Bismillahir Rahmaanir
Raheem
Background | Joint Study | Ways | Hadíth
| System Details | Recommendations | Rules
April
2006
Format
1: INTRODUCTION
TO THE QURANIC STUDY CIRCLE: QSC in brief
Let it be clear that
During 1981, one of the founding members of
The strong understanding and unity
among the Shia and Sunni members was due to their sincere joint study of the
common Book. The same style of Joint Study and Research of the Qur’an was also
observed among the Shia youth in Bahrain. There again, Social Understanding and
Unity emerged because of this system of joint study. And this very same System
was established in Hyderabad, India, under the name
There are a number
of ways to acquire the knowledge of the Holy Qur’an: by hearing, reading or
by way of discussions.
We
have a choice. We may remain a mere listener in the Majalis and get to know
only about the few Verses presented by the Zakireen or attend the Tafseer
programs presented by the Ulema without our participation.
The most
rewarding choice is to be a student of the Qur’an. This would mean reading and
also pondering upon the verses with reference to the tafaseer (commentaries).
Further better is to read, ponder and participate in an academic discussion.
According to experts, THE MOST PRODUCTIVE
EDUCATION IS BY WAY OF MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION.
Imam
Mohamed Baqir a.s. said “Mercy of Allah is on the person who
revives knowledge.” He was requested to explain the revival of knowledge. He
replied “To have DISCUSSIONS with religious and pious men” (Al-Kafi: 2: 10: 7).
The Prophet of
Allah Mohamed s.a.w.s. said “Get together and advice each other and HOLD DISCUSSIONS. Such discussions
refine your hearts. Hearts become rusted like swords and their refinement lies
in ACADEMIC RELIGIOUS DISCUSSIONS.” (Al-Kafi: 2: 10: 8)
Discussions
are not possible unless one prepares himself for the subject before hand. This
means, one needs to read, study and think about the verses, in order to justify
PARTICIPATION. Such a preparation
seems to be painstaking but gives a special mental and spiritual delight.
SYSTEM OF JOINT STUDY OF
QURAN IN A SESSION
CHAIRPERSON: It is recommended to
keep the chairmanship open for all interested members to volunteer in turn, so
we may gain familiarity and experience with the responsibility of simple
leadership.
OPENER (Presenter): It is
recommended to encourage every member to volunteer to be the opener in turn.
This motivates members to feel the pleasure and spiritual joy of research in
Qur’an and develop communication skills.
SESSION:
FIRST PHASE: The
chairperson recites the Opening chapter ‘Sura-e-Fatiha’ in Arabic with
translation. Any other member on the request of the opener can do the Arabic
recitation. Maximum Duration = 5
minutes.
SECOND
PHASE: PRESENTATION: The opener recites
the verses of one section (Ruku) in Arabic with translation followed by the
presentation of his findings, strictly relevant to the verses recited. Duration
= 30 minutes.
THIRD PHASE:
QUESTION TIME: Each member starting from
the right side of the opener is allowed to ask the opener two questions
strictly relevant to the verses and the presentation of the day. Duration = 15 minutes.
FOURTH
PHASE: INDIVIDUALS FINDINGS: Every member starting from the right side of
the opener may present the findings for not more than 5 minutes, strictly
relevant to the verses and avoid repetition of the findings presented by the
opener or the other individuals/ participants.
Duration = 30 minutes.
FIFTH PHASE:
SUM UP: The Chairperson will sum up all the presentations and thank the participants
followed with the announcement of the next Chairperson and the Opener. The
session concludes with the recitation of Dua at the end, preferably the last
verse of sura e Baqra (in Arabic or its translation). Duration = 10 minutes.
TOTAL DURATION = 1 Hour 30 Minutes.
The above
system of study with a research approach is based on the following references:
From QURAN:
1.
“Do they not then
meditate on the Quran?” (Q.4: 82)
2.
“Do they not then
earnestly seek to understand the Quran, or are their hearts locked up by them?”
(Q.47: 24)
3.
“But we have indeed
made the Quran easy to understand and remember; then is there any that will
receive admonition?” (This verse repeated four times in Sura-e-Qamar)
1.
The Prophet of Allah S.A. said, “Attainment of (religious) knowledge is the duty of every Muslim. Lo!
Allah loves those who have longing for knowledge.”
