World Applied Programming, Vol (3), Issue (12), December 2013.

580-587
ISSN: 2222-2510
2013 WAP journal. www.tijournals.com

How to Move from the Qurans Historicity to Eternality

Tahmineh Parsaei
Department of Quran and Hadith
sciences , Karaj branch, Islamic
Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
parsaei@kiau.ac.ir

Abstract: Historicity of the Quran means that the text of the Quran has been revealed under certain historical
and geographical conditions, and God Almighty, in order to develop a consolidated and reasonable relation with
the people of the age of revelation, has talked to them in the context of their lingual system, or, in other words,
in a language compatible with culture of that time. On the other hand, all Islamic sects have a unanimous belief
that the Holy Quran is an eternal truth. This means that the Quran addresses all people of all times and can
respond to human beings needs. Based on this, a question about the contradiction between the historicity of the
Quran and its eternality may be raised. We believe that these two features are not incompatible, and with a
correct analysis of historicity and by finding the proper solutions presented by the religion the relation between
these two may be explained. This paper tries to account the necessity of revealing the Quran with respect to the
culture of contemporaneous people and present a theoretical initiative for transmission from historicity to
eternality.
The methodology in this research is descriptive and analytical with reference to verses of the Holy Quran and
hadiths left from holy leaders (peace is upon them).
Keywords: Historicity, Eternality of the Quran, Contemporary Culture, Addresses of the Quran

INTRODUCTION
(Dates are a solar calendar text).
The Holy Quran has expressed its truths and excellent notions in a way that are comprehensible by the people of the age
of revelation. The truths in the Quran deal with objective facts and the culture of the time of revelation, that is, customs,
traditions, beliefs, and socioeconomic and cultural conditions existing in the age of revelation and governing human
environment. Therefore, a factor contributing to the historicity of the Quran is the culture dominating the people of the
age of revelation. Other factors that are at work to shape historicity of the Quran is the words and phrases used in the
revelation and has facilitated mutual conception. Eternality of the Quran means its perpetual truth and durability in the
course of history. Eternality of the Quran means that the Quran can present a solution for our needs and problems under
any circumstances. The society where the Quran was revealed to it has vanished but it was a human society and the
events happened in that society represented various states of humans in the course of history until the end of life and the
world, and judging these states each means judging the continuous and ceaseless life of humans. These judgments are not
limited to this or that state and image but it will be applicable to all similar states and images that may be repeated until
the Day of Resurrection.
Research History
Historicity of the Quran that has recently been discussed under the title the Quran and the contemporary culture is a
subject that extensively studied by scholars and theologians in the past who tried to discover the Shan-i Nuzul or Asbab
al-Nuzul [occasions or circumstances of revelation, refers to the historical context in which Quranic verses were
revealed]. Discussion on the eternality of the Quran has a history approximately equal to the history of the Quran itself.
Historicity has a root in historicism. Historicism, indeed, is a research methology in humanities. Hegel, the great German
philosopher, may be called as the founder of this methodology. The main assertion of historicism is that geographical
conditions absolutely influence mans knowledge, and knowledge cannot be separated from its historical context.
However, Islamic thinkers have studied this matter more profoundly in the form of interpretation of the Quran, sunna

