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Draft:Tadabbur in the Qur'an

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Tadabbur in the Qur'an (Arabic: تدبر در قرآن) or Reflection on the Qur'an, refers to the contemplation of the words and meanings of Qur'anic verses and the relationships between them. The importance of "Tadabbur in the Qur'an" is explicitly stated in four verses of the Qur'an, inviting people to engage in it. Additionally, numerous hadiths from the Imams (a) have been narrated regarding the importance of reflection on the Qur'an.

Based on verses and hadiths, Muslim scholars and researchers have enumerated various effects and results for reflecting on the Qur'an. Understanding the wonders and the miracle of the Qur'an, achieving a deep understanding of the meanings of verses, gaining knowledge of God, His attributes and actions, as well as knowing divine commands and acting upon them, are considered among the outcomes achieved through reflection on the Qur'an.

According to some researchers, Tadabbur differs from Tafsir (exegesis). Tafsir is a science or technique that primarily deals with explaining difficult, ambiguous, and complex words and verses of the Qur'an, and for this reason, it is beyond the capacity of the general public; however, Tadabbur in the Qur'an is a universal duty.

Several independent works have been written on "Tadabbur in the Qur'an". The book Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qur'ān (A Study on Reflection on the Qur'an), written by Wali Allah Naqipurfar, is one such work.

Significance

The concept of "Tadabbur in the Qur'an" is explicitly used in four verses of the Qur'an.[1] In three of these four verses—namely Qur'an 47:24, Qur'an 23:68, and Qur'an 4:82—the hypocrites and deniers are addressed with an interrogative tone: "Do they not reflect on the Qur'an?".[2] Exegetes believe that this rhetorical style in the Qur'an, accompanied by interrogation or questioning, indicates rebuke or encouragement for an action.[3] In these verses, God reprimands those who do not reflect on the Qur'an and encourages them to contemplate its verses.[4] Consequently, some Muslim jurists, citing these verses, have considered reflection on the Qur'an to be obligatory.[5]

Numerous hadiths have also been narrated from the Imams (a) regarding the importance and necessity of reflection on the Qur'an.[6] For instance, according to a narration in the book Tuhaf al-'uqul, Imam Ali (a) stated that there is no good in recitation without reflection.[7] In a supplication for the commencement of Qur'anic recitation narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the reciter asks God to make their recitation one accompanied by reflection.[8]

Some Muslim scholars have also recommended reflection on its verses to readers and reciters of the Qur'an in their works.[9] For example, in discussions regarding the "etiquette of reciting the Qur'an",[10] recitation accompanied by reflection is considered one of these etiquettes.[11]

In the jurisprudential book Takmīl mashāriq al-shumūs by Radi al-Din Muhammad Khwansari, the son of Aqa Husayn al-Khwansari, while explaining the rituals of I'tikaf, the reward (thawab) of reciting the Qur'an and reflecting on its verses is considered greater than the reward of supererogatory prayers.[12]

Concept

According to one definition, Tadabbur in the Qur'an consists of contemplating the words and meanings of the Qur'an.[13] It is also said that reflection on the Qur'an involves pursuing the verses sequentially and continuously while contemplating them, reflecting on the relationships between these verses, and discovering the connections existing within them.[14]

It is said that in the terminology of Muslim scholars, "Tadabbur" is used solely in relation to the Qur'an, and in the Qur'an itself, it is used specifically regarding the Qur'an and its verses. In relation to the verses of creation and contemplating them, words such as "Ta'aqqul" (reasoning) and "Tafakkur" (thinking) are used.[15]

Difference between Tadabbur and Tafsir

Regarding the difference between Tafsir (exegesis) and Tadabbur in the Qur'an, it is said that Tafsir is a science or technique that mostly deals with the explanation of difficult, ambiguous, and complex matters of words and Qur'anic verses. For this reason, it is beyond the capability of the general public. However, Tadabbur in the Qur'an is a universal duty, and God has invited everyone, not just jurists and exegetes, to engage in it in the Qur'an.[16]

It is also stated that Tadabbur is a process arising from the interaction of thought and heart with the verses of the Qur'an, such that both thought and heart are involved in its process; whereas Tafsir is an intellectual process that may not necessarily be accompanied by a heartfelt process.[17] Some hold the view that the main goal of Tafsir is to explain the meanings of the divine word, whereas the primary purpose of reflection on the Qur'an is to take advice and learn lessons from it.[18]

Effects

Scholars and researchers, considering the verses and hadiths stated regarding "Tadabbur in the Qur'an", have enumerated various effects for it.[19] Some of these effects are as follows:

  • Based on Qur'an 4:82, through reflection on the Qur'an, one can verify that the Qur'an has been revealed by God; because reflection on the Qur'an familiarizes the reader with the structure of the Qur'an. In the light of reflection, the amazing harmonies and consistencies of the Qur'an—and in summary, its miracle—become apparent, and through this, one realizes that these verses cannot be from a human being.[20]
  • Based on the verse "Do they not reflect on the Qur'an, or are there locks on the hearts?",[21] some exegetes, such as Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Modarresi, consider the unlocking of hearts and minds to understand the meanings and wonders of the Qur'an as one of the effects of reflection on the Qur'an.[22]
  • Based on the verse "[This is] a blessed Book which We have sent down to you, so that they may contemplate its signs, and that those who possess intellect may take admonition",[23] the aspect of the Qur'an being a reminder and a remembrance is considered to be through reflection on its verses.[24]
  • In a hadith narrated from Imam Ali (a), the Qur'an is considered one of the most eloquent lessons (advice), and taking lessons from it is achieved through reflection on its verses.[25]
  • It is said that reflection on the Qur'an is a path to the knowledge of God, His Names, Attributes, and Actions, as well as a prelude to understanding divine commands, acting upon obligatory acts, and refraining from committing forbidden acts.[26]

