Tafsir al-Jalalayn on Sura 1:7

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tafsir al-Jalalayn on Sura 1:7

I just received my copy of the English version of the Tafsir al-Jalalayn translated by Feras Hamza, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Dubai, for the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. To my surprise and dismay, this 15th century commentary on al-Fatiha, which is considered to be one of the most popular tafsirs in the Islamic world, perhaps even the most popular tafsir, foreshadows the commentaries made by others in the present era such as those I have referenced on July 4. 2007 which resort to pointing fingers at our brothers and sisters in the Abrahamic faith traditions. As a Muslim in the post-modern era, I am truly disappointed that the two renowned Jalals (al-Jalalayn) - the Egyptian Shafi'i-madhab scholar Jalal al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Mahalli (d. 1459 CE) and also his Egyptian student, the famous alim and polymath, Jalal al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr al-Suyuti (d. 1505 CE) - had such a limited conception of al-Fatiha. I am even more concerned that their commentary is considered one amongst the 'unofficial Sunni canon of tafsir." According to the general editor of this beautiful and long awaited publication, HRH Prince Dr. Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, Professor of Islamic Philosophy, Jordan University, it is the one tafsir that is available "in almost every bookshop and library in the Arab and Islamic world, in dozen of different editions, and it sits, well-loved and respected, in countless homes, schools and mosques all over the world." It is no wonder then that there is so much division in the Abrahamic family if we as Muslims continue to perpetuate these obsolete notions from the orthodox Classical tafsir. Here is how their commentary on Sura 1:7 is translated:

"(1:7) the path of those whom you have favoured, with guidance, (from alladhina together with its relative clause is substituted by ghayri l-maghdubi 'alayhim) not (the path) of those against whom there is wrath, namely, the Jews, and nor of those who are astray, namely, the Christians. The subtle meaning implied by this substitution is that the guided ones are neither the Jews nor the Christians. But God knows best what is right, and to Him is the Return and the (final) resort. May God bless our Lord Muhammad (s), his Family and Companions and grant them everlasting peace. Sufficient is God for us; an excellent Guardian is He. There is no power and no strength save in God, the High, the Tremendous " (2007, p. 1).

~ Excerpted from "Tafsir al-Jalalayn - Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur'an" translated by Feras Hamza for the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. Dr. Feras Hamza obtained his doctorate from Oxford University (Wolfson College) and was former Research Associate in Qur'anic Studies at the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

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Al-Fatiha ~ The Opening

In the name of the Beloved One,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Sustainer of all the Worlds,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful,
The Sovereign of the Day of Resurrection.
Thee alone we worship and to Thee alone we pray.
Guide us to the Straight Path
of self-cultivation to the Gardens of Paradise,
the path of those upon whom
Thou hast bestowed blessings, favors and Grace,
not of those who are consciously or unconsciously immersed in Sacred Chaos,
Nor of those of who have lost their way.
~ Dr. Jalaledin Ebrahim translation
In the Name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate, Most Merciful.

All
praise is God's, The Sustainer of all worlds,

The Infinitely
Compassionate and Most Merciful,

Sovereign of the Day of Reckoning.

You alone do we worship,

And You alone do we ask for help.

Guide us on the straight path -

the path of those who have
received Your favor,

not the path of those who have earned Your wrath,

nor of those who have gone astray.

~ Sheikha Camille Helminski translation

DEDICATION

This Sacred Space is dedicated to celebrating
Al-Fatiha
or
Al-Hamd
The Opening Seven Verses of the Holy Qur'an
the one fundamental
"lived experience"
shared by every single Muslim,
with the intention of fostering a profound and abiding level of commitment to Love and Unity within the Ummah,
in commemoration on July 11, 2007 of the Golden Jubilee of the Imamat of His Highness, Prince
Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan,
The Imam of the Time.
Inshallah, it will also serve as a deep wellspring of inspiration, creativity and knowledge in the direction towards developing
An Integral Psychology of Islam.

THE CONTEXT

"A central element in a truly religious outlook, it seems to me, is a recognition that we all have a great deal to learn from one another. The Holy Quran speaks of how mankind has been created by a single Creator "from a single soul…" – a profound affirmation of the unity of humanity. This Islamic ideal, of course, is shared by other great religions. Despite the long history of religious conflict, there is also a long counter-history of religious tolerance. Instead of shouting at one another, our faiths ask us to listen - and learn from one another. As we do, one of our first lessons might well center on those powerful but often neglected chapters in history when Islamic and European cultures interacted cooperatively and creatively to realize some of civilization's peak achievements. The spirit of pluralism is not a pallid religious compromise. It is a sacred religious imperative. In this light, our differences can become sources of enrichment, so that we see "the other" as an opportunity and a blessing - whether "the other" lives across the street - or across the world."
~ His Highness the Aga Khan,
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris,
June 15, 2007

REMARKS BY HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN

This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together. Tradition honours the vocation of the learned scholars who are gathered here for this colloquium. The Qur’an itself acknowledges that people upon whom wisdom has been bestowed are the recipients of abundant good; they are the exalted ones. Hence Islam's consistent encouragement to Muslim men and women to seek knowledge wherever it is to be found. We are all familiar that al-Kindi, even in the 9th century, saw no shame in acknowledging and assimilating the truth, whatever its source. He argued that truth never abases, but only ennobles its seeker...
Does not the Qur’an challenge the artist, as much as the mystic, to go beyond the physical - the outward - so as to seek to unveil that which lies at the centre but gives life to the periphery? Is not a great work of art, like the ecstasy of the mystic, a gesture of the spirit, a stirring of the soul that comes from the attempt to experience a glimpse of, and an intimacy with, that which is ineffable and beyond being?
Remarks made on October 19, 2003 at
"Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions"
at an International Colloqium sponsored by the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, England.

Al-Fatiha - The Opening to an Integral Psychology of Islam

Islamic Garden

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tafsir al-Jalalayn on Sura 1:7

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