The Structure of the Book
This book (volume 3), as well as volumes 1 and 2, is presented as a series of discussions in a conversational style. It takes one or several verses from each chapter (surah) in sequence and attempts to provide meaning, context, and deeper insight as I see it. It is also intended to encourage discourse among readers in the spirit of understanding the last revelation of God and to engage such understanding to better our lives in all their various dimensions. Too often, a verse is taken in isolation or without context, sometimes by well-meaning (or not-so-well-meaning) Muslims or other religious or political adversaries, often distorting the true essence of the verses in question, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Please refer to volumes 1 and 2 for more detail discussion on the structure of the book.
Understanding Common Terms such as Islam, Muslim, and Qur’an
In volumes 1 and 2, I have provided simple but pertinent definitions and exposition on these common words so that those who are Muslims can take a step back and ponder the meaning and significance of these terms, perhaps divorced from their own cultural or superficial understanding of these important concepts and terms that over the years have been distorted or have taken on a common vernacular without proper perspective and intentional meanings. It is also beneficial for people of other faiths—especially those who come from Abrahamic faiths—to try to understand the deeper and contextual meaning of these terms rather than what is being pushed in the media and sometimes, unfortunately, preached to them from their respective pulpits and in social discourse.
As I have maintained throughout my discourse in this series, faith in God is central to Abrahamic faith and many other faiths, although we have created religious differences based on how we interpret this singularity of Godhead and how we assign divinity to others, if at all, and create religious practices not necessarily mandated by the prophets in whose name such religious distinctions are created, established, and perpetuated. Qur’an is the final book in the continuation of God’s guidance to mankind. It builds on the previous revelations and teachings from all prophets, including Moses, Jesus, and Abraham, and calls for unity of faith while respecting the desires of each group to maintain its distinctiveness and calling for goodness in our conduct with respect to one another regardless of such religious affiliation. This fundamental notion of religious plurality is central to Islamic teachings and has been a time-honored practice for many generations of Muslims. The recent aberrant behavior of fringe groups of terrorist organizations, self-serving imams, and political leaders who exploit religion to perpetuate their rule over people in our contemporary world has given pretext to media pundits and so-called experts to blame the Islamic faith rather than the Muslims who behave contrary to what faith teaches them. It is important to understand such basic tenets of faith and in particular of Islam so that as you read this volume and continue your journey into the Qur’an, we are able to frame the questions and reflect on what the Qur’an teaches.
I want to mention the use of the word “Muslim” in my books. While the conventional English dictionary does not allow the use of the word “Muslim” without a capital M, there are times I have forced the use of the word as “muslim” as I believe the Qur’an had also done to make a distinction between one who professes to be Muslims by acknowledging Prophet Mohammad as the final Messenger and the Qur’an as the final revelation vs. one who is a muslim by attributes of true submission to One God and alignment with God’s teaching brought forth by prophets of all ages. It is in this vein, that the Qur’an declares Abraham to be a muslim and the disciples of Jesus called themselves muslims. This distinction is fundamentally important for everyone of faith to understand and is particularly crucial for Muslims, some of whom will claim to be a Muslim but will never fully develop the true attributes of a muslim, one who is genuinely faithful to God and works consistently and persistently for human goodness.
Suggestions for the Reading of This Book
In the previous volumes I provide some thoughts and suggestions on how to read the Qur’an as presented in these volumes. It would be good to refresh your memory or read them for the first time before you delve into this volume.
The Qur’an should be studied on a regular basis, with reasonable time included for reflecting and making correlations. Life is the real expression of the Qur’an, and one cannot benefit from the Qur’an unless one becomes attentive to the details of life and the universe we live in. The Qur’an will offer different levels of understanding and insights to different people based on our intellectual and commonsense capabilities and willingness to discuss and practice the various aspects of our personal, social, business, and political lives. If we are unwilling or unable to refer to the Qur’an on a day-to-day basis, it will become an intellectual luxury or a ritualistic recipe rather than a tool to enhance the value of life for us or others around us.
