THE

MEANING OF THE QURAN

Vol.I

[Sürah Al-Fatihah to Al-An'àm]

(ARABIC TEXT WITH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY)

By
S. ABUL A'LA MAUDODI

English Rendering by:

Ch. MUHAMMAD AKBAR

Edited by:
A.A. KAMAL, M.A.

Islamic Publications (Pvt.) Limited

13-E, SHAHALAM MARKET, LAHORE-$ (Pakistan)
 CONTENTS

Foreword a
Pronunciation Key to Arabic Names and Words vii
Glossary
Preface
Introduction
Unique Book
Divine Guidance
Central Theme
Background.
Makki Sürahs
Madani Sürahs
Style
Order
Compilation
Difference of Dialects
Universality
Complete Code
Suggestions for Study
Al-Fātihah
Introduction
Text with Explanatory Notes
Al-Baqarah
Introduction
Summary
Topics and their Inter-connections
Text with Explanatory Notes
Hi Al-e-Imrin 213
Imroduction 215
Summary 219
Topics and their Inter-connections 219
Text with Explanatory Notes 221
 IV. An-Nisa EA «x zh 295
Introduction V 5 297
Summary h^ ou. ctt 2901
Topics and their Inter-conmections — .. 4 j 301
Text with Explanatory Notes " m ‘ 305

V. Al-Ma'idah " à E 411

Introduction 413
Summary 417
Topics and their Inter-connections — . . 417
Text with Explanatory Notes a Y » 421

VI, Al-An'am ae 5 ve 495

Introduction. . ^ - 497
Summary : E ie 502
Topics and their Inter-connections — .. . .. $02
Text with Explanatory Notes . ^ - 505

LIST OF MAPS
Facing
1. The Map showing the places visited byProphet Abraham 106
2. The Map showing the places tobevisited inconnection with Haj. — 146
3 Desert Wandersings of theIsraelites 441
 v
PRONUNCIATION KEY
TO
ARABIC NAMES AND WORDS
Vowels
Symbols
asin a sounds — m a in abet
à s » a * am
asin it E T i a * bat
" i * x e r bee
i * * i * it

u s ka u id put
ü s x u s rule

au sounds between thea in artand o inoverbut

closer tothelatter.
at the top before a vowel indicates a semi- vowel
made by articulating the same in the glottis.
‘at the top before a vowel indicates a semi-vowel.
Consonants
d indicates a consonant thatsoundasthinthen.
gh indicates a consonant made by articulating g in
give in the glottis.
h
h indicates a consonant between voiced h and kh
kh indicates a consonant made by articulating voiced

t indicates a soft consonant(French t)made with

thetongue tiptouching theupperfrontteeth.
t may bepronounced ast.
 wi
> a,
v s may be pronounced as s.
b th indicates a consonant made by articulating th in
E k
à q indicates 2 consonant made by articulating kin
the glottis.
4 y indicates a consonant that sounds as y in yes.
d
P : ws - a s
à z v $E s $
p @ r > o . "
~ b
" T
J 1
t m
à n
2 f
3 w
1. The double use of
the same consonant indicates stress (=)
2. Caution: The above key is by no means a master keytoArabic
names and words, There are very delicate differences in the
apparently like sounds of some consonants but it is very `
difficuit to distinguish these by means of any key. This key
merely gives nearly correct pronunciation,
3. Words of frequent occurrence:
Qur'än, Sarah, Makkah, Ai-Madinah, Ka'abah.

N.B.
Figures on the margin of the Text denote the number of verse in the
paragraphs, and figures atthe endofandabove words in the translation of
the Text denote the number
oftheExplanatory Notes.
E.N, stands for Explanatory Note.
 GLOSSARY
‘Ast prayer is one of the five prescribed prayers and is offered in the
late afternoon.
Dhuhr is the early afternoon prayer.
Hadrat is a title of respect and reverence.
Haj is the obligatory pilgrimage to the Ka'abah (Makkah) in the
prescribed days of Zul-Haj. It is obligatory on every Muslim, at least
once in one's life-time, if onecan afford expenses for it and is otherwise
fit and free to make a journey ta it.
dhrüm is the seamless garment worn by the pilgrims to Makkah.
Imam is the oue who leads the congregational prescribed prayers. It is
also used as a title for a leader ofanything.
‘Isha’isthe prescribed nightprayer.
Ka'abah is a cubeshaped room in the centre of Masjid-i-Hardm. It was
built by Prophet Abraham and has always been the centre of God-
worship.
Kafirisone who is guilty ofkufr. 4
Kufr has been used in the Qurin in different senses in different places.
In some places it stands for total disbelief and in others for ingratitude or
hypocrisy or for discarding ofIslam fromm practical life etc.eic.
Mas]id-l Hard is the sacredmosque (the inviolable place of worship) at
Makkah which has the Ka'abah in its centre.
Mushrikisone who practises shirkinany form (please see shirk),
Qiblah is the point (Masjid-i-Harām) towards which theMuslims turn
their faces at Salt from every corner ofthe Earth.
Salat is the obligatory prayer in the prescribed form which must be
offered five times a day.
Shirk has no equivalent in English and is idolatry, heathenism,
polytheism, paganism etc., and more than these.-One ay be guilty of
‘Shirk even if one is not an idolater andevenifone professed to delieve
in Alah, Shirk is so ascribe any of the exclusive characteristics or
powers or rights of Allah to any other ortoassociate anyother with
Him in any way whatsoever.
Sarah is a chapter ofthe Qurén.
den Tauhid is the opposite ofshirk: It is the doctrine that Allah is One Being
in the sense that He is Unique in His Person, in His Attributes, in His
Powers and in His Rights, and has no offspring, no compeer, no partner
and no associate in any way and capacity whatsoever. He alone is the
Creator, the Sustainer, the Sovereign, the Ruler and the sole Deity,
‘Umrah is the voluntary pilgrimage t Ka'abah (Makkah). lt is
performed at any othertimethan during the days of Haj.
us Zakit is the obligatory due from those Muslims whose annual savings,
agricultural products ete., go beyond the limits presrcibed by Islám. Its
rate varies with different kinds ofproduce, different forms of wealth eic.
Islim has laid down specific heads iri which it should be spent.
 FOREWORD
The English version of the renowned exegesis of the Holy Qur'an
by Syed Abul A'ala Maududi was initially published in sixteen
Volumes. Later after the completion oftheEnglish translation we got it
recomposed on computer in six Volumes according to the original Urdu
work to facilitare the readers: By the grace of Allah, we are now
Presenting this sct in a much attractive way with new get up.
No doubt it was a Herculian task to get the whole work
tecomposed but by the grace of Allah and under the intellectual
Patronage of Prof. Muhammad Amin Javaid Managing Director and
with the help of Mr. AbdulWaheed Khanwho minutely went through all
the six volumes, checked the proofs twice and thrice to ensure a most
correct and beautiful edition and Mr. Rasheed AhmedChaudhry owner
of Maktaba Jadeed Press who assisted us in bringing out this renowned
exegesis in a most attractive form. We also intend to add
a detailed
index of the whole set as the seventh volume as soon as possible
. We
hope the Meaning of the Qur'an in its new form woul
d be duly
appreciated and welcomed all over the globe.

