I
Iman Wa Ta‘zeem
(Belief in the Divine origin of the Qur'an
and
an attitude of reverence towards it)
The Qur’anic term for belief in a
spiritual reality is Iman (faith) which has two phases: Iqrar bil-lisan (verbal
profession) and tasdiq bil-qalb (heart-felt conviction). A verbal profession of
a belief in the spiritual realities upheld by Islam is the condition of a
person’s admittance into the fold of this religion, but true faith will emerge
only when that belief deepens into a strong inward conviction.
Now what is meant by having faith in
the Qur’an? It means that one should, in the first instance, verbally profess
that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah (SWT) that was revealed by Him through His
chosen angel Jibra’eel (AS), to the last of His messengers, Prophet Muhammad
(SAW). Having made this profession, a person will be accepted as a member of
the Muslim community, although he may not have yet attained true faith. It is
only when he comes to cherish this belief with a deep, inward conviction that
the light of true faith will illumine his heart. Then he will find his heart to
be full of reverence for the Holy Book. As his faith becomes stronger and
stronger, his mind will come more and more under the spell of the Qur’an, and
his feeling of reverence for it will become deeper and deeper. Thus faith and
reverence go together. We learn from the study of the Qur’an that the first
individual to believe in this Revealed Book was none other than
the Prophet (SAW)
himself who was followed by his Companions (RAA).
The Messenger believed in what was
revealed to him from his Lord, as well as the believers….
(Al-Baqarah 2:285)
Their belief was
a deep inward
conviction that the Qur'an was kalam Allah (the Word of God).
This conviction developed in them a reverential attitude towards the Qur'an and
created in their hearts an unbounded love and devotion for it. It was for this
reason that the Holy Prophet (SAW) used to wait anxiously for
the Revelation to
come, that he
would get impatient if it was
temporarily suspended, and when it was resumed he would try to memorize it with
utmost avidity and eagerness, so much
so that Allah
(SWT), out of
love and affection for his
Messenger (SAW), forbade him to be impatient in this regard with the following
instructions:
…do not be in haste for the Qur’an….
(Taha 20:114)
And do not move your tongue quickly
(in trying to memorize the Revelation) to make haste therewith.
(Al-Qiyamah 75:16)
Once at an early stage, the
continuity in the process of Qur’anic
revelation was interrupted
for an unusually
long period. It is reported that this interruption caused the Holy
Prophet (SAW) so
much anguish and distress that he
would often think of throwing himself down from a mountain. So deep was his
devotion for the Qur’an that he would spend the greater part of
the night in
prayer and recitation.
He would stand reciting the
Qur'an for long
hours until his
feet would get swollen. His Companions (RAA) were also
equally enamored of the Holy Book and would recite it for long hours at night.
Many of them had made it a point to go through the whole Qur’an once a week.
The Holy Prophet (SAW), though himself the recipient of the Qur’anic
Revelation, often asked his Companions (RAA) to recite the Qur’an to him and
would be moved to tears by the intensity of feelings roused in his heart.
Obviously, the reason why the
Companions of the Holy Prophet
(SAW) came to
entertain such a
deep love and reverence for the Qur’an in their hearts,
and regarded it with so much
reverence, was that
their belief in
the Qur’an being a Revelation from the Almighty had
reached the highest stage of conviction
— a stage
at which a
reality is accepted
as an Absolute Truth.
Now let us examine the condition of our faith in the Qur’an. We do profess that the Qur’an is a Divine revelation and, indeed, we should be thankful to the Almighty that He has included us among those who hold this belief about His Book, but most of us are not inwardly convinced of its being the Word of Allah (SWT), a Revelation from the Creator of the heavens and the earth. This is the real cause of our estrangement from, and indifference to the Qur’an. Even a casual introspection and self-examination will prove that our hearts are devoid of the true belief in the Qur’an and, instead of harboring true faith, they have become the dwellings of doubts and misgivings. My fellow Muslims might resent this plain speaking on my part; nevertheless, it is a fact that we Muslims woefully lack a staunch faith in the Divine origin of the Qur’an. The state of doubt and uncertainty in which we find ourselves today has been described in the Qur’an in the following words:
Now let us examine the condition of our faith in the Qur’an. We do profess that the Qur’an is a Divine revelation and, indeed, we should be thankful to the Almighty that He has included us among those who hold this belief about His Book, but most of us are not inwardly convinced of its being the Word of Allah (SWT), a Revelation from the Creator of the heavens and the earth. This is the real cause of our estrangement from, and indifference to the Qur’an. Even a casual introspection and self-examination will prove that our hearts are devoid of the true belief in the Qur’an and, instead of harboring true faith, they have become the dwellings of doubts and misgivings. My fellow Muslims might resent this plain speaking on my part; nevertheless, it is a fact that we Muslims woefully lack a staunch faith in the Divine origin of the Qur’an. The state of doubt and uncertainty in which we find ourselves today has been described in the Qur’an in the following words:
…truly, those who have inherited the
Book after them are in suspicious (disquieting) doubt concerning it.
