Some years ago a person who seemed to have become entangled in a web of hubris tried to argue that Muslims were required to engage the Qur’an in a literal way. This raises the following question: What would constitute a literal understanding of the Qur’an?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: ‘Truly, the Qur’an has an outward and an inward dimension, and the latter has its own inner dimension, and, so on, for up to seven dimensions.‘ If one were to put aside, for the sake of relative simplicity, the various inner dimensions of the Qur’an, what would the nature of the outer dimension be like? Is there only one literal way to engage that outer dimension?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also is reported to have said: ‘All of the revealed books are contained in the Qur’an. And, the meaning of the Qur’an is contained within Surah al-Fatiha. And, the meaning of Surah al-Fatiha is contained in Bismillah ir-Rahman, ir Raheem, and the meaning of Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem is contained in Bismillah, and the meaning of Bismillah is contained in the dot beneath bey.’ To have taqwa or piety is to be open to that which is disclosed through such a spiritual portal, and, as such, true meaning comes only from God and not through any process of interpretation.
However, let us leave such considerations aside and take an example from English as a way of alluding to the complexities of coming to an understanding of any given text – even very simple texts. Consider the sentence: “Mary had a little lamb” and ask yourself what is the literal meaning of the simple set of five words?
‘Mary had a little lamb’ could mean that Mary either has – in the present – or had – in the past – a little lamb as a pet.
‘Mary had a little lamb’ might also mean that Mary ate a little piece of lamb during a meal or while having a snack.
Additionally, ‘Mary had a little lamb’ could be a reference to an infant or child to which Mary had given birth either recently or in the past and how people considered the infant/child to be as gentle, sweet, playful, and full of energy as a little animal known as a “lamb”
Moreover, ‘Mary had a little lamb’ might be a reference to some sort of weird genetic experiment in which Mary was induced to give birth to an animal that was not human.
Finally, it is possible that the meaning of “Mary had a little lamb’ gives expression to a coded form of knowledge, but no one will understand the meaning of that sentence except the one to whom the key of decryption has been given or will be given.
In this respect one might keep in mind that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: ‘There are 71 sects among Jews, and only one of them is correct. There are 72 sects among Christians, and only of them is correct. There are 73 sects amongst Muslims, and only one of them is correct.’ One might also keep in mind the following question: Which understanding of the outer dimension of the Qur’an that is being alluded to by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the earlier-cited hadith will be consonant with the one correct perspective that exists among the Jews, Christians, and Muslims?