NO OFFENCE INTENDED. THIS
ARTICLE MAY OFFEND MANY TRADITIONALIST AND EVEN UNCONVENTIONAL THINKERS. THESE
ARE MY HUMBLE FINDINGS, READERS, RESEARCHERS ARE FREE TO DISAGREE.
THIS RESEARCHED ARTICLE WAS
IN RESPONSE TO A COMMENT BY A FACE BOOK FRIEND OF MINE.
ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC MEANING
WITHIN THE BOOK QURAN
Respected Brother thanks for reading my articles and finding some fault in my line of thinking.
For the sake of the clarity I am accentuating your comments in my reply. I hope
you won’t mind and take it in a good spirit.
You have said in your comments
that -
(1) - “You are gifted intellectually
masha Allah and are doing a great job in extracting esoteric meanings
from the Quran.”
Let me inform you that I am not
well equipped or qualified to extract hidden meanings from the old Arabic Text
of the Quran. Neither do I have any spiritual guide from where I could receive
esoteric meanings of the words of the book Quran. In fact I don’t believe in
any hidden meanings which are not available in the spoken and written language.
The meaning of words which I take or derive is in public domain in the form of
various Classical Lexicons and some meanings are even present in the context of
the book Quran itself and there is nothing great or esoteric about it. I am
just an ardent fan of the book Quran trying to study through sheer hard work
and there is nothing supernatural about it.
The simple meanings of word esoteric
are abstruse, obscure, arcane, abstract, difficult, hard, puzzling, perplexing,
enigmatic and cryptic, etc. When we say that the real message of the book Quran is esoteric
and meant for especial audience then we are accusing the author of the book
Quran of nepotism; that means that the real message is hidden from common
people and the core message is meant for special chosen people. The common
people who are not gifted enough would have to taste or have to be satisfied
only with the cursory or outer meanings and they would be deprived from the
crux of the book Quran.
(2) - “//However the Quran is at many levels of
meaning and although I agree that knowing oneself and finding one's purpose
in life is the highest objective it doesn't mean that those who have lived in
the past and now who are following the Quran in the simple exoteric manner and
have good character are misguided, //”
I have never said those who have
not understood the book Quran are misguided, I don’t judge people, sometimes I
am critical but I never disrespect people. Books are simple messengers of
information, they don’t guide people. People are guided by their own intellect
and commonsense; I have been writing on my blogs since very long and I don’t
remember that I have disrespected anyone; if I have shown any disrespect then I
apologize for my mistake.
I am very sensitive about the
book Quran and if you say it has many level of meanings then I really get
upset. To me it is like you are accusing the book Quran of ambiguity and the
message is not clear because it has many level of meanings for people with
different understanding – let me tell you I am very passionate when the book
Quran is concerned and I cannot tolerate such allegations or misunderstanding
that the book Quran has multiple meanings, this means that the book is not
clear and specific about its topics. Sorry brother for not controlling my
emotions. How can anyone accuse a simple worded clear book of having so many meanings
for single word? That also means that different meanings will create different
context and several references to context. This will make a clear cut message
of the Quran sound mumbo jumbo, all people are happy with their own level of perception.
The theory of multi meaning works
for the defenders of religion when they are incapable to explain the meaning of
some verses; they escape from the situation by declaring the mercurial or
inconsistent nature of the book Quran. The author of the book is not a magician
that he continuously changes the direction of the language with the time and
according to the grasping power of individuals. The author does not want to
please its reader with compromising the message for the sake of its audience.
This mindset indirectly accuses the author of being whimsical that he cannot
write or convey a clear simple message with a single syntax with simple
meanings for ordinary people. I don’t blame you for nurturing this type of belief;
such beliefs are common in Sufis and so called scholars of religion. They might
not know the reason but I know the reason for such apologetic views.
(3) – “// simply since they have not
understood the esoteric meaning of the Quran as you state explicitly in your
teachings. You suggest their lives were totally "wasted" and you seem
to even include the great scholars and Sufi mystics in that category simply
because they didn't have your view. Ridiculing others beliefs as you seem to do
in some posts simply as they have understood in the simple manner, but may have
excellent hearts, is against the Quranic verse.//”
I have great respect for Sufis
and all traditional translators, I never said their lives were totally
wasted, brother you seems to carry some bad image about me. Although I have not
read any Sufi work but one thing I very well know that Islam spread in the
world because of the relentless work of Sufis. Genuine Sufis are the most
misunderstood people; they were misunderstood by their contemporaries and they
were even misconstrued by their ardent followers because they were much ahead
of their time.
