APPLICATION OF THE QURAN
Purposeful Guidance
SCHOLARS have expressed a range of opinions on what they think is the key to understanding the Quran. Some believe that one must know 15 different disciplines in order to understand the Quran. Some contend that for this purpose, the most important thing is to know the occasions of revelation of different verses. Others think that the best way to understand the Quran is through the Quran itself. Yet others think the most crucial thing to know in this regard is the order of the Quranic verses and chapters. According to them, knowledge of the connection between the verses of the Quran is the master-key to understanding the Quran.
The fact, however, is that all these claims are only partially correct. There are two levels of Quranic comprehension—the first is the Quran, and the second is the applied Quran. The first level in understanding the Quran is to know how those who lived at the time when the Quran was being revealed understood it. The second level is to try to understand what its applied meaning is in the context of the changed conditions of today.
These conditions for understanding the Quran can be helpful only at the first level of understanding. But, for the second level of Quranic comprehension—the understanding of its applied meaning in the contemporary context—these conditions are wholly insufficient. The only benefit of understanding the Quran at the basic level is that the Quran becomes an understandable book in the historical sense. But as far as the present age is concerned, the current generation will not gain any guidance from it. They may accept the Quran only as a matter of belief, but it will not be possible for them to make the Quran as a living guide, although the actual significance of the Quran is its guidance meant for all times and for all people.
Consider, in this regard, Chapter Joseph (Surah Yusuf) the twelfth chapter in the Quran. God has referred to the story of Joseph recounted in this chapter as the ‘best story’. This indicates that this chapter narrates something exceptional. Quranic commentaries written in Arabic and other languages, feature considerable discussion about this chapter. But there is no clear guidance from any commentary on why the story of Prophet Joseph is the ‘best story’. Reason demands that if this story is the ‘best story’,
then it cannot be because of the historical past; it is essential that it also provides some beneficial guidance for the present-day. Considered from this angle, the term ‘best story’ that appears in this chapter of the Quran means ‘best method’—that is, the best method of action.
The story of the Prophet Joseph who lived some 3500 years ago, appears in both the Quran and the Bible. In his time, Egypt was under monarchical rule, and the kingdom was an agrarian economy. The king of Egypt ruled as the political authority and appointed Prophet Joseph as the administrative authority. According to the Quran, the law of the land remained with the king, while the agricultural economy was under Prophet Joseph’s control. The Bible describes this arrangement in the words of the Egyptian king as:
Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you. (Genesis 41: 40)
There are two levels of Quranic comprehension—the
first is the Quran, and the second is the applied Quran.
Prophet Joseph got this opportunity because of the personal bent of mind of the king as an individual. In terms of applied understanding of the Quran, one can say that in today’s age this same opportunity is available to all believers in general, because of the changed times. Democracy gives an elected ruler a few years to rule. Today, the role of government is essentially to manage the governance of a country. All fields other than governance, such as businesses, education, media and religion, are free and open to all. Every individual now has the right to do as he pleases in all the many non-governmental spheres, provided that in seeking his goals he uses peaceful methods and does not foment conflict against anyone else, whether ordinary citizens or the government.
As a result of the global changes that have taken place through the ages, the ‘best story’ has become a universal principle, an applied living guide for people today. This is a case of applied reflection and understanding of this chapter of the Quran. This same method of applied interpretation is desirable for the whole Quran. In this way, the Quran becomes a book of guidance for humanity today, whereas if the Quran is studied in the light of the earlier-cited principles of exegesis, it will only appear like a story of an age long past.