Muhammad Munir Afzal

(General Manager)
 Jn the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Rgeli)
PREFACE
(Adapted)
"The Meaning of the Qur'an” follows the interpretation of
Maulana Abul Ala Maudüdi as contained in the "Tafhimu! Qur'an.”
This work has been before the reading public for a decade or so and has
elicited unqualified and umiversal praise because of the freshness of its
approach and its clairity amd force. It can be safely asserted that this
work has coniributed more towards understanding the Qur'an than any
other such work in our time. For it has applied the Qu:’anic principles
to the solution of the problems of the modern age, and demonstrated in a
wonderful way how up-to-date the Qur'an is and how surely it marches
with the times.
Tt has, however, been felt that the people, who do not know Urdu
or are not well-versed in it, cannot derive any benefit from the
"Tafhimul-Qur'ün." have, therefore, with a deep sense of
responsibility, undertaken the delicate and difficult task of rendering this
work into English under the guidance of the Maulana himself. I am fully
conscious of my limitations and pray to Allah to help me in this work.
“The Meaning of the Qur'án" aims to fuifil the growing desire of
the educated people to grasp the true spirit of the Qur'an and understand
the real object of its revelation. It ishoped that this work will meet the
demand that has been increasing day by day in spite of the praiseworthy
efforts of the translators and commentators.
The main object of this work is to enable the English reader to
understand clearly the meaning and the aim of the Qur'àn and to impress
on his mind, as far as possible, the same effect that it intends to
produce. In order’: to achieve this, (a) an interpretation has been
attempted instead of a literal translation and (b) Explanatory Notes haveå
been added wherever necessary.
^ free explanatory translation has been adopted for two reasons:
(1). A word for word translation of theQur’an has already been done by
several worthy persons and that suffices to serve iis purpose. (2) It
cannot fulfil the object for which this work has been undertaken. As a
matter of fact, litera]: translation often becomes a hindrance to the full
understanding of the Qur’an,
^ literal translation of the Qur'an suffers from many drawbacks.
Tt is incapable of transferri thelinguistic
ng charm and sublime theme of
the original Arabic Text into any other language: nor canit retain the
continuity of the theme so as to induce one to read it as a coherent whole
and derive the same benfrom efi itastfrom aclosely connected book.
‘That is why the reader who studies its literal transferring fails to
appreciate the fluency and the dynamic force of the Qur’an, anda
sceptic begins to doubt whether it is the same Book which challenged the
world to produce the like of it.
^ literal translation. suffers from another defect; it does notand
cannot take into consideration the fact that the Qur'an was at first not a
book but a living voice, Every student of the Qur'an knows that in the
first instance it was addressed to hearers and delivered by public recitals
and was not published for readers in the form of pamphlets, tracts and
booklets. And it is obvious thar a literal translation cannot transfer the
informal style of an oral address into the conventional style of awritten
work.
A few instances will illustrate this point, In an address an
objection is often answered even without any reference toit,bat ina
written work, an objection is first cited and then answered. Moreover, in
a written work, the background has to be explained in words: otherwise
there appears to be a gap in it andit may even become unintelligible.
Then in a written work, a parenthesis has sometimes to be used by way
of explanation, but in an address such things are often left to the manner
and suggestive action of the speaker, without showing any gap or
incoherence in it. That is why even ifanexcellent speech is written
down on paper, there appear to thecasualreader many irrelevancies in
it, This defect can only be removed by the adoption of free translation,
 by changing the informal style ofanoral address into the conventional)
style of a written work.
There is still another handicap ina litoral translation, An English
word is not always the exact equivalent of an Arabic word; it is,
therefore, difficult to transfer accurately into English every shade of
meaning that is contained in the Arabic word ofthe Qur'àn. A free
translation, however, can convey inEnglish the meaning of anArabic
sentence as a whole. ù
Almost all the existing English translations of the Qur'an suffer
from the drawbacks of a literal translation, Besides these, they have two
more. defects: (a) Generally they follow the archaic English of the Bible,
which makes the meaning of theQur’an unintelligible. (b) They isolate
every verse, number it and show it as an independent whole and thus
take away life and dynamic force out of it. It is obvious that even if an
excellent discourse is dissected and written in separate enumerated
sentences, it fails to produce the effect which would have been produced
by keeping it as a continuous whole.
That is why a general impression has been created that the
Qur'àn lacks continuity of subject and deals with misccilaneous topics in
a haphazard manner without any interconnection between the verses. No
existing English translation claims or attempts to show that there is unity
of purpose in the whole of the Qur'an; that all its topics revolve around
the central theme and never deviate from that, its each Sirah isa
complete whole and all its verses are interconnected.
Naturally the non-Muslim translators cannot be expected to do
full justice to the Holy Qur'an, for they are generally inspired by hostile
intentions or at best by tolerance because they regard the Qur'än to be
‘the product of (Prophet) Muhammad's (Allah's peace be upon him)
own imagination or an inspired literature’; there are others whose chief
aim is to reflect "rhythm, music and theexalted tone of the original.”
Doubtless the thrilling rhythms of the Qur'an touch the very core of the
heart. But that is not the real object oftheQur'an, it is oniy a means to
it. Though the Muslim translators approach the Book with reverence,
they do mot try to remove the difficulties which are a real hindrance 1o
its right and full understanding. The westerniscd Muslim translators
witingly or un-wittingly iry to explain away those things which they
 consider to be irreconcilable wich modern thought. There are others whd)
approach the Qur'àn with the poet’s or mystic's approach and help make
the Qur'an a mystery and enigma.
Now let us (um to the Explanatory Notes. Sometimes it is asked,
“Why should any notes be added to a translation? Why not let the
Qur'an speak for itself?" Inde the
edQur'àn does eloquently speak for
itself 2” it did not require any notes
atthe time of its revelation. The
Holy Prophet was its living commentary: and the addressees were well
acquainted with its style and thebackgrounds of its discourses, But with
the passage of time, it was felt that many things needed explanation for
their fuller comprehension, and the scholars of the Qur'án rose to the
occasion in every age and fulfilled the need. Tha: is why Explanatory
Notes have been added to this interpretation. They explain the difficult
passages and show the continuity of thetheme and the interconnection
between the verses and indicate the background wherever necessary.
They also contain relevant quotations from the Traditions of the Holy
Prophet, the Bible, the Talmud andbooks on Figh etc. etc. They also
discuss the problems relating to the Islamic way of life but avoid
unnecessary controversies. In short, these Notes help understand the
Qur'an by removing those difficulties which a modern reader
encounters.
In order to avoid the common defects of the existing English
translations, the following devices have been adopted in “The meaning
of the Qur'an”:
1. An attempt has been made to express the meaning of the
Qur'án in simple, clear andeffemode ctrniv
Englis
e h, An explanatory
translation into intelligible English has been adopted and appropriate
words have been placed within brackets to fill up the gaps which
necessarily occur in every translation. Full care, however, has been
taken to remain faithful to the original.
2. Anticipated difficulties have been removed and likely
objections answered in the Introduct to
ion
each Sirah.
3. The background of every Sirah hes been given in its
introduction and the periods the circumstance
andstheoccasion of its
tevelation have been specified, for cvery discourse has its own
background and is so intimately connected with it that if it is isolated
from it, its contents are liable to become unintelligible.
4. The meanings of the Text have been divided into coherent
paragraphs.
5. Wherever there is no equivalent of an Arabic word in English,
it has either been explained by a phrase or retained in the original.
6. A glossary of un-translated Arabic words and a key to the
correct pronunciation of Arabic names and words have been added.
In this connection it is necessary to add a word of caution, There
is a general tendency to regard thc English translation of the Holy
Qur'an as The Qur'an. [t is obviously a misnomer. No translation,
however good it may be, can ever take the place of the origina! Qur'an,
which is its Arabic Text; for it is impossible to reproduce its matchless,
enchanting and grand style, its highly emotive and fiery language and its
forceful rhetoric. Therefore one . must turn to the original Arabic Text
for fuller appreciation and understanding. Only then will the reader
himself experience how irresistibly he is being moved to ecstasy and his
heart melted and stirred to noble action
"The Meaning Of the Qur'in” merely attempts to help the
reader to understand and appreciate the Arabic Text of the original
Qur'an and is not an substitute for it. I pray to Allah to help and guide
me in the achievement of this object
N.B.—t is intended to publish “The Meaning Of theQur'an” in
suitable instalments. The present work is the first of the series.
‘Suggestions for improvement will be welcomed.

Muhammad Akbar
Muradpur, Sialkot
West Pakistan
 Second Edition
Tn this Edition some changes have been made in the light of the.
suggestions received since the publication of the first Edition. Iris
expected that these wil! help improve the Translation.
Muhammad Akbar Muradpuri

Acknowledgement
Acknowledge with gratitude my obligation to Mr, P.H.
Harwood, M.A. (Oxon) who hasvery kindly examined thoroughly the
manuscript and made valuable suggestions.
I am also very thankful to Mr. A.A. Kamal M.A., who has been
very closely associated with this work for many years and has been
ungrudgingly giving his precious time and knowledge to the
improvement of “The Meaning Of theQuzán
I am very glad to say that two more scholars (who preferto
remain anonymous) have joined the Board of Translators. I am confident
that their co-operation will prove very helpful in the performance of this
oherdus duty.

