Parables in the Holy Quran are a source of divine guidance. 1
5 days ago
koran القران
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One of the Sunnahs (traditions/ways) of Islam is the consideration of the human soul. There is the strong, tranquil, believing soul, and there is the anxious, fragile, disbelieving soul. These are contrasting psychologies, each of which has its own specific remedy prescribed by the Holy Quran. The tranquil, believing souls are attached to their faith because the Holy Quran calls for an ideal and firm upbringing. As for the weak and fragile souls, the Holy Quran invites them toward wisdom, good instruction, and wonderful examples so that they may interact with the Holy Quran and return to their senses.
### (3) The Parable in Quranic Terminology:
The definition of a “Quranic Parable” differs from that of a popular or common proverb, as emphasized by scholars of rhetoric and exegesis.
**Manna’ al-Qattan states:**
“It is not appropriate to interpret the parables of the Holy Quran based on the original linguistic meaning, which is ‘likeness’ or ‘counterpart,’ nor is it correct to apply to them the definitions found in books of language written by authors on proverbs. The parables of the Quran are not sayings used for the sake of comparison, and it is incorrect to apply the meaning of ‘proverbs’ as defined by scholars of rhetoric to them.”
**This is also the view held by the scholar Sobhani in his study of Quranic parables, where he says:**
“A parable in global proverbs generally consists of speech cast in a specific situation for a specific occasion, which is then circulated over time in similar situations. A parable in this sense does not exist in the Holy Quran, for as we have mentioned, the essence of proverbs is their circulation on tongues and their prevalence among peoples, a characteristic not present in Quranic verses.”
### Section Two: Benefits of Parables
**Sheikh Al-Shinqiti, in the course of interpreting the Almighty’s saying:**
*”And We have certainly presented for the people in this Qur’an from every [kind of] example. But man, of all things, is most fond of dispute.”* (Quran 18:54)
**…said:**
“In these examples and their likes in the Holy Quran are lessons, admonitions, and very great warnings. There is no ambiguity in the truth with them, yet their meanings are only understood by the people of knowledge, as God Almighty said: *’And these examples We present to the people, but none will understand them except the knowledgeable.’* (Quran 29:43).”
One of the purposes of setting forth parables is for people to remember, as in His saying: *”And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.”* (Quran 59:21).
Parables possess the specific quality of guidance, in addition to demonstrating and manifesting the truth, as in His saying:
*”Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an incident – that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, ‘What did Allah intend by this as an example?’ He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient.”* (Quran 2:26)
There is no doubt that those who respond to their Lord are the most sensible of people, because they have understood the parables and grasped them, thus benefiting from them in their worldly lives. The opposite is true: those who do not respond to their Lord have no discernment; they have neither known nor glimpsed the treasures of truth contained within them, of which they were deprived due to their turning away from God Almighty.
The first group: are those about whom God Almighty said, *”And He guides many thereby.”*
The second group: are those about whom God Almighty said, *”And He misleads many thereby.”*
God and His Messenger, may God bless him and his family, have set forth parables for people to approximate the intended meaning, to clarify it, to convey it to the listener’s mind, and to bring it to their soul in the form of the example cited. It may be closer to being understood, comprehended, grasped, and recalled by recalling its counterpart. The soul finds comfort in counterparts and similarities, and repels from strangeness, loneliness, and the lack of a counterpart.
In parables, there is an comfort for the soul and a speed in its acceptance and submission to the truth for which the example was set—a matter that no one can deny or reject. The more the parables are revealed, the more the meaning increases in appearance and clarity. Parables are witnesses to the intended meaning; they are the characteristic, essence, and fruit of the intellect.
**Ibn al-Muqaffa (died 143 AH) said:**
“When speech is made into a parable, it is clearer in logic, more pleasant to the ear, and more expansive in the scopes of conversation.”
**Ibrahim al-Nazzam (died 231 AH) said:**
“In a parable, four things are gathered that are not gathered in other speech: brevity of phrasing, precision of meaning, excellence of comparison, and quality of metaphor. It is the pinnacle of eloquence.”
**Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (died 471 AH) said:**
“Know that it is agreed upon by the wise that when a representation (parable) comes in the wake of abstract meanings—or when those meanings are presented briefly in its framework, transferred from their original forms to its form—it clothes them with grandeur, earns them merit, raises their value, stirs their fire, and doubles their power in moving souls towards them. It calls hearts to them, excites yearning and passion from the depths of the heart, and compels human nature to love and be passionate about them. If it is praise, it is more splendid, magnificent, and noble in the soul, and greater… If it is argumentation, its proof is brighter, its authority more compelling, and its exposition more dazzling… And if it is a sermon, it is more healing to the heart, more inviting to thought, more eloquent in warning and admonition, and more capable of clearing the darkness, showing the ultimate goal, curing the ailing, and quenching the thirst.”
**Abu al-Sa’ud (died 982 AH) said:**
“Representation (parable) is nothing but highlighting the intended meaning in the framework of a well-known matter, adorning the intellectual with the adornment of the sensible, and depicting abstract, unfamiliar meanings in the form of the familiar. This is to persuade the imagination and bring it down from its opposition to the intellect—and its stubbornness in grasping hidden truths and understanding difficult subtleties—so that it may follow the intellect in what it requires and accompany it to what it might not otherwise accept. That is why parables have been common in Divine books and Prophetic words, and have spread in the expressions of the eloquent and the indications of the wise.”
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