Qur'anic Verses
Fill in the Blank: ‘[God] is the First and the Last, the Manifest [zahir] and the Hidden [batin]; and He is the _ _ _ _ _ _ of all things’ (57:3)
Knower
What is does inimitability mean?
incapable of being imitated or copied; surpassing imitation
True or False: Ismailis believe that the batini or deeper understandings of faith are more important than the zahiri or outward forms/practices.
False, both are important
What is a spiritual quest?
Journey of faith to attain divine inspiration, vision and oneness
What is the meaning of batin or esoteric?
The inner, hidden, or deeper layer/meaning
‘He is Allah, other than whom there is no _ _ _ _ _: Knower – of the unseen and the seen. He is the Compassionate, The Merciful’ (59:22)
deity
What are two synonyms for inimitable?
Incomparable, Unmatchable, Unparalleled, Uniqueness, Rareness, Greatness, Original, Authentic
True or False: Sufism exists only within the Shia tradition of Islam.
False
True or False: The 'straight path' is the best image to describe the path of faith.
False – there are many equally valid interpretations of the path and what it looks like - levels, stages, spirals, circles
What is tanzil?
Sending down/descent (of the revelation/Qur’an)
‘Do you not see that God has made subject to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the _ _ _ _ _, and amply bestowed upon you His favors, [both] manifest [zahir] and hidden [batin]?...’ (31:20)
earth
True or False: There were differing views on the question of its inimitability in both theological and
literary terms.
True
Tasawwuf refers to an approach of understanding the Qur'an from the perspective of which community of interpretation in Islam? (Sunni, Shia or Sufi)
Sufi
Finish the following hadith: Know yourself and you will come to know _____
God
What is tafsir?
Commentary (or explanation, based on interpretation)
Or do they say, ‘He has forged it’? Say, ‘Then produce a sura like it… If you are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.’ (10:38)
truthful
What is literature for?
It saves you time; It makes you nice; It's a cure for loneliness; It prepares you for failure
True or False: Ta’wil is an interpretation to highlight the outer meaning (zahir) of something, not the inner or hidden meaning (batin).
False
Fill in the blank of this famous quote from the story of Nasir Khusraw: _____ and you shall find
Seek
What is tawil?
Esoteric Interpretation
Say, ‘Though mankind and jinn came together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could never produce the like of it, even if they _ _ _ _ _ _ one another.’ (17:88)
helped
The inimitability of the Qur'an offers a great deal of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
inspiration
Who has the authority to interpret the Qur'an?
Depends on who you ask...
Prophet, Imam, murshid, pir, shaykh, scholars, etc.
Why does the Imam encourage us to ‘think deeply’ about our existence?
The meaning of life is to be conscious of our soul and its eternal purpose to attain oneness with the divine.
The root word of tawil is awwal. What does awwal mean?
Origin/Beginning