Is it possible for a person who has never studied anything...

Is it possible for a person who has never studied anything and never seen a teacher to reach to the depths of the sentence which reads: وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْـنَمَا كُنْـتُمْ “And He is with you wherever you may be.” Can anyone who does not possess deeply grounded knowledge in the teachings of the Divine understand the reality of the part of the verse that reads: هُوَ الأَوَّلُ وَالآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالبَّاطِـنُ “He (Allah) is the First and the Last, the Apparent and the Hidden…” We must repeat this point that: Our purpose in stating this issue is not that we go forth and interpret the Qur`an through the use of Greek or Islamic philosophy or through employing the new sciences and that we compare the Qur`an with these fallible theories.

If this was the case, then surely this would be nothing other than commentary of the Qur`an through our own opinion which is, as we know and as was previously mentioned, prohibited both through employing the logical understanding and the Islamic legislations!

Rather, our aim here is that this form of awareness and knowledge (of other sciences and theories) would actually give our intellect the power and strength to better understand the verses of the Qur`an with a much more careful precision and in which we would be in a better position to appreciate the aims and goals intended by this Heavenly Book.

Today, the discussions of the psychologists and sociologists in regards to mankind and the studies of the scholars of the natural sciences in regards to the Earth and Universe have opened up new horizons in understanding the Qur`an and have given people in this day and age, the power to look at the Qur`an in a new light. At this point, the greatness contained in the words of the eighth Imam, ’Ali b. Musa al-Rida (‘a) are made manifest.

Once, a person asked the Imam (‘a) the following question: مَا بَالُ الْقُرَآنِ لاَ يَزْدَادُ عِنْدَ النَّشْرِ وَالدَّرْسِ إِلاَّ غَضَاضَةً؟ “Why does the publication and study of the Qur’an, increase its freshness and newness?” The Imam (‘a) replied: لأَنَّ اللٌّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَـى لَمْ يَجْعَلْهُ لِزَمَانٍ دُوْنَ زَمَانٍ، وَ لاَ لِنَاسٍ دُوْنَ نَاسٍ، فَهُوَ فِي كُلِّ زَمَانٍ جَدِيدٌ، وَ عِنْدَ كُلِّ قَوْمٍ غَضٌّ إِلـى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ.

“This is because Allah, the Blessed and the High, did not make it (the Qur`an) for a particular time period nor for a specific group of people.

✦ ✦ ✦