THE JEWELS OF
THE QUR’ĀN
La
ilaha illa Allahu (there is no god but God).
All rights reserved.
Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not
be reproduced in any form, by print, photo print, microfilm or any other means
without written permission of the author.
Dr. M.A. Quasem,
Department of Theology
& Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies.
University Kebangsaan
Malaysia (National University of Malaysia). Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
Book publisher.
Registration No. 375690.
Printed in Malaysia
by
the University of Malaya
Press, Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur.
THE
JEWELS OF THE QUR’ĀN
A translation, with an
introduction and annotation,
of al-Ghazali’s
Kitab
Jawahir al-Qur’ān
by
MUHAMMAD ABUL QUASEM
B.A. HONS., M.A., Ph.D.(EDIN),
KAMIL(DAC)
Associate Professor
of Islamic Studies
National University of Malaysia
In the name of God, Most
Gracious, Ever Merciful
Surely this Qur’ān guides you to
the way which is most firm and right, and gives the believers who do good deeds
the glad tidings that they shall have a great reward and warns that for those
who do not believe in the Hereafter We have prepared a grievous chastisement. -
Qur’ān 17:9-10
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
9
CONTENTS
OF THE BOOK IN DETAIL 15
PART ONE
Chapter
1. The Qur’ān is like an ocean
which covers various types of jewels and valuables 19
2. The aims of the Qur’ān and its
valuables are of six kinds 21
3. An explanation of the six aims
of the Qur’ān 23
4. Branching off of all sciences
from the ten divisions of the Qur’ān, and an explanation of grades of sciences 34
5. Stemming off of the sciences
of the ancients and the moderns from the Qur’ān 45
6. The meaning of the statement
that the Qur’ān comprises red brimstone, greatest antidote, strongest musk, and
all other valuables and jewels 49
7. Why the entities of the
invisible world are explained in the Qur’ān by means of similitudes from the
visible world 53
8. Comprehension of the
connection between the invisible world and the visible world 56
9. The allegories of red
brimstone, greatest antidote, strongest musk, aloe-wood, corundum, and pearls 59
10. The benefit of employing
allegories in the Qur’ān 62
11. Variance in the excellence of
Qur’ānic verses 64
12. Secrets of the Sara of the
Opening, and how it comprises eight of the ten valuables of the Qur’ān 66
13. The Sura of Opening is the
key to all doors of Paradise 73
14. Why the Verse of the Throne
is considered the chief of the Qur’ānic verses 75
15. Why the value of the Sara of
Sincerity is equal to that of a third part of the Qur’ān 79
16. Why the Sara of Ya Sin is the
heart of the Qur’ān 81
17. Why the Verse of the Throne is regarded the chief of the Qur’ānic verses.
Why the Sura of Opening is the best of all suras 82
18. The condition of the gnostics 84
19. The reason for stringing the
jewels and the pearls of the Qur’ān on two separate strings 87
PART TWO
Chapter 1. The jewels of the Qur’ān 89
Chapter 2. The pearls of the Qur’ān 156
CONCLUSION
ON THE TWO CLASSES OF VERSES
Why the discussion of Qur’ānic verses has been confined to the classes of jewels and pearls 224
BIBLIOGRAPHY 225
The following
will not be in the online version: (Ed.)
General Index 230
Index of Qur’ānic suras and verses 240-244
We
reveal progressively of the Qur’ān that which is a spiritual healing and a
mercy for the believers. - Qur’ān 17:82
The Qur’ān is the Holy Scripture
of Islam revealed to the prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him!) through the
angel of revelation, Gabriel. in approximately twenty-three years of his
lifetime (610 A.D. - 632) in Mecca and Medina. Seven hundred million human beings
who call themselves Muslims have accepted it as the Creator’s final message or
revelation to mankind and jinn (infra, p.
46, n. 74), two intelligent species charged with religious and moral
responsibilities. Muslims not only read and study the Qur’ān for drawing
guidance in all aspects of their life, but also recite it for other purposes,
such as the obtaining of reward from God and gaining the blessings which come
from uttering the divine speech. Recitation for these purposes is made at
different times and on various occasions, e.g. in the morning, at night, on
completion of every ritual prayer, at the start of sermons, in ceremonies and
in pious gatherings. Thus the Qur’ān is practically inseparable from the life
of a Muslim. Many non-Muslims have also been interested in the Qur’ān and most
of them have regarded it with reverance as the Holy Scripture of a great faith;
the reasons for their interest in the Scripture of another religion, however,
are obviously not identical with those of Muslims.
