September 2001: Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Submitters Perspective

Page 2

QURAN: All we need

Cont’d from page 1

Yet we know that God’s sunnah and hadith are the best, and the only ones we should follow (45:6, 6:114). So whatever God has decreed for us to have, whatever is essential for our salvation, is here, in this book. And while God does not tell us how to cook chicken soup, He does tell us to mention His name before eating it. And that’s what’s important for our souls. If God wanted to, He could have spelt out every last detail. We learn from 18:109 that “If the ocean were ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would run out, before the words of my Lord run out, even if we double the ink supply.” It’s not like He could not have given us more – more detail, more laws, more commandments.

God tells us that the Quran is complete, perfect, and fully detailed (6:19, 38, 114, 115; 50:45). Verse 6:38 says “...we did not leave anything out of this book...” And 6:115 “The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.” Therefore, if God wanted to tell us how to cut our nails or cook chicken soup, He certainly has the words to do so. We don’t need another source, human-made, to fill in those details.
And not only is the scripture fully detailed, it is infallible. [2:2] This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous. Another point we see here is that for those who believe, the Quran is a beacon. God tells us it is also a source of enlightenment and guidance, healing and

a mercy (10:57, 7:52). Also, unlike over 30 encyclopedic volumes of Hadith, God tells us that the Quran is “easy to learn” [54:17] We made the Quran easy to learn. Does any of you wish to learn? If a person sincerely seeks to learn, God opens up his/her heart and makes the Quran accessible to that person (56:77-9), while shielding it from the insincere (17:45-6).

Not only is the Quran accessi-ble, but also we know that God is the Teacher (55:1-2). He teaches us what we need at the time we need it. This is why we read the Quran hundreds of times without getting bored. We can read a novel, for example, only once. But the Quran can be read an infinite number of times, and we derive new and valuable information from it every time.

Shakespeare is required study in most schools and it’s difficult, often incomprehensible, and frequently boring to read and try to understand his works. But how different it would be if Shakespeare himself appeared in the classroom and you could learn it directly from him, or if Einstein came and taught you physics. That’s exactly what God does. He gives us our un-derstanding.

Satan will do his best to keep us from this Quran and the wisdom inherent therein. Hence the commandment in 16:98 to seek refuge in God from Satan the rejected — specifically men-tioned with regard to reading the Quran.

Another indication of the importance of Quran is that God uses His own attributes to de-scribe the Quran. He calls the Quran “`Azeem = Great”

(15:87), “Hakeem = Full of wisdom” (36:2), “Majid = Glorious” (50:1), and “Karim = Honorable” (56:77). This of course does not mean that one wraps it up in silk and places it on the highest shelf never to be read. God tells us quite specifically to do the opposite. We are told to read the Quran from cover to cover (73:4) and especially to recite it at dawn, as it “is witnessed” (17:78). Of course, any time we read the Quran is good, and God tells us in 10:61: You do not get into any situation, nor do you recite any Quran, nor do you do anything, without us being witnesses thereof as you do it. ...

One of the big questions people have is with regard to the authenticity of any scripture or work. There are hundreds of books and sects out there; which one is right? How does one know that every word in here is from God and that no distortions have crept in? Well, simply because God Himself tells us so. The mathematical miracle of the Quran is divine proof that every word in it is from God.

Absolutely, we have revealed the reminder, and, absolutely, we will preserve it. [15:9]

A.L.R. These (letters) are proofs of this scripture; a profound Quran. [15:1]

Say, “If all the humans and all the jinns banded together in order to produce a Quran like this, they could never produce anything like it, no matter how much assistance they lent one another.” [17:88]

Cont’d on page 4