I have said somewhere that the
traditional understanding of the book Quran wasted my prime years and I don’t
want others to suffer the same way which I suffered due to wrong understanding
of the book Quran. I consider everyone great; life is a journey towards
greatness, some lack behind some evolved early; it’s a roller coaster ride. I
have not the read or study any work of Sufis but I know their contribution in
the spread of Islam. People called them mystics because their words and deeds
were mysterious to them; masses love their character but could not grasp the
reason for their impeccable character and behavior.
(4) “ // - Although I agree with many of your
esoteric Quranic interpretations and like I have mentioned I have reached
exactly the same conclusions even in the details for many topics I do not disregard
the exoteric as you have done totally. You seem to have to totally rejected
even the Quran in terms of simple exoteric interpretation and this is clearly
dangerous and erroneous //”
I have to address this important
issue of "extracting esoteric meanings from the Quran" since
long back but I was reluctant to engage in unnecessary wrangle and create
unwanted controversy. Now your long comments gave me the opportunity to put
forth my views; thanks for that. I have realized
that many people believe that the message of the book Quran has many different
layers of meaning and is unfolded on the people when the time is right or when
the student is ready the teacher appears. This statement is partially correct.
First the book Quran does not have different message for different people. The
book has only one meaning and only one theme; the second statement is correct,
that the teacher appears when the student is ready.
Such saying is very common among the
Sufis and some educated people also believe that the book Quran contains two
types of messages one esoteric & other exoteric. They believe that one
message of the book is only for selected ones and it is transferred through
heart to heart, only to those students who are ready to grasp. It is believed that the secret
communication must never be written but transferred from heart to heart. The
original reason for hiding the original message from the masses is because of cahoots between the
traditional clergies and the powerful rulers as they were not ready yet to
know the actual message but unconventional message of the book Quran.
Arab and Persian Sufis suffered a lot during
Abbasid regime backed by powerful but defeated Sassanian. The entire message of
the book Quran was systematically changed in the line of belief of vengeful
Sassanian and Romans. Arabs defeated the two great empires of that time so
naturally that the royals among them were bearing grudge against their
conqueror. Those who knew the real message of the book Quran were harassed and
killed in multitude. Those who knew the real message of the book Quran were
brutally massacred in a very short period of time. Within the 100 years of
spreading of Islamic philosophy the entire message of the book Quran was
toppled upside down. The few who managed to uphold the true teaching of the
book Quran became quite because their life was at stake and some manage to
escape to foreign lands or were hiding their true knowledge and faith.
Why Sasanians and later Romans
rampantly killed those who knew the message of the book Quran?
The shrewd materialistic
Sassanian very well understood that the spiritual message of the book Quran was
the reason behind the spirit and strength of uncivilized Arabs. So they decided
to neutralize that metaphysical spiritual message into superficial religious
doctrine.
The Sassanian were a very proud
Persian civilization but became weak due to continuous war between Romans later
known as Byzantine Empire (602-628). By the end of the conflict, both sides had
exhausted their human and material resources and achieved very little.
Consequently, they were vulnerable to the sudden emergence of the poor
persecuted Arab Ebionites, whose forces invaded both empires only a few years
after the war with ease, sometimes without a battle. The Ebionites armies
swiftly conquered the entire Sassanian Empire as well as the Byzantine
territories in the Levant, the Caucasus, Egypt, and North Africa. In the
following centuries, the Byzantine and Arab forces would fight a series of wars
for control of the Near East.
Ebionites was a Jewish Christian
sect persecuted and harassed by Romans that migrated to North of Arabia [Nabatea,
and Paneas, Moabitis, and Kochaba in the region of Bashan, near Adraa] to
escape oppression from main stream Jews and Christians. These variant sects
reflect the esoteric and evolving nature of early Christian sects, as well as
the tendency of patristic polemicists to conflate different sects and
mis-attribute unusual views and practices, more typical of Gnostic Christianity
than Jewish Christianity. Some modern critical scholars argue the Church
Fathers' condemnation of Ebionites as "heretics" and
"Judaizers" is both ironic and tragic, since many Ebionite views may
have been closer to the authentic views of not only the first disciples of
Christianity but also of the ancient historical facts.
Ebionites were early Christian
mystics or Sufis who translated their Jewish Christians philosophy into concise
Arabic text; today we recognize their marvelous work as the book Quran. The so
called early Muslims were actually very minor sect of Jewish Christian
philosophy that faced extinction within maximum of 100 years of advent of
traditional religion of Islam. The early fabricated history and interpretation
of the book Quran were done in the line of Sassanian and Roman Christian
beliefs.
