How should we approach the Quran?
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Quite often, you will see people debating about the "allegorical" verses in the Quran. You may also find some assessing how to pronounce a certain letter correctly or how to best imitate a famous Qari. Or they may be discussing the scientific miracles and the linguistic superiority of the Quran. Alhamdulillah, the Quran is such a comprehensive book that it allows such discussions to take place. However, are these the main reasons why the Quran was revealed? Or are we simply focusing too much on the peripheries while not paying attention to the core?
Syed Qutb (R.A) writes:
We must return to it (i.e. The Quran) with a sense of instruction for obedience and action, and not for academic discussion and enjoyment. We should return to it to find out what kind of person it asks us to be, and then be like that. During this process, we will also discover the artistic beauty in the Qur'an, the marvellous tales in the Qur'an, the scenes of the Day of Judgment in the Qur'an, the intuitive logic the Qur'an, and all other such benefits which are sought in the Qur'an by academic and literary people. We will enjoy all these other aspects, but these are not the main object of our study. Our primary purpose is to know what way of life is demanded of us by the Qur'an, the total view of the universe which the Qur'an wants us to have, what is the nature of our knowledge of God taught to us by the Qur'an, the kind of morals and manners which are enjoined by it, and the kind of legal and constitutional system it asks us to establish in the world.