580

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

[traditions] and Islamic texts. For instance, Nasr Hamed Abu Zaid, the Egyptian writer and the author of Naqd Al-khatab
Al-dini, in the prelude of the book addresses historicism. Hassan Hanafi, another Egyptian writer, in the book Al-Islam
and Al-hidatha discusses the historicity of religious texts by referring to symbols and evidences. Furthermore, Iranian
Quranologists have presented broad discussions under the topic the Quran and contemporaneous culture that is direct
connection with historicity of the Quran. We can point to the book A Critique of Doubts about the Holy Quran written
by Ayatollah Mohammadhadi Marefat and the book The Quran and Contemporaneous Culture written by Seyed
Mohammadali Ayazi. These issues have attracted the attention of contemporary Islamic scholars because the need for
refuting the doubts rose by orientalogists who describe the Quran as the product of the Prophet of Islams mind and
thoughts. Introducing the Quran as an artifact of a human being, they argue that the Quran has been influenced by
various factors, including the culture of the society in which the Quran was revealed. In this way, they resort to this
hypothesis in order to escape the false problem of contradiction between the Quran and mans knowledge.
Explanation of the Subject
The occurrence of revelation in a certain historical period and using the contemporaneous literature in this process, on
the one hand, and materialist views of the Quran, on the other hand, has given rise to this theory among intellectuals that
the Quran is the product of certain social and cultural conditions, and this will apparently lead to the negation of the
Qurans eternality. In order to argue against this idea, we are going to discuss the relation of historicity to eternality.
Though the Quran has complied with the verbal system of its time but the content and essence of the Quran is never
influenced by the culture of the time. The Quran is a divine and dynamic text. The Qurans wording have been chosen
compatible to the knowledge of the people of the time of revelation but the content of the Quran stems from the intrinsic
identity of man and never change with time and place. One who want to talk to a nation or tribe has to use the
terminology of that nation and tribe to allow mutual understanding but this use of the language does not mean
modification of the content. The language is used to convey certain concepts to the addressees. (Marefat, 2009, pp. 147)
It is worthy to know the knowledge of the people of the time of revelation because the more we know the language by
which the Gods mind is translated a better understanding of this process we grasp. The importance of knowing the
culture of revelation time and the terminology of desert Arab tribes in understanding and interpreting the Quran is so
important that Malek bin Anas is quoted as saying: A person who does not know Arabic and wants to interpret the
Quran should be punished (Sivati, 1363, vol. 2, pp. 109). We dont accept this assertion that the Qurans content is
limited to the same period because it is written in the language of the Arab nation. Contrarily, according to the explicit
text of the Quran the Qurans message is for all ages and periods. On the other hand, the Quran states its rules and
decrees are eternal and perpetual. All verses of the Quran shows it has not come for a certain tribe or race or culture but
for all the world people in all times. The Quran has set forth all the thing man needs for leading and salvation. (see Alanbiya/107, Al-qalam/52, Al-eraf/158, Al-forqan/1)
Concerning the historicity and its relation to the eternality of the Quran two views may be discussed. The first view
denies a contradiction between historicity and eternality of the Quran. This idea that Quran is a historical product means
what has been revealed in the Quran has occurred in special historical and geographical conditions and its message has
been uttered in the language of the people of the time of revelation. But this does not mean that the rules and laws of
Quran are limited to the same people. On the contrary, by revealing the grounds of these laws and explaining constant
and variable elements of the Quran we can show that its validity can be extended to all times and eras.
The second view favors this idea that the laws and rules introduced in the Quran were for the people of the time of
revelation and the Quran does not have an eternal character. This view says the Quran is influenced by various
components of the culture of Ignorance Age. In this study, we try to refute the second view and show its falsehood.
The Concept of Historicity
No Quran exegetes doubt this fact that the Quran was revealed in certain historical and geographical conditions and its
first addressees were concrete human beings with the limited knowledge of that epoch. On the other hand, this is
undeniable that a prerequisite to understand the true meaning of the Quran is to study the culture of that time, as well as
their customs, traditions and cultural and social circumstances.
A crucial element in the subject of Quran historicity is the culture of the age of Quran revelation, and another is the
wording used in the Quran that allowed talking and teaching definite concepts for the first addressees. Historicity is
studied with respect to these factors. Some historians, such as Abu Zaid, believe that the Quran is the cultural product of
its time and the environment of Arabia peninsula had a strong role in shaping its content and style. In other words, it
must be regarded as a literary and artefact. Proponents of this theory view the Quran as the personal religious experience