2. Imam Zainul Abideen A.S.
said, “the verses of the Holy Quran are
treasures. Whenever these treasures are opened, it is advisable for you to have
a good look on the contents.”
Please read Format 2 for elaborated description of this
brief presentation.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
April
2006
Bismillah
Format 2: INTRODUCTION
TO THE QURANIC STUDY CIRCLE: QSC
I. SYSTEM
of joint study of the Noble Quran: ELABORATED:
a. NAME: The name of the
program of the joint study of Quran is “Quranic Study Circle – QSC”. A circle
is independent to decide any other name. For example the Circle of Ottawa,
Canada is referred as “HALAQA”.
b. MEETINGS: The meetings are recommended
to be weekly.
c. Venue: The place of
meetings could at the Mosque, Imambargah, homes or any place.
Imam Ali (p)
said: The household in which the Quran is recited, and the God, the Mighty, the
Glorious, is remembered will be more blessed, and will be visited by angels,
and the Satans will remain away from it. … (Kafi.7:6:3)
d. Day and Time: It all
depends on the convenience of the majority of members. No particular day or
time could be suitable to all. Therefore some inconvenience and sacrifice may
have to be happily accepted based on the following Ahadees:
Imam Jafar
as-Sadiq (p) said: Anyone who perseveres in learning the Quran under stress and
strain will be rewarded two-fold (for his efforts) … (Kafi:7:3:2)
Imam Zainul
Abideen (a.s) said, “ If people knew the worth of acquiring knowledge, they
would have done so even at the cost of a bleeding heart and by diving in stormy
waves. …” (Kafi: 4: 4: 5)
e. SITTING: the sitting pattern
is best in a circle on the floor or on sofas or on chairs around the table.
f. PORTION OF STUDY:
The portion
for study per session is one Section (Ruku), strictly in the order of the
verses in the chapters (Suras) as they are in the order in Quran.
g. CHAIRPERSON: is expected
to be just, friendly, modest and strict to run the session as per the rules.
His (or her) decision in all matters is final. He should remind the opener and
other presenters whenever they go out of the way of the subject of the verses
under study. He should disallow questions irrelevant to the verses and also
disallow lengthy arguments during question time, so as to conclude the session
in time. He should also disallow controversial issues to ensure orderly
behavior in the session. He should
welcome the guests and visitors, if any, at the beginning of the session. He
should present a brief sum up, announce the name of the next opener before
concluding the session with Dua (preferably the last verse of Sura e Baqra).
The Chairperson is also a stand-by Opener to present the findings in the unforeseen
absence of the Opener. Therefore the Chairperson also needs to complete
reasonable homework as a fair preparation.
h. OPENER: may also be referred
to as Presenter or Speaker. The success of the session depends upon the devoted
preparation and the presentation of the opener. This may seem hard in the
beginning, but after a few participations one will feel DELIGHTED to be the
opener because of the pleasure one gets in sharing the knowledge. This is
possible if one has enough commentaries (tafaseer) to refer during preparation.
The Opener may prepare a well-written paper for presentation or make short
notes or mere points to refer to, during the presentation, or mark the text of
the commentaries and read those out. In the beginning, both the youth and the
adults WILL FEEL SHY TO BE THE OPENER OR THE CHAIR PERSON but the very same
persons will look forward to the opportunity after he/she experiences the
pleasure. This depends upon how other participants appreciate and encourage the
beginners and create in them the craze for research and knowledge. By God, this
program creates learned persons and muttaqees in the community and also
develops unity of Quranic brotherhood; since it is after all the Grace from the
knowledge of the Book of Allah (SWT).
It is
recommended that every member from high school students to the seniors take
active part by performing the role as Chairperson and Opener in turns in the
alphabetical order of the names. But there is no binding requirement
whatsoever. The option can remain open for voluntary offers. It will be
Inshallah seen that every one will look forward to be an Opener as they become
familiar with their study of the Quran.
It is
recommended that every member studies the verses and the relevant commentaries
for their contribution during the individual’s participation time. If this is
not possible due to lack of time, one should at least read the verses once with
translation before coming to the Session. This is the minimum homework expected
of a student of Islam based on the following hadees.
The Prophet of
Allah swt. has said, “Attainment of Knowledge is the duty of every Muslim. Lo!