Muhammad Akbar Muradputi

 BASIH

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

INTRODUCTION
1 have two objects in view in writing this Introduction to the
study of the Qur'àn.
First, 1 want to acquaini the reader with those things which will
help him io understand the meaning of the Qur'àn. If he does not
become conversant with them in the very beginning, they keep coming
back inte his mind over and over and often become a hindrance to
his going deep into its meaning and spirit
Second, I want to answer beforehand some of the questions
which usually arise during the study of the Qur'án. I have confined
myself to those questions which arose in my own mind when I began my
critical study of it or the ones which Icame across afterwards. If there
be any other questions besides these, God willing, T will answer them in
the next edition.
Unique Book
Before the reader begins the study of the Qur'an, he must bear in
mind the fact that it is a unique Book, quite different from the books one
usually reads. Unlike ‘conventional books, the Qur'an does not contain
information, ideas and arguments about specific themes arranged in a
literary order. That is why a stranger to the Qur'án, on his first
approach to it, is baffled when he does not find the enunciation of its
theme or its division into chapters and sections or separate treatment of
different topics and separate instructions for different aspects of life
arranged in a serial order. On the contrary there is something with
which he has not been familiar before and which does not conform to his
conception of a book. He finds that itdeals with creeds, gives moral
instructions, lays down laws. invites people to Islam, admonishes the
disbelievers, draws lessons from historical events, administers warnings,
gives good tidings, all blended together in a beautiful manner. The same
 8 The Mean
ofin
the Qur'i
g n
subject is repeated in different ways and one topic follows the other
without any apparent connection. Sometimes a new topic crops up in the
middle of another without any apparent reason. The speaker and the
addressees, and the direction oftheaddress change without any notice.
There is no sign of chapte and
rs divisions anywhere. Historical events
are presented but not as in history books. The problems of Philosophy
and Metaphysics are treated in a manner different from that of the
textbooks on the subjects, Man and the Univare ermenti
se oned in a
language different from that ofthe natural sciences. Likewise it follows
its own method of solving cultural, political, social and economic
problems and deals with the principies and injunctions of law ina
manner quite different from that ofthe sociologists, lawyers and jurists,
Morality is taught in a way that has no parallel in the whole literature on
the subject.
That is why the. unwary readerisbaffled and puzzled when he
finds all these things contrary to his pre-conceived conception of a book,
He begins to feel that the Qur'ün is a book without any order or
interconnection between its verses or continuity of its subject, or that it
deals with miscellaneous topics in an incoherent manner, or that it had
been given the form of a continuous book though it was not a book in
the commonly accepted sense of the word. As a result of this, its
opponents raise strange objections against the Qur'an and its mode
rn
followers adopt strange devices to ward off doubts and objectians. They
cither resort to escapism or put forward strange interpretations to ease
their minds. Sometimes they try tocreate artificial connections between
the verses to explain away the apparent incoherencies and as a last
resort, they even accept the theory that the Qur’én deals with
migcellaneous topics without any order or coherence. Consequently
verses are isolated from their context and confusion is produced in the
meanings,
This happens when the reader does not take into consideration the
fact that the Qur'am is a unique book. It does not, like other books,
enunciate at the very beginning the subject it deals with and the object it
intends to achieve. Its style and method of explaining thinare gs also
quite different from those of other books one commonly reads and it
does not follow any bookish order. Above ail it is not a book on religion
in the sense this word is generally understood. That is why when a
 introduction 9

