Hadith”. He quotes Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir in Qataidah. The bracketing of Hadith with the Sunnah of the Prophet is very controversial and misleading. More on it later.

Have you noticed that the dua treats “reciting” (no. 2 in my list above) and “teaching” the Quran (no. 3 in my list above) as distinct and separate. Reciting focusses on words whereas teaching on its meaning. Since both are mentioned in the Quran and on equal footing, “the words of the Holy Qur’an are no less important in themselves and for themselves than their meanings, and that the recitation and preservation of the words is obligatory, and constitutes an act of worship” concludes Mufti Mohammed Shafi. Hence the Holy Quran has been defined as comprehending both words and meaning according to the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh). Hadith, however promises reward for just the simple recitation of the Quran irrespective of its meaning. Hence the Fuqaha have forbidden the printing and publication of a translation of the Holy Quran without the Arabic text.

This has given rise to a big debate and dispute over mere reading the Quran without knowing its meaning and insisting on knowing the meaning as the first requisite. Let me start with what I think is second in importance: the value and import of just reciting the words of the Quran in Arabic. At outset of our history, this practice was central and crucial. It was the only way of preserving and ensuring the continuity of the Quran. But, this is no more in the modern world. If a neutron bomb kills most of humanity, copies of the Holy Quran will still be available in the remaining physical world. However the need for reciting and memorising the Quran in Arabic rightfully persists. The language of the Quran is very tantalizing to a Muslim ear. An elementary knowledge of the Arabic language allows you to enjoy the force, beauty, rhythm and the depth of meaning of the Quranic Arabic. Our daily prayers have to be in the Arabic language if it is to retain the central role it plays in our collective life. Having said that about retaining the practice of reading the Quran in the Arabic language, it cannot be overemphasized that knowing the meaning of what you are reading is basic and paramount. All the advantages I have mentioned earlier of reading the Quran in Arabic are totally wasted and dissipated if you do not comprehend what you are pronouncing. Generally speaking, the central theme of any speech or reading is understanding it .

Most importantly, the Quran itself has declared repeatedly that the main purpose and goal of the book is to train and coach its readers to think and deliberate. Here are a few examples.^[3]

Ha. Mim. By the clear Book, Indeed, We have made it an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand or “so that you might encompass it with your reason”.

“granting wisdom unto whom He wills: and whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted wealth abundant. But none bears this in mind save those who are endowed with insight or men of understanding”.

 “………albeit none takes this to heart save those who are endowed with insight or men of understanding”.

“…….and He will place defilement (Filth) upon those who will not use reason”.

Sayyidna Ibrahim also prayed for the purification of his progeny. This is one of the essential functions of a prophet. The Arabic word Tazkiyah denotes purifying a thing or person from all kinds of filth, internal as well as external. The external filth are well defined in the Shariah and for all to see. The internal varieties are more nuanced but can be defined. These include, on the one hand Kufr, Shirk or total reliance on some one other than Allah, and on the other hand, pride, vanity malice, jealousy, love of worldly things, etc. The eminent scholar Maulana Maudoodi defines this purification in his glorious tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran as “The term ‘purification’ used here embraces the purification of beliefs and outlook, morals, habits and customs, and social, cultural and political life; the purification of man’s life in its totality”.

Mufti Mohammed Shafi makes some exaggerated and controversial statements about this ayah ie the fourth of the index ayahs stating “Now, according to the present verse, the teaching of the Holy Prophet is absolutely indispensable for a proper understanding of the Holy Qur’an, and without this guidance it is not possible to act upon the Holy Qur’an in a real sense. It logically follows from it that the teachings of the Holy Prophet should also receive divine protection in their own degree, and remain intact as a whole till the end of the world; otherwise, the preservation of the words of the Holy Qur’an would not, by itself, fully serve the purpose for which Allah has revealed it. It goes without saying that the teachings of the Holy Prophet are identical with what is called the Sunnah or the Hadith. Although Allah has not promised the same degree of protection to that of hadith as to the Holy Qur’an, and the words of the Sunnah have not been preserved exactly in the same manner as the words of the Holy Qur’an, yet the prophetic interpretations too must, according to the present verse, remain intact, and it has, taken as a whole, remained intact up to this day………..Thus, in accordance with the prediction implicit in the present verse, Allah has preserved the teachings of the Holy Prophet from the days of the blessed Companions to our own day through fully authentic collections of the Ahadith and through the masters of this subject. And this divine protection shall continue to the last day of the world.” He then builds his case for upholding the undeniable authenticity of the hadith literature as a whole, equating it with the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet and rejecting and degrading the rejectors of Hadith. This is a very controversial yet very fundamental issue in our Shariah. Needs in-depth and objective discussion.

Before I close, I cannot help quoting the notable scholar and political activist Sayyid Qutb on the beauty and impact of this Ibrahimi dua from his tafseer “Fee Dhilalil Quran”. He narrates in his beautiful and classical style “Not only does this vivid account take the reader right into the scene of the action, but it also surrounds him with the mood and feeling of the occasion. It was a labour of love and devotion that those two pious people undertook, dedicated to God Almighty and carried out in expectation and hope that He would accept it and be pleased with it.
We almost hear the tone and music of their prayer, and we feel the atmosphere of heart-felt appeal to God. This is a special characteristic of the Qur’ānic style which brings a scene of an event long gone as though it is taking place here and now, right in front of us. In their prayer we cannot fail to note the sort of humility, devotion and profound faith that are worthy of prophets who understand the importance of true faith in this world. Such characteristics the Qur’ān tries to teach the advocates of faith and instil it in their hearts”.