Allah loves those who have longing for Knowledge.” (Kafi: 2: 1: 1)
Imam Jaffer
al-Sadiq (a.s.) in order to stress upon the absolute necessity of acquiring
knowledge said, “ I would rather like my companions to be flogged on their
heads so that they may acquire Religious Knowledge.” (kafi: 2: 1: 8)
Imam Jafer
as-Sadiq a.s. has said, “There are three kinds of people. The scholars, the
seekers of knowledge and all the others are wastage of humanity.” (Kafi: 2:3:2)
III. QUESTIONS: Our Imams
encouraged Questions.
The sixth Imam
said, “Verily this knowledge (of religion) is under a lock, the keys of which
are questions.” (Kafi: 2: 9:3)
In another
Hadees the sixth Imam said, “People
indeed perish because they do not ask questions.” (Kafi: 2: 9; 2)
An excellent
opening reduces the questions. The questions unanswered by the opener may be
answered by any member but strictly during their turn in phase four. The rule
to be followed should be “Never answer a question if you are not certain of its
answer.”
IV. FINDINGS: Individual’s
findings are recommended to be with reference to the Ahadees or at least in the
perspective of the commentaries. This is not to discourage research. It is in
fact a measure of precaution to avoid any errors which may go against the
truth. Johann Mendel, the founder of the science of Genetics warns not to jump
to conclusions in science. Islam is the true science that accommodates all
sciences. Thus one is recommended to ponder upon the holy verses but be careful
not to go out of the realm of Islam in the presentation.
V. TIME DURATIONS: An
experienced Chairperson should conclude each phase of the Session as per the
prescribed durations. But the Chairperson has the right to give extra time to
the Opener or to any individual if he feels justified, and adjust it in other
phases so as to conclude the session on time.
VI.
Moderator: There are no office
bearers and thus no election. Each
1. Maintain a note book to note at the end of each session:
the venue, day, time, portion of study, name of Chair person and the Presenter
for the next session. It is good to decide these in consultation with every one
for the coming four sessions ahead of time, if possible. This information of
four weeks or at least the information for the next session should be available
with the Moderator for others on enquiry.
2. Some times the member who has committed to be the Chair
person or Presenter may not be in a position to be present. He shall inform his
inability to the moderator ahead of time and the moderator will request another
member to take up that responsibility or request the next week’s presenter to
present this week and this week’s presenter will take up for the next week. It
is a kind of exchange of the weeks.
3. The moderator will decide any postponement of the day to
some other day or change of time or venue due to any unforeseen reasons.
4. All matters that need decisions will be informed to the
moderator who if possible will consult others or independently take a decision
and inform the rest of the members by Email or phone.
There is no term duration for the Moderator. He will
continue as long as every one is happy and he can afford time. Such an unity is
expected from Allah’s help when we get tighter to learn from Him.
VII. TAFASEER /COMMENTARIES:
1.
Every member can
easily afford the Quran with translation and commentary by Mir Ahmad Ali.
2.
Another excellent
source of knowledge is Almizan, by Alama Tabatabai, the great Shia scholar of
the last generation. Tabatabai’s original tafseer is in Arabic in 20 volumes,
12 of these are translated in English so far.
3.
Another Tafseer is
“The Light of Quran” translated in English from Isfahan. Six volumes are
available till so far.
It is
recommended that every member has a set of these publications or at least there
should be two sets of these Qurans to be available with the Circle, for
rotation among the Openers and the Chairpersons, for their preparations.
VIII. NOTE BOOK: Questions are
not allowed in the middle of the presentation and the questions in mind may be
lost by the time one gets the turn to question. Therefore a notebook for
Quranic notes is highly recommended so that questions, points and also the
preparation at home could be recorded. It is good for reference work too.
The sixth Imam
said, “Put it in writing because you may not remember it (unless you write it
down).”
1. The session
should start on time as long as there is the quorum of two persons.
2. The Chairperson
will be the Opener in the absence of the Opener. In the absence of both of
them, the eldest by age will chair or propose another member as a Chairperson.
He will also propose a member as an Opener.
3. Seeking
clarification or questions are strictly during the question time soon after the
Presentation. There shall not be questions during the phase of Findings. Such
questions may be discussed after the session among members who have time to
stay back.
4. The
questions and the individual presentations should be strictly as per the
turn.
5. Cross talk
is strictly prohibited for the success of the session.
