The Khutbah Project: The Beauty of Quran

Surah 20: Ta Ha (O Man):

Ta Ha. Maa anzalna alaykal-Qurana litashqa. [1-2]

O Man! We did not bestow the Quran on thee from on high to make thee unhappy,

Illa tadhkiratal-limany-yakhsha. [3]

but only as an exhortation to all who stand in awe [of God]:

Tanzilam-mimman khalaqal-arda was-samawatil-ula. [4]

A revelation from Him who has created the earth and the high heavens

Ar-Rahmani alal-arshis-tawa. [5]

the Most Gracious, established on the throne of his almightiness.

Lahu ma fi-samawati wa ma fil-ardi wa ma baynahuma wa ma tahtath-thara. [6]

Unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, as well as all that is between them and all that is beneath the sod.

Wa in-tajhar bilqawli fa’innahu ya lamus-sirra wa akhfa. [7]

And if thou say anything aloud, [He hears it] since, behold, He knows [even] the secret [thoughts of man] as well as all that is yet more hidden [within him].

Allahu laa iliha illa Huwa lahul-Asmaa ul-Husna [8]

God – there is no deity save Him; His [alone] are the attributes of perfection!

Surah Ta Ha opens by reminding us that the Quran was not revealed to make us unhappy. And yet, of late, I have found myself troubled by some of what I read of it in it in English translation.

I envy the speakers of Arabic – those who can actually read and understand Quran in it’s revealed language. My husband is one of those. He recites Quran as a meditative exercise, because it feeds his soul. Not necessarily the meanings of each individual ayah – those are at times difficult to relate to, even for Arabic speakers. He reads it for the beauty of the language. I wish I could do that - master the beauty of the language. Instead I must read translations that contain none of the integrity, musicality, and nuance of the Arabic. But instead of continuing to lament about this, I decided to do something different this week. I decided to find the ways I can connect with the beauty of Quran.

First, I tried listening to beautiful recitations. My favorite so far is this one, by the young Saudi actress who played Wadjda in the film by Haifa Al Mansour. Wadjda, from Surat Al-Baqara, 7-12.

The other way I found to connect to the beauty of Quran has been a little more surprising, and liberating. In his book, “The Search for Beauty in Islam,” legal scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl creates an imaginary conversation with the Quran. He writes “throughout history we debated you – created or uncreated, literal or symbolic, rational or mystical. We debated the principles, the history, the ethics, the laws. In reality, through you, we were constructing ourselves and we were debating who we are and what we are. Then debates stopped and the dynamism of the process stagnated …” El Fadl then enjoins us to follow the edict contained in Surat Ar-Rahman 55, ayat 1-4:

Arrahman. Allamal-Quran. Khalaqal-Insan.

Allamahul-bayan.

The Most Gracious has imparted this Quran

Has created humans: He has imparted unto them articulate thought and speech. [1-4]

In other words, God created us with the power to discern. El Fadl quotes Imam Ali (who died just 29 years after the Prophet) who said, “The Quran is but a book between two covers – it is humans who read it, understand it, and implement it.”

“Hundreds of scholars approached the text of the Quran,” El Fadl writes, “absorbing it, and becoming absorbed by it. It transformed them, but they transformed it as well. I read none of them for an inherent truth, but for the truth of the transformation, and I search for my own transformation. In a word, when I read you, I read myself.”

Muhammad Asad reminds us that Quran uses allegory and parables to convey meaning that is beyond the range of human experience. that gives us another clue to finding our own beauty in Quran. In an Appendix on Symbolism and Allegory in the Quran, he writes:

“There is one fundamental statement in the Quran which occurs only once, and which may be qualified as “the key phrase of all key phrases”: the statement in verse 7 of Al Imran to the effect that the Quran “contains messages that are clear in and by themselves (ayat muhkamat) as well as others that are allegorical (mutashabihat)”. It is this verse which represents, in an absolute sense, a key to the understanding of the Quranic message and makes the whole of it accessible to “people who think” (li-qawmin yatafakkarun).”

