In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Internal Components of Understanding the Noble Qur’an
Author: Abdul Basir Sohaib Siddiqi
Date of Publication: 19.11.2025
The Two Fundamental Internal Dimensions of Understanding the Noble Qur’an
1 — Interpreting the Qur’an by the Qur’an
The most essential factor for accurately understanding any text is that interpretation must be carried out with due regard to the internal components of that text. These internal components are:
- Philology (lexical analysis)
- Morphology and grammar
- Literature
- The mode of repetition (clarification of the concise through elaboration), meaning the transition from concealment to disclosure, or from the hidden to the manifest.
The Noble Qur’an describes itself with these words:
“Allah has sent down the best of statements: a Book whose verses are similar (in perfection), paired (in meaning). The skins of those who fear their Lord tremble from it; then their skins and hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah. This is Allah’s guidance—He guides with it whom He wills. And whoever Allah leaves astray, there is no guide for him.” (39:23)
The Noble Qur’an provides explicit clarity regarding its self-identification, and this clarity can be understood through the term taṣrīf.
The concept of taṣrīf, meaning “to turn, to circulate,” refers to understanding conciseness and detail (repetition), and the various literary arrangements used to express the wisdoms of the Qur’an and the signs of Allah the Exalted. This is something clear and manifest.
A careful look at the Qur’an shows that repetition is a clear phenomenon—meaning that one topic appears in multiple chapters of the Qur’an. However, when one focuses deeply on this repetition, it becomes evident that although the content may repeat, the context or tenor is not identical. The preceding and succeeding passages—contextual and sequential surroundings—differ.
Through this repetition one can grasp:
- In which context the concise form appears
- In which setting the detailed form appears, with what attachments, context, tenor, literary arrangement, or doctrinal, ethical, or legal dimension
It is this repetition that moves a subject from concealment in one literary context to clarity in another. Something may be hidden in one place and revealed in another.
In one position, the meaning may be unclear or indeterminate, while in another—through repetition accompanied by elaboration—the ambiguity is removed, and the meaning becomes determinate, transparent, and clear.
A word may appear in one verse in a state of ambiguity or concealment, and in another verse, through a literary repetition, it becomes completely open and revealed.
The reason the teachings of the Qur’an become firmly established in the mind is precisely because these meanings are expressed through differing literary formations and repeated articulations.
Parallel passages and corroborating texts in the Qur’an play an essential role in the understanding of the Qur’an.
The meanings and truths employed by the Qur’an in its unique literary style constitute the manifest reality that astonished the Arabs of Jāhiliyyah.
2 — Understanding the Qur’an Based on the Sunnah and Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
The pure Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), in its multiple forms and categories, plays a major and essential role in conveying the meaning of the Qur’an. It is noteworthy that this essential role of the Sunnah as an explanatory revelation (waḥy khafī) is itself recognized by the Qur’an.
Terms such as ṣalāh (prayer), ṣawm (fasting), zakāh, and ḥajj, which appear in the Qur’an as obligatory religious duties, receive their explanation and elaboration in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Furthermore, the Sunnah, due to the authority it derives from the Qur’an, not only explains but also exercises legislative function. That is:
- Through the Sunnah, some general rulings may become specific.
- In some instances, a ruling in the Qur’an may be abrogated by the Sunnah—meaning the Sunnah assumes the function of abrogation, a point strongly emphasized in the Hanafi school.
Thus, from a broader perspective, the following are indispensable for understanding the Qur’an:
- Lexical meanings and philology
- Morphology and grammar (syntax)
- Parallel evidences and corroborating passages
- The relationship of classical Arabic literature to other languages
- The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
- The reports of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)
- Authoritative religious texts (other revealed scriptures)
A further clarification of the essential role of the Sunnah—both in its explanatory and legislative dimensions—is that explanation and legislation are core responsibilities of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as an exemplar and guide, just as teaching the Book, imparting wisdom, purifying souls, adjudicating, and governing are functions of prophethood and messengership.
Everything authentically established through sound chains—whether as explanation or definition of a particular term, or in legislative matters—constitutes part of the conceptual integrity of the Qur’an.
Ultimately, denying the essential role of the Sunnah disrupts the coherence of religious thought and constitutes a clear deviation.
It is evident that the rejection of the Sunnah and the pure Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) destroys the semantic coherence of the Qur’an. It allows the interpreting self to dominate the text and generates arbitrary, opinion-based interpretations.
Changes and distortions rooted in whim emerge from rejecting the Sunnah, and this deviation is equivalent to misunderstanding and rejecting the Qur’an.
If those who deny Hadith reject tawātur and sound transmission—the very basis through which Islamic revelatory terminology and religious concepts are preserved—then they have no basis to accept the Qur’an itself. One cannot derive understanding from vocabulary alone; linguistic reliance by itself cannot guarantee a proper understanding of authoritative religious texts. The justification for this can be found in philosophical hermeneutics.
The words “prayer” and “fasting” carry certain linguistic meanings, but in Islam only those meanings explained and determined by the Lawgiver—Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him)—are valid.
Given the importance of the Sunnah, the reports of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) are also indispensable for understanding the foundational Islamic texts. Their significance is clear.
Reports grounded in the Sunnah are trustworthy, and they play an essential role in conveying the truths of revelation.
Through these blessed reports, we attain degrees of clear understanding, and they play a substantial role in removing interpretive ambiguities.
Likewise, appealing to shā’n al-nuzūl (occasions of revelation) enables a clearer understanding. Shā’n al-nuzūl refers to the state, condition, and circumstances of a people at a specific time and place, which the Qur’anic speech reflects.
It is the blessed surahs themselves that reflect their occasions of revelation.
Considering narrations indicating that certain verses were revealed concerning certain events simply means that such events were occurring in life at the time of a particular surah’s revelation.
Imam al-Suyūṭī (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
“Al-Zarkashī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Burhān that it was the general habit of the Companions and Followers to say, ‘This verse was revealed regarding such-and-such,’ their intent being that the verse includes that ruling—not that this particular incident was literally the cause of the verse’s revelation. This is argumentation by means of the verse, not narration of the cause.”
Shā’n al-nuzūl indicates a clear simultaneity between real events and the revelation of a verse belonging to a given surah. To impose a causal relationship in this simultaneity is misguided and unsound.
