Not Mistaking Everything We Hear for Religion: Verses, Interpretation, and Responsibility

8 October 2021

Question: Does hearing a statement for years necessarily mean that it is Allah’s word?

People do not readily question the knowledge they are accustomed to.

If they have heard a sentence since childhood, they may consider it part of religion without ever investigating its source.

In the recording, this issue is discussed at length through the need to distinguish Qur’anic verses from human interpretations.

The clear and ambiguous verses in Surah Al Imran are recalled.

It is emphasized that we should not speak as readily about passages open to interpretation as about those whose meaning is clear.

This gives us an important standard.

Not speaking with certainty where we do not know.

Frequently Repeated Information Is Not a Source

Question: Where did I learn this information that I believe?

Did I hear it from someone?

Did I read it in a book?

Did I see it in the Qur’an?

Or did I think it was true because it was repeated so often in society?

The recording particularly emphasizes the need to investigate the sources of statements attributed to prophets and information heard about the form of ritual prayer and religious practices.

A person’s good intentions do not mean that everything they convey is correct.

Nor does a book’s having been read for centuries make every sentence in it revelation.

This approach does not mean throwing away all accumulated knowledge from the past.

On the contrary, it means putting each piece of information in its proper place.

The Qur’an is Allah’s word.

People’s explanations, however, are human interpretations.

Interpretation can be valuable.

But interpretation also carries the possibility of error.

When we lose this distinction, we may defend a statement that was not spoken by Allah as though it were Allah’s ruling.

The recording places particular emphasis on this danger.

Do Not Separate the Form of Worship from Its Purpose

There is also extensive questioning about ritual prayer, prostration, and bowing.

The recording discusses how different sources are interpreted.

Here, instead of turning the entire discussion into a single ruling, let us recognize the question underlying it.

Question: What kind of person is my worship turning me into?

If I perform ritual prayer and oppress people, there is a contradiction.

If I prostrate and behave arrogantly, I should question myself.

If I supplicate and fail to keep my promises, I should reconsider the connection between worship and my life.

Form is not unimportant.

But if form becomes completely detached from intention and behavior, people can easily deceive themselves.

In the recording, examples of sacrifice and fasting are also connected to intention.

The outward appearance of an act of worship and the orientation within the heart are not the same thing.

People may also do a good deed to show off.

That is why we need to examine our intentions continually.

Worship is our turning toward Allah before it is our appearance in people’s eyes.

Not Fragmenting a Verse to Reach the Conclusion We Want

The recording strongly emphasizes the need to read the Qur’an as a whole.

We may take a verse in isolation and draw our own desired conclusion without considering what comes before and after it.

This also suits the human self very well.

For while the entire verse calls us to change, we may choose only the part we like.

Question: Am I trying to understand the Qur’an, or am I looking for a verse to support my own opinion?

These two approaches may look very similar.

Both read verses.

Both cite sources.

But in one, people try to submit themselves to the verse.

In the other, they adapt the verse to their own thinking.

The recording also addresses expressions such as “if some statements had been fabricated in Our name” and the gravity of attributing words to the Prophet.

That is why, when we hear a statement, it is safer to investigate its source instead of sharing it immediately.

Being able to say “I do not know” when speaking in the name of religion is also a moral virtue.

Intention, Greed, and the Heart’s Direction

The same recording also discusses the difference between greed and determination.

People may want to expand their business.

They may want to earn more.

These are not wrong in themselves.

But when we insist that the outcome must be exactly as we want it, the direction within our hearts may change.

Question: Am I submitting to Allah, or to the outcome I want?

Determination means working and taking the necessary steps.

Greed, however, can turn into a loss of our standards when we cannot obtain the outcome.

A person may own a conglomerate and still regard their earnings as a trust.

Someone else may lash out at their family in anger when they fail to achieve a very small goal.

The issue is not the amount.

It is what the heart attaches itself to.

The same greed can exist in religious knowledge.

When we say, “My interpretation must be correct,” we close the door to learning.

We need to remain students of knowledge rather than its owners.

Being Able to Stop Where We Do Not Know

The recording asks many questions about how accounts of prophets, books, and acts of worship have been transmitted.

