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Ziauddin Ahmed |
THE RELEVANCE OF QUR’AN IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
Ziauddin Ahmed
tidylink@yahoo.com
Canada May
31st 2009
Whether Qur’an is relevant or not in the 21st
century will begin to make more sense if we study
the relevance of religion in our lives and the
nature of the Book itself.
It is not only the West that has a distorted image
of Islam, most Muslims have it too. This is due
primarily to the reliance on the orthodox
fundamentalist’s interpretation of it. Now, the
common Muslim is as simple and naive as the common
Christian, Jew or for that matter a follower of any
other religion. Each one is absorbed in their
day-to-day pursuits of basic survival, without much
time and inclination for complexities. One seeks
some peace and solace in religion but finds no
remedy in the orthodox preaching and the mundane
sermons from the pulpit. Most fundamentalist
preaching tends to take one back instead of forward
in both time and ideas, and so most worshipers
perform their routine rituals without ever
reflecting on the meaning and reason for them.
All monotheistic religions preach a similar end and
that is --- ‘Submission to the Will of the
Creator’. If submission is willing and
conscious it results in attainment of harmony with
Nature. If unwilling and unconscious, the result is
the agony of conflict. Every religion aims at the
uplift of man and the basic axioms of all religions
are the same. For, none preaches loot and plunder,
none teaches to kill or maim. Each tries to
channelize the animal nature of man for the common
good of humanity. Islam too promotes these values.
Islamic philosophy is geared towards the
understanding of oneself and suggests measures for
self- correction, both in relation to other human
beings and to Nature Itself. The greatest
flaw in the fundamentalist’s approach to Islam is
that they preach that there is only one solution to
any problem, and that all solutions are recipes in
The Book.
A closer review of The Qur’an, however, shows that
it is a book of knowledge based on:
(a)
Lessons from Historical episodes
(b)
Guidelines for legal framework, and
(c)
A Philosophy of life.
It will continue to be a classic and a book for all
times if it is studied as such. If it is taken as a
black and white prescription for all ills, it will
at times, be used out of context; for then, the book
will be found to contradict itself, and will be
discredited and eventually discarded. As the
changing of times is a dynamic process, events of
today cannot be explained by the facts of yesterday
alone.
It is inbuilt in the nature of man to enquire, seek
and find. When all else fails and his own efforts
have been exhausted, one turns to mother Nature,
which in its classical fundamental form is known
as God or the Deity. The answer, is
in fact, revealed by one’s own Inner-self,
or if you wish to call it, the Over-self, as
in the end both are the extension of the same
Self. The answers can come in a number of ways.
The solution may appear in a dream. There may be a
flash of intuition. One may make autosuggestion to
oneself. These again, may either be conscious,
those, which one is fully aware of and are based on
one’s rational thoughts; or unconscious, whereby
the hidden idea comes to the surface like a bubble
rising from within the depths of oneself -- in a,
hitherto, inexplicable manner. This is the same form
in which the deepest of thinkers like sages,
prophets and men of spiritual elevation get their
knowledge and wisdom. As this form of release of
information is still commonly unfathomed, and is not
completely rationalized, it is usually pushed in the
background and not readily accepted. Modern science
is making much effort in the study of the
functioning of the brain and the mind and will
perhaps come up with some plausible explanation of
this phenomenon also. This uncontrolled and
unconscious enlightenment has been termed as
revelation. Such means of communication have
been established only by a few –- called the
enlightened ones -- those who have fathomed the
means to tap into the mysterious ‘Cosmic
Consciousness’, and perhaps understand its
message. To attain this level of rapport
with the Source one has to liberate oneself
from the mundane traps of physical hindrances and
become able to communicate with the deepest of one’s
inner depths. It is said, all knowledge seems to lie
buried within, and has to be exposed and brought to
a conscious level by a concerted, laborious and
painstaking process of disciplining oneself for self
-exploration and self- discovery. The Qur’an itself
says:
-
O
man, you have to strive and go on striving
-
towards your Lord,
-
then will you meet Him
(84:6)
Primarily, the Qur’an seems to be a monologue of the
Creator -- either with Its messenger, or
through him with others. Its revelations
reflect the thought process of the prophet.
