introduction
We are placing before the reader a book which discusses theprofoundestdocument of the
sacred religion of islam.among
the themes of this book are the following:
- the position of the glorious qur'an in the islamic world- what do we mean when we speak of the qur'an? - what value does the qur'an hold for muslims?- the qur'an. as a book whose importance is global and eternal- the qur'an as a revelation from a divine, not a human, source- the relationship between the qur'an and the sciences- the characteristics and features of the qur'an
we are investigating the importance of a book which muslimshave never ceased to respect and venerate and whose
validitythey have never rejected. They are able to use
it to support anyclaim made in the name of islam, despite being troubled byinner conflicts and sectarian splintering, as are the other majorworld religions.the purpose of this work is to define the position of thequr'an in such a way that the holy book explains itself, ratherthan merely giving our own opinions concerning it. there isclearly a great difference between these two ways of approachingthe matter.
In other words, the position we
attribute to the Holy
qur'an,through reason or lack of it, if found to be contrary to theQur'anic views, will not be valid.
if it is something about whichthe Qur'an is silent, in view of the existing differences ofopinion among the muslims, a unanimous acceptance of such a view would not be possible. the only position which may beacceptable is what is denoted by the holy qur'an itself.
therefore, in this inquiry and discussion, we must answerthe question as to what the holy qur'an says in thisconnection, and not what we, who follow a certain school ofislamic law, say about the holy qur'an.