Objectives & Sciences of the Qur’an

Worship is divided into two categories: principles of creed, and practical rulings. As far as incentives are concerned, they include two things: arousing of interest, and warning.

Elaboration on the abovementioned information

There are seven kinds of sciences in the Qur’an: knowledge related to the fact that Allah is the Creator and in charge of the universe, prophet-hood, the hereafter, rules, promise of reward for the obedient, warning of punishment for the disobedient, and narratives.

As far as knowledge related to the fact that Allah is the Creator and in charge of the universe is concerned, it includes confirming the existence of Allah, be exalted, and deducing His existence by contemplating His creation. Everything that is mentioned in the Qur’an regarding invitation to contemplate the creation, including the creation of the earth and heaven, animals and plants, winds and rain, the sun and the moon, etc. is a prove of the existence of a creator who created them, i.e. Allah. Moreover, such knowledge includes confirming the oneness of Allah, refuting claims of the unbelievers, informing of the attributes of Allah, e.g. the fact that He is alive, knowledgeable, able, having will, hearing, and sight, and attesting to the fact that Allah is free from any imperfection.

As far is prophet -hood is concerned, it includes confirmation of prophet-hood of the prophets in general, confirmation of prophet-hood of Muhammad salla Allah alayyhi wa sallam in particular, confirmation of the scriptures Allah revealed to the prophets, confirmation of the existence of the angels who are intermediaries between Allah and the prophets, and refutation of the claims of whoever disbelieves in anything of these things. In addition, what has been mentioned in the Qur’an regarding consoling prophet Muhammad salla Allah alayyhi wa sallam, and honoring and praising him as well as all other prophets alayyhim asslaam falls within this category.

As for knowledge related to the hereafter, it includes confirmation of resurrection, establishment proofs regarding its occurrence, refutation of the claims of whoever denies its occurrence, and mention of things related to the hereafter such as Paradise and hellfire, reckoning and the balance, and records of the deeds and the great horrors of resurrection and so on.

As for rules, they include commands and prohibitions. They are divided into five categories: obligatory, recommended, prohibited, disliked, and permissible. There are rulings pertinent to bodies such as prayer and fasting. Other rulings are related to wealth such as paying of zaka, and other rulings pertaining to hearts such as sincerity, fear of Allah, and hoping for Allah’s forgiveness.

As for promise of reward for the obedient, it includes things such as promise of attaining worldly success such as victory, and prominence, and promise of attaining success in the hereafter, which is frequently mentioned in the Qur’an such as mentioning Paradise and its enjoyment.

As for warning of punishment for the disobedient, it includes things such as warning of worldly punishment, and retribution in the hereafter, which is frequently mentioned in the Qur’an, e.g. attributes of hellfire and its torment, and attributes of the Day of Judgment and its horrors.

Contemplating the Qur’an, one finds that promise of reward is followed by warning of punishment to combine between arousing of interest and fear, and distinguish each one of them by means of mentioning the other one, as the saying goes:

By means of antonyms, things become clear.

As far as narratives are concerned, narratives are news of former prophets and other people such as the people of the cave, and Dhu-al-Qarnyn.

If is said: What is the wisdom behind repeating narratives of the prophets in the Qur’an?

The answer to this question involves three points:

• A particular sura of the Qur’an may mention news of prophets that is not mentioned in other suras, thus, each narrative has its own value that is not found in another sura.

• Some narratives of the prophets have been elaborately mentioned in some parts of the Qur’an, whereas, they have been briefly mentioned in other parts of the Qur’an to demonstrate the eloquent style of the Qur’an in both ways.

• Narratives of the prophets have been mentioned in the Qur’an for various objectives, and their repetition corresponds with the multiplicity of their objectives. Some of these objectives are: confirmation of prophet-hood of former prophets by mentioning miracles they brought; mentioning  punishment of those who disbelieved in the prophets by different kinds of punishments; confirmation of the prophet-hood of Muhammad salla Allah alayyhi wa sallm as he informed about narratives without being taught by anyone, and to this fact, this aya refers: Allah says, interpretation of meaning, ‘This narrative - O messenger- We, Allah, narrated to you is of the news unknown by none but Allah; neither you nor your people knew it before this revelation…’ [111:49]; affirmation of the oneness of Allah. After mentioning destruction of the disbelieving nations, Allah says in the Qur’an, interpretation of meaning, ‘…their gods they worshipped with Allah didn’t benefit them when Allah’s punishment befell them…’ [11:101]; learning lessons by reflecting on the power of Allah and His severe punishment for the unbelievers; consoling prophet Muhammad salla Allah alayyhi wa sallam regarding his people’s rejection of his message by guiding him to imitate the former prophets, Allah says, interpretation of meaning, ‘Verily, the disbelievers disbelieved in messengers before you, and they were patient…’ [6:34]; comforting prophet Muhammad salla Allah alayyhi wa sallam and promising him of victory as Allah gave victory to former prophets; warning the unbelievers that they will be punished just like the former unbelievers were punished; and other wonders, lessons, and evidences mentioned in the narratives of the prophets, and how the prophets confronted the unbelievers and so on. In sum, narratives of the prophets have many advantages, thus, they have been mentioned in many parts of the Qur’an, and as the saying goes: for every situation, there is an appropriate speech.  

Source: Al-Kalby, Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Juzyy, at-Tasheel li-‘Uloom at-Tanzeel.