When It addresses the votary directly, It
does so in the form of autosuggestions. It gives him
advice, direction, assurance, and sometimes, even
reprimand. It seems to provide answers to questions
the Prophet sought, either explicitly or
implicitly. Revealing to him truths of episodes of
historical significance and the happenings with
other prophets, their experiences and their
handlings of various situations, and the doings of
human beings in general. It suggests solutions for a
variety of circumstances and explains the principles
behind many of them. Of greatest importance is the
Universal philosophy of the Qur’an and its overall
worldview, encompassing not only the earth and the
heavens but also all that lies between them. The
Prophet derived knowledge and instruction from the
Qur’an, practiced its preaching, and thus, in fact
seemed to have lived it in its entirety. This is
because the personality that received and perceived
the message was an impeccably honest, forthright and
a righteous individual with the welfare of humanity
at heart. He was thus unique in his own thought
process. Only he could have had a complete
understanding of how, when and why those thoughts
came to him. Now therefore, only the prophet could
have lived the Qur’an in its entirety. All the rest
of us can only make our individual effort to fathom
his thought process to the level of our own
understanding and knowledge of it, and try to
emulate it.
An all-encompassing theory would remain current even
with the passage of time. It should be dynamic and
be able to explain situations within its existing
laws. Only a Natural theory is such a vehicle. The
religious idea based on this natural theory can be
ever current and practicable at all times, because
it is based on the axioms of nature. This is what
Islam is. It is a dynamic philosophy because it
preaches the understanding, aligning and adherence
to the dictates of the laws of ‘ Cause and
Effect ’.
You must be dying to ask the question that—‘ If this
is so, why are Muslims so miserable and down trodden
in the world?’ The only answer to that is that they
do not understand their own religion and do not make
individual effort to study and explore its essence,
or promote those of its values that are compatible
with the current time and age. They have either
forgotten the gist of the message or had never
understood it in the first place. On the other hand,
primarily people of Western cultures are seen to
have understood, accepted and adopted the basics of
these natural Laws, and are using them for making
remarkable material progress. Muslims mostly listen
to Qur’anic preaching through second hand sermons
and deliverances, some repeat it verbatim, but only
few ever read the message and think for themselves.
Some of the many reasons for shying away from the
Qur’an and its contents are:-
(a)
It has been unnaturally sanctified and
preserved in the niche. This over reverential
treatment of the Book has dissuaded people from it
and they postpone consulting it at the moment of
need, because they have been petrified of touching
it unceremoniously. .
(b)
Its main purpose, as a book of common
reference, has been restricted to the hands of the
orthodoxy and their interpretation of it is
unquestioningly accepted. Its explanation is
supposed to be their sacred duty alone.
(c)
These orthodox, in their own ignorance or
fear, promote more awe than reason, thereby
distorting the actual and real purpose of the Book.
(d)
It is read only in the letter and its spirit
is hardly pondered upon or understood. The Qur’an is
a classic and has to be deeply probed. Are not most
classics read over and over again to be fully
understood and appreciated? E.g. To fully
appreciate Shakespeare do we not study the history
of his time. So why not for Qur’an?
(e)
It is mainly taught to children, and that in
most cases, in a language so foreign to them that
they do not understand a word of it and are
repelled. Any repulsion at that young age is rather
deep rooted and requires a real effort to overcome.
This naturally builds a resistance to return to it.
(f)
Since it has never been popularized as a book
of knowledge, only half-baked translations of it are
available. Those done by scholars and liberated
individuals have been shunned and made redundant.
All this is so because the hegemony of the ‘ mullah’
reigns supreme, and it is not in his interest to
educate the ignorant masses, perhaps because his own
short sight holds him back.
(g) Last but not the least, the book if ever
consulted, is mostly done for its legal framework
pronouncements alone, and those too applied only in
letter, their spirit or philosophy is hardly ever
perceived or accepted. Little or no thought is given
to conditions pertaining over fourteen hundred years
ago, and the dictates of those laws are thought to
be applicable in totality in the present. The
Qur’an’s philosophy and its human psychology, which
are far deeper, more elaborate and perhaps more
relevant, are hardly ever probed, debated upon and
propagated.