teader approaches the Qur'an with the common notions of a book, he is

rather puzzled by its style and manner of presentation. He finds that at
many places the background has not been mentioned and the
circumstances under which a particular passage was revealed have not
been stated. As a result of these things, the ordinary reader is unableto
henefit fully from thc most precious treasures contained in the Qur'an,
though occasionally he may succeed indiscovering a few gems here and
there, Only those people become victims of such doubts who are not
acquainted with these distinctive features of the Qur'àn. They seem to
find miscellaneous topics scattered all over its pages and feel difficulties
about its meanings, Nay, even those verses, which are absolutely clear,
appear to them to be quite irrelevant in the contexts they occur.
The reader may be saved from all these difficulties, if he is
warned beforehand that the Book he is going to study is the only book of
is Kind in the whole world: that its literary style is quite different from
that of all other books: that its theme is unique and that his preconceived
notions of a book cannot help him understand the Qur'an. Nay these
may even become a hindrance. He should, therefore, first of all free his
“mind from preconceived notions and get acquainted with the distinctive-
features of this Book, Then and then alone can he understand it.
In order to understand the Qur'an thoroughly it is essential to.
know the nature of this Book, its central idea and its aim and object. The
reader should also be well acquainted with its style, the terms it uses and
the method it adopts to explain things. He should also keep in view the
background and circumstances under whith a certain passage was
revealed.
Divine Guidance
First of all the reader should understand the real nature of the
Qur'án. Whether one believes it to be a revealed book or not, one will
have to consider. ag a starting point, the claim that is put forward by
itself and its bearer, Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him), that this
is the Divine Guidance.
The Lord of the Universe, its Creator, Master and Sovereign
created Man and bestowed upon him the faculties of learning, speaking,
understanding and discerning right from wrong and good from evil. He
granted him freedom of choice, freedom ofwill, freedom of action and
10 The Meaning of theQur'an
gave him authority to acquire andmakeuscof the things around him. In
short, He granted him a kind of autonomy and appointed him as His
Vicegerent on the Earth and instructed him to live in accordance with
His Guidance.
At the time, when the Lord ofthe Universe appointed Man as
His Vicegerent, Me warned him very clearly and precisely, leaving no
doubt in his mind as to the kind of relations he should have with Him, as
if to say am your Master and Sovereign and that of the whole universe;
therefore you should worship Me and none eise. You are neither
independent in My kingdom nor the subject of anyone eise, to whom
you might owe obedience or worship. You are being sent to the Earth
with certain powers for a fixed term of time for your test. After that you
will have to return to Mc. Then I will judge the deeds you did in the
world and decide whether you have come out successful or failed in the
test. Therefore the right course for you is to accept Me voluntarily as
Sovereign and worship Me alone and act in the world according tu the
Guidance 1 shall send you, and live on the Earth with the conviction and
understanding that it is merely the place of your Trial. Your real object
in earthly life should be to come out successful in the final judgement.
Therefore any other course different from and opposed to the Divine
Guidance, will be wrong. If you adopt the first course, (and you have
full liberty and freedom to adopt it), you wiil achieve peace and
tranquillity in this world and win the home of eternal bliss and joy
(Paradise) in the next worid, to which you shall have to return. And if
you follow any other course (and you are quite frec to do, if you so
choose), you shall incur (My disfavour in this) world and eternal sorrow
and affliction in the Hereafter, where you shall be thrown into the abyss
of Hell.
After such a warning, the Owner of the Universe sent Adam and
Eve (Allah's peace be upon them the)first human beings, to the Earth
and. gave them the guidance according to which they and their
descendants were. to live in this world. Thus the first two human beings
were not created in ignorance and darkness but were given very clear
and bright Light and the Law they were to fellow. This was Islam
(submission to Allah). Before they left this world, they themselves
practised and taught the same way to their children and children's
children and exhorted them to live as Muslims (obedient servants of
 dntroduction m
Allah). But in the succeeding centuries, by and by, people swerved from
this straight way of life (Islam) and adopted different crooked ways
They not only lost the Guidance owing to their negligence but also
tampered with it because of their wickedness. They attributed to others,
‘The qualities and powers of Aileh and associated others to rank with
Mim as gods and ascribed His rights to others. They invented different
kinds of religions (ways of life) by mixingup all sorts of superstitions,
Wrong theories and false philosophies with the Guidance that was given
by Allah. They discarded the right, just and mora! principles taught by
Allah or corrupted them and made such laws of life as suited their
prejudices and lusts, and filled Allah's earth with chaos and iniquity.
Though this was a sad state of affairs, Allah did not will to force
these corrupt people to follow the Right way because this would have
been against the limited freedom of action which had been granted to
man by Him; nor did He will to destroy them forthwith
as soon as
rebellion broke out against Him, because this would not have been
in
keeping with the rules of life laid down for trial in this world. Instead of
this, Allah took upon Himself, from the very beginning of man’s life on
the Earth, to send His Guidance to him during his term of life,
leaving
him free to follow or not to follow it. Accordingly he made
arrangements for the Guidance of mankind and appointed His
Messengers from among the people themselves and bestowed upon
them
the knowledge of the Truth and the Right Way of life, They were
charged with the mission to invite people to the Right Way from which
they had strayed, The Messengers themselves believed in Allah and
acted in accordance with the Guidance they received from him. They
were raised from different nations in different countries and thousands of
them were sent during thousands of years, They ail had one and the
same religion which was basedonthe Unity of God and accountability
in the Hereafter. They all taught thesame way of life that was taught to
the first Man at the very start ofhis life in this world. They all followed
the same Guidance, that is, those fundamental and eternal Principles of
morality and culture which were prescribed for the first Man from the
very first day of his life. They all hadtheone and the same mission, that
is, to invite all human beings to the same Guidance, and to organise
them into one community. All those people who accepted their invitation
became one. community. which was duty bound to follow the Divine
 "m TheMeanin
ofgtheQur'an
“Guidance and to do its best and uunost to establish it and to guard
against any transgressions,
During their respective terms, these Messengers fulfilled their
mission admirably well. But it is 2 pity that the majority of the people
were not inclined to accept their invitation and even those who joined
their community gradually became corrupt. So much so that some of
these communities totally lost that Guidance and others tampered with
the Commandments of Allah and mixed them up with false things,
Then the Lord of the Universe sent Muhammad (Allah’s peace be
upon him) as His last Messenger to fulfil the same mission for which
Messengers had been sent before him. He extended his invitation to all
human beings, including the corrupt followers of the previous
Messengers and asked them to follow the Right Way. He organised all
those who accepted the Divine Guidance in to one community which in
its turn, was required to re-establish its collective way of life based on
the Guidance and to exert its utmost to reform the world which had. gone
astray. The Qur'an which was revealed to Muhammad (Allah's peace be
upon him) is the Book which contains that Invitation and that Divine
Guidance.
Central Theme
Now that we have come to know the nature of the Qur'an, it has
become casier to determine the subject it deals with, its central theme
and its aim and object.
‘The Subjectitdeals with is Man: it discusses those aspects of his
life that lead either to his real success or failure.
The Central’ Theme that runs throughout the Qur'an is the
exposition of the Reality and the invitation to the Right Way based on it.
It declares that Reality is the same that was revealed by Allah Himself to
Adam at the time of his appointment as vicegerent, and to all the
Messengers afier him, and the Right Way is the same that was taught by
all the Messengers. It also points out that all theories contradictory ta
this Reality invented by people about God, the Universe, Man and his
relations with God and the rest ofHiscreation, are all wrong and that ali
the ways of life based on them are erroneous and lead to ruinous
‘consequences.
 Introduction 13
The Aim and Object of the revelatio
ns is to invite Man to that
Right Way and to present clearly the Guidance which he has lost bec
of his negligence or has perverted by his wickedness. ause
If the reader keeps these three basic things in min
d, he will find
that in this Book there is no incongruity ín the styl
continuity of the subject and no lack of int
e, no gap in the
erconnect
various topics. As a matter of fact, this Book is not irreleion between its
vant anywhere
with regard to its Subject, its Central Theme
and its aim, From its very
beginning to its end, the different topics it deals with are so intimately
connected with its Central Theme that they may be
likened to the
beautiful gems of the samo necklace, despite their different colours and
Sizes. The Qur'an kecps the same object in view, whe
the sto
ther it is relating
ry of the creation of the Earth or of the Hea
vens or of Man or is
referring to the manifestations in the Un
iver orsta
se ting events from
human history. As the aim of the ‘Qur'an is
toguide Man and not to
teach Nature Study or History or Philos
ophy or any other science or art,
it does not concern itself with these lattersubjects. The onl
y thing with
Which it is concerned is to expound the realily, to remove
misunderstandings and misconceptions about it, to impress the Truth
upon the minds, to warn them of the consequences of wrong attitudes
and to invite humanity to the Right Way.
The same is true of the criticism of the creeds
systems, of the deeds of men and communities and of the moral
of its discussions of
the problems of Metaphysics etc. That is why it
states or discusses or
cites a thing only to the extent relevant to its aims and object and leaves
Qut unnecessary and irrelevant details and turn
s over and over again to
its Central Theme and to its invitation round which every oth
revolves. When the Qur'àn is studied in this ligh
er topic
t, no dou
the whole of it is a closely reasoned argument and there is btconistinleft that
uity of
subject throughout the Book .
Background
One cannot understand fuily many of the topics discussed in the
Qur'ân unless one is-ácquainted with the background of their revelation,
One should kriow the social, historical or other antecedents or conditions
which help explain any particular topic. For, the Qur'n was
revealed as a complete book at one andthesame time; mor did Allanoth
4 The Meaning oftheQur'àn.
hand over a written copy of itto Muhammed (Allah's peace be upon
him) at the very beginning ofhismission and command him to publish it
and invite people to adopt a particular way of life. Moreover, it is not a
literary work of the common conventional type that develops its central
theme in a logical order; nor does it conform to thé style of such a work.
The Qur'ün adopts its own style to suit the guidance of the Islamic
Movement that was started by Allah's Messenger under His direct
command. Accordingly, Allah revealed the Qur'an piecemeal to meet
the requirements of the Movement in its different stages.
Makki Surahs
When the Holy Prophet was commanded to start his mission at
Makkah, Allah sent down such instructions as the Messenger needed for
his own training for the great work that was entrusted to him. The
Qur'an. imparted ` also the basic knowledge of the Reality and gave brief
answer to the common misunderstandings that misled people to adopt
wrong ways of life and invited them to accept the basic principles of
morality and adopt the right attitude thar alone leads to the success and
welfare of humanity.
These early messages consisted of short and concise sentences
and were couched in a very fluent and effective language to suit the taste
of the people to whom they were first addressed. Their excellent literary
style was so appealing that it touched the core of their hearts. They
were so charming that they attracted the attention of thehearers who
began to repeat them because of their beauty and elegance. Though
universal truths were enunciated in these messages, they were given a
local colour and were supported by arguments, examples and
illustrations from the environment with which its first addressees were
quite familiar. In order to impress the addressees effectively, these early
addresses were confined to their own history, their traditions, their
monuments beliefs, their morality and their evil ways
This early stage of theMovement lasted for four years or so with