Understanding the use of allegory – symbolic representation - in Quran, Asad contends, is contingent upon two concepts, 1/ the existence of a “realm which is beyond the reach of human perception,” and 2/ “the human mind can only operate on the basis of perceptions previously experienced by that very mind either in their entirety or in some of their constituent elements: that is to say, it cannot visualize, or form an idea of, something that lies entirely outside the realm of previously realized experiences.”

“Thus, the Quran tells us clearly that many of its passages and expressions must be understood in an allegorical sense for the simple reason that, being intended for human understanding, they could not have been conveyed to us in any other way. It follows, therefore, that if we were to take every Quranic passage, statement or expression in its outward, literal sense and disregard the possibility of its being an allegory, a metaphor or a parable, we would be offending against the very spirit of the divine writ.”

There is another ayah in Quran that tells us clearly that Quran is using parables to teach us what cannot be described beyond our frame of reference: Ayah 35 from Surah An-Nur.

Allahu nurus-samawati wal ‘ard.

Mathalu nurihi ka-mishkatin-fiha misbah.

Almisbahu fi zujajah.

Azzujajtu ka ‘annaha kawkabun-durriyyuny-yuqadu

min-shajaratim-mubarakatin-zaytunatil-la sharqiyyatinw-wa la gharbiyyatiny-yakadu zaytuha yudil’u wa law lam tamsas-hu nar.

Nurun ‘ala nur.

Yahdil-lahu linurihi many-yashaa.

Wa yadribulahul-amthala linnas.

Wal-lahu bikulli shay’in Alim. [35]

God is the light of the heavens and the earth.

The parable of His light is, as it were,

that of a niche containing a lamp;

the lamp is enclosed in glass, the glass shining like a radiant star;

[a lamp] lit from a blessed tree –

an olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west –

the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light

[of itself] even though fire had not touched it: light upon light!

God guides unto His light whoever wills [to be guided];

and to this end] God propounds parables unto men,

since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things. [35]

Of course, our interpretations of the allegories and parables in Quran reflect the “previously realized experiences” of the interpreters. Our own interpretations - separated as we are from the revelation to the Prophet’s community by 1400 years of evolution in human perception, scientific, literary, and intellectual achievement - are going to be different from those of his followers and close successors. I imagine Allah and the messages quite differently than someone whose imagination was formed and thoroughly embedded in a tribal, patriarchal, and anthropo-centric worldview.

But the beauty of Quran, as El Fadl reminds us, lies precisely in the fact that it must be interpreted, and re-interpreted – even if you understand Arabic – and that the interpretation is in itself a transformative process. Like a mandela painting, the beauty of interpretation lies in the process itself, not in the final product. Interpretation and transformation never cease. Meaning cannot be fixed for all time. The beauty of Quran lies in our ability to return to it time and again, and each time see something new.

I am liberated, to read and hear Quran, and let it’s meaning touch me where it will. I can experience it, without being intimidated by it. With all this in mind, let’s experience together, one of the most beautiful, allegorical surahs in Quran, # 55: Surat Ar-Rahman – The Most Glorious – in Arabic and in English.

Arrahman. Allamal-Quran. Khalaqal-Insan.

Allamahul-bayan.

The Most Gracious has imparted this Quran

Has created humans: He has imparted unto them articulate thought and speech. [1-4]

Ashshamsu wal-qamaru bihusban.

Wan-najmu wash-shajaru yas-judan.

The sun and the moon run their appointed courses;

[before Him] The stars and the trees prostrate themselves. [5-6]

Was-samaa a rafa’aha wa wada al-mizan. [7]

And the skies has He raised high, and has devised [for all things] a measure.

Alla tatghaw fil-mizan. [8]

So that you [too, O people], might never transgress the measure [of what is right]:

Wa aqimul-wazna bilqisti wa la tukhsirul-mizan. [9]

Weigh, therefore, [your deeds] with equity, and cut not the measure short!

Wal-arda wada aha lil anam. [10]

And the earth has He spread out for all living beings,

Fiha fakihatunw-wan-nakhlu dhatul-akmam [11]

With fruit thereon, and palm trees with sheathed clusters [of dates],

Wal-habbu dhul-asfi war-rayhan. [12]

And grain growing tall on its stalks, and sweet-smelling plants.

Fabi ayyi alaa i Rabbikuma tukadh-dhiban. [13]