The whole foregone scenario of mishandling and
misunderstanding of the Book has come about over
centuries of inattention and disregard for liberated
intellectual enquiry. This was inbred in the Muslim
psyche by vested interests of close-minded
propagators of status quo, those who took up the
guardianship of the religion. Some of who lead the
ignorant through their own ignorance, others by
politicizing and exploiting the message to suit
their fancy. Remove these shortcomings from the
study of Qur’an and the relevance of the Book, not
only for the twenty first century, but all times,
will become clearly visible. Consider it as a
classic presented in an admirably rich language, and
indeed it will be treated as another landmark in
human thought. Remember classics are for all time,
and so would be the Qur’an.
The Qur’an, if seen in rational terms, takes on a
completely new meaning, and the whole narration
becomes the invaluable insight of a genius. That,
Prophet Muhammad was one, becomes evident if his
message is studied with logic and rational
composure, and not with unbridled emotion and undue
devotion -- that which is inculcated by blind
rituals and empty porous traditions. For,
unrestrained and uncontrolled reverence in the form
of an over cautious and awe inspiring approach to
the Qur’an, and the personality of its presenter,
leads to undue restriction on the flow of balanced
thought and the questions that arise there from. On
the other hand judging it on hearsay or drawing-room
pseudo intellectuality is no less reprehensible.
Rationality, which is the order of the day, demands
that the Book be approached from a new and liberated
angle, that which is in keeping with the dictates of
the present time and age. Keeping the message
shackled in thousand-year-old chains and restricting
its use, has rusted it beyond recognition. Its
original purpose and meaning has got cluttered in
politicizing and over zealous religious
interpretation. There is no need to change or alter
the message or any part thereof, as that would
constitute intellectual dishonesty and unpardonable
distortion. The only thing needed is to explore it’s
meaning from a different angle and a balanced
coherent approach, in consonance with the times.
The Qur’an, therefore, is a guidance for anyone who
wishes to study the workings of the nature of man
and his surroundings, and the understandings of the
laws of ‘ Cause and Effect’ as
deciphered by the prophet. Once the working of these
laws is fathomed, the nature of Nature Itself
becomes comprehensible. For, Nature is the
originator of all systems and laws that govern each
and everything -- even Itself. It may be
said that God’s alone is the perfect system, and
systematic perfection leads to godliness.
Besides all of the above the relevance of the
Qur’an has its support in the fact that:
(a). If the Qur’an is the basis of faith of over 1.3
billion Muslims of the world, it surely must have
some relevance.
(b).
If the Qur’an is a classic then it must make an
impression on man and his education, and so it
surely must have some relevance.
(c). If the Qur’an can be motivational of its
followers to lay down their lives for it and it’s
preaching, would it not have relevance?
(d). If the Qur’an can keep this august gathering,
and so many others besides, engrossed in debating
and analyzing it, the Book must have some relevance.
There would be many more arguments that can be
presented in this context but the above should
suffice to establish the point.
It has been a tradition of mine to close with a
verse of Ghalib, who is one of the most metaphorical
poet philosophers of Urdu language. If you can
detect the metaphor in the verse in relation to the
Quran, you may be on the road to the key to the
metaphors of the Qur’an itself.
Nazara kea hareef hoe ous barq e husan ka
Josh e bahar jalvae koe jis kay naqaab hai
What spectacle can claim rivalry,
Of that ray of beauteous glow.
Whose effulgence is veiled,
By the springs exuberant show.
(My paraphrase of the verse is that: If you
substitute the word ‘ spectacle’ with
the word ‘ classic’ –- as any classic is a spectacle
of human endeavour –- then the meaning of the first
stanza of the verse becomes:
Which ‘ classic’ can match the Qur’an –-- in beauty
of language, diction, poetry, content etc.
Replace the word ‘ veil’ with ‘ protect or guard or
save’ –- because all this is in the nature of the
veil—then the meaning of the second stanza of the
verse would be:
That the glory, strength or power of the Creator
Itself will preserve it.
This contention is verifiable by the Qur’an itself
.)
Thank you.