the result that a few good people accepted its message and formed the
nucleus of the furure Muslim community. But the large majority of the
Quralsh began to oppose it because, intheir ignorance, they thought that
it hit hard at their vested interests and lusts and the old traditions of their
 dniroduction 15
forefathers. The message of the Qur'an, however, went on spreading
beyond the boundaries of Makkah and reached other clans
Then the Movement entered its second stage which continued for
nine years or so and a fierce struggle began with the old order. Not only
the Quraish but also the majority of its upholders also rose up to kill this
Movement employing ali sorts of weapons or at least to suppress it.
‘They made false propaganda and ievelled accusations and raised
frivolous objections against it. They spread suspicions and doubts in
order to alienate the common people from it. They hindered strangers
from listening to the Holy Prophet and inflicted al! sorts of cruelties on
those who accepted Islam. They boycotted the Muslims socially and
economically in order to intimidate and coerce them. Their persecution
became so unbearable that some of them had to Icave their homes twice
for Abyssinia, and at last all of them had to migrate to Al-Madinah, But
in spite of persecution and hindrances, the Movement went on
spreading. There was hardly a family or a household left in Makkah
from which one person or the other had not accepted Islam. Narurally
this produced bitterness in the hearts of the opponents of Islam, The
persecution became all the more bitter when they saw that their own
brothers, nephews, sons, daughters. sisters etc., had accepted Islam and
become its faithful and strong supporters and were ready to defend it
cven with their lives.
The Movement also got impetus from the fact that it was drawing
into its fold the best from among their people who became the
embodiments of virtue after accepting lslam. The world, therefore,
could not belp feeling the moral superiority of the Movement that was so
thoroughly transforming the characters of its followers
Alt through this long and bitter struggle, Allah continued to
reveal, according to the requirements of the occasion, inspiring
addresses which highly influenced the thoughts and conduct of the
hearers. On the one hand, these addresses instructed the Muslims in
their primary duties, infused into them the spirit of loyalty and devotion
to bind them together as members of the Muslim community and taught
the ways of piety, high morality andpurityof character and trained them
to be true missionaries of Islam. On the other hand, these messages
consoled, ‘comforted and encouraged the Muslims with promises of
success in this world and ofeternal blissinthehereafter. They urged
 16 The Meaning oftheQuran
‘hem also to cxert their utmost in the way of Allah
endurance and courage. TheMuslims were so imbued with fortitude,
sacrifice for this nobie cause that they were ready to beawitr h the spirit of
affliction and fight against the binerest opposition. At every kind of
these addresses administered warnings to those people the same time,
Opposing the Moveman who were
en dth
tosewho
Were cited from the history of the neiwerghbe our
indifferent to it, Examples
thereof. Their attention was also drawn to the ruiing peoples as proofs
which they used to pass during their journeys: nstheofse thewerhabitations by
object lessons. They were asked to observe the phenomena e held out as
they saw day and night on the earth and in the heavens as of Nature
Unity of God and of the inevitabie Hereafter, a proof of the
The early addresses exposed the blasphemy of the
their association of partners with Allah
idolaters and
and their worship of the old
traditions so vividly as to convince ail fair-m
inded persons of their error,
They refuted their misconception that they were independe
not accountable o Him
nt of God and
in the Hereafter with such clear reasoning
leave no doubt in their hearts and minds. Every as to
doubt was dispelled and
every objection answered and every
intricacy and complication, in which
they were entangied and in which they were involving
unfolded and unr
others, was
avelied. In short, these addresses proved
clearly and
conclusively that the old ways were based
on ignorance and were utterly
void of sense. Side by side with this,
the disbelievers were admonished
for their immorality, their wrong ways of lifeand custom
and their opposition to the Truth and their
s of ignorance
Persecution of the Relievers.
These carly addresses also put forward those bas ic principles of culture
and morality which have always been universaily accepted and whi
have always formed the basis of theenlighten ch
ed Divine civilization.
Several changes took place during the Makki stage of
Movement. It spread wider and wider. day by day, and the the
it Became stronger and stronger in thesame proportion. opposition to
came into contact with the people of By and by, it
different creeds and different ways
of life and this gave rise to newproblems. The discourse
began to deal with various new topics as well. This s, therefore,
difference of their style from those of the earlier ones. explains the
This is the background of theSurahs whi
ch were revealed during
the thirteen years of Makki life.
 Antroduction 7
Madani Surahs
After facing opposition for thirteen years in Makkah, the Islamic
Movement found a new centre inAl-Madinah where it became possible
to collect all its followers from the various parts of Arabia and to unify
and strengthen them. Accordingly, the Holy Prophet and the majority of
the Muslims migrated to AI-Madinah.
Then the Movement entered its third stage under totally changec
conditions. Now that the Muslim community had succeeded in founding
a regular state, an armed encounter ensued with the exponents of the old
order of ignorance. Besides this, the Jews and the Christians came inte
conflict with it even though they also professed to be the followers ol
Prophets. It had also to deal with different kinds of hypocrite " Muslims
who had somehow or other entered its fold, But in spite of all those
obstacles, the Movement succceded in subduing the whole of Arabia
afler a hard struggle of ten years and was in a position to extend its
universal message of reform to the outer world.
As, by and by, several changes took place in this stage also, and
every changed condition had its own special problems, so Allah revealed
to the Holy Prophet the kind of discourses required for any particular
occasion. That is why some of these were couched in the fiery rhetoric
of a warner and the others in the form of the royal edicts of the law
giver. Some adopted the methods of a teacher. trainer and reformer and.
taught the principles and the methods of organising a community, of
building up a state and of constructing a good civilisation for the conduct
of different affairs: of life. Others gave instructions for dealing with the
hypocrites or the unbelievers, who had come under the protection of this
Islamic State. Then in some of these discourses, the Muslims were
taught the kind of relations they should have with the people of the Book
and with the belligerent powers and with their own allies. In others they
were taught, trained and organised to carry out their obligations as
vicegerents of the Lord of the Universe. Some gave instruction for their
guidance, and warned them of their weaknesses and exhorted them to
sacrifice their lives and properties in the way of Allah, Others taught the
moral lessons they needed in defeat and victory, adversity and
prosperity, war and peace. In short, these trained them to carry on the
missionary work for the pfopagation of Islam as the successors of the
Holy Prophet: Then some discourses invited to Islam the people of the
 18 TheMeanin
ofgtheOur'an
Book, the hypocrites, the unbelievand erstheblasphemers or rebuked
them for their hard-heartedness or warned them of
the doom in store for
them or admonished them for neglecting lessons from the stor
events of the past, so as to leave no excuse
ies and
for their sticking to the
wrong ways of life.
This is the background of the Sürahs that were revealed during
the ten years at Al-Madinah. lt is obvious that their style had to be
different from that of the Makki Sürahs.
Style
It must have become clear from the above that the revelation of
the Qur'an began simultaneously with the beginning of the
Movement and continued for twenty-three years, The different Islamic
of the Qur'n were revealed according to the requirements of the portions
various
Phases of the Movement. It is thus obvious that
abook like this cannot
have the kind of uniformity of style which is followed in
formal books
on religion and the like. lt should also be kept in mind that
the various
portions of the Qur’én, both long and short, were
not meant to be
published in the form of pamphlets atthetime of thei
r revelation but
Were to be delivered as addresses and promulgated as such. Hence they
could not be in the style of a written work. Moreover, these addresses
were necessarily of a different nature from that of the lectures of a
professor; therefore their style would naturally be different
from them
also. The Holy Prophet was entrusted with a special mission and had
appeal both to the'emotions and tc the intellect; he had to deal to
people of different mentalities and cope with different
with
situations and
various kinds of experiences during the course
of his mission. Such a
person has to do all that is required for extend ain
messag
ge and for
leading a movement. He has to impress the
different aspects of his
message on people's minds in order to change the established world
ideas, and to appeal to the feelings and emotions
of
in order to counteract
the forces of his opponents. He has also to
train and reform his
followers and to imbue them with spirit and courage,
and to refute the
arguments of opponents and to expose their moral wea
knesses and so on.
That is why the style of the discourses thar Aliah sent
down to His
Messenger bad to be what suited the requirements of a Movement. It is;
therefore, wrong to seek the style ofa formal book or that ofcollege
lectures in the discourses of the Qur’an.
 dnttoduction 1
That also explains why the seme things are repeated over and
over again in the Qur'an. A mission and a movement naturally demand
that only those things should be presented which are required ata
particular stage and that nothing should besaid about the requirements
of the next stage. That is why the same things are repeated over and
over again as long as the movement remains in the same stage, no matter
whether it remains there for months or for years. Of course, these things
have been differently worded and styled to avoid monotony, and
couched in a beautiful and dignified language to make them effective and
impressive. Moreover, it repeats at suitable places its basic pood and
principles in order to keep the Movement strong at every stage. That is
why those Sarahs which were revealed at a particular stage of the
Movement generally deal with the same topics, though, of course, in
different words and in various forms. Moreover, all thc Sürahs of the
Qui*ün contain references to the basic creed, że.. the unity of Allah, His
auributes, the Hereafter and accountability, punishment and reward,
Prophethood, beliefin the Book etc They al! teach piety, fortitude,
endurance, faith and trust in Allah and the like, just because these
virtues could nol be neglected at any stage of the Movement, If any of.
these bases had been weakened at any stage even in the least, the Islamic
Movement could not have made any progress in its true spirit
Order
A little thinking in the light of the difference between the Makki
and the Madani Sürahs will also answer the question why the sürahs of
the Qur'ün were not arranged in the sequence in which they were
revealed, This question is also important because it has been used by the
enemies of Islam to create misunderstandings about the Qur’én and make
ridiculous conjectures about the present arrangement of the Sürahs. They
are of the opinion that “Muhammad's (Allah's peace be upon him)
followers published it, without any discernible order as to chronology or
otherwise; merely trying, as would seem, to put the longest chapters
First issu" I
Such conjectures as this are-based on ignorance of the wisdom.
underlying the order of the Qur'an. Though it was to be the Book for all
times, it had to be revealed piecemeal in twenty-three years according to
heeds and requirements of the different stages through which the Islamic
Movement was passing. It is obvious that the sequence of the revelations
 2u The Meaning of the Qur'an
that suited the gradual evolution of the Movement could not in
be suitable afler the completion of the
any way
Qur'an.
Suited to the changed conditions, was needed. In theAlleearln another order,
y
Movement the Qur'an addressed those people who were totastages of the
of islam and, therefore, naturally it had firs
lly ignorant
t
basic articles of Faith. But after its completion theofQur
all to teach them the
concemed with those who had accepted Islam and for'an was primarily
med a community
for carrying on the work entrusted to it by the
Hol
the order of the complete Book had to be different yfroProp het. Obviously,
m its chronological
Order to suit the requirements of the Muslim
Community for all times.
Then the Qur'ān had, first ofall, toacquaint
the Muslims thoroughly
with their duties concerning the regulation of
their lives. It had also to
Prepare them for carrying its message to the world which was
of Islam,
ignorant
It had also to warn them of the mischief
s and evils that
appeared among the followers ofthe former Prophets so that they should
be on their guard against them. Hence Al-Baqarah and similar Mad
Sürahs, and not
ani
Al-' Alag and similar Makki Sürahs, had to be placed
the beginning of the Qur'an.
in

