The Quran is a book of guidance | The Sunday Guardian | 28th, August 2011 | Page 15 The Quran is the Book of God, revealed to the Prophet of Islam in the first quarter of the seventh century. The Quran is not a mysterious blessing; it is a book of wisdom. In the chapter entitled Sad (Sad), the Quran says of itself: "This is a blessed Book which We sent down to you [Muhammad], for people to ponder over its messages, and for those with understanding to take heed" (38:29). The Quran is, indeed, a book of wisdom, which gives us each detail of the divine scheme along with all those principles that are required for successful living on this earth. In short, the Quran is a book of guidance for mankind. It is, moreover, a simple book, which is easily understandable to anyone who has even the most rudimentary knowledge of Arabic. But all the things it has to offer can be discovered only through contemplation. It is contemplation, or tadabbur, that opens the doors of the Quranic treasure of knowledge. Then the Quran is marked by the most perfect clarity, but that does not mean that you can understand the Quran without pondering over it. In fact there are two layers of Quranic learning: one, its literal meaning and the second is its deeper meaning. If you want to know the message of the Quran in a simple manner, then knowing its literal meaning will suffice. Its literal meaning will introduce you to the basic, practical advice offered by the Quran. This kind of knowledge is quite enough for the common people who are not of a scholastic bent of mind. Then there is the deeper side of Quranic meaning. This can be comprehended only after an in-depth study of the scriptures. The Quran is evidently a book of guidance for both the common man as well as for highly educated people.