581

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

of the Prophet and its content is devoid of fixed and eternal truths. (see Abu Zaid, 1983, pp. 96) Abu Zaid tries to study
religious texts based on scientific and historical methodologies and intends to persuade the reader that religious texts,
including the Quran, are the product of human beings and historical conditions. The purpose of Abu Zaid is to study
religious texts on the basis of scientific and historical methods and desires to incite us to come to this conclusion that the
essence of religious texts may be grasped only within the cultural and social context of the age they were formed. He
tries to prove that religious texts, including the Quran, have a historical characteristic and are limited within borders of
cultural and linguistic realities of the same age, and therefore we should modify the religious texts with respect to
cultural and social facts of our time and because of focusing on the original text we should search for the essence, and
extract the meaning by going beyond linguistic signs and symbols. (Abu Zaid, 1992, pp. 217)
We dont agree with this idea because it observe that the Qurans content is a product of a man like the Prophet formed
in the context of social and developments and historical events of the time of revelation. Therefore, describing the Quran
as an artifact of man suffers from obvious theoretical restraints that cannot be accepted by reason and is refused with
respect to references, and the most important of these is the accepting that the Quran has been prone to falsehood while
we believe that the Holy Quran is the only means of receiving Gods message through the Prophet and the Prophets
personal views and social conditions have never contributed to the creation of the Quran. Undoubtedly, the content of the
Quran is not irrelevant to cultural and social events of its time because the purpose of sending the Quran is to lead and
guide the addressees. Therefore, it cannot stand aloof from the cultural and social problems facing the people but this
relevance and involvement does not mean that the Quran is a cultural product and a historical text chained between
narrow walls of historical requirements and become irrelevant to other ages. Furthermore, it is unwise to think that false
idea stemming from the ignorance and underdevelopment of that time might have contaminated the content of the Quran.
The Quran, though dealt with the contemporaneous events, was never inactive in confrontation with false cultural and
social elements of that time. On the contrary, the Quran adopted a reforming approach towards those false elements.
Historicity also conveys this meaning that Gods words are revealed to prophets in Arabic under certain geographical
and historical conditions and these words are combined with cultural and ideological elements of the Age of Ignorance in
order to distinguish falsehood and truth. Therefore, this text should be interpreted and social and historical analyses are
needed to understand the Quran. Therefore, one who wants to grasp the genuine message of the Quran should attend
historical position of terms and their grounds, in addition to verbal and non-verbal symbols. The importance of
historicity is that it helps us approach the language of revelation and view the past and understand the origin. This allows
a better understanding of revelation. But, while we pay heed to understanding of the past we dont violate it. On the other
hand, freezing to within the scope of the previous generation and the failure to move forward and extend the Qurans
scope is some type of fanaticism and dogmatism towards the Quran and Islamic teachings. (Ghazali, 2002, pp. 359)
because understanding of the Qurans readers in first centuries in various ideological and social realms is not the ultimate
product of mans mind, and contemporary thinkers and Quranologists have presented much more delicate and profound
theories on these matters. Since the Quran has a discourse not limited in borders of time and addresses all generation we
cannot imprison it in chains of time. Therefore, deliberating on historicity shows though many verses were revealed in
specific situation but faqihs and exegesists can extend the scope of these verses to find answer to other questions and
they never view these verses as expired ones. We may observe some decrees are observed that have been issued in
specific cases, for example, in relation to slavery, female infanticide, Lian [solemn imprecation of malediction; raising
the accusation of adultery by spouses against each other] and Zihar [a reference to the pre-Islamic Arabian custom
called zihar, whereby a husband could divorce his wife by simply declaring, Thou art [henceforth as unlawful] to me as
my mothers back] but even these verses exhibit divine will and are universal and conclusive because the Qurans
mission and purpose without studying historical matters of the age of revelation and contemporaneous culture and
challenging unwise and fanatic acts and behaviors of the Age of Ignorance was imperfect and ineffective, and this is in
contradiction with this idea that the Quran is a perfect and conclusive scripture. (Ayazi, 2009, pp. 50)
Proportionality of the Qurans language with the culture of revelation time
Because the Quran was revealed in Arabia some cultural and ideological matters stemming from the conditions of that
nation were discussed in the Quran in order to good cultural and ideological features are distinguished from each other.
Surely, dialogue and understanding in a society is a practice that has to follow the laws and rules accepted by the people.
For example, Arabs broadly employed terms, probers, analogies, lampoons and metaphors in their conversation.
Accepting the verbal customs of that time not only does not limit the scope of the Quran to that epoch and this method
only helped mutual understanding with the first generation and the convey of messages to subsequent generations. The