Some wise man, mystics or Sufis
who survived the onslaught of mass killing began to propagate the original
Islam in a very careful manner because the traditional Islamic Empire was very
strong and spread over vast land. Sufis sacrificed a lot for upholding the true
message of the book Quran in their heart. This way it became their normal
practice to hide the real message of the book Quran from the canonical well
established institutes of Islam.
Exoteric and esoteric meaning of
the book Quran is a serious part of belief of many people and I need to clear
this misconception as it is related to the reputation of the book Quran.
One must be open minded and ready
to grasp the guidance or inspiration that comes across in various forms or
literature. The researchers must be passionate about their subject that they
inclined to learn, gradually the seekers will discover the ultimate truth
if they are on the right track. Truth is like Sunlight nobody can permanently
hide it.
The doctrine of batini (الْبَاطِنُ)
or esoteric theory crept into societies due to cahoots between dictatorial
Kings and religious Priests. The Kings were brainwashed by zahiri (ظَهِيرٍ)
concept of religion by fake priests. It became a compulsion for very rare
independent thinkers to embrace exoteric version of religion or the canonical
version of religion because of it has King's stamp of approvals on it. These
way different rituals were introduced by the impostor priestly class, specifically
established religious institutes to teach their version of Islam as the
prestigious part of learning.
The free thinkers / Sufis knew
the consequences of opposing the priest so they kept quiet and became aloof
from the masses. To save their skin the philosophers (sufi) apologetically
acknowledged the relationship between the outer and inner dimensions of the
book Quran although it was basically to save their skin from ignorant dictators.
There are many instances where
group of free thinkers / sufis and their families were hunted down and were
wiped out, crucified, executed and burned alive in the name of blasphemy or for
their divergent views. Sufis / mystics were often called as heretics and
were tortured in the name of saving religion
The Sufis could not openly teach
the message of the book Quran so they floated the theory of esoteric and
exoteric message of Islam which gradually became familiar as the time passed.
Finally the original message of Islam buried in their hearts and faded away.
Later on and till this day the clever religious authorities established and institutionalize
this modus operandi to fool the masses in the name of Islam and religion.
It was very difficult for Sufis
to find a suitable student whom they could pass the enchanting message of the
book Quran, they used to roam, travel in search for thirsty students but somewhere
lucky to get single student but majority died without finding a good student.
The bitter truth is that the
message of the book Quran is crystal clear and not ambiguous at all. It does
not have any esoteric or exoteric contents. The message of the book Quran is
metaphysical (غيبي) commonly known as unseen (الْغَيْبِ). The vocabularies of the book Quran do
not have multiple meanings; one for exclusive intellectuals and other meaning
for ordinary masses. Originality of every religion is distorted because the
masses wants to believe, revere, worship and do not want to know, because
knowing is difficult, following or believing as the crowd believe is
easy.
Zahir – Relates to the outer, apparent, or
exoteric dimension of the Islamic faith. It can also refer to the world of
bodies or the actions of an individual. This includes dress code for men and
women, eating habits and rituals.
Batin - Relates to the inner, spiritual, or
esoteric dimension of the Islamic faith. It can also refer to the inner world
or the true intention behind an individual's actions.
Here are some ways that the
concepts of zahir and batin are understood in different schools of Islamic
thought:
Shi'a Muslims
The Imam of Time is the only one
who can understand the esoteric meaning of the Quran.
Sufism
The actions of an individual are
the zahir, and the intention in the heart is the batin. Sufis believe that
spiritual guides can purify the batin to ensure that the zahir follows
Shariat.
Ismaili Muslims
The zahir and batin are
complimentary ways of perceiving truth, and the relationship between the two is
symbolized by translucence.
The Sufis or the axial age sages
were extraordinary individuals. They were much ahead of their time.
Ever thought why no bygone Sufis
have translated the book Quran yet, were they not qualified? They were wise, matured
and qualified enough but they never propagated the message through the verses
of the book Quran. They spread the message of the Quran wisely through stories
and songs in local languages. They adapted the culture wherever they migrated.
Character was their main forte. The reason was they were in minority among
minorities.
Brother if we say the words
of Quran has two or more meanings for different audiences then we are
ridiculing the message of the Noble Quran
The vibrant of words of the book
Quran are the main victim and the message suffers due to the tussle between
exoteric and esoteric debates, this lead to confusion among the masses and some
clever minded people take advantage of it. The consequence is more than two
sets of ideology emerged from within the book Quran and the Sufis bore the
brunt of being heretic sect of Islam from the “mainstream Islam”.
These are my observation as a humble
translator and student of the book Quran.
www.ahleaqal.com