Methods

According to some researchers, reflection on the Qur'an is achieved through two methods: Sama (listening) and Qira'a (recitation).[27] Reflection through listening to the Qur'an is done via the method of Istima (listening with heartfelt acceptance) and Insat (silence accompanied by focused thought and tranquility), and through recitation, it is done via the method of Tartil.[28]

Conditions

It is said that reflection on the Qur'an requires a suitable background and conditions so that reflection can take place within that context.[29] Some of these conditions are as follows:

  • General conditions for reflection on the Qur'an: The minimum conditions required for reflection on the Qur'an are knowing the meanings of its words, or knowing the translation of the words, or using a reliable translation.[30] Also, for those capable of referring to exegetical works, referring to reliable Tafsir books is recommended.[31]
  • Special conditions for reflection on the Qur'an: This refers to the knowledge of sciences and prerequisites that are essential for the exegesis of the Qur'an. These conditions are considered for those who wish to achieve a precise understanding of the meanings of Qur'anic words and verses in a specialized and technical manner and possess mastery over the sciences necessary for interpreting the Qur'an.[32]

Bibliography

Several independent works have been written on the subject of "Tadabbur in the Qur'an", some of which are as follows:

  • Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān (A Study on Reflection on the Qur'an), written by Wali Allah Naqipurfar. This book contains an introduction explaining the concept of the term "Tadabbur" and four chapters discussing topics such as: backgrounds for reflection on the Qur'an, conditions for reflection on the Qur'an, fundamental principles of reflection on the Qur'an, and methods of reflection on the Qur'an.[33]
  • Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān (Methods and Ways of Reflection on the Qur'an), written by Husayn Muradi Zanjani. In this book, after examining the concept of the term "Tadabbur in the Qur'an", the author discusses topics such as the status and necessity of reflection on the Qur'an, the status and necessity of reflection on the Qur'an from the perspective of hadiths, and the methods and ways of reflection on the Qur'an.[34]
  • Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, written by 'Abd al-Latif b. 'Abd Allah Tuwayjiri in Arabic. In this book, within three general chapters, the author discusses topics such as the conceptualization of the term "Tadabbur", as well as the conditions, rules, and obstacles to reflection on the Qur'an.[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 32.
  2. ↑ Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 32.
  3. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 1, pp. 4-5; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 18, p. 241; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 32.
  4. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 1, pp. 4-5; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1415 AH, vol. 9, p. 174; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 18, p. 241; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, pp. 59-61.
  6. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 92, pp. 106-107; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 42.
  7. ↑ Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, 1404 AH, p. 204.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 343.
  9. ↑ See: Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, vol. 3, p. 122; Khomeini, Ādāb al-ṣalāt, p. 243.
  10. ↑ Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, vol. 3, p. 105.
  11. ↑ Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, vol. 3, p. 122.
  12. ↑ Khwānsārī, Takmīl mashāriq al-shumūs, 1311 AH, p. 503.
  13. ↑ Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, 1418 AH, vol. 2, p. 87.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 5, p. 26.
  15. ↑ Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 18.
  16. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1391 Sh, vol. 1, p. 460; Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, p. 51; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, pp. 24-25.
  17. ↑ Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, p. 51; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 26.
  18. ↑ Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, p. 51.
  19. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 7, p. 167; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 34.
  20. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 7, p. 167; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 34.
  21. ↑ Qur'an 47:24.
  22. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā al-Qurʾān, 1429 AH, vol. 1, p. 37; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 35.
  23. ↑ Qur'an 38:29.
  24. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 17, p. 197; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 38.
  25. ↑ Āmidī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, 1410 AH, p. 318; Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, p. 42.
  26. ↑ Sabt, Al-Khulāṣa fī tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1437 AH, pp. 23-25.
  27. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, p. 34.
  28. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, p. 34.
  29. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, p. 37.
  30. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, p. 105.
  31. ↑ Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, p. 77.
  32. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, pp. 179-180.
  33. ↑ Naqīpūrfar, Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1381 Sh, pp. 7-18.
  34. ↑ Murādī Zanjānī, Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān, 1398 Sh, pp. 9-10.
  35. ↑ Tuwayjirī, Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1436 AH, pp. 423-428.

References

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  • Bayḍāwī, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar al-. Anwār al-tanzīl wa asrār al-taʾwīl. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1418 AH.
  • Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid al-. Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  • Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1404 AH.
  • Khomeini, Sayyid Rūḥollāh. Ādāb al-ṣalāt. Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khomeinī, n.d.
  • Khwānsārī, Raḍī al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn. Takmīl mashāriq al-shumūs. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt, 1311 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Muʾassasat Dār al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī. Min hudā al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Qāriʾ, 1429 AH.
  • Murādī Zanjānī, Ḥusayn. Ravish-hā wa shīwa-hā-yi tadabbur dar Qurʾān-i Karīm. Qom, Pazhūhishgāh-i Ḥawza wa Dānishgāh, 1398 Sh. (2019-20).
  • Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Majmūʿa-yi āthār. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1391 Sh. (2012-13).
  • Naqīpūrfar, Walī Allāh. Pazhūhishī pīrāmūn-i tadabbur dar Qurʾān. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Uswa, 1381 Sh. (2002-03).
  • Sabt, Khālid b. ʿUthmān. Al-Khulāṣa fī tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm. Riyadh, n.p., 1st ed., 1437 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1393 AH.
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  • Tuwayjirī, ʿAbd al-Laṭīf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Tadabbur al-Qurʾān al-Karīm. Riyadh, Maktabat Dār al-Minhāj, 1436 AH.
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