We do not find definitive answers to all these questions in the same recording.

We need to acknowledge this openly.

It would not be right to add an answer that the source does not give and present it as certain knowledge.

Question: Is it difficult for me to remain silent about a matter whose answer I do not know?

People sometimes fear appearing not to know.

That is why they make definitive statements with incomplete knowledge.

Yet saying, “I do not know; I need to investigate,” does not diminish us.

On the contrary, it protects us from conveying incorrect information.

We need this attitude when trying to understand the Qur’an as well.

Let us state clearly what is clear.

Let us identify interpretation as interpretation.

And let us acknowledge that we do not know what we do not know.

In this way, when speaking in the name of religion, we will not elevate our own words to the level of revelation.

Let us return to the opening question.

Does hearing a statement often make it Allah’s word?

No.

Our standard should be the source itself, not the number of repetitions.

Not Speaking with Equal Certainty About Clear and Ambiguous Verses

The recording begins by recalling the passage in Surah Al Imran about clear and ambiguous verses.

It is considered that speaking with equal certainty about verses whose meaning is clear and expressions that allow more room for interpretation can lead to discord.

Question: Am I presenting my own opinion on a matter open to interpretation as “the only truth”?

This question is particularly important in religious discussions.

There may be different explanations of a word’s meaning.

The details of a historical event may be uncertain.

The authenticity of a report may be disputed.

In such a situation, it is more honest to state our evidence and our limits openly instead of saying, “What I know is certain.”

The concept of “fitnah,” or discord, also appears in this context in the recording.

When people turn what is uncertain into certainty and accuse others, knowledge may produce conflict instead of guidance.

The purpose of knowledge should be to approach the truth, not to gain superiority.

Loving the Prophet Means Not Attributing Words He Did Not Say to Him

The recording also questions the sources of statements attributed to Prophet Muhammad and other prophets.

Loving a prophet does not give us the right to say whatever sentence we wish in his name.

On the contrary, it requires greater care.

Question: Before sharing a statement, do I investigate by asking, “Did he really say this?”

People may want to spread a statement they find beautiful immediately.

But its beauty does not guarantee the accuracy of its attribution.

That is why we must draw clear boundaries between the Qur’an’s explicit statements, historical transmission, and personal interpretation.

This approach does not weaken religion.

On the contrary, it increases trust.

For people can think more soundly when they know what is an authoritative source and what is interpretation.

This sensitivity also underlies the recording’s warning against confusing books and transmitted accounts with one another.

Not placing human words before revelation.

Remaining a Student When We Say “My Brain Is Overloaded”

As the discussion of ritual prayer and prostration progresses in the recording, there are moments described as “my brain is overloaded.”

This expression actually points to an important threshold in learning.

We may feel uncomfortable when what we have long known conflicts with something we have newly encountered.

Question: At such a moment, do I immediately defend my old opinion, or can I remain open to further investigation?

Remaining a student matters here.

People may have misunderstood something for years.

Or the explanation they have just heard may be wrong.

Both possibilities exist.

That is why we should not rush.

Let us check the source.

Let us read the verses together.

And most importantly, let us not turn the discussion into our self’s competition for superiority.

Being proven right and finding the truth are not the same thing.

Respect for truth means not only speaking the truth, but also knowing not to speak in Allah’s name where we do not know.

If the Intention Is Not Right, Knowledge Can Also Become Showing Off

While the recording focuses on intention in acts of worship, we can ask the same question about knowledge.

People may read a great deal and speak a great deal.

But if they use all this to belittle others, knowledge may not soften their hearts.

Question: When learning, am I seeking truth or trying to appear superior?

It is easy to silence someone in a discussion by saying, “I know this.”

What is harder is also listening to their evidence.

Knowledge should make us calmer, more careful, and more honest.

If we become more arrogant with every new piece of information, we should examine our intentions again.

Being a student of truth sometimes also requires being able to withdraw a statement we know.

We can develop a habit of returning to the source.

When we hear a statement, before sharing it immediately, opening the verse, looking at the surah, and checking whether the expression is actually there.

Question: How much time do I devote to verifying the information I share in the name of religion?

This small act of care can protect us from multiplying incorrect information.