The believer without a book

Bismillah

Thank you for your openness, sister herjihad,

If we were to be sitting and chatting in "real-life" setting, like while waiting for the turn at a Doctor's, I could only imagine you sitting with a pair of twizzers looking in your little mirror without establishing an eye-contact, plucking your eyebrows and telling us all politely off with the message above.  

It helps. In a way.

To understand the koran you need two things, read it with the fear for Allah and hope for His mercy, if you have these two things you can not go wrong in whatever you do.

There are undoubtedly more than "two things" that you need to understand the Qur'aan. And the ones that you mentioned are very important, indeed.  

I will start a new thread dedicated to Tafsir, under Discussions: Basics of Islam, insha Allah. Perhaps we could continue there, specifically on the subject of Tafsir, if you are interested.

MOCKBA wrote:   Nobody is saying that "this verse means this and this because the sheikh 200 years ago had said so". However, as brother Ali Zaki has pointed out, there are some basic and fundamental principles which are important... likewise in a scientific approach.  Ok i guess you do not hold to the tafsir of Ibn Kathir then or others who explain every verse according to hadith. Can you give me an example of what you consider an illogical hadith or hadith that is inapplicable to modern times (preferrably from Bukhari or Muslim)? As I mentioned previously, you are conveniently picking some yet rejecting all, even though they have been very much carefully compiled by one person. If we filtered opinions on logical and illogical based on our limited-to-one-person thinking capacity we wouldn't be puting ourselves far from the arrogance and ignorance of Iblis.

"Whosoever interprets the Qur'an according to his own opinion has made a place for himself in the fire. "

This is a hadith i consider illogical since it goes against what Ali Zaki said about the koran and which you agree with.

 filtering opinions on logical and illogical based on our limited-to-one-person thinking as you stated is reasonable to me, since we will be standing alone before Allah and we will be asked individually about our actions and choices, "he said, she said" are no valid excuses when it concerns the truth, the truth should be recognized and accepted by those it comes to, not because someone says it is the truth but because they recognize it as being the truth. The fear for Allah helps one recognize the truth. It is not correct to accept something just because someone claims it is the truth. There is nothing wrong with questioning but the fear of Allah is a necessity. The fear of Allah makes one just in action and thought. And to reject the truth when it comes, is like the pagans rejecting the prophet when he came with the truth. They failed to recognize the truth, and on top of that they regarded what they had as being superior(this is the arrogance of iblis) to that which the prophet came with(the truth). They did not have fear for Allah so they were destroyed and defeated.

Ali Zaki wrote: The caution here is against trying to create discord by trying to explain the mutashabahaat according to your own understading. What is also implied is that one should not perform one's own tafsir (interpretation) without reliance on those who are "firmly grounded in knowledge".

Could you give me refference from the koran on that we should not preform our own "tafsir" without reliance on those who are firmly grounded in knowledge? the verse does not say trying to create discord by trying to explain it. Even though the translation from picktall states this. Look at this translation which i find nearer to the orriginal arabic. koran chapter 3:7 He it is Who has sent down upon thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (muhkamaat, hukm=law); they are the mother(foundation) of the Book: others are allegorical(mutashabahaat, shabaha=resembles). But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, longing for discord, and longing for its explanation but no one knows its explanation except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe it; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will remember except men of understanding.