582

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

Quran could not be indifferent to problems of the Age of Ignorance because if the people of the age of revelation had not
been guided Islamic could not have played a global role. Indeed, the Holy Quran transforms civilizations and generations
through educating the first generation of Muslims. (Ayazi, ibid., pp. 52)
Explaining the verse And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance (Al-Qamar, verse 17) Allameh
Tabtabaei states simplifying the Quran is aimed at making it sensible for both the public and the elites. This may also
mean that high and excellent truths and meanings of the
Quran go beyond ordinary minds but have been expressed
in Arabic words in order to allow all to understand them. (Tabatabaei, 1393, vol. 19, pp. 69). Of course, this does not
mean that the Quran has come to term with false elements of the dominant culture of the age of revelation and has
followed these aspects, on the contrary, the Quran has in some cases combated the false elements of the culture of the
Age of Ignorance. Martyr Sadr (1419:62) observes that the Quran had three important and essential achievements in
culturally underdeveloped Arabia and so lead them from the darkness to the light of Islam. These three achievements
were: freeing polytheist people from worshiping idols, freeing the mind of Arabs from superstitions and falsehood, and
finally freeing human beings from being the slaves of lust. Therefore, it must be stated that the revelation of the Quran
was not foreign to the Arabic culture. The Quran did not aim at destroying this culture but to modify and improve it.
(Farasatkhah, 1998, pp. 33) The Quran in some cases modifies and refines the culture and rituals existing in previous
religions but polluted with ignorance and superstition. An instance was the Hajj pilgrimage that has been broadly
discussed in the Quran. Praising this ritual left by Abraham, the Quran removed its stains and exalted it by adding proper
and praiseworthy conducts and represented it as a divine ceremony. Of course, the Quran approved some traditions of the
Age of Ignorance that were in accordance with mans reason and soul. For example, Arabs in the Age of Ignorance
sanctified the Haram (Kabba) and the Quran endorsed this rule. (Rostami, 2006, pp. 267)
A contemporary Quranologist who favors the idea of relating the Quran to the contemporaneous culture writes: I dont
side with the socialists and materialists who believe scientific and art works, and even sacred scripture and divine books
are under the influence of material and intellectual culture of the time and dont approve this idea. These group,
unanimous with them Marxists to some degree, make a certain judgment that the commercial culture dominating Arabia
in 7th century A.C. has been reflected in the Quran, and the Qurans keywords such as interest rate, loss, commerce,
transaction, Kanz [plutolatry], Shara [procurement], weight and balance and usury (prohibited) fraudulent sale
(prohibited) and so on have been reappeared in the Quran. Some other who are proponents of Freudian psychology say
the images of paradise and its gifts such as fresh flowing waters, pleasant shades, green trees, orchards of various fruits
like date, grape and pomegranate as the reflection of desires of the people of that age, including the Prophet himself
while the culture, including customs, beliefs, knowledge, rituals, ceremonies, and the worldview of the people of the age
of revelation have been deliberately discussed in the Quran at the discretion of the creator of the Quran, the Lord, and
this does not mean these concepts have permeated the Quran compulsorily and inevitably. (Bahaeddin Khoramshahi,
1995, pp. 90)
The Quran denies the contamination of its content by falsehood (Foselat/41). Naturally, the Quran talks to the people
with their language and consequently literary styles, analogies and metaphors of the time appear in it. Using common
words and idioms (tools of communication through the language) is wise and good to the leaned people but mere use of
the language of the audience does not mean being affected by their culture. On the contrary, the Quran has frequently
reject obedience to the beliefs and conducts resulting from ignorance and perversion and unreasonable zealotry.
The ways to go from historicity to eternality
Based on what discussed about historicity it becomes obvious that if the Quran had not paid attention to facts and natural
demands of the people of the age of revelation it would not have survive as an eternal book for all generations and
epochs. Respecting historical and geographical and cultural facts of the age of revelation, the Quran could influence
hearts and change coming generation through educating the first generation. To go from historicity to eternality we must
seek messages of the Quran from its underlying meanings and use them in dealing with appearing problems. It is
important to attend the realistic basis of doctrines, the abstraction of characteristics and determination of the conditions
in which the Qurans tenets have been issued. The advantage of this method is that shows on what matters the Sharia has
focused to develop the criteria for the tenets, and, on the other hand, it will be known the Qurans tenets have been made
in which conditions and how they may be modified with the change in conditions. (Ayazi, 2002, pp. 366) There are
various mechanisms to go from historicity to eternality of the Quran which are briefed here:
A) Comprehensive view of the Quran
A way to go from historicity to eternality is to develop a comprehensive view of the Quran. The Quran addresses both
general and partial, trifling and major matters. The Quran has provided humans with general principles for guiding in all