in this connection, another thing should also be kept in view. It

does mot suit the purpose of the Qur'an that all the
Sürahs dealing with
similar topics should be grouped together. In
order to avoid one-
Sidedness at amy stage of its study, itis essential that the Mak
ki
Should intervene between the Madani Sürahs and that the Madani sürahs
should
sürahs
follow the Makki Sürahs, and that the Sürahs
revealed at the
earliest stages of the Movement should come bet
ween those revealed in
the later stages so that the entire picture of the complete Islam
always: remain before the reader. That is the
should
wisdom of the present
order,
It should also be noted ththe at sürahs of the Qur’an’
arranged in the present order by his successors but by the Holy were not
Prophet
himself under the guidance of Allah. Whenever a Surah was revealed
would send for one of his amanuenses anddictate it word for word , andhe
direct him to place it after suchandsuch and before such and such a
Surah. Likewise in this case ofa discourse or passage or verse that was
not meant to be an independent Surah by itself, Itc wouid direct him to
the exact place where it was tobeput in the Surah of which it was to
form a part, thea he used to recite the Qur'an during the Salat
 Introduction. a

(prescribed prayer) and on other occasions in the same order and direct
his Companions to remember and recite it in the same order. Thus it is
an established fact that the Sürahs of the Qur'an were arranged in the
present order on the same day the Qur'an was completed by the one to
whom it was revealed under the guidance of the One who revealed it.
Compilation
Allah Who revealed the Our'an Himself made arrangements for
its safety and security for ever.
No sooner was a passage of the Qur'an revealed than it was
recorded on leaves of date-palm, barks of trees, bones cte., at the
dictation of the Holy Prophet aud all these pieces were put in a bag.
Besides this, some of his Companions themselves wrote these pieces for
their own use. At the same time, the Muslims committed these passages
10 memory as they had to recite them during, Salat which was obligatory
from the very beginning of Islam.
Though many Companions had committed the whole of the
Qur'an to memory during the life-time of the Holy Prophet, it had not
been compiled in book form. But immediately after his death, an event
occurred that necessitated this work. A furious storm of apostasy broke
out and many of the Companions, who went ro war to. Suppress it, were
killed. Among these martyrs were some of those who had committed the
whole of the Qur'an to memory. Then it occurred to Hadrat ‘Umar that
necessary steps should be taken to preserve the Qur'án intact in its,
original form against any and every kind of danger und that it was not
wise to depend exclusively upon those who had learnt it by heart, He,
therefore, urged that it was essential to put the whole of it in black and
white in the form of an authenticated book. He tried to impress the
necessity of this step on Hadrat Abū Bakr, who ar first showed hesitation
to do what the Holy Prophet had not done. But after some discussion, he
agreed to it, Accordingly he entrusted this work to Hadrat Zaid bin
Thabit who also showed hesitationatfirst like Hadrat Abū Bakr and for
the same reason. But at last he was convinced and he undertook this
historic work.
And he was best qualified for this work. He had frequently acted
as an amanuensis to the Holy Prophet and was one of those Companions
who had learnt the Qur'ün directly from him. Moreover he also was
 22 The Meanin
ofgtheQur'an
Present on the occasion when the Holy Prophet recited the whole of the
completed Qur'àn to angel Gabriel. Arrangements were, therefore, made
to collect and gather ail the written piecesof the Qur'an left by the Holy
Prophet, and those in the possession of his Companions," Then with the
co-operation of those Companions who had committed the whole or any
part of the Qur'an to memory wofor rd word, al! ihe written pieces were
compared with each other for verification. Hadrat Zaid would not take
down -anything in his manuscript unless all the three sources tallied with
one another. Thus was compiled one correct, authenticated and complete
copy. This authenticated copy of the whole Qur’én was kept in the house
of Hadrat Hafsah Hadrat ‘Umar’s daughter, and one of the wives of the
Holy prophet and it was proclaimed that anyone, who desired, migh
make a copy of it or compare with it the copy he already possessed, t
As regárds the sequence of the Sürahs, Zaid followed the same
order that was followed by the Holy Prophet himself because he could
not and would not have followed any other. He was so particular
about
following the Holy Prophet in everything he did, that, at first, he
hesitated to undertake the work of the compilation, just because this had
mot been done during the life-time of the Holy Prophet, Tt is, therefore
wrong to suppose that the Süwere
raarra
hsnged in the existing order
after the death of the Holy Prophet. The very fact, that the Holy Prophet
recited the whole of the Qur'án twice before Gabriel during the last
Ramadan’ of his life, is a clear proof of the fact that he must have
followed some order. And we have already cited a Tradition to
the effect
that Hadrat Zaid attended the second of these two last recitals. Likewise
those Companions, who had committed the whole of the
Qur'an to

“We tegen from authentic traditions thatsomeCompanions of the Holy Prophet

had put the Qui'in or some pieces of the Qur'an in black and white during his
life-time and the names of "Uthman, Ali, “Abdullab-bin-Masid, ' Abxtullab-bin
‘Amr-bin-’As, Salim, the freed slave of Huzaifah, Mu'az-bin-Jabal,Zaid-bia
Thabit, Ubayy-bin-Ka'ab, Abu Zaid, Qais-bin-As-Sakn (Allah be pleased with
them all) lave been specifically mentioned.
7". Traditions say thet tile Holy Prop used
hetorecite
t the Qur'an before angel
Gabriel once during every Ramadin buiherecited the whole of the complete
Qur'an twice during the Ramadin occurring im the year of his death, Zaid
attended the second recitation.
 datroduction 23
memory, must have done it in some order and that, too, could not have
been any other but the one followed and taught by the Holy Prophet.
Imam Malik says, The Qur’an was compiled in the way the
Companions heard it from the Holy Prophet. Moreover, at several
places, the Qur'ün speaks of itself asa Book. For example, in Sarah
Muzzammil, an early Maki cevelation, Allah says to the Holy Prophet,
*v.eefeeite the Qur'ān in order....." LXXII:4,This also shows that
the Qur'an was meant to be a book from the beginning of the revelation
and a book must follow some order.
Difference of Dialects
Though Arabic was the common language of the whole of
Arabia, there existed some variations inthe dialects of
different parts
and tribes
For obvious reasons the Qur’an was revealed in the dialect of the
Qurdish of Makkah. However, the Arabs living in different parts of the
country were, at first allowed, for the sake of facility, to recite it
according to the dialect of their own clan or district but this did not
produce any difference in its meanings. But when Islam spread beyond
the boundaries of Arabia and the Arabs came into contact with the non-
Arab Muslims, the Arabic language gradually began to be influenced by
its new environments. Then it was feared that the different dialects of
the Qur'án might give rise to various kinds of mischief and might cause
disputes among persons having different dialects. They might even begin
10 accuse one another of tampering with the Qur'an. Moreover, there
was the danger that the pure and beautiful Arabic of the Qur'an might be
altered or changed by those Arabs who came in contact with non-Arabs.
Therefore, Caliph ‘Uthman, in consultation with other Companions of
The Holy Prophet, decided that the authenticated copies of the Qur'an
compiled by the order of Hadrat Abū Bakr, should alone be used in the
whole of the Muslim world, and the use of all other copies in any other
dialect or idiom should be prohibited. As a precautionary measure, he
had all the other existing copies burnt to ward off any possibility of
future confusion and misunderstanding. For instance, some of the
companions had noted down explanatory words and comments on the
margins of their copies and it was feared, that these might get mixed up
with the original text of the Qur'an. Though such a possibility did nut
 24 The Meaning
of the Qur'an
exist at that timc, it was anactofmost prudent foresight to make the
Qur'an safe and secure against ay possible alteration in the future by
burning all other copies.
The Qur'an, which is now in use all over the world, is the exact
copy of the Qur’in which was compiled by the order of Hadrat Abū
Bakr and copies of which were officially sent by Hadrat ‘Uthman to
different places. Even today many very old copies are found in big
libraries in different parts of theworld and if anyone has any doubt as to
whether the Qur'án has remained absolutely safe and secure against
every kind of change and alteration, he can compare any copy of the
Qur'an with any of these copies and reassure himself. Moreover, if onc
gets a copy of the Qur'an from a bookseller, say, of Algeria in Africa in
the West and compares it with a copy obtained from a bookseller, say,
of Java in the East, one will find both the copies to be identical with
each other and also with the copies of the Qur'án made during the time
of Hadrate 'Uthman’, If even then anyone has any doubt left in his
mind, he is advised to take any copy of
the Qur'án from anywhere in the
world and ask anyone, out of the millions who know the Our'an by
heart, to recite it word for word from the beginning to the end. He will
find that the recitation conforms word for word to the written text. This
is a clear and irrefutable proof of the fact that the Qur'àn which is in use
today is the same Qur'an which was presented to the world by
Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him). A sceptic might entertain a
doubt about its revelation from Allah, but none caa have any doubt
whatsoever regarding its authenticity and immunity and purity from any
and every kind of addition or omission or alteration, for there is nothing
so authentic in the whole human history as this fact about the Qur’an that
it is the same Qur'an that was presented by the Holy Prophet to the
world,
Now let us consider the case of the variant readings of the
Gur'an, for their existence has created the misunderstanding that it has
not remained intact. The following facts will help us to understand their
nature and extent:
1. The Arabic script adopted by the amanuenses oftheHoly
Prophet during his life-time had neither dots nor vowel points. The same
was the case with the copy of the Qur'àn compil byed
Hadrat Zaid
 Jntroduction 25
during the time of Hadrat Abu Bakr and also with its copies circulated
by Hadrat "Uthmán.
2. Though the correctness ofthe Qur'ánic text was ensured in the
written forms, the work ofitspropagation was done orally because of
the general illiteracy and scarcity of paper. Little difficuly was,
however, felt by the literate Arabs in deciphering this script. There were
thousands of such persons who had learnt the whole of the Qur'an by
heart from the Holy Prophet himself and his Companions. They
followed and taught the same reading that they had learnt from the Holy
Prophet and his Companions.
3. Hadrat ‘Uthmin not only sent an authenticated the Qur'an to
the different centres of Islam, but also sent a Qar/ along with it in order
To preserve that correct reading which was taught by the Holy Prophet
himself.
4. With the passage of time it was felt that there should be vowel
points to preserve the correct reading of theQur'an. Accordingly, at the
instante of Zaid, the Governor of Basrah (45 to $3 A.H.) dots were
assigned for vowel points. Then during the reign of Abdul-Malik (65-85
A.H.) Haijaj-bin-Yusuf appointed scholars to assign new symbols for
vowel points and dots to distinguish between the similar letters, The
same practice continues to the present time.
From the above historical facts, it must have become clear that
the reading of the Qur'an (with a few minor variations) is the same as
practiced and taught by the Holy Prophet. All the scholars and Qurra’ of
the Qur'àn have been unanimous in asserting that only that reading will
be authentic which (a) conforms to the script of the copy circulated by
Hadrat Uthman and (b) complies with the lexicon of Arabic, its usages
idioms and grammar, and above all, (c) is traceable by genuine and
continuous links to the Holy Prophet himself. That is why there are only
a few variations in its readi those are not contradictory in their
andng
meanings but enlarge their scope and make them more comprehensive.
Thus there is absolutely no doubt that the Holy Prophet himself practised

*. Qi is one who is well-versed in the correct reading of the Qur'an.

