- Esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an
An esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an is an
interpretation of theQur’an which includes attribution ofesoteric or mystic meanings to the text by the interpreter. In this respect, its method is different from the conventionalexegesis of theQur’an , calledtafsir . Esoteric interpretations do not usually contradict the conventional (in this context calledexoteric ) interpretations; instead, they discuss the inner levels of meaning of the Qur'an. Ahadith fromMuhammad which states that theQur’an has an inner meaning, and that this inner meaning conceals a yet deeper inner meaning, and so on (up to seven levels of meaning), has sometimes been used in support of this view. [ [http://www.al-islam.org/quraninislam/2.htm The Teachings of the Qur'an] ] [ [http://quran.al-shia.com/en/books/quran/tafseer-of-holy-quran/quran-6.htm Types of Interpretation] ] Some Islamic sects impose strict limitations on esoteric interpretations.Esoteric interpretations are found mainly in
Sufism and in the sayings (hadith s) of bothTwelver andIsmaili Shi'a Imam s.In Arabic, "batin" refers to the inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, and "zahir" to the apparent or exoteric meaning. Hence, the term "
batiniyya " is sometimes applied to those who refer to an esoteric interpretation.Islamic legitimacy
There is almost no dispute among
Muslim s that theQur’an has concealed meanings. The existence of theQur'anic initial letters is often mentioned in connection with this belief. [ [http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=2&tid=670 The Discussion of the Individual Letters] ] The authority of the person who extracts these meanings is a matter of debate.Naturally,
Muhammad is considered to be the authority on interpretation of the Qur'an in any form, but his interpretations, even when discussing esoteric matters, are actually standarddefinition s of Qur'anic concepts due to his position asprophet ofIslam .There is a verse in Qur'an related to esoteric interpretations:
"He it is who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding."(
Sura 3 :7 [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/003.qmt.html#003.007] )In the verse quoted above, there is a stop between "…except God" and "And those who.." and reading this way the verse attributes the knowledge of the Qur'an's hidden meanings to God alone. By removing the stop it becomes:" "...no one knows its hidden meaning except God and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge, say…" which suggests that "those firmly grounded in knowledge" can extract these hidden meanings.
Both forms are valid in the
Arabic language ;Sunni Muslims usually read the verse with the stop, whileShi'a Muslims usually read it without the stop, and consider their Imams, who, according to Shi'a belief, are the heirs ofMuhammad 's knowledge, to be authorized to explain these hidden meanings.
* [http://www.translatedquran.com/meaning.asp?pagetitle=AL+-+IMRAN&sno=3&tno=260 A Sunni view]
* [http://quran.al-shia.com/en/books/quran/tafseer-of-holy-quran/light/html/003/3_7.htm A Shi'a view]In
Sufi tradition, it is believed that the esoteric meanings of the Qur'an can be extracted through mystic experiences, and as such, esoteric interpretations presented bySufi Shaykh s are considered authentic.Sufi interpretations usually are not accepted by
Islam ic scholars as authentic interpretations (tafsir ). In some cases in the history of Sufism, these interpretations were considered to be religious innovations (bid'ah ). Today, the majority of Muslims (exceptSalafi s) respect Sufi interpretations at least as an alternative view of the Qur'an. [ [http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/suftaf/suftaftawil.html Sufi Tafsir and Isma'ili Ta'wil] ]Isma'ili interpretations are generally rejected by other Muslims "(SeeBatiniyya )".ufism
Throughout its history ,
Sufism has widely usedesoteric interpretation of the Qur'an. The metaphysical basis of a Sufi interpretation is "Kashf" (unveiling) or "Zawq" (tasting).Sufi writings make frequent references to the Qur'an and present esoteric interpretations either explicitly or implicitly. Implicit forms being quoting a verse in a certain context which suggests that the meaning of the verse is related to the ideas presented.There are some verses in the Qur'an whose conventional interpretations suggest mystic ideas and Sufis have commented extensively on them.
While all Sufi interpretations are basically mystic, three major trends in Sufi interpretations can be recognized, mystic,
philosophic , andesoteric .The distinction is not always clear and sometimes these coexist in works of a particular Sufi author.
Historically the mystic interpretations were the first to appear in Sufi writings, the second and third being philosophic and esoteric interpretations.