583

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

ideological, ethical, social and political kingdoms because the Quran has not come to guide believers but the entire
humanity. (Maaref, 2003, pp. 9) Meanwhile, we must know that God Almighty has uttered these words, the God who is
the inventor of all languages and feels no historical and geographical limitation. The very same features have
distinguished the Quran from all human-made scriptures. Through the Quran is apparently written in Arabic and its
stories does not go beyond the understanding of the first addressees but a universal and general messages are resided in
its text that broaden its scope and render a general and perpetual character to it. (Marefat, 2009, pp. 149) Or, the same
words have the capacity to convey several meanings that come to surface along with the flow of time as new changes
and needs appear. Adapting the Qurans verses and extending their meaning to deal with new conditions is logical and in
accordance with grammatical principles where a will intention beyond the verses exists, and this is impossible without
connection to the treasure of divine knowledge and resources. Only God Almighty is aware of the secrets of heavens and
the earth and encompasses all developments of the world. He, the absolute power, devises in advances the laws and
instructions suitable for human life and provides human beings with such laws. (Kalantari, 2003, pp. 126) A feature that
distinguishes the Quran from other human-made texts is its freeness from the restrictions caused by time and place and
scientific laws, and this is attributed to the creator of the Quran, a creator who have also invented languages and stands
above all places and encircles the universe, while other human-made scriptures suffer from the restrictions brought by
time and place. As concerned these human-made scriptures, we see such restrictions does not allow us to call all their
interpretations the purpose and compatible to the will of their writers. Beyond apparent meaning of the wording of the
Quran we must not forget the truth resided in the depth of the Quran that may be revealed by interpretation. Batn of the
Quran is the hidden layers of it and to understand these layers knowing Arabic language and grammar is not sufficient
but it requires continuous deliberation and contemplation of the Qurans meaning and concepts and meeting other
conditions. For this reason, the narratives from religious leaders that include the concepts whose meaning go beyond its
apparent meaning are called Batn narratives. (Shaker, 2003, pp. 312) In this connection, Allameh Tabatabaei says: since
the Quran is a book for all people and all times it is valid in its absence as when it is present, it is applicable to the past
and present, for example it contains the verses that imposes certain obligations on believers, and the believers that after
the age of revelation are in the same conditions shall observe the same obligations, and the verses that admire or
reproach or herald good news or warn and frighten will always address the people with the same characteristics in
various place and time. (Tabatabaei, 1974, pp. 70) Therefore, a comprehensive view of the Quran leads to attention of
the content of the Quran, and through the historical understanding the Qurans approach toward the events and relations
of that age we can reach the Qurans criteria and principles and grasp the connection between verses.
Constant and variable aspects of the Quran
A feature of the Holy doctrine of Islam is that it addresses constant and major needs of society, but it subsumes variable
needs of human beings under constant needs. (Motahari, 1983, vol. 1, pp. 218)
Usually, laws result from needs of society and people. Social needs may be divided into two categories: constant needs
that stem from mans needs, physical body, soul and social life, and variable needs that have a root in constant needs,
such as need for tools and means of livelihood that vary depending on different stages of social development. Islams
rules and laws have come to respond to human beings needs, and accordingly these laws and rules are divided into
constant and variable ones. The Islamic laws that are general, permanent and invariable are from the kind of the laws
governing the universe and stem from prior and real needs of human. Justice, freedom, benevolence, loving knowledge,
honesty and morality are always present and their outline is not pertinent to cultural renaissance and development and the
progress of human society because religious laws have come for the truth of human begins, and this truth is always
constant and needs such laws.
But the laws and doctrines that have a temporary or local nature change with social development and change in time and
location. Of course, changing these types of laws is based on public interests and vices, and is formulated by experts of
religions, and they, by referring to fixed principles and general Islamic laws, deduct and extract the solution of each new
problem. (Makarem Shirazi, 1987, vol. 345, & 1998, vol. 8, pp. 419)
Islamic tenets do not have definite structure and form and do not oblige followers to obey only one method and have no
other choice. A law may be beneficial for individuals and society but it may be corruptive and obstructive, for instance,
eating the body of a dead person that is forbidden but it is allowed in emergency conditions. If Islam enforced rigid,
obstructive and inflexible laws it would obstruct the progress of Muslims and life would become hard and intolerable for
them. However, the Islamic system has the capacity to modify itself more than all other systems but how to modify this
system is a responsibility of Islamic theologians and scholars to discover the way of progress through insight and

