Quran was Revealed to individuals, we will be responsible to answer to our Lord individually (Quran 5:105), it would be my neck on the line hence it is logical that it should be my interpretations. You see there is no provision for “I was following orders” in front of God. One can seek advise all they want but at the end, the buck stops with the individual. God in His infinite mercy may take into consideration things like lack of education and/or opportunity, exposure to misinformation and other handicaps but for the majority the only logical way forward is individual interpretations.
The focus of all Revelations was and is the message, the messengers with all due respect were incidental, (Quran 5:99) there is a lot to be appreciated in their acting out the message but at the end of the day, the reference to the Prophet Pbuh being the best example (Quran 33:21) demonstrate that the ultimate focus is God and to be mindful of the Day of Judgment as clearly spelled out in the same verse, not to be confused with his physical appearance or what he eat for dinner. God declared in the latest Reveled message, the Quran, this declaration of completion and perfection is fixed in time with the words”this day” in (Quran 5:03) and guaranteed its preservation for all times to come. Quran 15:9
God in His mercy even went one step further, after declaring the simplicity of the message in no uncertain terms, He, in a final twist, announced Himself as the teacher of this final chapter of Revelations ( Quran 55:02). If God is the teacher then there is no need for another, those who try and twist the meaning of Quran 16:44 to mean the prophet was given the responsibility of explaining the already explained message with another message are clearly trying to deflect the real meaning of the verse which focuses on the importance of the Quran as the truth and the reflection aspect is interestingly left to the reader in the same verse.
After this foolproof arrangement, it is impossible to make a plausible case for a new messenger or a new message who/it at best will be left with reading out the perfect Quran. Similarly, it is not logical to bump up a body of literature, short on comprehensiveness and long on ambiguity, not to mention contradictory to the Quranic injunction. The unfortunate case of Rajm among others. The promotion of these secondary sources is done to such an extent that it is declared a prerequisite to understanding something for which God Himself is the teacher. If you insist on needing even more explanation to explain the Quranic message then you obviously are from the” most arguing/disputing thing”. Quran (18:54). The perfection of a message is not only in its content but also in its easy communication and understandability. (Quran 54:17)The same premise renders the end of Prophet Hood, an open and shut case. The proof of this easy understanding is that 99.99% Muslims have no issue with the oneness of God, the belief in the last day, his messengers, his books and his angles; in addition there is no issue as to praying to God, fasting during Ramadan, giving zakat and performing hajj if possible. Nobody disputes moderation and patience. So then where do you think we can go wrong to such an extent as to not qualify as Muslims?
Prophet Mohammad Pbuh was deputed to deliver the message to humanity in stages. Till such time that the final words were not in place, the messenger had a role to play. But a message cannot be perfect and complete by definition if it still require outside assistance once the perfection and completion is announced. This announcement is I repeat clearly identified with THIS DAY in Quran 5:03. Neither will minor variation in interpretation render one a Kafir or disbeliever. The Quran lays it out beautifully in the following verse and at the same time shoot down the claim that the add-ons make you more righteous;
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness – to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing. Quran 2:177
And for those who insist on improving the perfect message where God Himself is the teacher. These are the same people who jump at every opportunity to challenge those who has understood the deliberate room for flexibility of some injunctions like the exact manner of salat for instance in line with God’s promise of no undue burden. Ironically they are totally oblivious to the contradiction of their poor logic. For example, when even the detail of something like Wudu is spelled out in the Quran then why still insist on improving God’s perfection. The following verse exposes their argument of “explaining” and even correcting Quran.
Literal And if (it was) said to them: “Do not corrupt in the earth/Planet Earth.” They said: “But we are correcting/repairing .” Quran 2:11
If you are speculating as to who these correcting, repairing busy bodies are, the following verse emphasis it by the word “most”, something to think about.
Literal And if you obey (follow) most of who (is) in the earth, they misguide you from God’s way/path , that they follow except the assumption/suspicion , and that they (are) except lying/speculating. Quran 6:116
Amen, brother. You nailed it.
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