The Sixth Premise

 

 

Anything that is in a book of Qur’anic interpretation is not necessarily included in the meaning of the Qur’an, nor in the interpretation itself. Knowledge enables and gives strength to more and other knowledge. No one should impose their opinion on others. It is among the self-evident realities that one who is a specialist in a discipline like engineering can be quite ignorant in another discipline like medicine. It is an established principle of the methodology of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) that one who is not a trained and qualified faqih—a jurist, a specialist in the Islamic Law—even though he may be an expert in the methodology of fiqh, is not counted among the faqihs. Such a person is only an ordinary person in relation to faqihs.

It is just a reality of life that a person cannot be expert in many disciplines. One with an extraordinary capacity may be expert at most in four or five branches of science. An attempt to obtain everything means abandoning much of everything. Every discipline has its own nature and form of subject matter and discourse, and specialization in it means being an embodiment of the nature and form of that science. If specialists in one branch do not use their extra general knowledge as a supplement to enrich their field of specialization, then what emerges from their knowledge will not be reliable, and may indeed be ludicrous.

 

A FICTITIOUS EXAMPLE TO CLARIFY

Let us suppose there is a painter who has come from another world. He has never seen a complete human being or any other creature from this world; he has seen only some parts of every creature. He wants to draw a complete picture of a human or another creature. If he drew a human picture from a single hand, a foot, an eye, an ear, or only one side of the face, the nose, or a turban, or if he were to attempt to draw a picture of an animal with the tail of a horse, the neck of a camel, the face of a human being, and the head of a lion, people would ridicule him, saying, “Such a creature could not possibly live in our world.”

This is true for all branches of science; therefore we should specialize in one branch and make our general knowledge like a pool from which we assist the study of that branch. It is also a reality that knowledge of various kinds and on various topics can be found in a single work. For sciences help and support one another and form such a complex network that questions related to the main theme of the work may sometimes be less important than the other questions discussed in it. Unaware of this reality, when a demagogue, or one whose understanding is restricted to and content with the literal meaning of the Qur’anic wording, sees a matter alluded to in a book of the Shari‘a or of Qur’anic interpretation, he may remark, “The Shari‘a or the Qur’an says this so.” If that person is a friend of Islam, they may conclude, “One who does not accept this cannot be a Muslim.” If an enemy, they may say (God forbid!), “The Shari‘a or the Qur’an is in error.”

O those who move from one extreme to the other, the meaning of the Qur’an and the Shari‘a are not identical with the books written about them. A book is like a shop; even if it is a jewelry shop, there may be some worthless things in it alongside the valuable ones. Just as we cannot buy the materials necessary for the construction of a house from a single manufacturer, but must apply to the manufacturers of many different goods and the many different tools used by different building trades, so too we should expect to act appropriately when considering the meaning of the Qur’an, which is a palace of perfections. If your watch is broken and you go to the tailor to get it fixed, what will the result be?

 

AN INDICATION

This premise is founded upon the fact that God has established the law of development towards perfection, applicable to both the creation and the life of the universe. He is pleased with the division of labor that occurs when this law is followed. Acting in compliance with this principle of division of labor is compulsory upon every individual; yet we have not fully observed it. It is as follows:

The Divine wisdom which requires a division of labor has sown different abilities and tendencies in human nature, and has enabled human beings to carry out the duty of establishing sciences and developing technology. The fulfillment of this duty is obligatory upon humanity as a whole, though not on every individual. However, as Muslims, we have misused these abilities and tendencies, and have dampened the zeal which gives strength to our tendencies with inappropriate, destructive ambitions and the desire to be superior to others, which is the source of ostentation. Evidently, one who rebels deserves hellfire. So, as we have not observed the Divine laws of creation and the operation of the universe, we suffer the hellfire of ignorance as a punishment. What will save us from this torment is observing the law of the division of labor. The generations that preceded us observed this and subsequently rose to the heaven of knowledge.

 

CONCLUSION

It is not enough for a non-Muslim, in order to become a Muslim, merely to enter a mosque. Likewise, merely by being included in books of Shari‘a or interpretations of the Qur’an, matters pertaining to the natural sciences or to philosophy, geography, history, and so on, cannot be regarded  as being included in matters of the Shari‘a or the Qur’an. Also, only when they are specialists in their fields can interpreters of the Qur’an or jurists have a definitive say in the interpretation of the Qur’an or jurisprudence, respectively. Their opinions on the matters parenthetically included in the books of these sciences are not to be regarded as definitive evidence or rulings. Furthermore, they may be borrowings. Now, those who convey borrowings are not to be reproached for that. But relying on reports or borrowings from sources of other sciences to construct definitive evidence or rulings in a certain science, just because they have been taken from experts in those other sciences, means falling into disagreement with the Divine law of division of labor, the law of assigning to everyone a task to which they are entitled or in which they are specialized.

Also, it is a principle in logic that a conclusion from a text is built upon the relationship between the main theme of that text and the underlying meaning that it carries. Further studies of the text and additional explanations do not necessarily have to be based on or originate from the science which gives rise to the text. They can be related to other sciences with which the text has some connection.

It is widely accepted that an expression employed to convey a general meaning does not necessarily constitute an argument or proof for some particular meaning incidental to that general meaning or alluded to or required by it.14 For example, the famous interpreter Qadi Baydawi15 holds that the steep mountains mentioned in the verse—[Dhu’l-Qarnayn said:] “Bring me blocks of iron.” Then, after he had filled up [the space between] the two steep mountain-sides, he said: “[Light a fire and] work your bellows!” At length, when he had made it [glow red like] fire, he said: “Bring me molten copper that I may pour upon it” (18:96)—are the mountains of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It would be unreasonable and illogical to accept this opinion of a great interpreter as the final truth. What led to him to this opinion was information he received from other sciences. The Qur’an is silent about which mountains those mentioned were. So, Baydawi’s reading cannot be included as falling within the meaning of the Qur’an itself. But it would also be unjust to criticize this illustrious interpreter or shed doubt on his profound knowledge and comprehension in the science of Qur’anic interpretation because of this reading. One should accept it as one expert’s opinion but realize that other opinions are also possible.

The basic truths in the Qur’an and the Shari‘a are clear. They shine as brightly as the stars. The clarity and power those truths possess give an incompetent like me encouragement to declare that every truth of the Qur’an and the Shari‘a is based on and results in a decisive reality, and that it is weighed on the scales of wisdom.

 

Said Nursi

14 An expression can convey meaning in three ways: 1. It can give the meaning of just what it says. 2. It can give or allude to a secondary meaning. 3. It can (directly or indirectly) require another meaning by implication. For example, the sentence, “Zakah is given to poor Muslims,” meaning just what it says, tells us that Zakah is given to those Muslims who are poor. It means secondarily that Zakah is not given to those Muslims who are wealthy. It can also be understood to require the meaning that anybody who is not poor and not Muslim cannot be given Zakah. (Trans.)

15 Nasir al-Din Abu’l-Khayr ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar al-Baydawi (d. 1286) is one of the greatest commentators of the Qur’an. He is author of many works on a number of subjects including Qur’anic interpretation, jurisprudence, law, and theology. His most famous work is his commentary on the Qur’an, Anwaru’t-Tanzil wa Asraru’t-Ta’wil (“The Lights of the Divine Revelation and the Mysteries of Its Meaning”). (Trans.)