The Qur’ān is purely divine but its understanding is completely human - a statement often made by Muslim scholars of recognized authority. The understanding of the Qur’ān concerns not only the meaning and significance of its verses, but also several broad problems related to it as a whole. Scholars sometimes differ in understanding some aspects of the Qua an. Non-Muslims differ from Muslims primarily in apprehending certain fundamental issues concerning the Scripture, e.g. its authority, its source, and the nature of its appeal to human beings - whether this appeal is universal or limited to some particular sections of humanity - and they differ mainly because their religious beliefs and ideological convictions are different. Among the Muslim scholars themselves differences have also occurred in respect of the meaning and import of several categories of verses and also in respect of apprehending certain basic Qur’ānic problems, such as the eternity or created nature of the Qur’ān, and the methods of understanding it. Thus the Sunnites, the Shi’ites, the Mu’tazilites, the Ash’arites, the Literalists, the Sufis, the Philosophers, and the Modernists are not always found to be in agreement on Qur’ānic interpretation and in their views on some Qur’ānic problems of importance. The reasons why they differ among themselves in understanding the Scripture are rooted in their disagreement on other matters.
One of the leading Muslim
thinkers who adheres mainly to the Sunnites, the Ash’arites and the Sufis and
who is strongly opposed to the Shi’ite the Mu’tazilites, the Literalists and
part of the theories of his contemporary philosophers, is Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
(d. 505 A.H./1111 A.D.). He has sometimes been acclaimed in both East and West
as the greatest religious authority of Islam after the prophet Muhammad, and he
is by no means unworthy of this dignity. Muslims have given him the title of
the Proof of Islam (hujjat al-Islam) and
the Ornament of Religion (zayn ad-din). His
accomplishments have spread over many diverse branches of learning including
Islamic jurisprudence, theology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, sufism, and
Qur’ānic studies. At an advanced age, when he had already composed numerous
works on many of these Islamic intellectual disciplines and when he had already
completed traversing the guff path and thus had already ascended to the highest
peak of intellectual and spiritual achievement, he expressed his own
understanding of the Qur’ān through the composition of a work, Jawahir al- Qur’ān, which, in the
following chapters, has been translated into English under the title The Jewels of the Qur’ān. This book is
the source for much of what we know concerning al-Ghazali s own views on our
religious Scripture. It is of course not a commentary on the
Qur’ān in the general usage of the term, although it does comment upon certain
important Qur’ānic suras and verses in various connections. It presents us with
al-Ghazali’s own understanding of some basic problems concerning the Qur’ān -
problems which are of equal interest to both Muslim and non-Muslim students of
the Scripture. Throughout the book there is an emphasis - a strong emphasis -
upon employing what the author considers to be the correct method of
apprehending the Holy Book, i.e. upon penetrating into the depth of the inner,
hidden meanings of the Qur’ānic verses, without merely being content with their
outward meanings, like a diver’s diving down to the depths of a fathomless
ocean in order to bring out the hidden pearls and treasures. A very clear-cut
and complete, but brief, theory concerning the aims (maqasid) of the Qur’ān is given in this book - a theory which is
recognized as important and is often quoted by as-Suyuti (d, 911 A.H.) and
other later scholars of the Qur’ān. Inseparably connected with this theory is another,
in which al-Ghazali demonstrates that all diverse branches of Islamic learning
have stemmed from the Qur’ān; this is a demonstration of the view usually held
by Muslims that the Holy Scripture constitutes the sole source of all forms of
Islamic knowledge. In this book there is also an effort to demonstrate the
truth of the statements of the prophet Muhammad on the excellence of some
Qur’ānic suras and verses over others - e.g. his statements: The Sura of Ya Sin
is the heart of the Qur’ān, the Throne Verse is the chief of all Qur’ānic
verses, the Sura of Sincerity equals the merit of one-third of the entire
Qur’ān, the Opening Sura is the key to all the doors of Paradise, and so on.
The second part of the book presents us with all ‘jewel’ verses and all ‘pearl’
verses verses which are concerned with the two most important of the six
principal aims of the Scripture. The separation of these verses from all the
other verses which concern the remaining aims of the Qur’ān is unprecedented in
the history of Qur’ānic literature and must be regarded as a significant
contribution to Qur’ānic studies. These are the main problems discussed in this
book. In connection with them other minor but important problems have also been
dealt with, one of them being the relationship between the world of perception
and the world of the unseen; this relationship is reminiscent of Plato’s well
known theory of forms - a reason why students of al-Ghazali sometimes tend to
think of Plato’s influence upon him.