584

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

deliberation on religion and pave the way for it by using the potentials found in the Islamic system. Scrutinizing partial
and general developments of human life clearly shows what has remained constant and underwent no change is the very
humanity and identity of man. Therefore, the matters such as the sense of worshiping and surrender to Creator,
excellence, loving beauty and justice, despite all developments in individual and social life, have survived unchanged.
Changes in the form and color of cloths, housing, food and communications have affected mans knowledge but human
identity and human needs have remained constant and persisted. (Kalantari, ibid., pp. 333) In this connection, Rashid
Reza says: God Almighty set Islam as the straight path for spiritual and physical evolution of man in order to use it as a
tool for salvation in the world and after-world. The spiritual affairs, such as worshipping God or beliefs, that bring
happiness do not change with time and location, hence God has provided man with major principles and secondary ones
in a perfect state and nobody, after the demise of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him), is allowed to modify them.
However, mundane affairs such as judgment and politics, which undergo change depending on the and location, hence
Islam deemed it sufficient to outline the most important principles of these practices in the age of revelation and this is a
miracle of this religion that everything it has prescribed is compatible to interests of men in all eras. (Rashid Reza, 1420
hegira, vol. 7, pp. 641)
The Role of Ijtihad in Understanding Categories
Another way to go from historicity to eternality is to rely on Ijtihad versus religious texts. Of course, Ijtihad to
understand the text is different from ijtihad against the text. Ijtihad to learn the text means abiding by the text and an
attempt to deliberate on the text. It does not mean giving priority to personal opinions versus the opinion of the divine
legislator and trespassing borders of the Sharia. This technique is an intermediate position between two extremes: Ijtihad
versus the text and fanaticism and stagnation in understanding texts. (Mehrizi, 1997, pp. 9) Ijtihad versus the text means
leaving the realm of the text to the point of ignoring its certain cause, and on the other hand, fanaticism and stagnation
means fettering understanding by words and phrases that ultimately leads to portraying religions as violent and inflexible
entities that dont pay any attention to the reality of human life. However, Ijtihad in the text should be practiced by real
experts in every age and epoch in order to adapt Islamic principles with the variable realities. The Quran says: And it is
not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group
[remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be
cautious. (At-Tawbah, verse 122)
In this verse the Quran, in the phrase obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to
them, advises Muslim to practice Ijtihad because Tafaqquh [understanding deeply] is used where man earns a deep
knowledge. In other words, Tafaqquh means resorting to the outward knowledge to reach inward knowledge (Motahari,
ibid., vol. 1, pp. 234) This verse introduce Tafaqquh in its general sense; acquiring religious knowledge from principles
and secondary orders of the religion. It doesnt refer to practical laws and the common fiqh because the verse observes
what warns Muslims of vices and evils is the understanding of major religious principles and laws not their secondary
results such as the laws on divorce, Itq [freeing slaves] and so on. Learning such matter does not bring warning and fear.
(Kalantari, ibid., pp. 282)
From this it is concluded that Ijtihad and tafaghoh are the driving force of Islam because the mujtahid and faqhi discover
the relation between variable and constant needs, and adapt principles of Islam with changes in the course of time and
extract Islams laws because God Almighty is aware of the changes in advance and for this he has formulated general
laws with numerous branches. Therefore, those who are able to deduct and deliberate on principles must extract divide
decrees through Ijtihad . (Javadi Amoli, 1992, pp. 7) There may be a matter not drawn attention on early days of Islam or
it was thought to play an inessential role in mans happiness in this world and after-world but it may be important and
indispensable nowadays. New needs are met by ulema and mujtahids based on comparing particulars and universals and
through a special investigation method. (Ayazi, 2001, pp. 18) Therefore, with this mechanism predicted in Islam and
Quran no disagreement between historicity and eternality of the Quran is observed.
Discovering the grounds of religious laws
Another way to go from historicity to eternality is to discover the criteria of tenets, that is, Islamic Sharia in its generality
seeks the goals and purposes that entails secondary laws and many other issues. A theologian and faqih must firstly
know general goals and keep them in mind. The religions goals are its end, and the religions are a preparatory step
to reach the end. Caring laws of the religion without deliberating on the goals of the religion is vain. Guiding man
towards salvation and happiness in individual and social levels and in the world and after-world, and in brief, reaching

