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APPROACHES TO THE
QUR’ĀN
BY: RAI KAMALUDDIN ALI MUHAMMAD
JUNE 10, 2008
The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims affirm the
Shahadah ‘La ilaha illa-llah, Muhammadur
Rasulu-llah’, the Tawhid therein and that the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Salla-llahu-alayhi
wa-sallam) is the last and final Prophet of Allah.
Islam, as revealed in the Holy Quran, is the final
message of Allah to mankind, and is universal
and eternal. The Holy Prophet (S.A.S) through
the divine revelation from Allah prescribed rules
governing spiritual and temporal matters.
(Preamble (A) of the Constitution)
“ Fortunately the Koran has itself made this task
easy, for it contains a number of verses which
declare that Allah speaks to man in allegory and
parable. Thus the Koran leaves the door open
for all kinds of possibilities of interpretation so
that no one interpreter can accuse another of
being non-Muslim. A felicitous effect of this
fundamental principle of Islam that the Koran is
constantly open to allegorical interpretation has
been that our Holy Book has been able to guide
and illuminate the thought of believers, century
after century, in accordance with the conditions
and limitations of intellectual apperception
imposed by external influences in the world.
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“It
leads also to a greater charity
among Muslims, for since there can be
no cut-and-dried interpretations, all
schools of thought can unite in the
prayer that the Almighty in His infinite
mercy may forgive any mistaken
interpretation of the Faith whose cause
is ignorance or misunderstanding.”
(Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah, Islam the
Religion of My Ancestors, page 7-8)
“This programme is also an opportunity for
achieving insights into how the discourse of the
Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory,
metaphor and symbol, has been an
inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending
itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This
freedom of interpretation is a generosity which
the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting
them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will
forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts
to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the
Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the
thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to
different communities of interpretation and
spiritual affiliation, from century to century,
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in diverse cultural environments. The Noble
Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to
adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each
has a direction and path to which they turn so
that all should strive for good works, in the
belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will
bring them together.”
(Mowlana Hazar Imam, Speech at the opening
session of ‘Word of God, Art of Man’, London,
19-10-2003)
` “Careful analysis has been made of the
theological and historical authenticity of our
pluralistic heritage. The same careful enquiry
is being applied to the wide body of Tafsir
across the Ummah and across time, in order
to achieve a thorough comprehension of the
multiple schools of interpretation of the Holy
Quran, including those of Fatimid times.
When these endeavors will have been
completed to my satisfaction, I will make
available to the Jamat worldwide my
thoughts and reflections in regard to the
future practice of the Shia Ismaili Tariqah of
Islam.”
(Irshad Mubarak-Aiglemont, July 11, 2007)
My Beloved Spiritual Children,
“This area of the practice of our faith is an area
which is highly important but which requires
commitment on behalf of the Jamat and
guidance on behalf of the Imam. And I want to
make it clear to my spiritual children that we
are, and will continue to seek out knowledge
and understanding, particularly from the Qur’an,
so that my murids can look forward to the future
with interpretation which is correct. You are
aware, of course, that over the history of Islam,
there are thousands and thousands of
interpretations of the Qur’an for every time. For
every part within the Ummah, there have been
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interpretations of the Qur’an, and it is important
that, as time evolves, we should continue under
the guidance of the Imam to seek clarity and
understanding from the Qur’an-e-Shariff. And I
want my spiritual children to know that this is an
endeavor which is being undertaken on an
ongoing basis, and that guidance will be given
on a continuing basis.”
(Golden Jubilee Darbar, Dar-es-salam, Tanzania
Aug 17, 2007)
“As Imam of the Ismaili sect I am in the
position to adapt the teachings of the Quran
to the modern conditions.”
(Mowlana Hazar Imam’s Interview with Arun
Purie, The Editor of ‘India today’ , February
1989)
Special thanks to
Akbar A Huda for preparing
the slides
THANK YOU