2 Al-Baqara (The Cow), سورة البقرة
7 Al-A'raf (The Heights),سورة الأعراف
The sources of Tafseer of the Qur’an- 8
Assalam olaikum,
The Quran says: “And remember Musa prayed for water for his people; We said “Strike the rock with thy staff”. (2:60). The above mentioned verse of the Qur’an describes the miracle of Hadhrat Musa (AS). Allah (swt) instructed him to strike a rock with his stick. This action of Hadhrat Musa (AS) made twelve springs sprout from that rock. As we know that the British Raj had conferred upon Syed Ahmad Khan the title of Sir. So he did not wish to be labeled as an orthodox and irrational person by the English people lest they not look down upon him. So he rejected this well known miracle of Hadhrat Musa (AS) thereby misinterpreting the verse by changing the meaning of the words of Al- Qur’an. If one reads his religious views then one can easily understand that he was not properly educated in Shariah. His views were based chiefly on his personal opinions, the political scenario of the Indian subcontinent and his personal political objectives. He openly opposed hadith and Tafsir and created his own interpretation, often to please the British Raj. Basically he was incompetent and unqualified to interpret Al-Quran because he was not educated about the eight topics which I have discussed in my earlier post- The sources of Tafseer of the Qur’an- 6.
So we can conclude that intellect can be a double edged sword which can lead us to a great height when used properly. On the other hand, it can also lead to lowest ebb, if misused.
Prophet Mohammad (saw) has prayed for Hadhrat lbn-e-Abbas (ra) as: “O Allah! Teach him the interpretation of the Qur’an and bestow him with the proper sense of Deen.”
It is by virtue of this dua that Ibn-e- Abbas (ra) used his extraordinary intellect for the interpretation of the Qur’an.
remember me in your prayers
amel soname
