Does the quran have multiple meanings?

Question

Take any given verse from the Quran. Do muslims believe that each and every verse in the quran has a very specific single meaning just like a normal book, or can verses have multiple meanings, and/or hidden secrets?

What I mean is, if a non muslim who hates islam and starts reading the quran, he will get a totally different meaning from the quran than a muslim who reads the quran.

My question is, if a highly islamically educated muslim who dedicates his life to understanding the quran, will he see further or multiple meanings which the average muslim will not see, i.e. the more he reads and understands the quran, will he start seeing hidden secrets in the quran which only the very dedicated people can see?

Answer 1

You're right about a dedicated person (not necessarily a Muslim) having a different understanding of the Quran than an average one. But that "different" doesn't mean contradictory or something totally unrelated.

The way I see it, the difference is in the depth and perspective of the meaning. Every verse in the Quran has an easy meaning, that is the literal meaning of the sentence/verse when read in plain Arabic. But then there's also the deeper (or hidden if you like) meaning that arises from the way the words have been used. Arabic language is very rich in terms of conveying different meanings by the way words are put together. I will give you an example:

These two verses are from Surah Ash-Sharh:

Which mean, respectively:

For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.

Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.

Once a scholar explained that the word 'hardship' (Al-'Usr) has the two letters A (elf) and L (lam) in it, which in Arabic it is used for definitive reasons; meaning, the two words in the verses both refer to the same 'hardship' that is being talked about. Whereas the word 'ease' (Yusr) is without A and L; and this is because when used without the two definitive letters, they mean two different things. So, he said, from these verses, we can understand that for a single 'hardship' there is more than one 'ease'.

This is just an example to show what I mean. Qur'an is full of these examples. Also, the Qur'an is not for a certain age in time, it's for all the time from the day it was revealed to the day this universe will come to an end. Because of that, the verses may be interpreted in different ways in different times in history. This is because humans develop and learn/understand new things. Those new ideas and developments bring along new comprehension to the Qur'an. It's more like, when you just learn a new concept and later you realize that it was actually mentioned in the Qur'an, you go "Oh right, THAT's what that verse must have meant!".

Answer 2

Quran is a book that communicates with its readers at multiple levels. It appeals to the first time reader, as well as, to a scholar. There is a supplication that it attributed to Hazrat Umar bin Khatab (RA). One part of the supplication is "Show me wonders in Quran" (loose translation). This indicates that there are hidden things in Quran.

Few things to understand is that the main message in Quran is very simple and can be understood by everyone. Quran introduces some philosophy and some orders, that can be understood by everyone by simple reading. The philosophical concepts are time-bound and applies to us equally as it applied to the people at the time of revelation.

Here is list of philosophical topics explained in Quran

1. Concept of God
2. Concept of Akhrat
3. Concept of Free will (Jabr-o-Qadr)
4. Concept of Good and Evil (Khair-o-Shar)
5. Concept of Phophethood
6. Sunnah of God (Sunnah-e-Ilahi)

Another thing to note is Quran was revealed in a historical context. The best way to understand Quran is to first relate it to its first audience, the muslims, kuffar, jews and Christian at the time of revelation. Then see, how (and if) it relates to us.

On a personal note, I would say if you don't understand something in Quran, move on, Allah will explain it to you, in time.

Answer 3

Quran is guidance for mankind. Any human living anywhere in the world can get the guidance, whether you read in arabic or any other language, if you understand. The meaning of Quran you can get only if Allah wills. When Allah explains then only you get the meaning. When our faith, love and attention increases towards Allah then only we get this mercy and blessing where you start getting the meaning of different ayats. Allah can explain you by different way, either while working, driving, talking, watching, practically anywhere by all means, if you understand. When this will happen you will love it. You will see Allah's mercy everywhere and in everything. One important thing, every aspect in Quran is globally, not restricted to local area and if you see that the ayats in Quran are touching your own life then you have started the journey to understand the real meaning of Quran. Allah bless everyone.

Answer 4

I can say whole heartedly that the Qur'an has multiple meanings in certain situations. god has made the Qur'an so that it may be understood in any language that it is translated into. Why wouldn't it? i get a bit annoyed with people who claim that the Qur'an can only be understood properly if one speaks Arabic, this does not make sense. I am A british person and I get some very interesting messages from the Qur'an, and these are often reinforced by the mathematical miracle in the Qur'an. Indeed math is the only thing that really never changes over time. I would add however, that I believe verses have been added over, probably well meaning at the time to help people establish Islam as a major religion. This is to be expected, however, these verse stand out like a sore thumb when one reads the Qur'an from cover to cover.