Most pious Muslims read the Qur’an every day as a
devotional exercise. But devotional reading
does not help us understand what we read. Most of the Muslims believe that the Qur’an is ‘a closed book which
one can only read, recite and obey’. The power and guidance of the Qur’an emerges when it is read and interpreted in the light of changing
situation.
The
literature on the Qurʾān interpretation in the modern period shows that there is a strong
desire on the part of Muslims, scholars and laity alike, to find the relevance
of the Qurʾanic text to contemporary
issues without compromising the Qurʾanic value system and its essential and core beliefs and
practices. It is seen as particularly urgent in relation to the ethico-legal
content of the Qurʾān.
Yet, today
there are Muslims who advocate literal reading of the Qur’an. They insist that
the literalism contains all the answers necessary to live in the twenty-first
century. The guiding principles of exegesis developed by classical commentators
are, no doubt, important and had been useful in all ages of our religious
history, but they do not help in today’s scientific, technological, mechanical,
and electronic necessities of life. Whatever the merits of classical
commentaries, they tell us little about its relevance in contemporary times.
The Pakistani-American thinker and scholar,
Fazlur Rahman, argues in his book, ISLAM that it is not enough simply to look at the life of the
Prophet for Qur’anic interpretation. We need to go beyond the Sunna and see the
role played by the social and historical conditions of the age and place. ‘The Qur’an
is like the tip of an iceberg’, he writes, ‘nine-tenth of which is submerged
under the water of history. No one who has attempted to understand the Qur’an
can deny that much of the Qur’an presupposes knowledge of the historical
situation to which its statements provide solution, comments and responses.’
As human beings, we can only engage
with the Qur’an and interpret it according to our own contemporary
understanding. It has to make sense to us as ordinary mortals here and now; it
has to have significance for us in the light of our needs and requirements in
current times; it has to guide us through the moral, ethical and spiritual
dilemmas of today. So, the context of our time is equally important for its
interpretation. Thus, we have to
approach the Qur’an from the perspective of how morality, for example, on such
issues as gender equality and environmental concerns has evolved in our own
time, and engage with the text in the light of our changing circumstances.
The Qur’an provides the essential
basics of morality on which we have to build and expand in ever widening
horizons. That is exactly what exploring
the Qur’an in a contemporary context is all about.
Seeking contemporary relevance of
the Qur’an requires, to some extent, going against ‘Islamic traditions’. However, standing against traditional
interpretations that have shaped the outlook of Muslims for centuries, and have
acquired a sacred and eternal aura, is not easy. Traditionalists of all varieties, scholars as
well as laity, regard challenges to classical authorities with particular
hostility. And that antagonism begins
with a basic question: what authority does one have to speak about, let alone
interpret, the Qur’an.
The authority to speak about and
interpret the Qur’an is a subject which is dealt separately elsewhere.