The writing in the first part of the book is mostly
allegorical; this is needed in order to facilitate the exposition of the lofty
and magnificent nature of the Qur’ān. The truth underlying the major allegories
employed is explained, and sometimes separate sections are devoted to this
task; yet allegories are to be found here and there unexplained, demanding the
reader’s own effort to grasp their underlying meaning and significance. The
treatment of the book is serious, deep, penetrating and, above all, so logical
that one chapter follows another automatically and smoothly. This logical
arrangement of material is in complete agreement with al-Ghazali’s usual method
of composition.
Since this English version of the book is the translation of the Arabic original it seems necessary to mention the methods employed in making this translation. It is not a strictly literal rendering of the original; rather it is the presentation of the meaning of the original in easy, modern English; in presenting this meaning, however, efforts are made to be very close to the original. Sometimes materials are added in the text for clarification of the meaning, and these are put between square brackets. Where an expression of the original is likely to affect the flow of reading, such an expression is put between round brackets. All footnotes are added by the translator, sometimes to clarify difficult concepts, phrases and words, and sometimes to provide the reader with more relevant information. In the numbering of the Qur’ānic verses appearing in this book the official Egyptian edition of the Qur’ān is consistently followed. The terms Qur’ān and sura are occasionally abbreviated as Q. and S. respectively.
In respect of the translation of more than fifteen
hundred Qur’ānic verses which appear in this book, the reader will notice a
sharp deviation from the archaic English of earlier Biblical translations. This
style influenced many English translations of the Qur’ān which are, as a
result, clumsy, obscure or incomprehensible, especially to the general reader,
despite the Qur’ān’s repeated claim to be a clear, easy book of guidance. This
disadvantage of the older Biblical style of translation was also pointed out by
A. J. Arberry more than two decades ago; he himself retained what he considered
to be “a minimal obedience to tradition” (The
Holy Koran: An Introduction With Selections, London, 1953, p. 31). In the
last twenty-four years Islam expanded greatly, especially in Africa, Europe,
Canada and the United States of America, but many new converts have been heard
to express their weariness at the Biblical style of Qur’ān-translation and
their desire for translations in regular, modern, free-flowing English, which
would not only be scholarly but also interesting and enjoyable. Such a
translation of more than fifteen hundred Qur’ānic verses has been attempted in
this book. The reader will also notice that the present translation has tried
to retain the emphasis which Qur’ānic verses contain very often through various
linguistic subtleties. This emphasis aims at eliciting positive response on the
part of the. hearer, and forms one of the special characteristics of the
Scripture of Islam. Most of the Qur’ān translators have neglected this
emphasis. In respects other than this and the style, the present translation
sometimes agrees with the existing ones to which it is indebted. It is hoped
that this small book of al-Ghazali will be of great help to the English
speaking reader in his understanding of the Qur’ān.
The first part of this English version of the book was prepared in Edinburgh in June, 1973 on completion of my doctoral studies in the ethics of al-Ghazali under the supervision of Professor W. Montgomery Watt. I should like to record my thanks to Mrs. Phyllis Graham for carefully going through the manuscript of that part and to Dr. Roger Card of the National University of Malaysia for reading the manuscript of the entire book and making some valuable suggestions. My thanks are also due to Mr. Syed Zulflida, Mr. Peter Mooney, Mr. Lee Gray and Mr. Moxie Craus of the National University of Malaysia for editing the manuscript and for reading the proofs.
M. Abul
Quasem
Kuala
Lumpur, Dhu l-Hijja 1397 November 1977
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK IN DETAIL
All
types of perfect praise belong to God alone, the Lord of all the worlds. May
His blessings be on His prophet Muhammad, on all [members of] his family, and
on all his companions)
This
section concerns the content of the book we have named the Jewels of the Qur’ān .
Know
(may God guide you to the right path!) that we have arranged this book in three
parts: One on introductory matters, one on aims, and one on the matters
connected with the aims.
The
first part which is on introductory matters comprises nineteen chapters:
1. The Qur’ān is
[like] an ocean which covers many types of jewels and valuables.