A famous Sufi commentary on the Qur'an, the Persian book
Kashf Al Asrar (The Unveiling of the Mysteries) byMeybodi , mentions conventional interpretations as the first level of meaning and esoteric interpretations as a deeper level.It is common in Sufi writings to explain three or four levels of meaning of a Qur'anic concept.
Mystic interpretations
These are purely mystical interpretations of the text and at times have a poetic nature, little to no attempt is made for justification of these interpretations and they are presented as mystic insights to the meaning of the Qur'an.
Some examples include:
* Interpreting religious terms as describing inner qualities: These interpretations are sometimes mystic comments on religious concepts.For example in " " Say: O unbelievers! I worship not that which you worship"(109/1-2) "unbelievers" is taken to mean individual self, or the women of paradise,houri , are interpreted as divine visions.* Interpreting Qur'anic stories from a mystic perspective:These interpretations are aimed at explanation of the mystic meaning of the stories and are found frequently in Sufi poems and prose, for example in
The Conference of the Birds , Attar, in reference to the Qur'anic story of descent ofAdam and Eve to Earth, writes that "Adam was too lofty to be satisfied with paradise and an unseen messenger cried to him to leave his attachments to everything that hampers his journey towards God, be it paradise".* Poetic interpretations:These interpretations view Qur'an from a poetic perspective and seek to find subtle meanings related to divine love in the verses , an example which is found frequently in Sufi writings, specially poems, being the interpretation of "By the glorious morning light, And by the night when it is still" (93/1-2) as God's reference to the face and hair of Mohammad.
* Interpreting a verse in a sense very different from its conventional meaning:For example in his book
Tamheedat ,Ayn-al-Qudat Hamadani interprets "The fire of God kindled ablaze, which doth mount to the hearts"(104/6-7) which conventionally refers to the punishment in hell , as passion of divine love and interprets "the day Earth becomes that which is not Earth" which conventionally describes the day of judgment as a description of the moment of spiritual awakening or enlightenment.* Comments on
Qur'anic initial letters :Sometimes only a vague comment and sometimes a comment on each letter is given. [ [http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=3&tTafsirNo=72&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0 Altafsir.com – The Tafsirs - التفاسير ] ] Although Sufis insist that these initial letters conceal mysteries that can not be fully expressed in words and should be understood by means of mystic experiences.* Mystic remarks concerning Qur'anic verses like the famous saying "I am the dot (
Arabic alphabet : ب) (English: B) ofBismillah " attributed to various Sufis including Shibli.Many Sufis have commented on it as description of a form of union with the divineessence .Philosophic interpretations
These interpretations have a philosophical structure and sometimes serve as the basis of a mystic
philosophy .Hallaj was one of the early Sufis who presented such interpretations .For example he deeply speculated on Qur'anic idea of creation by the word "Be!" , which appears frequently in Qur'an e.g. : "...When He determines a matter, says to it, "Be", and it is."(19/35)The most influential works in this area are those of
Ibn Arabi .Each chapter of his book "Fusus al-Hikam" (The Bezels of Wisdom) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102546743] , is dedicated to a prophet mentioned inQur’an which he attributes to a particular "word" (logos) ordivine manifestation that is the subject of the chapter. Throughout the book (and all his works indeed) he widely uses daring and very thoughtful esoteric interpretations of Qur'anic verses. He also wrote two commentaries of the Qur'an.Many similar Sufi interpretations are inspired by
Ibn Arabi ' works, specially works of Akbari school.Other esoteric interpretations
These are bodies of
esoteric knowledge associated with Qur'anic concepts which have practical importance for some Sufis, a famous example is the theories concerning "the six subtlities" orlataif-e-sitta .Psychic interpretations
There are members of the