Several points are outlined again (as was done in previous volumes) on how to read this commentary on the Qur’an. First, realize that this book is more a commentary and less a translation and that it will not be able to convey the power of the language and the style of the Qur’an, which was well suited to serve the time and the place in which it was revealed. Since you are reading this commentary, your native language may not be Arabic, or you may be seeking additional perspective on the Qur’an beyond what you get by reading directly in the Arabic language, if that is your mother tongue, or you are unsatisfied with many of the existing translations of the Qur’an. I have used simple, colloquial American English so that readers who are either English speaking or have a decent command of the English language can benefit from this book. I have also cited limited but pertinent contemporary world events and views to bring some of the insights of the Qur’an to reality, as we learn better when we can see the reflection of a principle in action. I hope others who share my views in this commentary will cooperate with me in the future to translate this commentary of the Qur’an into their native languages.
As stated earlier in this commentary, instead of keeping each sentence in the Qur’an separate, I have made it part of a paragraph, as the sentences become part of a continuous thought and topic. I felt that this way, the information would become more meaningful and coherent. Arabic terms in each section that require explanation to provide deeper and more accurate meaning of the Qur’an’s content can be found at the end of the section under “Key Arabic Terms.” These terms and their explanations are also included in a glossary toward the end of the book and can be referred to as necessary. Certain words or phrases are also included in brackets ( ) throughout this commentary in order to make explicit hidden intents or meanings and to complete sentences that otherwise may be confusing or misleading, as each language has its unique structures, styles, and word positioning to convey a meaning to the reader. Though this volume only covers chapters (surahs) 5, 6, and 7, from time to time I make references to other chapters that can easily be found in any Qur’an translation. My hope is to provide such a commentary and conversation for the remainder of the Qur’an in the near future as this personal journey into the Qur’an continues.
I have also used footnotes where I felt issues, ideas, or directives needed to be discussed. These are my personal understandings based on my readings of the Qur’an, the Prophet’s traditions (hadith), and books by scholars—both Muslim and non-Muslim; on my education in the East and the West in science, technology, business, and the human origin and condition; and on reflections of our lives. I encourage readers to read, reflect on, and adopt or challenge as necessary the views expressed here, but do try to come to a conclusion in your mind so that you are comfortable with your understanding of Islam and how to be a person of faith and a dignified human being.
It is also important that one should develop the courage and humility to agree to disagree with me or others in our mutual discourse (this book being part of this continuous discourse), as long as it does not make us divisive or disunited. Also, one has to recognize that even though we may disagree on certain positions at an individual level, we may have to take a unified stand as a community based on consensus and majority opinion, and we need to respect that, even if we personally disagree. By the same token, where individual differences are expected, the community should not insist on conformity just for the sake of conformity. For example, the topic of wearing a veil or hijab creates strong emotions in the Muslim community as well as in the West. Muslims should be tolerant of people who wear the hijab or veil as well as of those who choose not to wear either one, since a hijab is not fundamental to our faith nor our ability to be good people. My personal position is that it is not required under Islam, though some Muslim clerics would insist on it based on misreading certain verses of the Qur’an and unreliable hadiths to impose their dogmatic views and practices on women. The majority of the Islamic centers that I am familiar with and have visited in the United States are also very restrictive when it comes to women who do not wear a hijab. The majority of Muslim women around the world, with the exception of the Middle East, do not consider the hijab a religious requirement, and such a cultural norm puts undue social pressure on Muslim communities around the world, even in the West. I would just remind us to be extremely cautious when it comes to restricting human freedom and choices and to be extra vigilant when it comes to women’s rights, which have been violated on a large scale throughout human history, including Muslim history. As God said in the Qur’an, “Do not let your tongue deliver a lie when you say, ‘This is lawful [halal], and this is forbidden [haram],’ thereby inventing a lie in the name of God. Those who impose such lies in the name of God will not prosper” (“The Bee,” 16:116).
I suggest that, at a minimum, one continuous topic be read in one sitting and that you, the reader, spend some time reflecting on what you have read and try to make a personal commitment to follow through with its implications, whether it means adjusting your paradigm of thinking, your position on certain issues, or how you act and do certain things with regard to yourself, your livelihood, your fellow humans, the natural world, and God. As you read through the commentary, try to draw meaning and relevance from lessons in your own life and from lessons that come from observing nature or people, including your parents, your spouse, your children, and people of other faiths and cultures.