585

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

out God is the general objective of the religion, and minor objectives of the Quran can be understood by help of reason,
rational argument and contemplation on religious texts. Among these objectives is the protection of spirituality and
morality, social justice, security and mans freedom from non-divine sovereignty. (Mehrizi, 1995, pp. 18) The holy
legislator, excluding worshiping rituals, has based many of his laws on reasonable causes, and faqihs have referred to
them as the basis of and cause of Gods decrees and they have developed or restricted the subject with respect to these
grounds. This mechanism brings some kind of flexibility that can assimilate various conditions into itself. (Ayazi, 2001,
pp. 102)
On the other hand, the historical interpretation of the Quran leads the interpreter to general rules and criteria beyond the
Quran and deepens and improves shallow and superficial understandings. (Nekoonam, 2001, pp. 5) Of course,
discovering the criteria on which Islamic laws have been based is invaluable when it relies on certainty and well-versed
reasons. Discovering these criteria requires high precision and cannot be grasped without certain rules and only with
personal taste. For the same reason, our religious leaders have always reproached the persons who venture to understand
reasons and criteria only to satisfy their materialistic desires. (Mirjalili, 2010, pp. 59)
The importance and the potential of criteria of religious laws in deduction of the grounds of newly appeared problems is
not obscure to scholars and thinkers. Undoubtedly, without attending the criteria of religious laws in finding a solution
for Masael-i Mustahdisah [newly appeared questions] we cannot come to serious and well-based conclusions in fiqh. It
is strongly recommended that Islamic thinkers should identify criteria and reasons of religious laws by referring to the
depth of Quran and religious narratives and underlain truths of the Quran in order to pave the way for moving from
historicity to eternality of the Quran.
The eternal relation of the Quran and the holy household
Termination of prophecy and introducing the Quran as a universal and eternal miracle requires a mechanism to expound
the immediate and meditative aspects of the Quran proportional to various and unlimited of men in different ages and
generations. When the prophecy finished the revelation of the Quran ended too, but heretics hoped the demise of the
founder of the religious, who did not have a male descendent, the religion would perish. But the heretics lost hope when
God appointed the successor of the prophet to protect the religion and lead human beings. In this way, by appointing
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) as the leader and lord of Muslims prevented the stagnation of the religion and guaranteed
its survival. (Tabatabaei, 1393 Hegira, vol. 9, pp. 176) The Holy Quran and the Prophet of Islam (Gods peace and
benediction upon him) in various statements introduced the principle of imamate and expressed its characteristics.
Legislation of the principle of imamate had blessing outcomes for Muslims. With termination of prophecy we no longer
have the revelation of the Quran but education and instruction of the Qurans verses continue by imams. Like the Prophet
who served as a compassionate teacher and taught the Quran to believers his descendants also endeavored for the same
goal and encouraged Muslims to correct understanding of the Quran and the acquisition of required tools for this purpose
and instructed reasonable method of learning knowledge on the basis of revelation.
Innocent imams (peace be upon them) who benefited from having the full knowledge of social principles legislated by
God Almighty, in addition to instructing and explaining teachings of the revelation, politically led society and managed
social affairs of Muslims, encouraged the involvement of the Quran and objective realization of its teachings in society.
Expounding the Qurans verses on jihad, defense, amr bilmaruf av Nahy ana l-Munkar [enjoining good and forbidding
evil], social relations, economic matters, relations between governments is the gift resulting from the political leadership
of holy descendants of the Prophet. The passage of time and economic, political and cultural developments put deepest
effects on social interaction among human beings, and resultantly hundreds of new problems and matters in the field of
knowledge, politics and society appear. Holy descendants of the Prophet are the link between verses of the Quran and
new needs appearing in the course of time. Therefore, an accurate understanding of this subject will help solving this
dilemma; the relation between historicity and eternality. The Quran leaves no mans need unmet because the holy
descendants of the Prophet are continuously present and instruct the method of deduction from the Quran. In this
connection, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) told one of his followers: it is our obligation to express universal and
inclusive principles and it is your obligation to extract particular principles from the universal ones. (Sheikh Hor Ameli,
1415 Hegira, vol. 27, pp. 62) Encouraging scholars and theologians to use reason to discover truth and essence of the
Gods word and extending its scope to expand beyond limits of history and geography, imams have paved the way for
the eternal presence of the Quran in our life. The narratives conveyed to us from the holy household have emphasized the
role of religious laws in the Holy Quran and remind us of the virtue of contemplation on the Qurans verses and the need
for striving in this area. (see Kolaini, 1388 Hegira, vol. 4, pp. 59).

586

Tahmineh Parsaei, et al. World Applied Programming, Vol (3), No (12), December 2013.

CONCLUSION
Reviewing the discussions on the relation between historicity and eternality it may be concluded that the revelation of the
Quran happened in a certain age and addressed objective facts and social conditions of that age. However, the Quran,
though discuss contemporaneous matters, has explained universal principles and rules of leading and educating human
beings in all societies. A particular matter in the Quran may have a hidden message concerning a universal truth,
therefore historicity of the Quran is not contrary to its eternality because general principles and rules govern the essence
of the Quran and Islam, including the fact that religious laws in the Quran favors good and reject evil, and that the
Qurans teaching are in agreement with mans nature, and also this fact that Ijtihad [decision making process in Islamic
law] is a way to determine constant and variable laws. The laws in the Quran are in accordance with mans nature and
are valid in all times, and social and historical developments do not injure their validity. Therefore, general principles
and laws of the Quran are constant and invariable, what is variable is the methods to apply general principles and
comparing them with particular instances. This task has been entrusted to faqihs, theologians and interpreters.
Therefore, historicity of the Quran only concerns wording and the outward of the Quran while the truth of the Quran
consists of the meaning of its verses that are hidden in depth and under numerous layers that go beyond historical and
geographical limitations. For this reason, we must not be satisfied with attending the surface of the Quran but we must
extract its eternal message through contemplation on its meaning.
The Quran could not disregard the culture of the Age of Ignorance because if the people of that age were not guided
successfully Islam could not introduce itself as a worldwide enlightening movement. Indeed, the Quran educated coming
generations through educating the first generation. Therefore, historic aspects of the Quran are not in disagreement with
the fact that the Quran is an eternal work. On the contrary, historical aspect of the Quran not only does not contrast its
eternality but exhibits its eternality more clearly.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]

