My assumption is that Quran is the final statement from God and it contains everything we need in order to be on the right path. But I see different interpretations of Quran verses and thus sometimes contradicting views!!
Why it is possible to have different interpretations from Quran, where rationally it should be very clear and understandable for all Muslims!?
Like law books where nearly everything is clearly stated.
First the Quran is so clear.in following verse, Allah states that:
O people of the Book! There hath come to you our Messenger, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary): There hath come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book.(al-maida:15)
There are two kind of verses in this holy book:
Verses with basic meaning and verses with allegorical meanings.
He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.(al-imran: 7)
Those who do not differentiate between the basic and the allegorical verses will surely get confused when they apparently find two conflicting messages from the verses of the Quran. So allegorical meaning must be sought in the light of the basic verse which are so clear. Also one of the duty of the prophet was to express the meanings of the verse of the Quran so we should refer to the teachings of the Prophet according to some verses such as:
And We sent down the Book to thee for the express purpose, that thou shouldst make clear to them those things in which they differ, and that it should be a guide and a mercy to those who believe. (an- nahl:16)
According Shia belief we should refer to the teachings of the Prophet, and the Imams of Ahlul Bayt who are the twin of the Quran by virtue of the famous saying of the Prophet that “I am leaving two precious things among you [for guidance]: the Book of Allah and my Ahlu 'l-bayt.” sahih moslim
You're absolutely right, Qur'an is not pretty much clear........ in the English version.
But, for the Arabic speaking people, the Arabic Qur'an which got down in Arabic is perfectly clear, well defined, and complete.
Other guys need to work around. But, to add to your views,
sometimes contradicting views!!
Not contradicting views per se, but different views I can say. The translators did their best.
Why it is possible to have different interpretations from Qur'an
It is the Arabic grammar which plays the drama. It's pretty hard to exactly interpret what a verse means in other languages. As others have said in other answers, if there's something you don't understand, refer the teachings of Prophet (pbuh) if not ask the people with knowledge.
May the creator guide us all.
Allah says in Quran: 3:7
It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah . But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.
So there are no serious issue with interpretation at all. 99% of verses are clear in their meanings. Also, Hadith is there to provide precise explanation of every verse in Quran. Only those people go for wrong self-made interpretations, whose hearts are un-clean and who want to pick their choice of meaning out of Quran. So if anyone mis-interprets Quran, it’s his own fault, not of Allah that why Allah made Quran difficult to understand.
Indeed, as the verse above says that there are verses whose meanings are not entirely clear, they are there for a GOOD reason, because only Allah knows that why they are good. We have to believe that Allah is best of planners, and we have to follow His plans,, as it is.
As Wr Wb,
To give my humble opinion, I beleive the Quran is truth, the one source of truth and the only truth.
It was revealed in Arabic, so in other languages there will always be bits lost in translation - the best we can do is seek advice from scholars who versed in Arabic and have spent years studying.
With English as my main language I have seen this a lot where different English translations of the Quran by different translators can be quite different even though they are translating the same ayat. Also I see the lost in translation effect across different languages e.g. something translated from urdu to English would make me laugh as its not quite right. Whatever language you speak, you will always loose a little in translation.
Please also note that it may be Allah intention (for us), that we do not understand everything in the Quran - for example there many beautiful things in the Quran that point to knowledge that was not known to man at the time the Quran was revealed (cosmology, atmosphere, geology, flying, dna etc there many examples).
We know about these now through science and can relate to them, so imagine the sahaba's or any muslim at the time the Quran was revelead, how could they even begin to understand the verses regading sceince that was unknown to mankind at the time of revelation?
Who's to say there are not more verses like these, that do not make sense to us, because the verses are really destined for future readers of the Quran? (as further proof to them that a man or woman could not have written the Quran)
May Allah forgive me for any errors. Allah knows best.