2. The limiting of
the aims of the Qur’ān and its valuables to six divisions of which three are
important principles and three follow them and complete them.
3. The explanation
of these six divisions one by one. They branch off so that they become ten.
4. The process by
which all sciences branch off from these ten divisions. The sciences of the
Qur’ān are divided into the science of the outer shell and the science of the
inner jewels. An explanation of the grades of sciences.
5. How the
sciences of the ancients and the moderns branch off from the Qur’ān./[1]
6. The meaning of
the statement that the Qur’ān comprises red brimstone, the greatest antidote,
the strongest musk, and all other valuables and pearls. This can only be known
by one who knows the relationship between the visible world and the invisible
world.
7-The reasons why
the entities of the invisible world are illustrated in the Qur’ān by means of
similitudes derived from the visible world.
8. The
comprehension of the connection existing between the visible world and the
invisible world.
9. Analysis of the
allegories underlying red brimstone, the greatest antidote, the strongest musk,
aloe-wood, corundums, pearls, and so on.
10. The benefit of
employing these allegories.
11. How some
verses of the Qur’ān excel others when the whole of it is the speech of God
(may He be exalted!).
12. The secrets of
the Sura of Opening (al-Fatiha) (Sura 1.) and how it comprises eight of the ten types of the valuables
of the Qur’ān. The description of part of the meaning of “Most Gracious, Ever
Merciful” in relation to the nature of animals.
13. That the eight
doors of Paradise are opened through the Sura of Opening (al-Fatiha) (Sura 1.) and that it is
the key to all of them.
14. Why the Verse
of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi) (Qur’ān 2:255) is regarded as the chief of
Qur’ānic verses, and why it is nobler than the verses, “God bears witness”
(Qur’ān 3:18) , “Proclaim: He is God, the Single” (Qur’ān 112:1) , the
beginning of the
Sura of Irons (awl al-Hadid) (Qur’ān 57:1-6) , the
end of the Sura of the Gathering (a’khir al-Hashr) (Qur’ān 59:22-24) and all other verses.
15. An
investigation into the reason why the [value of the] Sura of Sincerity (Surat
al-Ikhlas) (Sura 112) is equal to
[the value of] a third part of the Qur’ān.
16. Why the Sura
of Ya Sin (Sura 36 ) is regarded
as the heart of the Qur’ān.
17. Why the
Prophet (may God bless him and greet him!) specified the Sura of Opening (al-fatiah, Sura 1) as the best sura of the
Qur’ān and the Verse of the Throne (ayat al-kursi ) as the chief of the
Qur’ānic verses, and why this was better than its opposite.
18. The condition
of the gnostics (al-’arifun). In
this world they are as if in ‘a Paradise the breadth of which is greater than
the heavens and the earth’; (Qur’ān 3:133) ‘the clusters of the fruits of
their’ present ‘Paradise are near to gather’ (Qur’ān 69:23) and ‘are unfailing
and unforbidden’. (Qur’ān 56:32-33)
19. The secret
reason for stringing the jewels of the Qur’ān on one string and its pearls on
another.
These are
the nineteen chapters [which constitute the first part of the book].
The
second part deals with the aims, and comprises the pith of the Qur’ānic verses
which are of two kinds. The first consists of the jewels which are the verses
revealed especially concerning the essence of God (to Him belong glory and
power), His attributes and works. This is the cognitive part (al-qism al-’ilmi)./ The second consists
of the pearls which are verses on the description of the straight path (as-Sirat al-mustaqim) and verses which urge man to
follow it. This is the practical part (al-qism
al-’amali).
A
chapter explaining the reason why the Qur’ānic verses have been confined to
this sum total.[2]
[PART ONE - INTRODUCTORY
MATTERS]
[This part deals with several important problems about
the Qur’ān. It comprises nineteen chapters-some of which-concern- - ‘
problems about the Qur’ān as a whole, while others treat problems related to
some of its specific parts. These chapters are arranged by al-Ghazali so
logically and systematically that one chapter leads the reader to another
automatically and smoothly. ]
[1] This oblique sign is used throughout this book in order to indicate the termination of a page of the Arabic original
[2] At this place thirty-four lines
of the original Arabic text have not been translated because they describe the
contents, not of The Jewels of the Qur’ān, but of another work of
al-Ghazali, The Book of the Forty on the
Principles of Religion (Kitab
al-Arba’in fi Usual ad-Din).