(Al-Shura 42:14)
This lack of faith is the reason why
we neither find any reverence for the Qur’an in our hearts, nor feel inclined
to study it, nor evince any interest in pondering over its meaning, nor ever
think of seeking its guidance in conducting our lives. As long as we do not
make up this dreadful deficiency, no useful purpose will be served by any
amount of religious instruction.
The first and foremost duty of every
Muslim, therefore, is to check his belief in the Qur’an to see whether his
belief in the Qur’an being a sacred and heavenly book is a mere dogma which has
nothing to do with his practical life, or whether he is really convinced of its
being a Word of Allah (SWT) which has been vouchsafed to mankind to seek
guidance from it and make it a practical code of life. If we hold this
conviction, we may have reason to be satisfied and be thankful to Allah (SWT),
but if not — which unfortunately is the case with a vast majority — we should
first of all
make up this
deficiency in our
faith, because the fulfillment of our other obligations to the Qur’an is
dependent upon this very conviction.
It may be asked as to how can this
deficiency be made up. Obviously, the easiest and the most effective way to
acquire and augment faith is to move in the society of godly persons whose
hearts are illumined by the light of true faith. The Companions of the Holy
Prophet (SAW) owed their unique faith to the inspiring influence of their
Master (SAW), who himself was an embodiment of faith and certitude. After the
death of the Holy Prophet (SAW), one can never dream of attaining the same
degree of faith
as the Companions
(RAA) had attained
on account of his physical presence among them, still the method of
improving and perfecting faith in the company of the pious will be followed
with immense advantage even today; so, we need to turn to the pious among us
for continually refreshing our faith. So far as the pious are concerned, they,
in their turn, will find the greatest source of the light of faith in the Holy
Qur’an itself. They will also make a careful study of the biographies of the
Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) so that they may be able to enjoy
an intellectual and spiritual companionship of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and
his Companions (RAA).
As regards the faith in the Qur’an
and its growth, we have to depend upon one source only and that is the Holy
Qur’an itself.
As we shall later on discuss this
point in some detail, Iman (or faith), in reality, is not something that can be
planted in us from outside. It is an embodiment of fundamental truths that
continually flash through our inner being and are caught and reflected by our
heart. We can say that the human heart is a wonderful mirror that automatically
catches and reflects the light of those universal truths that constitute Iman.
What happens is that sometimes the surface of this mirror gets blurred under
the effect of wrong environment and education and fails to catch and reflect
the inner light of Iman. To polish this mirror so that it may clearly reflect
man’s inner light, Allah (SWT), out of His benevolence to mankind, has revealed
His Word, urging us to discern the light inside ourselves and reminding us of
the truths which are the intuitive apprehensions of our primordial nature.
An insight and reminder (of the
truths ingrained in human nature) for every servant who turns to Allah in
repentance.
(Qaf 50:8)
If
the Holy Book
is studied and
its meanings are pondered over in a genuine quest for
truth, all the veils of darkness are lifted, one after another, and our inner
self is illumined by the light of faith. After the heart’s mirror has once been
rendered capable of clearly reflecting the light of faith, we shall still have
to revert to the Qur’an whenever we find that its shining surface is becoming
dull and hazy under the effect of worldly temptations. The following tradition,
narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Umar (RAA) refers to the polishing
effect of the Qur’an on the mirror of the heart:
The Holy Prophet (SAW) once remarked:
“Surely, these hearts get rusted as iron gets rusted in water.” He was asked
how the heart’s rust could be rubbed off. He replied: “By frequent remembrance
of death and the recitation of the Qur’an.”
(Narrated by Bayhaqi)
The crux of the matter is that if our belief in the Divine origin of
the Qur’an remains a mere dogma, it will not bring about any change in our
present conditions and in our attitude of cold indifference towards the Qur’an. If we wish to do justice to the
Qur’an and fulfill the demands it makes from us, we should first of all have
the deep inner conviction that the Qur’an is, indeed, the last and final
Message of Allah (SWT) delivered to the last of His messengers for the guidance
of mankind. As soon as we come to have this conviction, our attitude towards
the Qur’an will undergo a radical change. As soon as we realize that it is a
Revelation from our Lord, our Creator, that Most Exalted Being Whose slightest
apprehension transcends the bounds of our imagination*, our thinking will be
completely revolutionized. We shall then feel that the Qur’an is the greatest
blessing for us under the sun. Its recitation will sustain and nourish our
souls, and contemplation over its meanings will chasten our hearts and
enlighten our minds. From that point onwards, we shall never feel satiated with
its study; and even after dedicating the best powers of our mind and intellect
to its service, and having devoted our whole life to meditation over its
meanings, we shall feel that we have not been able to do justice to the
Glorious Qur’an, the greatest of the heavenly books.
Note *: According to Abu Bakr Siddique (RAA), “the
clearest apprehension of Allah (SWT) possible to man lies in admitting one’s
total inability to apprehend Him.” Sayyidena Ali (RAA) is said to have made the
following addition to these words, as if to complete the couplet: “and to make
an inquisitive probe into His being can lead to polytheism.”
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