Assembly who communicate with each other outside the limits of time and space that these Elect of the elect have the ability to effect in order to guide mankind towards theUnity which is; for them; the Fruit of theTree of Life ; just as the technical definition of "the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is "the duality of the nature of the principle of light and darkness"; thus the actual revealing of theQur'an has to do with the understanding given to some of "unveiling" or "uncovering" certain aspects of the Word of Allah. To these the Qur'an is the Curse of God on Israel in the taking away of the Kingdom from them and giving it to the descendants ofIshmael for whom it is the Blessing of God. And as Jesus came to Israel in the position of Isaac and was murdered it was God's Justice to give it to Muhammed who returned from theNight of Power in the position of Ishmael; having ascended overMt. Moriah as the new Sacrifice on theAltar of Abraham ; the position of the first-born now restored toIshmael due to the death of Jesus by those who usurped Abraham's position and killed Jesus. That Jesus stood in the position of Isaac meant that God tested the elders of Israel to see if they would listen to the "Voice of God" or the Testimony of John concerning Jesus; being told to obey John the messenger God sent as Abraham had done with the Angel at the Altar: and they did not. This is why Jesus said to them: "And now ye seek to kill me: this did not Abraham" when he informed them he stood in the position of Isaac: the Bridegroom or Heir; plainly telling them they were in the position of incuring God's Wrath if they disobeyed; just asAbraham had once been tested by God. The elders of Israel failed the test; and lost the kingdom. That God then reversed the positions of the descendants of Isaac with the 12 tribes with those 12 princes of Ishmael can be seen by the fact that they became the "dust of the earth" that once characterized the "seed of Ishmael" and the descendants of Ishmael became as "the stars of heaven" that formerly characterized the "seed of Isaac". Thus when Muhammed cleansed the Courtyard of theKaa'ba and proved loyal in the position of the elder brother God's curse on those responsible seen in the last word ofMalachi became operative; and Israel lost the qualification of God's elect; their Baraka or Blessing now going to "Bani-Israel"; namely the desert tribes whose rulers now were given the kingdom of Abraham.Hadiths of Shi'a Imams
One of the essential characteristics of Imams in Shi'a belief is possession of knowledge of hidden meanings of Qur'an. Although it is believed by Shi'a Muslims that they revealed only a small portion of their knowledge. All hadiths of Imams are considered sources of conventional interpretation of Qur'an,
tafsir , in Shi'a Islam.Shi'a Muslims sometimes refer to the twelfth
Shi'a Imam , Mahdi, as "Baqiyyat Allah" ( _ar. بقیه الله) literally meaning "that which is left by God", the term is originally derived from a Qur'anic verse (Sura 11 :86 , [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/011.qmt.html#011.086] ) according to an esoteric interpretation. [http://www.e-resaneh.com/English/Imam%20MAHDI/HAZRAT%20IMAM%20MAHDI%20(A.S.)%20-THE%20QURANIC%20VIEW.htm]There are many esoteric interpretations presented by Shi'a Imams, most of them by
Ja'far al-Sadiq andMuhammad Baqir . These hadiths usually interpret certain verses in connection with Mohammad's house,Ahlul Bayt . [http://www.tebyan.net/english/Hadith/default.aspx?c=5|Hadith&id=]A Shi'a hadith attributed to
Ja'far al-Sadiq , which is an esoteric comment onsura Al-Qadr :*One who understands the true meaning of "the night of fate", has understood the mystery concealed in Fatima. Fact|date=February 2007
References
External links
* [http://www.almizan.org/new/special/Aspects.asp The Outward and Inward Aspects of the Qur'an]
* [http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/rezashah.html Sufi esoteric interpretations of the Qur'anic verses related to Jesus] from Ibn Arabi Society
* [http://www.kheper.net/topics/Islamic_esotericism/Ismailism.htm Ismailism]
* [http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/h004.htm#H004SECT6 Mystical philosophy in Islam]ufism
* [http://www.altafsir.com/ An online library containing Sufi commentaries on the Qur'an]
* [http://www.uga.edu/islam/sufismtafsir.html Articles on Sufi commentaries on the Qur'an]hi'a Islam
* [http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/english/quran/UnderstandingtheUniqueness/al-tawhid/gospel.htm An online library of Shi'a texts including hadith]
* [http://www.al-islam.org/ Al-Islam , a digital library of Shi'a materials]
* [http://quran.al-shia.com/ A site about the Qur'an from a Shi'a perspective]
* [http://www.e-resaneh.com/ A Shi'a information center]
* [http://www.islamfrominside.com/tafsir_index.html A Shi'a interpretation of the Qur'an]General Tafsir
* [http://www.tafsir.com/ A classic Tafsir by Ibn Khatir]
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