*. Qurrüis
theplural ofQari.
 26 The Meaning oftheQur'an
those various readings in the instances which cxist today, and they make
the meanings more comprehensive.
For example, let ustake the two authentic readings of (a) verse 3
of Al-Fatihah and (b) vers 6ofAl-M
e a’idah. One reading ofI: 3, that
is, Nei gis means the Master of theDay of Judgement and the
other reading osd gigi means, The Sovereign of the Day
of
Judgement. It is obvious that these nwo readings make the meaning of
the verse all the more clear. (c) One reading of V: 6, that is, is
Hai... pŠ means ... wash your faces... and (wash) your feet
as is
done at the time of performing abiution with naked feet. The second
reading, that is, Sj gs ul, pka L3 wash your faces and
wipe your heads and (wipe) your feet with wet hands. Thé
second
reading allows one to wipe one's feet with wet hands, provided that one
had washed one’s feet and put on thick socks after the performance of
the previous ablution. This concession holds good for 24 hours at
home
and for 72 hours during a journey. It is obvious from the two insta
nces
that in the variant readings, there is absolutely no contradiction
in
essence, On the other hand, they make the Meanings all the more
comprehensive. And the same is true of all true other
variant readings,
Universality
Everyone knows that the Qur'an claims to provide guidance for
the whole of mankind, but whhe en reads it, he finds that it is mainly
addressed to the Arabs, who live atdthetime of its lation. Though
at times it also addresses other people and mankind inreve general, it mainly
discusses those things which appealed to the taste of the Arab
linked with their environment, history and customs. this natusrallandy givewere
s
rise to the question: Why does the Qur’an contain so many localand
< national clements of the period inwhich it was revealed, when it was
meant for the guidance of the whole of mankind? Those who do not
understand the wisdom of this, begin toargue like this: the Qur’én was
really meant for the reform of the Arabs of that period but later on,
somehow or other, the claim was made that it was a guidance for the
whole of mankind and for ail ages.
If one does not raise this objection merely for
the sake of
objection but really wants to understhe tamatt
nd er, I would advise him
 Inroduction 27
to read thc Qur'án and mark the parts which give rise to this doubt. Ile
should then point out any tenet, idea or principle therein that might have
been meant particularly for the Arabs of that period only. He should lay
his finger .on any moral principle, practical rule or regulation that is not
of universal application and was meant only for the Arabs of that period,
time and place. The mere fact, that the Qur’an refutes the blasphemous
creeds and condemns the evil customs ofa particular people, living at a
particular time and place and bases arguments for the unity of God on
the material gathered from their environment, is not a sufficient proof to
establish the allegation that tion and appeal was local and
temporary. We should examinc the question closely and decide whether
what it says regarding the blasphemous people of Arabia is or is not
equally true of every period and every place, andwhether we can or
camnot apply the same arguments with equal force to refote the
blasphemy of every time and every place, and whether we can or cannot
use everywhere, with minor changes, the same arguments that the
Qur'an puts forward for the Unity of God. If the answer to these
questions is in the affirmative, then there is no reason why such a
universal revelation should be dubbed as local or temporary, simply
because it was addressed to a particular community and during a
particular period. There is no philosophy, no way of life and no religion
in the world which expounds, from the beginning to the end, everything
in the abstract without making any reference to particular cases or
concrete examples, for itis simply impossible to build a pattern of life
merely in the abstract. Even if wesuppose, forthesakeof argument,
that it were possible to do so, most surely such asystem will always
remain merely a theory on paper and wili never take a practical shape.
Moreover, it is neither necessary nor useful to start from the very
outset on international lines any ideological movement that is meant to
be ultimately international. The only right method of beginning this will
be to start the movement in the country of its origin and present with full
force its theories and fundamental principles which are to form the basis
of the required system oflife. Thenitsexponents should impress these
things on the minds of their ownpeople who have a common language,
common habits and common customs. They should first of all put these
principles into practice in their own country and prove their worth by
evolving a happy and successful system oflife. This will naturally attract
other nations, and their intelligent people wili themselves come forward
28 The Meaning oftheQur'an
to understand the movement andstartitin their own countries. Thus a
certain ideological system does not become national simply because it
was at first presented to a particular nation and its arguments were
addressed to a particular people. As a matter of fact, what distinguishes
a national from an international and a temporary from a permanent
system is this: a national system aims either to establish its own
superiority or its special claim over other nations or presents principles
and theories which, by their very nature, cannot be applied to other
nations. On the other hand, an international system grants equal status
and equal rights to all human beings and puts forward principles of
universal application. Moreover, the principles ofa temporary system
become impracticable with the passage of time while the principle of a
permanent system are applicable to al! times. If né studies the Qur'an in
the light of the above, onc will come to the conelusion that its teachings
are of universal application.
Complete, Code
Another thing that causes mental confusion is the oftre peated
assertion that the Qur'an is a complete code of life. But when one reads
it, onc does not find detailed rules and regulations regarding social,
cultural, political and economic problems etc... One is therefore, baffled
to see that it does not contain any detailed regulations even about Salat
and Zaküt which are such important obligatory duties that the Qur'an
itself lays great emphasis om them over and over again. That is why a
casual reader cannot understand how this Book can be called a complete
code. This confusion is caused becagse the objector loses sight of the
fact that Allah did not only send down the Book but also appointed His
Messenger to demonstrate its teachings by putting them into actual
practice.. To illustrate this, we may take the case of the construction of a
building. If only a plan of the proposed building is laid down and no
engineer is appointed to supervise and direct its construction, then every
detail must be supplied, But ifanengineer is also appointed along with
the plan to construct the building on the spot, obviously there is no need
for a detailed plan. In that case only a sketch with its essential features
will be quite enough. It would, therefore, be wrong to find fault with
such a plan as being incomplete. As Allah sent His Messenger along
with. the Qur’én, only general principles and absolutely essential
instructions were needed and not their details, Hence the main function
 Introduction 29
of the Qur'àn is to present clearly the intellectua! and moral bases of the
Islamic Way and reinforce iem with arguments and appeals to the heart.
As far as the practica! side of the building of the Islamic Way of life is
concermed, it only defines the limits and bounds of every aspect of life
without giving detailed rules and regulation. Moreover it fixes sign-posts
for guidance at certain important places to show how those parts are to
be constructed in accordance with Allah’s will. The actual work of
building the Islamic Way of life in accordance with the instructions
contained in the Book was entrusted the Holy Prophet, who was
specially sent 10 set up the pattern of life for the individual for the
society and for tHe Islamic State to be constructed practically according
to the principles of the Qur'àn. Thus theQur'án is a complete code in
the sense that it is to be taken along with the Sunnah of the Holy
Prophet.
Another question which troubles the minds is that of divergence's
in the interpretation of the Qur’an. People say that "on the one hand,
Qur'án condemns very severely those people who create differences in
the Book of Allah and cause division in their religion; on the other hand,
so many different interpretations of the injunctions of the Qur'an have
been made that there is hardly to be found any command with an agreed -
interpretation. And it is not the people of the later periods alone who
differ with one another but even the great scholars of the early period,
including the companions of the Holy Prophet and their followers, did
not all agree in every detail in regard to Commands and Prohibitions.
Do all these people then deserve the condemnation pronounced in the
Qur'an for making different interpretations? If this is not so, then what
kind of differences of opinion have been condemned in the Qur'an?
The problem is very vast and extensive and this is not the place.
for its detailed discussion. Suffice it to say here that che Qur'an is not
against healthy difference of opinion in the interpretation of its
injunctions provided that (a) there isagreement on the basic principles of
Islam among those who differ aud(o)they remain united within the fold
of the Muslim Community, The Qur’én deprecates that kind of
divergence which starts with self-worship and crookedness „and leads to
disputes and sectarianism. As the two kinds of divergence are neither
alike in their nature nor in their results, they should not be placed in one
and the same ‘category. The first kind of divergence is essential for
 30 The Meaning ofthe Qur'an
Progress and is the very soul oflife and every community of intelligent
and thinking people must encourage it, Its existence is a sign of life and
Only that community can afford to repress it which desires to have only
blockheads in it. The second kind ofdivergence as everyone knows,
disintegrates the community which nourishes it: therefore its appearance
in a community is nota sign of health but a symptom of disease and it
can never produce good results.
These two kinds of divergencies of opinion may further be
illustrated by the following:
Supposing there are two scholars or two judges, who agree, on
principle, that Allah and His Messenger alone are cntitled to obedienc
and that the Qur'an and the Sunnah are the final auth
e
ority to determine
all laws and regulations. They may then differ in the details or
decision of a case, provided that neither of them make
