THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN

7 THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN It is established in Muslim's Sabib that Tarnim al-Dari (God be pleased with him) stated, "The Messenger of God

THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN any imperfection, and to safeguard it. They have consensus that whoever intentionally rejects a single letter over which there is consensus, or intentionally adds a single letter that no one recited, commits an act of disbelief. The Imam and hadith master Abu al­ Fadl al-QadI 'lyad (God grant him mercy) said: Know that anyone who knowingly belittles the Quran, the text itself [musbaf], or anything from it; abuses it; rejects one of its letters; disbelieves something about which it is explicit, wheth­ er a ruling or an account; affirms what it negates, or negates what it affirms-is a disbeliever according to the consensus of the Muslims. It is the same if he were to reject the Torah, the Evangel, or the revealed books of God. If he were to disbelieve in them, abuse them, or belittle them, he is a disbeliever. Muslims have consensus that the Quran recited in all the lands and written in the musbaf which is in the hands of the Mus­ lims-gathered between two covers, from the beginning of Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds (Quran, 1:2)' until ... of Jinn and Men (Quran, I 1 4:6)1 -is the word of God and His revelation revealed to His Prophet Muhammad

ETIQUETTE WITH THE QURAN self, in the assembly of the vizier Abu 'Ali ibn Muqla, in the year of 3 23 [AH]." Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd announced a legal verdict con­ cerning someone who says to a youth, "May God curse your teacher and what he taught! " but says, "I only meant by it bad etiquette and I did not mean the Quran." Abu Muhammad said, "The one who said this should be disciplined." And he said, "As for someone who abuses the mu$baf, he should meet his de­ mise." This is the end of the words of al-Qaqi 'Iyacl. Explicating the Quran It is unlawful for someone to explicate the Quran without knowl­ edge and the qualification to speak about its meanings. The had­ iths concerning this are many, and there is consensus on this. It is permissible and fitting that only scholars explicate [the Qu­ ran]; there is consensus concerning this as wel l. When someone is qualified to explicate the Quran-one who gathers all the tools through which [the Quran's] meanings are known and the intend­ ed meaning is particularly apparent to him-he may indeed expli­ cate it, if it is something attained through independent intellectual reasoning [ijtihad]. Such matters include the [ Book's] meanings and rulings-the hidden and apparent-what is universal and what is restricted, grammatical inflections, and more. But if it is something not attained through independent intellectual reason­ ing, but by transmitting [the thoughts of others]3 and explicating linguistic phrases, it is not permissible for one to communicate this except through rigorously authenticated transmissions of qualified experts. As for one who is not qualified [to offer original explications] because of not having attained the scholarly tools, it is forbidden for him to offer explication. But he may transmit explications from qualified experts. Using Uninformed Opinion Explicators who proffer their opinions without valid evidence may be categorized as follows: ( r ) One who uses a verse to justify

THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN the validity of his particular madhab [legal approach] and to strengthen his thoughts, even though what is intended by the verse may not be preponderate in his mind as [ proof of his opinion], but he nonetheless seeks only to triumph over his opponent; (2) one who intends to call to what is good, but uses a verse to justify his position without [the verse's] indication really being apparent to him; and (3) one who explicates [the Quran's] Arabic phrases without being familiar with their meanings as proffered by qual­ ified scholars, while the phrases are something that can only be taken by way of qualified scholars of Arabic and explication. This includes elucidating the meaning of a phrase and its grammatical inflections, what it contains in terms of ellipses, abridgment, in­ terpolations, literal and metaphorical meanings, universal and re­ stricted [significance], ambiguous and detailed [aspects], matters of transposition [muqaddamahu wa mu'akhkharahu], and other things that are not so obvious. Knowledge of Arabic Is Not Sufficient It is not sufficient to simply know Arabic. Rather, one must also know all that qualified scholars of explication have said about [a given passage of the Quran], for they may have consensus that the apparent [meaning of a verse, for example,] is something to be disregarded and that what is intended is a specific or implied meaning, or something else contrary to the obvious. Likewise, if a phrase has different meanings and it is known that one of those meanings is intended, one then explicates each occurrence [of the phrase] that comes [separately]. All of the foregoing [depicts] the offering of explication by way of [uninformed] opinion, and this is unlawful. And God knows best. Arguing and Debating Without Justification It is unlawful to argue and debate about the Quran without justi­ fication, as in the case of a person to whom it becomes apparent that there is a preponderating likelihood that a verse runs con­ trary to his opinion and carries a weak possibility of concurring, ETIQUETTE WITH THE QURAN but still he applies it to his opinion. In fact, he [persists in] debat­ ing it even though it is apparent to him that it runs contrary to his view. (But if this not apparent to him, then he is excused.) It is rigorously authenticated that the Messenger

THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN be relied upon is the hadith which allows for the permissibility of saying, "I omitted [it]," without it being offensive. Referring to Suras It is permissible to say: "Surat al-Baqara," "Surat Al 'Imran," "Surat al-Nisa'," "Surat al-Ma'ida," and likewise for all the suras, without there being any offensiveness in [saying surah]. Some scholars of the early generations disliked this. Their opinion is that what should be said is, "The surah in which the cow [al-baqa­ ra] is mentioned,'"' the surah in which the Family of 'lmrdn is men­ tioned," "the surah in which women are mentioned," and so on. The correct opinion is the first, since in the Sabibayn it is estab­ lished that the Messenger of God

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN 'the sunna of so-and-so' and 'the recitation of so-and-so."' The sound opinion is what we have just mentioned. The Quran and Non-Muslims A non-Muslim should not be prevented from listening to the Qu­ ran; this is based on the statement of God Most High, And if one of the idolaters seeks refuge from you, then grant him refuge until he hears the words of God (Quran, 9:6). But he is prevented from touching the mu$baf.7 Is it permissible to teach him Quran? Our Shafi'i companions said that if his entering Islam is not expected, teaching him is impermissible; and if his entering Islam is expect­ ed, there are two opinions: the sounder is that it is permissible out of hope for his entering Islam, and the second is that it is not permissible, just like it is not permissible to sell him a mu$baf, even if it is expected that he will enter Islam. 8 If we were to see [an idolater] learning [the Quran], do we prevent him? There are two opinions.9 The Quran as Medicine The scholars disagreed about the practice of writing the Quran [then placing it] into a vessel and then washing and giving it to someone sick to drink. Al-I:Iasan al-Baärl, Mujahid, Abu Qilaba, and al-Awza'i said there is no harm in it. Al-Nakha'i disliked it. Al-Qadi I:Iusayn, al-Baghawi, and others of our Shafi'i compan­ ions said that if one wrote the Quran on something edible, l ike pastry, there is no harm in eating it. Al-Qadi [I:Iusayn] said that if he wrote it on wood it is offensive to burn it. The Quran as Decoration Our school holds that it is offensive to pattern walls and clothes with the Quran and the names of God Most High. 'Ata' said that there is no harm in writing Quran on the qiblah of a mosque. As for writing the letters of the Quran, Malik said that there is no harm if it was on a reed or skin, if it is sewn over. Some of our Shafi'i companions said that it is not unlawful if the Quran was written on a small amulet along with something else. But it is bet102

THE ETIQUETTE OF ALL PEOPLE WITH THE QURAN ter not to do so since it will be carried while in the state of ritual impurity [that one inevitably attains]. If it is written, it should be protected, as Imam Malik (God Most High grant him mercy) had said. Abu 'Amr ibn al-Salam ibn Salah (God grant him mercy) gave a religious verdict with this [last opinion]. Puffing the Words of the Quran for Protective Purposes Ibn Abl Dawud related from Abu Juhayfa, the Companion (God be pleased with him)-his name is Wahb ibn 'Abdallah, according to one opinion-and from al-I:Iasan al-Basri and Ibrahim al-Na­ kha'I that they disliked this. '0 The preferred opinion is that this is not offensive. Rather, it is a recommended sunna since it is established that 'A'isha (God be well pleased with her and her father) said, "Each night when the Prophet