Stories and stuff

(ii)

(Sem 2 Class 6)

On stories and the Qur’an

The Qur’anic way of explanation is different to that of the people. In human society, the purpose of storytelling is primarily that of entertainment, and certainly that is what it has been reduced to in contemporary society (1). When we read stories in the Qur’an, we approach them with this mindset, as if God is telling us a story to entertain us. Then, when we see gaps in the story as it is narrated, we seek to fill in the gaps, to know the omitted details in order to complete the story. However, we fail to grasp that in the Qu’an, nothing is for entertainment (2); in fact, nothing in the entire universe is for entertainment (3). Neither God’s Word, nor His world, ought to serve the purpose of merely entertaining you; they exist to convey His message and guidance (4).

Stories in the Qur’an are bayan, and there are different styles of bayan. At times, the believers may have asked a particular question, and Qur’an was revealed in response to that. At other times, there was no particular question asked or specific incident. However, this in itself indicates that what is being communicated is at least equally important, if not more so, than that which was revealed in response to a question or particular incident. This is because God knows that this is something that people may miss if left to themselves without being alerted to it, so He specifically draws attention to it. For example, there are repeated references to the Day of Judgement using very striking language such as oaths, to indicate the magnitude of the matter and the need to pay close attention to it. Otherwise, we would likely become too preoccupied with the mundanities of life to pay it any attention.

Because every story in the Qur’an is bayan, one ought to read each story and think carefully: which points has God mentioned here, and which have been omitted? The points that have been mentioned are the points that are important; they are more important than those you want to know about. Then consider: why? So, in such a situation that a prophet found himself in where there were myriad possibilities, why did he act in such a way? And what message does God what to convey to you by informing you about this? What does He feel is so important here that He draws your attention to it? Stories in the Qur’an are guidance, not entertainment.

One story mentioned repeatedly in the Qur’an is that of Banu Isra’il, and in surat ‘l-baqarah, many details are mentioned, and others are omitted. Additionally, the story is not in chronological order, and moves back and forth between different times. This was a really fascinating insight for me, because almost all my previous experience with tafseer, and certainly with this surah, has been about filling in the gaps in stories, rather than really looking at what has been mentioned and thinking about that (5). This makes me think that the argument about the use of israiliyyat in tafseer which concerns itself with the authenticity, or lack thereof, of reports, actually misses the whole point. Irrespective of authenticity, we fail to consider that whilst we fill in the gaps in the story, we do the message a disservice (6). God could easily have told you the particular details of that story and not compromised anything, yet He didn’t; not so that you could root around and spend your life arguing minor details, but so that you spent your time thinking about the issues that mattered.

I thought about it as similar to someone having a couple of hours to revise for an exam. Their friend had very helpfully collated all the main points that were highlighted from several textbooks and lecture-notes, cross-referenced them to the mark-schemes and past paper questions, and written them separately in a booklet for for you for some last-minute revision. Of course, you could then spend your limited time sifting through various websites to flesh out your succinct notes, but most people would think you were a bit of an idiot. Because, of course, only idiots pan for gold whilst ignoring the pile of gold ingots right next to them.

Toenotes

1) I need to think about this properly at some point. The qualification regarding contemporary society, by which I refer to modern secular Western society, was an attempt to acknowledge that this is not so simple. There are of course, other reasons for storytelling, and the purposes of education and cultural preservation certainly play a greater role in other cultures, though I stand by the assertion that storytelling in current times, is primarily about entertainment. In any case, this does not distract significantly from the point being made, which is essentially about the underlying human desire to create a particular personal, coherent narrative in their mind, and this may require seeking out additional information, even if unsubstantiated, from alternative sources to fill in ‘gaps’, where alternative sources could, and often do, include one’s own mind. The point is essentially about the danger of approaching the Qur’an with this mindset, despite having acknowledged God’s attributes and the reason for revelation as guidance which is explicitly and repeatedly mentioned in the Qur'an.

2) Al Tariq, 86: 13-14 

3) Al Mu’minoon, 23:115

4) This is an opportunity to mention a pet peeve, or rather, a horrid swarm of pet peeves (what is the collective noun for peeve?) relating to Qur’an recitation and associated arts or industries, if one may call them that. I may be just growing grumpier in my old age, but I find myself increasingly unable to tolerate showy recitations, mimicking popular reciters etc., and whilst I would previously just try to avoid these things, I now find them really insulting. Also, I think I might think that mudood and entertainment sit on the same spectrum, though I grant not necessarily in immediate proximity of one another; one wonders whether that particular spectrum ought to be abolished altogether in the interests of sadd ul-dhara'i' (blasphemous, I know!). Yes, S., there is possibly only one person in the world who really understands that sentence so of course I anticipate your rolling eyes…

5) I mean this in terms of primarily relating to the contemporary resonance of the story to our situation both as individuals and collectively. This should make more sense later - I initially began writing this post as something on religion and culture, and this was the prelude to that discussion, but became worthy of a post in itself; I'll do that next inshaAllah. 

6) Something similar has been mentioned by Sh. A. previously regarding israiliyyat in tafseer which he isn’t a great fan of so I don't think I completely made this up. I don’t have this to hand right now but will try to remember to reference it to this when I come across it.