in the
s his opinion as
the criterion of Islam or un-Islam nor declares the othe
r 10 be outside itg
fold on account of
such a difference of opinion. They may put forward
their own arguments in support of their opinions and leave the deci
sion
to the public or to the highest court, if it is some judicial matter,
the legislative body of the community, if it concerns
o to
them
one of the two different opinions will prevail or both will. be‘Theacce
n either
pted,
But it should be noted Particularly that no difference can be allowed
in
the basic principles of Islam nor in such matters as may lead to
formation of anew community. For instance, it would be wrong thatthea
scholar or a jurist or a saint or a leader should form an opinion
Some matter
about
(which Allah and His Messenger do not consider to
be
basic) and declare it to be a basic Principle of Islam
and then denounce
all those who differ from him to be outside its
fold, and then on this
basis. proceed to form a community of his own foll
owers saying, “This
is the real Muslim Community and alt outside it are
doomed to Hell.
Therefore, if you are a Muslim, come and join it,
otherwise you are not
one.” Tt is this kind of difference of opinion
which the Qur'an
condemns. As regards the first kind ofdifference,
several instances of it
occurred during the time of the Holy Prophet hims
elf. He not only
permitted it but also spoke well ofit, for it was
a healthy sign, which
showed that intelligent people ofthe Community were busy thinking and
making research, This also showed that the intelligent
people of the
Community were taking interest in Islam and
its teachings and were
 Introduction a
trying to find solutions for thc problems of life within Islam and not
outside it. It also provided a proof òf ihe golden role that whil
e the
Community should remain united onprinciples, it should, at the same
time, grant freedom of research to its thinkers within due limits so that
the doors of progress should remain open. i
Suggestions for Study
Finally, here are a few suggestions for the study of the Qur'an:
As different people turn to the Qur'an with different aims and
objects, it is not possible to offer any general advice about the method of
its study so as to fulfil the requirements of all. I am, however, interested
only in those people who want to understand it and seck guidance from it
for the solution of human problems. | will, therefore, offer some
suggestions which may help satisfy their needs and remove their
difficulties,
‘The one pre-requisite for understanding the Qur'àn is to study it
with an open and detached mind. Whether one believes it to bea
revealed book or not, one should, as faraspossible, free one’s mind of
bias in favour of or against it and get rid of all pre-conceived opinions
and then approach it with the sole desire of understanding it. Those
people who study it with preconceived notions of their own, read only
their own ideas between its lines and cannot, therefore grasp what the
Qur'án wants to convey. It is obvious that this method ofstudy can
never be fruitful even with other books but it is utterly fruitless when
applied to the study of the Qur'an.
There is another thing which must be kept in view. If one wants
to have merely a cursory acquaintance with the contents of the Qur'an,
then perhaps it might suffice for him to readitonce. But, if one wishes
to have a deep knowleof dgit,eone will have togothrough it scveral
times and each time from a different point of view. Those, who desire to
make a thorough study of theQur'an should read it at least twice with
the sole purpose of understanding, as a whole, the system of life it
Presents. One should aiso try to find out its fundamentals and the way of
life it aims to build on them. During thispreliminary study, if some
questions occur in his mind, the reader should note them down and
Patiently continue his study, fothe is likely to find thcir answers
somewhere in the Qur'an itself. Ifhcfinds answers to his questions, he
A The Meaning oftheQur'an
should mote them down along with the questions. But if he does not find
an answer to any question in his first reading, he should patiently make
the second reading. ] can say it in the light of my own experience that in
the second reading hardly any question remains un-answered.
After getting a general insight into the Qur'an in this way, one
should begin its detailed study and take down notes of the different
aspects of its teachings. For instance, one should note down what pattern
of life it approves and what itdisapproves. One should note down the
qualities of a good man and those of abad man, side by side, in order to
bring both the pauerns clearly before his mind simultaneously.
Similarly, one should note down, side by side, those things which lead
to the success and salvation of man and those which lead to his failure
and ruin. In the same way, he should put down, under different
headings, the teachings and instruction of the Qur'àn about creed,
morality, duties, obligations, civilization, culture, economics, politics,
law, social system, peace, war and other human problems. These notes
should be consolidated to form a complete sketch of each aspect of the
teachings and then fitted together to form a complete system of life.
Then, if one desires to know the Qur'ànic solution of a certain
human problem he should first make study of the relevant literature,
both ancient and modern, and note down the basic issues. He should also
make use of the research sofar made into the problem and note down
the points at issue. He should then study the Qur'an with a view to
finding out the answers to those issues. I can say from my own personal
experience that when one studies the Qur'an with a view to making
research into any problem, one will find ananswer to il even in those
verses which one had skipped over without ever imagining that it lay
hidden therein.
It is suggested that each paragraph of “The Meaning ofthe
Qur'n" may be made the unit ofstudy. At first it should bestudied
from the original Arabic Text with thehelp of some literal translation
and then with the help of TheMeaning oftheQur’én, It is expected that
the meanings of the Qur'an will surely become clear by the grace of
God.
But in spite of allthesedevices, one cannot grasp the inspiring
spirit of the Qur'án unless onebegins toputits message into practice,
 Latroduction 35
verses which one had skipped over without ever imagining that it lay
hidden therein.
It is suggested that cach paragraph of The Meaning of
the Qur'án
may be made the unit of study. At first it should be studicd from the
original Arabic Text with the help of some literal translation and then
with the help of The Meaning of the Qur'án. It is expected that the
meanings of the Qur'ān will surely become clear by the grace of God.
But in spite of all these devices, one cannot grasp the inspiring
spirit of the Qur'an unless one beginstoput its message into practice,
for the Qur'an is neither a book of abstract ideas and theories which may
be studied in an easy chair nor is it a book of religious enigmas which
may be umravelled in monasteries and universities. It is a Book that has
been sent down to invite people to start a movement and to lead its
followers and direct their activities towards the achievement of its
mission. One has, therefore, to go to the battlefield of life to understand.
its real meaning. That was why a quiet and amiable person like
Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him) had to come out of his
seclusion and start the Islamic Movement and fight against the rebellious
world. It was the Qur'an that urged him to declare war against cvery
kind of falsehood and engage in confict with the leaders of disbelief
without any consideration of the consequences. Then it attracted good
souls from every home and gathered them under the banner of its leader
in order to fight against the upholders of the old order who organised
themselves into a gang to oppose them. During this long and bitter
struggle between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, which continued
for twenty three years or so, the Qur'àn went on guiding the Movement
in every phase and at every stage, until it succeeded in establishing the
Islamic Way of life in its perfection
It is thus obvious that one cannot possibly grasp the truths
contained in the Qur'ün by the mere recitation of its words. For this
Purpose one must take active part in the conflict between belief and un-
belief, Islam and uislam, truth andfalsehood, One can understand it
only if one takes up its Message, invites the world toaccept it and
moves on and on in accordance with its Guidance. Thus alone will one
experience and understand all that which happened during the revelation
of the Qur'an. One will meet with the same conditions that were
experienced at Makkah, T&'if and Habas andhpassthrough the same
 34 The Meaning oftheQur'àn
kind of fire that had io be passed through at Badr, Uhd, Hunain, Tabük
etc. One will meet with Abu Jahls and Abu Lahabs and come across
hypocrites, the double-faced, the Jews, in short, every type of people
mentioned in the Qur'án. Incidentally, this is a Wonderful experience of
its own kind and worth the trial.
While passing through any one of these stages of this experience,
one will find some verses and some Sürahs of the Qur'àn, which will
themselves tell that they were revealed at such and such astage and
brought such and such instructions for the guidance of the Movement. In
this way the Qur'àn will lay bare its spirit even though onc might not be
able to understand all the lexical meanings of its words and solve all the
intricacies of grammar and rhetoric. The same formula applies to its
Commandments, its moral teachings, its instructions about economics
and culture and its laws regarding different aspecis of human life, These
things can never be understood unless they are put into practice. It is
thus obvious that those individuals and communities who discard it from
practical life, cannot understand its meaning and imbibe its spirit by
mere lip-service to it.
This is from me and true knowledge is with Allah;
Ihave full
trust in Him and turn to Him for true guidance.
As I do not intend to discuss in the Introduction all the problems
which might arise during the study of the Qur'an, I have purposely left
untouched those questions that might arise during the study of some
verses or Sürahs, for 1 want to deal with them in 72e Meaning of the
Qur'n at their proper places. I have taken up only those questions and
problems which pertain to the general study of the Qur'an as a whole.
‘The reader is, therefore, requested to defer giving his final judgement on
such questions till he has read the whole of The Meaning. Then, if he
finds that some questions have not been answered at all or have not been
dealt with fully, he should let me know about it for future consideration.

Abul Aʻalā Maudüdi