The Qur’an should be a source of lifelong learning and guidance for devotion to God and service to humanity. As God said in the Qur’an, “Say [to people], ‘Truth has indeed been revealed to you from your Cherisher God; so whoever makes the right choices does that for his own benefit, and whoever makes the wrong choices does it to the detriment of his own soul, and I [Prophet Mohammad] am not a custodian on your behalf’” (“Jonah,” 10:108). This statement is God’s gentle way of reminding us that we have an obligation to Him and to our fellow humans that we have been given the freedom and conscience to choose the response we deem appropriate, for each one of us is responsible for not only what we do but also what we choose not to do. This is why the Qur’an is very emphatic that it is not good enough for us to only believe but that we also have to remove evil from our lives and societies and establish truth and justice: “You are the best community, evolved for the benefit of mankind because you encourage what is good, you discourage what is evil, and you believe in God” (“The Family of Amran,” 3:110). Our responsibility cannot be made clearer than this!
It is critically important that we read, understand, and interpret the Qur’an in the light of our current condition and global matters and not dwell too much on the conditions that prevailed at the time of its revelation. The Qur’an is not time bound and was revealed for all generations of humanity. There are great similarities between the conditions of Muslims today and those of the Muslim community that first emerged in Medina with the Prophet’s migration. A large majority of Muslims feel that their communities are under a competitive threat economically, socially, politically, and perhaps militarily, just as the small community of Muslims was at the time of its creation and the creation of its religious, political, and economic infrastructure.
Today’s Muslims are many, scattered around in a large number of sovereign countries with a Muslim-majority population as well as being ever present in many other countries as the second-largest religious community. We should strive to organize for the betterment of all people, including ourselves, through education, God consciousness, and constant contribution to human enlightenment. All Muslims, irrespective of where they are from and where they live, should strive to contribute to the Muslim community and the larger society in a positive and substantive way.
As I have done in the previous volumes, I have added an appendix, this time on the Five Pillars of Faith—Shahada (declaration of faith), Salat (daily and weekly prayers), Sawm (fasting during the month of Ramadan), Zakat (2.5 percent mandated charity each year from your assets), and Hajj (annual pilgrimage, mandated once in a lifetime). Too often these are called Pillars of Islam in classical Islamic literature, and they are frequently mentioned in conversations among the Muslims and referred to in the media. But I prefer to call them the Pillars of Faith, since Islam is based on the duality of faith and good work, just as our existence has a spiritual and a physical dimension. This duality should be on equal footing, and maintaining proper balance is the middle ground the Prophet of Islam has always emphasized and strived to reflect in his own life and in the lives of the community he aspired to build. Overemphasis on rituals at the cost of social consciousness and social justice leads to creating bad names for faith and the failure of such people to lead their communities and their nations.
One final note about the use of pronouns about God in the Qur’an, specially for those who might not be unfamiliar with the Qur’an. Islam is strictly a monotheistic religion and Oneness of Godhead is central to Islamic faith. There are places in the Qur’an where God refers to Himself as I or Me or He and in many other places God refers to Himself as We or Us, which might confuse non-readers of the Qur’an. Here are two examples: “When My servants (faithful) inquire you (prophet) about Me, I am (always) near! I answer the calls of those who seek Me; they should then hear My call and believe in Me so that they can secure the right way” (“The Cow,” 2:186); “It is to Us [God] is your return, and it is on Us [God] to ensure your accountability” (“The Overwhelming Event,” 88:25–26).
The use of singular implies a level of intimacy and directedness between God and his creations, including those who are faithful and devoted to God and His guidance. In the first example, it is God who is the object of worship and God is the only One who defines when and how to respond, letting the person know that He is always near and He hears. With respect to the second verse, we all go back to God and to all those who are with God already, namely the angels, the spirits and other hosts that we have no knowledge of but nonetheless is part of God’s team to manage the affairs as God intends and directs. In the second part of the second verse, accountability is taken not only God but also by fellow human beings, for example, as God wills and as we witness on this earth in our current life.
In our day to day conversation, there are times when we take a thing personally and say, “I will take care of it or I will help you”. Other times we say: “We will take care of or We will get it done” meaning me or my family, my group or my organization will take care of this matter. It is a matter of tone, emphasis and an acknowledgment of others who are involved in the execution of the task at hand. This in NO way implies that others included in the “We”, if any at all, have any divinity in them or a share in God’s sovereignty – an area that causes lots of controversy and cognitive dissonance when one tries to explain the concept of Trinity in Christianity or the godhead of Jesus Christ, while at the same time reaffirming the concept of monotheism in Christianity.