6. Chairperson’s word is final in all matters.
7. Strictly follow the advice of the Imams as per the following Ahadeith:
The fifth Imam
said," Say only what you know and regarding what you do not know say:
“Allahho Alam” meaning ‘Allah knows best’. ..” (Kafi)
The fifth Imam
also said, “One should say what he knows and maintain silence in case he does
not know.” (Kafi)
X. IMPORTANT ADVICE:
1. Occasionally the Opener may not be able to
answer all questions. The participants too may not have a satisfactory answer
in their findings. Questions unanswered or not answered to the satisfaction may
be noted by the Moderator to be referred to Ulama and submit the answer in
later sessions. There is nothing like the presence of an Aalim whose
participation shall be at the end of the session to answer the questions that
remain unanswered. Alim shall be the most respected member in the session and his
participation remain limited in order to encourage the Momineen to come
prepared and share knowledge with others.
2. Sometimes a second question is asked in answer to the earlier question from the same member. Sometimes the question answers become the issue of controversial opinions or lengthy discussion. These should be disallowed by the Chairperson even if it leads to a healthy discussion since it is unfair to hold the entire gathering in the interest of two persons or fail to complete the session in time. Of course healthy discussions should be encouraged but not lengthy since it does not fit into the time-frame of the Session. Similarly, questions should not be allowed during the fourth phase, that is, the short findings of the participants since the session will be unduly prolonged. Such a control is practiced world over to maintain the required norms and discipline and to remain in the time frame of the session.
3. Sometimes the Chairperson may be
unintentionally wrong in disallowing a question. The members should demonstrate
wisdom and tolerance instead of taking it as a personal issue. This is most
important for unity and success in any community.
4. The System and the Rules presented are the
result of a number of experiments. Some Momineen in certain circle tried to
change the system and the rules and their Circle unfortunately discontinued.
So, please remain committed with this system without modification. Yet
suggestions are most welcome to further improve the present system, addressed to
one of the founder members referred at the end.
XI. IMPORTANCE OF QURAN in
the Quran
“…We have sent down to you the Book
explaining everything…for those who submit themselves (to Allah).” 16:89
“Verily there is a message in this for
whomsoever has a heart or gives ear with presence of mind.” 50:37
“And the
Apostle shall say, ‘O my Lord! Surely my people have treated this Quran as a
forsaken thing.’’ 25:30
XII. IMPORTANCE OF QURAN IN AL-KAFI
The Holy
Prophet said, “On the Day of Judgment, I shall be the first to come before
(Allah) the Prevalent, the Supreme followed by His Book (the Holy Quran) and my
Holy Descendents and my community. I shall then ask them “In what manner you
dealt with the Book of Allah and my Holy Descendents.” (Kafi:7:1:4)
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq A.S. said “the
Holy Prophet said that the people of the Holy Quran (those who recite the Holy
Quran regularly and draw inspiration from it) are highly rewarded compared to
all other human beings with the exception of prophets and apostles. Therefore
do not under estimate the privileges they enjoy. Allah, the Prevalent, the
Mighty has a highly elevated place for them.”
XIII. Quran made Easy to Understand:
“Verily We
have made the Quran easy (to understand and remember). Is there any one who will receive admonition?
54:17
“…The laws mentioned in the Book to create
harmony, order and discipline in the human society and to include piety,
righteousness and readiness to do good in those who believe in Allah, are clear
and understandable.” 44:2
XIV. TO PONDER UPON:
“Do they not
then meditate on the Quran?…” 4:82
“This is a
Book We have sent down to you full of blessings, so that they may ponder over
its verses, and that the men of understanding may receive admonition.” 38:29
“Do they not
then reflect on the Quran? Nay, on the
hearts there are locks.” 47:24
Never get into
the false trap that Quran is not possible to understand by common men and
should not be pondered upon. Of course the Entire Quran can not be understood
by a commom man but most of the verses relevant to History, Fiq, and to our day
to day life are easily understood and the rest can be left for the Ulma to
explain. When ever we read the verse
that is not understandable, we should say as in verse 3:7 “We believe in it; it
is all from our Lord, and none heeds (this) except those endowed with wisdom.”
Allah shall help us understand these verses through the tafaseer, ulma or
during our second round of study of the Quran.
Last but not the least, these joint study sessions of
the Kalam-e-Ilahi should Inshallah improve the required communication between
the youth and the adults resulting in the understanding of religion,
strengthening joint Imaan, unity and confidence in the community.
For further information and clarifications, if any,
please contact Maulana Shamshad Haider alim@momin.org