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The Quran Answers False Assessments of the Quran: The Absence of God-Given Wisdom and Understanding

Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Prejudice, Ulterior Motives and Lack of Sincerity
  3. Confusing Intricate (Mutashabih) Verses With Perspicuous (Muhkam) Ones
  4. Lack of Expertise in Qur'anic Interpretation Techniques
  5. Insufficient Knowledge of Arabic
  6. The Absence of God-Given Wisdom and Understanding
  7. Lack of Thinking
  8. Arrogance and Superiority
  9. Trying to Interpret the Qur'an with Old Traditions
  10. Inability to Understand the Scientific Qur'anic Verses
  11. Trying to Interpret the Qur'an According to the Flawed Values of the Established Order
  12. Wine-drinking in Heaven
  13. Another Incorrect Interpretation on the Subject of Wine
  14. The Claim that "Pork Produced Under the Strict Hygienic Surroundings of Today May Be Consumed"
  15. Seeing the Anecdotes in the Qur'an as Fables
  16. The Assumption That the Qur'an is a Copy or Imitation of Other Holy Books
  17. Incompatibilities and Differences
  18. The Misinterpretation of the Term "We," Which God Uses in Reference to Himself
  19. Failing to Understand the Examples Given in the Qur'an
  20. Failing to Understand the Repetitions in the Qur'an
  21. Failing to Understand the Style of the Qur'an
  22. The Subject of Creation in Six Days
  23. The Speculation About Noah's Flood
  24. Conclusion

It is stated in the verses of the Qur'an that one has to have the wisdom, understanding and comprehension provided by God in order to discover its correct meanings. God's messenger, the Prophet Muhammad, also mentioned this in a hadith:

Abdullah bin Umar narrated that God's Messenger (saas) said, "Do not wish to be like anybody except in two cases: The case of a man whom God has given wealth and he spends it in the right way; and that of a man whom God has given religious wisdom (i.e., Qur'an and Sunnah) and he gives his verdicts according to it, and teaches it to others." (Bukhari 9/419 and 6/543)

The essentials necessary to interpret the Qur'an are a total acknowledgement of the Qur'an, knowing the various methods of interpretation, and having extensive Arabic skills. Nonetheless, even if one possesses all these one still cannot benefit from the Qur'an unless one has God's gift of understanding. This is why it is not sufficient to possess only the necessary technical knowledge to correctly interpret the Qur'an. History is full of examples of people who, with all their supposed technical abilities, have fallen into the error of explaining the Qur'an with a twisted approach. The founders of many perverse religious movements and sects seem proficient in their fields, but are in fact devoid of the knowledge and comprehension bestowed by God. These people have distanced themselves and their ignorant and mindless followers from the true practice of Islam.

Moreover, the idolaters (mushrikun) of Mecca during the Prophet Mohammad's time, who read, but did not understand and therefore rejected the Qur'an, are clear examples that simply knowing Arabic is not enough to comprehend the Qur'an.

The first rule in receiving the ability of understanding from God is to fear Him and be sincere. It would not be possible to receive such comprehension while indulging solely in the pleasures of this world. If one's approach toward the Qur'an were made in a judgmental spirit, with a purpose and perspective that would displease God, then this would in turn lead to faulty understanding and interpretation. Someone who indulges in his own desires will not have the right state of mind to conquer the true spirit of the Qur'an and explore its finer points, mysteries and depths. Someone who follows his own desires will lack the ability to reason, and so will only be able to interpret the verses from a very superficial point of view. Moreover, he will fail to see the divine miracles of the Qur'an.

Besides, a person who follows his baser self will be inclined to interpret the Qur'an according to his own whims and convenience, so it will not be possible for him to find the true meanings of the verses as they are intended by God. It is stated in one of the verses of the Qur'an how a self-absorbed person is incapable of true understanding:

Have you seen him who has taken his whims and desires to be his god? Will you then be his guardian? Do you suppose that most of them hear or understand? They are just like cattle. Indeed they are even more astray!

Surat al-Furqan: 43-44

People like that find it quite difficult to contemplate the Qur'an. They might even be incapable of understanding subjects that others consider to be perfectly elementary. They cannot establish the necessary connections between verses, or between verses and events. As a result, they will declare that those verses they are unable to understand are contradictory. Their minds are so closed that in one verse they are described as less than cattle.