Holy Quran, translated by Mohammad Mehdi Fooladvand

Abu Zaid, Nasr Hamed, 1983, Philosophy of Interpretation, Dar al-Tanvir
Abu Zaid, Nasr Hamed, 1983, A Criticism of Religious Discourse, Sina Publication
Ayazi, Seyed Mohammad Ali, 1999, The Quran and the Culture of Time, Rasht, Mobin Publication
Ayazi, Seyed Mohammad Ali, 2001, Studying Fiqh Based on the Quran, Qom, Bustan Ketab Publication
Ayazi, Seyed Mohammad Ali, 2001, Grounds of Laws and Methods of Extraction, Qom, Islamic Extension Office
Ayazi, Seyed Mohammad Ali, 2001, Inclusivity of the Quran, Rasht, Mobin Publication
Hor Ameli, Mohammad bin Hassan, 1415 Hegira, Vasael al-Shia, Qom, Al Albeit Institute
Rostami, Heidarali, 2006, Quran and the Culture of the Time, Doctoral Thesis, Instructor Educating University of Qom
Rajabi, Mahmoud, et al., 2008, Methodology of Quran Exegesis, Qom, Hawzah and Daneshgah Research Institute
Rashid Reza, Mohammad, 1420 Hegira, Al-Minar (Exegesis of the Holy Quran), Beirut, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Elmiah
Sivati, Jalaeddin, 1363 Hegira, Al-Itqan fi Olum Al-Quran, Qom, Manshurat Razi, Bidar
Shaker, Mohamm0ad Kazem, 2003, Fundamentals and Methods of Exgesis, Qom, Jamia-t-al Mustafa Lelamiah
Sadr, Mohammad Bagher, 1419 Hegira, Historical Traditions in the Quran, translated by Jamal Musavi Isfahani, Qom, Eslami Publication
Tabatabaei, Mohammad Hossein, 1353 Hegira, Quran in Islam, Tehran, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Islamieh
Tabatabaei, Mohammad Hossein, 1393 Hegira, Al-Mizan, Beirut, Al-Alami Lelmatbuat Institute
Ghazali, Mohammad, 2002, A New View of Quran Understanding, translated Davood Naruei, Tehran, Ehsan Publication
Kalantari, Ebrahim, 2003, How the Quran Responds to Needs of the Time? Qom, Nashr-e Maareft Office
Koleini, Mohammad bin Yaqub, 2009, Al-Kafi, Tehran, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Islamiah
Mohtahari, Morteza, (1983), Islam and Requirements of the Time, Tehran, Sadra Publication
Makarem Shirazi, Naser, et al., 1987, Tafsir Nemuneh, vol. 17, Tehran, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Islamiah
Makarem Shirazi, Naser, et al., 1998, Qurans Message, vol. 8, Tehran, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Islamiah
Marefat, Mohammad Hadi, 2009, Criticizing Doubts about Quran, translated by Hassan Hakimbashi et al., Qom, Dhel-Qurba Publication House
Nekunam, Jafar, 2001, An Introduction to Chronology of the Quran, Hastinema Publication House
Javadi Amoli, Abdollah, 1992, Treatise on the Holy Quran, Al-olum Al-Insaniah Al-Dowaliah Journal, 3rd yr., Ed. 34, pp. 5-21
Khoramshahi, Bahaeddin, 1995, Reflection of Contemporaneous Culture in the Holy Quran, Bayenat Journal, Ed. 5
Farasatkhah, Maghsoud, 1998, Collected Articles on Religion and Society, edited by Hossein Nazemzadeh, Tehran, Enteshar Corporation
Maaref, Majid, 2003, The Quran and Contemporary Expectations, Golestan Quran Publication House, 6th yr., Ed. 156
Mehrizi, Mehdi, 1997, Ijtihad in Understanding Text, Olum Hadith Quarterly, Ed. 3
Mehrizi, Mehdi, 1995, A Historical View of Fiqh and Time, Aeineh Pazhuhesh, Ed. 36
Mirjalili, Seyed Ahmad, 2010, Fiqh and Grounds of Religious Laws, Qabisat Quarterly, Ed. 15 and 16

587